"The Final Depressing Chapters For The Late, Great U.S. Economy"

"The Final Depressing Chapters For 

The Late, Great U.S. Economy"

by Michael Snyder

"It is incredibly sad to watch the U.S. economy slowly but surely come apart at the seams all around us. For most of our history, the rest of the world marveled at our economic performance, and that is because we embraced economic values that led to great blessing. In recent decades, we have abandoned those values, but we were able to maintain a very high standard of living by going into unprecedented amounts of debt. Our leaders were able to keep the game going for longer than a lot of people thought, but now we have entered the final depressing chapters for the late, great U.S. economy, and we can see evidence of this all around us. If you doubt this, just look at all of the businesses that are going bankrupt. Last week, I discussed the fact that for the year ending June 30th, the number of business bankruptcy filings was up more than 40 percent compared to the previous 12 months. There is no way that the Biden administration can manipulate this number. Either a business filed for bankruptcy or it didn’t, and right now we are seeing a spike of historic significance.

On Sunday, CNBC published an article that listed ten prominent restaurant chains that have filed for bankruptcy this year…

-Roti

-Buca di Beppo

-World of Beer

-Rubio’s

-Melt Bar & Grilled

-Kuma’s Corner

-Red Lobster

-Tijuana Flats

-Sticky’s Finger Joint

-Boxer Ramen

We really are in the midst of a “restaurant apocalypse”, and more of our favorite eateries are getting into trouble with each passing day. For example, a large number of KFC locations just suddenly shut down in the Midwest…"Dozens of KFC locations owned by one franchisee have abruptly closed across the Midwest. Up to 25 restaurants owned by major fast food franchisee EYM Chicken have shut in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, according to reports. The closure of several locations in Wisconsin will lead to nearly 100 employees being laid off, according to local media WKOW 27 News."

At one time, KFC was such a wonderful American success story. But now KFC restaurants are becoming an endangered species. There used to be one about an hour from where I live, but that one has been shut down too. If you still have a KFC in your community, you should visit it while you still can.

Meanwhile, we just learned that a chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the Midwest has also abruptly shut down…"The gas station and convenience store sector has faced distress in recent years marked by bankruptcy filings and store closings. The Store convenience stores and gas stations, owned by Team Schierl Cos., in July 2024 was forced to shut down all operations of its 25 locations in Michigan and Wisconsin after its landlord Mountain Express Oil Co. filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in August 2023, Convenience Store News reported."

Whatever is happening to the economy right now, it seems to be hitting the Midwest particularly hard. At the rate that things are going, I think that it won’t be too long before even more communities in the Midwest resemble the nightmare that Gary, Indiana has become…"Gary, Indiana – best known as the birthplace of Michael Jackson – is home to the highest abandoned home rate in the nation at 31.41 percent, according to analysis from 247WallSt. The data found that the population has staggeringly dropped by 18.2 percent from 2010 to 2020, with a population around 67,000."

We also continue to see more signs of trouble in the banking industry. According to the Daily Mail, the U.S. lost 41 more bank branches in just one recent two week period…"Major banks have closed 41 branches in just two weeks as the shift toward online banking continues. Major banks such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo were among those shuttering locations." When the economy is booming, banks tend to open up lots of new branches. What we are witnessing now is the opposite of that.

Of course lots of retail stores are being permanently shut down as well. Thousands of store closings have already been announced in 2024, and now Big Lots has raised the number of stores that it is likely to close “to a maximum of 315”…"In the first quarter, the discount retailer said its net sales for the three-month period declined 10.2% year-over-year to $1 billion. For all of 2023, net sales were $4.72 billion, a 13.6% decrease compared with the prior year. More recently, in an Aug. 2 filing, the company told investors that it had upped the number of permitted store closings to a maximum of 315 as part of late July amendments to a credit agreement and term loan facility. That marked a 165-store increase from the 150 previously permitted. There were nearly 1,400 Big Lots stores in the U.S. as of the first quarter. The discount retailer’s locations sell home goods, furniture, seasonal decorations and other products."

Sadly, this really is the beginning of the end for Big Lots, because it won’t be able to survive much longer. Rite Aid is another major chain that is in serious peril. They have already closed hundreds of stores, but that hasn’t helped much…"Another retail casualty this year has been the sudden bankruptcy of Rite Aid, leaving hundreds of stores empty in states such as Michigan and Ohio after closing up to 500 stores nationally. In its filing, the company said it expected its losses would increase significantly in the past quarter, following a loss of $750 million between March 2022 and March 2023 and another $307 million in the second quarter this year. The last quarterly report filed by Rite Aid was in June, when they had only $135.5 million of cash to work with, combined with $3.3 billion in long-term debt."

