"The Dragon Is On Fire"

Full screen recommended.

"The Dragon Is On Fire"

By Michael Snyder

"Once in a while, there is a moment that embodies what is going on in our society as a whole. For me, one of those moments came on Saturday night. A 45 foot tall animatronic dragon at Disneyland erupted in flames, but most of the people at the park seemed to think that it was no big deal. The vast majority of them just went about their business as though nothing unusual was happening. Incredibly, most of those that were there seemed to think that everything was “normal” even though an absolutely enormous fire was sending “massive flames” into the night sky…

An intense fire broke out at Disneyland in Anaheim on Saturday night as packed crowds were enjoying a show at the theme park. The fire ignited on Tom Sawyer Island during the Fantasmic! nighttime water and fireworks show held on the Rivers of America. Citizen video captured by parkgoers shows massive flames fully engulfing Maleficent’s dragon prop on stage. The flames first ignited from the dragon’s face before spreading to the rest of its body.

According to Google, “maleficent” means “causing harm or destruction, especially by supernatural means”. As I watched this dragon burn, I immediately thought about the current state of our country. All around us, our society is literally coming apart at the seams, and most people seem to believe that there is no cause for alarm. But if you aren’t alarmed yet, what is it going to take?

Just look at our economy. The dominoes are falling one after another, and even our largest and most prosperous corporations are laying off workers. Within just the past few days, Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, BuzzFeed News announced it will be completely shutting down, and we have learned that Disney is going to be giving the axe to thousands of workers next week…"Walt Disney Co. reportedly plans to slash thousands of jobs next week. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the plans said the company would cut about 15% of the staff in its entertainment division. The cuts will include those in TV, film, theme parks and on corporate teams, in every region where Disney operates."

Meanwhile, our financial system is on fire. Already this year we have witnessed the second and third largest bank failures in U.S. history, and Moody’s just slapped 11 more banks with significant downgrades…"On Friday Moody’s reinforced this challenging outlook by downgrading ratings for 11 regional lenders, including a two-notch cut for Western Alliance, citing “a deterioration in the operating environment and funding conditions for US banks.”

Some of the immediate problems have gone away but the reality is with interest rates higher the banks’ business model is going to have to change, and that’s going to play out over months and quarters and even years,” Commonwealth Financial Network CIO Brad McMillan told Yahoo Finance."

At the same time, crime rates continue to soar all over the nation and it appears that a substantial portion of the population has gone completely nuts. These days, many people will start shooting for seemingly no reason at all. The other day a man in North Carolina shot several people, including a 6-year-old girl, because a basketball rolled into his yard…"The 24-year-old man accused of shooting a 6-year-old girl, her parents and another neighbor after a basketball rolled into his yard in North Carolina is now in police custody. Robert Singletary appeared in court on Friday and signed an extradition waiver. He turned himself in on Thursday to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, authorities said.

Neighbors told ABC News’ Charlotte affiliate WSOC the shooting on Tuesday started when a basketball rolled into Singletary’s yard from a group of local children playing basketball in the street. Singletary allegedly fired a gun at a neighbor before approaching a father and daughter, William James White and 6-year-old Kinsley White, who were both seriously wounded."

As I keep telling my readers, the thin veneer of civilization that we depend upon on a daily basis is rapidly disappearing. In San Francisco, organized retail crime is so rampant that some retailers have resorted to literally locking up thousands of products.

The moral foundation of our society has been rotting for years, and now it is almost totally gone. And it is in such an environment that the most contentious presidential election in U.S. history will be held in 2024. An election should be a time of great hope for the nation, but instead most people seem to be looking forward to it with dread…

"Many Americans are not excited about a potential rematch between President Biden and former President Trump, according to a new poll, with more respondents saying they feel “exhaustion” over the prospects than anything else. A 38 percent plurality of respondents reported they felt “exhaustion” over the idea of a rematch, according to the Yahoo News/YouGov poll. The other emotions that people said the rematch inspires are not much more positive, with 29 percent feeling “fear” and 23 percent “sadness and fear.”

Most Americans don’t have faith in our elections any longer. And most Americans don’t have faith in our politicians any longer. Our entire system of government is on very thin ice, and that should make all of us very sad.

Of course our entire culture is on very thin ice at this point. Earlier today, I was alarmed to read that a school district in a deep red state such as Missouri has given in to pressure from the woke crowd…"A Missouri school district is now making its math curriculum more gender inclusive, updating word problems and other language-based math equations with “they/them” pronouns. As presented in a Webster Groves School District “math program evaluation” last week, non-binary people will be represented in “word and contextual” problems via the pronouns, alongside regular gendered people using he/she pronouns."

