Friday, July 26, 2024

The Poet: Theodore Roethke, “The Return”

“The Return”

“Suddenly the window will open
and Mother will call,
it's time to come in.
The wall will part,
I will enter heaven in muddy shoes.
I will come to the table
and answer questions rudely.
I am all right, leave me
alone. Head in hand I
sit and sit. How can I tell them
about that long
and tangled way?
Here in heaven mothers
knit green scarves;
flies buzz.
Father dozes by the stove
after six days' labor.
No - surely I can't tell them
that people are at each
other's throats.”

- Theodore Roethke

"Acceptance..."

"Acceptance is a crucial step forward for those who prefer the idea of living this life over simply existing within it. Accept all that you've said and what you've done, because you cannot change your past. Accept the idea of the unknown, because the future is the unknown waiting patiently to reveal itself. Accept the person you have become thus far in your journey, because you are the only person who will be there with you when you finish it. Do all of this so that you may never find yourself having to accept regret that haunts you at two a.m., leaving you sweaty and broken hearted. All you have is this minute; not this hour, or this day, or this year. Live in this minute so that you won't get stuck simply existing with your guilty past, or with nothing but anxiety for the future."
- Margaret E. Rise

Dan, I Allegedly, "Here is Proof that Real Estate is Insane"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 7/26/24
"Here is Proof that Real Estate is Insane"
"Enjoy this tour. We talk about the fact that real estate prices are absolutely through the roof. Imagine a world where you can buy a house and the rents are $5000 less than your house payment would be."
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"How It Really Is"

 

Bill Bonner, "In the National Interest"

"In the National Interest"
The elites all want ‘yes’ men. In the White House and in Congress. Almost all legislation transfers money and power from the people to them... their cronies...and their pet projects.
by Bill Bonner

"No man’s life, liberty or property is safe when the legislature is in session."
- Gideon J. Tucker

Poitou, France - "Widely reported yesterday was Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Some people - mostly those who benefit from pro-Israeli campaign funds or are otherwise employed by the military/industrial/DeepState/surveillance/university/press complex - applauded wildly.

They rose to their feet 50 times…like the Supreme Soviet during an address by Josef Stalin. They seemed especially enthusiastic when the Israeli president suggested that those who objected to killing thousands of Gazans were aligned, and possibly supported, by Iran! Didn’t they know, the Iranian regime hangs gays from construction cranes?!

Other people - mostly Democrats, and notably including Kamala Harris - preferred to keep their distance. Netanyahu is widely and plausibly regarded as a war criminal, who leads an apartheid regime that steals land, tortures innocent people, destroys schools and hospitals and has killed nearly forty thousand Palestinians in the last nine months.

Just mentioning the mass murder brings charges of ‘antisemitism.’ On college campuses, professors who speak up may lose their jobs. Students lose job opportunities. And media reports of ‘rising antisemitism’ make it sound like every Jew on campus lives in fear for his life. So great is the danger of being labeled an ‘anti-semite’ that the goyim held back as Jews - who can’t reasonably be charged with opposing themselves - led Wednesday’s protests at the Capitol.

For politicians, the risk of getting on the wrong side of the Israeli lobby is even greater. They’ve all seen what AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) did to Jamaal Bowman. It can outspend almost any adversary. And according to Rep. Thomas Massie, AIPAC assigns a staffer to monitor each member of Congress to make sure he votes correctly. If not, a replacement is found to challenge him in the next election.

So, when Mr. Netanyahu himself appeared before a joint session of Congress only one Republican dared to sit on his hands, the aforementioned Thomas Massie. The premise of today’s comment is that Massie deserves more attention.

Third Rate Grandstander’: Massie first came to the nation’s notice during the Covid pandemic. “He tested positive for asshole,” said John Kerry. He’s a “third rate grandstander,” said Donald Trump. (Massie countered: “I take great offense at that; I’m at least second rate.”) “Thomas Massie is indeed a dumbass,” tweeted Rep. Maloney. A man with enemies like that can’t be all bad, we thought. So, we looked more closely. As always, context mattered.

In March, 2020, the Senate rushed to authorize an extraordinary spending spree - $2.2 trillion dollars’ worth - unanimously. Then, the House of Representatives was expected to rubber stamp it. After all, the nation faced a national emergency! Of course, the US government didn’t have that kind of money lying around. So, it would have to be ‘printed’ and borrowed... which would inevitably lead to sorrowful results downstream.

The Constitution requires that there be a quorum in order to pass important legislation. But members of Congress were ‘sheltering in place’. And when Massie got into the House he found only two members there. So, he wondered why it was that ‘essential workers’ - truck drivers, food store workers, nurses and many others - still had to go to the job site... but members of Congress did not? Apparently, they weren’t essential. Members of Congress had ‘the best healthcare in the world,’ Massie noted.

He demanded that members return to work. They grumbled. They groused... and they said mean things about Massie. But they came back to Washington. They voted. The bill was passed…almost unanimously. Massie voted ‘no.’

