investmentwatchblog--2020-08-17--Joe Biden On Gun Control: Understanding Biden’s 2020 Platform And The Second Amendment

The one-two punch of the Wuhan Coronavirus explosion , and the civil unrest of early 2020 , led to an unprecedented growth in firearms ownership in America .
All told , there were about two million firearms sold in the month of March 2020 alone .
Between March and July , an additional three million were sold , with about half of those happening in the month of June .
Ammunition sales have similarly spiked , with record sales occurring on this website .
However , gun owners don ’ t need a report to know that there has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They need only go down to their local gun store and see that all of the most common rounds are in short supply , sold out or being rationed at the point of sale .
But it ’ s not just guns and ammo .
There has also been a significant increase in the number of Americans obtaining their concealed carry weapons permit and packing on a daily basis .
Forbes magazine estimates that 20 million Americans are now carrying as part of their everyday life .
The flipside of this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been perhaps the most radically anti-Second Amendment campaign on record .
Former Vice President Biden is very proud of his role in spiriting the 1994 gun ban into passage .
If he ’ s elected , we will see an expansion of the power of the federal government and attacks on the rights of Americans that will not be restricted to the ownership of firearms .
As president , Biden would resume the Obama-era attacks on the suburbs ended by President Trump , give citizenship ( and voting rights ) to nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal Reserve to address a “ racial wealth gap.
” However , Biden ’ s desire to erode the Second Amendment deserves special attention .
It is a radical agenda that will gut the right to bear arms in this country .
Does that sound like bluster and hyperbole ?
It ’ s not.Table of Contents • Joe Biden ’ s Record : What He Says vs. What He ’ s Done • Joe Biden ’ s 2020 Platform • Using Big Tech to Spy on Americans • Expanding the ATF and Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Record : What He Says vs. What He ’ s Done There are two ways to determine how a potential President Joe Biden would govern with regard to the Second Amendment : What he says and what he has done .
As Joe Biden has been out of government since 2017 , we will start with his history as a legislator and as Vice President of the United States .
Joe Biden has a very long record of being anti-Second Amendment .
He voted for the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gun grabbers in exchange for getting the ATF to leave law-abiding gun owners alone .
If you ’ ve ever wanted to own an M-16 , but can ’ t afford one because of the high price of the related tax stamp , you can thank Joe Biden for that .
Biden was also instrumental in the passage of the Brady Bill .
This law , until the creation of the NICS background check system , provided for a five-day waiting period to purchase a firearm .
He brags about his role in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign website , saying “ In 1994 , Biden – along with Senator Dianne Feinstein – secured the passage of 10-year bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines .
As president , Joe Biden will defeat the NRA again.
” Far more concerning , however , is that , as a Senator , Joe Biden literally wrote the bill that banned so-called “ assault weapons ” in the United States for 20 years .
This assault weapons ban defined “ assault weapons ” in an extremely broad sense .
Under the law , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as follows : • Flash suppressors or barrels threaded for them • An unloaded weight of over 50 ounces The law likewise targeted a number of specific firearms that were widely popular with American gun owners .
This included the Colt AR-15 , the INTRATEC TEC-9 ( which were popular with the Roof Koreans who defended Koreatown during the LA riots of 1994 ) and the Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil .
Not only were most of these restrictions unconstitutional , they were also largely useless .
Many gun companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that had been banned by the law , removing only minor cosmetic features to get themselves into compliance .
Numerous studies found that there was virtually no impact on violent crime throughout the United States .
If we are being generous , this can be seen as a misguided attempt to curb urban violent crime .
If we are being more cynical , it was little more than a power grab .
The law expired on September 13 , 2004 .
There have been several attempts to reintroduce the law , all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his political career , Joe Biden has operated as a sensible centrist within the Democratic Party .
While one can argue that his positions are outside of conservatism , they have certainly not historically been outside the mainstream of American political thought .
However , Joe Biden ’ s 2020 presidential campaign is a whole different animal .
Joe Biden is running for president on a highly radical platform .
There are a number of reasons why the former personal envoy of the credit card industry , the man who made it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , has pivoted toward appealing to the woke crowd .
The reasons are unimportant , however .
We can definitively say , without speculation as to motive , that Joe Biden ’ s 2020 campaign is perhaps the most radical political campaign in modern American history .
Nowhere is this more clear than on the subject of firearms .
The official website for Joe Biden ’ s 2020 campaign defines gun violence as a “ public health epidemic.
” This might sound like boilerplate , but in fact it is language designed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under the purview of the FDA .
This alphabet organization has broad leeway to ban , tax and regulate anything deemed a danger to public health .
He also cites a commonly used weasel statistic to advocate for such : that 40,000 Americans die from firearms-related injuries every year .
This includes every firearms-related death – suicides , accidental discharges , shootouts between gangland figures where no innocent bystander is killed , self-defense actions .
And while any death is certainly tragic , this is simply not what anyone means when they talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there were 14,542 gun homicides in 2017 , less than half of the statistic that Biden cites in his platform .
This doesn ’ t even crack the top 10 of causes of death in the United States , according to the CDC .
More Americans died of septicemia in 2017 than gun homicides , yet there is no public health crusade against this .
In a related campaign promise , Biden says that he will “ hold gun manufacturers accountable ” for the use of their products .
This means that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to file civil suits against gun manufacturers to obtain damages related to the misuse of their products in crimes .
This is an attempt at corporate gun control through the backdoor .
When facing such liability , gun manufacturers will be inundated with frivolous lawsuits that will cause them to either go out of business or discontinue their civilian lines entirely .
Biden has previously voted to repeal these protections , which is another point he brags about on his website : Even if a President Joe Biden can not get a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be passed , he plans to use an executive order to ban the importation of such weapons into the United States .
His campaign website boasts that he will accomplish this “ while working to pass this legislation… using his executive authority.
” This would end the market for a number of lower-cost imports into the United States , restricting the Second Amendment rights of many low-income Americans who can not afford high-priced domestic options .
He also states that any new gun ban would be informed by the last one , meaning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and ban a far greater number of weapons features than the 1994 bill .
But what about the AR-15 you already purchased ?
Biden plans to use the National Firearms Act to regulate possession of these firearms .
His language on his website is vague and this is probably intentional .
“ Regulate ” can mean just about anything , allowing him to either do something minor and claim victory or to enact sweeping changes without the hurdle of legislative approval .
When it comes to buybacks , his language becomes more clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weapons ” – whatever that means , either under newly passed legislation or executive fiat – will have to either sell them back to the government or register them with the ATF under the National Firearms Act : Registration , of course , will be a prelude to confiscating these arms , either under the Biden Administration or future administrations even more hostile toward the Second Amendment .
He would also seek to limit the number of firearms a person can purchase in a single month to one and close the so-called “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be alarming to you .
But unfortunately , it gets much worse .
A Biden Administration would attempt to prevent Americans from owning firearms on the basis of “ mental health ” reasons .
While this might sound reasonable ( who wants a paranoid schizophrenic with a cache of AR-15s ? )
, it is , in fact , a very troubling development .
There are millions of Americans seeking treatment for anything from depression to anxiety .
Oftentimes this isn ’ t representative of any underlying medical condition .
People are simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a little help – precisely what they are supposed to do .
This initially will only exclude people that have been adjudicated by the Social Security Administration as being unfit to manage their own affairs .
But it is extremely unlikely that this will not be quickly expanded .
Biden also seeks to close a number of “ loopholes ” in the law that aren ’ t actually loopholes at all , such as : • The “ Hate Crime ” Loophole : This would deprive the right to bear arms from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ hate crimes ” enhancement to a misdemeanor – potentially making petty crimes like vandalism a pretext for depriving Americans of their Constitutional rights anytime an overzealous left-wing prosecutor decided to pursue a “ hate crimes ” enhancement .
Please note that flags such as the Betsy Ross flag and the Gadsden flag have become labeled as “ white supremacist ” images in recent years , so don ’ t think you need to be wearing a swastika armband to receive such an enhancement .
• The Charleston Loophole : This alleged “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ firearm if they have not received authorization to do so under the NICS system in three business days .
Biden seeks to extend this to ten business days – effectively making Americans wait up to two weeks to purchase firearms .
• The “ Fugitive From Justice ” Loophole : Biden wants to remove the right to keep and bear arms from 500,000 Americans who were declared by the Trump Administration to not actually be “ fugitives from justice.
” As we can see , none of the above are actually “ loopholes.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his constituents do not care for .
We should all be troubled by the Biden Administration working within legitimate legislative channels to roll back the rights of our fellow citizens .
However , Biden isn ’ t even promising to do that : He plans to erode and cripple American Second Amendment rights through executive fiat .
Get your ammunition and firearms online ?
Not under a Biden Administration .
Beyond ammo and guns , Biden seeks to ban the online purchase of gun “ kits , ” such as 85 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Those who have exotic or antiquated weapons will have an extremely difficult time finding the parts they need to keep their weapons operational .
So-called “ ghost guns ” will likewise be banned under a potential President Biden .
The Biden platform includes creating a gun confiscation framework overseen by the ATF and the FBI .
Ostensibly , this is to remove weapons from the hands of people who are no longer legally allowed to own them , such as felons and those awaiting charges .
However , it is important to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to removing guns from the hands of felons and those awaiting charges now , that it can easily be used , in tandem with the new gun registration apparatus , to confiscate firearms from law-abiding Americans .
Biden does not seek a federal “ red flag ” law , but he does seek to “ incentivize the adoption of these laws by giving states funds to implement them.
” He would also seek to “ incentivize ” licensure requirements for Americans to own firearms .
Using Big Tech to Spy on Americans A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resources digging up threats on the taxpayer ’ s dime .
He would create a “ Task Force on Online Harassment and Abuse ” to identify the “ connection between mass shootings , online harassment , extremism , and violence against women.
” This amounts to little more than a politically motivated creation of a committee to partner with Big Tech to snoop on Americans with the aim of depriving them of their Second Amendment rights .
Expanding the ATF and Other Gun Control Tactics The Biden platform would move to require all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ smart guns.
” He would pass a law that would require all gun owners to keep their firearms in a gun safe , dramatically increasing the cost of ownership of firearms .
The Biden DOJ would prioritize the prosecution of “ straw purchasers ” – a stark departure of Obama-era policy where the DOJ worked closely with them , eventually allowing narco-terrorists and Islamic terrorists access to heavy firepower .
Local and state law enforcement would be informed whenever someone failed a background check .
The State Department would take measures to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be used to 3D print a gun in someone ’ s home .
He seeks a far more robust ATF than already exists .
Finally , he would prohibit state and local governments from training teachers in how to defend their students with firearms .
The bottom line to all of this is that the Biden Administration would work to further erode American Second Amendment protections than any other before it .
It is just one component of a radical agenda that has taken over the Biden campaign .
Whether or not Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or not he has simply had his campaign hijacked by more radical forces is besides the point – which is that the Biden Administration would actively pursue police-state measures against law-abiding gun owners in the United States .
If you have a friend who is a new gun owner , who is unaware of the stakes in this election , we urge you to share this material with them .

