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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

"Bamboozled Once Again"

"Bamboozled Once Again"
by Jim Quinn

“Narcissists are unstable and go through repeated cycles of self-destruction, with other people usually paying the heft of the price. They are aware of what they are doing to others - but they do not care. Narcissists tend to be divisive, vindictive, confrontational, aggressive, hate-filled, raging, incoherent, judgment-impaired, and irrational.” – Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self-Love

Carl Sagan‘s words from 30 years ago, about the American public no longer caring about the truth and unwilling to acknowledge they have been bamboozled by the men controlling the levers of power over our civilization, has never been more prescient than during our current period of delusion, degradation and decay. As the crumbling American empire of debt and denial approaches its disastrous rendezvous with destiny, the populace remains gloriously and willfully ignorant of reality, mathematical certainty of collapse, and the treachery of those constituting the Deep State ruling class. We are truly living in a demon haunted world, run by child rapists and satanists.

It’s interesting Sagan had the foresight to make this brilliant observation in 1995, well before it became readily provable here in this century of the bamboozle, where the banality of evil, inflicted upon the masses by faceless apparatchiks, at the behest of soulless billionaire psychopaths in suits, has turned a once vibrant republic into a dying totalitarian hollowed out husk of a nation. I was bamboozled for about the first forty years of my life, but the weapons of mass destruction bamboozle in 2003 was the final straw. My eyes were opened to the utter corruption and lies of those hand selected by the real ruling class to lead our nation.

I’m convinced this century will see the end of the American Empire, likely to last less than 100 years (1946 – 2033?). As we approach the final blood letting that always marks the final years of a Fourth Turning, the malevolent, degenerate billionaires who currently control our world and pull the levers manipulating the willfully ignorant masses, are maximizing multiple bamboozles in an attempt to expand their wealth, optimize their power, and exploit the system to control the masses in an AI based technocratic gulag. We are nothing but expendable pieces in their demented game of Risk.
These Deep State fiends are the ruling social order doing everything in their power to avoid being swept away by the forces of this Fourth Turning, including mass murder (Covid jabs), global war, assassinations, planned starvation, imprisonment of truth tellers, and unrelenting propaganda designed to bamboozle the public into believing these totalitarian charlatans are actually doing these things (AI data centers, Iran War for Israel, kidnapping world leaders, waging a proxy war against Russia, threatening to invade multiple sovereign nations) for their own good. These bamboozles did not happen by happenstance.
As Edward Bernays explained in his 1928 book – Propaganda – there has always been a ruling elite who knew they could manipulate the minds of the masses in order to control the world. Back then they only had newspapers and radio. Bernays would be flabbergasted at the propaganda tools currently in the hands of the bamboozlers. Convincing a massively dumbed down populace of anything today is like taking candy from a baby.

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.”  – "Propaganda"

The bamboozles went into overdrive at the start of this century. Those who profit from chaos, war and debt were down in the dumps, as there were no major conflicts in the world, deficits and government spending were under control, the internet was going to make our lives easier, and the optimism of a new century was lifting the spirits of America. The Deep State bad actors needed to rectify the situation and the 9/11 bamboozle was just what the doctor ordered. This inside job, probably in cooperation with Israel, ignited two decades of war, tens of trillions in government debt creation, implementation of the surveillance state through the pre-written Patriot Act, 100% increase in inflation (using the fake CPI number), and multiple bubbles/crashes used to lure the masses into consumer debt servitude to the Wall Street banking cabal.
Sagan feared the dumbing down of America through government indoctrination centers, known as public schools, would lead to a celebration of ignorance (have you seen the high school graduation videos floating around on-line?). With a populace unable or unwilling to think critically, the mouthpieces for the ruling elite in the media were easily able to manipulate the emotions, fears and greed of the average person and convince them to act in a way that would benefit the agenda of our overlord class. The slow decay of our culture turned into an avalanche of degeneracy and deceit.

Our world is supposedly driven by science and technology, but our schools matriculate mostly morons into society. The elitists who declare themselves scientific and medical experts (Fauci, Birx, Gates), technological geniuses (Musk, Karp, Altman, Theil) and social philanthropists (Soros, Adelson, Hoffman) are either mass murders, chaos coordinators, grifters, war mongers, and/or totalitarian minded pretentious traitors to mankind. These people have far too much power and dominion over the narratives spun to sway the public. Truth is of no interest to these demons. The current combustible amalgam of public ignorance and elitist wealth and power is destined to ignite and create a conflagration which could burn our nation to the ground.

