King Putt Nominates Gun Grabbing Judge, Quelle Surprise!

I stole the quelle surprise line from Yves at naked capitalism. More on naked capitalism in a week or two.

CNBC calls nominee "centrist." Carly Fiorina calls bullshit on live television and says he is the most liberal of the three potential picks.

Reading a lot about Obama's Supreme Court nominee today, Merrick Garland. Now waiting to hear King Putt introduce the pick on television.. Chief Justice on the D.C. circuit court of appeals.

He is a statist technician. A guy who would seek to expand federal power.

Merrick Garland is another crafty Washington insider and of course- he has the mandatory Harvard indoctrination. (His undergrad degree was the highly sought after Sociology degree) They are calling him a moderate. At first blush he looks moderate but the truth is- he is a gun grabber and wants to revisit the 2nd amendment and overturn our Constitutional right to bear arms.

http://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/432716/moderates-are-not-so-moderate-merrick-garland

Mass Appeal and the No Bullshit Donald Trump- The Sunday Collage

Been awhile since I've been here.

I cannot tell you how disillusioned I've become watching the eternal campaign season and knowing that we still have 8 months of this. We have a socialist, a criminal, and an ego-maniac running for the Presidency. It appears we are going to get one of these people in the White House. God help us.

I have to take you back here, just a little bit, to explain a couple of truths about politics as explained to me by my college professors. The most relevant lesson here is that politicians try to cast the widest net while appealing to the largest voting block imaginable. Today's politician has that lesson down to a science. They know that opinions and drawn lines will cost them votes and campaign support. So today's career politicians are some of the biggest pussies around. They will drone on for hours- carefully watching every word they utter- telling voters what they think they want to hear. They are professional salesmen and liars. Obama has those nuances down to a science. Obama came off like this moderate, funny guy while gathering votes in both campaign cycles. Once in office we saw who he really is. A lazy, controlling far leftist who supports big money in industries like banking and health care. He's a war monger and a statist. In short, President Obama is the political science 101, cookie cutter politician. Had he not bailed out the banks and caused this inflationary, giant balloon economy- he would be an unmitigated disaster. As it stands, jumping in bed with the bankers has probably helped his image and his "legacy," It didn't help the country- but it helped him. We know where his priorities lie.

I heard another name for Obama just the other day that made me chuckle. King Putt.

So what is it about Donald Trump that has such mass appeal?

Oh sure people are dis-illusioned with our system. The system doesn't care about "we the people." It cares about big money and special interests. Of course it is corrupt. Congressmen all over the United States get elected and walk out as lobbyists (read paid off) or as millionaires. They get nice little loans here and there, their kids get college admissions and nice jobs. (think Chelsea Clinton's first job making 600k a year and doing nothing,)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/06/13/chelsea-clinton-in-first-journalistic-gig-paid-600000-by-nbc/

So the system is corrupt. The political process is corrupt. We desperately need campaign reform and term limits but we can't make it happen and then all of a sudden, Donald Trump arrives.

Trump is already a billionaire. He doesn't need to kiss anybody's ass for money. He doesn't even need to choose his words carefully. He is the political science 101 anti-christ. He just tells it the way it is- no dancing around, no hedging bets, no convenient little lies like Hillary or Cruz might use.

In short, Trump doesn't have to play by established rules. It gives him a huge advantage not just over his opponents but even the Republican Party can't find a way to control or rein him in. He doesn't need their advice or their support.

That's money. And money my friends- buys a lot of freedom and free speech.

For the first time in decades- we have a candidate who tells it like it is. Lost jobs, immigration, the leftist "common core" mediocre teaching methods. Trump doesn't mince words- he just lays it out. And that pisses off the left. The left is so used to controlling the conversation and the dialogue that they don't know how to stop Trump either. All that blunt truth telling about their failed programs and policies just pisses them off.

It should.

Yesterday, Trump told it like it is about the debates. He is sick of them. He is sick of regurgitating the same old information over and over again while the only beneficiaries are the networks and their ratings. Trump also received the endorsement of my favorite guy, Ben Carson. Carson is an all around nice guy, level headed, boring, and un-electable.

The mass appeal of Donald Trump is that he is a "take no prisoners, spew no bullshit" sort of guy. For millions of Americans- this is the first time we've seen someone like this in our lifetimes.

