Bill Bonner, "Bombastic Bullying Brutes"

The remains of the Roman Forum

"Bombastic Bullying Brutes"

By Bill Bonner

‘We are born into this time and must bravely follow

 the path to the destined end. There is no other way.’

- Oswald Spengler

Poitou, France - "As recently as 1999, the US had a budget surplus...debt of only $5.6 trillion...and stocks worth more (in gold and dollar terms) than ever in history. The US was still widely admired. Its federal debt was bought as a monetary reserve all over the world. It wasn’t at war and wasn’t sponsoring major wars or paying for mass murders overseas. It encouraged free trade and, generally, favored the rule of law. That was probably the apogee for the US...and for Western Civilization. It has been downhill ever since. At least, that’s how it looks to us.

This is not an original point of view. Oswald Spengler foresaw the peak of Western Civilization coming around the year 2000. And even Donald Trump noticed the decline and pledged to turn it around. And now that we are a quarter of a century into the down cycle, the real questions for us remain the same: how far down will it go...and how will it get there.

Spengler guessed that the top for Western Civilization would be followed by a difficult period of ‘Caesarism’ (which we’ve described as ‘Big Man Government’). Spengler saw Benito Mussolini as an early example of the post-democratic leader. “Democracy is beautiful in theory,” said Mussolini. “In practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that some day.” Spengler died in 1936; he never met Donald Trump.

Yesterday, we looked at the way tariffs figure in the big scheme of things. In short, they seem to confirm the ‘declining empire hypothesis.’ Restrictions on trade slow an economy down and make people poorer. But they also nudge it away from civilization itself. Whether trade is a cause or an effect, we don’t know. But the two seem to go together. And restrictions on trade tend to move a society backwards - making it poorer...but also, like North Korea, less free and less civilized.

Restraining trade seems to be a part of the new world order. The first pitch of the Trump team was that other countries were ‘ripping us off’ (presumably with high tariffs compared to our lower ones). As a matter of fairness, as well as encouraging domestic production, tariffs would be made ‘reciprocal.’ But reciprocity fell by the wayside and the the negotiated deals are leading to higher tariffs, not lower ones. Even countries with which the US has a trade surplus - the UK and Brazil, for example - now face higher US tariffs.

Who pays? The Washington Post: "Tariffs hit U.S. companies hard, but businesses absorb them for now. The Trump administration’s tariffs are hitting companies that do business in the United States. But prices haven’t reflected them yet in many cases. In earnings reports, multiple companies on Monday and Tuesday blamed tariffs for hurting their bottom lines, including automakers General Motors and Stellantis. Companies will soon raise prices to protect their margins. Then, consumers will pay."

Meanwhile, the US president continues to threaten even higher tariffs. The Hill: "President Trump recently announced his intent to impose a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals to lure drug manufacturing back to the U.S. This action, if implemented, will come at great cost to millions of Americans already struggling to cover their medical bills and force them deeper into health care debt."

What to make of it? What we make of it is that tariffs have become just another sleazy way to raise taxes and give the Big Man more power. They take us further into the political world…of bullying, bombast and brute force arms."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Unbelievable Prices at Kroger"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 7/24/25

"Unbelievable Prices at Kroger"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"My Family Is Leaving California For Idaho, Housing Crisis Deepens"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/23/25

"My Family Is Leaving California For Idaho,

 Housing Crisis Deepens"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Greg Hunter, "Prepare for Global War – Steve Quayle"

"Prepare for Global War – Steve Quayle"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Renowned radio host, filmmaker, book author and archeological dig expert Steve Quayle says his sources are confirming exactly what Martin Armstrong is saying about the coming war with Russia that will, no doubt, go nuclear. Quayle says the US does not have any advantage over Russia in hypersonic missiles, subs or in the air. In short, Russia can see our B2 stealth bomber and everything else stealth. Yet, the US seems to be bumbling towards war with a superior adversary. Quayle explains, “Russia has warned over and over again that there is nothing the West has that can counter their hypersonic missiles. The American defense posture is this: It is simply going to be kiloton tactical nuclear weapons, and there is going to be no intercontinental ballistic missiles. That’s wrong, and that’s a lie. I believe the President is being lied to by the military industrial complex, and I do not believe Trump understands high technology.

This is not a put down, it is an awareness. The Russians could not have been more clear, and they have basically said we have all this advanced technology. Here’s a piece of information I just got, all of the Russian submarines are out to sea. The Russian subs are out to sea, and it appears the United States defense posture is out to lunch. The United States cannot sustain intercontinental ballistic missiles with 25-ton warheads. When this starts, Russia will hit all of the biggest bases. The United States is already defeated because they have not provided the civilian population with a viable civil defense.”

Quayle also points out the terrible money problems Europe and the US have. Quayle says, “In about 10 days, $7 trillion in US debt comes due. Again, $7 trillion. That’s seven thousand billion, and the United States cannot cover $7 trillion. People who are the debt holders don’t want any more T-bills or notes. They don’t want paper. Look, we don’t have the money. The US is not on a wartime economy. We do not have the industrial base or the raw material base.”

Quayle goes on to warn, “There is not time to dilly dally. Forget about being a spectator. First thing you should do is get out of online banking. There is no security, and the cyber hackers and attackers have access. Take your dominion over you own finances, and get canned food. Get rice. Now, in Japan, they like rice too, and they are rioting over the rice prices. Rice price not so nice. Take control of your funds. Those of you who have profits in Bitcoin or crypto currencies, take at least half of it and convert it to gold. There are no claims against gold you hold in your hand.”

Quayle also points out, “We are seeing on Earth the stress of nations, and we are seeing earthquakes in diverse places. That’s Jesus speaking in Matthew 24.” Add dozens of volcanos popping off all over the world, and you can see why Steve Quayle says, “Get ready, and get right with Christ Jesus.” There is more in the 64-minute interview.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes one-on-one with Steve Quayle,

warning you to prepare for global war. 

- https://rumble.com/

Musical Interlude: Peder B. Helland, "High Above: "Beautiful Relaxing Music for Stress Relief"

Full screen recommended.

"High Above:

"Beautiful Relaxing Music for Stress Relief -

Relax, Sleep, Meditate, Study"

Beautiful relaxing music for stress relief, composed by Peder B. Helland. This track is called "High Above" and can be used to relax, sleep, meditate, study, work, do yoga, read and more.

"A Look to the Heavens"

"These cosmic clouds have blossomed 1,300 light-years away, in the fertile starfields of the constellation Cepheus. Called the Iris Nebula, NGC 7023 is not the only nebula to evoke the imagery of flowers. Still, this deep telescopic image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of colors and symmetries, embedded in surrounding fields of interstellar dust. 

Within the Iris itself, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot, young star. The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue, characteristic of dust grains reflecting starlight. Central filaments of the reflection nebula glow with a faint reddish photoluminesence as some dust grains effectively convert the star's invisible ultraviolet radiation to visible red light. Infrared observations indicate that this nebula contains complex carbon molecules known as PAHs. The dusty blue petals of the Iris Nebula span about six light-years."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210903.html

Chet Raymo, “Very, Very, Very, Very, Very...”

“Very, Very, Very, Very, Very...”

by Chet Raymo

"In a short story that was published posthumously in the New Yorker, the inestimable Primo Levi meditated on the limits of language. The story was called “The Tranquil Star.” He writes "The star was very big and very hot, and its weight was enormous," and realizes immediately that the adjectives have failed him: “For a discussion of stars our language is inadequate and seems laughable, as if someone were trying to plow with a feather. It's a language that was born with us, suitable for describing objects more or less as large and long-lasting as we are; it has our dimensions, it's human. It doesn't go beyond what our senses tell us.

Until fairly recently in human history, there was nothing smaller than a scabies mite, writes Levi, and therefore no adjective to describe it. Nothing bigger than the sea or sky. Nothing hotter than fire. We can add modifiers: very big, very small, very hot. Or use adjectives of dubious superlativeness: enormous, colossal, extraordinary. But, really, these feeble stretchings of language don't take us very far in grasping the very, very, very extraordinarily diminutive or spectacularly colossal dimensions of atomic matter or cosmic space and time. We can overcome the limitations of language, Levi say, "only with a violent effort of the imagination."

I spent more than forty years trying to find ways to violently stretch the imaginations of my students (and myself) to accommodate the dimensions of the universe revealed by science. I would project onto a huge screen a photograph of a firestorm on the Sun, then superimpose a scale-sized Earth, which fit comfortably inside a loop of solar fire. I would take the class into the College Quad here near Boston, where I had set up a basketball to represent the Sun, then gathered 100 feet away with a pinhead Earth; we walked together with our pin in the great annual journey of the Earth, and looked through a telescope at the marble-sized Jupiter than I had previously installed at the other end of the long Quad (the next closest star system would have been a couple of basketballs in Hawaii). We walked geologic timelines that took us from one end of the campus to the other.

In one of my Globe essays I used this analogy: “Imagine the human DNA as a strand of sewing thread. On this scale, the DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a typical human cell would be about 150 miles long, with about 600 nucleotide pairs per inch. That is, the DNA in a single cell is equivalent to 1000 spools of sewing thread, representing two copies of the genetic code. Take all that thread - the 1000 spools worth - and crumple it into 46 wads (the chromosomes). Stuff the wads into a shoe box (the cell nucleus) along with - oh, say enough chicken soup to fill the box. Toss the shoe box into a steamer trunk (the cell), and fill the rest of the trunk with more soup. Take the steamer trunk with its contents and shrink it down to an invisibly small object, smaller than the point of a pin. Multiply that tiny object by a trillion and you have the trillion cells of the human body, each with its full complement of DNA.”

Or this description from 'Waking Zero': “The track of the Prime Meridian across England from Peace Haven in the south to the mouth of the River Humber in the north is nearly 200 miles. If that distance is taken to represent the 13.7 billion year history of the universe, as we understand it today, then all of recorded human history is less than a single step. The entire story I have told in this book, from the Alexandrian astronomers and geographers to the present-day astronomers who launch telescopes into space, would fit neatly into a single footprint. If the 200 miles of the meridian track is taken to represent the distance to the most distant objects we observe with our telescopes, then a couple of steps would take us across the Milky Way Galaxy. A mote of dust from my shoe is large enough to contain not only our own solar system but many neighboring stars.”

