There's an interesting phenomenon going on right now with physical gold and silver bullion. Not much is being sold locally right now. This has nothing to do with demand - we've got folks calling and showing up in our shop, fairly begging to buy bullion. It also has nothing to do with actual supply - we've got plenty of bullion in stock.
We're just not selling. And we're not alone.
For those of you who don't track this sort of thing, gold and silver have had huge drops over the past week or so. Going back to September 5th, gold is down about 15% - or around $300 an ounce. Silver is down about 30% in this same period.
It's been ugly, but it's almost been expected. And let me say this loudly: It's likely to happen again, yet my partners and I are still buying as much gold and silver as we can get our hands on. I believe you should be doing the same (assuming you have cash available, and your food, equipment and self-defense preps are up to snuff.).
Why dat? Because these recent drops have been caused by the "paper" world of finance. Stocks, bonds and precious metals contracts. Every one of these things are leveraged to the hilt. Just like during the first Great Depression, when the paper world crashes, it can take a lot of other parts of the economy down with it.
But, at the end of the day, if you have physical PMs, you'll have something.
---
So, why aren't we selling our PM bullion in our store? Well, we are, but just not at standard premiums. For instance, one ounce gold usually sells for 3-5% over spot. We're selling ours, but for a minimum of 10% over spot, usually a bit higher. Our 1/10th ounce American Gold Eagles are going for around 20% over spot.
If we thought that this recent PM price decline was real - that the economic fundamentals of America were getting better - lower real inflation, lower real unemployment, lower federal deficits - we'd be selling every piece of gold and silver we owned.
But the fundamentals haven't changed. We've been witnessing a "domino effect" in the paper wealth markets.
As previously noted, Uncle Ben Bernanke introduced Operation Twist. It caused the stock market to plummet. This caused the brokerage houses to increase their margin requirements (people that buy stock with only a partial cash payment had to increase the amount of cash in their accounts). This caused people to sell assets - such as gold and silver - to cover their accounts. This made PM prices plummet. This PM price drop caused the COMEX (the market for commodities) to increase THEIR margin requirements, which resulted in further PM price drops.
Individuals are now flocking to physical PMs to take advantage of these drops, and finding them much more difficult to locate. Virtually every local PM shop I've spoken with is holding firm. Even our primary regional wholesaler is holding tough. About the only place you can get gold at "normal" margins is if you buy online. SCPM.com, APMEX.com and Kitco.com. They're selling 1 ounce American Gold Eagles for around 5% over spot. All of them are getting hammered right now, and are posting notices that delivery will be slow.
As we've been telling our customers, if their primary goal right now is to get gold cheap, this is their best option. The downside is that you have to include shipping and insurance costs, PLUS you lose the biggee - your anonymity. Still, unless you're making a VERY large purchase, making a purchase or two online shouldn't put you on too many government lists.
---
For our business, this is obviously a risky strategy - sending customers to competitors. I can say that every single customer I've spoken with understands what we're doing. They've all checked other local shops and are seeing we're actually at or below their prices, even with our high margins. They've all said that even if they do make online purchases, they will be back because they love our customer service, immediate possession and anonymity.
Time will tell....
----
A related aside:
Speaking of anonymity, please tell me that you don't use any of the "social media" - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - in your real name.
I get a lot of requests from friends and former customers of my gun business to be a LinkedIn friend (or whatever they call it). I send them an email letting them know that I don't participate in those sorts of media. Most are OK with it.
I don't see the benefit to me for doing this. It seems like all of these social media gigs are little more than popularity contests. The more "friends" you have, the better of a person or business you must be. Pretty shallow.
All I can see is risk. If I get a hair up my butt and say something bad, it's there online forever. Yeah, yeah, yeah, they say you can delete your stuff, but I know this to be untrue. Once it's digitized, it's there forever. It might be there on some back-up tape or in some directory that's not public, but it's there. And it will raise its ugly head at the least opportune time.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Twist and Pout
The following text, in italics, was written yesterday after the markets had closed. I got busy, and didn't hit the 'post' button. Today's comments are at the bottom of the post...
You may have noticed today that just about everything in the financial markets went all to hell. The stock market got slammed. Precious metals got slammed. Oil got slammed. About the only thing that showed a gain was, shockingly, the US dollar.
What happened? Yesterday, good, old Uncle Ben Bernanke announced, "Operation Twist".
The short explanation of this centrally planned economy move was the Fed's intent to "flatten" the yield curve. Basically, they want to make short-term interest rates much closer to long-term interest rates. The thinking is, by making long-term loans more affordable, more people and businesses will borrow, and the economy will miraculously shake off this depression.
Yeah. How's that working out?
Well, bank stocks, in particular, took a beating. Banks earn money on the difference between short-term rates (which is usually the rate by which they borrow from the Fed) and the long-term rates. Tighten margins, and you lower profits. Lower profits, kill stock price. A pretty simple concept.
Simple to those of us that are able to think outside of the "impact models" the Fed surely used when they crafted this ill-conceived plan. Don't ya just love central planning?
Uncle Ben also noted that, contrary to previous reports, the ENTIRE economy is sucking wind. Shocking news, I know. After he let it be known that the whole economy is in trouble, the rest of the stock in the market started to crater.
This little event apparently triggered margin calls. Big Dog investors can buy stocks by only having to put up a percentage of the actual price of the stock they've purchased. If the price of the stock goes down, the brokerage houses get panicy, and require the buyers to increase the amount in their margin accounts. That means they have to come up with more cash.
If you don't have it sitting in a bank account, you must sell assets. Many of these folks sold precious metals. If you looked at the make-up of the drop in PM prices, approximately 1/3 of the drop was due to a rising dollar, and the rest was due to sell-offs.
Look at this chart -
It is showing the relationship between the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the price of gold for the last 10 years. Quite the trend, no?
So, back in 2000 and 2001, it would cost you around 40 ounces of gold to buy one share of each of the Dow companies. You'll notice that the chart only goes to August 2009, and that ratio was down to 9.98 ounces to one share. That means that over the 10 year period, gold gotten 4 times more valuable than the Dow (or the Dow was only 1/4 as valuable as gold).
What's it look like with today's close? 6.18:1. Holy crap.
---
What's next?
Who friggin' knows?! Personally, I'm sticking to my plan: Until the federal government stops printing money, and they start running a balanced budget, I'm holding my precious metals. I'll continue to buy more each month (or buy other tangible products).
---
As mentioned, the idea behind Operation Twist was to push down rates so consumers and businesses would rush out, get loans and SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!
Two problems with that: First, consumers aren't buying lots of homes or cars right now. Uncertainty with jobs and the economy have people jittery. Home values also continue to drop. Why would you rush out to buy a home with the high expectation that its value would drop in the near future?
The second problem is with businesses. If you don't absolutely, positively need something, you don't buy it. There's no fluff. Right now, you're looking for ways to trim costs, not increase expenditures. The only type of credit businesses are interested in are for cash flow - Accounts Receivable factoring, lines of credit, etc. Few are looking to buy long term assets like heavy equipment or real property.
Banks aren't making a lot of these cash flow loans because they don't think businesses will have the ability to repay them. Many businesses understand this, and THIS is one of the reasons they're hoarding cash. They realize that they have to pay their bills strictly from their internal cash, and if they want to expand, or to take advantage of business opportunities, they're going to have to fund the purchases 'organically' - with their own money. The old fashioned way.
Bottom line: Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride for a while...
---
Back to today:
My oh my. Right now, the Dow is up a smidge, but precious metals are continuing their decline. Big time. Gold is down about another $60 an ounce. Silver is now approaching its prices near the beginning of the year, and is down over 10% TODAY.
The talking-heads on TV are finally discussing how this is because the margin buyers are literally having to cover their asses because of their paper losses.
Disturbingly, the talking heads (at least those on Fox Business Channel) are posing the question: What will it take to spur more lending?
