With a handful of economic data releases, we have actual news to talk about. However, since markets are (generally) closed for Good Friday, we can indulge a bit in more light-hearted aspects of Life.
Business first, though.
Questions & Data Day
Q 1: Is there Mail Delivery today?
Yes. In fact, despite the (nominally) Christian foundation of America, the Federal government doesn’t get a day off. Thanks, liberals.
Q 2: What About Parking Meters?
Plan on Paying (PoP). This is America. This means we have left traditional religious values (like charity) and moved in (more or less completely) to a financial monetization of everything.
Q 3: What are today’s Big News Releases?
We’ll roll through these in order:
The first is the NY Fed Empire State Manufacturing outlook. Came in like this:
“The headline general business conditions
index surged thirty-six points to
24.6. New orders and shipments grew
strongly, and unfilled orders increased.
Delivery times lengthened, though at
a slower pace than in recent months,
and inventories rose.”
Which would have seemed OK, except for the part where the look-ahead cratered:
“The index for future business conditions
fell twenty-one points to 15.2,
its lowest level since early in the
pandemic. Longer delivery times,
higher prices, and increases in
employment are all expected in the
months ahead, and capital spending
plans remained firm.”
The next biggie will be the Fed’s Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report due out at 9:15 AM Eastern. When out, click here.
Not that you can do much about it, what with US markets being closed for Good Friday.
Q 4: Why look at Capacity Utilization, anyway?
One of my frequent harangues is American style financial engineering looks far too closely at the money leaving far to little attention paid to goods.
We all know prices are going up. But the real power of the economy is a calculation involving both goods and price. On the Peoplenomics side, we get more into this kind of thinking, but it’s very much like electronics.
Where – if you aren’t running around with a signal-tracking spectrum analyzer in your pocket, POWER is calculated by taking VOLTAGE times CURRENT. Since Power is abbreviated P, current abbreviated I, and voltage abbreviated E, remember this is as easy as P=I*E.
A country (like the U.S.) can lose its economic way by simply focusing too much on one aspect of the “I*E” part of the equation. Yes, high voltage in electronics is often useful, but if the current drops in proportion to the voltage increase, no additional “actual work” (reported as Power in units of Watts) is done.
Similarly, in economics, if prices are going up, but unit volumes are cratering, the overall Wealth of Nation isn’t going anywhere.
Q 5: Interesting. So where are we now?
That’s a little more complicated. And part of it is due to Covid and how people’s STM (short-term memory) works.
Economics (because of political expediency) measures mainly year-to-year change.
The problem? When we have major life-direction-changing behavioral change (like Covid), two or three-years into events, we get all self-congratulatory along with high-fives and hugs if things seem better than just last year.
We forget, however, that things really were better by many measures 3-years ago.
Q 6: Prove It!
If you “go to the data” – instead of reading hysterical news accounts, a review shows that fewer people are working even now than held gigs before the ‘Rona showed up:
This is despite the massive illegal entry to America which us likely up over a million since 2-years ago…
Q 7: Is this why Brandon is Removing Title 42?
Ah! There’s a lightbulb going on. Yes. Politics is taking naturally occurring events and claiming credit for them in order to hoax voters. Besides climate hysteria, Open Borders is just another con.
You see – and Europe saved itself from economic collapse with mass in-migration, too – More People means More Economic activity.
As America “leaves the doors open” more will in-migrate. Which will create a kind of lower-class working people’s boom economy. If you’re a slumlord, open borders are your cuppa tea.
Around here, we see both the upside (downscale demand replacement as earlier downscale people move up the economic conveyor belt) and the downside (drugs, child and adult sexploitation, and political shenanigans such as non-citizen voting) are encouraged by America’s communist states.
Over time, we will rollover into the absurd Canadian model of Francophone pandering with Spanglish dual language. Again, it will make more jobs (Spanish and Engrish (sic) websites, government publications, street signs and all the rest. All part of the “Rise of Non-Productive Jobs” which is what we’ve been driven to because of a lack of well-planned alternative future design.
Real jobs and manufacturing were sold-out to Asia long ago.
Q 8: So what, is our present economic condition as a country?
Our friends at the Association of American Railroads have a weekly time series report called Rail Time Indicators. It offers a “blinders off” look at products and unit volumes. In their Wednesday report this week, here’s their size-up:
“Total carloads for the week ending April 9 were 236,459 carloads, up 1.4 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 271,884 containers and trailers, down 3.1 percent compared to 2021.
Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2021. They included coal, up 3,519 carloads, to 65,725; motor vehicles and parts, up 1,320 carloads, to 13,352; and chemicals, up 1,185 carloads, to 35,152. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2021 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,107 carloads, to 9,319; metallic ores and metals, down 1,753 carloads, to 20,711; and miscellaneous carloads, down 551 carloads, to 9,808.
For the first 14 weeks of 2022, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,223,599 carloads, up 2.5 percent from the same point last year; and 3,641,782 intermodal units, down 6.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2022 was 6,865,381 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.5 percent compared to last year.”
The political hucksterism of this (lousy) administration is its LYING NARRATIVE to convince people to Blame Vlad the Bad.
