Thursday Afternoon Cigar

Rocky Patel Edge, out at the range.

We just started another book on the subject of the Gold Standard.  This one is The True Gold Standard by Lewis E. Lehrman. 

No opinion yet - keeping an open mind along with plenty of notes.

Today's news:  Argentina is in default.

The GOP's White Flag of Shame

I created the White Flag Spotting blog tag back when I started Ushanka.  It was a great way to collect all the cartoons making fun of liberals who were furious at W's war successes and the millions of newly freed Iraqis and Afghans.  Click on the label below to go back in time to remember a day when it was Democrats waving the flag with tears in their eyes.

That was then.  This is now.

Hat owner and comrade, Diann, has captured the flag-wavers of today.

In one word: disgrace.

Impeachment is long past due - assuming the lower standards of Affirmative Action do not apply to the presidency...

Maybe Obama's impeachment will be a 2-step process:  Step 1) Strip weak Republicans from their leadership roles in congress, and Step 2) Impeach the president of the United States for violating the Constitution.

I'm fine with impeachment dying in the Senate as it did the last time this country elected a Democrat.  The important thing is that people who claim to adhere to values and standards act on those values and standards.  If they can't act, then at least they can answer this question:

How many tens of thousands of illegals must enter this country before the open borders justifies an impeachable offense?

Tuesday Afternoon Cigar

Rocky Patel Edge Sumatra

I finally finished Economics of a Pure Gold Standard by Professor Mark Skousen.  Still the best book (of 4 or 5) that I've read yet.

Time to type-up my notes and move on to the next Gold Standard book.  Look out - I are git'n smart!

Related, Hat Owner and Cigar Comrade Captain Capitalism has explained why printing excess money - adding to the Monetary Base - is inflationary and stupid:




U/T: Hayek, Freidman, Austrian School, Mises, Currency School of England, Jackson, Jefferson, Charles Carroll, Amasa Walker, Elgin Groseclose, Murray Rothbard, Howard Katz, henry Hazlitt, Lysander Spooner, W. Stanley Jevons, William Brought, David Ricardo, Lawrence White, George Selgin, and Professor Mark Skousen.

Michelle Nunn - Another Corrupt Democrat

For you young'ins, an excellent way to measure the decline of America is to look to the Georgia politicians, Senator Sam Nunn and his daughter, Michelle.

Senator Nunn is one of those Democrats of America's past.  Yes, liberal.  But an American who put America first.  I remember watching Senator Nunn who was active in our National Security matters.  He was impressive and serious.

The Democrat Party of today would not tolerate a man of Sam Nunn's character and patriotism.

However, his daughter Michelle is a good fit and is running for the US Senate this year.

Eliana Johnson of National Review Online wrote an article yesterday about Michelle: Michelle Nunn's Campaign Plan. 

Oh my!

Apparently, Michelle's campaign staff accidentally made a confidential document public.  They took it offline but not before some intolerant right-winger got a hold of it. 

Allow this intolerant right-winger to share some key disclosures:

Michelle is advised to target Jewish and Asian donors in Georgia as the source of most of the needed campaign funds,

Michelle is advised to use those fund to bring out the Black and Hispanic votes that normally stay home in mid-term elections,

Michelle, an elite Atlanta resident, is advised to get some photos of her in rural settings to appeal to the rural voters, and

Michelle was the recent CEO of Points of Light Foundation, whose parent company is a Hamas supporter.

Hilarious in and of itself.  But then Glenn posted this Twitter exchange where a Liberal Progressive Communist tried to distract from the article's contents: 

A Ushanka Tip and standing ovation for Eliana:

My post at the article:

The Next Bubble

Hat Owner Glenn discusses "The Money Bubble," as presented by USA Today:  Is the Fed Fueling a Giant Stock Market Bubble?




I think Glenn is wrong when he says this is the "last" bubble.  Bubbles will always occur.  Partly because of the business cycle and always changing monetary and lending standards. Partly because there is never true equilibrium in a market economy. 

I think Glenn makes a good point when he says his timing is always off.  When I started Ushanka nearly 8 years ago, I naively made a point to seek out timing estimates from "experts."   I learned over time that some are sincere, like Glenn, and others are seeking attention.  They are always wrong.

Here is the chart Glenn is using:

Here is a chart from ZeroHedge - same message but measuring the San Francisco housing market:

My current gold standard studies have helped me understand what comes next.

Default - Interest rates will rise to the point where the US cannot afford to pay its debt payments.  Miss a payment = default.  The sky does not fall.  It is just bankruptcy at the national level, and it happens quite often - albeit not to the US.  (Watch Argentina - the next to likely default.)  We'll restructure our debt, likely reducing it by half or so, then start making the new payments with promises of better fiscal discipline going forward. 

