"JP Morgan Contemplates $380 Oil - You Need To Contemplate No Gas, No Groceries, No Job and No Home"

"JP Morgan Contemplates $380 Oil - 

You Need To Contemplate No Gas, No Groceries, No Job and No Home"

by Stan Szymanski

"Bloomberg has reported that JP Morgan Sees ‘Stratospheric’ $380 Oil if US and European retributions prod Russia to exact punitory crude output cuts. The article goes on to state that because of the new found economic strength of Russia, Putins’ nation could afford to cut production as much as 5 million barrels a day. JP Morgan proposes that a cut of 3 million barrels/day could push oil to $190 a barrel. A cut of 5 million barrels may catapult crude to as much as $380.

The current United States administration and NATO want a war with Russia. Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene urges the US to leave NATO to avoid a war with Russia. Will our government leaders listen to her? Very doubtful. What does $380 oil and war with Russia mean to we, the American people? If Russia were to cut oil production that would result in $380 oil, the purpose of that would be to weaken America before it was attacked.

$380 oil means $20+ per gallon diesel. $380 oil means $17+ per gallon gasoline. If gasoline is $17/gallon, will you be able to afford to drive to work? If you drive an SUV and it gets 17 MPG between city and highway driving and you have to drive 25 miles each way to work, that’s basically a use case of 3 gallons/day times $17 a gallon or a cost of $51/day just to gas up for the day. That is $1,000 per month just to drive back and forth to work. Add in maintenance and insurance and all of a sudden 50-75% of American will not be able to afford the cost of simply going to work. At that point, how will you make a living for your family? Better get a bicycle now, get into shape and hope it doesn’t snow in the winter (turn off sarcasm now). Additionally, if Russia cuts 5 million barrels of oil a day from the markets, will there even be any gas to be had in a land where the strategic petroleum reserve has been drawn down to 25 days?

If diesel is $20/gallon, will over the road truckers roll if it cost between $3,000 and $4,000 a day to fill up their rigs? I hardly think so. If semis don’t move, how will groceries-meat, milk, eggs, grains, bread and vegetables get to your supermarket? They won’t. If there are no groceries to buy, what will you do for food? Better learn how to make ‘sawdust sourdough’ like the inhabitants of St. Petersburg did during the siege of Leningrad during World War 2.

If you can’t afford to drive to your job, you will have no job. If you have no job, you will not be able to pay your bills. If you can’t pay your bills you will lose your home or apartment. If you lose your home you will be homeless.

Did you plant a garden? Are you thinking of another source of revenue that you can do from home? Do you have a ‘country cousin’ you can stay with when the major cities in this country erupt into violence when food riots are part of everyday life? Can you consider buying a piece of property in the country (that has a well) and putting a shed on it to have someplace to go to when even the suburbs become untenable and neighbors prey upon neighbors because there is no other option?

I don’t know what a war with Russia would exactly look like. But if America was in a weakened state it may be that Russia would nuke a few major US cities and strategic areas before we knew what hit us. You see, Russia has weapons known as ‘hypersonic’ missiles capable of deploying many warheads from one one missile that are too fast to intercept. The US does -not- have hypersonic missiles to currently compete with Russia and essentially, cannot defend against these high technology armaments. The US is working to catch up. But if you were the Russians, would you wait until your enemy caught up with your hi-tech, or would you punch them in the nose right now? The administration should listen to Represent Greene. But they won’t.

None of this adds up to anything good for the average American. $380 oil equates to no gas, no groceries, no job and no home for a lot of US citizens. Financial markets would be shredded except for the - physical - precious metals and commodities. Please carefully consider the ramifications of this potential scenario and do the best you can for your family. Now."

- https://www.encouragingangels.org/

"Go Down Swinging..."

"We lose those battles as often as we succeed. The key, though, win or lose, is to never fail. And the only way to fail is not to fight. So fight until you can't fight anymore. Never let go. Never give up. Never run. Never surrender. Fight the good fight, you fight even when it seems inevitable you're about to go down swinging." 

- "Amelia Shepherd", "Grey's Anatomy"

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“Don’t let fear keep you quiet. You have a voice so use it. Speak up. Raise your hands. Shout your answers. Make yourself heard. Whatever it takes, just find your voice, and when you do, fill the damn silence.” 

- "Meredith Grey", "Grey's Anatomy"

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"Have some fire. Be unstoppable. Be a force of nature. Be better than anyone here and don't give a damn about what anyone thinks." 

- "Cristina Yang", "Grey's Anatomy"

"The Devil's Work"

"The Devil's Work"

by The Zman

"There is an old expression that has fallen out of favor in the post-scarcity age, but it may be the key to understanding the current crises. That expression is, 'Idle hands do the Devil's work.' When people do not have anything productive and useful to do with their time, they are more likely to get involved in trouble and criminality. A variant of this is "The Devil makes work for idle hands.' The idea there is if you want to avoid Old Scratch, then make sure you keep yourself useful to God.

The source of these proverbs is unknown, but variations of them go back to the early middle ages, so it is probable they evolved with Christianity. It is not unreasonable to think the idea is universal to civilization. After all, every human society has had to deal with the idle, lazy, and troublesome. Making sure these people are kept too busy to cause trouble is one of those primary challenges of civilization. Every ruler has known that too many idle young men is bad for his rule.

Even in the smaller context, this is something we instinctively know. In the workplace, people with too much free time get into trouble. If the IT staff has too much free time, they start tinkering around with the stuff that is working and before long that stuff stops working and the system goes down. A big part of what goes on inside the schools is to keep the kids and the teachers busy. Home schoolers have known for years that the learning content is just a few hours a day. The rest is busy work.

The point here is that people of all ages need a purpose, something that occupies their mind and their time. If something useful and productive is not filling that need, then something useless or unproductive will fill the void. For most people this may be a hobby or leisure activity. For others, it often means a useless activity is turned into something important. Elevating the mundane to the level of the critical and then creating drama around the performance of the mundane activity.

This is what we see in our political class. The ruling class of every society has a ceremonial role, a procedural role, and a practical role. Outside of a crisis like a war or natural disaster, the political class is performing its duties in the same way a line worker in a factory preforms his role. In popular government this means the pol shows up at public events. He performs the tasks his office requires like signing papers and casting votes. He helps grease the wheels when they need grease.

Into the 20th century, most of our political offices were part-time jobs. State legislatures met for a short period during the year. Otherwise, the legislators were back home doing their jobs. Executive positions like governor and president were full-time jobs, as they were in charge of the civil service and in the case of president, commander-in-chief of the military. Within living memory, Washington DC would empty out in the spring and remain empty until the fall when Congress returned.

What we see today is politics at all levels has become a full-time job, but one with less to do when it was considered a part-time job. Congress, for example, is something close to a 24-hour drama now. The politicians and their retinues are now doing politics as a full-time obsession. Yet almost all of what they do is unnecessary. In fact, much of what they do is harmful. Very few things passed by Congress enjoy the support of the majority of the people or even a large plurality.

It is not just that these part-time jobs have been made into full-time obsessions. It is that much of what we used to need from government is now filled by individuals, ad hoc networks, and the private sector. Much of what government does is actually done by private contractors on government contracts. One of the ironies of the post-Cold War world is that the federal workforce has declined relative to the population, while the number of people employed in politics has gone up.

Then there is the fact that much of what government does could be automated or simply eliminated entirely. The services that are required like renewing licenses and paying fees can all be automated. In many cases they have been, but that did not result in fewer people, as we see in the dreaded private sector. Instead, it resulted in more idle hands looking for a purpose. On the political side, much of what Congress does could also be eliminated or automated.

What has happened in the last 30 years is we have grown the idle class at the top of our society and while decreasing their necessity. Much of what goes on in our politics is make work designed to get public attention. Think about it. If the cable news channels were shuttered and the social media platforms run by the oligarchs were closed, what would change in America? Nothing of practical importance. Our world would get quieter and there would be a boom in forgotten hobbies.

American political culture evolved during the Cold War to fight communism and prevent a nuclear war. Those were important tasks that occupied the minds and hands of the political class. Once those things went away, those idle hands searched about for a new crisis. Health care, Gaia worship, Islam and now invisible Nazis have been used to keep the idle hands of the political class busy. In the process, the political class has been driven mad and is threatening the rest of society."

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

"Economic Market Snapshot 7/5/22"

Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...

Only the consequences are real - to you!

