Full screen recommended.
Walter’s Puppet Box,
"The Light Beyond The Familiar"
So, we rise from the rubble...
StatCounter
Thursday, June 11, 2026
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Planetary nebula Abell 78 stands out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. In fact the colors of the spiky Milky Way stars depend on their surface temperatures, both cooler (yellowish) and hotter (bluish) than the Sun. But Abell 78 shines by the characteristic emission of ionized atoms in the tenuous shroud of material shrugged off from an intensely hot central star. The atoms are ionized, their electrons stripped away, by the central star's energetic but otherwise invisible ultraviolet light.
The visible blue-green glow of loops and filaments in the nebula's central region corresponds to emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms, surrounded by strong red emission from electrons recombining with hydrogen atoms. Some 5,000 light-years distant toward the constellation Cygnus, Abell 78 is about three light-years across. A planetary nebula like Abell 78 represents a very brief final phase in stellar evolution that our own Sun will experience... in about 5 billion years.”
"A Friendship Measured in Sunsets"
Full screen recommended.
John AI Art, "A Friendship Measured in Sunsets"
Delta Blues Brother, "Gambatte"
Full screen recommended.
Delta Blues Brother, "Gambatte"
"Most people spend their lives asking one question: "What if I fail?" But there's a better question. "What if I give everything I have?" "Give It Your Best Anyway" is an inspiring Delta blues reflection about effort, character, resilience, responsibility, and the quiet truth that success isn't always measured by outcomes. The resonator guitar rolls steadily through the song like a long road traveled with purpose rather than certainty. The harmonica answers with warmth and determination, carrying the spirit of people who keep showing up regardless of the odds. The groove stays hopeful, grounded, deeply human... like advice passed down from one generation to the next. This is the blues of character. Not luck. Not talent. Character. Perseverance. Resilience. Responsibility. Discipline. Personal growth. Old soul wisdom. Success is never fully in your control. Effort always is."
Native Elder, "How to Stop Carrying Guilt That Was Never Yours to Carry"
Full screen recommended.
Native Elder,
"How to Stop Carrying Guilt
That Was Never Yours to Carry"
"Gladness and Silence Amid Chaos and Violence"
"Gladness and Silence Amid Chaos and Violence"
By Doug “Uncola” Lynn
"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either - but right through every human heart - and through all human hearts." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, "The Gulag Archipelago", 1918–1956
“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.”
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, "The Gulag Archipelago," 1973
"Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
… The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, and of the abominations of the earth." - Revelation 17:1-5
"I had been emotionally involved a few times with women with enough of a record of promiscuity to make me vaguely uneasy. It is difficult to put much value on something the lady has distributed all too generously. I have the feeling there is some mysterious quota, which varies with each woman. And whether she gives herself or sells herself, once she reaches her own number, once X pairs of hungry hands have been clamped rightly upon her rounded undersides, she suffers a sea change wherein her juices alter from honey to acid, her eyes change to glass, her heart becomes a stone, and her mouth a windy cave from whence, with each moisturous gasping, comes a tiny stink of death."
- MacDonald, John D., “Darker Than Amber”
Excerpt: "We live in an age of wizards and whores where souls are sold in the pursuit of material pleasures. Time-honored principles have been traded for profit and power as lawlessness intensifies. The word “mystery” is defined as “something not understood or beyond understanding” or, in a religious sense: “truth that one can know only by revelation and cannot fully understand”. This would imply more than simply not knowing. A mystery can be that which exceeds human understanding.
There is a saying I’ve heard over and over in my life that has… for the most part… been stated by older men with whom I’ve been related and/or acquainted: “The older I get, the less I know”. I can’t recall ever hearing a woman make that statement; perhaps because they know it all already (wink, wink). But, seriously, I speculate that assertion is made by men more often than women, because, when younger, we males tended to consider ourselves as invincible. However, over time, the experience of life engenders humility.
In my youth, I never would have predicted a doomsday scenario where vaccines would be used to simultaneously kill and maim the sheep while rendering the shepherds powerless or, worse, turning them into wolves. The wolves are devouring the weakest of the herd, and they now gather for a final feast. They won’t be bargained with, because they have forfeited their very souls. There is nothing left within them to petition or persuade. Their eyes have turned to glass, their hearts have become stone, and they breathe death. They lurk in the shadows of “good intentions”, “following orders”, and plausible deniability and they are magically controlled by wizards that are safely ensconced high above the pack, out of reach; and behind armed security.
My 81-year-old mother-in-law suffered a stroke after Thanksgiving and my life had been hectic since. Like so many people I know, the wizard’s fearful spell caused her to trust Fauci, the experts, and Trump before she received two Moderna shots. She failed to heed the warnings of my wife and me and… within weeks of her second shot... my wife took her mom to the emergency room on two separate occasions for nosebleeds that wouldn’t stop. I would guess the shots caused her stroke but she had a stroke prior, in 2019. The first one diminished her vocabulary along with moderate memory loss but both afflictions appeared to accelerate after being vaccinated against Covid. Or, maybe it was merely the result of old age. How can one know for sure? I suspect the ever-generated spike protein aggravates and augments the negative consequences of pre-existing conditions, but I can’t prove anything. She remains in skilled care.