And he was right about everything. There was no reason for the peoples’ representatives to be cowering at home, while the people themselves were stocking shelves and moving freight. As it turned out, the Covid hysteria and the lockdown were unnecessary. And the trillions in excess spending - by Trump and then Biden - led to 9% inflation and a $35 trillion debt-bomb.
Click image for larger size.
The elites, Deep Staters, insiders, the Establishment - all want ‘yes’ men. In the White House and in Congress. Almost all legislation transfers money and power from the people to them... their cronies... and their pet projects. “It’s in the national interest,” they say. But it’s not the nation that gets the money... it’s specific groups for specific reasons.

Massie is a ‘no’ man. He voted against sanctions. He voted against naming Israel a ‘strategic partner,’ whatever that is. He voted against the Paycheck Protection and Health Enhancement Act. He is often the only member of Congress to oppose more spending. In one session he voted ‘no’ 324 times. Massie introduced a bill to abolish the Department of Education, for example... and co-sponsored another that would have abolished the Environmental Protection Agency. Alas, those initiatives went nowhere.

It must be lonely, being a ‘no’ man in today’s Washington. And if it means being an ‘a-hole’…or a ‘third rate grandstander,’ it’s too bad there aren’t more of them. Tune in again next week... "

"Empire of Lies"

"Empire of Lies"
by Brian Maher

"Why does government lie so repeatedly - and so atrociously? Why does it fear truth as the vampire fears garlic? The answer, we hazard, reduces to its desperate quest for prestige. Government equals authority. And an authority is an authority. Its word must be the final word. Its word must be the ultimate word. A supreme authority cannot withstand rivals - else its authority falls into question. It cannot endure mockery, ridicule or derision. And if its undeniable incompetence is exposed, its back goes up… and its dukes go up. Consider for example Monday’s congressional testimony of a certain Kimberly Cheatle…

The Greatest Sin Against Government: Ms. Cheatle directed the United States Secret Service when an aspiring assassin made a mockery of the lady’s organization. How can a murderous fellow scale a low rooftop with a rifle - some 140 yards from a former and potentially future United States president - and let eight projectiles loose - before being scotched? Here he was… placing his thumbs in his ears… wiggling his fingers… and putting out his tongue at Ms. Cheatle and the organization she bosses. And in the private opinion of Ms. Cheatle, that is the highest sin. It is not act itself. Is greater professional incompetence scarcely conceivable? We do not believe it is.

“It’s an Ongoing Investigation”: Yet the lady donned her armor, barricaded herself within fortress walls and deflected all questions concerning her agency’s abominations. She could not answer this question or that question because it is an “ongoing investigation.”

“Was July 13 a Saturday, madam?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation.”
“What time did the attempted assassination take place? What was the local temperature?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation.”
“What color blazer was the former president Trump sporting?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation.”
“In which hemisphere of Earth did the incident occur?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation.”
“What color is the sky?”
“It’s an ongoing investigation.”

Governing Means Never Saying You’re Sorry: Could the lady openly and candidly concede her organization’s botchwork? What government functionary ever does? Imagine her arguing, for example, that her sniper may have failed to shoot first because his scope was trained not on the rooftop - but on the fetching young lady in the third row with the cropped top and the shortest shorts.

Imagine her arguing that the 5’4” female agent lacked the height to cover adequately her 6’3” protectee. Furthermore, that the identical female agent was admitted to the United States Secret Service on a sliding scale - that she did not satisfy the physical standards required of men.

Imagine her conceding that her personnel were snoozing on the job. Have you imagined these potentialities? Then you have imagined impossibilities. Ms. Cheatle would never concede any of them even if true. That is because she fears for her (former) agency’s prestige.

The Bigger the Organization, the Bigger the Lies: “Why are you stating the obvious?” comes your retort. “Every organization, from the smallest business concern to the largest business concern, from any local government to the federal government, fears for its prestige. No organization wants to be publicly embarrassed.” You are of course correct. Yet the larger the organization, the larger its scope. Thus the greater number of lies - and scale of lies - it must tell to cling to its prestige.

Imagine you are the proprietor of a local business concern. You quake in fear of the competition. And you are hot to scotch it. Imagine the lengths to which you proceed… the fibs you tell… to defend and expand your localized little empire. What misdemeanor - indeed, what felony - wouldn’t you execute if it advantaged you? Yet your enterprise maintains a very constricted reach. It represents a nearly absolute insignificance to the world beyond. Who cares if you claim to be the most superior plumber in Springfield when you manifestly are not?

A Local Government Can Manage Its Lies: Next imagine that you are not a business concern. You are instead a local government concern. You are its mayor. You must tell your lies to glitter before your captives, your residents. The business may be difficult at times - yet it is manageable. You must lie about the efficiency of the Motor Vehicle Department or the Highway Department, for example. You must lie about the bribes you have accepted. You may therefore maintain your prestige. Yet the scope of your lies is contained with your narrow borders.