I certainly have a foreboding we have entered an age of darkness, where the “invisible government” (aka Deep State), who have relied on Huxley’s soft totalitarianism, where the masses have learned to love their servitude, have begun to lose control of the narrative, as financial collapse looms, and are now turning to Orwell’s “boot stamping on your face forever” totalitarianism, with AI data (Surveillance) centers providing the backbone and enforcement mechanism for this authoritarian dystopian future.

“There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always -  do not forget this, Winston -  always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -  forever. ”  - George Orwell, "1984"
The Covid bamboozle perfectly captures the willful ignorance of the vast majority of Americans, who refuse to accept the unequivocal fact they were bamboozled by Fauci, Gates, Trump, Biden, and hundreds of other so called bought off “experts”. As a key element of their de-population agenda, a fake pandemic with a billion dollar marketing campaign; 24/7 media fear propaganda; never ending lies about cases, deaths, and treatments; killing patients with remdesivir and vents while paying hospitals per death; suppressing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine because they worked; and forcing a toxic gene therapy (not a vaccine) to be injected into billions of guinea pigs across the world. Despite real scientific proof the shots killed people and will continue to kill people into the future, most of the jabbed prefer to remain bamboozled because the truth of their acquiescence to authority is too painful to confront. Willfully ignorant they prefer to remain.

Sagan foresaw the gutting of American jobs, the rise of technology in the hands of a few, and a populace so bamboozled by those in control of the narrative, they were incapable of resistance and unable to discern truth from falsehood. The unpayable national debt exceeding $39 trillion and the unfunded social welfare liabilities exceeding $200 trillion are guaranteed to create a governmental financial collapse. Credit card debt, mortgage debt, auto loan debt and student loan debt are at all-time highs, with defaults accelerating. We are losing a war, AI is taking our jobs, inflation is soaring, and the average schmuck is buying stocks at all-time highs, when a crash is inevitable. It seems Americans love being bamboozled, until the consequences land on their heads like a ton of bricks. Sagan warned us.

“I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time - when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness… - Carl Sagan, "The Demon-Haunted World"

We are currently experiencing the biggest bamboozle of them all – Trump’s presidency. His Make America Great shtick convinced millions to vote for him, but a huge chunk voted for him because his 75 IQ cackling hyena whore of an opponent was an absolutely unacceptable alternative. Virtually everything he promised to do turned out to be a lie. His extreme narcissism was perfectly described by Sam Vaknin in the quote above. Trump stated how little he cares about the financial plight of average Americans when questioned recently. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody,” – Donald Trump

Trump was going to end the Ukraine war in a week. He was going to keep us out of Middle East wars. He was going to reduce the deficit. DOGE was going to reduce government waste and save trillions. Gas was going to be $2.00 a gallon. Tariffs were going to restore manufacturing to America. He was going to release ALL the Epstein files. He was going to deport all the illegal invaders. He was going to prosecute all his enemies who stole the 2020 election and persecuted him and the J6ers. He was going to make future elections safe and fraud free. Everyone was going to get DOGE checks. Everyone was going to get tariff checks.

It is crystal clear to anyone with two brain cells Trump has failed to deliver on any of these campaign promises. The country was clearly bamboozled, but the MAGA NPCs reject all evidence of the bamboozle. They are captured and unwilling to recognize they were lied to and misled. It is too painful for those who saw Trump as some sort of savior to admit they have been bamboozled. The older I get, the less sure I am about what is happening in this world and who is responsible for the insanity. When every conspiracy theory comes true, I am now inclined to believe the worst scenario in every staged situation presented to the public by our overlords. Was Trump in on the bamboozle from the get go, or did something or someone “convince” him it was in his best interest to follow orders and set in motion the downfall of an empire?

In my estimation, the dystopian nightmare ignited by Trump at the start of 2026 is entirely related to the Epstein files and Israel blackmailing Trump, politicians in both parties, and billionaires who liked to rape children. Trump kidnapping foreign presidents; threatening to invade Greenland, Cuba and numerous other sovereign nations; turning on the America First patriots who got him elected (Massie, MTG, Carlson); embracing the traitorous Israel Firsters (Levin, Loomer, Huckabee); ramping up the Ukraine proxy war against Putin; and ultimately being Netanyahu’s bitch by insanely going to war with Iran under the false pretense of them being 2 weeks away from a nuclear bomb they would use on Israel, has set in motion a series of financial, political, and societal events which will have disastrous consequences for Americans and the world.

