December 4th, the Italian Referendum.

Today, December 4th, 2016, the Italian people will hold a referendum vote to decide on whether or not to concentrate additional power with their central government. A "yes" vote will do just that, and will also be a vote of confidence in the Eurozone and the Euro currency. A "no" vote will basically be a giant middle finger aimed straight at Brussels and the EU and will open a window to Italy's dropping the Euro.

All indications in Italy point to a victory for the "no" camp.

Zerohedge (in the above link) posits that this could lead to a worldwide economic crash like none ever seen.

The house of cards isn't going to stay up forever.

Educational knife blade material from Defensive Training Group

DTG has some good knife steel educational material right here for anyone who isn't well spun up on the different steels, various tangs, sheaths, etc. Just like firearms, there is no perfect, do-it-all, last knife you'll ever need. Read their piece and then read some more on DTG and add them to your lineup.

SFC Nathan R. Chapman receives well deserved CIA memorial star.

Good Washington Post article on SFC Chapman, the US Special Forces soldier killed during a CIA mission in Khost Province in Eastern Afghanistan shortly before the US invasion in 2001. Camp Chapman in Khost was named after him. I have some personal familiarity with Khost Province, Camp Chapman and nearby FOB Salerno.

Story of SFC Nathan R. Chapman

If you're not familiar with "Pizzagate", here's your primer.

This so called "Pizzagate" scandal, if true, is by far the most outrageous scandal to come out of DC since, well, maybe anything else that's ever come out of DC. It's probably on a level all it's own. I'll admit that I'm not totally convinced, but I've gone and found the best recap (so far, the whole thing is still be dug into) I could find. The MSM, in its normal habit, is totally ignoring this story. But that's alright. Thanks to the ability of regular people to use the Internet and "news gathering" equipment all on their own, the MSM is completely useless. It's best tossed into the "fake news" bin they've been trying to push everyone who was right in predicting Hillary's historic failure of a campaign into. We have no need for the MSM, since we have the "alternative media" (which has thoroughly demonstrated it's own legitimacy in news gathering and reporting), plus our own citizen journalists, like the ones on Reddit who have done heavy leg work digging up this possible "Pizzagate" scandal.

Herschel at The Captain's Journal has the best rundown I've seen, so I'll post it here. Read through, check his links, catch up, decide for yourself. Then please have a look around the rest of The Captain's Journal.

Pizzagate

Pizzagate II

Pizzagate III

Pizzagate IV

Pizzagate V

Pizzagate VI

Pizzagate VII

If this scandal turns out false, I'll be glad for it, since I would sad to hear of such widespread and heinous abuse of helpless children. If it turns out to be true, it'll be important for blog writers, Redditors, alternative news journalists and anyone else with a platform to be broadcasting it loud and long.

Again, read and decide for yourself.

From WeaponsMan, on zeroing.

Found this nice write up on zeroing carbines from WeaponsMan, via Matt Bracken at WRSA. A former US Army 18B (Special Forces) and a former Navy SEAL support this work. Good stuff.

From Rand.

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

-Ayn Rand

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who reads these words.

We have a lot to Thank God for.

We have a lot of work still to be done.

Eat and thank today.

Get back to your preparations and training tomorrow.

Denninger on bringing down the costs of healthcare and saving the economy.

Karl Denninger paints a simple picture of what really needs to happen in healthcare and how Trump can make it happen on his own. The economy is in serious trouble and its biggest drain is the healthcare sector. Arguably, the healthcare sector is also rife with criminality. Who wouldn't agree that it's criminal for Americans to pay 10x the amount for a simple procedure as someone would pay overseas for the same procedure? Why can't women in America pay just a few dollars per month in cash for birth control over the counter, when women overseas can do just that? Why can't we even get a simple price quote ahead of time on health services like we do for any other service, so that we can shop for a better price or better product?

Good riddance to Portilla.

Florida state senator from Miami, Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R) has lost his seat in the Florida State Legislature to a democrat in the recent round of elections. To that I say, "good riddance" and may he never hold another office ever again.

First, let me mention that in another state senate race, a democrat also lost his seat to a republican, so we see that the Republican Party in the legislature maintains its 25-10 majority.

Now, onto the good part. Portilla was a great example of how we can no longer afford to simply depend on one party over another to do what's in our best interests. Last year and in previous years, the Florida legislature was poised to pass several pro-gun pieces of legislation, including the "campus carry" bill, which would allow people with a Florida Concealed Weapon Permit to carry a concealed weapon on college and university campuses in Florida. Another bill that was on the move was one that would allow all Florida residents who are eligible to own a handgun to carry a concealed weapon during a mandatory evacuation. This bill was primarily designed to allow people to bring their personally owned firearms with them during an evacuation rather than leave them behind to be stolen. Portilla was instrumental in killing both of those bills, though the emergency evacuation bill was finally passed last year.

Portilla's worst action, however, was to completely deny a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee (of which he was the chairman) of a bill that would have allowed the open carrying of handguns by Florida residents possessing a permit. As chairman, he was able to deny committee members the opportunity to debate and vote on the movement of the bill to the Senate floor.

The removal of Portilla from the Senate  should clear the way for the open carry bills and the campus carry bill to be reintroduced. Without an obstructionist republican senator standing in the way of even a simple committee debate, the bills should have a much easier path to the senate floor.

It is worth noting that the Florida House of Representatives passed both of the House versions of these bills through all committees easily.

Some good info on caching.

Brushbeater blogged some good info on caching and the use of Russian "spam cans" for doing so. Basically, it looks to me like you might want to try something else if you were planning on straight up burying those cans. Pay extra attention to the link (in the Brushbeater article) for how US Army Special Forces says to do caches the right way.

Do you have a bug out location already? Or a bug IN location? Either way, hidden, off-site caches of food, water, ammo, weapons, tools, clothing, etc. might be a good plan.