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

SHTF Rifle Matchup: ATR (308) vs AKM (7.62x39)

308


AKM

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Here's a pretty interesting question from a viewer on my Youtube channel:

DEMCAD, I have a question about my next gun purchase. I want to get either a Mossberg 100 ATR (308), or a Wasr 7.62x39. If everything did hit the fan say next year, what would be the best one of these two to get?

I'm not qualified to answer that. I'm not a survivalist, nor have I pretended to be an expert. But I will attempt to describe my thinking.

It depends on your situation and what you want to use it for. 308 is a caliber that the U.S. military uses so it should be easier to find. However, you shouldn't expect to find ammo during a SHTF situation. Since I live in an urban area, I value FIREPOWER over ACCURACY.

After all, if you're in the city or suburbans, any fight you will get into will be probably be short or medium range. The 308 would be a great sniper weapon, but you're not likely to be using a sniper rifle in an emergency situation. At least not if you're in a city. So I would prefer the AK, because of it's 30 round magazine. The ATR will limit you to 5 rounds or less. Plus, the bolt action will slow down your response time and there's no detachable magazines for a reload. If I were in the country, hunting and shooting range would be a higher priorities, so I would consider the 308.

So here's how I would view the matchup.

Urban: AK definitely

Suburban: AK probably, ATR maybe

Rural: ATR probably, AK maybe

Oathkeepers Retract Cannery RAID Story!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Information is one of the most powerful tools of the 21st Century. It is as important as gas and electricity and any currency. So when people spread false information or unconfirmed information, it must be taken seriously. Recently, the Oathkeepers published a scary story claiming that federal agents raided a Mormon food cannery in Tennessee, demanding a list of their customers who were storing food.

Now as many of you know, the Oathkeepers is an organization of former (and current) law enforcement and military personnel claiming to uphold the constitution. When the story broke, it spread across the Internet like wild fire and ended up on the Alex Jones show.

The President of the Tennessee Oathkeepers Rand Cardwell wrote,

“A fellow veteran contacted me concerning a new and disturbing development. He had been utilizing a Mormon cannery near his home to purchase bulk food supplies. The man that manages the facility related to him that federal agents had visited the facility and demanded a list of individuals that had been purchasing bulk food. (from Oathkeeper Rand Cardwell

Let's see. He acquired the information from a man who heard it from another guy. What is the definition of hearsay?

unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge (from Dictionary.com)

Yep, that's hearsay. This was there only piece of intel and it was second hand. There was no information on which federal agency raided the cannery, who was the primary source, who the secondary source, which cannery was raided? Nothing. Just hearsay. So predicatively, the oathkeepers were forced to withdraw the story, claiming that a witness changed his or her story.

This is the type of crap that will discredit people very quickly. There was no secondary source confirming the intel and the primary source was questionable to begin with. If preppers (people who prepare for emergencies) want to convince people that their cause is sensible, they have to make sure that they protect their credibility. And that can;t happen if they jump on every unconfirmed story that comes down the pipe. Because in our world, information is more important than ever before.



STHF analysis of Oathkeeprs story

Oathkeepers Retract Story

JUSTICE or BACKLASH: Sent MF Global's Corzine to PRISON!!!

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

Ex-CEO of Goldman Sachs, Jon Corzine, claimed that he was stunned when he learned that his brokerage firm (MF Global) didn't have their customers' money. But it was his company. How in the hell could he not know that people were stealing hundreds of millions dollars from their customers. These guys were leveraged 40 to 1. Which in plain English means that they were betting 40 dollars when all they had was one buck. So naturally, when another European crisis popped up, MF Global was toast. And since they used their customers' money, they were left holding the bag.

“There were an extraordinary number of transactions during MF Global’s last few days, and I do not know, for example, whether there were operational errors at MF Global or elsewhere, or whether banks and counterparties have held onto funds that should rightfully have been returned to MF Global,” Corzine claimed.

Really? So either he is a crook or incompetent. Either way, he needs to be held accountable. But I doubt anyone was able to do anything with the money with him knowing. I know this lady who worked at a tax preparation store. Some money disappeared and the manager made everyone pay $20 bucks out of their own pocket to cover the lose. Even though she didn't steal anything, she had to pay.

When I was for a small bail bonds company, 15 bucks was missing from the safe. the boss showed me the receipt and I desperately search the office for the money only to discover that he took the money out of the safe. he was going to make me pay for the lost. So now I'm supposed to believe that hundreds of millions of dollars just walked away. This is garbage. Jon Corzine needs to go to prison and if this type of injustice continues, it's going to lead to a backlash.

Corzine 'stunned' that MF Global couldn't find missing funds

You Are NOT "Apocalypse Man"

By Reginald Kaigler (DEMCAD)

So I came across this docudrama TV special on youtube called "Apocalypse Man". Ex Recon Marine Rudy Reyes takes the audience on a simulated mission through a city during a disaster scenario. It's a simple scenario, one man traveling in a world without water and electricity.

He starts the show off by telling viewers that when a disaster strikes, the first place he's going is to the city. When I heard those words, I burst out in laughter. i guess it depends on the scenario and how many resources he had. He uses a tire iron as a grapple hook to rope himself across a bridge. Rudy swings off the bridge like Tarzan rope and uses his carefully crafted butterfly knot to pull himself up to the other section of the bridge.

Rudy confessed, "I know it looks crazy..." That's because it is crazy. Unless you are in top shape, which most Americans are not, trying to Tarzan your fat ass across a bridge will get you killed or seriously injured. Now, I'm not professing to be an expert in survival. In fact, this guy is in much better shape than I am. However, I know my limitations. In this scenario, I would have been better served staying at home. And if I did decide to leave my house, I would have avoided the cities. And if I were in the cities, I would have looked for a boat, canoe or some floating platform to get to the other side of the river.

I understand that this show was created for entertainment, but I want people to be realistic about their abilities. There's a point where he climbs down a dark elevator shaft. I wouldn't attempt this until the cast from Mad max was after me.

Granted, he has a lot of cool ideas and it's worth watching for fun. I loved his idea about going to the library to get information such as maps and books. But some of his ideas scared me. What disturbed me most about this show is when he enters someone's home with the logic that "it is not longer there home."

He enters a home that appears to have not been broken into. I understand that he was looking for resources, but I'm not willing to risk receiving a large serving of buckshot to my face. You may want to wait until the population drops to "I Am Legend" levels before attempting this.

I'm not saying that his ideas won't work, but they some of them sure as hell won't work for me. I would advise people to apply a filter to this kind of programming, but this is good entertainment. If you have good sense, you'll be able to separate the entertainment from the good ideas. Enjoy!

Part Two


Part Three


Part Four


Part Five