My mother-in-law’s mother lived well into her nineties and refused to leave her farm in her dotage. My mother-in-law inherited the same farmwife stubbornness… I mean… independent spirit yet she may not be able to live on her farm, even with abundant family and medical assistance. I always thought my mother-in-law would be an asset during the apocalypse. She has her allegorical “black belt” in all of the old ways: Canning, sewing, gardening, cooking, baking, etc. Although my wife acquired these as well, she is minus the extra decades of experience as a daily practitioner.
Growing old and failing physically can serve as a metaphor for a dying society: Just as aging organs revolt against the body via malfunction and decay, so does civilization descend into decadence and degeneration until the center no longer holds. Moreover, when systems break down, individual autonomy is lost as those in authority prioritize safety over liberty.
Just as my mother-in-law has lost autonomy as her physical body fails, so, too, will once-free people lose their liberty as civilization collapses into Central Bank Digital Currency, digital identity, the WHO Global Pandemic Treaty, and the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 mandates – all for the well-being of humanity, of course. At this point, progress unfolds as a result of math; same as civilizations past. Although I understand the inevitabilities, it’s hard to know exactly what may happen next and when. The older I get, the less I know."
Full, most highly recommended article is here:
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Hat tip to The Burning Platform for this material.
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Freely download "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich"
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, here:
Freely download "The Gulag Archipelago"
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, here:
"What Would Josey Wales Do?"
“To hell with them fellas. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms.”
– Josey Wales
"What Would Josey Wales Do?"
by Jim Quinn
“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.” – Josey Wales
"As our political, economic, civic, and social structures continue to degrade, dissolve, and disintegrate before our very eyes, it is easy to become apathetic and surrender to hopelessness. There are relentless powerful forces actively trying to destroy the fabric of our society and force the masses into economic servitude while caged in an electronic gulag, controlled by an oligarchy of evil totalitarian minded billionaires and their lackeys in key governmental, political, banking, military, media, and corporate positions of power. We are in the same situation as Josey Wales in Clint Eastwood’s epic 1976 film – "The Outlaw Josey Wales."
The film tells the story of Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer, just trying to live his life in peace without interference from the government, uninterested in the violent Civil War between two monolithic forces fighting for their created causes. His wife and son are brutally murdered by Union Redleg militants, led by the despicable Captain Terrill, while he was away from his homestead. After burying his family, his mind naturally turns towards seeking revenge against the perpetrators, and he begins to practice shooting. He joins a group of pro-Confederate bushwackers who become the scourge of Union forces until the war’s conclusion.
At the conclusion of the war, Josey’s friend and superior, Captain Fletcher, persuades the guerrillas to surrender, having been promised by Senator Lane that they will be granted amnesty if they hand over their weapons. Josey refuses to surrender because he knows you can never trust the government or the politicians who make promises they never keep. They have been pissing down our backs since the last Civil War, while telling us it’s just raining, so everyone can relate to this scene in the movie.
Senator: "The war’s over. Our side won the war. Now we must busy ourselves winning the peace. And Fletcher, there’s an old saying: To the victors belong the spoils."
Fletcher: "There’s another old saying, Senator: Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining."
Wales having refused to surrender, along with a young guerrilla named Jamie, are the only survivors when Terrill’s Redlegs massacre the surrendering men. Wales intervenes and wipes out many of the Redlegs with a Gatling gun before fleeing with Jamie, who dies from a bullet wound sustained in the massacre after helping Josey kill two pursuing bounty hunters.
Fletcher: "Damn you, Senator. You promised me those men would be decently treated."
Senator Lane: They were decently treated. They were decently fed and then they were decently shot. Those men are common outlaws, nothing more."
The remainder of the movie entails Union soldiers and bounty hunters trying to track and kill Josey, while he accumulates a rag-tag group of companions, including Indians, foul mouthed grannies, and a slew of other settlers trying to live their lives unhindered by the government. Clint Eastwood’s character maintains a stoic meanness throughout the film towards his government enabled enemies, but has empathy and kindheartedness towards the downtrodden people who represent the vast majority of citizens in this country.
I found it interesting the film was based on the novel "Gone to Texas," written with a virulent anti-government slant by a former George Wallace speechwriter. When the script writer/director tried to tone down the anti-government aspects, Eastwood told him no and eventually fired him, taking over as director for the remainder of the film. Eastwood’s refusal to bow to Hollywood pressure and soften the dialogue and story line is a tribute to his resolute dislike and mistrust of governmental authorities. He has essentially gone his own way and made his films his way, never letting the Hollywood elite dictate his path.
