Authored by David Manney via PJMedia.com,

They call it leadership; we call it theater…

While the federal shutdown grinds on, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have clearly perfected a strange new art form: performative politics, where each word is a cue, every accusation a prop, and every tweet an audition for those who can look the most indignant while working the least.

In the meantime, President Donald Trump isn’t playing along; he’s rewriting the script in real time, walking over Schumer and Jeffries online, each dropping posts and videos that make Democrats look like out-of-work actors fumbling through a forgotten scene.

The Optics of Outrage

There’s only one person who loves a podium more than a union boss loves a microphone: Sen. Schumer, who talks of compassion and compromise, but whose Senate has turned into a stalled parade float: lots of color, with no movement.

Each day, Schumer and Jeffries hold press conferences blaming Republicans for “holding America hostage,” yet their “solutions” amount to more spending, conditions, and delays.

When Schumer says, “We’re fighting for the people,” you hear scuffling and the sound of human flesh smacking onto the floor because the irony practically trips over itself.

The only people who benefited from this shutdown are those who earn money collecting views on social media. Government workers miss paychecks, national parks close, and families lose confidence. But Democrats? They work hard to find new lighting angles that fit their outrage. 

Hakeem Jeffries, Master of Misfire

If one existed, the perfect understudy for a shutdown would be Hakeem Jeffries, whose speeches sound like they were written for a student rally, not the House of Representatives.

Jeffries readily accused Republicans of chaos, insisting that Trump “marched the nation into darkness.” A little while later, Jeffries walked off-stage to check how the clip performed online.

One thing he mastered was the political selfie: always framed and never candid. Jeffries would smoothly deliver a monologue about compassion while standing in a building he helped close — one that was now locked.

As the White House negotiates, Jeffries demands that “Republicans get back to work!”

Given that his party helped shut it all down, they used the same tactics they used with the border, crime, and inflation — causing the fire, then blaming the firefighter for showing up with a hose.

Shutdown by Design

We’re not watching an example of gridlock; we’re seeing extravagant choreography from a Democratic Party that knew it was coming.

President Trump canceled a meeting with Schumer and Jeffries weeks before the deadline, signaling that the days of performative pleating were finally over. When the shutdown hit, the online team for the White House decided to turn the situation into an absolute spectacle, flooding feeds with edited clips and punchy quips that made Democrats look like punchlines.

Like Sylvester the Cat(s) going up against the mice, Schumer and Jeffries took the bait, condemning “digital bullying” and then doing precisely what the administration wanted: prolonging the argument, extending airtime, and making themselves the story.

President Trump didn’t simply outmaneuver them; he outproduced them.

When Democrats thought they were simply hosting a press conference, Trump turned it into a roast.

The Party of Panic

Panic became the currency of the Democrats, who found themselves addicted to crisis because it’s the only time anybody listens.

Democrats discovered that drama pays better than progress, that when the lights dimmed in the Capitol, the cameras brightened in their offices.  Not just a little bit, either.

Senator Chuck “I love a slice of cheese on my raw hamburger patty” Schumer warns of economic damage while his caucus blocks spending votes. Jeffries laments the pain for working families while refusing to drop policy riders that have nothing to do with keeping the lights on, while claiming moral clarity, a perfect picture of performance dressed like principle.

Now, even the mainstream networks are starting to tire of the show; reporters whisper that the Senate has transformed into more like a film set than a governing body. Every line uttered from Jeffries’ office is tested for “shareability,” and every Schumer pause is scripted, becoming its own Saturday Night Live sketch, minus the legit laughs.

The Real Leader in the Room

No matter what you want to say about President Donald Trump, the man knows timing.

As Schumer and Jeffries practice their next press release, Trump lays out posts that reach tens of millions, setting the national narrative before breakfast has been served. 

Speaking directly to voters who remember what Washington looked like before becoming a hub for acting classes, Trump created a difference by governing to achieve results. At the same time, Schumer and Jeffries simply committed to creating performance art solely to be remembered.

Nowhere else does this hold. In politics, competence remains quiet, while chaos is loud, leading to one single fact: the Party of Panic has only one skill left — knowing how to yell.

Final Thoughts

Each time a government grinds to a halt because of a shutdown, budgets aren’t the only thing tested: It tests who stays calm when the cameras roll.

