Attribute to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

WTF is up with this "National Coin Shortage"? This simply cannot be true. I have long scoffed at the conspiracy theory nut-jobs with their "cashless society equals gov’t. tracking of all transactions" silliness, but could it be that they are actually on to something?

Based on my "quick and dirty" rounding and addition, around 250 billion (yes Billion, and I’m lowballing this) coins have been minted in the last 20 years alone. The "average usable life" of a U.S. coin is 30 years. Never has there been anything like a shortage of coinage. When I used a popular search engine that I’ll not name to ask what this NCS actually was, I "learned" that the U.S. citizenry is "hoarding change and small bills due to insecurity over the unstable economy." I call Bullshit. I’m going out on a limb and stating that I believe that even now, my fellow citizens are aware that our coinage is absolutely valueless as a collectible unless it is so old that it contains precious metals, or is somehow a very rare minting (uncirculated proof, etc.). I’m going ever further out on that limb and stating that these same fellow citizens are aware that collectors already have nearly all the rare stuff and silver hasn’t been used in coins for more than 50 years. Hell, pennies don’t even nave copper in them anymore, they’re zinc for cryin’ out loud. The Federal Reserve Banks are doing the hoarding, they are not releasing change at whoever’s behest for whatever reason, I’ll not speculate on the convolutions of the financier’s minds.

Face coverings are now required everywhere (legally or not *more on this later*), thus, banks no longer let anyone inside. This makes it tough for anyone to access their safe deposit box. It also makes it impossible for anyone to refuse to leave without their savings. All making a "run" on banks all but impossible. Could it be that this was the ulterior motive I was scratching my head trying to figure out?

Nearly every store around here has signs up stating words to the effect of "due to the Natl. Coin Shortage we no longer give change. Pay in exact change or electronically." Some of the larger grocery chains are offering to put your change on their "loyalty card" for you. A very convenient way for them to earn free interest on the millions of dollars that will be languishing in escrow accounts associated with said cards.

People will get tired of getting screwed out of their change and start using bank/credit/debit/store cards far more often. Each and ever one of these transactions will be linked to the purchaser’s name, address, phone number, or whatever other ID information the issuer decided to collect initially. All of this information is easily cross-referenced to positively identify anyone.

Now, far be it from me to suggest that our government could get its shit together on this scale, but... the NSA denied its own existence for more than a decade after it had been proven to exist. Denied that it had been recording every conversation made on public/pay phones for years (for analysis and the prevention of Domestic Terrorism) and continued to deny it was doing the same thing with cellular communications, until they quit denying anything and just clammed up. The infrastructure to perform the "tracking" that the aforementioned conspiracy theory nut-jobs fear is already fully in place and humming along.

Our Constitutional Rights are being eroded in an ever accelerating fashion. Guns are, naturally, right at the top of the list. Tracking the purchase of gun parts, ammunition, the equipment and components for the reloading of ammo, specialized tools, and ancillary supplies would be just the kind of underhanded half-way sneaky shit our "glorious leaders" specialize in.

Of course, guns are only the tip of the iceberg. With every transaction recorded and analyzed, the sky is the limit. Want to get a suspect when they are likely to be as far as possible from home? Subject X goes to the Sonic 18 miles from his apartment every third Tuesday and orders a slaw-dog and banana shake... Silly example, but it could happen.

What I think would be more likely would be "Federal Guidelines/Limits" on purchases. You try to buy a case of ammo for your favorite long gun and your card is not approved. "Purchase denied, contact your local authorities for further information." Or, maybe it would be gasoline, or anything the feds decide could be used as a "precursor for a controlled substance", or anything else for that matter. What happens when you don’t spend ENOUGH on things the Fed decides you should be buying, like the aforementioned ridiculously overpriced gasoline, or facemasks, or contributions to the "Former Slave Reparations Act", or whatever other bullshit they come up with? Agents Flak & Hastle come knocking maybe? Perhaps late at night, without insignia? I digress. I actually am NOT a conspiracy theory guy, but sometimes these kooks in Government can make anybody wonder.

While we are not legally limited on how much cash we can have on our person at any time, if you have very much, any law enforcement agent can legally confiscate it on ANY bullshit suspicion (it wasn’t actually yours, it was intended for drug purchase, you were laundering money) and in the majority of cases, they get to keep part (and usually, all of it) even if you are never even CHARGED with a crime, much less convicted.

How big of a step would it be to ban the possession of "hard currency" by the public. (Remember, on May 1, 1933 all U.S. citizens possessing gold had just 30 days to surrender it or become felons subject to up to 10 years in prison. This executive order was not rescinded until 1974 by Gerald Ford who had not even known that private ownership of gold was illegal until he saw it on television.) Any and all cash could be susceptible to confiscation and the possessor to criminal charges, all in the name of fighting Domestic Terrorism, because, that is the ONLY thing you could be using black market cash for.

Remember, the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act are now permanently in place thanks to our last "Glorious Leader". Neither of which was even printed out on paper before being voted in originally. Who knows what is really in either document?

Back to the "face coverings issue"

Masks might help a little for all the slick-faced folks out there, but for all us Manly Men with beards (or folks with big sideburns, and even some post-menopausal women ((don’t start... my generation is at that point, lots of the women I know have whiskers they have to deal with nowdays)) they can be essentially useless.

I’ve worked in hazmat and had to wear a number of different types of masks. The only way ANY of them work is if they make a "positive seal" with the face. Impossible with facial hair. One class I took recommended shaving as often as hourly (depending on hair growth rates per individual), but that was for a rubber mask with big filter cartridges.

At 0.125 microns, the virus is pretty small. A surgical mask stops around 30% of particles that size, a bandana around 12%, and the pre-formed paper dust masks most people use stops less than 8%. The N95 masks are said to stop up to 85% of COVID19 sized particles. Another thing almost nobody is doing is disposing of each mask at the recommended rate. I’ve been carrying the same one in the car since the "masks required" rules went up. Oh, well. May as well get used to it. Life will NEVER go back to how it was now. Some time ago I saw on some newsfeed or other that COVID-19A (the virus everyone in the MSM is so excited about right now) is nearing its "Second Wave", and that COVID-19B (which has already been, conveniently, identified) will assuredly strike before that wave is over. See the pattern? The "Eternal Pandemic Emergency" is already being promoted. Mask nazis at several stores now patrol the entry and or aisles to harass folks, I was recently refused service at a fast food joint (I really only went in to use the urinal. I’m an old man, I pee a lot.) for not wearing one. I was only going to buy a large unsweetened tea, since I’d already used their bathroom, but they didn’t know I wasn’t ordering for a whole construction crew. Seems to me that the chance of infection would hardly justify the loss of business, without taking into consideration the huge sheets of plexiglass placed between employees and everyone else. Note to self: When time machine is perfected invest heavily in plexiglass in mid 2019...

What I believe all the mask-wearing, social distancing, and compulsive hand sanitizing are going to lead to is a society of immuno-compromised weaklings, incapable of fighting off even the common cold.

Speaking of weaklings: I have just learned that the population of the US has become increasingly "risk-averse". Isn’t that what we used to call cowardly? There is a petition to create "Age-Fluid" as an "identifier", we call those Child Molesters where I come from. Where does this "political correctness" bullshit end? You can’t even carry on an intelligent conversation any more. No more Master Bedroom, or Master Cylinder or Slave Cylinder because it might offend someone. I mean, nobody really cares what some goofy bands call themselves, Lady Antebellum is now, what? Who cares. If you liked (or disliked) their music before, you’ll still like (or dislike) it regardless of what their name is, that is just a publicity grab.

Wanna know what I think should be banned from polite speech? How ’bout banning "Nigger" and all its various spellings and pronunciations. That has been the most offensive word around for several decades and oddly, no one seems to want it removed from common usage. Is it because removing it would render mute too large a percentage of the population? Think of all the individuals who would become incapable of completing a sentence without using it. A great deal of popular music would become unplayable publicly, urban novels would ALL be banned, whole genres of movies would cease to exist. Imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth amongst the current crop of celebrities from sports, film, music, etc. Probably set off a whole new batch of riots... oh, excuse me, peaceful protests.

I mentioned in a previous Letter to the Editor that I believed that nearly everyone is at least a little bit racist in some fashion. I just wanted to share my favorite thing about this fact. As most people know, the GO-TO defense of nearly every liberal out there when losing an argument is, "OMG! You’re a RACIST!" I have learned that simply responding, "Yeah, and..." virtually destroys their equilibrium. All facility for coherent speech is instantly lost. In fully 90+% of cases, the screaming libtard is reduced to sputtering, blinking rapidly, and in some cases Grand Mal seizures (well, not the seizures really, but one can hope). They have absolutely no comeback for acceptance of the most heinous weapon in their arsenal. Try it next time, the look on their face is simply priceless, and usually, they just go away.

I could go on, but I have to pee again.