When we allow the woke crowd to define the language, they win. Over in Europe, things are even worse. In certain situations, you can literally go to prison for not using someone’s preferred pronouns.

While we are obsessing over pronouns, the war in Ukraine just continues to escalate. The total amount of aid that the U.S. has already given Ukraine exceeds $200 billion dollars, but one Ukrainian official is now saying that is not nearly enough…"We are thankful to our allies for their military help. But: it is not enough. Ukraine needs 10 times more to finish russian aggression this year. Thus we call upon our partners to cross all artificial red lines & devote 1% of GDP for weapons deliveries."

Needless to say, most of our politicians are more than eager to keep showering the Ukrainians with more cash. And the Russians are just going to keep escalating the conflict as well. We continue to creep closer and closer to a point of no return. So what happens if someone ends up crossing a line that will never be able to be uncrossed? Do we really want to fight a nuclear war over Ukraine? Once the nukes start flying, America will burn.

Sadly, most Americans aren’t alarmed by any of the things that I have just shared with you. But the truth is that flames have already erupted in every corner of our society, and we had better work really hard to put those fires out before it is too late."

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

"Stocking Up At Meijer! Preparing For The Future!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 4/25/23

"Stocking Up At Meijer! Preparing For The Future!"

"In today's vlog we are at Meijer and noticing some strange price increases! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and 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/

"How Does Never Sound?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 4/25/23

"How Does Never Sound?"

"The possibility to retire is becoming weaker and bleaker for some people. Some people just realize that they’re going to have to work for the rest of their lives."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"People Are Freaking Out As Gas Prices Shoot Up All Across The US And Panic Buying Hit Stations"

Full screen recommended.

"People Are Freaking Out As Gas Prices Shoot Up 

All Across The US And Panic Buying Hit Stations"

By Epic Economist

"A new week begins - and U.S. motorists should brace for a wild ride. Several reports reveal that a panic buying wave is hitting gas stations in the Southeast as fears of shortages continue to rise in the region. At the same time, the Northeast is about to see the biggest increases at the pump in the coming days due to exceptionally low supplies. Nationwide, drivers are watching gasoline prices shoot up to five-month highs. Industry specialists say oil production cuts are adding immense pressure on the market, and causing inventory disruptions that will make the outlook even more painful for Americans this summer.

Gasoline prices continue to rise for a fourth consecutive week, with the national average reaching the highest level since November. Yesterday, the average price for gasoline jumped to $3.71 a gallon, rising by 10 cents from a week ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports. The highest price for gasoline is now selling for $4.87 a gallon in California, while consumers are shelling out $4.76 a gallon in Hawaii and $4.52 in Arizona.

Right now, approximately 83% of gas stations in the U.S. have already run out of the cheaper winter blend. Refineries have already switched over to the pricier summer blend, and that can add roughly a dollar to the national average, while some states are likely to see a $1.75 to $2 increase in the months ahead.

The Northeast region is reaching the "final step" in switching over to summer gasoline this week. Drivers in those states should expect a sharp rise in gasoline prices over the next week or two. "Every other region has already seen the final step in the transition occur, so while other areas will see prices continue to slowly rise, the Northeast is likely to see a pretty hefty jump of 40 cents per gallon soon,” analyst Patrick De Haan said.

Meanwhile, in the Southeast, reports of gasoline outages and panic buying at various gas stations sparked anxiety among drivers. According to the AAA, historic flooding interrupted operations at fuel terminals in Port Everglades, which is the hub for about 40% of the gasoline that sails into Florida. The statement led people to rush into the stations to fill up their tanks before supplies ran out. The panic buying wave got such extreme proportions that Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava urged consumers to “please only purchase gas when you absolutely need it."

The national outlook isn’t any more reassuring. In March, De Haan predicted that Americans would be paying $4 a gallon for gasoline by May. On Wednesday, he warned on Twitter that this mark could be reached by the end of this week. “Here's your final warning,” he wrote. “The time to fill up is now. You're going to soon see gas prices jump 25 cents per gallon.”

