Please do not Feed!
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It’s been that kind of week-end, where rules, and their breaking seem to be dominating the conversation.  So I’m going to take this opportunity to break the rules and “feed the troll” as is so many times advised against.  I am hoping the attention I’m feeding this poor guy will serve as ameliorative to our overall discussions, rather than just a sop to his ego problems.

First let’s define “a typical internet blog troll.”   We are not just talking about someone who brings a disagreement, for we have many honorable members of that tribe on my more partisan site.  I would point out Bruce “Juicyfruit” as one good example and former Employee 8, now “Teahouse on the Tracks” as another.   These are gentlemen who can carry on sometimes heated discussions without resorting to cheap ad hominum, or personal attacks on their opponents.   I don’t think it coincidental that both are members of The PPT, either, as it is a repository of outstanding gentlemen.

Not so the case with the ad hominem Trolls that we’ve accumulated under our iBC.com bridge.   As an example, note this screed I received on my last post regarding the threat of Obamacare.   For your benefit, I’ve bolded all the extraneous ad hominem nastiness that can be disregareded by anyone seeking logical argument.  I’ll have to admit, it pares the piece down quite a bit:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TTC6FJphWA 450 300]

“Freedom,”  do you hear, it?

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The above well wishes may be outdated by the time of this posting, as there is a rumour (sic) that Representative Bart Stupak, one of the last principled Democrats, has succumbed to the bribe disease that has overtaken nearly every member of Congress, may Allah throw them all out on their patoots this coming November.

If that’s so, we’re cooked for long term, as the inevitable government imposed rationing takes hold, and destroys a vital part of our economy in the process.  Say goodbye to the solid, high quality healthcare you’ve enjoyed for so long, it’s about to be controlled by Health and Human Services.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with rationing — it’s a natural economic process that occurs in all supply and demand-based transactions.   It happens in our interaction with health care service providers the same way it occurs in our other daily decisions.   Problem is, at this point in history the more natural flow of free market supply and demand that reflects efficient rationing in pricing has already been cast askew by government intervention in our health care system.  This has resulted in a limiting of service supply that has greatly overtaxed our provider community.

Unfortunately, the new top down mandates of Obamacare will only exacerbate that situation, as additional “insurance” recipients are added to the rolls, with no attendant increase in service providers or pricing (at least according to the Obamacare mandates).    This will result in exit by providers and service workers, a natural result of price fixing that we’ve seen exhibited in every situation where it’s been attemped.  

If you take anything away from this piece, remember that “price fixing leads to shortages,”  as sure as extended drought leads to famine.   (Banque coin on it via The PPT.)

Trying to talk around such natural phenomenon is like arguing with a rock falling to the ground that he is being “bourgeoise” and “oppressive.”    In fact, it’s been a long time curiousity of mine why people would believe that natural economic processes that have been proven time and again over our recorded history, can somehow be evaded by the “right amount of state conviction.”   Marxism did not work for lack of trying, after all.

For those of you who understand rational market actions, there is some faint hope, however.

First, this bill may fall apart under the weight of judicial scrutiny, given the myriad bribes and singular giveaways that have been stuffed into it.   Second, the way this bill is looking to be semi-passed, via the “deeming” process Representative Slaughter has propose, may very well not stand Constitutional challenge.

Third, and probably most likely, the passing of this bill may well usher in a sea-change away from our current Big Government political trends.  Enough economically sapped and pissed off citizens have awoken to this hijacking of our Constitutional precepts that we may see a large scale revamping of Congress that renders President Obama the lamest of ducks, sends the far left Madame Pelosi back to the rear bench, and Harry Reid home for extended fishing in Lake Tahoe (with Fredo?). 

If that in fact does happens, I look for a renaissance in the markets, much like we experienced after the 1994 elections, when Gingrich’s Revolution stopped Bill (and Hillary’s) Clinton’s earlier attempt to Alinsky-ize the country toward a permanently government-first economy.     I think we may also see a desparate Dem Congress, seeing the writing on the wall, try to break the massive groundswell against them by throwing bon bons to the economy and markets.   This could set up for an explosive combination come this summer.

Remember that markets are forward rationalizing, however, and that Barack Obama (thus far) has shown himself to be less pliant than Bill Clinton.   It’s very possible the best we can hope for, until 2012, is gridlock.

Given what we’ve withstood in the last year, that may very well be a balm. 