The Truth (which people ignore) is that we were already in declining units of many major commodities in advance. But, Ukraine’s border is as good an excuse as any to this clown posse.
Q 9: I thought the Supply Chain Problem was fixed?
Lies by omission. Several things you are now aware of that WILL shape your futures over the balance of this year and into 2023 you need to PLAN ON right now.
- The supply chain is highly China-dependent. They will be taking Taiwan back (*reunification) before the year is out. Forbes has been pretty good about looking ahead as a dot-connector: China Covid Lockdown: Here Are New Shortages You Might See Soon. China is using Covid as an excuse to tighten the noose around our neck. They are also becoming (*even more) wary of U.S. dollar-denominated anything. They know we’re borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and with rates going up, it’s only a matter of not too long before the National Debt blows up. Which is why our focus on debt elimination and investing in civilization restart kits because at some point, space-based EMP over the U.S. – with plenty of deniability – will be an outcome of the Neocons and Euromaniacs rush to take over Russia.
- Medicine Shortages are likely this fall-winter. Word came from a buddy who is a (doc) hospital director. He’s already telling patients to work on health improvement so if their critical meds enter shortages, they won’t have such a “hard landing.” Because so much drug manufacturing is overseas, the risk is amplified and our (bought and paid for, sold out) Congress has sold us all down the road on this front, too.
- Food Shortages will be here in no time. Which means not only will quality be going down, but prices will be going up. The Neocon-Biden ill-advised warmongering (to protect the wrong border) will result in higher input costs for farmers, the shortage of truck drivers will get worse, and Vlad the Bad will get blamed which will play with (*stupid) woke and democrat voters. Already, the OBiden anti-energy drive has reduced Gulf drilling to 9 rigs, instead of the usual 30+, new leases are being thwarted, and mining regulations (think hard rock) that have nothing to do with rig operations offshore) are now being required for training. The result is a growing shortage of job-ready rig crews. Again, evidence of the Obama-led anti-America take-down in action. Already, we’re revising our outlooks to include gas lines before the year is out. Stories like OPEC tells EU it’s not possible to replace potential Russian oil supply loss | Reuters are laying the groundwork for that already.
Q 10: Sounds like America’s future is fading.
I think that’s by design. Unless you’re actively marketing LBGTQ do stories like Ukraine’s LGBTQ community finds refuge in Berlin really matter?
There’s been a trend since the beginning of time for power to be concentrated in the “hands of the few” and we see that being continued as control of the Internet is being wrested by into “hands of power.” These are the people *(via proxies) who are working out anti-human things like social credits and who feed you a constant diet of divisive ideas (race, gender, religion, and all manner of consumerism) in order to “keep you where they want you.”
America would be a much better place if we had two term limits for all political offices, no exceptions, and if we had financial net worth caps of something quite comfortable ($100-million) but no more.
A few things to think about with markets closed for what we hope is a very Good Friday for you.
All comes down to Easter Weekend Is Brought To You By These Lobbyists And Political Associations. Yes, we’re all getting nailed, huh?
Write when you get rich,
George@Ure.net
I know a Zen Monk who for 17 years has had no money & only the barest of possessions. He is living a wonderful life. His soul is still like the water & reflects the beauty of this world.
Don’t get caught up in the hype, Present Moment, Beautiful Moment. Shed your guns & hate & you will enter Heaven today.
I know many will say, do this & the evil hoardes will conquer you, kill you, & make you slaves. I know this to be true of one Huron Indian Tribe in Canada in the 1700’s, who were converted by the French to Christanity, became pacifists, & were slaughtered by neighboring warlike tribes.
Walk slowly & carry a big stick is how the USA answered this conundrum. It seemed to work until now. Our leadership is weak, our people are weak, the stick is cracked. Go forward & walk in peace.
17 years of bliss … will he ever get married?
Lunacy prevails in this country. Where has common sense gone? People believe anything they see or hear from the propaganda networks and newspapers, social(ist) media, phony disinformation Fact Checkers, and lying politicians….4 Shots for a Corona virus, Human caused Global warming, Oceans rising because of humans, Syria gassed their own people, Weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Ukraine war was the Russian’s fault, Bucha was caused from Russian butchers, and Missiles not used by Russia for 15 years have written “for the children” on the side and laid out in a yard in Ukraine ‘where the Russians supposedly fired it and it ‘partially’ blew up’.
All lies!!!! Now all the time!!!! The senile law-breaking lying idiot living in the White House makes the U.S. look like it has a majority of war-mongering dumb ass fools living here…which maybe it does. Every day that Biden and Co. illegally allow thousands of more ILLEGALS to cross our border, the country gets dumbed down even more. And with all the free handouts to these illegals, including a monthly income more than a lot of people on Social Security receive, we get further in debt which devalues the dollar even more. Hyperinflation, recession/depression, food shortages, and weather war drought. We are headed for a hell of a mess with these fools in D.C.
“Lunacy prevails in this country. Where has common sense gone?”
AMEN…. if someone had told me what was going on today a year and a half ago.. I would have called them liars..
