investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Not Too Late Declare Your Independence from Currency Debasement

Welcome to this week ’ s Market Wrap Podcast , I ’ m Mike Gleason .
Last week we heard the first half of an interview Money Metals president Stefan Gleason did during a recent 360 Gold Summit .
Today we ’ ll hear part two of that interview .
Stefan gives some important warnings to gold and silver investors ; discusses why he favors one of the precious metals over the others and also talks about some really important things to consider when selecting a precious metals dealer .
Don ’ t miss the eye-opening conclusion of Stefan ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week ’ s market update .
Precious metals markets kicked off trading for the third quarter on Wednesday by posting modest declines across the board .
However , the technical bigger picture for gold and silver still looks strong after the metals recorded impressive gains in Q2 .
Gold finished out the quarter trading at its highest level since 2012 .
That has bulls anticipating new all-time highs for the monetary metal in the near future .
As of this Thursday morning recording , gold trades at $ 1,783 an ounce and is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Even though gold is outperforming the stock market in 2020 , it isn ’ t getting much attention from the Wall Street-centric financial media .
We suspect public interest in precious metals will begin to surge once gold hits a new record and trades over $ 2,000 .
Then the media will be forced to start paying more attention to the sector .
Turning to silver , spot prices currently come in at $ 18.16 per ounce with the white metal showing a 2 % gain year to date .
That belies the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % since the March panic bottom .
Silver has also significantly outperformed gold over that period .
The gold : silver ratio has narrowed from an unprecedented extreme of 127:1 to 98:1 today .
With investors being able to obtain 98 ounces of silver for about the same price as a single ounce of gold , silver still represents a compelling value proposition within the precious metals space .
Money Metals Exchange currently has ample inventories of most silver bullion products .
Bullion premiums are also a bit lower compared to where they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coming up on Saturday , it ’ s an opportunity to reflect on America ’ s sound money foundations – and how far we have since strayed from them .
Thomas Jefferson once said of fiat money that it “ is liable to be abused , has been , is , and forever will be abused , in every country in which it is permitted.
” The author of the Declaration of Independence believed that precious metals were a necessary foundation of a free and fair economy .
The Founders specifically wrote gold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the legal tender of each of the states .
They feared that concentrating power in the hands of a central bank would pose a grave threat to the liberty of the people .
But even their worst fears have been far exceeded by the Federal Reserve ’ s recent QE-infinity power grabs .
The Fed has made the entire economy dependent on it and controlled by its arbitrary decisions .
Central bankers and politicians together have rendered the average American a permanent financial slave to accumulated debt obligations that can never be paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rising up in anger against the corrupt central banking cartel that is actually oppressing them , some Americans have been duped into attacking their own history .
Big banks and big tech companies are literally pouring millions of dollars into groups that are fomenting racial and social unrest in cities across the country .
It ’ s culminating in the toppling of statues that the mob finds offensive for any reason .
It was never really about slavery .
And the mob was never going to be placated by the purging of Confederate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now targeting Abraham Lincoln emancipation statues in Boston and Washington , D.C .
These monuments to freedom were originally erected with the support of freed blacks .
But today ’ s cultural revolutionaries disapprove of the way emancipation was depicted by those who actually witnessed it .
And so , they demand that it be erased from America ’ s historical memory .
Their end goal is to completely wipe out American history as it was understood by the people who lived through it .
The only approved history will be that which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
By severing any tangible connections between Americans and their past , we will be left demoralized and easier to control .
For all his faults , President Donald Trump seems to understand what ’ s at stake in the war on history .
On Wednesday , he vowed to veto a Senate bill that would erase the names of Confederate generals from U.S. military bases .
One is named for Robert E. Lee in honor of his widely praised generalship and character .
Like Jefferson and Lincoln , Lee opposed slavery on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the war between the States , General Lee was one of the strongest voices for bringing the country back together in a spirit of unity .
Today some fear that deepening divisions in America could cause the Union to break apart all over again .
The upcoming election will certainly be contentious .
And depending on the outcome , violence and unrest in the streets could escalate .
Regardless of who wins , America ’ s Fed-fueled debt crisis will only worsen .
The only political solution in sight for record-high budget @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more borrowing backed up by unlimited Fed bond purchases .
In other words , more U.S. currency will have to be created out of thin air by the trillions .
Inflation will become a bigger problem .
Then , perhaps , an all-out currency crisis will hit as Americans and global holders of dollars lose confidence .
In the meantime , you can take steps to prepare yourself financially for more currency debasement ahead .
You can declare your independence from the inflationary fiat system by putting a portion of your finances on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gold and silver .
Well now , without further delay , let ’ s get to this week ’ s featured interview of Money Metals president Stefan Gleason as we listen to the conclusion of his remarks during the 360 Gold Summit – a discussion about all things precious metals .
We start off where Stefan answers the important question about how to select a precious metals dealer .
Stefan Gleason : You want be careful about who you are doing business with , you want to do a little research .
Probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how it goes .
See how the service is .
See how the delivery is .
Another place to acquire precious metals would be from a local dealer .
Money Metals Exchange is a national dealer .
There is other several other good national dealers .
Local dealers are a little bit more sort of unknown .
Some are very good .
Some are not .
They may not be as well-equipped locally to detect fakes , which are not a big problem , but they are out there .
And there may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but look at your options .
Obviously , our customers are buying from us .
Many of them bought locally and then changed to us .
Pete Fetig : That is a really interesting observation with the sales tax .
When you think about it , you are actually exchanging one form of currency for real money .
You are not buying anything .
You are not selling .
You are exchanging .
Stefan Gleason : Right .
That is an extremely concerning subject .
As you pointed out , you are changing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars or coins for another form of money that is recognized by our Constitution as money .
Article 1 section 10 of the Constitution sets up gold and silver as the only money that is supposed to be accepted in the States .
We have also obviously got away from that .
The idea that you would have to pay sales taxes as though it some sort of good as opposed to money .
Could imagine if you went to the bank and had to pay sales tax to break a $ 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I mean that is basically the equivalent .
Gold and silver is disfavored by the sales tax laws in many states .
And then at the federal level , you have to pay capital gains taxes when your gold and silver goes up in dollar terms , but it may not have really gone up in the context of purchasing power .
What happened was the dollar went down .
So it ’ s kind of an example of the inflation tax .
You are being taxed essentially through the capital gains tax @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creating .
And so these are the public policies that we are working to spotlight and hopefully change over time .
That is to repeal the sales tax laws that are discriminatory against people for exchanging one form of money for a better , more trusted form of money .
And then of course , the discriminatory capital gains tax and , unfortunately , it is even at a higher rate than say a stock .
A long-term capital gain on gold bullion is taxed at 28 % and not 15 % like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stock .
So there are definitely some problems .
We can get into this in a minute .
That is one of the advantages of holding precious metals in your IRA , is that you can buy and sell without having to pay those gains every time .
Pete Fetig : Is there anything more important than choosing the right product and getting it for a low price ?
Stefan Gleason : The most important thing is getting delivery .
And that means getting your metal .
I would say that in some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ red flag .
If somebody is selling gold and silver for below its actual value , there is probably something wrong .
We recently ran across somebody who had bought some gold from a Bitcoin exchange and he bought it at a discount , a discount to its market price .
Well , that is kind of a red flag .
Gold and silver is not at a discount to the spot price , particularly on the buy side .
So the lowest price is not necessarily the best , safest place to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very good low-cost dealers , including Money Metals Exchange , but there ’ s also been horror stories of low-cost dealers .
I will mention one that went out of business , Tulving Company .
They were super low , no service , almost kind of mean to their customers , if you dealt with them .
Eventually , at one point about 2 years ago , 100s of people stopped getting delivery .
Something like $ 20 million worth of gold and silver was never delivered .
So getting a low price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you are not actually getting your metal .
The most important thing is working with somebody and getting what you paid for .
Pete Fetig : Very true .
How does the average person trust a dealer or an organization that supplies the coin or bullion ?
Stefan Gleason : Well , the first thing is doing a little research .
You should always do that with any purchase .
You should know who you ’ re dealing with .
When it comes to precious metal dealers , the first thing I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ See if there are complaints .
See how they have handled those complaints .
Everybody probably can have a complaint , but how they dealt with those , how many they have , what kind of rating they have , that is one way of doing the research .
There is another site called Bullion Directory , which has reviewed 100s of companies across the globe .
We were honored to have been named precious metals dealer of the year in the United States last year by that ratings group , international ratings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can do research , the BBB and Bullion.Directory .
The other thing is size them up .
Look at their website .
Look at the content that they have .
If they have an email list , get on your email list .
And start small .
If you are worried about it , you ’ re not 100 % sure , buy a small amount and see how it goes .
See how good the communication is .
See if they provide you with transparent pricing and fast delivery .
Do they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Was their invoice exactly what you expected ?
Was it packaged well ?
Was there pride put into the way they handled everything with their customer ?
If you have a good experience , that is a really good sign .
Obviously , it is not a guarantee , but you really need to pay attention to the people you are doing business with .
And that ’ s just as much , if not more the case , when it comes to precious metals .
Pete Fetig : What sort of considerations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acquiring ?
Stefan Gleason : I would say that there are a couple things that I would emphasize .
One is what are you going to do with it when you get it ?
Where are you going to put it ?
How are you going to store it ?
Most of our customers probably keep it somewhere in their house .
A few will put it in their bank safe deposit box .
Some will stored in a depository or at a Brink ’ s facility .
Some will put it in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hide it in other unpredictable places .
So if you have a lot of precious metals , you probably want to have some of it stored remotely because that is a lot to have in your house .
I do think that everybody should have the ability to get their hands on their gold and silver , at least some of it , very quickly if they need to .
So storage is one consideration .
Some people are reluctant – and I can understand why – to store it in their bank @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the banks are part of this war on cash and even war on precious metals .
Some banks are saying you can not hold gold and silver or cash in your bank safe deposit box .
You may be banking with one of those banks .
But there are also concerns from back in the 1930s .
FDR issued an executive order banning private gold ownership in America .
Some people felt like the gold that they had in the safe deposit box was being disclosed and potentially seized .
That never actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involuntarily , or many people did .
But there ’ s less privacy perhaps , if you hold it in the bank .
I think people , rightly , are little reluctant to do that .
The other thing is , in addition to figure how you are going to store it and where you are going to put it , is really to think about the responsibility that you have as a precious metals owner or as a person , to keep your financial business to yourself .
A trusted person or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , if something happens to you , but you should not be talking about how you bought all this gold and silver .
Bringing out your collection and showing it to everybody that comes and visits .
There ’ s been , unfortunately , some really horrific situations where people have not kept her mouth shut .
Had been talking way too much about what they own and found themselves with a home invasion or a robbery .
So that ’ s the other thing .
Figure out how you are going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep your financial business as private as possible .
Pete Fetig : Very good points .
How can the average person best understand appreciation of his holdings or the upside value ?
Stefan Gleason : The first reason to own gold and silver is not necessarily for these spectacular gains .
Although , I think you are going to see those , at least in dollar terms .
The first reason is to own it as insurance and as a hedge .
But , particularly with silver , probably also with gold , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even real terms .
Right now , we are seeing negative interest rates emerge in Europe .
We are seeing 0 % interest rates here in the U.S. One of the big knocks on gold and silver is , “ It does not pay any interest.
” Well , neither does the dollar now and then on top of that you have the devaluation of the principal when you own dollars .
So gold and silver are becoming very attractive assets .
That is particularly been evidenced in the last few months .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So there ’ s definitely some real potential upside to gold and silver .
In terms of when to get out , I think that you probably want to be owning gold and silver forever , a certain amount .
But if you ’ re more of a speculator and you have larger amounts , than you probably do want to be looking for opportunities to sell over time .
But I would say right now is a buying opportunity .
Down the road , you could see silver at $ 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be several thousand dollars an ounce before this is all over , particularly if the devaluation continues and maybe you ’ ll want to lighten your holdings .
Right now , I think you are wise to be in the accumulation mode .
Unless , you need the money because you need to liquidate for other reasons .
Pete Fetig : That makes sense .
I guess related would be , when might an average person consider liquidating his holdings ?
Are there any solid event types that might precipitate liquidating all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what you have ?
Stefan Gleason : If you see the U.S. government live within its means and the debt goes from $ 18 trillion down to 0 , that might be a good time to seriously lighten up on precious metals .
I personally don ’ t see that happening .
I do not think most people do .
I think we are locked on a path here .
So I think there is always going to be a significant role for precious metals in your portfolio regardless .
But perhaps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanity in Washington DC and around the world , and peace emerging , and all these geopolitical things simmering down , and terrorism going away , I think it might be time to seriously consider selling a fair amount of your gold and silver , but we ’ re not in that situation .
The way to approach this is to not try to pick a bottom or a top .
It would be accumulate over time in smaller amounts .
Don ’ t go all in and don ’ t sell all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this as a way of getting on a plan and slowly and steadily increasing the number of ounces you own .
And then , if we get down the road , and you do see things changing , and 40 % of the American people are talking about … You ’ re getting your shoes shined and the guy is talking about owning gold and silver , maybe that is the time to start selling .
But we are nowhere near that situation and most people are dangerously exposed in not owning any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monthly plan and accumulate .
Now is the time to accumulate .
Down the road would be a time to potentially disgorge some your holdings or if you have a need for it… if you ’ re in retirement or you have some big expenses .
Obviously , you do not want to lock up all of your available cash in precious metals .
Just do what you can over time to accumulate and I think you will be rewarded for it .
Pete Fetig : And somewhat related in terms of best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best places to liquidate it ?
Is there a type of list that would-be investors might consider comparing against or going to ?
Stefan Gleason : Well , usually , and certainly it ’ s the case with Money Metals Exchange , you can sell to the same people that you buy from .
We ’ ll buy anybody ’ s gold or silver coins , bars and rounds .
We obviously check it and ensure that it is what it is .
We make sure we have it in our facility before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verify it .
But we buy back and we would love to buy back .
Unfortunately for us , most of our customers are just buying from us and very few are selling to us .
So we actually have to buy from mints and wholesalers and the U.S. Mint and so forth .
We ’ d love to buy more of our inventory from our customers because obviously we are buying from a middleman .
We do make a market .
Probably only about 5 to 10 % of our inventory is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eager to buy and we offer probably the highest , or among the highest , buyback prices of any of our competitors .
We are as eager to buy from our customers as we are to sell to our customers .
And that ’ s probably the case with most dealers .
We are not retailers .
We are dealers and that means that we both and sell .
You probably would go back to where you bought it , but you do not have to .
We buy stuff from people that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are happy to do so .
The items that we deal in are very standard .
Recognizable .
Liquid .
Some people may want to sell to their local dealer and that ’ s fine too .
They want to walk out with the cash .
They may not get as good a price , but it depends on what your priorities are .
There is no problem selling your precious metals .
But that ’ s a very good question because a lot of times people say , “ How do I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ?
” It is really about as easy to sell it as it is to buy it .
You contact a dealer or walk into a dealer shop .
They offer you a price .
You give them the metal and they pay you .
It ’ s that simple .
It is about the same process in reverse as when you buy from us .
Pete Fetig : I ’ m going to switch gears just a little bit here .
How about other precious metals , like platinum , palladium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an investor should be considering acquiring those precious metals or vice versa ?
Or liquidating , if they are already held ?
Stefan Gleason : Platinum and palladiums are the other two major precious metals .
There ’ s rhodium , for example , which is even less considered an investment asset .
Platinum and palladium are still a very small part of the precious metals market .
There ’ s less of it , I should mention , but it is not as big of an investment asset .
It is more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ palladium are used for catalytic converters , diesel and gasoline catalytic converters .
With automotive demand , for example , platinum and palladium can go up and down based on what is happening in the automotive market .
It is also a financial asset .
There are ETFs now .
Of course , there are physical bars and rounds and coins , of all of these , including platinum and palladium .
But I would definitely not get into those until you have already got a significant or at least a reasonable holding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two that you want to start with .
Platinum and palladium is a little bit more for down the road .
In terms of the upside , again , a lot of it is driven by industrial demand , but they are also undervalued versus gold .
As I discussed earlier , silver is way undervalued versus gold historically , both in recent history as well as the longer-term history .
But platinum and palladium are undervalued .
Platinum is way below the price of 1 ounce of gold and it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price of gold over time .
Platinum is way undervalued versus gold .
But again , that is really not something to jump into until after you already have a meaningful holding of gold and silver .
Pete Fetig : It also sounds like something that you probably would not do until you better understood the market and price swings and so forth of the precious metals in general .
What about owning precious metals in your IRA .
How does that work ?
Should you own the only physical metal ?
Or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stefan Gleason : ETFs again , if you want to trade and you want to do in your stock account , it is convenient , but there these precious metals backed ETFs .
They ’ re really a proxy .
You don ’ t own direct title to the metal .
You own shares of a trust that supposedly owns the metal and then there is a whole series of custodians and sub custodians and sub sub custodians involved in that kind of instrument .
So if you ’ re buying gold and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counterparty risk into something that is supposed to be your safe asset ?
There are reasons people want to buy that .
Certainly , it is convenient , but it ’ s not necessarily cheaper than owning it and storing it and paying the storage fees yourself .
There ’ s still fees involved in the ETFs .
I don ’ t think that ’ s really something people should be doing .
They should be buying physical gold and silver that they have direct title to .
Pete Fetig : What sort @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person do for themselves to be better prepared to consider precious metals investing ?
Stefan Gleason : This is something our company , Money Metals Exchanges , is really big on and that is education and content .
We want our customers to be well-informed and we want to keep them updated .
There are lots of websites out there , but a great place is to go to MoneyMetals.com and get on our email list .
We send out 2 or 3 informative articles about the markets each week .
Pay attention @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in your hand .
Start thinking about it .
Start thinking about what it means .
Compare it to paper money .
It ’ s interesting , the first time I had gold and silver my hand 20 years ago , it really got the wheels turning .
What is this fiat money ?
What is this Federal Reserve note ?
Why does it have value ?
Why do people accept it ?
And compare that to this beautiful , timeless metal of gold and silver and it really gets the wheels turning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process for me .
And I think it does a lot of people .
And we think the best customers are the best informed .
And that ’ s certainly what we strive for .
I want to get back to precious metals IRAs .
That ’ s one thing that is an area where people might be best able to put money into precious metals because they have IRA accounts .
There something called a self-directed IRA .
You can set up an account with a self-directed IRA company and then work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a depository , you can directly hold title , your IRA can directly hold title to physical metal inside of your IRAs .
That ’ s another way of getting into this market that we definitely encourage people to look at .
Pete Fetig : A lot safer than to be speculating in the stock market .
That is for sure .
Is there any method to the madness in how the average person might approach what he considers owner or holding ?
When I say that , for example , is there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or rules of ratio for gold to silver holdings .
Stefan Gleason : I would say that the more likely you are to need to access the gold and silver and turn it into cash or liquidate out of it… the more likely that that ’ s the case , probably the higher percentage that you want to have in gold .
Gold tends to be a little more consistent .
It ’ s rising , but it ’ s less of a roller coaster .
Silver can be quite volatile when priced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of that is just the volatility of the dollar itself .
But I would say if you ’ re looking at a 3 to 5 year horizon , then definitely favor silver .
If you ’ re only going to own gold and silver for a year or 2 and think you might need to liquidate out of it , then perhaps you should favor gold and have a majority of your funds in gold .
But this isn ’ t something that you should be buying and selling like stock .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not necessarily looking to liquidate it any time soon .
It ’ s there if you need it .
Do not necessarily plan on buying gold and silver , if you think you are going to need the money in 6 months .
There are some transaction costs involved .
Not significant , if you go to the right places , but that is a something to keep in mind .
Going back to you what I said earlier .
Silver is definitely the more potentially explosive upside metal .
As long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I would definitely have a majority of your funds in silver , but make sure you get some gold .
Pete Fetig : Very good .
Well we ’ re running up against a time constraint here .
I wanted to thank you for joining us and offering all of your just excellent insights and observations and answers to all the questions that we have thrown at you today .
Before we leave though , I would like to offer you the opportunity to let people know how to reach you and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Stefan Gleason : Thank you so much for the opportunity .
And hopefully , I ’ ve shown education is a big part of what we do at Money Metals .
I think when compared to other dealers that ’ s one of our very strongest differentiating factors .
Go to MoneyMetals.com .
Look at the products .
Most importantly , get on our email list and let us continue to educate you about the market .
We also have a monthly savings plan , which you can get into , where you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where we debit your bank account or whatever your instructions are , and send you on a steady schedule gold and silver .
And that ’ s a great way to accumulate , kind of put it on auto pilot .
So that ’ s available at MoneyMetals.com as well .
But I certainly really appreciated the opportunity to talk about this important subject and also about a company .
Pete Fetig : Well thank you for joining us today .
And folks , thanks for listening in and we hope you guys @ @ @ @ @

Welcome to this week’s Market Wrap Podcast, I’m Mike Gleason.
Last week we heard the first half of an interview Money Metals president Stefan Gleason did during a recent 360 Gold Summit. Today we’ll hear part two of that interview. Stefan gives some important warnings to gold and silver investors; discusses why he favors one of the precious metals over the others and also talks about some really important things to consider when selecting a precious metals dealer. Don’t miss the eye-opening conclusion of Stefan’s interview, coming up after this week’s market update.
Precious metals markets kicked off trading for the third quarter on Wednesday by posting modest declines across the board.
However, the technical bigger picture for gold and silver still looks strong after the metals recorded impressive gains in Q2. Gold finished out the quarter trading at its highest level since 2012. That has bulls anticipating new all-time highs for the monetary metal in the near future.
As of this Thursday morning recording, gold trades at $1,783 an ounce and is up 17% for the year.
Even though gold is outperforming the stock market in 2020, it isn’t getting much attention from the Wall Street-centric financial media. We suspect public interest in precious metals will begin to surge once gold hits a new record and trades over $2,000. Then the media will be forced to start paying more attention to the sector.
Turning to silver, spot prices currently come in at $18.16 per ounce with the white metal showing a 2% gain year to date. That belies the fact that silver has surged over 50% since the March panic bottom.
Silver has also significantly outperformed gold over that period. The gold:silver ratio has narrowed from an unprecedented extreme of 127:1 to 98:1 today. With investors being able to obtain 98 ounces of silver for about the same price as a single ounce of gold, silver still represents a compelling value proposition within the precious metals space.
Money Metals Exchange currently has ample inventories of most silver bullion products. Bullion premiums are also a bit lower compared to where they were this spring.
With Independence Day coming up on Saturday, it’s an opportunity to reflect on America’s sound money foundations – and how far we have since strayed from them.
Thomas Jefferson once said of fiat money that it “is liable to be abused, has been, is, and forever will be abused, in every country in which it is permitted.”
The author of the Declaration of Independence believed that precious metals were a necessary foundation of a free and fair economy. The Founders specifically wrote gold and silver into the U.S. Constitution as the legal tender of each of the states.
They feared that concentrating power in the hands of a central bank would pose a grave threat to the liberty of the people. But even their worst fears have been far exceeded by the Federal Reserve’s recent QE-infinity power grabs.
The Fed has made the entire economy dependent on it and controlled by its arbitrary decisions. Central bankers and politicians together have rendered the average American a permanent financial slave to accumulated debt obligations that can never be paid off in a lifetime.
Instead of rising up in anger against the corrupt central banking cartel that is actually oppressing them, some Americans have been duped into attacking their own history. Big banks and big tech companies are literally pouring millions of dollars into groups that are fomenting racial and social unrest in cities across the country.
It’s culminating in the toppling of statues that the mob finds offensive for any reason. It was never really about slavery. And the mob was never going to be placated by the purging of Confederate symbols.
The war on history is now targeting Abraham Lincoln emancipation statues in Boston and Washington, D.C. These monuments to freedom were originally erected with the support of freed blacks.
But today’s cultural revolutionaries disapprove of the way emancipation was depicted by those who actually witnessed it. And so, they demand that it be erased from America’s historical memory.
Their end goal is to completely wipe out American history as it was understood by the people who lived through it. The only approved history will be that which can be seen through their ideological lens. By severing any tangible connections between Americans and their past, we will be left demoralized and easier to control.
For all his faults, President Donald Trump seems to understand what’s at stake in the war on history. On Wednesday, he vowed to veto a Senate bill that would erase the names of Confederate generals from U.S. military bases.
One is named for Robert E. Lee in honor of his widely praised generalship and character. Like Jefferson and Lincoln, Lee opposed slavery on moral grounds. And at the conclusion of the war between the States, General Lee was one of the strongest voices for bringing the country back together in a spirit of unity.
Today some fear that deepening divisions in America could cause the Union to break apart all over again. The upcoming election will certainly be contentious. And depending on the outcome, violence and unrest in the streets could escalate.
Regardless of who wins, America’s Fed-fueled debt crisis will only worsen. The only political solution in sight for record-high budget deficits is to paper over them with more borrowing backed up by unlimited Fed bond purchases. In other words, more U.S. currency will have to be created out of thin air by the trillions.
Inflation will become a bigger problem. Then, perhaps, an all-out currency crisis will hit as Americans and global holders of dollars lose confidence.
In the meantime, you can take steps to prepare yourself financially for more currency debasement ahead. You can declare your independence from the inflationary fiat system by putting a portion of your finances on a hard money standard backed by physical gold and silver.
Well now, without further delay, let’s get to this week’s featured interview of Money Metals president Stefan Gleason as we listen to the conclusion of his remarks during the 360 Gold Summit – a discussion about all things precious metals. We start off where Stefan answers the important question about how to select a precious metals dealer.
Stefan Gleason: You want be careful about who you are doing business with, you want to do a little research. Probably start small with that dealer and see how it goes. See how the service is. See how the delivery is. Another place to acquire precious metals would be from a local dealer. Money Metals Exchange is a national dealer. There is other several other good national dealers.
Local dealers are a little bit more sort of unknown. Some are very good. Some are not. They may not be as well-equipped locally to detect fakes, which are not a big problem, but they are out there. And there may less of an education component involved, but look at your options. Obviously, our customers are buying from us. Many of them bought locally and then changed to us.
Pete Fetig: That is a really interesting observation with the sales tax. When you think about it, you are actually exchanging one form of currency for real money. You are not buying anything. You are not selling. You are exchanging.
Stefan Gleason: Right. That is an extremely concerning subject. As you pointed out, you are changing one form of money, paper U.S. dollars or coins for another form of money that is recognized by our Constitution as money. Article 1 section 10 of the Constitution sets up gold and silver as the only money that is supposed to be accepted in the States. We have also obviously got away from that. The idea that you would have to pay sales taxes as though it some sort of good as opposed to money. Could imagine if you went to the bank and had to pay sales tax to break a $10 bill into a roll of quarters? I mean that is basically the equivalent. Gold and silver is disfavored by the sales tax laws in many states. And then at the federal level, you have to pay capital gains taxes when your gold and silver goes up in dollar terms, but it may not have really gone up in the context of purchasing power. What happened was the dollar went down. So it’s kind of an example of the inflation tax. You are being taxed essentially through the capital gains tax on the inflation that the government is creating.
And so these are the public policies that we are working to spotlight and hopefully change over time. That is to repeal the sales tax laws that are discriminatory against people for exchanging one form of money for a better, more trusted form of money. And then of course, the discriminatory capital gains tax and, unfortunately, it is even at a higher rate than say a stock. A long-term capital gain on gold bullion is taxed at 28% and not 15% like you would with a gain in a stock. So there are definitely some problems. We can get into this in a minute. That is one of the advantages of holding precious metals in your IRA, is that you can buy and sell without having to pay those gains every time.
Pete Fetig: Is there anything more important than choosing the right product and getting it for a low price?
Stefan Gleason: The most important thing is getting delivery. And that means getting your metal. I would say that in some cases the lowest price can be a red flag. If somebody is selling gold and silver for below its actual value, there is probably something wrong. We recently ran across somebody who had bought some gold from a Bitcoin exchange and he bought it at a discount, a discount to its market price. Well, that is kind of a red flag. Gold and silver is not at a discount to the spot price, particularly on the buy side. So the lowest price is not necessarily the best, safest place to go. Obviously, there is some very good low-cost dealers, including Money Metals Exchange, but there’s also been horror stories of low-cost dealers. I will mention one that went out of business, Tulving Company. They were super low, no service, almost kind of mean to their customers, if you dealt with them. Eventually, at one point about 2 years ago, 100s of people stopped getting delivery. Something like $20 million worth of gold and silver was never delivered. So getting a low price is no good at all, if you are not actually getting your metal. The most important thing is working with somebody and getting what you paid for.
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Pete Fetig: Very true. How does the average person trust a dealer or an organization that supplies the coin or bullion?
Stefan Gleason: Well, the first thing is doing a little research. You should always do that with any purchase. You should know who you’re dealing with. When it comes to precious metal dealers, the first thing I think look them up on the BBB. See if there are complaints. See how they have handled those complaints. Everybody probably can have a complaint, but how they dealt with those, how many they have, what kind of rating they have, that is one way of doing the research.
There is another site called Bullion Directory, which has reviewed 100s of companies across the globe. We were honored to have been named precious metals dealer of the year in the United States last year by that ratings group, international ratings group. Those are two things you can do research, the BBB and Bullion.Directory.
The other thing is size them up. Look at their website. Look at the content that they have. If they have an email list, get on your email list. And start small. If you are worried about it, you’re not 100% sure, buy a small amount and see how it goes. See how good the communication is. See if they provide you with transparent pricing and fast delivery. Do they confirm that they got your payment? Was their invoice exactly what you expected? Was it packaged well? Was there pride put into the way they handled everything with their customer? If you have a good experience, that is a really good sign. Obviously, it is not a guarantee, but you really need to pay attention to the people you are doing business with. And that’s just as much, if not more the case, when it comes to precious metals.
Pete Fetig: What sort of considerations are important to make before and after acquiring?
Stefan Gleason: I would say that there are a couple things that I would emphasize. One is what are you going to do with it when you get it? Where are you going to put it? How are you going to store it? Most of our customers probably keep it somewhere in their house. A few will put it in their bank safe deposit box. Some will stored in a depository or at a Brink’s facility. Some will put it in their home safe, but some will hide it in other unpredictable places. So if you have a lot of precious metals, you probably want to have some of it stored remotely because that is a lot to have in your house. I do think that everybody should have the ability to get their hands on their gold and silver, at least some of it, very quickly if they need to. So storage is one consideration. Some people are reluctant – and I can understand why – to store it in their bank safe deposit box. In fact, the banks are part of this war on cash and even war on precious metals. Some banks are saying you cannot hold gold and silver or cash in your bank safe deposit box. You may be banking with one of those banks.
But there are also concerns from back in the 1930s. FDR issued an executive order banning private gold ownership in America. Some people felt like the gold that they had in the safe deposit box was being disclosed and potentially seized. That never actually happened, but most people turned it involuntarily, or many people did. But there’s less privacy perhaps, if you hold it in the bank. I think people, rightly, are little reluctant to do that.
The other thing is, in addition to figure how you are going to store it and where you are going to put it, is really to think about the responsibility that you have as a precious metals owner or as a person, to keep your financial business to yourself. A trusted person or a spouse, certainly should be aware, if something happens to you, but you should not be talking about how you bought all this gold and silver. Bringing out your collection and showing it to everybody that comes and visits. There’s been, unfortunately, some really horrific situations where people have not kept her mouth shut. Had been talking way too much about what they own and found themselves with a home invasion or a robbery. So that’s the other thing. Figure out how you are going to store it and also discipline yourself to keep your financial business as private as possible.
Pete Fetig: Very good points. How can the average person best understand appreciation of his holdings or the upside value?
Stefan Gleason: The first reason to own gold and silver is not necessarily for these spectacular gains. Although, I think you are going to see those, at least in dollar terms. The first reason is to own it as insurance and as a hedge. But, particularly with silver, probably also with gold, there is a huge potential upside, even real terms. Right now, we are seeing negative interest rates emerge in Europe. We are seeing 0% interest rates here in the U.S. One of the big knocks on gold and silver is, “It does not pay any interest.” Well, neither does the dollar now and then on top of that you have the devaluation of the principal when you own dollars. So gold and silver are becoming very attractive assets. That is particularly been evidenced in the last few months. Gold and silver have done extremely well. So there’s definitely some real potential upside to gold and silver.
In terms of when to get out, I think that you probably want to be owning gold and silver forever, a certain amount. But if you’re more of a speculator and you have larger amounts, than you probably do want to be looking for opportunities to sell over time. But I would say right now is a buying opportunity. Down the road, you could see silver at $100 an ounce or even higher. Gold could be several thousand dollars an ounce before this is all over, particularly if the devaluation continues and maybe you’ll want to lighten your holdings. Right now, I think you are wise to be in the accumulation mode. Unless, you need the money because you need to liquidate for other reasons.
Pete Fetig: That makes sense. I guess related would be, when might an average person consider liquidating his holdings? Are there any solid event types that might precipitate liquidating all of what you have versus only some of what you have?
Stefan Gleason: If you see the U.S. government live within its means and the debt goes from $18 trillion down to 0, that might be a good time to seriously lighten up on precious metals. I personally don’t see that happening. I do not think most people do. I think we are locked on a path here. So I think there is always going to be a significant role for precious metals in your portfolio regardless. But perhaps, if you saw an outbreak of sanity in Washington DC and around the world, and peace emerging, and all these geopolitical things simmering down, and terrorism going away, I think it might be time to seriously consider selling a fair amount of your gold and silver, but we’re not in that situation.
The way to approach this is to not try to pick a bottom or a top. It would be accumulate over time in smaller amounts. Don’t go all in and don’t sell all at once. I would look at this as a way of getting on a plan and slowly and steadily increasing the number of ounces you own. And then, if we get down the road, and you do see things changing, and 40% of the American people are talking about … You’re getting your shoes shined and the guy is talking about owning gold and silver, maybe that is the time to start selling. But we are nowhere near that situation and most people are dangerously exposed in not owning any. So I would get on a monthly plan and accumulate. Now is the time to accumulate. Down the road would be a time to potentially disgorge some your holdings or if you have a need for it… if you’re in retirement or you have some big expenses. Obviously, you do not want to lock up all of your available cash in precious metals. Just do what you can over time to accumulate and I think you will be rewarded for it.
Pete Fetig: And somewhat related in terms of best place to get it. What about best places to liquidate it? Is there a type of list that would-be investors might consider comparing against or going to?
Stefan Gleason: Well, usually, and certainly it’s the case with Money Metals Exchange, you can sell to the same people that you buy from. We’ll buy anybody’s gold or silver coins, bars and rounds. We obviously check it and ensure that it is what it is. We make sure we have it in our facility before we pay the customer, once we verify it. But we buy back and we would love to buy back. Unfortunately for us, most of our customers are just buying from us and very few are selling to us. So we actually have to buy from mints and wholesalers and the U.S. Mint and so forth. We’d love to buy more of our inventory from our customers because obviously we are buying from a middleman. We do make a market. Probably only about 5 to 10% of our inventory is sourced from our customers. We are eager to buy and we offer probably the highest, or among the highest, buyback prices of any of our competitors. We are as eager to buy from our customers as we are to sell to our customers. And that’s probably the case with most dealers. We are not retailers. We are dealers and that means that we both and sell.
You probably would go back to where you bought it, but you do not have to. We buy stuff from people that they bought elsewhere all the time and are happy to do so. The items that we deal in are very standard. Recognizable. Liquid. Some people may want to sell to their local dealer and that’s fine too. They want to walk out with the cash. They may not get as good a price, but it depends on what your priorities are. There is no problem selling your precious metals. But that’s a very good question because a lot of times people say, “How do I sell? What do I do with it?” It is really about as easy to sell it as it is to buy it. You contact a dealer or walk into a dealer shop. They offer you a price. You give them the metal and they pay you. It’s that simple. It is about the same process in reverse as when you buy from us.
Pete Fetig: I’m going to switch gears just a little bit here. How about other precious metals, like platinum, palladium, etc.? Are there times when an investor should be considering acquiring those precious metals or vice versa? Or liquidating, if they are already held?
Stefan Gleason: Platinum and palladiums are the other two major precious metals. There’s rhodium, for example, which is even less considered an investment asset. Platinum and palladium are still a very small part of the precious metals market. There’s less of it, I should mention, but it is not as big of an investment asset. It is more of an industrial asset. Platinum and palladium are used for catalytic converters, diesel and gasoline catalytic converters. With automotive demand, for example, platinum and palladium can go up and down based on what is happening in the automotive market. It is also a financial asset. There are ETFs now. Of course, there are physical bars and rounds and coins, of all of these, including platinum and palladium. But I would definitely not get into those until you have already got a significant or at least a reasonable holding of gold and silver. Those are the two that you want to start with. Platinum and palladium is a little bit more for down the road.
In terms of the upside, again, a lot of it is driven by industrial demand, but they are also undervalued versus gold. As I discussed earlier, silver is way undervalued versus gold historically, both in recent history as well as the longer-term history. But platinum and palladium are undervalued. Platinum is way below the price of 1 ounce of gold and it’s typically 1.5 to 2 times the price of gold over time. Platinum is way undervalued versus gold. But again, that is really not something to jump into until after you already have a meaningful holding of gold and silver.
Pete Fetig: It also sounds like something that you probably would not do until you better understood the market and price swings and so forth of the precious metals in general. What about owning precious metals in your IRA. How does that work? Should you own the only physical metal? Or shares of metal backed by ETF?
Stefan Gleason: ETFs again, if you want to trade and you want to do in your stock account, it is convenient, but there these precious metals backed ETFs. They’re really a proxy. You don’t own direct title to the metal. You own shares of a trust that supposedly owns the metal and then there is a whole series of custodians and sub custodians and sub sub custodians involved in that kind of instrument. So if you’re buying gold and silver as insurance, then why introduce counterparty risk into something that is supposed to be your safe asset? There are reasons people want to buy that. Certainly, it is convenient, but it’s not necessarily cheaper than owning it and storing it and paying the storage fees yourself. There’s still fees involved in the ETFs. I don’t think that’s really something people should be doing. They should be buying physical gold and silver that they have direct title to.
Pete Fetig: What sort of things or education can the average person do for themselves to be better prepared to consider precious metals investing?
Stefan Gleason: This is something our company, Money Metals Exchanges, is really big on and that is education and content. We want our customers to be well-informed and we want to keep them updated. There are lots of websites out there, but a great place is to go to MoneyMetals.com and get on our email list. We send out 2 or 3 informative articles about the markets each week. Pay attention. Get a little gold and silver in your hand. Start thinking about it. Start thinking about what it means. Compare it to paper money. It’s interesting, the first time I had gold and silver my hand 20 years ago, it really got the wheels turning. What is this fiat money? What is this Federal Reserve note? Why does it have value? Why do people accept it? And compare that to this beautiful, timeless metal of gold and silver and it really gets the wheels turning. And that opened up an education process for me. And I think it does a lot of people. And we think the best customers are the best informed. And that’s certainly what we strive for.
I want to get back to precious metals IRAs. That’s one thing that is an area where people might be best able to put money into precious metals because they have IRA accounts. There something called a self-directed IRA . You can set up an account with a self-directed IRA company and then work with a dealer like us and with a depository, you can directly hold title, your IRA can directly hold title to physical metal inside of your IRAs. That’s another way of getting into this market that we definitely encourage people to look at.
Pete Fetig: A lot safer than to be speculating in the stock market. That is for sure. Is there any method to the madness in how the average person might approach what he considers owner or holding? When I say that, for example, is there any sort of 80/20 type of rule or rules of ratio for gold to silver holdings.
Stefan Gleason: I would say that the more likely you are to need to access the gold and silver and turn it into cash or liquidate out of it… the more likely that that’s the case, probably the higher percentage that you want to have in gold. Gold tends to be a little more consistent. It’s rising, but it’s less of a roller coaster. Silver can be quite volatile when priced in dollars. And of course, some of that is just the volatility of the dollar itself. But I would say if you’re looking at a 3 to 5 year horizon, then definitely favor silver. If you’re only going to own gold and silver for a year or 2 and think you might need to liquidate out of it, then perhaps you should favor gold and have a majority of your funds in gold. But this isn’t something that you should be buying and selling like stock. This is something you should be accumulating and not necessarily looking to liquidate it any time soon. It’s there if you need it. Do not necessarily plan on buying gold and silver, if you think you are going to need the money in 6 months. There are some transaction costs involved. Not significant, if you go to the right places, but that is a something to keep in mind.
Going back to you what I said earlier. Silver is definitely the more potentially explosive upside metal. As long as you not looking very short-term, I would definitely have a majority of your funds in silver, but make sure you get some gold.
Pete Fetig: Very good. Well we’re running up against a time constraint here. I wanted to thank you for joining us and offering all of your just excellent insights and observations and answers to all the questions that we have thrown at you today. Before we leave though, I would like to offer you the opportunity to let people know how to reach you and to contact you at Money Metal Exchange.
Stefan Gleason: Thank you so much for the opportunity. And hopefully, I’ve shown education is a big part of what we do at Money Metals. I think when compared to other dealers that’s one of our very strongest differentiating factors. Go to MoneyMetals.com. Look at the products. Most importantly, get on our email list and let us continue to educate you about the market. We also have a monthly savings plan, which you can get into, where you set up a certain amount each month where we debit your bank account or whatever your instructions are, and send you on a steady schedule gold and silver. And that’s a great way to accumulate, kind of put it on auto pilot. So that’s available at MoneyMetals.com as well. But I certainly really appreciated the opportunity to talk about this important subject and also about a company.
Pete Fetig: Well thank you for joining us today. And folks, thanks for listening in and we hope you guys have a great day.


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--The Case For $5,000 Gold (An Interview w/ Tom Cloud)

Jerry Robinson is joined by veteran precious metals advisor Tom Cloud to discuss why physical gold could be on the @ @ @ @ @ market that could send prices up to $ 5,000 .

Follow The Money, Released on 7/2/20
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Jerry Robinson is joined by veteran precious metals advisor Tom Cloud to discuss why physical gold could be on the verge of a historic bull market that could send prices up to $5,000.


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--The Maxwell indictment – where she groomed minors for Epstein – focuses on the years 1994-1997.

The Maxwell indictment – where she groomed minors for Epstein – focuses on the years 1994-1997 .
[ I 'll @ @ @ @ @ are important… ]

The Maxwell indictment – where she groomed minors for Epstein – focuses on the years 1994-1997.
[I'll later thread why the years are important…]
Minors abused in NY, FL, New Mexico, London.
The full indictment:t.co/2iKkKehuKk pic.twitter.com/3MfXaZjlpG
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) July 2, 2020


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Trump Delivers on Hospital Pricing Transparency! NY Times “Why Price Gouging Is Good For America”

This is truly amazing and may have the biggest impact on affordable healthcare ever !
All these leftists reeing about @ @ @ @ @ just don ’ t want to pay for something themselves .
But this , this @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t help illegal aliens get free healthcare , it won ’ t let @ @ @ @ @ their parents basements get free xanax prescriptions .
This forces free market competition and visibility @ @ @ @ @ nor insurance companies want you to know because it will only drive prices down !
@ @ @ @ @ , honest , productive American families .

LINK: archive.is/wip/tpnVO
This is truly amazing and may have the biggest impact on affordable healthcare ever!
All these leftists reeing about healthcare for all because they just don’t want to pay for something themselves. But this, this is REAL REFORM!
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This won’t help illegal aliens get free healthcare, it won’t let reeing antifa shitlords living in their parents basements get free xanax prescriptions.
This forces free market competition and visibility of costs which neither hospitals nor insurance companies want you to know because it will only drive prices down! This will actually help hardworking, honest, productive American families.
h/t President_Sanders


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Black Lives Matter Removed from George Soros List of Projects

Deeray Mckeeson when he was running for Mayor of Baltimore gave his address as a foundation board member ’ s @ @ @ @ @ Mckeeson has been on the Soros payroll since 2001

by Facts-Over-Opinion
From The Wayback Machine
web.archive.org/web/20200420065248/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_projects_supported_by_George_Soros#cite_note-3
Today on Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_projects_supported_by_George_Soros
Link to footnote
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www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/16/black-lives-matter-cashes-100-million-liberal-foun/
www.thecollegefix.com/taxpayer-funded-black-lives-matter-leader-lives-home-rich-university-maryland-law-student/
www.theamericanmirror.com/blacklivesmatter-leader-deray-lives-home-owned-by-soros-connected/
Deeray Mckeeson when he was running for Mayor of Baltimore gave his address as a foundation board member’s house.
34 y.o. Mckeeson has been on the Soros payroll since 2001
www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/02/deray-mckesson-who-led-violent-protests-in-baltimore-is-running-for-mayor-there/


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Alabama students hold COVID-19 parties with prize for first person to get sick

According to officials , college students in Tuscaloosa County , Alabama , are throwing parties where infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus .
“ They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID .
Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot , ” a city official said .
New York Post @ nypost Alabama students attend ‘ COVID-19 parties , ’ gamble on who gets sick first The virus doesn ’ t care how rich [ Ashley Taylor Bronczek ] is , or who her friends are , or how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , or anything else .
It ’ s a virus .
It spreads .
That ’ s what viruses do .
I hope Bronczek and her party guests recover , and I hope they didn ’ t spread it to too many other people .
The same thing goes for all the people out there in the streets right now , risking the virus because # BlackLivesMatter more than keeping Grandma safe does .
That ’ s all I can do : hope .
And if and when my hopes are dashed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing will be my fault .

According to officials, college students in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, are throwing parties where infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus. “They put money in a pot and they try to get COVID. Whoever gets COVID first gets the pot,” a city official said.
New York Post
@nypost
Alabama students attend ‘COVID-19 parties,’ gamble on who gets sick first
Alabama students attend 'COVID-19 parties,' gamble on who gets sick first t.co/9eBhM28foj pic.twitter.com/XSkiVSMjsQ — New York Post (@nypost) July 2, 2020
Related:
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JIM TREACHER: DC Socialite Throws Party, Spreads Coronavirus.
The virus doesn’t care how rich [Ashley Taylor Bronczek] is, or who her friends are, or how much money she raised for the ballet, or anything else. It’s a virus. It spreads. That’s what viruses do. I hope Bronczek and her party guests recover, and I hope they didn’t spread it to too many other people. The same thing goes for all the people out there in the streets right now, risking the virus because #BlackLivesMatter more than keeping Grandma safe does. That’s all I can do: hope. And if and when my hopes are dashed, I can rest assured that the whole thing will be my fault.
Read the whole thing.
h/t BFD


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Trust Is Public Health’s Most Important Asset, And They Squandered It Without A Thought In The Name

Trust Is Public Health’s Most Important Asset, And They Squandered It Without A Thought In The Name Of Expediency:

The Coronavirus Credibility Gap : Politicians and experts sow distrust with double standards on protests and dissembling about masks .
Political leaders and health officials have often invoked “ science ” to justify decisions manifestly guided by their personal preferences .
That costs them credibility .
Restoring public confidence will require acknowledging their role in politicizing the pandemic , yielding to accommodations and sensible alternatives in the areas of greatest controversy , and focusing on the widely supported goal of not overwhelming hospitals , rather than less meaningful metrics such as increases in Covid-19 cases .
One of the earliest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directed at protesters who objected to the lockdowns .
In a country where liberty and free expression are as fundamental as air and water , it is remarkable how casually political leaders and health officials disparaged and banned their activities—and even targeted protesters for prosecution .
Politics was also at play when New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered police in Brooklyn to break up a crowd of mourners who gathered for a Hasidic Jewish funeral , warning that their actions were “ unacceptable ” and threatening to arrest them .
Contrast this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same political leaders and public-health experts took toward the protests catalyzed by George Floyd ’ s killing .
These protesters were neither maligned nor targeted with fines and arrests based on social distancing or mask mandates .
They were often joined in the streets by politicians such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and New Jersey Gov .
Phil Murphy .
The double standard in treatment was political .
All these public gatherings were led by people expressing sincerely held beliefs that they felt outweighed the risk of Covid-19 transmission .
Protecting such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundamental to the integrity of a democracy .
Instead , politicians played favorites with this core American tenet .
.
.
.
Further corroding public trust was health officials ’ reversal about wearing masks .
In February , they discouraged their use and told the public there was no evidence they were effective .
Yet when questioned by Rep. David McKinley ( R. , W.Va. ) on June 23 , Anthony Fauci claimed the initial guidance was motivated by concerns about medical supply shortages—not doubts about mask effectiveness .
No wonder many Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wear masks .
If political leaders and health experts want to restore their credibility and the public ’ s confidence , they need to begin by acknowledging that politics rather than science has influenced important public-health decisions and by making accommodations for dissenting perspectives .
Alternatives to masks , for instance , include physical distancing and using face shields while indoors .
And while there is more to learn about immunity , there has not been a single confirmed case of reinfection among the 10 million cases of Covid-19 world-wide , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American Medical Association .
Until the data say otherwise , people who have recovered from Covid-19 should be exempt from restrictions .

by Glenn Reynolds
The Coronavirus Credibility Gap: Politicians and experts sow distrust with double standards on protests and dissembling about masks.
Political leaders and health officials have often invoked “science” to justify decisions manifestly guided by their personal preferences. That costs them credibility. Restoring public confidence will require acknowledging their role in politicizing the pandemic, yielding to accommodations and sensible alternatives in the areas of greatest controversy, and focusing on the widely supported goal of not overwhelming hospitals, rather than less meaningful metrics such as increases in Covid-19 cases.
One of the earliest signs of politicization was the broad animus directed at protesters who objected to the lockdowns. In a country where liberty and free expression are as fundamental as air and water, it is remarkable how casually political leaders and health officials disparaged and banned their activities—and even targeted protesters for prosecution. Politics was also at play when New York Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered police in Brooklyn to break up a crowd of mourners who gathered for a Hasidic Jewish funeral, warning that their actions were “unacceptable” and threatening to arrest them.
Contrast this with the approach that many of the same political leaders and public-health experts took toward the protests catalyzed by George Floyd’s killing. These protesters were neither maligned nor targeted with fines and arrests based on social distancing or mask mandates. They were often joined in the streets by politicians such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
The double standard in treatment was political. All these public gatherings were led by people expressing sincerely held beliefs that they felt outweighed the risk of Covid-19 transmission. Protecting such expression, regardless of viewpoint, is fundamental to the integrity of a democracy. Instead, politicians played favorites with this core American tenet. . . .
Further corroding public trust was health officials’ reversal about wearing masks. In February, they discouraged their use and told the public there was no evidence they were effective. Yet when questioned by Rep. David McKinley (R., W.Va.) on June 23, Anthony Fauci claimed the initial guidance was motivated by concerns about medical supply shortages—not doubts about mask effectiveness. No wonder many Americans don’t trust the calls to wear masks.
If political leaders and health experts want to restore their credibility and the public’s confidence, they need to begin by acknowledging that politics rather than science has influenced important public-health decisions and by making accommodations for dissenting perspectives. Alternatives to masks, for instance, include physical distancing and using face shields while indoors.
And while there is more to learn about immunity, there has not been a single confirmed case of reinfection among the 10 million cases of Covid-19 world-wide, according to a May report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Until the data say otherwise, people who have recovered from Covid-19 should be exempt from restrictions.


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--End Of An Era: Boeing To End 747 Program After Half-Century History

Well , I guess they know now : Jennifer Jacobs @ JenniferJJacobs · 44m Boeing hasn ’ t told employees @ @ @ @ @ pulling the plug on its 747 jumbo jet , ending a half-century run .
The @ @ @ @ @ of a Seattle area factory in about two years , @ juliejohnsson reports .

BOEING TO END 747 PROGRAM AFTER HALF-CENTURY HISTORY — First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) July 2, 2020
Well, I guess they know now:
Jennifer Jacobs
@JenniferJJacobs
·
44m
Boeing hasn’t told employees, but the company is pulling the plug on its 747 jumbo jet, ending a half-century run. The last 747-8 will roll out of a Seattle area factory in about two years,
@juliejohnsson
reports.
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h/t Builder


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--China Never Reported Existence of Coronavirus to World Health Organization. WHO backtracks on origin

China Never Reported Existence of Coronavirus to World Health Organization. WHO backtracks on original claim that China self-reported, admits this never happened.

Contrary to claims from both Chinese officials and the World Health Organization , China did not report the existence of the coronavirus in late 2019 , according to a WHO timeline tracking the spread of the virus .
Rather , international health officials discovered the virus through information posted to a U.S. website .
The quiet admission from the international health organization , which posted an “ updated ” timeline to its website this week , flies in the face of claims from some of its top officials , including WHO director general Tedros Adhanom , who maintained for months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the emerging sickness .
China and its allies at the WHO insisted in multiple interviews and press conferences that China came to the health organization with information about the virus .
This is now known to be false .
The WHO ’ s backtracking lends credibility to a recent congressional investigation that determined China concealed information about the virus and did not initially inform the WHO , as it was required to do .
The WHO ’ s updated timeline , posted online this week , now states that officials first learned about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , through information posted on a U.S. website by doctors working in Wuhan , where the virus first emerged .
This contradicts the agency ’ s initial timeline , which said that China first presented this information at that date .
That initial timeline stated that the “ Wuhan Municipal Health Commission , China , reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan , Hubei Province ” on Dec. 31 .
These claims were carried in numerous American media outlets that relied on the WHO ’ s inaccurate timeline , including CNN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media also claimed for months that the communist regime informed the WHO on or around Dec. 31 .
In recent days , however , Chinese officials have dropped that talking point .

Contrary to claims from both Chinese officials and the World Health Organization, China did not report the existence of the coronavirus in late 2019, according to a WHO timeline tracking the spread of the virus. Rather, international health officials discovered the virus through information posted to a U.S. website.
The quiet admission from the international health organization, which posted an “updated” timeline to its website this week, flies in the face of claims from some of its top officials, including WHO director general Tedros Adhanom, who maintained for months that China had informed his organization about the emerging sickness.
China and its allies at the WHO insisted in multiple interviews and press conferences that China came to the health organization with information about the virus. This is now known to be false. The WHO’s backtracking lends credibility to a recent congressional investigation that determined China concealed information about the virus and did not initially inform the WHO, as it was required to do.
The WHO’s updated timeline, posted online this week, now states that officials first learned about the virus on Dec. 31, 2019, through information posted on a U.S. website by doctors working in Wuhan, where the virus first emerged. This contradicts the agency’s initial timeline, which said that China first presented this information at that date.
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That initial timeline stated that the “Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China, reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province” on Dec. 31.
These claims were carried in numerous American media outlets that relied on the WHO’s inaccurate timeline, including CNN and Axios.
Chinese officials and state-controlled media also claimed for months that the communist regime informed the WHO on or around Dec. 31. In recent days, however, Chinese officials have dropped that talking point.
freebeacon.com/national-security/china-never-reported-existence-of-coronavirus-to-world-health-organization/


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--50,000 New COVID-19 infections today!

50,000 New COVID-19 infections today!

50,000 coronavirus cases in one day—mapped state by state The United States reached a grim milestone on Wednesday as the @ @ @ @ @ cases soared past 50,000 .
On Tuesday , the U.S. had about 2,635,780 active coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracking project .
That number swelled to 2,686,480 on Wednesday , an @ @ @ @ @ .
PEAK VIRUS NOW : USA sees record cases in past 24 hours… Florida shatters @ @ @ @ @ 10,000… FAUCI : ‘ Way beyond worst spike ’ … GALLUP : Assessment of Situation @ @ @ @ @ 4 weekend will exacerbate spread…

50,000 coronavirus cases in one day—mapped state by state
The United States reached a grim milestone on Wednesday as the number of confirmed daily coronavirus cases soared past 50,000.
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On Tuesday, the U.S. had about 2,635,780 active coronavirus cases, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracking project. That number swelled to 2,686,480 on Wednesday, an increase of 50,700 active cases.
PEAK VIRUS NOW: USA sees record cases in past 24 hours…
Florida shatters daily count with more than 10,000…
FAUCI: ‘Way beyond worst spike’…
GALLUP: Assessment of Situation Increasingly Bleak…
Experts fear July 4 weekend will exacerbate spread…


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--China warns of consequences if UK offers residency to Hong Kong citizens as Senate Passes Sanctions

China warns of consequences if UK offers residency to Hong Kong citizens as Senate Passes Sanctions Bill on China Over Hong Kong Law

China said Britain would bear consequences for any move it took to offer Hong Kong citizens a path to settlement in the UK .
China promised Thursday to take countermeasures against Britain if it presses ahead with plans to extend citizenship rights to Hong Kongers after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the restless financial hub .
Beijing has faced a groundswell of criticism from primarily Western nations over its decision to impose a new law outlawing acts of subversion , secession , terrorism and colluding with foreign forces .
Adding to concerns , Hong Kong ’ s influential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warning that the wording of the law — which was kept secret until Tuesday — undermines the city ’ s independent judiciary and stifles freedoms .
Britain has said the law breaches China ’ s pre-handover “ One Country , Two Systems ” promise to grant residents key liberties — as well as judicial and legislative autonomy — until 2047 .
It has responded by announcing plans to allow millions of Hong Kongers with British National Overseas status to relocate with their families and eventually apply for citizenship .
“ We will live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” foreign secretary Dominic Raab told parliament .
That move has infuriated Beijing , which says Britain promised not to grant full citizenship rights to Hong Kongers ahead of the 1997 handover .
The bill , which aims to defend human rights in the territory and pressure China to preserve its special status , passed by unanimous consent The U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill that would put sanctions on Chinese officials who erode Hong Kong ’ s limited autonomy from Beijing , as well as the banks and firms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it sets mandatory sanctions , the legislation has drawn objections from Trump administration officials concerned it could hobble their ability to conduct diplomacy with China and give Congress too much power over foreign relations , according to congressional , administration and industry officials .

China said Britain would bear consequences for any move it took to offer Hong Kong citizens a path to settlement in the UK.
China promised Thursday to take countermeasures against Britain if it presses ahead with plans to extend citizenship rights to Hong Kongers after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the restless financial hub.
Beijing has faced a groundswell of criticism from primarily Western nations over its decision to impose a new law outlawing acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.
Adding to concerns, Hong Kong’s influential Bar Association published a new legal analysis warning that the wording of the law — which was kept secret until Tuesday — undermines the city’s independent judiciary and stifles freedoms.
Britain has said the law breaches China’s pre-handover “One Country, Two Systems” promise to grant residents key liberties — as well as judicial and legislative autonomy — until 2047.
It has responded by announcing plans to allow millions of Hong Kongers with British National Overseas status to relocate with their families and eventually apply for citizenship.
“We will live up to our promises to them,” foreign secretary Dominic Raab told parliament.
That move has infuriated Beijing, which says Britain promised not to grant full citizenship rights to Hong Kongers ahead of the 1997 handover.
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www.indiatoday.in/world/story/china-warns-of-consequences-if-uk-offers-residency-to-honk-kong-citizens-1696243-2020-07-02
The bill, which aims to defend human rights in the territory and pressure China to preserve its special status, passed by unanimous consent
The U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent a bipartisan bill that would put sanctions on Chinese officials who erode Hong Kong’s limited autonomy from Beijing, as well as the banks and firms that do business with them.
Because it sets mandatory sanctions, the legislation has drawn objections from Trump administration officials concerned it could hobble their ability to conduct diplomacy with China and give Congress too much power over foreign relations, according to congressional, administration and industry officials.
www.wsj.com/articles/senate-passes-bill-to-sanction-chinese-officials-and-entities-enforcinghong-kongnational-security-laws-11593102046
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/02/china-could-prevent-hongkongers-moving-to-uk-says-dominic-raab?__twitter_impression=true
AC


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Following Dershowitz Request For Access, Federal Judge Rules Victim’s Lawyers Must ‘Destroy’ Jeffrey

Following Dershowitz Request For Access, Federal Judge Rules Victim’s Lawyers Must ‘Destroy’ Jeffrey Epstein Files

Attorneys for Virginia Giuffre , who publicly accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking , must destroy files they obtained on Epstein after a Wednesday ruling by a federal judge .
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking .
Allegedly , Epstein procured women to have sexual relations with high-profile individuals , such as Prince Andrew .
Information about Epstein , culled from a 2015 civil suit filed against Epstein by Giuffre , allegedly contained the names of individuals with whom Epstein had conducted business .
Senior U.S. District Judge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s lawyers had come into possession of the documents improperly , noting that the protective order could only be enforced during the civil lawsuit proceedings which had already been settled .
Preska wrote that all the materials in the files “ shall be destroyed.
” Preska ’ s ruling came after a request by attorney Alan Dershowitz to gain access to the documents .
Giuffre has claimed that Dershowitz was one of the men Epstein forced her to have sex with .
In response , Dershowitz sued Giuffre for defamation in 2019 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be an asset to his defeNse .

Attorneys for Virginia Giuffre, who publicly accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking, must destroy files they obtained on Epstein after a Wednesday ruling by a federal judge.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking. Allegedly, Epstein procured women to have sexual relations with high-profile individuals, such as Prince Andrew. Information about Epstein, culled from a 2015 civil suit filed against Epstein by Giuffre, allegedly contained the names of individuals with whom Epstein had conducted business.
Senior U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska ruled Wednesday that Giuffre’s lawyers had come into possession of the documents improperly, noting that the protective order could only be enforced during the civil lawsuit proceedings which had already been settled. Preska wrote that all the materials in the files “shall be destroyed.”
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Preska’s ruling came after a request by attorney Alan Dershowitz to gain access to the documents. Giuffre has claimed that Dershowitz was one of the men Epstein forced her to have sex with. In response, Dershowitz sued Giuffre for defamation in 2019. Dershowitz claimed that obtaining the Epstein files would be an asset to his defeNse.
truepundit.com/federal-judge-rules-sex-trafficking-victims-lawyers-must-destroy-jeffrey-epstein-files/


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--Black Lives Matter Finds a New Target: BLM Los Angeles Co-Founder: ‘We Live in A City that Is Largel

Black Lives Matter Finds a New Target: BLM Los Angeles Co-Founder: ‘We Live in A City that Is Largely Liberal White Supremacists’ (VIDEO)

Abdullah , a professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA , went on to describe liberal white supremacists as @ @ @ @ @ friends that sit at the dinner table ” and those who “ speak Spanish.
” @ @ @ @ @ white supremacists that have black friends that sit at the dinner table .
Right ?
@ @ @ @ @ in the Peace Corps .
Right ?
That speak Spanish .
Right ?
” she @ @ @ @ @ Up reports , well-known Democrat and civil rights attorney , Leo Terrell , joined conservative @ @ @ @ @ , Mark Levin , on his Fox News “ Life , Liberty and Levin ” @ @ @ @ @ Lives Matter movement and the radical group ’ s ties to the Democrat Party .

BLM Los Angeles Co-Founder: ‘We Live in A City that Is
Largely Liberal White Supremacists’
Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State
LA, went on to describe liberal white supremacists as those
who have “black friends that sit at the dinner table” and
those who “speak Spanish.”
“So the kind of white supremacists that have black friends
that sit at the dinner table. Right? That brag about having
served in the Peace Corps. Right? That speak Spanish.
Right?” she asked.
“As we talk about a white supremacist terrorist like Donald Trump remember that we live in a city that is largely liberal white supremacists. So, when you say ‘Fuck Donald Trump, make sure you say Fuck Eric Garcetti’” – @docmellymel Thank you @_PublicComment_ pic.twitter.com/jkSiQBR1sD — People's City Council – Los Angeles (@PplsCityCouncil) July 1, 2020
www.politicopathy.com/2020/07/02/blm-los-angeles-co-founder-we-live-in-a-city-that-is-largely-liberal-white-supremacists/
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100% Fed Up reports, well-known Democrat and civil rights attorney, Leo Terrell, joined conservative author and talk show host, Mark Levin, on his Fox News “Life, Liberty and Levin” show to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the radical group’s ties to the Democrat Party.
Read More/Source/Credit/FairUse:
100percentfedup.com/prominent-black-democrat-civil-rights-attorney-black-lives-matter-are-profiteers-basically-the-al-sharpton-of-the-21st-centuryblm-and-democrat-leadership-wants-you-to-believe/
h/t dr0id


investmentwatchblog--2020-07-02--VIRGINIA: Governor Blackface Proposes Bill To Drop Assaulting A Police Officer From A Felony To A Mi

VIRGINIA: Governor Blackface Proposes Bill To Drop Assaulting A Police Officer From A Felony To A Misdemeanor

Virginia Dems draft proposal to downgrade assault on police to misdemeanor Virginia Democrats are proposing a long list of criminal @ @ @ @ @ the recent deaths of George Floyd , Breonna Taylor and others , but while some @ @ @ @ @ banning chokeholds – are aimed at protecting citizens , at least one measure could reduce @ @ @ @ @ to a document shared by multiple local reporters and retweeted by the Virginia Senate Democrats @ @ @ @ @ the charge of assault on a police officer from a felony to a misdemeanor .

Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
Virginia Dems draft proposal to downgrade assault on police to misdemeanor
Virginia Democrats are proposing a long list of criminal justice reforms in response to the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others, but while some of them – such as banning chokeholds – are aimed at protecting citizens, at least one measure could reduce protection for officers.
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According to a document shared by multiple local reporters and retweeted by the Virginia Senate Democrats, the proposals include downgrading the charge of assault on a police officer from a felony to a misdemeanor.
www.foxnews.com/politics/virginia-dems-downgrade-assault-on-police-to-misdemeanor