Monetary Policy - Major disruptions have led to monetary policy reform in the past.  Only the Libertarians and a few of us Republicans understand what a gold standard is and how it could work if executed properly.  We amount to roughly 2%, and therefore will not get what we want.  What I predict will be a "new and improved Fed" who will promise to implement tighter controls over a fiat currency, which may last a decade.  Again, the sky does not fall.

Bail In - This is when the government decides to nationalize a portion of bank deposits or other assets from its citizens to apply to the debt emergency.  (See Cyprus and the Asset Seizure Risk Cube.)  They might disguise this by issuing a new currency.  For example, a new dollar for ten of the old dollars.  Another:  negative interest rates where you get to pay the bank to hold your money.

War - Like bubbles, wars happen.  Remember, until recently, war was the natural human state of affairs.

What can we do?  Here is some advice I've seen and heard.  Of course - do your own homework.

Stop Losses on all stock investments.  One scenario is that the drop will happen fast.

Sell some stocks and hold the proceeds as cash.  Safer, but understand the SEC just made money market accounts a whole lot riskier.

Understand inflation is around 6% now, and may go a bit higher.  I reject the talk of 'hyperinflation' as the US Dollar is far too stable for that even with the Fed's money printing.  But realize every dollar in savings, and in your wallet, is losing 6% a year - right now.  So even holding cash isn't necessarily the right thing.

Get as debt-free as you can.

Plan on a lower quality of life.

Make the best of it:  Family, friends, faith.  And consider mocking those who gave it to us with a Commie Obama hat...

This change brought to you, on purpose, 

by Barack Obama and the Democrat Party.

Quotes of the Day

Tam drinks Hippie Tears to celebrate the gun news out of DC.  The story, from Huffington Post:

"There is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny," Judge Frederick Scullin said in an opinion.

"Therefore, the Court finds that the District of Columbia's complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public is unconstitutional," he added in his 19-page ruling.

As a gun-rights advocate, I waited decades for this decision.

How many died waiting?

---

Our dear leader's woe-is-me impeachment PR stunt is called out by Rep. Steve Scalise on the FoxNews Sunday show (via DailyCaller, with video):

…the White House wants to talk about impeachment. Ironically, they’re going out and trying to fundraise off of that too.

Look, the White House will do anything they can to change the topic away from the president’s failed agenda.  People are paying higher costs for food, for healthcare, for gas at the pump. And the president isn’t solving those problems. So he wants to try to change the subject.

Distractions are their governing method when they are blocked to "progress" further in their Marxist agenda. 

---

And Glenn links to a Nick Gillespie Reason article:

However ridiculous such attacks may be, they are a sign that broadly libertarian ideas about fiscal responsibility and social tolerance are gaining ground in all areas of politics and culture. Indeed, as Ames frets, libertarianism is even making “major inroads into the disaffected left.”

As the conservative right and progressive left feel threatened by libertarianism, such attacks will multiply in number and intensify in venom. The main purpose is not to actually engage libertarian ideas—including once pie-in-the-sky beliefs that governments should be financially sustainable, gay people should be allowed to marry one another, and that more immigration is better than less immigration—but precisely to avoid discussing their merits.

Despite Nick's optimism, I suspect the Libertarian Party will remain a 2% voting block only capable of spoiling close races.  They could attract more, but they'll need an optimistic message rather than the tired old yarn: "both parties suck."

I discussed the "merits" of Libertarianism in my May 2014 post titled The Anarchists Among Us. 

Quote of the Day

Liam Halligan via Doug: 15 Reasons the Party on Wall Street is About to End in Tears

Number 5:

The reason for this dichotomy is the Federal Reserve’s money-printing machine, which has created thousands of billions of virtual dollars since 2008. Much of this has found its way into global stock markets, sending equity prices sky-high. Designed as an emergency measure, QE has since become a lifestyle choice, the financial and political equivalent of crack cocaine.

I discuss some of these topics in my Precious Metals Investing videos.  Here is the latest, which includes links to the others.

UPDATED 7.29.14:

Link fixed.  Thanks Comrade Robert!

Free Signups!

If you are lucky enough to live in the Wisconsin town of Campbell, you can get free help signing up for ObamaCare.

Police Chief Tim Kelemen did just that to Tea Party leader Greg Luce - without Luce's consent.

It seems the two had a falling out, and the Police Chief thought it'd be a good prank to sign Luce up to ObamaCare.  That must have taken a while....

