DOOMSDAY Preppers

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

I watched a preview for National Geographics' new documentary series "Doomsday Preppers" and I couldn't help by wonder what most people are going to think of the prepper community after seeing this goofy show. Am I the only one who thinks that the preview makes preppers look at a bunch of wackos?

First of all, the title implies that preppers are nutjobs waiting for the end of the world. Second, they had the REM song "It's the End of the World as We Know It" as one guy admits that the extent of his preps are "insane." Third, the show sends the wrong message. Now maybe that guy was taken out of context, but most people won't see the actual show, they'll just see the preview featuring an array of eccentric characters looking silly.

Let's be honest, this series is a reality TV show. And like all reality TV shows, it focuses on the most eccentric and extreme. TV networks want entertainment value, which doesn't always translate into a sensible portrayal of a group. I understand that National Geographic is trying to tap into a social phenomenon, but showing a bunch of preppers in gas masks and tactical gear is not in the prepper community's best interest. This show will make most causal viewers laugh and look at preparing for an emergency as a trait of a strange individual.

I don't know why the participants joined this show, but I respect their efforts to prepare for emergencies. They are more advanced in their prepping than I am. I think the problem is that show will likely turn more people off to prepping than encourage them. In a country where the masses are willing to support two corrupt political parties would betray the citizens and offer nothing but an array of empty personalities, perception is very important.

If we want to encourage more Americans to prepare, we need to speak from a place where we can be taken seriously. There's nothing wrong with running emergency drills with your family, but is that the first image you want non-preppers to see?

Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but Fox Cable Networks owns 75% of National Geographic, so I think we have to be very mindful who controls the images that are put forth to represent us. The mainstream media rarely presents things in a manner that makes preppers, gun owners and survivalist look good.

In the preview below, there's a point where a friendly middle-aged woman raises her glass for a toast. The guest raise their drinks and she says, "Here's to the end of the world!" I'm sure it was taken out of context and she maybe have been kidding, but that's the point. If you want the preview, you get a presentation that makes preppers look crazy.



Why did Fox insist on adding the word DOOMSDAY to "Preppers"? Most preppers aren't preparing for doomsday, they are doing what squirrels and other animals do naturally. They simply prepare for a time when resources are harder to find. It's common sense.

It's not just what you do, it's how you do it.

I'm going to leave you with two links to a classic episode of "The Cosby Show." In nine minutes you'll see a great example of bad presentation and some wise words from Clif.
Part 1
Part 2

But maybe I'm wrong about "Doomsday Preppers". Maybe the good will help a lot of people and if that is the case and I would very pleased. What do you think about the preview?

SHTF: FIGHT or DIE!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Fight or Flight!

For the last three years, I've been actively researching and engaging in the prepper lifestyle. After the financial collapse of 2008, I decided that I need to start preparing for the very real possibility that the U.S. economic system could collapse.

This meant that I would buy my first firearm (Mossberg 500) for self defense, start storing food (and water) and develop my skills. I've practice safely starting camp fires, while studying various aspects of emergency prepping. I've practice shooting with my Glock 21 (pistol), Mossberg 500, (12 gauge pump action shotgun), Marlin 22 long rifle, Mossberg ATR (20-06 bolt action rifle) and AKM (magazine fed-rifle).

Now, I am in no way a tough guy. I don't claim to be an expert. I'm not a survivalist. I'm just a regular guy who is doing what I have to do to survive. I have a very low income and I've decided to make prepping for emergencies a significant part of my life.

Recently, I came across a video by youtuber BigDad06 entitled "RESIST." In this video, the commentator (who I've spoken with on numerous occasions) argued that his experience and human history shows that when approached by a threat, you a always be off if you fight back. I won't go into details, because I want you to watch the video. It is extraordinary. But I will say this, I have made a conscious decision to fight back. Even if I don't have a weapon. i would rather died where I stand than let a criminal take me away (like the Nazis did with the Jews.) The choice is really simple. if you surrender, the enemy can do whatever he wants. So the choice is FIGHT or DIE!

Check out Bigdad06 and yours truly discussing our outlook for 2012.



Tip of the Day:

If the SHTF, you can prevent infection and injury by wearing elbow and knee pads under your clothes and storing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide to cut wounds.

EU Put Oil Embargo on Iran! Gas Prices Are Hurting Us

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Remember that January 23rd date I warned you about? Well, diplomats of the European Union meet on that critical day and decided not only freeze the assets of Iran's central bank, but place an embargo on Iran's oil. Many southern European countries buy oil from Iran. Iran's top exports are China (20%), Japan (17%), India (16%), Italy (10%) and South Korea (9%). The EU claims that they are doing this to stop Iran's nuclear program, but I think it's clear that Iran is being backed into a corner. If Iran responds by closing the Straits of Hormuz, the price of oil is going to shoot up to the moon.

I'm embarrassed to admit that today I was walking through the Mott neighborhood with plastic gas can. My van has ran out of gas and I couldn't even get to out of my driveway. After collecting my quarters, dimes and nickels, I bought $5.30 worth of gas. When I arrived at my house, the 1.5 gallons wasn't even enough to get that big van going. It's plenty funny, but kinda pathetic.

I think I'm going to stop paying insurance and stop driving. The insurance company claimed that the reason why no-fault insurance increased by 30% is because of the number of new claims in my zip code. But it's bizarre, because everywhere I go, I keep seeing the number 30 pop up. The water company in my hometown of Flint, Michigan recently warned us that the price would be going up by 30%. I've also noticed that a lot of the food items have increased by about 30% in the last year.

If there's a war with Iran, I think we're going to see gas prices hit an average of $5 per gallon. It's already hovering around 3.50 (3.35-3.60) in economically depressed Flint, Michigan. This is going to end very badly.

Is the S&#t About To Hit The Fan?

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Here's two dates I'm looking at.

JANUARY 23rd
European Union Diplomats are meeting to discuss the possibility of putting an embargo on Iranian oil. If this happens, this will be an act of war. Greece, Italy and Spain buy oil from Iran, so will they have enough pull to sway the rest of the EU? The Iranians could respond to this event by shutting down traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. This would devastate the world oil market. Will this lead to war? Or will Iran back off? Either way, I'll be watching.

MARCH 20th
Zerohedge is reporting that if Greece can't come up with the cash to make the bond payment on March 20th, it'll default on its debt. But how will this affect the rest of the EU?

Fitch Says Greece Will Default By March 20 Bond Payment


EU Diplomats To Meet On Iran Sanctions Jan. 23

Bye! Bye Rick!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Rick Perry is out! I was wrong! At this point, it looks like there's only five candidates left: Romney, Paul, Obama, Santorum and Newt. Four out of the remaining five candidates are neo con (fake conservatives who favor extreme U.S. intervention across the world in hopes of controlling the planet) and corporatist (banker bailout-loving supporters of corporate power dominating Washington).

Ron Paul is the odd man out. Newt Gingrich just won South Carolina and Romney is leading in Florida. In a nut shell, the remaining candidates are completely untrustworthy. The Republicans don't even have a strong record of protecting gun rights. Only Ron Paul scored an A or better from the Gun Owners of America. The rest are embarrassing. This is why I'm not voting in 2012.

SOPA: UnAmerican and Unnecessary!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

On January 18th, websites all over the world including Google, Reddit and Craigslist are going dark in protest over the unconstitutional and eerily Orwellian SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). The record companies and movie studios are supporting this bill in a desperate attempt to stop people from illegally downloading copyright material (movies and music) from the Internet. They claim that online piracy is killing there business. I'll address this line of silliness later in the article.

The bill is being supported by Congress members because it would give the government the ability to order ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to block certain websites that are thought to be piracy hubs. The problem is that there is nothing stopping the government from blocking sites for other reasons such as political opinion.

This is just the latest example of Congress trying to grab more power. Fortunately, video gamers and Internet citizens have turned on the pressure and forced the Washington politicians to reconsider. I fully support the protest against this authoritarian bill.

Regarding the movie studios and record companies, it's foolish to assume that you can legislate your way to economic success. This reminds me of the the record companies attempt to sue their way back into business in the early 2000s. Yes, online piracy exploded with Napster and other peer to peer file sharing networks, but that's because the demand was there. In the later 90s, record companies started to put out terrible bubble gum pop music. They also made it a common practice to release hallow, overpriced albums. No one wanted to pay 18 bucks for 13 tracks with only three or four good songs.

