Bill Bonner, "The Dog Deals of Summer"

"The Dog Deals of Summer"

Dogs don’t pay tariffs. Inanimate objects don’t pay them.

 In the end, all government revenues must come from The People.

by Bill Bonner

Poitou, France - "Here’s Nicole Russell, a columnist for USA Today, weighing in on Trump’s latest trade triumph: "Trump's EU deal will help blue-collar workers." Critics can hate Trump's personality all they want, but the president's ability to forge trade deals that favor American workers shouldn't be discounted. The gist of Ms. Russell’s argument is that the deal includes requirements for Europe to buy energy and military equipment from the US. This kind of stuff is made by people wearing hardhats or wielding power tools, that is...by ‘blue collar’ workers. Ms. Russell, who lives in Texas and has four children, must not have much free time. If she had, she might have thought this through a bit further.

In the first place, why should US government policy favor one group of workers (blue collar) over another group (white collar)?

In the second place, the tariffic negotiations also favor very big businesses - oil and defense. How is that a plus for the guys who mostly work for small businesses?

In the third place, the same policies that will supposedly favor US industry output with a 15% tariff on imports also call for taxes of 50% on steel and aluminum, which must be paid by US automakers...and ultimately by auto buyers. What good does that do the guy who needs wheels to get to work?

In the fourth place, who does she think pays for the tariffs? Tariffs are essentially a tax, paid by American importers, not foreign exporters...and then, inevitably passed along to US consumers. Fox:

July tariff revenues break monthly record, with $150B collected so far in 2025. White collar...blue collar...or no collar at all - they’re all going to pay. Who else would? Dogs don’t pay tariffs. Inanimate objects don’t pay them. In the end, all government revenues must come from The People. But wait. The only good thing about the tariffs is that they might increase the feds’ income and reduce their need for borrowing. But the geniuses in the US Senate are already finding ways to rip out that silver lining. USA Today: "Josh Hawley Introduces $600 Trump's Tariff Rebate Bill For Working Americans."

You have to wonder...if you’re going to give away money, why give it only to ‘working’ Americans? What have the feds got against retirees? No matter. None of it makes sense. The US is running a $2 trillion deficit...and heading right for a financial crisis. It can’t afford to give money away. Still, the trade deals are seen as a political ‘win’ for Mr. Trump. He seems to have been able to apply his tariff taxes without Congressional approval...and without setting off a brutal trade war.

The Wall Street Journal: "President Trump has achieved the remarkable: raising tariffs by more than the notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, while - it appears - avoiding the destructive trade war that followed. Including the deal struck over the weekend with the European Union, the U.S. will impose an effective tariff rate of about 15% on its trading partners, by far the highest since the 1930s, according to JPMorgan Chase."

But will the deals stick? The New Republic: "Trump’s Big Trade Deal With Japan Is Already Falling Apart." "...a new report from The Financial Times demonstrates that U.S. and Japanese officials don’t see eye-to-eye on what exactly the countries agreed upon. Mireya Solís, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, told The Financial Times that the deal contains “nothing inspiring,” as “both sides made promises that we can’t be sure will be kept,” and “there are no guarantees on what the actual level of investments from Japan will be.”

It’s not exactly a done deal with Europe either. Energy Intel: "US-EU $750 Billion Energy Deal Faces Major Reality Check." "Fred Hutchison, CEO of pro-US LNG export group LNG Allies, said both sides can do a lot to encourage additional commercial deals in the LNG space, but "neither government has any control over what happens commercially."

WSJ continues: "Marine Le Pen, a leader of France’s populist right-wing National Rally, which is slightly favored to win the presidential election in 2027, called the EU deal a “political, economic and moral fiasco.” Alice Weidel, leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany, wrote on X, “The EU has let itself be brutally ripped off.”

Trump got his deals because of the leverage other countries’ deep economic and security ties gave to the U.S. In coming years, that leverage will wane as those countries cultivate markets elsewhere and build up their own militaries. The resulting international system will be less dependent on the U.S. - and less stable. The markets are less stable too. Already teetering at the tippy-top of their trading range, stocks have become even more overvalued. More importantly, Donald Trump has raised the cost of trading with the US. He must also have increased the desire not to trade with it at all."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Moving Out Of California Is A Big Job; California Minimum Wage Killed 18,000 Restaurant Jobs"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/29/25

"Moving Out Of California Is A Big Job; 

California Minimum Wage Killed 18,000 Restaurant Jobs"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Alert! They're Moving Scary Fast! Russian ICBM Chief In USA!"

Full screen recommended.

Prepper News, 7/29/25

"Alert! They're Moving Scary Fast! 

Russian ICBM Chief In USA!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Remember Now"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Remember Now"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident.

The featured exposure covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon. Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight." 

- https://apod.nasa.gov/

"Now Is No Time..."

 

Gerald Celente, "Don't Call Macron's Lady A Drag Queen Or Be Sued"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 7/29/25

"Don't Call Macron's Lady A Drag Queen Or Be Sued"

"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/

"Everyone Got It Anyway"

"Everyone Got It Anyway"

by Paul Rosenberg

"As the year 2020 arrived, we were living and thinking as we had been in 2019, 2018 and 2017. There was plenty of fear and outrage in the world, but the levels were fairly smooth. And then, unexpectedly, a long and nightmarish storm battered us. We've all lived through three years of professionally-applied social pain. It has subsided now, but most people haven’t processed what has happened... they haven’t sorted and settled things inside themselves. This type of delay is not unusual. In the aftermath of World War II, the Holocaust simply wasn’t talked about. After World War I, no one dared examine its obscenities for a full decade.