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"Economic Market Snapshot 7/5/22"

Market Data Center, Live Updates:

- https://www.marketwatch.com/market-data

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Latest Market Analysis, Updated 7/5/22

- https://www.asktraders.com/analysis/

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A comprehensive, essential daily read.

July 1st to July 5th

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

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Financial Stress Index

"The OFR Financial Stress Index (OFR FSI) is a daily market-based snapshot of stress in global financial markets. It is constructed from 33 financial market variables, such as yield spreads, valuation measures, and interest rates. The OFR FSI is positive when stress levels are above average, and negative when stress levels are below average. The OFR FSI incorporates five categories of indicators: credit, equity valuation, funding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United States, other advanced economies, and emerging markets."

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- https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/

Job cuts and much more.

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- https://www.zerohedge.com/

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- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

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- https://wallstreetonparade.com/

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- https://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

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- https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

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Commentary, highly recommended:

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

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"The more I see of the monied classes,

the better I understand the guillotine."

- George Bernard Shaw

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Oh yeah... beyond words. Any I know anyway...

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And now... The End Game...

Gregory Mannarino, "Stocks Poised To Fall; US Economy Slowing Faster Than Expected"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/5/22:

"Stocks Poised To Fall; 

US Economy Slowing Faster Than Expected"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Market Data Center, Live Updates:

- https://www.marketwatch.com/market-data

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Related:

Click image for larger size.

"In the US, the May Consumer Price index was up 8.6% year over year. This is an under reported number as John Williams at ShadowStats reports that inflation is running at a rate of over 15%! What does this mean to someone holding cash as an investment? It means that the $100 in their bank account last year only buys $85 worth of groceries and goods this year."

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

"Choices..."

"Yes or no. In or out. Up or down. Live or die.

Hero or coward. Fight or give in.

I'll say it again to make sure you hear me.

The human life is made up of choices. Live or die.

That's the important choice. And it's not always in our hands."

- Derek Shepherd

Musical Interlude: Procol Harum, "A Salty Dog"

Procol Harum, "A Salty Dog"

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"Ulysses"

"There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:

There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,

Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me -

That ever with a frolic welcome took

The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed

Free hearts, free foreheads - you and I are old;

Old age hath yet his honor and his toil;

Death closes all: but something ere the end,

Some work of noble note, may yet be done,

Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.

The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:

The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep

Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,

'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

Push off, and sitting well in order smite

The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds

To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths

Of all the western stars, until I die.

It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,

And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"How It Really Is"

Oh yeah, we deserve everything we're getting alright...

Jim Kunstler, "A Great Endeavor"

Lil Miss Hot Mess, author and performer.

"A Great Endeavor"

by Jim Kunstler

"I wish I had a time machine. I would teleport a small delegation of Ben Franklin, Tom Jefferson, and Button Gwinnett from their sweltering labors at Independence Hall - then known as the Pennsylvania state house - to a Drag Queen Story Hour hosted by Lil Miss Hot Mess (“The People’s Drag Queen”) reading from her best-selling book, "The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish," to a roomful of six-year-old offspring birthed by America’s current Progressive ruling elite. Here, I would explain, is what it has come to.

Have today’s elites in our country, marinated in social justice and frantically signaling their goodness-and-virtue, gone perhaps a tad too far in their quest to liberate the populace from boundaries previously established for human behavior? It’s one thing, you know, to throw off the onerous yoke of a British King and his agents, with their vexing taxes, despotic harassments, abuses and usurpations. It’s perhaps another thing “empowering” children to bethink themselves monomaniacs of sexual confusion, years before they’re mentally equipped to devine the conundrums of sex. What, after all, is a “hot mess?”

Well, Google’s top search answer, from the Oxford Languages website, defines “hot mess” thusly: a person or thing that is spectacularly unsuccessful or disordered, especially one that is a source of peculiar fascination. Okay, I see: this metaphor signifies what the ruling elites would like our nation to become! And, more generally, western civ - that agglomeration of fusty creeds, shopworn traditions, oppressive laws, dubious virtues, and racist arts. Mission accomplished, then!