Everyone wants the 'quick fix'. Our national mindset has got to change. The 'go-go-go' economy moves very quickly, and when things start to go badly, they go badly in a big way. Steady, measured, non-hyped growth is manageable and allows companies to adjust course when needed.
Throw in a government that is bent on central planning - looking to do what it can to control the economy to get more tax revenues - and you end up with the mess we've got.
Everyone wants to be the hare, but the tortoise is the one that usually finishes the race...
---
Copyright 2011 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
You may have noticed today that just about everything in the financial markets went all to hell. The stock market got slammed. Precious metals got slammed. Oil got slammed. About the only thing that showed a gain was, shockingly, the US dollar.
What happened? Yesterday, good, old Uncle Ben Bernanke announced, "Operation Twist".
The short explanation of this centrally planned economy move was the Fed's intent to "flatten" the yield curve. Basically, they want to make short-term interest rates much closer to long-term interest rates. The thinking is, by making long-term loans more affordable, more people and businesses will borrow, and the economy will miraculously shake off this depression.
Yeah. How's that working out?
Well, bank stocks, in particular, took a beating. Banks earn money on the difference between short-term rates (which is usually the rate by which they borrow from the Fed) and the long-term rates. Tighten margins, and you lower profits. Lower profits, kill stock price. A pretty simple concept.
Simple to those of us that are able to think outside of the "impact models" the Fed surely used when they crafted this ill-conceived plan. Don't ya just love central planning?
Uncle Ben also noted that, contrary to previous reports, the ENTIRE economy is sucking wind. Shocking news, I know. After he let it be known that the whole economy is in trouble, the rest of the stock in the market started to crater.
This little event apparently triggered margin calls. Big Dog investors can buy stocks by only having to put up a percentage of the actual price of the stock they've purchased. If the price of the stock goes down, the brokerage houses get panicy, and require the buyers to increase the amount in their margin accounts. That means they have to come up with more cash.
If you don't have it sitting in a bank account, you must sell assets. Many of these folks sold precious metals. If you looked at the make-up of the drop in PM prices, approximately 1/3 of the drop was due to a rising dollar, and the rest was due to sell-offs.
Look at this chart -
It is showing the relationship between the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the price of gold for the last 10 years. Quite the trend, no?
So, back in 2000 and 2001, it would cost you around 40 ounces of gold to buy one share of each of the Dow companies. You'll notice that the chart only goes to August 2009, and that ratio was down to 9.98 ounces to one share. That means that over the 10 year period, gold gotten 4 times more valuable than the Dow (or the Dow was only 1/4 as valuable as gold).
What's it look like with today's close? 6.18:1. Holy crap.
---
What's next?
Who friggin' knows?! Personally, I'm sticking to my plan: Until the federal government stops printing money, and they start running a balanced budget, I'm holding my precious metals. I'll continue to buy more each month (or buy other tangible products).
---
As mentioned, the idea behind Operation Twist was to push down rates so consumers and businesses would rush out, get loans and SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!
Two problems with that: First, consumers aren't buying lots of homes or cars right now. Uncertainty with jobs and the economy have people jittery. Home values also continue to drop. Why would you rush out to buy a home with the high expectation that its value would drop in the near future?
The second problem is with businesses. If you don't absolutely, positively need something, you don't buy it. There's no fluff. Right now, you're looking for ways to trim costs, not increase expenditures. The only type of credit businesses are interested in are for cash flow - Accounts Receivable factoring, lines of credit, etc. Few are looking to buy long term assets like heavy equipment or real property.
Banks aren't making a lot of these cash flow loans because they don't think businesses will have the ability to repay them. Many businesses understand this, and THIS is one of the reasons they're hoarding cash. They realize that they have to pay their bills strictly from their internal cash, and if they want to expand, or to take advantage of business opportunities, they're going to have to fund the purchases 'organically' - with their own money. The old fashioned way.
Bottom line: Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride for a while...
---
Back to today:
My oh my. Right now, the Dow is up a smidge, but precious metals are continuing their decline. Big time. Gold is down about another $60 an ounce. Silver is now approaching its prices near the beginning of the year, and is down over 10% TODAY.
The talking-heads on TV are finally discussing how this is because the margin buyers are literally having to cover their asses because of their paper losses.
Disturbingly, the talking heads (at least those on Fox Business Channel) are posing the question: What will it take to spur more lending?
Everyone wants the 'quick fix'. Our national mindset has got to change. The 'go-go-go' economy moves very quickly, and when things start to go badly, they go badly in a big way. Steady, measured, non-hyped growth is manageable and allows companies to adjust course when needed.
Throw in a government that is bent on central planning - looking to do what it can to control the economy to get more tax revenues - and you end up with the mess we've got.
Everyone wants to be the hare, but the tortoise is the one that usually finishes the race...
---
Copyright 2011 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
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Just Some Stuff To Think About
I saw an article over at SHTFPlan.com [link] on governments restricting access to precious metals. Take a peek.
Precious metals directly challenge the authority and control of government at all levels. It gives you the option to "hide" assets (as if that's a bad thing that only criminals do). It gives you the option to make a profit without paying a tax. It gives you the ability to not need government in every facet, in every second of your life.
Here's a for instance: You can come into my PM shop and buy $10,000 in gold or silver. If you use a debit or credit card, or a personal check, you walk in and out, in as long as it takes you to choose the PM of your liking. Bring in $10,000 cash, and you get put on a "special list". A list that was developed to track drug dealers, terrorists and other ne'er-do-wells.
The difference? Checks (which are now fully electronic - even the paper ones) and debit/credit cards leave an audit trail. Cash? Not so much. Just like walking into Walmart and paying cash for a 3-pack of boxer shorts, if you buy PMs with cash, there's no need for your identity to be known.
If TPTB don't know who's got the gold, they don't know who to go after for their piece of the pie (or from whom to confiscate if it comes to that. Again.) if the PMs are sold.
As the SHTFPlan.com article notes - and I was unaware of - some areas of the US are now requiring identification when selling..... PMs. If they know who sold it, they know who to go after for the tax bite. After all, people selling now are virtually guaranteed to have made a profit. If you did, you need to pay. Evade the tax and you're a criminal, subject to asset forfeiture. Wanna guess what kind of assets they'll take?
---
The idea is to move to fully electronic "money". Food stamps are now mostly a debit card. Checks are scanned at their point of acceptance - be it a bank or a merchant - and often returned right to the customer as their paid receipt.
Think what you can buy with your debit or credit card - any store, any restaurant, any gas station, many vending machines, doctors, car repair, groceries, porn, gambling, utilities - you get it.... almost anything. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything other than paying tips for a valet parking kid that you can't do with plastic.
Every book, every gun, every case of ammo, every box of MREs, every pack of seeds, every backpack, every case of water, every single purchase you make as a prepper - a clear indication that you're an anti-government terrorist - can be marked, cataloged and remembered until needed.
"He was a fringe survivalist, with a large cache of guns, gold and a hoard of food - enough for several people for several years. Clearly, he's an anti-social threat to society, and just a plain nut! Based on his purchase records, authorities are concerned that a good deal of his ammunition was not present at this heavily-fortified compound in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood."
Translation: He had supplies for the bad(der) times ahead, he practiced his shooting, and he had an alarm system and dead-bolt for his home in the 'burbs.
Pay cash, while you still can. Green, fold-able fiat currency.
---
Question: What is the purpose of non-lethal self-defense items such as pepper spray or stun guns? It's to temporarily stop the attacker to allow you to escape. Nothing more.
This is great if you're a potential mugging victim. Immobilize the bastard and beat feet.
What if you're a home or business owner "guarding" valuable equipment, goods or valuables (like cash or precious metals)?
Bad guy enters your "space" and you hose him down with spray. Then what? If you flee to safety, his friends come in and clean you out ('cause there WILL be at least two of them). If you've called the police after you hosed the guy down, how long before they get there? Are you going to wrestle this guy down and hold him til the cops arrive?