Recalibration: Storms such as we’ve just been through distort human character. We suffered through a fear-storm of Biblical proportions, supercharged with the high-tech application of social pain. Anyone who differed with the party line was punished, and harshly. Millions were fired from their jobs, tolerance for the opinions of others was destroyed, bodily autonomy was rejected, free speech was thrown away with force. And all the authorities, all the holders of positions, all the enforcers and sacrifice collectors... they drove it all in unison, mercilessly. Those who objected were removed in one way or another. So, we have a lot to face and a lot to unwind.

Most of us, in one way or another, need to re-balance ourselves… to recalibrate ourselves. And we can do that in either of two ways: We can recalibrate to reality, or we can recalibrate to fantasy. The healthy and sustainable path forward is to recalibrate to reality, but reality and doesn’t cater to human feelings. Fantasy, on the other hand, succeeds by painting pictures of whatever the hearers would like to be true. So, I think we should begin by facing the one, essential conclusion from the entire Covid business: Everyone got it anyway.

All the threats and enforcements and orders... the actions of authority and the authorized... simply failed. It was the greatest public failure in human history. Appeals like “We did the best we could” are fake, late and thin. The pronouncements of authority were absolutes backed by force, shame, threat and the weaponizing of one's own family. We need to grasp this rather than evading it. If everyone got it anyway, then all the edicts and punishments were worthless at best, and all attempts to evade that recognition are the enemies of mind.

Last Words: Jesus was ever so right when he advised people to clean the inside first. We need to begin by fixing ourselves. Whether we feel like it or not, we must recalibrate to reality. And the reality is that all the pompous pronouncements, all the punishment, all the censorship and all the intimidation... all of it crashed and burned in a flaming heap. Everyone got it anyway."

- freemansperspective.com

"Here Come Tariff Rebate Checks - Could You Get $2,000?"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, PM 7/29/25

"Here Come Tariff Rebate Checks - 

Could You Get $2,000?"

"Could you really get $2,000 in tariff rebates this year? Let’s dive into this exciting proposal and what it could mean for you and your family! Hey, it’s Dan, welcome back to IAllegedly. In today’s video, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about the potential tariff rebate plan that could bring some much-needed financial relief just in time for the holidays. From Senator Josh Hawley’s proposal to the surprising success of tariffs, we’re talking numbers, eligibility, and how this could impact American families. We’ve already seen $30 billion collected in tariffs this year, and with projections of $150 billion, there’s a real opportunity here. Families could receive up to $2,400, with individual rebates potentially reaching $1,200 or even $2,000! I’ll also share updates on income limits and how this rebate could be distributed – electronically or via debit card. This isn’t just talk – it’s about creating a financial boost when people need it most."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

South Pittsburg, Tennessee, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Real Church Sign"

 
"Oh yeah, we're doing fine, thanks for asking."

"All Earthly Empires Die"

"All Earthly Empires Die"

by Bill Bonner

"'Amor fati' was Nietzsche’s famous expression. It is a Latin phrase with connections to the Stoic writings of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Literally translated, it means “love of fate.” It is a white shoe yearning for mud. It is a turkey looking forward to Thanksgiving. Or an investor stoically preparing for a bear market.

We use the term to describe the grace and courage you need to meet a complex, unknowable, and uncontrollable future. You don’t know whether the Earth is warming or cooling… whether it is good or bad… or whether you can do anything about it. You don’t know who’s doing “equal work.” You don’t know what equality is… how to measure it… or what to do about it. You don’t know who the bad guy is. It may even be you. It recognizes that we are all God’s fools, living in a world of ignorance, headed towards we don’t know where. Using our brains, we can make progress in our physical, material world. Technical thinking yields pyramids and Eiffel Towers.

Ignorance Everywhere: But there is another part of life, which has a mind of its own. It does not bend readily to our desires or yield to our intelligence. It is the part of life whose purposes are unknown. The first and most important Commandment, according to Jesus, was not to fight it, but to love it.

But ignorance can be a charm. You just have to take it seriously. And appreciate it. Recognizing your own ignorance will inform your newfound modesty. You will be aware of it. And fiercely proud. Nobody will be humbler than you are! And since you are so chummy with ignorance, you will see it everywhere – in every headline, every public announcement, every speech on the floor of the Senate… and every crackpot comment from every dummy voter in the empire.

In private affairs, you reduce uncertainty by getting as close to the subject as possible. That is, you avoid secondhand “news” and try to find out for yourself. The more you know about a company, for example, the more confident you can be about investing in it. That’s why the insiders always have the inside track, an advantage that is increased by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s phony “level playing field” propaganda. In public affairs – policy discussions, economics, politics – as you get closer, you become less cocksure. That is, the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

In an interesting university study, people were asked to pick out Ukraine on a map… and whether they approved of military intervention in that country. Curiously, the further off they were on the geography (the average guess was 1,800 miles off), the more they favored forceful intervention. In public affairs, ignorance and confidence vary inversely.

