What's In Your "Personal Bank"?

It seems like the more information you get, the more muddled things become.  I believe, Information Overload, is the term.  I think, perhaps, I'm getting too far, "into the weeds" and losing perspective.  Perhaps.

Precious metals.  I love 'em.  The quick explanation of my beliefs is, until the federal government stops purposefully causing inflation, stops creating money out of thin air (also causing inflation), and starts living by a balanced budget (so I don't have taxes increased, thus reducing my purchasing power), I'll have PM's.  As much as I can afford.

Lately, I've questioned my beliefs.  Is the money I've got tied up in PMs going to vaporize - be nothing more than shiny metal?  The stock market keeps chugging along - have I missed that boat?

Lots of folks are hesitant to buy PMs for a number of reasons.  The two biggest are future confiscations and the current (perceived) high prices. 

I'm not worried one little bit about either of these things.  I don't think confiscations will ever happen.  This video pretty well explains my views.



There are just too many other "easy pickin's" out there for the government to hit before they'd come after your gold or silver. Most importantly, if you buy your gold from private parties, or face-to-face IN CASH from bullion dealers, no record of your purchase will ever exist.

If a call similar to that which occurred in 1934 is made by the government, just twiddle your fingers and whistle Dixie.
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The high price argument is a bit more sticky. When customers come into our shop, we tell them we have no way of predicting or influencing the price of PMs. None whatsoever.  Buy today, and your PMs may crash in value tomorrow.

Buying PMs is a matter of faith. Having faith that the government will continue its current path. If you honestly believe that they will stop creating money out of nothing, and will establish AND stick to a balanced budget without imposing obscene taxes, then you absolutely, positively should not buy PMs.

A key mental perspective you MUST have is that PMs are a long-term hold asset. If you have got to look at the spot prices each day -stress out on dips and are elated with spikes- you're going to end up in the loony bin.

When you make a PM purchase, it needs to be thought of as your "last resort" money. Like a 10-year CD in a bank. Just like that CD, you should only buy when all of your other needs have been taken care of - food, water, medical, guns, ammo, land.

Also keep in mind that all governments have a vested interest in keeping the price of PMs down.  High gold prices mean a weak(er) dollar, for instance.  That should be an item you mull over before you plunk everything you've got into PMs.  Governments will do all they can to keep or force prices down.

I'm a big believer in the concept of "dollar cost averaging".  Commit to buying a certain portion of your target amount each month.  If you're going to buy $1,000 or $10,000 or $100,000 in gold, spread that purchase out over 3 months, 6 months or a year.  Whatever time horizon makes you comfortable.
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Many think that having other tangible forms of wealth - food, wood, guns, ammo and land - is the way to go.


I agree, up to a point.

You can only realistically store so much wheat and ammo.  Unless you have a warehouse facility on your property, you're somewhat limited.  You need to represent your accumulated wealth in other ways.

Land is an awesome option.  Especially land from which you can provide for yourself.  Fruits, vegetables, animals.  This, right now, is at the top of my To Do list.

But you're immobile and vulnerable.

History has shown us that governments will do pretty much whatever they want to you and your possessions.  Ask the Jews in Nazi Germany or the Japanese in America how being a large land owner turned out for them.

If you and your family must "bug out" you can only take so much food and ammo with you.

If the land is taken via eminent domain or for a failure to pay taxes which have been jacked up to pay for the nanny state, you're screwed.  All of your eggs are in one basket, and it just got taken from you at the point of a gun.

Yep, you can point a gun back in their direction, but it will be your last act on this earth.  And honestly, I think it's an option more and more folks will take.

Or you can live, and fight another day.
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Here is my biggest concern:  Cash becoming illegal.  It's not as far-fetched (or distant) as you may think.

There are two major trends taking place that are shaping up as a recipe for disaster. On the one hand, we have massively indebted governments around the world desperate for tax revenues and, on the other, steadily growing multi-trillion underground economies whose main goal is to avoid paying them.

The concept is that everything must be bought and sold via electronic means.  Credit card, debit card, checks, Paypal, Bitcoin, etc.  There are very few (if any?) legal things that must be paid for with cash.

Right now, if you sell your gold, you get cash and for the most part, the transaction is invisible unless YOU decide to make it public.  If cash is made illegal, when you sell your gold coins, the money would be put on a debit card or you'd get a check to deposit into your bank.

You've now established an electronic audit trail that could raise the eyebrows of the .gov.   Hmmmm.  How much did you pay for that gold?  Still have the receipt?  No?  Well, you then need to pay taxes on the profit you made, and since you don't have a purchase receipt, the entire amount is considered a profit.  Have a nice day, comrade.