A nation - a normal nation - must likewise tell its lies to hold up its prestige. It may be difficult at times. Yet if the nation is reasonably sized and has little ambition, it is, again, possible. In highest contrast stands the government of the United States…

The Burden of Maintaining Global Prestige: This is an empire that exerts dominion over each individual, over each local municipality, over each state municipality within these shores - from oceans Atlantic and Pacific, from the border with Mexico to the border with Canada. Imagine the impossibility of managing such a vast space. The United States government manages the job very poorly. Yet by its nature it must maintain its prestige among the American people. It must therefore inform you that it performs the job very well. It will stare you in the eyes… and lie to you… even if it knows that you know it is lying to you.

Yet the United States is the world’s reigning kingpin, its dominant power. Its wingspan therefore covers the entirety of planet Earth. Does a single sparrow fall outside its awareness? Imagine - then - the lies it must tell to maintain its prestige among all the nations of Earth…

Lies of Commission and Omission: Who detonated the Nord Stream pipeline transmitting natural gas from the Russian Federation to the German republic? The answers reduce to the United States itself, one of its European allies or the nation of Ukraine. Do you believe the United States government is unaware of the answer? Yet imagine the catastrophic damage to its reputation if it revealed the answer.

It would concede that the United States itself executed the largest act of environmental sabotage in all of history - and heavily wrecked the economy of its central NATO ally - or that another NATO ally did the deed. Or that the nation it stands impassionedly behind, Ukraine, did the deed. It must therefore shrug its shoulders in befuddlement or inform you that Russia blew holes in its own pipeline. It is a lie of omission or a lie of commission.

We’re the Good Guys Here: Imagine if the United States government conceded that Russia’s unprovoked aggression was very much provoked? And that it was the saboteur of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that would have ceased the bloodletting one month after it commenced. Public support for the Ukrainian cause - in the United States and abroad - would collapse in a heap. United States government prestige would absorb a fatal blow.

It must therefore babble lies. It must tell you that Mr. Putin’s aggression was not provoked. It must inform you that he will be at the English Channel within no time if he is not heaved out of Ukraine. It must inform you that it is battling on behalf of democracy. From the Middle East to East Asia, from South America to Africa, the identical dynamic obtains. If the Antarctic continent were sufficiently populated, it would extend there too.

Empire of Lies: Our co-founders Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin once labeled the United States an empire of debt. It is an empire of debt, yes. It is certainly an empire in debt. Yet in the more fundamental sense it is an empire of lies. The emperor in charge of it is presently being exposed - he is well and truly nude before a gaping world. Yet this emperor will never concede his nudity…"

Gregory Mannarino, "Understanding The Game: Market Continues To Price In Trump Selection"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/26/24
"Understanding The Game: 
Market Continues To Price In Trump Selection"
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Gregory Mannarino, PM 7/26/24
"Inflating Our Way Into Disaster; 
People Have No Idea of What Is Happening"
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Jim Kunstler, "Saving Our Democracy"

"Saving Our Democracy"
by Jim Kunstler

“Being insane is the new normal.”
- Aimee Terese on “X”

"However it happened this week, “Joe Biden” passed the blowtorch to a new generation and got himself gone from the political battlefield. Delegates to the coming Democratic National Convention (August 19) were duly notified of the selected replacement, Veep Kamala Harris, and ordered to line up behind her. Not a peep of disagreement was heard among them. Amazing that no one had a different idea. Thus, is democracy saved.

The curious details around this event remain shrouded in mystery. Reporters for The New York Times and the WashPo could not be bothered to inquire, and their readers are not inclined to ask how all this came to be. It just is. In a culture with no sense of consequence, things just happen or un-happen. It is your duty to recognize that the wind now blows from another direction and bend with it.

One thing was obvious: the long-running prank of pretending that President “Joe Biden” is sound-of-mind fell apart after his mortifying appearance on the debate stage June 27th. Apparently, every last captain and foot-soldier in the Democratic Party ranks was taken completely by surprise to see their champion flicker out in real time, like a forty-watt bulb that has done years of duty on the front porch and suddenly leaves you in the dark. Three weeks followed with “Joe Biden” boldly campaigning as if nothing had happened. (Perhaps his mind did not register that things had changed.)

And then there was the weird tweet on “X” Sunday afternoon when the whole country was outside waterskiing, grilling weiners, carjacking, and yelling at ballparks, and the deed was done. Someone, possibly even “Joe Biden” himself, wrote a letter pasted into the tweet that declared he was bowing out of the race. The White House staff didn’t even know until it was up-and-posted. Rumor had it that Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama read the riot act to “JB”, who was refusing to follow the script. There were plenty of carrots-and-sticks to finally lever his obdurate ass into motion: not least must have involved any pending legal outcome of the family’s influence-peddling operations, whispers of new whistleblower accusations about offshore bank accounts, perhaps with sweeteners in the deal as to how much schwag the clan could still hold onto in the end.