Here is an Interesting interview.. nothing new though.. Its the same story that you hear and read about all the time.. Just a different person telling it..
https://www.rt.com/russia/553933-british-captive-mariupol-ukraine-reality/
“with all the free handouts to these illegals, including a monthly income more than a lot of people on Social Security receive, ”
I got a chuckle out of that WTHS… I see a lot of them with Govt jobs and bennies.. I get a chuckle out of going to the post office.. one teller can’t speak english and an american citizen is not able to get a job there.. LOL LOL obviously a new arrival.. They congregate to.. some neighborhoods I use to think was ok to walk in are now a no walk area.. and I live in a safer spot in the USA..
Surely one of the best ever . Thanks West Texas
Some here may have seen this video by now but it’s worth the time to see. Not what one would want on this blessed Easter weekend but sometimes it’s best to see it all and snap out of your “normie” stupor –
https://www.outofshadows.org/
Hunkering down in not the answer. Making change is. Remember in the Viet Nam War, Monks in Viet Nam lit themselves on fire to show the passion they held for stopping war. It brought many to band together to end the war. Look at the protests in the 60”s in the USA. When the people unite, there is no stopping them. Let’s love one another, not hate. Got that Will Smith. Will Smith demonstrated the current arrogance the USA is showing to the world. We will smash you. One of our Generals said “If you start a war with the USA, your children will be burying you”. Arrogant, doesn’t give our neighbors a sense of security while we are at the helm. Maybe he should have said “We are striving for world peace, to bad it has to be accomplished thru war. It truly saddens me”. Isn’t that a little more self assuring to our neighbors.
George thanks for this great column today.
“Q 10: Sounds like America’s future is fading.”
“I think that’s by design.”
C’mon George, there’s no ‘think’ about it, definitely by design. The Dems stated motto is to “Build Back Better”, how can this happen unless everything that exists before is first destroyed? Literally all that Brandon has done involves destruction of the USA and some say, the world. He has not failed on any item yet. The “D” does not stand for Democrats it stands for Destroyers. These destroyers have declared War on us and we have not yet recognized this obvious fact. They have elevated the rules to their benefit and we are still playing by the old ones.
Are we waiting for “The Dude” to come down and do it for us?
We had better wake-up soon (if it is not too late already).
TPTB have created what a pal calls a, “Snug Puzzle.”
The parts all tightly fit and interlock. No wiggle room is possible.
They will ultimately fail, because the hunger –the need — for freedom is deep in the human heart. We have had, and will have, periodic Dark Periods. But long-term human life and Liberty have expanded. Long-Term, it’s uphill.
Example: Once, kings — monarchs with unlimited power — ruled nearly every country. There are very few kings left.
True, hundreds of millions live under numerous Iron Dictatorships; but democracies are common now, and even under the various Iron Dictatorships, the people themselves long for Liberty, as the free countries have. (Maybe North Korea is still truly airtight in its brainwashing, but maybe a little truth of other possibilities still leaks in.)
This is one of the reasons that international shortwave broadcasting being largely abandoned by cheapskate governments is such a bad idea. Via shortwave, some little bits of truth and hope did manage to leak in to authoritarian regimes.
The goddam internet can all too easily be interdicted: shortwave much less so. It ain’t necessarily better, but it IS useful, and it DID work. It can work again.
Easy, soft times allow for stupid and weak people to get by. Hard times demand grit and strength and vision and intelligence and dedication.
You better be Ready. because you can’t stop it, but you will live it.
Keep the faith, baby. (Or, don’t; and look for a comfortable spot to become a fossil.)
7.299 by day, 3.999 by night.
Locally self-organized.
– 73 –
“…look for a comfortable spot to become a fossil.”
Heh…I resemble that remark! But it’s a ‘well prepped’ comfortable spot. And, as Keynes said, ‘In the end, we’re all (a fossil).
“Easy, soft times allow for stupid and weak people to get by. Hard times demand grit and strength and vision and intelligence and dedication.”
Exactly. To put it simply, we’ve had it too good for too long. People have started feeling entitled to their good fortune, instead of grateful for it.
I would argue that the Great Depression brought people in this country back down to earth after the excesses of the Roaring 20s, and put them into the right frame of mind to successfully intervene in World War II. That influence has been wearing off ever since, and it shows.
I’m not wishing hardship on anyone, and it isn’t up to me anyway. I do wish it were not necessary for some people to endure bad times in order to appreciate the good ones. As it stands, however, we have a big bunch of people, many in positions of power, who are desperately in need of a humbling experience, and I believe that experience is on the way. Unfortunately, everyone who’s still around will get to share in it.
“Easy, soft times allow for stupid and weak people to get by. Hard times demand grit and strength and vision and intelligence and dedication.”
The kids today.. can’t even remember a bad winter storm or doing without.. its been an easy road ahead.. and everything has been accessible.. SO… now with rantings of war crimes and other forms of genocide.. ( even though no one has ever made that claim against our warring actions) what happens when there is no way out backed into a corner so tight that you have nowhere to go…
In the military.. you go to boot camp.. they tear you down emotionally and physically build you up.. mold you into what they need then build your self esteem back.. you are now a soldier and will do what you need to do .. to succeed..
