What Obama Does Not Understand

"I have been involved in the battle against terrorism for most of my adult life - first as a soldier in the special forces of the Israeli Army, then as one of the founders of an institute devoted to the study of terrorism, and later as a diplomat seeking to forge an alliance of free nations in the active effort to defeat international terrorism."

 These words were written in 1995 by Benjamin Netanyahu in his book, "Fighting Terrorism." It has been 16 years since Mr. Netanyahu wrote these words and his book was dead-on about the future of terror, the United States, and a nuclear Iran. It is clear from one sentence that Mr. Netanyahu's life has been about confronting terror and the threat is poses. And his experience with terror is not just professional, it also personal. Mr. Netanyahu lost his brother, Jonathan Netanyahu,  during the 1976 raid on Entebbe, Uganda that rescued 103 hostages from military strongman and dictator, Idi Amin.

So I suppose that is why I could not contain my laughter this week during Netanyahu's visit to the United States. When comparing world leaders on the subject of security, there is no comparison. Obama's understanding of security is what someone else tells him it is. It's academic, sterile, and anecdotal. Obama's resume compared to Netanyahu's on this subject is nothing less than pathetic. I suppose that is why I found it so amusing to try and watch Obama lecture Netanyahu on the need for Israel to return to the 1967 borders. While Obama thought he was being statesmen like, he simply embarrassed himself.

It is clear Obama had no idea what it meant to tell Israel to return to their 1967 borders or the ramifications that flowed from his demand; it was just another line, in another speech that sounded good at the time. Obama's clear back peddling and tap dancing in his May 22 AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) was the culminating event in an embarrassing week of gaffes, blunders, and moronic statements. Of course, on Monday morning the Washington Post will report that Obama's policy convulsion on Israel's borders were either a nuance or a caveat. What a joke.

From a schadenfreude perspective, 70% of the American Jewish population voted for Obama. So as far as I'm concerned, you got the President you deserve. I don't really care how the AIPAC speech went, since AIPAC relies on Conservatives for  providing billions in defense dollars and then votes for Democrats.  It is not for you that I support Israel, but for Israelis like Mr. Netanyahu who will wake up tomorrow and face another day of bombs, bullets, and idiotic, uniformed, amateurish American politicians.

Victor Sperandeo talks about precious metals and the world economy with James Turk

Victor Sperandeo talks about precious metals and the world economy with James Turk

John Rubino: Get Ready For Accelerating Devaluation of All Fiat Currencies - Blogs at Chris Martenson

John Rubino: Get Ready For Accelerating Devaluation of All Fiat Currencies - Blogs at Chris Martenson

"What is happening now is we are exporting our inflation to the rest of the world. We are forcing countries like Brazil and China to endure the pain that we should be enduring. Brazil’s interest rates are like 12% right now. China is doing something new every couple of days to scale back bank lending, spending domestically, and everything. They are countries where a big part of the population makes just a few dollars a day. Rising food and energy prices are devastating for these guys. They do not really control the global price of energy and food, yet they have to endure the pain of slowing their economies down and throwing people out of work. Have them have to spend more and more of their money on food and energy so we can keep on borrowing and growing. The government can keep on spending as much as they want to here.

Clearly that is unsustainable. At some point these countries are going to say “No, we want our currencies to depreciate, too. We want to be able to continue to export to you.” So what we will end up with is sort of like what happened in the Depression. Everybody was trying to cut the value of their currencies at the same time. What that leads to, obviously, is global inflation, instead of just localized inflation where a few countries are debasing their currencies. You have got everybody doing it at once. That is because the US, with the world’s reserve currency, basically controls this process. We have chosen to decrease the value of the dollar dramatically over the next few years. That is going to force the rest of the world to do the same thing or endure a rocketing economy or a rocketing currency value and recession. No elected politician can put up with that.

Ron Swanson explains taxes to a young student

This guy is by far the best character on network television today!

NIA presents "College Conspiracy"

Not long ago, it was said that higher education was the path to success. Today, with the average student graduating with $24K in loans subsidized by Uncles Sam, this is no longer the case. Tuition rates continue to skyrocket despite a slowdown in the economy, and return on investment is being called into question.

The video makes some interesting points, however, be aware of some of NIA's self-promotion.

You know it's bad when...

From Zero Hedge:

The Central Bank of Zimbabwe is now evaluating introducing a gold-backed Zimbabwean dollar, and, in keeping with the Salvador Dali feel to the past 48 hours, that the "days of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency are numbered."

Obama Spiking the Football?

                   

A friend told me a story about legendary college football coach, Joe Paterno. Paterno tell his players, “when you get to the end zone, act like you’ve been there before.” That’s a lesson that Obama should heed.

So with Osama dead, Obama has now embarked on his national, “I killed Osama, re-elect me tour!” The sappy, lefty Hollywood types, who once derided Bush for his knuckle dragging tactics, have been oddly silent as Obama goes coast to coast boasting about how, “he” and “I” and “me” was solely responsible for the death of Osama. I credit Michael Moore for not remaining silent on this issue.  Of course the SEALS did their part, and we can thank them because Joe Biden blew their cover and gave them all the praise they could never want.  However, while Obama is spiking the ball over and over, no one mentions that under Bush 575 soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Under Obama, 915 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan ---- Spike the ball again…wait…what? I guess the press will ignore that for the moment because it is not convenient to the re-elect Obama narrative they have set. (Consider the AP's poll showing Obama with a boost in approval ratings to 60 percent. However, if you looked closely, you will notice that the poll has a 17 point slant for Democrats.)  

It’s hard to imagine Obama as a hawkish, God bless America President unless your memory cuts out at about 15 minutes. I could write about for pages about this, but listen for yourself.

I suppose this administration is happy this peach fell into their lap.  This is a close to military service as many of them will ever get. Six months ago the military was a bunch of bigoted homophobes, but now they are superheroes. With the death of Osama, Democrats now get to flex their muscles and talk about their victory in a war they have never supported, fought by men they have disparaged, called war criminals, torturers, and murderers. Obama and friends will now be memorialized in his awkward and staged situation room photo. For aging liberals, this is going to be the new Woodstock and will probably breed a new era of liars… I was there, man!

I would probably be depressed about all this until I read the following in an email, “Thanking Obama for killing Bin Laden is like going into McDonald's and thanking Ronald McDonald for the hamburger... It's the guy making the burger that should get the credit, not the clown.”

Chimerica's Slippery Slope to Stagflation_English_Caixin

Chimerica's Slippery Slope to Stagflation_English_Caixin - Recommended reading

As my friend Free Market points out in his post, "In the end, Osama Wins" a giant welfare and and warefare state are not benchmarks for freedom. This sentiment is echoed by Andy Xie in his article for Caixin online. Mr. Xie writes, " Healthcare, the financial sector and the military industrial complex account for about 30 percent of the U.S. economy – more than twice the levels found in other developed economies, or in the United States three decades ago. This suggests the United States is carrying a 15 percent extra cost to generate the same output. Of course, the economy should be slow.

But the U.S. government is trying to simulate the demand side to solve a supply-side problem. That doesn't resolve the problem but instead creates a new one – inflation. No amount of monetary stimulus by the Fed can bring high growth back to the United States, in my view."

I highly recommend this article for your review.

In the end, Osama wins

Today, with the new of Osama bin Laden's death, I noticed a lot of celebrating today on the news channels, in the workplace, and on Facebook. I wasn't one of them; I stayed out of the discussions. Had bin Laden been killed or captured a few years ago, then maybe I'd feel different. Today, I feel nothing.

A decade after 9/11, the U.S. is still fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya. Our deficits are out of control, with our currency rapidly depreciating, along with our economic and civil liberties. What kind "freedoms" are the soldiers fighting for these days? To be groped by the TSA and have the IRS enforcing a new healthcare mandate? It puzzles me that so many of us get caught up in the moment without looking at the big picture.

This isn't a victory. And like the unwinnable war on drugs, another leader will rise to take Osama's place with revenge on his mind. Neither a large warfare or welfare state equals freedom.

Federal Revenue and Spending: Budget Chart Book

Federal Revenue and Spending: Budget Chart Book

Recommended for those of you who like charts.

Advice from Jim Rogers

In this interview with Brett Owns, down-to-earth billionaire Jim Rogers covers the following topics:

• Still a Bull on China, and the Renminbi Too
• Commodities Should Remain Hot
• Bearish on the US and UK – Crisis Soon?
• Does the End of QE2 Really Matter?
• Actions to Consider – Investing and Personal

When I started taking charge of my own money, Mr. Rogers was the one of the people I looked to for how to spot the long-term trends in commodities. Always humble, always entertaining, Rogers has an excellent grasp of Austrian economics and believes that farming is once again a top profession to be in.

Angst in the United States: What's wrong with America's economy? | The Economist

Angst in the United States: What's wrong with America's economy? | The Economist

This is an excellent article worth reading from the Economist. I think it gives a good perspective of our current financial mess and how our leaders are missing the mark. While I do not agree with the proposed European style remedies to our problems, I think the author hits the nail on head identifying the mess of our current tax structure and empty misguided policies like subsidies for green technology.

Good economic podcasts for the weekend

Korelin Economics Report

Al Korelin has interview segments with James Turk, founder of GoldMoney.com and Jeff Deist, chief of staff for Ron Paul. He also profiles some great companies involved in commodities. I never miss his podcasts, which are broadcast six days a week.

The real White House Easter Egg Hunt

Mercatus Center Paper on Debt Ceiling

Excellent read on why not raising the debt ceiling can work.