Before sending me an e-mail telling me I am wrong, let me admit it!! I am WRONG -- silver is not the only asset that is not someone else's liability. But some of the staunchest "Gold Bugs" have it wrong and insist that gold is the only asset. In fact, fully-owned lumber or land or even an apple orchard are assets, and again, if owned outright would be an asset without a liability.

Before moving on, I must digress and point out that silver is

• the ONLY asset that reflects light better than any other element
• the ONLY asset that conducts heat better than any other element
• the ONE asset, more than even gold, used as money -- for longer periods of time and by more people throughout world history

The real rub is how silver will do in times of financial stress. Certainly we can look to history and find there are mixed results. Today, rest assured that silver is an asset coveted by investors as a safe haven. During the fall of the Twin Towers, gold rocketed up 7%, and silver, 11%. Yesterday, September 17, 2008, gold was up nearly $90, but on a percentage basis, silver was up even more. Let me be clear -- silver does move up and down, and in percentage terms, the moves in both directions are greater. However, as the spiral down continues, many will seek both of the precious metals.

Conspiracy, no way!

Who said that?

Please read the following famous quotes from some of our most prominent historical figures.

"I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world . . . no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men." Woodrow Wilson (He was the President that signed the creation of the Federal Reserve into law in 1913.)

"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning. The one aim of these financiers is world control by the creation of inextinguishable debt." Henry Ford

"Fifty men have run America, and that's a high figure." Joseph Kennedy, 1936

"The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1933

"We shall have world government whether or not you like it . . . by conquest or consent." James Warburg (Rothschild banking agent, financial adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt), 1950

"The real rulers in Washington are invisible, [and] exercise power from behind the scenes." Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1952

"The case for government by elites is irrefutable." William Fulbright, U.S. Senator, 1963

"The Trilateral Commission is intended to be the vehicle for multinational consolidation of the commercial and banking interests by seizing control of the political government of the United States . . . They will rule the future." Barry Goldwater, U.S. Senator, 1964

"We are grateful to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time magazine, and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to bright lights and publicity during those years. But the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto determination practiced in past centuries." David Rockefeller (Trilateral Commission Founder), 1991

"Today, America would be outraged if UN troops entered Los Angeles to restore order. Tomorrow, they will be grateful! This would especially be true if they were told that there were an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead to deliver them from this evil. The one thing man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well-being granted to them by a World Government." Henry Kissinger, 1991

"In the next century, nations as we know it will be obsolete; all states will recognize a single, global authority. National sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all." Strobe Talbott, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, 1992

"We are not going to achieve a new world order without paying for it in blood as well as words and money." Arthur Schlesinger, Pulitzer Prize recipient, American historian, special assistant and "court historian" to the President in John F. Kennedy's administration

Finally, ask yourself the question, "What is the real motivation for the passage of the following directive?"

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, signed on May 9, 2007, declares that in the event of a "catastrophic event," George W. Bush can become what is best described as a "dictator":

"The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government."

This directive, completely unnoticed by the media and given no scrutiny by Congress, literally gives the White House unprecedented dictatorial power over the government and the country, bypassing the U.S. Congress and obliterating the separation of powers. The directive also placed the Secretary of Homeland Security in charge of domestic "security."

Once one has come to the conclusion that gold and silver not only offer protection against inflation, an unstable financial system, and an uncertain geopolitical future, the two questions are, "In what form is the best way to own it?" and, "How do you protect that investment?"

I am a big proponent of owning physical metal. Real metal is not easy to obtain today and has not been easy for the past few weeks. This might give you pause to consider your asset allocation and whether you have any exposure to further financial disruptions.

Have you considered that capital and exchange controls might hamper your ability to receive the metal? How do you know for sure that the bullion vault is not leasing out your gold? How fast can companies turn large bars of gold into deliverable ounces?

In other words, are you prepared for the changes in economic/political policy, dissolution of the central banking system, and catastrophic events?

It is an honor to be,