Papa's Place

Merry Christmas and migration...

2011-12-25T13:27:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas all! Hopefully you got to spend quality friend and family time as well as got some cool loot.

I will be migrating this blog to papaswamp.com (which is wordpress).

Take care all!

Review…Crovel Extreme vs Glock E-tool vs Cold Steel SF Shovel

2011-12-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

This is sort of an apples to oranges to pears review. They are all related via the base design, which is the old US military entrenching tool. Each has similarities in that they have a shovel/digging capability, then things diverge wildly in some cases.

Set up…I was looking for a tool that would be easily carried on my get home bag (GHB) and/or bugout bag (BOB). Now remember…as with anything in any review, what works for me (or not) may or may not work for you.

Crovel Extreme (Link)
Cost: ~$109 (without case)
Weight: +5.5lbs
Length:
This is a very interestingly designed item. Basically an e-tool with a crowbar/hammer on the handle end. This is a solid, heavy duty tool, solid construction with a few extra features. Handle is hollow inside for storage of small items, but this does not compromise the sturdiness of the tool. Handle is also wrapped with paracord (nice touch but mine came unraveled after splitting wood). Locking nut is very solid with no chance of slippage out of locked 'pick axe' or shovel head position. Shovel head has serrations on one side for sawing and semi sharpened edge on the other for splitting (not sharp enough to cut wood against grain) plus a bottle cap remover. All main metal parts have a heavy duty powder coating on them. Obviously the designers wanted people to have a shovel, axe, saw, pick axe, crowbar, hammer all in one. Let's see how it performed on each of these tasks…

Digging/Pickaxe: This is by far the Crovel's strong suit. Due to it's sturdiness, weight and heavy duty locking nut, the Crovel beats the other 2 hands down. The crowbar/hammer handle end allowed for extra grip and leverage. The only design change here would be a more pointed shovel head…crucial for getting through the tough shallow root system that exists in the swamp. One drawback was sometime the crowbar head would bite into my forearm if I was gripping the handle instead of the crowbar end while in pickaxe mode.

Crowbar/hammer: Though a neat idea this part gave me problems. Due to the position of the crowbar/hammer, I was very limited on the amount of swing I could use due to the shovel head either getting in the way or biting my forearm (see pics). Also due to the angle of the crowbar head, insertion between a door and door jam was very limited. Zero angle would help somewhat, though the shovel head might get in the way regardless.

Shovel head position limits ability to insert crowbar head between door/doorjam interface.

Regardless of pivot position shovel head makes contact

Saw/chopping: The saw blade side of the shovel head is rather inefficient since the teeth are triangular and not off set. A substantial amount of effort was required. As to being used as a weapon…this would be the side to apply....due to the weight of the tool..probably the most deadly of the 3. The Crovel plain side is beveled, but not enough for chopping. It can be used for splitting seasoned wood…it's heavy weight allows it to be top in this aspect.

Conclusion:
At over 5.5 pounds, it simply is too heavy to add to a GHB. BOB…perhaps if one excludes other tools. The challenge would be it would need to be attached near the torso since heavy weights should be mid/center and as close to body as possible when packing. Problems with the crowbar/hammer head utilization, make this aspect of the tool rather limited. The threaded shaft area the locking lug rides on quickly began to rust and will require a thin coat of grease to prevent future problems (minor issue). Though I like the concept of the Crovel it's use beyond a shovel (or last ditch weapon) is limited in my mind.

Glock E-tool (Link)
Cost: ~$34 (with case)
Weight: 2 lbs
Length:
The Glock e-tool is a simple design digging tool with a small added feature of a saw blade inside the handle. This is the most compact out of the 3.

Tool in it's most compact form. Adjacent pic shows the saw.

Digging/Pickaxe: The pointed nature of the blade help for digging and pickaxe. Handle telescopes out and is locked in place by rotating counterclockwise. Shovel head is fixed in position by a tightening nut that maybe could be a bit larger. The lightweight did transfer 'shock' from striking roots back to the handlers arm/wrist.

Saw/cutting: The saw blade attachment does the job well on small limbs and roots. Also would make an excellent bone saw for quartering large game. This tool has no chopping/splitting function.

Conclusions:
Lightweight/lack of mass require more energy for digging, etc.. Not intended as a weapon. This is the most lightweight of the tools, thus additional tools such as an axe and crowbar will also be needed to be carried. Case is a bit weak and may wear out quickly (I'll update if it does). Since this tool has a few parts that separate…there is the possibility that they could be lost. This will mot render the shovel aspect inoperable, but obviously the saw would be.

Cold Steel SF Shovel (Link)
Cost: ~$26 (without case...+$10)
Weight: 1.66 lbs
Length:
This is the simplest of all the designs, based on the WW2 style. Straight solid wood handle with steel head. The entire edge of the shovel head is VERY sharp. Why the cover is sold separately makes zero sense to me..it is a must have item.

Digging: No problem here…goes through roots and dirt rather well. Handle is easy to grip and sturdy (except when wet..wrap some duct tape for better grip).

Chopping/Splitting wood: The best out of the 3….roots with 1 swing. Very sharp blade, branches 3 inches thick were not a problem. Splitting it was second to the Crovel due to lack of mass only.

Conclusion: Can be used for digging, chopping, zombie head removal…no pickaxe option. Blade is sharp and MUST have a case. Between the Crovel and Glock tool in size. Though listed as lighter than the Glock, it felt a bit heavier/solid. Edge did show some light rust, thus a thin coat of grease will need to be applied. Cold Steel also shows how the shovel can be thrown and impale targets…I'm not a big fan of throwing tools, knives, axes, etc..the penetration done is usually less than incapacitating. If you miss, your intended target now has your tool/weapon.

So which to carry?
-I was excited about the Crovel, but disappointed with the results due to the design issues I mentioned and the weight. It's cost (5 times more than next reviewed), perhaps caused me to be a bit more critical, but I believe this is warranted of any high priced item.

-The Glock tool certainly being the lightest/most compact is the easiest to carry, but it's rather non-solid feel gives me pause. I plan on putting it through a similar abuse the SF tool went through…if it holds up it will get the nod...I will update.

-The Cold Steel, I worked the heck out of it to see at what point the wooden handle would break (hammer, prybar..and yes, I did the throw thing…it did break (10th throw....Cold Steel sells replacements), but I would probably not use it in such a way. At the moment it is my top pick (with case). Yes, you can throw it and it sticks into targets...neato!..not practical unless it is the last thing you have and you want to make your enemy bleed before you expire.

Survival Seeds…an experiment.

2011-12-06T17:54:00.001-05:00

So I thought I would start an experiment back in September.

Garden is a 4'x8' section plus a small planter (1.5'x3'). Rainfall was below normal and the dry season has begun, but watering did occur when needed until 5 wks ago when fresh water became scarce.
It was rather simple scenario:

I'm Joe 6-pack, and I purchased these survival seeds just in case. I don't have much gardening experience. I have put aside some supplies, food, water, etc.. Collapse occurs, but I decide to bug in (suburban area) since most roads are blocked and fuel quickly ran out. It's me, my wife and 2 children (8 and 10). About half the neighborhood stays. Most decide to be responsible for their own food. I quickly put seeds in the ground or in seedling pots that should grow this time of year in Florida. After the seeds are planted, day to day survival takes precedence, I pay little attention to the garden due to other demands such as security, fresh water (I'm surrounded by mostly salt/brackish), sanitation issues and a death in the family. Now it is December, canned food is running low and I'm out of vegetables. Going out and foraging has become increasingly difficult as a few roving groups that have been robbing/violently looting and a population surge into the area due to a nearby metro area where govt food supply lines collapsed. Disease has also broken out such as cholera, dysentery and rumors of malaria. I turn attention back to my garden….

So how did Joe 6-pack's garden do with very little attention paid to it? For all intents and purposes it was a failure. Very few seeds germinated, plus the garden suffered from animal, insect and disease incursions. Overall success rate was about 7% with enough total food for 2 days. Joe didn't know to stagger plantings, and now realizes that he should already have a crop of something else going. Not watching, his son used the planting guide as kindling to get a cooking fire going back in November.

I see this as a very standard scenario that most living in a southern coastal area will experience in an case of complete collapse and mentality of more individual/family than larger group cooperation (see previous post). This also plays into the discussion of year round garden production, harvest and storage, as well as seed viability and success with different levels of attention paid. These are all concerns preppers need to keep in mind when making a plan.

I found it rather interesting though was the seed germination failure rate. Carrots and leafy greens did well, but the rows were heavily damaged/scattered by animal incursion early on (lack of fencing).

Beets, radishes and onions did not grow well or at all, and were extremely small and 'weak' for how long they have been planted. (lack of fertilizer and suitable planting area).

Cucumbers germinated well, but were quickly destroyed by insects. All that is left are 2 small plants. (lack of fertilizer insecticide).

Fertilizer, insecticide, fungicide and good location are needed as well as dedication to the garden. This is an additional prep item(s)/plans many skip over. I am going to run the experiment again with a bit more of a prepared scenario, and heavier attention paid to the garden. Going into winter should be a bit more challenging, but at the same time…disasters don't occur when convenient. At the end of the second run if I see similar germination failures I will list the product name so people may avoid wasting their money.

Home intrusion…not just one intruder..multiple...

2011-09-26T21:15:00.002-04:00

Most people, when they think of home invasion, think of just 1 intruder…what if there are more? The trend lately seems to be 3 or more intruders attacking at night. Reasoning seems to be, instead of searching, home owners can show the intruders were the valuables are more quickly.

Some cases unfortunately, involve more violent and nefarious agenda.

Many say 'no problem', I have a shotgun (or other firearm)…but it is not as easily done as it is said. You are surprised, multiple targets in multiple directions with loved ones in close proximity, in close quarters is not the same as paper targets at a range. Adrenaline is pumping, have to get to weapon (not many people wear their firearm while sitting on the couch watching Monday night football) then have to engage targets.

Some simple steps can be found HERE and HERE.

But preppers should seriously consider going further and getting professional training for home invasion and/or multiple targets.
JB Training (NE FL, SE GA)
CRI (Nevada)
Please note…I have not tried either course, but will probably take JB's course and will post a review. I encourage people to do their own research and find what works best for them.

International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) is also a great way to learn pistol shooting at a whole different level. IDPA uses realistic scenarios to engage multiple targets, moving, loading, shooting from cover, etc..

The situation isn't pretty out there folks. If the present economic down trend continues, we can expect this to occur more frequently. Don't be a target! Prepare and train now.

Water distillation…the quick way.

2011-09-12T18:45:00.000-04:00

I live on an island of sorts. This is a bonus in some aspects as I have a rather large continuous supply of tasty seafood year round. The draw back of course is in times of need…I am surrounded by salt water. This can present a problem during the dry season, which sometimes occurs during the wet season. Sometime it rains every afternoon and sometimes it doesn't rain for weeks. So the ability to procure drinkable freshwater can be a challenge. An easy method is water distillation. The simple method of causing water to evaporate and then condensing it elsewhere. This is exactly what nature does to create rain. There are several methods to doing so, but one of the quicker methods is to boil water and then condense the steam and collect the water.

Materials are rather simple:

-Pressure cooker (recommend stainless) or any container which can withstand a heat source under it and can be sealed to prevent loss of steam except through 1 hole.