Moral Certainty: When we first moved to Baltimore in the 1980s, we noticed this phenomenon in another context. Baltimore was a disaster. Crime, drugs, poverty, venereal disease, broken homes, unwed mothers, corruption – name a social problem; Baltimore had it. And while its leaders had been noticeably unable to solve any of these problems right in their own back yard, the city’s politically correct politicians were loud and clear on one issue: apartheid had to end… in South Africa. Had they ever visited South Africa? Could they find it on a map? Probably not. But they were sure they knew how to make it a better place.

“Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority,” wrote Baltimore’s own H.L. Mencken. “The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on ‘I am not too sure.’”

“I am not too sure,” would eliminate many of the world’s myth-driven, self-inflicted ills – pointless wars, dumb arguments, pogroms, persecutions, and lynchings. And reckless spending of other people’s money.

Imagine a wise Hitler entertaining the idea of building Auschwitz as a “final solution” to the “Jewish problem.” “Hmmm… I’m not too sure that would solve it… In fact, I’m not too sure there is a problem!”

Imagine Simon de Montfort readying to attack the town of Albi to exterminate the “heretics.” When told that half the people in the town were good Catholics, de Montfort replied: “Kill them all. God will recognize His own.” Suppose he had thought twice… “Hmmm… Maybe this is not such a good idea… Maybe killing people is not what Christianity is all about… Maybe the heretics aren’t so bad… Maybe I’ll take the afternoon off.”

Unwarranted Confidence: The barroom blowhard… so sure he is right about everything… is generally the dumbest guy in the place. And the most dangerous. He’s the one who will stir up a mob… and get himself elected president. The whole system of modern public policy is built on false knowledge and unwarranted confidence. The elite claims to know what is best for you. That is how every politician can claim his proposals would “benefit the American people.” But the only program that would benefit the American people would be to let them decide for themselves what would benefit them. Give them back their money. Stop bossing them around. End the wars. Stop the empire. But who would suggest such a thing?

A book that appeared in 2018, "Psychology of a Superpower: Security and Dominance in U.S. Foreign Policy", by political scientist Christopher Fettweis, argued that power really does corrupt, and that when a nation or an empire gets too much power, its elite develops new opinions.

Rather than seeing itself as one of many nations that must get along with each other, its elites begin to see that they have a special role to play. They become the one, “indispensable” nation, as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright put it. They are the world’s only hope in combatting evil, which they do, as then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo elaborated, with “the righteous knowledge that our cause is just, special, and built upon America’s core principles.”

Thus endowed with a special mission and special powers, and subject to the special rules of the only nation with a trillion-dollar-per-year military/empire budget, the elite develop, in Fettweis’s judgment, a fatal combination of unrestrained hubris, unrealistic paranoia, and unrepentant ignorance. They see danger everywhere, without undertaking any serious study (they assume knowledge comes automatically with raw power). And they think they have not only the right, but the means, to do something about it, even if the danger is largely fantasy.

Damned to Hell: But people always come to think what they need to think when they need to think it. “All earthly empires die,” wrote St. Augustine in 413, a few years before the Vandals destroyed his city and finally brought down the Roman Empire in the West.

The elite contribute, by taking up the myths that help it die. Certainty and ignorance vary proportionally, both on the individual and on a national level. The surer a nation is of its myths… its exceptionalism… its manifest destiny… its policies… and its position at the right hand of God… the more it is damned to Hell."

- www.rogueeconomics.com

"The Past..."

“Those who cannot remember 

the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

-  George Santayana

Freely download and listen to George Santayana, "The Life of Reason Vol. 1: 

Reason in Common Sense", here: - https://archive.org/details/

Thinking of the past suggested this song. 

What memories does it bring back to you?

Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start The Fire"

"War Bankrupts Empires, Nations & City-States – Here We Go Again"

"War Bankrupts Empires, Nations & City-States – 

Here We Go Again"

by Martin Armstrong

"France was on the brink of its Fifth bankruptcy in 1720. France defaulted in 1558 under Henry II, following the costly Habsburg-Valois Wars (also known as the Italian Wars), the outright repudiation of debt, and currency devaluation. Then in 1648, a Debt Crisis occurred under Louis XIV (Early Reign) with the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659). Louis XIV suspended payments and manipulated currency. Then, in 1661, there was another financial collapse under Louis XIV, when Finance Minister Nicolas Fouquet was arrested for corruption. Jean-Baptiste Colbert later reformed finances, but debt remained high.

Then, in 1715, France fell into bankruptcy following the death of Louis XIV. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) left France deeply indebted. The regency of Philippe d’Orléans implemented the Visa of 1715, a partial debt repudiation. This brings us to 1720 and the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble (John Law’s system), for which history blamed him without examining France’s chronic debt problems. John Law’s speculative financial scheme collapsed, resulting in hyperinflation of paper money and a banking crisis. The French government defaulted on its obligations.

This was followed by the 1770 Bankruptcy under Louis XV. The Seven Years’ War (1756–1763) and financial mismanagement led to another debt crisis. The Finance Minister Étienne de Silhouette and later René de Maupeou imposed austerity and partial defaults.