What kind of leader might he be? Well we know Trump doesn't have to feed at the special interest trough, He's not looking for handouts or speaking engagements. He doesn't need the endorsement of any moneyed interests or party support. That's not a bad place to start. Given the alternatives, Trump looks like a no brainer. You actually get the feeling he will get things done. Imagine the entertainment value! This could actually be fun to watch.

Mike Pompeo, Kansas Rep, Receives Tongue Lashing From Yours Truly

I have to quit watching television. Some years ago...in a land not so far away...

The founding fathers came up with this document called the Constitution with an accompanying document called the Bill of Rights. I think it's safe to say the documents came about as a result of all of the human history which pre-dated it's origin including the Magna Carta and it's material demise. Indeed, the Constitution and Revolutionary War came about as a result of a King still rendering taxes on those which had fled his rule.

Today while watching CNBC, I witnessed a Kansas Representative, Mike Pompeo, on national television lecturing those watching on why Apple had no right to impede the FBI and the federal governments' never ending intrusions into our lives. You see, folks like Pompeo don't get it. They don't understand that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are the law of the land. In their minds, Congressmen can simply ignore the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It's as though it doesn't apply to them and they are free of those constraints.

Moreover, as they go about their business of ignoring inconvenient laws they install freedom stripping laws in their place- laws like the Patriot Act.

So today's speech on CNBC consisted of Pompeo telling the uninformed, small fry in America why it was acceptable to suspend the 4th amendment. You know that amendment, the one which states we will be from free from unlawful search and seizure without due process.

Of course, the CNBC interviewers never bring up the 4th amendment nor did Representative Pompeo. It's an inconvenient fact or truth in America- that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were taught to all of us. In fact, learning about the Constitution is still a part of becoming a citizen. I guess everyone has forgotten it or maybe they think, the Constitution has an expiration date. The ironic part, the part that always makes me shake my head- is when I observe elected Congressmen who swear an oath to protect the Constitution and then set about the task of engineering laws- which subsequently violate it.

You did a helluva job today Mike.

So after listening to Pompeo rant about why Apple has no business hindering the Federal government in it's quest to search and seize data from our phones- I got a little miffed. I looked up Pompeo's email. Here's what happened.

Pompeo has a website which attempts to restrict email from anyone other than his "constituents." I suppose Congressmen can do this and provide any number of excuses for limiting access. I am kind of ok with that if you are a state legislator- only working on state laws which effect Kansas residents.
However, when you are elected to Congress- the rules change. Now you are originating and voting on legislation which effects all of us. You are also making appearances on national television and bloviating to the bourgeoisie by telling us how we should think. That level of ego and arrogance is just one of the many reasons why Congress has the worst approval rate in history.

So I had to tell one lie. I said I lived in Wichita and I grabbed a zipcode and I wrote Mr. Pompeo an email. In it, I outlined the 4th amendment and I also mentioned the cowardly nature of an email filter which would protect a Kansas legislator from emails from a concerned Idaho resident- concerned because Pompeo clearly forgot about the Constitution while riding high for the FBI.

So here's your constitutional refresher Mike, just in case you have forgotten what it says.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

So maybe Mike, the cops can just get a search warrant like they HAVE always had to do.

I imagined as a Police Chief that it would have been nice to limit all the tourists from contacting me and rendering their opinions over the years. "I'm sorry ma'am you are from the Bay Area and do not pay property taxes here. I am so busy that I only have enough time to talk to local residents" as I handed her back her California driver's license.

It's time people. It's time to take responsibility for these ego maniacs we keep electing and it's time to hold their feet to the fire.

Or it's not. Perhaps we should just surrender the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and let these people render it useless.

I swore to uphold the Constitution once. I don't remember that oath having an expiration date but maybe it did. Or maybe guys like Mike just don't take oaths anymore. Maybe one day the press can ask the appropriate questions- ya know if it dawns on them- and maybe one day I'll get to hear an appropriate answer. Gawd it's mind numbing.

Politics done right, is just civil compromise. Done wrong, it's deceitful, harmful propaganda. It would be nice to see it done right again.

Larry Summers, Banker Shill, Suggests Eliminating the 100 Dollar Bill

With an honorable mention to Ernest Hemingway for a proprietary concept- I must admit that thirty years seems like a long time. For me, it was 1986.

Some 30 years ago, my best friend who is now deceased, explained to me how he believed that bankers controlled the United States and he said that one day- bankers would desperately try to eliminate cash altogether. Whoever controls the money supply controls commerce and people he explained. Ultimately he said, banker leverage would far exceed the claims on cash in the event of a massive bank run. That would cause a cataclysmic bank disaster not unlike the one that unfolded in 2008. Given their choice, bankers would love to force everyone onto a credit card where the banking industry and government could monitor every transaction, eliminate cash transactions that avoid scrutiny and taxes, skim every transaction, and shut off your card whenever government deemed fit to do so. (We are seeing this with passports right now) In addition, electronic currency would allow banks to operate with impunity. There is no end to counterfeiting and leverage when bankers can convert a tangible form of money into largely intangible, electronic digits. Think about that. No more bank runs. Just add a few zeroes to your card. In an odd way, the currency that bankers created has become a heavy chain and burden around their necks.

I thought Craig was nuts at first but he was simply ahead of his time. And like most people who can see the future- Craig and his family were ultimately ridiculed. When you arrive first with a proprietary idea which speaks truth to power- ridicule, harassment, and prosecution will surely follow and it did.

Craig's father ultimately went to prison for engaging in the the same balance sheet tomfoolery that banks have been engaging in for ever. They called it bank fraud. When stealing money it seems, bankers don't like any competition.

So when I saw a CNN piece about Harvard educated and would be Federal Reserve chair, Larry Summers, suggesting the elimination of the 100 dollar bill- my thoughts immediately flashed back on my old friend. http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/16/investing/hundred-dollar-bill-larry-summers/index.html?iid=hp-stack-dom This is how it starts. Seemingly intelligent, credentialed people telling us how it would be a good idea if we eliminated the 100 dollar bill. There must always be some demonstrated need to sell a big change- and in this case Mr Summers uses the "curtailment of crime" as his conduit. Drug dealers and money launderers would be the target. What a noble premise! Well except that...

Getting rid of the 100 dollar bill would actually have the opposite effect. It would enable crime to flourish. It would be the first step in eliminating currency altogether. If eliminating currency and evolving it into something digital become the end game- not only would audits become useless- but counterfeiting would become effortless. Leverage would go bonkers, reserves would never be disclosed. The greatest thieves- the ones in suits- would be dancing in the streets. And crime would just shift from one relatively small group of drug dealers and money launderers- to a giant horde of bankers skimming every transaction with money they don't even possess.

Precious metals would be outlawed. Guaranteed.

And the government? Wouldn't it just love to exert complete control over your bank accounts as it slowly goes broke, withdrawing taxes and shutting off your ability to transact whenever it deemed necessary? The government could simply declare you a domestic terrorist and seize your assets without due process. Kind of like they are doing with passports right now- rescinding them if you owe 50k in unpaid taxes- a number which will surely ratchet down in the years to come until they seize your right to travel altogether.

The sad truth, the one Craig understood, was that all things are accomplished incrementally with a long range plan. You can't simply outlaw currency altogether- you have to do it slow and incrementally- one little piece at a time offering a reasonable explanation for every step. That's been the slow drip of an ever oppressive Federal Government and the resultant erosion of our constitutional rights over time. One day we will be stripped of everything, mostly our freedoms, and while scratching our heads we shall wonder how it came to be.

My friend Craig died in an explosion a few years ago. It was a devastating loss for me. I wish he were here to see this. I can almost see him now- laughing and nodding his head- knowing full well that a nation of gullible and uneducated people might just concede the 100 dollar bill. Buying into some Harvard bullshit offered up on behalf of the banking cartel.

I must give credit to Ernest Hemingway for the general idea and observation which I have re arranged just a little bit... How did we lose our freedom? Two ways. Slowly at first, and then suddenly.

Sweden Interest Rates Go Negative- Gold Jumps Nearly 50 Bucks PreMarket

It may finally be over. I think we can say the 5 year gold bear market is done. You know it's a crazy morning when Zerohedge servers are so overwhelmed that I can't get to the site.

Gold jumps nearly 50 bucks this morning- silver and platinum are up but not like gold is.