Then, the valedictory speech on Wednesday, sort of a proof-of-life exhibition, to verify that Sunday’s janky tweet to the nation was for real. You heard a Homeric recitation of “JB’s” signal achievements in office, every one of them demonstrably false. He did not keep our country out of war, or grow the economy, or keep inflation down, or beat Big Pharma, or build anything, or defend personal freedoms, or “make it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever.” (In fact, the very next day, Thursday, pro-Hamas mobs attacked US Park police and vandalized federal property at Washington’s Union Station, and on Friday all charges were dropped against them - while scores of J6 Capitol trespassers rotted for years in the DC jail.)

What “Joe Biden” actually accomplished in office was the near-total wrecking of the USA. He torpedoed the authority and legitimacy of just about every federal agency, turned the Department of Justice into a Gestapo, seeded the federal court benches with Woke lunatics, allowed an invasion of perhaps 20-million border-jumpers (including many thousands of professional terrorists), coerced injections of an ineffective and injurious vaccine into millions of citizens afraid of losing their livelihoods, promoted gross medical experiments on sexually troubled children, invited drag queens and mentally-ill degenerates to cavort in the White House, spent borrowed money at a rate that propelled the national debt past the event horizon into a black hole, made the seeking of incompetence the number one priority of the Pentagon, provoked a war in Ukraine that now teeters on the hazard of a nuclear exchange, and allowed the CIA to complete its takeover of the US government. “Joe Biden” will go down in history as the worst of all 46 US presidents.

And, of course, in the rush of cascading events the past several weeks came the attempted assassination of the Democratic Party’s nemesis, Mr. Trump, an operation festooned with loose threads, suspicious agency failures, and intimations of Deep State blob engineering. You’ll have to stand by on any of that resolving soon. But many Democrats expressed disappointment that Mr. Trump was not killed, since that would be saving our democracy.

Also not quite resolved is the case of who the Democratic Party truly intends to run for president this year as the days dwindle down to Nov. 5. The current delirium over Kamala Harris is like a relief rally in the financial markets when a crisis has been averted - or, at least, stalled. You have reason to doubt that the Democratic Party’s leadership crisis has actually been averted. Despite sedulous efforts to wipe her record, too many Americans know Kamala Harris as a hee-hawing ninny with a predilection for hapless Marxist fantasies. I’m not persuaded that she is at all comfortable in her sudden role as the party’s avatar. She is rumored to hit the bottle in moments of stress.

The Party of Chaos will supposedly run a “virtual roll call” of delegates August 1st in order to meet the requirements to get on the ballot in several states. But then comes the actual convention with live bodies in murmuration on the floor of the arena, and in the back rooms and hallways, and there are more than three weeks between now and then for Kamala Harris to remind the world what a cackling lightweight she is. A lot can happen between now and then."

Adventures With Danno, "Aldi Saver Deals You Should Be Buying!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 7/26/24
"Aldi Saver Deals You Should Be Buying!"
In today's vlog, we are at Aldi and are finding all kinds of their Aldi Saver Deals! As grocery prices continue to rise in most of our main supermarkets, Aldi has put together some pretty amazing sales that we should definitely take advantage of! We show you all of the savings, so get your notepad ready!
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Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Full screen recommended.
Travelling with Russell, 7/26/24
"Russian Typical Supermarket After 800 Days of Sanctions"
What does a Typical Russian supermarket look like in Russia? Join me on a tour of a Russian typical supermarket in Moscow, Russia. What items are they selling, what products are no longer available after 800 days of Sanctions?
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Full screen recommended.
Travelling with Russell, 7/23/24
"I Went to a Russian Tea Party in the Center of Moscow"
What does a Russian Tea Party look like in Moscow, Russia? Join me as I discover what it's like to attend a traditional Moscow Tea Party. Together I will show you some of the features and special events during a Russian Tea Party." 
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Thursday, July 25, 2024

Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Moscow Preps Hospitals For WW3; Romania Down Drone; Mass Evac Drill"

Canadian Prepper, 7/25/24
"Alert! Moscow Preps Hospitals For WW3;
 Romania Down Drone; Mass Evac Drill"
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Gerald Celente, "Office Building Bust, AL Bust, More War And Less Freedom"

Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 7/25/24
"Office Building Bust, AL Bust,
 More War And Less Freedom"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What’s Next in these increasingly turbulent times"
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Musical Interlude: Afshin, "Prayer of Change"

Full screen recommended.
Afshin, "Prayer of Change"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“The southern Milky Way appears spectacular in this composite image taken from Mangaia, the most southerly of the Cook Islands. Few sources of light pollution exist here, home to only 500 people.
The two bright stars at the Milky Way’s center are Alpha (left) and Beta Centauri. They point to Crux the Southern Cross. Near the horizon, two of the satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, the Small (left) and Large Magellanic Clouds are easy to spot.”

"Just Remember..."

