Target Rich Environment

exigo mihi “beer” quod “guns” (link):

KING, N.C. — Residents in King were fumed over the weekend after a state of emergency declaration restricted the sale of alcohol and the carrying of firearms in vehicles.

King Police Chief Paula May said she’s received hundreds of threats related to the restrictions, which banned driving from 12 a.m. Sunday to 5 a.m.

The state of emergency for King was declared by members of the City Council after Stokes County authorities also declared a state of emergency.

Under North Carolina law, May said, when a state of emergency is put into place that includes a ban on driving, the sale of alcohol and carrying of firearms in vehicles is also banned.

“I think there’s been some misinterpretation that I personally have declared martial law and taken away people’s right to bear arms and that’s erroneous,” May told WXII reporter Jermont Terry. “By law, statue 14-288.7 automatically went into effect. And that law which goes into effect when there’s a state of emergency prohibits the transportation, purchase sale and possession of firearms other than on one’s own premises.”

I need to check my local statutes but this is a peek into some of the stuff that’s made its way into emergency management legislation.  It’s best to get this stuff repealed when enacted rather than trying to litigate it during an emergency.

Fortunately, criminals will heed the “transportation” and “possession” of firearms during emergencies, so there’s no need for civilians to protect themselves during such times???

Who dat? (link):

Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the U.S. is in no danger of losing its Aaa debt rating even though the Obama administration has predicted a $1.6 trillion budget deficit in 2010.

“Absolutely not,” Geithner said, when asked in an ABC News interview broadcast today whether a downgrade is a concern. “That will never happen to this country.”

Geithner said investors around the world turn to U.S. Treasury securities and dollar-denominated assets whenever they are worried about global stability. That reflects “basic confidence” in the U.S. and its ability to bounce back from the global recession, he said.

Moody’s Investors Service Inc. last week said the U.S. government’s bond rating will come under pressure in the future unless additional measures are taken to reduce budget deficits projected for the next decade.

The U.S. plans to rein in the deficit once the labor market recovers, Geithner said. In the short run, that means focusing on ways to “make sure that this economy is growing again,” he said. The administration says the deficit will shrink over the next four years as more Americans find jobs and the economy accelerates.

“This is within our capacity to do,” Geithner said.

The Obama administration has proposed additional tax cuts and small-business assistance in its bid to jumpstart the U.S. economy. Geithner and other officials have said it’s too soon to start cutting spending because ending stimulus programs now could derail the economy.

Recession Risks

Geithner said the risk of a “double dip” recession in the U.S. has declined, particularly given recent reports showing the economy grew at a 5.7 percent pace in the fourth quarter of last year.

I’d expect that if you print enough money, you could claim quite a bit of economic growth in one quarter.

This is from early last week, but a good read on “what they think of you”.  In this case, the Wilmington News Journal has news for all you rubes who think you’re Rambo with your “self defense”. Think long and hard before you injure or kill someone in self-defense, because there are psychic scars along with the threat of the criminals’ buddies coming after you (link):

It’s one thing to watch a Hollywood hero shoot a bad guy on film. It’s something entirely different when it happens in real life.

“It wasn’t like the movies,” said 21-year-old A.T., describing how he twice shot a 17-year-old would-be robber on Nov. 8 after wrestling a .22-caliber handgun from him.

“I never shot a gun before that,” said A.T., who wanted only his initials used for fear of retribution. “I never held one.”

“It’s going to really mess your head up.”

A little more than a week later, on Nov. 17, a 55-year-old Wilmington liquor store clerk got into a shootout with two robbers and killed 20-year-old Kendel Miller.

Both have since had to struggle with the knowledge that in protecting themselves they inflicted pain — even death — on someone else.

And both have been left to wonder what long-term toll their acts of self-defense will take on them.

“These things don’t just go away for people,” said Dr. Carol A. Tavani, executive director of Christiana Psychiatric Services. “People have flashbacks and nightmares about these things.”

Their emotional reactions also can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which results in ongoing anxiety after a trauma such as a shooting.

“I think that it’s a lot to expect someone to be able to deal with this on their own,” she said.

Still, some, like A.T., opt not to seek help and try to deal with the consequences of their actions on their own.

“I haven’t seen anybody about it, and I’m not going to,” he said. “I try to forget about it.”

But he admits he often finds himself looking back when he walks home from work. That is something he never did before a bandit tried to rob him in Holloway Terrace, near New Castle.

He is haunted by the memory of the would-be thief, who was dressed in a hooded sweat shirt. He also wonders why he didn’t think it was odd that someone suddenly was walking briskly behind him.

“I tried to move off of the curb to let him pass,” he said about Diamere Brady of Wilmington, who later was charged by New Castle County police. “That was the wrong move.”…

The Wilmington liquor store clerk was placed in a similar situation on the cold night he shot Miller, the would-be bandit.

At the time, Miller and a companion walked into the store at 1020 Walnut St. with pistols drawn. After they jumped over the counter to grab money, the clerk pointed his gun back at them and shot Miller once.

After he was struck, Miller dropped his pistol and fled the store dripping blood. Paramedics found him 40 yards away.

He was pronounced dead at Christiana Hospital at 10:15 that night. The store clerk returned to work shortly afterward.

Though he didn’t want to be interviewed or identified, reader reaction on The News Journal’s Web site — www.delawareonline.com — swelled with 114 comments, most expressing concern for the clerk’s well-being.

“God bless the store clerk that he recover from the trauma,” one reader wrote. “Taking a life can’t be easy.”

Despite the expressions of sympathy, Tavani said the clerk undoubtedly knows that “taking another life — justified or not — is never a trivial thing.”

Another clerk at the store said no one wanted to comment because of safety concerns. Since the shooting, some people who visited also have made less-than-kind remarks.

“We don’t want to talk about it,” he said. “That’s the best thing for us.”

This ties in nicely with another article regarding said liquor store robbery, where I was critical of the urinal (link), when they noted the location of the backup gun.  So the sentiments that have been shared indicate that those (who still shop in the store?) in the neighborhood are upset about the clerk defending himself.  It seems hypocritical for the paper who detailed the backup guns and their location to fret about the fears of the self-defenders of retribution, no?

Either way, it’s tough to tell whether the Urinal decided to pen this piece to prevent self-defense or just follow up because a majority of commenters are rooting for those who defend themselves.  My view is clear: any scars left on those who defended themselves against people who attacked them or threatened their lives without provocation is just more victimization by the perpetrator.

In the lead-up to our most-hyped snowstorm of this new century, I noticed as I went to look for a new back-up shovel the lack of shovels and other snow-cleanup related materials in the 3 or 4 days preceding the storm.  All the big box stores shelves’ were emptied.  This is a good application for those who think “I’ll just run to Sam’s Club if the SHTF”.

I’ve applied the concern with “just-in-time” logistics as it relates to disaster-preparedness on here before. Lean manufacturing and just-in-time logistics make manufacturing, warehousing, and transport of materials to the marketplace efficient from a business standpoint. But when you look at this applied to any food products or other necessities, this creates a threat when supply lines are interrupted.

Another thing that a lot of people really don’t seem to understand is that many businesses (including oil refineries) are almost optimally efficient and “lean” to the point of fragility.  In our region, two refineries have shut down (remember a few years ago when refiners couldn’t keep up?  Now they’re shutting down excess capacity.  That says a lot about our economy!).  With the refiners losing money, what do they have to trim?  Is there a lot of fat in the mechanical integrity departments?  Let me answer that- no, not enough to get to a profit.  If you want to talk about “our crumbling infrastructure,” do a realistic assessment of our oil refineries and manufacturing.

I wasn’t blogging at the time, but where I worked in the late 1990’s (at a time when the top-producing stocks became banks), and things turned toward shareholder-driven business to feed the short-term cravings of the 401k/IRA investors, I realized that a change (that was already extant) accelerated in manufacturing. Consider this example: if you own a car, you should factor in maintenance (even if it’s routine like oil changes) into ownership costs.

I noticed during this part of my career (call it an accurate prediction) and subsequent years in manufacturing that maintenance costs were actually being billed to “capital improvements” because the maintenance budgets were so lean.  It was as if the game plan was “survive the year” rather than a 5-15 year plan. You’re really behind the Eight ball if you need to bill  maintenance costs to capital improvements, but driving this is/was the threat of being shipped South to the maquiladoras or over to China if the plant didn’t appear to be economic.

So from a big storm, major terror attack, EMP, to other disruption to businesses (i.e. economic, oil shock, etc), the efficiency and subsequent fragility of the marketplace as we know it is all the more reason to be prepared and have extras of necessities.

I don’t consider myself a survivalist, more of a realist who’s prepared for some medium (and growing) probability/high severity occurrences.  So for those who read articles about “survivalism going mainstream,” it’s more about our economy and society being more tenuous and the real possibility of interruptions to life as we know it.

Anyway, to think of the minimum stuff that you need in a disruptive situation or full-on SHTF, consider that you’ll not be the only one thinking about running to Costco/BJ’s/Sam’s Club or the big-box stores when it happens.

Greyhawk at Mudville Gazette notes that the new, huger than ever allied offensive in Southern Afghanistan next week has been telegraphed pretty broadly (link):

It seems you can’t read (or watch) a news report on Afghanistan lately without encountering something new and different - radical, even - about our approach to war.

Like this unusual example of advertising in the Washington Post:

NATO ministers, commanders advertise planned offensive in southern Afghanistan

ISTANBUL — For the upcoming Battle of Marja, the element of surprise has already gone by the wayside.

Although Rasmussen said he could not go into details “for security reasons,” other NATO officials said an allied force, led by U.S. Marines, was preparing for an assault on the town of Marja, a Taliban stronghold in Helmand province. Senior military officials began touting the offensive, the first operation since a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan, even before President Obama announced in early December that he would be sending more forces to the country.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, said the offensive would start “relatively soon.” When asked why he and other commanders were being so open about their plans, he said it was partly to try to persuade as many Afghans as possible in Marja to throw down their arms and side against the Taliban.

“If they want to fight, then obviously that will have to be an outcome. But if they don’t want to fight, that’s fine, too,” he told reporters Thursday. “We’d much rather have them see the inevitability that things are changing and just accept that. And we think we can give them that opportunity. And that’s why it is a little unconventional to do it this way.”

The plan has indeed been advertised. Admiral Mullen mentioned Marja during a pre-Christmas visit to Afghanistan…

Just wanted to let y’all know, we’ll be here if you want to fight (or set IED’s?)…  I’m not saying it’s the Schlieffen Plan, it just seems like a bad idea.

Groundhog Day/Candlemas is a bit of a sentimental day for the BadIdeaGuy family.  My grandfather was an active participant in the Slumbering Lodge who looked to Octorara Orphie for his prognostication each year (link).  I keep promising myself I’ll go one day but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I’m rooting for six more weeks of Winter as it seems like the cold kills germs and bugs but if I’m guessing right Orphie won’t see his shadow.

But G’Hawg Day wouldn’t be a cherished American tradition without being opposed by some grievance group!  PETA fills the gap (link):

 PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania’s Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it’s unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is “being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.” The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.

Deeley says PETA isn’t interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.

Stupid, stupid enviroweenies.

I have a tough time considering a third, separate Bush Administration in the White House, but for a long time I’ve thought Jeb mighta/shoulda been the 43rd US President.  Lacking a time machine, my inclination is to say no, but it’s interesting to note that Jeb Bush is appearing on the national stage noticeably.  I’ll believe he’s running when I see him pop up in Iowa (link):

Jeb Bush is back, and some think he’s looking presidential

By Beth Reinhard | Miami Herald

MIAMI - When Jeb Bush left office four years ago, his public appearances were as scarce as bi-partisan man hugs.

He didn’t want to upstage his successor in the governor’s mansion nor his brother in the White House. Instead, he quietly cashed in by joining corporate boards and an elite speakers bureau, penned policy essays and gave infrequent interviews to conservative media.

But in recent months, as the Republican Party of Florida has grappled with a leadership vacuum, Bush’s political profile has grown as fast as the national deficit.

He headlined a fundraiser for Bill McCollum’s gubernatorial campaign, starred in a YouTube video touting Jeff Atwater’s campaign for state chief financial officer and helped install state Sen. John Thrasher as the state party’s heir apparent — all the while looming on the sidelines of the fierce Republican Senate primary between Gov. Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio.

The capper came Thursday when, at the top of the 7 o’clock hour, right after Vice President Joe Biden, Bush made a rare network television appearance on NBC’s Today Show. The intensely private Bush’s interview with the overly familiar Matt Lauer rattled Florida political circles.

Was this the beginning of a Jeb juggernaut that would culminate in a 2012 presidential bid?

“My wife called me immediately and said he looked presidential,” said Thrasher, who as the former House speaker helped Bush lay down his agenda. “I said, `Who knows? We’ll see.’ I’m ready to go to Iowa any time he’s ready.”

Bush’s comments about Crist’s support for President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan got the most attention, but his call for Democrats and Republicans to work together was the biggest clue to his national ambitions.

“I think that leaders on both sides of the aisle need to figure out where there is common ground and at least focus on that,” he said. “It’s one thing to give a good speech. The other thing is to invite people that don’t agree exactly with your point of view to build consensus.”

This from the governor who presided over some of Florida’s most hyper-partisan battles of the last decade? Who helped declare his brother the winner of the 2000 presidential recount, threw out affirmative action with the “One Florida” program, made the FCAT the end-all be-all of the public schools and insisted on getting in between brain-damaged Terri Schiavo and her husband?

But Bush’s front-page days are long gone. Lady Gaga could learn a thing or two from the ex-governor, who has stayed relevant without killing us with overexposure. He picks and chooses candidates to support and the causes that matter most to him. He recently made a rare appearance in the Capitol to promote education reforms and helped launch a national group to elect Republican state lawmakers.

Though he hasn’t given an endorsement, Bush has been an undeniable presence in the Crist-Rubio race. Consider: His well-placed compliments for Rubio and subtle digs at Crist. The involvement of his family’s longtime fundraiser, Ann Herberger, in the Rubio campaign. The reception co-hosted by sons George P. and Jeb Jr. that raised $100,000 for Rubio.

If the race goes down to the wire, or if Crist launches a full-scale attack against Rubio, some Republicans predict Bush will speak out.

“If Jeb is going to publicly support Marco, it’s better to keep the suspense building and do it closer to the election when voters are paying attention,” said Rubio supporter Ana Navarro. “Jeb Bush stumping through Florida for a Republican candidate makes a difference. Jeb Bush knows that. Marco Rubio knows that. And I suspect Charlie Crist fears that.”

I like that he’s for Marco Rubio but I can’t deal with big-government “compassionate conservatism” again. But if he could be an articulate, truly conservative leader, maybe we should… no, we shouldn’t… the silver lining is that short of Dick Cheney running in 2012, even Sarah Palin couldn’t make progressives more apoplectic than Jeb Bush.  In fact, with what we’ve been through the last year and change, maybe it’s not such a bad idea?!

“Helicopter” Ben Bernanke was recently reappointed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Dr. Jeffrey Lewis notes that for precious metals collectors, this is a boon (as Americans who must trade in dollars, notsomuch) (link):

When it comes to precious metals investing, there is no entity as important as the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve, which sets monetary policy and has a direct impact on the purchasing power of the greenback, has virtually complete control over inflation, deflation and the price of your metals. In the coming weeks, Ben Bernanke, the current Fed chairman, will be up for reappointment by the Senate of the United States.

Bernanke’s Reappointment

Bernanke’s reappointment is virtually guaranteed, with enough lawmakers on either side of the aisle willing to give him a second term. Many lawmakers, happy with his swift actions following the financial crisis, have said they will absolutely vote to reappoint him as head.

However, other lawmakers are upset with the Fed’s dramatic quantitative easing programs, as well as the bank bailout bill and the stimulus package - all of which Bernanke supported. Despite having his fair share of critics, those on Capitol Hill expect the vote to be close; however, none expect that Bernanke will have to find a new job.

His Great Depression Philosophy

Of all the big-government Keynesians who have chaired the Federal Reserve, none are as trigger-happy with monetary policy as Bernanke. Before his initial appointment as chairman, Bernanke was recommended heavily as a student of the Great Depression. Having spent years studying the economic implications and the role of government in extreme recessions or depressions, he believed that the Great Depression was largely the failure of government, later saying in his academic writings that the Federal Reserve and the US government did not do enough to calm the crisis.

Of course, many economic viewpoints contrast this stance, with the Austrian School pointing out that government spending actually prolonged the crisis, although neither philosophy has been independently proven in academic circles.

Bernanke’s Big Spending

For precious metals investors, there is no one better to have as Chairman of the Federal Reserve than Ben Bernanke. His solutions for economic calamity are all straight from the Keynesian textbook: higher government spending and credit infusion via artificially low interest rates. In fact, Bernanke even earned the title “Helicopter Ben” from critics who latched onto his quote regarding the printing press to reverse recessions. He famously said, “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press, that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost.”

The Chairman’s Importance

Only one Fed chairman in history has made it his premier task to fight inflation rather than create it: Paul Volcker. As many people can remember, Volcker took the prime rate to a sky-high 19% to reduce inflation and encourage savings. However, Fed Chairmen with the principles of Volcker are few and far between, as he was the only one to take inflation seriously when it came to his years as Fed Chairman.

Ultimately, it is of little importance who becomes the Fed Chairman, as they all share the same ideology. Of course, for precious metals investors, there is no one better for their wealth than Helicopter Ben.

Clearly, despite the well-publicized (by a compliant media) “Cuts in Discretionary Spending” of a whopping $250B over ten years by President Obama, he’s continuing down the path of government largesse in spending by much greater growth in his 2011 Budget than will be saved by his “cuts”.  It’s all a destructive shell game.

Yesterday I filed my taxes with turbotax, and I noted two new features this year: one was to link your facebook account to report your “status” as having completed your taxes (I think F/B is a large security risk as it is, I’m not sure why you’d want people to know where you did your taxes unless you were getting paid as an endorser) and the other was to directly purchase US Savings Bonds with your refund.  I think sending your refund to a gambling parlor might be a better investment!

Just a quick, paranoid-moment question to my readership- does the Toyota recall story sound like it may be coordinated by the media/government complex?  Sorry, but when you have people holding high-office bent on rewriting history and destroying icons, you have to be paranoid.

It’s pretty easy to find isolated problems with any brand of automobile.  I have a Buick with a sticky gas pedal.  One must wonder what it takes to make hay out of such a story.

I keep seeing stories originating in Chicago and wondering if that means something.

Just randomly surfing, found this excellent photo-essay on some lessons we should’ve learned from Argentina over at Doug Ross @ Journal’s blog (link).