Author: thependulumswings staff

Rumors of His Death……….

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Way back in 1876 Samuel Clemens, under the pen name of Mark Twain, penned the American classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Tom was an irascible one, just ask his Aunt Polly whom he lived with.  One day for his misdeed(s) she punished him making him whitewash(paint) her picket fence.  Tom convinced his friends to do it for him selling it as a privilege to do such work and admire it as an accomplishment.  And paint it they did.  It’s an amazing accomplishment unto itself, even if it is fiction.

If you jump to 2019 in the adventures of Donald Trump, himself a bit irascible, it looks like he too has passed out the paint brushes.   It looks like the President has convinced his “friends” on The Squad ( Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan) to do his work for him as well.  The Squad has repeatedly attempted to paint Trump as a racist among other non flattering accusations.  Meanwhile the media cannot get enough of the four congresswoman giving the feud much air time.   He has portrayed them on the canvas as the new faces of the ever further leaning left Democratic Party.  Green New Deal, free healthcare, free tuition, and a free for all are promised.  He purposely helps them get even more oxygen.  Aunt Polly, aka Nancy Pelosi, is beside herself.  She can’t decide if she wants to punish Trump, or her freshman legislators, or both.

Meanwhile the 2020 cattle call of 23 Democratic hopefuls to gain the nomination has far too little oxygen in the room.  Each candidate is trying to find their way.  In the crowded herd one has tried to go further left than the next.  Free this and free that is promised for all but the wealthy.   For the wealthy pay for this and pay for that is promised.  Heck, Cory Booker piled on over the weekend and told America that Trump was even worse than a racist.  “The reality is, this is a guy who is worse than a racist,” the Democratic presidential contender from New Jersey told Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He is actually using racist tropes and racial language for political gains, trying to use this as a weapon to divide our nation against itself.   We aren’t sure what that is called.  Is that a racist’s racist?  Booker took a harder left turn than The Squad.

Trump has made the race (at least for now) a binary decision.  Vote for me, or vote for the new Democratic Party, the face of which is The Squad.  He has plenty of paint brushes to go around.  And, he has plenty of Democrats and media folks lining up on the drop cloths.

Is there one person left in America who hasn’t come to their own conclusion as to whether Trump is a racist (whatever definition of racist one may have) or is not?  And, isn’t this the theme every four years?  Reagan, Bush, Dole, Bush, McCain, Romney, and Trump have all been painted with the same whitewash.  Isn’t it time to let the paint dry and move on to another chore?  Infrastructure, medical care reform, drug costs, and immigration come to mind.

Tom Sawyer went missing in another stunt that Aunt Polly didn’t approve.  Eventually town members had a funeral, for he was presumed dead.  Tom got wind of this and decided to show up at his own funeral.  “Rumors of his death,” he said, “were greatly exaggerated.”

Try as the Democrats might, rumors of Trump’s political career being dead are greatly exaggerated as well.

And, he gave out plenty of paint brushes to eager “friends” as proof.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Good Monday morning.  It’s hot across the US in late July.  Record high temps were recorded near and far yesterday.  But, have no fear, the nuggets below are just the right temp for you to start off your week.