“I know the world seems terrifying right now and the future seems bleak. Just remember human beings have always managed to find the greatest strength within themselves during the darkest hours. When faced with the worst horrors the world has to offer, a person either cracks and succumbs to ugliness, or they salvage the inner core of who they are and fight to right wrongs. Never Let hatred, fear, and ignorance get the best of you. Keep bettering yourself so you can make the world around you better, for nothing can improve without the brightest, bravest, kindest, and most imaginative individuals rising above the chaos.”
- Cat Winters

“5 Painfully Obvious Truths We Tend to Forget in Hard Times”

“5 Painfully Obvious Truths
We Tend to Forget in Hard Times”
by Angel Chernoff

“This is going to have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
We are going to get through this, I promise,
and we’re going to get through it together. “
- Dr. Jon LaPook

“You know how you can read or hear something dozens of times in dozens of different ways before it finally sinks in? The little truths listed below fall firmly into that category – timeless life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, yet for whatever reason we tend to forget in the heat of the moment. This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all, especially as we collectively cope with the evolving reality of economic collapse and the drastic social and life circumstances caused by COVID-19…

1. Life is short, and nothing is guaranteed. We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to the present moment and how the world really is.

LIVE your life TODAY! Don’t ignore death – or the imminent dangers now becoming obvious – but don’t be afraid of life either. Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take positive action today. Death is not the greatest loss in life, neither is illness. The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive and well. Even in these difficult times, be bold, be courageous, be a scared to death, and then take the next step anyway. Just change the way you do it.

Invest your heart and soul into whatever you have right in front of you. Bring passion into otherwise ordinary moments. You don’t have to be surrounded by lots of people. You don’t have to be going anyplace new. You can distance yourself and still passionately engage in each moment.

2. Everything will change again soon. Embrace change and realize in many ways it’s necessary. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end most forms of change are worthwhile because they force us to grow. So keep yourself in check right now.

What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow. You never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.

Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives. A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event. And these events are always happening – as they are right now.

So just remember, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. Accept it. Breathe. Be where you are. You’re where you need to be right now. There’s a time and place for everything, and every hard step is necessary. Just keep doing your best, and don’t force what’s not yet supposed to fit into your life. When it’s meant to be, it will be.

3. Changing your response is what puts you back in control. Have patience with everything that remains unresolved in your head and heart. And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard to stay true to your intuition and values. This is your life, and it is governed by your choices. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your daily choices preach louder than your lips. May your inner sense of satisfaction be your noise in the end.

And if your present life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it. Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land – even when there are so many unknowns – be brave enough to stand up and listen to your heart. Remember that the most powerful moments in life happen when you find the courage to let go of what can’t be changed. Because when you are no longer able to change a situation, you are challenged to change yourself – to grow beyond the unchangeable. And that changes everything! (Marc and I discuss this in more detail in the “Passion and Growth” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.“)

4. Life’s storms can be a great source of strength. Hard times are like strong storms that blow against you. And it’s not just that these storms hold you back from places you might otherwise go. They also tear away from you all but the essential parts of your ego that cannot be torn, so that afterward you see yourself as you really are, and not merely as you might like to be.

Ultimately, you realize you are here to endure these storms, to sacrifice your time and risk your heart. You are here to be bruised by life. And when it happens that you are hurt, or betrayed, or rejected, let yourself sit quietly with your eyes closed and remember all the good times you had, and all the sweetness you tasted, and everything you learned. Tell yourself how amazing it was to live, and then open your eyes and live some more.

Because to never struggle would be to never grow. You must let go of who you were so you can become who you are. Again, it is within the depths of the strongest and darkest storms that you discover within you an inextinguishable light, and it is this light that illuminates the path forward.

5. You don’t need all the answers right now. Accept the feeling of not knowing exactly where you are going, and train yourself to love and appreciate this sensation of freedom. Because it is only when you are suspended in the air, with no destination in sight, that you force your wings to open fully so you can fly. And as you soar around you still may not know where you’re traveling to. But that’s not what’s important. What’s important is the opening of your wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as your wings are spread, the winds will carry you forward.

Truth be told, some of the greatest outcomes that transpire in your life will be the ones you never even knew you wanted. As long as you keep your mind open to new perspectives and yourself moving forward, there really are no wrong turns in life, only paths you didn’t know you were meant to travel. And you never can be certain what’s around the corner. It could be everything, or it could be nothing. You keep gliding steadily forward, and then one day you realize you’ve come a long way from where you started.

All details aside, someday all the pieces will come together. Unimaginably good outcomes will likely transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated. And you will look back at the hard times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself… “How in the world did I get through all of that?”

"What Matter..."

"What matter if this base, unjust life
Cast you naked and disarmed?
If the ground breaks beneath your step,
Have you not your soul?
Your soul! You fly away,
Escape to realms refined,
Beyond all sadness and whimpering.
Be like the bird which on frail branches balanced
A moment sits and sings;
He feels them tremble, but he sings unshaken,
Knowing he has wings."