If you've fled, jumped into your car and gotten to a safe location, you've burned 5 minutes or so. Another 5 to ten minutes before the police arrive. How much gold, guns, equipment, jewelry, cash, computers and other goodies could the bad guy grab in 8 minutes or so (leaving plenty of time to escape)?
Lots. You may have won the battle but lost the war.
You need to think about why you've set up a defensive plan, and how it will be employed. If part of that plan is it guard stuff, you almost have to include lethal tools into your plan.
Also, remember to have a layered defense. You may not be there when the bad guys come calling. Think "onion" - you've got to peel back a number of layers to get to the core. Locked door. Alarm system. Locked safe/closet/storage area.Punji sticks. Personal defensive tools.
---
More stuff to cringe about....
This guy [link], a blogger, was prosecuted for, "felony inciting injury and a misdemeanor charge of threatening". Against public officials, no less. Thankfully, he was found not guilty on the charges, but is still in custody for threatening 3 Chicago judges.
On the other hand, this second guy openly called for the killing of an entire race of people. Yet, he goes unprosecuted.
Why dat? Here's your multiple-choice quiz:
---
Copyright 2011 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
Precious metals directly challenge the authority and control of government at all levels. It gives you the option to "hide" assets (as if that's a bad thing that only criminals do). It gives you the option to make a profit without paying a tax. It gives you the ability to not need government in every facet, in every second of your life.
Here's a for instance: You can come into my PM shop and buy $10,000 in gold or silver. If you use a debit or credit card, or a personal check, you walk in and out, in as long as it takes you to choose the PM of your liking. Bring in $10,000 cash, and you get put on a "special list". A list that was developed to track drug dealers, terrorists and other ne'er-do-wells.
The difference? Checks (which are now fully electronic - even the paper ones) and debit/credit cards leave an audit trail. Cash? Not so much. Just like walking into Walmart and paying cash for a 3-pack of boxer shorts, if you buy PMs with cash, there's no need for your identity to be known.
If TPTB don't know who's got the gold, they don't know who to go after for their piece of the pie (or from whom to confiscate if it comes to that. Again.) if the PMs are sold.
As the SHTFPlan.com article notes - and I was unaware of - some areas of the US are now requiring identification when selling..... PMs. If they know who sold it, they know who to go after for the tax bite. After all, people selling now are virtually guaranteed to have made a profit. If you did, you need to pay. Evade the tax and you're a criminal, subject to asset forfeiture. Wanna guess what kind of assets they'll take?
---
The idea is to move to fully electronic "money". Food stamps are now mostly a debit card. Checks are scanned at their point of acceptance - be it a bank or a merchant - and often returned right to the customer as their paid receipt.
Think what you can buy with your debit or credit card - any store, any restaurant, any gas station, many vending machines, doctors, car repair, groceries, porn, gambling, utilities - you get it.... almost anything. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything other than paying tips for a valet parking kid that you can't do with plastic.
Every book, every gun, every case of ammo, every box of MREs, every pack of seeds, every backpack, every case of water, every single purchase you make as a prepper - a clear indication that you're an anti-government terrorist - can be marked, cataloged and remembered until needed.
"He was a fringe survivalist, with a large cache of guns, gold and a hoard of food - enough for several people for several years. Clearly, he's an anti-social threat to society, and just a plain nut! Based on his purchase records, authorities are concerned that a good deal of his ammunition was not present at this heavily-fortified compound in the quiet, tree-lined neighborhood."
Translation: He had supplies for the bad(der) times ahead, he practiced his shooting, and he had an alarm system and dead-bolt for his home in the 'burbs.
Pay cash, while you still can. Green, fold-able fiat currency.
---
Question: What is the purpose of non-lethal self-defense items such as pepper spray or stun guns? It's to temporarily stop the attacker to allow you to escape. Nothing more.
This is great if you're a potential mugging victim. Immobilize the bastard and beat feet.
What if you're a home or business owner "guarding" valuable equipment, goods or valuables (like cash or precious metals)?
Bad guy enters your "space" and you hose him down with spray. Then what? If you flee to safety, his friends come in and clean you out ('cause there WILL be at least two of them). If you've called the police after you hosed the guy down, how long before they get there? Are you going to wrestle this guy down and hold him til the cops arrive?
If you've fled, jumped into your car and gotten to a safe location, you've burned 5 minutes or so. Another 5 to ten minutes before the police arrive. How much gold, guns, equipment, jewelry, cash, computers and other goodies could the bad guy grab in 8 minutes or so (leaving plenty of time to escape)?
Lots. You may have won the battle but lost the war.
You need to think about why you've set up a defensive plan, and how it will be employed. If part of that plan is it guard stuff, you almost have to include lethal tools into your plan.
Also, remember to have a layered defense. You may not be there when the bad guys come calling. Think "onion" - you've got to peel back a number of layers to get to the core. Locked door. Alarm system. Locked safe/closet/storage area.
---
More stuff to cringe about....
This guy [link], a blogger, was prosecuted for, "felony inciting injury and a misdemeanor charge of threatening". Against public officials, no less. Thankfully, he was found not guilty on the charges, but is still in custody for threatening 3 Chicago judges.
On the other hand, this second guy openly called for the killing of an entire race of people. Yet, he goes unprosecuted.
Why dat? Here's your multiple-choice quiz:
- Was the first guy prosecuted because he was white, and the second guy not prosecuted because he's black?
- Was the first guy prosecuted because he threatened public officials and the second guy only threatened regular old, common folks (implying that public officials are superior to common folks)?
- Eric Holder ('nuff said)?
- All of the above.
Thank God the jury for the first guy had some sense of the Constitution. You're allowed to be offensive in your speech, even when it's directed towards public officials.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Health Care Home Run
I heard this clip on my favorite radio station this morning. One of the hosts made the point that society DOES NOT equal government, as Wolfie was implying, and as most people think.
Of course, the health care system, like our government itself, won't voluntarily change. They both make too much money and have too many special interest groups dependent on their existence.
Only a full-on crash will fix it. Close your eyes and envision one of the World Trade Centers imploding into dust. When that happens to our economy, we have a chance of getting back on track.
---
Some hope: The number of folks in the audience that whooped it up when Wolfie asked if the 30 year old should just be allowed to die. Why is this concept of personal choice/personal responsibility such a foreign concept to us now?
Mr. 30-something wanted a boat and fast car instead of health insurance. He crashes one of them and doesn't have the money to pay for his own care. Somehow, I'm supposed to feel bad about his situation, and fork over money for his care. Are you kidding me?
If I'd been in the audience, I'd have been standing on my chair, tossing streamers and blowing those funny little horns you hear on New Years Eve.
"Let 'em croak! It'll send a message to others that are making the same choice of trying to foist their bad choices on the wallet of America. Whoop!"
---
Copyright 2011 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
Of course, the health care system, like our government itself, won't voluntarily change. They both make too much money and have too many special interest groups dependent on their existence.
Only a full-on crash will fix it. Close your eyes and envision one of the World Trade Centers imploding into dust. When that happens to our economy, we have a chance of getting back on track.
---
Some hope: The number of folks in the audience that whooped it up when Wolfie asked if the 30 year old should just be allowed to die. Why is this concept of personal choice/personal responsibility such a foreign concept to us now?
Mr. 30-something wanted a boat and fast car instead of health insurance. He crashes one of them and doesn't have the money to pay for his own care. Somehow, I'm supposed to feel bad about his situation, and fork over money for his care. Are you kidding me?
If I'd been in the audience, I'd have been standing on my chair, tossing streamers and blowing those funny little horns you hear on New Years Eve.
"Let 'em croak! It'll send a message to others that are making the same choice of trying to foist their bad choices on the wallet of America. Whoop!"
