CBS News: Where To Buy Gold and Silver

Above, an 1883-O Morgan Dollar. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Interested in protecting your wealth from the ravages of inflation? One way of doing so is by buying precious metals, specifically, gold and silver. 

CBS News has posted an article on where to buy gold and silver along with the different ways of investing in them with the benefits and possible pitfalls of each.

They begin it with:

It's always a good time to assess your investments and make sure they fit your goals and timeline. But with inflation high and a recession looming, you may want to think about making some adjustments today — or even explore new investment avenues altogether.

One route that many consumers are considering through the current economy is precious metals — silver and gold, in particular. These are often considered smart hedges against inflation and can help protect your wealth by maintaining stability during times of economic turmoil. If you think gold or silver could be worth adding to your portfolio, there are a few different ways you can buy in and start benefiting today. 

I find it interesting that they are saying "recession looming", especially from a mainstream media source.

To read more, go here.

Stock Strategist Recommends Gold, Silver and Treasurys To Weather Recession

"We're in a recession now."

That is what one investing company CEO is saying. He sees that the Federal Reserve and the Biden Administration are ushering in an economic downturn and recommends investing in precious metals (gold, silver), U.S. Treasury bonds and stock market sectors that focus on people's needs, not wants.

He discusses the current state of the economy in an interview in MarketWatch. 

The article and interview (the first question is provided below) begins with:

The Federal Reserve keeps telling the financial markets to take its tough talk seriously. Yet many investors and even Wall Street professionals are pricing stocks as if a return to the good old days of easy money and low interest rates is just around the corner. They’re convinced that the U.S. central bank is about to end its rate hikes and then pivot — lowering rates and bringing the U.S. economy to a soft landing that ushers in a new bull market for stocks.

Keith McCullough isn’t having it. The CEO of investment service Hedgeye Risk Management expects the Fed’s restrictive actions will squeeze the U.S. economy too tightly. McCullough is keeping client portfolios geared to his view that in its zeal to curb inflation, the Fed ends up driving the economy into a recession — crushing consumer demand and the ability and flexibility of businesses to borrow, finance debt, cover expenses and meet payroll.

“Unfortunately the country is going to have to deal with that,” McCullough says.

Until the economic cycle shows signs of turning, McCullough is steering investors to precious metals, U.S. Treasury bonds and stock-market sectors that focus on what people need, rather than what they want. Think health care and utilities.

In this recent interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, McCullough outlines his current outlook for the U.S. economy and the financial markets in the second half of the year, and recommends investments you’ll want in your portfolio to weather the challenges McCullough expects investors will face.

Here's the first question and answer:

MarketWatch: When we last spoke at the end of January, you were adamant about holding secure assets including gold, silver and defensive stocks to weather a coming recession. Has your outlook changed?

McCullough: No. The recession will be deeper and potentially more protracted than even I think. What happened with SVB and the other banks is not inconsequential. The credit line of America is impaired. In a bear market these things appear quickly and then all at once. It’s why it’s really hard to see a recovery in the back half of 2023. Commercial real estate is at the core of American leverage. You have massive supply, vacancy rates skyrocketing, and $1.5 trillion in commercial real estate debt maturities is coming due.  

To read more, go here. 

Gold, Silver Hit By Heightened Recession Worries

Worries over a possible recession played a big role in the big drop in the spot price of silver yesterday.

But, not to worry, what goes down, must come up. (And vice-versa, of course.) This dip provided me with an opportunity to buy some more silver. Remember the adage: Buy low, sell high! 

Here's what Kitco News had to say:

(Kitco News) - Gold prices are lower and silver prices sharply lower in midday U.S. dealings Thursday. Some fresh banking jitters and weaker U.S. economic data today have rekindled concerns about an economic recession being on the horizon. Gold and silver market bulls are somewhat frustrated their metals are not performing better due to safe-haven demand amid the keener marketplace uncertainty. However, at least on this day it appears metals traders are more focused on the bearish weaker consumer and commercial demand implications a U.S. and/or global recession would have on metals markets. June gold was last down $17.10 at $2,020.10 and July silver was down $1.283 at $24.37.

