I think it is very important to have discussion over the role regulations should have in our lives. It seems that we are content with whatever the major government regulation agencies do and ultimately rule on. It seems that most people don't think twice about the implications of having government regulators and exactly what and why they regulate. I don't have a problem with standards that should be followed by private companies but I do have a problem with "standards" forced by the government on private companies. Standards are good but regulations set forth by government agencies are bad for everyone, and I hope to show you why.
Government agencies like the EPA, FDA, OSHA, and many others that enforce regulations on the environment, food, drugs, saftey, minimum wage laws, work age laws, and so many others seem to have our interest at heart, or so they say. But what exactly does this do to the market or to the consumers? Does it actually help consumers or does it hurt them?
Again I'll mention that I do want standards when it comes to these very things, just not at the point of a gun.
When we typically talk about regulations our brain is instantly hard wired into believing they're good and are to protect us. Discussion otherwise is usually looked down upon.
We don't typically talk about how these certain regulations come to be. We don't talk about who is behind the creation of these regulations. We don't talk about the incentive these people have in creating these regulations. We don't talk about how you're ultimately hurt with these regulations.
It comes down to one simple idea, so simple it is easy to let is pass our eyes. This is why you see those lobbying for new regulations are directly connected to large corporations. As a large corporation who has millions if not billions of dollars that can be used to pay for the costs of regulations it doesn't matter if they come into law. The idea is then that since these large corporations can already pay for them it is easier to snuff out competition through enforcing regulations than it is to actually compete with them in the market.
Smaller companies who don't have millions to throw away can therefor not even bring their products to the market. A product that could be much safer for you, much healthier for you, and much cheaper to you.
This is why large pharm-corporations lobby for tight regulations on new drugs entering the market, they can afford to throw away resources while emerging companies can't. This is why large food corporations want to enforce strict "health" regulations because again they can afford to throw away those resources while other can't.
Government backed regulations is nothing short of a method used to protect monopoly privileges, something those who want regulations are so much against.
On top of that the larger corporations are able to bribe regulators while smaller companies can't. They can get away with breaking the law while others would go to jail.
So many times we've heard of good products that work for certain things can't make it to the market when current products do nothing for those things. They can't make it because they're not up to "code". They can't make it because the large corporations know if they do they will not be able to compete in a fair market so they cheat to get their way.
For those Constitutional people out there these federal agencies shouldn't even exist. The Federal government has no right restricting entry into the market place, that's if you believe what's in the Constitution.
So how exactly do we provide for good standards when it comes to food, drugs, the environment, and the like without the government?
It's simple and as usual comes down to protecting private property rights. On one hand it is bad business to make bad products in a society that protects property rights. If a company releases food or a drug that ends up killing people there are heavy repercussions. And we know food and drugs protected by regulations still kill people, so you pay them with taxes to set regulations and continue to pay them when they've failed.
Now assuming this wouldn't be enough to keep those pesky evil companies at bay then a hole in the market has just been created. Private companies could now emerge to set certain standards. Through competition companies with the most attractive standards will be utilized for their well recognized seal of approval. Companies that make food and drugs, and other stuff, would want their products to have this seal of approval because consumers want to see it. Any mischievousness in the process will likely be found and publicized quickly forever tarnishing the respect of the company making the product, the standards company, or both depending on who was at fault.
This can't happen you say? We already have private companies like Consumer Reports who does this very thing. Why do they even exist though since we have federal agencies supposedly doing what they're doing? Because the federal agencies fail at doing it and are still backed by tax payer dollars further diminishing their want to provide a good service, while private companies have incentive to do as well as possible to stay afloat in the market.
Now that we know standards can quickly be made without the need of government we can talk about restriction of entry into the market. Without the government backed agencies all companies can enter the market with their products if consumers want them. It would be up to the consumers to decide what they want to buy and not federal agencies forcing consumers to buy the products their buddies have lobbied for. It always comes down to the individual. Do you believe the individuals should have the right to decide what they want? If you don't then you've justified to its fullest extent a complete totalitarian government telling you not only what you should buy or not buy but what to do in every aspect of your life. This is not the freedom I believe in and I doubt it is the freedom you believe in.
But you don't trust private companies without federal regulations to make quality products? Fine, but if you don't then how can you trust the men large corporations employ to set forth those very regulations you want?
You can't.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Knives Galore
On to the second part of my mini series and as the title suggests it's specifically about knives. Knives as a tool and a weapon have been a pivotal part of the human evolution. Being able to kill game and process it as well as basic cutting needs are a few of the important roles of knives in our life. Most of us these days don't use knives to kill game or even on a daily basis. I hope to at least make my readers want to carry a knife on a daily basis because of how useful a knife can be in life's random situations. I'll add as a side note that I don't believe knives to be an effective tool for self-defense purposes. This is because it is very hard to use a knife effectively when being attacked and usually you're going to get cut up pretty bad as well. Among knife experts there's a saying I've heard about the end result of a fight with 2 skilled knife fighters- "One is dead and the other is dying on the way to the hospital." Besides a firearms is much more suitable.