---
Copyright 2011 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
Monday, September 12, 2011
The "Bunched Panties" Syndrome
A call into a local 911 Emergency Call Center:
How do you think the local, state and federal authorities would deal with this fictitious 911 call - being in possession of information from a credible source that a violent and deadly bank robbery was going to take place?
Do you think they would shut down the city and search every car that was near a bank? Do you think they would search every person that entered every bank in the city?
Of course not. So why do we have people in America such as this anonymous poster that think it's A-OK to turn NYC into Fascist Checkpointville and stop and question every citizen who happens to be on the road after authorities have received "credible, but unsubstantiated information" about a terrorist attack?
What the hell is wrong with you?
Here in America, you have to have probable cause before the government can stop and question you. You need to be swerving on the road before they can pull you over for drunk driving, for instance. They can then question and evaluate you to determine if you are likely to be drunk.
The exact same thing SHOULD go for possible terrorist activities. If you know 3 males aged 30 to 40 are traveling in NYC in a dark colored SUV, go ahead and stop THEM. You have information that would support this police action.
The anonymous commenter also tossed in this fear mongering' straw man argument -
I'm going to turn the rest of it around on you. With this knowledge, what would YOU suggest we do? Are you suggesting that since we know with absolute certainty that the US will be hit with a terrorist WMD, that every person in this country is subject to government search at any time, any where?
Isn't that your only logical course of action? Since we have no way of knowing when, where or who will deliver the WMD, mustn't we all be suspects, all of the time? After all, as was demonstrated with 9/11, the bad guys can sometimes hide among us and catch us off guard. Everyone must be a suspect at all times.
---
I'm telling you, I have no doubt that some sort of terrorist attack will happen again in America. Absolutely guaranteed to happen. Whether it's real or a 'false flag' incident (ala 'Fast and Furious' gun running), I just don't know. I just know it will happen.
It will be used to justify further encroachments on our liberties. Just like Bush did with the USA PATRIOT Act. Dead Americans equals good news for those bent on restricting our freedoms.
It's the "Bunched Panties" syndrome. Scare Americans with a boogie man, and get whatever laws passed you want. It's all in the name of keeping Americans safe!
To answer Anonymous' 'mushroom cloud' question, if the attack is some sort of nuke, I will loudly criticize our government. Since there is no way to mix up a batch of nuclear material in your basement, it will mean that our government failed in its job to protect our borders. Again.
But, just like when the 9/11 terrorists were able to defeat our laughable immigration policies, the punishment will be meted out on us, not on those who failed to do their job.
---
Copyright 2011 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
911: Emergency Services. What's your emergency?
Caller: I have information about a bank that's going to be robbed.
911: What's your name, sir?
Caller: That's not important. Let's just say you know me very well. I'm credible. A bank in the city is going to be robbed in the next few days. The robbers are armed to the teeth - AK47s, big ol' 30 round banana magazines, bunches of other evil assault weapons, and explosives. Lots of explosives.
911: OK, sir, settle down. Tell me what bank is going to be robbed.
Caller: I dunno. It's one of the banks with lots of money.
911: Hmm. Tell me who is going to rob the bank. Can you give me names and descriptions?
Caller: No. All I know is that 3 or 4 guys are going to rob a bank, and it's going to be very violent. They're going to take over the bank and plant bombs at all of the exits. After they take the money, they're going to kill everyone in the bank, and blow it up. It's going to be gruesome.
911: Wow. When is this robbery going to happen?
Caller: I dunno. It's just going to happen really soon. Really violent. Lots of death and dismemberment and carnage.
911: How do you know this is going to happen?
Caller: I heard it from a guy. He knows a guy that knows a guy that's going to do it. He HATES banks. It's gonna be bloody.Dozens of banks are robbed every day in America. Many are "take over" robberies where the bad guys pull guns and point them in the faces of the bank employees and customers. The likelihood of a violent bank robbery is very high every day in America.
How do you think the local, state and federal authorities would deal with this fictitious 911 call - being in possession of information from a credible source that a violent and deadly bank robbery was going to take place?
Do you think they would shut down the city and search every car that was near a bank? Do you think they would search every person that entered every bank in the city?
Of course not. So why do we have people in America such as this anonymous poster that think it's A-OK to turn NYC into Fascist Checkpointville and stop and question every citizen who happens to be on the road after authorities have received "credible, but unsubstantiated information" about a terrorist attack?
So we should just let the terrorists attack and not try to catch them?Catch who? Attack what? Using your logic, apparently anyone and everyone is a terrorist suspect, so we all need to be rounded up and "processed".
What the hell is wrong with you?
Here in America, you have to have probable cause before the government can stop and question you. You need to be swerving on the road before they can pull you over for drunk driving, for instance. They can then question and evaluate you to determine if you are likely to be drunk.
The exact same thing SHOULD go for possible terrorist activities. If you know 3 males aged 30 to 40 are traveling in NYC in a dark colored SUV, go ahead and stop THEM. You have information that would support this police action.
The anonymous commenter also tossed in this fear mongering' straw man argument -
What the CIA knows is it is only a matter of time until the terrorists get WMDs, probably a nuke. When the mushroom cloud rises over your city would you say the government did too much to stop it or not enough. It absolutely will happen in our lifetime. Islam declared war on us back in the late 70's we just didn't accept that fact until 9/11. They will probably win this war.Let's take your opening sentence as fact: Terrorists WILL get WMD.
I'm going to turn the rest of it around on you. With this knowledge, what would YOU suggest we do? Are you suggesting that since we know with absolute certainty that the US will be hit with a terrorist WMD, that every person in this country is subject to government search at any time, any where?
Isn't that your only logical course of action? Since we have no way of knowing when, where or who will deliver the WMD, mustn't we all be suspects, all of the time? After all, as was demonstrated with 9/11, the bad guys can sometimes hide among us and catch us off guard. Everyone must be a suspect at all times.
---
I'm telling you, I have no doubt that some sort of terrorist attack will happen again in America. Absolutely guaranteed to happen. Whether it's real or a 'false flag' incident (ala 'Fast and Furious' gun running), I just don't know. I just know it will happen.
It will be used to justify further encroachments on our liberties. Just like Bush did with the USA PATRIOT Act. Dead Americans equals good news for those bent on restricting our freedoms.
It's the "Bunched Panties" syndrome. Scare Americans with a boogie man, and get whatever laws passed you want. It's all in the name of keeping Americans safe!
To answer Anonymous' 'mushroom cloud' question, if the attack is some sort of nuke, I will loudly criticize our government. Since there is no way to mix up a batch of nuclear material in your basement, it will mean that our government failed in its job to protect our borders. Again.
But, just like when the 9/11 terrorists were able to defeat our laughable immigration policies, the punishment will be meted out on us, not on those who failed to do their job.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I'm Sorrowful, For Sure
Why are we remembering this day? Honestly, I don't get it. We got our ass kicked ten years ago.
As a direct result of that ass kicking, we've pissed on the Constitution - mostly via the USA PATRIOT Act. For God's sake, a government agent can merely whisper, "terrorist" and an American citizen can be snatched up and put into a hole, that old rag from the 1700's be damned.
If I want to fly on a private aircraft, I am subjected to government goons fondling me and my family before we're granted boarding privileges. The goons that are doing the fondling are, at the very best, horrible at their jobs. Seventy-five percent of the time when they are tested with fake guns or bombs, they fail. Every single terrorist that has tried to take down a plane since 9/11 GOT ON THE PLANE! They were simply more incompetent than the TSA "professionals" charged with stopping them.
Someone, somewhere, heard some guy in some unknown corner of the world say that a, "credible, but unconfirmed" attack is going to happen in NYC or DC. Real soon. On Friday, they didn't even know the names OR DESCRIPTIONS of the kinda-maybe terrorists.