The energy crisis will continue to accelerate as we get closer to the second half of the year, and with it more bad news will arise for U.S. consumers. The threat of fuel shortages is real, and it can have catastrophic effects on our struggling economy. We should all watch the developments of this crisis very closely because the panic buying frenzy has already begun."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Buckle Up, Really Bad Times Are Here, You Must Survive"

Jeremiah Babe, 4/24/23

"Buckle Up, Really Bad Times Are Here, You Must Survive"

Comments here:

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Musical Interlude: 2002, “Where The Stars And Moon Play”

Full screen recommended.

2002, “Where The Stars And Moon Play”

“Pamela and Randy Copus are the duo known as 2002. Randy Copus plays piano, electric cello, guitar, bass and keyboards. Pamela Copus plays flutes, harp, keyboards and a wind instrument called a WX5. Both musicians also provide all of the vocals on their albums, recording their voices many, many times and layering them to create a "virtual choir" with a celestial, angelic quality.”

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Big, beautiful, barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300 lies some 70 million light-years away on the banks of the constellation Eridanus. This Hubble Space Telescope composite view of the gorgeous island universe is one of the largest Hubble images ever made of a complete galaxy.

NGC 1300 spans over 100,000 light-years and the Hubble image reveals striking details of the galaxy's dominant central bar and majestic spiral arms. In fact, on close inspection the nucleus of this classic barred spiral itself shows a remarkable region of spiral structure about 3,000 light-years across. Unlike other spiral galaxies, including our own Milky Way, NGC 1300 is not presently known to have a massive central black hole.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120325.html

Chet Raymo, "Starlight"

"Starlight"

by Chet Raymo

"Poor Calvin is overwhelmed with the vastness of the cosmos and no small dose of existential angst. He is not the first, of course. Most famously the 17th-century French philosopher Blaise Pascal wailed his own despair: "I feel engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing and which know nothing of me. I am terrified...The eternal silence of these infinite spaces alarms me."

And he didn't know the half of it. Not so long ago we imagined ourselves to be the be-all and end-all of creation, at the center of a cosmos made expressly for us and at the pinnacle of the material Great Chain of Being. Then it turned out that the Earth was not the center of the cosmos. Nor the Sun. Nor the Galaxy. The astronomers Sebastian von Hoerner and Carl Sagan raised this experience to the level of a principle - the Principle of Mediocrity - which can be stated something like this: The view from here is about the same as the view from anywhere else. Or to put it another way: Our star, our planet, the life on it, and even our own intelligence, are completely mediocre.

Moon rocks are just like Earth rocks. Photographs of the surface of Mars made by the landers and rovers could as well have been made in Nevada. Meteorites contain some of the same organic compounds that are the basis for terrestrial life. Gas clouds in the space between the stars are composed of precisely the same atoms and molecules that we find in our own backyard. The most distant galaxies betray in their spectra the presence of familiar elements.

And yet, and yet, for all we know, our brains are the most complex things in the universe. Are we then living, breathing refutations of the Principle of Mediocrity? I doubt it. For the time being, Calvin will just have to get used to living in the infinite abyss and eternal silence. He has Hobbes. We have each other. And science. And poetry. And love."

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

"I Pity You..."

“Said a philosopher to a street sweeper, “I pity you. Yours is a hard and dirty task.” And the street sweeper said, “Thank you, sir. But tell me, what is your task?” And the philosopher answered saying, “I study man’s mind, his deeds and his desires.” Then the street sweeper went on with his sweeping and said with a smile, “I pity you, too.”

- Kahlil Gibran

"Corporate Layoffs Are Increasing In Preparation For Severe Economic Downturn"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 4/24/23

"Corporate Layoffs Are Increasing In 

Preparation For Severe Economic Downturn"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Ukraine War, At a Dangerous Threshold?"

Full screen recommended.

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 4/24/23

"Ukraine War, At a Dangerous Threshold?"

Comments here:

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The Daily "Near You?"

Arvada, Colorado, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet: James Baldwin, "Amen"

"Amen"

 "No, I don't feel death coming.

I feel death going,

having thrown up his hands,

for the moment.

I feel like I know him

better than I did.

Those arms held me,

for a while,

and, when we meet again,

there will be that secret knowledge

between us."

- James Baldwin

"95 Questions to Help You Find Meaning and Happiness"

"95 Questions to Help You Find Meaning and Happiness"

by Marc

"At the cusp of a new day, week, month or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future. We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life's story. This process of self-reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we've been and where we intend to go. It is pertinent to the organization and preservation of our long-term goals and happiness. The questions below will help you with this process. Because when it comes to finding meaning in life, asking the right questions is the answer.