Then, just 19 years later, this brings us to the debt crisis that sparked the 1789 French Revolution. The Pre-Revolution Financial Crisis was when France was effectively bankrupt under Louis XVI, leading to the Estates-General and the French Revolution (1789). The revolutionary government later repudiated royal debt.

Then, 23 years later, we come to the 1812–1813 Financial Crisis under Napoleon. The Napoleonic Wars drained French finances. The government resorted to forced loans and currency debasement. Just 5 years later, we come to the 1818 Post-Napoleonic Debt Restructuring. After Waterloo (1815), France struggled with reparations and debt. The Duc de Richelieu negotiated loans to stabilize finances. It is a wonder why anyone lends to governments that always want war.

We arrive at the next Revolution in 1848 and the 1848 Financial Crisis during the Second Republic. The February Revolution led to a credit crunch. The government imposed emergency financial measures, as it was unable to meet its debts, given that this was a socialist revolution against the wealthy.

Never learning from the past, which they always seem to assume is gone, we again arrive at the 1871 Post-Franco-Prussian War Bankruptcy Threat. Here, France had to pay 5 billion francs in reparations to Germany after losing the war. The government took massive loans (e.g., Morgan Loans) to avoid default. This was also why France demanded reparations from Germany after World War I, which resulted in bringing Hitler to power in 1933.

Then there was the Great Depression. Here, France was forced to restructure again in 1936, with the Franc Devaluation and Debt Restructuring. The Great Depression weakened France’s economy. The Popular Front government devalued the franc and restructured debt.

Then there was the 2010 EU Debt Crisis, which most people look at in relation to Greece and stop there. The 2010s European Debt Crisis (Near-Default Risk) contagion affected France, which faced high deficits but avoided sovereign default. Debt-to-GDP rose sharply, but the country barely maintained its creditworthiness and is once again incurring deficits, all to wage war on Russia.

Here we go again. We will see massive sovereign defaults in Europe as they wage war on Russia at the behest of NATO and the Neocons."

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Another Canary: The Las Vegas Economy Is Tanking Just Like It Did In 2008 And 2009"

"Another Canary: The Las Vegas Economy 

Is Tanking Just Like It Did In 2008 And 2009"

by Michael Snyder

"If you want to get a really good indication of where the U.S. economy is heading, just look at what is happening in Las Vegas. During good times, hotel occupancy rates are very high and lots of money is thrown around in the casinos. But when times are getting tough, less people head to Las Vegas and those that do go tend to be tighter with their money. We saw a perfect example of this during the Great Recession. Once the global financial crisis hit, gambling revenues in Las Vegas plunged. The following comes from an ABC News article that was published in 2009…

"To almost everyone - and especially the Germans - Las Vegas seemed recession-proof. But now, since the summer of 2008, gambling revenues have dropped by more than 10 percent (see graphic) after having plunged to as much as 25 percent in the months immediately following the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. Of course things eventually turned around and Las Vegas thrived for many years."

But now another enormous shift is taking place. A new downturn has begun “with hotel occupancy, visitor numbers and spending all slipping”…"Las Vegas is experiencing a notable downturn in tourism, with hotel occupancy, visitor numbers and spending all slipping. Industry data points to several key reasons behind the shift, including rising costs, fewer international travellers, and broader economic uncertainties."

So why is this happening? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Despite the absolutely nonsense that you hear on CNBC, the truth is that the U.S. economy is rapidly going in the wrong direction. As a result, occupancy rates at Las Vegas hotels are absolutely plummeting…

"Las Vegas hotels are posting some of the steepest year-over-year performance declines among major U.S. markets this summer as international visitor weakness and economic uncertainty take a toll. Preliminary STR data indicates Las Vegas occupancy fell 14.9% in June, which, if actualized, would mark the city’s deepest monthly decline so far this year. The deterioration continued into July, with the week ending July 5 showing Vegas with the worst declines across the top 25 U.S. markets: Occupancy fell 16.8%, to 66.7%, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) plunged 28.7%, to $102.75, according to STR."

Because things are so slow, workers are being laid off, and the unemployment rate in the Las Vegas area jumped quite a bit higher last month…"Las Vegas’ jobless rate ticked higher again last month amid a slump in tourism this year. The Las Vegas-area’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in June, up from 5.5 percent in May, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures released this week by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation."

Nobody can deny what is happening in Las Vegas, because the numbers are telling a very clear story. And it turns out that casinos in other areas of the country are also experiencing financial difficulties right now. Here is just one prominent example…

"Earlier this month, resort and casino operator Maverick Gaming filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Southern District of Texas. The Kirkland, Washington-based company owns five casinos across Nevada, Colorado, and Washington and reported that it currently has between $100 million and $500 million in liabilities. The Nevada properties include a combined 1,200 hotel rooms, 1,700 slot machines and 43 table games. The Washington resorts also have 17 card tables used by visitors specifically seeking out the hotels for gambling trips."

This reminds me so much of the Great Recession. If you think that I am exaggerating, let me give you another parallel to 2008 and 2009. Our housing market just experienced “its slowest spring season in more than a dozen years”…"The US housing market just logged its slowest spring season in more than a dozen years, leaving Glennda Baker, a veteran real estate agent in Atlanta, struggling to sell 21 listings. She’s been slashing prices. But months of chatter about AI taking jobs and tariffs tanking the economy is feeding into buyer indecision. “People say price solves everything,” Baker said. “But price doesn’t solve uncertainty.”