Sweden is the latest counntry to announce negative interest rates. If negative interest rates are going to cause deposits to erode away- people are simply going to withdraw their money and find the means to preserve capital.

Gold is a perfect vehicle for capital preservation.

I am now expecting Mr. Yellen to try and talk back the gold jump today during Humphrey Hawkins testimony. She might say some dovish thing about rates- but at .25 it's either zero or negative- so I can't imagine gold will do anything but continue to go up.

We'll know the fix is in if she suddenly goes dovish- but I don't think it will matter much. People and gold are starting to sniff out the future as bankers try to end cash and confiscate deposits.

While Stocks and Commodities Deflate, Why Is Gold Up 10%?

I've been following markets for 35 years. The first equity I ever owned was called Eastern Airlines. I have not owned an airline stock since then.

As I write today, the entire market is down. Oil has moved a little higher today (.13%) and gold after opening ten bucks lower this morning- is now in the green- albeit barely. (.40)

Gold, after trading down and closing an old gap around 1040 in January, has rallied to 1157. The HUI or mining index, after essentially having been driven into the ground, has rebounded 40%. That is where the smart money is flowing and it's just starting.

So while the markets deflate, including copper and silver to some extent, gold and gold miners are finding new life. The 64,000 dollar question is "why now?"

Markets, completely overpriced and inflated by 3 trillion dollars in QE and 7 years of zero interest rates, must come down. The dollar has been coming down which has helped gold considerably. There is simply no demand for anything right now despite the fact that everyone in America apparently has a minimum wage job.  I think the perfect storm for higher gold is here.

Exiting a 5 year bear market where prices were driven inexplicably lower for years by dumping thousands of future contracts at oddball times, gold is catching a serious bid in 2016.

I think the single greatest thing- other than debasing all of the world's currencies- is the current talk of negative interest rates. Negative interest rates- a term never heard in my lifetime- is being bandied about and actually implemented in other countries. Can you imagine a situation where your money is so worthless with regard to fractional lending requirements that the bank actually charges you interest to store your money? It's not far fetched. It's happening now. http://www.bloombergview.com/quicktake/negative-interest-rates

So if you have any sort of excess wealth and you are desperately trying to save it from a falling market, confiscatory governments and banks, what's left?

Gold. And I prefer gold over silver, platinum, and palladium because gold is where the demand is. Central banks secretly horde it, The Chinese and Indians love it and right now with energy prices hovering at 10 year lows- gold miners will be extracting gold with improving margins.

I think negative interest rates are the latest trick in a banking world that never seems to exhaust all of it's tricks. I believe that gold will be a huge beneficiary of this latest charade. People will buy gold to simply preserve the inflated wealth they have garnered until they can re-deploy it. It is that re-deployment period that has me interested. I simply can't foresee it right now.

In my 35 years of trading and investing, I've never seen markets so completely detached from normal supply and demand relative to an alleged 4.9% employment rate. In the past, that type of employment rate would have created huge demand and inflation as more dollars chased fewer goods. Instead we have oil and commodities at decade lows.

I'm going to give you the names of 5 junior gold miners which I am accumulating. I believe the bottom is in. I will list these miners in order of my preference for them. These are junior miners which may or may not be takeover candidates. Please do your own due diligence.

Tahoe (TAHO) is a low cost producing miner paying 3% in dividends. They also have options.

Pretium (PVG) might be the biggest gold find in the world right now. Production is slated for 2017. I also think that they are a serious takeout candidate by a gold major.

Gold Resource Corp (GORO) They mine primarily in Mexico and they had a slightly bad (-.01) quarter. I think they were negatively impacted by silver prices.

Eldorado Gold (EGO) is a producing miner which has been acting very strong.

Klondex Mines (KLDX) is a new addition. The are reporting excellent gold intercepts and ounces per ton. They trade at an 11 PE with a good balance sheet. They are trading around 2.25.

The Big Hit

Ya ever heard anyone say that they felt like they've been hit by a Mack truck?