Right now, President Trump owns the calm and isn’t sweating after reading the script. Schumber and Jeffries, however, find themselves stuck in a repeated cycle of rehearsal, where they’re forever searching for applause in a play that not a single soul wants to see twice.

Schumer and Jeffries, along with minor actors, have confused leadership with lightning cues, mistaking politics for performance art. Unfortunately for them, the curtain has already started to fall because the audience simply moved on.

Luckily for conservatives, the Party of Panic can’t stop acting long enough to realize the “show” ended hours ago.

Watch Live (due to start at 1900ET):

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It’s crunch time in the race for Gracie Mansion. With early voting just a week away, Thursday night’s showdown between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa could reshape the fight for New York City’s top job – or cement Mamdani’s growing lead.

The 32-year-old socialist assemblyman from Queens, who rode a wave of progressive enthusiasm to win the Democratic primary, takes the debate stage with a double-digit advantage – and a target squarely on his back. Both Cuomo, the scandal-scarred former governor trying for a comeback, and Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and perpetual NYC agitator, are desperate for a breakout moment that could jolt a sluggish race.

The two-hour debate, hosted by NBC 4 New York, Telemundo 47, and Politico, will be broadcast live from 30 Rockefeller Plaza starting at 7 p.m. ET. The first hour will be televised, while the second will be streamed.

It marks the first time all three contenders will share the same stage – and likely one of the last before voters head to the polls.

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, is now trying to recast his image from firebrand activist to pragmatic reformer. Once known for chanting “Defund the Police,” he now talks affordability, housing, and “a safer, fairer city.” But Cuomo and Sliwa are expected to hammer him over public safety, policing, and his earlier rhetoric.

Cuomo’s Tightrope

For Cuomo, the debate is do-or-die. Polls show the former governor trailing far behind his onetime primary rival, and he’s hoping a commanding performance can remind voters why they once trusted him to steer the state through crises.

Running as an independent, Cuomo is pitching himself as a centrist savior – the adult in the room between the “socialist left” and “Republican irrelevance.” But he faces a delicate balancing act: luring moderate Democrats and independents without appearing too cozy with conservatives.

“Mamdani’s a risk,” Cuomo told supporters this week. “I’m experience.” But experience cuts both ways — his 2021 resignation amid sexual harassment allegations still hangs over his candidacy like a storm cloud.

Then there’s Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Polling a distant third, the red-bereted rabble-rouser is under pressure to prove he deserves to stay in the race. Many anti-Mamdani voters see him as a spoiler splitting the non-progressive vote and want him to bow out in favor of Cuomo.

Sliwa says forget it. “I’m not going anywhere,” he told the Post. “New Yorkers deserve someone who doesn’t owe the machine a thing.” Expect the longtime radio host to use the debate to rail against crime, corruption, and “career politicians.”

Trump’s Shadow Looms

Even though Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot, his presence lingers. The president recently threatened to cut federal aid to New York if Mamdani wins – and even floated deploying the National Guard. Cuomo claims he’s the only candidate tough enough to stand up to Trump; Mamdani fires back that he’s the only one with no ties to him. As for Sliwa, a registered Republican, he’s keeping his distance – calling Trump “a distraction” and “not exactly a fan of Curtis Sliwa.”

The debate could define the home stretch of the race. Mamdani wants to project competence and calm; Cuomo needs redemption; Sliwa just wants relevance. For voters watching a city teetering between progressive dreams and hard realities, Thursday night may be the clearest look yet at who can actually run it.

With precious metals making new record highs day after day, there are signs that demand is spreading much broader than simply central banks.

As we noted earlier, The UK’s Royal Mint is overwhelmed with demand for physical silver coins:

Buyers have been flooding into London’s street-level bullion outlets too, with voracious demand for small bars and coins prompting the Royal Mint to run its presses harder.

“You’ve got this perfect storm at the moment,” said Emma Siebenborn, who runs Hatton Garden Metals.

And now, there are scenes sending Weiomar vibes (though absent the wheelbarrows full of notes) down-under…

As Tom Richardson reports for TheNightly.com.au, lines outside ABC Bullion have lengthened throughout 2025.

At lunchtime on Thursday they reached 60 metres, a real-life demonstration of the gold mania that has pushed the price up over 50% over the past 12 months.

“If you don’t buy, you’ll miss out,” said Matthew, who declined to share his last name.

