Well, the week started with a bang. Literally. Bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and the rest of the week was spent watching the government and the mainstream media fumble about in their incompetence. Good thing you come here for your fill of competent, insightful, provocative discussions of what matters to you and yours.

Want to join in the discourse? Send your questions, comments, queries, and concerns to tdv@dollarvigilante.com, comment on a post, or get on the forums.

On to the feedback...

[Editor's Note: The following post is by TDV Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Berwick]

The April monthly issue of TDV comes at a most convenient time this month. The Big Picture is meant to be my monthly overview of where we are at with The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) and all the symptoms of TEOTMSAWKI that are affecting the world.

And there have been plenty of symptoms in the last week most specifically in gold and Bitcoin. Here is The Dollar Vigilante take on how TEOTMSAWKI is affecting the precious metals and Bitcoin market.

GOLD AND SILVER

[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV Researcher, Justin O’Connell]

For many of our TDV Newsletter readers, who seek a Perpetual Traveler lifestyle, storing tangible wealth throughout the world remains problematic.

For this reason and others, the Bitcoin price does not matter, just as it doesn't really matter with the gold and silver markets. As I write this, silver is below $24, yet US wholesale distributors CNT and Dillon Gage are out of the metal.  Also, as I write this, despite the most massive volume ever in Bitcoin,  virtually all on the sell-side,  Bitcoin holds $50.

[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV legal correspondent, Jim Karger]

I have never thought of myself as a terrorist.

Until now.

But, according to the USSA, based on my stated beliefs, I might just be dangerous, or at least someone to keep an eye on.

Why?

[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV Editor, Gary Gibson]

"It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere." --Voltaire

Most people think April's Fool Day in the US falls on the first of April. They're wrong, but they are close. It's really April 15. That's when millions upon millions of Americans file their taxes with a mingled sense of duty and relief, rather like long-term hostages who are happy that they made their captors' coffee just right that morning.

Political Hypocrisy Is Just Fine By Me

Another politicians wants to put you in jail for partaking in the same hobby he does. This week from the Raw Story:

A Republican lawmaker in New York who has a record of voting against medical marijuana legalization has been arrested and charged with possession of marijuana.

Hello from Acapulco Bay,

I have to set off again tomorrow to one of the least free places on Earth: The City of New York... so I am trying to enjoy my final hours here smoking at the beach bar Mangos before I go and get told where I can do something (apparently, now, no smoking closer than 30 feet to any building... we wouldn't want the building to be subject to second hand smoke, after all!) and what I can and can't do and between what hours.  

Well, TDVers, how fortunate that you're here for your Friday tradition. Bitcoin ATM is taking the world by storm, and as a TDV regular, you're being supplied with daily, up-to-date information on this economic revolution. As long as North Korea doesn't start WWIII or an O'Bomber drone-kills you, coming back here every day will help lead the way to a better life for you and yours.

Want to join in the discourse? Send your questions, comments, queries, and concerns to tdv@dollarvigilante.com, comment on a post, or get on the forums.

On to the feedback...

[Editor’s Note: The following post is by TDV Editor-in-Chief, Jeff Berwick]

While most people will lose their shirts as The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) continues down its predictable path there are some who will make fortunes.

At The Dollar Vigilante we’ve already been ahead of the curve on many profitable ventures related to TEOTMSAWKI. TDV Senior Editor, Ed Bugos, has been a proponent of owning gold since 2000 when it was at $200 and upon TDV’s founding in 2010 we immediately added gold as the largest part of our portfolio while it was trading near $1,200 and quickly saw that rise to nearly $2,000.

Don't dare commit a treasonous crime. Unless you're good friends with the dictator. Then it's okay.

"You are two of my most useful idiots..!"

That's how things work in a dictatorship. There is no rule of law. There is only that which annoys the dictator and that which the dictator permits to those who please him.

Sasha Baron Cohen put it best in the movie, The Dictator: