Home Blog Page 1078

Wars and “Following the Science” Are Sure Paths to Tyranny

by Richard M. Ebeling
The American Institute for Economic Research

In the first press conference of his presidency on March 25, 2021, Joe Biden announced that he had set a target of administering 200 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine before the end of his first 100 days in office. In an earlier statement before the press, Biden said that it might be safe enough for the government to permit gatherings at people’s homes to celebrate the 4th of July. Listening to the man who occupies the White House, it seems that our lives and how we live all depend on Joe Biden.

Some in the media have focused on the president’s recent stumbling up the stairway ramp while getting on to Air Force One, and wondered if at the age of 78 Biden can successfully put one foot in front of the other. Others have suggested that without the written scripts prepared by his White House staff and projected onto a teleprompter or the notes in front of him at a podium, the president seems unable to always articulately say a handful of words without a gaffe or getting lost and confused in his own thoughts.

Continue Reading at AIER.org…

The “Unvaccinated” Question

by CJ Hopkins
The Burning Platform

So, the New Normals are discussing the Unvaccinated Question. What is to be done with us? No, not those who haven’t been “vaccinated” yet. Us. The “Covidiots.” The “Covid deniers.” The “science deniers.” The “reality deniers.” Those who refuse to get “vaccinated,” ever.

There is no place for us in New Normal society. The New Normals know this and so do we. To them, we are a suspicious, alien tribe of people. We do not share their ideological beliefs. We do not perform their loyalty rituals, or we do so only grudgingly, because they force us to do so.

We traffic in arcane “conspiracy theories,” like “pre-March-2020 science,” “natural herd immunity,” “population-adjusted death rates,” “Sweden,” “Florida,” and other heresies.

Continue Reading at TheBurningPlatform.com…

Real Savings Are at the Heart of Lending

by Frank Shostak
Mises.org

After climbing to 12.2 percent in April last year, the yearly growth rate of combined commercial bank real estate and consumer and business loans plunged to –2.6 percent in early March.

[…] For most commentators an important factor in setting economic prosperity in motion is bank lending. Hence, this sharp decline in the yearly growth rate in bank loans raises the likelihood that US economic activity is under strong downward pressure. Consequently, most commentators are of the view that central authorities must provide the necessary support to strengthen bank-lending growth. However, is it true that bank lending is an important factor in economic prosperity?

For instance, farmer Joe, who produced two kilograms of potatoes. For his own consumption, he requires one kilogram, and the rest he decides to lend for one year to farmer Bob. The unconsumed one kg of potatoes that he agrees to lend is his real savings. This example is necessary in order to illustrate that for lending to take place there must be real savings first. Lending must be fully backed by real savings.

Continue Reading at Mises.org…

Gamestop $GME: It Will Collapse Eventually

[Ed. Note: Physical video game sales are a dying business model located in shopping malls which, themselves, are a dying business model. It’s fascinating how modern investing seems to gravitate towards that which is intrinsically worthless. While you’re at it, grab some crypto, a few non-fungible tokens, and maybe some shares in Hertz.]

by David Kranzler
Investment Research Dynamics

GME reported its fiscal year Q4 and full-year numbers this past week. Q4 was a disaster for the Company. Operating earnings were trounced 75%% YoY for the quarter from $75.2 million last year down to $18.8 million. After subtracting interest expense, which rose in 2020, pre-tax net income plunged 84.5%. Across the board, the Company badly missed consensus estimates for revenues, gross margin, operating profit (87% miss) and net income.

Some of you may have seen the headline report that GME earned $1.23 per share in Q4 2020 vs 38 cents in Q4/19. But the net income number in 2020 includes a $69.7 million non-cash GAAP tax “benefit” whereas in 2019 the GAAP non-cash tax expense was $43.8 million. That’s why it’s “cleaner” to analyze operating and pre-tax numbers. While hardware sales (game consoles) increased 20.5% YoY for the quarter, software sales plunged 26%. Game consoles are only marginally profitable. The “juice” in the business is with software sales.

Continue Reading at InvestmentResearchDynamics.com…

Bottom Line: Democrats are Afraid of You

by Christopher Chantrill
American Thinker

I’m having a problem deciding whether the Biden administration is stupid or evil or just flat-out afraid of us Commoners.

And then I realized that it’s all three. Here’s why.

Our liberal friends never imagined that a Trump could happen. Nothing in their world prepared them for him. So what happens when you are confronted by something completely unexpected? You stop dead in your tracks.

That is one of the basic themes in Jordan B. Peterson’s oeuvre. As he writes in Beyond Order. 12 More Rules for Life:

Many herbivores, comparatively defenseless, facing imminent and brutal death, freeze in place, paralyzed by fear… But to have no more courage than a rabbit is definitely not to be everything you could be.

Continue Reading at AmericanThinker.com…

The Theory of Interest and Prices

by Keith Weiner
GoldSeek

What do a famous broken bridge and Jimi Hendrix have in common with monetary effects on consumer prices? Short answer: a dynamic system & positive feedback.

Monetary Metals CEO Keith Weiner recently presented at the Austrian Economics Research Conference 2021, discussing his upcoming paper, “The Theory of Interest and Prices”, which focuses on the monetary effects on consumer prices.

In this video, Weiner reveals why the interest rate is the most important price in our economy. He also explains the fundamental confusion between monetary & non-monetary effects on consumer prices, and the pathological, alternating cycle of prices, interest rate, and borrowing throughout the last 74 years.

Continue Reading at GoldSeek.com…

Second Amendment in the Firing Line

by Dr. Ron Paul
Ron Paul Institute

Gun control was already a Biden Administration priority before the recent shootings in Georgia, Colorado, and Virginia. In fact, the House of Representatives passed two gun-control bills weeks before the shootings.

One of the House-passed bills expands background checks to include private sales, including those made at gun shows. Under this bill, someone who is not a licensed federal firearms dealer cannot sell a firearm without first relinquishing it to a federally-licensed dealer. The dealer must then conduct a background check on the prospective purchaser.

Continue Reading at RonPaulInstitute.org…

Steven Crowder’s YouTube Account Locked, Demonetized. Crowder Hints Action: ‘We’ve Got Something for Them’

“I’ve been warning about this for a long time and now it’s here.”

by Tim Pearce
Daily Wire

YouTube has demonetized and locked conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s account for allegedly violating the platform’s community guidelines.

YouTube blocked Crowder from uploading new content to his channel for one week and pulled one of his videos that the platform said violated its rules against spreading misinformation about the 2020 election. YouTube also booted Crowder from its YouTube Partner Program, which allows creators to run ads on videos and turn a profit, indefinitely.

“In order to monetize on YouTube, channels must comply with the YouTube Partner Program policies, which include our Community Guidelines, Google AdSense program policies, and Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines,” the platform told The Daily Wire in a statement. “Channels that repeatedly violate our policies are suspended from the partner program. In addition, we removed a video from Steven Crowder’s channel for violating our presidential election integrity policy and applied a strike, meaning uploads are suspended for one week.”

Continue Reading at DailyWire.com…

‘Where Are the Defenders of the American Way?’: Tucker Carlson Criticizes Vaccine Passports as ‘Orwellian’

by David Krayden
DailyCaller.com

Fox News host and Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson said Tuesday that a COVID-19 vaccine passport was an “Orwellian” notion that would erode American unity and sow distrust in vaccines.

“If you wanted to divide American society even further, you would go ahead and do something Orwellian like this,” Carlson said during a segment of “Fox & Friends.”

[…] The Biden administration is seeking to work with the private sector tech companies to produce a digital vaccine passport that would facilitate travel for Americans both domestically and abroad, according to a Sunday report from The Washington Post. The idea has been endorsed by numerous companies and non-governmental groups, including the World Health Organization (WHO), according to prior reporting.

Continue Reading at DailyCaller.com…

Nolte: Democrat-Run City Residents Must Prepare for Derek Chauvin Verdict

by John Nolte
Breitbart.com

If you live in a city run by Democrats, you need to prepare yourself for the possible aftermath of the Derek Chauvin verdict.

If Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer on trial for the death of George Floyd (P.S. Minneapolis has been run exclusively by Democrats for decades), is found not guilty, America’s left-wing terrorists in Antifa and Black Lives Matter will almost certainly make last year’s riots look like a dress rehearsal.

Last summer, after that awful video of Floyd’s death hit the Internet, where did the worst of the violence hit? In these Democrat-run cities: Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Fayetteville; Atlanta; New York; Nashville; Seattle; Portland; Philadelphia; Chicago; Milwaukee; Salt Lake; Washington, DC; Detroit; Indianapolis; San Francisco; Kansas City; Houston; Charlotte; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; Denver; Dallas; Phoenix; Tampa; Baltimore; Oakland; Louisville, and even a little place called Kenosha.

Continue Reading at Breitbart.com…

Goodbye American Liberty

by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
PaulCraigRoberts.org

Yesterday I pointed out that no facts known at this time support a Covid passport. https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2021/03/29/new-yorks-covid-vaccine-passport-makes-no-sense/

The Establishment is not interested in facts and has no need of them. The Establishment has the presstitute lie machine. It creates whatever reality the Establishment wants us to live in.

Nevertheless, some facts are just overwhelming. Consider Florida. Long a retirement state, it is a state with a large proportion of elderly and overweight people. For the past year Florida has not been under lockdown or a mask mandate. The state is wide open. Consequently, one would think that Florida would have the hightest number of Covid deaths per 100,000 population.

Continue Reading at PaulCraigRoberts.org…

Exclusive Video: Illegal Immigrants with Envelopes of Cash Seen at Airport Flying Around U.S. Illegally

Shocking illegal activity caught on camera

[Ed. Note: But they are wearing their masks, right?]

by Infowars.com
Info Wars

Illegal immigrants who can’t speak English with envelopes full of what appears to be cash are flying around the U.S. in yet another shocking indictment of basic border security.

Joe Biden appears to have just waived immigration law without even waiting to sign an executive order to formally dissolve the U.S. border.

This is a clear violation of state and federal law and it needs to be brought to the attention of judges in order to put an immedfiate stop to this illegal activity.

