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Category: politics

Sun. Sept. 12, 2021 – big storm coming, better get ready

Nice day in the forecast for today. Cooler and sunny, not crazy hot. Sat. was similar, although it did get hot in the afternoon.

Went to my meeting, had a good time. Went shopping. Came home.

Plan for today is sleep in, then either do some stuff around the house, or sort stuff in storage and get it ready to take to the auction.

There is a big storm coming. Both literally and figuratively as it turns out. The Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, and even parts further east are about to get up to 20 inches of rain if the forecasts are right. That’s several days of downpour and flooding with lots of damage.

So I’ll be topping up the day to day and getting ready to not have my pickup truck for moving stuff that can get wet.

In the figurative sense, we’ve been talking about the coming troubles for a while. I don’t see any way to avoid it at this point, and these things tend to kick off with very little warning. Use what time you have well. Hey, maybe it will be months or years. Good. Our stacks will be higher.

I quoted author Larry Correia yesterday, and I think one part of his advice bears repeating. Make yourself useful to your community. I’ve been slowly coming around to the importance of this. RBT thought he could position himself as resident wizard, but I thought that trying to do this AFTER the Fall was pretty difficult. (We had one discussion about this wrt ham radio.) He did get out into the community more at the new house than he ever mentioned at the old.

Other people in the blogosphere have been hammering on ‘tribe’ and community for a while, and on the folly of being a ‘lone wolf’. In our isolated and fragmented and mobile lives, it’s a difficult thing to do- becoming part of a group, part of a community IRL… we’ve found online substitutes but too often neglect the local, local, local aspects.

Hence part of my push for meatspace activities, real world training opportunities, group activities, and civic participation. We don’t have lodge brothers anymore. We don’t have high school friends nearby, or even poker buddies. Use what opportunities arise. Get out there and meet some people. Leverage what you have.

And stack it high and deep.

nick

Thur. Aug. 26, 2021 – month is winding down

Hot and humid. Chance of rain. Almost a surety that it will rain SOMEWHERE in Houston. It got pretty hot yesterday. I think my weather station topped out at 104F in the sun. It was still over 80F at dinner time, and just 80F at midnight. I did drive through some rain during my errands too.

Did a lot of running around yesterday. Did some thrifting too, since I’ve got a guaranteed auction coming up and he’ll take the stuff to his warehouse. There were a couple of good scores.

Today I’ll be packing up stuff for my non-prepping hobby show this weekend. So far they haven’t asked me to help load a truck today, so it’s all my stuff to get ready. I really hope some or all of it sells.

Moving the stuff is the important part, getting some money is second. Hanging out with people who share an enthusiasm is pretty cool too.

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I got a funny phone call yesterday. Out of the blue, someone from the local Republican party called and asked if I wanted to be a precinct chair. It turns out the precinct is basically my neighborhood, and a couple of blocks around it. The duties seem to be trying to get out the vote, shaking hands and knocking on doors. I’m actually considering it, since I encourage all y’all to get involved with local politics. Well, if not involved exactly, at least familiar with the people and the process. IDK if I would be good at it, or want the exposure, or would be acceptable to them. Everything they said about Kavanaugh could have been said about me… only the names and places were different. The 80s were a great time to be coming of age…….. Anyway, no one’s had the position in years. This tells me that the local R’s might be trying to up their ground game.

That they think they can overcome fraud with effort is funny. And I don’t actually care about most of the R’s, since they turned out to be politicians first, deep staters or quislings second, and generally not people I’d put in charge of a Prom Committee, but they at least aren’t actively pushing socialism. We can continue to pretend things are normal for a while longer. And it might lead to some good insights… or a spot in front of a pock marked wall. That last being the important bit. Hard to be the grey man when people know you as part of a political machine.

I’ll put it in the ‘meatspace baby’ pile for now and give it some thought. I don’t see much upside to doing it, and a lot of potential downside.

We’ve still got some time, use it wisely. Stack all the things!

n

Wed. Aug. 25, 2021 – nut cuttin’ time is getting closer

Whoooeeeee, it shore got hot in the sun yesterday. Gonna happen today too, reckon. Oh, it’ll start out slow, but I’m betting on ‘hot’ and sunny later. At least the humidity was slightly lower. It wasn’t so low I didn’t sweat through my shirt in minutes outdoors, but it was better than the last few days.