Right now, in Italy, it is illegal to buy anything over 1000 euros in cash.  That's planned to be dropped to 300 euros.  France is at 3000 euros and Spain is supposed to be following suit.

My belief is that if this happens, people will still use PMs in the black market.  Think about the old Soviet Union (or the current Argentina).  While domestic cash was not illegal, foreign currencies were.  Yet, the mighty dollar (strong relative to other currencies) was king.

People risked prison to acquire and use dollars.  I think the same will be true of PMs.

Accept The Challenge

What ya gonna do?

Personally, I want a diverse representation of what I've worked hard to acquire.  A little bit of this, a little bit of that.  I'll re-allocate into different piles as I see fit and things change.

If the fundamentals of our economy really change, I'll sell some of my PMs.  Not all, but some.

And I'm not talking about government-produced propaganda, either.  I'm talking real job growth, not unemployment numbers that drop because people fall off the rolls after a couple of years.

I'm talking about federal budgets that propose being balanced sometime in my lifetime, PLUS seeing actual changes NOW that indicate it might actually happen.  None of this, "We'll increase spending and borrowing now, and pinky-swear we'll make cuts in the future," crap.

I'm talking about real change.  The dismantling of this nanny state and a return to being a constitutional republic.

Seeing as little if any of this will happen over the next 30 years, PMs will be a part of my personal "bank" for a long, long time...


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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Grossed Out and PO'd

I haven't bought hamburger in 5 or more years.  I've made my own ever since I started making sausage.  Even though the Blessed USDA tells us that a certain percentages of rat hair, rat crap, rat parts and bugs is A-OK for me to consume, I won't do it.  Call me a picky eater.

And now we have the ever-appetizing, "Pink Slime".  Me thinks they need a better marketing guy working on this account.  The "insider" name for this stuff is, "Lean Finely Textured Beef (LFTB)".  Ah, that makes it all better.

The beef industry is in full panic mode with a, "Top 8 Myths Of "Pink Slime" [link] web page.  Hey, it's only got a "puff" of ammonia in it.  Quit yer bitchin'......
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Here's a shocking story:  There was another slaughter at a gun free zone.

OAKLAND – Police said seven people were dead and three others injured after a gunman opened fire Monday at a small Korean Christian school.

This freak first shot the front office staff then moved through the school.  Hmmm.  How might this have turned out differently if one or more of the front office staff was carrying a concealed weapon. 1,2,3,4 or more LIVING human beings, perhaps?

Isn't it the left who always hits us with, "If only one life is saved for [pick a cause] it's worth the effort"?  So shouldn't they all be out marching to have our Constitutional right to carry a gun restored?

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Sorry, it isn't always the left who does this.  It's the right as well.  USA PATRIOT act, DUI checkpoints, come to mind.

"If just one [drunk driver, terrorist] is stopped by shitting on your rights, it's worth it."

No.  It's not.  Life has risks, liberty has risks.
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Anyone keeping a tally of the number of slaughters occurring in Gun Free Zones, versus slaughters that happen in Heavily Armed Zones like police stations?

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An hour or so ago, the Federal Reserve minutes came out.  In short, they said that they didn't think the [totally manipulated] unemployment numbers were any good [HAHAHAHA!] and the economy might be in for some trouble.  Duh.

Logic says that means the economy - thus the dollar - are at risk.  In fact, it would be an occasion where the Fed would break out the old Quantitative Easing playbook, and start crankin' out dollars.  Lube up the economy really well.

Instead - illogically - the talking heads on TV are saying that the markets view this as an occasion where the Fed will tighten (?!) the money supply, making the dollar strong and PMs weak.

WTF?

Gold dropped $30+ an ounce in the blink of an eye.  Can you spell m-a-n-i-p-u-l-a-t-i-o-n?

'Splain it to me, Lucy....
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The various stock markets ALSO dropped like stones, but that makes sense, as a perceived weaker economy (or one where a visible public official acknowledges it sucks) will hurt the sales for most businesses.
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I quit.  Gimme a cave, a cot and a carbine.  This is just insane.


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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Lox of Love

I luvs me some lox.

Lox is preserved salmon.  For me, it's one of those great preservation techniques where you extend the life of a food, while making it into something great.  Similar to homemade jam.  As good or better than the fresh food.

Anyways, lox is brain-dead easy to make.

You start with a nice piece of salmon.  I usually buy a whole salmon and produce two big halves.  This time around, I just bought a half salmon already boned out.

