The right to own handguns

An unambiguous right

By Herbert W. Titus and William J. Olson


Compelled to take up arms to regain their liberties as Englishmen, America's Founders knew that even the constitutional republic they had established could threaten the freedoms for which they had fought. In the First Amendment, they established a first line of defense — the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.


Knowing that words and parchment barriers alone would prove inadequate to restrain those elected as servants from becoming tyrants, they added the Second Amendment to secure "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" — not to protect deer hunters and skeet shooters, but to guarantee to themselves and their posterity the blessings of "a free State."


Their foremost concern was the precipitating events of the American Revolution, wherein British troops in Massachusetts and Virginia seized American muskets, cannon and powder — actions the Declaration of Independence calls "a design to reduce (the colonists) under absolute Despotism."


Entrusting the nation's sovereignty to the people, the amendment breaks the government's military monopoly, guaranteeing to the people such firearms as would be necessary to defend against the sort of government abuse of their inalienable rights the British had committed.


Thus, the amendment's "well regulated Militia" encompasses all citizens who constitute the polity of the nation with the right to form their own government. The amendment's "keep and bear Arms" secures the right to possess firearms such as fully-automatic rifles, which are both the "lineal descendant(s) of … founding-era weapon(s)" (applying a 2007 court of appeals' test), and "ordinary military equipment" (applying a 1939 Supreme Court standard).


No government deprives its citizens of rights without asserting that its actions are "reasonable" and "necessary" for high-sounding reasons such as "public safety." A right that can be regulated is no right at all, only a temporary privilege dependent upon the good will of the very government officials that such right is designed to constrain.


Herbert W. Titus and William J. Olson are attorneys for Gun Owners of America, which filed a brief in the Second Amendment case the Supreme Court heard Tuesday.

Bush’s Legacy of Failure

By Robert Scheer

That idiotic “what me worry?” look just never leaves the man’s visage. Once again there was our president, presiding over disasters in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and existing reality. Be it in his announcement that Iraq was being secured on a day when bombs ripped through that sad land or posed between his treasury secretary and the Federal Reserve chairman to applaud the government’s bailout of a failed bank, George Bush was the only one inexplicably smiling.

Failure suits him. It is a stance he learned well while presiding over one failed Texas business deal after another, and it served him splendidly as he claimed the title of president of the United States after losing the popular, and maybe even the electoral, vote. It carried him through the most ignominious chapter of U.S. foreign policy, from the lies about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to an unprecedented presidential defense of torture.

The totally unwarranted assurance was there this week as the once proud dollar fell into the toilet and the debacle of Iraq and Bush’s other failed Mideast policies pushed oil prices to record highs. The Europeans, who didn’t support the U.S. imperial intervention, are doing much better, not having to pay for guarding besieged oil pipelines while U.S. taxpayers are saddled with trillions in future debt, not to mention 4,000 U.S. military deaths and 30,000 U.S. injuries in a war the administration had promised would be paid for with Iraqi oil revenues. Even in Baghdad last week there wasn’t enough oil to keep the lights on for more than a few hours.

But the president is happy because his legacy issue, the war on terror, is intact. No matter that this week the Pentagon was forced to release a report conducted over the last five years that concluded, after surveying 600,000 official Iraqi documents captured by U.S. forces, that there is “no smoking gun” establishing any connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. The report was so embarrassing that we taxpayers who paid for it were not going to be told of its existence, even though the explosive conclusions were totally declassified, until ABC News forced its posting online.

The network reported that the Pentagon had canceled plans to issue a press release or make it available by e-mail or otherwise online because, as one Pentagon official put it, the study is “too politically sensitive.” Damn right it is—Bush squandered U.S. treasure and lives in an effort that had nothing to do with the infamous attack on America. As for the real war on terror against the real al-Qaida, those folks are very much on the rebound, just where they were before the 9/11 attack, building their bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, back on the home front, Wall Street is crumbling, not because of planes crashing into buildings but because the outrageous knaves of finance, freed from the most minimal requirements of public accountability, have been permitted to destroy America’s reputation in the world for financial probity.

In the name of ending what were claimed to be onerous regulations imposed after the Great Depression, this administration accelerated a bipartisan pattern of allowing Wall Street to betray investors with impunity while abandoning the federal government’s obligation, once accepted equally by conservatives and liberals, to ensure our national solvency. This tendency, under way for decades to give the bankers what they wanted—codified in the Financial Services Modernization Act, which was signed into law by Bill Clinton and which permitted banks, stock brokers and insurance companies to merge—was exacerbated by Bush’s appointment of rapacious corporate foxes to watch the corporate henhouse.

They will take care of their own, which is why Bush was smiling, happily posed in that photo op between Henry Paulson Jr. and Ben Bernanke announcing the Bear Stearns bailout, made possible only by the federal government using your tax dollars to pick up the bad debt of the banks. Tape that picture to your wall to remind you, when you open a credit card bill with a 30 percent interest rate—not the 2 percent the Fed will charge banks—or see the increase in your adjustable rate mortgage, of just what your government will do for the really big guys that it will never do for regular folks.

In the years to come, as millions lose their retirement income and homes, we will have occasion to remember Georgie Porgie, who kissed the taxpayers and made them cry before he ran away.

McCain’s Militant Mixup

And this guy wants to be president??????????


McCain’s Militant Mixup

Posted on Mar 19, 2008

Presidential contender John McCain took a trip to the Middle East to showcase his foreign policy chops, so the opposition was particularly delighted that it was during such a demonstration that he committed this gaffe.

While attempting to explain Iran’s influence in neighboring Iraq, the would-be commander in chief repeatedly refers to Tehran’s support for al-Qaida. Iran is a Shiite country that has been accused of arming Shiite militants, and not the militantly Sunni al-Qaida.

China Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Report: February 2008

China Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Report: February 2008

As China's appetite for energy continues to grow, so too does its implementation of renewable energy. The country's wind, biomass and solar industries are moving at an impressive pace -- officials are planning to generate roughly 120,000 megawatts (MW) from renewable resources by 2020.

The monthly China Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Report (below) from China Strategies, LLC covers the latest political, financial and technological developments in China's rapidly growing renewable energy industries. The report examines the month's activities for policy makers, non-governmental organizations, companies doing business in China, and other interested parties.

In the February edition of the China Report, author Lou Schwartz writes about China's State Electricity Regulatory Commission releasing documents the extent of disruption that the weather disaster of January and February 2008 caused as well as a look at the status of the various renewable energy industries in the country.

Lou Schwartz, president of China Strategies, LLC, and publisher of China Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development Report, earned degrees in East Asian Studies from the University of Michigan and Harvard University where he studied Chinese language and literature, economics and law, among other disciplines. Lou also earned a J.D. from George Washington University Law School. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Lou has worked on various matters involving China's legal system, economic development, trade and investment while with a large U.S. law firm and currently as President of China Strategies, LLC.

Document

A Tale of Two Metals

A Tale of Two Metals
by Sean Brodrick



"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens famously wrote. That certainly describes markets nowadays, doesn't it?

Heck, Ben Bernanke chopped both the fed funds rate and the discount rate by 75 basis points yesterday — another indication of just how bad things have really gotten.

In the "worst of times" column:

The dollar, which is on the Slip n' Slide of doom! It hit new lows against the euro and multi-decade lows against the yen this week.

Stocks, which get shellacked, snap back, and then get shellacked again.

The housing market, which remains in freefall.

The credit crisis, which continues to spread.

And real inflation that continues to rocket higher!

Where are the best of times, you ask? In commodities investments! We've recently seen $111-a-barrel oil, $1,000-an-ounce gold and $21-an-ounce silver. This is no great surprise: As anxiety and panic reign on Wall Street, commodities (i.e. "real assets") move higher as investors rush to safety. While commodities have pulled back from their highs, it's probably a pullback you can buy.

However, not all metals are created equal. There are some, one in particular, that I definitely like right now, and at least one that I wouldn't touch.

So sit back, lend an ear, and let me tell you a tale of two metals ...

The Best of Metals: Gold

My top pick among not just metals, but all commodities, is gold. Reason: I firmly believe it's in a powerful up-trend.

And sure enough, gold showed the most strength on Monday when traders were selling EVERYTHING else — stocks because financials are going up in smoke, and commodities to cover their losses in financials.

Plus, there are the bullish long-term forces driving gold higher as well. Forces including ...

