Winter is around the corner

I started to do some looking around on the internet for some winter gear items, mainly the stuff I lose every year like neck gaiters and glove liners. Check out Wiggy's products. I have no tie to Wiggy's except as a happy customer.

I spent last winter in Fairbanks, Alaska, from the 6 of November through mid-May. I bought two jackets from Wiggy's (http://wiggys.com/index.cfm). One was a 'lighter' Wiggy's jacket that I wore for for temps to about zero F. I don't think they make them anymore and it was purchased in the Wiggy's Alaska store (not part of Wiggy's but somehow related ...) The other coat was Wiggy's Antarctic Parka. I could not wear that parka until the temp dropped to below zero F. In fact, I was able to walk my dog in minus 40 (-40 F = -40 C by the way) wearing only a light shirt underneath. Of course, the hood was up and I was wearing his Renegade mittens (midweight). Hands never got cold in those. Not once. Yes, his products are pricey, some maybe overpriced. However, they do what they are supposed to do without fail. They insulate when wet.

Wiggy's has some stuff on sale. Note their sleeping bags are great. Down sleeping bags may be lighter, but do not insulate when wet. His sleeping bags are tucked under the ejection seats of some of the USAF fighter jets (which, having been in the USAF,is where I began to hear about Wiggy's. I use mine with a bivy.

Life Imitates Art

From the Gateway Pundit.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry:

Muhammad Cartoon Comes To Life… Suicide Bomber Hides Bomb In Turban

Posted by Jim Hoft on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, 6:19 AM

In 2006 Muslims went on a murderous rampage after this offensive cartoon was published in a Danish newspaper.

Over 100 people were murdered in the cartoon rioting.
They were outraged.

It looks like the cartoonist was ahead of his time.
A Muslim suicide bomber blew up the mayor of Kandahar City today. He hid the bomb in his turban.
Xinhuanet reported:

Militants fighting Afghan government in a new tactic, hardly imagined by security forces, targeted and killed the mayor of Kandahar city, 450 km south of Afghan capital Kabul, in his office on Wednesday.

To target government officials, the militants had often in the past strapped explosive devices in their bodies or wore explosive vests and hunted the prey.

However, this time they organized turban bomb suicide attack in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar, officials confirmed.

“Ghulam Haider Hamidi, the mayor of Kandahar, was in meeting with some people when a man placed explosive device in his turban entered the meeting hall and blew it up, killing the mayor and injured another,”a statement released by kandahar’s provincial administration said.

The attacker was also killed in his explosion, it stated.

Afghans are familiar with suicide attacks, roadside bombings and gun shoots but it appears to be the first time that a turban bomb suicide attack rocked an Afghan city and claimed the life of

Don’t become fodder. Don’t feed the bad wolf.

What are the ethics involved in feeding and giving up weapons and ammo to a small to moderate sized gang of marauders in a post-SHTF scenario?

Imagine that you survived the coming slow or fast emergency and are with some family and friends -some new, some old - and are doing well enough to be supplementing your stored food by harvesting vegetables from a large plot, perhaps collecting eggs from a few chickens and the occasional venison.

If a person came by your place representing a group of different group of people who are camping down the road for a bit, and politely asked for all your group’s food and supplies -- all of it as in every last morsel of food, every weapon, every piece of gear and clothing down to your last Tylenol and shoelace -- so they could survive long enough to again politely ask another prepared group for all of their supplies, would you comply? Would you think of complying? The person is not asking for charity, s/he is asking for everything with no concern for you. Your comfort or survival has no bearing. Yielding means their survival and not yours. Yielding means they will do this to someone else. Yielding means you gave comfort and aid to the enemy. Of course you wouldn't.

What if that person didn’t knock on the front door but rather was located a mile away hidden in some bushes with a pair of binoculars at his/her’s eyes and a spiral notebook being filled with intel of your group’s comings and goings for the last 72 hours in various handwritings? Others in that group are cleaning their weapons, loading magazines and otherwise preparing to assault your sanctuary at 3 AM the next morning.

