G. Edward Griffin On Collectivists and Invidivuals

G. Edward Griffin discusses individualism, collectivism, mobs, and totalitarian rule. I presented his book, The Creature From Jekyll Island in September, 2008.

The Suspending Gold Rush

"The rush by retail investors into gold has forced the US government to suspend sales of the American Eagle, the world's most popular bullion coin, after it ran out. The suspension, the second since the start of the financial crisis in August 2008, is the latest sign of investors seeking a safe haven in bullion amid the woes of the US dollar. Gold sales have also benefited from concerns about the health of Wall Street and worries over a possible spike in inflation due to a lax monetary policy. 'The US Mint has depleted its current inventory of 2009 American Eagle 1 ounce bullion coins due to the continued strong demand,' the mint said. It added that selling would resume 'once sufficient inventories ...can be acquired to meet market demand'."
The entire article:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19507efc-daf6-11de-933d-00144feabdc0.html

The Dubai Standstill

In December ,2008 I made a post about Dubai. In March, 2009 I provided an update. Then in June of this year we talked about the parking lots. The Wall Street Journal reports this:
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- "Fears of a potential sovereign default by Dubai roiled financial markets Thursday, sinking stocks in Asia and Europe and pushing up government-bond prices as investors sought safe havens. Dubai late Wednesday said it would restructure Dubai World and announced a six-month "standstill" on repayments of the state-run wide-ranging conglomerate's debt. Analysts said Dubai's woes were a blow to sentiment, serving as a reminder that potential trouble spots remain. 'I don't see this as a massive issue but it's another warning to where the world got itself last year with loose monetary conditions [and] loose lending,' said Naeem Wahid, market strategist at Lloyds TSB. 'And, in a few cases, the problems are still out there and we could continue to see these kinds of nasty surprises' in the future."

The entire article: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dubai-woes-roil-financial-markets-2009-11-26

Time For A Golden Pullback?

Gold continues a tremendous run. Is it time for a pullback? It's 17.6% above the magical $1000 pyschological barrier. It's catapulted upward in five nice waves. It may be time for an A-B-C correction.

Turkey Day Update

What a beautiful day it was in the Carolina mountains! Fifty degrees and sunshine. Me, the pup, big sis, the two nephews, and Bucky the cousin pup trekked up Rock Mountain. What a glorious view it was.

Hope that everyone had a great day with the family!

A Pause For The Cause

I'll take a break from the study of the "human condition" to focus on today's holiday. In grammer school we were taught that this holiday represented the Pilgrims and the Indians sitting down for a meal. It does create a nice picture and setting. Lets hope that today around the world that the warring factions can take a break and cease fire to think beyond "the task at hand". Maybe they could even enjoy a meal together. I know, probably not.

Thinking of Indians, Jackson and I hiked yesterday along the Cherokee Trail in the Carolina Mountains. It makes one wonder how an entire civilization can be wiped out from the planet. I guess Jared Diamond described the process well in his Pulitzer Prize winning "Guns, Germs, and Steel".

I wish all a great holiday. Break bread with family, take a nap, and enjoy some good down time. Thanksgiving might be the best family holiday because it is so much less commercial than Christmas. Please don't get swept up in that Friday morning retail frenzy. Remember what happened last year on this same holiday. Humans are supposed to behave differently than hogs!
Enjoy mon amis!

Working It Through

"It's a total and complete disaster and the crisis we had is just the appetizer to the big total breakdown of financial markets and of governments in five or 10 years time when the whole system goes bust. The future will be a total disaster, with a collapse of our capitalistic system as we know it today, wars, massive government debt defaults and the impoverishment of large segments of Western society. Unless the system is cleaned out of losses, the way communism collapsed, capitalism will collapse. The best way to deal with any economic problem is to let the market work it through."
Marc Faber

Time To Take The Money And Run??

In "The Last Great Exit" I indicated that 10500 on the Dow could be the last great exit. Yesterday it closed at 10451. Is this the top of the "Head Fake"?

“This "head fake" presents the feeling that the bottom has been found and the upswing has returned. It is likely that in the coming six months, a rally will occur, the media will state ‘the stimulus is working’ and the herd will jump back in only to be hammered at the ultimate bottom.”