And still, the vast majority of Americans are either oblivious to the gathering storm, or openly cheering on their own downfall, because they refuse to believe they have been bamboozled once again. This tweet from X poster MW4Liberty succinctly and brutally captures this moment in time:
"We live in an open air prison called America.
Debt slaves to central bankers who counterfeit our money.
Ruled by Baal worshiping pedos who traffic kids and souls.

Many of you out there?
Perfectly content in your recliner.
TV on. Phone in hand. Brain off. Worshiping a politician.

Mention any of this? Question the war?
You EXPLODE. You rush to defend your chains. That’s the conditioning talking.
The fear. The manufactured consent.
The illusion of choice they programmed into you.

Your “agency” is a f***ing joke.
They own your thoughts, your outrage, your vote. You’re a good little order taker.

History will not remember you well."

We have passed the point of no return. It is impossible to wake a vast majority of bamboozled boobs from their self-induced stupor. They will need to experience a banquet of consequences, on par with the Red Wedding scene from "Game of Thrones", before reality will set in. There are a tireless, irate minority of men and women who still adhere to Samuel Adams‘ belief in prevailing over the forces of evil by setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men. I consider myself a member of this small club.

This irate minority who form the resistance to the Deep State and their malicious machinations are why those pulling the levers of our society are accelerating their diabolical plans. They are scared of us because they are actually the minority, pretending to be the majority. They have abruptly abandoned their climate hoax bamboozle because it does not jive with their new AI surveillance center bamboozle that requires more electricity and water than exists on the planet today.
At the outset of 2026 you barely heard a peep about data centers. Now, there is a frenzy of planned data (surveillance) centers because they are the key cog for pedo-billionaires to technologically control the global population through permanent surveillance, dominion over your financial assets, social credit scores based on your obedience to their commands, and ability to ruin your life with the push of a button. Believing their bamboozles has given you the illusion of freedom. But your controllers have decided the illusion has become to expensive to maintain, so these data (surveillance) centers are the brick wall at the back of the theater, described many years ago by Frank Zappa. Our choice is sedately accept our techno-imprisonment or fight using any means necessary. This is how Fourth Turnings roll. Good luck and Godspeed.

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” - Frank Zappa
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Tip of the hat to Jim Quinn and
 The Burning Platform for this material.

"The AI Banking Nightmare is Here - Your Money is at Risk"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 6/2/26
"The AI Banking Nightmare is Here - 
Your Money is at Risk"
"The AI banking revolution is accelerating, and millions of customers may not be ready for what's coming next. In today's video, I break down massive banking layoffs, including HSBC's plans to eliminate thousands of jobs as artificial intelligence replaces tellers, customer service representatives, and mid-level managers. As banks push AI-driven systems to cut costs, consumers face new risks involving customer service, fraud protection, account security, privacy concerns, and access to their own money. Is the future of banking becoming less personal and more dangerous? While exploring Newport Beach and the Huntington Beach Volkswagen Bus Festival, I discuss how AI is transforming the financial industry, why bank executives are celebrating these changes, and what it means for everyday Americans. We also cover protecting your money, data privacy, banking security, property taxes, inflation, housing affordability, and the broader economic impact of automation. Let me know if you trust AI with your finances and whether you believe banks are moving too fast toward a fully automated future."
Comments here:

Bill Bonner, "Cash In The Bank"

"At the beginning of June, 2025 our national debt was sitting at $31,467 trillion. Today, it has risen to $39.20 trillion.That means that we have added eight trillion dollars to the national debt in just twelve months. It is the largest single debt in the entire history of our planet, and it will never be paid off."  -   https://www.usdebtclock.org/ 

"Cash In The Bank"
by Bill Bonner

Gualfin, Argentina - "In 2007, just as the financial crisis was taking shape, households faced about the same interest rates as today. But between that crisis and today, total debt has doubled. Yesterday, we were focusing on simple things. For example, as consumer debt, prices and interest rates increase, those who don’t own Nvidia stock gets squeezed. Simple enough. But the feds feel the vise tightening too. Instead of paying interest at below 2% on new debt, with the total debt at $27 trillion as it was in 2020...they’re now paying 5% to borrow, with a debt load $13 trillion heavier. And while much of America’s debt was contracted at low rates, that ‘old’ debt will gradually be replaced by ‘new’ debt at higher rates.