Oblivious, you continue your daily chores. Night falls and soon after dinner, everyone goes to sleep. You and everyone in your group are briefly woken up at 3 AM by the noise of gun fire. Your last thought before seeing a muzzle flash directed at you was was inconsequential, as was the last thought of everyone in your group; they are dead or soon will be. You just aided and gave comfort to the enemy post mortem as much as if you yielded everything to a polite request. They take stock of your supplies, keeping what they want. Flames take the rest.

Now they will be well fed for a week or two, have a bit more ammo (yours was solely for hunting purposes - deer and the like for your group, sheeples now that it is in their hands), a nice first aid kit and some other goodies.

You ignored defending yourself and now have made it more difficult for the next group to defend themselves. Guns are bad you thought, only needed by Police and other ‘professionals’ against criminals. By the time you needed a gun for your own defense, it was too late. If large chunks of civilization go by the wayside, someone who wants to impose their will over yours will ignore your civil discourse and not be swayed by your verbal arguments of right versus wrong because nothing, absolutely nothing, stands in their way to do the wrong thing to you. It is not a civil discourse despite your wishes it was. Personally, I would be a more than a bit pissed off if I was your neighbor. Now these bad wolves are a bit stronger and better supplied to attack me and mine. You can ignore guns and the need for self defense, but not the consequences of ignoring such, to paraphrasing Ayn Rand. This will be bit more important than the letter from the Home Owners Association demanding you take care of the dandelions in your yard so they don't spread to neighbors. Be prepared to do something to stop the spread evil.

Please read HARD TRUTHS ABOUT COMBAT TACTICS from Ann Bernhardt on 23 June 2011 (http://barnhardt.biz/) and watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOo9bjLtL3Q&feature=player_embedded#at=80 together. Both are very sad to me, but both are important to think about.

I have some friends with a farm who understand defending their farm far better than I. They are networking with immediate neighbors in a low key way about defending their neck of the woods, and in a more general way, their town. They are aware of neighbors who will need their help, and who can help them. They are aware of the bad and questionable players in their town who may turn far worse if the rule of law crumbles shortly after the infrastructure does. That town may be safe if worse comes to worse, unless you’re a wolf. There will be no free meals for bad wolves in that town.

I hope to help them.

*I lost the link to the picture and unable to give credit where credit is due.

$ 8 well spent.

A busted tooth, a crown gone wrong or similar dental misadventure can ruin your day.

Or not. About $8 bought a Lost Filling and Loose Cap Repair kit. Fortunately, no first hand experience with it.

Review: Bokers Ceramic Anti Grav Folder

A Gentleman’s Knife

“ BOKER PLUS ANTI-GRAV by Boker Plus as Pocketknife

Pocketknife by Boker Plus. The companion to the Anti-MC also features a super sharp ceramic blade and unbelievably, an even lighter carry! The handle is made of carbon fiber, which provides not only incredibly little weight, but also outstanding stability and elegance. Includes pocket clip and lanyard hole. Frame lock mechanism. Blade length: 3 1/4". Overall length: 7 3/4". Weight: 2.1 oz.”

[I am having problems having the page keep some jpegs... any advice?]

http://www.boker.de/us/pocket-knife/boker-plus/tactical-knife/01BO036.html

I recently received mine at about 1/2 the MSRP of $89.95. My first impression was it’s feather weight. It also looks very nice, with an obsidian-like blade (not well depicted in the above photo) and unmistakable carbon fiber handle.

It’s light weight is most noticeable for the times I wear light-weight pants or shorts. Think dress pants or light shorts. The knife does not drag and kink the cloth. In fact, it is quite easy to forget its stashed in a pocket.