“In theory if the US dollar crashes like they (globalists) want, gold can go to $US100,000 an ounce in five years, absolutely it’s realistic, gold’s money, all the other stuff is just paper.”

Matthew hates the banks, media, and government. He’s anti-immigration, in his early 70s and travelled to Sydney on Thursday from his Hawkesbury home to join a queue of Australians to buy gold from a bullion store on Sydney’s Martin Place.

A former tradesman and electrical engineer, he says he used to be a Labor voter who thought socialism wasn’t too bad.

“But the left has gone so far crazy now,” he complains.

“And now I’m classed as a crazy far-right nazi – that’s what they call us when we’re walking on the freedom marches.”

The ABC Bullion gold queue is multicultural, young and old, with most casually dressed as throngs of smartly dressed office workers race past at lunchtime.

The Queue pic.twitter.com/1STnZSkoaa

— Aditya Pandey (@DAdityaPandey) October 15, 2025

“I wouldn’t trust these banks as far as I could piss on them,” says Matthew who refuses to have his photo taken and regularly labels the media “all bullshit”.

“Three billion dollars a year they make on tap-and-go fees. And all these idiots walk around with their stupid mobile phones tapping and going everywhere, cos they’re too bloody lazy to carry cash. Now I just use cash and gold.”

New gold rush

The mania to buy gold has now spread from fed-up citizens like Matthew, to mums and dads, and Wall Street giants.

This week Goldman Sachs raised its price forecast for the precious metal and traditional safe-haven hedge by $US600 an ounce to $US4,900 an ounce by December 2026.

If the Wall Street titan is correct then the Australians who bought gold on Thursday will receive 14 per cent gains over the next 12 months given physical gold is currently trading at the ABC Bullion store for around $US4,040 an ounce.

Goldman Sachs cites strong central bank buying of the commodity as one factor pushing the price higher. Another factor is President Donald Trump’s tariff war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both are raising tensions between the US and the loose alliance of nations associated with the BRICs of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Gold as money

Gold has been attractive to investors and used as money for thousands of years. Until 1971 under the Bretton Woods monetary system the value of the US dollar was pegged to gold that meant one ounce could be exchanged for $US35.

Since President Richard Nixon scrapped this system in favour of money backed by a US government guarantee, its price in paper money or US dollars has multiplied around 115 times over 54 years.

The supply is scare and requires sophisticated mining techniques. Paper money can be printed by the billion in an instant.

Gold’s rise is often used as a proxy for the declining value of paper money as governments print more of it to fund spending and offset debts.

Some remain sceptical, including Shane Oliver, the chief economist at AMP Limited.

“A huge queue outside the bullion shop suggests this could be a euphoric top as people get FOMO (fear of missing out). It’s like when a taxi driver tells you to buy shares, it’s a sign things have gone too far,” warned Dr Oliver.

“It’s not a one-way bet, it had a great run in the 1970s and then collapsed, between 2011 and 2015 it slumped about 45 per cent. It’s also purely speculative as it produces no income, unlike shares or property, so you’re just relying on someone to come along and pay more for it than you.”

Cultural attraction

Another member of Thursday’s gold queue was 40-year-old Indian immigrant Ari Jadja.

The demographic of those in the line is interesting. I wonder if these people better understand how quickly currencies can collapse and are more in tune with that than anglo Australians because they came from unstable countries? Wouldn’t surprise me.

— Rational Aussie (@rationalaussie) October 15, 2025

A married father of one, he lives in Western Sydney and works at Port Botany as a cargo handler. At his wedding 20 years ago in Amristar, Punjab, he says his father gifted gold to his wife, as is customary in Hindu ceremonies.

“So for 20 years I’ve known gold,” he says.

“I’ve got $20,000 to $30,000 worth. I just think it’s a good investment, steady, safe you know, not too risky. Shares are risky, crypto is too risky, not for me. In India it’s normal for families to own, it depends how wealthy they’re, but in weddings yes Hindu and Sikh, it’s a good gift.”

Others queuing included Abdul Mohammed, an Australian-Indian security screener at Sydney Airport and Dwayne, a 30-something secondary school teacher in regional New South Wales who used the school holidays to buy gold. Both expect the price to keep rising.

Dwayne says he taught himself about it on websites like YouTube and listening to podcasts. Like almost everyone else in Sydney’s elongating daily queue he says he expects the price to keep climbing and sees no reason to change a strategy that’s boosted his wealth.