Chief Kelemen (pictured above while in court this past week) also signed Luce up to some pornography and gay dating services.  How is that for Protect and Serve?

Now, it is odd that a liberal would think it is an insult to sign someone up for ObamaCare, or for gay dating.  Perhaps those sites were already bookmarked in the Chief's browser?  Because, as we've explained here before, Gay is the new Black, and every white male should consider selecting the gay orientation to reap the employment and social benefits. 

Chief Kelemen has plead No Contest to the charges.

Police One:

The charge stems from a feud between Kelemen and tea party leader Greg Luce. It began last fall when the tea party began holding protests on an interstate overpass in Campbell. Concerned the protests were distracting drivers, Kelemen persuaded the town board to ban signs on the bridge.

U/T: WZ

Intellectual Froglegs

The latest in a great series by Intellectual Froglegs!

And.... It's gone!

Found at Pat Dolard's site:

Video below.  Imagine MSNBC's reporting as you watch:

Anchor:  There is smoke on the rooftop.  Can anyone tell what that is?  Did the Jews bomb the roof of that building?

Producer - speaking in earpiece:  Go with that.  We're thinking it was a Hamas rocket launched off the roof, but there is no proof of that.  It could be a Jew smoke grenade, or something more sinister.

Anchor:  Well, we don't know exactly what the source of the smoke is, yet.  It appears Israel has singled out this apartment building.  Or is it a day care center or a...   WHOA!  Did you see that?  Israel just bombed that day care center! There must have been hundreds of children playing in there!  Oh, the humanity!  We need another cease fire!!

Time for Tolerance

It is time for tolerance with Israel in its current fight with Hamas.

I see that the entire Israeli cabinet has rejected our Secretary of State's ceasefire proposal. 

Instead of getting angry with Israel, the Obama administration should show tolerance and patience with a different set of views.

This isn't Israel's first rodeo with Hamas.  Previous conflicts have always included US-brokered ceasefires, which in hindsight never led to peace.  Israel is right to say, "We're going to try something different this time." 

In fact, this new way of thinking, this genius, should be applied here at home.  For starters:

Why not a new way of thinking as it relates to taxation?

Why not a new way of thinking on how public schools are funded?

Why not a new way of thinking on how the NSA keeps tabs on us?

Why not a new way of thinking on deficit spending?

Why not a new way of thinking for how we pay for health services?

In fact, applying tolerance of new ideas can help in about every aspect of how we govern.

I call on my fellow Americans, including the Liberals Progressives Communists: 

Give Tolerance a Chance!

Thursday Evening Cigar

Rocky Patel Edge Sumatra

I'm reading my 4th book on the gold standard.  This one is the best so far, and I wish I had started with this one.  In fact, I'd argue that this book is the most thorough of them all and it stands alone in answering most of the questions about the gold standard.  I'm almost done with it and have three more to go before I'll consider myself worthy of sharing an opinion on the subject.

What I can share now is this: there are multiple "gold standards," and they all have their pros and cons.  For anyone thinking this is easy, they haven't done their homework.

This one is Economics of a Pure Gold Standard by Professor Mark Skousen, from 2010. 170 pages.

Speaking of gold, I posted my 5th Precious Metals video today.  Just an update on the Silver to Gold ratio, plus some other topics that I wanted to share.




Previous Precious Metals Videos:

Play the Ratio 

Strategy #1 

Strategy #1: w/ Trade Costs 

Strategy #2

Link to my slides

Quote of the Day

A good one at Glenn's site:

What did socialists use before candles?

Electricity.

From our collection:

Rand Paul

Sorry Libertarians, but I do not like being lied to or misled.  Therefore I must comment on this latest interview.  I hope to get back to exposing and mocking liberals progressives communists here soon!

Reason interviews Rand Paul:




My comments at YouTube:

Would have liked to hear how he would have responded to the MA17 shootdown. Libertarians criticize Dem and Rep actions, but have not yet said what they would do.

His reference to Eisenhower, Reagan and Bush Sr. is flawed - they all had a cold war/bipolar world.  They didn't have to deal with organized terror networks with access to WMDs.

Last - he wants to restrict the NSA, yet he was silent for over a month after Snowden came out.  It turns out, Rand was read-in to the NSA program like every other senator.  He knew about the domestic spying.

Unlike his father who I promised to never vote for, I will vote for Rand Paul if he becomes the Republican nominee in 2016. 

My question to Rand's fans: If Rand fails in the primaries, will you vote for the Republican nominee, or run some nameless pot-head under the Libertarian Party like you did in 2012?