The blade itself is interesting. It is my first ceramic blade. It does not feel ‘scary sharp’ when I carefully run my thumb over it’s edge, but it cuts paper and paracord with ease. In fact, between it’s dressy looks and sharp edge, I look for excuses to cut out articles from whatever newspaper is handy. The knife is certainly not made for ‘survival’ mode and I wouldn’t use it to hack at anything.

The knife is well made and precise, exactly what you would expect from Boker.

Examining the knife carefully, I think the only metallic parts are the thumb tab, the three handle screws and the two screws holding the clip which is also metal and the frame lock. Which got me thinking that if you remove the clip and the two screws binding it to the handle, the only metal that remains are the three small screws on the handle and the frame lock. Not much of a magnetic signature. When an opportunity presents itself where I can get wanded and walk through a metal detector with the pocket clip removed to determine if there is enough metal to alarm the machines without getting arrested if it does, I’ll update.

In short, it’s a nifty knife for those formal occasions where a more sturdy knife would be out of place.

Remember

More on this later.

China and EMP weapons

From http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jul/21/beijing-develops-radiation-weapons/:

Report: China building electromagnetic pulse weapons for use against U.S. carriers

China’s military is developing electromagnetic pulse weapons that Beijing plans to use against U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over Taiwan, according to an intelligence report made public on Thursday.

Portions of a National Ground Intelligence Center study on the lethal effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and high-powered microwave (HPM) weapons revealed that the arms are part of China’s so-called “assassin’s mace” arsenal – weapons that allow a technologically inferior China to defeat U.S. military forces.

…

The declassified intelligence report, obtained by the private National Security Archive, provides details on China’s EMP weapons and plans for their use. Annual Pentagon reports on China’s military in the past made only passing references to the arms.

“For use against Taiwan, China could detonate at a much lower altitude (30 to 40 kilometers) … to confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland,” the report said. [or much higher up to maximize damage to the target - like the US. --DL]

The report, produced in 2005 and once labeled “secret,” stated that Chinese military writings have discussed building low-yield EMP warheads, but “it is not known whether [the Chinese] have actually done so.” [Any reason they wouldn’t? - DL]

The report said that in addition to EMP weapons, “any low-yield strategic nuclear warhead (or tactical nuclear warheads) could be used with similar effects.” [emphasis added]

…

“China’s [high-altitude] EMP capability could be used in two different ways: as a surprise measure after China’s initial strike against Taiwan and other U.S. [aircraft carrier strike group] assets have moved into a vulnerable position, and as a bluff intended to dissuade the United States from defending Taiwan with a CVBG,” the Pentagon acronym for carrier strike groups. [ a real surprise would be way up over Kansas, high enough to effect both coasts - DL]

There’s more in the original article.

Imagine all or most things electronic broken. Satellites fried . Cars and trucks kapoot. Cell towers fried to a crispy nonfunctional status. Cash registers not registering. ATMs useless. Pacemakers not pacing. Traffic lights, toll booths, gas pumps, electric ovens......EasyPass! The horror.

Got a short term plan? Short term: At least $ 1,000 in Federal Reserve Notes, aka as dollars, safe water source whether bottled or otherwise, food that does not require refrigeration, extra supplies of prescription medications and DME (durable medical equipment) for about a week or two. Solar power system(s) to recharge cell phones (not that they would work, but for apps perhaps) and other electronics. 5 or 10 gallons of gas for your car as a minimum. Solar battery charger -- I wish I could say I need to charge the batteries for my NVGs but at least for flashlights. I was just thinking my Mr Coffee might need a backup! What else do you need for a 3 -7 day 'event'?

