“The current European debt crisis likely will not end until the euro collapses as a currency and takes the entire European Union with it.”

~ Dennis Gartman, hedge fund manager and writer of The Gartman Letter

I was just in Greece, where the stupidity and venality of the political class are in full view.

The coming repudiation of Greek debt and the credit contagion that will spread among the weaker members of the European Union, including the UK, will ultimately slop over onto the U.S. But while we wait, the process will bring us the answer to a long-simmering question. Will the European Union be a supra-state ruling the formerly independent nations of Europe or will it be a confederation of quasi-independent sovereign nations?

The Eurocrat elites want a union of European nations with one central bank, one currency and just one flag that really matters, all molded to fit the American model. I believe Europe would be far better off as a confederation of sovereign states that allows competition among individual national currencies. Some countries might even revert to backing their national currency with gold. It’s amazing how responsible institutions become when they’re forced to compete.

Even with national currencies, there still would be room for the euro, which the European Central Bank might make convertible into gold. Remember, Germany knows more about the catastrophe of runaway sovereign debt and currency collapse than any other nation in the West, and today they lead Europe and the European Union.

Although the euro has lost 16% of its value in the last 120 days, I expect it to survive the sovereign debt crisis. But the euro zone may shrink as Greece and the other fiscally weak governments replace the euro with national currencies that they can inflate whenever convenient. That would leave the euro as the currency of choice for a few strong, wealthy and fiscally conservative nations like Germany – the countries most likely to welcome a gold-backed currency.

We are now living through the violent end of the age of fiat paper money and thoughtless government debt. In the future, the desire for a secure store of value and medium of exchange is going to force currency competition. Even the U.S. dollar, following hyperinflation and a run on our American national debt, could be reborn as a gold-backed currency.

But the transition will be full of hazards that could touch you in a very painful way. Where will bankrupt Washington get the gold to provide a credible cushion for a new currency following a hyperinflationary collapse? The special hazard for American citizens is that the government will get the gold it needs by taking it from them.

But between now and then, prepare for some tough times, and expect periods of dollar strength vs. the euro and even the Swiss franc. There is no official link between the franc and the euro, but the euro tugs on the decisions of the Swiss National Bank, since Switzerland trades predominately with the EU countries. The Swiss franc won’t move as violently down and up as the euro’s big swings, but it will track the general direction.

Americans should use their recently stronger dollars to add to holdings of Swiss francs, of securely stored offshore gold and of mining shares, along with some Asian investments. With trillions in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare, Washington’s debt load is far greater than the burden that is now crushing the governments of Greece and the other PIIGS countries. The dollar’s current strength will prove transient.

Eventually the sovereign debt crisis will also come to the U.K. and then to the U.S., with disastrous results. The tragedy in Greece today is just a glimpse of what will happen to the sovereign debt of the United States. It will come to America, and it will come on its own schedule, so be prepared.

This article originally appeared in “Swiss Confidential.”

May 19, 2010

Ron Holland [send him mail] is a contributing editor to the Swiss Mountain Vision Newsletter and Swiss Confidential published by Appenzeller Business Press.

I only take small issue with Rockwell’s disdain for the act of voting. He says that no election is ever decided by a single vote as he dismisses voting as a “waste of time”. I have to agree that in most cases this is true, but I can point to one case in my own district where a single vote did decide an election. Of course the smaller the election the more there is a chance of this happening.

In this case there were 888 votes cast. I posted about it when it occurred in the local election in November of 2007. Here is a screenshot of the results:

So, in some rare cases… well at least one case. A single vote does count.

But I digress… Listen to an excellent discussion between Lew Rockwell and Ron Smith below.

Download audio file (lew-ronsmith-09242009.mp3)

Ron Paul and Daniel Hannan united in a one two punch fighting for liberty. They spoke about nullification, secession, and then compared Europe and America on the road to socialism. Another topic that they and the other guests discussed was protectionism. Peter Schiff seems to believe the U.S. need not worry too much about protectionism. Tom Palmer disagrees. Woods and Rockwell delve into the prospects for liberty in our lifetime.

Another excellent show. Watch it below.

Or if you prefer to watch the whole darn show (and why not?) watch it all below.

Lew Rockwell, 2010 liberty loving candidate RJ Harris, Cody Willard, Free State Project founder Jason Sorens, Peter Schiff, and twitter-maven Shelly Roche also join the Judge.

Remember, all episodes are posted at http://freedomwatchonfox.com/ as soon as they are available. You can also find upcoming guest and topic lists as well as the latest news about the show there.

This week’s topics and guests were chosen by viewers of the show using http://freedomwatch.uservoice.com/

More details from FreedomWatchOnFox.com:

This week’s “Freedom Watch” is a special episode, totally driven by your feedback!

Guests: Rep Ron Paul, Daniel Hannan, Lew Rockwell, Jason Sorens, R.J. Harris, Cody Willard & Shelly Roche.

Topics, as voted on by you: Right to record; Reporters getting arrested everywhere! Free State Project, Secession, Nationalization and much, much more.

Just like every Wednesday, tune in today at 2pm Eastern and enjoy the show!

Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano continues with its 11th show tomorrow. Looks like it will be another great one. Here is the rundown on guests and topics:

Guests:

• Glenn Beck
• Ron Paul
• Lew Rockwell
• Jim Bovard – The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF)
• Shelly Roche – Doing the Twitter and interactive thing again
• Pastor Steve Anderson – Pastor who was tazed and beaten at a border checkpoint.

Topics:

• DHS/FBI report on right-wing extremism
• Torture Memos
• “Constitution-free” zones
• Secession

Don’t forget to get interactive with the show by sending your “tweets” to Shelly Roche during the show: @shellyroche. Also post and vote for show topics, questions, and future potential guests at freedomwatch.uservoice.com.

Please note there are three forums accessible on the right sidebar of the page. There is one for posting questions related to this week’s show topics, another for posting topic ideas for upcoming shows, and one for posting requests for specific guests. All posts can be voted on as well. Do it now.

Looks like another great show is in the works.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Staying free is what the Tea Party protests should be all about. It is what Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign was all about. It is what Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch is all about. The online show wrapped up its 10th episode today. With regular guests like Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and Lew Rockwell there is no other show practicing and preaching the message of freedom so perfectly.

The show deserves to be on the regular Fox TV channel lineup, and you can help make that happen. All you have to do is watch the show on youtube, rate it, comment, and spread it around to everyone you know and some you don’t. If you believe in freedom, it is time to be eternally vigilant as freedom is on the wane. Getting this show on television could be one of the most effective methods for spreading the liberty message far and wide. Do it now.

Incidentally, the Tax Day episode of Freedom Watch aired today and it is embedded below for your viewing pleasure. Keep spreading the freedom. Keep spreading the liberty.

“America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.“ -  Dr. Laurence J. Peter (Author of The Peter Principle)

Today is tax day. It is also Wednesday which means that Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch is on at 2pm EST.

One of Liberty Maven’s newest contributing authors Shelly Roche (BreakTheMatrix.com) is going to be an in studio guest. She will be functioning as social media liaison by reading comments/questions she receives on Twitter during the show. To contribute your own questions/comments check out the details here. Her Twitter profile is here. Also feel free to follow Liberty Maven too.

The main topic of the show will be the Tea Party Tax Day protests happening all across the country.

Ron Paul also makes his triumphant return to the show after a one week hiatus.

The full guest list from FreedomWatchOnFox.com:

Ron Paul – On HR1207 and the DHS Report on Right Wing Extremism

Peter Schiff – Euro Pacific Capital

Lew Rockwell – Mises.org and LewRockwell.com

Dr. Liam Fox – UK Shadow Defense Minister

Michelle Muccio – The Rebel Economist

Shelly Roche – BreakTheMatrix.com – A Freedom Watch social media experiment.

Tune in at 2pm EST today for another great show. Stream it live online from http://foxnews.com/strategyroom.

Remember you can also watch previously aired episodes at FreedomWatchOnFox.com. The most recent episode is usually posted around 6pm EST each Wednesday.

In addition to Bierfeldt, joining the Judge for the discussion were Peter Schiff, Mike Ferguson, Lew Rockwell, Michael German (ACLU), and Michelle Muccio (Acton Institute). Apparently, Ron Paul was unable to participate this week marking the first time in 9 weeks that he’s been absent from the show.

Still it was a great in depth discussion surrounding the TSA and knowing your rights when flying. Watch it all below in the embedded playlist. You can watch all the previous episodes of Freedom Watch at FreedomWatchOnFox.com.

Glenn Beck kicked off the show via phone and discussed the AIG nonsense. The Judge had a few choice words for Andrew Cuomo and his “influencial” tactics.

Ron Paul came on with about 10 minutes left in the show. The Judge asked him about his and others tough questioning of Geithner and Bernanke yesterday. Schiff asked the same question I had for Paul yesterday about asking a question right away to allow for follow up questions rather than using up the time pontificating and asking a question at the end.

Watch the entire show below, or if you have problems you can watch the playlist directly on youtube.

Watch all the previous shows (and this one) at FreedomWatchOnFox.com.

2:00-2:10 Glenn Beck and Shepard Smith start the show.

2:10 – 2:30 Peter Schiff (in studio) with Lew Rockwell (phone) including a special 10 minute segment from Schiff entitled “Protecting Your Assets, what you need to know about your money and investments.”

2:30 – 3:00 Ron Paul (from DC), Peter Schiff, and David Boaz (live from CATO)

Possibly other last minute guests as well.

The topics for the week will be: U.S. power to seize firms, possible 15 year depression, discussion of Austrian School of Economics, preview of Campaign for Liberty, St. Louis conference and much, much more.

The show opened with Alex Jones cross-broadcasting the show on his own radio show for the first 10 minutes. The Judge then ranted for about 4 minutes regarding the Constitution and applying it to contract law (posted earlier).

Then Lew Rockwell enters the discussion about AIG and their bonuses. They bring in Peter Schiff and Dr. Ron Paul for the final 30 minutes.

I found the discussion very interesting because they all did not agree about whether or not the AIG bonuses should be returned and/or taxed.

I really hope the show is eventually added to the FOX News TV lineup.

Watch the full hour below.

NOTE: If the playlist doesn’t work properly please go here to watch all 6 videos. Sometimes the embedded Youtube playlist misbehaves.