This piece of salmon -about 5lbs - already had all of the small pin bones removed.  If you buy a whole salmon, you'll need to feel along the inside of the flesh until you find a bone.  Using a pair of needle nose pliers, pull out all of the bones.  There'll be a lot of them.

Next, you need to de-scale the fish.  Under a faucet, find the way the "grain" of the scales goes, and use the back of a knife to go against the grain and remove the scales.  Not difficult, but pretty messy.

When you're done, pat the fish dry and mix up your cure.  It's 1/3 salt, 1/3 brown sugar and 1/3 maple syrup.

For a whole salmon, I use a cup of each.  Since this was a half salmon, I used a half cup of each.  Put all of the seasoning in a bowl, and mix it up.  It will be a thick slurry.

I cut the pointy tail portion off for my wife to eat.  I then cut the remaining filet in half.

Next, get a dish with sides at least an inch deep.  When the salt goes into the fish, it will expel the water in it.  Take a piece of plastic wrap that is at least twice as long as the dish.  Put it - centered - in the dish.  Lay the first piece of fish -skin side down - and slather half of the salt/sugar/syrup slurry on the flesh side.

Do the same to the other piece.

Place the second piece of fish - flesh to flesh - on top of the first piece.  Bring the plastic wrap from the two ends and wrap up the fish.  Take another piece that you put underneath and wrap it side to side so the whole package is wrapped up very tightly.

Now ya wait.  I generally take an old cutting board or plank, and put a couple of heavy cans on top of the fish.  This helps to expel the water in the fish.  Put the whole contraption in the fridge, and wait 3 days.

Unwrap the fish, rinse it under cool water to get all of the slurry off of it, then pat it dry.  Here's what you get -

The flesh of the salmon will be much more dense.  Unlike fresh fish where when you push it, the flesh will bounce back, this flesh will stay indented.

Get a sharp knife and start a-slicin'.  The thinner, the better -

Me, my favorite is on a nice fat bagel with cream cheese -

From what I've read, this stuff is supposed to last a couple of weeks if kept in the fridge.  Never made it that long in my house.... ;-)

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

It's All About Density

You'd have to be a bit dense to buy a lottery ticket with the expectation of actually winning -

Odds of becoming a saint:  1 in 20 million.

Odds of being killed by a vending machine:  1 in 100 million.

Odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery:  1 in 176 million.

Still, 5 friends and I all kicked in $20 a piece for our chance to win.  Dense as a brick of lead...
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I find the statistic for vending machine deaths amazing.  That means in America, 3 people a year are killed by vending machines!  Is your hung-up bag of Freetos THAT important?  ;-)
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We had the Black Panthers getting a pass from the DOJ on the voter intimidation case back in 2008.  More recently, we had them putting a bounty of $10,000 on the head of the guy that shot the black kid in Florida.

Now, we've got another Black Panther dude threatening to "Burn it Down" if the state of Michigan takes over Detroit.

No need to read between the lines:  If you're black, you can use threats and intimidation to advance your political agenda, and not worry about any negative repercussions.

Dontch just love this "color blind" society?  Orwell got it right, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".
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There have been a number of large cities in the news lately that have announced they're in deep financial doo doo.  LA, Detroit, San Jose, San Diego.

So, I'm trying to figure out why some large cities are struggling and others are hanging on.  Why isn't a city like Havana-By-The-Bay - San Francisco - on the brink of financial collapse?  Or NYC?  These two cities are veritable socialist enclaves, but they're not going teats up (yet).

I think it has to do with a combination of population AND density.  Look at this following list.  It is the city and its population density per square mile -

LA - 8,092/mile
Detroit - 5,142
NYC  - 27,012
SF - 17,179
Philly - 11,457
San Diego - 4,003
San Jose - 5,300
Atlanta - 3,190

In general, it seems that large cities with low density are going down more quickly.  My guess is that it has to do with literally stretching services thin.  If you're like LA - which is absolutely mammoth in size - you've got to have far-flung police, fire, social services facilities.  A city like San Francisco, which is only 49 square miles, can get away with less physical government infrastructure.

From this list, Atlanta is a big aberration.  If I were a bettin' man, I'd put money that they're one of the next big cities to bite the bullet.
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This IS NOT a suggestion that you move to a high-density city.  As good Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report [link] reminds us with virtually every posting:  Stay away from crowds.

If there's even a hint that the nanny payouts are going to be interrupted to the Dependent Class, TS will HTF.  If you're the wrong ethnicity or have any hint of possessing anything of value, you're toast.  If these high-density cities go sideways, they'll obviously be much more dangerous.

Don't put yourself in that predicament.
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In addition to teaching firearms use and safety, I teach an NRA class called, "Refuse To Be A Victim".  It's a safety awareness seminar taught to businesses and groups.

After drilling into the minds of the students that the best way to stay safe is to "not be there" when turmoil erupts, one of the key concepts I teach is getting your mind ready to defend yourself BEFORE you're put into a bad situation.  I pose two questions everyone needs to ask themselves -

1.  Am I prepared to harm, permanently injure or kill another human being to save my life or the life of another human being?

2.  Am I prepared to tolerate the judgment of my family, friends and neighbors if I harm, permanently injure or kill another human being in self-defense?

You need to honestly answer these questions.  If you can answer "yes" to the first question, this doesn't imply you're a gun totin' vigilante looking to clean the streets of vermin scum.  It means you value your life more than you value the life of the maggot who is trying to take yours away.

The second question implies that you can take a life in defense of another, and that you can do so with a clear conscience.  It doesn't imply that you would be pleased with yourself, or gain a chest-thumping glow of, "Take THAT, punk!"  It says that you have the ability to differentiate between good and evil, and won't be ashamed about protecting good.

With all of the recent media attention given to the uninformed race baiters using this kid's death as a political platform, you may need to re-visit your stance.  If you're a non-black - white, Hispanic or Asian - and you shoot and kill a black, you MUST expect the world to come crashing down on your shoulders.  You MUST know that the race baiters WILL use your act of self-defense as a reason to publicly lynch you.  It WILL happen.

The reason you need to re-visit this subject is because your self-defense must be color blind.  It is the acts of the bad guy, not the skin color, that must dictate your actions.  If you hesitate because you have unpleasant visions of a witch hunt after an act of self-defense, you may end up dead or harmed.

I'm going to repeat this:  It is the acts of the bad guy, not the skin color, that must dictate your actions.
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Now, if you can't answer yes to both of those questions, you need to never go outside, and have security guards at your place of residence.

If you venture outside, you are saying that you have no regard for your own safety.  You must acknowledge that every single day, people go out into the world and are attacked.  White, black, Hispanic, Asian.  Rich, poor, middle class.  Men, women, boys, girls.  Every religion.  Every sexual orientation.  Everybody can be a victim.

You may tell yourself that your safety awareness is da bomb, and you're bullet proof.  Yeah.

You MUST assume your safety awareness will miss something, or a spontaneous event occurs of which you have no pre-knowledge.  If you won't take the life of an aggressor to save your own, you are telling yourself, "I'm not worthy of self-defense."

You give a new meaning to the word, "dense".  You live in some fantasy world full of kittens and butterflies.  YOU are a demonstration of Darwinism in action.  If you don't even have the basic instinct of self-preservation, Darwin will make sure you're taken care of.

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Uncle Ben And The Temple Of Doom

Oh my.

You guys might be getting tired of old Financial Doom And Gloom Chief Instructor, but I've got to call them like I see them.

Remember this:  Watch what they do, not what they say.

Bernanke Bounce:  Wait a minute.  I thought the economy was peachy-keen, everyone who wants a job has got one, the gasoline problem will be fixed by making ethanol out of the Green Shoots and the Prez pinky-swears he won't use his newly enhanced powers to "disappear" your ass (I guess that's where the Consumer Confidence numbers come from).

Sounds like a super-heated economy that would require the Federal Reserve Bank to contract the money supply - we don't want inflation to come in and crash the party.

Instead, they do just the opposite.  If everything is so swell, why did Uncle Ben Bernanke feel the need to say he might just limber up his fingers and create more dollars out of thin air (he calls it, "Quantitative Easing")?

He belched this out, and all of the precious metals jumped big-time, as did most other commodities.  So did the stock market (which is absolutely unfathomable to me).
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Rats Jumping Ship:  When this article (link) was sent to me on March 21st, the title of the article indicated that 358 senior executives had resigned from their banking positions in the last 7 months.  We're talking about folks with "Chief", "Director" or "Executive" in their job title.  One of my partners sent it to me asking if it was normal for this many senior executives from major banking organizations to all quit at basically the same time.

I told him I'd never seen anything like it in my 31 years of banking.

I clicked the link today, and they had updated the list on 3/25.  The number of banking executives grabbing their Financial Bug Out Bags is now 450!

Pay no attention to this folks.  Nuthin' to see here.  Oh, look over there!  Kittens!
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From the German Spiegel Online on the Greek debt 86% haircut, and what's to come...

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the debt haircut enough to free Greece from its worst burdens?

