Not if, but when

We're entering the end game, folks. As the Chinese curse goes: "May you live in exciting times." People are actually starting to wake up to the grand bamboozle, but it's probably too little too late. This guy makes some great points - and he does it without dropping an "f-bomb" every other word. Good for him.

Citizenfitz

Presidential peeps

Here are some snippets from the book, In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect by Ronald Kessler (Aug 3, 2010). Stories from Secret Service personnel assigned to guard U.S. Presidents, First Ladies and Vice Presidents:

JOHN & JACQUELINE KENNEDY:
A strange man. He was usually pleasant and polite but was a philanderer of the worst sort. He'd fly Marilyn Monroe in for a romp then send her back on the next flight. Created an early warning system so he'd know when Jackie was around.

She ordered the kitchen help to save all the leftover wine from state dinners, which she would mix with fresh wine and serve again at the next White House occasion.

LYNDON & LADYBIRD JOHNSON:
Another philanderer of the highest order. In addition, LBJ was as rude and crude as the day is long. LBJ ran a lot of women through the White House in his extramarital affairs. Like JFK he too set up an early warning system to alert him if/when his wife was near. Both Kennedy & Johnson were very unfaithful husbands.

Ladybird was either naive or just pretended not to know about LBJ's many affairs.

RICHARD & PAT NIXON:
Compared to JFK and LBJ, Nixon was a personally moral man, but very odd, weird, paranoid, etc. He had a horrible relationship with his family, and in many ways was almost a recluse.

Mrs. Nixon was a quiet woman.

SPIRO AGNEW:
A nice, decent man. Everyone in the Secret Service was genuinely surprised by his downfall.

GERALD & BETTY FORD:
A true gentlemen who treated the Secret Service with respect and cordiality. He had a great sense of humor.

She drank... a lot!

JIMMY & ROSALYN CARTER:
A phony who would portray one picture of himself to the public but who was very different in private. To make the press think he came to work early, he would walk into the Oval Office at 5 a.m., but then take a nap. He would have himself photographed carrying his own luggage, but the suitcases were empty. He kept empty suitcases around just for photo op's. He wanted people to see him as pious and a non-drinker, but he actually drank a lot. He had a disdain for the Secret Service; and he was very irresponsible with the "football" nuclear codes. He didn't think it was a big deal. He'd keep his military aides at a great distance. He often didn't acknowledge the Secret Service personnel assigned to protect him.

She mostly did her own thing.

RONALD & NANCY REAGAN:
The real deal: moral, honest, respectful, and dignified. They both treated Secret Service, and everyone else, with respect. Thanked people even for little things. He took the time to know everyone on a personal level. On cold nights he would bring cups of hot chocolate himself to agents on the roof of the White House. One favorite story which circulated among Secret Service personnel was an incident early in his Presidency. One day he came out of his room with a pistol on his hip. The agent in charge asked: "Why the pistol, Mr. President?" Reagan replied, "If you boys have trouble, I can help." It was common for him to carry a pistol. When he met with Gorbachev, he had a pistol in his briefcase. Upon learning that Gary Hart was caught with Donna Rice, Reagan said, "Boys will be boys, but boys will not be Presidents." [He obviously either did not know or forgot JFK's and LBJ's sexcapades!]

She was nice too but very protective of the President and the Secret Service was often caught in the middle. She tried hard to control what the President ate, and he would say to the agents "Come on, you gotta help me out." The Reagans' drank wine during State dinners and special occasions only; otherwise they shunned alcohol. The Secret Service could count on one hand the times they were served wine during their family dinner. For all the phoney bluster of the Carters, the Reagans were genuine and genuinely moral people.


GEORGE H. & BARBARA BUSH:
Extremely kind and considerate. Always respectful. They took great care in making sure the agents needs were taken care of. They even brought them meals, etc. One time Barbara Bush brought warm clothes to agents standing outside at Kennebunkport; one agent was given a warm hat, when he tried to nicely say "no thanks", even though he was obviously freezing, President Bush said "Son, don't argue with the First Lady, put the hat on." He was the most prompt of the Presidents. He ran the White House like a well-oiled machine.

She ruled the White House and spoke her mind.