Submitted By Thomas Kolbe

Donald Trump is the master of memes — and of the media. No modern political figure understands better how to energize the long-humiliated conservative-patriotic soul that has been crushed for decades by a left-liberal media zeitgeist. His Gaza performance is the latest chapter in the ongoing media revolution of our time.

Peace in Gaza. The guns have fallen silent between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas. What was unthinkable for decades has happened: a historic breakthrough. Hostage and POW exchanges — all brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The achievement alone commands extraordinary respect. But with Trump now mediating in Armenia-Azerbaijan, between Israel and Iran, and pressing ahead with unfinished work in Ukraine, a Nobel Peace Prize would seem almost inevitable.

And Trump, ever the media virtuoso, translated this geopolitical power move into the perfect, iconic imagery.

Trump Plays the Media Like a Grand Piano

Whether delivering his address in the Knesset or receiving European leaders and global political elites, the spectacle was unmistakable: a parade of dignitaries bowing before the American president — a display directed not just at European audiences but at the power brokers of the Arab world as well.

The scene recalled the now-famous White House moment during the Ukraine debate: Ursula von der Leyen, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer, and Emmanuel Macron lined up like schoolboys at the teacher’s desk, listening to the president.

The moment culminated in Trump’s demonstrative handshake with Macron — a symbol of Europe’s complete submission to Washington’s dominant player.

Total Dominance

The world witnessed it in real time: Trump controls the iconography of power like no one else. He projects himself as the new ordering force in the Middle East, backed by allies like Saudi Arabia, now tied to Washington through billions in investment. Traveling aboard Air Force One between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Sharm el-Sheikh, he turned diplomacy into a livestream event.

Europe, once the colonial power in the region, was reduced to a spectator role. Even the congratulatory statements from European heads of state looked awkward against Trump’s monologue. His media strategy leaves no room for co-stars. This is a one-man show. And Trump plays the lead.

A Masterclass in Iconography

The list of Trump’s choreographed power moves is long. Remember the handshake with von der Leyen sealing the U.S.-EU trade deal? It was all about the image.

He hosted his European counterparts at his private golf resort in Scotland, flying them in via his personal helicopter — no military escort. Everything followed a scripted, perfectly timed playbook. The message: America is back on top.

Europe, dimmed to its real geopolitical size, played second fiddle. The era of European globalism sneaking through the American back door — via forums like World Economic Forum — is over. So is the age of U.S. presidents pushing the European climate agenda, from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama to Joe Biden. Trump is burying the CO₂ climate cult in America once and for all.

The Second Declaration of Independence

Repeatedly, the same image played out: in the Oval Office, Trump signs executive order after executive order, driving his cabinet to implement a deregulation blitz — a second Declaration of Independence from the Old Continent.

Another media bombshell followed on April 2: in the Rose Garden, Trump declared a global tariff war. Through a few bold, poster-sized charts, he ended an era: the era of free riding on the dollar system was over.

Two days after the last London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) contract expired, the pricing of dollar credit returned to Washington’s control via the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).

Beyond Symbolism

Most Europeans still don’t grasp the signal: the U.S. will no longer let itself be hitched to Europe’s geopolitical cart — certainly not to die on European battlefields again. Not in a war with Russia that isn’t in America’s strategic interest.

The Trump-Putin media plot in Alaska made that message unmistakable.

Trump’s power lies in his ability to dominate narratives, shape symbolic language, and project an unapologetic American patriotism. Europe’s reaction is defensive: through Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, planned chat controls and digital IDs, Brussels tries to claw back control of the narrative by brute bureaucratic force. But against Washington’s renewed self-confidence and civic model, the Eurocrats look like yesterday’s men.

The Butler Moment

The turning point came in Butler, Pennsylvania: after the assassination attempt, Trump, bloodied and defiant, raised his fist and shouted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” in front of the American flag. That image burned itself into the national psyche. It was a declaration of war against cultural Marxism — the ideological core of Europe’s eco-socialist movement.

Trump had cracked the media code long before that. From flipping burgers at McDonald’s to posing as a garbage truck driver — it wasn’t cheap campaign theater. It was strategic authenticity, in stark contrast to the aloof eco-socialist bureaucrats.

The result: attention shifted to him, away from choreographed smear campaigns and the concealed frailty of Biden. Trump didn’t fake being “the people.” He embodied it — and weaponized authenticity into power.