-Heat source (fire, grill, etc.)

-food grade vinyl hose (not required, but makes connection easier)

-hose clamps (unless not using hose)

- stainless or copper tubing

-rubber stoppers

-5 gal bucket

Water distillation leaves you with water that is free of salt, bacteria, viruses, etc. Now point of caution…chemicals with a boiling point less than or equal to water can end up in your collected water. A trick to avoid this is boil water for ~10 minutes uncovered..this cooks off the volatile chems.

CDC lists the following things distillation can can do:

Distillation Systems

Distillation Systems use a process of heating water to the boiling point and then collecting the water vapor as it condenses, leaving many of the contaminants behind.
Distillation Systems have a very high effectiveness in removing protozoa (for example, Cryptosporidium, Giardia);
Distillation Systems have a very high effectiveness in removing bacteria (for example, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli);
Distillation Systems have a very high effectiveness in removing viruses (for example, Enteric, Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Rotavirus);
Distillation Systems will remove common chemical contaminants, including arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, nitrate, sodium, sulfate, and many organic chemicals.

Set up is easy. Salt water into your pressure cooker (or what ever container) place it over your heat. Secure lid to pot (now a tea pot and hose attachment to the spout can work too). Attach hose/condenser coil to your lid valve/hole. In warm weather it's good to have the condenser coil submerged in a bucket of water (any water is fine) to help condensation. If it is cool outside, air cooling on the condensing coil works too. It takes a bit to get water boiling, but once it is going you are in business.

It is a good idea to produce water for about 20 minutes, then use that water for the garden. This sterilizes your hose/condenser coil in case any contaminants got into them….in other words don't drink it.

Once the system in perking along you should be able to produce between 1/2 to 1 oz of water per minute. The great thing about this system..once it is going, it produces well…the drawback is that it is very fuel (for the heat source) intensive.

Present to future situation…and remembering the unorganized militia.

2011-09-11T10:10:00.000-04:00

2 interesting if not eye opening articles on Business Insider show not only the present situation economically in the US via photos, but also a peek into what perhaps maybe the future situation for more and more as this economy slowly degrades.

First is a bit of a photo essay comparing the great depression photos and today's so called non-existant recession.

We recently published some color photos of the Great Depression, which make that era look a lot more familiar than when it is viewed in black and white. The more-familiar black-and-white shots of the Depression are moving, but they make it seem completely dissimilar to the vivid color era in which we live today.
And now we find ourselves in an economy that has several unsettling parallels to the Great Depression, one that in many ways is the worst economy since that horrific decade.

Next is another photo essay on a tent city that has arisen in NJ.

Inside his tepee in the woods outside Lakewood, NJ, at the homeless Tent City, the roosters wake early and the mornings are already cooler.
A musician who lost his Florida home in the housing crisis, Hardman says he floats in and out of Tent City, that he's proud of his kids, and misses the life he no longer has.
He has company out here.
About an hour south of Wall Street, where some bankers quietly gripe about how hard it is to survive on a million dollars a year, other Americans are making do with less.

Lastly, a great article by Randy Barnett on the unorganized militia and how they saved an untold number on 9/11/01. Originally written on 18 Sept, 2001 it pushes home the idea of who the unorganized militia is and their capabilities.

” The next time someone tells you that the militia referred to in the Second Amendment has been “superceded” by the National Guard, ask them who it was that prevented United Airlines Flight 93 from reaching its target. The National Guard? The regular Army? The D.C. Police Department? None of these had a presence on Flight 93 because, in a free society, professional law-enforcement and military personnel cannot be everywhere. Terrorists and criminals are well aware of this — indeed, they count on it. Who is everywhere? The people the Founders referred to as the “general militia.” Cell-phone calls from the plane have now revealed that it was members of the general militia, not organized law enforcement, who successfully prevented Flight 93 from reaching its intended target at the cost of their own lives.

Tips from Urban Survival Guide.

2011-08-10T12:18:00.001-04:00

Urban Survival Guide by David Morris is one of many survival books out there, though it separates itself by being more of a 'bug in' book (survive in place) versus heading out into nowhere land and surviving off nature. Something I point out in a previous post that sometimes it won't matter where you go trouble will be there. The book isn't tremendously detailed, but it brings up many issues one faces in an urban suburban setting. What I really like is that the book wasn't just published and left out there. The author has continued the process of learning and preparing and puts out a newsletter as well as offers classes, equipment suggestions etc..

In light of the recent riots in London as well as continued economic destabilization in the EU and US, the advice and information seem rather timely.

If wide spread riots occur will you be able to get from work to home? Can you survive in place away from your supplies. Can you repel those that wish to take or simply burn the place down? These are tough and even scary questions, but unfortunately reality seems to have taken on a reality of it's own.

Check list time…a bit early.

2011-07-25T11:59:00.001-04:00

I used to post this at the beginning of every month, but felt it was too repetitive. In light of the seeming looming govt shut down, which may or may not happen, thought it would be good time to maybe do a check now, before a possible panic. If no deal is reached, even for a short time, there may be some areas of unrest and/or panic....or the people will rejoice. Either way...always good to check items you haven't looked at in a while and check food storage for pest infestation, leaks, etc.

urbanverbal

Time for the monthly rotation checklist. I've adapted this from alpharubicon's site (they have more info than I can ever read). Usually do this the first Friday of every month (you pick best time for you). Some of these actions may only pertain to those living in a moist (and in my case salty) environment. If you have a suggestion of what to add...let me know!

____Check water supply.
____ Check storage containers for leaks, mold, etc.
____Check function of hand pumps.
____Rotate water if needed (every 6 months if possible..use to flush toilet or water garden. (CAUTION! If water was treated with chems may not be good for plants)

____Food storage.
____Check expiration dates on regular foods.
____Check dates on long term survival foods.
____Check for leaks, pest infestation.

____Weapons check.
____Inspect for rust, mold.
____Check stock/grip for damage/cracks.
____Lubricate if needed.
____Rotate/inspect ammo and mags. (Range time!..woohoo!)
____Check slings and holsters for fraying and mold.
____Check cleaning kit supplies.

____Personal Go bag/vehicle bag (not large/main BOBs)
____Inspect contents, for mold, expiration..rotate as needed.

____ Medical
____Check first aid kits for expired meds.
____Inspect bandages and wraps for package frays/tears....loss of sterile integrity.
____Check supply of prescribed meds.

____Vehicles
____Check tires and fluids.
____Check hoses, filters and cables for fraying, clogs or pest infestation (they like to make nests and chew wires).
____Check tool kit (missing parts, rust, mold etc.)

____Home
____Check smoke, CO2 detectors, intrusion alarms.
____Lube window and door locks (important in coastal areas).
____Virus scan computers and system backup.
____ 360 exterior inspection.
____Check battery supply.

3-6 Month checks:

____NBC
____ Inspect masks and suits, gloves, boots for tears, mold, infestations.
____ Check expiration dates and seals on unused filters.
____ Inspect and test NBC detection devices (remember to store batteries outside units when unit in storage mode).

____BOB/ BIN (Bugout/Bug In bags/boxes) "The big stuff"
____ Inspect contents for mold infestation.
____Rotate out expired contents.
____Inspect temp. shelter or tear, mold, infestation.
____Inspect sanitation items (personal hygene, porta pooper, TP, fem. products, etc.)

____Misc.
____Inspect back up communication devices.
____Inspect tools for mold, rust, wood deterioration (apply linseed oil to handles).
____Inspect BO route... has it changed (construction etc.).
____Inspect BOL is everything still the same (plumbing, electrical, back-up power, water supply, etc.)?
____Rotate batteries in flashlights, check bulbs.
____Rotate/inspect fuel supply (gasoline, liquid gas, wood pile, etc.).

____ Test (partial or full) this should be done a minimum of once a year quarterly is best (you pick the scenario).
____Full Bug in test....cut the power...cut the water....no using the toilet (unles you have septic) for one weekend.
____Full Bug out test (family camping trip!!!)... 3 days min.

Hurricane season ramping up.

2011-07-20T08:31:00.001-04:00

Hurricane season is beginning to ramp up a bit. It has been fairly quiet for Florida the last few years, but don't let your guard down. I recommend, if possible to check the National Hurricane Center at least twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). Check your preps, go over your evac plan and routes (have more than one). Remember travel times during evacuations typically triple and quadruple. Don't forget important documents and plan for the pets....I know I'm preaching to the choir. Those bugging in, don't forget to check you exterior area for potential flying debris such as lawn furniture or dead trees and branches. Have plan for the furniture and other items. Get those dead trees and branches on the ground.

No threats to us at the moment...though there is a broad area of rotation over Hispaniola slowly moving east. This has the potential to become an issue once out over water.

Another good site for those a bit more into tropical weather is Central FL Hurricane site.

2011-07-13T09:47:00.002-04:00

A great article on ZeroHedge written by the folks at Alt-Market. Brought up a great real life point as to why going on your own, or just you and your family, is probably a bad idea in times of widespread collapse. Using the example of Argentina in 2002 (collapse actually occurred in Dec of 2001) went relatively unnoticed in the US as we were reeling from the attacks of 9-11.

Argentina was in the midst of total collapse, driven by banker fraud and extreme currency devaluation in tandem with government mismanagement and corruption.

Sound familiar?
The results sound like something from a fictional apocalyptic novel (items in bold are my emphasis).

First, cities exploded with rioting and violence as Argentinian police and military attempted to crush all dissent. Soon after, displaced refugees from population centers along with roving bands of thieves flooded into the countryside, wiping out isolated farms, murdering families, and hunting down any small group of survivors weaker than themselves and flush with supplies. The authorities (and I use the term loosely) were too busy trying to suppress civil protests to bother protecting those who were caught unprepared.

This behavior is part and parcel of economic destabilization, regardless of the time or place in which it occurs. Only nine years ago, a very modern and technologically savvy nation of people, nearly cannibalized itself. Those who survived and thrived did so through family aid and substantial existing wealth, or, the tactical building of communities for the purpose of mutual defense and alternative trade. Farmers armed themselves and formed regional groups along with security measures. City dwellers formed neighborhood watches and barter networks when the mainstream economy disappeared. The bottom line; lone wolves and isolated country families were nothing more than tempting targets at the onset of the breakdown in Argentina.

Let me hit that last sentence again...
"The bottom line; lone wolves and isolated country families were nothing more than tempting targets at the onset of the breakdown in Argentina."

The purpose of prepper groups is to gather like minded people together to gain knowledge and prepare for the worst. What seems to lack is a concerted effort to pursue the 'strength in numbers' mentality. Though there are many groups that get together for events, most of the effort is centered around BOBs, EDC, etc.. Though these are important, a more critical aspect would seem to be the formation of local communities of strength. More of the...ok I have bugged out now what? This seems to be the area of largest weakness.

I see many mention they have land far away or plan to travel to some remote area. As the example of Argentina shows, this almost turns out to be a death sentence. Realistically, anyone who has had to evacuate due to hurricane knows how the roads get. Travel time that normally took 4-6 hours easily turns into 24+hrs. Now add roving bands looking to take what you have and you are trapped on a road, in your car with your family. Not a good position to defend from.

I encourage everyone to read the article completely.