Released in 1976 when anti-war sentiment was at its peak, following the government created Vietnam war debacle, which slaughtered over 50,000 American boys, Eastwood later referred to it as an anti-war film. And we all know it is governments and those Deep State operatives who control the levers of power, and start wars to increase their wealth, power and control. War never ends because it is extremely profitable for those waging it, while the youth doing the fighting are just cannon fodder for corporate interests. Eastwood was dead on, as we have waged wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and now Ukraine and Palestine, benefiting the military industrial complex at the expense of you and me.
“As for Josey Wales, I saw the parallels to the modern day at that time. Everybody gets tired of it, but it never ends. A war is a horrible thing.” – Clint Eastwood
Eastwood equates the plight of the Confederacy with the plight of the American Indian, as both groups were bullied, bloodied and crushed under the weight of the Federal government, which began its unfettered growth during the Civil War and has now reached its zenith of incompetence, arrogance, lawlessness, and hatred towards the citizens it is supposed to serve. Most people just want to be left alone, like Josey Wales, to live their lives in peace and harmony with their fellow community members. But the federal government makes that impossible, with their rules, regulations, taxes, fees, and enforcement thugs harassing the public on a daily basis.
In Eastwood’s movie they murder his family, murder his comrades, and are hell-bent on murdering him. The song remains the same. Our government murdered people minding their own business at Ruby Ridge. They murdered women and children at Waco. They murdered a rancher at Bundy Ranch. They send young men to war for bankers and corporations. They have been unlawfully imprisoning protestors in dungeons for a fake insurrection fomented and initiated by government agents. They rigged the presidential election and have convicted the leading political candidate of fake crimes he did not commit in order to maintain control over the political system.
The list could go on for pages, as the totalitarian methods and abuse of power against the citizens of this country accelerate at a breakneck pace. Fear of seeing their wealth and power slip away has created an almost psychotic spasm of unhindered chaotic flailing about, in an ultimately fruitless effort to retain control. They are fearful of the masses wakening from their technology induced slumber and realizing the enemy is not the groups they have been programmed to hate, but the very government pulling the strings of this clownshow.
The government needs a sedated, dumbed down populace who fear what they are told to fear and obey the instructions of their overlords. But the covid scamdemic and continuing death of loved ones from the toxic jabs, has opened the eyes of millions. The debt death spiral induced by Biden’s handlers, supercharged by the coordinated and financed invasion of our southern border by third world mutts, and resulting in raging inflation for average American families, has angered and infuriated the masses. We are approaching our moment of truth.
The government is in the midst of creating millions of vengeful Josey Wales characters. As political chaos increases in the coming months, the threat of global conflagration escalates and the economic plight of the masses deteriorates, revenge against politicians, government drones, and the globalist financial elite for creating this madness will expand rapidly. We know what Josey Wales would do. The question is what will we do.
Eastwood made his final Western masterpiece, sixteen years after Josey Wales, with the release of the Academy Award winning "Unforgiven." He paid tribute to Josey Wales in the climactic scene in the saloon when confronting Little Bill. In "The Outlaw Josey" Wales Grandma Sarah’s initial reaction to meeting Josey Wales was: “This Mr. Wales is a cold-blooded killer. He’s from Missouri, where they’re all known to be killers of innocent men, women and children.”
He closes the loop with Will Munny, out of Missouri, with the same false accusation that he killed women and children, as he also seeks retribution on government authoritarians who murdered an innocent man. Both Josey Wales and Will Munny tried to live out their lives as peaceful farmers, but were forced to revert to violence because the government would not allow them to live in peace.
Little Bill Daggett : “You’d be William Munny out of Missouri. Killer of women and children.”
Will Munny : “That’s right. I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.”
Eastwood’s first and last epic Westerns both examined the harsh reality of violence and retribution as the logical consequence for crimes committed against innocent people just trying to lives their lives. His meditations on the concepts of age, repute, courage, and the cloudy definition of heroism, make for far deeper and complex examinations of the old West than other western films. Eastwood distinguishes between the brutal reality of a world controlled and run by tyrannical psychopaths acting as government agents, and people living peacefully, with no government intervention.
Eastwood’s ideal vision of America as a pluralist society of individualists of all races and backgrounds who put aside the past and their difference to live in harmony, contrasts with the reality of a society controlled and manipulated by those referred to as the “invisible government” by Edward Bernays. The ruling elite do not want people to live peaceably in a self reliant manner. The climactic scene in Outlaw Josey Wales between Josey Wales and Ten Bears captures the nature of our world and the difference between governments and the people.
Josie Wales : “I came here to die with you. Or to live with you. Dying ain’t so hard for men like you and me. It’s living that’s hard when all you’ve ever cared about has been butchered or raped. Governments don’t live together – people live together. With governments, you don’t always get a fair word or a fair fight. Well, I’ve come here to give you either one or get either one from you. I came here like this so you’ll know my word of death is true, and my word of life is then true. The bear lives here, the wolf, the antelope, the Comanche. And so will we. Now we’ll only hunt what we need to live on, same as the Comanche does. And every spring, when the grass turns green, and the Comanche moves north, you can rest here in peace, butcher some of our cattle, and jerk beef for the journey. The sign of the Comanche, that will be on our lodge. That’s my word of life.”