The result: Checkpoints searching every nook and cranny of every car going into a tunnel or on to a bridge. WTF? Shut 'er down, button 'er up, show me your papers, bub.
It's all Security Theater. The same government that failed to stop the initial attacks because of their incompetence in enforcing our immigration laws, has gone all Jabba The Hut on us. Huge and immobile, but pretty damned powerful. Bordering on omnipotent.
We get codes and color schemes and serious looking officials telling us sheep how they're keeping us alive. "Give a little of your freedom so you can live another day."
Bin Laden won. We're bankrupt both financially and Constitutionally.
Why would I celebrate that?
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Copyright 2011 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
As a direct result of that ass kicking, we've pissed on the Constitution - mostly via the USA PATRIOT Act. For God's sake, a government agent can merely whisper, "terrorist" and an American citizen can be snatched up and put into a hole, that old rag from the 1700's be damned.
If I want to fly on a private aircraft, I am subjected to government goons fondling me and my family before we're granted boarding privileges. The goons that are doing the fondling are, at the very best, horrible at their jobs. Seventy-five percent of the time when they are tested with fake guns or bombs, they fail. Every single terrorist that has tried to take down a plane since 9/11 GOT ON THE PLANE! They were simply more incompetent than the TSA "professionals" charged with stopping them.
Someone, somewhere, heard some guy in some unknown corner of the world say that a, "credible, but unconfirmed" attack is going to happen in NYC or DC. Real soon. On Friday, they didn't even know the names OR DESCRIPTIONS of the kinda-maybe terrorists.
The result: Checkpoints searching every nook and cranny of every car going into a tunnel or on to a bridge. WTF? Shut 'er down, button 'er up, show me your papers, bub.
It's all Security Theater. The same government that failed to stop the initial attacks because of their incompetence in enforcing our immigration laws, has gone all Jabba The Hut on us. Huge and immobile, but pretty damned powerful. Bordering on omnipotent.
We get codes and color schemes and serious looking officials telling us sheep how they're keeping us alive. "Give a little of your freedom so you can live another day."
Bin Laden won. We're bankrupt both financially and Constitutionally.
Why would I celebrate that?
---
Copyright 2011 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
Friday, September 9, 2011
They Just Don't Get It
Obama: We're going to give businesses a $4000 credit if they hire someone who has been unemployed for 6 months or more.
As a businessman, why do you think the length of unemployment would be a primary selection criteria? More importantly, why would I risk my business by hiring someone simply because Nanny is offering me a carrot?
His mindset is that of union workers. Time equals superiority equals preference. Quality is not part of the equation. Maybe that's why unionism in the private workplace has plummeted (to something like 6% of the workforce).
This is along the lines of having a "diverse" workforce. Gotta have the "proper" number of blacks, Asians, Hispanics, women, non-white men, gays, disabled, elderly, blah, blah, blah. Mostly, it's about race.
Bullshit. Whenever I hear that, I state, "I only want a homogeneous workforce. They're ALL the very best candidates. Their skin color is irrelevant."
I get the nervous chuckles and the clucking, "Oh, of course, of course. Quality of character, not color of skin," and then they look at me with that, "Hmmm, must be one of those ghastly 'Tea Bagger' types I heard about on the news. I hope he doesn't beat me with his bible or shoot me dead where I stand. Oops, I just soiled myself."
They just don't get it.
---
Our Monarch-In-Chief proceed to tell us how he needs a gazzillion more dollars to pay for his visionary plan, and that it would all be paid for. His plan called for additional cuts to government spending. Those savings would be used to "pay" for his new programs.
Wait a minute! I thought he was already running the government as close to the bone as was compassionately possible. So, what he's now saying is he's willing to throw someone under the bus - whoever is going to be cut - in favor of some other "more deserving" special interest group.
Does anyone with two gray cells to rub together really think anything will be cut? The spending will happen NOW and the cuts will be deferred to sometime in the future. Meaning they will never happen.
They just don't get it.
---
Quote of the day, perhaps the year -
At the Republican debate, Rick Perry when commenting on what the Monarch-In-Chief has done correctly -
Government is the most inefficient spender of money. Bar none. Look at private charities (government, for the most part, has become a giant PUBLIC charity organization). If private charity overhead is in excess of 12% they're looked at suspiciously and donations drop off. Government inefficiencies are rewarded with increased taxes or increased national debt.
They suck more money from the economy in the belief that their inefficient use of capital will provide a better Return On Investment than private investment. They know better.
History shows them to be mistaken. Communism and central planning have never worked anywhere at any time. Yet they persist because the beast they've built must be fed. They believe that they are smarter and more enlightened than any communists in history. They've got it figured out. They'll make it work.
They just don't get it.
---
They probably DO get it. The elites, at least. They want to see our country crumble. They know that they have to sell the idea of, "something for nothing" to the masses. Vote for us, and will give you stuff. Food, money, housing, education, clothing. We'll design the system to remove the stigma of being 'kept'. What's not to like? Do nothing, and get paid for it.
We "Tea Baggers" are nothing but greedy haters that don't care for our fellow man. How could we not want to help the Monarch-In-Chief create jobs? How could we not want to feed the "disadvantaged" among us? How could we not want to extend unemployment payouts? How could we not want to save poor old Fred's home from foreclosure?
Just a bunch of greedy haters. Racists greedy haters. Gun toting, bible thumping, racist, greedy haters.
Well, I guess by the current definition of all of those words, I'm guilty as charged.
I want private industry to create new jobs, since that's what they do best. I want private charity to feed the poor, since private charities can discriminate between the truly poor and the loafers. I want the chronically unemployed to 'man up' and take jobs that are below their education and experience, and for them to re-train themselves for jobs that are needed. I want old Fred to figure out what to do with his home, and not dump his problem on me. I don't recall spending the night at his home, or getting the tax benefits he had during the good times.
I just don't get it.
---
Copyright 2011 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
As a businessman, why do you think the length of unemployment would be a primary selection criteria? More importantly, why would I risk my business by hiring someone simply because Nanny is offering me a carrot?
His mindset is that of union workers. Time equals superiority equals preference. Quality is not part of the equation. Maybe that's why unionism in the private workplace has plummeted (to something like 6% of the workforce).
This is along the lines of having a "diverse" workforce. Gotta have the "proper" number of blacks, Asians, Hispanics, women, non-white men, gays, disabled, elderly, blah, blah, blah. Mostly, it's about race.
Bullshit. Whenever I hear that, I state, "I only want a homogeneous workforce. They're ALL the very best candidates. Their skin color is irrelevant."
I get the nervous chuckles and the clucking, "Oh, of course, of course. Quality of character, not color of skin," and then they look at me with that, "Hmmm, must be one of those ghastly 'Tea Bagger' types I heard about on the news. I hope he doesn't beat me with his bible or shoot me dead where I stand. Oops, I just soiled myself."
They just don't get it.
---
Our Monarch-In-Chief proceed to tell us how he needs a gazzillion more dollars to pay for his visionary plan, and that it would all be paid for. His plan called for additional cuts to government spending. Those savings would be used to "pay" for his new programs.
Wait a minute! I thought he was already running the government as close to the bone as was compassionately possible. So, what he's now saying is he's willing to throw someone under the bus - whoever is going to be cut - in favor of some other "more deserving" special interest group.
Does anyone with two gray cells to rub together really think anything will be cut? The spending will happen NOW and the cuts will be deferred to sometime in the future. Meaning they will never happen.
They just don't get it.
---
Quote of the day, perhaps the year -
At the Republican debate, Rick Perry when commenting on what the Monarch-In-Chief has done correctly -
I give more props to those Navy SEALs that did the job, but -- and the other thing this president's done, he has proven for once and for all that government spending will not create one job. Keynesian policy and Keynesian theory is now done. We'll never have to have that experiment on America again.It didn't work during the Great Depression. It didn't work when BushCo gave us Stimulus 1. It didn't work when the Monarch-In-Chief did it in Stimulus 2. It won't work for Stimulus 3,4,5... 100.