For the entire year of 2025, home sales in the United States are expected to hit the lowest level in 30 years…"Home sales are set to plunge to a 30-year low - with experts warning the slump could deepen into a full‑blown collapse. Just four million transactions are expected in the US this year, according to new data from Realtor.com. That would mark the lowest level since 1995, according to the National Association of Realtors."

Yes, it is being projected that home sales in 2025 will be even lower than they were in 2008 and 2009. That isn’t just bad. That is really bad. So why do the talking heads on CNBC continue to insist that the economy is strong? Have they gone completely nuts?

I simply don’t understand why they can’t see the parallels to 2008 and 2009, but one thing that we didn’t have in 2008 and 2009 that we are dealing with today is rampant inflation. If you can believe it, the average list price of a 3-year-old used vehicle has risen by $9,476 over the past six years…"Detroit Free Press autos writer Jamie LaReau reported recently that the average list price for a 3-year-old vehicle is now $32,635, an infuriating $9,476 more than it was six years ago." This is one of the primary reasons why so many Americans are driving around in 20-year-old vehicles these days. The average age of the vehicles on U.S. roads has reached an all-time record high, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.

Meanwhile, meat prices just continue to skyrocket…"In June, meat prices well outpaced the entire food-at-home category, with steak and ground beef prices rising 12.4% and 10.3%, respectively, compared with a year earlier, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI). Beef prices are now hitting a record $9.26 per pound at retailers as of June, according to the USDA."

Inflation is causing our standard of living to collapse. This is something that I have written about over and over again. At this stage, things are so bad that 83 percent of Americans are dealing with “stressflation”…

"A LifeStance Health survey released today reveals “stressflation” is affecting most Americans, with 83% reporting financial stress driven by inflation, mass layoffs, the rising cost of living and recession fears. Millennials and Gen Z report the most significant mental health impacts." So if you are feeling stressed about the rapidly rising cost of living, you are certainly not alone.

Sadly, the long-term trends that have brought us to this point are not going to abate any time soon. In fact, a tremendous amount of societal chaos is on the horizon. So I would encourage you to batten down the hatches, because the storm that is heading our way is not going to be pleasant."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "The Convergence: An Economic Superstorm"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/29/25

"The Convergence: An Economic Superstorm"

https://traderschoice.net/

- https://gregorymannarino.substack.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Treasury said it will borrow over $1 trillion in the next three months. This is more than double what it expected to borrow just a few months ago. The announcement cited a lower cash balance in the Treasury General account (the government’s checking account, basically) and lower than expected tax receipts during the third quarter of the fiscal year."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

o

"Convergence" generally means the act of coming together or uniting at a single point or in a common interest or focus, economically with inescapable consequences. It can refer to physical things like lines or objects moving towards each other, or to more abstract concepts like ideas or opinions becoming similar. In various fields, "convergence" has specific meanings." 

A totally realistic video metaphor of the economic 

superstorms converging on the good ship "World Economy"...

Full screen recommended.

"The Infinite Money Glitch is Back – Unbelievable ATM Fraud"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/29/25

"The Infinite Money Glitch is Back – 

Unbelievable ATM Fraud"

"The $17M infinite money glitch is back, and this time it’s crazier than ever! In today’s video, I break down how $17 million vanished from New York City in just three days through a shocking ATM loophole in a youth financial program. Fraudsters exploited this glitch in ways that will leave you stunned - from kids selling their debit cards to organized criminals withdrawing thousands in cash. This is a wild story you don’t want to miss!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Items at Dollar Tree Everyone Should Be Buying Right Now!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 7/29/25

"Items at Dollar Tree Everyone 

Should Be Buying Right Now!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "Say Goodbye To Home Ownership, You Will Own Nothing"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/28/25

"Say Goodbye To Home Ownership, 

You Will Own Nothing"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The CEOs of Costco, Walmart, Target Warn That Store Shelves All Over America Could Soon Be Empty"

Full screen recommended.

Economy Zone, 7/28/25

"The CEOs of Costco, Walmart, Target Warn That 

Store Shelves All Over America Could Soon Be Empty"

"America's top retailers are sounding the alarm. Walmart, Target, and Costco CEOs warn of a looming crisis as shelves begin to empty across the U.S. - and this time, it’s not just supply chain delays. From global shipping chaos to skyrocketing theft, the future of retail may never look the same again. Here's what they're not telling you."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind, “Dream Ten”

Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind, “Dream Ten”

"A Look to the Heavens"

“This colorful skyscape features the dusty, reddish glow of Sharpless catalog emission region Sh2-155, the Cave Nebula. About 2,400 light-years away, the scene lies along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy toward the royal northern constellation of Cepheus.

Astronomical explorations of the region reveal that it has formed at the boundary of the massive Cepheus B molecular cloud and the hot, young, blue stars of the Cepheus OB 3 association. The bright rim of ionized hydrogen gas is energized by the radiation from the hot stars, dominated by the bright blue O-type star above picture center. Radiation driven ionization fronts are likely triggering collapsing cores and new star formation within. Appropriately sized for a stellar nursery, the cosmic cave is over 10 light-years across.”