Needless to say, Rite Aid is far from alone. All over the nation, once thriving businesses are being boarded up. U.S. consumers simply do not have the same level of discretionary income that they once did. The cost of living crisis has hit most Americans really hard, and at this point the vast majority of the population can no longer afford to purchase an average home. These days most Americans are desperately trying to find a way to scrape by from month to month, and so there just isn’t a lot of room for discretionary spending.

Economic conditions are not good right now, but what is this country going to look like once they take a dramatic turn for the worse? You might want to think about that, because what we are experiencing at this moment is going to look like rip-roaring prosperity compared to what is eventually coming."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"Is Kamala Very, Very Afraid?"

"Is Kamala Very, Very Afraid?"

by Jim Kunstler

“On many subjects important to public life today, vast numbers of people know 

the truth, and yet the official channels of information sharing are reluctant to admit it.”

 - Jeffrey Tucker

"You might wonder, as I do, whether Kamala Harris can even stay in the race until November 5. Based on her grim appearance in last week’s “interview” with Dana Bash, slumped at the table of a crummy Georgia café under poor lighting, her trademark cackle suppressed, she looked psychologically wilted. Don’t be surprised if late this week she “catches Covid” and asks to “postpone” the September 10 debate with Mr. Trump.

Consider the depressing reality of her situation, lately cloaked by the farcical “joy” motif put out by her party’s campaign spin doctors: First, the cabal running the White House bum-rushed “Joe Biden” out of the campaign, just hooked him offstage like a broke-down vaudevillian annoying the audience with his tired antics. Then, the same gang buffaloed Kamala onto center stage by some mystical process that disregarded her lack of preparation, her proven unpopularity in the 2020 primaries, and her near-invisibility in 3.5 years as veep.

For a couple of weeks her head must have been spinning with sheer intoxication at the amazing turn of events. Who wouldn’t be amazed to find him or herself unexpectedly selected to run for president? But now, post the artificial hoopla of the convention, the dread steals in. If she was previously used to self-medicating with chardonnay during the irksome veep years, imagine the pressure now on those campaign bus trips.

She has a lot to be afraid of. She’s not nimble of mind in the spotlight, and she knows it. When she tries to riff on anything off-the-cuff, all that comes out are laughable tautologies. She really doesn’t know much about the world, even about simple geography, certainly not the complex interplay of national interests. Her economic notions are a kind of Frappuccino® of processed Marxian sludge from the Berkeley cafés. If exposed regularly to even friendly reporters, she’d ignite howling embarrassment for herself (and the party). And, after all, there’s her record, including hundreds of videos on the Internet showing plainly the crazy policies she supports and now has to pretend to dissociate from.

Lurking behind her is not only the American intel blob of dark forces and sinister figures, but an international blob made up of malevolent groups within and throughout Western Civ, clearly working to bring it down - the Eurocrats wrecking their own countries’ agriculture and their industrial economies while jailing their opponents for thought crimes; the WEFers pushing the demented climate change agenda and ruinous migrant invasions; the bankers looking to seize the “collateral” (property, chattels, investment portfolios) of a billion everyday citizens when the bond Ponzi scheme blows up, as it must; the WHO steered by Bill Gates seeking to inject unsafe vaccines into everybody in order to greatly and quickly reduce the population; the Soros NGO legions working to subvert the public interest here, there, and everywhere; the NATO warmongers trying like hell to start World War Three. Kamala Harris surely understands - if she understands anything - that she has become their chosen pawn, and is at their mercy (they have none).

She should be afraid especially of the American blob. That combine of higher-ups in the CIA, the DOD, the FBI, the DHS, the State Department, and Gawd knows how many lesser-known agencies and “black op” back offices, knows that it is in great danger if Mr. Trump happens to get elected (despite their best efforts to rig things). After all the trips laid on him, all the way up to attempted assassination, you can be sure that Mr. Trump will be coming after the cabal for committing real and serious crimes. They are running scared now. Despite all the power seemingly at their command, nothing has availed so far - not lawfare, not bullets - to stop Mr. Trump’s implacable march back into the Oval Office, where he could possibly succeed in turning the USA back into a functioning republic

Poor Kamala Harris is the blob’s wholly inadequate instrument to fend off this fate. If she continues to perform badly, the blob might not hesitate to try getting rid of her. That may be the blob’s last chance of stopping the election from happening altogether. The nation has never been in the predicament of having the head of a ticket resign or die in the homestretch of an election campaign. There is no provision in the Constitution for it because there are no provisions in the Constitution for political parties per se. It would all be a kind of improv.