Today’s producer price index report for April came in at up 0.2%, versus expectations for up 0.3% from March, and compares to a drop of 0.5% in the March report, month-on-month. Gold prices initially were given a modest boost after the tamer PPI print.

However, the weekly U.S. jobless claims report showed claims jumped higher than expected in the latest week, at up 264,000 versus the forecast rise of 245,000. That report, combined with PacWest bank shares dropping sharply after reports that deposits dropped 9.5% last week, unsettled the marketplace and reignited recession fears. The U.S. dollar index and U.S. Treasuries saw better demand today, on safe-haven bids. Still, it’s my bias that gold and silver will see better safe-haven demand if the banking turmoil heats up in the near term.

To read more, go here. 

Gold and Silver Investments: Which Is Better?

With a possible recession looming along with high inflation and bank collapses, people are looking for safe haven investments to protect their wealth.

Many are looking at gold and silver.

Currently, the spot prices for gold and silver are around $2,000/toz for gold and $25/toz for silver.

Which is better? That question is looked at by CBS News in an article posted yesterday.

It begins with:

With recent bank closures, high inflation and an overall worrisome economic climate, many investors looking closer at their investments . Some are considering moving into safer assets that can hold their value and provide long-term financial protection.

For many, this means moving into precious metals like gold and silver. Both can be smart moves for investors. Gold has long been considered a good hedge against inflation, while silver can allow you to buy more due to its lower cost. 

There are other ways these precious metals diverge. If you're unsure which one you should invest in, here's what you need to know.

 To read more, go here.

Protecting Your RV Investment During A Recession

Above, having maintenance work done. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Whether during boom times or during a recession, protecting one's RV investment is important for obvious reasons.

RV Life has an article that caught my attention as the title of the article was, "Protecting Your RV Investment During A Recession". 

They begin it with:

Most RVers are already honed in on taking care of their RVs. Whether you use your RV for pleasure, or you’ve sold the sticks and bricks and now live in your RV full-time, you must always be cognizant of protecting your RV investment. Consider all of the options that follow as potential tactics to protect your hard-earned investment.

 To read more, go here.

IMF Chief: One-Third of World Economy To Go Into Recession in 2023

It may be that 2023 could be a worse year economically than 2022.

One-third of the world economy may be going into recession, at least that's according to Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the IMF.

From MarketWatch:

This year is going to be tougher on the global economy than 2022, the International Monetary Fund’s chief, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned.

“Why? Because the three big economies, U.S., EU, China, are all slowing down simultaneously,” she said in an interview that on the CBS Sunday morning news program “Face the Nation.”

“We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession,” she said, adding that even for countries that are not in recession, it “would feel like recession for hundreds of millions of people.”

The U.S. may end up avoiding a recession, but the situation looks more bleak in Europe, which has been hit hard by the war in Ukraine, she said. “Half of the European Union will be in recession,” Georgieva added.

To read more, go here. 

One may ask, What Happens to Precious Metals During a Recession?

According to the United States Gold Bureau:

There have been some serious economic disasters in the past decade and a half. 2008 saw the subprime mortgage crisis, where predatory lending resulted in mass foreclosures with ramifications across broader markets. 

2020 brought the COVID Crash. Economies around the world ground to a halt. People were laid off or started working from home. The stock market quickly fell 34% but managed to recover quickly. Massive amounts of money were printed, leading to serious inflation.

During these economic downturns, savvy investors were able to use the precious metals market to either protect their money or even turn a profit.

Is Investing in Gold During a Recession a Good Idea?

The short answer is yes. Gold typically moves inversely to the value of the dollar and also the stock market. If the dollar is strong, gold prices tend to dip. Commodities like gold are also the first to start rebounding during an economic downturn. 

