Random Thoughts

I haven't posted in a few weeks, but not for lack of material.  Seems that every day there is more to comment on.  The difficult part is figuring out what to make of it all.  Some thoughts that I have had in the past few weeks but have not reduced to a post:

Weird News:  Does your steak taste like crap?  There might be more to it than you think.  A Japanese scientist has figured out how to make meat out of human waste.  Call it Soylent Brown.  Story here.

Gun Gear:  About two years ago I bought a used Marlin Papoose takedown .22 rifle.  I already own one and discovered that the 3 1/2 pound rifle is the only one that my daughter feels confident shooting.  So I bought one that we can call "hers".  Unfortunately, and as is all too common with used takedown rifles, it did not have its factory storage case.  I bought a paintball case to make do, but I have been searching for an original case for a while.  I found a seller on Ebay who has a bunch of these for sale.  Anyone who needs a factory red Papoose case better get one while they are available.  Only $14.99 plus $4.95 shipping.  Link.

I found a source of Mec-Gar magazines that I use for my Smith & Wesson nines and my Kel-Tec Sub2000 rifle.  $19.99 each, free shipping on orders of $59.00 or more, and a $5.00 discount for new members.  I especially like that New Innovations Shooting Supply is just over the border in Rathdrum, Idaho.   I have already ordered from them and I am impressed with their fast service and good communications.  Try them.

Kel-Tec Customer Service update.  Update to this post.  I wrote to Kel-Tec about failing to receive the magazine catch I requested, and even sent a check to pay for what I needed.  I also sent copies of my emails to and from Kel-Tec.  This was in late May.  About a week and a half later I received an envelope from Kel-Tec containing two magazine catches, my uncashed check, and a note apologizing for the mistake.  OK, I can forgive the initially poor service, but I would caution anyone who needs parts from Kel-Tec to expect somewhat of a delay in getting what is needed. 

Weinergate.  I found Representative Anthony Weiner's fall from grace to be amusing, and little else.  Especially if you consider that Mr. Weiner claimed, in a telephone call to the Minority Leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi, D-Commiefornia, that 56% of his constituents wanted him to stay in the House after revelations of extramarital sexting and lewd photos.  I don't pity Anthony Weiner; I pity the residents of his district, at least I do 56% of them, for being dumber than a box of rocks.  Add to this the number of left-wing nitwits who thought that Weiner should not resign, and you have quite the pitiful bunch.  To my way of thinking, supporters of Weiner must be engaging in behavior just short of idolatry to think that the clown is somehow necessary for New York to be represented and for the nation to do its business.  Assuming a population of 300,000,000 people in this country and 435 representatives, each representative has about 700,000 constituents.  Let's assume that only one-half of those people are of age to serve, and that only ten percent of those would have the brains to do a fair job of representation.  That leaves 35,000 who could represent the district.  Why then the hoopla over Anthony Weiner?   I am convinced that Weinergate has more to do with Weiner's political cult of personality than it does with representation of the folks in that New York district.  I cannot otherwise explain why political turds such as Weiner, Charlie Rangel, Barney Frank, Alcee Hastings, and David Vitter remain in office.  There are other qualified candidates, and it is only a weak-minded and weak-willed electorate that prevents honorable persons from replacing the turds. 

Prepping Goes Mainstream.  I don't know if it is the result of a local distributor with a good sales pitch or a sign of prepping going mainstream, but I have notice that long term food storage has been appearing in more stores in the Inland Northwest.  The Auguson Farms brand of long term storage foods in number 10 cans is being sold in Rosauer's supermarket, Super One Foods, and at local WalMart stores.  The prices have been pretty reasonable, too.  I don't know how long this will last, but any preppers in the Spokane area should check this out, in case it these stores have no long-term plans to carry these products.

The Clash Between Civilization and Islam.  Notice that I did not write, "clash of civilizations".  It is clear to me that civilized Western countries are being infiltrated by Islam.  The media and political elite will not acknowledge it, but Western civilization is at great risk.  We have lost significant freedoms to the "War on Terror" which is really the war against Islam.  The Patriot Act and other assaults upon our liberty are not in reaction to some amorphous terror threat, they are a reaction to Islam's war against the West.  The refusal to acknowledge this and the kowtowing to Islam are getting so bad that evangelical minister Jack Van Impe has cut off his relationship with the Trinity Broadcasting Network over what Van Impe calls "Chrislam", the accommodation of Islam in Christianity.  See the story here. 
Unless you want to wake up one day wondering why you have your ass in the air and your head pointed towards Saudi Arabia, it is high time to start questioning what is going on with Islam in America.  Don't wait until your wife must be covered head-to-toe and the authorities allow your daughter to be repeatedly raped because there were not four male witnesses to the act.  Daily must reads regarding Islam are Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, and Bare Naked Islam.  I particularly like Bare Naked Islam for its gutsy, in-your-face reporting.  For a compendium of Islam's murderous atrocities around the globe, read The Religion of Peace.  All of these appear on my sidebar.

The Economy.  There are so many predictions out there about where we are headed that it is nearly impossible to figure out when things are going to tank.  That things are going to tank seems to be a point of agreement among the non-delusional.  It's just the when and how that are baffling.  My own thoughts seem to change each week.  Will it be a European collapse first?  Will the Chinese quit buying our debt?  Will the problems with Japan's post-earthquake economy affect ours?  Will The One start a conflagration with his Middle East policies (or lack thereof)?  Will the price of oil rise and doom the economy?  I don't know.  What I am preparing for is the possibility of a lot of out-of-work, homeless, and hungry people struggling for survival in a hyperinflationary economic collapse with government assistance consisting of a free ride to a FEMA camp. 

What I do know is that true unemployment is about 20%, utilization of government handouts is at an all-time high, people who previously made over $30,000 a year are gladly taking work at $8.67 an hour, people are scared, and more and more people are openly talking about the possibility of an imminent economic collapse.  That the price of gold is consistently staying above $1,500 and ounce and silver is above $35 is a sign (to me) that there is little faith in the government, the dollar, and the economy as a whole.  When those three collapse, the only real money is portable commodities.  Have some, whether gold or silver, or even better extra food that can be used in the next couple of years.

Although the government continues to extend and pretend, including the now-surfacing idea that Republicans may allow a "temporary" raise in the national debt ceiling, and the left-wing mainstream media continues to prostitute itself for The One, I think that the current period is just the calm before the storm.  There are plenty of signs, despite what the media and the government say, that things are not getting better and are not-so-slowly but surely deteriorating.  We should all be adding to our preps while food and supplies are still relatively cheap.  I've got a feeling that this relative "cheapness" of food and goods is not going to last too much longer.

Well, that's it for now....