If a bully is after you and .. they get a group together and make a stand.. the bully usually is stronger because of the group he has following him.. if your the one they are going to bully.. you do what they do in boot camp to teach strength.. anyone having been there.. knows that they teach self defense.. they pick the biggest meanest guy they see in the group.. then tell him to come after them.. the guy teaching is usually that little fella that kicks his butt.. the reason for that is by taking the biggest one or the main guy.. as in the movie heartbreak ridge..
https://youtu.be/hAJ0ju4Kaa8
the thing is going after the main guy the head of the group the strength.. you will get your butt kicked.. maybe.. but in doing so the main guy won’t bully you anymore.. the reason is.. what if.. he is only the lead guy because of the group.. and if he ever lost. then he is no longer the lead guy..
in the book the role of the monarchy in modern democracy times..
https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10133078/7/Hazell_Chapter%201.pdf
it covers the need to the hierarchy but there has to be enough give and take.. the moment the system gets lopsided.. where one social class has more than the others then there is discontent and eventually it escalates.. there use to be a what fifteen percent difference in social classes.. today that no longer exists.. there are just to the haves and the have nots.. take criminal activities by those in power .. right now we see the justice department and all the legal systems telling you that it is all ok depending on who you are.. that on one side corruption and a variety of crimes is perfectly ok.. but if your not in that social class or have connections then it isn’t..
this has happened over and over in civilizations from what I have read.. the let them eat cake.. or the nero playing the fiddle while rome burned. or now with JB going to play the kazoo as the US burns.. https://youtu.be/l_DfCFHOD9E . the rise and fall. the rise of the USA was over taxes.. . without the backing of the people.. you have nothing.. IF.. Putin or Xi feel that they are in a difficult spot without any way out. then I believe that they will feel that the only way to get any separation from this is to come out with everything.. a real war the survival of their way of life and land.. that is why we lost in Afghanistan by a bunch of goat herders with pitchforks and rakes and why I believe this stupidity will fail.. we are trying to force our way of life on someone else just because someone has something they desire one to cover up the corruption that has been going on in the land the other feeling justified because he was asked to clean up what he sees as his country from those corrupt .. and this time.. I fear it will be towards our country where the people here have no memories in their lifetime of it happening… that is also why the puppeteers keep it away from their home turf.. that way they can sit back and watch it happen everywhere else but not in their backyard. it is one thing to have someone elses child put in danger but not theirs.. of course that is just my opinion and the ramblings of an idiot in the wastelands..
What are some alternatives to guns/rifles? I am physically unable to pull a trigger. I have a bow and arrows, and a wood baseball bat. Any other suggestions?
Thanks for your advice about moving.
You might want to get a firearms trainer to work with you. You may have to swap shooting hands or use two fingers to pull. There are a lot of weapons available with slender grips and light triggers.
I had to reconfigure due to injury and partial paralysis. The nerves grew back, but I learned a lot about dealing with wounded wings. There will be some firearm you can master, if you can handle a bow.
Around here I have neighbors LOL.I learned a long long time ago that I respect life.. and the lives of others and all creatures.. I know where my food comes from but I am not the one to do the dirty deed.. and I live in an area that has a lot of hunting.. and everyone around here has guns.. heck I have guns.. and a really nice security system with a panic button.. that button gets pushed guaranteed someone is walking through the door in jiffy quick time LOL… in bigger cities.. I know it is hours for help to come.. fortunately for my area it is seconds .. and minutes.. I accidentally sat on the panic button once.. dam I had more people than I could shake a stick at.. ended up I had to make sure they all got beer and bratts
then I got each of the girls a pepper pistol with military grade pepper balls.. or a nice taser..
https://selfdefenseproductsinc.com/collections/self-defense-security-most-popular-best-sellers-on-line/products/taser-x26p-police-stun-gun
https://www.google.com/search?q=pepper+pistol+kit&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&vet=1&fir=v8O4x7T71-9lEM%252CL7VzwUfwoUO7xM%252C_%253Bb2VZl_Ko9mkzMM%252Ce-CAN7Oaw6SK6M%252C_%253BX-rM_ZSq4jPkjM%252CvhBtb-YJJPMQhM%252C_%253BZTIteAjO_ju_vM%252CAOa770kgj8185M%252C_%253BhqYnLiscU7DYJM%252CHlrVhUUXGD-X9M%252C_%253BNM9_b1i2dppkjM%252CV73oAfHUZUEqKM%252C_%253BWs61mOJHlUGZUM%252Ckm8arQ4FQrDFdM%252C_%253Bm2gLS12SlBJYoM%252CgJ__ysD72AhmpM%252C_%253BF84E9N-iupJ3CM%252CheJMDjjOktJi8M%252C_%253B9RS7OSylgfLieM%252Cd-aeevHA4sT7mM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kTeeQyYSRj9iyPAvTD5MmXpG7vc1A&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXwrjG7Jb3AhXWLTQIHRZ-DyAQ9QF6BAgZEAE#imgrc=v8O4x7T71-9lEM
A box of ball bearings and some bear spray – then get after ’em with the bat
Dont forget the purse size hair spray. Could give you time to poke there eyes. Experiment with the hair spray very effective,
“Dont forget the purse size hair spray. Could give you time to poke there eyes. ”
Wasp and hornet spray works to… got a great distance.. to and cheaper……
https://youtu.be/jxQ3XtuRRNE
https://youtu.be/NxQ-sFeDtio
Don’t make your doors too secure- egress in a fire situation must be considered as is EMT/fire rescue and that SWAT team you have on speed dial, too
Last house that I built I had the external doors open outward not inward. Think about the Exit doors in a theater. It is much harder to force an entry into the house as the door will be pressing against the side jambs of the door. I believe that this still meets code for the code people.