Ten Bears : “It’s sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues. There is iron in your words of death for all Comanche to see, and so there is iron in your words of life. No signed paper can hold the iron. It must come from men. The words of Ten Bears carries the same iron of life and death. It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life… or death. It shall be life.”
I had previously used Josey Wales as the basis for Part Four of my five part series based on Clint Eastwood movies in 2012, documenting how the Federal Reserve, under the control of the Wall Street banking cabal, had destroyed the middle class and set in motion the ultimate destruction of the American economic system. Here we are twelve years later and that destruction is approaching its climax. As the powers that be are flailing about in a final destructive apocalyptic spasm of hate, greed, and war, the average American needs to channel their inner Josey Wales.
We can either give up and allow those running this shitshow for their own benefit to enslave us in perpetual debt, culling us with their toxic “vaccines”, making us eat meatless meat and bugs, forcing us into their digital currencies, 15 minute cities (aka electronic gulags), electric cars, and social credit system, or we can get plumb, mad-dog mean and man up. In order to reverse our totalitarian spiral, being executed by powerful mega-wealthy men and their highly compensated double tongued lackey politicians, bankers, media moguls, and corporate chiefs, those 300 million guns will need to be put to use.
If we want to live together peacefully, unhindered by an overbearing, corrupt government behemoth, controlled by evil men with evil intentions, then we will have to fight. That’s just the way it is. Ask yourself, “What would Josey Wales do?”, and act accordingly."
"We All Got Problems..."
"We all got problems. But there's a great book out called "Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart. " Did you see that? That book says the statute of limitations has expired on all childhood traumas. Get your stuff together and get on with your life, man. Stop whinin' about what's wrong, because everybody's had a rough time, in one way or another. "
- Quincy Jones
“How Are Things Going, Joe?”
“You go up to a man, and you say, “How are things going, Joe?” and he says, “Oh fine, fine… couldn’t be better.” And you look into his eyes, and you see things really couldn’t be much worse. When you get right down to it, everybody’s having a perfectly lousy time of it, and I mean everybody. And the hell of it is, nothing seems to help much.”
- Kurt Vonnegut
"Life in America Keeps Getting Harder Every Year... And More People Are Feeling It"
Full screen recommended.
The Unfolded States, 6/11/26
"Life in America Keeps Getting Harder Every Year...
And More People Are Feeling It"
"Why do so many Americans feel financially stressed even when the economy appears strong on paper? In this video, we explore the growing gap between economic headlines and everyday reality. From rising living costs and housing affordability challenges to job insecurity, healthcare expenses, and changing expectations about the future, we examine why many people feel less financially secure than they did just a few years ago. This analysis goes beyond simple explanations like inflation or personal spending habits. Instead, we look at how multiple pressures can interact at the same time, gradually changing how households make decisions about work, housing, family, savings, and long-term planning. The result is a growing sense that stability has become harder to achieve, even for people who are working hard and doing many of the right things.
We also explore the deeper question behind these trends: why are so many people losing confidence in the future? Is this simply a cost of living crisis, or is something larger changing in the relationship between work, opportunity, and the American dream? Through economic trends, social shifts, and real-world examples, this video examines one of the most important conversations happening in America today. What part of everyday life feels most different to you compared to five or ten years ago? Share your thoughts in the comments below."
Comments here:
"This Is How Financial Collapse Actually Starts: Hidden Warning Signs Before Every Economic Crisis"
Full screen recommended.
Empire of Wealth, 6/11/26
"This Is How Financial Collapse Actually Starts:
Hidden Warning Signs Before Every Economic Crisis"
"What really causes a financial collapse? Is it inflation, debt, bank failures, or something deeper? In this video, we explore the hidden pattern behind history’s most devastating financial crises, from Argentina’s 2001 collapse and Lebanon’s banking disaster to the 2008 U.S. financial crisis and Greece’s banking shutdown. Discover how economic systems appear stable right before trust disappears, why bank runs happen, how governments respond, and what ordinary people experience when financial promises break down. Through real historical stories, this documentary reveals the warning signs that repeatedly appear before major economic collapses. Learn how excessive debt, currency pegs, banking instability, capital controls, frozen savings, inflation, and declining confidence have triggered crises across different countries and generations. More importantly, understand the lessons history offers for recognizing financial stress before it becomes visible to everyone.
This educational analysis examines the human side of economic collapse, showing how pensioners, workers, families, and savers are often the first to feel the consequences when systems fail. Whether you're interested in economics, financial history, investing, geopolitics, banking systems, or global markets, this video provides valuable historical insights into how financial collapses actually begin. Watch until the end to discover the common survival patterns shared by people who successfully navigated some of history's most difficult economic crises.'