by Sam Jacobs via Ammo.com
The one-two punch of the Wuhan Coronavirus explosion, and the civil unrest of early 2020, led to an unprecedented growth in firearms ownership in America. All told, there were about two million firearms sold in the month of March 2020 alone. Between March and July, an additional three million were sold, with about half of those happening in the month of June.
Ammunition sales have similarly spiked, with record sales occurring on this website. However, gun owners don’t need a report to know that there has been a massive surge in demand for ammunition. They need only go down to their local gun store and see that all of the most common rounds are in short supply, sold out or being rationed at the point of sale.
But it’s not just guns and ammo. There has also been a significant increase in the number of Americans obtaining their concealed carry weapons permit and packing on a daily basis. Forbes magazine estimates that 20 million Americans are now carrying as part of their everyday life.
The flipside of this is that Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign has been perhaps the most radically anti-Second Amendment campaign on record. Former Vice President Biden is very proud of his role in spiriting the 1994 gun ban into passage. If he’s elected, we will see an expansion of the power of the federal government and attacks on the rights of Americans that will not be restricted to the ownership of firearms. As president, Biden would resume the Obama-era attacks on the suburbs ended by President Trump, give citizenship (and voting rights) to nearly 30 million illegal aliens and use the Federal Reserve to address a “racial wealth gap.”
However, Biden’s desire to erode the Second Amendment deserves special attention. It is a radical agenda that will gut the right to bear arms in this country. Does that sound like bluster and hyperbole? It’s not.Table of Contents
Joe Biden’s Record: What He Says vs. What He’s Done
There are two ways to determine how a potential President Joe Biden would govern with regard to the Second Amendment: What he says and what he has done. As Joe Biden has been out of government since 2017, we will start with his history as a legislator and as Vice President of the United States.
Joe Biden has a very long record of being anti-Second Amendment. He voted for the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act, which was primarily a series of gimmes to gun grabbers in exchange for getting the ATF to leave law-abiding gun owners alone. If you’ve ever wanted to own an M-16, but can’t afford one because of the high price of the related tax stamp, you can thank Joe Biden for that.
Biden was also instrumental in the passage of the Brady Bill. This law, until the creation of the NICS background check system, provided for a five-day waiting period to purchase a firearm. He brags about his role in passing this bill into law on his campaign website, saying “In 1994, Biden – along with Senator Dianne Feinstein – secured the passage of 10-year bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. As president, Joe Biden will defeat the NRA again.”
Far more concerning, however, is that, as a Senator, Joe Biden literally wrote the bill that banned so-called “assault weapons” in the United States for 20 years. This assault weapons ban defined “assault weapons” in an extremely broad sense. Under the law, the definitions of an assault weapon were as follows:
Rifles:
Flash suppressors or barrels threaded for them
Pistol grips
Folding and telepathic stocks
Bayonet mounts
Grenade launchers
Pistols:
Semi-automatic versions of any automatic firearm
An unloaded weight of over 50 ounces
Threaded barrels designed to accommodate flash suppressors, barrel extenders, suppressors and handgrips
Barrel shrouds
Shotguns:
Pistol grips
Detachable magazines
Folding and telescopic stocks
The law likewise targeted a number of specific firearms that were widely popular with American gun owners. This included the Colt AR-15, the INTRATEC TEC-9 (which were popular with the Roof Koreans who defended Koreatown during the LA riots of 1994) and the Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil.
Not only were most of these restrictions unconstitutional, they were also largely useless. Many gun companies continued manufacturing virtually identical versions of firearms that had been banned by the law, removing only minor cosmetic features to get themselves into compliance. Numerous studies found that there was virtually no impact on violent crime throughout the United States.
If we are being generous, this can be seen as a misguided attempt to curb urban violent crime. If we are being more cynical, it was little more than a power grab.
The law expired on September 13, 2004. There have been several attempts to reintroduce the law, all of which have been unsuccessful.
Joe Biden’s 2020 Platform
For most of his political career, Joe Biden has operated as a sensible centrist within the Democratic Party. While one can argue that his positions are outside of conservatism, they have certainly not historically been outside the mainstream of American political thought. However, Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign is a whole different animal.
Joe Biden is running for president on a highly radical platform. There are a number of reasons why the former personal envoy of the credit card industry, the man who made it impossible to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, has pivoted toward appealing to the woke crowd. The reasons are unimportant, however. We can definitively say, without speculation as to motive, that Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign is perhaps the most radical political campaign in modern American history. Nowhere is this more clear than on the subject of firearms.
Why Language Matters
The official website for Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign defines gun violence as a “public health epidemic.” This might sound like boilerplate, but in fact it is language designed to lay the groundwork for moving firearms restrictions under the purview of the FDA. This alphabet organization has broad leeway to ban, tax and regulate anything deemed a danger to public health.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
He also cites a commonly used weasel statistic to advocate for such: that 40,000 Americans die from firearms-related injuries every year. This includes every firearms-related death – suicides, accidental discharges, shootouts between gangland figures where no innocent bystander is killed, self-defense actions. And while any death is certainly tragic, this is simply not what anyone means when they talk about “gun violence.”
All told, there were 14,542 gun homicides in 2017, less than half of the statistic that Biden cites in his platform. This doesn’t even crack the top 10 of causes of death in the United States, according to the CDC. More Americans died of septicemia in 2017 than gun homicides, yet there is no public health crusade against this.
Removing Protections for Gun Manufacturers
In a related campaign promise, Biden says that he will “hold gun manufacturers accountable” for the use of their products. This means that the families of shooting victims will be able to file civil suits against gun manufacturers to obtain damages related to the misuse of their products in crimes. This is an attempt at corporate gun control through the backdoor. When facing such liability, gun manufacturers will be inundated with frivolous lawsuits that will cause them to either go out of business or discontinue their civilian lines entirely. Biden has previously voted to repeal these protections, which is another point he brags about on his website:
“In 2005, then-Senator Biden voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but gun manufacturers successfully lobbied Congress to secure its passage. This law protects these manufacturers from being held civilly liable for their products – a protection granted to no other industry. Biden will prioritize repealing this protection.”
Banning “Assault Weapons” by Executive Order
Even if a President Joe Biden cannot get a new “assault weapons” ban to be passed, he plans to use an executive order to ban the importation of such weapons into the United States. His campaign website boasts that he will accomplish this “while working to pass this legislation… using his executive authority.” This would end the market for a number of lower-cost imports into the United States, restricting the Second Amendment rights of many low-income Americans who cannot afford high-priced domestic options. He also states that any new gun ban would be informed by the last one, meaning that it would be far more sweeping and ban a far greater number of weapons features than the 1994 bill.