Is Silver a Better Investment Than Gold During a Recession?

As mentioned above, gold will initially be pulled down with everything else during a recession. But it will be one of the first things to bounce back and increase in value throughout the recession.

Silver, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same track record. Silver rarely increases in value during market selloffs. This might be due to silver having a higher industrial usage than gold. During a recession, industrial production slows down. As a result, the demand for silver decreases. 

While silver does have a low correlation to stocks, it is thinly traded and volatile. It’s certainly not a bad investment, but in the context of precious metals to invest in during a recession, silver loses out to gold.

To read more, go here. 

Unfortunately, gold is too expensive (currently around $1,834 an ounce) for the average person to buy. At least silver is affordable (currently around $24.23 an ounce) for the average person.

From Yahoo! Finance:

When it comes to alternative currencies, gold is usually the tender of choice. David Morgan, publisher of The Morgan Report and creator of Silver-Investor.com, disagrees. Morgan says that when it comes to precious metals as legal tender, silver is the best bet.

Silver is less expensive than gold, which makes it easier to transport and use. “In an absolute crisis, silver would be would be the monetary metal of choice. Its value per unit is a lot less than gold,” Morgan says.

The lustrous metal has been synonymous with money throughout history. “Silver has been used as money in more places and more times than gold ever has,” Morgan tells The Daily Ticker.

To read more, go here. 

New RV Sales Head Downward

Above, RVs at Goulding's Lodge Campground last week. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It look like that RV sales are down. Along with that, wholesale prices are also down.

Now that people can travel as they please, the demand for RVs is not as strong as it was during the pandemic. Also, we're in a recession.

A new article in RV Travel takes a look at where the RV industry is at and what the future looks like.

They begin with:

Like a kid coming off a “sugar high,” the RV industry may be seeing the end to the “good times roll” of the COVID-19 pandemic years. We reported earlier that wholesale prices for RVs at auction have taken a tumble. Now the report for folks registering new RVs with licensing agencies for August seems to be indicative of a fall-off for the RV industry. Sales are decidedly down.

To read more, go here. 

Stocks Lost $7.6 Trillion In Value Since Biden Took Office

From RNC Research: 

In January, Joe Biden: “the stock market…has hit record after record after record on my watch."

Today: Stocks have lost $7.6 trillion in value since Biden took office.

Glory Days for the RV Industry Coming to an End?

Above, Alpen Rose RV Park in Durango, Colorado. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The past several years, including the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, have been boom years for the RV industry.

Now, thanks to the economic slowdown, inflation and high fuel prices, things have been tapering off.

Yahoo! Finance has an article musing if the "glory days" for the RV industry are coming to an end.

They begin it with:

The recreational vehicle (RV) industry was one of the few industries that prospered during the pandemic. With airlines and cruises not being particularly safe and viable travel options then, pandemic-weary Americans started looking for ways to venture out responsibly and turned to RVs.

RVs emerged as a rare travel winner in 2020 and 2021. But the recent economic slowdown is adversely impacting several industries and this time, the RV space has not been an exception. Demand and shipments of RVs are starting to slide. As recessionary worries loom large, it appears that the RV boom is nearing its end. Despite the uncertain scenario, two stocks — Cavco Industries CVCO and Patrick Industries PATK — could be attractive bets if you wish to stay invested in this space. But before delving into the stocks, let’s discuss the recent RV shipments numbers and outlook for 2022 and 2023.

To read more, go here. 

Don't Let Biden B.S. You, We're In A Recession

Above, the meter reading of Biden's claim of no recession.

Traditionally, when we have two consecutive quarters of decline in the U.S. economy, the country is in a recession.

This was what has happened. We had two consecutive quarters of decline and the Biden Administration is trying to persuade people semantically that we're not. 

