|
|
|
|
|
Capitol Hill Corruption: The Obvious and the Not So Obvious
|
|
|
| Wednesday May 24, 2006 Vol. 8 No. 102 |
|
In Today's Letter: Comment: Non-partisan Corruption
Offshore: Monaco's Playboy Prince Misses the Point
Wealth: Commodities Tank - But Not For Long
Privacy & Rights: Baby Logging in Scotland
|
Capitol Hill Corruption... The Obvious and the Not So Obvious
Dear A-Letter Reader:
Mark Twain once remarked: "It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress." And if current corruption on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, can be measured in dollars, the Republicans are ahead of the Democrats by two to one.
Ex-U.S. Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA) is now in jail for taking over a million in bribes from defense industry contractors. But the FBI says they secretly filmed New Orleans Democrat, Rep. William Jefferson, accepting a cash bribe of $US 100,000 - most of which was later found in his kitchen freezer, part of $400,000 in alleged bribes. The Louisiana Democrat has been caught in a 14-month FBI sting operation. The accusations against him appeared in an FBI affidavit made public after 15 agents raided his Capitol Hill office last weekend, the first time such an indignity had been inflicted on a sitting congressman.
It was the 19th century British statesman, Lord Acton, who gave a pithy, predictive summary of what's going on in Washington: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." His Lordship observed correctly that too often a person's sense of morality lessens as his or her power increases. Indeed the powerful in government often come to think of themselves as immune from the rules that are meant to bind all of us.
But pause to consider that if over the years the federal government had not acquired the power to control almost every aspect of our lives, then what theologians call the chances for "an occasion of sin" in Washington would be far less. When there are 535 legislators in Congress with the individual power to "earmark" billions in government grants to their favorite buddies, special interests who finance their campaigns, and even hidden deals in which they profit -- well, individual temptation yields to massive corruption.
But a couple of million of dollars in bribes is peanuts compared to the waste, hurtful sums the supposedly conservative Bush administration and the Republican controlled Congress have imposed on us -- trillions in national debt, billions in deficits, pending inflation and a dollar that is rapidly declining in value by the day.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) points out that a recent article in Business Week magazine paints a stark picture of the ongoing decline of the U.S. dollar. The dollar has lost 5% against worldwide currencies just since April, falling to a 12-month low against the euro. Overall, the dollar fell 28% against other currencies between 2002 and 2004. Of course the real measure of just how far the dollar has fallen can be found in the price of gold, which reached a 25-year high of over $700 per ounce earlier this month. As Rep. Paul notes, it's much more accurate to measure the dollar against gold, rather than against other fiat paper currencies. Gold has nearly tripled against the dollar since 2001, when the price was $250 per ounce. By this measure the dollar is losing value at an alarming rate.
The profligate Bush policies that have caused the dollar to plunge in value have hurt everyone, Americans and foreigners alike. This is a stealth robbery that makes Capitol Hill bribes look relatively insignificant.
The saddest part of this terrible mess is that the Democrats are no better than the Republicans it seems, based on recent history. No wonder so many Americans are heading offshore in a successful effort to escape from America.
That's the way that it looks from here,
BOB BAUMAN, Editor
|
|
|
|
Publisher's Note from Erika Nolan LAST CHANCE TO SAVE $219… AND MAKE OVER $21,000
A single recommendation from this master investor could have turned $1,000 into over $9,000, $2,000 into over $19,000 and $2,500 into over $24,000.* Thousands of subscribers pay thousands of dollars a year for his investment advice. But you can get a dozen of his hottest new recommendations for a fraction of that.
His name is Eric Roseman. He was the keynote speaker at The Sovereign Society’s 21st Annual Total Wealth Symposium in Panama. The conference just ended. But now you can get the complete recorded sessions...with all the specific recommendations our experts made over four days.
You’ll hear each of Eric’s recommendations, plus:
- Money-making picks from award-winning currency traders Boris Schlossberg and Kathy Lien to protect your purchasing power during the dollar plunge...