1. In one sentence, who are you?

2. Why do you matter?

3. What is your life motto?

4. What's something you have that everyone wants?

5. What is missing in your life?

6. What's been on your mind most lately?

7. Happiness is a ________?

8. What stands between you and happiness?

9. What do you need most right now?

10. What does the child inside you long for?

11. What is one thing right now that you are totally sure of?

12. What's been bothering you lately?

13. What are you scared of?

14. What has fear of failure stopped you from doing?

15. What will you never give up on?

16. What do you want to remember forever?

17. What makes you feel secure?

18. Which activities make you lose track of time?

19. What's the most difficult decision you've ever made?

20. What's the best decision you've ever made?

21. What are you most grateful for?

22. What is worth the pain?

23. In order of importance, how would you rank: happiness, money, love, health, fame?

24. What is something you've always wanted, but don't yet have?

25. What was the most defining moment in your life during this past year?

26. What's the number one change you need to make in your life in the next twelve months?

27. What's the number one thing you want to achieve in the next five years?

28. What is the biggest motivator in your life right now?

29. What will you never do?

30. What's something you said you'd never do, but have since done?

31. What's something new you recently learned about yourself?

32. What do you sometimes pretend to understand that you really do not?

33. In one sentence, what do you wish for your future self?

34. What worries you most about the future?

35. When you look into the past, what do you miss most?

36. What's something from the past that you don't miss at all?

37. What recently reminded you of how fast time flies?

38. What is the biggest challenge you face right now?

39. In one word, how would you describe your personality?

40. What never fails to frustrate you?

41. What are you known for by your friends and family?

42. What's something most people don't know about you?

43. What's a common misconception people have about you?

44. What's something a lot of people do that you disagree with?

45. What's a belief you hold with which many people disagree?

46. What's something that's harder for you than it is for most people?

47. What are the top three qualities you look for in a friend?

48. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?

49. When you think of home,what, specifically, do you think of?

50. What's the most valuable thing you own?

51. If you had to move 3000 miles away, what would you miss most?

52. What would make you smile right now?

53. What do you do when nothing else seems to make you happy?

54. What do you wish did not exist in your life?

55. What should you avoid to improve your life?

56. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?

57. What's the biggest lie you once believed was true?

58. What's something bad that happened to you that made you stronger?

59. What's something nobody could ever steal from you?

60. What's something you disliked when you were younger that you truly enjoy today?

61. What are you glad you quit?

62. What do you need to spend more time doing?

63. What are you naturally good at?

64. What have you been counting or keeping track of recently?

65. What has the little voice inside your head been saying lately?

66. What's something you should always be careful with?

67. What should always be taken seriously?

68. What should never be taken seriously?

69. What are three things you can't get enough of?

70. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

71. What fascinates you?

72. What's the difference between being alive and truly living?

73. What's something you would do every day if you could?

74. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

75. Which is worse, failing or never trying?

76. What makes you feel incomplete?

77. When did you experience a major turning point in your life?

78. What or who do you wish you lived closer to?

79. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?

80. What's something you know you can count on?

81. What makes you feel comfortable?

82. What's something about you that has never changed?

83. What will be different about your life in exactly one year?

84. What mistakes do you make over and over again?

85. What do you have a hard time saying "no" to?

86. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

87. What's something that used to scare you, but no longer does?

88. What promise to yourself do you still need to fulfill?

89. What do you appreciate most about your current situation?

90. What's something simple that makes you smile?

91. So far, what has been the primary focus of your life?

92. How do you know when it's time to move on?

93. What's something you wish you could do one more time?

94. When you're 90-years-old, what will matter to you the most?

95. What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having in your life?"

From the wonderful "Marc and Angel Hack Life" blog:

- http://www.marcandangel.com/

"Does Anyone Know..."

"All sins, of course, deserve to be treated with mercy: we all do what we can, and life is too hard and too cruel for us to condemn anyone for failing in this area. Does anyone know what he himself would do if faced with the worst and how much truth could he bear under such circumstances?" 

- Andre Comte-Sponville

Jim Kunstler, "Big Lies and Bigger Lies"

"Big Lies and Bigger Lies"

by Jim Kunstler

“Think of the press as a great keyboard 

on which the government can play.” 

- Joseph Goebbels

“If you’re going to lie,” Joseph Goebbels used to say (in German of course), “make it a whopper.” How did that work out for the Third Reich? Today, The New York Times says “Joe Biden” is revving up to run for president again in 2024. Is that so? One DNC strategist, Maria Cardona, was quoted saying, “Democrats complain that he might be too old. But then, when they’re asked, ‘Well, who?’ There is no one else.”