Random Roving – 2/28/09

"Go on take the money and run" The Steve Miller Band

Three Strikes You're Out!

In a downward trending mass social mood, it's very likely that labor strikes will become very popular again. We might even see a professional sports strike in the next few years. An angry mob loves a strike and a picket line. The cycle will likely bring unions back to strength as fear and anger "drives the herd closer together".

From the BBC:
NI Post Staff Join Strike Action
"Postal workers are manning a picket line at the Mallusk mail centre Postal workers in Northern Ireland are taking part in the first nationwide postal strike in two years. It follows the collapse of talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers' Union (CWU). Mail centre staff at and drivers began a 24-hour walkout at 0400 BST. Delivery and collection staff will strike on Friday with more strike dates expected. Union leaders have blamed Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Royal Mail chiefs for the failure to reach a deal. But ministers say the suggestion that an agreement was vetoed is "fantasy". Bobbie Weatherall, from the Communications Workers' Union, is one of the workers manning the picket line at the Royal Mail mail centre in Mallusk. "I would ask people to please bear with us in this situation, we are seeking a resolution to it," he said. "If everyone has the will do to that then we can get round the table and negotiate."

The Grand Experiment

"None of the experimenters saw this crisis coming, but all of them claim to know the remedy! And a lot of talk about a market failure is being presented as the alleged root of this crisis. Sure, hedge funds, bankers, and regulators certainly played a role. But their reckless behavior is but a symptom of what had been going wrong and was not the cause. This crisis is not a market failure. It's a monumental policy failure! So we have to look into what causes a speculative bubble to understand the real culprits of the current predicament. The answer is fairly straight forward: Expanding money supply and credit growth. Since the central bank controls the money supply and credit growth, it's obvious that the central bank is accountable for the evolution of bubbles and the consequences of their inescapable bursting. Unfortunately we're not hearing or reading much about this obvious truth. Instead, fairytales about market failure are dominating the media. And an old and cynical policy joke comes immediately to mind: 'When the day of reckoning arrives there is but one policy solution: Lying, lying, lying.'. This seems to be the conclusion, the current credo of our politicians and the vast majority of economists. Many of whom are in the business of consulting politicians."
Claus Vogt - Weiss Research Inc.

Claus on Gold

"Of course we know that gold does not pay interest. Nor does crude oil, wheat, or any other commodity. But we also know that this shortcoming does not forestall rising prices. And yes, gold is a non-productive investment. It doesn't help economic development. Gold is the ultimate inflation hedge. However, its usefulness is very different: Gold is insurance against the follies of government, especially against inflation. No more, no less. If you have ever glanced through a history book, you may have read how governments all over the world implemented foolish and dangerous policies time and again. Unfortunately, today we're living through one of those sad times. Economists and historians have examined the important topic of inflation. And their findings are clear: Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon ... it does not appear out of thin air ... and it's always the result of specific monetary and fiscal policies. Empirical studies have plainly shown that all big spikes in inflation had two common characteristics: 1. Fiat money, and 2. Strongly rising budget deficits mainly financed by monetizing government debt. Both characteristics are present today, and not just in the U.S. but globally. Historically, most monetary regimes were based on money backed by gold and silver. But now the whole world is using money based solely on promises and faith."
Claus Vogt - Weiss Research Inc.

aMUSEing

Just saw these guys as the warmup band to U2. They put on a nice tight show. They might be sensing a mood change in the masses.

Uprising
Paranoia is in bloom,
The PR transmissions will resume,
They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down,
And hope that we will never see the truth around
(So come on)
Another promise,
another scene,
Another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed,
And all the green belts wrapped around our minds,
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on)
They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious
(So come on)
Interchanging mind control,
Come let the revolution take it's toll,
If you could flick a switch and open your third eye,
You'd see thatWe should never be afraid to die
(So come on)
Rise up and take the power back,
It's time the fat cats had a heart attack,
You know that their time's coming to an end,
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
We will be victorious

The Fear of Thought

“Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man."
Bertrand Russell

Convenience vs Necessity

"Collectively, U.S. consumers have had charge cards for about 90 years now. Basically, they're a convenient way for people to pay for items without having to carry cash. But people shouldn't confuse convenience with necessity. However, for the vast majority of the people complaining — the ones who have balances that can't easily be paid off because they bought too many flat panel TVs — well, I hate to say it, but you got what was coming to you. You borrow from a loan shark, and you risk a visit from a thug wielding a baseball bat."

Nilus Mattive, Weiss Research Inc.

"I believe that the American public hopes for a continuation of the Supersize Me Era. We really enjoyed it and we hope that somehow Obama can keep the party going. Unfortunately, I believe that the kegs have run dry and we'll be forced to shift our mentality to a place it hasn't been in our lifetime. It's best to be proactive than reactive. Reactive can be very painful. Hopefully you have a nice photo album of the era. It will be one to remember."

Random Roving - March 26, 2009

A Look At Yesterday: A Summary of the 90's

"The 1990s deteriorated into a series of culture wars as Pat Robertson’s Moral Majority and Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition staked out their positions. The dissatisfaction with the status quo was made clear when populist Ross Perot was able to garner 18.9% of the national vote in 1992, leading to the election of Bill Clinton. Pessimism and gridlock marked the 1990’s. With a Republican Congress and a Democratic President, virtually no major legislation was passes between 1994 and 2000. This restricted government spending while tax revenue soared in the late 1990s with the dot.com stock bubble. The result was budget surpluses. Individual self interest dominated personal life, and intractable national problems like Social Security and Medicare didn’t demand immediate action, so they were pushed off to the distant future. The public became disillusioned as the two parties degenerated into name calling, accusations and shrill rhetoric. Incivility in public discourse, a widening chasm between the haves and have nots, all-encompassing distrust of financial and governmental institutions and leaders, and a debased media and public culture led to a national pessimism."
James Quinn

The Seven Consequences

Martin Weiss at Weiss Research Inc. provides seven consequences of the rapidly accelerating debt and Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy:

"Consequence #1 is a recovery in the U.S. economy. When the government creates that much monetary and fiscal stimulus, it naturally has some impact, of course. That's why a recovery is now under way and why it is likely to continue for a few more quarters.
Consequence #2 is the rally in the U.S. stock market. Again, when so much liquidity is pumped into the economy, it's only natural that some of it would flow into equities.
Consequence #3 is a recovery in emerging markets. Here, unlike the U.S. and other Western economies, not only are the economies benefiting from government stimulus, but they are also benefiting from strong domestic fundamental growth factors.
Consequence #4 is the decline of the U.S. dollar. The greenback is falling against the euro and virtually every major currency on the planet, and it will probably continue to do so. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, is now nearing its lowest level in history. Once that level breaks, the pace of the dollar's decline could accelerate sharply.
Consequence #5 is the decline in the value of paper money as a whole, and the parallel rise in gold. Friday, gold pierced the $1,100 per-ounce level. Next, despite any intermediate setbacks, it could rise to $1,300.
Consequence #6 is rising interest rates. Yes, the Federal Reserve can hold its official short-term interest rates near zero, and this is precisely what it's doing. But the Fed does not exert the same control over long-term interest rates. Nor can it control foreign central banks, some of which are beginning to raise interest rates. And most important, the U.S. government cannot control foreign investors who now own over half of the publicly traded U.S. government securities.
Meanwhile, the forces driving long-term interest rates higher are powerful and enormous — the same forces we told you about earlier: massive monetary inflation and equally massive federal deficits.
Consequence #7 is an anemic U.S. economy overall, weighed down by high unemployment, low spending, and most important, the largest debts of all time. Don't expect this recovery to last very long. A second recession could come quickly on its heels.
I am often asked: Is the recession over? My answer is "yes." But to the more important question — is America's long-term depression over? — my answer is a firm "no." In the years ahead, we're likely to see a series of longer-than-usual recessions interrupted by shorter-than-normal recoveries, all adding up to a long depression.
Such is the inevitable consequence of the massive, revolutionary changes that have already taken place ... with more changes of similar magnitude still ahead."