But as hard as one tries, the scale of these things escape us. If one could truly comprehend what we are seeing when we look, say, at the Hubble Ultra Deep Field Photo above, which I have done my best to convey to myself and others in a dozen ways, it would surely shake to the core some of our most cherished beliefs. Just as our language is contrived on a human scale, so too are our gods.”

- http://blog.sciencemusings.com/

"Maybe..."

“Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be a human. Maybe, we’re thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe, we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.”

- “Grey’s Anatomy”

“'Law' as a Jedi Mind Trick"

“'Law' as a Jedi Mind Trick"

by Paul Rosenberg

"About half the time it is used, possibly more, the word “law” is nothing more than a Jedi mind trick. There is nothing noble, righteous, or even ‘conservative’ about it. It’s a way for you to be abused via ignorance and inertia. We’ve all seen this trick in action, of course. It’s very common. And, sadly, more or less all of us have fallen (or rather, were pushed) into it at some point. It’s a way for you to be abused via confusion and inertia. And, sadly, more or less all of us have fallen (or rather, were pushed) into it at some point. That complicates things because people generally don’t like to admit their errors.

Nearly all of us have been taught, repetitively, to “respect the law,” and because of those teachings, nearly all of us have decided certain things must be right, simply because they were “the law.” We decided this, not because we understood the benefits that would follow certain actions, but because of repetitive prodding. It’s important to be clear on this: To uncritically, reflexively obey is not respect… it is to hold “the law” above reason… above reality. Saying, “Everyone else did it too,” makes this no better.

It is also common for obedience to follow intimidation: Obey, or else… armed men will hurt you; teacher will shame you; the other kids will laugh at you; important people will criticize you in public. Please note all of these are primitive, degrading reasons. But they were thrust upon us as small, coerced children, and they very often stuck. The really damaging part, however, comes after you obey reflexively or fearfully: when you leap to justify your past actions. Not many of us enjoy admitting our errors, but if we want to become honest, conscious adults, that is precisely what we need to do.

“But, but…” Yes, yes, I know the same automated slogans:

• Without the law, all would be chaos and death!

• Outside of law is tyranny!

• We are a nation of laws, not of men!

• Only law separates us from savages!

Please take a couple of deep breaths and continue.

There’s Law, and Then There’s Law: In the modern West, there are two different kinds of law. Unfortunately they are usually rolled up together and placed under a single tag. That’s a major part of this problem. If the early days of Western civilization, law was simply the process of determining what was just. Law was considered good if it were reasonable, fair, and had stood the test of time. And that’s all.

Historian Fritz Kern, in his "Kingship and Law in the Middle Ages", explains it this way: "For us law needs only one attribute in order to give it validity; it must, directly or indirectly, be sanctioned by the State. But in the Middle Ages, different attributes altogether were essential; medieval law must be “old” law and must be “good” law…. If law were not old and good law, it was not law at all, even though it were formally enacted by the State.

Law, in the old days, was developed locally, and judges were simply trusted men who reasoned well. The form we in the English-speaking world know best was the common law of England, and it was precisely this type of law. In fact, the historical record shows early English kings having to adopt customary law:The 1164 Clarendon Constitution cites a “record and recognition of a certain portion of the customs and liberties and rights of… ancestors.”

Article 39 of the Magna Carta (1215) reads, “No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed, or outlawed… except by the legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.”

Now, before I explain how we got from law based on reason and experience to where we are now, there is one thing that is necessary to understand: Until recent times, law was not legislation.

I know this is contrary to what you’ve understood, but it’s true all the same. Legislation is primarily a modern invention. Law in the old days was not made by politicians or even by princes. Law was, as we said above, the process of determining what was just. The common law was created and updated by judges, not by legislators. To buttress this point, consider that when philosopher Jeremy Bentham died in 1832, he was revered as “the founder of modern legislation.” I won’t belabor this point, but consider these two statements, please:

• Legislation displaces law that is based upon reason and experience.

• Legislation is the edict of politicians, and nothing more.

Under legislation, reason and experience are not required. Politicians – whom nearly all of us hold in low regard – create this new law and can change it on a whim.

So… Let me ask some pointed questions:Is it sensible to worship the words of people we also condemn? And if we hold words above critical thought, are we not holding them above reality? Is that not a kind of worship or idolatry? Idolatry is precisely what we do when we hold politician-created “law” above reason. (Whatever you hold above reality is your god.)

Yes, I know, we did this because we were trained to do it and because we were intimidated into it. But we’re adults now; we should be ready to face our errors and correct them. The law of reason and experience always stands, of course, simply because it is reasonable and useful.

An uncritical respect for legislation, on the other hand, is a mind trick and differs little from that of a Star Wars Jedi. It requires us to bypass our minds and sacrifice our will to inertia and fear."

- https://freemansperspective.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Malton, United Kingdom. Thanks for stopping by!

"It Strikes Me..."

“It goes against the American storytelling grain to have someone in a situation he can’t get out of, but I think this is very usual in life. There are people, particularly dumb people, who are in terrible trouble and never get out of it, because they’re not intelligent enough. It strikes me as gruesome and comical that in our culture we have an expectation that man can always solve his problems. This is so untrue that it makes me want to cry - or laugh.”

- Kurt Vonnegut

"You're Not Allowed To Say Genocide,' Says Gerald Celente"

George Galloway, 7/23/25

"You're Not Allowed To Say Genocide,' 

Says Gerald Celente"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"10 Economic Facts That Nobody Can Deny"

"10 Economic Facts That Nobody Can Deny"

by Michael Snyder

"If you ask 1,000 different Americans about the state of the U.S. economy, you will get 1,000 different opinions. But what is the truth? In this article, I am going to share information with you that is indisputable. I like to examine things from an analytical point of view, and so I always want to know what the cold, hard numbers are telling me. And what the cold, hard numbers are telling me is very troubling. The following are 10 economic facts that nobody can deny…

#1 The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators fell more than expected last month, and during the entire first half of 2025 it declined at an even faster rate than it did during the second half of 2024…"The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the US declined by 0.3% in June 2025 to 98.8 (2016=100), after no change in May (revised upward from –0.1% originally reported). As a result, the LEI fell by 2.8% over the first half of 2025, a substantially faster rate of decline than the –1.3% contraction over the second half of 2024.

“The US LEI fell further in June,” said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board. “For a second month in a row, the stock price rally was the main support of the LEI. But this was not enough to offset still very low consumer expectations, weak new orders in manufacturing, and a third consecutive month of rising initial claims for unemployment insurance."

#2 We just learned that sales of previously-owned homes have fallen to their lowest level in nine months…"Sales of previously-owned homes in the United States hit their lowest rate in nine months, according to industry data released Wednesday, as high home prices and mortgage rates weighed on the market. Existing home sales dropped by 2.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.9 million, said the National Association of Realtors (NAR)."

#3 It is being reported that millions of Americans that are on existing health insurance plans will be hit with “double-digit rate hikes” next year…"Consumers who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace will likely face double-digit rate hikes next year. Insurers plan a median premium increase of 15% for 2026 plans, which would be the largest ACA insurance price hike since 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis published on July 18.

And many working-age consumers who get their health insurance through the workplace won’t be spared, either. Benefits consultant Mercer said more than half of big employers expect to shift a larger share of insurance costs to employees and their families next year by raising deductibles, copays, or out-of-pocket requirements."

#4 The price of beef in the United States has risen 9 percent since January…"First it was eggs, now it’s beef. The last time Americans likely noticed spiking prices at the grocery store was when eggs reached record-highs. Since then, egg prices have fallen after the deadly avian flu outbreak was contained and producers built back supply. Now, beef prices are hitting records, rising almost 9% since January, according to the Department of Agriculture, and retailing for $9.26 a pound. June’s consumer price index showed steak and ground beef prices are up 12.4% and 10.3%, respectively, over the last year."

#5 More Americans than ever are using “buy now, pay later” loans to pay for groceries…"25% of BNPL users say they’ve used the loans to buy groceries. That’s up from 14% just a year ago, amid rising prices at the supermarket. One-third of Gen Z BNPL users say they’ve done so, making it the fourth-most common BNPL purchase for that age group, trailing clothing, technology and home decor."

#6 The official rate of inflation just increased at the fastest pace that we have seen in 5 months…"Consumer prices in June posted the biggest increase since the beginning of the year and are likely to keep the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates later this month, but there were only scattered signs of tariff-related inflation. The consumer-price index rose 0.3% last month, the government said Tuesday, and matched Wall Street’s forecast. It was the biggest rise since January."

#7 A recent survey found that 23 percent of Americans have decided to delay retirement. That figure is up from 14 percent last year…"Older Americans are kicking the can down the road on retirement over concerns about the economy and their own financial readiness to step back from work.

That’s according to a new survey from F&G Annuities & Life, which polled 2,000 U.S. adults over 50 years old. The life insurance and annuities company found that 23% of those polled have already decided to delay their retirement as they grapple with questions about their financial readiness, up from 14% in 2024. The findings come at a time when the median savings of 55-year-olds is just $50,000, far from enough to fund a secure old age, according to another recent study by Prudential Financial."

#8 According to another recent survey, nearly 70 percent of Americans are feeling “anxiety and depression” because of the state of their finances…"Americans are feeling increasingly uneasy about their financial future. Nearly 7 in 10 (69%) say financial uncertainty has led them to feelings of anxiety and depression, according to a recent survey from Northwest Mutual - an 8-percentage-point increase from 2023.

#9 The percentage of the U.S. population that is dealing with food insecurity has almost doubled over the past four years…"In May, 15.6% of adults were food insecure, almost double the rate in 2021. At that time Congress had beefed up SNAP benefits and expanded the Child Tax Credit driving down poverty rates, and giving people more money for food."