There you have the sucking chest wound at the center of the Democratic Party, a malodorous vacuum where, as they like to say, democracy dies in darkness. You understand, this is exactly what you get when all you do is tell lies, always and everywhere, about everything.

Now I will tell you the truth: “Joe Biden” will not be running for president ever again. “Joe Biden” will either be impeached for real high crimes and misdemeanors, or he will be bum-rushed out of the White House on some medical pretext before Independence Day. “Joe Biden’s” crimes have finally caught up with him. He sold out his country.

The facts have been out in plain sight since before a coalition of rogues and frauds stuffed him into the Oval Office, January, 2021. As vice-president under Mr. Obama, “JB” was allowed to run a global grifting operation that netted his family tens of millions. (Mr. Obama received plenty of his own sanitized grift in the form of absurdly large book deals and TV contracts, enough swag to lead the deluxe life of a senior panjandrum. His job, post-presidency, was to feed the Woke hustle with an occasional speech and otherwise shut up.)

The coalition of rogues and frauds, a.k.a. the permanent bureaucracy or the Deep State, had committed so many crimes since 2016 that its sole agenda turned to driving the one-man wrecking-crew called Donald Trump out of office and making sure he never got close to a lever of power again, by any means necessary. That is still all that animates this gang. They managed to roll enough of the American public in the process to maintain power and influence over them via control of the news, censorship, and use of their captive legal system to harass and punish their enemies. And now it’s all falling apart.

How many Americans with the capacity to pay attention actually doubted the veracity of Hunter Biden’s laptop? Very few, I’d guess, deep down, thought millions pretended it was not for-real because the contents were so obviously incriminating. So, they had to lie to themselves. But then, what’s wrong with lying to yourself when all the authority figures in your society set the example of lying to you about everything, always, and everywhere? Do you see where this habit of lying gets you?

The trouble with lying, of course, is that it requires a never-ending struggle of covering up prior lies, and then that task requires the invention of new lies, which, in-turn, induces more fabrication of lies in a self-reinforcing feedback loop subject to the implacable law of entropy (a wearing-down to zero), until you have flown up your own cloacal aperture - the place where souls go to die. And now, maybe, you see why the regime in power has made itself so deeply and heinously soulless, which is to say: evil.

By the way, this is why the “Joe Biden” regime sent out a pack of drag queens to perform for the cameras the past two years. They needed a device so insulting to the sensibilities of people equipped with a normal moral compass that it would create a distraction from much greater insults such as stealing elections and concocting a lab-engineered pandemic to deploy deadly vaccines - these matters in themselves entailing giant matrices of lies.

Even with the stolen 2022 midterm elections in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, the Republican Party managed to squeak into a House majority, and now a non-captive faction of that party is methodically taking steps to reveal the giant scaffold of lies America has lived under for years. One rather significant event was the prank now unspooling about the fifty-one “folks” (“JB” called them) from the Intel Community who branded Hunter’s laptop a Russian disinfo operation. Those “folks” included five living former CIA directors, wouldn’t you know? It was an obvious lie at the time, but now it’s a certified lie, since one of the five, Michael Morell, spilled the beans testifying under oath to the House Judiciary Committee that he rounded up the other fifty at the direction of “Joe Biden’s” campaign advisor, Tony Blinken, now Secretary of State.

On another side of the Biden family mischief, there is the emergence of the IRS whistleblower (as yet unnamed), who complained through formal agency channels that the IRS and the DOJ were mishandling various cases emanating out of Hunter’s laptop. A “high government official” unmasked as Attorney General Garland is accused of lying to Congress. He apparently has been leaning on the US attorney in Delaware, David Weiss, to hold off prosecuting a case that Mr. Weiss’s office finished investigating a year ago.

Doesn’t look good. Also looks like Mr. Weiss probably will be forced to lodge some actual charges against the First Son, and that these will be Mickey Mouse tax evasion raps to distract from and conceal the greater issue of the Biden family conspiracy to extract large payments from foreign governments. And then there is the matter of the handgun that Hunter acquired under false pretenses of lying about being a drug user, plus disposing of the gun in a dumpster. They’ll hope that these charges might be like some raw meat thrown to the animals. As RFK, Jr. quipped recently in a separate instance of Dem Party mischief: nice try.