Dismantling the Machine

After his election, Trump moved fast to dismantle the left’s media machine. The breakup of United States Agency for International Development was a key moment. State-aligned broadcasters folded, funding pipelines to statist media, green ideology, and eco-socialist activism dried up.

Trump struck a chord with the times. He transformed media dominance and narrative instinct into electoral power. His biggest coup? Killing the CO₂ myth. In Trump’s America, CO₂ is no longer the demon gas upon which an eco-socialist nightmare could be built.

The question now is: How long before this media collapse of the Left reaches Europe? When it does, the rising conservative forces in Eastern Europe — led by Viktor Orbán — may find their historic hour has come.

In politics, good governance alone is never enough. You must project it — with the right imagery, in tune with the zeitgeist.

* * * 

About the author: Thomas Kolbe, born in 1978 in Neuss/ Germany, is a graduate economist. For over 25 years, he has worked as a journalist and media producer for clients from various industries and business associations. As a publicist, he focuses on economic processes and observes geopolitical events from the perspective of the capital markets. His publications follow a philosophy that focuses on the individual and their right to self-determination

The Financial Times as well as some pro-NATO military analysts say that we should expect President Trump to greenlight a limited number of long-range Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine. “The US president is expected to discuss potential deliveries and how Ukraine would use the weapon with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday,” FT writes.

But it’s all still up in the air (and Trump remains notoriously hard to predict), given Presidents Trump and Putin just had a “lengthy” and “positive and productive” phone call on Thursday, wherein the two lined up a series of high-level summits, including the expectation that Trump and Putin will have an eventual bilateral summit in Budapest to bring this “inglorious” War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end – as Trump put it in a Truth Social post.

Among many troubling aspects to this is that the systems would likely require American contractors to operate. Typically Tomahawks are launched by sea or air, but Ukraine will have to be given a ground-launched version.

Mainstream media has of late also confirmed Trump had already authorized US intelligence to help the Ukrainians with targeting energy sites deep inside Russia.

Whatever is handed over, which is unlikely to surpass several dozens, would have to be carefully used against “strategic targets”:

It is unclear how many Tomahawks the US would be willing to sell to Nato allies for Ukraine, especially since the Pentagon has been expending them at a higher rate than it has been buying them. “That’s what they’re probably arguing over right now within the Pentagon,” said Jim Townsend, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence.

The US has bought only 202 Tomahawks since 2022, but has used at least 124 against the Houthis and Iran since 2024. It is also possible the US would use Tomahawks in any strike on Venezuelan soil. “If we do give Tomahawks, it won’t be a huge batch, and that means that Zelenskyy will have to be very careful in terms of how he uses these,” Townsend said, adding they would only be used on the most strategic targets with the greatest chance of success.

Already anticipating this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has newly warned that Ukraine is plotting to use the long-range missiles to carry out “terrorist attacks” on Russia.

Zakharova said to reporters Wednesday that “the Kiev regime is not hiding its preparation of new terrorist attacks against our country aimed at escalating the conflict” – further underscoring that it was “obvious” these plans are being drawn up in anticipation of getting Tomahawks.

Alex Christoforou of The Duran podcast, commenting on the implications of Tomahawk transfers, offers the following perspective:

1. Further normalizes US/NATO direct attacks into Russia. In three years the US has accomplished what was seen as taboo for 80 years…it is acceptable for US to directly strike Russia. This is a precedent that will be leveraged in the future.

2. Further normalizes western boots on the ground in Ukraine. The US is making no secret of the fact that they will be in Ukraine operating the missiles. US/NATO boots on the ground are no longer off limits.

FT: The missiles could be delivered relatively quickly with the involvement of American contractors to assist in their use. This would eliminate the need for extensive training of Ukrainian troops and would allow the US to maintain control over targets and other issues.

Russia will likely respond “with irresponsible rhetoric that includes some nuclear saber-rattling,” as well as “a few larger strikes” on Ukraine.

At the very least, this will inject a new level of unpredictability into a conflict which is already spiraling toward direct NATO-Russia nuclear-armed confrontation.

Just when the market was starting to finally freak out – with a one month delay – about the Tricolor and First Brands bankruptcy following yesterday’s fingerpointing session between JPM’s Jamie Dimon and various private credit firms in which both accused each other of harboring more credit “cockroaches“, this morning the credit freak out went to 11 as two regional US banks crashed after they both disclosed problems with loans involving allegations of fraud, adding to concern that more cockroaches are indeed emerging in borrowers’ creditworthiness.