In any event I'm biased towards three brands of knives from my research and handling. These knives are Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, and ESEE knives. So the knives I'm going to talk about are going to be made by these companies. They are in my mind some of the best knives for the money, they're somewhat pricey but very much worth it.
Folding Knives: When it comes to a daily carry knife that isn't going to see much abuse like repeated prying, screwing, hammering I think you can't go wrong with any of the folding knives made by Benchmade and some by Zero Tolerance. Don't get me wrong these knives can take a beating but I feel the knife I bring up next will be your best bet when needing a knife that takes beatings day in and day out. The knife I would recommend for the money for a decent carry tool is going to be the Benchmade Griptilian, Mini Griptilian, or the Zero Tolerance ZT350. All these knives are a good size for your pocket or purse with the ZT350 being the biggest of the three. When it comes to thinking about a partially serrated or non serrated knife I believe this really depends on application. For someone who needs a daily carrier you're most likely not going to be cutting rope a lot. If that's the case I personally would go with a non serrated blade. If you do need the serration then obviously get a serrated blade.
For someone who needs a knife for day in day out beatings I recommend the Zero Tolerance ZT301, the bigger brother of the ZT350. Now this knife can and will take a lot of abuse but comes with a bigger price tag and a heftier size. The knives above are considered liner locked which means when opened the knife is locked in place by a lining metal on the inside of the handle. The ZT301 is frame locked which means it's locked by the frame of the handle when opened. The part that keeps it locked is machined titanium and the other side is a G10 material. This provides for an exceptionally strong locking mechanism where you don't ever have to worry about the knife closing during hard use.
Fixed Blades Now what about survival situations or even camping and backpacking trips? When it comes to times like these where you don't have to worry about the weight in your pocket you can afford to carry something bigger and stronger than a folding knife. This is when I recommend a fixed full tang knife over a folder but you should still carry a folding knife with you.
There are three different types of knives I believe you should have each with its own application. These don't take up that much room so they should be considered.
First up is the ESEE 5. This is a monster of a fixed blade knife and can do just about anything you need it to. If it came down to it it could be used as an axe to chop wood for a fire. You CANNOT destroy this knife and if you do ESEE has a lifetime warranty. This knife would typically be in your pack possibly on your leg while out in the wilderness since a smaller knife would be more practical for other uses. But when you need a big piece of metal to perform this one will.
The "essential" knife you should have on you when out and about in the wilderness is the ESEE 3. This is the knife you're typically want to pull out for your regular needs around camp and the like. It will be much easier to use because of its smaller size but it can also take a beating.
The next knife I would say is optional but has a very good use for caping game when on a hunt and it's the ESEE Candiru. It's a small blade and can be utilized for intricate cuts that need something that is maneuverable.
With any of the knives made by ESEE you're going to want to take extra care of them because they're made of carbon steel. They've chosen this steel for it's strength and exceptional ability to keep an edge, carbon steel is often used in professional kitchen cutlery. The downside is that carbon steel can rust very easily if not taken care of so you're going to want to make sure this sucker is well oiled when not in use.
As with all knives you want to take care of them and not be dumb with them. Having said that you can probably try really hard to break these knives and will probably fail to do it. After a lot of use you're going to want to keep putting an edge on the blade to keep it continuously sharp. I'm obsessed with knives because there's so many different kinds available with all kinds of different handle materials and steel materials. I feel without spending hours and hours doing research these knives will do you just fine and will be able to keep up to any task you give them.
In any event I'm biased towards three brands of knives from my research and handling. These knives are Benchmade, Zero Tolerance, and ESEE knives. So the knives I'm going to talk about are going to be made by these companies. They are in my mind some of the best knives for the money, they're somewhat pricey but very much worth it.
Folding Knives: When it comes to a daily carry knife that isn't going to see much abuse like repeated prying, screwing, hammering I think you can't go wrong with any of the folding knives made by Benchmade and some by Zero Tolerance. Don't get me wrong these knives can take a beating but I feel the knife I bring up next will be your best bet when needing a knife that takes beatings day in and day out. The knife I would recommend for the money for a decent carry tool is going to be the Benchmade Griptilian, Mini Griptilian, or the Zero Tolerance ZT350. All these knives are a good size for your pocket or purse with the ZT350 being the biggest of the three. When it comes to thinking about a partially serrated or non serrated knife I believe this really depends on application. For someone who needs a daily carrier you're most likely not going to be cutting rope a lot. If that's the case I personally would go with a non serrated blade. If you do need the serration then obviously get a serrated blade.
