"The Curse of Interesting Times"

"The Curse of Interesting Times"

Things are the most interesting they've been

 in 80 years, 250 years, and, well, ever.

by Contemplations on the Tree of Woe

"The Chinese curse their enemies with the phrase “may you live in interesting times.” Or, rather, Americans think that Chinese curse their enemies like that; according to Infogalactic, “despite being widely attributed as a Chinese curse, there is no equivalent expression in Chinese.”

Fortunately, there’s an actual Chinese phrase that’s much more interesting. It’s found in a 1627 short story collection by Feng Menglong called "Stories to Awaken the World," and it states "better to be a dog in a peaceful time, than to be a human in a chaotic times.” And to be a dog in 17th China didn’t mean being a beloved fur baby with your own YouTube channel. It meant being a workbeast that got eaten when times were lean. The Chinese still have an annual dog meat festival.

Whichever adage you prefer, our times are both chaotic and interesting. In fact, they are monumentally interesting - they are so interesting as to beggar coherent description, to put to shame historical comparison, so remarkable that every single one of us would be justified in screaming from the rooftops in shock and awe. And yet we don’t. We keep calm and carry on, sturdily gripped by our bias for normalcy, by our human ability to adapt to even the most bizarre circumstances. It’ll be fine, we tell ourselves. This is fine.

But what if we put aside our normalcy bias for a moment and look at how just how “interesting” our times really are? What do we see then?

Once Every 80 Years…Once every 80 years, a country enters a crisis. That is, at least, the assertion of Strauss-Howe Generational Theory. According to Strauss and Howe, human history is organized into repeating patterns marked by four “turnings”: the High, the Awakening, the Unraveling, and the Crisis. Each turning is approximately 20 years long, and an entire cycle of four turnings is therefore about 80 years long. According to Strauss and Howe, American history looks something like this:

○ American Revolutionary Crisis, 1765 - 1785

○ American Civil War Crisis, 1855 - 1875

○ Great Depression and World War II Crisis, 1930 - 1950

○ You Are Here, 2010 - 2030

If we believe Strauss-Howe Generational Theory, we are in the midst of what they call a Fourth Turning - a moment of Crisis.

Are we in a Fourth Turning? I certainly believe so. As I documented in "Running on Empty," the United States now stands at a financial precipice. US inflation is at its worst in 40 years because the monetary system we established under Truman and rejuvenated under Nixon is now about to collapse. With that crisis have come challenges from a resurgent Russia and burgeoning China that could lead to a Third World War or, at best, a post-American world order. The Thucydides Trap has never been so close to springing. It’s no wonder then that US fears of nuclear war have surged to levels not seen since the Cold War. But unlike the Cold War, no one wants to ‘ask what they can do for their country’ anymore. US Army recruitment is at its worst in 50 years. And why would they want to serve? Our nation is divided into warring camps. US partisan distrust of the opposing party is at its worst in 30 years.

All right. That all sounds bad. But if Strauss-Howe Generational Theory is true, the Fourth Turning will be over in about 5-10 years and we’ll move into the next Turning, the High. And those are awesome! But what if we won’t be heading into another high?"

Full, fascinating, most highly recommended article is here:

- https://treeofwoe.substack.com/

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Freely download "Stories to Awaken the World", 

by Feng Menglong, here:

- https://oceanofpdf.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Believe"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Believe"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of dust, and energetic light sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of star formation in the Local Group of Galaxies. Known as N11, the region is visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the Milky Way neighbor known as the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC).

The above image was taken for scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and reprocessed for artistry by an amateur to win the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures competition. Although the section imaged above is known as NGC 1763, the entire N11 emission nebula is second in LMC size only to 30 Doradus. Studying the stars in N11 has shown that it actually houses three successive generations of star formation. Compact globules of dark dust housing emerging young stars are also visible around the image.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130211.html

Chet Raymo, “Mortal Soul: The Great Silence”

“Mortal Soul: The Great Silence”

by Chet Raymo

“If there is one word that should not be uttered, it is the name of – no, I will not say it. Any name diminishes. In the face of whatever it is that is most mysterious, most holy, we are properly silent. It is appropriate, I think, to praise the creation, to make a joyful noise of thanksgiving for the sensate world. But praising the Creator is another thing altogether. When we make a big racket on His behalf we are more than likely addressing an idol in our own image. What was it that Pico Iyer said? “Silence is the tribute that we pay to holiness; we slip off words when we enter a sacred place, just as we slip off shoes.” The God of the mystics whispers sweet nothings, as lovers do.