It's A Party In The USA

One of the great challenges of parenthood is having to listen to your children's music! I still remember my dad yelling when he finally got tired of hearing Aerosmith on the 8-track player, "turn that crap off!". Recently on a family roadtrip, we did our I-pod "song rotation" where each person gets to pick a song. We used to do three songs each, but that appeared to be too painful to all of us. My daughter picked her latest Hannah Montana song, "Party In The USA". Yes, believe it or not, but I'm quoting Hannah:

"So I put my hands up. They're playing my song. The butterflies fly away. Noddin' my head like yeah! Movin' my hips like yeah! I put my hands up. They're playing my song. Ya know I'm gonna be okay. Yeah! It's a party in the USA! Yeah! It's a party in the USA!"
Hannah Montana

I recently told the story of the party and I still have to say, "it's been a lot of fun....definitely, one for the ages."

Gold Gone Wild!

In the Shiny Coin post on July 1, 2009, I presented the "reverse head and shoulders" technical chart pattern illustrated below.

The chart below shows gold over the past 11 months. It has played out in textbook fashion. It has blast 13% out of the $1000/ounce psychological barrier. Is $1500/ounce right around the corner?

Happy Birthday to My Boys

My two boys have birthdays today! Happy 16th to PeyPey and happy 1st to Jackson. They do grow up too fast!!!

Lunatics, Malcontents, and the Narrow Minded

"After many years of direct and tangential involvement with gold markets, I believe I have a pretty good understanding of its historic role as money, as well as a speculative medium. There are many, however, including those -- maybe especially those -- involved in the world of high finance, who sniff their noses at the mere mention of the barbaric relic, relegating it to the realm of lunatics and malcontents. Yet when you think about it, to turn a blind eye to any asset class seems remarkably narrow-minded, if for no other reason than it ignores the fundamental truth that markets go up and markets go down, based upon the prevailing trade winds. There is a time for gold, just as there is a time for sugar, or stocks, or bonds. Further, to dismiss gold entirely in favor of financial assets, which most of the smart chaps tend to do, strikes me as the ultimate conceit given that so many of those financial assets are constructed out of nothing more tangible than academic theory. Simply, to believe in the latest fashionable derivative is to believe in the infallibility of humankind. I will take the other side of that trade at a snap of the fingers."

David Galland, Casey Research - November 10, 2009



"I ventured into new territory today and bought the XAU (gold/silver index). It should be another educating investment!"

Random Roving - January 17, 2002 (back in the pre-blog days)



Since 2000:
-Gold is up 285%
-S&P500 is down 20%



This cycle change has been highlighted in several prior posts about the Dow/Gold Ratio.
http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/02/dow-jones-industrial-average-gold-ratio_22.html

All Out

"Well, we are out of money now"
President Obama, 5-22-09 - C-SPAN Interview
.
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Faber On GDP Growth

"The latest GDP growth figures are a result of massive government interventions into the free market which inevitably resulted in extremely volatile economic and financial conditions." Marc Faber

http://marcfaberblog.blogspot.com/

Feeding The Hog

"All policies target consumption. That is a mistake."
Marc Faber

Fools & Fanatics

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
Bertrand Russell

India's Golden Acquisition

From Bloomberg:
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- "India, the world’s biggest gold consumer, bought 200 metric tons from the International Monetary Fund for $6.7 billion as central banks show increased interest in diversifying their holdings to protect against a slumping dollar.

The transaction, equivalent to 8 percent of world annual mine production, was the IMF’s first such sale in nine years and propels India to the ninth-biggest government owner globally, according to figures from London-based research company GFMS Ltd. The country previously held 358 tons, the data show."

The entire article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aa6oc6Wz9Ftg

The Truth About Afghanistan

From F. William Engdahl:
"The second reason the US military remains in Afghanistan long after the world has forgotten even who the mysterious Osama bin Laden and his alleged Al Qaeda terrorist organization is or even if they exist, is as a pretext to build a permanent US military strike force with a series of permanent US airbases across Afghanistan. The aim of those bases is not to eradicate any Al Qaeda cells that may have survived in the caves of Tora Bora, or to eradicate a mythical “Taliban” which at this point according to eyewitness reports is made up overwhelmingly of local ordinary Afghanis fighting to rid their land once more of occupier armies as they did in the 11980’s against the Russians. The aim of the US bases in Afghanistan is to target and be able to strike at the two nations which today represent the only combined threat in the world today to an American global imperium, to America’s Full Spectrum Dominance as the Pentagon terms it."

"Afghanistan has historically been the heartland for the British-Russia Great Game, the struggle for control of Central Asia during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. British strategy then was to prevent Russia at all costs from controlling Afghanistan and thereby threatening Britain’s imperial crown jewel, India."

"Afghanistan is similarly regarded by Pentagon planners as highly strategic. It is a platform from which US military power could directly threaten Russia and China, as well as Iran and other oil-rich Middle East lands. Little has changed geopolitically over more than a century of wars."

The entire article:
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/engdahl/2009/1021.html

The Colts & The Saints

My two favorite NFL teams are 8-0. Go Saints, Go Colts! What a Superbowl that would be. I don't want to jinx the Saints.............

"But remember I predict a Super Bowl victory for the Saints next season!" Random Roving - 11/7/08

"Saints win the Superbowl in 2010!!!" Random Roving - 10/1/08

The Tiny World of Gold

One of the astonishing findings that I discovered is how small the worldwide physical gold market is. The chart below provides great perspective.



SOURCE: The Long Wave Analyst

The Man Under The Hood

Just prior to the kickoff at our high school football game last night, the announcer asked for a moment of silence for the deceased and the families affected by the tragedy at Ft. Hood yesterday. I had yet to hear about the event and was clueless to the purpose of the moment.

God bless the souls of the lost, the wounded, and their families. Having experienced something similar in my youth, I can feel for these families. How quickly life can change. It's always perplexing when one decides to take the innocent down with them. These type of events have become way too commonplace these days. We're not numb to it, but we are no longer shocked by it.

This morning on the news, the fact that the murderer was Muslim caught my attention. I immediately thought "Team Red is going to have a field day with this one!". Thirty minutes later in the car commuting to the office, the radio already had Bubba calling in saying that the Houston Ship Channel had cargo boats pulling into port every night with terrorists hidden on board. He went on to say that there are hundreds of them huddled up in hotels planning their next event. Glenn and Sean are going to have a busy day on the radio!

Xenophobia continues to rise at an alarming rate. I would hope that someone would do the research to show that out of the past 20 similar events, none of the gunslingers were Muslims. We might be shocked to find out that many of these murderers claimed Jesus Christ as their Savior. I still predict that the next major event on U.S. soil will be done by a white man with bible in hand.

Zooming out to the larger view, it's troubling to continue to see these events play out in a downward trending mass social mood cycle. As the "tide lowers", some struggle emotionally for survival. Whether it's a lost job or already fragile relationships, the notch moves to the next lower level. As Warren Buffet once said, "When the tide lowers, we'll see who has been skinny dipping.". Of course Mr. Buffet was speaking about financial skinny dipping, but I believe his metaphor can be applied to ones emotional and psychological state.

Scanning the TV channels in the hotel room the other night, I caught the beginning of the movie "Mississippi Burning". This movie is so well done, the acting is superb, and it depicts this true story to a deep level. The fascinating aspect of the story for me is the fact that so many people, black and white, on both sides cowered because of fear. The blacks were too fearful to turn in the white supremacist murderers. The white individuals, who in their heart did not believe in "the cause", were too fearful to go against the majority. In the end, it's the aggressive whites against the brave blacks that make the final stand. Like all conflicts, losers are found on both sides.

As this cycle continues downward, it will be important to know what you believe in. You will be challenged to stand up for what you believe in whatever that is. When you see the cowardly hooded white man on horseback heading down the road, what are you going to do about it?

The Worst Case Scenario

"When governments are confronted with dreadful domestic problems and faced with lack of oil supply, a foreign enemy will materialize who just happens to have vast amounts of oil. Since the supply of oil will be just as restricted for China and other Far East countries, there is likely to be armed conflict. Once war begins, no one can predict which direction it will go. If it spirals out of control, nuclear annihilation is a possibility. The collapse of the U.S. dollar would result in millions of Americans being financially wiped out. Millions of angry Americans with no gasoline and no money might get unruly. The possibility of civil war will be high. Will the American military fire on American citizens? The ruling elite will order the military to attack the riff-raff, but they risk the military turning their guns on them. The greatest risk in this scenario is that Americans turn to a strong leader who assumes dictatorial power in the guise of safety and security." James Quinn

Charity Is Alive and Well

This one is really amazing. Charity appears to be alive and well!

