Gold and Pigs

I was reading an article the other day by one of the many writers that have joined the SHTF1 genre. In it he tried to make a case for buying up gold and silver as security against the possibility of economic and monetary collapse. In his example, he said that in such a case, when grocery stores were empty, if one had gold and silver, they could trade some of the gold or silver to a farmer for a pig, ensuring that their family would at least have food for survival.
 

Think about this. Imagine the scenario the author describes; monetary collapse has brought down the entire economy. Transportation is at a standstill, grocery stores are empty or guarded by armed guards, (fell free to imagine your own apocalyptic scenario).  Our survival-minded citizen has hoarded gold and silver in a variety of denominations and sizes. He is sitting pretty and confident. But…

Where is he going to find a pig?

The question may sound trivial or even humorous. But it reveals a major flaw in a lot of people’s (non) thinking. On your block, in your neighborhood or town, how many pigs are for sale right now? How many will be for sale when there’s no bacon in the grocery store? How many people have gold and silver? 

There seems to be a general, foggy idea in most people’s mind that there is an entire countryside filled with generous, kindly farmers who’ll happily trade them a pig, or a chicken or some grain in exchange for their metals. But the reality is not so pastoral. In the case of our pig example, over 98% of swine in the U.S. are owned by large multi-national corporations on huge, (and well-protected) factory farms. So that leaves very few pigs for barter. Of that small number, how many of the owners will want to trade them for a not-so-useful chunk of metal? Maybe you can trade a chunk to the big corporation for some of their pork. Maybe not. Those still at the head of government will get fed. Same with the military. The average person will be pretty far down on the list of essential personnel.
 

Of course this post is not meant to be about the relative availability of pork products. It is meant to reveal one example of how people deal with dissonance. People see something is wrong, and they feel a need to “do something about it” so they buy gold, silver, guns, etc. without truly thinking. It is also meant to point out the irony that the very condition that got us into the mess, namely the refusal of the masses to think, will always be a major underlying factor in all of man’s endeavors.      

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[1] SHTF - Acronym for Shit Hits The Fan. A popular euphemism for economic, monetary and/or civil collapse

Hyperinflation Warning - The Eurodollar Menace

The existence of the Euro-dollar market increases the total amount of dollar balances

available to be held by nonbanks throughout the world for any given amount of money (currency plus deposits at Federal Reserve Banks) created by the Federal Reserve System. It does so by permitting a greater pyramiding on this base by the use of deposits at U.S. banks as prudential reserves for Euro-dollar deposits.

- Milton Friedman, Selected Papers, No. 34

Not to be confused with the Euro currency, the monetary unit of the Eurogroup, a Eurodollar is;

"U.S.-dollar denominated deposits at foreign banks or foreign branches of American banks. By locating outside of the United States, eurodollars escape regulation by the Federal Reserve Board."[1]

I present a simplistic scenario to explain the effects and dangers of the Eurodollar:

Suppose a country creates a currency as a medium of exchange. Let’s say they start with 1 million units. If they then create 1 million more units, it is reasonable to assume the value of each unit, both the existing ones and the new ones, are decreased by half. (The reciprocal of the total number of units). This is classic monetary inflation.

Original unit value = 1

Unit value after doubling the number of units = 0.5

Unit value after quadrupling the number of units = 0.25

…etc

Now suppose that the number of units is doubled, but all the new units “disappear”

Original number of units = 1 million

New units created = 1 million

Total number of units = 2 million

1 million units “disappear” – 1 million

Number of units in circulation = Still 1 million

Therefore, each unit value is still = 1, because the newly created units disappear and don’t have an effect on the value of the original units

This is what happens when U.S. dollars are created by the Federal Reserve and get converted to Eurodollars. Because of the U.S. dollar’s status as the world's reserve currency, other nations must convert (buy) U.S. dollars to conduct international trade. Some of these dollars are kept overseas and never return to the U.S. Just like in our example, they disappear.

This is a great deal for the U.S because it means it get goods essentially for free. As a nation, the U.S. can print dollars and trade them for imported goods. Because the dollars don’t come back, they do not cause inflation. It’s a free ride the country has been on since the end of the Second World War. This is the basis of America’s wealth. Not innovation, not the American work ethic; Trickery.

But in the end, the trick is on the U.S. All those Eurodollars didn’t really disappear. They are still out there. When the rest of the world decides to adopt a new reserve currency, a process that is well under way, they will no longer have a need for the 9.7 trillion dollars they now hold. The dollars will come flooding back into the U.S., inflation will quickly degenerate into hyper-inflation and the real losers will be those required to own dollars – the American taxpayer.

Are you prepared?

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[1] http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/eurodollar.asp

The West- Westboro Controversy, and Why So Many Get It Wrong

There is an Internet meme currently making the rounds about the sheriff of West, TX arresting members of the Westboro Baptist Church. They had come to town to protest at the funerals of victims of the recent explosion that occurred there.