Since I spent yesterday morning and early afternoon dealing with power issues here at Casa de Nick, I didn’t get very far on my list. Most of that will have to push to today. Also, most of the prep for my non-prepping hobby convention and swapmeet needs to happen today. I’ll be doing prep for my role in things Thursday, and actually doing the things Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Posting will be as normal but commenting will be light.

On the plus side, now that my service drop is replaced, my electrician buddy should be willing to do the gennie hookup.

On the minus side, there is a smell in the garage like the rat poison worked. No ratons in the traps, so he’s somewhere else. Unlike the house, he can get into the walls in the garage. I’m really hoping that isn’t the case. I’ll know more in a day… Whether I’ll be able to do anything about it is another question.

Whether the world holds together is starting to be a good question. Portland has another ‘autonomous zone’ taken over by antifa thugs. They seem to be entirely without introspection as they’ve named the area the “SSPAZ”. Maybe the ‘kids’ are so well conditioned that they never called anyone a spaz and they just don’t get the reference. Elsewhere shootings and public violence continue to increase. An example of the unequal application of the law has the leader of the Proud Boys facing jail for stealing and burning a flag, while looters, BLM thugs, and antifa punks roam free. Oh, and he had a “high capacity” magazine with him in DC, while antifa tries to literally blind cops and gets away with it.

As well to be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.

Disruptions to supply lines continue. Disruptions to the food supply continue. Remember last year when people were saying “don’t worry about the poor crops, we’ve got plenty of grain in storage…” well, this year that grain is probably mostly gone, and it looks like we aren’t going to have bumper crops.

People are talking and advocating for vax status to determine access to and level of medical care. Think about that one for a second. Now extend it out a year or two… what else will they want to use to discriminate against you? There will be shooting when that costs someone a loved one. And honestly, I don’t think it will take a year. You will need tribe and like minded folks to get access and resources. What will you bring to that exchange?

Black market, grey market, secondary market, informal market, whatever you call it and whatever nuances there are between them, start looking. Start practicing. Swapmeets. Yard sales. Garage sales. A guy who knows a guy. You might find yourself locked out of the main economy. Yeah, things would have to be pretty bad before that could happen. Illegals already live that way though. It’s not that big a step and the legal framework went in years ago. There were articles about it, and the pretext was ‘extremism’, but they promised not just to lock you out but also anyone who would do business with you. I don’t know where such a scenario fits on a risk matrix, but it’s on there. And we are in the middle of a global pandemic, and the early stages of a civil war. Just sayin’. Planning. Some preps. Some people. Some practice. Just sayin’.

And stacks. Tall stacks.

nick

Wed. Aug. 18, 2021 – Did something change?

Hot and humid again, although less so. Same prediction of rain in the afternoon or evening. Which is how yesterday went. We had sun and rain at the same time for part of the afternoon… so we didn’t get clobbered, but I think we’re 4 for 4 on rain in the afternoon now.

Spent the day moving stuff from one bin to another, getting ready to drop off some auction stuff today. Then I went to Costco to get TP and whatever else struck me as a good deal.

Hmm. Spent almost $800 and didn’t get much meat, and got no TP. The TP area was BARE except for one or two pallets of Scott. No paper towels either. The napkins I like were on sale so I got some of those. They were bringing out about 10 pallets of kirkland TP, but I don’t need to mess with that. If they haven’t restocked Charmin Blue, I’ll pull some from my secondary location. It’s not that I don’t have any, I just am getting low at the house.

What I did get was some of the stuff I haven’t bought in a year or more. 3 boxes of ziplok bags for example. Dishwasher pods. $40 in black bins for the auction. And lots of prepared meals. They are very convenient with the kids and with me being out of the house in the late afternoon. They’re not cheap, or a great value, but they are tasty and convenient. I also doubled up some purchases to get ‘caught up’ on some stuff I’d let run down. Butter. Cheese. Potstickers. Cereal. Our eating habits have changed and I’ve got stuff on the shelves that is just sitting there that would have turned over twice a year ago.