Shares of Zions Bancorp plunged 10% after it disclosed a $50 million charge-off for a loan underwritten by its wholly-owned subsidiary, California Bank & Trust, in San Diego. And Western Alliance Bancorp tumbled as much as 11% after it said it’s dealing with a borrower that failed “to provide collateral loans in first position.” i.e., there was fraud, just like in the First Brands case.

If that wasn’t enough, Western Alliance also said it also has exposure to the collapse of auto-parts supplier First Brands Group. But, and clearly nobody believed this, it doesn’t expect the issue to change its 2025 outlook. Yeah right. 

It will be ironic if WAL barely survived the 2023 banking crisis only to be destroyed because it failed to do due diligence on its clients a few years later.

“There have been a number of ‘one-off’ credit events that a number of banks have previewed going into the quarter,” Terry McEvoy, an analyst at Stephens Inc., said in an interview. “They have not gone unnoticed by bank investors.”

The news slammed the broader regional index. 

As Bloomberg notes, even if each of the credit event are isolated, banks taking losses from bad loans are making headlines more often in the past two months. After the bankruptcy of sub-prime auto lender Tricolor Holdings last month, JPMorgan wrote down $170 million and Fifth Third Bancorp wrote down as much as $200 million. 

Meanwhile, the investment bank at the center of the entire First Brands saga, Jefferies, continues to get crushed, and at last check was down over 8%.

Authored by Timothy Nash, Anthony Storer, Jim Hop, & Tom Rastin via RealClearMarkets.com,

The recent increase in gold prices in the United States and around the world has been driven by a confluence of economic, financial, and political factors. 

This environment, where gold has outperformed U.S. GDP and the four major U.S. stock markets, began in 2000 and has continued to date (see Exhibits 1, 2, 3). 

We outline 13 reasons why gold has outperformed most major investments and why it is likely to continue attracting individual and institutional investors. 

1. A haven during uncertain times.

Throughout history, people — from merchants to royalty — have held gold as a hedge against inflation, economic uncertainty, and war.  Having gold in your pocket allowed you to overcome political difficulties, especially when paper currencies collapsed.

2. Geopolitical disagreements.

Recent geopolitical uncertainty has been a major catalyst in the rise of global gold prices.  Instability in the Middle East, conflict in Ukraine, and the collapse of Hong Kong as a free state under the Sino-British Agreement have been constant sources of concern, driving up the price of gold. 

3. The Federal Reserve.

For more than half a century now, the price of gold has increased in part as a hedge against inflation and poor U.S. monetary policy. The U.S. dollar purchases 16.78% of what it did 50 years ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator.  Its purchasing power would be more than 100% if the dollar was still backed by gold.

4. Inflation and the U. S. Dollar.

For most of our history, the U.S. dollar was backed by gold and/or silver.  In the early 1900’s, it was believed 100 one-ounce gold coins should purchase an average-priced home.  In 1980, gold averaged roughly $615 an ounce, while the median home price in the United States was roughly $64,600.  According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median home price is $422,600, while gold traded at almost $4,203 an ounce on October 15th, according to Yahoo Finance.  In 1980, it took roughly 100 ounces of gold to buy a new home; the same is true today. Clearly, investment in gold has preserved and increased wealth. The same cannot be said about the U.S. dollar.

5. Central Banks.

Many Central Banks and governments are purchasing gold as a hedge against inflation and growing concern over the value of the U.S. dollar.  Consider the U.S. national debt, for instance, which has grown from just under $6 trillion in 2000 to almost $38 trillion today.

6. The national debt and its global emulation.

The U.S. national debt is more than $37.85 trillion and is 124.86% of GDP, dramatically higher than the 34.68% in 1980.  That is equivalent to $110,176 per citizen or $326,500 per taxpayer.  Notably, irresponsible government spending is not exclusive to the U. S., with many countries, such as Japan and China, having larger deficits per capita.

7. U.S. Political instability.

The annual U.S. federal budget deficit is running at roughly $1.9 trillion, with little chance of reduction given the lack of political cooperation. To reverse the trend of budget deficits, American voters must vote for both economic growth and financial stability.