#10 Freight-related companies all over the country are conducting mass layoffs…"Another wave of closures and layoffs has hit workers and companies tied to commercial transportation, manufacturing, lumber production, distribution and logistics across the U.S. Over the past several weeks, there have been 4,137 job cuts announced, according to media reports and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices.

The companies facing layoffs include: Republic National Distributing Co. (1,756), Canfor Corp. (290), Bluestem Brands (160), DeRoyal Industries (153), Weaber Lumber (145), Howard Miller Co. (133), Ohio Eagle Distributing (124), Pocino Foods Co. (124), Western Forest Products (112), Americold Logistics (110), Lightspeed Logistics Miami LLC (110), Cartparts.com (104), MacMillan-Piper (92), GSC Enterprises Inc. (80), SalonCentric (79), Auto Warehousing Co. (75), BRP Marine US Inc. (72), Marshall Excelsior Co. (71), Backyard PlayNation (66), Spectrum Plastic Group (34) and CHS Inc. (25)."

This would not be happening if the U.S. economy was in good shape. When the economy is strong, lots of stuff is being shipped all over the place. Sadly, a lot more layoffs are on the horizon. In addition to facing another major economic downturn, we have also entered the “AI revolution”.

According to author Robert Kiyosaki, AI is going to “cause massive unemployment”…"Rich Dad Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki has a sobering take on one of today’s hottest trends: artificial intelligence (AI). “Biggest Change in Modern History” he declared in an X post on July 1. “AI will cause many ‘smart students’ to lose their jobs. AI will cause massive unemployment. Many still have student loan debt.”

Kiyosaki isn’t alone in sounding the alarm. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic - the AI company behind the large language model Claude - recently warned that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and push the unemployment rate as high as 20%.

Thanks to AI and other technological advancements, our society is now in a period of exponential transformation. Many would argue that many of the changes that we are witnessing are not for the better. It is going to be very challenging to make good decisions in this environment, because many of the old rules no longer apply."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

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"UPS Fires Everyone, 20,000 Workers"

"In 2025, the job market remains harsh and unforgiving for millions of people. Companies continue to lay off workers while hiring freezes leave job seekers with few opportunities to pursue. Even those with strong resumes and years of experience are struggling to land interviews, let alone secure stable positions. The jobs that are available often offer lower wages, fewer hours, and little to no benefits. Many people are being forced into multiple part-time roles just to get by. The constant uncertainty and financial stress are wearing workers down, making the dream of a steady, secure career feel further away than ever."

Comments here:

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"How It Really Is"

 

"I Tried Russian McDonald's (Sanctioned) Hello Kitty Meal"

Full screen recommended.

Travelling with Russell 7/23/25

"I Tried Russian McDonald's (Sanctioned) Hello Kitty Meal"

"Russian Mcdonalds (Vkusna|Tochka) has just released a brand new meal deal featuring Hello Kitty. Come along with me to try the latest meal deal from the Russian replaces for McDoanlds. How does the Hello Kitty Meal taste at Vkusna|Tochka? "

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "It’s Worse Than You Think - The Economic Numbers Don't Lie"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 7/23/25

"It’s Worse Than You Think - 

The Economic Numbers Don't Lie"

"The economy is unraveling, and it’s worse than anyone imagined. Major companies are reeling, the automotive industry is in chaos, and shocking new data reveals the cracks in our system. In today’s video, I break down the latest news that’s impacting everyone – from Tesla’s struggles to Ford and General Motors facing massive losses. Plus, the housing market is shifting, big-name billionaires are losing fortunes, and even Warren Buffett’s empire is feeling the heat. Is this the breaking point? We’ll also dive into the future (or lack thereof) of electric vehicles, what’s really happening with AI investments, and California’s controversial new cryptocurrency law. Oh, and let’s not forget the $7.5 billion government boondoggle on charging stations – where did the money go? I’m telling you, things are crazier than ever."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Bill Bonner, "Reward Friends, Punish Enemies"

"Reward Friends, Punish Enemies"

by Bill Bonner

Poitou, France - "We were probably wrong about tariffs. Yes, of course, they were always a bad idea...and still are. Anything that interferes with our ability to freely trade with each other will make us poorer, with less choice and lower quality goods and services. After the administration’s ‘reciprocal’ tariff bomb blew up in its face, in April, we thought tariffs would quietly go away, like a man who just made a fool of himself at a party. That’s about what happened with Canada during The Donald’s first term. His team squawked about ‘unfair’ trade with Canada and tore up the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. Then, after protracted negotiations, it ended up with something very close to NAFTA...and trade went on much as before.

We thought the negotiations with other countries would go the same way. But no. Even before the August 1 hikes, tariffs are at a 70-year high. And going higher. USA Today: "Trump said the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on Japanese imports under the agreement, which he hailed as "a massive deal" in a July 22 post on Truth Social. Trump previously threatened a 24% tariff on Japan beginning Aug. 1, when higher tariffs for countries across the world are set to go into effect."

Bloomberg: "GM Profit Falls as Trump Tariffs Add $1.1 Billion in Costs"

Bloomberg again: "US Companies, Consumers Are Paying for Trump's Tariffs, Not Foreign Firms"

Money Talks News: "Study Projects Trump Tariffs Will Cost Families $2,400 Annually." "Yale University researchers project Trump's comprehensive tariff strategy will increase costs for American families by $2,400 this year. The analysis examines price impacts across sectors from clothing to electronics as new trade policies take effect."

In other tariffic news, Trump just threatened to raise the rate against Canada to 35% and to raise the ‘universal’ baseline rate from 10% to 15% or 20%. We saw last week how tariffs could be used in a variety of vain and foolish ways - to promote foreign policy goals, to influence other countries’ internal politics, to raise drug cartels’ profits, to pay off big political donors...and generally to make a mess of the economy.

They can also be used to enrich those who impose them. Money Talks News: "ProPublica Investigation Reveals Dozen Officials Traded Before Tariff-Driven Decline." "ProPublica's investigation reveals federal officials across multiple agencies sold stocks before Trump's tariff announcements caused major market declines. The well-timed trades raise questions about government ethics and market transparency."

In theory, sales taxes are not especially bad. They penalize consumption, leaving capital free to accumulate. To the extent that they generate revenue and reduce the need for government borrowing - they also constrain federal debt. But they are still a particularly sinister tax.

Taxes are supposed to be ‘fair,’ which is to say, you’re not supposed to tax a Republican more than a Democrat or a plumber more than a carpenter. But tax loopholes and credits have been used for decades to reward friends, punish enemies...and drive the money where the feds want it to go. Want people to buy electric cars? Give them a tax subsidy. Want them to stop smoking? Impose a tax on cigarettes.

At least Congress - the peoples’ parliament - has a say in who is taxed and how. Not so with tariffs. POTUS can tariff individual countries - giving different rates to different nations. He can also target individual industries...regions...and like the bills of attainder that the US constitution tried to avoid...he can single out specific products and individual companies.

NakedCapitalism: "Washington just imposed a 17% tariff on US imports of tomatoes, almost all of which come from Mexico. As Bloomberg notes, the move comes just days after Trump unveiled plans to impose a 30% tariff, beginning Aug. 1, on many Mexican products that don’t fall under the USMCA agreement he negotiated in his first term."

Neither Democrats nor Republicans will want to give up this kind of arbitrary power. So, tariffs may become a more-or-less permanent part of America’s end-of-empire finances - a sneaky consumption tax, which gives the feds more money to spend...more opportunities for corruption...and another cudgel with which to beat anyone who stands in their way.

Europeans pay sales taxes of up to 27% (in Hungary). Life goes on. And if the Trump team ends up with an average 10% tariff/sales tax...it won’t be the end of the world. But whatever fiscal benefit the feds get from higher tariff taxes - $300 billion is expected this year - is likely to be offset by lower GDP growth and lower tax receipts elsewhere. And over time, shackled with tariffs, the US economy will become less competitive."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Alert! 'Leave Russia Now' - Polish PM; 'NATO Planning Massive Attack'"

Prepper News, 7/22/25

"Alert! 'Leave Russia Now' - Polish PM;

 'NATO Planning Massive Attack'"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gerald Celente, "Outrage Over Trump Not Releasing Epstein Files, No Outrage He Facilitates Israeli Genocide"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 7/22/25

"Outrage Over Trump Not Releasing Epstein Files, 

No Outrage He Facilitates Israeli Genocide"

"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."

- https://trendsjournal.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"We Are On A Collision Course To An Economic Disaster; Endgame For The US Dollar; Ozzy Met God Today"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/22/25

"We Are On A Collision Course To An Economic Disaster; 

Endgame For The US Dollar; Ozzy Met God Today"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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

Rudi and Corlea, "Hoor Jy My Stem"

Haunting song by South Africans Rudi Claase and Corlea Botha,

 sung in Afrikaans with subtitles in English .

Losing someone we love, as we all have and will, made me think of this...

Musical Interlude: Josh Groban, "Remember When It Rained"

Josh Groban, "Remember When It Rained"

Full screen recommended.

"A Look to the Heavens"

“A now famous picture from the Hubble Space Telescope featured Pillars of Creation, star forming columns of cold gas and dust light-years long inside M16, the Eagle Nebula. This false-color composite image views the nearby stellar nursery using data from the Herschel Space Observatory's panoramic exploration of interstellar clouds along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Herschel's far infrared detectors record the emission from the region's cold dust directly. 

The famous pillars are included near the center of the scene. While the central group of hot young stars is not apparent at these infrared wavelengths, the stars' radiation and winds carve the shapes within the interstellar clouds. Scattered white spots are denser knots of gas and dust, clumps of material collapsing to form new stars. The Eagle Nebula is some 6,500 light-years distant, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160728.html

"The Difference..."

"One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire – then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference."

- Robert Fulghum

"Don't Imagine..."

"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for. Don't imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the boot-licking propagandist of any régime, and then suddenly return to mental decency."

