Was a “Prepper” Targeted in Travelers Rest Burglary?
Looking at the list of items taken I’d say yes. I’d also say that it’s probably an inside job or at least a job put together by people who were aware of what was to be gained. Most thieves will tell you they don’t have that kind of luck and few are ready to move such a large haul on short notice.
From the TR Tribune:
TRAVELERS REST, S.C. – Items valued at nearly $60,000 were stolen from a residence in northern Greenville County on Thursday, say officials with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
Sometime between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., a home located on Ledbetter Road was entered while the owner, who wishes not to be identified, was away.
According to the incident report, jewelery and precious metals valued in excess of $52,000, firearms valued in excess of $6,000, a laptop computer, and a video game system were taken from the home.
The precious metals and firearms are a dead giveaway. I own several guns (three shotguns, two revolvers and my favorite toy a Rossi Ranch Hand in .45 LC) and all together my collection might be worth $2,000 on a good day if I didn’t beat my guns up all to hell. I paid less than $200 for two of my shotguns and got my Ranch Hand on sale at Academy.
“Assault” rifles however run $1,200 average and other “tacticool” weapons favored by new blood preppers are very valuable. I myself am a long time prepper and don’t like such mall ninjary, but to each his own.
As for the precious metals (notice not just gold, but likely silver and platinum) the fact that this person kept them at home means he knows that owning gold on paper is a scam. Good for him. But gold in your house can be stolen. Also while precious metals are a great hedge on inflation that will make you lots of money during inflationary periods it is not actually useful in emergencies. You can find my thoughts on gold as a “prep” in a article I wrote in ’09 called White Gold: Rethinking Wealth in a Post-Collapse Society. In summery I point out that you should sell gold on the spikes and use the profits to buy seeds, chickens, barter goods and other wealth generation instruments.
I’m betting this guy in Travelers Rest wishes he thought of that now. Or that he invested in a safe.
Police say they have no suspects but my crime blogger sense is tingling and says one of his “friends” in the prepping world needed cash (you’d be surprised how many preppers I meet with drug habits) and put this job together. OPSEC people! Or work from home and jealously guard your hoard of treasure like I do.
I Support the Home Invasion Protection Act
I moved to South Carolina because unlike New Jersey, NYC and Connecticut (all the places I lived before) South Carolina respects my right to guard my life and my property with guns, knives, bear spray, walking sticks or any other weapon that I have handy at the time. It’s also a Castle Doctrine state meaning I can repel any intruders from castle Rob with guns akimbo, filing the air with hot lead and resorting to cold steel when I run dry. South Carolina is so awesome that I can hire a “model” three days a week to stand in front of the door to my home office with her legally obtained pistol caliber semi-auto carbine waiting for some idiot to kick down my door.
The other two days during the work week have a volunteer who’s a fan guard the door with a .45:
South Carolina then took steps to be even more awesome by extending Castle Doctrine protection to your car, place of business and even where you’re camping. Could we get more awesome down here?
The answer is yes. A bill was just introduced that makes it so that after I shoot, stab, or bludgeon some home invader (or just watch as one of my home office girls does it) they’re going to do a mandatory 20 years. If they survive that is. Better yet if they get the drop on the Greenville Dragnet staff and kill one of us they can face the death penalty:
COLUMBIA — A new bill up for debate by a South Carolina Senate panel would add a new crime to the list of offenses eligible for the death penalty.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday is set to debate the bill that would create a new crime of home invasion in South Carolina, punishable by a prison sentence of 20 years to life.
The bill would also make someone convicted of committing a murder during a home invasion eligible for a death sentence.
The bill is called the Home Invasion Protection Act.
Clearly, I fully support this legislation.
Now I’m going to admit here that I don’t habitually carry my Roscoe around with me outside the house. Being a rugged self-reliance type I tend to carry a blade or two around, like the Cold Steel Pendleton Hunter and when hiking I might also pack a Roach Belly for emergencies. I do like having the option of packing heat when I need to – like when I’m gardening and the goddamn foxes who the goddamn neighbors keep feeding start eying my goddamn fig tree. I also like living in a state where they understand the 2nd Amendment isn’t about protecting our sporting heritage but about my right to protect my life, my loved ones and my property by any means necessary.
This legislation goes beyond protecting my rights and attacks the people dead set on infringing on those rights with harsh enough penalties that I won’t have to worry about a revenge attack in five years when the guy I send to prison with a galena pill in his leg and a fracture in his skull limps past the parole board and looks me up with his one functioning eye. Another win for the good guys courtesy South Carolina.
My New Red State Piece on Supporting Newt Gingrich
I wrote a piece on the “Gingrich supporters are Rubes” meme Romeny folks love so much. Read it here.
The Dead are Rising in South Carolina!
And almost 1000 of them have voted! Mostly for Democrats. South Carlina Attorney General Alan Wilson did an interview with Neil Cavuto where he made this astonishing admission:
“We just recently learned that there are over 900 individuals died before the election and at least 600 of those individuals died outside window when absentee ballot could be sent. So we know for a fact that there are deceased people whoose identities are being use in South Carolina.”
Here’s the interview:
Thank goodness the Democrats are defending the civil rights of ghouls. After all, why should a little thing like being dead keep you from voting. Celebrate ghouls! Victory is at hand!
Celebrating the Newt Gingrich Victory
I voted for Gingrich today. And of course he won because I’m a winner and everything I touch turns to gold. You’re welcome Newt.
Since this is a family site I can’t actually post videos and pictures of how we’re celebrating, but it’s sort of like this – but more awesome: