I have mistrusted the Federal Reserve System - the monopoly banking arrangement in America - for as long as I've understood what it actually is. From that moment, I've been concerned about the potential for the Fed to precipitate another economic collapse in America.

Such collapses have occurred throughout history, one of which happened right here in America in 1929. The results have never been pretty. As we have seen firsthand, hunger and violence often result. Collapse has given rise to dictatorships, as with the hyper inflationary collapse of Weimar Germany that led to Hitler.

The obvious and growing probability that this could happen 1) again, 2) in America, and 3) in my lifetime (!) led me to become a survivalist 25 years ago.

Thanks to a government run education system that serves its master well, Americans are woefully ignorant of the Federal Reserve System and the fraud it has perpetrated on this nation we love. Well, the truth is out, and folks are waking up! As people come into an appreciation of our predicament, they often respond as I did, by arranging their lives to minimize the devastating impact of fiat money and making preparations to hedge against the potential for outright collapse of the banking system. They become survivalists too!

If survivalism's critics were honest, they would have to admit that preparedness is the only rational response in the face of increasing uncertainty. (Fat chance!) Survivalists are still maligned in media circles and popular culture. I predict it will soon become clear that survivalists merely looked more pessimistically (and therefore more accurately) at what was taking place in the world. With each passing day, our unfolding financial/moral/cultural shipwreck sinks more deeply into the public consciousness. Interest in survivalism is finally going mainstream. As usual, I've been ahead of the curve, and as always, being ahead of the curve has been an interesting experience.

In my decades long pursuit of self-sufficiency skills and knowledge, I've come in contact with a number of fascinating characters and groups. By far the most interesting group of all was to be found at www.alpharubicon.com! "Rubies" (as members are known) are by and large fine folks. It is unfortunate that the same cannot be said for the ownership/power structure that runs the site.

As a member, you must submit to their petty tyranny. Their rules are the very definition of arbitrary and capricious, and if you don't play along you'll be bullied and very shortly banned. This is a privilege you must pay for. In Rubiespeak, you're paying "5 bux a month" and obeying the "rulz" which is a "kewl" thing to do. That's how they talk. They never miss an opportunity to tell you just how much better they are than everyone else, either. They're the BEST, and yes, they capitalize it!

The Rubicon preaches adherence to "facta non verba" or in plain English "facts not words". This is an admirable goal to fall short of, and I commend them for the effort. Like all human endeavors, this one falls short of it's lofty goal. The ruling clique falls short enough to qualify as hypocritical. ("Power tends to corrupt...") I was a member there for 9 or 10 months, give or take. I was referred by someone I still count as a friend, and I did interact with some nice folks while a member there.

I always give credit where credit's due, and I will say that in that time I found some useful information. Beyond current events, though, there's very little genuinely new information under the sun, and similar information is widely available for free.

Every special interest group has formed a vibrant community on the internet, and survivalists are no exception. It's interesting to navigate around those sites and see how often some Rubie joins up or chimes in somewhere else just to defend the Rubicon. As fast as they appear, they're gone again. I saw an instance of that before I joined the Rubicon, and have seen more instances since being banned from the place.

And yes, I was banned from the Rubicon. I never said anything untrue, but I was highly critical of our corrupt financial system. The leadership didn't like what I said, and apparently didn't even know I was telling the truth. I stuck to my guns. THEY escalated the rhetoric, and expected me to back down when they should have known I was right. (I would note that the entire quarrel took place before the economic crisis played out, and I was almost a voice in the wilderness warning about the elephant in the room while they sweated a bird flu pandemic!)

Disinformation has been spread - deliberately - on public sites about that whole episode. The folks who scurry around the web defending the Rubicon have very strong emotional ties to their group and won't hesitate to malign ex-members. Facta non verba, which can also be defined as first hand knowledge, is lacking. At best, facts are optional and secondary to the goal of defending the Rubicon.

This blog exists to set that record straight. Anyone who can add truthful information is welcome to join in.

12 March 2010

Public Notice re: Alpha Rubicon

When one joins up at Alpo Rubicon, much is made of what a great place it is. We're promised that the grass is much greener on their side of the street, if only we can measure up and get past probation. In fact, the information there is said to be so good that we must make a pledge to maintain secrecy. I bought the pitch at the time, and joined up.

Of course, it was not disclosed that I might have my posts misconstrued by War, misquoted by War, and when that failed altered by War, or that such would be the basis of War and other moderators insulting me, attacking me and ultimately dismissing me from the site. It was also not disclosed that other members would then go around the internet and lie about me. All of this has proven to be the case.

I saved copies of relevant discussions from the private side of the Rubicon. War's baseless accusations notwithstanding, I did so with no intention of disclosing them to anyone but merely to have a record of what I actually said before War altered my posts. I e-mailed them to myself, then quickly forgot about the whole thing. I thought I had discarded these e-mails long ago. I just found them, and they're all still there! A quick review brings the abuses and subsequent lies back into sharp focus.

Defamatory statements made publicly about me have more than nullified the privacy agreement, and it was not my choice that this happen. Sadly, it did. It was intentional, and I intend to clear the air.

In no less than 96 hours, at my convenience, I will begin to expose the truth - using War's own written words. If War wishes to prevent these revelations, he knows how to reach me. I will accept a full public apology that acknowledges his lies about and abuses of me, and his deliberate alterations of my posts on his forum.

If such is forthcoming I will make no further posts on the matter unless I am lied about again in the future. It must be posted as a comment here, and I must receive identical text from his personal e-mail address. War's minion "Kevin" must also see to it that War's apology is posted in the thread where Kevin himself recently posted Rubicon libel of me. I don't know what's been said about me in the privacy of the Rubicon, and I don't want to, but the apology must be published there as well, and it is up to War to satisfy me that such has actually taken place.

Otherwise...