At today’s 5% long-term rate, the after-inflation yield is only 1% or 2% - which is historically low...and almost certainly too low to attract new lenders. In order to give investors a real rate over 3%, the nominal rate on US bonds would have to be around 7%. So, looking a few months into the future...when US debt has been rolled over at the new rates...we will have $40+ trillion in debt and interest payments rising to $2.5 trillion - and beyond.

And returning to the poor folks on the downward stroke of the K-shaped economy, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects that in 10 years the interest cost - per household - on federal borrowing could reach $17,000 per year. That is pretty easy to understand, too. You spend more than you can afford for too long and pretty soon it’s out of your control. Then, lenders - sensing a train wreck - want more interest to protect themselves. And you can’t go on.

Pretty obvious too is what you should do about it. Stop…while you still can. But the feds - both Republican and Democrat - show no signs of being aware that the bridge is out...or, if they are, no willingness to put on the brakes. Why not? That’s where it gets complicated. But to simplify, the money they are spending goes to people who don’t want to see it stop. They have power. They have influence. And they want more. What, you’re not one of them? Too bad.

For most households, the news just gets worse. The latest job numbers are so low, we haven’t seen anything like them since 1969. CNBC: According to the Department of Labor, seasonally adjusted initial claims fell to 189,000 for the week ending April 25, down 26,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 215,000. The four-week moving average also dipped to 207,500. Bloomberg reported that the figure marked the lowest level since 1969. Economists had expected 212,000 claims - meaning the actual number came in far below forecasts.

Yesterday, we mentioned how tariffs and the attack on Iran are pushing up prices. Almost everyone assumes that these problems will soon be behind us. Maybe not. “You ain’t see nuthin’ yet,” argues the Ashland Chronicle: "We are running an economy this week on the country we were in February. The shelves still look mostly normal. The shipping bays still seem mostly full. The cargo still appears mostly on time where it is supposed to appear. None of this is the world we are actually living in. We are spending down the last inventory of the country we used to have and we are spending it down on a clock."

Inventory is mercy. Inventory is the cushion the world leaves you between the moment a thing breaks and the moment you feel it break. The blast wave is real, but the blast wave is also delayed by the length of a supply chain, by the contents of a warehouse, by the days it takes a tanker to cross an ocean. Inventory is a pile of firewood...a well-stocked supply chain for food and medicines...oil reserves...and cash in the bank. But who looks at the woodpile until the temperature drops?"
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Jethro Tull, "Locomotive Breath"

"Does Iran Have a Nuke? Well Placed Source Says, 'Yes'”

"Does Iran Have a Nuke? 
Well Placed Source Says, 'Yes'”
by Larry C. Johnson

"Pepe Escobar and I received the following intelligence report last Thursday, which was produced by a knowledgeable source with access. I am not reproducing the entire report, but want to highlight the issue of whether or not Iran now has, or soon will have a nuke. Let me emphasize that I firmly support past US intel community assessments that Iran, until now, had no interest in obtaining a nuke.

However, it appears that the surprise attack on 28 February, which followed the aborted color revolution attempted in late December 2025, played a decisive role in changing Iran’s view on this matter. Here is a portion of what Pepe and I received last Thursday:

"The public narrative surrounding the events of May 25, 2026, has fundamentally misdiagnosed the operational reality. We are witnessing an irreversible shift in the regional power structure, driven by a sequence of highly calibrated escalations that have exposed the limits of American coercive power and the fragility of the post-1991 Gulf security paradigm.

The structural reality is clear: The United States is operating from an eroding basing infrastructure, with a compromised executive, against an adversary that has mastered asymmetric escalation.  Following Trump’s maximalist public response, the Supreme National Security Council deployed its ultimate deterrent. Through Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - currently the only trusted back-channel between Washington and Tehran - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian communicated a formally structured, three-step strategic ultimatum if US strikes continued:

1. Immediate Withdrawal from the ongoing nuclear peace talks.
2. Total Abandonment of the prospective Nuclear Treaty framework.
3. The Detonation of a Nuclear Device on Iranian soil - executed not as a weapon of war, but as an undeniable demonstration of sovereign capability and ultimate control over the escalation ladder.

Transmitted by Pakistani FM Ishaq Dar to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, this was not rhetoric; it was a binary geopolitical shock warning. Rubio recognized the gravity, immediately moving to suppress the White House’s escalatory posturing.

Here is my analysis of this information. The Iranian National Security Council met last week in the aftermath of US strikes on Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas. The Council directed President Pezeshkian to deliver a message to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shebas Sharif. Pezeshkian’s message was simple and direct. Prime Minister Sharif then directed his Foreign Minister, Mr. Ishaq Dar, to deliver the message to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Let me emphasize that the source of this information was involved in the decision making process that culminated in the warning delivered to Rubio.

The key phrase - If US Strikes Continued - was delivered to Rubio on Thursday. Based on Iran’s announcement today (Monday) that it was withdrawing from further talks with the US until the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the Palestinians ends, I believe this intelligence report to be credible.

The ball is now in the hands of Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu. If Israel persists in bombing Lebanon - Beirut in particular - then we should expect Iran to announce that it is withdrawing from the NPT. Once free of the NPT obligations, Iran will be free to carry out item 3, i.e., Detonating a Nuclear Device on Iranian Soil. This will be a demonstration intended to warn Israel and the US that further attacks on Iran would carry catastrophic consequences.

Pepe and I received clarification on how Iran has obtained a functioning nuke. The information regarding the construction of this device (or devices) was provided by a third country that does have proven capabilities in this area. Iran’s objective is, with the backing of Pakistan, China and Russia, to raise the risk to Israel of engaging in future attacks on Iran.

The source also provided the following assessment of the consequences of US and Israeli actions on the global security and financial architecture: The secondary effects of this standoff are rewiring the global strategic and financial architecture in real time:

• The Collapse of the Abraham Accords: The political infrastructure sustaining Israeli-Arab normalization is functionally dead. Pakistan has publicly rejected it, Saudi Arabia has frozen all back-channel discussions, and Qatar and Oman are actively preparing a six-to-nine-month timeline for U.S. forces to vacate their military installations.

• The Emerging Security Axis: A new Saudi-Pakistan-Turkey-Egypt security architecture is being constructed, completely detached from U.S. backing. Pakistan has elevated itself from a peripheral player to the indispensable operational pivot, leveraging an Islamic cultural proximity that neither Washington nor Beijing can replicate.

• Systemic Risk to the Global Order: An Iranian nuclear demonstration would obliterate the global non-proliferation framework and hand Beijing an unearned, definitive proof-of-concept regarding the limits of American hegemony.

Donald Trump still has time to de-escalate the situation and avoid catastrophe, but it will require some unpalatable, difficult decisions on his part. First, and most important, cut aid to Israel and compel Netanyahu to end his attack on Lebanon and withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza. I doubt that Trump has the spine to do this, but it is the kind of dramatic step required to persuade the Iranians that Trump is serious about negotiating a genuine settlement. Second, lift the sanctions - at least on Iranian oil - and return frozen Iranian assets. Third, accept that Iran has jurisdiction over those parts of the Strait of Hormuz that sit in Iran’s territory under international law.

I doubt that Trump is willing to entertain these options, which means a high probability that the fighting will reignite. If Israel continues to attack Lebanon - Beirut in particular - Iran has made it quite clear that it will attack Israeli military sites and personnel in northern Israel. Last week’s market euphoria about an impending peace deal has evaporated. Now the Western world must come to grips with the reality that Iran, with the firm backing of China and Russia, is prepared to resist US pressure and threats until the Iranian forces prevail."

Monday, June 1, 2026

"Alert! WW3 Is Here, The Decision Has Been Made! Iran Suspends Talks!"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 6/1/26
"Alert! WW3 Is Here, The Decision Has Been Made! 
Iran Suspends Talks!"
Comments here:

"The Total Collapse Of Negotiations With Iran Threatens To Cause Global Economic Devastation"

"The Total Collapse Of Negotiations With Iran 
Threatens To Cause Global Economic Devastation"
by Michael Snyder

"This is a moment in history that we will remember for a long time to come. Even though we were told over and over again that a deal with Iran was almost “finalized”, the truth is that there never was going to be a deal with Iran. It was all smoke and mirrors. The U.S. couldn’t give Iran what it was demanding, and Iran simply refused to give the U.S. what it was demanding. Now negotiations have totally collapsed, and it appears that the war is back on. Needless to say, this is going to be absolutely devastating for the global economy.

The Iranians are absolutely furious that Israeli troops have been advancing deep into Lebanese territory during the ceasefire period, and they are identifying that as the primary reason why they have decided to pull out of talks with the United States… Iran negotiators will stop exchanging messages with the U.S. through intermediaries, and Tehran will move to fully close the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for ongoing ceasefire violations, Iran’s state-affiliated news outlet Tasnim said Monday.

The report, in a translated post on the social media site Telegram, homed in on Israel’s military operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah. “No dialogue will take place” until Israel fully withdraws from occupied areas in Lebanon and stops all attacks in both Lebanon and Gaza, per Tasnim.

Israel will stop shooting as long as Hezbollah agrees to stop sending attack drones into northern Israel. But there is no way that we are going to see the IDF completely pull out of Lebanon. If the Iranians are waiting for that to happen, they will be waiting for a really, really long time. The Iranians are alleging that the U.S. naval blockade of the Iranian coastline is also a violation of the ceasefire, and they want that to end too. President Trump has vowed to keep that blockade going until a deal is finally reached, and so the Iranians are not going to get that either.

So it appears that any hope for a deal is completely dead, and the Iranians apparently intend to “completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait”… “Also, the resistance front and Iran have resolved to completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, in order to punish the Zionists and their supporters,” the report said. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a trade chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Since the war began, Saudi Arabia has still been able to export quite a bit of oil by sending it via pipeline to ports on the Red Sea. But if the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is also closed, the Saudis won’t be able to export any oil at all.

Last week, I published an article that discussed the fact that global oil inventories have already been dropping at the fastest pace ever recorded. Shutting down the Bab al-Mandeb Strait would dramatically accelerate the depletion of existing supplies. In other words, we are about to enter unprecedented territory.

Once news broke that the Iranians were cutting off negotiations, the price of oil rose by quite a bit on Monday… The price of oil rose sharply on Monday, after Iranian government-aligned media reported that the country was cutting off talks with the United States to end the ongoing war. U.S. crude oil soared as much as 8.5% to nearly $95 per barrel, an increase of almost $8. International Brent crude climbed as much as 7.3% to more than $97 per barrel, a $6 spike. Heating oil, a proxy for jet fuel, also rose 7%, while wholesale gas prices rose 4%.

Of course this is just the beginning. If the crisis in the Middle East is not resolved, the price of oil is going to go absolutely haywire. A few days ago, the CEO of Chevron made some very alarming comments that have received a lot of attention… That is what made Chevron CEO Mike Wirth’s remarks at the Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on May 28, 2026, so striking. He wasn’t hedging. “The buffers and the shock absorbers are being steadily drawn down, and the ability for the market to absorb this imbalance is drastically diminished today versus where we started,” Wirth said, according to Seeking Alpha.

He is exactly correct. We are in a far worse position today than we were when this war began. And Wirth is projecting that the months of June and July could represent a major turning point…Wirth went further: “Over the next few weeks, we’re likely to see those pressures flow through more directly to physical prices, and there’s more upwards pressure that I would expect as we get into June and certainly into July.” That is a specific, directional warning from the CEO of one of the world’s largest energy companies. The Iran war has been grinding through global oil reserves for more than ten weeks. The cushion that absorbed the initial shock is nearly gone. And the data is starting to confirm what Wirth is describing.

All along there was hope that we would be bailed out by a deal between the Iranians and the Trump administration. But now the rug has been pulled out from underneath our feet. Exxon Senior Vice-President Neil Chapman recently warned that once inventory levels start hitting critical levels, we could see the price of oil soar to 150 dollars or 160 dollars a barrel
There have been others that have warned that the price of oil could soon hit 180 dollars a barrel. It is difficult to project exactly how high the price of oil will go, because we have never faced anything like this before. And the higher the price of oil goes, the worse it is going to be for the global economy.

Of course the collapse of negotiations is also really bad news for our farmers, because now there is no end in sight for the global fertilizer crisis… The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz has throttled global supplies of fertilizer, as well as oil. So far, the effect on consumers has been mostly felt as high prices at the gas pump, but global food supply chains, from seed to grocery shelf, tend to have longer lags. On May 7, John Denton, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce warned during an interview with Forbes TV that the fertilizer shortage could cause deadly food scarcity and price hikes.

In April, a statement by the American Farm Bureau Federation said that around 70% of U.S. farmers report being unable to afford all the fertilizer they need. The AFBF’s Fertilizer Availability Survey of nearly 6,000 farmers and ranchers across the country also found that nearly six in 10 U.S. farmers report worsening finances, because of rising fertilizer and fuel costs during spring planting.