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

The Poet: Arthur O’Shaughnessy, "Music and Moonlight"

"Music and Moonlight"

"We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone seabreakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world forever, it seems…

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of the earth,

Built Ninevah with our sighing,

And Babel itself in our mirth;

And o’erthrew them with prophesying

To the old of the new world’s worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth."

- Arthur O’Shaughnessy

○

"The Dreamers Of Dreams..."

"The division of one day from the next must be one of the most profound peculiarities of life on this planet. We are not condemned to sustained flights of being, but are constantly refreshed by little holidays from ourselves. We are intermittent creatures, always falling to little ends and rising to new beginnings. Our soon-tired consciousness is meted out in chapters, and that the world will look quite different tomorrow is, both for our comfort and our discomfort, usually true. How marvelously too night matches sleep, sweet image of it, so nearly apportioned to our need. Angels must wonder at these beings who fall so regularly out of awareness into a fantasm-infested dark. How our frail identities survive these chasms no philosopher has ever been able to explain."

- Iris Murdoch

"Some Very Big Problems"

"We have got some very big problems confronting us and let us not make any mistake about it, human history in the future is fraught with tragedy. It's only through people making a stand against that tragedy and being doggedly optimistic that we are going to win through. If you look at the plight of the human race it could well tip you into despair, so you have to be very strong."

- Robert James Brown

"Duesenberg in a Barn"

"Duesenberg in a Barn"

by Jeff Thomas

"In 1929, Ford sold 1,507,132 cars. Chevrolet sold 1,328,605. Then came the stock market crash. Sales dropped dramatically each year until 1932, when sales bottomed at 210,824 for Ford and 313,404 for Chevrolet. But, during that time, a small new market came on stream for the two foremost budget brands - the rich.

Although literally millions of people were hit very hard by the crash, those who had invested wisely retained their wealth. Those who steered clear of the stock market bubble and/or invested in assets that would survive the crash, such as precious metals, were able to continue to live well. However, they did find that when they drove down the street in their luxury cars, they stood out and became the objects of anger and scorn.

This is an important trait in human nature to recognize - that those who have been reckless with their money and have ended up losing it tend to hate those who were not reckless and have retained their wealth. Perhaps, observing someone who behaved responsibly is a regular reminder that they behaved stupidly.

Whatever the psychology involved, in 1930, those who had fared well soon learned that it was unwise to be conspicuous in their continued wealth. At that point, an interesting but little-remembered development occurred. Such people put their mink coats in the closet, put their jewellery in a safe place and, most importantly, found barns in the countryside into which they could park their Duesenbergs, Cords, and Auburns.

It’s likely that they intended to retrieve the luxury cars once the economy recovered. However, a collectivist government under President Franklin Roosevelt protracted the depression by implementing extensive legislation and policies to “help the common man.” Unfortunately, those actions crippled the business community, turning what might have been a normal two-year depression into one that lasted sixteen years.

During that time, those who had mothballed their luxury cars bought inexpensive cars such as Fords and Chevrolets in order to be less conspicuous. Along the way, chauffeurs became a thing of the past. They were more affordable than ever, but far too conspicuous to even consider employing.

In the end, most of the Deusies remained in the barns until after the war, when the prosperity of the 1950s made them once again popular - this time as collector cars. Today, a restored Duesenberg can be sold at auction for millions, but there was a 25-year drought during which no one would be seen driving them. They became a dead loss for their original owners.

But what we’re discussing here is a mere symptom of those times. Of what value is that to us today? Well, many readers of this publication will be aware that the world is once again facing a financial crisis - one that will far exceed the Great Depression in its magnitude. It will be more devastating and will last longer than the previous debacle, and it will once again be unwise to be seen driving a Deusie.

And so, we prepare ourselves by moving a significant amount of our holdings into precious metals. If we’ve been paying attention, we’ve figured out that the banks are likely to confiscate our deposits and empty our safe deposit boxes. We will have stored the bulk in a storage facility that is not a financial institution, plus we will now have some sort of safe at home where we keep an emergency supply - perhaps of silver rounds - that we may use after a crash. We’ve reasoned correctly that, if and when the currency collapses, we’ll still be able to buy groceries and fuel for the car each week by handing over a silver Ajax or two.

So, we’ve prepared ourselves… Well, not quite. Trouble is, we’ll be observed making our purchases. If the crisis period were to last a few weeks, we’d have no problem. However, after only a few months of a period in which people have little or no real currency (as is always the case after a currency collapse), our neighbours will take note that the one guy in the community who is regularly seen walking to his car with bags of groceries, or parked in the otherwise empty filling station having his tank topped up, is us. Even if we’re driving a Toyota instead of a Mercedes, eyebrows will be raised, and, after the word gets out that we’ve somehow survived intact, resentment will build against us.

It will be at that time that we’ll wish we’d gotten rid of all our luxury associated assets, then gotten the proceeds out of the country - away from those who will resent our ownership of some form of currency. We may have stored wealth, but it will become a liability rather than a safety net. We may get on just fine with our neighbors right now, but when their families are eating dog food for dinner due to their greatly diminished buying power, we’ll most assuredly be hated by them.

At this point, it’s likely to become clear that being the last guy with currency in a neighborhood that has lost its currency is not an enviable position to be in. If we then try to make a run for it, we’ll find that the rules of the world that existed just a short while ago have been rewritten. First, we’ll find that currency controls are now in place and our home country, having crashed, disallows the flight of wealth from its shores. We can only remove our wealth by becoming criminals.

