Yesterday I was unpacking my books from China, a chore that took a few hours. I came upon a wonderfully illustrated, hardbound edition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Wreck of the Hesperus.” Unable to resist, I sat down and cracked it open – the copy is about 70 years old.  (photo1 photo2)

For a little background, Longfellow was a New Englander who lived seaside for much of his life from 1807-1882. Many of his poems have a rhythmic cadence, and he is also very well known for the poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.” Continue reading →

Last week the House voted 219-212 to pass HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, whose intent is to “create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.”  I’ve only had time to browse the 1,092 page bill and sincerely believe it will not achieve a single one of its purposes. Continue reading →

Consumers in our modern market economy primarily use government fiat debt-based currency. Historically and currently, these currencies are inflated and debased by central bankers. Quite possibly THE key factor to understand is the concept of interest rates, and the “real” interest rate I will introduce in this article. FULL ARTICLE

The following quotations from Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve are taken from the transcript of his June 3 speech to Congress. All emphasis marks are mine. The reader should be aware that I have very short fuse when dealing with Mr. Bernanke.  To discover why, please read “Bernanke’s Great Lie – The “Gold Standard” and the Great Depression” for more details.  (emblem) Continue reading →

The following is a message from Alan Greenspan’s “vaunted Federal Reserve” to the “Average Man.”  (Hat-tip to LeMetropoleCafe.com for the lead.)  (photo)

On January 17th, 1978, Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns stated from the meeting transcript (emphasis mine):

“You know, the American public, in contrast to some or many of our politicians–perhaps most of them–is very deeply concerned about inflation. People all over the country have been asking themselves the question:

“What can I do to protect my family? What can I do to protect my children, my family, and myself against the ravages of inflation? And gradually the thought has evolved and is spreading rapidly that, on the negative side, putting money in the bank or a savings and loan account is no protection.

“Buying bonds, Treasury bonds or corporate bonds, is no protection. Buying common stocks is no protection. It used to be a major protection but it no longer is.

“Then what is left? Well, gold or paintings. But the average man cannot invest in gold; he doesn’t know how. It’s not something he’s accustomed to. Likewise with paintings. Continue reading →

This past Thursday, BankUnited FSB became the nation’s 34th bank to fail this year.  Bank failures are nothing new, but this one will cost the FDIC $4.9 Billion per the  FDIC press release issued Thursday, May 21.  BankUnited had assets of $12.8 Billion and deposits of $8.6 Billion.

The takeover group is led by the infamous Carlyle and Blackstone investment groups.  The take-away for the average Joe Public – is this:

The FDIC started 2008 with $53 Billion in its insurance fund, and this number is now less than $11 Billion.  This translates to mean that less than a quarter of every $100 you have in a bank account is now FDIC “insured.”

It does not take a genius to predict that the FDIC insurance fund will be depleted this year, and a public bank closing (or “bank holiday” – as if it were some sort of twisted vacation) is likely this year.  (Photo courtesy Luc Viator)

As a reminder, the press often compares the Obama administration to FDR.  FDR closed the nation’s banks in 1933 when he also outlawed gold.  Immediately afterwards, the dollar was devalued by 67%.

Speaking of gold, the gold price shot up to $950/oz after reaching a minimum of $865/oz in mid-April.  Holders of gold will win the Gold War that is currently playing out in the world’s smallest major market of roughly $25 Trillion in 2008.  Please try these recent articles I wrote:

• Gold and the “Average Man”
• Ron Paul’s rEVOLution Versus the “One Ring” of the Federal Reserve
• The Gold War – China and the US Treasury Market
• Silver and Gold ARE Money
  
• Bernanke’s Great Lie – The “Gold Standard” and the Great Depression
  

What to do? I do not wish to repeat myself, so take a look at the advice I offered last month in “Off a Cliff with No Airbags: The FED Banking System Quivers in Fright“.

This February, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced HR 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 to audit the FED. When I first reported on it in March, privately I was quite ecstatic that there were 11 co-sponsors, and three were Democrats. Why? Continue reading →

In January, I wrote an Austrian economic proof that the Obama stimulus plan would fail, I noted that one of the many symptoms would be inevitable, unstoppable corruption. Well, I suppose it’s no surprise to any American that corruption in our government is already widespread. And it’s pretty sad to see the mainstream media freak out over a case of the flu.

As fellow columnist Jonathan Cymberknopf writes in “Swine flu make for great ratings“, 36,000 died due to influenza in 2008, so there is no need for a mass freak out. (And yes, there is a possibility that it could become serious. A small possibility.) Continue reading →

The 2008 final body count was twenty-five (25) banks and fourteen (14) credit unions. In the first 3.5 months of 2009, the number of failed banks has already been equaled. In addition, two federal credit unions have failed, plus the two largest wholesale corporate FCUs totaling $57 Billion in assets due to losses on mortgage-related securities being much larger than originally thought. FULL ARTICLE