Question about your local gunshop

Below I posted about the need for the III Patriots in our community who had the resources to step up and put a check for $22,500 on the table (or a few guys to write a few checks to reach that figure) so we could put out a professional DC Quality Fundraiser to put some real money in III coffers to help finance not only clandestine and covert ops, but to centralize some training for guys who need it but can't afford it, to buy med supplies in bulk and get them to units that need it, et cetera.  My point was simple: But for the deep pockets of John Hancock giving cash to Adams, financing the Revolution would not have happened.  You do remember fat and happy and warm merchants across the Colonies while soldiers lost toes and feet to frostbite in Philadelphia, yes?

No Resistance can operate without cash.  Bad People running resistance movements (and there is an internet filled with examples, none I could find from the political Right) who robbed banks and sold drugs and kidnapped people to finance their resistance.  That is not you or me.  The current Marxists murdering the republic do not have to resort to such means - they send out letters to a network of like-minded Souls and those Souls cut checks for thousands and thousands of dollars.

We do not fundraise professionally, at all.  We need to begin. To begin, we need a small pile of cash.

We need Patriots who have deep pockets because they have had successful businesses, savings they can dip into, and other resources to come up with $22,500 for a professional Fundraiser that "SHOULD" return anywhere from $60K to $600K.  The Patriots who dig deep and pay for this bill will get their money back, that's part of the deal.

But without cash, you do NOT have a resistance. 

I have had one (1) ONE email from a very serious III Patriot who is considering his ability to do it.  This man has been here for years, his bona fides as a III Patriot are not in question.  I get the sense that digging that deeply into his available resources will put a strain on his household.  That is a man willing to answer the call and do Hard Things.  I don't want anyone to strain their finances that severely.

So, when you get a chance, please re-read the original post below - I've linked it here.

Right now I have another important question:  You know your local gunshops, probably the owner, and maybe even a few of the staff.  If we got a good speaker at the local Hilton to give a speech on 2A, how much would you trust your local gun shop owner(s) to help promote the event.  We could/would keep our politics in-line with NRA sensabilities (trust me, your average gunner will write a check to NRA values, they'll turn in a huff and stomp away, calling your momma names if we talk about "our" politics).

If you think your local gun shop(s) would faithfully promote the event and get their customers there - would YOU be willing to take point in your AO and help stay on top of them, then reach out to the Tea Party folks (Yes, they don't like our politics either, but they WILL write fundraising checks to NRA values)?

What say you?  I've added a poll at right, but please don't let that be your only response.  Comment here on the post if you think your locals are too apathetic to really show up.  It is a political off-season, but there is enough 2A in the media that gunners are still running with high passions.

Oh - if you have an ethical hiccup about toning down our political rhetoric for fundraising - I don't.  The purpose of the fundraising is 2A and Restoration of Liberty.  That is an honest message and it will be presented as such, and donations will be spent as such.  I have no problems parsing my words, and I never tell a lie. 

What say you?

Kerodin
III

III Citadel Blog & Forum

OK folks - it is time for a change regarding the Citadel Blog & Forum.

The Forum is going on hold for a while.

The Blog is going Private.  That means if you are an Applicant, a Member (an Approved Applicant), or a III Arms Founder you may apply for access to the Citadel Blog (iiicitadel.blogspot.com) and they will be granted access.

Not a paid applicant, an approved resident, a III Arms Founder, no access.  This is our community.  We are receiving requests for television deals, MSM news articles, and they simply don't need to know anything more than we choose to make available.

I have mentioned for quite a while that there is a LOT of activity taking place under the radar regarding the Citadel.  Much of that activity is not yet suitable for public consumption.  If you are granted access to the Citadel Blog, it is with the Gentleman's Agreement that what happens in the Citadel World, stays in the Citadel World.

If you have been watching some of the informal polls on the right side of my blog, you know we have entrepreneurs, medical professionals, pilots, and blue collar folks all moving toward Benewah.  You know that H and I are arriving in the very near future to get our Studio up and running.  We've told you several families are currently in various stages of moving home, hearth & business to the county.

It is time that we impose strict information controls on the details of what is happening under the hood.  Our intent is to bring jobs and goodness to our new home, and the media and the blogosphere have not been kind to our future neighbors.