I received the following from my investment banker and he sees us in a recession:

Gross Domestic Product was reported this morning at an annual rate of -0.9%.  Weakness was more broadly based than the first quarter this year, with housing declining due to the substantial increase in mortgage rates.  As I’ve written in these messages for months now, nominal activity remains rather robust and employment is rather strong, but the burst in inflation is gobbling up all the nominal gains.  We are now living with the consequences of the policy response to the COVID shutdowns: federal authorities flooded the economy with massive quantities of new money in 2020 and congress doled out direct stimulus checks to a majority of the population.  The Federal government’s 2020 policy actions remind me of the Dire Straits song Money for Nothin’: Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free.  Once again, we are reminded of the ‘Austrian School’ economists’ assertion that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Most economists and investment professionals are calling this a ‘technical’ recession.  We now have two quarters of economic activity in 2022 behind us and both were declines in real (inflation adjusted) terms.  The definition that’s most frequently used as a recession is two consecutive quarters of real economic decline.  The administration is engaging in semantics with the NBER definition of recession trying to assert that we are not in a real recession.

What does this all mean for your portfolio?  We are seeing US equity markets rise strongly in July just at the times otherwise negative economic data is fresh news.  In fact, the US equity market has been up on news of both a substantial Fed Funds rate increase with at least another to come, and now the first estimate of GDP showing Q2 decline.  Treasuries are rallying, consistent with a slowing or declining economy.  My best estimate is that 1) growth stocks as a group have returned to favor for the summer months, and in an environment that favors growth stocks, valuations matter little, so equities are probably going to be fine for a short while ahead, and 2) that environment may be somewhat short-lived.

 Remember what President Bill Clinton once acknowledged:

"A recession is two quarters in a row of negative growth."

-- President Clinton, Dec. 19, 2000

Joe Biden At The Flying J

Above, this was the price with my Good Sam discount. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After putting The Beast inside the GOCO Beast Barn and firing up the Jeep, I headed down to the Flying J to check my mail and gas up the Mustang. I am getting my booster shot tomorrow and the car needed gasoline.

The price at the Flying J is $3.20/gallon. It is generally cheaper in Gallup. The lowest price I found yesterday there was $3.18 at Maverik, with my two-cent-per-gallon discount card, I ended up paying $3.16/gallon.

Today, with my Good Sam five-cent-per-gallon discount, I paid $3.15/gallon at the Flying J. That's the most I've ever paid there. If the gas stations in Gallup are still lower, I'll top off the Mustang's gas tank.

When I stepped to the gas pump, I saw an interesting sticker on it. It was His Fraudulency himself, Joe Biden!*

Above, my gas pump at the Flying J today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

These prices are all Biden's and the Democrats' doing and the sticker definitely reflects that. They all need to be voted OUT OF OFFICE during the off-year congressional elections next year. 

The way things are going, don't be surprised if the Democrats spark a recession!

*See? I told you that Joe Biden was at the Flying J!

Japan Set For Deep Recession

Above, the Wako department store at Ginza Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Things aren't looking too good for the Japanese economy.

The coronavirus pandemic may send Japan into a deep recession.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review:

The declaration of a state of emergency in Japan has prompted economists to slash forecasts for three months from April to June. 

Analysts from domestic and international banks now all expect an annualized double-digit contraction in the second quarter, before the Japanese economy returns to a precrisis level. 

J.P. Morgan Securities forecasts the economy will shrink 17% in the quarter, BNP Paribas Securities sees a fall of 16%, and Dai-ichi Life Research Institute and Meiji Yasuda Research Institute project a contraction of more than 10%. Goldman Sachs is the most bearish, anticipating a 25% decline. 

The partial lockdown looks set to plunge Japan deep into a recession -- technically defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

To read more, go here.

RV Ownership Continues To Climb

Above, The Beast at the Cedar City KOA in Utah. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was only a short ten years ago that the RV industry (along with everyone else) experienced the Great Recession. Sales of new RVs plummeted and 15 companies filed for bankruptcy in 2008 or 2009 (the recession officially started in December 2007). These included Monaco Coach, Fleetwood Motor Homes, Country Coach, Travel Supreme and Rexhall RV.