For someone who needs a knife for day in day out beatings I recommend the Zero Tolerance ZT301, the bigger brother of the ZT350. Now this knife can and will take a lot of abuse but comes with a bigger price tag and a heftier size. The knives above are considered liner locked which means when opened the knife is locked in place by a lining metal on the inside of the handle. The ZT301 is frame locked which means it's locked by the frame of the handle when opened. The part that keeps it locked is machined titanium and the other side is a G10 material. This provides for an exceptionally strong locking mechanism where you don't ever have to worry about the knife closing during hard use.
Fixed Blades Now what about survival situations or even camping and backpacking trips? When it comes to times like these where you don't have to worry about the weight in your pocket you can afford to carry something bigger and stronger than a folding knife. This is when I recommend a fixed full tang knife over a folder but you should still carry a folding knife with you.
There are three different types of knives I believe you should have each with its own application. These don't take up that much room so they should be considered.
The "essential" knife you should have on you when out and about in the wilderness is the ESEE 3. This is the knife you're typically want to pull out for your regular needs around camp and the like. It will be much easier to use because of its smaller size but it can also take a beating.
The next knife I would say is optional but has a very good use for caping game when on a hunt and it's the ESEE Candiru. It's a small blade and can be utilized for intricate cuts that need something that is maneuverable.
With any of the knives made by ESEE you're going to want to take extra care of them because they're made of carbon steel. They've chosen this steel for it's strength and exceptional ability to keep an edge, carbon steel is often used in professional kitchen cutlery. The downside is that carbon steel can rust very easily if not taken care of so you're going to want to make sure this sucker is well oiled when not in use.
As with all knives you want to take care of them and not be dumb with them. Having said that you can probably try really hard to break these knives and will probably fail to do it. After a lot of use you're going to want to keep putting an edge on the blade to keep it continuously sharp. I'm obsessed with knives because there's so many different kinds available with all kinds of different handle materials and steel materials. I feel without spending hours and hours doing research these knives will do you just fine and will be able to keep up to any task you give them.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Firearms FTW!
I've decided to kind of deviate from my regular posts to give some more informational posts about different things I feel are useful. This will probably be a small series and if received well I'll continue. Although I'm no expert on firearms, knives, and survival I feel that I can at least give some insight on the subjects to better inform you. Hopefully for those of you that don't know all that much about these topics you'll gain at least a little bit of knowledge.
Aside from being the anarcho-capitalist that I am I feel that we should all be armed for self-defense, hunting, and survival. Although I don't find this list to be an extensive list of firearms you should own, I find that having these firearms in your collection will prove to be useful in many situations.
RIFLES When it comes to rifles I feel that there are three types of rifles you should have. The first two I'll talk about are pretty much interchangeable. You don't have to have both, you should have one, but both won't hurt. I feel that many of the experts would agree that an AR15 and/or a AK47 would be great firearms with many uses. The AR15 and AK47 have an abundance of cheap ammo available in 5.56 mm and 7.62x39 mm respectively. These firearms could come in handy for self-defense and hunting. For self-defense it is obvious that these semi-automatic weapons will be of great use to you. In a hunting application these firearms will prove very useful for hunting larger game at farther distances than the next rifle I'll be talking about. Either of these rifles will be able to take a beating and still perform when you need them to. As for brands for these rifles I can sit here naming my favorite brands and someone will come and say why this brand is better than the other. Your own research will lead you to a firearm of your liking, but remember you get what you pay for (for the most part). I built my AR15 from scratch from quality parts mostly to have a unique rifle, but if I had to recommend a pre-built AR15 I would take a look into Palmetto State Armory for their quality and price. I have not had much experience with AK47's but the Russian VEPR that I've shot is a damn good shooter and for the price not too bad. Of course your mileage may very.
The next rifle I find to be essential to any collection is a good ol' .22. What's the point of having such a small caliber rifle? It's pretty simple, for hunting and survival needs. When it comes down to having to pack up and get going you usually don't have unlimited amounts of space to carry with you. The beauty with such small bullets is it is relatively easy to carry a few thousand rounds in a pocket of a pack. These small bullets are great for small game and can even kill larger game with a well place shot to the head. A good shooting rifle will allow you to conserve your ammunition for a long time to come. The .22 rifle I would recommend is the Ruger 10-22 and now that they've come out with a take down model that is the one I would recommend the most. This take down model allows you to separate the barrel from the receiver and consolidate the rifle into a smaller package for carrying. Ruger is well known for making one of the longest lasting .22s on the market.
