The fake "recovery" was nice while it lasted, says famous apocalyptic forecaster Gerald Celente, founder of the Trends Research Institute. But now the fun's over, and we're headed for what Celente describes as the "Greatest Depression."

Specifically, the always startling Celente says the country is headed for rising unemployment, poverty, and violent class warfare as the government efforts to keep the economy going begin to fail.

The crux of the problem, Celente argues, is that the middle class has been wiped out. America used to be a land of opportunity for all, where hard-working people could build their own small businesses in their own communities and live prosperous and fulfilling lives. But now a collusion of state and corporate interests that Celente describes as "fascism" have conspired to help only the biggest companies and the richest Americans. This has put a shocking amount of the country's wealth in the hands of a privileged few and left the rest of the country to subsist on chicken-feed wages and low job satisfaction as Wal-Mart "associates" -- or worse.

The answer, Celente says, is to bring back the laws that prevented huge companies from getting so big and powerful, and put some opportunity back in the hands of ordinary people.  But doing that is going to take a while.  And in the meantime, we're headed for trouble.

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Let's continue using Paul's prayer for the Colossians as a model. Yesterday, we made note of the first two requests—understanding God's will and living a worthy life. Now let's consider the other four:

• To bear fruit in every good work (v. 10b)—The Lord desires that our actions bring Him glory. We all seem to be very busy, but are the activities that fill our time eternally valuable?
• To grow in the knowledge of God (v. 10b)—Through books, sermons, and technology, a wealth of information about the Bible is available. But the apostle's request is not merely for believers to gain facts regarding Christ. He speaks of an understanding in the heart, not simply a mental grasp of knowledge.
• To be strengthened according to His power (v. 11)—We are weak when relying upon our own strength. Sometimes it takes being driven to our knees before we relinquish control and instead trust in God's awesome power. Having endurance and focus in the midst of life's trials requires energy beyond our own.
• To walk in gratitude (v. 12)—When we realize where all good gifts originate, we can live with thankfulness. Contentment and joy comes from a grateful heart, not from circumstances.

In the busyness of life today, prayer often gets squeezed out of our schedules. But communion with the Lord is vital to a healthy, vibrant relationship with Him. Remember that lifting our loved ones before God's throne is far more important than many tasks which seem more pressing.

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Another brilliant allegory by the man who makes CNBC watchable (even in dodecabox format), Michael Pento, as of recently working at Peter Schiff's Euro Pacific Capital.

Dr. Keynes Killed the Patient, by Michael Pento, first appearing on Real Clear Markets

A morbidly obese gentleman labored into Dr. Hayek's office suffering from severe chest pain. The patient also complained that he was unable to consume his usual 10,000 calorie-per-day diet; in fact, he was feeling so sick that he could barely scarf down 9,000 calories. He noted that his love for food remained as strong as ever, but his body just wasn't keeping up with his demands.

After having a thorough look at the patient, the good doctor could not find anything wrong outside of the patient's extreme portliness. After a moment of reflection, he delivered to his patient a troubling diagnosis. He explained that the chest pain stemmed from the strain the patient's 500lb body was putting on his heart, and that the lack of appetite was his body's attempt to protect itself from this imbalance. Dr. Hayek's prescription was simple: the patient had to dramatically reduce his consumption while undertaking a moderate exercise program, with the goal of losing 250lbs as quickly and safely as possible. Dr. Hayek was aware that it would be a physically painful and emotionally difficult process for the man, but it was the only way to avert a life of suffering - or even a heart attack. READ MORE

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Whether by design or incompetence, the Cloward-Piven Strategy lives. Named after two leftist professors at Columbia University, the scheme calls for overwhelming government obligations to the point of collapse, therefore providing an excuse for a radical government takeover of the whole economy. Three news stories yesterday show the Cloward-Piven day of reckoning is creeping perilously closer.

First came word that new jobless claims last week jumped above half a million, a number so large that one economist said "it looks like the economy ran into a wall." Second came a Congressional Budget Office estimate that this year's federal deficit will be well above $1.3 trillion for a second straight year and remain above $1 trillion next year as well - causing as much debt in three years as government built up in the previous 219. READ MORE

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The following charts tell a good story. CHARTS HERE

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Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado. Courtesy of Nancy.

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Submitted by Mike Krieger of KAM LP

The 0% BLT Economy

When God desires to destroy a thing, he entrusts its destruction to the thing itself.  Every bad institution of this world ends by suicide.

All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.

Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.

A creditor is worse than a slave-owner; for the master owns only your person, but a creditor owns your dignity, and can command it.

Common sense is in spite of, not as the result of education.

The omnipotence of evil has never resulted in anything but fruitless efforts. Our thoughts always escape from whoever tries to smother them.

- All quotes by Victor Hugo

We're trying to figure out what the future of search is. One idea is that more and more searches are done on your behalf without you needing to type.  I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next.

- Eric Schmidt CEO of Google

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