Mountain House statement on low supply.

2011-07-11T06:38:00.005-04:00

An interesting notice up on the Mountain House website, brought to my attention by the head of our local meet-up prep group. FEMA posted a Request For Information (RFI) for suppliers of long term foods. This apparently prompted people to start the rumor that MH was the de-facto supplier to FEMA thus the shortage.

The jist (bold is my highlight not the notices):

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) procures and stores pre-packaged commercial meals to support readiness capability for immediate distribution to disaster survivors routinely. The purpose of this Request for Information is to identify sources of supply for meals in support of disaster relief efforts based on a catastrophic disaster event within the New Madrid Fault System for a survivor population of 7M to be utilized for the sustainment of life during a 10-day period of operations.

The RFI was pulled 7 days after posting. Either they got the info they wanted or people panicked prompting FEMA to pull it. Personally, if that gets people to prepare...leave it up!

Costco seems to have a decent supply on hand either in store or on-line. I buy a couple of cases every quarter.
EDIT!: Costco as of today is basically out of MH foods, but has other brands.

End of week news that raises eyebrows.

2011-07-09T07:24:00.010-04:00

In case anyone was sleeping and missed the news (not that main street didn't already know) the jobs market is terrible and unemployment rose to 9.2%. Buried in the headlines though was the much more ominous number of declining participation rate (number of work-age people actually in the workforce) which hit a new 25 yr low.

44.6 million people are now on food stamps...an increase of 4.3 million over last year. The US govt with no clue what to do is attempting to divert attention away from the lack of economic improvement to the debt ceiling/budget debate. Granted this is a massive problem, but it cannot be solved on it's own with increasing the number of people in good paying jobs. Though government cannot itself create a job market, it can get out of the way of businesses that can. It can have trade agreements that are more favorable to the US.

An article that really caught my attention was China purchased a massive amount of US corn for August delivery. What made it so massive was they purchased more than a years worth of corn (predicted) for just one month.
A WSJ article.

By TOM POLANSEK, IAN BERRY and SCOTT KILMAN

A Chinese buying spree for U.S. corn is putting on display the ability of Beijing to reshape grain markets as well as the cost of food globally.

China this past week bought 540,000 metric tons of U.S. corn for delivery after August, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than the 500,000 tons the agency forecast that nation would buy in an entire year. The news drove corn prices higher on Thursday and Friday, to settle at about $6.75 a bushel, giving new life to the market after a three-week slump.

Now, traders believe that China is on the brink of buying millions of metric tons of U.S. corn, which would shatter the USDA forecast and keep U.S. grain supplies tight even as farmers tend to what is expected to be a record-large corn crop.

The Chinese "are on the cusp, we believe, of needing a whole lot more corn than they can produce," said David C. Nelson, a global strategist at Rabobank, a lender and investment banker to many of the world's biggest food concerns.

Why do they need so much corn?...their population has suddenly exploded overnight.
So several possibilities popped into my mind.
1. They have had or are predicting to have, a disastrous crop in China.
2. For what ever reason they are propping up the price of corn (corn dropped after it became apparent the US was going to have a banner corn harvest).
3. The Chinese are predicting a global food shortage and decided with the price low, now is the time to pounce. Of course I really wonder in my infinite suspiciousness if 3 weeks ago, when the price dropped, the USDA didn't fudge the US crop number as a favor to China causing the price to drop.
4.....way outside chance...China is preparing for war.

So where does this leave us?.....nothing has really changed trend wise. The economy is still continuing to slowly degrade, and the world become less stable. Really the question is, what will be the tipping point? The house of cards needs to fall so something more substantial can take its place. The present extend and pretend is just making the landing from the fall that much harder. My worry is that it will be so hard that we cannot get back up.

-PS

Vector borne diseases..prevention.

2011-06-30T09:24:00.003-04:00

Something many preppers fail to think about...vector borne diseases. The Southeast US seems to be a haven for the little nasty biting bugs, but all across the US, insect vector borne diseases occur.

What the heck are vector borne diseases?!
These are diseases that are transmitted to humans via insects (or some cases mammals and birds)...usually fleas (ex. plague), ticks (ex.Lyme disease) and mosquitos (ex. West Nile and Malaria). These diseases typically run rampant in third world countries due to lack of sanitation and countrywide insect control program. More and more though, they are showing up in the US. Florida had it's first case of Dengue fever in more than 75 yrs. Since this is such a broad range...I'm going to stick to insect borne disease.
CDC Division of Vector Borne Diseases.

So what happens if there is an economic collapse here in the US...even partial? Florida has a very aggressive anti-mosquito program usually handled by counties and municipalities. What happens if the spraying and monitoring programs stop? What have you done to prepare? That can of OFF probably isn't enough.

I have 2 suggestions for you to consider adding to your arsenal of preparedness items.
-A Permethrin clothing spray (ex.Sawyer SP657 Permethrin Premium Insect Clothing Repellent Spray). Runs around $14 for 24 oz bottle.

-Insecticide treated mosquito netting (ex.Pramex Long Lasting Insecticidal Net) for each person. Runs around $35 a net. Lasts for 3 yrs.

The clothing spray is very effective at preventing ticks, fleas and chiggers from getting on you.

The insecticide treated mosquito netting has proven to cut malaria cases by as much as 1/3 to half.
World Health Organization suggestion on mosquito netting...HERE

Though many think of malaria and the plague as non-US diseases, these and others will be quick to show up as spray programs, health provisions and sanitation rapidly decline.

Semper paratus
-PS

Wildfires...

2011-06-28T06:31:00.000-04:00

As many of you know it has been brutally hot and dry in Florida. The result has been water tables in many areas at all time lows and wildfires.

- Information on all active wildfires can be found HERE.
-Important tips on evacuation plan....HERE.
-How to make your yard more fire defensible against wildfires.HERE..the garden hose won't cut it.

Homeowners and neighborhood guide in pdf. HERE.

Be careful out there folks and hopefully mother nature will see fit to dump some rain on us. Though most people aren't fans of tropical systems...it is a natural event that is necessary to recharge our aquifers.

Will Radiation from Japan be a problem here?

2011-03-16T08:43:00.006-04:00

Just in case you have been under a rock and missed the whole Japan quake/tsunami/nuclear plant meltdown in progress.

The 2 isotopes we should worry about are Iodine 131 and Cesium 139. I-131 being the nastier of the 2 since as it decays, it releases gamma radiation. This type of radiation penetrates just about anything quite easily except for bunkers etc.. I-131 is very damaging to mammalian cells, cause mutations to out right destruction. This is the main culprit for radiation sickness. Cs-139 emits beta radiation which isn't quite as nasty but can still cause problems over the long term, localized damage and even surface skin burns.

So back to the question...Should we in the US and more specifically Florida worry about possible radiation from this?
Probably not.
BUT we should still be careful and check things out for ourselves. Yes, I'm weird and have 2 radiation survey meters. Typical background radiation for my area ranges from 0.0007 to 0.0020 uSv/hr. But what happens if things change? What happens if certain natural and man made events come together? Suppose things continue out of control and more radiation is released? The key for us will be the weather. Will the radiation be swept up into the atmosphere and transported across the pacific and get dumped on us (most likely from rain)? The potential danger is, such an event could cause small pools of concentrated radiation.

Unfortunately, the US as a whole is badly prepared for nuclear radiation problems. The study shows:

The authors asked public-health departments about their preparedness to monitor the human health effects of any released radiation from these kind of incidents. Across the different methods of monitoring, between 70% and 84% of states reported having completed minimal to no planning. Some 82% of states reported no or minimal plans to collect biological or clinical samples to assess the impact of radiation exposure.

Probably one of the best books in dealing with a nuclear disaster is Bruce Clayton's 'Life After Doomsday'. Though it deals mostly with the impact and subsequent survival of nuclear war, the explanations of radiation effects, and necessary preparations still apply.
Hopefully, this won't become an issue, but it is always good to be ready, just in case.

Survival Rations...

2011-03-07T15:54:00.005-05:00

Survival rations (SR) should be part of every preppers stock. SR's are different from your standard stock of food in that they provide nutrition in only the most dire situations. Mainstay 3600 emergency food rations are that type of food. Each bar provides 400 calories for a total of 3600 calories per package. The rations are US Coast Guard approved and they recommend 3 bars per day per person on land and 2 bars per person at sea. Thus each package provides a minimum of 3 days of nutrition per person. A case comes with 10 packages or 30 days worth of nutrition for 1 person. A case goes for ~ $53. The rations have a 5 yr shelf life. Each 24 oz package is about 5inx5in by 1in thick.
Ok, sounds semi-spiffy, but how do they taste? Not too bad actually...something similar to a lemon bar. The big aspect is that the bars do not make you thirsty, something many rations cannot claim, but key in getting a USCG approved ration.

Sanitation...the stinky problem.

2011-03-07T12:28:00.000-05:00

I thought I would start the new year off with something usually overlooked....sanitiation during times of disaster. Many stock up on loads of TP and then really don't think about the issue after that. So what to do when the water stops running and the TP runs out? This is a subject many don't like to breach, but it a daily issue that must be addressed.

Sanitation after a disaster is a huge issue. The potential for disease outbreak is massive...the present situation in Haiti is a great example.

Bugging In:

People on sewer systems, especially low lying coastal areas face a serious issue. Though toilets can be flushed by pouring water into the tanks, when flushed it goes no further than your area lift station holding tank. With the power off these lift stations stop working and the holding tanks fill up. Either the waste will begin to flood the streets or it will back up into your house. Neither is a good option. Those on septic systems can continue to flush...though this is a huge waste of water.

If it is a short term disaster solutions are easy...probably the simplest is the 5 gal toilet. Available for purchase from several suppliers or you can make your own. This is also a good option for those bugging out via BOV.

A longer term solution is a 55 gal drum that can be constructed into a composting toilet if you are feeling really adventurous. Additionally a small septic system can easily be constructed.

A great book for waste composting...-The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Third Edition - Joseph C. Jenkins .

Bugging out:

Ok so you have to bug out. If going BOV, most think heck I'll just pull over and go (which is exactly what the masses will do). This again sets up the potential for disease spread as well as water contamination. With the BOV you can carry a 5 gal bucket...but I suggest you have one with the bottom cut out...dig a hole and presto..mini loo. But is is good to be responsible..a great book that addresses going in the wild and applies to any mode of bugging out.

-How to Shit in the Woods, Second Edition: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art - Kathleen Meyer

Holy Smokes I'm out of TP?!...now what?

Fortunately, someone has already done a study. Though a bit on the 'bold' side, they try several different substitutes...I'll let you read and decide for yourself.

I'm a slacker...

2011-03-01T20:04:00.004-05:00

credit

Yea, I know I haven't posted in a while, and I'm lacking a decent excuse, but get ready...a bunch of reviews are coming, and I might even make an attempt at the dreaded video posting...at the very least it should be hilarious...or not.

-PS

The Madness of a Society.

2010-12-01T10:51:00.001-05:00

This video is a bit political (with some religious undertones) but drives home the serious problem this country will shortly face. I know I'm 'preaching to the choir' on this, but it clearly shows the problem.
There is one silly aspect in the video referencing the contrail off CA that was initially mistaken for a missile...other than that it is right on as far as the masses are concerned.