– Victor Hugo

Free Download: Carl Bernstein, "The Idiot Culture"

"The minds of men were gradually reduced to the same level, the fire of genius was extinguished. The name of Poet was almost forgotten; that of Orator was usurped by the sophists. A cloud of critics, of compilers, of commentators, darkened the face of learning, and the decline of genius was soon followed by the corruption of taste. This diminutive stature of mankind was daily sinking below the old standard."
- Edward Gibbon,
"The Decline And Fall of The Roman Empire"

"We are in the process of creating, in sum, what deserves to be called tbe idiot culture. Not an idiot subculture, which every society has bubbling beneath the surface and which can provide harmless fun; but the culture itself For the first time in our history the weird and the stupid and the coarse are becoming our cultural norm, even our cultural ideal."
Freely download "The Idiot Culture", by Carl Bernstein, here:

"The Daily "Near You?"

Maxwell, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"And Sometimes..."

 

Gregory Mannarino, "There Is No Way To Stop It! An Extreme Decline Is Dead Ahead!"

Gregory Mannarino, 7/25/24
"There Is No Way To Stop It! 
An Extreme Decline Is Dead Ahead!"
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Related:
Full screen recommended.
Jim Rickards, 7/25/24
"Central Bank Is About To Collapse 
The Economy and Here's How."
"Jim Rickards talks about the U.S national debt that is going up and up forever and how the Central Bank will blow up the economy with it, and then talks about MMT or Modern Monetary Theory which doesn't make any sense to him."
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"The Percentage Of Americans That Worry They Won’t Be Able To Pay Their Bills Is Higher Than It Was During The Great Recession"

"The Percentage Of Americans That Worry They Won’t Be Able
To Pay Their Bills Is Higher Than It Was During The Great Recession"
by Michael Snyder

"Do you remember how painful the Great Recession was? 2008 and the years immediately following were definitely a very dark chapter in our history, but a new study has actually found that the percentage of Americans that worry they won’t be able to pay their bills is actually higher today than it was back then. Slowly but surely, our economic strength has been fading and our standard of living has been falling. Unfortunately, now we have reached a point where a very large portion of the U.S. population is really struggling. According to a CNN poll that was just released, almost 40 percent of all U.S. adults “say they worry most or all of the time that their family’s income won’t be enough to meet expenses”…

"Many Americans regularly worry they won’t be able to make ends meet. Nearly four in ten (39%) of US adults say they worry most or all of the time that their family’s income won’t be enough to meet expenses, according to a new CNN poll. That’s up from 28% who expressed those concerns in December 2021, and it’s similar to the numbers seen during the Great Recession (37%). To cope, significant shares of Americans said they are adding side jobs, cutting down on driving and putting more expenses on credit cards."

If you would have asked me before I saw the results, I would have been quite confident that the number during the Great Recession would have been higher than the number in 2024. Just like everyone else, I remember the Great Recession as such a painful time. Sadly, the economic pain that we are experiencing now is just beginning.

Ordinary Americans from coast to coast are being absolutely crushed by rising prices, and that isn’t going to change any time soon. In an article that CNN posted about this new survey, one woman that works for the CDC admitted that she was recently forced to move because costs have risen so aggressively…“The grocery store is just outrageous right now. But it’s not just that. Everything has gone up. Clothing. My insurance,” said Angela Russell, an Ohio resident who works as a program analyst at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Russell, who has two adult children and three grandkids, said she recently moved out of her rental home in Cincinnati in favor of one in a rural area where the rent is cheaper."

Other recent surveys have come up with results that are even more alarming. For example, one discovered that a whopping 71 percent of Americans are stressed out about their “ability to afford everyday expenses”…"71% of Americans say they’re stressed by their ability to afford everyday expenses. Americans most regularly spend money on groceries, phone bills, utilities, gasoline and rent/mortgage payments. Grocery bills frustrate Americans more than any other regular expense. Utilities, rent/mortgage payments, gasoline and insurance payments round out the top five most annoying expenses.

That is most of the country. Unsurprisingly, younger generations are being hit particularly hard by the pain of inflation…"Financial stress levels are highest among millennials (77%), followed by Generation Z (75%) and Generation X (74%). Baby boomers reported experiencing the least financial stress, although at 59% it was still more than half of those surveyed."

Those that follow my work regularly know that I tend to rant about rising prices at the grocery store. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that prices have gotten so high, and it appears that a lot of people out there agree with me.

Another recent survey found that 80 percent of Americans have observed a “notable increase” in grocery store prices…"According to a study by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma, 80% of Americans say they have felt a “notable increase” in grocery costs in recent years. More than a quarter of respondents said the increased cost has led them to occasionally skip meals, while about one-third said they spend more than 60% of their monthly income on mandatory expenses such as food, utilities and rent."

Food has certainly become ridiculously expensive, but we actually spend far more money on housing. Today, the typical household spends about 12 percent of total income on food and about 33 percent of total income on housing…"According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top three annual expenses for the average American household in 2022 (the most recent data available) were housing (33.3%), transportation (16.8%) and food (12.8%)."

