Thursday, December 29, 2011
Congress: Fat City. USA: Slim City.
The numbers are in! Members of Congress are richer by 15% than in 2004. The general public is poorer by 8%. We truly have the best government money can buy. From 2004 to 2010 members of Congress increased their median net worth by 15 percent while the average American saw it fall by 8 percent...
Obama anti-gun agenda
President Obama's Anti-Gun Agenda Shows No Sign of Stopping
By John Lott
Published December 28, 2011
President Obama keeps pushing for gun control. "I just want you to know that we are working on [gun control]. We have to go through a few processes, but under the radar,” President Obama told Sarah Brady, the former president of the Brady Campaign, this past spring.
His push as been quiet but relentless.
Just this past week Obama signaled that he was going to just ignore two new parts of the 2012 Omnibus Spending bill. Although he signed the spending bill into law, he simultaneously issued a so-called "signing statement," a note that presidents have started attaching to legislation stating how they interpret the law they are signing or whether they believe part of it is unconstitutional.
Obama’s statement claimed that Congress couldn’t put restrictions on how he wanted to spend to fund lobbying for gun control and the National Institute of Health studies of gun control.
But why should the federal government use taxpayer dollars to pay for lobbying?
Obama has had numerous false starts on gun control. Just in November, his administration moved to ban target practice on public lands, but the opposition was so swift and strong they immediately backtracked.
A couple of weeks ago the Obama administration suffered another embarrassment. It was discovered that the Obama administration oversaw the sale of guns to Mexican drug gangs in its Fast & Furious program to bolster statistics of guns crossing over to the border to these very drug gangs.
This scandal is quite incredible as the Obama administration ordered gun dealers to make sales to Mexican drug gangs against their wishes to help the administration’s push for more gun control. And this follows the revelation in July that the Obama administration had pushed federal agents involved in the Fast & Furious scandal to support gun control regulations during their congressional testimony.
It doesn’t help that the Obama administration started pushing these sales at the same time they wanted to bolster their case that America was supply illegal guns to Mexico backfired. All this undercut any justification for new regulations and destroyed any support that they might have had.
With 90 congressmen signing a "no confidence" resolution in Attorney General Eric Holder’s handling of “Fast & Furious,” last week Holder lashed out against his critics. “This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American,” Holder told the New York Times. Holder seems unwilling to recognize the genuine outrages the administration’s gun-control agenda has produced.
Still the administration has successfully manage to push through gun control regulations in many, less visible ways: -- The Obama administration instituted a ban on importing "historic" semi-automatic rifles into the US. -- In sharp contrast to the Bush administration, President Obama strongly supports the UN Arms Trade Treaty even though he knows that any such treaty are unlikely to obtain the two-thirds vote in the Senate needed for ratification. What the regulations will do is lead to severe restrictions on private gun ownership around the world.
The administration instituted new rules on selling "high-powered rifles," defined as a caliber of greater than .22. -- The administration nominated Andrew Traver, someone who supports gun bans, as the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Obama has stuck by Traver despite his nomination being stalled in the Senate for a year and the fierce opposition it has generated.
Obama’s most lasting impact on gun control is likely to be through the federal court judges he appoints. His most visible appointments have been the gun-control advocates he has made to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan headed up President Clinton’s push for gun control when she worked for his White House during the 1990s. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor has signed on to a Supreme Court opinion stating that there is no individual right to "private self-defense" with guns.
The pro-gun control views of Obama’s nominees have played a role the Senate filibustering of two Appeals Court nominees. Caitlin Joan Halligan was particularly controversial when nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit because she opposes an individual’s right to self defense and – even more damning -- she was one of the trial lawyers who had sued gun makers. Thus in New York v. Sturm & Ruger, she argued that gun makers should be liable for the criminal acts of third parties but not given any credit for the benefits from self-defense.
If elected to a second term, Obama will end up appointing over half the federal judges. That sure can make a big difference.
Most importantly, the Supreme Court is only one vote away from reversing the 5 to 4 decisions that so narrowly struck down the handgun bans in Chicago and the District of Columbia.
Two of the Justices who voted to strike down the bans, conservative Antonin Scalia and moderate Anthony Kennedy, will be well into their 80s during the next administration.
While a couple of Justices have made it to 90 while serving on the court, remember the rare glimpse into Obama’s views during the 2008 campaign when he referred to those “bitter” Americans who “cling to their guns, cling to their religion.”
It surely fits his earlier statement: “I don’t believe that people should be able to own guns.”
Yet, despite all this evidence of an anti-gun agenda, recent articles by the Associated Press and other news media paint Obama as a moderate on guns and as somebody who wants to "protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens” and merely support so-called “gun safety” measures.
