Doug Ross @ Journal

Saturday, February 23, 2013

WOW: Dan Bongino.

Watch.

Bongino will be launching his campaign for the Senate in the People's Republic of Maryland soon -- and we'll be watching.

Senate said to near bipartisan deal on universal gun registration

Democrat media markets the news as "background checks for most private gun sales", but make no mistake about it.

Background checks for private gun sales would be equivalent to universal gun registration.

A bipartisan group of senators is on the verge of a deal that would expand background checks to all private firearms sales with limited exemptions, but significant disagreements remain on the issue of keeping records of private gun sales, according to aides familiar with the talks.

An agreement would be a bold first step toward consideration of legislation to limit gun violence in the wake of the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in December and comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected this week to begin considering new proposals to limit gun violence.

... “These negotiations are challenging, as you’d expect on an issue as complicated as guns,” the chief negotiator, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), said in a statement Saturday. “But all of the senators involved are approaching this in good faith. We are all serious about wanting to get something done, and we are going to keep trying.”

Resolution of whether to keep records of private sales is key to earning the support of one of the Republicans involved in the talks, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, who has a solid A-rating from the influential National Rifle Association and could provide political cover for lawmakers of both parties who are wary of supporting the plan.

...Democrats say that keeping records of private sales is necessary to enforce any new law and because current federal law requires licensed firearm dealers to keep records. Records of private sales also would help law enforcement trace back the history of a gun used in a crime, according to Democratic aides. Republicans, however, believe that records of private sales could put an undue burden on gun owners or could be perceived by gun rights advocates as a precursor to a national gun registry.

Any bill with which Chuck Schumer is involved will lead only to tyranny.

And Senator Tom Coburn is said to be considering retirement at the completion of his term in 2016.

These are bad tidings indeed.

If Ray LaHood Sabotages Air Transportation as He Promises, He Needs to Be Subpoenaed by the House

Hey, House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster:

Have you been listening to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's threats to sabotage air travel should the "devastating" (yet tiny) sequester cuts occur?

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood may be getting ready to leave office, but he is leaving a parting message on the way out at the request of the White House. LaHood said, "Travelers should expect delays of up to 90 minutes at peak airports during sequester, beginning April 1. It’s going to be very painful for the flying public."

If the sequester takes place, budget cuts will hit the Federal Aviation Administration to the tune of $600 million. LaHood said he was not describing a worst case scenario intended to cause people to fear and place pressure on Republican lawmakers. But then he said, "What I’m trying to do is wake up members of the Congress with the idea that they need to come to the table so we don’t have to have this kind of calamity in air services in America."

...According to Lahood, the result of the sequester would be the furloughing of many air traffic controllers and closing over 100 air traffic control towers...

So who does the incompetent buffoon LaHood want to furlough?

Not the paper-pushers. Not the bureaucrats in Washington. Not the bazillions in non-essential personnel. No. LaHood, conspiring with his union boss pals, is prepared to disrupt air travel -- to sabotage it -- to make these tiny cuts seem "devastating".

I've got news for you, LaHood: we're not stupid. The entire federal government -- not the military and intel communities, the rest of you useless jackasses -- could use a 33 percent downsizing. For the children.

As for my readers: please contact the House Transportation Committee and ensure they are aware we expect them to deal with LaHood if he or his successor goes through with these threats.

Top 15 #DayOfResistance Photos You Will Never See in Democrat Media

Spotted on Twitter:

Phoenix

Denver

Little Rock, Arkansas

Dallas

West Chester, Ohio

Ventura, California

Sacramento, California

San Diego, California

Westminster, California

Pacifica, California

Ventura, California

Dallas

Dayton, Ohio

Red Lion, Pennsylvania

Somewhere cold
Anyone with other photos, please email them to me. I'll post any good ones as updates.

Update:

Morristown, Pennsylvania

Upstate New York

Update II: Pics from Reno, Nevada (thanks, Tiffiny -- who says 2,000 braved cold weather to rally):

Update III:

Utah State Capitol

Sacramento, CA

Update IV: Pics from Atlanta (thanks, Elisabeth!):

Update V: Tyler, Texas (thanks, Kenneth):

Update VI: NEW COMIC STRIP: Hitler Finds Out About the Nationwide #DayOfResistance Rallies.

The Endgame for Currency Debasement: Exter's Pyramid

Where will the global race to debase currencies end? A diagram known as "Exter's Pyramid" offers us a hint:

...Before we delve into why backwardation in gold has some very unique and stark implications, let’s first take a moment to understand exactly what backwardation is.

...Backwardation is the condition where the spot price is higher than the forward price. Backwardation often exists in perishable commodities, right before the harvest. This happens because even though demand is constant throughout the year for a commodity like wheat, the harvest only happens once a year. If you demand delivery right before the harvest, it will be more expensive than taking delivery one month later, after all the grain silos are full. Backwardation is usually a fleeting phenomenon, occurring only when a particular commodity is in short supply and there is great demand for immediate delivery, not in the future.

...[But] gold is a unique commodity in that it is not consumed... it’s hoarded. Estimates of world gold supplies are north of 170,000 tons. So what would backwardation mean in the gold market? ...if and when we see gold in backwardation, it should be considered something like a fire alarm for the system. Something serious is happening. Investors would be rejecting what should be a “risk free” profit opportunity. We would like to suggest two (not mutually exclusive) causes: 1) the threat of counterparty failure and/or 2) loss of confidence in the $US Dollar.

The first implication of gold in backwardation is straightforward and easy to understand. The market is pricing in significant counterparty risk of failure to deliver gold in the future... [We] believe the second implication for gold backwardation is a collapse in confidence in the $US Dollar itself.

...So what would extended or permanent backwardation imply? According to Prof Antal Fekete, “gold going into permanent backwardation means that gold is no longer for sale at any price, whether it is quoted in dollars, yens, euros, or Swiss francs. The situation is exactly the same as is has been for years: gold is not for sale at any price quoted in Zimbabwe currency, however high the quote is. To put it differently, all offers to sell gold are being withdrawn, whether it concerns newly mined gold, scrap gold, bullion or coined gold.”

...For physical gold owners searching for clues to tightness and demand in the physical market, they would be wise to keep a sharp eye on these metrics. It is our belief that this is happening, right now. Money is moving down Exter’s pyramid and while the final denouement may be days, weeks, months or years off, we are certain it would be preferable to be years early as opposed to a day late.