Government is the most inefficient spender of money. Bar none. Look at private charities (government, for the most part, has become a giant PUBLIC charity organization). If private charity overhead is in excess of 12% they're looked at suspiciously and donations drop off. Government inefficiencies are rewarded with increased taxes or increased national debt.
They suck more money from the economy in the belief that their inefficient use of capital will provide a better Return On Investment than private investment. They know better.
History shows them to be mistaken. Communism and central planning have never worked anywhere at any time. Yet they persist because the beast they've built must be fed. They believe that they are smarter and more enlightened than any communists in history. They've got it figured out. They'll make it work.
They just don't get it.
---
They probably DO get it. The elites, at least. They want to see our country crumble. They know that they have to sell the idea of, "something for nothing" to the masses. Vote for us, and will give you stuff. Food, money, housing, education, clothing. We'll design the system to remove the stigma of being 'kept'. What's not to like? Do nothing, and get paid for it.
We "Tea Baggers" are nothing but greedy haters that don't care for our fellow man. How could we not want to help the Monarch-In-Chief create jobs? How could we not want to feed the "disadvantaged" among us? How could we not want to extend unemployment payouts? How could we not want to save poor old Fred's home from foreclosure?
Just a bunch of greedy haters. Racists greedy haters. Gun toting, bible thumping, racist, greedy haters.
Well, I guess by the current definition of all of those words, I'm guilty as charged.
I want private industry to create new jobs, since that's what they do best. I want private charity to feed the poor, since private charities can discriminate between the truly poor and the loafers. I want the chronically unemployed to 'man up' and take jobs that are below their education and experience, and for them to re-train themselves for jobs that are needed. I want old Fred to figure out what to do with his home, and not dump his problem on me. I don't recall spending the night at his home, or getting the tax benefits he had during the good times.
I just don't get it.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Sunday, August 28, 2011
All That Glitters...
With the big-time renewed interest in gold, a comment/question from commenter "LJ" -
All one ounce gold coins are not minted to .99999 purity, yet all contain an ounce of pure gold. Huh?
The American Gold Eagle and the South African Krugerrand are each minted in 22 karat, or .9166 pure. BUT, the coins weigh 1.09 troy ounces, and thus contain a full ounce of pure gold (do the math). The American Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Australian Nugget or Kangeroo and Chinese Panda are all .9999 coins, and weigh 1 troy ounce.
You then have private mints that produce gold ingots. The two best know producers are Credit Suisse and Pamp Suisse. Both produce .9999 gold ingots/bars in varying weights, including one ounce.
So, they all contain an ounce of pure gold, yet prices per coin/ingot can vary wildly? Why dat?
Confidence and prejudice.
Generally speaking, a coin produced by a sovereign nation will carry a premium over a private mint. People believe that government controlled production standards are higher than private production standards. When it comes to minting coins/bullion, they're generally correct.
What's this prejudice stuff? Home turf wins. Americans will pay more for an American coin. IN GENERAL, the pecking order after that goes to our neighbors. Canada in this instance. Then it goes to English speaking countries (Great Britain and Australia).
The gold Chinese Panda and SA Krugerrand are generally an exception to this rule. The Panda is usually just behind the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the Krugerrand is almost always at the bottom of the price bucket. Honestly, I think it is a bit of a "hang over" from the apartheid days, and some people are just not comfortable owning them.
Our other neighbor - Mexico - is also near the bottom of the price barrel, but I think that is more due to the size of the coin. Their most popular gold coin - the 50 peso - weighs 1.205 troy ounces. When buying the coins, people have to do some math to figure out if it's a good deal, and they will usually just say, "forget it" and focus on the coins that contain one ounce.
Interestingly, Mexico does make 1 ounce gold coins (the gold Onza and the gold Libertad) but I have only seen a few come into the shop.
ROUGHLY, here is the pricing - (this is with spot gold at $1828 per ounce)
American Eagle - $1930
American Buffalo - $1935
Canadian Maple Leaf - $1910
Chinese Panda - $1900
SA Krugerrand - $1890
Pamp Suisse or Credit Suisse bar - $1890
I want to talk a bit about US "old gold" and some deals you can get on some of these coins. I"ll also discuss the best and worst times to buy and sell. I'll do that in my next post - tomorrow, as I have an appointment to teach one of my sons and his buddy how to brew beer.
I'm getting all teary..... ;-)
---
Copyright 2011 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
Hey Chief,Great question.
Have heard this comment before, and always in passing : depending on the country of origin.
If gold is gold, and coins, bullion etc. is minted at 99.999.........% purity, what does the country of origin have to do with the price?
Thanks
L J
All one ounce gold coins are not minted to .99999 purity, yet all contain an ounce of pure gold. Huh?
The American Gold Eagle and the South African Krugerrand are each minted in 22 karat, or .9166 pure. BUT, the coins weigh 1.09 troy ounces, and thus contain a full ounce of pure gold (do the math). The American Gold Buffalo, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Australian Nugget or Kangeroo and Chinese Panda are all .9999 coins, and weigh 1 troy ounce.
You then have private mints that produce gold ingots. The two best know producers are Credit Suisse and Pamp Suisse. Both produce .9999 gold ingots/bars in varying weights, including one ounce.
So, they all contain an ounce of pure gold, yet prices per coin/ingot can vary wildly? Why dat?
Confidence and prejudice.
Generally speaking, a coin produced by a sovereign nation will carry a premium over a private mint. People believe that government controlled production standards are higher than private production standards. When it comes to minting coins/bullion, they're generally correct.
What's this prejudice stuff? Home turf wins. Americans will pay more for an American coin. IN GENERAL, the pecking order after that goes to our neighbors. Canada in this instance. Then it goes to English speaking countries (Great Britain and Australia).
The gold Chinese Panda and SA Krugerrand are generally an exception to this rule. The Panda is usually just behind the Canadian Maple Leaf, and the Krugerrand is almost always at the bottom of the price bucket. Honestly, I think it is a bit of a "hang over" from the apartheid days, and some people are just not comfortable owning them.
Our other neighbor - Mexico - is also near the bottom of the price barrel, but I think that is more due to the size of the coin. Their most popular gold coin - the 50 peso - weighs 1.205 troy ounces. When buying the coins, people have to do some math to figure out if it's a good deal, and they will usually just say, "forget it" and focus on the coins that contain one ounce.
Interestingly, Mexico does make 1 ounce gold coins (the gold Onza and the gold Libertad) but I have only seen a few come into the shop.
ROUGHLY, here is the pricing - (this is with spot gold at $1828 per ounce)
American Eagle - $1930
American Buffalo - $1935
Canadian Maple Leaf - $1910
Chinese Panda - $1900
SA Krugerrand - $1890
Pamp Suisse or Credit Suisse bar - $1890
I want to talk a bit about US "old gold" and some deals you can get on some of these coins. I"ll also discuss the best and worst times to buy and sell. I'll do that in my next post - tomorrow, as I have an appointment to teach one of my sons and his buddy how to brew beer.
I'm getting all teary..... ;-)
---
Copyright 2011 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
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Liberty
I was listening to Mark Levin on the radio on Monday. He had had a caller who stated she was, "a fiscal conservative and a social liberal." He noted that he didn't understand what that meant. It was a foreign concept to him. He proceeded to abuse the concept and the caller.
Just as liberals denigrate the Tea Party as terrorists and heartless baby-killers, many conservatives berate us social liberals.
By my definition, a social liberal is someone that believes that the individual will generally make the right choice about their own life. All by themselves. We believe our personal moral compass is superior to that of a bureaucrat in DC, in a state capital or in a city council chamber.
We don't want to be told how to live our lives.