There were some gaps. No lamb rib chops, so I couldn’t compare today’s price with 2019. No lamb convenience meals either. Still no spiral sliced ham- I don’t think it’s coming back at this point. They marked down the pallet of Community brand coffee. They had switched flavors from what was selling well (and what I bought) to a lighter blend, and it looks like it didn’t sell at all. I hope they go back to the dark roast, and don’t drop the company completely. There was one Mountain House box on an otherwise empty pallet. People must have been buying today. The black bins were sold out on the floor, so I grabbed some from the second shelf. No flip top bins at all.

There was still rice in different sized bags and a couple of different varieties, but nothing like pre-wuflu. It was more like 70c/lb than 50c. That could be brand, or seasonal variation, or it could be inflation. Oh, and no Breathe Rite strips in the store… weird. Lots of indian food displacing the chinese and korean, lots of stuff I’ve never seen in the store before, but all in smaller quantities. All the canned veg was national brands, not kirkland.

There seemed to be a good assortment of cheap wine options, 8-12$ bottles. More selection at the low end than I remember them having pre-wuflu, and confirms what I saw last time. There were a lot of discounted items too, which almost seemed back to normal. It wasn’t crowded at 4:00-5:30pm while I was there, but they must have had a pretty busy day. Storms headed this way, and political storms brewing might do that.

It’s not just foreign actors that will be testing Bidden and the US. Our own politicians will be looking to exploit his weakness and mistakes too. That will give our enemies even more encouragement as we continue fighting amongst ourselves. Don’t look for peace, prosperity, and stability. It’s going to get a lot worse before we get back to those.

Prep as best you can for whatever threat you see coming. If you feel like you’ve got to lower your profile, don’t just drop off the air here. Let us know you’re going to be ‘spending more time with family’… so we don’t worry. Or change your nickname… although that won’t stop us from noticing your old nick isn’t coming around anymore. Thanks for the support for Ray and his wife, especially from those of you we don’t hear from that often. Glad to know you are still coming by.

There’s only so many ways I can say “get prepped” but despite all the time Bob spent saying it, and I spent saying it, some of you were still caught short last March. Don’t let that happen again. For REALZ this time, get prepped! Anyone with specific questions, ask them. It will give me something specific to write about, or it’ll let the other experts here chime in, like battery discussion does.

And let’s not forget that life does go on, even in the middle of a global pandemic, and the coming civil war, and the world wide rearrangement. Ordinary stuff needs doin’ too. I’m not the only one with kids (or grandkids) and we have an obligation to them too. They’ll be the ones that come out the other side of this, and they’ll need a good foundation to build off of. They sure aren’t getting that in school, they need to get it from us. Building the next generation is the biggest prep of all.

And of course, keep stacking. Piles of stuff, a head full of knowledge and hands full of work, and a few stout friends, and you’ll have what you need to get through, and even thrive.

At least, that’s what I am hoping, and building toward.

nick

-title question referred to mood, or zeitgeist. You tell me if you are seeing it.

Fri. Aug. 13, 2021 – Friday the 13th falls on a Friday this month

Hot and humid, some rain somewhere in town. Yesterday I managed to miss all the rain. Wherever I was it was sunny and hot, but I could see the T storm cells in the distance. Two of them parked over neighborhoods near mine for a while. LOTS of rain came down in a short time.

I spent my morning taking the puppy to the vet for the last of his vaccinations. He was very sore afterwards, and he really doesn’t like the rectal thermometer 🙂

Then I did some pickups, and spent some time talking with one of the auctioneers about taking a bunch of my stuff. He’s game. I told him about a box truck worth, and he seemed ok with that. We talk again on Monday. That would be awesome to get a huge whackload of stuff out of here at one go.

I’m really getting concerned about unloading as much as I can as quickly as I can. The pace of our slide toward violence and civil disorder/war seems to be accelerating. There are blue check mark people (ie real people) on twitter calling for the un-vaxxed to be lined up in front of ditches and machine gunned. They are saying that society should be making the unvaxxed lives miserable until they lose heart and give in. I note that they are saying these things expecting pats on the head and agreement. On the other side, parents are chasing school board members to their cars yelling at them that ‘we know where you live and we’ll find you.’ IN PERSON and on video.

Petty and violent crime are up all over the country, and respect for the law is at lows we haven’t seen in decades. That might be partly because we are no longer ruled by law, and people are waking up to that. Criminals will always see it first and act first to take advantage of it. Ordinary people, who are growing madder by the day, will start soon. Every crime or slight will carry the death penalty WROL. (or without EFFECTIVE rule of law anyway.)

