Florida

Two things happened after the most recent widely publicized US mass shootings/domestic terrorism acts: i) Obama once again made a concerted effort to push for gun-control, and ii) gun sales soared to record highs for November most likely in response to i). As we reported in September, citing the FT, "gun sales this year could surpass the record set in 2013, when gun purchases surged after the December 2012 Sandy Hook murders." And given that Black Friday background checks broke all previous records, it appears we are well on our way.

Good news for Trump who is once again pulling away from the pack; not so good news for Hillary whose "likability problem" is starting to haunt her.   

There exists a common theme amidst these signs of societal decay: The super-rich keep taking from the middle class as the middle class becomes a massive lower class. Yet the myth persists that we should all look up with admiration at the “self-made” takers who are ripping our society apart.

-If you're thinking of buying that dream house on the ocean in the Sunbelt, wait a year - there will be some bargains. If you're a seller - call the broker soon....

In the wake of Bill Ackman's verbal jousting with Charile Munger, WSJ has taken a look at what many consider to be the myth behind Warren Buffett's "folksy" demeanor. As it turns out, it's best to do as Buffett does, not as he says.

Rooftop Solar Poses a Threat to the Utilities’ Century-Old Business Model of Centralized Power … So They’re Trying to Make Solar Much More Expensive

In May, Police Chief Leonard Campanello of the Gloucester, Massachusetts Police Department announced via Facebook that his department would adopt the new policy of treatment over arrest. Five months since the program launched, Campanello reports positive results: over 260 addicts have been placed in treatment. This summer, shoplifting, breaking and entering, and larceny dropped 23% from the same period last year. “We are seeing real people get the lives back,” he said. “And if we see a reduction in crime and cost savings that is a great bonus.”

No, not Donald Trump...

“TR’s motto was to speak softly but carry a big stick, but the ‘speak softly’ means talk to other people, see what we can do to reach agreement.”

We’ve almost become numb to horrendous videos like these.. It seems like a new shocking police abuse video sweeps the nation almost every week. These viral videos help bring a small dose of accountability to government employees. And they don’t like it one bit. It’s all part of a long trend. The government will always try to shield itself from the fallout from its behavior. Another favorite tactic is to simply declare troublesome information “classified” or to withhold it because of “national security,” a vague and misused term. It’s an upside down situation. The government can monitor almost any aspect of the average citizen’s life whenever it wants. But it’s difficult to impossible for the average citizen to monitor the government. In a free society, the opposite would be true.

Following this morning's basic admission by Janet Yellen that "no matter what" The Fed is raising rates in December (which was then solemnly supported by an obedient Bill Dudley who "100% agrees with Yellen"), Fed Vice-Chair Stan Fischer, speaking tonight, reaffirmed this belief by, as we detailed previously, telling investors to ignore weak inflation. After San Fran Fed's Williams admission that "there's something going on here we don't understand," Fischer tonight admitted "US inflation is not as low as you think," at once contradicting Yellen's earlier comments and the various market-based measures, while confirming our previous detailed solving of the mystery of the hidden inflation.

Today the FBI released its latest background check data - a proxy for total gun sales in the United States as most gun purchases require a background check - in which we find that, as expected, Obama's latest threat to implement stricter gun controls backfried once more, and the month of October saw a record number of background checks. The same was true for September, August, and so on: in fact, October the sixth consecutive month to see a record number of checks. 

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for Obamacare, it gets worse.