Today, the RV industry is booming.

According to the SportsDay section of the Dallas News:

It won't be long until schools close doors for the dog days and families begin hitting the road on summer vacation. 

While some will look to the high country for cooler weather or the beach for some fun in the sun, others may stay closer to home and visit a state park or national recreational area. Either way, many will take to the road with their own home away from home in tow. 

Recreational vehicles are all the rage these days among adventuresome types looking to get away from it all. And they aren't your grandparents' campers, either. 

Many of today's RVs are equipped with slide-outs to make them more roomy, a garage for power toys, satellite HDTV, GPS, Wi-Fi boosters, surround sound, showers, bathrooms, generators and other nifty amenities that allow campers to slumber beneath the stars without leaving their creature comforts behind.

Dealers are feeling the love, too. A consumer survey conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan shows the number of RV-owning households was around 8.9 million in 2011. That number now exceeds 10 million by some estimates, according to Kevin Broom, director of media relations with the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.

To read more, go here.

California In A Recession?

California may be in a recession.

If so, it should really come as no surprise given the crazy laws the state and cities have enacted such as the job-killing $15/hour minimum wage and hiking taxes.

According to Zero Hedge:

When it comes to the health of his state's economy, California Governor Jerry Brown has been walking on eggshells this year. 

Twice each year, once in January and again in May, Gov. Jerry Brown warns Californians that the economic prosperity their state has enjoyed in recent years won't last forever.

Brown attaches his admonishments to the budgets he proposes to the Legislature – the initial one in January and a revised version four months later.

Brown's latest, issued last May, cited uncertainty about turmoil in the national government, urged legislators to "plan for and save for tougher budget times ahead," and added:

"By the time the budget is enacted in June, the economy will have finished its eighth year of expansion – only two years shorter than the longest recovery since World War II. A recession at some point is inevitable."

It's certain that Brown will renew his warning next month. Implicitly, he may hope that the inevitable recession he envisions will occur once his final term as governor ends in January, 2019, because it would, his own financial advisers believe, have a devastating effect on the state budget. 

Unfortunately for Governor Brown, the recession he fears may already have arrived in California.

If California is in a recession, he can thank himself and his Democrat Party for hastening it.

To read more, go here. 

Latest Blog Post Pick-ups

The fine folks at The Japan Daily has picked up several blog posts from yesterday for sharing with their readers.

They include:

To read The Japan Daily, go here.

Japan Out of Recession, Although Growth Disappointing

Above, the National Diet Building in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan came out of its recession during the third quarter of 2014, but the rate of growth was disappointing.

According to the BBC:

The economy expanded by an annualised 2.2% in the three months to December in a preliminary reading, compared to forecasts for a 3.7% increase.

The recession did not affect Japan's tourism industry as they posted record numbers of foreign visitors in 2014.

To read more, go here.

Despite Recession, Japan's Tourism Industry Is Doing Great Business

Above, the Nagasaki Peace Statue. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan may have slid into a recession, but that's not the case with Japan's tourism-related industries. They are currently having an economic boon.

Reuters has posted an article on how inbound tourism growth has boosted Japan's retailers, railroads, and resorts.

They begin with:

TOKYO, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Investors are snapping up Japanese stocks in the retail and transportation sectors, thanks to a weaker yen that has lured a record number of foreign visitors in one of the few bright spots for the economy.  

The yen has tumbled to seven-year lows making Japan cheaper for tourists and helping companies that cater to tourists such as railway operators and certain retailers. 

Tourism spending is a boon to Japanese firms battling a stagnant domestic economy, which slipped into recession in the third quarter, and a declining population. 

Foreign visitor numbers hit a record 11 million from January to October, up 27 percent from the previous year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. 

These tourists spent 1.468 trillion yen in that period, surpassing last year's full year figure of 1.417 trillion yen, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

 To read more, go here.