  1.  Across the pond the 148th Open, held at Royal PortRush in Northern Ireland, concluded yesterday with Ireland’s own Shane Lowery hoisting the Claret Jug.   It was quite the story for him, the region, and his legion of family and friends.  He practically went wire to wire over the 72 holes posting a low 15 under par, six strokes better than Tommy Fleetwood’s second place finish.
  2. The “hometown boy made good” story was a great one, but it also was the only one NBC was able to sell in an otherwise forgettable Open.  Lowery started Sunday up by four and finished up by six.  How did he sleep on the lead Saturday night after he threw darts earlier that day for a 63?  Does “like a big baby” sound appropriate?
  3. Something NBC did sell a lot of was commercials.  If they weren’t going to a full commercial break every five minutes, they were going to a “playing through” split screen commercial break.  Does “we are Farmer’s, dah, tah, dah, dah, DAH” sound familiar?  The contrast of the NBC/Open presentation to how CBS and Augusta National insure how The Masters is viewed has a wider gap than Lowery opened over the field itself.   And, we don’t need a recap coming out of the split screen view.  We just saw it.  Isn’t that the sales pitch of “playing through” to begin with?
  4. And the then there is Paul Azinger who is through playing and trying to fill the golf shoes of lead NBC golf analyst/commentators that have spoken before him.  We marked down a double bogey on his card.  On camera his facial expressions are curious and that’s being kind.  When talking through the golf that is either about to be played or was just played he is Captain Obvious.  His nasal whine on the mic reminds us of our second grade teacher explaining how verbs are conjugated.  Where have you gone Johnny Miller?
  5. One Irish bloke put $150 on Lowery at 105-1 to win before the tournament started.  He won 16 grand.  Pints for all.  Those odds seem high for Lowery.  He entered 2019 ranked 75th in the world golf rankings and rose to 33rd entering The Open.  This morning he finds himself perched at 17th.
  6. The Houston Astros hit back to back to back homeruns Friday night at home v. the Texas Rangers.  We couldn’t find how many back to back to backs have ever been hit in MLB.  But we did see that back to back to back to backs have been jacked only eight times ever.  The last was in 2017 by the Washington Nationals.  Todd Kalas was on the Astros call Friday night.  It was three home runs on four pitches in two magical minutes.  You can see it and hear his great call of the final bomb launched by Yordan Alvarez here.
  7. The Milwaukee Brewers are chasing the Chicago Cubs for the Central Division lead and are very much in the thick of the wild card race as well. Their chances took a hit yesterday.  Their ace, Brandon Woodruff, is headed to the 10 day DL with a strained oblique.  Woodruff has been Milwaukee’s best pitcher this season, earning his first NL All-Star nod. He entered Sunday’s game 11-3 with a 3.53 ERA and had allowed three earned runs in 20 1/3 innings his previous three starts.  Obliques and pitchers mix like oil and water, that is, not so much.
  8. How fitting was it that Mariano Riveria “closed” the MLB Hall of Fame Cooperstown induction ceremonies for six former players yesterday?  He finished his career with a record 652 saves. He pitched 19 seasons in the major leagues, all with the New York Yankees, and retired with 952 games finished — also a record. A 13-time All-Star, Rivera helped the Yankees win five World Series titles and seven American League pennants.
  9.  Another closer who was finally inducted was Lee Smith.  When he hung up the cleats in 1997 he was the career leader in saves at that point with 478.  He brought heat for 17 seasons and was a 7 time allstar.  If you never saw him pitch, think Aroldis Chapman from the right side.  His fastball had purpose and an occasional brush back pitch also had a well placed purpose.
  10.  Are you ready for some football?  The NFL training camps for rookies are mostly underway and all veterans will have reported by this Friday as well.  Guess who has the shortest odds to get to Super Bowl LVI?  New England?  Nope.  They are second.  The Kansas City Chiefs are +600, or six to one.  The Patriots are +650 followed by New Orleans at +850.  The Indianapolis Colts surprise as the fourth lowest odds at +900.  Are you interested in a long shot or five?  The Bengals, Redskins, Giants, Lions, and Dolphins are all +10000, or 100 to one.

Get back to work.

56

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

With so much attention being paid earlier this week to the epic Roger Federer v. Novak Djokovic Wimbedon final and the The Squad v. Trump Twitter war, a 78th sports anniversary slid by.   Do you know what happened on July 16th, 1941?  Joltin Joe Dimaggio singled to extend his hit streak to 56 games.  On July 17th he was hitless which ended the longest consecutive games hitting steak ever.  And “ever” then still means “ever” today.

The record stands at 56 games, and has now stood that way for 78 years and counting.  We aren’t here to debate if its the greatest baseball record ever for it’s hard to compare pitching feats to hitting feats much less one game to one streak to one season to one career records.  But we are here to say that holding a record for any stat for 78 years is a long, long time and that makes it a great, great accomplishment.

Many, many excellent “hit for average” and “contact hitters” and “line drive hitters” have come and gone in 78 years.  And no one, we repeat, no one has come close to The Yankee Clipper’s run.  Second best you ask?  Peter Edward Rose, aka Pete Rose, aka Charlie Hustle got a hit in 44 straight games in 1978.  That tied Willie Keeler who strung together 44 as well way, way back in 1897.

Ty Cobb had 40 and 35 games with at least one hit streaks.  George Sisler had 41 and 35.  Joe’s brother Dom Dimaggio hit in 34 consecutive games himself.  Paul Molitor reached 39.  Think of players like Ichiro Suzuki, Ken Griffey, Jr., Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, George Brett,  Rogers Hornsby, and Stan Musial just to name a few.  None of them, in long and distinguished careers passed 30.

Rose’s 44 is 78% of Dimaggio’s 56 games 78 years later.  Suzuki had 262 hits in 2004.  That’s 14 years and counting for the most ever in a season.  He has just 64 years to go for the record to stand as long as Dimaggio’s.  Or, stated a different way, imagine in the year 2075 the closest someone has come to Suzuki’s record is 204 hits.

It’s such a feat that he caught Marilyn Monroe’s eye, and had a song written about him that is  big band, old school fun, and three minutes long here.   

Baseball is a game of numbers.  There are a lot of them above.  But, no matter which ones you are counting, there aren’t a lot that rise above 56.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The Wall Street Journal reached out yesterday.  They asked us to comment on rumors that boomboomsroom.com, aka BBR, was contemplating going public.  We directly squashed the rumor.  We have no plans to IPO now nor in the future.

Our rationale is simple.  We want our sole focus on delivering the best content day in and day out.  To do so we need to hire the best people to do their best at the job that they are qualified to do.  Our deep and talented staff shakes it’s collective head at the daily outcry for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace.  Don’t misread our position.   We are all for all people, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, or whatever group we forgot, to succeed in the business workplace.  We just think that the best/most qualified should be the final determination.

When did hiring the best and most qualified go out of style?  It’s when political correctness became the style.  It’s when capitalism was first assaulted by socialism.

Take Uber. The newly public company released on Monday its latest diversity report, which included a breakdown of its US workforce by race or ethnicity and gender. White men still make up most of its staff (30.1%), a pattern that is even more evident in leadership, tech, and leadership in tech roles. Black women make up 5.3% of its overall workforce in the US, black men 4%, Hispanic women 3.7% and Hispanic men 4.6%.

Diversity is defined as each person is unique.  And, each person may have a different point of view that should be considered.  It certainly can be due to different upbringing, background, education, race, ethnicity, etc.  But, it’s about each individual.

