A blessed Christmas to one and all - Metals in narrow trading range.

Let us not forget that King Jesus Christ is the reason for this wonderful season we all enjoy. When thinking upon Him, remember He through His providential care is also the reason for the independence and founding of this nation which was to be a great light of the gospel to the world.

Amid our joy at this time of year it is also time for us to reflect upon how far short of His goal for us we have fallen. Only a return to Him and rekindling of the light to the world are we to be saved from the His wrath which is upon us. What have you done recently to be fully submitted to the Lord and to restore America. It must start with each of us in humble repentant submission to Him and have this spread to our family, and then to restore our churches to their head: King Jesus. From that base the revival will spread to communities, to the states, and finally to the Federal level. Each area along the way is in dire need of repentance. Let us humble ourselves before Him.

It will be a wonderful rejoicing at the last judgment for all of God's people, but it will be the beginning of an eternity of sorrow for the unbelievers. Let not your family ties be broken when the roll is called up yonder by and by. Then it will be a great day of celebration at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God with His people. Humble yourself before Him NOW and be with the saints in glory.

That is the way to a glorious and wonderful Christmas season, and that is my prayer for each of you.

During the low volume days, the boys were active in both gold and silver during the last two days, but may be laying off today as the price of each is moving. During these low volume days of vacations for traders and investors, it is wise to keep this in mind and not over react to price changes. However, it is time for selling loses in your portfolio to offset gains for income tax purposes. Just don't get carried away. I never like to sell all of any mining stock.

I am encouraged by the higher volume of transactions on the up days. Of course, this indicates selling, but there are buyers for every sale. High volume on down days is indication of many sellers and that is not what we want to see. Both DRD Gold and Harmony are acting well, but Harmony is showing the better action of the two.

Fortuna Silver is holding very well. I believe silver will out perform gold as it tries to catch up with the stronger metal. Hecla is putting in a better showing than Fortuna, but both are looking good to me. If the move in silver continues they will be in a race with each other to see which can move up fastest. These are good looking graphs showing a good potential for the near and long term. Both seem to be consolidating for another upward move. I am selling neither.

From TownHall.com:

Black Education

by Walter E. Williams

Detroit's (predominantly black) public schools are the worst in the nation and it takes some doing to be worse than Washington, D.C. Only 3 percent of Detroit's fourth-graders scored proficient on the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test, sometimes called "The Nation's Report Card." Twenty-eight percent scored basic and 69 percent below basic. "Below basic" is the NAEP category when students are unable to demonstrate even partial mastery of knowledge and skills fundamental for proficient work at their grade level. It's the same story for Detroit's eighth-graders. Four percent scored proficient, 18 percent basic and 77 percent below basic. Read it HERE.

From TownHall.com:

The "Science" Mantra

by Thomas Sowell

Like anything valuable, science has been seized upon by politicians and ideologues, and used to forward their own agendas. This started long ago, as far back as the 18th century, when the Marquis de Condorcet coined the term "social science" to describe various theories he favored. In the 19th century, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels distinguished their own brand of socialism as "scientific socialism." By the 20th century, all sorts of notions wrapped themselves in the mantle of "science."

"Global warming" hysteria is only the latest in this long line of notions, whose main argument is that there is no argument, because it is "science." The recently revealed destruction of raw data at the bottom of the global warming hysteria, as well as revelations of attempts to prevent critics of this hysteria from being published in leading journals, suggests that the disinterested search for truth-- the hallmark of real science-- has taken a back seat to a political crusade. Read it HERE.

From TownHall.com:

Away With the Manger

by Chuck Norris

I'm willing to bet that President Barack Obama's Christmas address this week will shine with a religious significance that's about as bright as what was in his unusually short Thanksgiving proclamation, which gave a token reference to God via a quote from George Washington.

Even in the Obamas' superstar Christmas interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Gloria Estefan, there were discussions about Santa Claus, Christmas trees, ornaments, gingerbread houses and even their dog's Christmas stocking. Obama even gave a Christmas shout-out to all Hispanics. But there was not one mention of religion or a hint of the real reason for the season. Read it HERE.

From the Daily Pfennig today (23rd): "With the dollar moving higher, the price of gold has been falling. The shiny metal has given back almost all of the gains it booked during November, and continues to trade below $1,100. With growth returning to the economies across Asia, commodity prices should rebound. Also, the QE programs and loose credit policies will ultimately lead to inflation which will be another item supporting higher gold prices. I have to believe in a few years time, the current prices of gold will be seen as good entry levels."

It may come much sooner than a "few years," because in spite of the pressure on the U.S. to stabilize the dollar, it will not happen. To do so would doom our touted return to economic growth. The specter of losing the dollar's position as the reserve currency of the world is under severe attack, as we have debased the dollar when we should have kept it strong to maintain that status.

From Bloomberg.com:

Gold Beats All in Decade of ‘Fear and Greed’: Chart of the Day

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Investors who bought gold or commodities at the beginning of the decade should have tripled their money by the time the ball drops in New York’s Times Square on Dec. 31. Stock holders will be poorer. Read it HERE.

Miners from Scottrade.com:

Currencies from Kitco.com:

FVITF is 1.96; BYDDF 8.52; DOW off 12 t0 10452; Gold 1092.50 and Silver 17.13. Both of the metals are up some today.

Best to each, Doug