Comments here:
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Ray Dalio, 6/11/26
"The 6 Stages Of How Every Empire Dies
(We're Approaching Stage 6)"
"History may be repeating itself - and Stage 6 is the phase every great empire fears most. In this video, we break down Ray Dalio’s famous Empire Cycle framework and examine why he believes the United States may be approaching the final stage that has historically marked the decline of dominant world powers. From debt explosions and money printing to political conflict, weakening currencies, and geopolitical competition, Dalio explains why the same warning signs appeared before the decline of previous empires - including the Dutch Empire, the British Empire, and others throughout history. If this analysis is correct, the next decade could reshape the global economy, financial markets, retirement portfolios, and the future of American economic leadership. History rarely repeats exactly - but it often rhymes."
Comments here:
Dan, I Allegedly, "People Are Fed Up - The Numbers Prove It"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 6/11/26
"People Are Fed Up - The Numbers Prove It"
"Inflation just hit its highest level in three years and millions of Americans are feeling the pressure. In this video, I break down why people are borrowing money to pay rent, why housing affordability continues to deteriorate, why consumers are cutting spending, and what you can do to protect yourself financially. We'll cover rising costs, personal finance strategies, real estate trends, consumer debt, layoffs, and the growing signs that many households are reaching their breaking point. Most importantly, I'll share practical ways to save money and thrive during challenging economic times.
Americans are fed up with rising prices, expensive housing, growing debt, and shrinking purchasing power. Inflation is accelerating again, rent costs remain elevated, and more people are using loans just to cover basic living expenses. In today's video, we discuss inflation, housing, consumer spending, Costco gas demand, layoffs, rent-now-pay-later programs, the real estate market, and why financial discipline matters more than ever. If you're concerned about the economy, personal finance, investing, budgeting, or the future of the American consumer, this video is for you."
Comments here:
"Kroger Shopping! Grocery Deals! Checking Prices - Lots of Empty Shelves"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 6/11/26
"Kroger Shopping! Grocery Deals!
Checking Prices - Lots of Empty Shelves"
"In today's vlog we are at Kroger, and are seeking out some deals on grocery items. With massive price increases continuing at grocery stores, we are searching for some good deals during these times of high inflation. We also notice some empty shelves as stores continue to struggle getting in some products. Thank you so much for watching, and we'll see you in the next video!"
Comments here:
"Like Stimulating An Old Mule"
"Like Stimulating An Old Mule"
by Bill Bonner
Youghal, Ireland - "What a jolly little war…as long as you are not in the middle of it…or have to pay for it…or buy gasoline…The Washington Post: "US launches strikes on Iran after downing of Army helicopter, prompting retaliation." Next at bat, Reuters: "Iran strikes US bases in Gulf after Trump orders attacks near Hormuz."
The press goes on to explain that the Iranian bombing is retaliation for the US bombing of Iran…which was in retaliation for the Iranians shooting down a US helicopter, which was loitering over the Strait to enforce a siege which was imposed in retaliation for the Iranians’ siege which was in retaliation for the US bombing which was meant to demolish the Iranians’ nuclear bomb program…that America’s own spy organizations said didn’t exist…and which Donald Trump claimed to have demolished a year ago, even though the spooks said it didn’t exist then either.
Got that? Hope so, because we’re not going to repeat it. Instead, we’re going to move on. We’ll fade all the bombing and besieging …as distracting as they are…to focus instead on what we’re supposed to ignore: that the feds have made an unholy hash of US finances….and every day the stench grows stronger.
Opinion: The true national debt just hit $1 million per U.S. household. Marketwatch: "The effective U.S. national debt just crashed through $100 trillion for the first time in history, and now stands at an extraordinary 400% of annual gross domestic product - but almost nobody seems to care. The shocking news is (as usual) buried in the footnotes of the annual report from the Medicare Trustees. In Table V. F2 on page 218, right where everyone will see it, the federal government reports that the commitments of Medicare and Social Security now exceed their assets by an eye-watering $97 trillion, which is more than three times U.S. gross domestic product.
This tally includes, of course, only the feds’ own obligations. But all through the economy, the funny money regime has inflated asset prices…and the debt that supports them. Somehow, someday…all that gaudy debt and rococo valuations will be squared up…to what they are really worth. The prevailing assumption is that the excesses will be inflated away. While that is probably right, we need to be cautious. It may not be that easy.
Stimulating an economy is like stimulating an old mule. Sometimes, no amount of prodding or coaxing will get him to move. You can lay on the lash, too…but like bombing Iran; the stubborn SOB might dig in his heels. American consumers and investors – like the Japanese before them – might dig in their heels too. Having grown older and more cautious since the last crisis, they might not be so eager to do it again. They may not party like it was 1999…or 2007…or 2021, for example. They might not buy the dip at all.
So, what may be approaching is not just a stock market correction…but a correction of the entire capital structure…not to mention the empire that heaved it up. This could be a serious reckoning that rolls through the whole economy. Almost everything has been whipped to a froth by the fake ‘money.’ It is fake because it – and all the assets quoted in it – masquerade as purchasing power for goods and services that aren’t there.
