The Sunday 'Report;' 02/10/2013

What the National Pamphleteers don't report:
Stay What Course?
by Victor Davis Hanson,
nationalreview.com
January 31, 2013

With news that the economy “unexpectedly” contracted in the last quarter of 2012, one does not have to be an economist to sense that whatever we have been doing for the last four years is not working and we may not see the long-promised “summer of recovery.” The naturally robust recoveries that usually follow deep recessions haven’t happened. With astronomical new borrowing, we now find ourselves in the same predicament as the proverbial end-stage addict who cannot continue with his lethal habit or survive without his toxic infusions.

In the last four years, we haven’t had a budget without a $1 trillion deficit; we have added over $5 trillion in new debt. And yet for all such stimulatory dope, we have not witnessed a single month of unemployment lower than 7.8 percent—in a country in which well under 6 percent unemployment as recently as 2004 was derided as a “jobless recovery,” and in which a prior administration in eight years did not have a single month with an unemployment rate higher than every month of the present administration.
Is the new normal about 8 percent unemployment, GDP growth of about 0 to 1 percent, and budget deficits at $1 trillion? The one bright spot, the [....]
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/339396/stay-what-course-victor-davis-hanson

Video: The Hypocrisy of obama
Staff Report,
exposeobama.com
February 2, 2013
Sadly,most of us have gotten used to politicians saying one thing and doing the opposite —but sometimes the hypocrisy is so bad,it deserves a second look.
http://youtu.be/dQJl2O8BGUk
http://www.exposeobama.com/2013/02/02/video-the-hypocrisy-of-obama/

Video: obama Failed E-Verify:
Linda Jordan Fined For Challenging obama’s Identity Fraud
staff Report,
exposeobama.com
February 4, 2013
Here is the story of how a mother and homemaker in Washington State stood up to challenge the identity fraud of Barack Obama. Learn how she paid a price for her courage to run the president through E-Verify.
http://youtu.be/HrAJBIrxGj0
http://www.exposeobama.com/2013/02/04/video-obama-failed-e-verify-linda-jordan-fined-for-challenging-obamas-identity-fraud/

The Diaper We Know as obamanomics
by John Ransom,
townhall.com
February 5, 2013
Yes, it’s that time of year again.
It’s time to hold our nose and check the diaper that we have all come to know as Obamanomics.
While rightly this review should have been completed closer to the first of the year, there were too many events in the offing that were likely to impact the economy to take a stab at the broad outlines of an economic outlook nearer New Year’s Eve.
But now that congress and the president have agreed to get the tax increase off the table that they didn’t dare pass while campaigning, clear the children from the room, because this economic forecast won’t be pretty.
In short, the DC diaper is pretty full and, with a bit more pressure, the bubble it’s created could blow in 2013.
During the campaign Obama consulted with his chief economist, talk-show host David Letterman, and promised that he wouldn’t try to pay down the deficit “solely on the backs of the middle class.”
Well promise kept: Not only has Obama raised taxes on everyone, from every income spectrum- poor, middle class and rich- he also has made clear that he won’t make any attempt to pay down the deficit.
Who said Letterman wasn't funny anymore?
In recent negotiations on [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2013/02/05/the-diaper-we-know-as-obamanomics-n1505135/page/full/

U.S.-Iranian Dialogue in obama's Second Term
by Reva Bhalla,
STRATfor.com
February 5, 2013
As U.S. President Barack Obama's second-term foreign policy team begins to take shape, Iran remains unfinished business for the U.S. administration. The diplomatic malaise surrounding this issue over the past decade has taken its toll on Washington and Tehran. Even as the United States and Iran are putting out feelers for another round of negotiations, expectations for any breakthrough understandably remain low. Still, there has been enough movement over the past week to warrant a closer look at this long-standing diplomatic impasse.
At the Munich Security Conference held Feb. 1-3, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the United States would be willing to hold direct talks with Iran under the right conditions. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi responded positively to the offer but warned that Iran would not commit unless Washington shows a "fair and real" intention to resolve the issues dividing the two sides.
An Uneven Record in U.S.-Iranian Diplomacy
This diplomatic courting ritual between the United States and Iran has occurred a handful of times [...]
U.S.-Iranian Dialogue in Obama's Second Term | Stratfor

5 Reasons 02/23/2013 Is Going To Be A Day of Resistance
by John Hawkins,
townhall.com
February 5, 2013
Last year, when a Republican candidate should have waltzed to victory, Mitt Romney got his teeth knocked in by a man who could fairly be called the single least competent American President in history. This beating had very real consequences.
1) Barack Obama feels empowered: Liberals are always vulgar in defeat and hubristic in victory, but Barack Obama has become so toweringly arrogant that it wouldn't be a surprise if he were getting himself fitted for a crown. He's acting as if he expects to have anything and everything he wants handed to him on a silver platter and if anything gets in his way, he'll simply shred the Constitution, ignore the law, or issue an executive order and dare the Republican Party to do something about it.
2) The Republicans In Congress have lost their nerve: Republicans on the Hill have turned into a pack of cringing dogs since the election. They've lost the will to fight on spending cuts, [....]
http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2013/02/05/5-reasons-2232013-is-going-to-be-a-day-of-resistance-n1505131/page/full/

