One cannot access a major media publication these days without seeing or hearing despair over the “polarization” of America. This is not the whole story, of course. The major media are almost exclusively the domain of far-left journalists, so the complaint is not really that two equal and opposite sides are at each other’s throats. It’s really leftists upset over the fact that there are two sides. Thinking persons, after all, always veer left (at least that’s the thinking from Lake Wobegone—where, of course, “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average”). Said more plainly: all the best, brightest, and most beautiful are liberal.
The rise in popularity of a number of conservative memes and personalities flies in the face of liberal belief that democracy always favors progressivism, and that only patriarchal, authoritarian, mercantilist, colonialist, slavery-advocating WASPs favor conservative contentions. When young people, women, the descendants of slaves, and citizens who originated south of the border join whites in espousing these ideas, progressive worlds are rocked and venom is spewed by the bucketful.
The inevitable outcome is polarization. And while multipolarity often occurs, the outcome in America is typically bipolar (pun somewhat intended). And without a transcendent point of view to repair to, the greatest tragedy is that the bipolar outcome is usually a false dilemma.
You remember false dilemmas, right? From logic class? Oh, that’s right. Logic classes were done away with many decades ago—a fact that explains a very great deal in America today. Well, this author strongly suspects you picked it up on your own, but just in case, here’s an example of a false dilemma for you: Is this horse a dun or a buckskin? Factually correct response: Neither, it’s a bay. The question is defective in assuming that one of only two possibilities is correct. There could be three or more possibilities.
Enter our current predicament. On one side you have the establishment, captained by Democrats and globalists worldwide but actively supported as loyal opposition by most Republicans. On the other side you have Donald Trump and his legions, which are currently carrying most Republicans in their wake—willingly or not. Is this a false dilemma?
Well, it certainly has bipolarity. Whether that bipolarity accurately encompasses all sensible options remains to be seen. This author suspects not. But the interesting thing is that so many critics of establishment policy outcomes are also vocal (often strident) critics of Trumpianism, but offer no better options. In other words, if this matter is not bipolar after all, what is the third option that is better?
This author has read or watched a number of pundits decry our fiat currency system and out monstrous national debt, yet prescribe more of the same as the solution to the problem. Of course, that might not be an irrational reaction to the problem. Most who said or wrote this advice believed the system was beyond repair, and that the best we could do was extend it as long as possible. That could be true.
But along comes Donald J. Trump with a plan. It might be a good plan, it might be a bad plan—or it might be a really good or really bad plan. One thing’s for sure: it’s more far-reaching, comprehensive, and well-backed than anything that has come about in this author’s now-considerable lifetime. The amazing thing, though, is that it’s being judged largely by the fact that Trump is not making nice with the destroyers of nations, and by how mad his lack of decorum and his actions are making them.
Really? These folks are used to getting their way and getting rich in the process. Is anyone really surprised that they’re angry? Trump is directly attacking their source of power and pelf. And is the fact that the people who made such a mess of the world are furious and are throwing temper tantrums really something we should be concerned about?
Trump is not God, and his token acknowledgements of God are not a sufficient basis on which to rebuild Christian civilization (nor is that even his stated goal). This author actually suspects that the chances of failure are greater than the chances for success in this whole process, not because he lacks respect for Trump and what he is trying to do or because he is a pessimist, but because so incredibly much damage has been done, the establishment has so many resources at its command, and only Christianity has built the civilization that tens of millions of people have migrated to when given the opportunity over the past decade.
Still, this author prays for Trump’s success, and hopes for it always. May God bless the President, humble him, and correct any errors he makes before they become costly to the country or the world.
Key Takeaways:
- Was the Oval Office fiasco really a win?
- How Europe now views the US
- The future for gold stocks
- Looking at gold in a broad context
The McAlvany Weekly Commentary: Markets Signaled Trump / Zelensky A Month Earlier
David and Kevin discuss the Trump/Zelensky meeting in much greater depth and breadth than has been typical in major media or alternative media circles. Obviously, the participants had different agendas, but Trump’s hardball stance forced Zelensky to negotiate with European nations, which caused the latter to step up their game. David ponders the possibility that this was the intended outcome. It appears that the US might still get its minerals deal. If so, two very important outcomes might have been achieved. This series of events has raised another important question vis-à-vis Europe—will it centralized further or decentralize from where it is now? In all, some critical issues have been revealed and perhaps addressed via the Oval Office meeting and its aftermath. The hosts then discuss the Dow/gold ratio and its meaning in the current context. Viewing the Dow in light of this ratio gives insight people don’t normally receive. The hosts also emphasize the importance of looking ahead and basing decisions on tomorrow, and not just today.
Credit Bubble Bulletin: Train Wreck
Doug takes us through a fascinating history of international finance going back to 1986. Citing names and dates and actions, he takes readers through the events of decades, coming to a fitting conclusion to his analysis: “Having witnessed this process for decades, I reject the thesis that everyone has screwed us. We’ve all screwed each other.” Certainly, readers of alternative media have known for many decades that the US has “governed” the world arrogantly and often badly. It has chosen winners and losers not only internally, but around the world—often with sad and extensive consequences. Ukraine is but one example. Still, says Doug, “Through thick and thin—and some major blunders—we were the glue that held the world together—the stabilizer—the guarantor of the post WWII ‘World Order.’” This, he believes, is coming apart due to the actions of Donald Trump. The view from allies in Europe is that, “The new administration [is] no longer a reliable partner, alliance leader, member, beacon of hope, guarantor of global peace and prosperity… America’s top leadership [is] unstable, untrustworthy, and, worse yet, no longer [adheres] to traditional shared values.”
Hard Asset Insights: Valuations, Fundamentals, and Technicals
Morgan focuses his attention on the prospects for gold in the weeks, months, and years ahead. His missives over the past few months have laid the groundwork for his conclusions, and the information they convey is compelling. Gold is indeed in the catbird seat. To quote Bill King from last week’s McAlvany Weekly Commentary, “Gold is an okay inflation hedge. It’s an enormous political hedge.” And the world’s politics have not been in such collective flux since perhaps World War II. Even the fall of the Iron Curtain was likely less impactful—and possibly less dangerous—than today’s political developments. But Morgan takes things a bit further. Yes, gold is set to do very well in the coming years, but what about its directional multipliers (both positive and negative)? We’re speaking here of the miners—companies that mine for gold and other precious metals. Will they also do well? If so, how well? Morgan explores this subject with deeply researched understanding.
Golden Rule Radio: Silver Shines, Dollar Weakens
Miles’s review of the week finds gold almost unchanged, though in the interim having suffered a drop and rebounded higher. Silver, too, had a few bad moments from which it recovered and moved higher. The S&P was down, and the dollar was sharply down about two percent. The hosts note that this is according to plan for Trump. He wanted a weaker dollar, weaker oil, and tariffs, and he got them. Miles gives some chart perspective to recent action in the metals, acknowledging that gold is technically still in a short-term correction though it is clearly maintaining strength. Tory notes that if we take a step back and look at gold in comparison to every other investment in US markets, gold wins. It is up over 40% in the last year. Rob notes that gold is at last resuming its time-honored role as a safe haven—”the safest of all havens.”