Extremists are getting more extreme. Rhetoric is heating up. Interpersonal violence and official violence are increasing. Add in an invasion of literally ‘the great unwashed’ to the tune of over 1 million, all of them legally criminals, many undoubtedly actual “criminal” criminals. The world political and economic situation continues to deteriorate. When was the last time you saw an article about Greece and its financial issues? When did the EU banks have their last stress test? Anyone think those situations have been made better by the last year and a half of lockdowns and trade disruptions? Is Paris burning cars this summer? How is Venezuela doing? Cuba? How about the failed narco-state to our south?

Then look to our own issues of governance. Even the edges of the mainstream are starting to question Biddn’s mental state. His wastrel son’s laptop is the gift that keeps on giving and someone is doing mental scale balancing of Biddn’s perceived power vs. the money to be made off the scandal. No one wants to be Epsteined, but recognizing the lion is toothless makes people bolder.

Our economic situation hasn’t improved. In every other instance in history, writing a bunch of checks you can’t cover except by running the printing presses has led to inflation. History HASN’T ended. We are seeing inflation. We expect inflation. Why is it so hard to BELIEVE in the bad things inflation brings? Your fixed income becomes ZERO. Your life savings becomes ZERO. Your wages quickly drop to near zero. And in the middle of this, TPTB have decided to fire at least 30% and possibly as much as 50% of their staff with vaccine mandates. Isn’t everyone complaining about a labor shortage? How does reducing the pool of available labor help that? People have lost their minds, and are not making rational decisions. That is a VERY BAD SIGN.

I know. I’m doom and gloom. It comes with the territory. But. Show me the alternative. Make the case that things are getting better.

And if you can’t, you need to start acting. Nothing irrevocable. But there is a lot you can do before it gets to that point. People are moving. Sarah Hoyt (who we sometimes link) has. Our own Jenny saw the possible very local bad things coming and acted. RBT did several years ago. Several other bloggers I read have moved too. Lynn has his gennie installed. Others of you have taken steps too. A fair number of you have casually moved in the last couple of years…

It probably deserves more thought and a lot more words written, but I think we are past the point where a ham radio license and some Baofeng radios will help. Alternative comms ARE going to be needed, but I don’t know what it will look like yet. Alternative food, water, power, sanitation, and healthcare are going to be higher on the list. Alternative income. Alternative security arrangements. Alternatives to going to work every day. Those are the things to prioritize now.

The more stuff you have stacked, the more skills, knowledge, and trustworthy friends you have, the more ALTERNATIVES you will have.

Keep stacking what you need.

Keep your head on a swivel and your options open.

nick

Fri. Aug. 6, 2021 – this time for sure…

Hot and humid, chance of rain. Again. Like Thursday. Overcast all day, then some sprinkles, and it got cooler later in the day.

Wife and kids hit the road for the airbnb lakehouse, and I set out on my errands. First stop was my mechanic with my Ranger. I have the feeling it’s going to be a bunch of money. All the rubber bushes are ‘perished’. I’ve got a stuck caliper. I’m guessing new rotors and pads all around, and at least one caliper. I’ll know more Monday.

Then it was switch vehicles and off to my buddy’s gun store. Had a couple of people in waiting for their checks to come back, and a couple of random ‘concerning’ people. Crazy angry chicks that talk a lot can take up a lot of your attention. I lost track of a HUGE sketchy guy when I got distracted. Fortunately it was because he got done casing the joint and left. Lot of people case the place, none come back. I guess I should add “so far”. They had a few guns in inventory, but not many. No ammo.

Then it was on to my secondary where I spent about 4 hours moving stuff around and literally stacking some stuff. I can see floor, which is a big change. I intend to head over there today and do some more too. I want to be able to lot up some pallets of stuff next week.

I am hoping that my newest possibility of an auctioneer will be back from his mom’s funeral and back at work next week also. That way I can move a whole bunch of stuff to his place and out of my places. Having some sales from that would be nice too.