- George Orwell

"The Untouchables: The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite"

"The Untouchables: 

The Sexual Predators Within America’s Power Elite"

by John & Nisha Whitehead

“Now by coming in and being part of the cover-up, the Trump administration

 has become part of it. I mean, it’s just you cannot see it any other way.”

 - Alex Jones, InfoWars

"Once again, the American police state is choosing to protect predators, not victims. Jeffrey Epstein - the hedge fund billionaire/convicted serial pedophile and sex trafficker - may be dead, but the machinery that empowered and protected him is still very much alive. You see, the Epstein case was never just about Epstein - it was about the entire edifice of power that shields the ruling class, silences victims, and erases accountability.

Thus, the latest about-face declarations from the Trump administration - that Epstein had no client list, that he did in fact kill himself, and that there’s nothing more to discuss or investigate so we should just move on—have only reinforced what many have suspected all along: the system is rigged in order to protect the power elite because the power elite are the system.

In this age of partisan politics and a deeply polarized populace, corruption - especially when it involves sexual debauchery, depravity and predatory behavior - has become the great equalizer. With the reemergence of Jeffrey Epstein’s ghost in the public discourse, we are once again reminded of just how deep the rot goes.

Politics, religion, entertainment, business, law enforcement, the military - it doesn’t matter the arena or affiliation: all are riddled with the kind of seedy, depraved behavior that gets a free pass when it involves the powerful. For years, the Epstein case has stood as a grotesque emblem of the depravity within America’s power elite: billionaires, politicians, and celebrities who allegedly trafficked in sex with young girls while insulated from accountability.

It is believed that Epstein, who died in jail after being arrested on charges of molesting, raping and sex trafficking dozens of young girls, operated a sex trafficking ring not only for his own personal pleasure but also for that of his friends and business associates.

According to The Washington Post, “several of the young women…say they were offered to the rich and famous as sex partners at Epstein’s parties.” Despite the government’s insistence there’s nothing more to see, here’s what the public record already reveals:

• Epstein ferried his friends about on his private plane, nicknamed the “Lolita Express” after the Nabokov novel, due to the presence of what appeared to be underage girls on board.

• Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump were counted among Epstein’s friends.

• Both Clinton and Trump were at one time passengers on the Lolita Express.

• Both Clinton and Trump are renowned womanizers who have been accused of sexual impropriety by a significant number of women over the years. In fact, The Rutherford Institute represented Paula Jones in her landmark sexual harassment lawsuit against then-President Clinton - a case that helped expose how far the political establishment will go to shield its own.

So you have to wonder… when President Trump, who has used his administration’s war on human trafficking to justify expanding the government’s police state powers, quietly dismantles the very government agencies tasked with investigating and exposing sex trafficking… what exactly is going on? The message from the top is clear: there will be no accountability.

President Trump has flatly refused to appoint a special prosecutor. His allies in Congress have gone silent. And the same politicians who demand the harshest punishments for undocumented immigrants, protesters, or whistleblowers have nothing to say about the systematic abuse of minors by men in their own orbit.

This isn’t justice. It’s a double standard - one set of rules for the untouchables, and another for everyone else. If it looks like a cover-up, smells like a cover-up, and appears to benefit all the usual suspects, is it so far-fetched to suspect that the government is once again closing ranks to protect the members of its power elite? We’ve seen it before: from the CIA’s MK-Ultra experiments and the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations to the Pentagon Papers, Iran-Contra, CIA black sites, and NSA mass surveillance. Each time, secrecy protected the powerful and betrayed the people.

And it will keep happening - again and again - unless we confront the truth hiding in plain sight: that abuse of power is not an aberration of the system - it is the system. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the shadow economy of sex trafficking, where power, profit, and predation converge. The trafficking of children, the shielding of perpetrators, the systematic silencing of victims - this isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s a business model. This is America’s seedy underbelly.

Child sex trafficking - the buying and selling of women, young girls and boys for sex, some as young as 9 years old - has become big business in America. It is the fastest growing business in organized crime and the second most-lucrative commodity traded illegally after drugs and guns. Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States. It’s not just young girls who are vulnerable to these predators, either. Boys account for over a third of victims in the U.S. sex industry.

Who buys a child for sex? Otherwise ordinary men from all walks of life. “They could be your co-worker, doctor, pastor or spouse,” writes journalist Tim Swarens, who spent more than a year investigating the sex trade in America. Ordinary men, yes. But then there are the so-called extraordinary men - like Jeffrey Epstein - with wealth, connections, and protection who are allowed to operate according to their own rules. These men skate free of accountability because the criminal justice system panders to the powerful, the wealthy and the elite.

Over a decade ago, when Epstein was first charged with raping and molesting young girls, he was gifted a secret plea deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, President Trump’s first term Labor Secretary, that allowed him to evade federal charges and be given the equivalent of a slap on the wrist: allowed to “work” at home six days a week before returning to jail to sleep. That secret plea deal has since been ruled illegal by a federal judge.

Yet here’s the thing: Epstein did not act alone. I refer not only to Epstein’s accomplices, who recruited and groomed the young girls he is accused of raping and molesting, but his circle of influential friends and colleagues that at one time included Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

As the Associated Press points out, “The arrest of the billionaire financier on child sex trafficking charges is raising questions about how much his high-powered associates knew about the hedge fund manager’s interactions with underage girls, and whether they turned a blind eye to potentially illegal conduct.”

