Kitco Bans Gay Marriage Opponents

What does gold investment advisor Howard S. Katz have to do with Miss California? Recently, Perez Hilton, a gay judge in the Miss USA contest, asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, whether she believes in gay marriage. Prejean suggested that marriage ought to be between a man and a woman. There has been speculation that Prejean lost Miss USA as a result. Suppressive intolerance against all who disagree with extremist dogma is reminiscent of the the Fascist trial of Antonio Gramsci. The left has whined about McCarthyism for more than fifty years, yet it does not hestitate to apply McCarthyite tactics, ruining careers with ideological litmus tests, when an individual's views do not conform to left wing or homosexual dogma.

Howard S. Katz has been working on gold investing since the 1960s. He has successfully navigated gold, lumber and other commodities markets for 40 years, and frequently publishes on Gold Eagle, Goldseek, and other gold websites. Recently, on his personal blog that he had linked to a Kitco article, Katz mentioned that he opposes gay marriage. He did not write this in the Kitco article. He simply voiced the view that he opposed gay marriage in his blog, which was linked to the article.

Because Katz failed the Code of Gay Fascism, Ms. Cambone wrote Katz the e-mail below. It saddens me that the gay community and Kitco have taken to witch-hunting and McCarthyite tactics, such as attacking people's livelihoods because they merely store and do not lubricate their gold bars.

Does this mean that all current writers on Kitco support gay marriage? I will inquire. Please stay tuned.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: commentary
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:35:50 -0400
From: dcambone@kitco.com
To: howardkatz@hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Katz,

We have run into quite a few complaints with your latest article. It seems that when our readers clicked the link to your website, they found a blog against homosexual marriages. This has insulted many people. We at Kitco realize that your commentary did not make reference to this fact but we cannot be associated with individuals who share these viewpoints.

You are a longtime contributor to Kitco and we appreciate your commentaries. Unfortunately, we cannot publish commentator’s who have points-of-views that are offensive to readers.

If you would like to discuss this matter in further detail, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

Daniela Cambone
Content Specialist
Marketing Department

Kitco Metals Inc.
Direct Line: (514) 670-1317
Cell: (514) 928-5820
Fax: (514) 875-2579
dcambone@Kitco.com
www.kitco.com

The '49rs Didn't Need Gun Control

Among my favorite westerns are the ones about the gold miners in California, the '49ers. There was no law in California in 1848-50 and the small number of US army there found a large percentage deserting to pan for gold. The strike came at a propitious time. The Irish potato famine, the Taiping Rebellion and the European Revolutions in Sicily, France and the rest of Europe all occurred then. Moreover, the Mexican War had just ended and more than a few rowdy young veteran types headed for California. "from a population of about 107,000 near the end of 1849, California grew to more than 260,000 within three years."

There are a number of interesting issues about the emergence of property rights in this lawless bonanza land of ambition, greed and dreams. The absence of property rights and law would seem to have been likely to have encouraged conflict, as would the nature of the miners. Moreover, the number of men was far greater than the number of women, likely adding to the potential for explosive violence.

In their History of the American Economy Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff quote John Umbeck's California Gold Rush: A Study of Emerging Property Rights :

"During 1848,...nearly 10,000 people rushed to mine gold on property to which no one had exclusive rights. Furthermore, although every miner carried a gun, little violence was reported. In July, when Governor Mason visited the mines, he reported that the miners were respecting Sutter's property rights and that 'crime of any kind was very infrequent, and that no thefts or robberies had been committed in the gold district...and it was a matter of surprise, that so peaceful and quiet a state of things should continue to exist."

I guess they didn't need gun control!