Biggest Gas Price Jump in Two Years
by Zanaira Zaki,
abcnews.com
February 4, 2013
The weekly average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.54, up 18 cents from a week earlier. That’s the biggest weekly price increase in two years, according to the Department of Energy.
This price is also up 6 cents from a year ago. The last time we saw such a big weekly gain was in reaction to the Arab Spring in February 2011.
A strong stock market and signs of a healing global economy often lead to higher oil and gas prices. This time there seem to be a cocktail of factors feeding the high prices: [....]
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/02/biggest-gas-price-jump-in-two-years/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Heritage%2BHotsheet

Grassroots ‘FUBO’ Campaign Goes National
by Phil Elmore,
www.fubowear.com
November 2, 2011
A controversial grassroots effort devoted to the profane phrase, “F— You, Barack Obama” has grown from a local venture to a national movement, using the Internet and social media to build momentum.  The campaign is built around local AM radio talk show host Bob Lonsberry’s t-shirts and bumper stickers critical of President Obama. Using his program to promote the campaign (while sharing his profits with the corporation that employs him), Lonsberry has brought his “FUBO” and “NOBO” stickers and apparel to an audience eager to express dissatisfaction with Obama’s policies. The campaign started shortly after Obama’s inauguration.

“I was trying to think of a way to show that I wasn’t happy,” Lonsberry wrote in his daily web column on 20 February, 2009. “That I was tired of bailouts. That I didn’t want to pay my neighbors’ mortgage. That I didn’t want to live in a socialist country.” The acronym FUBO, he says, was “short” and “decipherable.”  Helming a local AM talk show in Rochester, NY, in a time slot sandwiched between syndicated giants Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, Lonsberry is no stranger to political controversy. He is formerly a newspaper columnist and has, more than once, been fired for comments he believes were deemed politically incorrect or unpopular.

Lonsberry described his FUBO idea on air and was soon contacted by Dean Nicosia, an employee at a local contract printing and embroidery shop. Working with the shop’s owner, Nicosia and Lonsberry set up their initial FUBO offerings.  Response to the fledgling campaign was immediate. “It was a huge hit that first day and month and has lived on ever since,” Nicosia says. “Within the next 6 months we launched a dedicated FUBOwear store, and today we have over 150 products available.”  Just as immediate was the response from Lonsberry’s employers and critics. One of Lonsberry’s bosses contacted him and suggested “FUBOB” as a natural counterpoint. The idea was eventually but briefly taken up by a fellow employee, a morning radio host who goes by the moniker “Brother Wease.”
“The shirts and sticker they made [....]
http://www.fubowear.com/servlet/the-template/Phil%20Elmore%20Article/Page

Dump These Two Financial Time-Bombs Before They Explode
by Evaldo Albuquerque
sovereign-investor.com
February 3, 2013

I’ve been watching two funds with a combined $29 billion in assets under management, and 489 million outstanding shares and the chances are you have at least one of them sitting in your portfolio, possibly both.

Last year, both funds returned about 12%. And they’ve both had positive returns for the past four years.
In fact, they’ve returned an average of 16% during that period.
Because of this amazing performance, investors have flocked into these two funds, making them very popular investments. Last year, for example, they both had record fund inflows.
And that’s the big problem. Investments that are popular almost always end in disaster.
Remember how popular tech stocks were in [....]
http://sovereign-investor.com/2013/02/06/avoid-hyg-and-spy/

Forget Gold Or Silver: This Metal Is Headed For A Classic Supply-Driven Rally
by Nathan Slaughter,
townhall.com
Febraury 6, 2013
If you're thinking of investing in gold to hedge against runaway inflation, then think again.  It's not that gold is a bad investment, but rather because there is an even better precious metal to invest in right now.
And no, it's not silver.  This metal will be one of the most sought-after in the next year. You see, not only is it a precious metal, it's also an industrial metal. It's best known use is in catalytic converters in cars.   And with Europe and other markets emerging from a recession needing new cars, I expect demand to pick up this year.
But that's just the start... supplies are also dwindling.  I am talking about platinum.  Earlier this year, Anglo American Platinum (OTC: AGPPY), a major platinum miner, suspended activity at several South African mines.
The shutdown is expected to shave [....]
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/nathanslaughter/2013/02/06/forget-gold-or-silver-this-metal-is-headed-for-a-classic-supplydriven-rally-n1506106/page/full/
Part 2 MAY follow....