At some point during the day, I’ll head home, shower and hit the road for the lake. After all, it’s possible (I rate it ‘unlikely’) that I’m wrong and the world isn’t about to puke up its guts and rearrange things for the next period of about 70 years. I wish I could ask my grandmother how it felt in 1939, or ’40, or ’41. How she felt about the world, and if all the preparation and groundwork the government was doing affected her. I wonder if she saw what was happening in Europe and recognized that big change wasn’t done yet. I’ve got a feeling that these are ‘the good old days’ and I need to do my best to be sure the kids know what ‘good times’ look and feel like. Yeah I know, sounds overly dramatic and maudlin. But the US Civil War happened. The nazziz rose to power in Germany. Mussolini rose to power. Japan made their hubris filled miscalculation… there is absolutely no reason why similar things can’t happen again. History hasn’t stopped and humans are pretty much the same as they were 70, 700, or 2000 years ago.

The pace of change and the vitriolic rhetoric seem to be heating up. I’ve been feeling some urgency for the last couple of years to get all my unnecessary stuff out of here and the rest sorted out, but now I’m REALLY feeling it. Nobody is going to be buying any of this stuff if the world suddenly goes pear shaped. And it will be sudden.

Use the time you have to get squared away. Stack needful things.

n

Thur. Aug. 5, 2021 – maybe headed out, maybe not

Hot and humid, chance of thunderstorms. Got the tiniest bit of rain late in the day yesterday, after a nice, slightly cooler day with a lot of overcast. Since it was under 100F I did some work at my storage unit. Still got soaked to the skin with sweat.

Spent the rest of the day doing small things, like getting my tire repaired, taking daughter the younger to the library. She had a book on hold that came in and was fairly vibrating with NEED to have it. She’d mostly finished it by bedtime. It was my first time in our local branch library, and it was full of weirdos. Yeah kid, I’m not sending you there alone. Another fallen institution. I spent hundreds if not thousands of hours alone at our local library when I was a kid. Now it’s full of homeless and degenerates.

Wife let the kids stay up late, until midnight, so not rising at the buttcrack of dawn this A.M. to get the car loaded. We had a talk and I may stay behind and then join them for the weekend. That will get me two more good working days that I really need. Between the truck maintenance and the auction clearing out and setting up, I’m falling further behind every day. If I keep posting throughout the day, I’m probably at home.

On a different note, scrap prices are back up. I took some of what I was throwing out to the scrapyard and got 60c/pound for dirty aluminum, and 67c/lb for stainless steel. Even regular steel brought 6c. $15 of the $53 was triple my money by selling off the cr@p that came with a lot of shelving I won last week. Go me. The columbians who bought out the previous owner have managed to clear out almost all the scrap that had piled up on the grounds and in the building. It’s quite amazing. I guess prices got to the point where they were motivated to move it all.

Now I need to keep moving and get more stuff out and sold or scrapped.

Maybe there is still some time left before the shooting starts. I was shocked to read Slow Joe’s comments on the eviction moratorium. He swore to uphold the Constitution, not look for ways around it. If we needed any confirmation that rule of law was dead, his statements about that put the final nail in the coffin. I know the guy isn’t a genius, and his ‘well spoken’ President often lamented that the Constitution got in the way of what he wanted to do, but to come out and say plainly that you know what you are doing doesn’t pass muster, but the length of time it takes the courts to address it will make it moot, so you’re gonna do it anyway, is just freaking nuts.

ANYTHING is possible under color of law now. ANYTHING. The Curmudgeon in charge over at https://adaptivecurmudgeon.com/ has some observations that are worth a consideration.

Irrational people are breaking things. They complain that the “other” is a terrorist, or a disease vector, or “bad for the earth”, or racist, or whatever. There’s a purpose to that. They’re working themselves up into evil actions. Once a person believes “others” must be “corrected” (by force if necessary) they can enjoy a righteous frenzy. Make no mistake, they will enjoy it. They seek to unload their hate and bloodlust. They want to experience the ecstasy of hurting “the other”; their society, their fellow citizens, friends, family, and neighbors. Most people would rather destroy than create. It’s the nature of man. It’s only civilization which keeps it at bay. So, they destroy civilization too. When the smoke clears and time passes, if they’re still standing, they’ll try to remember some version of events that makes them blameless, or even heroes. A few will repent, but it will mean nothing to the ashes under their feet.

This isn’t new. This has happened before. There are countless examples of whole societies losing their damn mind, working up to a religious fervor, and running amok…

Go and read it.