8. The global public policy divide.

Conflicts over public policy, in areas such as trade and tax policy, food production regulation, and electric vehicle production have sparked much disagreement, helping to drive gold prices higher.

9. Philosophy and economic growth.

In recent decades, the United States and other countries whose economic wealth is largely based on free-market capitalism and the rule of law have experienced increased regulation, decreased entrepreneurship, and fewer profit opportunities. This has been negatively influencing economic growth and structures in the United States and the West, leading to increased investment in gold.

10. The stock market and U.S. GDP.

Gold has outperformed the four major U.S. stock indices from 2000 to the end of September 2025.  It has also outperformed silver and U.S. GDP in terms of economic growth and has dramatically outpaced inflation, proving once again that gold as a safe-haven investment continues to stand the test of time.

11. The true intention of BRICS.

Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and a growing number of smaller, less-friendly other countries have purchased large quantities of gold, aiming to replace the U.S. dollar’s status as the world reserve currency.  If the dollar is replaced, it will make international transactions more costly for U.S. producers and consumers, while rendering U. S. foreign policy less effective.

12. Technological advancements and the AI boom.

Gold use in technology increased from 2000 to peak usage in 2010. Moreover, as AI technology and power stations have advanced, demand for gold has recently surged again due to its superior conductivity and corrosion resistance. 

13. The supply of Gold continues to be outpaced by demand.

The global demand for gold in 2024 and so far in 2025 has reached new record highs, while new supply from sources has been unable to keep pace.  This seems to indicate that unless one or more of the above factors are mitigated, the price of gold in the years to come will increase. 

Conclusion

On October 9th, the price of gold closed at just above $3,946 an ounce, down almost $100 for the day and the stock markets rose after the announcement of a settlement between Gaza and Israel.  However, the next day, major stock markets dropped by more than 800 points as China announced restrictive policies on rare-earth mineral sales to the United States, driving gold again above $4,000 an ounce. 

The only way to bring gold prices down is to adopt rational political and economic policies that enhance economic and political freedom across the United States and around the world.  Policies that will provide an opportunity for ALL citizens to live in a freer, more competitive and prosperous United States and world, where freedom and hard work dictate success, not politicians and regulations.

President Trump has just concluded his “lengthy” phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after which he declared on Truth Social that “great progress was made” towards peace in the Ukraine conflict.

He further called it “a very productive” conversation wherein Putin congratulated him on the “Great Accomplishment of Peace in the Middle East” – in reference to the Gaza peace deal.

Importantly, Trump then emphasized, “I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

Trump signaled there will be a high level meeting between US and Russian officials, and eventually another direct Trump-Putin summit, which he said would eventually happen in Budapest Hungary.

According to more from Trump’s statement:

We also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over.

At the conclusion of the call, we agreed that there will be a meeting of our High Level Advisors, next week. The United States’ initial meetings will be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, together with various other people, to be designated. A meeting location is to be determined.

President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary, to see if we can bring this “inglorious” War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.

President Zelenskyy and I will be meeting tomorrow, in the Oval Office, where we will discuss my conversation with President Putin, and much more.

I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation.

But the reality is Trump is still unwilling to pressure Kiev on making territorial concessions (at least publicly, and as far as we know), and there also needs to be more robust guarantees of never joining NATO. All the while Trump is said to be mulling Tomahawk missiles. The full note…

As for the Kremlin side, it issued a much vaguer initial statement, also agreeing that it was a “positive and productive” phone call.

But at least the two sides are talking, but let’s hope it actually leads somewhere – and fast – before Europe leads to West further up the escalation ladder toward WW3-style nuclear confrontation with Moscow.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Democratic Senator John Fetterman has repeated his previous call for Democrats to stop labelling President Trump, his administration and their supporters as ‘fascists’ who want to end the Constitution.

Fetterman made the comments during a News Nation town hall style panel talk at The Kennedy Center Wednesday.

“I know and I love people who voted for President Trump. They are not fascists, they’re not Nazis, they’re not trying to destroy the Constitution,” the Senator urged.

“I refuse to call people Nazis or fascists. I would never compare anybody — anybody to Hitler,” he added.

Fetterman continued, “Like Charlie Kirk, all I could say is let people grieve — give people the space. I’m not going to use that terrible thing and that assassination to make my argument and try to put out my views.”

