News Commentary

The Pentagon Throws a Fit and Sticks Out its Tongue

"Even if the so-called sequestration takes place, the Pentagon will still get more money than they did in 2012! In other words, Panetta is playing sore loser because rather than getting X more dollars than last year, he is getting Y more dollars. To drive home my point, he is threatening a furlough even though he has more money in his budget in 2013 than the immediate previous year. What a loon. To the Pentagon’s melodramatic protests, I say this: '800,000 people furloughed? Awesome. That is a great first step. Just fire them. Bring all the troops home. End the wars. Follow the Constitution.'" Continue reading →

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Illegal Drugs: The great experiment

"Decriminalising consumption does nothing to break the grip of gangsters over the drug business. For that to happen, production and distribution also need to be legalised. That is why the experiment under way in the United States is so important. Colorado and Washington now have the chance to create a legal but regulated market in marijuana, similar to those for tobacco or alcohol. One immediate consequence is that the United States will be in breach of the UN Convention. Good. It should now join Latin American governments in an effort to reform that outdated document to allow signatories room to experiment. Imposing a failed policy on everybody benefits nobody." Continue reading →

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Drones, Assassinations, and the Drug War

"The Chinese military recently planned to assassinate by drone a suspected drug lord hiding out in Myanmar who was accused of having murdered 13 Chinese soldiers. While Chinese authorities ultimately decided not to carry out the assassination and ended up capturing the guy and having a court sentence him to death, the episode clearly points in the direction that both the Chinese communist regime and the U.S. government are taking their respective countries. After all, China could justify the assassination of the suspected drug lord in the same way that the U.S. government justifies the assassination of suspected terrorists." Continue reading →

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Bernanke’s Plan…If He Identifies Bubbles

"So what's Bernanke's plan, should one of these bubbles occur? Throw some bureaucrats at it first! Surely he means some new goofy laws, but can Bernanke also mean price controls? He has said that: 'The achievement of price stability must not and will not be jeopardized…I am also confident that, when the time comes, the Fed will act to ensure that inflation remains firmly under control.' The next step that governments usually take to give the illusion that 'inflation remains firmly under control' is to enact price controls. Will TSA agents be sent into out of the airports and into the streets to make sure that the price of tomatoes aren't 'too high'?" Continue reading →

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Detlev Schlichter: Bubble trouble: Is there an end to endless quantitative easing?

"Any pretence of the ‘independence’ of central bankers has been unceremoniously dumped in Japan. Ministers take part in central bank meetings and give joint statements with central bank governors afterwards. New Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made it very clear what he wants the central bank to do (print more money faster, devalue the Yen, create inflation) and to that end he is looking for a new central bank governor. Of course, only accredited ‘doves’ need apply. A few days ago, Mr. Abe also spelled out what skill-set he is really looking for: good marketing skills. Salesmanship." Continue reading →

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The Herd: Wrong About Alaska, Wrong About Gold

"My message lately has been very simple: buy low. And do it now. The essential formula for investing, as you know, is to buy low and sell high. So easy to say, so hard to do. It takes real mettle to be a successful contrarian, and it's precisely because so many investors are so nervous about our market today that it's a buyer's market. Let me digress for a crucial, relevant sliver of history." Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff: Gold Pullback Explained

"Reports of the death of the gold bull market have been greatly exaggerated. In the global currency war the biggest loser wins. However, the real winner will be gold. The race to debase means no fiat currency is safe. Savers are assured of being collateral damage unless they protect their purchasing power with a monetary asset central banks cannot print." Continue reading →

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NYC’s Plan To Round Up Mentally Ill People Who Are Not Taking Court-Ordered Medication

"The NYPD is taking a more proactive approach to trying to prevent future crimes by people who are not receiving court-ordered mental health treatment. The city has come up with a list of 25 such individuals and, if found, they will be forced to receive treatment. Judge Andrew Napolitano weighed in on the city’s plan this morning on Fox and Friends, arguing that it is not the job of police to try to predict who might commit a crime based on how they are acting." Continue reading →

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The World Goes to Monetary War

"What does it all mean? Essentially that, just as in the 1930s during the Great Depression, everybody is in open protectionist confrontation against everybody else. Back then the 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policies started with the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. This time responsibility for triggering the devaluation race in the developed world is more widespread but the objective is similar to that of tariff policy in the 1930s." Continue reading →

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You Should Be Able to “Dear John” The State

"Meet Ray. We'll call Ray a conscientious objector, because he acts out of conscience. People confine this term to those who object to military service. But why do those persons object? A conscientious objector is someone who wants the right to divorce a service provider or institution. He is disgusted by what is done in his name under the rubric of democracy, appalled at what is done with the money extracted from him in taxes. He wants to terminate his support. You may think Ray is noble until I tell you to what he objected: State schooling, otherwise known as 'public schools.'" Continue reading →

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