What about long term? “One Second After” is a disturbing novel that describes the after-effects of such a bomb a few hundred miles over the center of CONUS (Continental United States). If you haven’t read it, you should. A fine book. China has EMPs. Who else does, or could buy them? But long term needs are a bit different ... Perhaps more cash, definitely bullion of some sort, personally I have doubts that the veneer of civil behavior will last all that long (9 missed meals and people become very goal oriented), so defensive weapons backed by 10 magazines per weapon and a good stash of ammo at your home (and safe haven if you got one), some place to bug out to if you live in a city or suburbs and get away to an environment that can grow your own food to supplement your pantry - unless you believe that the Feds will be able to feed you as the 'just in time' deliveries become increasingly sporadic as infrastructure implodes, as much Rx meds as you doc will give you to stash -- and learn how to taper off the meds that you need to taper off (narcotics, many blood pressure pills, lots of meds affecting the brain whether for ADD or depression). Celox to augment your already well-stocked first aid kits. A cooking stove to boil water and cook food (upcoming review of EcoZoom’s Versa Stove), and the list goes on and on. EMP-proof transportation -- likely a Mt Bike or wheelbarrow -- unless you're lucky enough to be a mechanic with appropriate back-up parts. Good friends who have what you don't and vice versa. A rally point(s), CBs or other walkie talkie devices (kept safe from EMP like in your basement in a metal garbage can.) I guess the the degree of preparedness correlates to your perception of likelihood of the threat (wait too long and oops, nothing on the shelves*), to your hobbies (hiking/camping has lots of dual use tools and skills), and a host of other factors. I like to shoot, so the expenditures for weapons and gear is mostly out of my 'hobbies' budget, as is various camping/bug-out gear. Some is straight preparedness. Do what your budget allows and prioritize carefully.

The EMP threat from China is real; well, we know it's do-able, they have nukes and that's all it takes. Do they have the gumption? What if the US government puts a halt to the sales of large tracts of farmland they are buying? Personally, I just add it to the 'rare but catastrophic' list. Am I about to envelop my garage in steel mesh to protect against an EMP? No. But I did stash some electronics in metal garbage can (with lid) in the basement.

If you need a safe haven as part of your prepping, email me about a site in the NE....

* Please see “Top 100 Items to DisappearFirst During a National Emergency” at ttp://baconreport.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-100-items-to-disappear-first-during.html. Make sure you have what you’ll need.

A modest proposal by the Feds.

I saw this linked in http://www.sovereignman.com/.

It is a modest proposal to change the questionnaire to obtain a US Passport. See http://www.sovereignman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ds5513-proposed.pdf

Page 1 starts with routine stuff. I like the header “Estimated Burden: 45 minutes” on the top right.

Page 2 gets weird. Question 5: List your mother’s residence one year before my birth. Q6: ... mother’s residence at the time of my birth. Q7: ... one year after your birth. Luckily, my mom’s alive, but I’m not sure if she recalls. Q8: Mother’s place of employment at the time of your birth, and spaces for the dates of employments, and name and address. Then it gets really really odd: did my mom have pre-natal and post-natal care, along with the name and address of the doctor and appointment dates. Q10 ask who was present at my birth. Aside from my mom (we were very close and I know she wouldn’t miss my birth). I’m not sure if my dad was there or off being a Marine. Maybe my Aunt Martha twice removed was there.

Then page three wants a list of all my residences since birth. Thats alot. Should it include when I lived in a college dorm but I considered my parents’ house my home? What about the four years when I was in a crappy little apartment in med school, and I would often load up my car to ‘go home’ on vacation? What about rentals that I forgot about when I first moved to Seattle about 15 years ago while saving up for a house?

And page 4 asks for all my places of employment. Does that include shoveling snow off driveways as a kid? It also asks for all schools... does that include preschool school?

