“I don’t fully understand movements in the gold price,” Ben Bernanke

I think we need to all read this and then reflect on what it means. Ben Bernanke, the man in charge of setting economic policies for the United States of America, doesn't understand gold. He doesn't understand it. Regardless of what you think of Mr. Bernanke, he is highly trained and is not idiot. Yet if he is what might be considered a preeminent economist of our time and openly admits that he doesn't understand gold, then there must be many, many, many more like him, probably in many positions of high finance in this nation.

Think about this for a minute. This guy doesn't understand gold. I've heard it said that he's lying, that he has more of an understanding than he is letting on. I don't think so. Pride is a very common characteristic of people in positions of power like his. He would never say something that might be construed by someone else as making him look like an idiot, especially with all the gaffes he's committed already. I think he figured, "Gold is a red herring anyway, how could I go wrong disparaging it? How could I disparage myself by not knowing anything about it?"

The point is very clearly revealed in his own words. He doesn't understand. A young child that enters into a sexual relationship too early can be severely scared emotionally for the rest of his or her life. Why? The child does not understand what he or she is doing. He might be old enough to enjoy a pleasurable sensation, but he cannot understand what the larger implications are. Such a child when a young adult might say things like, "I don't understand what the big deal is about sex. It's just a physical act." OR "I don't understand why people get so worked up about pornography. It's just not that big of a deal!"

What we witness when we hear such sentiments are the words of someone who has entered into a dangerous situation, but who rather than go through the painful relearning and reviewing of everything that got them there, chooses rather to downplay the significance of past experiences in order to maintain greater comfort in the present.

I think that this is exactly what Mr. Bernanke is doing, and he is surrounding himself with as many people as he can who feel the same way in order to bring himself some measure of solace. Recall the words of Saint Paul in the Second Letter to Timothy 4:3

"For the time is coming when men will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4andwill turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths."

I think that Mr. Bernanke is wandering into myths. He has accumulated for himself teachers to suit his own likings.

If James Dines is correct, and gold is indeed the lynchpin of the entire financial universe, and I believe he is, then Mr. Bernanke and his followers (just about everyone in the USA) are in big, big trouble.

Mr. Bernanke is standing in front of Noah's Ark as it is starting to rain and saying, "I don't really understand water."

Now, about Dennis Gartman. I met him once and ultimately left that one meeting thinking, I would never invest my money with that guy. He sounded good when he spoke to the crowd, but basically, I think he's full of crap. I don't know what he really believes in except contrary investing, i.e. doing whatever everyone else isn't without ever defining who everyone else is.

Once, years ago, when in college, I was a waiter at at a Denny's Restaurant. One of my regular customers, Bob, used to sit at the counter drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes for hours on end, reading the stock pages. One time, after a moment of deep thought he turned and said to me, "The secret is to just figure out what they are doing, and do the opposite."

I reflected for a moment and asked, "Are you one of them?"

I still remember; he scrunched up his face for a second or two as I could tell the wheels were starting to briefly turn in his head. Then he looked back at me and smiled.

"Yes," he said.

Bull