For most Americans, spending money in these areas is unavoidable. Housing costs have been rising much faster than the overall rate of inflation, and we just learned that home prices reached yet another new all-time record high last month…"Home prices hit a new high in June for the second straight month, the latest sign that the housing market is unaffordable to millions of Americans. The spring home-buying season, usually the busiest time of year for the housing market, was a dud this year. Home sales declined in June for the fourth straight time on a monthly basis. The combination of high prices and elevated mortgage rates has made homeownership less attractive to renters and deterred current homeowners from moving."

Meanwhile, homelessness in the United States is at the highest level ever recorded and it has been growing at the fastest pace ever recorded. We just can’t keep going on like this. Something has to give.

It appears to be inevitable that all of this economic pain will have a dramatic impact on the upcoming election. At this point, approximately three out of every five Americans believe that we are already in a recession right now…"You don’t need to be a financial genius to know that times are tough for plenty of Americans. With that in mind, a majority of people actually think the economy is doing even worse than the “experts” say it is. Three in five people believe that the U.S. is currently in a recession, even though we’re not officially in one according to the financial definition.

The survey of 2,000 Americans explored what’s driving this lack of consumer confidence in the economy. Inflation and the rising cost of living (68%) top the list of reasons why respondents believe the U.S. is in a recession, followed by friends and family members complaining about money (50%)."

It is not an accident that this has happened. For more than a decade, people like me have been relentlessly warning that the decisions that our leaders were making would have disastrous consequences, and that is exactly what has happened. And if we stay on the path that we are on, it won’t be too long before we witness a meltdown of absolutely epic proportions."

"How It Really Is"

Oh no we haven't, not even close. 
This is just beginning, and you ain't seen nuthin' yet, but you will...

Jeremiah Babe, "When They Pull The Plug Bad Things Will Happen"

Jeremiah Babe, AM 7/25/24
"When They Pull The Plug Bad Things Will Happen"
Comments here:

Dan, I Allegedly,

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/25/24
"Financial Peril Is Here - People are Broke"
In this video, I discuss alarming stories like a woman who hit 60 with zero retirement savings and others just scraping by paycheck to paycheck. It's a wake-up call for all of us to trim our expenses, live within our means, and prepare for an uncertain future.
Comments here:

Bill Bonner, "Faux Democracy"

"Faux Democracy"
Much like the Communist Party of the old now-defunct Soviet Union,
 the insiders share power... depending on who’s most persuasive or most cunning...
 and they prefer an ‘empty suit’ in the top seat.
by Bill Bonner

Poitou, France - "What a week! We’ve had a hard time keeping up. Bloomberg: "$1 Trillion Rout Hits Nasdaq 100 Over AI Jitters in Worst Day Since 2022." Investors soured on the promise of artificial intelligence Wednesday, sparking a $1 trillion rout in the Nasdaq 100 Index as questions swirled over just how long it will take for the substantial investments in the technology to pay off. The Nasdaq indexes tumbled more than 3% for the worst days since October 2022. The list of laggards was a who’s-who of AI technology darlings, led by semiconductor companies such as Nvidia Corp., Broadcom Inc. and Arm Holdings Plc."

Tom says he’s “getting a whiff of mood change” in the markets. He highlighted the drop in the Nasdaq in his update yesterday: "Over the past two weeks, the Russell 2000 is up 8% while the Nasdaq 100 is down by 7%. Notables Nvidia fell 15%, AMD fell 30%, ASML fell 26%, Taiwan Semiconductor fell 16% and Micron Technology fell 19%.  It reminds us of late 1999. Then it was ‘dot.com’ stocks that were headed ‘to the moon.’ And by early the next year, 2000, they got there. The Nasdaq doubled in a single year. Tech stocks were at their peaks... and beginning to wobble. Then, a year later, they had been cut in half."

Will the same thing happen to today’s leading techs? Maybe. And we’re getting a similar whiff in the political world... and the world of ideas. Where once it was taboo to oppose the war in the Ukraine... or the massacre in Gaza... question marks are beginning to appear. Wouldn’t it make sense to negotiate with Putin rather than waste more money and more lives? Isn’t the war a lost cause?

As for Gaza... Congress listened to Netanyahu yesterday. For decades, American money has supported dictators, fascists and murderers. But as far as we know this was the first time US politicians rose to their feet, en masse, to salute someone widely and plausibly regarded as a ‘war criminal.’ But the lobbyists have done their work well. Most Americans may oppose killing Palestinians, but most people don’t depend on pro-Israel money for their re-election campaigns.

Joe Goes: No one has gotten more money from the Israelis than Joe Biden. But poor Joe gave up the race for the White House... by tweet. It wasn’t on the official letterhead... so rumors began flying around. Did he really do it? Who did it for him? Last night, he spoke to the nation... and yes, he’s alive! And yes, he announced his retirement from public life. Pity he didn’t do it sooner – 52 years ago.

And now that we know his brain isn’t working as it should, people wonder: if he wasn’t running the country, who was? The answer is obvious... the insiders, the elites, the honchos of the Democratic Party. This has little to do with democracy. But it shows how America’s faux democracy actually works.