Gear Review S.O. Tech Mission Go Bag and Mission Bag Extended

2010-09-15T16:11:00.001-04:00

S.O. Tech has 2 products I like, Go Bag Extended and Mission Go Bag. I was looking for something in the bailout bag arena. Something to basically get me home should a sudden disaster occur. Something I could easily stash in my truck that was much smaller than a standard bug out bag. I think these fit the bill. these certainly aren't cheap items...but you get what you pay for.

The Go Bag Extended is perfect for compact carbines (broken down) with side pouches for spare mags, loops for attachments and larger pockets for other necessities.
In mine: AR-15, 6 spare mags, 2- G21 mags, IFAK, water container, water filtration, energy bars, weapons cleaning kit, Wiley goggles, RMJ Loggerhead, shemagh, survival tin fishing kit.

The Mission Go Bag is similar to a messenger bag, but with plenty of pockets inside....the problem is I tend to over stuff it.
Glock 21, 2 spare mags, 2-AR-15 mags, water, silver coinage, binos, notepad,multitool, knife sharpener, knife, flashlight, blowout kit, radiac meter, stripped MRE, gloves.

Just a little walk...

2010-08-03T10:48:00.001-04:00

I was out on a little walk today, and thought OK let's do a little prepper thinking. What if....I needed to find food, start a fire etc. It's winter time and things are looking a bit bleak where I am hiking, what food is available quickly? I immediately went to my favorite place, the fallen tree.
With my trusty, always on me leatherman, I popped open the bark to find.

Food! Termites...though a bit intensive to collect, they are nutritious with high levels of protein and fat (badly needed in cold weather).

I decided to think a bit bigger. Looking on the ground I was surrounded with pine cones...ooo pine nuts!

Unfortunately these pine nuts had been on the ground a bit too long and had turned to mush. So I moved on and spotted a good sign.

The game trail was well used with some fresh sign from the night before by a raccoon.

The great thing about racoons, especially in Florida, is they are excellent scavangers. Find where a racoon has gone to eat and you can find some good eats (crabs, mussels, etc.). Raccoons themselves are also very good eating though they run a risk of carrying diseases (true of most wild animals).

Then I found the big sign..

Wild boar tracks which lead to a large wallow area. This gave me the indication of a good size group of wild pigs in the area. Setting up a dead fall or careful hunting position could produce a large amount of food in short order. So next time you are out on a walk...look around and see what food is available. Don't worry salad fans, I'll get to plants next.....

Life to imitate Art?....Will 'I am Legend' (the movie), come true?

2010-08-01T10:18:00.003-04:00

I get worried when humans try to play 'God' and begin messing with DNA, much less anything else that has the potential to mutate into something quite deadly.

Regardless of which side of the embrionic stem cell research discussion, the fact remains that chaos rules and genetic anomalies can and do occur.

The MSM isn't covering this at all so the only site I could find the article on was an anti-stem cell research site (so read with a critical eye).

FDA OKs First Embryonic Stem Cell Research Trial on Humans, Despite Concerns
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Obama administration has approved the bid by cloning company Geron to undertake the first trial involving the use of embryonic stem cells in humans. They have never been used before in people because the cells cause tumors and have been plagued by immune system rejection issues when tried in animals.

My worry is someone's body will create a mutation of some previously harmless virus or bacterium and result in something the human body's immune system cannot repel. Though realistically speaking...the human race is due for a population control event (PCE).

Why the President's Jobs Plan Won't Work

2009-12-09T10:21:00.005-05:00

The President has proposed a new plan to get people back to work.

The problem is one tax on businesses is skyrocking, not due to the federal govt. perse (though they are the ones extending benefits), but due to states.

State unemployment taxes have skyrocketed. Here in Florida a 12 fold increase.

"The minimum tax will jump from $8.40 per employee to $100.30 — an almost 12-fold increase — next year while the maximum will go up from $378 per employee to $459, state officials said Wednesday."

33 other states plan to hike these taxes a minimum of 3x the present rate. HI has a 500% increase coming.

This means we have gone past the tipping point. The action by the govt. will be too little too late.

Why the unemployment numbers went down...

2009-12-04T15:25:00.002-05:00

The number of people in the workforce shrank by 291,000.

How this impacts the numbers is explained by the genius at Political Math:

Let’s say we have 20 people in the workforce and 2 of them fit the technical definition for unemployed, which means that they’re actively looking for work. That gives us an unemployment rate of 10%.

Now, let’s say one of the unemployed people got tired of being unemployed and decided to go back to school. She has now removed herself from the labor force, so we don’t count her when we count unemployed people. Let’s also say that one of the employed people lost his job and instead of looking for a new one, he decided to simply retire.

As you can see we haven’t added any jobs… in fact we have fewer jobs than we did before. But we took a higher percentage of people out of the “unemployed” group than we did out of the “employed” group. It’s now 1 person unemployed and 17 people employed. We’ve “slashed” the unemployment rate to 5.5%.

Monthly Rotation and checklist.

2009-12-02T10:27:00.001-05:00

Don't forget it is rotation and check list week.

Tips this month:
Every six months it's a good idea to inspect and taste your water supply or even change it out. Even reaching into the barrel (or what ever you use and feel the sides for signs of algae/slime. Inspect any lids rubber gaskets etc..

Don't forget to inspect the gear and items in your personal carry bag. I discovered damage to my water purifier filter screen and the container carrying my silver had been crushed...both were in the bottom. I will have to rearrange their placement.

Economic Tsunami Alert

2009-11-30T08:57:00.003-05:00

Economist Max Keiser who predicted the default in Dubai back in January has a really ugly take on the world economy.

Jobs saved?...

2009-10-30T08:38:00.001-04:00

The White House has claimed it saved or created 1 million new jobs since enacting the stimulus since Feb. 2009. I'm very dubious about that number, but let's give them a benefit of the doubt for a minute. Let's say 1/3 of the stimulus money ($787 Billion) has been spent so far (though I think it's closer to half). Thats ~$262,000,000,000... divided by 1,000,000 equals ~$262,000 per job. The average yearly wage in the US is ~$41,000.....yikes! A difference of $221,000. I guess the jobs that were saved were the bankers and government officials that got us into this mess since those are the only wages in that upper bracket.

Year to date total jobs lost 24,496,541!!!!!!!!!!

Stats put together by this smart guy on WSJ MW

Year to date total unemployment numbers (non-seasonally adjusted):

2009 2008 2007 2006 2005

YTD Totals .. 24,496,541.. 16,132,767.. 13,333,451.. 12,940,565.. 13,978,938

July Totals.. 2,349,590.. 1,673,184.. 1,359,167.. 1,388,991.. 1,424,282

Aug Totals.. 2,321,221.. 1,803,676.. 1,318,189.. 1,295,295.. 1,292,461
Sep Totals.. 1,761,830.. 1,509,567.. 1,010,571.. 1,028,202.. 1,212,639
Oct Totals.. 1,914,499.. 1,746,354.. 1,215,868.. 1,120,169.. 1,301,831

Weekly totals:
The REAL numbers - don't mess around with phony seasonal adjustments as the economy is not following historical patterns - this week WELL up:

W/Ending … 2009 … 2008 … 2007 … 2006 … 2005
1/3/2009 … 731,958 … 521,311 … 499,979 … 475,889 … 540,927
1/10/2009 … 959,791 … 547,506 … 506,059 … 555,114 … 693,776
1/17/2009 … 763,987 … 415,149 … 506,709 … 439,873 … 467,862
1/24/2009 … 620,143 … 369,944 … 367,583 … 317,926 … 360,583
1/31/2009 … 682,176 … 380,138 … 359,959 … 318,805 … 364,704
2/7/2009 … 710,152 … 377,457 … 339,018 … 321,527 … 347,391
2/14/2009 … 619,951 … 325,754 … 363,018 … 310,078 … 309,290
2/21/2009 … 605,668 … 329,925 … 305,945 … 269,571 … 303,814
2/28/2009 … 645,827 … 345,165 … 299,000 … 272,478 … 290,776
3/7/2009 … 652,636 … 341,685 … 320,194 … 301,867 … 332,067
3/14/2009 … 601,193 … 335,917 … 298,927 … 294,764 … 307,061
3/21/2009 … 590,067 … 316,598 … 277,187 … 269,237 … 290,719
3/28/2009 … 599,299 … 341,846 … 273,432 … 265,370 … 291,378
4/4/2009 … 623,630 … 357,206 … 268,218 … 253,985 … 294,994
4/11/2009 … 610,522 … 370,949 … 328,266 … 314,696 … 339,709
4/18/2009 … 596,564 … 328,346 … 317,917 … 268,472 … 285,657
4/25/2009 … 580,377 … 337,858 … 303,984 … 291,349 … 299,891
5/2/2009 … 537,539 … 335,547 … 267,672 … 279,715 … 290,824
5/9/2009 … 570,412 … 325,480 … 274,801 … 317,239 … 297,347
5/16/2009 … 540,925 … 319,694 … 258,516 … 288,972 … 275,524
5/23/2009 … 538,268 … 326,518 … 270,446 … 277,168 … 276,761
5/30/2009 … 500,383 … 300,989 … 273,397 … 292,714 … 304,306
6/6/2009 … 581,080 … 373,046 … 263,527 … 260,263 … 289,914
6/13/2009 … 558,407 … 349,255 … 302,368 … 285,892 … 315,938
6/20/2009 … 568,552 … 358,159 … 290,951 … 277,441 … 289,831
6/27/2009 … 559,894 … 368,544 … 292,583 … 287,503 … 286,681
7/4/2009 … 581,145 … 401,672 … 300,348 … 304,638 … 327,268
7/11/2009 … 671,242 … 483,981 … 417,554 … 418,363 … 427,323
7/18/2009 … 585,575 … 411,408 … 383,839 … 377,115 … 374,665
7/25/2009 … 511,628 … 376,123 … 257,426 … 288,875 … 295,026
8/1/2009 … 466,695 … 382,792 … 270,563 … 259,974 … 261,906
8/8/2009 … 482,590 … 373,858 … 266,420 … 275,430 … 269,746
8/15/2009 … 457,985 … 343,169 … 257,573 … 256,259 … 257,151
8/22/2009 … 457,269 … 345,127 … 266,179 … 252,357 … 252,016
8/29/2009 … 456,682 … 358,730 … 257,454 … 251,275 … 251,642
9/5/2009 … 466,277 … 336,733 … 245,526 … 259,539 … 271,613
9/12/2009 … 411,126 … 382,249 … 261,971 … 240,231 … 322,387
9/19/2009 … 437,543 … 398,070 … 247,643 … 267,036 … 326,204
9/26/2009 … 445,618 … 392,515 … 255,431 … 261,396 … 292,435
10/3/2009 … 451,883 … 426,789 … 298,317 … 249,288 … 313,847
10/10/2009 … 509,730 … 454,065 … 306,519 … 307,646 … 380,093
10/17/2009 … 460,430 … 416,111 … 307,675 … 271,863 … 303,158
10/24/2009 … 492,456 … 449,389 … 303,357 … 291,372 … 304,733

Just some food for thought on GDP:

2007 GDP = $13.644 trillion, fed spends = $2.729 trillion, or 20.0%
2008 GDP = $14.546 trillion, fed spends = $2.983 trillion, or 20.5%
2009 GDP = $14.301 trillion, fed spends = $3.548 trillion, or 25.1%
2010 GDP = $14.546 trillion, fed spends = $3.766 trillion, or 25.9% if the economy gets back to 2008 - it won't.

Get out!

2009-10-05T09:41:00.001-04:00

I apologize in advance I'm cross posting this on my 3 blogs...it's just too important. Please note this is just my opinion, and I'm not an investment professional.

For months the government, investment guru's etc. have been claiming the economy is recovering.....I call Bullsh!t! The economy is going into convulsions.... unemployment is at 17-20%, insiders (CEO, directors etc.) are selling off their assets, and banks are continuing to fail. Even the ISM (Institute for Supply Management) tried to paint a rosey picture with a positive statement:

(Tempe, Arizona) — Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September for the second consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the fifth consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

But the important numbers PMI, Production, New Orders and Employment all showed multi-monthly CONTRACTION. If these areas are contracting...where is the recovery?
Foreclosures and Credit Card defaults continue to record levels.

A great explanation of the Employment numbers and how the government lies about the numbers without actually lying is explained HERE.

Ok so I have painted a bleak picture, but I'm not the only one.
What to do?
If you aren't moving from the market to cash, silver, maybe a bit of gold (those little 10th ounce peices are easy to lose), and barter items you are going to be hating life come 2010 (or sooner). Since we are into fall and heading for winter, many are already making like a squirrel and stocking up. I recommend if possible, to double down on this mentality.

The economy is getting better?..BDI continues to fall. Update

2009-09-24T09:29:00.005-04:00

Update: Bureau of Labor statistics are caught fudging their own data!

Here is that last piece of data, over the previous three months:
-June 39 states down, 10 states up (1 unchanged)
-July 29 states down, 21 states up
-August 42 states down, 8 states up
Already, we can see a huge discrepancy in the numbers. While both sets of data, show huge, fictional improvements between June and July, the state-by-state data shows a reversal for August – with the labour market obviously deteriorating dramatically based upon their own measurements. However, this didn't stop the BLS from refuting its own data to report an improvement between July and August, when it released its aggregate number.

Economists continue with their upbeat predictions yet I don't see it. Everyone is happy that 'only' 530,000 people filed NEW unemployment claims.....thats over half a million people...how is that positive?
Another indicator I watch is the Baltic Dry Index. It is still plummeting which means manufactured goods aren't shipping, because companies and thus people aren't buying.

Chart from investment tools

The sickness...

2009-09-24T08:11:00.004-04:00

Sorry I've been away folks...I have 3 sick kids at the house, and I'm busy getting them well. Possibly the flu, but unknown. I'm not a huge fan of sprinting to the Doctors if the body can fight it. So far I've gotten 2 better with one left. Nothing like a constant flow of Florida OJ into the system to get one better. I will try to get an article up on one of the blogs before I depart for the weekend (hey it's fall lacrosse season...woohoo!).

Doctors to 'jump ship' if Health Reform passes.

2009-09-16T06:14:00.004-04:00

Probably one of the most damaging articles I've seen yet on Health Care Reform is by Investors Business Daily (IBD). 45% of all Doctors would consider quitting if the reform is passed.

Probably the most damning response was this

71% — the most lopsided response in the poll — answered "no" when asked if they believed "the government can cover 47 million more people and that it will cost less money and the quality of care will be better.

Folks if the doctors think it's this bad...why is anyone even considering it?

"Inconvenienced"

2009-09-11T21:15:00.004-04:00

This story illustrates how quickly we forget on this day....that so many, warriors and their families, continue to sacrifice so we may go about our daily lives.

Story comes from BlackFive

Sergeant First Class William "Brian" Woods was a Team Medical Sergeant of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne). On August 14th, Brian was shot and killed by small arms fire in Ghazni, Afghanistan. At 32 years old, Brian had done multiple tours of duty in the War on Terror. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and served four years before joining the Army and becoming a Special Forces Soldier.

He leaves behind a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters in Chesapeake, MD.

It seems that Brian's funeral procession in St Louis county caused one motorist an "inconvenience". The motorist complained to the County Sheriff.

The original email below was sent to Sheriff Glenn Boyer on Thursday, August 27. Below is the citizen's email followed by Sheriff Boyer's response.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not sure of your first name or correct spelling of your last.

I was inadvertently in this procession as I was leaving work on 270 from Creve Coeur and proceeding on Hwy. 30 West. I have some issues and complaints. I called the Sheriff's office last night, but the officer in charge would not speak with me. His name was Corp. Curtis. I am in no way complaining about your officers. I, however, was not treated very fairly when I called last evening because I wanted a ticket/complaint/or at least a slap on wrist for the people involved. Let me explain:
1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.
2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.
3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.
Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.
Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect. #1, the road was not blocked, the funeral was in the other lane. #2, I am proud of our country and sorry for the family, but they had no idea where I was going or anything else. I could have a child at day-care, I could have been sick and racing to the bathroom, I could have a sick parent waiting for me, etc., etc.
#3, They are not law enforcement and had no right to stop in the lane on Gravois and they had no right to scream at me and intimidate and threaten me. If I would have had my pepper spray, I would have used it on this nasty man! He is just a big hoo ha that is not even related to this soldier. The other man did not get off his scooter, but was along side of my passenger window screaming.
I left an abusive husband 1 1/2 years ago and I did not need this intimidation. I was livid and shaking!!
My son is a deputy sheriff in another MO county. I respect police officers. It was not their fault as they were busy with traffic, but I called to make them aware of what was going on during this thing. The St. Louis County officer saw it but of course he was out of jurisdiction.
However, I called last night and your office asked me if I knew about this soldier. Again, I am sorry about him, but I am a taxpayer. I got a speeding ticket a few months ago and paid the fine. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I wanted to let the officer know how these men were acting. Also, they were driving into the turnarounds on Hwy. 30 and then back onto the road. the funeral was much further ahead. One of them nearly got hit by me and other people almost hit him and another as well. I wanted to lodge a complaint about them why they were still there, but no one in your office would take any information or do anything.
This was not a military funeral, even though it was a soldier. There were not military vehicles. It was a funeral and the road was not closed, the lane was closed, I was in the other lane and again, these nasty men had no right to do this and I would have liked them to get a ticket!
I am sorry for the soldier and his family but you cannot let these motorcycle renegades do this. They could have caused several accidents and I really wanted them arrested. If they had any respect for the soldier they would have dressed better and not looked and acted so scuzzy.

Thank you.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Here is Sheriff Boyer's response:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
From:
Glenn Boyer/JEFFCO
Date: 08/31/2009 02:05 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Funeral Procession - Yesterday p.m.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear XXXXX:

Yes, you do deserve a response and I am willing to give you one.

I would like to say that I am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you during the funeral procession of Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods, but I cannot do so. I would ask instead that you take a moment of your time to take into consideration the scope of the event. Your very right to complain was the reason Sgt. Woods fought for his country and ultimately gave his life; thus making the ultimate sacrifice for you and your family.

Let me introduce you to him. After high school, Sergeant Woods entered the Marine Corps. After his contract was up, he joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret. He comes from a long line of military members in his family. His Uncle is a Vietnam Veteran and two of his grandfathers were World War II Veterans. His job in the Army was one of the most dangerous jobs - he was a sniper looking for the bad guys to stop before they killed or injured one of our soldiers. He has numerous decorations to include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He grew up in Catawissa and was best known by his middle name, Brian. He enjoyed the outdoors, playing sports, and skydiving. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, whom he loved dearly. He was a soft-spoken, level-headed young man who was proud to serve his country no matter what the risk. Now, I did not know him, but I wish I did. I am quoting from newspaper articles written about him.

At the young age of 31, he was shot during an engagement with Taliban forces in Ghanzi , Afghanistan . He died of his wounds in Germany on August 16, with his family by his side. He did not choose the time of his death, nor did he choose the time his remains would be brought back to his home in Catawissa. He just did his duty. He was quite a young man.

While you were being inconvenienced in your car on your way home, there were soldiers just like Sergeant Woods carrying 100+ pounds of equipment in 120 degree heat, up some mountain or in the middle of some desert. They will shower out of a helmet liner if they get the chance. They will eat a cold meal of MRE's; something most people would consider garbage. They cannot text their family or friends, or go to McDonalds, or watch TV. They can only continue the mission and look out after the guy to the left and right of them. They don't complain because they know they volunteered. The only thing they ask is that we do not forget the sacrifices they have made.

One of the dirty "big hoo ha" bikers, as you call them, was Brian's uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, like myself. We were not treated with a homecoming. We were spit on and called baby killers by a misguided public. Brian's uncle was giving him the respect that he, himself, never received when he came back and I, for one, am proud of him for doing so.

You say that your brother is a deputy in another Missouri county. I am sure he would be proud to escort the casket of a fallen solder, the same as he would that of a fallen officer. I am also sure he would not agree with your complaint about being inconvenienced.

My mother recently passed away. She was a World War II Veteran, serving the U.S. Army. She would say, maybe you should pick up Sergeant Woods' ruck sack and carry on where he left off. Then you could see first hand what it really is to be inconvenienced.

Per your request, I will forward your complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for his review. It is my personal opinion that your complaint is self-serving and without merit.

Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And before any of you go to check Snopes to see if this is real or not (and Snopes is occasionally wrong), here is the article about the incident in the St Louis Post Dispatch(courtesy of Blackfive reader Val)
Here is a video interview of Sheriff Boyer:

Last, you can send a donation to Brian's little girls:
Monetary donations for Lily & Elle Woods can be made at ANY Bank of America location - simply ask to donate to:
Daughters of Brian Woods Trust Fund
Godspeed,Brian Woods.

Update: More here at Soldiers' Angels Germany.

Bend over America!

2009-09-05T20:57:00.007-04:00

The "new" healthcare system is supposed to replace the old. Medicare and Medicaid will be phased out (so say the people calling me for support of the presidents 'health rationing' program...now I know Nature Conservancy and/or Ocean Conservancy sell their donor lists). That means not just 47 million will be added , but the additional 40 million already on medicare/medicaid.

So really the budget needs to be doubled by the CBO (est. for 47 mill...needs to be upped to +80 mil.). ...lets forget all that...even the future cost...... lets look at the past....

That FICA deduction you have paying since you were employed....to benefit YOU in the future....GONE! Yep you have just been fucked for the last 20 yrs (or however long you have been working). That money is lost...gonzo, nyet, nada, non-existant....yes you just payed into a black hole......yes thousands of dollars...from you sweating your ass off to make ends meat .....GONE!!!!!
Welcome to change my friend.

And you want the government to take care of you? Perhaps if you are suicidal...it would be a fine idea.

Why is noone talking about this?

Atrophy and you...what the government wants...Update.

2009-09-04T21:40:00.007-04:00

Update....this stunning article over at the Independent Thinkers Lounge goes to the heart of what I was trying to convey.

The U.S. Government wants to do everything for you. Job, food, healthcare, home, car.....they will provide it all for you. All you have to do is either work 8 months out of the year to pay for it, or perhaps do nothing....the government will live your life for you. No risk of unemployment...no danger...uncle scam will take care of it all. As long as you keep voting them in.

Living life requires experiencing a little chaos...when people stop wanting to live life to the fullest...they DIE. Wait for the government to save your ass you will end up dead. Grab life...live it yourself. Waiting around causes atrophy...weakness...and in nature....the weak are culled from the herd. Humans are no different.

Katrina is my favorite example of people waiting for the government to save their butts.....the results are obvious. Who wants to be a rotting corpse?

Monthly rotation and checklist.

2009-09-04T13:23:00.002-04:00

urbanverbal

Time for the monthly rotation checklist. I've adapted this from alpharubicon's site (they have more info than I can ever read). Usually do this the first Friday of every month (you pick best time for you). Some of these actions may only pertain to those living in a moist (and in my case salty) environment. If you have a suggestion of what to add...let me know!

____Check water supply.
____ Check storage containers for leaks, mold, etc.
____Check function of hand pumps.
____Rotate water if needed (every 6 months if possible..use to flush toilet or water garden. (CAUTION! If water was treated with chems such as chlorine DONOT use to water plants!)

____Food storage.
____Rotate...oldest front, new to back.
____Check expiration dates.
____Check for leaks, pest infestation.
____Replace used or defective items.

____Weapons check.
____Inspect for rust, mold.
____Check stock/grip for damage/cracks.
____Lubricate.
____Rotate/inspect ammo and mags. (Range time!..woohoo!)
____Check slings and holsters for fraying and mold.
____Check cleaning kit supplies.

____Personal Go bag/vehicle bag (not large/main BOBs)
____Inspect contents, for mold, expiration..rotate as needed.

____ Medical
____Check first aid kits for expired meds.
____Inspect bandages and wraps for package frays/tears....loss of sterile integrity.
____Check supply of prescribed meds.

____Vehicles
____Check tires and fluids.
____Check hoses, filters and cables for fraying, clogs or pest infestation (they like to make nests and chew wires).
____Check tool kit (missing parts, rust, mold etc.)

____Home
____Check smoke, CO2 detectors, intrusion alarms.
____Lube window and door locks (important in coastal areas).
____Virus scan computers and system backup.
____ 360 exterior inspection.
____Check battery supply.

3-6 Month checks:

____NBC
____ Inspect masks and suits, gloves, boots for tears, mold, infestations.
____ CHeck expiration dates and seals on unused filters.
____ Inspect and test NBC detection devices (remember to store batteries outside units when unit in storage mode).

____BOB/ BIN (Bugout/Bug In bags/boxes) "The big stuff"
____ Inspect contents for mold infestation.
____Rotate out expired contents.
____Inspect temp. shelter or tear, mold, infestation.
____Inspect sanitation items (personal hygene, porta pooper, TP, fem. products, etc.)

____Misc.
____Inspect back up communication devices.
____Inspect tools for mold, rust, wood deterioration (apply linseed oil).
____Inspect BO route... has it changed (construction etc.).
____Inspect BOL is everything still the same?
____Rotate batteries in flashlights, check bulbs.
____Rotate/inspect fuel supply (gasoline, liquid gas, wood pile, etc.).

____ Test (partial or full) this should be done a minimum of once a year quarterly is best (you pick the scenario).
____Full Bug in test....cut the power...cut the water....no using the toilet (unles you have septic) for one weekend.
____Full Bug out test (family camping trip!!!)... 3 days min.

Getting worried...

2009-08-27T11:53:00.000-04:00

Ok I'm not quite panicked yet, but perhaps my anxiety factor is rising. It seems almost as if there is a concerted effort by the US Government as well as some Wall Street "insiders" to paint a more rosy picture than really exists. I believe they are hoping things will turn around, but things aren't.

-Claims that unemployment numbers are improving are a gross fabrication. People continue to loose jobs....very few gaining jobs. Additionally, once someone stops looking for work, gets a part time job (because it is all they can find) or falls off the extended rolls, they aren't counted anymore. Hidden in yesterdays CBO report was a scare little number...2.3 million MORE people will be unemployed. How the heck is that an improvement?

- Claims the stimulus is working....but it isn't.

-Along with the new report from the FDIC on an increase in failing banks and those on the verge of failure, comes the obvious attempt to hide action behind the scenes. Bailing out banks with money that is itself debt money (remember we (the government) are $11.7 trillion in debt already and rising) seems somewhat insane.

So it begs the question....does the US Government and Wall Street have their heads up their fourth point of contact or are they merely stalling and preparing behind the scenes for what seems to be the inevitable economic collapse of the US?

Sticker Shock....

2009-08-21T17:33:00.001-04:00

The Obama administration has just upticked it's 10 yr deficit projection (the amount more the government spends than takes in)
from a staggering $7.1 trillion to a more digestible $9.1 trillion *vomits*. But at least they will modify their projection for this year down from $1.84 trillion to $1.58 trillion.....by removing $250 billion set aside for banks (no idea why that isn't included..maybe it makes him feel better.

Maybe he wants the US to default....why is anyone supporting him?

Powerful Dems begin to hunt down those that oppose their plans.

2009-08-21T14:43:00.000-04:00

Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Bart Stupak, D-Mich. on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee issued letters to 52 insurance companies demanding the reveal who their highest paid employees are and how much they were paid. Is this the governments business? Is the authority granted anywhere in the Constitution for the COngress to investigate companies that have NOT committed a crime?

What these companies have done is come out against the proposed government run health care plan. This is the political class making its move to harass and intimidate private companies that oppose their view...this action IS illegal and a violation of their oath of office.

Plato showed the pitfalls of democracy (we are supposed to be a Constitutional Republic) in 'The Republic'. Democracy always degrades to tyranny:

"The excessive freedoms granted to the citizens of a democracy ultimately leads to a tyranny, the furthest regressed type of government. These freedoms divide the people into three socioeconomic classes: the dominating class, the capitalists and the commoners. Tensions between the dominating class and the capitalists causes the commoners to seek out protection of their democratic liberties. They invest all their power in their democratic demagogue, who, in turn, becomes corrupted by the power and becomes a tyrant with a small entourage of his supporters for protection and absolute control of his people."

Sound familiar?

I fear tyranny isn't far away.

The awesome posters are from a great site The Peoples Cube

Epic Failure....

2009-08-19T17:01:00.000-04:00

Cash for Clunkers.....update!!!!

Update: I was being generous thinking they had until mid September....it ends this Monday!!!!!

The cash for clunkers program is coming to an end . Originally a $1 billion program that was supposed to last until November, ran out of funding 6 DAYS after it started. The Congress quickly approved another $2 billion in taxpayer, debt laden money to keep it going. As of yesterday, 25 days into the now triple original cost program, the White House is winding it down having spent $1.81 billion of the $3 billion. Assuming current spending continues the project will be out of money again, by mid September.<---my assumption was wrong it ends Monday!!!....wowza!

New York dealers are pulling out of the program because they are not receiving the money from the government and are on the hook for too long a time...hemorrhaging cash and money lost in interest.

So lets recap...
-a government run program
--->ran out of money in 6 days but supposed to last ~120 days
--->budget had to be tripled
--->suppliers are pulling out because they haven't been paid
--->the program didn't last quarter the expected run time even with triple the budget
--->some 400,000+ Americans have new car payments (more debt?)
--->the majority of cars purchased were foreign made instead of American
====>Epic failure<====

....and you want these clowns in charge of your healthcare?! Brilliant!!!

Anti- U.S. business President continues his quest....

2009-08-18T22:17:00.001-04:00

President Obama seems intent on crushing U.S. businesses and manufacturing sector via U.S. Taxpayer dollars/debt, hoisted on terrible plans and bailouts. Lets look at some of the spiffy ideas he (and Congress) have going...

- Billions of U.S. Taxpayer dollars for offshore drilling...in Brazil!....he blocked offshore drilling in the U.S.

-Cash for Clunkers....$3 billion going to mostly foreign made cars (UAW...you suckers!)

-Promised millions of "green jobs" yet a study in Spain shows a loss of 2 jobs for every 1 new green job. (SEIU...you suckers!)

-Cap and trade will crush small businesses and employment. (SEIU, UAW, UWUA, UMW, USW....all suckers for supporting dems and obama...just watch your jobs and pay shrink). This interactive map helps..press play and watch what happens 2008-2009 specifically in NY, CA, and FL...states with huge social programs.

Not the best job of overlaying the 2 maps but I did find the comparison interesting.

-Social Security and Medicare are disasterous single payer systems that already are crushing the US taxpayer and placing this country in huge debt. Congress and the administration want to add another massive complex system without fixing the first 2?!...that get's a huge WTF?!!!

-millions upon millions of dollars in pork projects, free money with no strings attached...the list just goes on....it's as if the administration and congress want to bankrupt the country.

WalMart goes communist...Update..response from WalMart.

2009-08-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

UPDATE:Responses (2) from WalMart under my letter

The second more coherent response suggests that WalMart has pulled advertising from ALL 'polarizing' talk shows. I assume that includes several on MSNBC such as Obermann and Maddow. I will see if they live up to their word.

Thanks to FiveFeetofFury for giving me the heads up.
Though I suspected WalMart was slightly communist due to it's pricing policy towards suppliers and crappy Chinese products...they finally went over the edge with me. In case you were asleep, WalMart along with several others have decided to bycatt the Glenn Beck Show. Now I know Glenn can be a bit dramatic sometimes, but he speaks his mind and so far seems to speak the truth. I may not agree 100% of the time, he still is at the very least honest. I have not seen WalMart issue a statement regarding it's disapproval of the President referring to the Cambridge Police Department as "Stupid". Apparently it is ok for the President to defame someone, but not a talkshow host? I won't even go into the numerous socialist/communist talkshow hosts out there that continually insult those constituents trying to be heard by their representatives. When a retail store won't stand up for it's customers and more importantly the founding principles that it luxuriates under....I will have nothing to do with it.

Probably the most disturbing aspect in the campaign against the Glenn Beck Show is lead by Van Jones, Pres. Obama's "green-jobs" czar. Hello ethics violation?

Below is what I sent to WalMart's customer service. I encourage all to write WalMart and express your disapproval.

I was extremely disappointed at WalMart's decision to cease advertising with the Glenn Beck show (or ensuring that ads don't run during that time slot). WalMart has become a powerhouse in the US retail world by riding the coattails of this countries founding principles of freedom and capitalism. Recently, that seems top have changed. Wal Mart is in full support of a single payer health plan, and more disturbingly, showing a distain for freedom of speech. I wonder if Walmart has decided to drop it's support for the President's health plan since he called a Cambridge Police Sergeant "stupid"? No apology by the President nor by the more egregious, insulting Prof. Gates has ever been issued. Will WalMart insure that none of it's ads run before or after a Presidential speech? I suspect WalMart will continue to look more and more like a company that likes the benefits of this great nation, but won't support the freedoms it affords others. Due to this rather hypocritical policy, I cannot justify spending money in your store.

-Tom H
Palm Valley, FL

WalMart First response:

>>>This response made no sense to me and I'm not sure the person responding comprehended english<<<<
Dear Tom,

My name is Clavel. I am with the Walmart.com Customer Service team.
Thank you for allowing me to assist you today.

Tom, I understand and respect you view. Herman Cain is not a
spokesperson for Wal-Mart. We understand that he has a long standing
column and the views he expresses in that column are his own. Wal-Mart
is about creating jobs, providing affordable health care for our
associates and saving money for working families.

Anything else I could help you with? Feel free to email us anytime and
let us know how we can better service. Should you require further
assistance from one of our customer care representative, you may reach
them at Walmarts Toll Free Number 1-800-966-6546, they will be more
than glad to be of service to you.

I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.

Thank you for visiting Walmart.com. We appreciate the opportunity to
serve you and look forward to your next visit.

If we may be of further assistance, please email us at help@walmart.com.
We're here to serve you 7 days a week!

Sincerely,

Clavel
Customer Service at Walmart.com

>>>> I wrote back asking if WalMart comprehended what I was saying and received a more coherent response<<<<<

Dear Tom,

My name is Christopher. I am with the Walmart.com Customer Service Team.
Thank you for allowing me to assist you today.

Walmart.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. respect your reaction regarding the
recent issue with the Glenn Beck Show. However, we continuously review
our media plans.

In keeping with our internal guidelines to avoid content that is highly
polarizing, we have instructed our agencies, as of August 3, 2009 not to
run Wal-Mart advertising in news commentary shows on national cable
networks. This would include the Glenn Beck Show. We request for your
understanding on this matter.

Tom, I apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced.

Thank you for visiting Walmart.com. We appreciate the opportunity to
serve you and look forward to your next visit.

If we may be of further assistance, please email us at help@walmart.com.
We are here to serve you 7 days a week!

Sincerely,

Christopher
Customer Service at Walmart.com

I will be away for the next few days..

2009-08-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

...will be in TN for a few days with the Mrs.. Unless something monumental occurs I expect not to be very active...here anyway.

Best explanation of the debt I have heard and seen yet!

2009-08-11T08:38:00.000-04:00

This video is excellent and explains the debt so everyone can see it plainly. Thanks Missourah! for the heads up.

Made by the genius at PoliticalMath...he puts everything in simple terms so even an uneducated Neanderthal like me can understand.

We already have single payer government systems...

2009-08-10T20:52:00.000-04:00

Medicare , the government run single payer medical plan with 40 million subscribers and Social Security, the government run single payer (retirement?) plan. Both programs are a fiscal disaster with a combined $107 TRILLION (that's $107,000,000,000,000) in unfunded liabilities; 7 times the national GDP and almost 10 times the national debt. It is projected in 8 yrs Medicare will be bankrupt (technically it already is since the present federal debt of $11.6 trillion exceeds 'money in the bank').

Read the eye popping article HERE.

And people wonder why I don't want another government run program.....geee let me think....

Stimulus wearing off....(China that is).

2009-08-10T08:34:00.000-04:00

A great indicator of future markets as well as production comes from the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) which is considered a leading economic indicator. The BDI basically helps track shipping most notably raw materials that go into production of goods. As the BDI goes up that means more companies are making more products due to an increased demand. If it goes down that means production is slowing.

The BDI grew steadily from 2nd Qtr. 2002 to 2nd Qtr 2008 when the economy tanked. It reached a low 4th Qtr 2008 not seen in over a decade. At this time stimulus money, most notably from the Chinese government began to take hold. The Chinese pumped money directly into infrastructure projects (over 60%) versus the US pumping it into pork projects with no production value. This caused a demand for raw materials (thus increase in production) over the last few months with the BDI rising to 2006-2007 levels. Here comes the catch.....once the stimulus was burned through the hope was the economies around the world would have picked up....they haven't. The BDI has slid some 35% since it's high in June and appears to continue this loss.

Here is what worries me...China is the largest holder of US debt. If things get tough for China, who do you think they are going to want money from?...the countries that owe them. If Congress and the President continue to try to bury us in debt, we will either have to default or pay up....since we are already $11.6 trillion dollars in debt...how exactly are we going to do that? The legislative and executive branches are dooming us to economic collapse.

Is anyone awake out there?

Increase in federal debt...most in debt nation in the world.

2009-08-09T20:47:00.001-04:00

U.S. Treasury Secretary, Timothy (I have no idea how to pay my taxes..but won't get penalized) Geithner has asked for an increase in the national debt limit from $12.1 trillion (thats $12,100,000,000,000 +) to some unspecified number. I suspect congress will give it to him so the U.S. "...can meet it's obligations". In the real world...the U.S. has no money. We are now the number 1 debtor nation to outsiders. Does this not strike anyone as bad? The legislative and executive branches are going to collapse this country.....why please tell me why anyone would support any policy that coninues us down this road????!!!!!

The stock market went up on Friday due to a perceived decrease in unemployment...what really happened is more people either stopped looking for work, in which case they were dropped from the statistics or managed to find part time work (in order to eat) in which case they are dropped from the stats. Unemployment is really closer to 16% hence the need for congress to extend unemployment benefits.

The national debt will exceed the GDP sooner than predicted....this hasn't happened since WW2. In fact it took 200 yrs for the national debt to reach $1 trillion...yet is has only taken the last 33 years for that debt to reach almost $12 trillion. You tell me where the problem is......social programs are killing this nation....we have become a nation of freeloaders praying on each other for freebies and throwing away life liberty and the pursuit of happiness....we are definitely a poor country.

Another auto bailout...new $2.4 billion on top of the new $2 Billion for Clunker cash...

2009-08-05T20:27:00.001-04:00

Hey peoples...wake the f$ck up....another bailout!!!!!! After over $130 billion plus for the auto industry..I have no idea because there are so many bailouts.

Cash for Clunkers tanked in 5 days at $1 billion...wow amazing government management...amazing. Then another $2 billion to bailout the bailout...plus another $2.4 billion the Prez took with him to bribe workers today at an RV plant (now there is a green industry...they get about 13 miles to the gallon and weigh twice as much as a car...cash for RV's next?)...he has to bribe workers to get support...oh yea ACORN does that..never mind....

Hey American union workers....you are being suckered like no ones business...how much is your pride worth?...you are screwing everyone else.....gain some fortitude....be an American instead of a communist leach!!!!!

IT'S TAXPAYER MONEY>>>OUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wake the F up America!!!!!!!!!!!

U.S. Government continuing down the debt road....

2009-08-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

Next week the Treasury will issue a record $75 Billion in new notes and bonds (new debt). The US Government continues to play a shell game with it's debt by issuing new notes and bonds to pay off maturing debt and raise more cash. The problem is these new notes and bonds are debt. One who buys notes and bonds is lending the government money for a certain amount of time. So the government is borrowing new money to pay off old debt. Does no one see a problem with this?

This coupled with the expansion of Cash for Clunkers to now a $3 billion dollar bailout of the auto industry (after already pumping $10's of billions), mostly foreign made..(AFL/CIO you suckers!), defaults on refinanced mortgages as high as 45% , commercial property morgage failures , and continued job losses (during a typical hiring season) bodes for another mounting disaster.

People are grasping for anything positive in an attempt to fake out the consumer and get them spending again. Unfortunately, all that is going on right now is the effects from the injection of debt laden cash (remember the US Government is $11.6 trillion in debt with a combined $55+ trillion public/private debt). Everyone hopes (gambles) that the economy will recover sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, projections have US debt exceeding the GDP in 2 years (this is with a White House projected GROWTH of GDP by 2.4-4%...presently it is contracting). In otherwords...the government could seize ALL money/product made in the US in a year and still be in debt.

At present rates of unemployment, reduction of productivity and heavy debt merely being re-named/re-financed and repackaged I worry we are in for a nasty surprise come fall/winter.

UPDATE: Elizabeth MacDonald at Fox Business is doing a 3 part series on the commercial real estate looming disaster. She explains the situation far better than I could.

Big Brother is watching you....especially if you disagree.

2009-08-04T21:52:00.000-04:00

From the Official White House blog regarding the proposed health care proposal.

"Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.....

...Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

If you have an opinion that doesn't go with the government or believe that the health care policy is 'fishy'...you are on the list.

Thanks Ace of Spades for the poster...love it!

Avoiding the Next Obama..

2009-08-04T11:20:00.000-04:00

Via an opinion piece on the American Thinker by L.E. Ikenga . Ikenga lays out exactly what the POTUS is doing and how he is doing it. If I had written such an opinion I would be branded some sort of racist. This comes from someone of Nigerian parents who has seen first hand the devastation done by those who cleverly dumb down supporters to the point of blind stupidity. These African Colonial Politicians (ACP) are the worst kind, spouting what sounds like magnificence, but really end up keeping their constituents stuck in squalor.

"I call these men, who appeared all over Africa in the wake of independence, African Colonial politicians (ACP's). They were the direct offspring of the European Imperialists, imposing radical European leftist political theory on tribal cultures. ACP's and their unscrupulous followers were able to almost completely destroy many African cultures.

For the most part, these ACP's were intellectual frauds, completely unworthy of the honors bestowed upon them. But they sounded and looked good; so the people listened to them. With their fancy Oxbridge degrees, grandiloquent speeches given with perfectly accented "Queen's English", finely tailored European suits, and fabled family histories, ACP's took the masses by storm."

Sounds incredibly familiar doesn't it?

Remember what is important...and why we fight for this place we call America..

2009-08-04T07:30:00.000-04:00

Family..... The Mrs., kids and I are in upstate NY on one of the fingerlakes visiting family. Last night, we all gathered around a fire, toasted marshmellows, made banana boats, smores, laughed and just enjoyed being with each other. I looked up at the sky...it was amazing and felt tremendously blessed. I thought to myself...I'm tired of bashing my head against the proverbial wall of stupid government programs, supposed representatives, and those just seemingly bent of squishing this once great nation into some perverted socialist, lowest common denominator, nightmare. Maybe if I ignore it....it won't affect them. Hearing their laughter, seeing their smiling faces........whoa! Nothing like the Almighty tossing a hot ember on my bare foot to snap me out of the REMF mode.

There is no way I will let that happen! Years ago I served this wonderful country with some of the finest people on the planet. Today, our warriors continue to stand and fight whether they be in uniform, in front of a computer, making a tea party sign or merely doing a good deed for another. Though getting this country out of the mess it is in seems like a rather daunting task, it can be done. Time to hug the family and friends, roll up the sleeves and get back to work.

The U.S. is like no other country, it should not be modeled after some other country.We are unique, we love our freedom. Many want to change this, want to think for us, want to make us all the same....why? Why the heck do we all want to be the same? Freedom is about being different NOT the same. People in America have become helpless crybabies that believe they are entitled...what the heck happened? Why have we become so lazy? How do we reverse this seemingly infectious, weak minded attitude?

I'm the handsome one on the right.

The revolution begins.....

2009-08-03T09:21:00.000-04:00

Finally, Americans seem to be waking up and realizing socialism/communism don't work. Legislative members facing their extremely angry constituents.

My favorite so far though is something so simple yet says so much.

All via Drudge.

The plan is to eliminate private healthcare..

2009-08-03T08:08:00.000-04:00

In his own words and the words of Congressional 'leaders'. Thanks Pat Dollard/Young Americans for this little gem.

Political Cartoon of the week....

2009-08-03T07:44:00.000-04:00

Sometimes a picture or in this case, cartoon art says it all.

By Michael Ramirez

Missing Florida son to come home....