Then stack some more of everything. Keep in mind that money in the bank isn’t. The people that turned in Anne Frank were following the law and the people hiding her were breaking it. And no one cares about you as much as you do. Plan accordingly.

nick

Thur. July 8, 2021 – flyin’ by…

Hot and humid, chance of rain. Might be sunny. Yadda yadda. Well, yesterday started cool, got hotter, got sunnier, and then ended hot and sticky. Lots of mosquitos in the yard too.

We are working on housebreaking the new puppy, which means sitting outside while he sniffs the entire yard looking for the perfect spot to NOT do his business, until we give up and let him back in the house. Then within a minute, he’ll have soiled something… so I’m getting reacquainted with sitting in the sun in the yard, swatting bugs. Joy.

Spent the day mostly not getting stuff done. I did get pickups done at two different auctions. One was half household stuff, the other half stuff for my non-prepping hobby, the other was all household. Got a tiny little dog life jacket for the new little guy. Fits him, and is even a bit big. He doesn’t like it at all, but if we ever find some lake property, we’ll need it. Got some pink safety glasses for the girls in my wife’s troops. If they’re gonna do woodworking with saws, hammers, and screwguns, they need safety gear. Got some small sized gloves for them too.

I did not get daughter two signed up for a day at the rock climbing gym today, but will get her in for tomorrow. She likes the gym and they had lots of day camps there the summer before wuflu. I will try to send the puppy to day care too. That should break me loose to actually do some work. And I REALLY need to get some auction stuff ready.

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Meanwhile, I think I’m starting to see the shape of the rest of the summer. The Dems in DC are establishing offices in other states for the DC police. Federal police force expansion cued up in 3, 2, 1 …

Chicago will ask for fedgov police or troops as the murders and lawlessness continue to get worse. They already have gangbangers trying to kill each other in the street with ARs firing 3 rnd bursts from 100 rnd Beta mags in broad daylight. I watched the video with my own eyes. Cops are saying “F this noise” and leaving or retiring on the job.

If Chicago falls, NYFC will be the next to ask for help. Cops in NYC are doing the same thing as cops in Chicago and elsewhere. Ie, leaving.

Whoever DC sends will just be more targets for the ‘bangers and revolutionaries who are already targeting cops (at least 3 that I can think of off the top of my head before the triple shooting in Chicago this week.)

NYC and Chicago are already blaming legal gun owners, and the gun manufacturers for the “gun” violence. The word they should be using starts with a “g” but rhymes with “bang”, and not “fun”. They’ll try to crack down even harder on the people who traditionally have just shut up and taken it. Only I don’t think they will this time.

Which should lead to even more sportiness, which the pro agitators will be sure to take advantage of. Their cadre has been blooded now, cycled away from the ‘front’ to share their experiences, and to gear up for the next wave. They haven’t gone home to tend their gardens and make war no more. They’re waiting, organizing, and equipping for the next skirmish.

Then there is the question of outside interference. Some people are concerned that China has used the foreign exchange student programs to pre-position tens of thousands of troops here already. We have a failed narco state to our south, that can move drugs, people, and guns over our border with impunity. THEIR fifth columnists are fully emplaced, dispersed to every city and town in the US, ready to provide an organized force either directly or as harassers. They are savage and have an ideological framework based on the Reconquista, and La Raza movements. If and when they are unleashed, the streets will run with blood and cities will burn.

There are many forces at work, they sense the weakness. Some of them have worked to create the weakness for decades. They’re looking at the fat, bloated, drug- addled Elvis, and they’re ready to kill the King and divide up the kingdom. My only hope is that we’ve been getting ready too, and no matter how much family fights, they all turn on the outsider.

The economy isn’t going to survive something like that. Personal violence is going to go through the roof. The economic engine of the world will stop, and then the whole world is in a world of hurt.

The elephants are dancing. I hope all the mice have a nice little bolt hole ready to hide in. If they don’t, what’s stopping you? Get to stacking.

nick

Thur. June 17, 2021 – too much left to do, no time

Warm and wet, with possible tropical storm pushing up from the Gulf. Not that I was right about yesterday. It was hot. And it was humid. But it was also clear and sunny for almost the whole day. There were some glowering clouds in the distance late evening, and some lightning, but no rain for me. It was 80F at 1 am.

I spent the day doing some auction stuff, cleaning and organizing, and playing with the puppy. I wanted to get out of the house but couldn’t drop the kids at the pool, which ended up with me stuck at home all day.

I don’t think I can get my stuff ready for the pallet auction before I leave on the trip. I was hoping my wife could work from home today, but she’s got in-person meetings all day. I can’t even do ebay listings because I’d have to stop them in a day anyway to go out of town. It is very frustrating, and I feel like I’m falling behind.

I KNOW I’m falling behind, but I’m not willing to have my family travel without me either. Spending time with my mom is kinda important too. It’s getting closer to just calling a haul off company time…

——————————————————————

The world situation is changing quickly too. There should be no doubt in the G7 about where the US is, and is headed, assuming the coup plotters can keep a lid on the dissent. No one really knows when or if that will happen. What is radical islam doing? What are they plotting for us? China, Turkey, Russia, all licking their lips and rubbing their hands together about something…

Some things I’ll be watching for- our allies now know we are F’ed internally. They either know who is really running Joe, and approve, or they are realizing they will be on their own (as we turn inward). If the UK increases their military posture, brings troops and assets home, that might be a pretty good indicator which it is. Germany and France have their own internal issues but they should be positioning themselves for whatever they see coming, and soon. When was the last time we heard about bank stress tests, IMF loans, European central banks, and negative interest rates? Remember the concern over the PIIGS? Think they are in better shape after a year of wuflu lockdowns?

Estonia is probably pretty nervous right now. We moved a bunch of assets into the Baltics, iirc, what are they up to now?

Israel and the middle east is up for grabs at the moment, or will be soon.

I expect a bunch of realignment in the next year. And while I’d normally be a kind of ‘let them deal with their own issues’ if it happens because of our weakness, I am concerned that it won’t end with them.

So if you needed more reasons to stack, there you are. Stack it high. Can’t hurt. Might save your life.

nick

Sun. May 2, 2021 – [singing] Do-oo-oomsday, it’s always a day a-way! [music playing]

Moderate, rainy, with periods of clear. Like yesterday.

My wife had periods of good weather at camp too, and the timing worked well with their activities. They have been having a great time. I’ve just been dodging raindrops all day.

I spent the day mostly indoors, other than getting two pickups done. Cleaning supplies, and birthday presents, bought before need. And 8 new in box zippo lighters. Genuine made in the US zippos, for <$2 each. Yeah, I had to drive to get them. Drove to get the other stuff too, though so the marginal cost was low. Our ability to make fire separates us from the animals, right? So anything that helps with that is a good thing. (Although any wick based lighter will dry out if left alone, so they are not good for a 'stock it and leave it' bag or stash- use butane for that.) One thing I had a chance to catch up on is the last couple of essays by Sarah Hoyt. I’ve linked to her before. Her mood seems to fluctuate, and she has written about battles with depression, so there is always that to consider, but she has a way with words, and as an immigrant and naturalized citizen, she’s got a different history and perspective than most people on the right side of the blogosphere. Always worth reading. Anyway, her last two are much more specific and pessimistic than usual, and even I find myself shaking my head and saying “that can’t be right”. But it might be.

Specifically she’s writing about the Biden EO that has gotten a bit of coverage on the right, and how it sets up the ‘legal’ structure to unperson, bankrupt, and starve anyone they can pin the ‘russian agent’ tag on. American Thinker wrote about it too. It’s titled “Executive Order on Blocking Property with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation “. Consider it in light of this section describing who can be determined to be at fault- “(F) activities that undermine the peace, security, political stability, or territorial integrity of the United States, its allies, or its partners;”.

Couple that with this restriction “Sec. 2. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and
(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.”

That is some pretty broad language. We know rule of law is dead, so don’t expect any meaningful challenges to this EO. The penalty for helping or taking money from the unpersoned is to have the order applied to you and your FAMILY too.

Read the whole thing at the Whitehouse . gov. It’s short.

Remember that the people who hid Anne Frank and her family were breaking the law, and the person who turned her in was following it.

Prepare yourself for what will happen when people begin to be affected by this EO. And if it could apply to you, or be MADE to apply to you, prepare for that too.

You probably don’t have enough stuff stacked, or sturdy friends. I am pretty sure I don’t. Keep stacking.

nick

(It’s always a day a-way…. until it’s not. Slowly, then all at once.)