Just one day after a massive 20 semi-tractor trailer rig pile up just East of Baker City, Oregon- yours truly got a piece of the action yesterday on Martin Luther King day. Here's some video from the pileup that happened the day before. The Oregon State trooper at the end of this clip is the same trooper who attended our collision. http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20150118/2462721/Multi-Car-Pile-Up-Near-Baker-City-Oregon.htm

I've had a rough 6 months between retina detachments and surgeries, broken water mains, and various other minor calamities including but not limited to blood clots, another minor accident, and furnaces going out during cold snaps. Oddly, it should come then as no surprise to anyone reading this, that I should get rear ended by a semi-truck.

While traveling down the Oregon interstate early Monday morning, we encountered that nasty form of road- the one where the road surface appears wet but it is actually frozen over with black ice. Having spun out a time or two on that stuff as we headed west near the Snake River, the young guy driving our truck slowed down to an appropriate speed. As we began to crest a small rise, we noted a wall of trucks on either side of the two westbound lanes. Other truckers had pulled over and stopped. We had probably slowed to about 30 MPH when a sonic "KA BOOM" hit us and sent our 20 foot delivery truck careening into the median.

The force of the impact was such that I was sent reeling forward into the dash and then backwards into the metal cab directly behind my seat. I acquired a nice lump on top of my head from the dash, and an even bigger lump in the back of my head from the metal support behind my seat- I bit down so hard on my tongue that it was lacerated and bleeding on both sides. When we came to, both of us just stared at each other. I do not remember how we landed in the median. I do remember some guy asking us if we were ok through the driver's side window. I could taste the blood in my mouth and my head, neck, shoulders, and back were hurting. Eventually we unbuckled and got out of the truck to find out what the hell hit us. The road was so slippery we could barely stand.

This is where I will give you some helpful advice.

If you ever rear end someone with your semi-truck at 60-70 MPH, it might be nice of you to ask the occupants that you have just struck if they are alright or heaven forbid- apologize to them for hitting or injuring them. Under no circumstances should you exit your truck and in a hostile and angry manner ask the people you have just struck, "How come you didn't have your flashers on!" Trust that I am telling you the truth as I mention this.

Had I known Ms Ramirez would be driving with her head up her ass, and had I thought it might have helped her avoid striking us, I would have begun lighting flares and throwing them out of the passenger window as she careened down on us.

As it stands, the 2 feet of wrought iron lift gate on the back of our truck probably saved us from serious injuries. It did however, put a woeful gash through the front of Ms. Ramirez' Peterbilt truck before caving in her radiator and supply hoses- sending radiator fluid onto the back door of our truck.

Ms. Ramirez, employing the same successful strategy she had used earlier, followed us down the shoulder as we surveyed the damage and another semi turned over in the ditch. That driver had the good sense to try and avoid striking the unfolding collision in front of her and chose instead to careen down an embankment and overturn instead. That decision may have averted another 20 truck pile up like the one the day before. As I stood trying to figure out whether that driver was hurt, Ms. Ramirez doubled down on her first winning statement by telling us she needed our names and insurance info. I told her, "Let's just wait for the cops instead."

Ms. Ramirez and her female passenger spent the rest of their morning filming us with their cellphones after we victimized them- by slowing down with nothing other than our brake lights sans some fireworks and a flashing neon sign or two.

We waved off the ambulance, mostly because I didn't want to spend the day in Baker City or the night in observation. We exchanged info with the Oregon State police who oddly, made no inquiry as to whether or not we had employed our flashers. We limped the truck back home.

At the hospital in Boise, I went to the ER which only had one person in the ER waiting room. After signing in, a river of people began arriving. One by one, all six or seven people were checked in behind me and seen by doctors. I was left all alone in the waiting area. After an hour or so, I stood up and informed the desk that I was leaving. In the same helpful tone employed by Ms Ramirez earlier in the day, the gal at the front desk told me, "Ok, whatever."

On Tuesday night I found another river of people at the same ER. Having experience in the matter, I left, got in my truck, and traveled to the hospital in Nampa which checked me in and treated me ala a CT scan in a fairly expeditious manner as hospitals go. Two hours later, I received a clean bill of health.

This morning my lower back still hurts. My swollen tongue has returned to normal size. I can move my head side to side although I keep hearing popping noises in my neck. All in all, I feel pretty good and grateful given the circumstances.

I'd be a liar if I told you I hadn't thought "Ok, so what's next?" I can hardly wait.