A Watched Pot Never Boils

Another day, another load of crap. It is almost embarrassing to stand for the national anthem. The country has been looted by the criminals we "citizens" were foolish enough to entrust with the leadership of our nation. In the end, when all is said and done, we will have no one to blame but ourselves for the disaster that has been unleashed upon this once great nation. Was it ever great, one wonders? Have we been living a lie, a flim-flam, a preposterous sham for the past 60 some odd years following victory in WWII. Has absolute power corrupted absolutely?

Disgusting.

Bail-Outrage: Misuse of Funds, Lack of Transparency a National Disgrace
Many Americans are understandably outraged by the bailout fever that has gripped Washington this year. But even those who believe the bailouts are a "necessary evil" would have a hard time defending some of the bailout-related items that have come to light in recent days, including:

-Financial institutions using TARP bailout money to pay executive bonuses. The firms, of course, say it's "different" money and bonuses are key to retaining top employees. But if you need to come to the government for a handout, shouldn't your executives forgo a bonus? Or shouldn't the government make canceling bonuses a condition of getting aid, as is the case in Europe?

-The Fed refusing to reveal who received almost $2 trillion in non-TARP loans, or what collateral it has accepted from "emergency" loans made to struggling firms, as Bloomberg reports.

-The Treasury Department providing a tax break to banks involved in acquisitions that could amount to $140 billion. The Washington Post reveals the change to the tax code was issued on Sept. 30, while Congress was debating the $700 billion TARP bill.
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/125352/Bail-Outrage-Misuse-of-Funds-Lack-of-Transparency-a-National-Disgrace?tickers=GS,MS,JPM,BAC,C,WFC,XLF

Revolting.

How much longer are Americans going to sit on their hands and allow this bullshit to continue? People, this is not a "temporary setback". This is the permanent destruction of wealth. There will be no "going back" to the way things used to be. The way things used to be is now history.

Mr. President-elect, you have your work cut out for you. Unfortunately, being just another cog in the far reaching machinery of political chicanery, the most we can hope for from you and your newly appointed minions is more of the same. A lot of words will be spoken, a lot of what Americans "want to hear", but deeds will be few and far between. The "system" is now bigger than any one man. Those that attempt to change, alter, or stop the looting of our nation will quickly be swept aside and or destroyed. You can take that to the bank. Let the Camelot Experience be a lesson to any and all that try to defy or circumvent the power brokers sucking the life out of America. Perish the thought, but respect it. Anything is possible now.

Fed's bank loans look like secret patronage
Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

Federal Reserve spokeswoman Michelle Smith declined to comment on the loans or the Bloomberg lawsuit. Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis didn't respond to a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment.

President-elect Barack Obama's economic adviser, Jason Furman, also didn't respond to an e-mail and a phone call seeking comment from Obama. In a Sept. 22 campaign speech, Obama promised to ``make our government open and transparent so that anyone can ensure that our business is the people's business.''

The Fed's lending is significant because the central bank has stepped into a rescue role that was also the purpose of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, bailout plan -- without safeguards put into the TARP legislation by Congress.

Total Fed lending topped $2 trillion for the first time last week and has risen by 140 percent, or $1.172 trillion, in the seven weeks since Fed governors relaxed the collateral standards on Sept. 14. The difference includes a $788 billion increase in loans to banks through the Fed and $474 billion in other lending, mostly through the central bank's purchase of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds.

``We need oversight,'' Paulson told lawmakers. ``We need protection. We need transparency. I want it. We all want it.''

At a joint House-Senate hearing the next day, Bernanke also stressed the importance of openness in the program. ``Transparency is a big issue,'' he said.

The Fed lent cash and government bonds to banks, which gave the Fed collateral in the form of equities and debt, including subprime and structured securities such as collateralized debt obligations, according to the Fed Web site. The borrowers have included the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Banks oppose any release of information because it might signal weakness and spur short-selling or a run by depositors, said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, a Washington trade group.

``You have to balance the need for transparency with protecting the public interest,'' Talbott said. ``Taxpayers have a right to know where their tax dollars are going, but one piece of information standing alone could undermine public confidence in the system.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aatlky_cH.tY&refer=home

Undermine public confidence in the system? LOOOOOOOOOOOOL! I think it's a tiny bit late for that pal. The system is a fraud. The people may be slow to waking up to that fact, but as the realization that this nation's future has been vaporized along with the baby boomers retirement plans a lot more than just shit is going to hit the fan. The Mother Of All Ponzi Schemes has blown up in the face of each and every American. The Haves are going to be very unhappy once the realization overwhelms them that they are now Have-nots. The realization that each and every "working" American has been robbed, will soon set in following one of the most dismal Christmas Season's, since the Great Depression, ends. Gold bugs have a better than even chance to survive the carnage and escape.