(This is called tough love.  I will understand if you choose to stop visiting Ushanka.) 

Like I said, I'd rather be chronicling the failure that is Obama...

Word of the Day - Symbolism

Symbolism - the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.

U/T: WZ
 

Anybody Else Confused?

Exhibit A:

A medium-range (30 miles) radar-guided surface-to-air Buk missile takes out an airliner flying over Ukraine at 33,000 feet.

Exhibit B:

A small, crude, fire-and-forget, Qassam surface-to-surface artillery rocket with a 2 to 8 mile range is fired in the direction of the Tel Aviv airport.  It does not hit the airport property and there is no damage.

 Now, enter the Twilight Zone....

Take a guess where flights from the US are cancelled.

The administration says cancelling flights to Israel is in the interest of safety.

These two recent events give us the rare opportunity to see each political party stand for what they believe in.

Republican Response:  We can only assume, but here is what I think a Reagan would do.  Out of both safety and a need to hold Russia accountable for giving Buk missiles to people who might use them against airliners, I see Reagan cancelling all direct US flights into and out of Russia.   I would expect Reagan to confirm flight safety into Israel, and follow the advice he'd receive.

Democrat Response:  Obama will never place serious sanctions on Russia because a) he fears Russia and b) it is an opportunity to bring the US down a notch in foreign affairs.  Obama's FAA has cancelled all flights to Israel.

Libertarian Response:  I've asked for this from Ushanka's Libertarian readers but have not received a response. They've demanded an investigation into the Ukraine event, so I must assume President Ron Paul would have done the same.  I haven't seen any Libertarians comment about the cancelled flights into Israel, so I assume they are in agreement with Obama.

More Communist Linkage

From IOTW:

From The People's Cube:

Democrat vs. Libertarian: My Choice

Why I will always prefer the Democrat Party nominee over the Libertarian Party nominee, and why I don't do drugs:

Time:  Ron Paul Says U.S. May Share Responsibility for Malaysia Airlines Plane Crash

He raises the possibility that the U.S. may be using the crash to start a war against Putin.

Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul claimed Sunday that the U.S. and European Union may share responsibility for the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine last week.

Democrats Obama and John Kerry guarantee us two very important things: 

1) Other than using MA17 as a distraction from their failed domestic policies, they will do nothing on the foreign policy front that would lead to war, and
2) They are incapable of diverting blame from Putin and Putin's thugs.

What would a President Ron Paul have done after the MA17 shootdown?

UPDATED 7.22.14, 16 hours later:

"False Flag" mentioned by the Alex Jones show.

I don't know who to feel more sympathy for.  Paulbots who are not embarrassed by Ron Paul's statements, the Alex Jones fan base lured by his 24/7 conspiracy noise, or the American blacks who've re-enslaved themselves under the Democrat Party.  In all cases, interestingly, both victim groups are told what to think and how smart they are by their masters.

I could be wrong, but I'm still attached to the story that a) thugs stealing Ukrainian property on behalf of Russia b) receive Russian military aid to steal Ukrainian property including heave anti-aircraft weapons designed to hit planes at 33,000 feet, and c) either on a whim or an order from their supplier, shoot down an airliner, committing an act of war.

Remember, this isn't Russia's first rodeo.

Keep your conspiracy theories and other noise to yourself.  If you want to leave a comment, please answer my question: 

What would a President Ron Paul have done after the MA17 shootdown?

Oh, and don't smoke crack.

UPDATED 30 minutes later:

Stefan Molyneux rushes to Ron Paul's defense.  My comments at his YouTube video:

Why not walk through the connections of Russia, the Russian thugs fighting in Ukraine, and the Russian heavy anti-aircraft weapons?  Why not talk about the single day between sanctions on Russia and the MA17 shoot down?

Ron Paul's comments were unprofessional. He is lucky to have a fan base that will shout down other ideas.

I'm not part of a lynch mob.  Russia, directly or indirectly, shot down an airliner.  They've done it before and will do it again if not held accountable.

My head hurts.  

Fool Me For 5 Years, Shame On Me...

Google News:

 Yes.  The same Obama who has shown no 'Serious Concern' for:

The passengers, families and significance of Malaysia Flight 17,
Rockets fired into an ally's cities,
A jailed Marine in Mexico,
A collapsing Iraq,
A rogue Russia,
An American open border,
40 shot, and 4 killed, in his home town.

(I am purposely limiting the list to just the past week's events.)

Our Dear Leader's magic isn't working anymore...

Prediction:

Of the topics above, only Israel's 'heavy handedness' against Hamas will be mentioned by the dear leader or one of his commissars.

He Will Trade Your Gun For His Smug

Watch as the liberal progressive communist is lured into an anti-constitutional stupor by his own smugness.

If you need more than ten in a clip, you need more than ten in a clip for one reason: you think the federal government's coming to take your crops, you know, to take your cows, or whatever and you want more than ten because you want to kill US Soldiers who come to your door.

This clip (pun intended) isn't just about gun-control.  Notice, now, that the topic of US soldiers coming to your personal residence is, by context, acceptable. 

They haven't given up their quest to disarm you.  They are just re-grouping.

World Policeman? Nyet.

U-2 - May 1, 1960

KAL902 - April 20, 1978

KAL007 - September 1, 1983

TU154 - April 10, 2010

MA17 - July 17, 2014

July 16, 2014 - CNN:  Obama imposes new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine
July 17, 2014 - FoxNews:  Smoking gun? Intercepted calls point finger at Russian separatists in jet downing

Today, the professional journalists in the MSM are linking the missile to the sanctions asking why the plane flew over Ukraine.

The families have no one to turn to for this act of war and crime against humanity.

The US is now officially impotent.

We might be the world's policeman...  But we're on break.

 Edmund Burke:

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

How come Obama and Putin don't get along, when they have so much in common:

 From Comrade Diann at ATRS:

For reference purposes only.  A 16-min drive down memory lane....

Thursday Evening Cigar

We smoked a Rocky Patel Edge Sumatra out by the woodpile.

The Commie Obama Hat

Quote of the Day

From Captain Capitalism's latest podcast:

We are fighting for an America that none of us have experienced.

Download the podcast here.

Israel vs. Hamas

Do you remember Army Sergeant Kenneth T. Ford?

Ford was at a Berlin disco on April 5th, 1986.  He died instantly in a bomb attack, along with a German citizen.  Another US serviceman, Sergeant James E. Goins, died later from his wounds.

The disco bombing was linked to Libya.

President Reagan bombed the living shit out of Libya.  60 tons of munitions were dropped in twelve minutes in Operation El Dorado Canyon.  All over one dead American.

Standards were high back then.  Gaddafi learned a lesson that day: do not kill a single American.

Apparently Benjamin Netanyahu is setting those high standards again in response to three dead teenagers.  Luckily, he won't have to ask the French for overflight permission.

Have you noticed the MSM hasn't found its voice against Israel as they have in the past?  It doesn't help their cause when Israel finds 20 rockets in a Palestinian school managed by the UN.

We were shocked to learn it was only 20.

It took two days of running headlines with the word "ceasefire" to finally steer Israel into a ceasefire agreement, and only for 6 hours.  Then Hamas broke the agreement - big surprise.  Hamas is the murdering lying criminal element in this conflict.

Kudos to Bibi for timing his attacks when the media is distracted and/or sympathetic.  Only three Israeli teenagers were killed, and we have a fantastic and prolonged series of precision attacks on terrorist targets.  Roughly 200 Palestinians have died in the most populated place on the planet - a miracle of technology combined with responsible Israeli leadership.

There is no end in sight and rumors of possible ground action.  Excellent.  Long gone are the days of the partnership between the MSM and that AIDS-infected terrorist, Yassir Arafat.  Israel will be seen as generous so long as they refrain from bulldozing the full Gaza strip.

Israel controls the narrative now.

And the new unwritten rule for Palestinians is, "kill less than three."

From Earl of Taint:

This Ushanka Babe post is dedicated to the women of the IDF.

UPDATED 7:30pm:

It appears the rumors of a ground attack in Gaza were true.  The tanks were rolling in as I was posting the item above.

Good luck, Israel.  Do not stop until you can guarantee a more safe, more secure Israel.

Image from ZH.

Quote and Images of the Day

Arlin:

Those Obama poster images hanging in campaign halls and who knows where throughout the nation, that’s what really did it for me.   Who does that?  Maybe I’m wrong, but I just don’t recall images of a candidate and President up for re-election with his image hanging from the walls and rafters like he is to be worshiped.  Not like that anyway.   I don’t believe you saw that from McCain or Romney.

I just could not keep from thinking we were just like the old Soviet Union, with images of Stalin and Lenin their citizens got to enjoy everyday, everywhere.   That is what I took from the public poster images of Obama, that he wanted to be just like Joseph.

And two similar, and related, images found in our interweb wanderings:

Not too different from the side placard that comes with every Commie Obama hat (while supplies last):

UPDATED 7.17.14 5pm:

A hat owner shared this one on FB today:

UPDATED 7.27.14:

Found at MoonBattery - cross outs are becoming the new thing!