In a diary entry for “M.”, near the end of his too-short life, Thomas Merton wrote: “I cannot have enough of the hours of silence when nothing happens. When the clouds go by. When the trees say nothing. When the birds sing. I am completely addicted to the realization that just being there is enough.” The natural world was for Merton the primary revelation. He listened. He felt a presence in his heart, an awareness of the ineffable Mystery that permeates creation. It was this that drew him to the mystical tradition of Christianity, especially to the Celtic tradition of creation spirituality. It was this that attracted him to Zen.

There come now and then, perhaps more frequently in late life than previously, those moments of being (as Virginia Woolf called them) when creation grabs us by the shoulders and gives us such a shake that it rattles our teeth, when love for the world simply knocks us flat. At those moments everything we have learned about the world – the invaluable and reliable knowledge of science- seems a pale intimation of what is. In Virginia Woolf’s novel “The Waves”, the elderly Bernard says: “How tired I am of stories, how tired I am of phrases that come down beautifully with all their feet on the ground! Also, how I distrust neat designs of life that are drawn upon half sheets of notepaper. I begin to long for some little language such as lovers use, broken words, inarticulate words, like the shuffling of feet on the pavement.”

In moments of soul-stirring epiphany, it is reassuring to feel beneath our feet a floor of reliable knowledge, the safe and sure edifice of empirical learning so painstakingly constructed by the likes of Aristarchus, Galileo, Darwin and Schrodinger. But at the same time we are humbled by our ignorance, and more ready than ever to say “I don’t know,” to enter at last the great silence. Erwin Chargaff, who contributed mightily to our understanding of DNA, wrote: “It is the sense of mystery that, in my opinion, drives the true scientist; the same blind force, blindly seeing, deafly hearing, unconsciously remembering, that drives the larva into the butterfly. If the scientist has not experienced, at least a few times in his life, this cold shudder down his spine, this confrontation with an immense invisible face whose breath moves him to tears, he is not a scientist.”

The whole thrust of the mystical tradition, the whole thrust of science, is toward the great silence- an awareness of our ignorance and a willingness to say “I don’t know.” A lifetime of learning brings one at last to the face of mystery. We live in a universe of more than 2 trillion galaxies. Perhaps the number of galaxies is infinite. And the universe is silent. Achingly, terrifyingly silent. Or, rather, the universe speaks a little language such as lovers use, broken words, inarticulate words, like the shuffling of feet on the pavement.”

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

The Poet: Langston Hughes, "Dreams"

"Dreams"

"Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow."

- Langston Hughes

"It's Just... Life"

“Bad things don’t happen to people because they deserve for them to happen. It just doesn’t work that way. It’s just… life. And no matter who we are, we have to take the hand we’re dealt, crappy though it may be, and try our very best to move forward anyway, to love anyway, to have hope anyway…to have faith that there’s a purpose to the journey we’re on.”

- Mia Sheridan

'Here's A Question..."

“Here’s a question every angry man and woman needs to consider: How long are you going to allow people you don’t even like – people who are no longer in your life, maybe even people who aren’t even alive anymore – to control your life? How long?”

- Andy Stanley

“That goes for old wounds, too, you know. I really wish we’d had the chance to talk before this,” he says, cracking the window so the smoke can escape. “There’s a Longfellow quote I have stuck on my bulletin board at the church office – ‘There is no grief like the grief that does not speak’ – and it’s true. I’ve found that keeping pain inside doesn’t give it a chance to heal, but bringing it out into the light, holding it right there in your hands and trusting that you’re strong enough to make it through, not hating the pain, not loving it, just seeing it for what it really is can change how you go on from there. Time alone doesn’t heal emotional wounds, and you don’t want to live the rest of your life bottled up with anger and guilt and bitterness. That’s how people self-destruct.”

- Laura Wiess

"Breaking! NATO Launching Massive Attack Against Russia In Weeks"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 3/22/23:

"Breaking! NATO Launching Massive

 Attack Against Russia In Weeks"

"The United States is about to launch a massive military offensive against Russian territory according to reports this morning. Russia and China just took major steps yesterday in reordering the world order creating what many are calling a new world order."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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I wish I believed that not even in their wildest delusional insanity would the psychopathic degenerates running the government, and everything else, actually try to do this, regardless of instant nuclear World War III. But given the chance, they will...

"War Over Taiwan, A New and Gorgeous Advance in Stupidity" (Excerpt)

"War Over Taiwan, 

A New and Gorgeous Advance in Stupidity"

By Fred Reed

Excerpt: "Judging by statements from the Pentagon and Washington, the US is preparing the public for war with China. Why such a war? China is no threat to America and provides the low-cost goods on which America depends. Since the rest of the world also depends on Chinese goods, a war would wreck the global economy. Is this a good idea? Has anyone asked the rest of the world? Why does Washington want this?

Because China (and a rapidly growing Asia) threatens the American military empire. You, gentle reader, may not be interested in empire. You may want jobs, medical care, prosperity, good schools for your children. But Washington wants empire. Wants it badly, at any cost.

Thus we are being prepared. In particular we hear about "Chinese aggression", which for some reason America must fix. But it doesn’t exist. China is not militarily aggressive. Look at the record. Choose a year– say, 1800 –and count unprovoked wars started by China against other countries. There was the annexation of Tibet, arguably a war, in 1950. China fought a short war with Vietnam after the American defeat, and took part in various border clashes of disputed with India. That’s about it. China has one overseas military base, at Djibouti. Americas has something like 750.

By contrast, since that date America and its European parents have fought constantly against each other and invaded most of the world. Whether the aggressiveness of the European races is genetic is a question for those wiser than I.

China currently is at war with nobody and shows no sign of wanting to be. It is a commercial nation. By contrast, America has recently wrecked Iraq, spent twenty years killing in Afghanistan, wrecked Syria and Libya, bombs Somalia, runs a war against Russia in Ukraine which has killed some two hundred thousand Ukrainians and Russians, and wrecked Europe’s economy, prepares to provoke a war with China, and threatens to invade Mexico. Where in this do we see Chinese aggression?

The underlying cause for the aborning war fever is of course that the Asian economies will dwarf that of America. The proximate cause is Taiwan. Why Taiwan?"

Full, highly recommended article is here:

- https://fredoneverything.org/

The Daily "Near You?"

Roosevelt, Utah, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Focus and Motivation Music with Beta Wave Isochronic Tones - Classical"

Full screen recommended.

"Focus and Motivation Music with 

Beta Wave Isochronic Tones - Classical"

by Jason Lewis - Mind Amend

"Beta wave isochronic tones combined with an inspirational modern classical music playlist. Designed to increase concentration and focus. Part of my Study Focus isochronic tones series. This is a high-intensity audio brainwave entrainment session, using isochronic tones. Listen to this when you need a strong burst of intense focus to concentrate and study things like advanced mathematics, scientific formulas, financial analysis or any other complex mental activity. Isochronic tones produce a stronger and more powerful brainwave entrainment effect, compared to binaural beats study music tracks or standard music.  

Listen to this track with your eyes open while doing the task/activity you want to focus on. Use this session in the morning, afternoon or early evening, to train your brain for better cognition, focus and thought processing. You can either sit somewhere quiet and comfortable with your eyes closed and give your brain a nice workout, or you can also listen to this while doing an activity that requires a boost in concentration.

Headphones are NOT REQUIRED for this video. Although headphones are not required you may find they produce a more intense effect, because they help to block out distracting external sounds.

o

"Isochronic tones are a fast and effective audio-based way to stimulate your brain. Among many of the benefits, they can help improve focus, relaxation, energy levels, sleep and more, without taking drugs or needing any special equipment. What isochronic tones essentially do is guide your dominant brainwave activity to a different frequency while you are listening to them, allowing you to influence and change your mental state and how you feel."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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"Isochronic Tones –

How They Work, the Benefits and the Research"

This is a brainwave entrainment audio session using isochronic tones combined with music. The isochronic tones are the repetitive beats you can hear on top of the music throughout the track. If you are new to this type of audio brainwave entrainment, find out how isochronic tones work and how they compare to binaural beats here: 

- https://www.mindamend.com

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Listen folks, we're out of time! Whether you want to know it or not we're literally in the fight of our lives, for our lives, right now, and it's going to get much, much worse. Some of you reading this will not survive, and I may not either, so I'll take any edge I can get, and you should too... This works for me. Prepare yourself, brace for impact...

- CP

"Is the Panic Really Over?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 3/22/23:

"Is the Panic Really Over?"