It's Official: Japan Is In A Recession

Above, Akihabara's "electric town" section of Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One could have almost predicted this. Japan is now in a recession thanks to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's consumption tax hike.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO —Japan’s economy dropped into a recession after a second-straight quarter of contraction, official data showed Monday, in a huge blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to turn around years of laggard growth. 

The country’s gross domestic product shrank 0.4% in the July-September quarter, or an annualised rate of 1.6%, underscoring how an April tax rise dented growth in the world’s number three economy and weighing on the chances of a second levy hike next year.

Raising taxes will make people modify their spending (in other words, tighten their belts). This is especially true with high-ticket items such as electronics, major appliances, furniure and automobiles. People will either forego or delay purchases of these items due to the tax bite.

To read more, go here.

Clinton Administration Caused Housing Crash and Bank Crisis

From Investors.com:

Subprime Scandal: Newly released memos from the Clinton presidential library reveal evidence the government had a big hand in the housing crisis. The worst actors were in the White House, not on Wall Street. 

During the 1990s, former Clinton aides bragged that more aggressive enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act pressured banks to issue riskier mortgages, lending more proof the anti-redlining law fueled the crisis. 

A 2012 National Bureau of Economic Research study found "that adherence to that act led to riskier lending by banks," with "a clear pattern of increased defaults for loans made by these banks in quarters around the (CRA) exam, (and) the effects are larger for loans made within CRA tracts," or low-income and minority areas. 

To satisfy CRA examiners, Clinton mandated "flexible" lending by large banks. As a result, CRA-approved loans defaulted about 15% more often, the NBER found. 

Exhibit A in the 7,000-page Clinton Library document dump is a 1999 memo to him from his treasury secretary, Robert Rubin. 

"Public disclosure of CRA ratings, together with the changes made by the regulators under your leadership, have significantly contributed to ... financial institutions ... meeting the needs of low- and moderate-income communities and minorities," Rubin gushed. "Since 1993, the number of home mortgage loans to African Americans increased by 58%, to Hispanics by 62% and to low- and moderate-income borrowers by 38%, well above the overall market increase. 

"Since 1992, nonprofit community organizations estimate that the private sector has pledged over $1 trillion in loans and investment under CRA." 

Other documents reveal how the community-activist group ACORN and other organizations met with Rubin and other top Clinton aides on "improving credit availability for minorities." 

Clinton's changes to the CRA let ACORN use the act's ratings to "target merging firms with less-than-stellar records and to get the banks to agree to greater community investment as a condition of regulatory approval for the merger," White House aide Ellen Seidman wrote in 1997 to Clinton chief economist Gene Sperling. 

"Community groups have come to recognize how terribly powerful CRA has been as a tool for making credit available in previously underserved communities," Seidman added. 

Seidman later boasted that Clinton's 1995 CRA revisions created not only the subprime mortgage market but also the subprime securities market. Of course, subprime loans and their high default rates ruined minority neighborhoods when the market crashed. 

Memos also reveal how Clinton aides held repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act hostage to strengthening the CRA. They gave Republicans deregulation of banking activities in exchange for over-regulating how those banking activities applied to low-income communities. 

Clinton aides viewed ending the Glass-Steagall Act as a way to "extend the CRA to Wall Street firms" and wanted to extend it to insurers, mutual funds and mortgage bankers. But due to GOP opposition, that was "not politically feasible," Rubin told Clinton in a 1997 memo. 

In 2000, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo lit the fuse on the subprime bomb by requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase subprime, CRA and other risky mortgages totaling half their portfolios. 

A 1993 memo, "Racism in Home Lending," captured the tone of Clinton's affordable-housing crusade. It proposed coordinating with the Washington Post and Congressional Black Caucus on bank investigations. 

These White House papers are smoking-gun evidence of Clinton's culpability in creating the subprime bubble. The mainstream media's silence is deafening.