While the situation is endlessly complicated, it leads us to a homey insight: come the crisis, either goods and services get priced much more highly…or, asset prices go way down. One way or another, the two sides of the national balance sheet need to zero out. And while we do not pretend to know exactly what is coming, we are sure we have the leaders we need to make it worse. The feds are already on the hook for $40 trillion. Plus, the unfunded obligations of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Then, there is the additional $2 trillion per year (assuming no increase!) in deficits.
Where is all that money to come from? Thanks to bombing, sanctioning, seizing, tariffing….and generally acting like a jackass…fewer foreigners will be in the room when America auctions new debt. Over the last five years, for example, the Chinese have reduced – not increased – their UST holdings, by some half a trillion dollars. Overall, foreigners bought 14% of US Treasury offerings in 1995. The total peaked out at 60% in 2008…and has been going down ever since.
They’re not likely to get much support from the Fed either. Historically, a major buyer, now the Fed has its eye on inflation; it will be loath to ‘print’ more money just to soak up Uncle Sam’s deficits. The Wall Street Journal: "Consumer prices were up 4.2% in May from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday, accelerating from 3.8% the previous month. That was the highest year-over-year print since April 2023 and a sign that high energy costs stemming from the conflict with Iran are continuing to push up price pressures." How this will play out, we don’t know. We’ll stay in Maximum Safety Mode until we find out."
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
John AI Art, "Where My Old Friend Waits"
Full screen recommended.
John AI Art, "Where My Old Friend Waits"
"A Great Madness Sweeps The Land"
"A Great Madness Sweeps The Land"
by Charles Hugh Smith
‘In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups,
parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.’
- Friedrich Nietzsche
"A great madness sweeps the land. There are no limits on extremes in greed, credulity, convictions, inequality, bombast, recklessness, fraud, corruption, arrogance, hubris, pride, over-reach, self-righteousness and confidence in the rightness of one's opinions. Extremes only become more extreme even as the folly of previous extremes wearies rationality.
Imaginary sins are conjured out of thin air to convict the innocent while those guilty of the most egregious fraud and corruption are lauded as saviors.
The national mood is aggrieved and bitter. The luxuries of self-righteousness, indignation, entitlement and resentment have impoverished the national spirit. Bankrupted by these excesses, what little treasure remains is squandered on plots of petty revenge.
Blindness to the late hour is cheered as optimism, confidence in the false gods of technology is sanctified while doubters of the technocratic theocracy are crucified as irredeemable infidels.
Witch-hunts and show trials are the order of the day as those who cannot stomach the party line are obsessively purged, as healthy skepticism is condemned as a mortal sin by brittle true believers who secretly fear the failure of their cult.
Mired in a putrid sewer of suspected subversion and disloyalty to The One True Cause, heretics are everywhere to those caught up in the mass hysteria. In this choking atmosphere of toxic hubris, self-righteousness, indignation, entitlement and resentment, humility is for losers, prudence is for losers, caution is for losers, skeptical inquiry is for losers.
Completely untethered from cause and effect, those confident in the inevitability of a glorious future of unlimited expansion cling to past glory as proof of future glory, even as their hubris leads only to a treacherous path of decay and decline. As they stumble into the abyss, their final cries are of surprise that confidence alone is not enough.
Those who see the madness for what it is have only one escape: go to ground, fade from public view, become self-reliant and weather the coming storm in the nooks and crannies where cause and effect, skeptical inquiry, humility, prudence and thrift can still be nurtured."
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"Breaking: The American Attack on Iran has Begun - Iran's Upscale Retaliation Coming"
Full screen recommended.
Larry Johnson, 6/10/26
"Breaking: The American Attack on Iran has Begun -
Iran's Upscale Retaliation Coming"
Comments here:
Canadian Prepper, "Widespread Attacks On Iran Begin"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 6/10/26
"Widespread Attacks On Iran Begin"
Comments here;
A Rousing Musical Interlude! Outlaws, “Green Grass And High Tides”
Outlaws, “Green Grass And High Tides”
Turn it up!
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Can the night sky appear both serene and surreal? Perhaps classifiable as serene in the below panoramic image taken last Friday are the faint lights of small towns glowing across a dark foreground landscape of Doi Inthanon National Park in Thailand, as well as the numerous stars glowing across a dark background starscape. Also visible are the planet Venus and a band of zodiacal light on the image left.
Unusual events are also captured, however. First, the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while usually a common site, appears here to hover surreally above the ground. Next, a fortuitous streak of a meteor was captured on the image right. Perhaps the most unusual component is the bright spot just to the left of the meteor. That spot is the plume of a rising Ariane 5 rocket, launched a few minutes before from Kourou, French Guiana. How lucky was the astrophotographer to capture the rocket launch in his image? Not lucky at all- the image was timed to capture the rocket. What was lucky was how photogenic- and perhaps surreal- the rest of the sky turned out to be.”