"We are getting news from so many different industries. We are 

hearing about banking, real estate, and the state of the automotive industry."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Road to Argentina"

"The Road to Argentina"

A look at one possible future for America...

by Bill Bonner

San Martin, Argentina - "Today’s the big day. There are only two ways to resolve the debt crisis – either inflation or deflation. Either the bad debt (as much as $50 trillion of it, by our estimate) gets written off or inflated away. And today, the Fed signals which way it will go. Bloomberg: "Fed Caught Between Inflation and Bank Crisis." "All eyes in the financial and economic world will be laser-focused Wednesday on the Federal Reserve as Chair Jerome Powell tries to balance his fight against inflation against a sudden banking crisis. Powell and his colleagues began their meeting Tuesday with the outcome unusually unclear. While most economists expect a quarter-point interest-rate hike, some say policymakers should pause…"

By the time you read this, you may already have the news. But from our point of view, it hardly matters. The Fed has already begun its ‘stealth pivot.’ And even though Wall Street still hasn’t crashe, .and the economy still hasn’t gone into an official recession, the powers-that-be are on the brink of panic.

Meanwhile, at the End of the World…But here in Argentina, we are steeped in crisis…surrounded by ineptitude…immersed in corruption. It gives us a sense of deja-vu…as if the future of the USA could be read in the pages of the Buenos Aires Herald over the last 70 years. So rather than speculate about what the Fed will do…we will look around us.  

Rick Rule invited us to open our eyes last week. Rick is an old friend, who was tracking puma in Patagonia and decided to stop for a visit. He asked the same question many Dear Readers have posed: “You could live anywhere, why do you live here? Yes, it’s beautiful in a rugged kinda way. But so is it where Dan lives in Wyoming. And they don’t have inflation at 105% in Laramie.”

Rick was referring to the latest inflation report. Over the last 12 months, Argentina’s inflation rate has gone up from 100% to 105%. "INDEC: Prices jumped 6.6% in February, inflation 105.8% over last year…"

That is the highest inflation reading in 32 years. It reminds people of what may come next: hyperinflation. The last time inflation hit over 100%, it ran all the way to 5,000%...when people needed a wheelbarrow full of pesos in order to buy a cup of coffee.  

The peso is going down against the dollar fast, too. When we arrived just a month ago, we were offered 370 pesos per dollar, on the black market, of course. Now, the exchange rate is 392 per dollar.

Functional Disfunction: “I’d also like to know how an economy can function with 105% inflation,” said Rick. “It seems impossible. Who comes to work? Who votes for a president who allows inflation to get so high? How do people make ends meet? And yet, the electricity works. The airports are open and the planes fly. The steaks are thick and tasty. The wine is delicious. You’d almost think nothing was wrong.”

Our reply follows: “Economists long ago singled out Japan and Argentina as economies that didn’t seem to fit any of their models. But there are some things that are always and everywhere true…and as Milton Friedman put it “if you want more of something, subsidize it; if you want less of something, tax it.”

We don’t know anything about Japan, but we’ve been coming down to Argentina for nearly 20 years. It’s a country rich in resources. And know-how. But poor in public policies. Here, they subsidize poverty and tax the producers. And they’ve turned Argentina into a poor country.

People around here are poor. Most are unemployed. But it’s hard to find people to pick grapes. You almost have to beg them to come to work. It wasn’t always like that. Even 20 years ago, when we first came here [we had come in a group…with Rick], it wasn’t like this.”

Just look at Buenos Aires. There are thousands of buildings that are relics of a Belle Epoch…a time when average Argentines had the money and the ambition to build nice buildings. Now, a few still want fine suburban houses…but most live in the run-down relics of Buenos Aires…or the unfinished, improvised housing in the outer boroughs.

The GDP per capita is only $10,000 per person. Even people on Social Security get three times as much in the US.

When the Music Stops: We invited Rick into the living room, where we have a grand piano given to us by a friend. “That piano was owned by Robustiano Patron-Costas. His story tells us a lot about what happened here. He was a very energetic investor who became one of the richest men in the country (at a time when the country had a lot of rich men) by doing something remarkable. He developed a vast sugar-producing industry, in the middle of what had been almost wasteland. He built a refinery…houses for the staff…a hospital…a railroad. He got very rich. And he was urged to run for president… a kind of gaucho Calvin Coolidge who represented ‘conservative’ voters who believed that they could improve their lives by hard work and hard money. That is, he approved of what we called in our latest book “the win-win deal” and disapproved of anything that got in the way.