And then I need to sign it under the threat of perjury. And as for privacy,

ROUTINE USES: The information solicited on this form may be made available as a routine use to other government agencies and private contractors to assist the U.S. Department of State in adjudicating passport applications and requests for related services, and for law enforcement, fraud prevention, border security, counterterrorism, litigation activities, and administrative purposes. The information may be made available to foreign government agencies to fulfill passport control and immigration duties. The information may also be provided to foreign government agencies, international organizations and, in limited cases, private persons and organizations to investigate, prosecute, or otherwise address potential violations of law or to further the Secretary's responsibility for the protection of U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals abroad. The information may be made available to the Department of Homeland Security and private employers for employment verification purposes. For a more detailed listing of the routine uses to which this information may be put see the Department of State's Prefatory Statement of Routine Uses relative to the Privacy Act (Public Notice 6290 of July 15, 2008) and the listing of routine users set forth in the System of Records Notices for Overseas Citizen Services Records (State-05) and Passport Records (State-26) published in the Federal Register.

That makes me feel better. That doesn’t narrow the release of private information to much aside from the local dog-catcher.

What kind of bureaucrat could allow this monstrous intrusion to progress as far a a real proposal? And as for US citizens (or subjects?) - do we allow this?

Some old guy, those guys that seemed to make a living by making pithy statements, said something about when an honest man could not help but break a law because there are so many of them he lives in tyranny. What is the penalty for omitting a residence when you were 2 years old? What about listing a post-natal care appointment which was actually rescheduled? Such a form allows the government to bide its time and prosecute you when they want to. Are you being a bit to vocal? What’s stopping some bureaucrat or politician investigating your answers to all this if you are a bit too vocal in exercising your first amendment rights.

A sampling, but please go to the original source and write your congressman and representative. And no offense meant towards a dog-catchers. You guys are great.

Please note: I tried to copy the forms without any changes, but I couldn't find a 12 year old to help me. This is what came out, good enough as the original source is on line and the first 2 pages of proposed questions follows:

U.S. Department of State BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A U.S. PASSPORT Expires: xx-xx-xxxx

To better assist us in processing your application for a U.S. passport, please complete this form in its entirety and return it to the appropriate passport office. If the space provided is not sufficient to answer the questions below, please continue answering the questions on a separate piece of paper.

1. Full Name: (First, Middle, Last)

2. Date of birth:

/

/

3. Social Security Number:

(month) 4. Place of birth (city, state, country):

(day )

(year)

Section B: Information about Your Family (living and deceased)

Relationship

Example

Brother

Father

Stepfather

Mother

Stepmother

Spouse

Sibling

Sibling

Sibling

Sibling

Sibling

Sibling

Child

Child

DS-5513 xx-xxxx

Full Name

Example

Joe Smith

Place of Birth (City, State, Country)

Example

Albany, NY, USA

Date of Birth

Example

12/25/1980

Is This Person a U.S. Citizen?

Example

Section A: Biographical Information

OMB Approval No.: 1405-xxxx *Estimated Burden: 45 minutes

YES

Page 1 of 5

Section C: Information for Non-Institutional Births or Delayed Birth Filings

If you were not born in the United States skip Items 5-12 and continue to Section D. If you were born in the United States, you must complete Items 5-12 if you answer "No" to either of the questions below.

Was your birth recorded within one year of the date your birth occurred? Yes No Were you born in a medical facility? Yes No

5. List your mother's residence one year before your birth:

6. List your mother's residence at the time of your birth:

7. List your mother's residence one year after your birth:

(Street Address) (City, State, Country)

(Street Address) (City, State, Country)

(Street Address) (City, State, Country)

8. Mother's place of employment at the time of your birth: Dates of employment: Name of employer:

Address of employer:

9. Did your mother receive pre-natal or post-natal medical care? Hospital or other facility:

Address:

Name of Doctor: Dates of appointments:

Yes No

10. What type of document, if any, did your mother use to enter into the United States before your birth?

11. Please describe the circumstances of your birth including the names (as well as address and phone number, if available) of persons present or in attendance at your birth:

12. Was there any religious or institutional recording of your birth or event occuring around the time of birth? (Example: baptism, circumcision, confirmation or other religious ceremony. Please provide details including the name, location of the institution, and date.)