BILL & HILLARY CLINTON:
For him the Presidency was one giant party - but he wasn't trustworthy. He was amiable because he wanted people to like him, but to him life was just one big game and party. Everyone knew of his promiscuity. He was polite, but not kind. His security detail believed him to be disingenuous and that he did nothing without a motive that would in some way enhance his image and political career. The Secret Service did not particularly like him - and nobody trusted him.

She was another phony. Her personality would change the instant that cameras were near. She detested, with undisguised contempt, the military and Secret Service, and forbade Chelsea from even exchanging pleasantries with them. She acted as though people are here to serve her. She was always trying to keep tabs on Bill - whom she would scream at and insult even when others were around. She was roundly despised by the Secret Service and the agents assigned to protect her life were constantly trying to get off the detail.

AL & TIPPER GORE:
A pompous, egotistical ass, who was once overheard by his Secret Service detail lecturing his son that he needed to do better in school or he "would end up like them" - pointing at the agents.

Tipper was likable. She didn't care at all for Hillary and never associated with her unless she had to.

GEORGE W. & LAURA BUSH:
The Secret Service loved him and Laura Bush. He knew all his detail, and their families, on a first name basis. He was the most physically fit President and kept a very strict workout regimen. The Bushes made sure their entire administrative and household staff respected and were considerate of the Secret Service agents.

Laura was one of the nicest First Ladies ever - if not the nicest. She never had a harsh word to say about anyone. Her agents loved her.

BARACK & MICHELLE OBAMA: Clinton redux. They hate the military and look down on the Secret Service. He is egotistical, cunning and untrustworthy. He'll look you in the eye and appear to agree with you, then turn around and do the exact opposite. He has temper tantrums.

She is a complete bitch, who hates anybody who is not black. She hates the military and treats the Secret Service as her personal servants.

A cop gives some advice

The Enemy

Some may object to me calling an armed robber "the enemy". You can call them whatever you like. I can assure you however they are as deadly an enemy as you will find anywhere but the battlefield. Even many soldiers probably lack the viciousness and utter disregard for life most holdup men possess.

No one wakes up in the morning one day and decides to become an armed robber. It is a gradual process that requires some experience and desensitizing. Before a man will pick up a gun and threaten to kill people who have done him no harm in order to get their usually meager possessions he has to get comfortable with some things.

He has to get used to seeing others as objects for him to exploit. He has to accept he may be killed while robbing. He has to accept the felony conviction for Robbery will haunt him all his life. He has to accept he may need to kill a completely innocent person to get away with his crime.

This is a process that starts with stealing candy at the corner store as a child. It progresses through bigger property crimes that may also involve violence. But one day G gets tired of selling his stolen property for nothing and decides it would be better to steal cash. Cut out all that tiresome sales stuff.

Keep in mind that most petty thieves, auto burglars, residential and commercial burglars, paper thieves, and hustlers will at some point decide not to become armed robbers. It is a special group of outlaws who decide that threatening to kill people for a few dollars is the way to go.

Once a man embarks on armed robbery he has crossed a line even most thieves refuse to cross. Don't forget that. When you are looking one of these bastards in the eye his decision to kill you is already made. Your life means nothing to him. Only his does. His sole motivation for not killing you is he doesn't want a murder case. But he has already accepted that he may pick one up.

We hunt hold up men around the clock once they are identified. We send teams of fire breathing, fence jumper/door kickers to find them. We will bring their mother to the office and convince her she is going to jail if we don't have Junior in our office in an hour. We have her call her son crying hysterically for him to turn himself in before she is arrested and held without bond as a material witness and have her home seized for harboring him. Most of the time they won't come in. F*** their momma!

We will hit all Junior's friends and family's houses. We make it so hot no one will harbor him. No one will let him in their house or even talk on the phone with him. We put money on him so he knows he is going to be betrayed and set up. We do this because of one thing: that one thing is he WILL kill someone if he keeps on robbing. That is why the city is willing to pay all the overtime. They don't want the murders. Think about that when you see Junior coming. The more robberies he does the closer he is to killing someone. Maybe you.

The guys who hit you on the street are gang members. They are Gangster Disciples, Vice Lords, Crips, Sureonos, many others. They do not see themselves as part of society. The street is all they know. They don't expect to live long or stay out of prison. They take pleasure in your fear and suffering. They are warped individuals for the most part. They can be extremely dangerous.