The Gold bugs, the few that still remain and cling to their convictions, have potentially the most exclusive opportunity to save themselves from this national demise. But to do so they must now express the utmost patience and reserve. It is time for the Gold bugs to go into stealth mode.

A watched pot never boils.

As Gold bugs we all know by now why Gold is the ONLY real safe haven from this global economic crisis. Everyday for the past 18 months I have posted reasons why people should own Gold and Silver. There are at last count over two TRILLION reasons and counting. The day is going to come when we will be rewarded for our faith in the Truthsayer, Gold. When that day is, near or far is anybody's guess, but if your a real Gold bug, you know that day is out there.

Let's face it, the easy money in Gold and Silver has been made. From the Fall of 2003 to the Spring of 2008, a windfall was made available to any and all in the Gold bug community. Traders and investors in the Gold and Silver markets were rewarded handsomely for their beliefs in the Precious Metals as the American economic system began to unravel. Who among us would have ever thought in 2003, that as the entire system began to implode, that Gold and Silver would go down with the ship? Not me.

Have our beliefs and convictions regarding Gold and Silver been misplaced? In a word, NO. We have been taught an expensive lesson: Change doesn't happen overnight. That, and greed is our number one enemy. Investing in Gold and Silver is not all about getting rich and instant gratification. It is all about wealth preservation and growth. It is time to forget "trading and getting rich". It is now time to focus on accumulation. Forget short term profits, and think long term gains.

Gold had risen since the turn of the century on the "fear of inflation", "geopolitical uncertainty", and pure "speculation". Since March, 2008, Gold has fallen primarily through government manipulation and a false rally in the US Dollar. Fear of deflation, recession, and even depression have also given Gold pause. Not to mention "global hedge fund deleveraging". Who in their right mind would have gone short Gold following the Bear Stearns blowup as Gold surpassed $1000 for the first time? If you had shorted Gold then, would you be covering your shorts now?

As painful as this now eight month long haircut in Gold has been, consider it a blessing in disguise. Armed with all we have learned the previous five-six years, we have been given a second chance to benefit from Gold ownership. As we begin this second chance in the Gold markets, it would be wise to think about protection, instead of profit. Consider the Gold you choose to "accumulate" now as buying protection from the certain bad days ahead for ourselves and our nation. Think of any profits you accumulate as fringe benefits you receive for possessing this "protection".

Inflation "fears" are soon to be replaced with the reality of real inflation. Inflation has been "baked into the cake". Inflation IS the future. The Fed's colossal increase in the monetary base is proof of that. It is the Feds ONLY hope of leading us out of this mess. Try and look past having your cake and eating it too. The Inflation is coming. Of that, have no doubt. Accumulate and wait. Someday, that one ounce American Gold Eagle you rub for luck every morning may actually pay off your mortgage all by itself. Imagine that.

Ted Butler: Silver was smashed to ease Morgan's takeover of Bear
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Silver market analyst Ted Butler has obtained a letter from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to U.S. Rep. Gary G. Miller, Republican of California, that virtually confirms Butler's speculation in September that the smashing of the silver price this year involved JPMorganChase's takeover of Bear Stearns in March.
Butler writes:

"Bear Stearns held the largest concentrated short position in COMEX silver (and gold) futures at the time of its forced merger with JP Morgan in March. That position was not discovered until the publishing of the August Bank Participation Report followed by the October 8 letter from the CFTC to Congressman Miller. Furthermore, Bear Stearns had no legitimate backing to the short silver position, either in actual metal or cash. Otherwise it could have been delivered against or bought back, just as would have happened were it a long position.

"The price of silver at the time of Bear Stearns implosion was $20 to $21 an ounce. A free-market covering of a concentrated short position of this size would have driven silver prices to the $50 or $100 level and would have exposed the long-term manipulation. Rather than let the free market deal with the required short covering of such an uneconomic and unbacked short position, government authorities arranged to have the short position transferred to JP Morgan.

This was undertaken by the U.S. Treasury Department, along with taxpayer guarantees against loss to Morgan worth billions of dollars. This was done, no doubt, to save the financial system from imploding. This was also patently illegal, as it aided and abetted the silver manipulation."
That is, it is now virtually certain that the big silver short (and the big gold short) is the U.S. government's New York bank, JPMorganChase.

Butler's new commentary is headlined "The Real Story" and you can find it at GoldSeek's companion site, SilverSeek, here:
http://news.silverseek.com/TedButler/1226344970.php