###

Naturally, because the "fit hit the shan" during the final months of George W. Bush's administration, Democrats try to blame him for the crisis. It was the Bush Administration that first sounded the alarm that fell on deaf ears and led Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank and Maxine Waters (among others) to claim everything's alright and charge the whistle-blowers of racism. [See this.]

5th Anniversary: Democrats Caused Wall Street Debacle

Since the media is commemorating the fifth anniversary of the start of the financial crisis, this is a re-post on why it all happened and why we still haven't recovered.

This was originally posted in October 2008. Just a stroll Down Memory Lane for those yo-yos who blame George W. Bush:


The Democrats are up to their eyeballs with responsibility for the current crisis on Wall Street over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Barack Obama was the no. 2 recipient of campaign donations from Fannie Mae (Sen. Christopher Dodd was no. 1).

Two former CEOs of Fannie Mae are now on Obama's staff as economic advisors: Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson. Those two raked in millions of dollars for themselves.

Another noted Democrat was involved (from Michael Reagan's article, link below):

Jamie Gorelick, an official in Clinton’s Justice Department — the woman who built the “wall” that prevented the FBI from targeting terrorists before 9/11 — worked for Fannie Mae and took home $26 million.

Gorelick should be familiar to us from the 9/11 Commission Report as she was the one responsible for keeping the CIA from sharing terrorist data with the FBI before 9/11 thanks to her wall.

The Wall Street Journal has a compendium of articles warning of the debacle and the involvement of Democrats: Wall Street Journal Compendium

The Obama campaign is currently trying to blame Republicans for this crisis, but that won't fly as the real facts are now coming out. In fact, McCain warned of a possible crisis (source: Michael Reagan):

Obama brazenly blames John McCain and the GOP for the current Wall Street mess when it’s clear none of it was due to Republican policies. The truth of the matter is that it was McCain and three GOP colleagues who sought to reform the government’s lending policies three long years ago after the Bush administration had failed two years earlier. On May 25, 2006, McCain spoke on behalf of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, and warned against the debacle we are now facing if it failed to pass.

He told the Senate that a report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight charged that “Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives.”

McCain warned, “If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.”

McCain predicted the entire collapse we now are suffering through. He stressed the falsification of financial records to benefit executives, including Obama advisers Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson.

Jonah Goldberg at National Review Online writes:

The current financial crisis stems in large part from the fact that people who shouldn’t have been buying a home, or who bought more home than they could afford, now can’t pay their bills. Their bad mortgages are mixed up with the good mortgages. And thanks in part to new accounting rules set up after Enron, the bad mortgages have contaminated the whole pile, reducing the value of even stable mortgages.

Of course, there are other important factors at work here, having to do with changing technology among other things. And even if the bad mortgages weren’t in the system, we’d still have the hangover from the end of the housing boom. But the financial system could have handled that with the usual corrections. The biggest dose of poison entered the financial bloodstream through Washington. And some people warned us. In 2005, Fannie Mae revealed it overstated earnings by $10.6 billion and that it didn’t really know what was going on. The Bush administration pushed for reforms, but those efforts were rebuffed by Congress, with Democrats Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd taking point, because Fannie and Freddie have spent millions in campaign contributions.

In 2005, McCain sponsored legislation to thwart what he later called “the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole.”

Obama, the Senate’s second-greatest recipient of donations from Fannie and Freddie after Dodd, did nothing.

Meanwhile, Raines, the head of a government-supported institution, made $52 million of his $90 million compensation package thanks in part to fraudulent earnings statements.

Hopefully, people will remember this when they go to the polls in November.

To see Michael Reagan's full article:
Michael Reagan: Democrats Own Wall Street Debacle

To see Jonah Goldberg's full article: Wall Street Fat Cats Aren't At Fault This Time

***********************************************************************
Since the above was posted, a YouTube video surfaced showing Barney Frank and Maxine Waters attacking "whistleblowers" who were sounding the warning over Fannie and Freddie with Waters injecting the "race card." Just do a search at YouTube for Barney Frank and Maxine Waters along with Fannie and Freddie and you'll find it.