We went off the deep end this week — and we’re not sorry about it.
It started with a string of disappearances. Nine people with deep connections to classified physics and secure facilities have gone missing in recent weeks. Some murdered in their homes. Others just walked away. At the same time, Matt Gaetz made headlines claiming the existence of an alien-human hybrid breeding program. Wild stuff — but then Congressman Tim Burchett, a member of the UFO subcommittee, went on record and made it weirder.
“I’ve been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is,” Burchett said. “If they would release the things that I’ve seen, you would be up at night worrying about this stuff.”
He added — for the record — that he’s “not suicidal and doesn’t take risks.” Make of that what you will.
Doug’s take? He runs the numbers on the sheer scale of the universe — 400 billion stars in the Milky Way, 2 trillion other galaxies — and concludes that while life almost certainly exists elsewhere, the odds of anyone taking an interest in our “obscure place” are about zero. But then again: “We live in the matrix, as far as I’m concerned. So anything’s possible.”
From there we got into the stuff that actually affects your portfolio and your daily life:
Coal’s moment. With oil and LNG supply under pressure from the Middle East and Russia, Doug makes the case for coal. “Coal’s underrated right now. I’m a big fan.” He points out that the natural gas to oil ratio is currently about 40 to 1, versus the typical 6 to 1 — meaning natural gas is extraordinarily cheap in the US but expensive everywhere else. Ian Coal has been on the recommended list for a long time, pays a fat dividend, and keeps climbing.
EQT’s drop. A subscriber asked why EQT got hit hard while other energy stocks held up. Simple answer: EQT is a natural gas play, and nat gas is trading at roughly $2.50 — basically an all-time low relative to oil.
The Strait of Hormuz. The energy secretary reportedly said the Strait will reopen within a couple of months. Doug and I aren’t so sure that timeline is fast enough. Australia’s last oil shipment arrives around April 20. If it takes two more months, Doug thinks we could be looking at a global depression. And Australia’s ultra-green government is making things worse by discouraging domestic drilling.
Mass migration. A subscriber asked what’s really driving migration into the US. Doug doesn’t hold back, and we debate whether it was driven by stupidity or something more intentional. My view: look at the outcome — an attack on America’s finances, culture, and communities — and ask whether maybe that was the goal.
Pensions. Doug’s blunt assessment: the only pensions that make sense are ones invested in productive businesses that pay dividends and grow. Everything else — especially state-run programs funded by diminishing tax dollars — is a ticking time bomb.
Trusts. Doug’s used them, doesn’t currently, and isn’t opposed. But he flags the tradeoff: real liability protection and tax benefits, but rigid structures that are hard to unwind if your plans change.
We also talk about Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Disclosure Day, the Canadian NDP’s increasingly creative acronyms, a fascinating ear-bud technology company called Naqi that Doug owns shares in, and why we both think entertainment has become the dominant force in modern society.
No subject too taboo. Art Bell would be proud — or at least entertained.
— Matt