I also added a floor bolt and a spring bolt at the top of the door. Much, much harder to break into the house with 3 bolts and the side jambs.
When you do that, make sure to weld covers over hinges to the pins can’t be pulled, though…
This is a really sticky one. Each individual must make their own risk analysis as to which risks are more or less tolerable. Any “Egress” opening is big enough for ingress by bad guys as well as EMT/firefolks. Personally, I lean toward no ingress at any cost, including my life. Others differ. There’s no safe option. Is it safer to trust a first responder that might be a home invader? A SWAT team? Only each individual can make that decision. Being prepared for no assistance is best but not always possible. In the end, we all die, so we should work to stack the odds in our own favor so as to survive and thrive as long as possible. Under such circumstances, perhaps it’s best to double up with a trusted friend or relative.
Regarding those with limited strength or mobility triggering a weapon, said weapon could easily be triggered by the zero force occlusion of an LED. Potentially dangerous, of course. I have no idea how the ATF views that as a “reasonable accommodation”.
Lol when I grill out.. I make sure to run over and offer the officer a burger or brat.. I had borrowed a cement mixer once .. the owner came and picked it up.. the patrolman hunted me down and said.. hey a guy just took off with your cement mixer want me to go catch him lol lol..
Had a headlight go out and the officer helped me change the bulb lol..
Unlike big city ghetto gang areas.. the police are here for your safety and protection.. you can sit out on the veranda and have a hot cup and read a book or enjoy the sunset or sunrise .
When I built our home I had to have the grandkids sit in lawn chairs just to wave so I could get some work done..
When the grandson came home and said he needed my help building a potato gun.. I thought you can’t have that in school..called everyone yup it was the science project..even when I said you do realize that’s a canon..yup build it..the principle superintendent the teachers and class the officers everyone was out shooting it..who took it away was mom..seems he could go through a 20 lb bag of spuds in five minutes lol..
It was his favorite toy..
I was shopping in Sam’s club.. a customer and I started yacking and he said he was from a big city..what shocked him is ge has conceal carry and no one cares that he has a gun.. I told him probably because almost everyone has one to..it’s common and a big hunting ares..
You don’t know me., but here is my advice. There is no alternative to a good pistol. A bow and arrow would be relatively useless against two, or three home invaders.., you might get one, but the other two will get you before you can notch-up the second arrow., and you get only one swing with a baseball bat – before I plow you over and take it away.
– Sorry., but there is no alternative., especially as the bad guys more then likely will have a pistol / rifle.
– I have read that there are a couple of ways to customize a revolver for disabled shooters., however I have not read what those are. You may want to look into that aspect of “disabled pistol shooting”. And a well tuned revolver is extremely reliable.
Good morning Eleanor. The comment “I am physically unable to pull a trigger” confuses me as you can pull a bow string.
My wife does not have the strength to pull ‘most’ triggers. Not enough strength, or does she have the strength to jack a slide. So, we went to several gun dealers and operated the slides and trigger pull poundage. Simple to do.
What she ended up with was this Ruger. https://www.ruger.com/products/sr22Pistol/models.html
Not the best for self defense, but perhaps gives enough time to escape or deter one of the bad folk. I also bought some 22 LR fragmentation rounds which are a lite 37 grains (memory here) round. The idea being that if you can pump this sucker full ammo and then run like hell maybe he/she will bleed out before catching you allowing you get to your safe place.
I have also found that having a ‘cane’ and knowing how to wack some one with it is beneficial. Also, you can carry a cane and most places will see it as a health item not as a defensive or offensive weapon.
Also, our Glockes are all equipped with much lighter than stock triggers – actually a 2 pound pull or less can improve accuracy because the hand doesn’t have to tense up so much and you can hold your aim point better. YMMV – and most people don’t have a well-measured pistol range to put enough rounds through to consistently group less than 1 foot at 10 meters… practice. Guns and keyboards!
“Also, our Glockes are all equipped with much lighter than stock triggers ”
I’ve even retroed my airguns with smooth-action 2 pound pull, triggers — makes a world of difference because you don’t jerk the business part out of line with your intended target…
A cane or ball bat is not a good weapon, unless you know how to fight with it. In the open you can “sucker punch” someone over the head with a swinging ball bat, but 98% of the time when fighting with a club or staff, the way to use it is to thrust & parry, or jab, not swing…
Mace gel pepper spray that shoots in a stream. You want to disable an attacker at a distance. This will give you 20 feet or more. Order several smaller ones to use for practice, so you get a feel for distance & aim. Pepper spray containers can be hung in various strategic places around the home for fast access. Remember where they are located & practice retrieving them for maximum effectness. You can also get a holster & carry it like a pistol.
