It appears the US Senate has obtained the 60 votes it needs to pass the health care reform bill.  It appears the Senate Democratic leadership paid off a Senator from Nebraska with a long term Medicaid funding commitment to buy his vote.  This is absurd!

The Senate leaders plan to vote on the bill at 1:00 am on Monday morning.  We have a massive snow storm in the Washington metro area at the moment and we will have about 15 to 24 inches of snow on the ground by the time the snow stops later this afternoon.   The city is virtually shut down at this point.  it will take a couple of days to dig out from the storm.  And it is a few days before Christmas and most legislators want to go home to be with their families for the holidays.  But the Democrats think this is an appropriate time to jam through a Senate vote on a major bill that no one has yet to see in its entirety.  This is outrageous! 

The US federal government has become completely dysfunctional.  Proper financial stewardship of our nation has disappeared as the Democratic leaders rape our citizens financial resources so they can effectively redistribute the national wealth through the various programs they have passed during 2009 and those they plan to pass in 2010.

The citizens of the US must rebel against this absurdity.  Capitol Hill has turned into La La Land.   Obama, Reed and Pelosi and their supporters must be removed from power as quickly as possible so much of the new legislation can be reversed and the citizens can regain control of our nation.  We must start with the 2010 Congressional elections.   We must give control of the Congress to a conservative group of Republicans, Democrats and Independents that will stop the progressives attempt to effectively destroy our nation.

I never thought I would ever feel such anger and disgust with our political leaders but the current group has reached a new level of incompetence never before attained by Washington's political elite.  We must reverse the tide if we are to save our country.

TPM

We live in a 24 hour media news cycle.  A long news story or segment is just a few minutes long at the most.  A story has staying power if it lasts more than 24 hours.  Many Internet news sources are turning over their lead stories every few hours.  In the twitter universe the main items of interest can change in minutes or seconds.

In the frantic financial world the daily trading action sets the tone for most discussion.  For many people in financial media a long term trend might be a week or a month.  It is extremely rare for a media analyst to present the current action in context of a broader and longer term trend.

The lessons learned from major investing errors made by the biggest and most savvy investors seem to disappear from the collective investing mind within a few years after major losses are recognized.  It is incredible that many so called market experts don't seem to have any long term memory or perspective.

One of the hardest aspects of life is to put short term events and activities into a long term perspective.  There must always be an appropriate balance between current activity, short term movements and long term trends.  We must learn from mistakes of the past, look past the machinations of the present and understand the long term trends that create the context for the future.

The most important changes in life are those associated with changes in long term trends.  Changes in the long term trends are the toughest to discern and the toughest to act upon.  But these changes create the biggest long term opportunities when properly appreciated and acted upon.

If you understand the long term trends that matter to you correctly, you will be able to negotiate through the short term aspects of life with minimal difficulty.   You will be able to maintain your focus on your long term objectives and create the context you need to make short term decisions.

Always remember "The trend is you friend", if you understand and act upon it.

TPM

A few minutes ago the price of gold reached $1222 US per ounce.  During the past few weeks the price of gold has moved upward in dramatic fashion and reached an all time high in US dollar terms.  While gold has some commercial applications, ex. jewelry, dentistry and electronics, its primary use in the world is as a store of wealth.  Gold has served as a store of wealth since the beginning of trade in the ancient world.

Gold is traded about 20 hours a day in markets all over the globe.  Any currency can be exchanged for gold.  During times of war when international currency trading breaks down, goods and services are exchanged for gold.  Gold is extracted from the earth by the ingenuity and sweat of real people.  No person can create gold out of thin air like the Federal Reserve Bank of the US can create paper or computer fiat money.  Gold represents the ultimate measure of financial discipline. 

The world is voting against the US dollar in favor of gold.  The reason for the dollar negativity is simple.  There is no financial discipline by the US Government.  The lack of financial discipline has been getting worse and worse for decades and the Obama administration and Democrat led Congress represent the worst of the worst from a financial discipline perspective.  The gold market is discounting the destruction of the international purchasing power of the dollar that is to come.

I don't know how high the price of gold will go.  But there is no doubt the world gold market is telling the US government that it must get its financial house in order or the US dollar will end up as a trash currency.  The US is effectively a banana republic. 

Thanks Congressmen, Senators, Presidents and Members of the Federal Reserve Board for the past few decades.  This is your legacy.

TPM