On July 4, 2022, America is a hot mess, but exactly! Are we not now spectacularly unsuccessful and disordered - in body, mind, polity, culture, mores, convictions, and aspirations? What is functioning in America these days? Absolutely nuthin’, ugh, say it again, to quote a song lyric of my bygone youth, when our project in Vietnam had gone off the rails. Of course, that was then and this is now. Back then, say 1970, we were the exuberant avatar of Modernity and the rest of the world was still a little groggy from World War Two. In that America, a man could easily support a family, we never gave a thought to our oil supply, and the doctor would see you now.

This birthday of the republic we are on track to going medieval, or something that at least rhymes with it. I’m regretful as anyone to leave so much baggage behind, but frankly it’s been a long time since all the Fun, Fun, Fun was over and Daddy took the T-bird away. Daddy himself is gone, along with all representations of him. Donald Trump tried to play the role in a movie called The Years before Covid-19 but the critics savaged him. Anyone who dares to try to be Daddy in America now will be Me-tooed and J-Sixed to a fare-thee-well, we’ve been warned. In your New World Order of Bill Gates and the Schwabenklaus’s Great Re-set, we are all expected to be a hot mess (so the exterminations can proceed without resistance).

I, for one, refuse to comply with all that insolent wickedness and urge you to join with me in making something decent, honorable, and workable in the vast salvage yard that America will be when we expel the degenerate maniacs who broke it to pieces. You do not have to be a hot mess. You can, for instance, be a man. Or, another instance, be a woman. These binaries of human reproduction can produce new humans. A man, a woman, and children will comprise a family, a good start in rebuilding the organism called a society.

The chief duty of men and women in this future will be doing everything possible to ensure that their children do not become hot messes. Their duties beyond that entail the search for purpose, meaning, and happiness, and building institutions to support those ends. We can start with the language we use amongst ourselves to make sense of who we are and where we are. Our language must have a rigorous correlation with reality, which makes it possible to determine what things are true and what are not true. The time will soon be at hand when it is possible to tell who is speaking the truth and who is not. A battle may ensue over this and those on the side of the truth will prevail. Consider these propositions as you flip your burgers and hoist your malty brews today. Think of the men who gathered at Independence Hall two hundred and forty-six years ago and the trepidation they felt facing the unknown as they signed their names, pledged their fortunes, and committed their sacred honor to a great endeavor."

- https://kunstler.com/

Gonzalo Lira, "The Netherlands Is On Fire"

Gonzalo Lira, 7/5/22:

"The Netherlands Is On Fire"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2HYnbs02Vs

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"Because I've lost access to all my accounts and channels to the SBU (Ukraine's secret police), I don't have any way to promote my content - so please be so kind as to share this video with anyone whom you think might learn something. GL"

My only other social media: - https://twitter.com/GonzaloLira1968

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Related:

"Dutch Farmers 'Desperately' Fighting Back 

Against Government's 'Green' Agenda"

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"Farmers in the Netherlands Protesting and Putting Up Blockades"

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"Dutch Government to Ban All Farming"

"Worldwide Conflict Could Start in 6 Days"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 7/4/22:

"Worldwide Conflict Could Start in 6 Days"

"On July 10th the blockade of Kaliningrad will be fully implemented. The Russians have several options, one of which is military intervention in the Suwalki Gap. If this happens, Article 5 is invoked and global conflict begins."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFxVokSndRY

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"There are a multitude of fuses affixed to dozens of powder-kegs and little kids with matches are on the loose. I don’t know which of the fuses will be lit and which powder-keg will blow, but someone is bound to do something stupid, and then all hell will break loose. It could happen at any time. One military miscue. One assassination. One violent act that stirs the world. And the dominoes will topple, setting off fireworks not seen on this planet since 1939 – 1945. I can see it all very clearly."

- Jim Quinn 

"Vast Stretches Of America Have Now Descended Into A State Of Deep Economic Hopelessness"

Full screen recommended.

"Vast Stretches Of America Have Now Descended

 Into A State Of Deep Economic Hopelessness"

by Epic Economist, 7/4/22

"Have you ever been at such a low point in your life that it seems like no matter how hard you try you’re never going to be able to turn things around? If that’s the case, then you’re not alone. Right now, there are millions upon millions of Americans out there in a state of deep economic hopelessness. For a long time now, we’ve been facing one problem after the other, and since the start of the year, many of us are seeing our financial conditions worsening at a frightening pace. The cost of the things we need and consume on a regular basis is reaching levels that are simply out of the reach of many families.