One time we were locking up a holdup man and having a conversation about how they target their victims. I was saying they pick easy ones, another cop was saying they preferred easy ones but would take anybody. I pointed out a uniformed Officer who was an NFL size monster to the holdup man. I asked him if he would rob him: "If I needed the money", he answered.


You

Chances are good you are a law abiding person except for maybe a little light weed smoking and maybe driving a little drunk every once in a while. Most of your life you have been taught to be nice and don't point guns at people. You are the exact opposite of your enemy who was taught just the opposite. Remember a lot of street life is like prison life. "Who's the man" means everything to them. Violence is the currency of the street.

You do not possess total disregard for the lives of others and do not want to kill anyone. You are concerned about the ramifications of shooting someone. Your family, your possessions and finances are on the line. Your enemy has none of these concerns.

The laws that prevent you from carrying a gun in bars, or wherever, mean nothing to your enemy. Your reluctance to shoot someone works to his advantage. His experience in street violence and the element of surprise is on his side.

Everyone should call their local FBI office and get a copy of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted. When it first came out it was ground breaking because it demonstrated to academics and other "elites" what street police knew all along. What did it show in interviews with cop killers? Nice guys finish dead! That's right. Most of those offenders commented that the Officer they killed set himself up to be killed because of a reluctance to use force early in the encounter.

You can probably find it on line now. A lot of the victim Officers were a lot like a lot of other people, normal people. They were the opposite of their enemy.

Am I advocating becoming the enemy? No. I am saying the person who is robbing you has certain traits, attitudes, and background. That's all.


Dynamics of Encounters

Holdup men target victims on the street in an impulsive, opportunistic manner. They see someone and make a quick judgment call on whether to rob them or not. The time between when you are targeted and they are on you isn't long. Therefore, situational awareness is everything.

If you see N coming you are in pretty good shape. If you don't, you will be a victim who says, "He came out of nowhere!" No he didn't. There are many tricks to watching out but simply watching your back is the main thing. Watch your back. If you do it enough it becomes second nature and you won't even realize you are doing it.

Watching out is great but unfortunately many self defense courses stop there. You have parked you car in a well lit area, are aware of your surroundings, and looky there! Here come three guys across the parking lot and they start to fan out as they approach you.

When you lock eyes with N the very first thing you need to do is indicate you have a weapon. It doesn't matter if you do or not. If you are a woman put your gun hand in your purse and keep it there. If you are a man, fan your shirt or coat tail with your gun hand. Make it clear to the dude you are mentally prepared to draw and checking that your gun is clear. This will many times result in an about face by the dude. IMHO, it is the single best robbery avoidance tactic.

Not long ago I was walking down the sidewalk in my town to go get my car. I was holding a folding chair in my gun hand. A car slow rolled past me with 4 heads in it. The guys in the back seat turned around as they went by looking at me. They went a little farther, then U-turned in the street.

They came back. As they started to slow down I looked at them with as contemptuous a look as I could muster and switched the chair to my left hand and flicked my shirt tail with my right hand. They just drove on, all the while mad dogging me.

In another case I was at a Christmas party and walked a girl to her car at about 3 am. As we said our good-byes two guys came walking across the parking lot. One went behind a dumpster. I though he was peeing, but he came out from behind the dumpster with a bottle.

As they got closer I stepped clear of that girl and unzipped my jacket at those two guys. When I did the guy threw down the bottle and they walked on cursing at me. If someone challenges you after you indicate you are armed say, "I don't have a gun!" Then they'll know you do.

Here is an opposite story. A girl my brother knows was walking her dog when a guy approached her. She was polite. Mistake. He talked to her about the dog and said she had pretty hair and reached out and touched her hair. She did not slap his hand down or aggressively object. Mistake. He asked her if her dog bit and she said "No". At that time he slapped the s*** out of her, drug her into a wooded area and raped her.

The answer in the street is always "No". Can I ask you something? No. Do you have a cigarette? No. Can you tell me what time it is? No. The answer is always "No". Don't be nice. Stop the encounter as soon as it starts.