Hau: No. The agreed-upon debt haircut is insufficient. No matter what, there will be a second, proper bankruptcy. It will probably take another nine months to three years, but then there will be a really big crisis, both economically and politically. The problem has only been deferred. The next time it will only affect the taxpayers, though.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Why?

Hau: The banks have been stalling for time over the last one and a half years. They wanted to take as many interest payments with them as possible. Now they realize that time is running out and have thus changed their strategy. They are just trying to pass on as many debts as possible to the public sector. From their perspective, this is a smart move. But it will be a catastrophe for taxpayers in the end.

Why care about Greece and their taxpayers?  Because it's a window into your future.  You invest $100 and get back $14.

No big deal, you say. You won't be buying any sovereign debt any time soon.  The problem is, your bank probably did.  Oh, and they also issued these little financial instruments called Credit Default Swaps (CDSs).  They're kind of like an insurance policy to make sure that if you buy sovereign debt, you get paid back in full.

The problem is, US banks sold these, took the profits from the premiums, but didn't put any reserves away - you know, just in case they have to pay the claims if another sovereign debt issue blows up.  Multi-trillions of dollars worth.  To pay these off, they'll either have to sell bank assets, or get bailed out.  Again.

You're a taxpayer, right?  Go read the last sentence of that snippet from above one more time.  Makes y'all warm and fuzzy inside, don't it?
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Just thinking out loud here...

Let's say the dollar crashes (this is what I believe will happen).  Every dollar you have in bank accounts or in currency stuffed in the mattress becomes worth less.  Your purchasing power will have been diminished.  Your hedge or "insurance" for this happening is to have possession of a commodity which historically trends counter to the dollar.  That would be precious metals.

Let's say the dollar soars.  We've seen this happen periodically over the past few years when the dollar gets stronger against some foreign currency.  The euro, for instance.  We'll see a blip in the dollar and a drop in gold.

But this is a false comparison.  It ignores the underlying weakness of the dollar.  It's like saying that terminal liver cancer is better than terminal pancreatic cancer.  Both are going to kill you, but you might live a couple months longer with the liver cancer.

You see, the dollar is being systematically devalued.  Regardless of how it performs against other currencies, our current national policy is to continue devaluing the buck.  As I've stated before, this has to continue until our federal government either raises taxes to meet expenditures or cuts expenditures to meet tax receipts.

Obama has put out a long-term budget proposal that NEVER has a balanced budget.  Never.  The evil, baby-killing, old folks robbin' Ryan budget proposal doesn't have a balanced budget until 2040!

Talk about kicking the can down the road.  This tells me that neither party has any real intention of balancing our budget.  When these crooks won't even adhere to budgets they enacted the previous year, does anyone think that the Congress of 2040 is going to git 'er done?  Right.

Regardless of who's in power, it will continue to be borrow-and-spend.  And THAT will continue to devalue the dollar.
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Very seriously, I'm not "married" to the idea of precious metals.  I just don't see any alternative.  Tell me where I'm wrong.  Give me another scenario.  Give me another option.

Tell me how to better preserve what I've worked for.

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Ghee-licious and Other Preps

Item 1:  Kinda cool idea, along the lines of the Just Add Water (JAW) [link] recipes I favor - The Honeyville Farms blog has put together a bunch of recipes using their freeze dried and dehydrated foods.  While not in the same category as my JAW recipes - where you add water, wait, then consume - recipes such as this one [link] add the additional step of requiring baking or further cooking prior to consumption.

The dry ingredients are put into Mason jars with an oxygen absorber, lidded and put away.  The oxy absorber causes the lid to seal shut, keeping the contents fresh for 5 to 7 years.

I've got two issues with these otherwise great looking recipes.  First, they'd be expensive.  Honeyville Farms produces these products, and item-for-item are obviously much more expensive than buying the foods fresh.  Since they're implying in their posts that these meals are basically for every day use, they'd cost considerably more when compared to using fresh ingredients for daily meals.  I do my JAW recipes for use in emergency situations, and can personally justify the additional cost on that basis.  YMMV.

Secondly, if I were going to put these together, I'd do them in mylar or Foodsaver bags.  They'd take up much less storage "real estate" that way.  I personally only use my Mason jars for home canned foods I've purchased or gathered in abundance.  They're a way of saving a bounty of food you've come upon.... or, as in my next item, having a long-term storage item where there are few, if any, other alternatives.