Also, have a couple air horn sirens available to ward off intruders & animals. The loud piercing sound will give an intruder 2nd thoughts. Then blast him with pepper as he hesitates.
You don’t want weapons like throwing knives because if you miss they can throw them back at you.
Remember, keep as much distance between you & the attacker to prevent injury to you.
“What are some alternatives to guns/rifles?”
When I was in the military.. DC .. one of the guys in the barracks had spent one day to long in nam.. he carried a hand grenade everywhere.. had the end of the pin trimmed and he would juggle it..pull the pin out and put the pin back .. it was his pocket toy.. I would get after him tell Jim to get rid of it before we all got hurt.. he would say.. you never know when you’ll need one..heck he would grab it and pull the pin out with one hand..
Then he went home on leave.. Detroit..when he came back he told me about his trip home.. rather than take a cab he decided to walk across the bridge.. in uniform a guy stopped and picked him up.. as they were driving the driver pointed a hun on him to rob a military man.. which is when he held up the grenade with the pin pulled and said..there sure are a lot of nuts in this world.. the guy let him go…lol
My guess is if he’s still alive that dam grenade is close by him someplace..
Eleanor,
At the very least, arm yourself with a few containers of pepper spray. I think you can get at least a 10 foot range with them. Some have suggested hornet spray as it will give a much longer distance. I have used it for hornets. Problem is the chemical in these sprays is no where near as effective as bear spray or pepper spray. Humans are not hornets.
Aim for the eyes or any part of the face. There are some larger containers for the home but quite honestly, I think no woman should leave home without a purse size container. If they break into your home, bear spray plus the baseball bat, knife, ball bearings or anything else after they are blinded.
This is how we are prepared here in Canada as we aren’t allowed to have guns.
AMEN Bob I am right with you on that….
get one like the flashlight.. pepper balls they have an affective distance of I believe forty feet.. just get them to stop till you can go to safety.. I would also get some marker balls to.. once you pepper them then paint them up.. that way the authorities will know who it is.. stuff has to wear off..
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234476681455?
the other thing is a taser..
https://www.amazon.com/Taser-Pulse-Self-Defense-Tool-Cartridges/dp/B09DS7MWGH/ref=sr_1_13_sspa?crid=16RPPNL7LOE9M&keywords=taser+gun+for+self+defense+powerful&qid=1650115808&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=taser+gun%2Csporting%2C404&sr=1-13-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyUzczT0JSVk1NQ09FJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTAyODI4MlhCUE5XOEpFSjY2NyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTgyOTU2MUVGU0VPSFVNVU9DWSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
LOL got a great story about a friend that wondered just how potent a taser and a couple of double a batteries could be.. LOL put it on his thigh and pulled the trigger.. LOL the screaming he heard in the fog was his LOL..
the problem with having a trigger reworked.. years ago a good friend was out hunting with his brother in the barn… the father had had the trigger reworked so it would be an easier pull..
as the boy was handing the gun down to his brother the gun went off and took his head off…
No with a pepper ball gun.. if it goes off you still live.. may not enjoy life for a little while.. My grandson was all in for me to go deer hunting with him.. ( my mini me) I got a license and a gun to go.. but never planned on shooting a deer.. just grandpa and grandson bonding time.. well he got his deer.. and felt so bad about it.. he has never gone hunting again he hunts like I do.. at the grocery store…. I gave my license to have a hunter harvest the meat then donate it to the homeless shelter.. I fish the same way.. catch them frisky fish with breading on them..
Any competent gunsmith can rework a trigger to lighten its pull, and even install a lanyard which you can pull with your teeth.
They can get spendy, but you can buy a motorized, self-cocking crossbow (see trigger mods, above) which will have more close-in stopping power than a .45.
HOWEVER
The best home defense weapon is your mind.
The best home defense firearm, bar none, is the pump shotgun, because everybody knows the sound it makes when it cocks (or “racks”) and shotguns are devastating close-combat weapons, so no one wants to face one.
If you stop to think about it though, it is not the shotgun itself which makes miscreants flee, but the way the baddies’ mind reacts, when he hears someone rack a shotgun.