When to draw

Despite warnings I often see on the Net I have yet to encounter an instance in which a hold up man called the police to report his intended victim threatened to shoot him. Thugs do not want to come into contact with the police. They may already be wanted or realize chances are good they have been identified in a recent robbery. Or whatever. They are not going to call the police if you draw on them.

Suppose two guys are approaching you in a parking lot and do the classic fan out maneuver. You indicate you have a weapon by clearing your gun hand and fanning your jacket at them. They are not discouraged. DRAW!

I am not saying you should pull your gun out, assume a Weaver stance, and scream "That's close enough mother****ers!" What I am saying is draw your gun and hold it beside your leg as you start to move to cover. I am very fond of telephone poles. Anything will do though. They will see this. They will remember they have to be somewhere else. They will not call the police.

Then you can just put your gun back in the holster and go back to whatever you were doing like nothing happened. Why? Because nothing happened. A happening is when shots are fired.

Do not hesitate to draw. If you are somewhere you are supposed to be and someone appears who is not supposed to be there - like a closed business - show him the business end of your gun. Could it be Mother Teresa looking for her lost cat behind your closed business? No, it is some mother****er up to no good. He won't call the police to report he was prowling a location when a guy ran him off.


When to shoot

The time to shoot is immediately upon seeing his weapon. You are not a policeman who has to try to arrest the guy. No need to scream at him. No exposure while you yell for him to drop the gun.

In deer hunting the experienced hunter takes the first good shot. May not be the perfect shot but it never is. Novices pass up a doable shot waiting for a better shot and then the deer is gone. Take the first good shot you are offered. Hopefully your alertness and hostile cues will prevent you from having to fire - but once you see his weapon, shoot.

If a guy is coming at you with a gun in his hand shoot him. Shoot him right then. If you don't shoot first you may not shoot at all. I have known more than one person who was shot and received life changing injuries and also shot their attacker. Their only regret was not shooting sooner. Like Bill Jordan said, "Nothing disturbs your enemy's aim like a slug delivered to the belt buckle area".


Guns and weapons

The handgun is the best weapon you can carry easily. I understand it is not always possible to have one due to laws, restrictions, whatever. I am not telling anyone to disregard laws about carrying weapons. Each person has to decide for himself what they're comfortable with. I will say there is no substitute for a pistol when you need one.

Also if you cannot be trusted with a pistol after a few drinks you can't be trusted with a pistol period. Booze is liquid bad judgment no doubt but it shouldn't make you into a damn moron. If you are a moron sober I don't know what to tell you.

Types of guns and ammo are always debated and probably always will be. I have seen people shot with all common calibers. My conclusion is if you hit someone between the collar bone and the tip of their ribs three times with anything, they are handled. Bigger is better but something is better than nothing. Get your front sight on his shirt and stay on him as long as he is standing with whatever gun you have.

Just have a gun with sure fire ammo. Draw early and fire immediately upon seeing his weapon. That course of action is about all you can do to up your odds of ending things favorably. Guns like the Ruger LC9, SIG 239, Glock 26/27 are examples of guns small enough to carry but with enough power and capacity to be useful. Do not be afraid to use a French Lebelle if that is the only gun you have. A gun is a gun. I like Glock 19's.


Training

We all want the best training. It can be expensive if you are having to pay for it and it can be hard to find the time to do it. There is a whole lot of BS out there. What can you do? First, pistol handling is not rocket surgery. If you will learn the basics and practice on your own you can be fine. Smooth draw, quick pairs, reload. If you know those things well you can be OK.

I know a young man who shot down two holdup men in 2010 at very close range while he and his GF were walking home from the store. He, like Wyatt Earp, ignored the fire coming from the gunman. He killed him and wounded his accomplice. Neither he or his GF were injured. He was willing to give them his money until he picked up on nonverbal cues that, because of his GF, they were not quite satisfied with the money. He had a Glock 27.

He'd only the most basic of training in gun handling but did do some draws and some dry fire a couple times a week and live fired maybe once a month. That basic skill combined with knowing what to do was enough. He shot at the first possible moment, despite having let the guys get the drop on him. When the gunman turned his head because a car drove by that was the opening. A split second can be a long time, sometimes.

Work on some one hand shooting at close range. That is a skill not as popular as it once was and you want to use two hands when you can. Often you can find yourself doing something with your off hand though, so be able to shoot with one hand out to 5 yards or so.