We also believe that if our personal choices negatively impact the life of another citizen, punishment should be meted out by the government. THAT'S the role of government: To ensure all citizens are able to live their lives as they see fit. If we negatively impact another, we pay the price. Government is NOT here to compel others to live their lives in some proscribed manner. Well, it's not supposed to be here for that purpose.
I live my life as a social conservative, but won't impose my personal moral code on others. I expect the same courtesy from others.
---
When conversations arise about my political beliefs, I give the "fiscal conservative, social liberal" spiel. I usually get something along these lines -
"What!? You think pot/heroin/meth should be legal?" Yep. Just like they always were prior to the turn of the 20th century. If you want to ingest poison, go right ahead. As a country, we did pretty well up to that point.
"What!? You think prostitution should be legal?" Yep. Two adults want to have sex. Let 'em. What's the difference between a $100 dinner or a $100 bill paying for it? I have no desire to buy a hooker, and if you want to do so, my life is unaffected.
"What!? You think gays should be able to get married?" Yep. How does their marriage negatively impact my life? It doesn't.
"What!? You disagree with DUI checkpoints?" Yep. Could there be a more in-your-face affront to the fourth amendment? What part of, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," is ambiguous?
To add insult to the unconstitutional injury, you can be arrested just for having alcohol in your system. You haven't harmed anyone in any way shape or form and, just as importantly, you haven't given law enforcement any probable cause. You're not swerving. You're not speeding. You're not side-swiping parked cars. You're simply on a public road that the government has chosen to perform an illegal search. It is presumed that if you have alcohol in your system you will harm someone. You might do it. How can someone be punished for an act they MAY perform?
Many people are able to get at least a little miffed when some level of government does something stupid, such as banning a fat, or prohibiting a "dangerous" food like unpasteurized milk, But when the government passes a law that matches with their personal moral beliefs - even when it goes against the Constitution - they look the other way.
That sword cuts both ways. This is no better than when a liberal supports a law banning cigarettes or giving all who ask a big chunk of my tax dollars because they are, "under-served" or "disadvantaged".
Painting with a very broad brush (I know not all conservatives or liberals think alike), conservatives support laws restricting social behavior, liberals support laws assuming the poor have no gray matter between their ears.
I support neither. I support personal liberty.
---
The underlying belief of both conservatives and liberals is that everyone else is too stupid to run their own lives. The concept of liberty is just that - a concept. In practice, well, it's just too much freedom for all of those poor saps who are too stupid to make the right choices.
If we don't have drug laws, everyone would be a strung-out heroin addict or rotted-teeth meth head. Really? Let me see a show of hand of ANYONE out there that would suddenly try heroin or meth if it were legalized tomorrow.
It's an obviously ridiculous concept, considering I can get both of those drugs TODAY if I wanted them. I can also get pot, cocaine, Ecstasy, 'shrooms, - whatever I want and which are all illegal - in whatever quantities I want.
Yet for some reason - seemingly incomprehensible to conservatives - I don't do it.
---
Conservatives such as Levin tend to use fear as their hammer. As their justification for imposing their morality on others.
"What about the children?" the conservatives wail. "If we make it legal for adults to snort coke, more kids will do the same thing."
Uhm, not so much. If a parent has not taught their child that abusing any drug - legal or not - will harm them, simply making it illegal to do so will make no difference. If the kid has no parent, it's the same deal: Just because it's illegal won't stop the kid from using drugs.
Kids learn by example. If their parents abuse drugs or alcohol, they are more likely to do so themselves. But, if a kid sees his favorite Uncle Bob dead in a gutter from a heroin overdose, that has a chance to make a difference. The legality of the substance is irrelevant.
The total failure of, "The War On Drugs" is yet another proof-positive example that vice laws don't work. Just as during the US alcohol prohibition period, the prohibition of drugs has done nothing to stop availability, and has created an enormous crime underworld. The drug producers and sellers use violence to protect their product and territory.
Count the dead bodies on both sides of the Mexican border. Count the number of dead bodies in inner city neighborhoods. How many of them are directly related to drugs being illegal? Not just related to drugs, but to drugs being illegal. The VAST majority.
Unconvinced? How many murders occurred last year that were related to the business of buying and selling alcohol? If there were any at all, it would be statistically immaterial.
It has also created a drug-induced cottage industry for the government. Prisons are bulging with offenders. We have entire government agencies tasked with nothing other than eradicating drugs. Local police departments include drug-related property seizures in their annual budgets.
Obscene amounts of money, pissed away, chasing some utopian vision of a drug-free society. Sounds kinda like Obama's "Hope and Change" campaign, no? "Hope" takes no effort, but is expensive as hell.
If your moral teachings dictate that homosexuality is a mortal sin, will the fact that two guys down the street are married to each other increase the likelihood that your kid will "turn gay"? I didn't think so.
You don't have to go to their churches. You don't have to go to their bars. You don't have to associate with them in any way whatsoever. YOU decide how to live your life, not them.
There has NEVER been a law prohibiting a substance or private act which has successfully eradicated that substance or act. Never. Why spend time and resources trying to control the life of someone else whose acts or beliefs have no impact on your life?
---
Right now, the conservatives embrace the Tea Party. They walk in lock step that less money should be spent by government. They're pals.
I don't think this relationship will last. Eventually, social liberties will be Top O' The List, and the liberals will embrace their new Tea Party brothers and sisters.
Personally, I have a simple litmus test for any issue: Is it Constitutional? If it's specifically allowed or prohibited by the Constitution, that's how I vote. If it's not mentioned, it's a state or individual issue.
Drugs and alcohol, prostitution or gay marriage are not mentioned - or reasonably inferred - in the Constitution. The country recognized this when they changed the Constitution to prohibit alcohol, and again when they repealed the prohibition. They had to Constitutionally prohibit alcohol, since no federal power previously existed.
That makes these state or individual issues, per the ninth and tenth amendments. As such, California could allow Hookers-R-Us franchises, and Georgia could ban them. I can move to the state that has laws more closely aligned to my personal ethical code.
Accept The Challenge
When a law is proposed, give it the old Constitution test. If it doesn't past muster, fight to defeat it, even if it meets your personal moral beliefs.
Government control of how any of us live is bad. I don't want a liberal taking my cigarettes any more than I want a conservative arresting my neighbor for his Swinger Club membership. Even though cigarettes are physically damaging, and swinging is morally bankrupt, we're both adults and have accepted the consequences of our actions.
Leave us the hell alone.
Exercise your liberty.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Just as liberals denigrate the Tea Party as terrorists and heartless baby-killers, many conservatives berate us social liberals.
By my definition, a social liberal is someone that believes that the individual will generally make the right choice about their own life. All by themselves. We believe our personal moral compass is superior to that of a bureaucrat in DC, in a state capital or in a city council chamber.
We don't want to be told how to live our lives.
We also believe that if our personal choices negatively impact the life of another citizen, punishment should be meted out by the government. THAT'S the role of government: To ensure all citizens are able to live their lives as they see fit. If we negatively impact another, we pay the price. Government is NOT here to compel others to live their lives in some proscribed manner. Well, it's not supposed to be here for that purpose.
I live my life as a social conservative, but won't impose my personal moral code on others. I expect the same courtesy from others.
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When conversations arise about my political beliefs, I give the "fiscal conservative, social liberal" spiel. I usually get something along these lines -
"What!? You think pot/heroin/meth should be legal?" Yep. Just like they always were prior to the turn of the 20th century. If you want to ingest poison, go right ahead. As a country, we did pretty well up to that point.
"What!? You think prostitution should be legal?" Yep. Two adults want to have sex. Let 'em. What's the difference between a $100 dinner or a $100 bill paying for it? I have no desire to buy a hooker, and if you want to do so, my life is unaffected.
"What!? You think gays should be able to get married?" Yep. How does their marriage negatively impact my life? It doesn't.
"What!? You disagree with DUI checkpoints?" Yep. Could there be a more in-your-face affront to the fourth amendment? What part of, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized," is ambiguous?