These various dodges to lessen the impact of Biden family criminal culpability are likely to fail. The Bidens are caught and “Joe Biden” is about to go down, one way or another. Looks to me like a lot of this adds up to impeachable offenses, which I doubt the party will allow “JB” to go through. Today’s announcement about running for president again in 2024 is just another ruse to hold-the-line, but it won’t work either. They’ve lost control of the narrative - and the action itself. Mr. Blinken and Mr. AG Garland also look like they’ll be squeezed out of power like a couple of watermelon seeds between your fingers.

What happens when “Joe Biden” creeps off into the sunset? Use your imagination about the dark place that leaves our country, and the flavor of further shenanigans ahead."

- https://kunstler.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

Full screen recommended.

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

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

- Arthur C. Clarke

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

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 4/24/23

"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/

"Another One Bites the Dust"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 4/24/23

"Another One Bites the Dust"

"Here we go again. Bed, Bath and Beyond files for bankruptcy. A 75 year old auto parts store chain goes down for the count as well. We’re going to see more and more closures."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Homeware Giant Bed Bath & Beyond Has Filed For Bankruptcy"

"The Late, Degenerate Empire"

"The Late, Degenerate Empire"

Debt we can't afford, an economy we can't 

support and politics we can't stand...

By Bill Bonner

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,

Now I need a place to hide away,

Oh I believe in yesterday."

~ The Beatles

Dublin, Ireland - "We pause to draw breath…tidy up…and say farewell to yesterday. Last week, we looked at an approaching recession. We saw how the pain needed to escape from inflation is likely to fall mainly on people who can’t stand it. To make a long story short, they’ll use politics to try to stop the clock.

Another way to look at it: after a blow-out bubble, the next chapter is normally a blow-up correction…a recession. Life seeks ‘normal,’ so the bigger the bubble, the bigger the correction that follows. Then, in keeping with the cyclical nature of financial trends, the ‘correction’ will overshoot…leaving assets underpriced and setting the stage for a new boom.

But when things have been good for a long time, nobody wants to turn the page. People have reputations to protect. Careers. They’ve written books about ‘stocks for the long run.’ Some have gotten Nobel prizes. Others have cushy, high-profile jobs at the Treasury and the Fed.

Corrupting Math: We’ve seen how the poor have been trained to live on federal handouts. At any sign of a cutback, those pips are going squeak. The rich have gotten used to rising asset prices – from the Fed’s ultra-low interest rates. And remember, they’re the deciders. Ultimately, they choose what is good for them, not what is good for our grandchildren. As for the middle classes, their housing ‘equity’ is already shrinking…and their real incomes have been going down (thanks to inflation) for the last two years. A recession will only make things worse.

And it’s not just the money. The last 100 years have been kind to America. We were the richest, most powerful, most admired people on earth. Who wants to give that up? Here, in stark focus, is the corrupting math of democracy, generally, and America’s late, degenerate empire in particular. We need higher interest rates to combat inflation. But financially, we can’t afford them (too much debt to refinance). Economically, we can’t support them (too many businesses depend on low rates). And politically, we can’t tolerate them (too many voters- rich, poor, and the middle classes – with a keen interest in not allowing a correction to do its work.)

They, the Deciders: For more detail…curbing inflation means a Fed Funds rate at least a couple hundred basis points above the CPI. But the Fed’s low interest rates brought $91 trillion in debt…$50 trillion in ‘excess’ asset valuations…and an average mortgage of $313,000.

A reasonable Fed Funds rate today should be about 7% – about 19 times higher than it was 3 years ago. Already, the average new monthly mortgage payment is at $2,538. And if the whole Everest of debt were refinanced at 7%, it would mean annual debt service costs of more than $6 trillion – or a quarter of GDP. Not going to happen. Not without an avalanche of defaults, bankruptcies, and crashing asset prices.

And then, who do ‘The People’ vote for? The candidate who promises to balance the budget? Or the one who promises more free stuff? The young one, who moves boldly into the future, by bringing the US empire to a graceful end? Or the old one who promises to hold onto the glories of the past with bigger military budgets?

In any government, over time, more and more people get a piece of the action – handouts, subsidies, protective tariffs, ‘excess’ asset values, tax breaks, jobs, contracts. Then, fewer and fewer can accept change. It’s why democracy degenerates into something else…something more disagreeable. The natural feedback loops that capitalist economies need (corrections, bear markets, budget cutbacks, reputational loss…) are unpleasant. People use politics to stop them. Rivals are blocked by threats and sanctions. Money is printed to keep the show on the road. The news media, joining forces with the political elite, shuts out alternative views. The future still happens….but without the purgative or pedagogical benefits. Toxins aren’t eliminated, they are multiplied; the zombies shuffle along, indefinitely. Debts grow bigger. The danger of war grows more acute.

Smarter, Nicer, Stronger…Unwilling to accept harsh reality, people hide away in fantasies and delusions. Americans are damned sure they know where the border between Russia and the Ukraine should be; and they’re willing to spend billions to keep it there. As for China, they’re sure she’s up to something even if they don’t know what it is.

They also think they know what the surface temperature of the Earth should be half a century from now…and they’re willing to pay the costs of setting the thermostat, provided the money can be printed, not earned.

They believe in ‘equality’ even though nothing like it has ever existed…and practically every American aims to be smarter, nicer, stronger, and cooler than his neighbors.

And they are entrusting their futures to the most geriatric team in US history. Diane Feinstein is 89 years old; she might recall one of Franklin Roosevelt’s ‘fireside chats.’ Charles Schumer is 72; does he remember when Kennedy was shot or when the Beatles released their Sgt. Pepper album? Joe Biden is 80; maybe he remembers hearing Adolf Hitler’s voice on the wireless? Clarence Thomas is 74. Lindsey Graham is 67. Richard Durbin is 78. Nancy Pelosi is 83. Barbara Boxer is 82.

We have nothing against old people. We’re among them. But whatever tomorrow brings these people, it is not likely to be as appealing as yesterday."

- https://bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/

"Economic Market Snapshot 4/24/23"

"Economic Market Snapshot 4/24/23"

Market Data Center, Live Updates:

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

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

Only the consequences are real - to you!

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

You and I are not in the Big Club."

- George Carlin

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

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A comprehensive, essential daily read.

- 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...

"UK Prepares For Nuclear War; Emergency Alert Sent To Millions; NATO Makes WW3 Pledge"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 4/23/23

"UK Prepares For Nuclear War; 

Emergency Alert Sent To Millions; NATO Makes WW3 Pledge"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Walmart Is A Dangerous Criminal Playground; Retailers Shutting Down"

Jeremiah Babe, 4/23/23

"Walmart Is A Dangerous Criminal Playground; 

Retailers Shutting Down"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Through the Rainbow"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Through the Rainbow"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the chemical constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax galaxy cluster.

This impressively sharp color image shows intense star forming regions at the ends of the bar and along the spiral arms, and details of dust lanes cutting across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100820.html

"There Are Meaningful Warnings..."

“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

Chet Raymo, “The (Unattainable) Thing Itself”

“The (Unattainable) Thing Itself”

by Chet Raymo

“Clear water in a brilliant bowl,

Pink and white carnations. The light

In the room more like a snowy air,

Reflecting snow. A newly-fallen snow

At the end of winter when afternoons return.

Pink and white carnations- one desires

So much more than that. The day itself

Is simplified: a bowl of white,

Cold, a cold porcelain, low and round,

With nothing more than the carnations there.”

"Simplicity. Morning. Forty minutes till sunrise. Coffee. An English muffin. Sit on the terrace. The sky a deep violet. Then rose. Then gold. Simplicity. The senses fill to overbrimming, displacing thought. The moment is sweet and pure. Distilled. The shackles of conscience fall away. One simply is.

“Say even that this complete simplicity

Stripped one of all one's torments, concealed

The evilly compounded, vital I

And made it fresh in a world of white,

A world of clear water, brilliant-edged,

Still one would want more, one would need more,

More than a world of white and snowy scents.”

Now I wait with my eyes fixed on that place along the horizon where the Sun will rise. The sky itself holds its breath, anticipates the flash of green. I try, I try to empty myself, Zenlike, to become an empty vessel for nature to fill. A gathering vessel, brilliant edged. To exist entirely in the moment, outside of time, this moment, just now, now, as the disk of the Sun bubbles up on the sea horizon, that orb of of molten gold.

“There would still remain the never-resting mind,

So that one would want to escape, come back

To what had been so long composed.

The imperfect is our paradise.

Note that, in this bitterness, delight,

Since the imperfect is so hot in us,

Lies in flawed words and stubborn sounds.”

It's no use, of course. No way to obviate the conscious mind. Perhaps a Zen master might do it, a mystic in transport, a drunken sailor who walks into a lamppost. Even as the Sun's disk inflates, swells, unaccountably huge, the mind parses, frames, construes. I close my eyes to shut out thought and the words fill up the space behind my eyelids. The thing itself is out of reach, the moment adulterated by mind. The blessing of consciousness. And the curse."

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

(The three stanzas are Wallace Stevens' "The Poems of Our Climate.")

Free Download: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”

by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” is, as the title suggests, a simple story of one day in the life of Ivan Shukov Denisovich, a prisoner in a Soviet concentration camp. Shukov, a simple Russian peasant fighting for Stalin in WWII, is imprisoned for treason – a crime he did not commit – and has spent the last 8 years in concentration camps. Shukov’s day begins at 5.00 a.m. with the clang of the reveille – he is, along with the other prisoners, marched out into the bitter cold, stripped and searched for forbidden objects, and then sent to work until sundown, without rest, without a full stomach. In this slim 143 page-novella, we follow Shukov’s grueling routine and see how he struggles to maintain his dignity in small, subtle ways. On this day, he has scored some small triumphs for himself – he has swiped an extra bowl of mush at supper, found a piece of metal that can be used as a knife to mend things, replenished his precious tobacco supplies and also has had a share of a small piece of sausage before lights out. Thus, at the end of the day (and the novel), he thinks to himself that it has been “A day without a dark cloud. Almost a happy day.” He must survive only another 3653 days more.”

- http://www.book-review-circle.com/

Freely download “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”,

by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, here:

- http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/

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Full screen recommended.

"The Chain Of Obedience"

“The death squads and concentration camps of history were never staffed

by rebels and dissidents. They were run by those who followed the rules."

o

Full screen recommended.

"The Psychology of Obedience and The Virtue of Disobedience"

The Daily "Near You?"

Duncan, Oklahoma, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Day That Albert Einstein Feared..."

"It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone - that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous. The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge."

- H. L. Mencken

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"You’re Going to See More of This"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 4/23/23

"You’re Going to See More of This"

"This is going to be something familiar in the coming months. We’re going to see people start to merge more and more. It’s going to be an every single industry. This most likely will not be to grow companies, but to make them survive. You’re going to see more of this."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Contagion of War"

"The Contagion of War"

by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: "You have suggested that we will end up at war with China, Russia, North Korea, and even Iran simultaneously. How does Socrates conclude such an event that perhaps never happened in the past?

ANSWER: Your assumption that such a thing has never happened is not correct. Periods of war of this nature unfold like a contagion of the flu. The English Civil War (1642-1652) which ended with the beheading of the King in 1649 was instigated using religion as the rallying cry.

In France, there was also an uprising that dramatically interrupted monarchy in 1648 by the uprising of a series of challenges to the absolutism of the King that came to be known collectively as the Fronde. The Fronde (1648-1653) plunged France into civil disorder. The king was even driven from his capital as several provinces revolted. This was a revolution demanding a right to participate in government. When the Fronde ended, the king was restored to absolute royal authority.

Of course, the Fronde may not have changed the French system of government, but it set the stage for the final French Revolution. Nevertheless, the American Revolution then spread with that spirit to overthrow monarchy becoming the France Revolution in 1789.

Throughout history, if we correlate the civil uprisings and forget about the claimed cause, we will see an amazing correlation. Throughout Europe, there was the communist revolution that spread to all the countries in 1848. When you allow the computer to correlate the world, what pops up is that the same Communist Revolution spread to Spanish Latin America, with Revolutions that appeared in New Granada that led to the fall of the government there.

Looking closer, you will see in Brazil there was the Praieira Revolt between 1848-1852. You also see the Mexican-American War, which was also in part inspired by the Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836).

If we look closely, we will see that 1848 was a ”world revolution” for revolutions broke out almost simultaneously in fifty countries from Europe down to Brazil. This era created resentments that lingered beyond domestic revolution and international war just as the reparation payments demanded by the French following WWI led to the rise of Hitler and WWII. The Revolutions of 1848 set the stage for the period that continued into 1880, marking a bloody century with 177 different conflicts.

Even the American Civil War ended slavery and became a contagion that spread to Russia and inspired the 1861 termination of serfdom in Russia.

Socrates has correlated everything. I am sad to report that we are looking at a global uprising. This time, it will be our pretend democracies that are no different than authoritarian monarchies that meet their demise post-2032."

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

Hat tip to The Burning Platform for this material.

"How It Really Is"