After

If it comes to pass you are forced to shoot someone do not feel bad. When the police come just tell them a guy threatened you with deadly force and you were forced to fire. I know there are bad police out there in some parts of the country who don't support self defense. I can't help you with that.

Do not talk to them until you have your attorney present. Now most young guys don't have an attorney on retainer and you may have no idea who to call. That is OK. You will figure it out but in the mean time don't talk about what happened other than to say you were forced to fire. You don't have to be an asshole just remember wait for your attorney.

Hopefully you will not give a statement for a couple days. Remember if you are put in jail that doesn't mean you are charged. Most places can hold you 48 or 72 hours on a felony before charging you or letting you go. Breath deep and get an attorney.

Expect to not get your gun back. You may get it back one day but maybe not. Do not buy expensive guns for the street. Buy yourself a nice sporting gun if you want a nice gun. Keep your street guns basic. The factory Model 10 Smith and the GI 45 have done a lot of work over the years and aren't fancy.


Worlds

We all live in different worlds. My world is filled with felons and gang members. Violence is commonplace. No one would be surprised if one of their friends called and said they shot a holdup man at a place of business or parking lot. In the past, when I made calls, the fact that the guy who was beating his GF was also on parole for 2nd degree murder flavored my world.

You may live in a smaller, less violent place where shootings seldom occur and it would be a rare to shoot a holdup man. I envy you and will be moving to a place like your town as soon as I can.

But be advised no matter where you are a holdup man is going to be about the same. Whether he is a home boy or a guy who just exited the interstate into your town and needs some quick money. He is going to have a vicious streak and no regard for your life. Treat him like he treats you.

Giving them your money, doing what they say, all that may work but there is no guarantee. If you have never read Jeff Cooper's book The Principles of Personal Defense I suggest you order a copy immediately. It is a short book but summarizes a lot of important things.

Last year we had a trial here regarding an armed robbery that occurred. Three or four guys took a young couple from a parking garage near a college out by some railroad tracks where they raped, shot, and beat them. Their lives will never be the same.

The lesser thugs all turned on the trigger man at the trial. The trigger man's statement in the paper was that after all that had happened to him he felt like HE was the victim. Think about that. That is the mindset you are up against."

I'd say more but I'm in a bit of a hurry

A man stood in a metro station in Washington DC and started to play his violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed the music. He slowed his pace and even stopped for a few seconds, then sped up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman who threw the money in the till as she walked by.

A few minutes later, a man briefly leaned against a wall to listen, but looked at his watch and moved on.

One who did pay close attention was a little boy. His mother tried to hurry him along but the kid wanted to listen to the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard and the boy left with her, looking back all the while. This action was repeated by several other children who listened until forced to move on by their parents.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped to listen. About 20 gave him money and he ultimately collected $32. When he finished playing only a few noticed and only one or two applauded.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best in the world. He had just played some of the most challenging pieces written for the violin - on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before the concert in the subway, Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. One of the best violinists in the world played some of the greatest music ever written, on a multi million dollar violin, before hundreds of people - only a few of whom were not too busy to see or hear the wonder that had landed in front of them.

Prayer and fasting

Had the Russians undertaken prayer and fasting *in time* they would have been spared some or all of the black night that descended on them. My reading of history is they never did; and it was business as usual for them right up to the time the gate slammed shut.

It was very late, but by 1933 honest Spaniards began to recognize that leftist revolutionaries were planning for Spain the same things they’d done in Russia. These Spaniards began to fast and pray – and the leftist pestilence that had overtaken the country was finally beaten back (though 77 years later it has returned in large measure). Prayer doesn’t preclude action. Franco was a man of action. Prayer and action often complement each other.

Think of yourself as a prisoner in a prison that's on fire. It’s headed for your cell and there’s no way out. Your only real hope at this point is prayer. How’s it going to hurt?

There’s still a little time for America. For the sake of yourself, your family and your friends you should start praying and fasting – because you SHOULD know by now that a storm is coming (though in fact, it’s gonna be a hurricane, and an earthquake, and a famine, and a pandemic, and a ginormous war….) Worst of all – no more driving ’round town with all the windows down… because gasoline will be selling for $99.99.9/gal.

The times they are a changing....