In addition, we’ll find that, although the numbers leaving our home country were small prior to the crisis, those numbers have now swelled dramatically and target countries, where the economies are faring better, are closing their doors to economic refugees.

At this point, we’ll become pariahs in our home community and be trapped there. We may own precious metals, but it’ll be risky to use them to survive. We’ll be aware that we can’t keep a lid on the fact that we own precious metals. At best, we might be waylaid when leaving the supermarket with our bags of food. At worst, our house will be ransacked, either by angry neighbors or by a government SWAT team, when they find that we’ve violated the Emergency Currency Act. (No, it doesn’t exist yet, but it most likely will.)

It’s a basic socio-economic principle that, during hard times, those who have not been responsible will come after those who have. Therefore, it’s not enough to merely retain wealth; it’s also essential to have both that wealth and ourselves in a jurisdiction that has been minimally impacted by the crisis.

We are now about to see the first of the major economic dominoes topple. At that point, conditions will get ugly. When that point arrives, it will be essential to have already expatriated the great majority of our wealth (no matter how small or large it may be) to a safer jurisdiction - one where we might openly pay for groceries with an Ajax or two - and to have made arrangements for a residence there, to which we can travel on short notice.

Of this we can be certain: When the major dominoes begin to fall, there will be little or no warning, and there will not be sufficient time to begin formulating an exit strategy. In actual fact, if the reader is the possessor of the equivalent of a Duesenberg, now would be the time to sell it off quickly and lease a temporary car. It would also be the time to take all equity out of the house and other assets and get the proceeds expatriated. Retain nothing that you can’t walk away from quickly. Begin now to prepare for the next phase of your life and be ready to move.

If, by some magic, all of the present indicators of a coming crisis reverse themselves and your home country becomes both solvent and prosperous once again, you will have done nothing but create a position of freedom for yourself - one out of which you could reverse. However, if a crisis is as inevitable as all the indicators suggest, survival will depend upon the preparation that you create now."

- https://internationalman.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Downers Grove, Illinois, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Only Final Sin..."

"In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is 

getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."

- Hunter S. Thompson

Judge Napolitano, "Scott Ritter: Israeli Genocide Update"

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 7/28/25

"Scott Ritter: Israeli Genocide Update"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Times Of India, 7/28/25

"Russia To Trump: 'Back Off, We're Not Iran'; 

Putin Aide Issues Chilling War Threat To U.S"

"Russia fires back at Trump’s ultimatum, warning of risk of a ‘direct war’ between the two powers. Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and close ally of Putin, sharply criticized Trump’s demands, stressing that 'Russia is not Iran or Israel' and cautioning that each new ultimatum pushes the world closer to conflict. The escalating tensions come after Trump set a tight deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal over the Ukraine war."

Comments here:

 - https://www.youtube.com/

“Now Is the Time of Monsters”

“Now Is the Time of Monsters”

by Jeff Thomas

“In ancient Rome, interregnum was the term given to the period between stable governments when anything untoward might occur, and sometimes did – civil unrest, warfare between warlords, power vacuums and, finally, succession wars. But eventually the dust would settle and the victors, whoever they might be, would at some point restabilize the empire, often with a new map, showing the latest lines of geographic possession.

In 1929, the Italian Antonio Gramsci was in a fascist prison, writing about what he considered to be a new interregnum – a Europe that was tearing itself apart. He anticipated civil unrest, war between nations and repeated changes in the lines of geographic possession. At that time, he was attributed as saying, “The old world is dying and the new world struggles to be born. Now is the time of monsters.”

And, of course, looking back from our vantage point in the twenty-first century, we have no difficulty in confirming that he was correct in his prognosis. The world war that followed brought forward the worst traits in mankind. The sociopaths of the world came center-stage. By the time the dust had settled, tens of millions were dead.

What we do have difficulty with is recognizing that the same pattern is again with us. National leaders and their advisors are spoiling for war, building up weaponry, creating senseless proxy wars in other nations’ backyards and playing a dangerous game of “chicken” with other major powers. This will not end well. It never does. Once the shoving-match has begun, it only escalates. At some point, whether it’s the false-flag assassination of an Archduke, as in World War I, or the false flag invasion of Germany by Poland, as in World War II, we can always count on some excuse being created to justify diving headlong into war.

It’s also true that, when empires get into economic trouble that’s too far gone for any viable solution, a trick that’s always employed by political leaders to keep the citizens from removing them from their seats of power, is to start a war. A people will, if they believe their homeland is in peril, accept the “temporary” removal of their freedoms. Even in the United States, the famed “Land of the Free,” political leaders have routinely imprisoned dissidents in times of warfare. People tend to get behind their leaders in wartime, no matter how undeserved that loyalty might be.

And so, now is the time of monsters, as Mr. Gramsci rightly stated. A time of uncertainty, when countries are in turmoil and would-be leaders are jostling for power with existing leaders. An interregnum.