DS-5513 Page 2 of 5

Thoughts on gun control.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbHzlGAUePPKOrqidSW0l_6McXsB-CuwTzkgUmOazDrCZYxLOG8xpWdGgQh1oDf-UUMhnSc4dzo9Xrd0HPY1-DvPTQaiOrGlThs9rKD8u-VHs6d2RFFdKgMX499XcCT4oKrkNtBqrgAOpa/s1600/raisehand.jpg

A good friend of mine sent me this picture. Having just finished a Starbucks, my thoughts wondered a bit. Which is a bit ironic as she lives more than 100 miles foam (LOL, a Freudian slip using foam rather than from) the closest Starbuck.

Yeah, it can't happen here. I wonder how to say that in German, unfortunately my Uncles and Aunts who thought (in German) that it could happen here, aren't around to teach me German. Or Polish. Or French.

Becoming accurate with pistols and rifles serve me a few purposes. In no particular order: Satisfaction of excelling in something. When I first started shooting a rifle about 2 years ago, my target at 25 yrd was about 4 times larger than I now use at 500 yards. I took a few lessons from a better shooter, watched a lot of better shooters and practiced a lot. I may be on a first name basis with the nice folks at ammoman.com where I usually by my rounds in bulk. Freedom from fear. I am not afraid of things that go bump in the night nor walking my dog at 0300. Prepping. If things go badly in Israel, I can and will, take an El Al flight over. I can minimally help with security in a kibbutz or settlement, freeing up IDF personnel, and if things happen here, I will not need to raise both hands. Ever.

If you're new to guns and are interested in some free advice, feel free to email. Learning how to safely and accurately fire pistols and rifles is important and you might find, as I did, that it is tremendously fun. Back in the late '80's, I was anti-gun (blushing at the thought) because the only guns I ever saw were either in a policeman's holster, or once pointed at my head by an addict. I remained anti-gun until the first time I was virtually dragged to a shooting range. Again showing my age: "Try it, you'll like it!"

Got Gold Redux

Awhile ago, late May, I not too subtly suggested trading in monopoly money in for gold. I am not an economist, business man, clairvoyant, lawyer etc etc. There's just history about fiat currency that you should read and the poor ending it has. Will the American dollar be the one exception? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Quantitative Easing III is being considered, but each time monetizing the debt occurs, the more likely bad things are going to happen. Being prepared means being prepared for bad things, like (fiat) currency problems. I don't know if this is the peak price for gold or if it will double. In retrospect I wish I bought a bit more last summer. If you think it's going to go up, buy some. If you think it peaked, don't. LOL, don't blame me either way. I realize that in reality, I am spending as much (fiat) dollars for gold regardless of the price. When I bought some about a year ago, about 1100 dollars was valued equal to one ounce of gold; now those same dollars are worth less and it takes about 500 more of them to buy the ounce. Gold did not become more expensive, my dollars became less valuable. Now pondering should I buy more? Or should I buy more of that other valuable metal, lead, in the form of 308 and .45 and 5.7? Both seem good investments.

(see kitco.com for the cool graphs. I just wish they could show the next 30 days!!)

Interactive Gold Chart

Let alone the next 6 months!

Not surprisingly, Ben Bernanke, the man in charge of fiat money, says money is not gold:

(from SHTFplan.com)

Ben Bernanke Says Gold is NOT Money

Mac Slavo July 16th, 2011 SHTFplan.com Comments (4)

Though they have been used for millenia as a means of exchange, from Sumeria where silver was used to conduct transactions over 6000 years ago to the United States of America which, up until the 1970′s, linked the value of the US dollar to an ounce of gold, some economists and leading bankers will argue that neither is a viable means of exchange in modern day economies.

Chief of those who simply dismiss the use of gold and silver as nothing but old world tradition is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who recently made the argument under questioning by Representative Ron Paul (R-TX):

Ron Paul: Do you think gold is money?

Ben Bernanke: (…long pause…) No. It’s a precious metal.

Ron Paul: Even if it has been money for 6000 years, somebody reversed that and eliminated that economic law?