For the first time, Uber is setting some diversity and inclusion goals for 2022 that will be tied to the compensation of several of its senior executives — CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, chief financial officer Nelson Chai, chief legal officer Tony West, and chief people officer Nikki Krishnamurthy.  Chief People Officer!  What the hell?
Want to guess what percent of the US 2018 census best estimate of the American population is white and male?  It’s 37%.  Should they focus on hiring more white men?  It would be equitable, but not politically correct.
“While these numbers are an improvement, they are not where they need to be,” wrote Megan Rose Dickey of the Tech Crunch website.   Project Include’s Ellen Pao has previously said the numbers need to be at 13% black and 17% Latino in order to reflect the demographics of the U.S. population.   So, employee demographics need to match our population.  If everyone is employed (nearly the case right now) don’t they in the macro?
So, how do you get there?  Ah.  What isn’t being said is that nearly 33% of the Uber employees are of Asian decent.  So, is that good or bad?   Aren’t Asians a minority too?  Of course they are.  Every race is except white.  But apparently there are too many of them working at Uber for Megan and Ellen.  How else can you say it?  If you need to have more blacks and Latinos you must need less Asians.  Isn’t that racist?  Isn’t that prejudiced?
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in May that his league had done a poor job hiring females as referees.   Currently there are three female officials in the NBA, and he wants that number to rise.  “The goal is going forward, it should be roughly 50-50 of new officials entering in the league,” he said. “Same for coaches, by the way. We have a program, too. There’s no reason why women shouldn’t be coaching men’s basketball.”  Sounds politically correct.  Except, maybe they don’t want to referee in the NBA?
Someone should ask Adam how many female refs applied for the job in the last twelve months.  If it was way more than the three that they have whose fault is it that they only have three?  It’s the NBA’s.  If the number that applied is way less than men, how do you fix that?  Should you even try to fix that?
And, most of all, someone should ask Adam why there is such an imbalance in the league’s players. According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, the NBA in 2015 (the most recent info we could find) was composed of 74.4 percent black players, 23.3 percent white players, 1.8 percent Latino players of any race, and 0.2 percent Asian players.  If I were an Asian Uber employee I might declare my eligibility for the 2020 NBA draft.
Diverse?  Sure.  Inclusive?  Yes.  Equitable?  No.   The most qualified?  For sure.  Ah, now we are getting somewhere.

Till Monday

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It’s going to be 98 degrees today in H Town.  We’re getting out early for some exercise and then some golf.   Why?  Because Saturday and Sunday are forecasted to be 104 degrees.   It’s called climate change.  Today 98, tomorrow 104.  Change.  It’s going from damn hot to unbearable.   We’ll be back Monday with a blockbuster article.

Happy weekend!

Fore.

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #16.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

One of the positive learnings that came out of being raised Catholic and attending Catholic schools was learning to give back, or to volunteer for worthy causes.  Back then an optional group for men to join in that effort at their parish church was called “The Holy Name Society.”  Members met one Sunday every month after church to discuss past, present, and potential future endeavors that they collectively voted on as worthwhile to help the a person, family, or community in some way.

From that was born “The Junior Holy Name Society.”  Young and eager to emulate Boom Boom, I joined the group the first year that you could at age 8.  All of the fathers and sons would meet as the main group, then the two would split to hold their own meetings for a few minutes.

Boom Boom rose to the level of President a couple of years later.  I was in awe that he could speak in front of a group of 40 or so, and led them through many charitable endeavors.  His sincerity, combined with his knowledge, captivated his audience and much good came from that.  I liked being in the big meetings more than being with the juniors just to watch him.

One meeting’s main topic was the decision to rebuild a part of a widow’s house damaged by yet another strong summer southern storm.  There were some dissenters and disagreement voiced throughout the time spent on how to and the cost to do so.  Repeatedly Boom Boom called on others and others to voice their thoughts on specific parts.  We(he) even brought in a couple of construction guys to be able to answer some questions.

Through it all Boom Boom barely spoke.  He only asked questions along the way.  It seemed like an odd meeting to this 10 year old.  Driving home I asked, “Dad, why didn’t you talk more today?”  “I don’t know much about remodeling nor plumbing son.”  I sat clueless for a minute thinking about how this was different from his approach in the other meetings.  “Yes you do,” I thought and said.  “No, I don’t.  It’s important to know what you don’t know.”  

I didn’t know then that my dad didn’t know everything about everything.  But, now, looking back, I realize that he was smart even when he wasn’t.

 

A Real Instant Classic

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Great.  Greater.  Greatest.

It’s what we do as sports fans.  We have an insatiable desire to see greatness taken to yet another level.  We drink cold beers and debate who, what, when, and why he or she did this or that.  And because of that, whatever that is, they are great, or greater, or greatest.  At BBR we hesitate to instantly call a moment, game, or season, or athlete the greatest of all.  It’s hyperbole mostly.  And, it’s what ESPN incessantly drones on about.  Heck, they even have a show called ESPN Instant Classics.  Meh.

Well,  this AM we stick our toe into the conversation.  Did you see Novak Djokovic defeat Roger Federer to capture the Wimbledon Championship yesterday?  If you didn’t, you might have missed the greatest Grand Slam tennis finals match ever.  Don’t believe us?  That’s ok.  Former two time winner and now long time announcer John McEnroe asked that very question during yesterday’s broadcast.  It sounded like he sure thought so.

Consider these facts as we build a case.  It went five sets with three tiebreakers including the last set (forced by the new rules into a tiebreaker) when they reached 12-12 in games.  It was the longest final ever, lasting over five hours.  If you tuned in for breakfast at Wimbledon we hope you packed a lunch too.  Many rallies extended to 20 or more strokes.  The championship level of play started in game one and never relented.   The crowd was stoked by every stroke making the atmosphere all the more intense.

But most of all it was two titans of their sport giving it their all on the biggest stage that their sport provides-Wimbledon.  Roger Federer, at an amazing 37 years of age finished as the runner up.  Is he the “greatest” Wimbledon player ever?  He has more wins than anyone with eight.  He has finished second four times.  He has more Grand Slam titles than anyone with 20.

With the win Djokovic secured his fifth Wimbledon title.  That’s tied for third in Wimbledon wins with Bjorn Borg.  Only Pete Sampras stands between Djokovic and second all time.  Sampras won seven in an incredible eight year run.  Djokovic has a few years left.  Djokovic has 16 Grand Slam titles, good for third best ever.

If Nicklaus and Palmer started in the last group at Augusta and battled for 18 holes on Sunday to win the coveted green jacket would that compare?  Or, if you wish, Tiger and Phil.  What if they were never separated by more than a stroke and tied after 18?  What if they played the equivalent of an additional seven holes and remain tied all the while making clutch shot after clutch putt?

And who did Federer beat to get to the finals?  Rafael Nadal is who.  And he counts 18 Grand Slam trophies (second historically) in his case including an insane 12 French Opens.

And, when the match concluded yesterday both opponents spoke quite highly of their opponent.   Humbly, and privately, they may think what John McEnroe said publicly.

So does this make the case too that tennis, with three of the all time greats playing at the same time, is in an era heretofore never seen prior?  Perhaps.  And, perhaps “perhaps” is too weak of a word to describe the moment yesterday and the era in general.

It’s fifty or so days till the final Grand Slam final of the year, the US Open.   Our guess is two of the three will be in it.  That match may not be able to match yesterday though.

Yesterday was indeed an instant classic.

 

 

 

No Consensus on the Census

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

So, in today’s America, we cannot come to a consensus on the census.  Why not?  President Trump and his Attorney General are at odds with Congressional Democrats and a few Obama appointed judges over the right to ask a basic question on the 2020 census.  The question is “are you a US citizen?”

That leads to another very basic question, “why?”  Why would those opposed to the question of citizenship on the census be opposed to it?  And, that leads to yet another question, “why was it taken off of the census questionnaire to begin with?”

The answer to why the opposition to the question itself seems rooted deep in the Democratic Party strategy doctrine.   They would prefer the word “residents” these days over citizens.  It sounds so much more inclusive you know.   Remember  “illegal aliens” morphed to “illegal immigrants.”  Then it softened to “migrants.”  Soon migrants became “undocumented.”  There are even “dreamers.”  Doesn’t “dreamer” sound so much better than “illegal?”  How can you be opposed to dreaming?  Join our party.

Way back in 1974 a lower court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.  The result made a woman’s right to have an abortion legal.  A woman’s right to have an abortion morphed into a woman’s “right to choose.”  Choose what?  You know.  So, it was still too descriptive.  So, it is now referred to by the left as “woman’s healthcare.”  It’s headed to “woman’s wellness.”  Doesn’t “wellness” sound so much better than “abortion?”  How can you be opposed to wellness?  Join our party.

If you count “residents” isn’t the next step to count them in on all things that “citizens” rights provide.   Free healthcare was just approved in California for illegals aged 19-25.  Why stop there?  You can start by redrawing the congressional districts around residents.  And, when you do the party that panders to the illegal immigrants in every which way gains more votes.  More votes means gaining and holding power.  Why do you need an ID to vote anyway?  Come one, come all.  The party that panders dreams about the dreamers putting them in power permanently.  And, make no mistake about it, the Democratic party has a vision and a strategic plan and does a great job marketing itself to achieve it.

So, why and when was it taken off of the census to begin with?  It was taken off by the Obama Administration after the 2010 census.  When you count citizens you also count non citizens don’t you know?  It’s better if your opponents do not know the size of the opportunity (if you are from the left) or the problem (if you are from the right).  The question has been on every census, taken once a decade, for over 160 years.  When it was removed the hope was that it would never be placed back on it.

At a minimum it takes a fight to get it back on.  And who looks bad in the fight in the eyes of the press?  It’s the folks that call illegals illegal.  It isn’t the former president and his agenda.  He was trying to be inclusive.  So the narrative has shifted.  The press writes and talks about “why does the president want this on?”  The press doesn’t or didn’t ever question why the former president took it off.  So the right siders have to play defense.

President Trump comments often about how important it is to finish building the wall that previous administrations started.  It might seem easy now compared to building a consensus around the census.  Of course if you had the wall you would need no census consensus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stoppage Time

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Everyone is famous for 15 minutes.  Megan Rapinoe has been famous for a few weeks now.  We know, if you are a fan of women’s soccer, she has been famous for a lot longer.  And, now her fame extends beyond the pitch where the USWNT (United States Women’s National Team) won every match on their way to another World Cup championship.

On the field her abilities are indeed world (cup) class.  She won her one on one’s, dribbled well, passed even better, and scored from every angle.  She even knocked in a penalty kick or two.

As she left the field Sunday she stepped on an American Flag on her way to a guest appearance on Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper’s CNN show, and a parade down Broadway in New York, New York.   The honorable Mayor of New York, New York Bill De Blasio sat to her right as she spent a few minutes at the parade’s end to address those who attended.

In a nutshell, we paraphrase, she said in all of these moments, 1) that she and all of her teammates that “she has spoken to” won’t accept an invite to the effing White House, and 2)  why would they allow Trump to use the platform that they have built to put them on display, and 3) she would go talk to people in DC that had views like hers, and 4) we need to listen more and talk less,  and 5) equal pay for equal play, and 6) this World Cup win is so much more than what was on the field. It seems like one of those sort of iconic turning points in history, to be honest, and 7) no she’s not running for the White House, she’s too busy.

We hear her outrage in her words.  We see her outrage in her actions, like when she kneels for the national anthem.  And, we wonder.  We wonder if she is misguided or not.  We wonder if she is actually leading or following.  And, that makes us wonder if she is anything more than the next Colin Kaepernick.

If so, that would be unfortunate.  Because, if she took a step back, she would realize that all of that which she has been able to accomplish comes from the freedoms that her country affords.   Why not go visit with our President if you really want to effect your view of what should change?  What an unbelievable opportunity.   Talking to people who agree with you only makes you feel good about your views.  Change comes from open debate.

Why not use the “platform that you built” to get this access to the President?  Many millions clamor for such a chance.  Oh, and the platform wasn’t built just by you.  It was built by many who came before as well.  You and your teammates were plenty talented enough to walk through the door.   Take advantage.

Why not run for the White House?  Everyone else who has been famous for 15 minutes is.  You have a better shot than the mayor who sat next to you.  Oh, and did he tell you that drinking champagne in a moving vehicle is a violation in NYC?  Did he ban Big Gulps during the ride?  Well, at least you did not use a plastic straw.

And, most of all, it’s not one of those iconic turning points in history to be honest.  It’s not even close.  You have the opportunity to make it an important moment perhaps.  But to do so you need to listen more and talk less now.  Like nike, can you just do it?

If not, your flag step and Kaepernick’s dismay at Betsy Ross’ flag get dismissed by Americans who listen to disrupters like you and wish you would say more while talking less.

Everyone is famous for 15 minutes.  Including extra time you’ve been famous for more.  But, the bright lights are already flickering.  And, the roots are showing in your pink dyed hair.  Good luck.

 

 

As Good As Gold

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Until Richard Nixon unhinged gold as the backing for the nation’s money supply people would (safely) assume that their paper currency was “as good as gold.”  But, nowadays you might wonder, ‘how good is gold?’

The answer isn’t easy.  The price of gold has closed lower in about four of every 10 years while rising six of every 10 since the decoupling 48 years ago.  This makes makes it more volatile than stocks and bonds.  In the short term you often have gotten burned.   Yet it’s annualized return over the last 30 years actually outstrips the performance of broad indices of stocks and bonds.  To further confuse things, gold’s total return in the last 15 years is the exact same as the last 30.  It tends to be a flight to safety often rising as a hedge when stocks and or bonds are retreating.  This behavior was acutely present right after 9/11 and before, during, and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

But, is all gold safe?  After all there are gold mining stocks, pure gold bars (bullion), and gold coins.  Each have their plusses and some have some negatives.  And, a part of one is downright rotten.  Which one?  Gold coins that are a dime a dozen in availability and worth only a nickel a dozen after you purchase them.

Henny Youngman said, “take my wife, please!”  Take Rosland Capital, please.

Rosland Capital primarily offers gold coins, silver coins, and gold IRA’s.  Their pitch on gold coins by their TV pitchman and former Hollywood actor William Davane pleads to the elderly’s biggest fears.  Their biggest fears are their physical safety and their financial stability in retirement.   Rosland, time and time again, says that you need gold as a safety net.  In one commercial they use a naval vessel to show the defense department protecting you physically and equate it to gold taking care of you financially.  They have a debt counter (22 trillion and counting) on the homepage of their website to stoke your fear.   They show Davane coming out of the rain and into the sunshine as he says that when he has extra money he buys more gold.

All the while the split screen shows these beautiful, one of a kind, limited edition gold coins.  Call now!

If your insecurity about your security consumes you, maybe you do call.  And with “expert gold advisors” standing by to help here is what you get if you buy.  You get overpriced, commission heavy, hard to sell, mass produced gold coins.  The coins melt value (it’s what it sounds like) is worth less than the price they sell them to you by either a lot or a lot lot.  They are tied to the price of gold, you just start in a hole.

Stated differently, gold would have to go up by a lot, or a lot lot, for you to break even when you need to convert the gold to cash.  How ironic!  The very thing that gold did (back paper cash) now doesn’t convert gold into the cash you would expect.

And, all of that assumes that you find a buyer.  These are readily available coins.  These aren’t rare, and won’t be.  Think baseball cards.  Mickey Mantle is worth a lot.  Mike Trout isn’t worth much.  Why?  Few Mantle cards exist.  They’re more Trout cards than trout fish in the sea.

Maybe gold should be a part of your financial portfolio.  Maybe not.  Maybe gold coins should be a part of your portfolio.  Maybe not.

Maybe William Davane should be ashamed of himself.  We wonder if he is compensated by Rosland in gold coins.  Maybe not.   Greenbacks?  Probably so.

 

publisher’s note: The above is only meant as commentary and opinion by the boomboomsroom.com staff.  It is in no way an attempt to offer any financial advice or solicit or direct any reader in any way.