Bullish Long-Term Force #1:
The Supply-Demand Gap

Global spending for the exploration of nonferrous metals (mostly gold and silver) hit $9.99 billion in 2007 — up 33% from the previous year and way, way up from the $1.9 billion spent in 2002. Despite that, AND soaring prices, gold production actually dropped to a 10-year low.

Why is production falling while spending and prices are rising? Because for decades, there was under-investment in exploration, and it can take seven to 10 years to bring a new mine on line. The dearth of spending for so many years has opened a large gap in exploration and development.

Gold production may go up a little this year, if everything goes right. The problem with mining is that things often go wrong.

And demand isn't going to wait ...

Bullish Long-Term Force #2:
Gold ETFs are buying big-time!

The streetTRACKS Gold Shares ETF now holds 653 metric tonnes of gold. This puts it far ahead of many Central banks, including those of the Netherlands, China, Russia, as well as the European Central Bank.

Add in gold demand from other ETFs around the world and ETFs are quite a force. And they're going to get bigger. The World Gold Trust, the sponsor of the world's largest gold ETF, forecasts a 30% increase in their gold ETF products this year.

According to data from the World Gold Council, jewelry demand is rising as well, despite higher gold prices. And demand from the Middle East and Asia is just starting to hit its stride.

Bullish Long-Term Force #3:
The Swooning U.S. Dollar

I take no joy in saying this — I have greenbacks in my wallet, too — but the U.S. dollar is being beaten so badly that one of these mornings I expect to turn on the TV and find out that Treasury secretary Hank Paulson has taken Ol' Greenback out behind the shed to shoot it and put it out of its misery.

Since the Bush administration took office, the U.S. Dollar Index has tumbled 36%. It's down more than 6% just this month! Recession fears are driving the greenback lower as jobs disappear, home prices fall, consumer confidence plummets, and big financial institutions go belly-up.

And this latest fiasco with Bear Sterns is an indicator that the dollar could go downhill in a hurry. The Fed is putting itself on the hook for all the "toxic waste" debt that the big investment banks are sitting on; accepting this paper as collateral for loans to prevent the banks from becoming insolvent.

How can they do that? By cranking the printing presses into overdrive!

You can gnash your teeth about the Good-Time Charlies in Washington spending your money so freely, or you can just do the smart thing and buy gold.

We recently saw crude oil get back to its inflation-adjusted high from the 1970s oil crisis. Do you know how high gold would have to go to get back to its inflation-adjusted high? $2,271.59! I think gold has a bit longer to run!

One way to play it is through the big daddy of the gold exchange traded funds, the GLD. And since the current financial crisis will likely get worse before it gets better, this might be one of the times when you want to own gold bullion.

Gold isn't your only choice, of course. While the yellow metal is up 19.3% so far this year (through Monday's close), copper is up 22.4% ... nickel is up 23.4% ... and silver is up 36.3%. Most metals are GREAT investments, and should remain so for the rest of the year.

The Worst of Metals: — Platinum

It was just a month ago that I wrote about how hot platinum was.


South Africa produces 80% of world's platinum. Power shortages in that country cut platinum production by 16% in January. No wonder platinum surged 36% this year through the end of last week.

But the wheel turns, and now the white-hot metal is cooling off big-time. Going forward, it could be in for a precipitous drop.

The demand picture for platinum hasn't changed much since I wrote about it back in February. What is changing is supply and speculator sentiment.

The South African power utility, ESKOM, says it is coming to grips with the power shortage. What's more, South Africa is so concerned about the hard times for miners that it may drop plans to impose a royalty tax on mining companies. And lower taxes may encourage higher metal production.

This doesn't affect the short-term outlook on platinum, of course. But it is enough to send skittish hedge funds piling OUT of platinum the same way they piled in just a couple months ago.

And technically speaking, platinum's chart is sounding a big "sell" warning. It broke through support, which then turned into overhead resistance. It has weakness down to about $1,650, and perhaps lower.

Of course, this is only a short-term outlook. Next month, the lights might go off in South Africa again and the government there could decide platinum miners need to pay MORE taxes. And then we can ride the metal higher again.

Because that's the thing about metals — nowadays, even the worst of them is better than the best financial stock!

Mortgage applications fell 2.9% last week: MBA

Mortgage applications fell 2.9% last week: MBA

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch
March 19, 2008
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Applications filed for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 2.9% last week even as interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages declined, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.