Still, I like the idea.  Using the Mason jars and having to do the extra cooking might have an application in your prepping plans.  The linked article above has other links at the end so you can download the print off 12 recipes the author has put together.
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Item 2:  Finally got around to making and canning up some ghee.  Ghee, for those of you who aren't one of the Cool Kids, is "drawn butter" - whole butter with the milk solids removed.  This gives you another type of fat to add to your storage.  Supposedly, this stuff lasts years and years.

WARNING:  Don't do this.  The government doesn't say it's safe, so you'll probably die if you follow the instructions.  If you choose to continue reading these instructions and end up dead or sick, you made that choice, you deal with the consequences.

I followed the instructions from this article [link] which were very easy to follow.  I, too, used the half-pint jars (why aren't these called one cup jars?).

I started with 4 pounds of unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed pot -

I had the flame on low.  Once everything had melted, I kicked up the heat to get the mess a-boilin'.  This drives off the water in the butter that can cause problems with storage and safety -

I turned the heat down a bit and the white "scum" on the top pretty much disappeared.  The milk solids settled to the bottom of the pot.

I took my cleaned jars, which I put into the oven at 200F to heat up and dry out (don't want any water in the jars).  I put my lids in 190F water to soften up and sterilize.

I then triple folded some cheese cloth and poured the melted butter in a 1 quart measuring cup (had to do this step twice).  I then used a wide-mouth funnel to fill the jars (ended up with 7 1/2 jars from 4lbs of butter).  I took the lids, dried them off with a paper towel, and screwed them down.  Within 10 minutes, all of the lids had "popped" and sealed.

If you look closely, the jars at the top of the picture have a very light "dusting" of milk solids that made it through the cheese cloth.  TO ANYONE WHO HAS DONE THIS IN THE PAST:  Any problems with this?  My gut says these will not store for years like the stuff without the dusting is supposed to last.  Unless I hear some pretty compelling information, I'll be putting these jars in the fridge and using them first.

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Item 3:  I've got a buddy that was in a horrible car accident a few years ago where his face got pretty wrecked.  Part of the consequences was his inability to chew food for quite a while.  As a result, he lived on those Ensure food drinks.  They're primarily marketed towards older folks as a way to ensure you get your daily calories, vitamins and minerals.

I figured they might be a good prepper's items to squirrel away.  The problem with them is that they're bulky and heavy.  They come in these little metal or plastic bottles.  Too much cost and work to consider as survival food.

By chance, I was snooping around some site, and found this stuff.... in powder form.  You take some of the powder, add water and you've got a 250 calorie quickee meal or snack.

The stuff runs around $10 a can (for 7 servings - link), but I found a generic version of it in my local supermarket at around $7 (has the same nutritional stats).

IMO, this is just about a perfect JAW item, in that you don't even need to heat up the water to consume it.  Just mix and drink.

I'm going to take individual servings and vacuum sealing them in Foodsaver tubes.  I've done this before with Gatorade - I'll take some pictures of how to do it at a later time.

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Color Blind-Sided

I hit my wife with this when she got home last evening:  "Honey, did you hear about the 13 year old black kid who was followed home from school by a couple of older white teens?  They jumped him on the porch of his home, and said, 'This is what you deserve.  You get what you deserve, black boy', then doused him with gasoline and set him on fire?"

She was shocked.  "Oh my God!  I haven't heard anything about it!"

I told her she hadn't heard about it because it hadn't happened.  In reality, it was a 13 year old white kid that was set afire by two older black teens [link].  THAT'S why she hadn't heard about it.

I don't need to tell anyone, ANYONE, how this would have been handled by the MSM if it had been a black kid that had been stalked and set on fire by two white kids. 

The "Reverends" Sharpton, Jackson and Wright would have been on every MSM news show imploring the police to act decisively.... and to send their cause some much needed money to, "make sure this never happens again."

Obama would be solomnly shaking his head, telling us how this type of injustice is routinely visited upon blacks.  The kid would likely get a photo op and tour of the White House.

The Justice Department (snicker) would have the FBI all over this, looking to prosecute the dead relatives of the fire-starters.

CONgress would be falling all over itself, rushing to see who could first pass another national hate crimes bill.

Instead, it's so quiet, even the crickets aren't chirping.

Maybe worse.  The crickets are being stomped.  From a local TV station -

Kansas City, Missouri Police wouldn’t speak on camera about the incident on Tuesday. Though, did tell 41 Action News, that after several interviews with the boy, they don’t believe the incident needs to be investigated as a hate crime.

I guess I'm not clear on the definition of a hate crime.

In crime and law, hate crimes (also known as bias-motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, sex, gender identity, social status or political affiliation.