Much like the Communist Party of the old now-defunct Soviet Union, the insiders share power... depending on who’s most persuasive or most cunning... and they prefer an ‘empty suit’ in the top seat. The controlling group has a variety of scams, policies and hobby horses. It wants a ‘front man’ (or woman) not to lead, but to follow their program and sell it to the public. And since the peoples’ representatives in the House and the Senate are mostly muttonheads... well, thank God, they’re not leading either.

Meanwhile, there was a lot of activity here at home, too. It has been more than a quarter of a century since we bought the house here in France and fixed it up. This year, we decided it was time for a major tune-up. The shutters needed to be painted. New windows were installed and needed a coat of paint too. One gate had fallen off its hinges. Others needed to be scraped and painted. It’s a big house. And we are deep in the French countryside. Where would we get the manpower to do the job? Virginia! Stay tuned."

"The Big Club, 7/25/24"

"It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it. 
You and I are not in the Big Club."
- George Carlin
Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...
Only the consequences are real - to you!
o
Market Data Center, Live Updates:
o
Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/25/24
"The U.S. War Economy Is Much Worse Than Expected, 
And The Numbers Prove It"
Comments here:
o
Danielle DiMartino Booth, 7/25/24
"'All Hell Breaks Loose' In the Next Few Months 
Says FED Insider Danielle DiMartino Booth"
Everyone's getting fired across all industries, says Danielle.
 U.S. recession is here and the housing market is crashing.
Comments here: 
o
David Lin, 7/25/24
"80% Of Banks 'Going Down’; $9 Trillion Of Debt Due Soon"
Comments here:

Adventures With Danno, "Kroger Knocks It Out Of The Park With Some Jaw Dropping Sales!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, AM 7/25/24
"Kroger Knocks It Out Of The Park
 With Some Jaw Dropping Sales!"
In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and are noticing some unbelievable sales going on. Groceries have been ridiculously overpriced, but we are seeing Kroger have some of the best deals we've seen in years! Shop with me at Kroger as we discover these great savings together!
Comments here:

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

"Wars And Rumors Of Wars"

Danny Haiphong, 7/24/24
"Scott Ritter And Dan Kovalik: Israel Is Losing The War As 
Netanyahu Reveals In Humiliating Congress Visit"
Comments here:
o
George Galloway, 7/24/24
"Scott Ritter: 
The End Of The World As We Know It"
"The summer of 2026 may be the last summer we have on this planet, 
says Scott Ritter. We have created the conditions for nuclear war with Russia."
Comments here:

Redacted, "Stunning New Details in Trump Assassination Plot: Water Tower & Explosives Van"

Full screen recommended.
Redacted, 7/24/24
"Stunning New Details in Trump Assassination Plot: 
Water Tower & Explosives Van"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Dr. Chris Martenson, 7/24/24
"Audio Analysis Raises Troubling Questions"
Comments here:
o
"Shocking Revelations: Secret Service Snipers
 Stand Down During Critical Moment"
by Mike Adams

"Shocking new video leaked from law enforcement reveals that Secret Service was watching Crooks but was ordered to stand down, to allow him to (apparently) open fire at will. This new video evidence also confirms that a Secret Sniper sniper team was located in the second floor office with the open window, and that "Greg" was one of the snipers stationed there. We also know "Greg" took photos of Crooks and sent them up his chain of command. It looks like this entire thing was scripted, and Crooks was led to the rooftop to be the patsy. New questions emerge about origins of rifle rounds, too.

Get the full details in today's broadcast update, which also includes a hard-hitting interview with Brian Festa from We The Patriots USA, who's leading legal battles against government-run medical kidnapping of children across America."
View video here:

Jeremiah Babe, "More Dollar Stores Close As Markets Crash; Homebuyers Backing Out Of Deals At Alarming Rate"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/24/24
"More Dollar Stores Close As Markets Crash; 
Homebuyers Backing Out Of Deals At Alarming Rate"
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Firebird"

Full screen recommended.
2002, "Firebird"

Musical Interlude: Dire Straits, "Private Investigations"

Dire Straits, "Private Investigations"

"It's a mystery to me, the game commences,
For the usual fee, plus expenses.
Confidential information, it's in a diary.
This is my investigation, it's not a public inquiry.

I go checking out the reports, digging up the dirt.
You get to meet all sorts in this line of work.
Treachery and treason, there's always an excuse for it,
And when I find the reason, I still can't get used to it.

And what have you got at the end of the day?
What have you got to take away?
A bottle of whiskey, and a new set of lies,
Blinds on the windows, and a pain behind the eyes.

Scarred for life, no compensation.
Private investigations..."

"A Look to the Heavens"

"From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look at the Eagle Nebula, however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed. In this cavity tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold molecular gas remain where stars are still forming. Already visible are several young bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust.
The Eagle emission nebula, tagged M16, lies about 6500 light years away, spans about 20 light-years, and is visible with binoculars toward the constellation of the Serpent (Serpens). This picture involved over 12 hours of imaging and combines three specific emitted colors emitted by sulfur (colored as red), hydrogen (yellow), and oxygen (blue).”