2009-08-02T13:41:00.000-04:00

Missing F/A18 pilot from the first Gulf War, Captain Scott Speicher's remains have been found. He has been missing for 18 long years...though we morn the loss of our warrior, we rejoice in the return of his spirit home.

Welcome home Sir!

...and even more new taxes..

2009-08-02T13:08:00.000-04:00

In a Sunday interview with Treasury Secretary, Timothy (I forgot to pay my taxes) Geithner, on ABC's This Week, the Treas Sec. basically told the American people to prepare for more new taxes in order to reign in the governments continuing ballooning deficit (thus debt). Well golly what a shocker. For some reason the idea of reducing the government spending and eliminating wasteful programs and porky projects isn't possible....instead raise taxes on people already struggling to make ends meat (those still working that is).

CUT GOVERNMENT SIZE AND SPENDING!!!!!! What is it with this concept that is so hard to grasp? The economy isn't going to bounce back anytime soon. If anything, it is probably going to get worse. The path the executive and legislative branches are pursuing is unsustainable....are they really trying to kill this country? Please fellow Americans, please wake up...before it is too late.

Another disastrous social program needs to be bailed out

2009-08-01T07:03:00.000-04:00

After tens of billions of dollars where thrown at Chrysler and GM to prevent them from going bankrupt, which they did anyway, the taxpayer continues to fund the auto industry. The 'Cash for Clunkers' program which pays people to turn in their old vehicle for a new more efficient one, ran out of money yesterday after running for an amazing 8 days....yep 8 days....as Homer says..."Doooop!" Another $2 billion (thats $2,000,000,000) is to be injected into the program. I have 2 questions....

1. What is being done with all the clunkers? I know the engines in the clunkers are to be disabled, but then what? The scrap yard business (or any for that matter) isn't exactly hopping these days, and the environmental impact of a rotting vehicle isn't exactly positive.

2. Are we setting up for more defaults on loans (new fuel efficient cars cost wayyyy more than the $4500 paid per clunker)? The jobless rate is still rising. We are creating an artificial uptick in the economy which will show it's true state in just a few short months.

Companies that are poorly managed need to fail. Injection of cash into already bad business models is sheer stupidity.

Not to digress...but do you really want the government in control of your health when a $1 billion (soon to be $3 billion) program goes belly up in 8 days?.......nice.

The Political Class...

2009-08-01T05:50:00.000-04:00

Plato talked about the different classes in his writings in 'The Republic'. He described several forms of government that societies seem to cycle through Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy and finally Tyranny. When reaching tyranny it becomes somewhat familiar...almost to the point of frightening. Society transitions from Democracy to Tyranny when the Political class cleverly manipulates the Common class (poor) to rise against the Capitalists. Commoners place all their power in an ideological demagogue within the Political class to crush the perceived threat by the Capitalists. The 'have nots' basically want the Political Class to seize what the 'haves' have. This leads to a small, but extremely powerful group ruling over all. Unfortunately for the commoner...they are no better off, having lost all of their freedoms and lowering the Capitalists to the lowest common denominator.

To me this sounds extremely familiar....the masses elected an ideologue (Barack Obama) who, along with Congress have been placing more restrictions, crushing capitalism and attempting to 'level the playing field' (read degrade to lowest common denominator). Now I certainly don't place the blame on the President or present Congress....this has been a long time coming...they are merely speeding up the transition. Both parties are just as responsible. As the political class has swelled in power and size, the commoner and capitalists have allowed themselves to be duped. We have become stupid and lazy. If something isn't done soon...we will have tyranny (if not already).

Our Forefathers warned us against this. Government is merely supposed to stay out of the way of opportunity...not try to create it. Governments cannot create anything except restriction on freedom. People want protection from everything....protection from foreclosure, floods, being poor, bad health,...the list is endless. Those things are part of life folks!

What got me on this tirade was recent event in House Energy and Commerce Committee when Rep. Roy Blunt attempted to add an amendment to the new disastrous healthcare plan. The amendment was to have all federal employees including legislative and executive branches on the same health plan as the commoner.....it was voted down. The Political Class KNOWS this is a bad plan....so bad they themselves will not subscribe to it.

Sen. Dodd, the beleaguered chair of the Senate Banking Committee, announced he has prostate cancer. He credits his congressional healthcare program for early diagnosis. This is NOT the same program the commoner will get...not even close. If it was, Sen. Dodd would not be getting his surgery...he would be told to wait (they call it 'watchful waiting) or more likely he will have to live with the results....that is the 'European' model standard. Funny...he seems to be going right in for surgery....the rest of us would not under the new plan.

Why America...why on earth would you want something that the architects know is a disaster....why? Why are we willing to trade our freedoms for more perceived protection from life?

New legislation to kill American Family Farms....

2009-07-31T08:05:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Familysecuritymatters.org for the article "Exclusive: Obama’s New Food Act to Seal Sorry State of America’s Farms" by Paul Williams, Ph.D..

Congress in it's infinite wisdom is going forward with the Food Safety and Enhancement Act (H.R. 2749)...skipping most legislative procedures and getting this sucker passed. It sounds spiffy on the surface, but lurking below are some ridiculous requirements on our nations farmers and perhaps anyone who grows food and then sells it. The bill attempts to set up sterile farms...farms free of bacteria. This requires farmers to set aside large areas of land for 'buffer zones', erect huge fences, pay additional fees (read taxes), poison ponds (for sterility) and drain wetlands (because they are so dirty!)....I won't mention the warrant-less searches by federal Ag officials. This will do 2 things (at least).....crush the small farmer to the point of going out of business and drive up the cost of food due to the enormous cost placed on the remaining farms.

It seems as if there is almost a concerted effort by the legislative and executive branches to crush every aspect of American productivity....I find this extremely strange since the government gets it's money from the very businesses and working people it seems to be putting out of business. When are the people going to wake up?....I suspect when it is too late.

On vaction....

2009-07-27T08:12:00.000-04:00

The Mrs. and I are on a bit of a vacation visiting family and friends. Will be back in August....I'm trying not to look at the news too much...it causes too much hair loss.

-PS

The other shoe to drop...

2009-07-22T08:58:00.000-04:00

The commercial real estate market is in trouble.....big trouble. But instead of dealing with the problem, banks are poised (under the direction of Ben Bernanke) to do a little accounting jig called an 'extend and pretend'. Basically, banks will extend loans (for a fee or increased interest rate) and pretend everything is ok. The reason for this is commercial loans are a bit different. Those receiving the loans, pay interest only for say 10 yrs. and then the full amount of the loan is due. So banks are pushing off the due date since so many cannot pay.....so many in fact that the economy would crumble into a much larger disaster than the one presently in. The key is that the economy must recover substantially (and quickly) for this to work. There are no signs this will happen...in fact some estimates are pushing recovery off until 2011.

This is exactly the bad road Japan went down in 1990. What the heck? When is America going to wake up? There is no money for bailouts...with the looming Health Care bill who are they going to increase taxes on this time?

Toxic Commercial Real Estate

Bernanke and Troubled Commercial Real Estate Loans

Healthcare...the cost is tremendous.

2009-07-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

The House of Representatives unveiled their healthcare plan. It's massive and ridiculously expensive with huge tax increases on individuals and companies. Penalties and taxes inserted in a vain attempt to cover the cost (remember the government is already ~$11.5 trillion in debt and growing). CBO estimates this will cost an additional $1.5 trillion....paid for by the only group of people left with any money to revive an already gasping economy. It's as if the government wants to crush any life left in the US economy.

As to health care...why the AARP supports this is beyond me...do they realize that if their constituents are past a certain age they will NOT get treatments they need if deemed the cost to benefit ratio is too high...they will be pushed to the back of the line (younger first) for regular treatment.

Anyone who has been in the military knows how government healthcare works...it is a disaster.
The proposed government plan looks something like this:

Oh but it ONLY effects those making +$1 million (an additional $54,000+ a year...how would you like to cough up $54,000+ a year more?) they can afford it. Not quite...hidden in the bill are other groups that will also pay....

-surtax on individuals who earn $280,000.
-surtax on couples who make $350,000 or more.

-businesses that don't provide healthcare will get slapped with a penalty tax (8% of wages).

-...oh yes and individuals that decide to opt out of the national healthcare program get another 2.5% penalty taken out of their paychecks....forced government healthcare or pay a penalty?!?!

"The legislation calls for a 5.4 percent tax increase on individuals making more than $1 million a year, with a gradual tax beginning at $280,000 for individuals. Employers who don't provide coverage would be hit with a penalty equal to 8 percent of workers' wages, with an exemption for small businesses. Individuals who decline an offer of affordable coverage would pay 2.5 percent of their incomes as a penalty, up to the average cost of a health insurance plan. "

Of course this is the same thing that caused GM, California, New York, etc. to collapse under the weight of it's programs. Too many on the welfare/healthcare/pension rolls and not enough paying in. The number of millionaires has declined by 14% in the last 2 years and is continuing to decline.....so where do you think the money is going to come from in the future?

Wake up America before congress destroys this country!!!!

Deficit continues....

2009-07-14T08:39:00.000-04:00

Today the U.S. Deficit (more money spent than taking in) reached over 1 trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000).

"The US budget deficit reached more than one trillion dollars for the current fiscal year in June as the government wrestled with a prolonged recession, official data showed Monday.

Nine months into the 2009 fiscal year that ends September 30, the budget deficit widened by 94.316 billion dollars in June to 1.086 trillion dollars, according to the Treasury's monthly statement of receipts and outlays."

Complete article HERE.

Of Deficits and Debt...

2009-07-11T13:28:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Government continues to spend out of control. But, what are these words deficit and debt the government keeps tossing around.

Check out the U.S. Debt Clock....it will turn your stomach.

Deficit is the amount of money going out the door verses the amount received in a year (via taxes receipts). This is a short term view of spending. Present U.S. Government Deficit year to date is $965 billion and rising (+$965,000,000,000) at a rate of ~ $600,000 every 10 seconds.

Debt is the amount of money borrowed to pay for something..like using a credit card to by a TV. The problem arises when you don't pay down your credit card and debt accumulates...this is what the U.S. Government is doing. Debt is the accumulation of deficits. The government says it backs its received credit (debt) with the value of American production...in other words the work, goods and services you and I do. Our sweat and labor is the governments bargaining chip.

Presently, the government is in debt $11.39 trillion and rising (+$11,390,000,000,000) at a rate of ~ $1 million every 3 seconds.

The government is banking on 2 things to get out of it's present pickle...a robust recovery in the economy and raising taxes on those making over $200,000 (or $250,000 or $300,000...the number keeps changing) to pay for the debt, BUT there is a big problem, well several. The government is adding new programs that require even more funding. So instead of reining in spending, they are increasing it. This will accelerate the deficit and thus debt. Taxing the only group left with any income to spend in the economy just doesn't seem to smart. So if the 'wealthy' have less money to buy, how exactly is the economy going to get going?

Oh I forgot to mention 70% of the US economy is generated by the U.S. consumer. If we have no money to buy items other than groceries...how exactly is the economy supposed to bounce back? Manufacturing and service sectors will continue to collapse putting more people out of work. Even less revenue will be coming into the government. We are stuck in a vicious circle, and it is only going to get worse.

Call your congress critter and tell them to knock it off. Time to make the tough choices and get out of debt...that really will stimulate the economy.