Of course, they are wrong. Unfortunately, Obama’s patient “under the radar” campaign seems to be working. He is fundamentally changing the courts and leaving them much more hostile to gun ownership. If Americans catch on, this could still be a major issue in the 2012.
George Bivinsgeorgebi@windstream.net
www.gradycountynews.blogspot.com
229 254 5300
Thursday, December 22, 2011
December 22, 2011
Dear Editor, I have lived from the Ford tri – motor to the Boeing 787, From the V2 rocket to landing on the moon, From FDR to Obama. Sorry I missed Wilson and Teddy.
Wilson gave us the Federal Reserve, and the U. N. both of which could bring America to its knees today. UN is behind zoning of farmland in Grady County. See Agenda 21. America is paying the cost of its own destruction.
America is in a steep decline. December 2011
chart goes here, but would not transfer. It showed that Americans are getting poorer fast, based on rapid fall if GDP since 2001.
George Bivins
Friday, December 16, 2011
Domestic drones over your farm
Domestic drones: Coming soon over a home near you?
Eric Gay / AP
A Predator B unmanned aircraft lands after a mission at the Naval Air Station, Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The American Civil Liberties Union released a report Thursday demanding better protections against a surveillance society, “in which our every move is monitored, tracked, recorded and scrutinized by the authorities.”
“Our privacy laws are not strong enough to ensure that the new technology will be used responsibly and consistently with democratic values,” warns the ACLU report, "Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance: Recommendations for Government Use of Drone Aircraft."
The report follows a weekend story by the Los Angeles Times that detailed how the unmanned aircraft are being used in domestic law enforcement cases, and not just along the country’s borders to track illegal immigrants and drug smugglers as was originally authorized by Congress in 2005.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Butter Shortage
December 12, 2011
An acute butter shortage in Norway, one of the world's richest countries, has left people worrying how to bake their Christmas goodies with store shelves emptied and prices through the roof.
The shortfall, expected to last into January, amounts to between 500 and 1,000 tonnes, said Tine, Norway's main dairy company, while online sellers have offered 500-gramme packs (about 1 pound) for up to 350 euros ($465).
The dire shortage poses a serious challenge for Norwegians who are trying to finish their traditional Christmas baking -- a task which usually requires them to make at least seven different kinds of biscuits.
The shortfall has been blamed on a rainy summer that cut into feed production and therefore dairy output, but also the ballooning popularity of a low-carbohydrate, fat-rich diet that has sent demand for butter soaring.
"Compared to 2010, demand has grown by as much as 30 percent," Tine spokesman Lars Galtung told AFP.
Last Friday, customs officers stopped a Russian at the Norwegian-Swedish border and seized 90 kilos (198 pounds) of butter stashed in his car.
George Bivins
2292545300 cell
America's Financial Doomsday
America's Financial Doomsday An historic, world-changing event is about to crush the U.S. economy and stock market. I personally lived through I went to high school in a large foreign country, one of the largest in the world. And when their leaders made the same mistakes Washington is making now, all hell broke loose.the kind of disaster the U.S. is facing now. First, the cost of living exploded. Suddenly, everything we needed to buy cost ten times more. In some cases, the crisis became deadly: Prices rose so quickly that construction companies began using lower-quality concrete. Developers added more floors to buildings in an attempt to recoup rapidly rising costs. So when one of these skyscrapers collapsed, a teacher who lived next door found his home crushed under the rubble, his wife still inside. Later, in sheer desperation, the government begged the people to donate their gold jewelry and coins to help save the economy. One woman even pulled the wedding ring off her finger to give it to the government. Local officials shook her hand but corrupt politicians pocketed the gold. Later, the government got so desperate; it summarily froze everyone’s bank accounts. It confiscated their money and replaced it with a new, far-less valuable currency. And that was only the beginning of the people’s suffering. In the end, they were doomed to decades of intense financial pain, shame and lost personal liberties. I can assure you these stories are true — because I witnessed them personally: The teacher who nearly lost his wife when the skyscraper collapsed was my teacher. The patriotic woman who donated her gold wedding band was my best friend’s mother. These things happened when I was a young man living in the third largest country in the capitalist word at that time — Brazil. But my story More recently, this kind of crisis has also struck a very powerful European nation.is definitely NOT unique ... After its leaders made the same mistake ours are making now, the country’s bonds collapsed in value, interest rates exploded to over 200%. In just six months, its stock market plunged 75%. The common people suffered tremendously: A staggering 60% of the workforce was paid only partially and received their paychecks months after they were due. As the economy collapsed, millions of average citizens fell victim to crime and corruption. The police demanded bribes for traffic violations — both real and imagined. Organized crime syndicates divvied up the country into their own private fiefdoms, profiting from protection rackets, prostitution, smuggling, narcotics-peddling and even murder for hire. The government itself admitted that the criminals owned or controlled about half of the country’s private businesses. A friend of mine said: “Many banks, including some of the largest in the country, shut down. They closed their doors forever. Our savings were wiped out.All this happened in the 1990s — in Russia, formerly one of the most powerful nations on the face of the Earth. Of course, the U.S. is not Russia; we have far stronger democratic institutions. And our economy is far larger than Brazil’s, but when a nation’s larders make the same mistakes Brazil and Russia made, the consequences are invariably going to be similar. The people of Brazil and Russia paid dearly for their leaders’ blunders. Barring a miracle, the American people are also about to pay a very big price. Europe is suffering through For a sneak preview of the doomsday event about to strike the United States, just look at the catastrophe taking place in Western Europe right now. In Greece, a friend of mine reports: this same kind of crisis RIGHT NOW! “Everywhere in Greece, home values are plunging. Unemployment is soaring. One in four Greeks, including over 450,000 children, live in poverty. Crime is exploding. “Athens is beginning to look like a ghost town. Everywhere you look, shop windows are boarded up. Of those that are still open, most are running going-out-of-business sales.” Greece is not alone! But Greece is not alone! In Spain, similar stories are being told in Madrid, Barcelona and 50 other cities across the country.Tens of thousands of workers have taken to the streets to protest a problem they thought they’d NEVER see again in their lifetime: Not just 10% official unemployment like we’ve recently seen in the U.S. — but 21% official unemployment! A friend of mine in Madrid says: “You wouldn’t believe what I’m seeing here on the streets of Madrid. Beggars outnumber tourists and protesters outnumber beggars.In Ireland, the government faced immediate default and was forced to impose harsh austerity measures that plunged the country into depression. In London and cities all across England, similar kinds of austerity measures recently triggered the worst riots of modern times. Entire neighborhoods went up in flames. Even large commercial buildings were set on fire, and left in ruins. Worse, this financial and social crisis is threatening to spread to countries like Italy, France and even Germany. Now, you may be thinking, “But we’re different! Nothing like that could ever happen here.” I assure you: The people of Brazil, Russia, Greece, Ireland and Spain never dreamed it could happen there, either! The truth is our own leaders have made the same financial blunders that their leaders made. As my Greek friend says: “You can’t save a nation that’s drowning in debt by throwing more debt at it any more than you could save a drowning man by throwing more water on him.”Look, in every one of these countries, the pattern is clear: First, the government spends everything it has. Next, the government borrows all it can from its people. Then, it borrows still more from foreign countries and banks. Finally ... The debts become so onerous and horrendous that they trigger the doomsday event that I’m going to tell you about in just a moment. That’s when panicky political leaders turn on their own people. They confiscate their wealth and destroy their freedoms. Yes, America is still the richest country in the world. But that fact has enabled our leaders to take the greatest and most dangerous risks in the world. As a result, you could argue that ... The U.S. is now in WORSE shape Consider the high-risk gambles that super-investor Warren Buffett calls “financial weapons of mass destruction.” than Brazil, Russia, Greece or Spain have ever been I’m talking about special kinds of investments called “derivatives.” They were a major cause of the real estate and debt crisis that nearly wiped out all of our largest banks in 2008 — along with the entire U.S. economy. Russia’s banks never exposed themselves to large amounts of these financial time bombs. Neither did Brazil’s banks. And you’d think that, after the 2008 meltdown, U.S. banks would have learned their lesson. But you’d be wrong. According to the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department — U.S. banks held $176 trillion in derivatives at the height of the debt crisis in 2008. Today, U.S. banks hold $244 trillion in derivatives — nearly 40% more. That fact alone places the U.S. in greater danger than many other countries, past or present. U.S. debt and obligations America is also in great danger for another big reason. Washington is now sitting on the largest pile of debt in the history of civilization: About $14.5 trillion and counting.are now OVER $120 TRILLION!
If you asked your bank to give you a stack of $100 bills worth one million dollars, it would look like this — a neat little pile of money ... One billion dollars looks a LOT more impressive. But here’s what one trillion hundred-dollar bills would look like. And this is our current national debt: $14.5 trillion. It’s a positively staggering amount of money. And it doesn’t even begin to include the debts Washington inherited from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae or all the money Washington owes to seniors for Social security and Medicare, or to veterans and government pensioners. Add that in, and Washington’s total obligations are over $120 trillion. But it’s not just the sheer size of our nation’s debt that’s so frightening. It’s the fact that it’s mushrooming so rapidly — at a speed that’s far greater than anything we’ve ever seen: Washington is now growing the debt by AT LEAST $1 trillion each and every year. Now, at this point, you’re probably thinking: “But surely — our leaders will ultimately do the right thing and STOP bankrupting us — right?” But the reality is that Washington has consistently made the opposite choice. The die was cast in 2008, when the housing bubble burst and giant banks were going bust. At the time, the U.S. government could have simply allowed those who had made the big gambles to suffer the natural consequences of their actions. Instead, Washington bailed out the banks, absorbed those bad debts, and spent trillions of dollars to fight the recession. Washington lies, At the time, some people thought that was a god idea. But look what happened.the economy dies. In just 12 months between 2007 and 2008, Washington TRIPLED the federal deficit from $161 billion to $459 billion. Of course, our leaders swore on a stack of Bibles that this was a one-time-only event, needed to fight the recession. They lied. Washington tripled the deficit AGAIN ... to $1.4 trillion in 2009. Then, again, they solemnly promised that this, too, was temporary — for emergency purposes only. But that was a lie, too. The 2010 deficit was $1.3 trillion. Plus, the deficit for 2011 is the biggest of all: More than $1.5 trillion. And in a double-dip recession, the deficit could surge to $2 trillion dollars. All these dramatic changes and all these lies are what inevitably lead to the doomsday event that is now on the near horizon for America. Still skeptical? Then consider this shocking change ... We’ve sold our American birthright In the past, Washington always borrowed nearly all the money it needed from its own citizens. But in recent years, it has borrowed most of the money from foreigners, especially China, and now it owes foreigners over $4 trillion dollars.for a mess of porridge. That’s over four times MORE than it owed foreigners when the U.S. plunged into recession in the early 2000s. But it still hasn’t been enough. The White House and Congress wanted to spend even more money than Americans and foreign investors would loan us — combined. The Fed declared WAR So the Federal Reserve printed hundreds of billions of paper dollars and loaned most of that money to the Treasury, too.on the value of your money! How many hundreds of billions of dollars? Let me put it into perspective for you.
That’s the first blip on this chart. Now let’s go to 9/11, when the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington paralyzed the economy, the Fed printed another $40 billion. That’s the second blip on the chart. Every time, the Fed cranked up the printing presses, financial experts went ballistic. They said the amounts were so huge; they might diminish the dollar’s value. And sure enough, the value of the dollar did plunge. But that was only a drop in the ocean compared to what the Fed has been doing lately. Since the big debt disaster of 2008 — when the giant Lehman Brothers failed. The Fed has printed more than $1.6 TRILLION dollars. That’s twenty-two times MORE money than the Fed created during Y2K. And it’s FORTY-ONE times more than it printed after 9/11! That’s why the buying power of your money is cratering. That’s why your cost of living is soaring. That’s why butter has jumped 22%, gasoline has soared 35%, and coffee has skyrocketed a mind-boggling 42% — all in a single year! And that’s also why America is headed for the financial doomsday I will soon describe to you. But first ... SHOCKER: You’re only HALF as rich as you think you are!
And look at gold; it has more than doubled in price! But all this is only the beginning. In Brazil, Russia, Greece and Ireland what happened next was that revenues and tax collections began to fall. It became impossible for those governments to repay its debts. And here again, the United States is following a similar pattern: Despite the massive amounts of money Washington has thrown at it, the U.S. economy is sinking — and government revenues are falling — AGAIN! The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that long-term unemployment in the United States is now at catastrophic levels.
That’s not just “a little bit” worse than during prior recessions. It’s more than 2.5 times worse than during the big recession in the mid-1970s. And it’s also far worse than during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Plus, the housing crisis that triggered this great recession in the first place is now growing more severe. Consider the conclusions of Case-Shiller, the real estate industry’s most trusted source of home price information:
That’s right. The price of existing homes in America has fallen BELOW the lowest level it reached in depths of the Great Recession of 2008-2009! In short, despite the trillions Washington has blown on stimulus and bailouts, we are now staring down the barrel of a huge double-dip recession. That’s especially scary this time around. Because this time, the government isn’t putting money into the economy with more stimulus. The government has no choice but to take money OUT of the economy with budget cuts! And as the economy falls, instead of collecting more from taxes, it collects LESS. The money Washington so desperately needs to pay the interest on its debt simply vanishes. Look, throughout history, we’ve learned that when a nation becomes this deeply indebted and in this much economic trouble, the next step is always the same: In every case, the next step is the monumental event, the far greater calamity that I promised to tell you about. COMING NEXT: So what is the ultimate catastrophe that doomed the people of Russia and Brazil to decades of poverty and dependence?The moment when all hell breaks loose ... What is the next bombshell that’s beginning to explode in Europe, destroying the people’s wealth and threatening to rob them of their personal freedoms? What is the historic, life-changing, world-changing event that is also about to vaporize massive amounts of wealth and potentially threaten our liberties right here in the United States of America? It’s the singular moment in time when the last investor willing to loan money to the government calls it quits.It’s when the government can no longer borrow and simply runs out of money. That’s the moment when all hell breaks loose. No, I’m not talking about what would happen if Congress simply failed to raise the debt limit like it almost did in August of 2011. That was a just a sneak preview of the true big event still dead ahead. I’m talking about, a sudden rejection of U.S. debt by the world’s investors — a creditors’ revolt that suddenly leaves Washington with no choice but to live within its means. Think about that: What would happen right now if our federal government was no longer able to find more willing lenders, no longer able to borrow money? Before you answer though, remember this: Washington has to borrow nearly half of every dollar it spends today.  It has to borrow nearly half of every dollar it spends on national defense, and homeland security. It has to borrow nearly half of every dollar it pays in Social Security, Medicare benefits, and unemployment benefits, plus half of what it gives to U.S. veterans, government pensioners, the poor and the disabled. And it has to borrow half of every dollar it spends to repay money it borrowed five years ago ... ten years ago ... even 30 years ago.What will happen when global investors deny our application for yet another loan? When the Chinese and other foreign lenders say “No more!” to losing their shirts as Washington guts the value of the dollars they earn? When they simply say: “Sorry — but America’s line of credit is CANCELLED. Washington’s loan application is DENIED!”This is not far off. The warning signs are already here ... Warning sign #1: According to Beijing officials, China, the world’s largest buyer and holder of U.S. government securities, has suffered a loss of $271.1 billion between 2003 and 2010 as a result of the dollar’s steady depreciation. Warning sign #2: In June of 2011, China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced it could lose another $578.6 billion if it continues to hold these huge loans to the U.S. Will they continue to suffer these losses passively? The answer is ... Warning sign #3: Two high officials — Zhou Xiaochuan, the head of China’s central bank and Xia Bin, a member of the monetary policy committee of the central bank — are ready to bolt. Both recently made it clear that they could easily get away with a huge reduction in the amount of U.S. treasuries they own. I repeat: Other nations are also shifting their reserves from U.S. Treasuries to gold and silver, plus oil, coal, and other tangible assets.This is already beginning to happen! Mexico, Russia and Thailand have recently bought well over 100 tons of gold instead of U.S. treasuries. Even Tanzania is planning to shun the dollar and shift its reserves into gold! Put simply, that fateful day — when Washington is no longer able to borrow the money it desperately needs is speeding toward us like a runaway freight train. This is why Congressman Ron Paul recently issued this somber warning: “At the present time the Chinese have backed off from what they’re loaning us, interest rates are starting to go up, inflation factors are coming up.Congressman Paul is correct. The worst-case scenario ... When Washington can no longer borrow money, it will have no choice but to immediately slash spending. And since nearly half of every dollar it spends is borrowed, our leaders will have no choice but to radically reduce, delay or even cancel payments to seniors, veterans, the poor, the disabled and pensioners. Millions who count on government checks will suddenly find themselves on the ropes, struggling to survive. Therefore, with government programs slashed or cancelled ... With consumers paralyzed in fear ... With the U.S. economy in intensive care ... With tax revenues plunging, and ... With global investors refusing to lend more money to Uncle Sam ... Here is the worst-case scenario — the scenario I fear the most ...  Hunger and homelessness explode to pandemic levels from coast to coast. The victims take to the streets. Rallies turn into demonstrations ... then, into protests ... and finally, into riots. With law enforcement severely crippled by the spending cuts, crime skyrockets.With fire departments running at austerity levels, cities burn.With emergency services and hospitals out of money, people die.As we saw in Brazil and Russia, Washington has no choice but to restore order by taking away your personal freedoms. And never forget this final, devastating fact: No bank ... no government ... no group of nations ... is rich enough to save America. Members of Congress: Still finding all this hard to believe? Then consider these ten former heads of the Council of Economic Advisors.“Armageddon” “A Fiscal Titanic” “A Death Spiral”
That’s an absolutely shocking assertion: In 2008, Wall Street came within a hair of a massive, devastating meltdown. Virtually ALL of our largest banks were pushed to the brink of failure. The entire country was only a few hours away from a fatal collapse. Now, these ten former White House advisors are warning that this next debt crisis could dwarf the last one. Why? What could cause that? They say it’s precisely the doomsday event I just told you about: The fact that one day foreigners may simply stop lending more of their money to the United States. And these ten former presidential advisers are not the only ones ringing the alarm bells. Senator Mark Warner says, “We’re approaching financial Armageddon.” Senator Joe Manchin calls this crisis “A fiscal Titanic.” Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is warning that this crisis is “the biggest threat to our national security.” Senator Mike Crapo says it is “a threat to not just our way of life, but to our national survival.” It has the power to “ ... guarantee that this nation becomes a second-rate power with less opportunity and less freedom.” And David Walker — the former U.S. Comptroller General and director of the Government Accountability Office says: “The bottom line is: We’re not Greece. But we could end up with the same problems!”And mind you, these men are not extremists. They have nothing to gain by trying to scare you. They are merely following the facts to their logical conclusion. That’s what I’ve done in this report. The warnings I’ve given you are based on nothing more — and nothing less — than economic reality and historical fact. My research team and I have simply crunched the numbers and let the chips fall where they may — just like we did when we issued “D” ratings on nearly every big bank and savings and loans that subsequently failed. Just like we did when we gave a “C” rating to the United States. We have no political axe to grind. We are not beholden to Republicans, Democrats, or any other political party. Nor do we owe allegiance to Wall Street or any of the thousands of banks, companies and countries that we rate. In fact, most of them would probably prefer that we just kept our mouths shut. One giant company even threatened my life by saying “Weiss had better shut up or get a body guard.” But to quote Harry Truman, “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” Our loyalty is with the people — consumers, savers, investors and everyday citizens — who rely on us to tell them the truth about what we see in the future, and about the companies or governments they entrust their money to, invest in, or do business with. The good, the bad and the ugly. This is how my company has become the last line of defense for the average Joe against greedy and power-mad CEOs, politicians and bureaucrats. And this is why, in just a moment, I am going to give you the steps you need to take to prepare and I am even going to NAME the banks most likely to fail. Believe it or not, Nevertheless, if the crisis I’ve just described is hard for you to imagine, I certainly understand.THIS is the calm before the storm! We’ve never seen anything like this happen before in America. We always believed we were somehow insulated from these kinds of catastrophes. Besides: Things still seem so “normal” for most of us today — so routine. It’s hard to imagine that such terrible things could happen to us — and that it could all happen so quickly, in the twinkling of an eye. But isn’t that always the case? Isn’t there always a calm before the storm? Aren’t people always caught by surprise when historic crises strike? After all — nobody believed the Soviet Union would collapse virtually overnight — and when it did, it caught everybody by surprise. Even our own C.I.A. failed to see that one coming! And remember, for years, Islamic extremists made no secret of their determination to knock down the World Trade Center. They actually tried to do it in 1993. But among the thousands who streamed into the twin towers on September 11, 2001, how many — if any — believed they had anything to worry about? Many, including my cousin’s daughter and some friends, just kept going to work as they always had — and thousands paid the ultimate price. In Japan, even though they had been repeatedly warned, nobody — including my own son, who lives in Tokyo — believed the nuclear power plants would suffer multiple meltdowns. Once again, their denial was costly in the extreme. Even in my own 40-year career as a ratings analyst, I’ve seen denial exact a hefty price over and over again. A few years ago, only a handful of people believed our senior analyst Mike Larson when he repeatedly warned that the real estate bubble was about to burst. And of course, very few listened when we warned that Lehman would go belly up and that even the almighty Bank of America would come within an inch of its life. So I’m under no delusions here. I know that the vast majority of Americans will fail to heed this warning and fail to get ready for this crisis. I sincerely hope — for your family’s sake — that you are not one of them. Because the precautions required to weather the coming tempest are not difficult. And even if the storm turns out to be less severe than I fear it may be, the worst that’ll happen is that you’ll sleep better at night and you could make some money in the process. Take these six steps immediately So WHEN should you expect to see this cataclysmic event — the moment when Washington runs out of money? Soon. VERY soon. to protect and grow your wealth The U.S. Treasury holds a 30-year bond auction about every month — and it auctions shorter-term notes and bonds even more frequently. So it could happen at virtually any moment. There is, however, some good news: First, you still have some time — but not much — to prepare. If you take action right away, you can still use the defensive steps I’m about to recommend to protect your family. And second, there are simple things you can buy that will not only protect you, but also give you the opportunity to build substantial wealth. Here are the steps I recommend you begin taking immediately to protect yourself and your loved ones from the coming storm ... STEP #1 is to prepare your defenses: If you count on the government for anything, you’ll need to plan to live without it. As we’ve seen, all levels of government — federal, state and local — will have no choice but to cut spending as this crisis unfolds. That means you’ll need a plan for getting by on your own — without help from Social Security, Medicare, or other government programs. Also keep this in mind. Washington may no longer be able to bail out your bank or guarantee your deposits when skyrocketing loan defaults push it to the edge of the precipice. If the government owes you money — tax refunds, for instance — be aware that the payments could be delayed. It would also be a good idea to make preparations to personally ensure your family’s safety. Because police, fire and emergency services will probably be hard to come by in many communities. If you live in a city, have a plan and a place to go if things become uncomfortable for you. Those are the basics. But there’s so much more I need to tell you to help you through this crisis, I couldn’t begin to cover it all in this presentation. That’s why I’ve just put the finishing touches on Four Horsemen of the American Apocalypse: Protect Yourself and Profit It’s the ultimate survival guide for 2011 and 2012 — and I want you to have a copy free of charge.
I give you very specific instructions on the steps you must take to get your financial house in order. And I show what to do immediately to protect your savings, your investments, your real estate, and everything you own. I show you how to shield your bank account safeguard your insurance policies, and defend your 401(k) retirement account. I give you a handy tool to insulate your stock portfolio and even show you how to protect the value of your home and other real estate — no matter how bad things get. PLUS, I lay out the steps you need to begin taking right away to defend your family and to help ensure their physical safety even in a worst-case scenario. STEP #2 is to make sure your bank is the safest one you can find. Here, there’s even more I can do to help. Our Weiss Ratings is the nation’s leading provider of independent ratings on 16,000 banks and credit unions. Since 1990, we have issued grades on a total of 1,533 banks that subsequently failed. On 90% of those banks, we issued a clear warning to consumers ONE FULL YEAR ahead of time. And on nearly all of the rest, we issued a warning or a caution flag at least a few months before the failure. Now, the problems in the banking industry have gotten a lot worse. Not only do we have more bank failures, we also have more BIG bank failures. In fact, just in the last two years, 49 relatively big banks and thrifts with assets of $1 billion or more, have failed. We issued an advance warning on EVERY SINGLE ONE. So it’s important that you make sure you are NOT using any of the weakest banks on our list: Those include:
I’m talking about a bank with a rock-solid balance sheet ... with high lending standards ... and without those time bombs in its portfolio called derivatives. Banks like that have the financial strength to see you through no matter what happens!
So to help you get your money through this crisis unscathed, I want you to have a complimentary copy of: The Weiss Ratings “X” List: America’s Weakest and Strongest Banks In this guide, I give you the complete list of the weakest banks and credit unions that you should avoid at all costs, and also. A full list of the strongest banks and credit unions, well equipped to weather the coming storm. STEP #3 is to build an impenetrable wall of privacy around your finances: Make no mistake — the United States government will NOT be your friend as this crisis unfolds. Neither will your state, county or local governments. If history proves anything its’ that there’s virtually nothing as dangerous as a big government that’s being threatened with extinction. If the worst-case scenario, if a politician or bureaucrat comes to the conclusion that your rights and property stand in the way of saving the government ... you can kiss them good-bye. You’re also going to have to think about others who will be desperate enough to seize your wealth — especially if you live in a city or even the suburbs of a large metropolitan area. Privacy — keeping a low profile for yourself and your assets — will be among your best defenses. And in the third emergency guide we created for you — The Invisible Man: Hide Your Assets from Prying Eyes — we give you simple, legal ways to enhance your privacy and protect what you own — and more — including ...
* Six outrageous assaults on your money and liberty: The shocking steps Washington could take to violate your rights as this crisis worsens. * SIX legal ways to protect your money and your life: Quickly and easily get your money off of the government’s radar screen ... and more! Now, let’s move on ... STEP #4! It’s to own mankind’s greatest crisis hedge — GOLD: Since we first began recommending them in 1999, gold bullion coins and bars have risen by 450%. An initial $10,000 investment is worth $55,000 today. And just since 2008, gold bullion coins and bars have more than doubled in value. So we strongly recommend that you hold a reasonable portion of your ready money in physical bullion — mostly smaller denomination bullion coins.
It’s true! And the fourth report we’ve prepared for you — The Weiss Guide to Prudent Gold & Silver Investment — shows you how. Plus, we give you ... * Our list of recommended bullion dealers ... * How to hold your gold bullion offshore for greater privacy ... * How to securely store your precious metals ... * Why keeping part of your holdings in smaller gold and silver coins could prove to be a godsend for you, and ... * Much more. STEP #5 is to hedge against financial losses — with investments designed to spin off substantial profits when the economy implodes. You don’t need a Ph.D. in economics to know that the crisis I’ve described in this presentation is NOT going to be good for most stocks. So your first priority as an investor is to make sure that you do not own the stocks that are most likely to plunge. And one of the services my company provides is a powerful free tool you can use to help decide precisely which ones they are. Your second priority is to harness the power of those declines — not merely with a special class of investments that rise in spite of them, but with things that soar because of them!
In 2008, for example, the bank stocks we warned about plunged up to 98%. Well, you could have used our warnings to go for gains of 51% ... 76% ... up to 99% and even more with simple investments that cost as little as $10 each and that anyone can buy. We’ll show you how in this free emergency guide. STEP #6 is to go for truly huge gains as this crisis unfolds: At a time like this, a powerful offense is your best defense. Building up substantial cash reserves is the best way to ensure your family’s safety and comfort. Plus, when you see a trend that is this imminent, this clearly defined, and this powerful, you may want to take some risk and swing for the fences. After all — it may be your last chance to go for truly huge gains for quite some time!
It’s a way to know which stocks are likely to collapse at the first sign of trouble and also a way to know which are likely to rise even in bad times. The data shows that, if you had used this strategy from 2001 through the end of 2010, you could have beat the S&P 500 by 10.5 to 1, with an overall return of 467.8%. That’s enough to turn $10,000 into $56,780 or $100,000 into $567,800. You don’t need a lot of money. You don’t need to have a lot of experience as an investor. And you don’t even need to use exotic investment vehicles. Best of all, this was possible even in the worst of times. Right now ... You can download all six I’ll invite you to do just that in a moment. of these reports instantly and be reading them just a few minutes from now! First, let me tell you why my company is going to such extreme lengths to get this indispensable information to you. Frankly, we’ve never seen a crisis that even comes close to equaling this one. And I’m deeply concerned that you and millions of other Americans could lose everything. That’s why we prepared these six emergency survival guides for you. They won’t cost you anything and you can download them right now. All I ask is that you also take a look at our monthly newsletter, Safe Money Report. Safe Money Report is our flagship publication here at Weiss Research. It has the distinction of having warned investors of every major financial threat of the past 35 years.
You’ve probably seen Mike on CNBC with Maria Bartiromo, or on Fox Business News with Brian Sullivan, or on one of the many other financial programs where he regularly appears. You’ve probably also seen him in the Huffington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, AP, Reuters, and many other major news outlets. The media is right to turn to Mike for his analysis: If you had been listening to him since 2005, you wouldn’t have had to lose a dime in the housing bust, debt crisis or market crash ... You could have actually grown your wealth even while others were losing theirs! I hand-picked Mike as editor of my Safe Money Report because of his uncanny ability to foresee future economic trouble. We make a great team. And if you agree to check out Safe Money Report for yourself, we’ll give you instant access to all six of the emergency survival guides I just described:
2. The Weiss Ratings “X” LIST: America’s Weakest and Strongest Banks 3. The Invisible Man: Hide Your Assets from Prying Eyes 4. The Weiss Guide to Prudent Gold and Silver Investment 5. Shield Your Wealth in Terrible Times 6. The Ultimate Crisis Investment Just agree to examine my Safe Money Report and we’ll send you a fresh copy the first week of every month. Mike Larson and I will also make sure you have all of our recommendations for the investments we’re counting on to grow your wealth as this crisis continues to intensify.   Plus, we’ll give you the ratings you need to identify which of YOUR stocks, ETFs and mutual funds are the most and least vulnerable right now. And I have one more very important thing to say: I wish I could tell you that our leaders will pull us back from the brink in the nick of time. Sadly, though, it’s probably too late for that. The mountain of debt that Washington has created — and the huge gambles our banks have taken — virtually guarantee that America will fare no better than Brazil, Russia, Greece or the other nations that have made similar blunders. The numbers don’t lie. Yes, it’s a crying shame that our once-great nation has come to this. It didn’t HAVE to happen. Never before has a nation possessed the vast riches that America has amassed. Never before have 311 million souls enjoyed such personal wealth, comfort and security. And never before has so much been squandered so needlessly or in such a thoughtless manner. Good luck and God bless!  Martin D. Weiss, Ph.d. Publisher, Safe Money Investor Service Click here for our terms & conditions. Safe Money Report 15430 Endeavour Drive Jupiter, FL 33478 800-236-0407 561-625-6685 (Fax) |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)