A hate crime is a legal category used to described bias-motivated violence: "assault, injury, and murder on the basis of certain personal characteristics: different appearance, different color, different nationality, different language, different religion."

Oh.  Well, at least none of that happened in THIS case, right?  "White boy" must have referred to his teeth color.

Still, when a crime IS being committed, the KC cops are on the job -

She [the boy's mother] explained, “We’re not asking for them to pay for buses. We're not asking them to pay for a special cab. We're asking them to hand us a piece of paper or transfer a piece of a paper to another school, so be it, be safe, be somewhere else.”

For now, she's keeping her son safe at home. Though, admits she’s been warned that law enforcement could get involved if too much time passes with him out of school.

If I was this lady, I'd telll them to shove it up their collective asses.  "Perp-walk me for keeping my son from being incinerated.  Again."

I guess for that strategy to work, you'd need the Independent Press Corps to be there to report on the injustice, and that ain't gonna happen.
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If you've never seen it, watch the movie, "Death Wish".  Mark my words, it's coming to a city near you VERY soon.

People aren't going to take this crap much longer...

h/t The Woodpile Report

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Droolin', Mouth Breathin' Trolls

On my last post, I was talking - in general - about laws we've got that are simply insane.  We have regulations that are in place where you can be punished without harming or infringing upon the rights of another.

The raw milk case I gave is a perfect example.  Because some bureaucrat has deemed raw milk to be a public health issue, people all around the country are being thrown in jail, and having their assets seized.

It's insanity.

And not surprisingly, the post brought out a "law-and-order" troll.  His argument is basically that the raw milk folks knew the law, chose to ignore it, and are paying the price.  His apparent belief is that if The State makes a law, it is incumbent on all subjects citizens to follow all laws.  Not some laws, but all laws.

I can respect that stance.  Well, I can respect it if Mr. Mouth Breather walks the walk.

This year, about 40,000 new laws [link] went into effect across the country.   That's up from the 31,000 [link] that went into effect last year

Most laws no longer abide by the concept of mens rea (guilty mind).   Your intent is irrelevant.  Break the law, pay the price.

As I noted last November ("Mens Rea and Other Bygone Concepts") -

The problem, now, is reasonableness.  The phrase, "Zero Tolerance" has crept into our lexicon.  It is rapidly upsetting the balance between mens rea and ignorantia juris non excusat.  We are replacing the context of an event with a rule book.

With that in mind, I hope Mr. Mouth Breather has stayed abreast of all the local, state and federal laws that pertain to his little slice of the world.  Since he is such a stickler for details and clearly has never met a law he didn't like, here's what he needs to do:

He needs to request audits of his life and lifestyle from the government officials who definitely have kept abreast of the laws.

Let's start with your car.  If you've ever spoken with a police officer, they'll tell you that regardless of the make, model or year of a car, they can find a violation.  So, in keeping with his pledge of Public Perfection, Mr. Mouth Breather needs to take his car down to his local police department (following all traffic laws along the way, of course).  He needs to inform the desk sergeant of his desire for a full and complete review of his vehicle, with the specific instructions that each and every major AND minor infraction be brought to his attention. The officer should be requested to issue fines and/or "fix-it" tickets for all infractions.

Since this service of the local police was a special request, Mr. Mouth Breather needs to be sure to reimburse the PD for the salary, benefits and all other expenses associated with his noble request.

His next stop should be to his local building inspector.  Same deal - request the audit, insist on every little violation being disclosed, then pay the piper.  After all, if you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear, right?  Welcome them into your home with open arms.

After that, he can hit the local tax assessor, state tax authority, the IRS, the USDA (so they can make sure all of his milk is safe) - hell, just about every three- and four-lettered state and federal agency.  They've all got laws that need to be followed, and Mr. Mouth Breather is bound and determined to follow them all.

Since our laws very often change during the year, he needs to request - and pay for - these audit services at least 3 or 4 times a year.  No chance of something falling out of compliance so he ends up being a nasty Law Breaker.
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Of course, the way our society should function would be for the government to regulate, not to operate.

With the raw milk, for instance, the regulation should state that since raw milk has the potential to cause harm to humans, the producers need to put a big, bright red label on every bottle that states as much.  Similar to what they do with cigarettes.  You've been informed that this stuff might kill you, now do what you want.

But ya see, there's no power or cash flow in that kind of system.  Why, the USDA wouldn't have the need for its tactical squad to take down milk felons.  They wouldn't have the ability to start asset forfeiture proceedings to pay for the tac squad.  Imagine the bedlam that would follow.

