It could never happen here

And then there's history. Not a single brand of paper money has ever lasted. Or you might say, in all of recorded human history, gold remains undefeated. We expect that trend to continue. Likewise, we can't recall any nation that ever repaid its debts (in sound money) once they'd grown to 100% of GDP. And watching our neighbors "strategically" defaulting on their mortgages in record numbers, we see no reason to expect Americans will prove to be any more honest about their government's obligations.

In 1915, just after World War I began, you could exchange 4.2 German marks for one U.S. dollar – and that was when the U.S. dollar was still backed by gold. As you know, Germany lost the war. Its people were literally starving by the end, thanks to the British blockade. With no alternative except starvation and annihilation, Germany accepted an armistice that demanded $12.5 billion in reparations. The debt was equal to 100% of Germany's GDP prior to the war. At the time, the exchange rate stood at 65 marks to the dollar, a devaluation of roughly 95%. Most people believe Germany's hyperinflation was caused by this war debt. Not exactly.

After the war, Germany was broke... That's true. But the mark was cheap. It seemed like a terrific investment opportunity. Most people believed Germany would find a way to finance its debts. We imagine foreign investors at the time said, "Oh, hyperinflation could never happen in Germany..." And so speculators pumped another $2 billion of additional credit into Germany. Then came trouble. Germany's main creditor (France) refused to renegotiate the terms of the armistice. And the German people lost confidence in their own government. The people didn't want to pay the debts. Assassinations began to occur, most notably the murder of Walther Rathenau – the foreign minister. Investors lost confidence in the country. They abandoned the mark.

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court ruled for the first time that gun possession is fundamental to American freedom, giving federal judges the power to strike down state and local weapons laws for violating the Second Amendment...

We wonder what Constitution those judges have been reading. Because the Constitution we've read clearly states under the Second Amendment, "[T]he right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Despite the Second Amendment's clear message, three justices dissented.

Justice Stephen Breyer, in a dissent joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, said the majority ruling misinterpreted history. "[N]othing in 18th-, 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century history shows a consensus that the right to private armed self-defense…is 'deeply rooted in this nation's history or tradition' or is otherwise 'fundamental,' " Justice Breyer wrote.

We would ask what consensus has to do with it? The Supreme Court's job is to read and interpret the Constitution... "The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" seems pretty clear to us.

1) Booms that go bust
2) Consumer fads
3) Technological obsolescence
4) Structurally-flawed accounting

You may recall Porter's February issue of Stansberry's Investment Advisory, where he explained where he looks for short ideas (his list is similar to Chanos'):

To sell stocks short, you need to know the three basic approaches. First, you look for frauds. The second approach is to pick out overly indebted firms, like General Electric. These are probably my favorite situations in all of finance. The last category of stocks you should sell short [are] companies whose business model has disappeared because of technological innovation. – Porter Stansberry, February 2010, Stansberry's Investment Advisory

In the same issue, Porter recommended selling short the two leading hard-drive manufacturers, Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC). He believes so-called "cloud computing" and flash memory will prove hard drives obsolete.