The movie industry is suffering because they are making too many crappy movies and charging too much. Do you really want to risk paying 10 bucks for a mediocre movies and spend a small fortunate on low end snacks. Three bucks for soda? Really? Why pay 20 bucks for a movie exercise that including rude audiences and cellphones. I remember watching a PG-13 movie "The Bourne Supremacy" and being forced to hear a baby cry for a 30 minutes. Some lady thought it made since to being a baby into the theater. This was a noon showing. The movie going exercise is terrible.

The prices are always going up, which means less people will gamble on most movies and the attendance will drop. In 2011, movie attendance hit a 16 year low.

Here's how they can fix the problem.

1. Improve the Movie going Experience
The studios need to set standards for movie exhibitors, kick assholes out of the theater, ban anyone under 10 from seeing a PG-13 movie, ban cellphone usage, start serving good food at an affordable price. If we have to deal with obnoxious people, why can;'t we have a beer and gourmet pizza while we laugh at the slashed people in the front roll. One way or another, make it fun.


2. Lower the Budgets and Improve the Scripts
Sorry, but most of these $100 million movies don't need $100 million dollar budgets. A lot of them are terrible to begin with.


3. Lower the Ticket Price
If you get more people in the theaters, you will make more money. When tickets only cost 5 or 6 bucks, I would watch two matinees in a roll. Now, I don't even want to see one 8 dollar movie unless the reviews are extremely good. And I definitely go less.

4. Offer More Options
A lot of people pirate movies because it's convenient. Unless, we're talking about "The Dark Knight Rises", we don't have to wait the movie in theaters. Allow us to rent the movie via online service for 5 bucks after three weeks in the theater. This will allow us to watch new movies at home.





Movie Attendance Linked to Theater Experience, Increased Competition for Consumer Time, According to PA Consulting Group Survey

Box-Office Bust: Movie Attendance Hits 16-Year Low

Rick Perry Will Be the Nominee

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Who will win the 2012 General Election?

In my opinion, someone who represents the best interest of the banking elite. The so called too-big-to-fail banks. This candidate will receive millions of dollars from JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, UBS, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. This person maybe a Republican or Democrat, but he will not act in your best interest. That is the reality of American politics. Or at least, that is how I perceive American politics, so rest assure that my analysis is not bias in favor of any political party.

Let's talk about who will win the nomination and why?



Traditionally, the GOP nominates the next guy in line. This would most certainly be former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. However, there is a problem. He's not a conservative or even a moderate conservative. He's not even a liberation. He's not much of anything at all. Not only has he conveniently reversed his positions on issues such as gun rights, abortion and Obamacare, but he has failed to stand his ground on much of anything.

McCain wasn't a conservative either and he became the nominee because he was the next guy in line and he meet a basic criteria. Therein lies the problem for Mitt Romney, his failure to stand for anything substantial may have disqualified him from being the nominee.

To be perfectly clear, after winning Iowa, Romney is in a strong position and the GOP nomination is his to lose. However, I think my prediction that Rick Perry will win the nomination is still plausible. Despite his embarrassing performances during debates, I think he is likely to be the nominee. Sure he considered quitting after his Iowa lost, but McCain's comapign was dead in early 2008 and Newt's was on life support late last year. Why do I think Rick perry will be the nominee.

Because he fits the GOP criteria. Unfortunately, the criteria doesn't require honesty and intelligence (as former President George W. Bush has proven). Nor does the Democratic nomination for that matter (i.e. President Barack Obama). Sure Obama taught at Harvard, but he can barely speech without a teleprompter and he once claimed to have visited 57 states.

Anyway, GOP nominees generally have to might a criteria
1. Executive Record (Governor, Military -- George W. Bush was the Governor of Texas, McCain was a war veteran, etc.)
2. No Successful Business Record (I'm not kidding! McCain was never a businessman, George W. Bush ran oil companies into the ground, but at least Reagan was an actor who generated his own income. Presidential nominees from both parties rarely have any useful business experience and Romney obviously does. The power elite want personalities in the White House that they can control)
3. Appeal to Most or All branches in the Party
(A nominee doesn't have to be everyone favorite, but the fiscal conservatives, neo cons and social conservatives must be able to tolerate the nominee)

Romney fails to meet the requirements for both 2 and 3. Rick Perry meets all three requirements. Ron Paul's libertarians probably won't generate enough numbers to overcome the mountain of neo con craziness in the GOP. The establishment is terrified of this guy.

So why not Santorum, he's not very personable and will scare moderates away with his extreme take on social conservatism. It's not always what you say, but how you say it. And losing his last u.S. Senate race by more than 18% in Pennyslvannia won't help.

What about Newt Gingrich? Well, he has more baggage than a 747.

Back to Rick Perry. Simply put, they don't invite you to Bilderberg for nothing. So I still see Perry as the nominee.


SOUTH CAROLINA
Here's how, Huntsman does well in NH, splitting the moderate voter and hurting Romney in South Carolina. Santorum fades and his voters go to Perry. The elites leak details about Newt's ugly past and he continues to decline, conservative move to Perry.

Perry surpasses Newt and finishes (1st or 2nd) in South Carolina. I think he will win. (I'm either a psychic or crazy)

FLORIDA
Perry and Romney will battle in Florida. Huntsman will pull votes away from Romney, Santorum and Newt will pull votes away from Perry. Romney will win.

SUPER TUESDAY
Santorum drops out after another poor showing. Newt is toast. It's a two-man race. By this point, Perry maybe performing better at debates and he will have enough support from the Tea Party, neo cons, social conservatives and fiscal hawks to overcome Mitt Romney.

Perry is a snake and liar, so he'll match up well with pathological liar Obama in November. Do I care who wins? You should already know the answer.

Americans Shopping Until They DROP -- DEAD?!

Message from a Youtube Viewer,

"I am in no way disagreeing with you about the unemployment figures but four days before Christmas, I was near Atlanta,Ga and saw a massive traffic jam. People were out shopping for bargains I guess. I wondered, where is all that money going? There were a lot of people on the roads and it took me almost three hours to get out of that traffic jam to get home."

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Well, you are right. A lot of people were shopping for the holidays. But how many of them were using credit cards? How many of them were spending their last penny on useless electronics from third world countries?

As many of us know, low income Americans will shop for electronics and toys with their last dollar. But don't forget, just because people are buying crap, that doesn't mean that they are doing well. Americans will shop until they are absolutely penny-less. In fact, it's the insanity of overspending and debt that has led the country down the path of destruction in first place.

I know people who are over 25 years old, live with their parents, but unlike me, they have children. Many of these people have several children living in their home. They maybe living with a girlfriend who also have children. Some families consist of...

Three Adults.
Four Children.

Only one of them has a full-time job. The mom maybe an office manager. The son may work at a retail store and his girlfriend maybe unemployed. Or maybe both the son and the girlfriend are unemployment. Yet, they sent all of their money on Christmas gifts and they're currently behind on all of their bills. No food storage. Barely any food in the house.

Now, although, this sounds ridiculous, it is not uncommon. And my fear is that when the economy implodes, a lot of people will be stuck in a vulnerable situation. People will not have food storage to feed all of the mouths that they have created. They won't have fresh water for their children. All of these guys with 5 or more kids by 4 or more women will realize that their modest child support payments won't cover much of anything. The poor single mothers with 3 or more kids will be suffer more than anyone.

America is in for a shocker. After decades of enabling irresponsible individuals to create kids that they have no means of taking care of it, we will face a situation where the government will not be able to help. Keep this in mind, while the average family spend 500 to 600 bucks on gifts, most Americans can even afford a $1,000 emergency. According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, only 36% of the 2,7000 Americans survey, said they would use their rainy day funds for an emergency.

"It's alarming... For consumers who live paycheck to paycheck -- having spent tomorrow's money -- an unplanned expense can truly put them in financial distress,"

Spokeswoman Gail Cunningham said.

Alarming, indeed. But at least their children received that XBOX 360 or Playstation 3, this Christmas! Let's hope this country doesn't face any type of crisis this year or millions of people will be left unprepared.

Most Americans can't afford a $1,000 emergency expense