Got a really loud stereo? You should, maybe, get an audio clip of a shotgun being racked (and while you’re at it, perhaps a clip of a pissed-off junkyard dog…)
Free your mind — then let it be creative.
https://youtu.be/oOpj-BEPnSg
https://youtu.be/F-mztxHgYQo
https://youtu.be/_KemeeMA-Mc
https://youtu.be/SQhSDmyWC5g
https://www.amazon.com/T4E-HDS-Paintball-Marker-Shotgun/dp/B07QQCPNVL/ref=sr_1_7?crid=J4ZZ538GTGGL&keywords=tear+gas+grenade&qid=1650116817&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=gas+grenade%2Csporting%2C529&sr=1-7
IF.. you want it lethally charged..
https://www.amazon.com/RAP4-Empty-Plastic-Caliber-Shell/dp/B0046VLL3E/ref=sr_1_3?crid=23SCRSVTDF0SJ&keywords=empty+68+caliber+paintballs&qid=1650117166&s=sporting-goods&sprefix=empty+68+caliber+paintball%2Csporting%2C348&sr=1-3
https://youtu.be/uOS9cyoz62I
IF.. you question the lethal power of those humex .. then take a look ..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj53RU6XYgs
Now that is something I am against.. it is one thing if you need food or to protect yourself or your family.. but to just kill a living creature for sport.. Nope.. get the flashlight pepper ball with dye markers in it to.. one pepper one dye..
A screaming woman charging at me with a pitchfork would probably make me wet my pants. I bet it would work on others too.
Get a guard dog and camera surveillance. The thing with guns is that nobody has eyes in the back of their head. But a dog can smell something 12 miles away.
https://dogtemperament.com/how-far-can-a-dog-smell/#:~:text=What%20is%20this%3F,-Report%20Ad&text=In%20the%20right%20conditions%2C%20which,as%2030km%20(18.6%20miles).
btw, as housing sales slow, that means in a year prices will also fall…and how could moving only a few blocks away be that much safer anyway???
“Get a guard dog and camera surveillance. The thing with guns is that nobody has eyes in the back of their head. But a dog can smell something 12 miles away.”
Amen C….
I have a kick butt security system.. with camera surveilance.. great neighbors live in an area where people rush to help out in an emergency and dogs… ms barks a lot will let you know for sure..
But.. on the other hand.. IN a high scale DC suburb.. a friend that also has a great security system.. had an issue.. drive by shooter shot into his neighbors house.. he of course had the shooter the car the plates etc.. when called the police wouldn’t even look at it.. area area area.. if you live in a high crime area or high density area .. the odds are now with BLM and Antifa’s attack on the police and having them defunded.. you would be better off with your own security..
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/16/congress-security-spending-482497
“LotusLight”
Love em to Death. It’s in Ure Blood.
Imagine…that.
I totally love lotus lights.. awesome.. and if more people followed the way of the Dao..
there would be less drama in the world..
or if you followed the laws of christ.. also known as the way. do unto others.. simple laws of life..
https://www.unl.edu/prodmgr/NRT/Tao%20Te%20Ching%20-%20trans.%20by%20J.H..%20McDonald.pdf
https://library.um.edu.mo/ebooks/b33318098.pdf
Comrades,
Clear as the mail must get through, Mr. Ure did not take a page from the White House Google calendar of events this Good Friday for Potus @ Camp David:
Well, moving right along…Hollywood’s royal lineages and their apparatchiks will be delighted that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gained entry to the Windsor inner sanctum for greeting Her Majesty while enroute to The Hague. Their two lovely children remain back in the colonies while Papa sues the British government. The CBC image editor opted to pair the happy Royal drop-in with the couple pictured from a prior visit to ground zero, New York.
Scarcely more than a week has passed since the new Canadian budget promising a tougher line on foreigners buying real estate. Lo and behold if the “CBC Investigations Unit” shouldn’t pull out the folder on Hollywood glitterati connections to a Russian property investor by way of far-flung isles. Clouds part and the stars do markle and twinkle with A list brightness. A dark sky view of tinseltowned constellations rotating about the dark core from aboard the unsanctioned ice-class super yacht Andromeda must be spectacular.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-island-mansion-harry-meghan-yuri-milner-pandora-1.6419328
Warms this colonist’s cockles to know what one can buy with True Dough, does it not?
Pun Police are on the way.
Lol lol yeah I can relate george.. this colonist lives to have his cockle warmed..lol lol
A progression:
Elon Musk Offers to Buy 100 Percent of Twitter, Restore Free Speech
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/04/14/elon-musk-offers-to-buy-100-percent-of-twitter-restore-free-speech/
Twitter’s Blue Checkmark Brigade Freaks Out over Elon Musk’s Buyout Plan
https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/04/14/twitters-blue-checkmark-brigade-freaks-out-over-elon-musks-buyout-plan/
Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ defense in Musk takeover bid
https://www.breitbart.com/news/twitter-adopts-poison-pill-defense-in-musk-takeover-bid/
General consensus is the board will reject Musk’s offer, shareholders will sue, Musk will sell off, driving the price of Twitter into the junk area, then Musk will buy it all, anyway, except he’ll pay less than $2bln after the Board destroys the company… m/l in that order.