And then, of course, America would be stuck with the unfit and incapable “Joe Biden,” heading the government, at least until something else can be worked out. Maybe that working out would just be the final stage of the coup that has been in motion, really, since 2016 when John Brennan, Barack Obama, and James Comey attempted to oust Mr. Trump with RussiaGate. Some kind of “interim commission” might be formed to “solve” the problem of the cancelled election. They’ll look for someone with “proven ability” to serve as provisional president — maybe, someone who has already been president... say, Mr. Obama. Voila and fait accompli! If he finds himself appointed rather than elected, he would not be in defiance of the 22nd Amendment. Okay, now try re-thinking how scared Kamala Harris must be."

- https://kunstler.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Free Download: Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater his effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders - what would you tell him to do?"

"I... don't know. What could he do? What would you tell him?"

"To shrug."

- Ayn Rand, “Atlas Shrugged”

o

"Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard - the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money - the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue. In a moral society, these are the criminals, and the statutes are written to protect you against them. But when a society establishes criminals-by-right and looters-by-law - men who use force to seize the wealth of disarmed victims - then money becomes its creators' avenger. Such looters believe it safe to rob defenseless men, once they've passed a law to disarm them. But their loot becomes the magnet for other looters, who get it from them as they got it. Then the race goes, not to the ablest at production, but to those most ruthless at brutality. When force is the standard, the murderer wins over the pickpocket. And then that society vanishes, in a spread of ruins and slaughter.

Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion - when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed."

An excerpt from “Atlas Shrugged,” by Ayn Rand.

Full text of “Francisco’s Money Speech” is here:

- https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/

Freely download "Atlas Shrugged", by Ayn Rand, here:

- https://archive.org/

"What Happened to American Labor?"

"What Happened to American Labor?"

by Brian Maher

"This we learn from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics: "American productivity has increased 62% since 1979." But average real hourly pay (adjusted for inflation, that is) has scarcely increased 17% across the same space. That is, productivity has run 3.5 laps around wages since 1979. Thus the average American worker finds himself a hamster upon a wheel… jogging largely in place.

Here our co-founder Bill Bonner reduces to concrete the abstract plight of the American worker: "In 1971, you could buy a new Ford F-150 for $2,500. At $4 an hour, it took 625 hours to buy the truck. Today’s model costs $30,000, and the average hourly wage is $26. So the wage earner has to work for 1,154 hours to get a standard F-150. Put another way, he has to sell almost twice as much of his time to get a set of wheels."

But it is not only the F-150 owner who has lost the value of his dearest commodity - time: "You can do the same calculation for housing. An average man paid about $24,000 for the average house in 1971. Today, he pays $371,000. Priced in time, the house cost 6,000 hours in 1971 and 14,269 hours today… It takes more than seven years of work for the average guy to buy the average house today – four years more than it took in 1971." Is it a coincidence that Mr. Bonner selects the year 1971 to draw a contrast? It is no coincidence whatsoever.

The Fiat Dollar and Globalization: In August 1971, old Nixon slammed shut the gold window… and lowered the shade. The gold standard was a mere rump in its dying days. It nonetheless kept the balance of trade in a range. A nation running a persistent trade deficit risked depleting its gold stocks. The unbacked dollar - the ersatz dollar - removed all checks.

America no longer had to produce goods to exchange for other goods… or fear for its gold. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat,” Genesis instructs us. Under the new dollar standard, America could eat by the sweat of foreign brows - without perspiring one bead of its own. Scraps of paper, rolling off an over-labored printing press, were its primary production. Ream upon ream went abroad in exchange for goods - real goods.

The international division of labor was suddenly opened to the world’s sweating and heaving masses. Many were peasants from the labor-rich fields of China. They entered the factories in their millions, each toiling for one dollar per day. Perhaps two. The competition depressed average American wages - wages that have never recovered. Meantime, the past decade has only deepened existing trends…

The Sparrows Go Hungry: The trickle-down theory of economic progress argues you must first feed the horses in order to feed the sparrows. It contains much justice - poor men do not open businesses. They do not provide employment. They put no bread in mouths. But the Federal Reserve’s stable hands have overfed the horses. Since the pandemic started, they have been shoveling in oats at a frantic and delirious rate. And the sparrows have scratched along on the leavings.

Those earning $1 million or more have captured 63% of all capital gains this past decade. But the Main Street economy has rubbed along at a lilting 2.1% annual pace. Never has the gap between the stock market and the economy stretched so broadly as today. Is there a way out of the maze? Yes, argue the technologists…

The Promise of Technology: They insist automation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) will soon catapult the economic system into vastly more productive realms. By 2030 alone, they project (at least before the pandemic) it could yield an additional almost $16 trillion to global GDP. They further claim 40–50% of human occupations will be subject to automation over the next 15–20 years.