Ben Bernanke: Well, it’s an asset. Would you say Treasury bills are money? I don’t think they’re money either, but they’re a financial asset.

Ron Paul: Why do central banks hold it?

Ben Bernanke: It’s a form of reserves.

Ron Paul: Why don’t they hold diamonds?

Ben Bernanke: Well, it’s tradition. Long term tradition.

Ron Paul: Some people still think it’s money.

In What is money when the system collapses? we put forth a definition for money as provided by economic analyst Mike Shedlock:

“Like all commodities, it has an existing stock, it faces demands by people to buy and hold it. Like all commodities, its price in terms of other goods is determined by the interaction of its total supply, or stock, and the total demand by people to buy and hold it. People buy money by selling their goods and services for it, just as they sell money when they buy goods and services.”

Thus, money is essentially any unit of exchange, be it a commodity or otherwise, that people are willing to trade for the procurement of goods. While the US dollar and other paper currencies are used in modern economies as a unit of exchange, Mr. Bernanke’s view that only these ‘currencies’ are money is close-minded.

For a more open minded perspective, we draw on one of the leading alternative market thinkers of our time, Brandon Smith of Alt-Market:

As for what an Alternative Market is; it is essentially any method of trade outside the establishment-controlled economy. It could be based on the barter of goods and skills, or the proliferation of precious metals to break our dependence on the fiat dollar (or Federal Reserve Note), etc. It could be a network of people across a county or state, or, an agreement between two friends.

Source: Alternative Markets Are The Lifeboats That Will Save Us

They key point here, is that money is anything that two parties agree is money. It is and always has been a faith based system.

Whether you are using personally panned gold to buy bread, like many are doing in Zimbabwe, or collecting and exchanging barter points for services you provide or need, if you and the other party agree it’s money, it’s money.

Like any faith based system, the US dollar will be considered money only as long as the world believes in it. And the way things are going now, it won’t be long before Mr. Bernanke’s “money” is no longer worth the paper it’s printed on. We wonder what Mr. Bernanke will consider as money once this happens. Our guess is it will be just another paper currency, perhaps an Amero style reserve note, or a global unit of exchange like a SDR-bill from the International Monetary Fund.

What we can be certain of is once faith in Bernanke Bills has been lost, the population of those countries affected (and there are lots that use the dollar as a primary medium of exchange, including Zimbabwe), will determine on their own what will be used as money. Things like gold, silver, tobacco, alcohol – and depending on the severity of the currency crash – even food, clothing, and skills (medical, carpentry, security, machining, farming, etc.) will become the monetary units of exchange. [got a few thousand rounds of 308, .45 and 22LR in your basement yet?-- DL]

Of important note is also Mr. Bernanke’s reasoning for why the price of gold is rising. Notice that he did not mention rising inflation. On this point, we agree with Mr. Bernanke:

I pay attention to the price of gold. But I think it reflects a lot of things. It reflects global uncertainties. I think the reason people hold gold is as a protection against tail risk – really, really bad outcomes. And to the extent that the last few years have made people more worried about the potential for a major crisis then they have gold as a protection.

It is and has been our view for quite some time that inflation is merely a by-product of underlying problems within the system. The decade long rise in gold has resulted from exactly what Mr. Bernanke suggested – uncertainty.

The ironic thing about this is that, among other things, it is uncertainty in the very monetary unit of exchange, the US dollar, that Ben Bernanke purports is the only “real” money!

We suspect that the uncertainty in what happens next to our economy, government finances, politics and global relationships will continue, which suggests that the price of gold will continue to rise.

Money and governments are faith based systems. So long as the people continue to lose confidence in these systems, the price of tangible assets, including gold, will continue to rise.

And no matter what Mr. Bernanke thinks, if you have an ounce of silver or an ounce of gold, there will always be someone willing to trade you for it. In our book, that makes it money.