Bill Bonner, "Return Of The Wolfman"
"Return Of The Wolfman"
by Bill Bonner
"Homo homini lupus."
– Latin proverb, meaning “Man is wolf to man.”
POITOU, FRANCE – "We saw a strange beast early this morning. Driving to the train station, an animal slouched onto the road ahead of us. At first, we thought it was a wild boar. There are a lot of them in the area. Then, it saw us coming and dashed back into the woods. But it was taller and longer than the typical boar, and it moved more like a dog than a pig. “It was a wolf,” concluded a neighbor. “We found one dead on the railroad tracks a few months ago. They’re all over France now.”
In the mid-20th century, this area became a major producer of sheep. But only after wolves were exterminated. Now, with the wolf making a comeback, will the sheep be next to go? Readers may want to keep that in mind… as we consider the affairs of men in the next few hundred words. In short, the wolfman is back…
Lunar Lunacy: Usually, civilized life goes on in a give-and-take, live-and-let-live kind of fashion. But sometimes, when the moon is full, people go a little mad; they grow furry ears and long teeth. That’s what happened in the early 20th century… first with the Bolsheviks… then the National Socialists (Nazis). In each case, a determined group – often very small at the beginning – believed that it had the one and only TRUTH… and that all others must bend to it. Or else…
Then, as the howling grows louder, and the predators get control of the government, other groups are eager to join. The media is first; it wishes to be part of the glorious new future. Politicians, bureaucrats, opinion mongers, view shapers – none wants to be left behind. Religious groups and nonprofits join the pack; they begin to see how the new faith connects to their old one. And business – partly trying to protect itself… and partly trying to gain special privileges – soon takes its place among the beasts.
Even ordinary people, who might otherwise get on with their own honest and dignified lives, are inspired to snarl and yelp. And then, the whole lot of them are headed for trouble. And now, as the moon grows brighter… is that a dog we hear… or a wolf?
Cancel Culture: Let us begin with the supposition that almost everything we hear in the news is either a lie or a fraud. Of course, we will be wrong occasionally, but probably not often. The public has better things to do (idly scrolling through Facebook!) than trying to understand the issues in any depth. Besides, reporters are too lazy – and have little incentive – to dig beneath the popular narrative to find out what is really going on. And anyone who dares try to put forward a contrary view is quickly censured.
Recall that Donald Trump – who won more votes than any Republican in history – was cut off from Twitter; the company didn’t like his views of the election results. (Note that we offer no opinion as to the election results themselves… We just call attention to the extraordinary situation in which a major public figure is censured for his views.)
Senator Rand Paul was cut off from YouTube after he cited studies critical of mask mandates… and blasted the censors for cutting others off. The video sharing platform also tried to remove Dr. Dan Stock’s speech on the virus to the Mount Vernon Community School Corporation in Indiana after it went viral. That is to say, YouTube tried to take it down because people wanted to see it… and because it had the wrong point of view.
You might say, “YouTube is a private company. It can do what it wants.” Which is perfectly okay with us, too. We’re just exploring a phenomenon here, not arguing about the law. If we’re right, America’s “private” sector and its most important institutions have been corrupted by public sector money. The press asks no “hardball” questions. The universities no longer teach people how to think; they teach them WHAT to think. Businesses have figured out that it’s the feds who butter their bread.
Preposterous Policies: Returning to the legal issue, 5 years ago, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz made the remarkable claim that people “have no right not to be vaccinated.” What kind of Brave New World is this? People have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but not to decide what is put into their bodies? What kind of world is it where private companies act as censors for the feds?
And how come the press goes along with some of the most intrusive and preposterous government policies in history – the trillion-dollar deficits… stimmy checks… the invasion of Iraq… the war with Iran…?
Real Mischief: Yes, Dear Reader, people seem to go mad from time to time. And now, you can start a war and kill thousands of women… and then go on to a comfortable retirement berth as an elder statesman (George Bush Jr.). But pinch just one woman (or more) on the derrière, and your career is sunk (Andrew Cuomo).
You can tell all the lies you want (Petraeus, Flynn, Milley, Mattis, et al.)… and move on to a rich reward at Raytheon or Lockheed Martin… but tell the truth just once, and you’ll go to jail (former National Security Agency intelligence analyst Daniel Hale).
You can print trillions of fake dollars and you will become the most admired public servant since Pontius Pilate…but try to pass off just one fake $20 bill, and the police will kill you (George Floyd). The media condemned Floyd’s killer – even before trial! – but it never once raised doubts about the system that was fatal to him. Instead, it went after the soft target – the alleged “racism” of others, the Trumpian white trash – and gave a pass to the furry elite’s real mischief – militarizing the police… the War on Drugs… the War on Poverty… punishing savers… eliminating good-paying jobs… and shifting $39 trillion to itself by backstopping the stock market and funding its pet projects.
Today, we come to no conclusion. We just note that the moon, big and yellow already, is waxing…and trouble is afoot."
