News Commentary

Ron Paul: The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties

"'What do you expect when you target the President?' This is what an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent allegedly said to the head of a conservative organization that was being audited after calling for the impeachment of then-President Clinton. Recent revelations that IRS agents gave 'special scrutiny' to organizations opposed to the current administration's policies suggest that many in the IRS still believe harassing the president's opponents is part of their job. As troubling as these recent reports are, it would be a grave mistake to think that IRS harassment of opponents of the incumbent president is a modern, or a partisan, phenomenon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties

How long can this rally last?

"Is today’s rally in stocks something you can count on and invest in with profitable results? Or is it likely to end soon — most likely, just as you put YOUR money on the table? Among the thousands of investors flocking to Las Vegas for the Money Show this week — in workshops, during cocktails and around the hotel’s gambling tables — this is the big question being asked over and over again. It’s the same question debated on Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, and in the halls of big Wall Street firms. Everyone wants to know. Many venture to guess. But we do know that most stocks are going up for all the wrong reasons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow long can this rally last?

Suddenly, Banks Are Victims In Justice Department’s S&P Lawsuit

"Justice is not suing Warren Buffett's Moody's ratings service, even though Moody's rated many of these same deals, often with identical ratings. Are we supposed to believe that Moody's never suggested to anyone that it was independent and objective? Whether Team Obama would ever dare to sue a company in which St. Warren is invested, you don't have to be a cynic to wonder if the feds will first wait and see whether Moody's downgrades U.S. Treasury debt the way S&P did in 2011. The truth is that the damage occurred because the same government that's now suing S&P required financial institutions to use the ratings issued by S&P and the other raters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuddenly, Banks Are Victims In Justice Department’s S&P Lawsuit

Michael Scheuer: As scandals deepen, Obama and Republicans will intervene in Syria

"Obama’s diversionary campaign — obscure impeachable offenses by launching an unnecessary war — will be abetted by Senators McCain, Graham, Lieberman, and dozens of other U.S. Senators and Congressman intent on war with Syria. Obama will use these useful idiots to convince the American people of three bipartisan lies: that (a) genuine U.S. interests are at risk in Syria; (b) Americans 'owe' the Syrian people U.S. dollars and blood to stop their suffering in a war they started; and that (c) Americans 'must' expend their dollars and kids to staunch the anarchy spreading in the Levant in order to protect our 'loyal and indispensable ally Israel.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Scheuer: As scandals deepen, Obama and Republicans will intervene in Syria

Doug Casey: Conspiracies, Gold and the Continuing ‘Greater Depression’

"On a personal level, try to produce more than you consume. Keep your savings in gold, not in currencies. Diversify internationally because your biggest risks today are political, not market risks, not investment risks. The investment risks today are huge because with governments all over the world creating trillions in new currency units they've driven stock markets to what I think are unsustainable levels. They've driven the bond markets to become the biggest bubble in world history. The bond markets are in a bigger bubble now than tech stocks were in the year 2000 or real estate was in the year 2007. Think like a speculator, because they're going to ignite lots more bubbles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoug Casey: Conspiracies, Gold and the Continuing ‘Greater Depression’

Paul Craig Roberts: Assault On Gold Update

"Who has 16 million ounces of gold? At the beginning gold price that day of about $1,550, that comes to $24,800,000,000. Who has that kind of money? What happens when 500 tons of gold sales are dumped on the market at one time or on one day? Correct, it drives the price down. Investors who want to get out of large positions would spread sales out over time so as not to lower their sales proceeds. The sale took gold down by about $73 per ounce. That means the seller or sellers lost up to $73 dollars 16 million times, or $1,168,000,000. Who can afford to lose that kind of money? Only a central bank that can print it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Assault On Gold Update

IRS Scandal: And They Shall Eat Their Own …

"These three scandals in particular represent the power of what we often call the Internet Reformation. While scandals have always beset Washington, the breathtaking rapidity with which these blossomed and expanded may be indicative of how modern communication undermines damage control and resists minimization. And, yes, I would tend to believe the third reason – the power of the Internet itself – is driving the rapidity and evolution of these scandals. It is not enough anymore to claim executive privilege while attempting to conceal abuses of political privilege." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Scandal: And They Shall Eat Their Own …

Bill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

"'Normal' is what you get when you don't experiment. So, how can you get to 'normal' from a 'Great Experiment?' We will leave that for the philosophers of tomorrow. Today, we'll merely suggest that maybe this economy isn't so normal. What's normal about an economy where the major financial institutions can borrow money at zero real cost? What's normal about an economy in which people who have run their businesses so recklessly that they had to be bailed out by the government are still running their businesses...and can now borrow at lower rates than good businesses?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: This is not a normal economy at all

From the IRS to the EPA?

"Government agencies like the EPA typically waive so-called Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request fees for groups disseminating information for public benefit, but it's up to the agency to decide whether a fee-waiver is justified. At the EPA, fees were waived for liberal environmental groups like Greenpeace and EarthJustice almost always. Meanwhile, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market think tank, 'had its requests denied 93 percent of the time. Most were denied because the agency said CEI 'failed to demonstrate that the release of the information requested significantly increases the public understanding of government operations or activities.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrom the IRS to the EPA?

Benghazi: Who Cares?

"In Libya, the media has gotten side tracked on a potentially sensational Obama administration cover up—no matter how minor—instead of asking the more important questions: 'Would U.S. diplomats have been killed if the United States had not overthrown Muammar Gaddafi and destabilized Libya?' or 'Did the U.S. military intervention destabilize the entire region by unleashing Gaddafi’s huge weapon stocks and fighters into places like Mali?' Bloodthirsty Republicans, such as John McCain and Lindsay Graham, don’t want to ask these questions, because it would undermine the rationale for their zealous advocacy of an ill-advised American intervention in Libya." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBenghazi: Who Cares?