These occupations are not limited to trucking, taxi driving, manufacturing and construction. To these, we must add white-collared jobs in law, finance, medicine, accounting, etc. What would become of the attorney at law, we wonder - and the human helmsman of the ambulance he chases? In truth, we are unconvinced automation will proceed at the rollicking gallop its drummers project. But suspend all assumption for the moment… and drive on to the inevitable question: What happens when robots acquire the brains to perform nearly all human labor?

Creative Destruction: Economist Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) shoved the term “creative destruction” into general circulation. For Schumpeter, capitalism was the “perennial gale” of creative destruction. Capitalism blows away the old and inefficient. It hauls in the new and improved. Because of capitalism’s perennial gale, today’s serf lives more royally than yesteryear’s king.

Explains economist Richard Rahn of the Cato Institute: "The average low-income American, who makes $25,000 per year, lives in a home that has air conditioning, a color TV and a dishwasher, owns an automobile and eats more calories than he should from an immense variety of food.

Louis XIV lived in constant fear of dying from smallpox and many other diseases that are now cured quickly by antibiotics. His palace at Versailles had 700 rooms but no bathrooms (hence he rarely bathed), and no central heating or air conditioning."

Here is progress itself. All because capitalism’s creative gales flattened all before it. Capitalism’s obvious glories are why most notice the “creative” side of the ledger sheet. But what about the equally critical “destruction” side?

The Destructive Side of Capitalism: Innovation and technology have always allowed humans to mine fresh sources of productive employment. The 19th-century farmer became the 20th-century factory worker… became the 21st-century computer programmer.

Now introduce an omnipotent robot…A robotic brute that can drive home a rivet is one thing by itself. But a genius robot that could do anything a human can do - yet better - is another entirely. This robot would tower above the human as the human towers above the beasts of the field. An Aristotle, a da Vinci, an Einstein would be pygmies next to it.

What human ability would lie beyond this unnatural beast? Artistic expression, perhaps? A 900-IQ robot might run its circles around the human antique, you say. But it could not appreciate beauty - much less express it. The robot is all brains, that is… but no heart, no soul. The kingdom of the arts belongs to man and man alone. Well, please introduce yourself to AIVA (Artificial Intelligence Virtual Artist)…

Will the Next Mozart Be a Computer? AIVA is a computerized composer. Programmers drummed into its ears the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and other colossi of the classical canon. AIVA teased out their tricks… and taught itself to compose original music based upon them. Its outpourings are indistinguishable from a carbon-based professional’s. They have been featured in cinematic soundtracks. Advertisements. And computer games. Will the next Mozart be a computer?

Not even the oldest profession is safe from robotic invasion - but let it pass for now. What about technology’s impact on the general community?

Winners and Losers: Schumpeter’s creatively destructive gales tear apart the social fabric …Capitalism puts out its tongue at tradition. It yanks the roots out of communities. It swings the human being around hairpin turns of social and technological change… like a lad on a carnival ride. Within a generation, the centuries-old farming community has given over to the assembly line and the punch clock. A generation later, the factory goes dark as creative destruction blows the jobs clear to China… or Vietnam… or wherever labor is cheapest.

Americans must often rip up their families to follow the jobs - thus, they can sink little root in the local topsoil. Meantime, advancing technology makes today’s job obsolete tomorrow. Not all the displaced can take up new lines. Many are simply left behind, broken… and can never catch up.

Capitalism, Progress, Must Advance: We are heart and soul for capitalism. We do not believe a superior system exists. And as political theorist Kenneth Minogue has noted: “Capitalism is what people do when you leave them alone.” We are for leaving people alone… and for being left alone. Hence we are for capitalism.

The river of progress must carry forward. Do you reject progress?

Then you must believe the man who tamed fire should himself burn eternally… that the inventor of the wheel should be broken upon the very same wheel… That Franklin should have fried in an electric chair for discovering electricity… that Ford should have been flattened by his auto… that Salk should sulk in endless miseries for scotching polio.

If this is what you believe, please drive on. But let us recognize: The advancing river of progress sometimes takes the human note with it. And not all change is progress. Within cold and lifeless economic data, behind dense forests of statistics, exist living human beings with beating hearts. And many with broken hearts. To these, our fellow Americans - to all who hew the nation’s wood and draw its water - we hoist an acknowledging toast."

- https://dailyreckoning.com/

"Chastity In A Whorehouse..."

"People do not expect to find chastity in a whorehouse. Why, then, do they expect to find honesty and humanity in government, a congeries of institutions whose modus operandi consists of lying, cheating, stealing, and if need be, murdering those who resist?"

- H. L. Mencken

"How It Really Is"

"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people

who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."

- Laurence Peter

Adventures With Danno, "A Very Confusing Trip Tp Kroger! Up & Down Prices Everywhere!"