But there was another, fast-growing element in Argentine society. Back then, people believed that democracy would solve all their political problems…and the idealists were eager to extend the vote to all citizens. Today, that seems like the right thing to do. But it suddenly changed the political calculus of the country.  Politicians found they could win by appealing to the masses of immigrants in the capital city, Buenos Aires. And they appealed to them by offering them various “social” benefits – that is, free stuff.  

This is essentially what the ‘Peronists’ did. And they won election after election, promising more and more programs, for the next 7 decades. More and more unproductive jobs. More and more welfare.  But wait…where to get the money? Tax the rich!  

Robustiano was the perfect enemy. Immensely wealthy. Old-fashioned. A bit of a fuddy-duddy. And he represented the Old Order…people who had gotten rich before the government began actively managing the economy. He was accused of exploiting his workers (who previously had no jobs, no education, no incomes and no health care.) His gentleman’s club in Salta was confiscated by the new, leftist government. And the political situation became so tense, he had to flee to Uruguay.

From then on, it was one disaster after another.  Boom, bust, boom again… Inflation, crash, default, coup d’etat, military takeover, war, new currency, new government, inflation again. Whee! What a ride! After 7 decades, Argentines have learned how to survive,” we concluded, “but not to prosper.” Our advice: invest in wheelbarrows."

 

Joel’s Note: "Do you smell the blood in the water, dear reader? The insiders are getting jittery... and looking for someone to push overboard. Yellen? Powell? Headlines point to the latter…So far, Mr. Powell has held the line… promising to do “what it takes” to rein in the very inflation his policies likely caused. “The road ahead will be bumpy,” he mumbled during his last public appearance, as opportunistic politicos reached for the oars to whack his generous forehead. “But we will stay the course.” The honchos in congress, meanwhile, who gleefully called for trillions of dollars in free money handouts during the Great Covid Hysteria, need someone to feed to the piranhas below.

“The Fed chair has failed at both his jobs,” blared Elizabeth Warren on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “I don’t think he should be chairman of the Federal Reserve. I have said it as publicly as I know how to say it. I’ve said it to everyone.” Senator Warren, the great embarrassment of the Cherokee Nation, is not alone in calling for Mr. Powell’s job. A hack piece truly worthy of The New Republic argues that, while “Powell was taming inflation without harming the U.S. economy” all was fine… but since the SVB collapse, “it’s fair to ask whether Biden should fire him.”

Sheesh… tough crowd! “Until something breaks” has been the refrain here in these pages. That is, we’ve long held that the Fed will continue its gallant fight… until the going gets tough and the landscape materially changes.

Here’s Bill Bonner, with some characteristically prescient remarks from waaay back in January 9, when bank runs were but a twinkle in Mr. Powell’s eye. “Will [The Fed] ‘pivot’ this year?” wondered Bill.  The Fed says “no pivot”…un un…no way, Jose… Fed minutes: “No participants anticipated that it would be appropriate to begin reducing the federal funds rate target in 2023. Participants generally observed that a restrictive policy stance would need to be maintained until the incoming data provided confidence that inflation was on a sustained downward path to 2 percent, which was likely to take some time.”

Do you believe that, dear reader? We do. But we also believe that the participants can change their minds. And if we get a real crisis – a major bankruptcy…a run on a bank…a crash in the stock market…a hotter war…a new virus… any excuse at all…then Fed governors’ foreheads will grow damp…their knees will tremble…their backs will bend – and they will fold like lawn chairs.

For its part, the market is pricing in a 25-basis point hike after today’s meeting. Gold is bracing for a breakout, just shy of $2,000/oz… Bitcoin is skyrocketing toward $30,000… bums are on the edge of their seats…Has “something broken” yet? We’ll soon see…"

- https://bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Deflation? Inflation? All I Want Is A Good Steak"

"Deflation? Inflation? All I Want Is A Good Steak"

by John Wilder

"Welcome to the next step down. But how is this going to go? First, there are signs that this will lead to more inflation than a Kardashian’s butt experiences in an entire season of whatever crap they’re doing on TV. Here are some signs pointed towards inflation:

* It’s inflation season. That comes right after blowing up Russian pipeline season, duck season, rabbit season, duck season, rabbit season, and train derailment season.

* $2 trillion (a number no doubt made up because it sounded good to whatever political appointee approves these things) of newly printed cash has been allocated to “stabilize” the banking system.