Citizenfitz

An allegory on paper money

Another excellent piece by Pat Healey; explaining in easily understood terms why our banking system is "systematically" bankrupting us.

Citizenfitz


Let’s suppose that I am the only bank on Earth.

Now, let’s imagine that there are only two dollars in the entire economy.

Furthermore, let’s imagine that the entire economy consists of only one farmer and one manufacturer.

This is simple. You can easily explain this to anyone using 8 quarters. Go grab 8 quarters, and follow along….

Let’s suppose that the farmer comes to borrow money to buy equipment he needs to plant crops. At the same time the manufacturer comes to borrow money to make equipment to sell to the farmer.

I loan each of them one dollar at 50% interest for one year. This means that at the end of the year, each of them owes me $1.00 plus $.50 interest - or twelve quarters total.

[I'm using an exaggerated 50% interest rate here to quickly and clearly illustrate how the scam works. In truth, ANY AMOUNT of interest will inevitably end in the same result].

Place two stacks of 4 quarters on the table - each one representing the loans to the farmer and the manufacturer.

The farmer and manufacturer work hard all year — but all I have to do is wait. At the end of the year, when the loan is due, I'm scheduled to collect $3.00 on the original $2.00 I loaned out.

But, there were only two dollars in existence. Where did the other dollar come from?

The third dollar doesn't exist. It’s a trick.

The third dollar can exist only if extra money is added to the economy. We’ll assume no extra money has been added to the economy.

The money I loaned to the farmer and manufacturer circulates between them. The farmer bought equipment. The manufacturer sold equipment.

At the end of the year, when the loan is due, the manufacturer has made money from the farmer and is able to pay back the entire $1.50. Now, take 2 quarters from the “farmers” stack and place them on the “manufacturers” stack. Then give these to the “bank” to repay the manufacturer's loan.

Now there are only 2 quarters left.

Of the original $2.00 in our mini economy, the "bank" now has $1.50 and only $.50 is left in circulation.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard the farmer worked and no matter how good his crop, there's only $.50 in the economy for him to earn. The most he can possibly pay me now is $.50 - yet he "owes" $1.50.

And that was my plan all along.

When the farmer can’t pay — I take his farm.

Why did this happen?

Because you cannot pay with something that doesn't exist.

Now you know why America is going broke.

For Greater Glory....

Like lots of inconvenient history, the Mexican Cristero War doesn't get much play from Hollywood. It never has. In 1924 the new Calles government, which was a cabal of assorted anti-religious fanatics (Calles and many of his subordinates were Freemasons) saw their big chance to end the Catholic Church in Mexico once and for all. Thus commenced a state policy of systematic and sometimes violent oppression of Catholics - who finally rose up in armed opposition to the government.

Concerned about their Mexican oil holdings, Freemasons in the US government saw to it that the US supplied the Calles government with men and materiel, even providing some fighter planes, during the war.

In 1929, after three years of fighting, an agreement of sorts was finally brokered by the US and pressure was brought on the Pope of the time, Pius XI, to get the Cristeros to lay down their arms - which many of them did. The Calles government then repudiated its part of the truce and killed thousands of Cristeros in reprisal executions.

In the end, though very circumscribed, the Church in Mexico did survive the onslaught and has in a certain spiritual sense prospered. Mexican seminaries are full and Mexican Catholics are much more devout than their Euro/American co-religionists. One edifying story confirming this tells of some starlet, whose name I forget, filming a movie down Mexico way. She and her boyfriend of the moment got amorous atop the portico of a church. The locals took offense at this and began hurling rocks at them, yelling "Go home, slut!" That kind of indignation would never have happened in the US or Europe.

Anyway, For Greater Glory IS a Hollywood production, so expect, in spite of what the trailer indicates, for it to become another angry swipe at Catholicism. Anyone wanna take that bet?

Citizenfitz

Five minute money lesson; or, Let them eat cake

Found this great piece at Incogman's site. It was posted by "Pat". Read it through to the end because it has a strong conclusion. You'll finally understand why we're getting poorer; and why we're going to get a lot poorer.

Citizenfitz

MONEY

Money is a measure of value. It is NOT a commodity. There are only two commodities in economics: goods and services. Money is merely a medium of exchange and a measure of the relative value of goods and services. A certain group has introduced the idea of treating money itself as a commodity – and not just a medium of exchange.