Kerodin
III

Why we need a professional fundraiser - we need more people

The Greeks and Romans had no standing armies, yet they defended themselves. The Greeks by their laws, and the Romans by the spirit of their people, took care to put into the hands of their rulers no such engine of oppression as a standing army. Their system was to make every man a soldier and oblige him to repair to the standard of his country whenever that was reared. This made them invincible; and the same remedy will make us so.

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

Both quotes are Mister Jefferson, of course.  How we have failed his counsel.  Shame.

The picture above is our Standing Army of which we were warned.  Mister Jefferson may have had issues with our current .mil, but given the nature of the world today and the ability to kill every man, woman and child on the planet with bombs and chemicals and germs, I think he'd tweak .mil - but it wouldn't go anywhere.

However, I am convinced the image above that shows the President walking through a selection of high-ranking LEO who dutifully salute would undeniably be defined as Mister Jefferson's Standing Army.  Remember these words from Candidate Obama: We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

Why am I laying so much groundwork - I usually jump right into the meat of my post.  This one deserves the context above.  Now we'll get to the meat.  I don't think any Patriot disagrees that LEO has become Mister Jefferson's Standing Army.  I have written posts several times that circled the issue of ending America's problems in short order.  I wrote one below - 1 week to Rightful Liberty.  I have not, yet, published a Field Manual about how to defeat American Marxists and reclaim Liberty - which by the way would take less than a week.  I asked an ally I trust if it was time to publish it.  He waved me off, and I listened.

But it is time for me to restate a few obvious realities that EVERY Patriot should have burned into their strategic brains by now.

You defeat a violent enemy by destroying his physical ability to inflict damage or by convincing him to stop fighting.  Some people who like to think they are the smartest people in the room like to show how big their brains are by calling this "4GW" when in reality this is how men have fought - like - forever.  Anyway...

When you have Enemies who refuse to come to the field of battle and look you in the eye to impose their will upon you, they will send mercenaries (Paid Fighters) and true believers to punch or shoot you on their behalf,  OK - before you can get to the shot-caller, you have to deal with the immediate threat.

In America, we now have that Standing Army.  They are the ones who will be punching and shooting you.  Those are the ones already punching and shooting you.

Think they are not an army?

You can't argue with numbers:

Right now there are more than 100,000 Federal LEO with badges, guns and powers of arrest.  Source.

Right now there are more than 765,000 state/local LEO with badges, guns and powers of arrest.  Source. 

These numbers are a bit low, as the last official counting was 2008.

Curious about how many different LEO agencies are in your state?  Source.

How many III are in your AO?

You do not have enough III.  When I ask for donations so we can do a serious, professional fundraiser - this is why.  Liberty is dead unless you and I kill Evil.  We need more People.

Source of the below data: here.