HANDGUNS Handguns have their place in any collection. For discreet carrying around the city or on a hike they are very useful for self-defense. In a survival situation they are best suited to "shooting your way to your rifle" because the rifles are much easier to use in a SHTF situation. When dealing with what kind of handgun you should carry you'll probably get an even bigger range of answers with everyone yelling why they're right and everyone else is wrong. I feel a good deal of research will again lead you to the handgun that is best suited for you. The most important aspect to think about is your ability to control the handgun safely and be able to shoot it accurately. Without having those two down it doesn't matter how much bigger your caliber is over your friends. Personally with semi-automatic handguns I'd stick to the 9mm, .40, and .45 caliber variety. With revolvers you can't go wrong with a .357 or .44. As of right now the two handguns I would have with me would be the Ruger SR40 and the Ruger SP101 in .357. Your mileage may vary with what you feel comfortable shooting so I suggest buying something and trying it or grab a friend with some guns and try theirs!
Hopefully you've learned at least one thing new by reading this and if not good for you you're probably very well prepared for many situations. If there's one thing I cannot stress enough about firearms though is that if you don't practice how to use them effectively they could very well become dead weight for you or even worse turned against you. If you decided that a firearm is for you, which it is, then you must take the necessary steps to be able to use one correctly so that innocent people aren't hurt by your negligence.
In any case, there's nothing like being able to take care of yourself and not having to depend on people that probably can't take care of you anyways.
My next post will be on knives, stay tuned!
Aside from being the anarcho-capitalist that I am I feel that we should all be armed for self-defense, hunting, and survival. Although I don't find this list to be an extensive list of firearms you should own, I find that having these firearms in your collection will prove to be useful in many situations.
RIFLES When it comes to rifles I feel that there are three types of rifles you should have. The first two I'll talk about are pretty much interchangeable. You don't have to have both, you should have one, but both won't hurt. I feel that many of the experts would agree that an AR15 and/or a AK47 would be great firearms with many uses. The AR15 and AK47 have an abundance of cheap ammo available in 5.56 mm and 7.62x39 mm respectively. These firearms could come in handy for self-defense and hunting. For self-defense it is obvious that these semi-automatic weapons will be of great use to you. In a hunting application these firearms will prove very useful for hunting larger game at farther distances than the next rifle I'll be talking about. Either of these rifles will be able to take a beating and still perform when you need them to. As for brands for these rifles I can sit here naming my favorite brands and someone will come and say why this brand is better than the other. Your own research will lead you to a firearm of your liking, but remember you get what you pay for (for the most part). I built my AR15 from scratch from quality parts mostly to have a unique rifle, but if I had to recommend a pre-built AR15 I would take a look into Palmetto State Armory for their quality and price. I have not had much experience with AK47's but the Russian VEPR that I've shot is a damn good shooter and for the price not too bad. Of course your mileage may very.
The next rifle I find to be essential to any collection is a good ol' .22. What's the point of having such a small caliber rifle? It's pretty simple, for hunting and survival needs. When it comes down to having to pack up and get going you usually don't have unlimited amounts of space to carry with you. The beauty with such small bullets is it is relatively easy to carry a few thousand rounds in a pocket of a pack. These small bullets are great for small game and can even kill larger game with a well place shot to the head. A good shooting rifle will allow you to conserve your ammunition for a long time to come. The .22 rifle I would recommend is the Ruger 10-22 and now that they've come out with a take down model that is the one I would recommend the most. This take down model allows you to separate the barrel from the receiver and consolidate the rifle into a smaller package for carrying. Ruger is well known for making one of the longest lasting .22s on the market.
HANDGUNS Handguns have their place in any collection. For discreet carrying around the city or on a hike they are very useful for self-defense. In a survival situation they are best suited to "shooting your way to your rifle" because the rifles are much easier to use in a SHTF situation. When dealing with what kind of handgun you should carry you'll probably get an even bigger range of answers with everyone yelling why they're right and everyone else is wrong. I feel a good deal of research will again lead you to the handgun that is best suited for you. The most important aspect to think about is your ability to control the handgun safely and be able to shoot it accurately. Without having those two down it doesn't matter how much bigger your caliber is over your friends. Personally with semi-automatic handguns I'd stick to the 9mm, .40, and .45 caliber variety. With revolvers you can't go wrong with a .357 or .44. As of right now the two handguns I would have with me would be the Ruger SR40 and the Ruger SP101 in .357. Your mileage may vary with what you feel comfortable shooting so I suggest buying something and trying it or grab a friend with some guns and try theirs!
Hopefully you've learned at least one thing new by reading this and if not good for you you're probably very well prepared for many situations. If there's one thing I cannot stress enough about firearms though is that if you don't practice how to use them effectively they could very well become dead weight for you or even worse turned against you. If you decided that a firearm is for you, which it is, then you must take the necessary steps to be able to use one correctly so that innocent people aren't hurt by your negligence.
In any case, there's nothing like being able to take care of yourself and not having to depend on people that probably can't take care of you anyways.
My next post will be on knives, stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)