- A Triple-A rated Sovereign Bond recommendation from Zurich-based Asset Manager Robert Vrijhof...
- A way to make gains in the new silver bull market by Michael Checkan...
- The latest trends and opportunities in asset protection from members of the Sovereign Society Council of Experts, such as Marc Sola, Colin Bowen, Peter Zipper, and many, many more.
Plus you’ll get the World Money Secrets Collection, which includes our complete library of asset protection and global investment insights on the top four asset havens in the world: Panama, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Hong Kong...
The total value of this package is $445. Yet place a NO-risk order by midnight tonight and you’ll pay just $229. You will never have a chance to pick up these timely investment recommendations and elite asset protection strategies—direct from the Sovereign Society Council of Experts themselves—at this low price ever again.
Click here to secure your bundle before midnight.
|
|
|
|
Prince Albert in the Can?
What gives with the new ruler of MONACO, HSH Prince Albert? At a charity ball last weekend he repeated a shocking statement that he made at the time of his coronation, to wit: the prince reportedly said he wanted to rid Monaco of its reputation as a tax haven. "This will remain a virtual obsession for me. I want to place morality, honesty and ethics at the center of my government's concerns." Someone should explain to the playboy prince that being a tax haven has made his family millions and that none of his goals are inconsistent with Monaco as a tax haven. If he wants to reduce the local expat population quickly, try imposing income or death taxes and the principality will become a ghost town.
|
|
|
|
Commodities Suffer Worst Day in Eight Years, Providing Huge Buying Opportunity in Energy and Precious Metals
On May 15, 2006, commodities suffered their worst single day of trading since the Asian economic crisis eight years ago. Sparked by a tidal wave of hedge fund and commodity fund selling overnight in Asia, virtually every commodity suffered a large single-digit loss on Bloody Monday. The brunt of the selling belonged to the precious metals and base metals. Gold prices plunged over 5%, while silver tanked 8%. Natural resource stocks fared even worse. Gold shares were the heaviest hit, plummeting over 8% on the day followed by silver stocks, base metal shares and energy companies. This sell-off wasn't a huge surprise, considering the magnitude of the ongoing bull market rally since last October and the absence of any downside volatility in months. Investors should stay the course as natural resources continue their bull market run this decade, supported by booming demand, tight supplies and another U.S. dollar bear market. We remain very bullish on the commodities complex and would use any intermittent correction as an opportunity to make additional purchases, especially in energy and the precious metals.
ERIC ROSEMAN, Investment Director
on behalf of The Sovereign Society
|
|
|
|
Big Brother Now Interested in Scottish Children
From now on, any infant born in Lothians or Edinburgh, Scotland may be stored in a massive national child database. This database will include the Scottish infants' names, health, family life and education, according to The Scotsman. The purpose of this database is to protect children from abuse, because police and social workers can easily access these children's files until they turn 16. Basically they can watch them grow and ensure they're brought up properly. Then these children files are stored away for another 75 years (notice: it's the average lifetime of a human, so these children will basically have a file their whole lives). Of course, this new database has many Scotsmen concerned "Big Brother" will now be able to carefully monitor their children's progress throughout their lifetimes. As one critic said "It's all very Orwellian." It does seem to be a very efficient way to create a file to monitor someone. You don't have to commit a crime anymore to have a file. You just have to be born in the wrong place during the computer era.
|
|
|
|
The Next Few Months May Be Your Best Chance to Escape to a Safe Haven With the Number One Device Used Worldwide to...
- Immunize your investments against downturns or bear markets...
- Access investments, unavailable in your home country, that offer safe income and principal...
- Protect your wealth from personal injury, malpractice, environmental or employee lawsuits...
- Save your loved ones' inheritance from claims and excessive estate taxes or government confiscation...
- And more...
To learn more about the most effective asset protection device ever designed.
LINK: http://www.isecureonline.com/reports/190SCAPT/E190G530/
|
*Gains as of May 15, 2006.
|
|
|
|
 |
 |