When Bernie Madoff stole his investors money, the Fed® didn’t backstop the investors, even though they couldn’t keep up with the compounding interest of Madoff’s lies. That was deflationary. But backstopping all bank customers, everywhere? That’s more inflationary than Stormy Daniels, umm, attributes. I heard a rumor that half of Oprah’s money was in Silicon Valley Bank®. She got very upset when she thought that Elon Musk would be the only remaining African-American billionaire.

The latest announcement from the Fed® on their plans to stop inflation sounded desperate. I imagine that Janet Yellin would offer to learn pole dancing if she thought it would lower inflation. I think that might work, since never in the history of mankind have so many dollar bills jumped back into pockets than when Janet walks on stage.

What about things that indicate that deflation might be around the corner? During the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank™, it sounds like all of their bondholders and shareholders got vaporized. So, at least $15 billion and probably closer to $30 billion in cash was vaporized faster than a hoagie at Oprah’s house.

The stock market is down. When the market goes down, the money doesn’t power a secret spaceship, it just disappears like my biological father did when my biological mother got pregnant.

When interest rates go up, housing prices go down. Why? People buy houses based on borrowed money, and higher interest rates don’t increase the amount of money that they pay at (spins wheel) the PEZ™ factory. Nope, it just makes the house payment more expensive, unless the price of the house goes down. This is deflationary, because right now housing value is vaporizing like crack at Hunter’s place on a Saturday night.

Here's another, weird, example. While I was writing this, The Mrs. walked by my secluded writing spot in the sitting room, and asked me, “Hey, want a steak?” I had a scotch already, so, that’s perfect! “What answer do you expect me to give you?” She cooked the steak. This was a perfectly marbled ribeye, an inch and a half thick. She seared the sides, and it let out a gentle “moo” as I cut into it.

What did that ribeye cost? $12 a pound. Why? Well, there’s been a drought in prime cattle country. Cattle gotta drink. The Mrs. and her brother own the better part of a buttload of land. The year before they got $6,000 for the hay. They fertilized. After Russia invaded the Ukraine, fertilizer prices spiked. They decided to just grow whatever grew and not spend the $3,000 to fertilize it. They made $6,000 for the hay, same as the year before even though they had half the hay this year.

For cattle farmers, growers, leaders, ranchers prices went up, but what they got for a cattle didn’t. Therefore? In March of 2023, I can get a pound of the best ribeye ever to grace a cast iron skillet for $12, whereas two Double Quarter Pounders With Cheese™ would cost me . . . $12. This is not a hard choice.

In 2024 or 2025, though, I expect that same beef to cost double or more. I’ve been nagging my brother in law to get some cattle. Why? I like steak way more than the crap they serve at McDonald’s®. So, in some places, there is deflation right now.

Houses: I read today that there are several projects in Vegas that just received stop orders because the financing fell through. If a project is a good idea at 1% interest and 2% inflation, it may not be a good idea while skydiving with a bag of loose change as your parachute. Plans that don’t have financing. In an inflationary environment, a plan that doesn’t have financing is as useful as a waterproof towel.

There’s also been a rush towards our border of illegals that are desperate to come to a horribly awful and racist country. Is this inflationary, or deflationary? Inflationary. Illegals do take jobs that are low on the pay scale, so that strawberries are 0.03% cheaper. Is that deflationary? No. It’s inflationary. Illegals do make things like strawberries, lettuce, and cocaine cheaper, but they do actually cost about $10,000, each, for every year that they’re here for things like welfare, schools, roads, etc. So a family of five? Costs everyone at least $50,000 per year. Where does the cash come from? That’s the genius! We print it!

So, inflation or deflation? Yes. Our currency is going to zero, probably sooner than many might anticipate. What will go up? In 2023, not cows. But in 2025? Yeah, nearly certainly.

Some things will come down – I can’t predict them all. But the Fed™ will never stop printing. Their choice is this:

* Increase rates and blow up banks, the stock market, and house prices.

* Keep rates the same and blow up the currency.

The currency is toast. So is Biden’s chance at re-election. This time next year? I expect that we’ll see all of the above in full motion. I predicted in 2018 that 2025 we’d see a big breakdown, and I’m not betting against that now. Biden will likely go down as the single worst resident of the White House in history. I only hope that this complete economic and societal breakdown will finally rid us of the scourge of Kardashians. At least then it will be worth it."

- https://wilderwealthywise.com/

"You Haven't Seen Anything Yet! Inflationary Crisis, Banking Meltdown, Economic Freefall"

"It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it. 

You and I are not in the Big Club."

- George Carlin

Your guide...

Gregory Mannarino, AM 3/22/23:

"You Haven't Seen Anything Yet!