To add insult to the unconstitutional injury, you can be arrested just for having alcohol in your system. You haven't harmed anyone in any way shape or form and, just as importantly, you haven't given law enforcement any probable cause. You're not swerving. You're not speeding. You're not side-swiping parked cars. You're simply on a public road that the government has chosen to perform an illegal search. It is presumed that if you have alcohol in your system you will harm someone. You might do it. How can someone be punished for an act they MAY perform?
Many people are able to get at least a little miffed when some level of government does something stupid, such as banning a fat, or prohibiting a "dangerous" food like unpasteurized milk, But when the government passes a law that matches with their personal moral beliefs - even when it goes against the Constitution - they look the other way.
That sword cuts both ways. This is no better than when a liberal supports a law banning cigarettes or giving all who ask a big chunk of my tax dollars because they are, "under-served" or "disadvantaged".
Painting with a very broad brush (I know not all conservatives or liberals think alike), conservatives support laws restricting social behavior, liberals support laws assuming the poor have no gray matter between their ears.
I support neither. I support personal liberty.
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The underlying belief of both conservatives and liberals is that everyone else is too stupid to run their own lives. The concept of liberty is just that - a concept. In practice, well, it's just too much freedom for all of those poor saps who are too stupid to make the right choices.
If we don't have drug laws, everyone would be a strung-out heroin addict or rotted-teeth meth head. Really? Let me see a show of hand of ANYONE out there that would suddenly try heroin or meth if it were legalized tomorrow.
It's an obviously ridiculous concept, considering I can get both of those drugs TODAY if I wanted them. I can also get pot, cocaine, Ecstasy, 'shrooms, - whatever I want and which are all illegal - in whatever quantities I want.
Yet for some reason - seemingly incomprehensible to conservatives - I don't do it.
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Conservatives such as Levin tend to use fear as their hammer. As their justification for imposing their morality on others.
"What about the children?" the conservatives wail. "If we make it legal for adults to snort coke, more kids will do the same thing."
Uhm, not so much. If a parent has not taught their child that abusing any drug - legal or not - will harm them, simply making it illegal to do so will make no difference. If the kid has no parent, it's the same deal: Just because it's illegal won't stop the kid from using drugs.
Kids learn by example. If their parents abuse drugs or alcohol, they are more likely to do so themselves. But, if a kid sees his favorite Uncle Bob dead in a gutter from a heroin overdose, that has a chance to make a difference. The legality of the substance is irrelevant.
The total failure of, "The War On Drugs" is yet another proof-positive example that vice laws don't work. Just as during the US alcohol prohibition period, the prohibition of drugs has done nothing to stop availability, and has created an enormous crime underworld. The drug producers and sellers use violence to protect their product and territory.
Count the dead bodies on both sides of the Mexican border. Count the number of dead bodies in inner city neighborhoods. How many of them are directly related to drugs being illegal? Not just related to drugs, but to drugs being illegal. The VAST majority.
Unconvinced? How many murders occurred last year that were related to the business of buying and selling alcohol? If there were any at all, it would be statistically immaterial.
It has also created a drug-induced cottage industry for the government. Prisons are bulging with offenders. We have entire government agencies tasked with nothing other than eradicating drugs. Local police departments include drug-related property seizures in their annual budgets.
Obscene amounts of money, pissed away, chasing some utopian vision of a drug-free society. Sounds kinda like Obama's "Hope and Change" campaign, no? "Hope" takes no effort, but is expensive as hell.
If your moral teachings dictate that homosexuality is a mortal sin, will the fact that two guys down the street are married to each other increase the likelihood that your kid will "turn gay"? I didn't think so.
You don't have to go to their churches. You don't have to go to their bars. You don't have to associate with them in any way whatsoever. YOU decide how to live your life, not them.
There has NEVER been a law prohibiting a substance or private act which has successfully eradicated that substance or act. Never. Why spend time and resources trying to control the life of someone else whose acts or beliefs have no impact on your life?
---
Right now, the conservatives embrace the Tea Party. They walk in lock step that less money should be spent by government. They're pals.
I don't think this relationship will last. Eventually, social liberties will be Top O' The List, and the liberals will embrace their new Tea Party brothers and sisters.
Personally, I have a simple litmus test for any issue: Is it Constitutional? If it's specifically allowed or prohibited by the Constitution, that's how I vote. If it's not mentioned, it's a state or individual issue.
Drugs and alcohol, prostitution or gay marriage are not mentioned - or reasonably inferred - in the Constitution. The country recognized this when they changed the Constitution to prohibit alcohol, and again when they repealed the prohibition. They had to Constitutionally prohibit alcohol, since no federal power previously existed.
That makes these state or individual issues, per the ninth and tenth amendments. As such, California could allow Hookers-R-Us franchises, and Georgia could ban them. I can move to the state that has laws more closely aligned to my personal ethical code.
Accept The Challenge
When a law is proposed, give it the old Constitution test. If it doesn't past muster, fight to defeat it, even if it meets your personal moral beliefs.
Government control of how any of us live is bad. I don't want a liberal taking my cigarettes any more than I want a conservative arresting my neighbor for his Swinger Club membership. Even though cigarettes are physically damaging, and swinging is morally bankrupt, we're both adults and have accepted the consequences of our actions.
Leave us the hell alone.
Exercise your liberty.
---
Copyright 2011 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
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
East Coast: Grow A Pair!
OK, living in California, I'm around earthquakes all the time. They get the heart beating, you chuckle nervously and then you finish your tuna salad sandwich.
I also get it that it is different. They don't get many earthquakes back east. It's like when we get a tornado in California. It ain't normal.
You mention that some guy in a trailer park lost his Rubbermade shed, and you move on.
Listening to the wall-to-wall coverage of the 5.9 earthquake that hit the east coast, you'd think the place had been leveled. Mass destruction, gas mains spewing columns of fire, children and their puppies fried to a crisp -
Earthquake rocks East Coast
Is it time to consider earthquake insurance?
Earthquake causes venue evacuation
And the greatest disaster of them all
Earthquake interrupts President Obama's golf game
EVERY cable news network was running nothing but earthquake news, even Fox Business. Unless the NYSE had been crushed under a pile of rubble, why in the hell were they covering this?
One of the talking head bimbetts was all a-flutter with this news - "The White House will be releasing a statement on the earthquake. We're not sure if it will be in person, or via a press release, but we'll let you know when it happens."
I can hardly wait. "Uhm, nuthin' happened. No injuries, little damage, lots of soiled panties. The President will release a comprehensive plan to address the soiled panties dilemma after he finishes the back nine."
Oh, how I long for news on the Kim Kardashian wedding...
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Copyright 2011 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
I also get it that it is different. They don't get many earthquakes back east. It's like when we get a tornado in California. It ain't normal.
You mention that some guy in a trailer park lost his Rubbermade shed, and you move on.
Listening to the wall-to-wall coverage of the 5.9 earthquake that hit the east coast, you'd think the place had been leveled. Mass destruction, gas mains spewing columns of fire, children and their puppies fried to a crisp -
Earthquake rocks East Coast
Is it time to consider earthquake insurance?
Earthquake causes venue evacuation
And the greatest disaster of them all
Earthquake interrupts President Obama's golf game
EVERY cable news network was running nothing but earthquake news, even Fox Business. Unless the NYSE had been crushed under a pile of rubble, why in the hell were they covering this?
One of the talking head bimbetts was all a-flutter with this news - "The White House will be releasing a statement on the earthquake. We're not sure if it will be in person, or via a press release, but we'll let you know when it happens."
I can hardly wait. "Uhm, nuthin' happened. No injuries, little damage, lots of soiled panties. The President will release a comprehensive plan to address the soiled panties dilemma after he finishes the back nine."
Oh, how I long for news on the Kim Kardashian wedding...
---
Copyright 2011 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
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