In fact, a decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals allowing a 2,000-page document linked to the Epstein case to be unsealed references allegations of sexual abuse involving “numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known Prime Minister, and other world leaders.”

This is not a minor incident involving minor players. Nor are these partisan missteps. They are systemic betrayals. The predators wear red and blue alike, and the silence spans both aisles of power. This is the darkness at the heart of the American police state: a system built to shield the powerful from justice. Sex slaves. Sex trafficking. Secret societies. Powerful elites. Government corruption. Judicial cover-ups. Once again, fact and fiction mirror each other.

Twenty years ago, Stanley Kubrick’s final film "Eyes Wide Shut" provided viewing audiences with a sordid glimpse into a secret sex society that indulged the basest urges of its affluent members while preying on vulnerable young women. It is not so different from the real world, where powerful men, insulated from accountability, indulge their base urges.

Kubrick suggested these secret societies flourish because the public chooses not to see what’s right in front of them, content to navigate life in denial about the ugly, obvious truths in our midst. In so doing, we become accomplices to abusive behavior in our midst. This is how corruption by the power elite flourishes.

For years, investigative journalists and survivors have documented how blackmail, intelligence agency ties, and financial leverage helped shield elite sexual predators - not just from prosecution, but from public scrutiny. For every Epstein who is - finally - called to account for his illegal sexual exploits after years of being given a free pass by those in power, there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) more in the halls of power and wealth whose predation continues unabated. While Epstein’s alleged crimes are heinous enough on their own, he is part of a larger narrative of how a culture of entitlement becomes a cesspool and a breeding ground for despots and predators.

Power corrupts. Worse, as 19th-century historian Lord Acton concluded, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give any one person - or government agency - too much power and allow them to believe that they are entitled, untouchable and will not be held accountable for their actions, and those powers will be abused.

History proves it. The present moment confirms it. We see this dynamic play out every day in communities across America. A cop shoots an unarmed citizen for no credible reason and gets away with it. A president employs executive orders to sidestep the Constitution and gets away with it. A government agency spies on its citizens’ communications and gets away with it. An entertainment mogul sexually harasses aspiring actresses and gets away with it. The U.S. military bombs a civilian hospital and gets away with it.

It’s no coincidence that the same administration dismantling offices tasked with fighting human trafficking is also defunding the few agencies left to hold law enforcement accountable. Under President Trump, the Department of Justice has been restructured to prioritize loyalty over justice, protection over prosecution. Offices once dedicated to civil rights enforcement, police oversight, and public accountability have been gutted or quietly sidelined.

Consider the case of former Louisville officer Brett Hankison, who blindly fired ten rounds into Breonna Taylor’s apartment during a botched no-knock raid. Hankison was ultimately convicted - not for killing Taylor, but for depriving others of their civil rights. And yet Trump’s DOJ asked the court to sentence Hankison to one day in prison - the equivalent of time served during booking. In other words, in Trump’s view, the powerful and their enforcers should walk free while the dead are buried and the public is told to move on.

And it’s not just trigger-happy policing that goes unpunished. Across the country, law enforcement officers have repeatedly been caught running sex trafficking rings, abusing women and girls in their custody, or exploiting their badge to coerce sex - with little to no consequence.

From Louisiana to Ohio to New York, officers have been arrested for trafficking underage girls, assaulting vulnerable women, and raping detainees - often shielded by unions, prosecutors, or a blue wall of silence. This isn’t a few bad apples. It’s a culture of impunity baked into the system. This is how the system works, protecting the untouchables - not because they’re innocent, but because the system has made them immune.

Abuse of power - and the ambition-fueled hypocrisy and deliberate disregard for misconduct that make those abuses possible - works the same whether you’re talking about sex crimes, government corruption, or the rule of law.

It’s the same old story all over again: man rises to power, man abuses power abominably, man intimidates and threatens anyone who challenges him with retaliation or worse, and man gets away with it because of a culture of compliance in which no one speaks up because they don’t want to lose their job or their money or their place among the elite.

Sexual predators aren’t the only threat. For every Epstein or Clinton, every Weinstein, Ailes, Cosby, or Trump who eventually gets called out for his sexual misbehavior, there are hundreds - thousands - of others in the American police state who are getting away with murder - in many cases, literally - simply because they can.

Unless something changes in the way we deal with these ongoing, egregious abuses of power, the predators of the police state will continue to wreak havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. For too long now, Americans have tolerated an oligarchy in which a powerful, elite group of wealthy donors is calling the shots. We need to restore the rule of law for all people, no exceptions. The rule of law means no one gets a free pass - no matter their wealth, status, or political connections.

As I make clear in my book "Battlefield America: The War on the American People" and in its fictional counterpart "The Erik Blair Diaries," the empowerment of petty tyrants and political gods must end."

- https://tinyurl.com/y6fycmbz

The Daily "Near You?"

Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA. for stopping by!