Personally I think Musk will break Twitter, then drop 20 billion quid on farcebook, rinse, and repeat {big evil grin…}
I posted this at this time, so’s y’all can get’cher popcorn ready…
Millionaire Heiress Abigail Disney Trashes U.S. in Documentary: American Dream Is a ‘Nightmare’ for Most
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2022/04/14/millionaire-heiress-abigail-disney-trashes-u-s-in-documentary-american-dream-is-a-nightmare-for-most/
Bottom Falls Out for Disney, 70% of Americans Turn on Company as Video Shows Anti-Grooming Chants at Park
https://www.westernjournal.com/bottom-falls-disney-70-americans-turn-company-video-shows-anti-grooming-chants-park/
I look forward to seeing Abby and the other worthless Dizzney progeny out on the street or living in trailer park rentals, after they become multi-thousandaires and learn to wait tables and park cars…
I’ve come to the conclusion that so many of the privileged become socialists because they’re insulated from birth, from real life, and so, never learn how life and living, work. It is impossible to tell them why something doesn’t work the way they visualize that it should, because they can’t conceive of things not working like they imagine they would.
That explains their inability to comprehend the Law of Unintended Consequences, too, doesn’t it…?
“I’ve come to the conclusion that so many of the privileged become socialists because they’re insulated from birth, from real life,”
I believe that’s exactly what it is..
As an employee in the Healthcare field.. I always considered myself as an empathetic person..I thought I knew what someone in pain was going through..then it happened to me.. I realized I didn’t have the foggiest clue..
A few years ago there was a television show.. thirty days.. the purpose was to take a highly successful person from a life of luxury and strip him of his wealth and contacts ir any resources he was accustomed to. Place him in an area where he wasn’t known.. then have to find a job get a place to live etc..only one was able to do the thirty days.. he was shocked and horrified.. I had a gent the can man living in my spare room.. I have never had to live in a dumpster or under a bridge and from hearing his stories I doubt I could..
I have had my share of trials and survived.. because of them it molded my being..I feel it helped to humble me.. make me more compassionate to others..and quicker to give rather than take.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s and went to college in the early 70s. Vietnam Anti-war protests, death counts on the nightly news, countered by hard line government responses were the nightly pablum we were fed. West Texas and others eloquently brought to mind the (at the time) inspiring lyrics of Edwin Star’s “War:”
“War, I despise
‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
War means tears to thousands of mother’s eyes
When their sons go off to fight
And lose their lives
I said, war, huh (good God, y’all)
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing, just say it again”
“(War) It ain’t nothing but a heart-breaker
(War) Friend only to The Undertaker
Oh, war it’s an enemy to all mankind
The thought of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest
Within the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die?”
“Oh, war, has shattered many a young man’s dreams
Made him disabled, bitter and mean
Life is much too short and precious
To spend fighting wars each day
War can’t give life
It can only take it away.”
“Peace, love and understanding, tell me
Is there no place for them today?
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there’s got to be a better way, oh
War, huh (God y’all). What is it good for?”
Despite my serving over two decades in the USAF, those lyrics still resonate with me today. But then how is the Ukraine to respond to Russian aggression and oppression? Do they not deserve to be free, self-determining people? If they are unable to defend themselves against a crushing Russian offensive, what are their options?
Sadly, tyranny and despotism must be confronted. If not, it metastasizes and subsumes everything in its path. Herein lies the dilemma. What are the consequence of ‘Merica doing nothing? If Ukraine falls to the Russian war machine without the U.S. or NATO lifting a finger to help, how will history judge us?
To this I ask Trek fans to refer to my all-time favorite original episode, “City on the Edge of Forever,” (scripted by my fav SciFi author Harlan Ellison) where (through convenient plot devices) Bones (Dr. McCoy) transports back in time (via ‘the guardian’) to the interwar period between WWI and WWII. By doing so, MdCoy alters history by saving the life of an anti-war pacifist, who then leads a movement to prevent America’s entry into WWII. Hitler wins. He dominates the world as a result. “All that was is no more.” The crew of the Enterprise orbiting the planet is gone. Only the landing party searching for McCoy remains, so Kirk and Spock jump into the portal to try and right the ‘wrong’ Bones created and save their ‘future.’.
It’s a stretch to say we are confronted with a situation not unlike that scripted for Kirk and Spock. But “what if” ‘Merica does nothing to support the Ukraine? What future will that precipitate? What price will our descendants have to pay for our isolationism?
We haven’t the luxury of time portals to see how history will unfold if nothing is done to defend and support the Ukraine. But (admittedly, just my biased personal opinion) I imagine it wouldn’t be something any of us living in ‘Merica would want to experience.
You wouldn’t feel so bad for Ukraine if you read the REAL news. Putin’s actions are completely justified by US/NATO/Ukraine previous agreement/treaty violations. He’s being remarkably restrained in his efforts to de-Nazify Ukraine and make it safe for the Russian-speaking population, whom the Azov goons have been genociding for about 8 years. If the U.S. were in the same situation, the Ukraine would be a total wasteland by now, as we’ve done to too many countries who had done NOTHING to us except withhold their resources (usually oil) from our corporations. The atrocities that you think Russia is committing are being committed by the Ukraine military instead, particularly the Azov battalion, which you would know if you used more trustworthy news sources.
Ukrainian military shelled LPR residential areas six times over past day
According to the report, the Ukrainian forces “used 152mm and 122mm artillery weapons firing 64 shells and hitting the residential areas of Donetsky, Pervomaisk, Zolotoye-5”
https://tass.ru/world/1438605
Read this 4 times … Thank you George.