City	State	Population	ALL LEO	LEO w/Guns
Albuquerque	New Mexico	545,389	1,441	1,055
Anaheim	California	338,492	548	389
Anchorage	Alaska	290,334	526	373
Arlington	Texas	383,715	817	629
Atlanta	Georgia	536,472	1,973	1,612
Aurora	Colorado	323,483	765	644
Austin	Texas	796,310	2,141	1,605
Bakersfield	California	333,458	469	349
Baltimore	Maryland	639,929	3,503	2,960
Baton Rouge	Louisiana	226,001	832	728
Birmingham	Alabama	231,009	1,163	858
Boise	Idaho	205,902	364	296
Boston	Massachusetts	644,064	2,680	2,094
Buffalo	New York	265,128	918	768
Chandler	Arizona	241,826	478	320
Charlotte-Mecklenburg	North Carolina	797,733	2,187	1,696
Chesapeake	Virginia	225,627	484	365
Chicago	Illinois	2,833,649	13,318	12,515
Chula Vista	California	229,060	312	230
Cincinnati	Ohio	332,365	1,214	1,090
Cleveland	Ohio	426,042	1,805	1,559
Colorado Springs	Colorado	397,886	894	617
Corpus Christi	Texas	287,559	657	445
Dallas	Texas	1,306,775	4,241	3,666
Denver	Colorado	607,051	1,705	1,470
Detroit	Michigan	899,447	3,210	2,890
Durham	North Carolina	233,790	598	485
El Paso	Texas	624,322	1,279	1,078
Fayetteville	North Carolina	208,263	518	366
Fort Wayne	Indiana	257,009	493	458
Fort Worth	Texas	746,433	1,918	1,505
Fresno	California	484,734	1,007	793
Garland	Texas	221,921	448	323
Gilbert	Arizona	215,215	320	214
Glendale	Arizona	245,387	553	408
Greensboro	North Carolina	257,237	746	641
Henderson	Nevada	264,280	550	346
Hialeah	Florida	217,995	401	342
Honolulu	Hawaii	950,268	2,554	2,066
Houston	Texas	2,280,859	7,054	5,351
Indianapolis	Indiana	825,072	1,913	1,648
Irvine	California	217,193	289	200
Irving	Texas	206,308	503	339
Jacksonville	Florida	822,414	3,310	1,751
Jersey City	New Jersey	244,201	984	831
Kansas City	Missouri	483,191	1,993	1,404
Laredo	Texas	230,674	501	419
Las Vegas Metro Police	Nevada	1,416,401	5,130	2,696
Lexington	Kentucky	300,069	623	544
Lincoln	Nebraska	259,672	410	325
Long Beach	California	462,267	1,252	889
Los Angeles	California	3,841,707	12,754	9,858
Louisville Metro	Kentucky	637,428	1,379	1,211
Lubbock	Texas	227,867	513	382
Madison	Wisconsin	238,224	548	443
Memphis	Tennessee	673,650	2,775	2,335
Mesa	Arizona	452,725	1,186	776
Miami	Florida	440,482	1,453	1,098
Milwaukee	Wisconsin	605,921	2,663	1,936
Minneapolis	Minnesota	385,704	1,009	880
Mobile	Alabama	255,178	766	523
Nashville	Tennessee	616,366	1,584	1,289
New Orleans	Louisiana	356,317	1,715	1,452
New York	New York	8,336,002	50,068	34,817
Newark	New Jersey	280,379	1,666	1,308
Norfolk	Virginia	234,100	842	759
North Las Vegas	Nevada	238,004	468	308
Oakland	California	409,723	935	674
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	571,865	1,254	1,015
Omaha	Nebraska	464,628	918	789
Orlando	Florida	240,222	939	719
Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1,558,378	7,532	6,734
Phoenix	Arizona	1,544,427	4,198	3,146
Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	312,737	954	887
Plano	Texas	278,244	495	332
Portland	Oregon	564,392	1,186	957
Raleigh	North Carolina	419,700	883	770
Reno	Nevada	222,242	392	323
Riverside	California	301,859	512	361
Sacramento	California	472,469	1,019	696
San Antonio	Texas	1,392,198	2,949	2,303
San Diego	California	1,313,433	2,516	1,863
San Francisco	California	818,594	2,629	2,250
San Jose	California	970,252	1,624	1,259
Santa Ana	California	340,240	623	353
Savannah-Chatham Metro	Georgia	210,744	808	579
Scottsdale	Arizona	230,496	676	423
Seattle	Washington	620,195	1,861	1,344
St. Louis	Missouri	355,151	1,920	1,363
St. Paul	Minnesota	281,166	773	592
St. Petersburg	Florida	243,666	774	538
Stockton	California	292,047	532	342
Tampa	Florida	347,830	1,245	952
Toledo	Ohio	315,647	677	566
Tucson	Arizona	527,107	1,295	974
Tulsa	Oklahoma	393,412	822	736
Virginia Beach	Virginia	435,873	938	775
Washington	District Of Columbia	601,723	4,477	3,945
Wichita	Kansas	376,880	802	630
Winston-Salem	North Carolina	232,928	688	528

III Arms 1911 Slide

Just a reminder as you look at that 1911 slide above cut by Jim Miller at III Arms...

...we get the work done.

When we set out to accomplish tasks for Liberty, we get them done.

Look at the post below, please.  We need some of our Patriots who are able to dig deep to help us get an important task accomplished.

Only one III Patriot has replied thus far.

One III Patriot to carry all of that weight.

He should not be alone.  He should not have to be left to carry this on his own.

I know a few of your can help by pitching in $5K or $10K each.  This Patriot is looking at carrying the weight all by himself.  You should help him carry the load.  Holly and I will do all of the labor.

We will hang together...or separately.

Kerodin
III

...quit peeing like a puppy...

 

How do we do it?  The Washington DC Model - which is 100% effective, by the way - is to reach out with a fear letter or a tear letter (sad letter) and ask for donations so they can work against the Evil that threatens the very existence of America.  Babies will starve to death if they don't donate today.  The Evil D's or R's (depending who writes the letter) will win the next election if you don't send $1000 right away and if they get power we are all in for generations of oppression. 

I am bone-weary tired of spinning wheels and having no resources to get Patriot Events going. Every time we have asked for donations to help with this task or that project, we have had outstanding support.  But let's face it, the economy in beating us all!  We have to get some of our heavy hitters in the game.

Do we try that? Do I slip on a Republican coat and write a fundraising letter invoking 2A, the evil UN, the diabolical Valerie Jarret (Darth Vader) and how she ritually skins puppies alive and is coming for gun owners next?  It will coincide nicely, by the way, with a III Arms ad.  I have a legitimate 527 that can accept such funds immediately.  I can draft such a letter, and my wife knows the people to whom such a letter should be addressed in the DC Metro area.  We've done the Embassy/cocktail party circuit ad nauseum.  I'd have to make the 527 website a bit more mainstream. It'll take me about 2 days -- we have buzzwords all over that site that scare mainstream voters who send mainstream checks.  We'd have to camo-up and look mainstream Republican.  Vomit later, this is hardcore politics.

We could use the old Communist standbys -- robbing banks and citizens for the good of the Revolution.  We could all go out hunting drug dealers; they have an intel/security/E&E protocol that will make the average graduate from the Farm humbled.  We could Dohrn a college and become a professor, but that is not my style, and I assume it is not yours, either.

Here's what I propose:  A proper political fundraiser in the DC Metro with a chance to return 6 figures in donations has to reach out to 25,000 serious 2A Republicans.  You can see I've done this before. 

The "Right" way to do it: You first appeal to the emotion of the constituent through the content of the letter.  This is something Holly and I are good at doing.  The second essential element is to target the proper group of Republicans.  Say what you will, but the NRA/JPFO & GOA Republicans care more about 2A issues than anyone on the field in Washington, except for the Liberty Movement.  Since we are sending to NRA Republicans while wearing Republican cloaks, this makes sense.  Therefore buying the proper list of politically active, Gun-owning NRA Republicans is essential.

Targeted Ad Lists are not cheap. 

Next, the proper way to send a proper fundraising letter -- and where most amateurs go off the rails -- is by sending an emotionally uninspired letter on plain paper with standard #10 envelopes.  That is the kiss of death. You want your recipient to feel special from the moment he finds your envelope in his stack of daily mail -- this means quality linen envelopes.  That will get you pass the circular file and get your envelope opened. 

Then your secret weapon is revealed: Your fine linen envelope is matched with a fine linen piece of letter paper, folded just so, and then sealed with wax and a wax seal that say "2A" or something equally patriotic.  This is a personal touch that simply can not be duplicated.  You have already convinced the reader that you consider him to be special, an essential warrior in this fight for 2A and Liberty and the republic.

Then he reads your entreaty to send assistance in the hand addressed return envelope

He is not sending a check or credit card number -- he is helping to save the republic from the existential threat that is the axis of evil: Pelosi, Reid, Obama, Jarrett, Michelle, Hillary, et al.

Final cost: Postage ain't cheap -- round up to $.50 per piece.  But since we aren't delivering to every household on a route or zip code, savings will be minimal.  We'll get a discount in some cases.
Paper, envelopes, stamp, wax and list will run upward of $10K.  And because of the personal time involved in hand stuffing, sealing with wax, et cetera, you can't expect everything to fly out the door in a matter of days.  Holly and I will invest the labor.  We will have time as soon as we get to Idaho and the construction guys are doing their thing on the Studio.  It'll take my guy in DC a week or so to cultivate the perfect mailing list, get paper ordered and delivered - the timing works if you guys say Go.

The cost of getting this done is not cheap.  It is not going to get done by asking III Patriots to send in $5 and $10.  Make no mistake - the $5s & $10s are essential, but they will not get it done.

It is going to take some of you serious Patriots with personal businesses and resources digging deep, in addition to the $5 and $10 requests.  It is going to take you guys that own your businesses, who have retired, who live a lifestyle that is above the average III Patriot to get this done.  It is that simple.

The Numbers: The potential RoI is a number no professional fundraising group will put out there, because they want to work again and if things go sideways, they eat it.  But I will go there because I am not working for anyone but you.  I am not running a K Street consulting firm.  If we send to 25,000 DC Metro NRA Republicans and strike their emotional buttons, we are looking at well into the $200k-$300K ($600,000 is a more realistic RoI, based on a mere average of $24 donation per respondent) minimal range of RoI based on typical Republican math formulas.  That is money in the III coffers that is with a capitalization of $22,500 and with me and Holly doing the labor free.  A DC Consulting firm would not touch this contract for less than $100K, just as a frame of reference.  In the world of DC politics, we are playing way below the minor leagues.

Why would Holly and I agree to invest what is going to turn into literally 250 hours of monotonous labor?  I think we have proven our bona fides.  Our life is Idaho.  The Citadel concept needs merely 3500 families to be a raging success,  to give jobs to every resident of Benewah County and to have our families safe.  If that means we stuff envelopes, we will stuff envelopes.

I have met several of you III Patriot who can do this.  With the push of a button you could buy everything we need to reach out professionally and personally to 25,000 potential allies.

Incentive: I'll make a deal with you - if we hit our $22,500 goal and ship our mailing,  every person, whether you donate $5 or $5,000 will get your investment back. 

Incentive two:  If you are THAT III Patriot who is able to underwrite this project with the press of a button - if you donate the $22,500 by hitting the PayPal Button, not only will you receive your investment back as soon as contributions match your donations (Double your money) I bet Jim Miller would build you a One-of-a-kind MM-15

Here's the button - make it happen, folks.  We simply are not putting any cash away for gear or ops.  Our Enemies have a plan, and they are implementing it right now.

Kerodin
III

Maxpedition and more

 

I only own one Maxpedition pack, it is he Gearslinger Kodiak pictured.  For short capers I strongly prefer a sling pack to a ruck/backpack.

 

I have used this bag pretty hard, and it has held-up very well.  When Holly and I get set up in Idaho we are going to ramp IIIGear back up to feed some of our Patriot activities.  Question 1) Maxpedition charges $168 retail for the Kodiak.  Is this line of gear worth offering?  It is not the cheapest gear on the market, but it is quality.  They have a design team that is smart and fits pockets and molle loops in nooks and crannies, while keeping a respectable and competitive footprint.  But all IIIGear, from flags to shirts to patches and even branded knives is all morale and cohesion.  IIIGear is not a revenue source for serious Guerrilla Operations.

 

Question 2) This is important and something I have been struggling with for a while, and I need bigger brains than mine on it.  As you know, none of us involved in IIIGear, III Arms, III Citadel take a salary.  Not a dime.  I disclosed back in the spring that as Holly and I travelled the country teaching CQB, that would be my personal income, because we have shut down our primary business.  The Studio is also going to be my paycheck, but as a III business, a percentage will go into the Citadel account.  But ask anyone in the community who offers training - we usually dip into our own pockets during a class,

Here is the important conversation that I have raised a few times and need a solution,

Running a counter-revolution is not cheap. It never was.  Our Founders and Framers came out of pocket and ended up poor, many of them.  They dedicated entire businesses to funding the Patriots.  Securing gear, from NV gear to packs to fuel to vehicles that have been sanitized and can't be traced back to the Operator, to comms, to weapons and ammo and safehouses, and on and on and on - it takes money.  It takes WAY more money than will EVER be raised selling IIIGear or III Arms keyrings. III Arms holds the most promise for being a money-maker, but it was created not to run covert or clandestine ops or to fund Guerrilla Operations.  It was created to build a community, and that is what it is doing.  And believe me, Guerrillas who try to split time between family and Guerrilla work and cubicles to pay the bills are NOT going to win this struggle for Liberty.

I'm not asking you to donate any money to the 527.  I'm not asking you to skip a mortgage payment and to get your neighbor to do the same.  I'm simply telling you the simple and hard truth - unless the III Patriots begin to grease the operational wheels with real cashflow, there will be no serious resistance.

This post evolved into two separate posts - the next one is the meat - coming soon.

Kerodin
III