 Inflationary Crisis, Banking Meltdown, Economic Freefall"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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A Must View! "Major Alert! Russia Nuke Warning To NATO!"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Preppier, 3/21/23

"Major Alert! Russia Nuke Warning To NATO!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Douglas Macgregor, 3/21/23:

"American Exercise in Proximity to Russia Causes Alarm"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Massive Shrinkflation At Dollar Tree! This Is Ridiculous!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 3/22/23:

"Massive Shrinkflation At Dollar Tree! This Is Ridiculous!"

"In today's vlog we are Dollar Tree, and are noticing massive food products that have shrunk in size! We are also noticing a lot of empty shelves! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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..."

"I'm Sure..."

"I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. 

It's just been too intelligent to come here."

- Arthur C. Clarke

"Here We Go! Credit Unions and Small Banks Collapsing, and FED Won't Stop It"

Redacted, 3/21/23

"Here We Go! Credit Unions and Small Banks 

Collapsing, and FED Won't Stop It"

"Big banks are struggling to pull another small bank out of the depths. This time it is JPMorgan Chase trying to rally its banking peers to stabilize First Republic Bank. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is meeting this week to discuss a possible interest rate hike and other regulatory responses to the banking crisis. Will this continue to send the dollar into a tailspin?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Car Market Crisis Will Economically Destroy Young Americans As They Can't Afford Auto Payments"

Full screen recommended.

"The Car Market Crisis Will Economically Destroy

 Young Americans As They Can't Afford Auto Payments"

by Epic Economist

"The car market crisis is far more complex than people realize. With car prices crashing down, some would assume that the cost of auto payments would go down too, but the exact opposite is happening right now. Buyers are seeing the value of their vehicles plummeting while they’re stuck with some of the most expensive auto payments ever seen. And that’s occurring at a time when jobs are at risk and inflation is pushing the cost of daily necessities to record highs. Millions of workers are falling behind their loan obligations, getting in danger of losing their vehicles while still carrying massive amounts of car debt. This is especially true for young Americans. Right now, Gen Z and Millenials are being economically destroyed by the auto loan crisis as they can’t afford their car payments and are about to face dire consequences that can impact their financial future for decades. We have never had a messier outlook for the auto sector than we have now in 2023. The ripple effects will be quite disastrous, and it looks like a major collapse is already underway.

Over the past three years, people have taken significantly more debt to buy vehicles. This a trend that has been particularly predominant for Gen Z and Millenials, who the Federal Reserve believes may have borrowed way beyond their means. New data shows that young Americans’ finances have started buckling under the weight of car expensive loans — one more worry to contend with in this precarious economic environment. Although it’s somewhat normal that this group actually has higher car debt rates because many of them are buying their first car, data compiled by VisualCapitalist.com shows that for Americans under the age of 40, vehicle related-debt has grown by 31% since the pandemic, almost three times faster than for other age groups.

No wonder why right now Millenials and Gen Zs say that car payments account for over 20% of their after-tax income, according to Cox Automotive. And of course, the amount of auto debt transitioning into serious delinquency is much higher for Gen Z and Millennials who carry elevated levels of credit card and student loan debt and have less stable jobs. Last year alone, these generations saw $20 billion in auto debt fall 90+ days behind.

With auto loan delinquency rates still spiraling amongst this group, the consequences for young Americans can be more devastating than they realize. On a personal level, the financial distress caused by unaffordable payments, and the delinquent status can impact their access to credit for years to come. On top of that, their vehicle remains at risk of being repossessed, and that’s already happening at alarming numbers.

And if the lender sells your repossessed vehicle for less than your loan default balance, this means delinquent young Americans will still have to pay the difference. To make things even worse, their remaining auto loan debt can be sent to a third-party collection agency. So if they don’t cover the deficiency balance in an appropriate time frame, the agency will likely sue them for repayment, only adding to their financial woes.

"It looks like young Americans just can't afford to drive," outlines Matt Moore, vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute. "Paying for their own cars, gas, and insurance is hard if they can't find a good-paying job," he emphasized. That’s what a broken system looks like. And these are just the very first chapters of a much larger economic and financial meltdown that will continue to shake our country to the core."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Markets Love Bank Bailouts But You Will Pay The Price"

Jeremiah Babe, 3/21/23

"Markets Love Bank Bailouts But You Will Pay The Price"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gerald Celente, "Devolution of Humanity"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 3/21/23

"Devolution of Humanity"

"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."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude, Vangelis, "Hymn"

Full screen recommended.