Best to you all, and remember what Brooklyn’s finest said:

 
Update:  “Deem and Pass Option May be Dead” according to WaPo report… I don’t take comfort in this however, if it’s coming from the Dems, as it likely means they have Stupak, and the other nays corralled and can pass it with a regular vote.   I cannot wait to see the chicanery results (ie, “the bribes”) that got this thing done…

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Second Update:   A real hope for the future, Representative Paul Ryan (R, WI), responding to the demagogues:

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[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVh75ylAUXY 450 300]

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Given that this ‘toon was produced in 1948, right about the time our allies in Europe were succumbing to full-blown post-war collapse Fabian socialism, this piece is eerily relevant today.

And I’d add — never more so than on a weekend where such dark portents as the passage of PelosiCare have brought us all to a historical precipice.   

 To what fate will we consign our children?   It’s up to you, America.   Time to step up.

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Fly encouraged me to blog on the Ft. Hood massacre this weekend, and well, I think I’ve illustrated my thoughts relatively well on his blog-posting on the subject. 

A quick wrap-up–

I think it’s a shame that the foreign papers — particularly Great Britain’s Telegraph — are doing better and more honest reporting on this subject– particularly about the background and description of the murderous assailant. 

Our press, on the other hand, is already making pathetic excuses for the Wahabbist strain that threatens us even from within our own borders.   Like their co-religionists in the ruling Democrat Party, the mainstream press chooses to bury their head in the sand and ascribe blame to “random” mental imbalance, rather than the more obvious pathogens which have arisen time again.

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All that said,  it’s even more despicable, in my book,  that the Democrats  are attempting to take advantage of the press cover given this horrific event to work an extremely rare weekend hoping to foist what the Wall Street Journal called “maybe the worst bill in Congressional history” on the American people without a single bi-partisan vote.

That’s right, Nancy Pelosi and her hard left co-horts in the House are making a power-grab of historical — and unprecedented — proportions with this week-end attempt to move your healthcare choices to Washington.   In historical terms, even more than the rampage at Fort Hood, this bill’s passage could become the worst news of the week, and perhaps the decade for the United States and the world that depends on it’s innovative system.  

I urge you to contact your representatives in Congress and  make your voice heard as a taxpayer and defender of constitutional and personal freedom.   Do not let them get away with this theft.  

As Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI)  makes clear in this clip — we as U.S. citizens want to be on the right side of history, and all it takes is a phone call.  Do it!

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For the Jacksonian Portfolio, I’ve purchased 300 more shares of Teck Cominco Limited (USA) [[TCK]] @ $27.51, using the available cash reserves.   Since the Jackson Portfolio is “paper” only, I wanted to assure you that I am also adding to my personal stash to the tune of 1k more shares at the same price.   I think this baby is a tiger that will not be tamed ovah heah. 

FWIW, everything is “on the table” today, and I am eyeing The Andersons, Inc. [[ANDE]] for a buy if it breaks out over $31.50 again.   All the silvers are incredibly strong, and I may add some Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] just for the heck of it.   I am “full up” in the personal port, unfortunately. 

Best to you, today.

Best.

Allright, that’s enough of this Barack Obamacare bashing. For now.

Let’s all remember what this blog is about after all, which is sound money market plays. That stuff can’t work out without a crapload of bad government policy to destroy the currency for our benefit. So let’s all take a minute to thank Barack and Nancy and the whole group down at the Fed for the opportunities they’ve apportioned us.

And here’s some more that I think may be burbling to the surface this very evening… First it looks like the coal stocks are catching a whiff, so let’s not forget about the Jacksonian dividend payor — Natural Resource Partners LP [[NRP]] .

Next I’ve got some fun junior golds that I think are ready to take off, not unlike last night’s recommendation [[CNXT]] did today. The first I’ve talked about for many months, and it’s one of my favourites (sic) of the junior miner variety — and here’s Allied Nevada Gold Corp. [[ANV]] ‘s weekly chart:

Looking for a flat side breakout (up) here, with a little additional volume. $9.00 should be the safe zone.

Next is [[BAA]] , which finally got it’s mojo going today. I think a move over $2.14 is the second stage of this story:

Last, an old friend who may be indicating good news (finally) for the Brotherhood of the Natural Gas freaks (like Fly’s Flotek), is Lexington, KY-based NGAS Resources, Inc. [[NGAS]] , which is showing a turtle head pop-out of the downtrend:

Last, the silvers look like they are going to make another run, so keep an eye on the silver Jacksons Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) [[SLW]] , Silver Standard Resources Inc. (USA) [[SSRI]] and [[PAAS]] . Also platinum finally started getting off it’s keyster today as well — I use the ETF [[PTM]] to invest in that precious metal.

Remember to write your Congressperson about keeping their hands off your private, well supplied healthcare system. Don’t let them kill the goose that’s laying the golden eggs for us and the rest of global health. Best to you all.