“It’s like, my God, he’s a father that had his neck blown out by a bullet,” Fetterman stressed, adding “And now people have forgotten: President Trump was in my state — was shot in the head.”

“Could you imagine where our nation would be if he were hit in the same way as Kirk? We really got to turn the temperature down,” Fetterman emphasised.

Watch:

John Fetterman brings the Kennedy Center to complete silence as he delivers this emotional message on stage:

“I know and I love people who voted for President Trump. They are NOT fascists, they’re NOT Nazis, they’re NOT trying to destroy the Constitution.”

“I REFUSE to call… pic.twitter.com/f9U8tnYlJy

— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) October 16, 2025

It’s a theme that the Senator keeps returning to, and has earned him the moniker ‘the only sane Democrat left on Capitol Hill’.

He further asserted that it is Democrat extremism that cost them the last election, and is worsening the decline.

“I campaigned across Pennsylvania for Harris. It was difficult,” Fetterman stated, adding “You could feel the energy there…That’s what I tried to explain to my party. I’m trying to explain right now – this is why we lost.”

“I refuse to follow that [extremism] even if it’s gonna cost me support in parts of the base,” he further explained.

🚨 BREAKING: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) says President Trump swept PA and the swing states because Democrat EXTREMISM is getting worse by the day

“I campaigned across Pennsylvania for Harris! It was difficult! You could feel the energy there…That’s what I tried to explain to… pic.twitter.com/7GqHtRBfEv

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025

I wish there were more men like John Fetterman on the left who were willing to be honest and fair, even in their political disagreements.

It’s honesty like this that will help us find common ground and move America forward together.

— Simon Unleashed (@SimonSaysKnow) October 16, 2025

I might not like @JohnFetterman but I will give him a lot of respect for this. This is exactly what we need to get back to. Turn the temperature down on the left. This hate is poisoning the air out here.

— BossLady 24/7 (@7_bosslady29488) October 16, 2025

I was one of those liberals who believed left-wing media when they called Republicans fascists and compared them to Nazis. Then I started having conversations with them and discovered they were not at all like they were portrayed. After that, I stopped listening to the media.

— Christina Buttons (@buttonslives) October 16, 2025

Elsewhere during the discussion, Fetterman addressed President Trump’s historic Gaza peace deal, saying “I was the only Democrat [initially] to give President Trump credit for the peace deal. Why wouldn’t you?”

When asked by Bill O’Reilly if he thought Kamala Harris could have secured such a deal, Fetterman responded “I don’t know, she’s not the president. But ask any of the hostages or their families. They think President Trump is a hero.”

“The most important point is to realise who did it,” the Senator continued, adding that “there are members of my party that have refused to acknowledge it. And for me, our politics may be different, but this was significant.”

🚨 O’REILLY: Do you think Kamala Harris could’ve gotten a deal with Hamas?

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Uhh, well, I, I mean, you brought up a good point. Um, I think, I was the only Democrat to give President Trump credit for the peace deal. Why wouldn’t you?

O’REILLY: Do you… pic.twitter.com/KalZWvxgWS

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

The markets are a little wild today and there is no specific item driving it from what we can see.

Here are a few that we are hearing

• 16th day of the shutdown and no signs of a break (chatter that it may last til Thanksgiving)

• Geopolitical risk rising: Lengthy Putin call, China-US trade tensions escalating, India ignoring Trump demand to stop buying Russian oil

• Hawkish FedSpeak – Waller sounded less dovish than normal

• Huge OpEx – The notional open interest for this expiration is the largest recorded for any October.

• Regional bank angst – Zions and Western Alliance down big on loan losses.

• US funding market stress – surging SOFR rates signaling a liquidity shortage

WTF is going on…

Stocks are tanking…

Regional banks getting slammed…

Bonds are aggressively bid with 2Y yields are suddenly collapsing (10Y back below 4.00%)…

Gold is going vertical (up)…

And crypto is going vertical (down)…

If we had to guess, we would say this is mostly related to the funding stress finally being recognized by a broader set of market participants as it seems demand for ‘good’ collateral is on the rise (gold and short-dated bonds) and leveraged risky assets are dumped.

The most important indicator, as always, remains the SOFR rate: should the recent drift higher continue, the self-fulfilling cascade of a liquidity shortage will almost certainly be activated.

And today’s SRF auction shows the stress continues to build…

In fact it’s worsening…

Trade accordingly.