"Centering Ourselves: Gathering Our Straying Thoughts"
"Centering Ourselves:
Gathering Our Straying Thoughts"
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM
"All too often our lives can be spread too thin and it becomes important to gather our thoughts and center ourselves to become whole again. When our thoughts are scattered in several directions at once and we are no longer conscious of what we are doing or why, it is time to center ourselves. When we center ourselves, we begin by acknowledging that we have become spread too thin and we are no longer unified inside. Our thoughts might be out of sync with our feelings, and our actions may be out of sync with both. The main signs that we need to center ourselves are scattered thoughts and a feeling of disconnection or numbness, as if we are no longer able to take anything in. In addition, we may feel unfocused and not present in our bodies. Centering ourselves is a way of coming to terms with all the different energies within us and drawing them back into ourselves.
Centering yourself means that you are working from or being aware of the core of your being in the solar plexus area of your body. At first it may not make sense, but as you progress you will understand what this feels like. We naturally know how to center ourselves when we take a deep breath, for example, before making a big announcement or doing something big. Another way to center ourselves is to sit down and engage in breath meditation. We can start by simply getting into a comfortable upright position and noticing as our breath enters and leaves our bodies. Our breath flows into our center and out from our center, and this process can serve as a template for all of our interactions in the world. In conversations, we can take what our friends are saying into the center of our beings and respond from the center. Our whole lives mirror this ebb and flow of energy that begins and ends at the center of ourselves. If we follow this ebb and flow, we are in harmony with the universe, and when we find we are out of harmony, we can always come back into balance by sitting down and observing our breath.
When we sit down to center ourselves we can imagine that we are gathering our straying thoughts and energies back into ourselves, the way a mother duck gathers her babies around her. We can also visualize ourselves casting a net and pulling all the disparate parts of ourselves back to the center of our being, creating a sense of fluid integration. From this place of centeredness, we can begin again, directing ourselves outward in a more intentional way."
- http://www.dailyom.com/
Related:
Michael Sealey,
"Guided Meditation for Detachment From Over-Thinking
(Anxiety/OCD/Depression)"
"We Never See..."
“You know, we never see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be. And we spend our lives going through a sort of modified stages of grief about that realization. And we deny it, and then we argue with it, and we despair over it. But eventually - and this is my belief - that we come to see it, not as despairing, but as vitalizing. We never see the world exactly as it is because we are how the world is.”
- Maria Popova
"When the Sky Is No More Than Remembered Light"
"When the Sky Is No More Than Remembered Light:
Mark Strand Reads His Poignant Poem 'The End'”
- by Maria Popova
“Not every man knows what is waiting for him, or what he shall sing,
when the ship he is on slips into darkness, there at the end.”
“It’s such a lucky accident, having been born, that we’re almost obliged to pay attention,” the Pulitzer-winning poet Mark Strand (April 11, 1934–November 29, 2014) observed in contemplating the artist’s task to bear witness to the universe. And yet this universe in which we live is predicated on impermanence, and the lucky accident of our existence is crowned with the certitude of its end from the start. Why, then, are we always so shocked by the finitude of all we hold dear and, above all, by our own mortality? Few are those who can say with sincerity, like Rilke did an exquisite 1923 letter, that “death is our friend precisely because it brings us into absolute and passionate presence with all that is here, that is natural, that is love.” Instead, we spend our lives shuddering at any reminder of our inevitable end, unsalved by the miracle of having lived at all.
Montaigne articulated the central paradox of being perfectly in 16th-century meditation on death and the art of living: “To lament that we shall not be alive a hundred years hence, is the same folly as to be sorry we were not alive a hundred years ago.” Still, lament we do, and some of our greatest art gives voice to that lamentation.
That paradox is what Strand explores with transcendent courage and curiosity in his poem “The End,” found in his "Collected Poems" (public library) - the trove of truth and beauty that gave us Strand’s love letter to dreams.
In this hauntingly beautiful recording, courtesy of The New York Public Library, an aged Strand reads his poignant poem shortly before he repaid his own debt to mortality:
"The End"
by Mark Strand
"Not every man knows what he shall sing at the end,
Watching the pier as the ship sails away, or what it will seem like
When he’s held by the sea’s roar, motionless, there at the end,
Or what he shall hope for once it is clear that he’ll never go back.
When the time has passed to prune the rose or caress the cat,
When the sunset torching the lawn and the full moon icing it down
No longer appear, not every man knows what he’ll discover instead.
When the weight of the past leans against nothing, and the sky
Is no more than remembered light, and the stories of cirrus
And cumulus come to a close, and all the birds are suspended in flight,
Not every man knows what is waiting for him, or what he shall sing
When the ship he is on slips into darkness, there at the end."
Complement with the lyrical "Duck, Death and the Tulip", Marcus Aurelius on mortality and the key to living fully, and the great Zen master Seung Sahn Soen-sa’s explanation of death and the life-force to a child, then revisit Strand’s celebration of clouds and everything they mean."
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