Adventures With Danno, AM 9/5/24

"A Very Confusing Trip Tp Kroger! 

Up & Down Prices Everywhere!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "Dead On Target! We Are Under Attack, Truth Is Our Weapon!"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 9/5/24

"Dead On Target! We Are Under Attack, 

Truth Is Our Weapon!"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "Crime Does Not Pay - Porch Pirates Panic"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly AM 9/5/24

"Crime Does Not Pay - Porch Pirates Panic"

"Today we're diving into Florida's groundbreaking crime law that's shaking things up! With new measures targeting shoplifters and porch pirates, Florida is laying down the law hard. Find out how Governor DeSantis is setting a new standard with penalties that could land offenders 5, 15, or even 30 years behind bars. Crime doesn't pay, and Florida's not messing around!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"World War III Prelude, 9/5/24"

Canadian Prepper, 9/5/24

"Alert! They May Shut Us Down Soon;

 Nuke Bombers Moving To Alert Status; Ukraine Preps End Game"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Times Of India, 9/5/24

"'Entire Europe Will Burn...': 

Putin's Nuclear Warning To Ukraine Over Nuke Plant Plots"

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning to Ukraine and its Western allies, emphasizing the potential for a global disaster if attacks on Russian nuclear plants continue. Putin specifically referenced a recent attempted drone attack on the Kursk plant by Ukraine and cautioned that a retaliatory response could have catastrophic consequences for Europe."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 9/5/24

"LtCOL. Tony Shaffer: Is Ukraine Near Its End?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Times Of India, 9/5/24

"'Be Ready...': Russia Gets 190,000 New Soldiers 

As Ukraine Struggles To Find Troops For Frontline"

"As Ukraine reallocates troops from the frontline to Kursk, Russia is experiencing a significant morale boost with increasing numbers of people signing contracts with the Russian military. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted a growing willingness among Russians to join the military amid the ongoing conflict, which he attributed to successful economic measures aimed at streamlining the enlistment process. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev reported that around 190,000 Russians have signed contracts since the beginning of 2024."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "It's Game Over For Dollar Stores, On Borrowed Time"

Jeremiah Babe, 9/4/24

"It's Game Over For Dollar Stores,

On Borrowed Time"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"First Dollar General, Now Dollar Tree Shares Plunge 

As Both Discount Retailers Warn Of Core Customer Under Pressure"

Musical Interlude: The Traveling Wilburys, "End Of The Line"

The Traveling Wilburys, "End Of The Line"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful Messier 81. Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century discoverer, this grand spiral can be found toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear.

The sharp, detailed telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, pinkish starforming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes. Some dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of center), contrary to other prominent spiral features though. The errant dust lanes may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and the nearby galaxy M82 lurking outside of this frame. M81's faint, dwarf irregular satellite galaxy, Holmberg IX, can be seen just below the large spiral. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded a well-determined distance for an external galaxy - 11.8 million light-years."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210312.html

"How Easy It Seems..."

“A craven can be as brave as any man, when there is nothing to fear. And we all do our duty, when there is no cost to it. How easy it seems then, to walk the path of honor. Yet soon or late in every man’s life comes a day when it is not easy, a day when he must choose.”

- George R.R. Martin

Rumi, "The Guest House"

"The Guest House"

"This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond."

~ Rumi

"Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi was a 13th century Afghan poet and philosopher who heavily influenced both eastern and western poetry. His poetry is divided into categories: the quatrains and odes of the "Divan," the six books the "Masnavi," the discourses, the letters and the "Six Sermons." Rumi's major poetic work is "Matnawiye Ma'nawi," a six-volume poem, considered by many literary critics to be one of the greatest works of mystical poetry ever written. Rumi's prose works included "Fihi Ma Fihi," "Majalese Sab'a" and "Maktubat." His prose work largely contains sermons and lectures given by Rumi to his disciples and family members. Following Rumi's death, his followers founded the Mevlevi Order, also known as the "Whirling Dervishes."

Free downloads:

Freely download "The Divan" and "The Masnavi" here:

- http://www.bahaistudies.net/asma/divaneshams.pdf

- https://holybooks.com/

Bill Bonner, "The Great Beyond"

"The Great Beyond"

by Bill Bonner

"The heart has its stories… often best left untold. Jealousy. Hate. Betrayal. Desperation. Our beat is money. But on its own, money is worthless. It is the heart, with its wants and needs, it's vanities and mysteries, that gives money meaning. So, today, we will dig a bit further into the mush and muscle, in the hopes that we might learn something.

State-Sanctioned Suicide: An old friend, in Switzerland, committed suicide. This was a death of an entirely different sort. Premeditated. Assisted. Sanctioned by the government. Here’s the report (from a family member): “Marie got in touch with an organization called ‘Exit.’ Normally, they help terminally ill people kill themselves. But they will also do it for people who are severely depressed. Marie had cut herself off from her two children. I think it was over money. She had become a recluse. And she was very unhappy.

She called me about a month ago to say that she had contacted the Exit people and was planning to commit suicide. I didn’t know what to do. Or how to take it. She could be melodramatic. And very emotional. I figured she was just telling me how depressed she was. I knew she was taking antidepressants. I thought she had it under control. Then, she called to say she had a date – about a week ahead. She seemed very determined. Calm. Her mind was made up."

Apparently, the Exit group did interviews with family and friends to make sure that she was in her right mind and was unlikely to ever recover from her depression. Then, they came to her apartment, along with a policeman as a witness; they gave her a pill. I heard from her friend, who must have been with her, that she was smoking a cigarette, calmly and even making jokes. Then, she took the pill, fell asleep and died. Rest in peace. Another family member reported that the end was “serene”… and that “it was what she wanted.”

Total Control: But the news left others deeply disturbed. One offered a comment: “Rest in peace? What kind of peace is that? She was obviously at war with her own children… and it tormented her… drove her crazy… so crazy that either she wanted to escape by killing herself… or wanted to torment them by removing all possibility of a reconciliation. Either way, it was the wrong thing to do. Not just ‘wrong’ like a mistake… but wrong – sinful… selfish and mean."

That’s what is wrong with our whole modern world,” she continued. “It has lost its soul. Imagine, people who come to your house… give you a pill… and watch you die. What’s wrong with these people? Didn’t anyone try to stop her? Didn’t anyone try to save her? Suppose you saw someone getting ready to jump off a bridge? Would you just say ‘oh well, that’s their business’? And didn’t it occur to anyone that killing people – even people who say they want to be killed – is wrong?

Look… I have no idea whether Marie should live or die. But neither do they. It’s one thing when people suddenly shoot themselves and there’s nothing you can do about it. But coming to her apartment with a pill?

This is so disappointing… and so sad. These people think they can make life or death decisions based on interviews and psychological profiles. How did they know what was really in her heart… or what Marie’s suicide would do to her children… or her friends? Why did they think she had any choice in the matter? She didn’t choose to be born; who gave her the right to choose to die? Those are things we shouldn’t decide for ourselves. How did they know whether she was meant to live or die… or whether she might some day see a burning bush… and get down on her knees to beg forgiveness… beg her children and her god… to take that iron corset off her heart and let her live?

I find it just overwhelmingly sad… crushingly sad… as if there really were no God at all… no real grace or beauty… no hope of redemption… as if we were now all at the mercy of soulless technicians with their crackpot theories on their power trips… with their charts and graphs… telling us the planet can only be 1.5 degrees warmer… or that we should have 2% inflation, not more, not less… and telling us when we can go a restaurant… and giving children vaccines that they don’t need… and censoring what we say…and insisting that we put their medicines into our bodies… you’re always going on about the Fed monkeying with interest rates and printing fake money… and I guess that’s part of it too… they think they can control everything and everybody…and now, they think they have the right to tell us who can die… and when."

“Very sad.”

- bonnerprivateresearch@substack.com

The Poet: Czesław Miłosz, “A Song On The End Of The World”

“A Song On The End Of The World”

"This poem was written in Warsaw in 1944. Czesław Miłosz ( 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy called Miłosz a writer who "voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts".

Miłosz survived the German occupation of Warsaw during World War II and became a cultural attaché for the Polish government during the postwar period. When communist authorities threatened his safety, he defected to France and ultimately chose exile in the United States, where he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His poetry - particularly about his wartime experience—and his appraisal of Stalinism in a prose book, "The Captive Mind," brought him renown as a leading émigré artist and intellectual.

Throughout his life and work, Miłosz tackled questions of morality, politics, history, and faith. As a translator, he introduced Western works to a Polish audience, and as a scholar and editor, he championed a greater awareness of Slavic literature in the West. Faith played a role in his work as he explored his Catholicism and personal experience. Miłosz died in Kraków, Poland, in 2004. He is interred in Skałka, a church known in Poland as a place of honor for distinguished Poles."

“A Song On The End Of The World”

“On the day the world ends

A bee circles a clover,

A fisherman mends a glimmering net.

Happy porpoises jump in the sea,

By the rainspout young sparrows are playing

And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends

Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,

A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,

Vegetable peddlers shout in the street

And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,

The voice of a violin lasts in the air

And leads into a starry night.

And those who expected lightning and thunder

Are disappointed.

And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps

Do not believe it is happening now.

As long as the sun and the moon are above,

As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,

As long as rosy infants are born

No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet

Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,

Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:

There will be no other end of the world,

There will be no other end of the world.”

~  Czeslaw Milosz

The Daily "Near You?"

La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Troubles..."

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead and some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready, you see.

Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

- Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel

"An Invisible Man...

"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids - and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me."

- Ralph Ellison, "Prologue to Invisible Man"

"I'm terrified at the moral apathy, the death of the heart, 

which is happening in my country."

- James Baldwin 

"Indispensable, Exceptional..."

How Americans want to view this country in the world...

"But if we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us."

- Secretary of State Madeline Albright, 2/19/98

"America is not exceptional because it has long attempted to be a force for good in the world, it tries to be a force for good because it is exceptional."

- Peggy Noonan

How the rest of the world views America, for good reasons...

Dated, but oh so true...

“We have become a Nazi monster in the eyes of the whole world - a nation of bullies and bastards who would rather kill than live peacefully. We are not just whores for power and oil, but killer whores with hate and fear in our hearts. We are human scum, and that is how history will judge us... No redeeming social value. Just whores. Get out of our way, or we’ll kill you.

Well, shit on that dumbness. George W. Bush does not speak for me or my son or my mother or my friends or the people I respect in this world. We didn’t vote for these cheap, greedy little killers who speak for America today - and we will not vote for them again in 2002. Or 2004. Or ever.

Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush? They are the same ones who wanted to have Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us - they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis. And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. F*ck them.”

- Hunter S. Thompson

"How It Really Is"

 

Adventures With Danno, "Shopping At Sam's Club"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 9/4/24

"Shopping At Sam's Club"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "Soft Landing? The Economic Lie Exposed!"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 9/4/24

"Soft Landing? The Economic Lie Exposed!"

"Discover the jaw-dropping reality of workplace ageism in today's video on IAllegedly! From shocking stories of employees being mistreated to the alarming trends affecting older workers, we're diving deep into the issues many face but few dare to discuss."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Bill Bonner, "Problem Solving"

"Problem Solving"

by Bill Bonner

"Our priority now is to balance the budget.

Through fiscal discipline today, we can free up resources tomorrow."

- Jimmy Carter, 1980

Poitou, France - "Jimmy Carter is “coming to the end,” says his grandson, “but he’s still there.” We will speak of Mr. Carter in the past tense... but hope he makes it to his 100th birthday on October first. What a pity! The old conservatives have disappeared…both from the Republican and Democrat ranks.

Mr. Carter was a Democrat... but of a different era... with conservative instincts. He feared God and loathed the Devil. He got married and stayed married. And he lived in the same modest house for the last half a century. Carter believed in science and man’s capacity to make improvements (after all, he was a nuclear engineer!) But he knew there were limits... things you shouldn’t do. When you’re in a submarine you don’t sleep with the windows open. And when you are on the surface, you don’t spend money you don’t have.

After Jimmy Carter left the White House, the US budget was almost never balanced. There was no fiscal discipline. Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. And the resources that should be available today are already gone…used to solve yesterday’s problems that were better left alone. And now, those spent resources are entombed in $35 trillion of debt, dragged into the future like a ball and chain attached to every newborn.

What to do in such a world? How do you protect yourself? Gallup pollsters asked people what they considered the best long-term investment. As expected, most cited stocks... or bonds... or real estate. But one curious crack appeared. Twenty-seven percent of Republicans chose gold as the best place for their money, nearly four times as many as Democrats.

The basic numbers are simple. Looking back over 100 years, gold went from $20 an ounce in 1924 to around $2,500 today. Up 125 times. Stocks went up more than 400 times (measured by the Dow). But the averages can be misleading. More than half of all stocks went nowhere... for zero gain, while a few went ‘to the moon.’ The best performing stock of all time, for example, was the cigarette maker, Altria (formerly Phillip Morris) - whose stock rose 265 million percent.

Rates of return on bonds varied too, but bonds are particularly susceptible to inflation. Few bond investments were able to outrun the dollar’s 98% loss.

And real estate? One study says $100 invested in real estate in 1928 would be worth 50 times as much today. Maybe. But some areas have gone up dramatically; others have not. We once studied properties in Baltimore and concluded that the old mansion that now serves as our company headquarters probably peaked out - in real terms - in the late ‘20s. It’s been downhill ever since.

Yesterday, we backtracked over the last 100+ years of financial problem solving by the feds. Their ‘solutions’ always involved spending more money... or making more money available at lower interest rates. They ‘threw money at the problems,’ we concluded, and made them worse. If the feds had merely sat on their hands - instead of pretending to ‘solve problems’ - today, our national debt would probably be about the same portion of GDP that it was under Jimmy Carter, about 32%. Instead, it is 125%.

But both Democrats and Republicans have had their conservative instincts washed away on a tide of cheap money. Democratic voters still believe they can craft a better world, by spending money they don’t have. They want to elect politicians who ‘solve problems’ and think it will pay off... at least for them."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "666, It's Over. You Want Proof, Here It Is""

Gregory Mannarino, AM 9/4/24

"Pre-Market Report: 666, It's Over. 

You Want Proof, Here It Is"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"The Stock Market Is A House Of Cards

 And It Will Collapse Along With The Dollar"

by Mike Adams

View video here:

- https://www.brighteon.com/

Gaza: James Blunt, "No Bravery"

Full screen recommended.

Gaza: James Blunt, "No Bravery"

"At least 33 more Palestinians were killed in relentless Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, taking the overall death toll since Oct. 7, to 40,819, including 16,000 CHILDREN, the Health Ministry in the battered territory said on Tuesday. A ministry statement added that some 94,291 others have been injured in the ongoing assault. “Israeli forces killed 33 people and injured 67 others in three ‘massacres’ of families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said. “Many people, at least 10,000,  are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added."

- https://www.aa.com.tr/

"You Can Never Again Say..."

 

There but for the grace of God go you and I...

"Massive Layoffs Are Causing Families To Panic Now!"

The Atlantis Report, 9/3/24

"Massive Layoffs Are Causing Families To Panic Now!"

"As 2024 slowly draws to a close, rumors of mass layoffs are growing louder and causing widespread concern. Families already struggling with life's daily challenges are now confronted with the destabilizing prospect of a financial crisis. The effects of losing a job are not limited to the individual alone; they creep through homes, relationships, and communities.

Throughout the country, people are experiencing a sense of uncertainty and fear as mass layoffs loom. Jobs once believed to be secure are disappearing, leaving breadwinners struggling to support their families. As the job market shrinks, families struggle with unemployment and navigate an unstable economy. While economic downturns are a natural part of business cycles, the current situation is particularly unsettling. This has led to a wave of layoffs that have serious consequences for workers and their families.

In relationships, finances can often create silent tension and uncertainty. This can be especially challenging for couples who are already going through the difficulties of marriage. Disagreements over money can put a strain on even the strongest bonds, and in times of crisis, these disagreements can lead to fractures that are difficult to repair.

This issue is not just about numbers and forecasts; it's about real people who are currently facing hardships. We cannot ignore the fact that mass layoffs are becoming a reality for many individuals. Reports from reputable sources such as Fox Business and Business Insider describe a dismal outlook for the labor market. Several factors, such as population decline, the retirement of baby boomers, and a less productive Gen Z workforce, are creating an economic uncertainty that is cause for concern.

But it's not just about the workforce demographics; it's also about the shifting employment sector itself. Artificial intelligence and automation are rendering certain jobs obsolete, while economic downturns force companies to make tough decisions about staffing. Layoffs become inevitable, and the repercussions are felt far and wide."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Your Food Is Poisonous; Living In A Doomsday Bunker To Avoid Mad Max And The Angry Masses"

Jeremiah Babe, 9/3/24

"Your Food Is Poisonous; Living In A Doomsday Bunker

 To Avoid Mad Max And The Angry Masses"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gerald Celente, "End Of Summer Holidays, Get Ready For Market And Geopolitical Turmoil"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 9/3/24

"End Of Summer Holidays, 

Get Ready For Market And Geopolitical Turmoil"

- https://trendsjournal.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Rudi en Corlea, "Hoor Jy My Stem"

Rudi en Corlea, "Hoor Jy My Stem"

"Haunting song by South Africans Rudi Claase 

and Corlea Botha, sung in Afrikaans with English subtitles."

"For Those Who Have Died"

"Tis a fearful thing

to love

what death can touch.

To love, to hope, to dream,

and oh, to lose.

A thing for fools, this,

love,

but a holy thing,

to love what death can touch.

For your life has lived in me;

Your laugh once lifted me;

Your word was a gift to me.

To remember this brings painful joy.

‘Tis a human thing, love,

a holy thing,

to love

what death can touch."

- Rabbi Chaim Stern

Love is eternal, 

And we shall meet again...

"A Look to the Heavens"

“First came the trees. In the town of Salamanca, Spain, the photographer noticed how distinctive a grove of oak trees looked after being pruned. Next came the galaxy. The photographer stayed up until 2 am, waiting until the Milky Way Galaxy rose above the level of a majestic looking oak.

Click image for larger size.

From this carefully chosen perspective, dust lanes in the galaxy appear to be natural continuations to branches of the tree. Last came the light. A flashlight was used on the far side of the tree to project a silhouette. By coincidence, other trees also appeared as similar silhouettes across the relatively bright horizon. The featured image was captured as a single 30-second frame and processed to digitally enhance the Milky Way.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150525.html