"Seven bicycles used by Lance Armstrong in his comeback season for July’s Tour de France fetched $1.3 million at an auction to raise money for his cancer foundation." Source: Bloomberg

The Definition of Insanity

Mr. Bernanke, did you know that.......
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
Albert Einstein

How About These Apples!

For those who took the gold recommendations and entered the new world of commodities, congratulations. Looks like the "shiny coin" is for real. $1000 appears to have been that magical psychological barrier.

"Most importantly, it is NOT TOO LATE to re-model your portfolio. Remember, some jumped in lifeboats off of the Titantic. Some boarded early and some late, but those that did, saved their lives."
Random Roving - March 27, 2009

The "reverse head & shoulders" is playing out according to the textbook:

http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/07/shiny-coin.html

A review of the Dow/Gold Ratio:

http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/02/dow-jones-industrial-average-gold-ratio_22.html

http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/02/dow-jones-industrial-average-gold-ratio_9935.html

Remember what Mr. Faber said:

http://randomroving.blogspot.com/2009/10/golden-purchase.html

Another Dose of Non-Reality

"In the end, this stimulus, just like prior doses, will only worsen the condition it is meant to cure. When it wears off, the resulting recession will be even bigger than the one that everyone assumes has just ended. Until the impulse to fight recessions with government stimulus is quashed, genuine economic growth will never return. A string of ever-worsening recessions will eventually lead to what will be the next Great (Inflationary) Depression. But for now, enjoy the bubbly."
Peter Schiff

Entire article:
http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/schiff/2009/1030.html

Follow The Leader

"Instill fear in a panicked public and they will follow their leader, regardless of how shallow the reasoning or how big the lie."
Gerald Celente

Meaning Of This Moment

Ms. Noonan "nails it" once again. I continue to read her articles and believe that she has an amazing "pulse" on the mood of the masses. She doesn't use Prechter's "mass social mood" terminology, but she's talking about the same thing.

"The new economic statistics put growth at a healthy 3.5% for the third quarter. We should be dancing in the streets. No one is, because no one has any faith in these numbers. Waves of money are sloshing through the system, creating a false rising tide that lifts all boats for the moment. The tide will recede. The boats aren't rising, they're bobbing, and will settle. No one believes the bad time is over. No one thinks we're entering a new age of abundance. No one thinks it will ever be the same as before 2008. Economists, statisticians, forecasters and market specialists will argue about what the new numbers mean, but no one believes them, either. Among the things swept away in 2008 was public confidence in the experts. The experts missed the crash. They'll miss the meaning of this moment, too. The biggest threat to America right now is not government spending, huge deficits, foreign ownership of our debt, world terrorism, two wars, potential epidemics or nuts with nukes. The biggest long-term threat is that people are becoming and have become disheartened, that this condition is reaching critical mass, and that it afflicts most broadly and deeply those members of the American leadership class who are not in Washington, most especially those in business."

'When I see those in government, both locally and in Washington, spend and tax and come up each day with new ways to spend and tax—health care, cap and trade, etc.—I think: Why aren't they worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse? I think I know part of the answer. It is that they've never seen things go dark. They came of age during the great abundance, circa 1980-2008 (or 1950-2008, take your pick), and they don't have the habit of worry. They talk about their "concerns"—they're big on that word. But they're not really concerned. They think America is the goose that lays the golden egg. Why not? She laid it in their laps. She laid it in grandpa's lap. They don't feel anxious, because they never had anything to be anxious about. They grew up in an America surrounded by phrases—"strongest nation in the world," "indispensable nation," "unipolar power," "highest standard of living"—and are not bright enough, or serious enough, to imagine that they can damage that, hurt it, even fatally. We are governed at all levels by America's luckiest children, sons and daughters of the abundance, and they call themselves optimists but they're not optimists—they're unimaginative. They don't have faith, they've just never been foreclosed on. They are stupid and they are callous, and they don't mind it when people become disheartened. They don't even notice."
Peggy Noonan

The entire article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363704574503631430926354.html

Democrats on Geico

"The Democrats seem to be the kind of people that switch to Geico and lose money."
Jon Stewart - The Daily Show