Vangelis, "Hymn"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Large, dusty, spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this rich telescopic image. The field of view spans nearly 2 degrees, or about 4 times the width of the Full Moon, toward the expansive southern constellation Centaurus. 

 Click image for larger size.

About 13 million light-years distant, NGC 4945 is almost the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy. But X-ray and infrared observations reveal even more high energy emission and star formation in the core of NGC 4945. The other prominent galaxy in the field, NGC 4976, is an elliptical galaxy. Left of center, NGC 4976 is much farther away, at a distance of about 35 million light-years, and not physically associated with NGC 4945.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090109.html

The Poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear The Mask”

“We Wear The Mask”

“We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,-

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!”

- Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Three Things..."

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special. I just got one last thing... I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have.”

- Jim Valvano

“Modern Society Is Seriously Sick”

“Modern Society Is Seriously Sick”

by Sofo Archon

"One of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, Jiddu Krishnamurti, once said: “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” I agree with Jiddu. Society is seriously sick. Yet most of us aren’t aware of it. That’s because we’re so conditioned to our society that the idea of something being terribly wrong with it usually doesn’t cross our minds.

Well, it did cross mine – in fact, it does and has every single day for the last 15+ years. And I write about it so that it might cross yours too (if it hasn’t already). Not because I want to disappoint you, but because I want you to know what’s truly going on so that you can perhaps help make some change.

There are some crystal clear signs that reveal the sickness of our society, and certainly one of them is consumerism – that is, the compulsive buying of stuff. Look around you attentively and you’ll see almost everywhere people chasing products they think will bring them happiness, only to feel sadder a few moments after acquiring them. Yet they keep on getting more and more of them, without ever realizing their addictive behavior.

But why exactly do we fall victims to consumerism? And how could we free ourselves from it? Well, that’s exactly what my newest article is all about. So if you’re interested in knowing the answers to those questions, then be sure to check it out. It's a bit lengthy compared to most articles you come across online, but I'd highly suggest you to dedicate some of your time to it, as I consider it to be one of the best pieces of writing I've published so far."

Read: "To Sell You Happiness, They First Make You Feel Like Sh*t"

Gregory Mannarino, "Bank of America Warns Of 'Systemic Credit Event.'

Gregory Mannarino, PM 3/21/23

"Bank of America Warns Of 'Systemic Credit Event.' 

Liquidity Crisis/Credit Freeze"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Watch...

The Daily "Near You"

Vestal, New York, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Time..."

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?

Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live.

Before they know it, time runs out.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

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“How small a portion of our life it is that we really enjoy. In youth we are looking forward to things that are to come; in old age, we are looking backwards to things that are gone past; in manhood, although we appear indeed to be more occupied in things that are present, yet even that is too often absorbed in vague determinations to be vastly happy on some future day, when we have time.”

- Charles Caleb Colton, “Lacon”

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“The problem is, you believe you have time.”

- Buddha

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Full screen  recommended.

Hans Zimmer, "Time"

"It Is Our Fate..."

"Well, it is our fate to live in a time of crisis. To live in a time when all forms and values are being challenged. In other and more easy times, it was not, perhaps, necessary for the individual to confront himself with a clear question: What is it that you really believe? What is it that you really cherish? What is it for which you might, actually, in a showdown, be willing to die? I say, with all the reticence which such large, pathetic words evoke, that one cannot exist today as a person – one cannot exist in full consciousness – without having to have a showdown with one’s self, without having to define what it is that one lives by, without being clear in one’s mind what matters and what does not matter.”

- Dorothy Thompson

"Oh SH*T, They're Really Doing This"

Redacted, 3/21/23:

"Oh SH*T, They're Really Doing This"

"Chinese President Xi Jinping completed his first day of visits in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders seem to be getting along swimmingly, with the West watching closely. The U.S. has begun ramping up accusations that China is considering sending lethal weapons to Russia although National Security spokesperson John Kirby admitted that “the U.S. has no evidence China has done so.” China and Russia are continuously warning about NATO aggression and NATO is giving them reason to by signaling that they will amass 300,000 troops along Russia's borders."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 3/21/23:

"Putin & Xi Have Met - Now What in Ukraine? 

Col. Doug Macgregor"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com

"How It Really Is..."

 

Deservedly...

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"Armstrong: WOKE Culture is

 Destroying the Economy & Our Nation"

"In Three Words..."