Take A Walk

On The "Safe" Side

I did not get to this place in life by accident. I have survived and thrived because it is what I’m known for: reliably beating inflation, managing tax-free Roth IRA accounts, hedging against the inevitable, and being boring. Guess what, folks, it works well, but there’s more to it than not.

There is seldom a day that goes by where I’m not watching, listening, or reading some information put out by others. I’m afraid I often disagree with “everything” presented. That’s not a problem as often what the other side says, where it is found, and just how many partake of it is equally important.

I’m pretty much set in my ways. I know that traders die broke, greed kills, and being a long-term position investor and hedger works. I am not going to change, and I hope you follow my lead. The problem is that most do not and continue to think they can beat the numbers. Keep trying. I know better.

Being Boring Worked

I’ve been preaching here for years. I’ve been long gold bullion and now find myself up more than 100% over the last five years on about 7% of my holdings. I’ve been in cash too, upwards of 25% over the last few years. Slightly less of my “investment” revolves around longer-tern government ETFs, the sale of covered calls, and the use of naked puts. Now moving maturities to the shorter side is effective, buying solid, long-term higher dividend payers works.

A bend towards energy, turnarounds, and plenty of cash is opportunistic. Only a few are on the list, Nutrien, Boeing, Occidental Petroleum, Coterra, Ford, and Nike. Good trades in Nvidia, Lockheed Martin, Microstrategy, China, and the Trade Desk offset securities that have yet to move but I’m patient.

Always stay hedged. The markets change on a dime. No one knows what Israel will do next. It’s election season, and we all know that uncertainty rules. I hedge oil with both stocks and futures options on WTI. I’m long Natural Gas futures and have taken profit all the way up. I’m not greedy but they have moved nicely since my first purchase. I’ll also hedge the markets with 2025 March VIX options as change happens. Again, I’m patient, and that is the key.

Edward Snowden Is My Hero

Edward Snowden became a champion of civil liberties by exposing the vast extent of government surveillance programs that violated privacy rights on a global scale. Here is how he did it:

Leaked Mass Surveillance Documents

Snowden, a contractor for the National Security Agency (“NSA”), disclosed thousands of classified documents to journalists that revealed how the U.S. government, along with international allies, was conducting extensive mass surveillance on citizens both domestically and abroad. Some key programs he exposed include:

• PRISM: A program that allowed the NSA to directly access data from major tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple, including emails, video chats, and personal files, without individual warrants.

• Upstream Collection: A program that tapped directly into global internet traffic, collecting communications from fiber-optic cables and infrastructure.

Legal Ethical Challenges

Snowden’s leaks showed that governments were not just targeting suspected criminals or terrorists, but indiscriminately collecting data on ordinary people, many of which believed violated privacy rights guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and similar protections worldwide. This sparked a global debate about the trade-off between security and privacy.

The Scope

The documents exposed that the NSA had been spying on foreign leaders, U.N. diplomats, and millions of innocent civilians around the world. This included the surveillance of citizens in countries like Germany, Brazil, and even U.S. allies. The global scope of the surveillance was shocking and led to diplomatic tensions.

Legal Reforms

• USA Freedom Act (2015): Snowden’s basic revelations led to widespread public outrage, prompting reforms in surveillance laws. The “USA Freedom Act” was passed to limit the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records, ending certain mass surveillance practices.

• Increased Transparency: Many tech companies, concerned about their customers’ privacy and reputations, began encrypting user data and releasing transparency reports about government requests for data.

Raised Awareness

His actions spurred an immediate global conversation about digital privacy and basic cybersecurity. Everyone became aware of how their data was being collected, stored, and potentially misused. His actions led to wider adoption of encryption tools like Signal and ProtonMail and inspired more cautious online behavior.

Defending Civil Liberties

Snowden positioned his actions as defending civil liberties, arguing that people have the right to know how their governments are collecting and using data. He believed that unchecked surveillance posed a threat to democracy and individual freedoms. By bringing these issues into the open, Snowden gave the “public” the power to demand immediate accountability from their governments.

Surveillance State Challenged

His leaks directly challenged the idea that “sacrificing” privacy for security is always justified. He argued that a balance must be struck, and governments should not have the power to secretly collect vast amounts of personal information without oversight or public debate.

In essence, Snowden’s actions forced governments, companies, and world citizens to confront the ethics and limits of surveillance in the digital age, making him a symbol of the fight for privacy and civil liberties. He is my hero and should be yours.

Keep Watching

Things are good. No, they are not. You have to have a plan, and you have to stick with it. If you are someone who thinks you are going to make money every day, chances are you are living in an alternative universe. I’ve been doing this for half of a century. It is not possible to be “right” all of the time. It is possible to plan for the inevitable while maintaining an investment strategy that beats inflation. Keep reading, listening, and taking information into that thing “between your ears,” and have patience. It works.

Cat Stevens was right. It’s a “Wild World,” and with information traveling faster than the speed of light, it’s only going to get wilder. Be prepared; things change, and no one has the foresight to know how or when. Protection in any environment is important. It seems to me that far too many think that hedging is not critical. Today’s world can not be predicted, but with a solid plan that includes patience, it can be managed. If you take the time to learn the “right way,” you’ll master this wild world. Give it a try.