Take special note, also, about Mr. Bernanke’s tail risk comment. The price of gold has risen from around $300 in the 1990′s, to over $1500 now. This suggests that a lot of people are expecting a “really, really bad outcome.”

For those concerned that Ben Bernanke’s version of money will lose value, or collapse, bringing on some really, really bad outcomes, we suggest putting some other “traditional” monetary units in your personal reserves.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: July 16th, 2011
Website: www.SHTFplan.com

Copyright Information: Copyright SHTFplan and Mac Slavo. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.shtfplan.com. Please contact us for permission to reproduce this content in other media formats.

Professional Politicians

I had always thought the term "professional politician" would always be meant as an insult. In the present administration, where words take on new meanings, professional politician is meant to impart confidence. So much for term limits to prevent these types.

Please view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYA9tw8UTWk&feature=player_embedded, pay special attention at about 45 seconds into it.

We, the unwashed public, are paying attention to the deficit, the debt and lack of a budget to run this country, and we do not need professional politicians to tell us that we are wrong, that we stupidly spend our hard earned money, and (near to my heart) are too dangerous to exercise our second amendment rights.

As Steven Chu (Secretary of Energy) sees it, he is protecting us from ourselves from the stupidity of purchasing cheap, bright incandescent light bulbs rather than those silly ass, crazy-straw-shaped fluorescent glow worms, "We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money." Like my tax dollars are spent wisely.

I am not a toddler who needs to be given carefully chosen choices of green beans or broccoli rather than a frigin Twinky. If I screw up, it effects me and mine, and perhaps a few bystanders if extreme. A government program screws up and it can effect thousands, or millions or generations. The rule of law is quickly dissipating in this administration. Sometimes overtly as in the take down of General Motors and giving it to the Union rather than the legal owners, sometimes attempts to be covert fail as in the Fast and Furious fiasco, and sometimes by just piling it high and deep by professional politicians.

There is something wrong with a government that talks about taking away choices for our own good, that plays fast and loose with written law, and dismisses us, the rabble. I guess they never read Galton, "In 1906, visiting a livestock fair, he stumbled upon an intriguing contest. An ox was on display, and the villagers were invited to guess the animal's weight after it was slaughtered and dressed. Nearly 800 participated, but not one person hit the exact mark: 1,198 pounds. Galton's insight was to examine the mean of these guesses from independent people in the crowd: Astonishingly the mean of those 800 guesses was 1,197 pounds: accurate to fraction of a percent." (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton). I have read that this was reproduced fair after fair. Leave 1000 business or people alone, and as a group they will make better choices than 1 business or professional politician. Perhaps this is why free market capitalism works so well.

When a government goes wrong, the need to prepare for small and large catastrophes increases as the governement's response will be ineffective. The floods in the west were barely newsworthy because the population was prepared -- beans, bullets, bullion and buddies. The governmental adult care were barely needed in Minot, ND. FEMA in the aftermath of Katrina is still newsworthy as an example of Federal responses to a crisis -- generally wrong.

I do not want to ever need the Feds to save my (kosher) bacon; I don't think they could. Look at what they have done to air travel. In case the Feds haven't noticed, hijackings are a thing of the past because the passengers realize that cooperation will not lead to a safe passage and more likely than not, will bum-rush the hijacker, whether or not he is wearing a suicide-vest or kneeling on a rug of some sort. We know that at least 'home grown' terrorists -- sort of groomed in jail-house mosques -- have an interest in missiles to shoot down jets. Is there chaff and flares on commercial jets? I guess the Feds will wait until one is shot down before implanting basic security against such an attack.

And now the TSA has expanded outside of airports. Thousands of times, screening passengers exiting trains... and there is no outrage. History repeats itself.

16 July 2011: As far as 'professional politicians' go ... wasn't Anthony Weiner one? A career starting right out of college? And Obama?

Happy July 4th!

From the Declaration of Independence:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

*** Read the rest on your own. ***