Regulating Existing “Assault Weapons”
But what about the AR-15 you already purchased? Biden plans to use the National Firearms Act to regulate possession of these firearms. His language on his website is vague and this is probably intentional. “Regulate” can mean just about anything, allowing him to either do something minor and claim victory or to enact sweeping changes without the hurdle of legislative approval.
When it comes to buybacks, his language becomes more clear: Those who now own “assault weapons” – whatever that means, either under newly passed legislation or executive fiat – will have to either sell them back to the government or register them with the ATF under the National Firearms Act:
“As president, Biden will pursue legislation to regulate possession of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act.“
Registration, of course, will be a prelude to confiscating these arms, either under the Biden Administration or future administrations even more hostile toward the Second Amendment. He would also seek to limit the number of firearms a person can purchase in a single month to one and close the so-called “gun show loophole.”
Using Mental Health to Ban Firearms Ownership
This should all be alarming to you. But unfortunately, it gets much worse. A Biden Administration would attempt to prevent Americans from owning firearms on the basis of “mental health” reasons. While this might sound reasonable (who wants a paranoid schizophrenic with a cache of AR-15s?), it is, in fact, a very troubling development. There are millions of Americans seeking treatment for anything from depression to anxiety. Oftentimes this isn’t representative of any underlying medical condition. People are simply having a hard time and reaching out for a little help – precisely what they are supposed to do.
This initially will only exclude people that have been adjudicated by the Social Security Administration as being unfit to manage their own affairs. But it is extremely unlikely that this will not be quickly expanded.
Closing the “Loopholes”
Biden also seeks to close a number of “loopholes” in the law that aren’t actually loopholes at all, such as:
The “Hate Crime” Loophole: This would deprive the right to bear arms from anyone who has received a politically motivated “hate crimes” enhancement to a misdemeanor – potentially making petty crimes like vandalism a pretext for depriving Americans of their Constitutional rights anytime an overzealous left-wing prosecutor decided to pursue a “hate crimes” enhancement. Please note that flags such as the Betsy Ross flag and the Gadsden flag have become labeled as “white supremacist” images in recent years, so don’t think you need to be wearing a swastika armband to receive such an enhancement.
This would deprive the right to bear arms from anyone who has received a politically motivated “hate crimes” enhancement to a misdemeanor – potentially making petty crimes like vandalism a pretext for depriving Americans of their Constitutional rights anytime an overzealous left-wing prosecutor decided to pursue a “hate crimes” enhancement. Please note that flags such as the Betsy Ross flag and the Gadsden flag have become labeled as “white supremacist” images in recent years, so don’t think you need to be wearing a swastika armband to receive such an enhancement. The Charleston Loophole: This alleged “loophole” allows people to purchase a firearm if they have not received authorization to do so under the NICS system in three business days. Biden seeks to extend this to ten business days – effectively making Americans wait up to two weeks to purchase firearms.
This alleged “loophole” allows people to purchase a firearm if they have not received authorization to do so under the NICS system in three business days. Biden seeks to extend this to ten business days – effectively making Americans wait up to two weeks to purchase firearms. The “Fugitive From Justice” Loophole: Biden wants to remove the right to keep and bear arms from 500,000 Americans who were declared by the Trump Administration to not actually be “fugitives from justice.”
As we can see, none of the above are actually “loopholes.” They are simply laws that Biden and his constituents do not care for. We should all be troubled by the Biden Administration working within legitimate legislative channels to roll back the rights of our fellow citizens. However, Biden isn’t even promising to do that: He plans to erode and cripple American Second Amendment rights through executive fiat.
Banning Online Sales
Get your ammunition and firearms online? Not under a Biden Administration. Beyond ammo and guns, Biden seeks to ban the online purchase of gun “kits,” such as 85 percent lowers or even parts for your weapons:
“Biden will enact legislation to prohibit all online sales of firearms, ammunition, kits, and gun parts.”
Those who have exotic or antiquated weapons will have an extremely difficult time finding the parts they need to keep their weapons operational. So-called “ghost guns” will likewise be banned under a potential President Biden.
Gun Confiscation and Licensure Requirements
The Biden platform includes creating a gun confiscation framework overseen by the ATF and the FBI. Ostensibly, this is to remove weapons from the hands of people who are no longer legally allowed to own them, such as felons and those awaiting charges. However, it is important to note that even if this is restricted to removing guns from the hands of felons and those awaiting charges now, that it can easily be used, in tandem with the new gun registration apparatus, to confiscate firearms from law-abiding Americans.
“As president, Biden will direct the FBI and ATF to outline a model relinquishment process, enact any necessary legislation to ensure relinquishment when individuals newly fall under one of the federal prohibitions, and then provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments to establish effective relinquishment processes on their own.”
Biden does not seek a federal “red flag” law, but he does seek to “incentivize the adoption of these laws by giving states funds to implement them.” He would also seek to “incentivize” licensure requirements for Americans to own firearms.
Using Big Tech to Spy on Americans
A Biden Administration would spend government time and resources digging up threats on the taxpayer’s dime. He would create a “Task Force on Online Harassment and Abuse” to identify the “connection between mass shootings, online harassment, extremism, and violence against women.” This amounts to little more than a politically motivated creation of a committee to partner with Big Tech to snoop on Americans with the aim of depriving them of their Second Amendment rights.
Expanding the ATF and Other Gun Control Tactics
The Biden platform would move to require all gun manufacturers to eventually manufacture only so-called “smart guns.” He would pass a law that would require all gun owners to keep their firearms in a gun safe, dramatically increasing the cost of ownership of firearms. The Biden DOJ would prioritize the prosecution of “straw purchasers” – a stark departure of Obama-era policy where the DOJ worked closely with them, eventually allowing narco-terrorists and Islamic terrorists access to heavy firepower. Local and state law enforcement would be informed whenever someone failed a background check. The State Department would take measures to block code from the Internet that might be used to 3D print a gun in someone’s home. He seeks a far more robust ATF than already exists. Finally, he would prohibit state and local governments from training teachers in how to defend their students with firearms.
The bottom line to all of this is that the Biden Administration would work to further erode American Second Amendment protections than any other before it. It is just one component of a radical agenda that has taken over the Biden campaign. Whether or not Biden actually believes any of this and whether or not he has simply had his campaign hijacked by more radical forces is besides the point – which is that the Biden Administration would actively pursue police-state measures against law-abiding gun owners in the United States.
If you have a friend who is a new gun owner, who is unaware of the stakes in this election, we urge you to share this material with them.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-17--All Together Now! S&P 500, Gold, Bitcoin, US Dollar (Inverse) Move Together After Covid And Fed Inte

All Together Now! S&P 500, Gold, Bitcoin, US Dollar (Inverse) Move Together After Covid And Fed Intervention

The Beatles said it best : One , two , three , four Can I have a little more ?
@ @ @ @ @ , six , seven , eight , nine , ten The Fed loves asset bubbles @ @ @ @ @ Check out the S & P 500 index , Gold , Bitcoin and the US @ @ @ @ @ the “ Covid crash in February and March , The Fed ’ s response with @ @ @ @ @ , all assets are moving together !

by confoundedinterest17
The Beatles said it best:
One, two, three, four
Can I have a little more? (Fed stimulus)
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
The Fed loves asset bubbles!
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
All together now!
Check out the S&P 500 index, Gold, Bitcoin and the US Dollar (inverse) before the “Covid crash in February and March, The Fed’s response with QE and afterwards. Suddenly, all assets are moving together!


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--America Has Never Experienced A Heatwave Quite Like This

Every summer is hot , and every summer there are heatwaves , but what we are witnessing in 2020 is rewriting all of the rules .
It has been blistering hot across the Southwest , and record after record is being broken .
In a year when we have had a seemingly endless series of things go wrong , we definitely didn ’ t need a historic heatwave to hit us , and it is causing all sorts of problems .
Unfortunately , it doesn ’ t look like we will be getting any relief for at least a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported that record-setting heat is “ expected to last throughout the week ” … A high temperature of 100 degrees is really hot , a high temperature of 110 degrees is dangerously hot , a high temperature of 120 degrees is catastrophically hot , and a high temperature of 130 degrees is not supposed to happen .
But it just did .
On Sunday , the high temperature in Death Valley reached 130 degrees… Prior to Sunday , modern instruments had never measured a temperature that high anywhere in the world .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has stood since 1913 , but the validity of that old record has been heavily disputed… In any event , everyone can agree that what happened on Sunday was truly a historic event , and it definitely wasn ’ t an isolated incident .
Just one day before , we witnessed a new daily record high temperature in Sacramento… And that came on the heels of Palm Springs absolutely smashing a daily record on Friday… Needless to say , all of this heat is putting an enormous amount of strain on California ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indoors and try to cool off .
In fact , things have gotten so bad that authorities just announced “ the first rolling blackouts in the state since 2001 ” … Do you remember those crazy days back in 2001 ?
It seems like it was just yesterday that the Enron scandal erupted , but it really was almost 20 years ago .
Where has the time gone ?
Officials are hoping that the rolling blackouts in California will be limited to this week , but they aren ’ t making any promises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also happening in Nevada .
Las Vegas has been absolutely baking , and new record highs were being anticipated for both Monday and Tuesday… And over in Phoenix , there have already been eight days this year with a high temperature of at least 115 degrees , and that breaks the old record that was set in 1974… Quite a few years ago I was in Phoenix during a heatwave , and I remember absolutely scorching the bottoms of my feet when I walked along a concrete path without any shoes on .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ time of the year in Phoenix , but residents have learned how to live with it .
However , the record heat that we are seeing this year combined with extremely dry conditions have created an ideal environment for giant dust storms , and the millions of people living in the area have been warned that some are likely in the days ahead .
Throughout the Southwest , we are starting to see alarming patterns emerge .
If you look at the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map , you will notice that nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stage of drought right now .
In the 1930s , very high temperatures and exceedingly dry conditions for months on end combined to create “ the Dust Bowl ” , and many are concerned that something similar may now be starting to happen .
Even if you are not yet convinced that a new “ Dust Bowl ” is coming , everyone should be able to agree that what we are witnessing in the Southwest right now is very , very unusual .
In so many ways , our world seems to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many believe that this is just the beginning .
The good news is that September is coming , and that means that the weather in the Southwest should begin to cool off a bit .
But throughout this year it has just been one crisis after another , and we shall see what else 2020 has in store for us in the months ahead .

by Michael Snyder
Every summer is hot, and every summer there are heatwaves, but what we are witnessing in 2020 is rewriting all of the rules. It has been blistering hot across the Southwest, and record after record is being broken. In a year when we have had a seemingly endless series of things go wrong, we definitely didn’t need a historic heatwave to hit us, and it is causing all sorts of problems. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we will be getting any relief for at least a few more days, because it is being reported that record-setting heat is “expected to last throughout the week”…
As many as 52 million people remain under heat alerts in the West on Monday, where some could see temperatures between 110 and 130 degrees. The heat is expected to last throughout the week, possibly setting more than 100 new daily record highs.
A high temperature of 100 degrees is really hot, a high temperature of 110 degrees is dangerously hot, a high temperature of 120 degrees is catastrophically hot, and a high temperature of 130 degrees is not supposed to happen.
But it just did.
On Sunday, the high temperature in Death Valley reached 130 degrees…
A temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) recorded in California’s Death Valley on Sunday by the US National Weather Service could be the hottest ever measured with modern instruments, officials say. The reading was registered at 3:41 pm at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in the Death Valley national park by an automated observation system — an electronic thermometer encased inside a box in the shade.
Prior to Sunday, modern instruments had never measured a temperature that high anywhere in the world.
The old all-time global record of 134 degrees has stood since 1913, but the validity of that old record has been heavily disputed…
In 1913, a weather station half an hour’s walk away recorded what officially remains the world record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius). But its validity has been disputed for a number of reasons: regional weather stations at the time didn’t report an exceptional heatwave, and there were questions around the researcher’s competence.
In any event, everyone can agree that what happened on Sunday was truly a historic event, and it definitely wasn’t an isolated incident.
Just one day before, we witnessed a new daily record high temperature in Sacramento…
Downtown Sacramento set a new record-high temperature of 111 degrees on Saturday, during what is the biggest heatwave of the year so far in the area.
And that came on the heels of Palm Springs absolutely smashing a daily record on Friday…
Palm Springs shattered the previous record of 117° for today’s date by recording 120° this afternoon! Thermal set a record for the ‘highest minimum’ for the days date with a low temperature of just 92° this morning.
Needless to say, all of this heat is putting an enormous amount of strain on California’s power system as people endlessly stay indoors and try to cool off. In fact, things have gotten so bad that authorities just announced “the first rolling blackouts in the state since 2001”…
As California struggles to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, wilting heat and wildfires, it’s facing another dangerous crisis: blackouts. As temperatures broke records across the state, California energy officials announced the first rolling blackouts in the state since 2001 and warned that the state was bracing for what could be the largest power outage it has ever seen, likely on Monday.
Do you remember those crazy days back in 2001?
It seems like it was just yesterday that the Enron scandal erupted, but it really was almost 20 years ago.
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Where has the time gone?
Officials are hoping that the rolling blackouts in California will be limited to this week, but they aren’t making any promises.
Meanwhile, record high temperatures are also happening in Nevada. Las Vegas has been absolutely baking, and new record highs were being anticipated for both Monday and Tuesday…
It’ll be record-hot on Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas, according to the National Weather Service, as southern Nevada bakes beneath a heat wave that tied a high-temperature mark on Sunday. The expected high Monday was 114 degrees (45.56 Celsius) at McCarran International Airport, well above the current record temperature of 111 degrees set Aug. 17, 1939, meteorologist Dan Berc said.
And over in Phoenix, there have already been eight days this year with a high temperature of at least 115 degrees, and that breaks the old record that was set in 1974…
According to the National Weather Service in Phoenix, Phoenix reached 115°F during the afternoon hours of August 17, breaking a record set in 2013. On August 14, Phoenix tied a record for the date with a high of 117 degrees (47 Celsius). Friday was the eighth day in 2020 with a high of at least 115 degrees (46 Celsius), beating the old record of seven days in 1974, the National Weather Service said.
Quite a few years ago I was in Phoenix during a heatwave, and I remember absolutely scorching the bottoms of my feet when I walked along a concrete path without any shoes on.
Dangerous heat is a constant reality this time of the year in Phoenix, but residents have learned how to live with it.
However, the record heat that we are seeing this year combined with extremely dry conditions have created an ideal environment for giant dust storms, and the millions of people living in the area have been warned that some are likely in the days ahead.
Throughout the Southwest, we are starting to see alarming patterns emerge. If you look at the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, you will notice that nearly the entire Southwest is already in some stage of drought right now. In the 1930s, very high temperatures and exceedingly dry conditions for months on end combined to create “the Dust Bowl”, and many are concerned that something similar may now be starting to happen.
Even if you are not yet convinced that a new “Dust Bowl” is coming, everyone should be able to agree that what we are witnessing in the Southwest right now is very, very unusual.
In so many ways, our world seems to be going completely nuts right now, and many believe that this is just the beginning.
The good news is that September is coming, and that means that the weather in the Southwest should begin to cool off a bit.
But throughout this year it has just been one crisis after another, and we shall see what else 2020 has in store for us in the months ahead.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--The Stocks to Rule them All: Big Tech’s Might in Five Charts

American ’ s tech giants have caught the public ’ s attention as of late .
Four of the Big Five recently appeared in front of U.S. Congress to discuss their anti-competitive business practices and privacy concerns .
Yet business is booming .
Compared to the traditional economy , Big Tech operates within an intangible realm of business .
This enables them to move faster , cheaper , and more profitably—with business models that possess widespread scale via the internet .
The above five charts are a reflection of Big Tech ’ s momentum and the significant role they have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery .
Let ’ s take a closer look at the data .
Not All Stocks Are Created Equal Of the 505 stocks that make up the S & P 500 Index , only about a third have experienced positive returns year-to-date ( YTD ) , with the remaining stocks in the red .
Despite the majority of companies underperforming , the S & P 500 has generated a positive year-to-date return .
This is due to the fact that companies are weighted according to market capitalization .
For example , the Big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ index , despite being just five of the 505 stocks listed .
Big Tech ’ s dominance is being driven by ballooning market valuations .
For instance , Apple reached the $ 1 trillion valuation in August 2018 , and now the company is awfully close to topping the $ 2 trillion mark after just two years .
This is just one of many examples that illustrate the growing power of Big Tech .
The five Big Tech companies are also seeing business as usual , with revenues in the first half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first half of 2019 .
Their respective stock prices have followed suit , adding to the divergence between the performance of tech and the overall S & P 500 Index .
The equal-weighted S & P 500 Index provides diversification , but it has underperformed recently .
Year-to-date , the equal-weighted index is down -3.5 % relative to the positive 4.5 % seen for the S & P 500 , a spread of 8 % .
The combination of Big Tech ’ s outperformance and large weighting is likely behind the index staying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ stock market disconnect ” reverberating recently , reflecting consumer views on the state of financial markets and their relationship with the economy , or lack thereof .
While the economy combats record levels of unemployment and a plethora of bankruptcies , major American indexes edge closer to record highs .
This disconnect can be explained by the market capitalization weighted qualities of these indexes as well as the geographic source of company revenues in the S & P 500 .
The most visible businesses to the everyday individual represent a small and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a undersized component of the stock market .
No matter how clobbered they get , their effects on the market as a whole are miniscule .
In the era of globalization , American companies are more diversified than ever .
Their revenue streams carry a greater global presence , meaning domestic revenues in the United States are less crucial than in times past .
For example , the S & P 500 ’ s foreign revenue exposure stands at 42.9 % in 2018 and these figures are even higher for Big Tech stocks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ virtually any measure .
They ’ ve shown their capacity to translate headwinds to tailwinds , even under challenging economic circumstances .
Going forward , estimates by analysts on Wall Street suggest that even more growth for these companies could be on the horizon .

by visualcapitalist
American’s tech giants have caught the public’s attention as of late.
Four of the Big Five recently appeared in front of U.S. Congress to discuss their anti-competitive business practices and privacy concerns.
Yet business is booming. Compared to the traditional economy, Big Tech operates within an intangible realm of business. This enables them to move faster, cheaper, and more profitably—with business models that possess widespread scale via the internet.
The above five charts are a reflection of Big Tech’s momentum and the significant role they have played in the swift and vigorous market recovery. Let’s take a closer look at the data.
Company Market Capitalization (In Billions) Weighting in the S&P 500 Index Apple $1,930 7.1% Microsoft $1,590 5.9% Amazon $1,590 5.9% Alphabet $1,030 3.8% Facebook $742 2.7% Total $6,883 25.41% S&P 500 $27,050 100%
Not All Stocks Are Created Equal
Of the 505 stocks that make up the S&P 500 Index, only about a third have experienced positive returns year-to-date (YTD), with the remaining stocks in the red.
Despite the majority of companies underperforming, the S&P 500 has generated a positive year-to-date return. This is due to the fact that companies are weighted according to market capitalization. For example, the Big Five now represent 25% of the index, despite being just five of the 505 stocks listed.
Big Tech’s dominance is being driven by ballooning market valuations. For instance, Apple reached the $1 trillion valuation in August 2018, and now the company is awfully close to topping the $2 trillion mark after just two years. This is just one of many examples that illustrate the growing power of Big Tech.
Pandemic Proof?
The five Big Tech companies are also seeing business as usual, with revenues in the first half of the year growing steadily compared to the first half of 2019.
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Company YTD Price Returns Revenue Growth (H1 2020 vs. 2019) Apple 52% 6% Microsoft 31% 14% Amazon 68% 34% Facebook 24% 14% Alphabet 11% 6% S&P 500 4.5%
Their respective stock prices have followed suit, adding to the divergence between the performance of tech and the overall S&P 500 Index.
The equal-weighted S&P 500 Index provides diversification, but it has underperformed recently. Year-to-date, the equal-weighted index is down -3.5% relative to the positive 4.5% seen for the S&P 500, a spread of 8%. The combination of Big Tech’s outperformance and large weighting is likely behind the index staying afloat.
Dissecting the Disconnect
You may notice the phrase “stock market disconnect” reverberating recently, reflecting consumer views on the state of financial markets and their relationship with the economy, or lack thereof. While the economy combats record levels of unemployment and a plethora of bankruptcies, major American indexes edge closer to record highs.
This disconnect can be explained by the market capitalization weighted qualities of these indexes as well as the geographic source of company revenues in the S&P 500.
The most visible businesses to the everyday individual represent a small and vulnerable basket of companies that account for a undersized component of the stock market. No matter how clobbered they get, their effects on the market as a whole are miniscule.
A Global Footprint
In the era of globalization, American companies are more diversified than ever. Their revenue streams carry a greater global presence, meaning domestic revenues in the United States are less crucial than in times past. For example, the S&P 500’s foreign revenue exposure stands at 42.9% in 2018 and these figures are even higher for Big Tech stocks.
Revenues Recognized Outside of North America/America Apple 55% Microsoft 41% Amazon 31% Alphabet 51% Facebook 54% Average 46%
Big Tech has outdone itself by virtually any measure.
They’ve shown their capacity to translate headwinds to tailwinds, even under challenging economic circumstances. Going forward, estimates by analysts on Wall Street suggest that even more growth for these companies could be on the horizon.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--Most Schools Won’t Reopen in Fall 2020: Here Are Some Alternatives for Learning

As parents come to the realization that COVID is not going away and that schools are unlikely to reopen before the winter break , they are nervously exploring options , including homeschooling , micro-schools , and teaching pods .
What ’ s a micro-school or a teaching pod , you ask ?
It ’ s a private school that hearkens back to the one-room schoolhouse and incorporates these elements : • • Micro schools have no more than 150 students , but are often smaller—from around 10 to a few dozen students • Teachers act more as guides than lecturers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share instructional responsibility along with a paid teacher or tutor In a private micro-school parents pool their resources to hire a teacher to educate their children .
In learning pods , parents are more likely to share instructional responsibilities , with some tutoring outsourced .
These are new twists on the idea of homeschooling which leverage shared resources and give the parent some control over their child ’ s learning environment .
Homeschoolers have been doing this for a long time , forming homeschool co-ops , where parents share the responsibilities and costs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classes are made available for homeschool students by homeschool organizations for a small fee .
Parents enroll their children in specialized classes or programs formulated specifically for students during daytime hours .
Homeschooling , by whatever name you call it , is still the option of choice for many parents Children benefit from knowing that their parents are willing to spend on them their most precious resource- time and attention .
In my opinion , homeschooling is still the best alternative .
It looks like many parents agree .
Homeschooling numbers are difficult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s website for families announcing plans to homeschool crashed at the beginning of July “ due to an overwhelming submission of Notices of Intent.
” The site continues to experience high demand .
Homeschool filings in Nebraska were up 20 percent as of late July , and in Vermont they increased by about 75 percent over the same time in 2019 .
The Texas Homeschool Coalition ( THSC ) , which maintains an online withdrawal tool to help families notify their districts that they ’ ll be homeschooling , reports that it “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school families withdraw from public school through THSC ’ s website to homeschool compared to the number of families who did so in July 2019 .
( Source ) Have you figured out what you ’ re going to do yet for school ?
In a previous article we talked about questions to ask yourself and your children before determining how you will homeschool .
The amount of time and money you can commit to teaching your children is one part of that formula .
The other part of the formula is what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are different homeschool styles and methods , which range from fully online and minimal parent intervention to more intense parental involvement in the homeschool .
Most veteran homeschoolers have tried many of the methods and incorporate elements of each in their homeschool .
Unit studies are based on a theme and incorporate multiple subjects into a unit .
The theme could be based on anything , including a science project , an historical time period , a cultural event , or a season .
An example of a unit study might be studying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how the chick develops in the egg , their reading and spelling would focus on vocabulary related to chickens and hatching , and they could use math to calculate the number of days until hatching .
The children would be responsible for keeping the correct humidity and temperature in the incubator , and they could be responsible for turning the eggs every few hours to emulate how a hen keeps her nest .
When the chicks hatch , there are a sundry of duties associated with caring for them and your children will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies are especially helpful when you are teaching more than one child or you participate in a co-op group with other children across age groups .
Many people are die-hard believers in the Montessori method , including the mother of Christopher Paolini , who wrote the Eragon fantasy book series .
In the Montessori approach , students across ages do realistic tasks and activities at “ work centers ” .
You may have seen this implemented in classrooms with younger students working at learning centers .
Montessori methods allow the student to self-select @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and concentrate on that skill or activity for an uninterrupted block of time .
For instance , you could teach your child how to safely slice an apple with a sharp knife or to properly and safely hammer in nails to wood .
The Montessori method is especially good for hands-on learners or a group of children in different age groups .
There are three phases in classical learning .
• The Grammar phase is where the foundation for all other learning is laid .
In this phase , children are learning the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and basic math .
• The Logic phase , around 5th grade , begins focusing on critical and analytical thinking .
Students use the foundation that was laid in the grammar stage and apply it to other things .
• The Rhetoric phase , typically the final stage with high school age students , examines the rules of logic and Socratic reasoning .
Typically , students participating in this type of learning will have a good grasp of language mechanics , reasoning , and can easily develop debate strategies and persuasive writing skills @ @ @ @ @ @ @ focuses on source books , or what they call “ living books ” and not textbooks .
Textbooks typically publish excerpts of source books , do not include the entire literary work , and provide commentary and questions to evaluate the work .
The Charlotte Mason method teaches reading and writing through original prose or poetry books .
A homeschool using the combination method has flexible schedules and goals and may use a variety of curriculum and styles , including packaged , online , or a combination thereof for different subjects .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fits the family or group . )
Unschooling allows a child to choose what they want to learn , with the parent simply facilitating the learning .
Unschoolers believe children are curious by nature , that there ’ s a lot to learn in everyday life .
This method is popular with parents who believe that children should not be forced to learn something they are not interested in .
Surprisingly , left to themselves , children can learn a great deal more than we could ever imagine .
While there are many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choice for a particular subject or child will be based on your availability to support your child ’ s learning and your child ’ s learning preferences .
Most homeschoolers find out that math is the great differentiator between students and so math instruction tends to be individualized .
With the exception of reading , most other subjects can be taught in a small group and children can learn at their own path .
Math is a subject best taught individually for each student .
One child gets the concepts quickly ; another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of instruction .
Let children learn math at the pace and via the method best adapted for them .
Your Method and Curriculum will Depend Upon You and Your Children Packaged curriculum may follow a certain style and will often disclose that in their descriptions .
Others employ methods across the homeschool styles .
Most online courses that are graded by a school will employ a lecture and demonstration method of learning .
This is the closest method to remote learning that students in public schools will use this fall .
Some math @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cuisenaire rods to facilitate the learning process .
The benefits of homeschooling is that the parent can differentiate the learning style to suit the child .
A bonus is that there are extra hours in the day that your children can learn things that excite them or that you know they will need in life .
There are many life-skills that schools don ’ t teach , but you can .
The choice to homeschool is a sacrifice but one that will repay you many times over in happy and contented children who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get along with each other and with you .
I am eternally grateful for the time I spent with my children and they , as young adults , are a tremendous joy to me now .
Linnea Johnson has her MA in Curriculum and Instruction and has taught preschool students through adults on topics including music , English as a 2nd language , technology , business and personal finance .
She and her husband homeschooled their two active sons ; both went on to careers in entrepreneurship .
Her greatest joy is spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urban farm , creating fused glass items and enameled jewelry , and traveling with her husband .
Linnea authors starthomeschoolnow.com

by Linnea Johnson
As parents come to the realization that COVID is not going away and that schools are unlikely to reopen before the winter break, they are nervously exploring options, including homeschooling, micro-schools, and teaching pods.
What’s a micro-school or a teaching pod, you ask?
It’s a private school that hearkens back to the one-room schoolhouse and incorporates these elements:
Micro schools have no more than 150 students, but are often smaller—from around 10 to a few dozen students Teaching pods are typically smaller in size Multiple ages learn together in a single classroom; Teachers act more as guides than lecturers In teaching pods, parents may share instructional responsibility along with a paid teacher or tutor There’s a heavy emphasis on digital and project-based learning Education is highly personalized. (Source)
In a private micro-school parents pool their resources to hire a teacher to educate their children. In learning pods, parents are more likely to share instructional responsibilities, with some tutoring outsourced. These are new twists on the idea of homeschooling which leverage shared resources and give the parent some control over their child’s learning environment.
Homeschoolers have been doing this for a long time, forming homeschool co-ops, where parents share the responsibilities and costs for planning and instruction. Sometimes, classes are made available for homeschool students by homeschool organizations for a small fee. Parents enroll their children in specialized classes or programs formulated specifically for students during daytime hours.
Homeschooling, by whatever name you call it, is still the option of choice for many parents
Children benefit from knowing that their parents are willing to spend on them their most precious resource- time and attention. In my opinion, homeschooling is still the best alternative. It looks like many parents agree.
Homeschooling numbers are difficult to track, but North Carolina’s website for families announcing plans to homeschool crashed at the beginning of July “due to an overwhelming submission of Notices of Intent.” The site continues to experience high demand. Homeschool filings in Nebraska were up 20 percent as of late July, and in Vermont they increased by about 75 percent over the same time in 2019. The Texas Homeschool Coalition (THSC), which maintains an online withdrawal tool to help families notify their districts that they’ll be homeschooling, reports that it “saw 15 times the number of public school families withdraw from public school through THSC’s website to homeschool compared to the number of families who did so in July 2019. (Source)
Have you figured out what you’re going to do yet for school?
In a previous article we talked about questions to ask yourself and your children before determining how you will homeschool. The amount of time and money you can commit to teaching your children is one part of that formula. The other part of the formula is what your children need and want.
There are different homeschool styles and methods, which range from fully online and minimal parent intervention to more intense parental involvement in the homeschool. Most veteran homeschoolers have tried many of the methods and incorporate elements of each in their homeschool.
Unit Studies
Unit studies are based on a theme and incorporate multiple subjects into a unit. The theme could be based on anything, including a science project, an historical time period, a cultural event, or a season. An example of a unit study might be studying how eggs hatch. Children would learn how the chick develops in the egg, their reading and spelling would focus on vocabulary related to chickens and hatching, and they could use math to calculate the number of days until hatching.
The children would be responsible for keeping the correct humidity and temperature in the incubator, and they could be responsible for turning the eggs every few hours to emulate how a hen keeps her nest. When the chicks hatch, there are a sundry of duties associated with caring for them and your children will learn to care for animals.
Unit studies are especially helpful when you are teaching more than one child or you participate in a co-op group with other children across age groups.
Montessori or Kinesthetic Self-Select
Many people are die-hard believers in the Montessori method, including the mother of Christopher Paolini, who wrote the Eragon fantasy book series. In the Montessori approach, students across ages do realistic tasks and activities at “work centers”. You may have seen this implemented in classrooms with younger students working at learning centers.
Montessori methods allow the student to self-select an activity, use real tools, and concentrate on that skill or activity for an uninterrupted block of time. For instance, you could teach your child how to safely slice an apple with a sharp knife or to properly and safely hammer in nails to wood.
The Montessori method is especially good for hands-on learners or a group of children in different age groups.
Classical
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
There are three phases in classical learning.
The Grammar phase is where the foundation for all other learning is laid. In this phase, children are learning the alphabet, phonics, basic reading, and basic math.
The Logic phase, around 5th grade, begins focusing on critical and analytical thinking. Students use the foundation that was laid in the grammar stage and apply it to other things.
The Rhetoric phase, typically the final stage with high school age students, examines the rules of logic and Socratic reasoning.
Typically, students participating in this type of learning will have a good grasp of language mechanics, reasoning, and can easily develop debate strategies and persuasive writing skills.
Charlotte Mason
The Charlotte Mason style of learning focuses on source books, or what they call “living books” and not textbooks. Textbooks typically publish excerpts of source books, do not include the entire literary work, and provide commentary and questions to evaluate the work. The Charlotte Mason method teaches reading and writing through original prose or poetry books.
Combination Method
A homeschool using the combination method has flexible schedules and goals and may use a variety of curriculum and styles, including packaged, online, or a combination thereof for different subjects. (Based on student need and what best fits the family or group.)
Unschooling
Unschooling allows a child to choose what they want to learn, with the parent simply facilitating the learning. Unschoolers believe children are curious by nature, that there’s a lot to learn in everyday life. This method is popular with parents who believe that children should not be forced to learn something they are not interested in. Surprisingly, left to themselves, children can learn a great deal more than we could ever imagine.
While there are many methods from which to choose, your choice for a particular subject or child will be based on your availability to support your child’s learning and your child’s learning preferences.
A Word about Math
Most homeschoolers find out that math is the great differentiator between students and so math instruction tends to be individualized. With the exception of reading, most other subjects can be taught in a small group and children can learn at their own path. Math is a subject best taught individually for each student. One child gets the concepts quickly; another may require more time or different types of instruction.
Let children learn math at the pace and via the method best adapted for them.
Your Method and Curriculum will Depend Upon You and Your Children
Packaged curriculum may follow a certain style and will often disclose that in their descriptions. Others employ methods across the homeschool styles. Most online courses that are graded by a school will employ a lecture and demonstration method of learning. This is the closest method to remote learning that students in public schools will use this fall. Some math curriculum rely heavily on manipulative, like Cuisenaire rods to facilitate the learning process.
The benefits of homeschooling is that the parent can differentiate the learning style to suit the child. A bonus is that there are extra hours in the day that your children can learn things that excite them or that you know they will need in life. There are many life-skills that schools don’t teach, but you can.
The choice to homeschool is a sacrifice but one that will repay you many times over in happy and contented children who grow into well-adjusted adults, and who get along with each other and with you. I am eternally grateful for the time I spent with my children and they, as young adults, are a tremendous joy to me now.
About Linnea
Linnea Johnson has her MA in Curriculum and Instruction and has taught preschool students through adults on topics including music, English as a 2nd language, technology, business and personal finance. She and her husband homeschooled their two active sons; both went on to careers in entrepreneurship. Her greatest joy is spending time with her family, cultivating an urban farm, creating fused glass items and enameled jewelry, and traveling with her husband. Linnea authors starthomeschoolnow.com


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--Housing Crash 2: We Have Never Seen Mortgage Delinquencies Rise This Fast In U.S. History

If our economic numbers were going to improve substantially , now would be the time for it to happen .
The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have hit a plateau for the moment , the civil unrest in our major cities has been reduced to a dull roar , and millions of Americans that originally lost their jobs have now gone back to work .
If we are going to get some glimmers of hope for the economy , this is when we should see them , because the environment does not look promising once the summer ends .
Unfortunately , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to directly contradict the narrative that any sort of a “ recovery ” is taking place .
In fact , the Mortgage Bankers Association is reporting that the delinquency rate on residential mortgages shot up a whopping 386 basis points last quarter… The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.22 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2020 , according to the Mortgage Bankers Association ’ s ( MBA ) National Delinquency Survey .
The delinquency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first quarter of 2020 and was up 369 basis points from one year ago .
When I first saw that number , I could hardly believe it .
I had never heard of such carnage before , and the Mortgage Bankers Association is telling us that this was “ the biggest quarterly rise ” in the history of their survey… The delinquency rate on FHA loans is particularly troubling .
During the first quarter , the delinquency rate on FHA loans was 9.7 percent , but by the end of the second quarter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent… Fast forward to today , when the dam of pent up mortgage delinquencies cracked some more , with the Federal Housing Administration reporting that its mortgages which represent the affordable path to homeownership for many first-time buyers , minorities and low-income Americans , now have the highest delinquency rate in at least four decades .
The share of delinquent FHA loans rose to 15.7 % in the second quarter , up a whopping 60 % from about 9.7 % in the previous three months and the highest level in records dating back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Monday .
The delinquency rate for conventional loans , by comparison , was 6.7 % .
We have never seen anything like this before , and these numbers seem to indicate that we are heading for a crisis that will be even worse than the subprime mortgage meltdown that we witnessed during the last recession .
Of course the reason why there are so many delinquencies is because tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs in 2020 .
According to the MBA , mortgage delinquency rates are shooting up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ losses have been the most severe… The fastest way to fix this emerging crisis would be to get millions of newly unemployed Americans back to work as quickly as possible , and recently there has been some modest improvement in the employment numbers .
However , it is becoming very clear that millions upon millions of the jobs that have been lost during this pandemic are never coming back .
In fact , one recent survey found that almost half of all workers that have been laid off during this pandemic now consider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this means is that millions upon millions of Americans will continue to miss mortgage payments , and a massive wave of foreclosures looms in the months ahead .
Needless to say , it won ’ t be a happy time for our nation .
Meanwhile , more businesses are going belly up with each passing day .
For example , we just learned that as many as 300 Pizza Hut locations are going “ to permanently close ” … This is a great tragedy for those of us that love pizza , because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chains in the entire country nobody makes better pizza than Pizza Hut does .
And yes , I am being quite serious .
As soon as I could walk my parents began taking me to Pizza Hut , and I have been enjoying their pizza ever since .
Unfortunately , I don ’ t live anywhere near a Pizza Hut today , and so I don ’ t get to enjoy their pizza very often anymore .
In any event , a lot more companies are going to be waving the white flag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one of the core pillars of “ the perfect storm ” that is now upon us , and after this current lull our economic problems are going to start accelerating once again .
Sadly , most Americans simply do not understand what is happening .
Most Americans still seem to think that everything is going to turn out just fine somehow .
What they don ’ t realize is that the whole system is starting to steadily unwind , and things are going to get really ugly as we continue down this @ @

by Michael Snyder
If our economic numbers were going to improve substantially, now would be the time for it to happen. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have hit a plateau for the moment, the civil unrest in our major cities has been reduced to a dull roar, and millions of Americans that originally lost their jobs have now gone back to work. If we are going to get some glimmers of hope for the economy, this is when we should see them, because the environment does not look promising once the summer ends. Unfortunately, the numbers that we keep getting just continue to directly contradict the narrative that any sort of a “recovery” is taking place. In fact, the Mortgage Bankers Association is reporting that the delinquency rate on residential mortgages shot up a whopping 386 basis points last quarter…
The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 8.22 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the second quarter of 2020, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The delinquency rate increased 386 basis points from the first quarter of 2020 and was up 369 basis points from one year ago.
When I first saw that number, I could hardly believe it.
386 basis points in a single quarter?
I had never heard of such carnage before, and the Mortgage Bankers Association is telling us that this was “the biggest quarterly rise” in the history of their survey…
“The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on some homeowners’ ability to make their mortgage payments could not be more apparent. The nearly 4 percentage point jump in the delinquency rate was the biggest quarterly rise in the history of MBA’s survey,” said Marina Walsh, MBA’s Vice President of Industry Analysis.
The delinquency rate on FHA loans is particularly troubling.
During the first quarter, the delinquency rate on FHA loans was 9.7 percent, but by the end of the second quarter that number had shot up to 15.7 percent…
Fast forward to today, when the dam of pent up mortgage delinquencies cracked some more, with the Federal Housing Administration reporting that its mortgages which represent the affordable path to homeownership for many first-time buyers, minorities and low-income Americans, now have the highest delinquency rate in at least four decades. The share of delinquent FHA loans rose to 15.7% in the second quarter, up a whopping 60% from about 9.7% in the previous three months and the highest level in records dating back to 1979, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday. The delinquency rate for conventional loans, by comparison, was 6.7%.
We have never seen anything like this before, and these numbers seem to indicate that we are heading for a crisis that will be even worse than the subprime mortgage meltdown that we witnessed during the last recession.
Of course the reason why there are so many delinquencies is because tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs in 2020.
According to the MBA, mortgage delinquency rates are shooting up the fastest in the states where the job losses have been the most severe…
Mortgage delinquencies track closely with the availability of jobs. The five states with the largest quarterly increases in delinquency rates were New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Florida, and Hawaii – all with a prevalence of leisure and hospitality jobs that were especially hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fastest way to fix this emerging crisis would be to get millions of newly unemployed Americans back to work as quickly as possible, and recently there has been some modest improvement in the employment numbers.
However, it is becoming very clear that millions upon millions of the jobs that have been lost during this pandemic are never coming back. In fact, one recent survey found that almost half of all workers that have been laid off during this pandemic now consider their jobs losses to be permanent…
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What this means is that millions upon millions of Americans will continue to miss mortgage payments, and a massive wave of foreclosures looms in the months ahead.
Needless to say, it won’t be a happy time for our nation.
Meanwhile, more businesses are going belly up with each passing day.
For example, we just learned that as many as 300 Pizza Hut locations are going “to permanently close”…
Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants are slated to permanently close following the bankruptcy of one the chain’s largest franchisees. NPC International, which filed for Chapter 11 in July, announced an agreement Monday with Pizza Hut’s owner Yum! Brands (YUM)to close roughly a quarter of its restaurants and sell the remaining locations. Specific restaurants and timing have not yet been determined, but NPC said a “substantial majority” of affected locations have dining rooms.
This is a great tragedy for those of us that love pizza, because out of all of the major pizza chains in the entire country nobody makes better pizza than Pizza Hut does.
And yes, I am being quite serious.
As soon as I could walk my parents began taking me to Pizza Hut, and I have been enjoying their pizza ever since.
Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near a Pizza Hut today, and so I don’t get to enjoy their pizza very often anymore.
In any event, a lot more companies are going to be waving the white flag in the months ahead. Economic turmoil is one of the core pillars of “the perfect storm” that is now upon us, and after this current lull our economic problems are going to start accelerating once again.
Sadly, most Americans simply do not understand what is happening.
Most Americans still seem to think that everything is going to turn out just fine somehow.
What they don’t realize is that the whole system is starting to steadily unwind, and things are going to get really ugly as we continue down this road.


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--Trump’s Failed Iran Policy Is Leading Us To War

President Trump has been consistent on Iran and , unfortunately , consistently wrong .
His Secretary of State Mike Pompeo @ @ @ @ @ mouth for war with Iran for years , along with the various neocons like Eliot @ @ @ @ @ in the war machine .
As the US moves closer to war with Iran , @ @ @ @ @ ’ s “ maximum pressure ” policy is laid bare .
Unless this Administration wakes @ @ @ @ @ changes course , the future is dire for the US and the Middle East .
@ @ @ @ @ losers and more coronavirus updates .

President Trump has been consistent on Iran and, unfortunately, consistently wrong. His Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been foaming at the mouth for war with Iran for years, along with the various neocons like Eliot Abrams who serve as cogs in the war machine. As the US moves closer to war with Iran, the utter failure of Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy is laid bare. Unless this Administration wakes up to this failure and changes course, the future is dire for the US and the Middle East. Also today: Winners and losers and more coronavirus updates.
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investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--Why We Can’t Trust Postal Workers With Our Ballots. The two largest postal worker unions have endors

Why We Can’t Trust Postal Workers With Our Ballots. The two largest postal worker unions have endorsed Joe Biden for president.

If you are queasy about entrusting the U.S .
Postal Service with a vastly expanded role in our electoral system in the midst of a crucial election , the following news will exacerbate your nausea .
Last Friday , the National Association of Letter Carriers ( NALC ) followed the lead of the American Postal Workers Union ( APWU ) by endorsing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden .
Thus far , most objections to increasing the role of the USPS in the election process involve the inevitable logistical problems that will accompany a precipitous expansion of mail-in voting .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ workers to inefficiency renders it obvious that the widespread expansion of vote-by-mail is dangerous .
Even if we assume that most postal workers are nonpartisan , there is enormous potential for chaos associated with a wholesale increase in absentee voting .
The leadership of the USPS has already warned most states that millions may be disfranchised by late delivery of ballots .
The Washington Post reports , “ The U.S .
Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it can not guarantee that all ballots cast by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in time to be counted.
” As alarming as such warnings are , they aren ’ t as perilous as a politicized postal service .
Trump voters simply can ’ t trust their ballots to mail carriers represented by unions that endorse his opponent : On behalf of nearly 300,000 active and retired letter carriers , we are proud to endorse Vice President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to lead this country as president and vice president.… The Executive Council ’ s decision to endorse the Biden/Harris ticket was based on the input @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , responses to our candidate questionnaire.… The decision is also partly informed by what we have seen from the current administration with regard to the Postal Service .

If you are queasy about entrusting the U.S. Postal Service with a vastly expanded role in our electoral system in the midst of a crucial election, the following news will exacerbate your nausea. Last Friday, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) followed the lead of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) by endorsing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Thus far, most objections to increasing the role of the USPS in the election process involve the inevitable logistical problems that will accompany a precipitous expansion of mail-in voting. The addition of overt partisanship among postal workers to inefficiency renders it obvious that the widespread expansion of vote-by-mail is dangerous.
Even if we assume that most postal workers are nonpartisan, there is enormous potential for chaos associated with a wholesale increase in absentee voting. The leadership of the USPS has already warned most states that millions may be disfranchised by late delivery of ballots. The Washington Post reports, “The U.S. Postal Service recently sent detailed letters to 46 states and D.C. warning that it cannot guarantee that all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted.” As alarming as such warnings are, they aren’t as perilous as a politicized postal service. Trump voters simply can’t trust their ballots to mail carriers represented by unions that endorse his opponent:
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
On behalf of nearly 300,000 active and retired letter carriers, we are proud to endorse Vice President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to lead this country as president and vice president.… The Executive Council’s decision to endorse the Biden/Harris ticket was based on the input of our membership through polling, surveys, responses to our candidate questionnaire.… The decision is also partly informed by what we have seen from the current administration with regard to the Postal Service.
spectator.org/why-we-cant-trust-postal-workers-with-our-ballots/


investmentwatchblog--2020-08-18--Steve Scalise: Let’s be clear: Pelosi fabricated a crisis so she can make money grab to funnel billi

Steve Scalise: Let’s be clear: Pelosi fabricated a crisis so she can make money grab to funnel billions of $$ to the Postal Service because she needs it to pull of No-ID Universal Mail-In Voting

Nancy Pelosi fabricated a crisis so she can make a money grab to funnel billions of dollars to the Postal @ @ @ @ @ to pull off her No-ID Universal Mail-In Voting scheme this fall .
That 's what @ @ @ @ @ pic.twitter.com/dMC76f3Who

Let's be clear about what's happening:
Nancy Pelosi fabricated a crisis so she can make a money grab to funnel billions of dollars to the Postal Service because she needs it to pull off her No-ID Universal Mail-In Voting scheme this fall.
That's what this is all about. pic.twitter.com/dMC76f3Who
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) August 17, 2020