Vast stretches of America have been seemingly taken over by an atmosphere of despair that only grows wider and wider. While the government gives us doctored numbers that show that the national unemployment rate is low - in an attempt to dismiss the severity of our problems, - the majority of American workers are actually living paycheck to paycheck or in extremely low-paid jobs. Most part of the population is struggling to get by - no matter how they bend and twist the statistics.

In fact, independent agencies, such as the anti-poverty advocacy group, Oxfam America, reported some numbers which reveals the reality hidden by the official figures. In June, 52 million U.S. workers – or about one-third of the country’s labor force - earned less than $15 an hour. “Soaring inflation, which has pushed up the prices of food, housing, gasoline, and other necessities, has made it even more difficult for lower-income families to survive on their wages,” Oxfam America highlighted. At this point, 150 million American adults – which represent roughly 58% of the country’s population – live paycheck to paycheck, LendingClub revealed in a recent survey.

At the same time, the rising interest rates that were meant to curb inflation growth are actually denting consumers’ purchasing power, and making it more difficult for Americans to buy big-ticket items, like appliances, cars, and most importantly, homes. Fannie Mae estimates indicate that since January, around 18 million would-be homebuyers have been priced out of the market. This has been a major setback for the finances of young adults. At this point, more of them have moved back home with their parents than ever before.

All of this also means that the current generation of adults isn’t able to start building wealth as early as previous generations did. As opposed to our parents and grandparents, today, the amount of money most of us make isn’t enough to invest in properties, or even to create a savings account, because, at the end of the day, we are all just struggling to survive. So it’s comprehensible why the U.S. middle-class is getting even smaller with each passing year. A separate Pew Research Center survey found that in June more than one-third of U.S. households reported difficulties in paying bills.

It feels like, from this point on, each one of us needs to start living like every single dollar really matters. Even those who are seemingly fine right now could be hit by a job loss, a major car repair, or a medical emergency that could push them over the edge financially. In this economic environment where most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, most of the country is literally just a step or two away from financial disaster.

Our living standards are decaying as our nation crumbles, and today, we’re going to expose why so many Americans have completely lost hope in the future of this country."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfey6qiH4i8

"The Housing Bubble Has Hit Two of Three Critical Benchmarks"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 7/4/22:

"The Housing Bubble Has Hit Two of Three Critical Benchmarks"

"All bubbles follow a formula. History has shown us that there are three elements to a bubble. The current housing market has achieved two of these critical benchmarks. The final benchmark is about to start."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znlOYRCdOsI

Musical Interlude: Susan Ciani, "Anthem"

Full screen recommended.

Susan Ciani, "Anthem"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“What are those red clouds surrounding the Andromeda galaxy? This galaxy, M31, is often imaged by planet Earth-based astronomers. As the nearest large spiral galaxy, it is a familiar sight with dark dust lanes, bright yellowish core, and spiral arms traced by clouds of bright blue stars.

A mosaic of well-exposed broad and narrow-band image data, this colorful portrait of our neighboring island universe offers strikingly unfamiliar features though, faint reddish clouds of glowing ionized hydrogen gas in the same wide field of view. These ionized hydrogen clouds surely lie in the foreground of the scene, well within our Milky Way Galaxy. They are likely associated with the pervasive, dusty interstellar cirrus clouds scattered hundreds of light-years above our own galactic plane.”

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180108.html

The Poet: Maya Angelou, “Alone”

“Alone”

“Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home,

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone.

I came up with one thing

And I don't believe I'm wrong,

That nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires

With money they can't use,

Their wives run round like banshees,

Their children sing the blues.

They've got expensive doctors

To cure their hearts of stone,

But nobody,

No, nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely

I'll tell you what I know...

Storm clouds are gathering,

The wind is gonna blow.

The race of man is suffering,

And I can hear the moan,

'Cause nobody,

But nobody,

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody,

Can make it out here alone.” 

- Maya Angelou

"The Allegory of the Cave"

"The Allegory of the Cave"

"In 'The Republic', Plato imagines human beings chained for the duration of their lives in an underground cave, knowing nothing but darkness. Their gaze is confined to the cave wall, upon which shadows of the world are thrown. They believe these flickering shadows are reality. If, Plato writes, one of these prisoners is freed and brought into the sunlight, he will suffer great pain. Blinded by the glare, he is unable to seeing anything and longs for the familiar darkness. But eventually his eyes adjust to the light. The illusion of the tiny shadows is obliterated. He confronts the immensity, chaos, and confusion of reality. The world is no longer drawn in simple silhouettes. But he is despised when he returns to the cave. He is unable to see in the dark as he used to. Those who never left the cave ridicule him and swear never to go into the light lest they be blinded as well."

- Chris Hedges

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"'Some' people just don’t want to see the light.”? Only "some"?

Those who know will understand...

"Imagination Land"

"Imagination Land"

by The Zman

"All of us live in a silo of our own making to some degree. We read news sites we like and we like them because they tend to cover the stuff we think is important, in a way we hope is accurate. We admire opinions with which we agree. We hang out with people who share our interests. That’s normal. It’s also normal to know it and know others have different opinions and interests. Most normie conservatives get that Fox News is biased toward the Republicans, but they know all of the other stations are heavily biased to the Democrats.

This self-awareness has never applied to the Left. Every normal person has had a conversation with a Progressive friend where they claim the news is biased against them or is too easy on some conservative they currently hate. They will argue that Fox News is poisoning the minds of the public. When you point out that 90% of the mass media is run by hard left true believers, they scoff and say you’re nuts. The hive mind of Progressives has always allowed them to pretend they are surrounded by a sea of their enemies.

One point made by some on the Dissident Right is that this blinkered view of the world has infected the so-called conservatives. They are blind to the intellectual revolution going on over here, because they stare at Lefty all day. Like people looking directly into the sun, they are blind to everything else. As a result, the legacy conservatives carry on like it is 1984 and Dutch Reagan is riding high. Much of what so-called conservatism is these days is just a weird nostalgia trip, celebrating a fictional past with no connection to the present.

There are many reasons why so-called conservatives are becoming irrelevant, but the main reason is that their good friends on the Left are racing off into a fantasy land of their own creation. Listen to a modern Progressive talk and it is a weird combination of echolalic babbling and paranoia about dark forces that are imaginary. Replace “Russian hacking” with “work of the devil” and their howling makes more sense. Things like “foreign meddling” and “institutional racism” are just stand-ins for Old Scratch.

This increasingly weird disconnect between the Left and this place we call earth shows up in their main propaganda organs. Those old enough to remember reading English versions of communist newspapers can recognize the unintended humor on the front pages of the New York Times and Washington Post. This front page item is a good example. Everything in that “news” story describes a world that only exists in the fevered imaginations of the Left. It was a fictional account of present reality written for believers.

This Andrew Sullivan piece bumps up against this reality a little bit, but from a different angle. His argument is that the fantasy land of academia is casting a long shadow over American society, so it is imperative that the college campus be reformed to look something like reality. His framing of things is mostly wrong because he is just a slightly less berserk member of the hive he is trying analyze. His description of the dynamic on campus, though, is correct. It is a world untethered from reality.

The fact is, the college campus is the apotheosis of Progressive spiritualism. It has been dominated by the Left for as long as anyone has been a live. The constant flow of credit money into American higher education has removed all restraints on the people in charge. They are free to indulge whatever fantasies they have at the moment, as no one ever gets fired and the money spigot stays open. As a result, the American college campus is the full flowering of the Progressive imagination. It’s Wakanda for cat ladies.

This lurch into madness is the result of plenty. Up until recent, the threat of nuclear annihilation and the lack of universal prosperity has reined in the excesses of the Left. In order to win elections, Progressive politicians had to focus on better economics and expanding opportunity. Of course, the Cold War kept everyone focused on practical reality, as a mistake could have set off a nuclear exchange. That’s no longer the case as prosperity is near universal, in human terms, and there are no looming threats.

Progressivism has always been a spiritual movement. It is the quest for cosmic justice based on the notion that we are only as good as the weakest among us. That is a fine and noble sentiment, as long as it remains a sentiment. The reality of scarcity has always kept this spiritualism in check. As we enter into what appears to be a post-scarcity world, Progressives are free to explore the far reaches of their mysticism. The result is a ruling class that is looking more like eastern mystics, than pragmatic rulers.

It is why civic nationalism is a dead end street. You see it in the Andrew Sullivan piece about the campus culture. What he is arguing in favor of is the same things we hear from civic nationalists. They all agree with Progressives that we need a unifying religion. They just want a debate about the contours and end points of the religion. The fact that no one has ever pulled this off without ushering in a bloodbath never gets mentioned, Instead, all of these folks prefer to frolic in imagination land, where all their dreams come true.”

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

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“Father, O father! what do we here
In this land of unbelief and fear?
The Land of Dreams is better far,
Above the light of the morning star.”
- William Blake, “The Land of Dreams”

"What Is The Joy About?”

“There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen. There are open and evident warnings, too. The center of your democracy and of your culture is left without electric power for a few hours only, and all of a sudden crowds of American citizens start looting and creating havoc. The smooth surface film must be very thin, then, the social system quite unstable and unhealthy. But the fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their offensive; you can feel their pressure, and yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The Daily "Near You?"

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Thanks for stopping by!

"A Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness"

"It’s forgiveness that makes us what we are. Without forgiveness, our species would’ve annihilated itself in endless retributions. Without forgiveness, there would be no history. Without that hope, there would be no art, for every work of art is in some way an act of forgiveness. Without that dream, there would be no love, for every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive."

- Gregory David Roberts, "Shantaram"

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"A Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness"

"If I have harmed anyone in any way

either knowingly or unknowingly

through my own confusions

I ask their forgiveness.

If anyone has harmed me in any way

either knowingly or unknowingly

through their own confusions

I forgive them.

And if there is a situation

I am not yet ready to forgive

I forgive myself for that.

For all the ways that I harm myself,

negate, doubt, belittle myself,

judge or be unkind to myself

through my own confusions

I forgive myself."

"The Real Glory..."

"The image that comes to mind is a boxing ring. There are times when you just want that bell to ring, but you're the one who's losing. The one who's winning doesn't have that feeling. Do you have the energy and strength to face life? Life can ask more of you than you are willing to give. And then you say, 'Life is not something that should have been. I'm not going to play the game. I'm going to meditate. I'm going to call "out". There are three positions possible. One is the up-to-it, and facing the game and playing through. The second is saying, "Absolutely not. I don't want to stay in this dogfight." That's the absolute out. The third position is the one that says, "This is mixed of good and evil. I'm on the side of the good. I accept the world with corrections. And may the world be the way I like it. And it's good for me and my friends." There are the only three positions."

- Joseph Campbell

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“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.

That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.”

- Vince Lombardi

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“How Buster Douglas Beat Mike Tyson” 

by johnnysmack7

“Going into the fight, Mike Tyson was the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. He held the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles. Despite the several controversies that marked Tyson’s profile at the time, such as his notorious, abusive relationship with Robin Givens; the contractual battles between longtime manager Bill Cayton and promoter Don King; and Tyson’s departure from longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, Mike Tyson was still lethal in the ring, scoring a 93-second knockout against Carl “The Truth” Williams in his previous fight. Most considered this fight to be a warm-up bout for Tyson before meeting up with then-undefeated number 1 heavyweight contender Evander Holyfield (who was ringside for the fight). Tyson was viewed as such a dominant heavyweight that he was not only viewed as the world’s top heavyweight, but often as the number one fighter in the world pound-for-pound (including by “Ring Magazine”), a rarity for heavyweights.

Buster Douglas was ranked as just the #7 heavyweight by Ring Magazine, and had met with mixed success in his professional boxing career up to that point. His previous title fight was against Tony Tucker in 1987, in which he was TKO’d in the 10th round. However, a string of six consecutive wins gave him the opportunity to fight Tyson. In the time leading up to the fight, Douglas faced a number of setbacks, including the death of his mother, Lula Pearl, 23 days before the fight. Additionally, the mother of his son was facing a severe kidney ailment, and he had contracted the flu on the day before the fight.”

- http://www.knockouts2sleep.com

Full screen mode recommended.

At 2:40 of this video Douglas takes a tremendous uppercut and goes down, kneeling to clear his head; look closely...you can see him wondering to himself if he should get up. No one at all expected him to, but he reached for something deep inside himself, found an inner strength perhaps even he was unaware of, and got back up to continue the fight. The rest, as they say, is history… and real glory. – CP

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