" [ Puplava ] relies on the same tired cliches ("dollar is the best house in a bad neighborhood" is a current favorite)...."
I think the grand king of Puplavian repetition is, "You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing...." You know the rest. A worthy runner-up would be, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
I've been associated with shows whose chief talent (the guy on air) was also the executive producer. If he repeats himself, who's going to stop him?
You noted, "But I've also heard -- and never bothered to confirm -- that he, and/or his firm, have dumped a lot of their Kimber stock."
I think you've been mis-informed. His size in KBX has reduced by 3% in this past quarter, which is probably only a rebalance of the portfolio. Twenty percent of his holdings are in IBM, KO, PFE, KFT, and American Tower Reit. He significantlyincreased his holdings in T (AT & T) and MO (Altria). This is in keeping with his corporate, high-dividend themes (which have in turn reached broadcast redundancy).
As a board member he likely got some personal KBX shares at 1.35. That was a couple of years ago, I think.
"I've never heard one Puplava interview worth paying for." Well, you're being a little hard on him here. I've listened to JP for about four years now. To me it is worthwhile fare. No, I haven't paid for the premium content, but I miss it. And I've gotten a lot of information from JP essentially for free... unless one considers my KBX losses as payment due.
There is an evangelical tone with gold talk. One frames the problem (government over-reach), highlights the crisis (debt debacle) and then reveals the savior (gold). It is a satisfying rhythm. Jim hits it with the best of them. He also delivers a lot of statistics and research content. He called 2011 well, on the whole.
Now, however, I'm not sure where he is. Generally I think he's stock-bullish on Fed and ECB stimulus. But his opening interviews have been real bearish stuff, and he seems at times to agree with them.
This I concede: in a fair, confessorial world, Mr. Puplava is due to say something like, "Hoo boy, those juniors. Did I blow that call, eh? And I've been blowing that call for as long as some guy named D Flat Miner can remember. What a sorry investor that guy is for listening to me, huh? And I just keep getting it wrong year after year. You know, the definition of insanity is...."