TRADE

The most basic trade relationship is barter: “I'll trade you two of these for one of those.” So, where does money come in? Money is simply a medium for expediting trade. Almost anything can be used as money: gold, silver, wampum. Even funny green paper. 

Money must be accepted by the masses as a medium of exchange, and be portable and durable. Money won’t quickly rot like a fish will and it can be carried around and easily exchanged for a wide range of goods and services.

FARMERS MARKET

In my city there are Farmer's Markets. On the weekends during good weather, farmers bring fruits, vegetables, meat and baked goods to trade for things that they want. Do you need money to trade goods and services? Not at all. You can trade something you have for something the farmer has. 

However, suppose you don’t have anything the farmer wants – but you want something the farmer has? Money can be used as a mutually agreeable means of exchange. Money simplifies trading.

THE VALUE OF MONEY

Money is an arbitrary medium for trading. Literally anything can be used as money - so long as people accept it as such. Money is what a measuring cup is to flour - a way for measuring something more valuable than itself.

BAKING A CAKE

Imagine that you are baking a cake and you you need 2 cups of flour. The cup is a measure of the volume of the flour you're going to use.

A cup of flour is about 125 grams on average. You use a cheap paper cup to measure out the volume of one cup of flour. The paper cup has almost no value. So, when you go to bake your cake you measure out 2 cups of flour.

You don’t use “2 cups” - you use 2 cups *of flour*. And there’s the difference: two cups of FLOUR makes a cake. Two cups make a...? You see, it’s the flour that has the value.

MONEY - A Measuring Cup of Value

Money works exactly the same way. Only goods and services have economic value. Money is a measuring cup. A certain group has tricked people into thinking that money itself is valuable – and not merely a measure of value. They treat money as though it's a commodity - and charge interest for its use.

 

So, what’s wrong with treating money as a commodity? Because it allows the money makers to determine the value of goods and services - and to arbitrarily raise (or sometimes lower) the price.

THE SWINDLE

Let’s go back to our cake analogy. Remember you need 2 cups of flour to make a cake. Let's imagine you have a job that pays in flour. Your job pays you 2 cups of flour a day. You have a family and you only eat cake. Each day, your family eats 1 cake, so when you bake a cake you can afford it because you make 2 cups of flour a day. 

But let's say someone has a monopoly on all the cups. They are the "Official Cup Makers". What if one day they decide to reduce the cup's size by half? To feed your family you now need 4 cups of flour a day. But your job still pays you only two cups a day. 

Consequently, instead of eating every day your family can only afford to eat every other day. Your employer rejoices because they're now paying you half of what they did previously; but before long rising costs are causing them grief too. They look for ways to save money - and payroll is their single biggest expenditure.

HOW CAN THEY CHANGE THE CUP TO A SMALLER SIZE?

As we mentioned above, the only things that have real economic value are goods and services. Our money makers are like a cup makers monopoly - and they are stealthily robbing you by *shrinking the monetary measure of economic value*. How? By printing up more money and putting it into circulation. 

When you're forced to sell off your assets to feed and house your family, the same money makers who've been quietly bankrupting you come along and buy them up for a song. Finally, they come for your food and your house.

The puzzle parable

A month or two ago I came across a puzzle parable that I liked but neglected to save. It went something like this:

“When looking at all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle the first time puzzler may find the task of trying to assemble the pieces "puzzling". There may be a thousand pieces; and they'll go together only one way. Soon a simple fact makes itself clear: the four right angle pieces are outside corners. From there one deduces that the straight sided pieces are the outside edges.

“Once you’ve assembled the outside edges you start working on the inside. This is a lot harder. There are countless lines, shades and swirls that could go anywhere. You then realize the colors of the individual pieces are significant: blues mean the sky, or maybe the sea. The greens are grass or trees. There are multi-hued pieces too; perhaps flowers, or people, or both. You place them where you think they belong. With a little persistence a picture slowly begins to emerge. Eventually you go "Ahhhh...!" Then all that remains to be done is to place the dwindling number of pieces in their proper places.

“When you’ve assembled all the pieces you see the picture - and you realize that none of it was an accident – the box, the puzzle, the picture... or your solution.”