By Nathan Barton

Good morning to all.  As we near the end of the first month of 2014, the news seems even gloomier than last year, but the sun is still shining (yes, even above those snow clouds) and the wind is still blowing (and HOW) and the grass is still growing (at least some places).  So we have to be upbeat, right?  And take the news with at least a pinch of optimism and skepticism.

When I was still in high school, enamored of Asimov’s and Heinlein’s future histories, and looking at what was happening there in the early 1970s, I figured that the US was going to fall more quickly than Greece or Rome, if not quite as fast as Israel (the old one, not the current one) or the second Babylonian empire.  I figured that the collapse would be nasty, brutal, bloody, and would be very different in different places: no disruption which could not be dealt with in some places, and virtually total depopulation in others.

I figured (for story writing and planning purposes) that the early to mid-1990s would be the right time range for the “Final Collapse” of not just these united States, but of Euro-American civilization.  Later, older and wiser, for my storytelling purposes I moved it up to the 2020s or even as late as 2030.  Now, with that time just a few years ahead, and much older and a wee bit wiser, I may have moved it too far into the future.

I am not the only one to think so, apparently.  Casey Research frequently has some thought-provoking studies, including this one on a Collapse (by Jeff Thomas) which Lew Rockwell’s website picked up on.  Their “glimpse” talks about six likely actions or events in case of a financial (or political) collapse here in North America, and I can’t find much to fault: at least as a starter list.  This article should again make us review our own situation, and prepare better, because the collapse is coming: it may not be in 2014 or 2016, but it will come, because so many people are pushing it.

Jeff’s deadly six are: (1) Travel restrictions, (2) confiscation of wealth (3) food shortages, (4) squatter’s rebellions, (5) riots, and (6) martial law.  Again, these make sense, but these are NOT one-size-fits-all-FIFTY type things.  And some of these are already happening in SOME states (even when it is the feds doing them).  Most of these can be taken into account and planned for, IF we think about it.  Some may just not be possible to avoid without relocating or drastically changing our lifestyle.  But I still think that staying EAST of the Sierras (and certain nasty places like Reno, Vegas, and the Quad-Cities in Washington State) and WEST of the Mississippi; staying at least 150 miles from major urban areas (Denver-Front Range, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, the Wasatch Front, Omaha-Lincoln, Kansas City, and ANY of the big Texan megalopoli) removes MOST of these problems.

Govgoons are lazy, for one thing: they will go after the lowhanging fruit.  And while you may not LIKE eating pinto beans or wheat sprouts, if they are locally grown and available, it beats trying to get something to eat off empty Safeway or Krogers shelves in the big (or small) cities.  Riots are likely in the big cities: unlikely that MOST small towns will have those – except maybe towns with high ethnic tensions or large federal populations.

Anyway, on to stories, not just speculations about the future.

Need another excuse NOT to go back East to the OTHER Left Coast? According to several stories, DoD will deploy high-altitude  surveillence blimps over DC that will be able to identify everything from people’s faces on the ground to those bombs or missiles screaming out of space and aimed at the houses of power and wealth and corruption in the District of Criminals.

There is a need for more technology in Texas Public Schools according to various public policy folks.  They say that more than 50 percent of school districts interviewed indicated that the most difficult part of technology integration has been getting teachers to buy into the programs…  Wow.  First off, the real root of the problem is “public schools” (government-ruined, theft-funded).  Second, teachers (well, specifically students in normal schools (teacher’s colleges) are among the lowest in high-tech (information systems) skills.  They can use a phone, even a cell-phone, to take “selfies” and they can sext and text and even twitter.  But integrated database applications and presentation software?  Developing and deploying personalized training and testing systems with self-correcting multimedia feedback and response analysis?  You get the picture: I suppose we should be grateful that they can read.

Invester’s Business Daily, a publication that I don’t browse as much as I’d like, tells us there is ALSO a need for more nuclear power in the US, because the United States needs a mix of energy sources to keep the country from relying too much on a single power source…  (It strikes me that this is also a powerful argument against a strong central government.)  I think IBD is right, but as long as the fedgov drives decision making on energy sources in the US, it isn’t going to happen.  Top-down decision on things like energy, transportation, protection/conservation of land and other resources, has ALWAYS resulting in the wrong decisions being made.  A free market in ALL these areas is essential for efficiency, sustainability, growth, and meeting the needs of tomorrow’s people, families, and businesses.

CNN says that Michigan’s Governor wants visas for immigrants who’ll ‘stay for five years’ in Detroit.  Most of us see that one of Detroit’s BIG problems is immigrants, period, especially those who love the ghetto, third-world conditions (corruption, lawlessness, crumbling infrastructure, etc.) of Detroit and its suburbs and stay instead of adapting to American society and getting out into the real world.  This of course will no doubt be one of the dumping places of all the Syrian Islamist rebels.

Apparently, Ruger is pushing its series of Mini-14 rifles for 2014, which makes sense, because they are built on a good model and are dependable weapons.  But does THIS really make that much sense?  They now have a “Mini-Thirty” rifle which is on a similar scale and weight as the “traditional” Mini-Fourteen (which uses .223 Remington (essentially 5.56mm NATO), but which apparently is chambered for .308-cal (7.62mm x 39mm): the original round which the M-14 uses.  Of course, the reason it is a “mini-14” is because it is a scaled down version of the M-14 to use the now-more standard round.  But (not having tried one) I have my doubts as to whether a smaller, lighter weapon can really do a good job of sending that 75-cent (or more) 7.62 round down range.  I would LOVE the stopping power and range of a .30-cal, which proved itself in WW2 and a bunch of other fights over the years.  But with a smaller rifle, will it just waste the potential of a good round? (Thanks to John for this story.)

Mama’s Note: I’m in no position to judge the Mini-14 or compare it to the M-14, since I’ve never handled either one, but I do own and shoot an old fashioned M1 .30 cal carbine and it places those bullets very neatly, with considerable power. It is not a long range gun, and was never intended to be, but it can be carried and fired by almost anyone, to good effect in many different situations. No one gun can do it all, which is no doubt one of the many reasons so many different guns are made. The more the merrier, I say.