I shudder at the thought.
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So, Mr. Mouth Breather, get on it.  Now!  Time's a-wastin' and fines need to be assessed.  Plus, think how well you'll sleep with the knowledge that you've met your goal of Public Perfection.

Yeah, boy!
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H/T to my bro.  I was going to let Mr. Mouth Breather slide...

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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Don't Challenge The Man

About a year ago, I wrote a post on Bernard von Nothaus ("Private Mints and Politics").  He was this guy who had a bunch of silver coins minted up - basically as a way of thumbing his nose at the federal government.

Well, they didn't take kindly to that, so they tossed his butt in jail, prosecuted him and won - forgery and some other trumped up charges.

Apparently, his sentencing is coming up, and the owner of the largest PM company in Michigan is coming to his defense (albeit late to the party).  He's written a letter to the sentencing judge ("Judging silver or something else?") pointing out that at numerous times in our nation's history, private mints have produced gold and silver coins - just like von Nothaus - and all have gotten a nod from the feds.

In part -

Many companies today, especially casinos, issue tokens which use the terms dollar or cents on their surfaces. The Walt Disney Company has issued scrip which it will accept as payment for its stated value. The term “Disney Dollars” is printed in the middle, while the monetary denominations appear in the corners. To the best of my knowledge, the Walt Disney Company has never been charged with “counterfeiting.”

The author of the letter, was just playing coy with us.  He really knows what's going on -

In issuing Liberty Dollars, von Nothaus stated that he was trying to offer a voluntary alternative to U.S. coins and currency that would sustain their value better than money issued by the U.S. government. Subsequent history has proved von Nothaus’s thesis to be correct. In fact, the U.S. dollars of years past are now worth less than they were at the time they were put into circulation while the Liberty Dollars have a much higher value.

Bring attention to the fact that our Nirvana ain't so, and you can expect a smack down.

Will the letter to the judge help?  Doubt it.  Might even piss the beast off.
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Want some more, "Justice In Action"?

You've probably heard of the hacker group, "Anonymous".  The will target a company or individual, and bring their website down to its knees.  Their actions have cost these business millions of dollars in damages, lost productivity, etc.

One of their leaders, and guy nicknamed, "Sabu" was arrested about 9 months ago.  He was released on $50,000 bail.

In an unrelated related story, the owners of Rawsome Foods in Southern California were recently given bail amounts, too.

First, let's see what they did.  They had the audacity to sell unpateurized milk to willing buyers.

I know, horrible, right?  Think of all the bugs 'n stuff.

(You might remember Rawsome as being on the ugly end of a tactical squad raid where these "hut hut hut" bastards came into their business, with guns drawn and pointed at humans.  Again, for selling unpaseurized milk, people.  It's all over Youtube - look it up.)

So, the two owners of the biz - husband and wife, I believe - recently went into court for some pre-trial gibberish, and were arrested on the spot.  He was given a ONE MILLION DOLLAR bail amout [link], and she was given a TWO MILLION DOLLAR bail amount.

I'll say this slowly.... for selling unpasteurized milk to willing buyers.

Let's recap:  On one hand, we have one dude who has been responsible for easily millions of dollars of damage to businesses, and on the other hand, we have a business that has not caused a single dollar of damage.

The first party gets a slap on the wrist for bail, and the second party gets kicked under the bail bus.  It just doesn't make sense.

Oh.  Did I mention that the first guy just happens to be working with the feds - he ratted out a couple dozen of his fellow Anons?  The second party - well - they are standing up for the Constitutional rights, and The Man is not pleased.

Toe the line, you mouthy little prol.
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I wonder what this is going to cost the Late, Great State of California.  At least with the von Nothaus case, the feds could "repatriate" his gold and silver - to the tune of $7 million.

These folk's farm is in Ventura County which is a pricey area (well, it was....).  Maybe you'll be able to pick up a cow or some cheese making equipment at the sheriff's auction.

Gotta keep these scufflaws in line, don't ya know...
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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com

Outlaws Like Me

One of my sons sent this video along for my viewing.

CAUTION:  Not safe around liberal, gun grabbing scum.  May cause heart attacks, the "vapors" and soiled undies.



Seems kind of appropriate to get this on a day when I'll be teaching 6 Americans how to shoot.  Kinda cool.
 
My boy knows his dad...


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Copyright 2012 Bison Risk Management Associates. All rights reserved. Please note that in addition to owning Bison Risk Management, Chief Instructor is also a partner in a precious metals business. You are encouraged to repost this information so long as it is credited to Bison Risk Management Associates. www.BisonRMA.com