John T. Reed’s news blog

I advocate putting enough money to live on for 24 months into foreign currencies that are held abroad. Most mine are in foreign saving accounts denominated in the currencies of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. I have a lesser amount in gold and foreign currencies (CHF, DKK, SEK) in cash in a safe deposit box in Canada. I would prefer savings accounts, but those countries have little or no inflation or even deflation and they make it near impossible for an American to have a bank account there.Anyway, if you follow my advice to do that—and the Venezuelans and Iranians wish...

The ruling class does not like Trump’s style, to make the understatement of the year. But here’s perhaps a more important problem. They consider themselves to be the ruling class. That means the person that they choose gets to be in the White House and the party of that person also controls both houses of Congress.In 2015 and 2016, the ruling class, which includes the media, not only directed the public to vote for Hillary; they laughed at the mere mention of Trump. Huff Post put any mention of him on their entertainment page.The ruling class is influential. What they...

My first baseball coaching book came out in 2000. It said to bat left handed, not right-handed, no matter which is your dominant hand and that switch hitting was a waste of time, especially at the amateur level where about 90% of the pitchers are right-handed. The 7/25/18 Wall Street Journal has an article titled “Lost Art of Switch Hitting.” Google the title to read it. It’s subtitle ends with, “it isn’t really worth the extra effort.”Told ya. I ran into my neighbor Tony LaRussa at the local gas station once. I sent him an article I wrote on batting left-handed...

I was asked to join a Facebook group called the USMA [United States Military Academy, a.k.a. West Point—my undergraduate alma mater] Real Estate Group, and I did, briefly. I was asked to leave by the head of it and I did. He said I was too self-promotional.  Another member, Realtor® Todd Heatherington, seemed to do nothing but promote himself when I was there, giving his contact information any time anyone sought a Realtor® anywhere in the U.S. (Typically, a Realtor® who refers you to another Realtor® gets 10% of any commission you generate for the Realtor® to whom you are referred....

I was just researching my How to Spot Dishonest Arguments book when I reconsidered impeachment. I had recently researched that topic for my Unelected President novel. Maxine Waters says, as Gerald Ford once did, that “high crimes and misdemeanors,” two of the four grounds for impeachment, are anything the Congress says they are. (Treason and bribery are the other two grounds.)Maxine is an idiot, apparently representing a district of idiots (LAX and the area east and southeast of it). But she and Ford might be right in one sense. ‘High crimes and misdemeanors’ The phrase “high crimes and misdemeanors” was...