In breathtaking fashion, Owen and the crew uncover that migrants are indeed being flown out of McAllen Airport to locations all over the nation, with border patrol stickers emblazoned and travel information and supplies all packed up for convenience to their next destination.

Continue Reading at InfoWars.com…

Gold Bottom: It’s “All About Scaring Everyone”…”This is How Bottoms Are Hammered Out.”

from King World News

Two veterans weighed in on the reality of why the gold market is bottoming right now.

The Bottom For Gold

March 30 (King World News) – Lawrence Lepard: “Hulbert HGNSI is -45.0 tonight. It has only been this dismal or lower 0.5% of the observations since 2000. It doesn’t get any bleaker. This is how bottoms are hammered out.”

This Is What This Has All Been About — Criminal Banks

Alasdair Macleod out of London: Eric, today’s action in precious metals is only due to the mess the bullion banks (the swaps) got themselves into as long ago as August 2019, illustrated in the chart below which is of their net short positions.

Continue Reading at KingWorldNews.com…

Everything is Getting More Expensive with Peter Schiff

from Kerry Lutz's Financial Survival Network

Peter Schiff joins the program… Covid was an excuse to increase the size of government. We’re not raising taxes but even if they do raise taxes they will pale in comparison to how much is being spent. We’ll all have a lot less because the government is taking so much more. The stimulus was a grab bag. There was no real way to control the fraud. Wealthy people were getting the PPP. The fraudsters lined up around the block to take the government’s money. We don’t learn from history. The 1920 bust was higher than 1929, but Coolidge cut government spending dramatically which made it a sharp but brief recession. In 1929 we went with Keynes and the recession carried on for over a decade. There’s hedge funds blowing up and there always will be. The problem is the lenders. The funds can’t pay back its loans. The lenders are on the hook. Banks were so desperate for income that they would loan to anyone. Too big to fail and increase the moral hazard. Peter has positioned himself and others by recognizing that the biggest casualty is going to be the dollar. Paper wealth is going to dissipate. The post-dollar era is coming and you need to play that trend. Resources and business that have those resources will help protect your wealth from future disasters.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio

Sign up (on the right side) for the free weekly newsletter.

PPT Working Overtime as Dow Continues to Lead with Nick Santiago (Ep #235​)

from Daily Market Wisdom with Nick Santiago

For more than 20 years, Master Trader Nick Santiago has been beating the markets. He’s made some incredible calls along the way and now he’s looking to spread the word. There’s no reason that the average trader should be coming up short. So now we’ve started a daily show to bring you up to date on the latest market developments. Nick will be sharing trades and concepts and discussing current trends.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio

Sign up (on the right side) for the free weekly newsletter.

Hedge Fund Blows Up with John Rubino

from Kerry Lutz's Financial Survival Network

John Rubino is back… Hedge Funds blowing up. Archegos Fund gone. This is what happens at the top of a cycle or bubble. More stimmies on the way, thanks President Biden. Right on the heels of the last stimulus plan. It will insulate the system from further blow-ups. Big risks are interest rates and currencies. Even a three percent yield on the treasuries won’t matter and further distort. Gold and silver retreating, what does it mean? $240 million this month in NFT’s. Bezos fighting unionization with every dirty trick in the book. Bernie Sanders is out there fighting the fight for higher wages and better work conditions. Rush to upgrade condos in NYC due to the huge price decline. The Hamptons has turned into a year round place to live. Trial of Minneapolis George Floyd Cop beginning.

Click Here to Listen to the Audio

Sign up (on the right side) for the free weekly newsletter.

Stand Up to Tyranny: How to Respond to the Evils of Our Age

by John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute

“The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (A Knock at Midnight, June 11, 1967)

In every age, we find ourselves wrestling with the question of how Jesus Christ—the itinerant preacher and revolutionary activist who died challenging the police state of his time, namely, the Roman Empire—would respond to the moral questions of our day.

For instance, would Jesus advocate, as so many evangelical Christian leaders have done in recent years, for congregants to “submit to your leaders and those in authority,” which in the American police state translates to complying, conforming, submitting, obeying orders, deferring to authority and generally doing whatever a government official tells you to do?

What would Jesus do?

Study the life and teachings of Jesus, and you may be surprised at how relevant he is to our modern age.

Continue Reading at Rutherford.org…

Do You Believe in Magic?

by James Howard Kunstler
Kunstler.com

The people pretending to run the world’s financial affairs do. The more layers of abstract game-playing they add to the existing armatures of unreality they’ve already constructed, the more certain it becomes that they will blow up all the support systems of a sunsetting hyper-tech economy that now has no safe lane to continue running in.

Virtually all the big nations are doing this now in desperation because they don’t understand that the hyper-tech economy is hostage to the deteriorating economics of energy, basically fossil fuels, and oil especially. The macro mega-system can’t grow anymore. We’re now in the de-growth phase of a dynamic that pulsates through history, as everything in the universe pulsates. We attempted to compensate for de-growth with debt, borrowing from the future.

But debt only works in the youthful growth phases of economic pulsation, when the prospect of being paid back is statistically favorable.

Continue Reading at Kunstler.com…