Troubled times tend to bring out all the crazies – all the sociopathic-types that would find it hard to succeed in stable, prosperous times. In such times, the average person becomes worried that things are not going to turn out well. That’s perfectly understandable. Unfortunately, most people lack both the imagination and the courage to cope with how the times are impacting their lives. They instead rely on others to provide a torch that might help them escape from the darkness. Not surprising then, that every snake-oil salesman in town sees an opportunity to offer big promises – promises that he has neither the ability nor the inclination to fulfill.

At such times, the people of a country tend to become polarized, placing their faith in one political party or another, hoping that their party will “make the bad stuff go away.” In the US we see, on the liberal side, promises for “free health care for all,” a guaranteed basic income, housing for those who cannot afford it, and an endless stream of promises that, if the government were to implement them all, they will not be able to pay for them, even with 100% taxation from those who presently pay tax.

On the conservative side, we see promises such as “Make America Great Again,” with tax rebates that do not rejuvenate the economy, breaks for firms that have expatriated, but do not fool them into returning, claims to cut budgets, only to increase them, and promises to eliminate debt, only to expand it.

We see presidential elections in which one of the two leading candidates is a textbook narcissist, whilst the other displayed all the traits of senility. And we see a waitress elected to Congress by a substantial margin, raised to the status of heroine merely for promising all things to all people, whilst offering no plan as to how that might come about. Record numbers of candidates pour into the political arena, seeking a last grab at power prior to systemic failure.

To be fair, the US is by no means alone in delivering incapable people with nonsensical solutions to the higher offices. In the UK, each leading party states emphatically that the other party would be a disaster, yet neither party can come up with a working alternative. What they can do, as in America, is point fingers and shout invectives at each other.

In France, whilst the disconnected president essentially says, “Let them eat cake,” serving only to create further fury on the street. To be sure, the problem begins at the top. But it doesn’t end there. It sifts down to the proletariat, who, unable to come up with constructive solutions, create their own monsters, trashing the shops and burning the cars of people who had no hand in creating the problem.

But surely this is just a one-off phase, in which the best and brightest are temporarily pushed offstage, but will soon return, yes? Well, unfortunately, no. Historically, a period such as this one is followed by one of increased madness. Historically, the next step is societal breakdown. Riots, secessions and revolutions become commonplace, accompanied by economic collapse.

Out of these events come the worst monsters of all. It’s in the wake of such developments that the people of any country then turn away from those that made the empty promises and toward those who promise revenge against an ill-defined group who are characterized as having caused the problems. That’s when the Robespierres, the Lenins, the Hitlers – the greatest monsters – are swept into power. They invariably deliver the same message – that they’ll seek out the aristocracy, the gentry, the patricians, and strip them of their positions and possessions.

Invariably the way that this shakes out is not that the average man rises up, taking his “fair share” of the spoils. Instead, the leaders take the spoils and the proletariat are reduced to an equality of poverty. Our friend Mr. Gramsci found himself imprisoned by Benito Mussolini and died from illnesses incurred in prison. Unfortunately, his approach was to complain, but remain, as his country deteriorated around him. This proved, for him, to be the worst of choices. And, so it is today.”

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

"How It Really Will Be"

 

"What's The Point Of Being A Citizen?"

And how about you, Good Citizen? How's that job going? Current with all the bills? Health insurance affordable, keeping you well? If you're in Appalachia I hope you're wisely spending that $750 they gave you to replace losing your home and everything you owned, if you could even apply... But of course your own food stamp balance and available cash balances look like this, right?

10 MILLION illegals in the last year alone automatically got $5,000 pre-paid debit cards and free transportation wherever they like, free health care and housing? While 600,000 Americans are homeless, including 60,000 veterans, 22 of whom commit suicide EVERY day?!!! 150,000 drug overdoses in the last year! $350 BILLION for Ukraine, God knows how many BILLIONS to Israel, and you, Good Citizen, what do they do for YOU?!

WTF, and I repeat WTF is wrong with this country?!

Dan, I Allegedly, "Get Ready for Black Outs!"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/28/25

"Get Ready for Black Outs!"

"Get ready, folks - summer 2025 might just bring blackouts across 37 states! In this video, I’m breaking down why our energy grid is under massive strain, thanks to aging infrastructure, increased demand, and the push toward renewable energy. With nuclear plants retiring and extreme weather on the rise, this could lead to rolling blackouts affecting millions. From the challenges of renewable energy to outdated grids and natural disasters, this is a wake-up call for all of us. We’re also talking about how rising energy costs, Bitcoin mining, and data centers are taking a toll on the grid, and what this means for small towns, rural hospitals, and basic services. Plus, I dive into how this might impact your daily life, from air conditioning to electric vehicles, and even the cost of essentials like food and housing."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, PM 7/28/25

"You Need to Pay the National Debt - Venmo Accepted!"

"You won’t believe this - our federal government is now accepting Venmo and PayPal to pay down the national debt! Yes, you can literally swipe your card or transfer funds to help tackle the $36 trillion debt. In today’s video, I break down how this wild program works, the shocking amount donated in 29 years, and why it’s stirring up reactions everywhere. Plus, I dive into other big updates: strikes among Boeing machinists and grocery workers, Panera Bread’s controversial decision to stop baking bread in stores, and even Jeff Bezos selling billions in stock (is he buying CNBC?). Of course, there’s a bit about the rising popularity of “buy now, pay later” for groceries and why AI-driven pricing in Norway might just be our future."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/