Here is the version of the meme I have seen;

So Westboro "Baptist Church" showed up here in Texas at the memorial service in West for the first responders who lost their lives in the explosion. The Chief of Police promptly had all 20 or so of them arrested and put into holding cells (all the men in one and all the women in another) When they told him he couldn't do that, he let them know HE could. Since he hadn't officially charged them, he could hold them for 24 hours before he had to charge them or let them go! (plenty of time to hold the memorial service). I guess Westboro didn't think it through too well... This is Texas. As quickly as we fry people down here, did they really think they would be allowed to show that kind of disrespect?? Their photos were also released to the other small towns surrounding West, where services would be denied to them. Sometimes you just have to admire the way we do things down here in Texas!

 Pretty great, huh?....Well, not really. A group of people, despicable as they are, are subjected to extrajudicial treatment because the majority believe it is the right thing to do. What makes this incident important isn't that the protestors were arrested. More than likely they should have been. But they should have been arrested either on a charge, (or charges)  or a pending charge, (or charges). The right of a sheriff to hold someone for 24 hours is to provide time to investigate charges, or prevent flight from a probable prosecution for a crime. Neither of these circumstances were cited. According to the meme, they were arrested simply because they could be. This is a grave abuse of power. It would have been more correct to arrest the offenders for a crime, loitering, unlawful assembly, disturbing the peace, interfering in a private solemn ceremony, any number of things. Make them pay a fine, pronounce a sentence, or execute them, whatever is done in West, TX. 

For the sheriff to say "I'm confining you in jail simply because I can, and it will please the people I work for" is as repugnant to the rule of law as the original protesters are to our sense of dignity. It is official mob rule. 
And it could happen to you. Don't think it never could simply because you aren't a despicable human being like the Westboro cultists. Once the rule of law is lost , anything is possible. I refer you to Nazi Germany for proof. 

But the more profoundly disturbing issue at hand is the stark hypocrisy of the actions. West, the State of Texas and the United States all claim to be Christian-based entities. But Pre-Roman and Pre-Reformation Christianity says these are exactly the kind of people Christians are to love;

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
Matthew 5:43-47

I have heard countless convoluted arguments as to why this passage doesn't really mean what it says. But none of them hold water. It is the words of Jesus, instructing plainly, what is required of his followers. The fact that it is utterly rejected by practically ALL modern Christians doesn't change its meaning and doesn't make it irrelevant.

AR Rear Takedown Pin Detent Spring Upgrade

 Fixing the AR Rear Takedown Pin Detent Spring

The most commonly lost parts of the AR rifle platform are the takedown detent springs. Installing the buffer tube to the lower receiver requires coordinating everything while holding the rear takedown pin detent spring from flying out or getting crushed/pinched by the sling adapter plate (or buttstock).

Here's the permanent fix:

Tap the detent spring hole for a #4 x 1/8th" set screw. This probably should be the case not only with new lower receivers but should've been implemented from near the beginning of the platform. But it wasn't and still isn't. But the fix is easy.

The rear takedown pin detent spring hole is already roughly the correct size to tap for a #4-40 setscrew. The Colt specification for the lower receiver rear takedown detent spring hole is 0.093" +/- 0.004". The recommended drill bit size for a #4-40 setscrew tap is #43 which is 0.089". 

Receiver drawing view AA

Chuck a 4-40 tap in a cordless drill and slowly tap the hole. Go slow and reverse the drill often to clear the aluminum (or polymer) chips. 

Detail of tapped hole for takedown pin detent spring retainer

The detent spring should be trimmed the length of the new setscrew; 1/8" or 3/16", whichever length you use. 

Detail of takedown detent spring

Use a 4-40 x 1/8" or 4-40 x 3/16" NC setscrew. There is no real need to use thread compound because the setscrew has nowhere to go. But if you prefer, you can add a tiny dab of blue thread locker. 

Installing set screw

No more spring launches!

Completed upgrade

To save some searching, here are links to the tap and setscrews;¹

Century Drill and Tool 95302 4-40 NC Tap and 43 Drill Combo Pack

4-40 x 1/8" Socket Set Screws Cup Point Stainless Steel 10 Pack with .050 Hex Key Wrench (1/8" Length

¹ Disclaimer:If you buy through the links Amazon might pay me a few cents.

American Fascists - How to Spot Them and Stop Them

 

Army Talk Orientation Fact Sheet #64, Native Fascists; How to Spot Them and How to Stop Them is a pamphlet printed and distributed by the United States War Department as an educational tool for use by soldiers to help them understand the reasons for fighting in World War 2. It was printed in 1944.

81 years later, it serves as a stark reminder of what fascism is, how it works and how to defeat it.