We had one shot at avoiding a horrifying global economic implosion. We desperately needed the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened, and that isn’t going to happen. If you have been waiting for a sign that will make it clear which way things are going to go, you just got it. From this point forward, global events are going to move at a blinding pace. Negotiations have collapsed, Iran has chosen war, and the crisis in the Middle East is about to get really crazy."

"If These Are The Good Times I Sure Hate To See The Bad Times"

Jeremiah Babe, 6/1/26
"If These Are The Good Times 
I Sure Hate To See The Bad Times"
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"17 Preppers Warn Something Huge Is Coming To America And They Are Getting Ready"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 6/1/26
"17 Preppers Warn Something Huge Is 
Coming To America And They Are Getting Ready"
"Seventeen preppers are sharing what they see coming for America, and the warnings cover food shortages, water storage, power outages, medication supply issues, and economic uncertainty. You'll hear straight from people who are already building bug out bins, canning pantries, stocking emergency antibiotics, planting victory gardens, and storing hundreds of gallons of water. If you've been wondering what steps to take for your own household, this compilation pulls real advice from real people preparing right now."
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"Come, My Friends..."

“Ulysses”

"There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me -
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads - you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
o
Procol Harum, "A Salty Dog"

Musical Interlude: Eagles, "Seven Bridges Road" (Live)

Eagles, "Seven Bridges Road" (Live)

"A Look to the Heavens"

“What's happening behind those houses? Pictured here are not auroras but nearby light pillars, a nearby phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. 
In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. The featured image was taken in Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks in central Alaska.”

The Poet: Robinson Jeffers, “Be Angry at the Sun”

“Be Angry at the Sun”

“That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new. That America must accept,
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.
Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you. 
Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel, these people,
Those warriors,
This republic, Europe, Asia.
Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down. The gang serves lies,
the passionate Man plays his part; 
the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.
You are not Catullus, you know,
To lampoon these crude sketches of Caesar. You are far
From Dante’s feet, but even farther from his dirty
Political hatreds.
Let boys want pleasure, and men
Struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame,
And the servile to serve a Leader and dupes
to be duped.
Yours is not theirs.”

- Robinson Jeffers, 1941

"I Wish..."

"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo. "So do I," said Gandalf "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J.R.R. Tolkien, "Lord of the Rings"

"How To Recover When The World Breaks You"

"How To Recover When The World Breaks You"
by Ryan Holiday

"There is a line attributed to Ernest Hemingway - that the first draft of everything is sh*t - which, of all the beautiful things Hemingway has written, applies most powerfully to the ending of "A Farewell to Arms." There are no fewer than 47 alternate endings to the book. Each one is a window into how much he struggled to get it right. The pages, which now sit in the Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, show Hemingway writing the same passages over and over. Sometimes the wording was nearly identical, sometimes whole sections were cut out. He would, at one moment of desperation, even send pages to his rival, F. Scott Fitzgerald, for notes.

One passage clearly challenged Hemingway more than the others. It comes at the end of the book when Catherine has died after delivering their stillborn son and Frederic is struggling to make sense of the tragedy that has just befallen him. “The world breaks everyone,” he wrote, “and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills.”

In different drafts, he would experiment with shorter and longer versions. In the handwritten draft he worked on with F. Scott Fitzgerald, for instance, Hemingway begins instead with “You learn a few things as you go along…” before beginning with his observation about how the world breaks us. In two typed manuscript pages, Hemingway moved the part about what you learn elsewhere and instead added something that would make the final book - “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them.”

My point in showing this part of Hemingway’s process isn’t just to definitively disprove the myth - partly of Hemingway’s own making - that great writing is something that flows intuitively from the brain of a genius (no, great writing is a slow, painstaking process, even for geniuses). My point is to give some perspective on one of Hemingway’s most profound insights, one that he, considering his tragic suicide some 32 years later, struggled to fully integrate into his life.

The world is a cruel and harsh place. One that, for at least 4.5 billion years, is undefeated. From entire species of apex predators to Hercules to Hemingway himself, it has been home to incredibly strong and powerful creatures. And where are they now? Gone. Dust. As the Bible verse, which Hemingway opens another one of his books with (and which inspired its title) goes: “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever…The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose…”

The world is undefeated. So really then, for all of us, life is not a matter of “winning” but of surviving as best we can - of breaking and enduring rather than bending the world to our will the way we sometimes suspect we can when we are young and arrogant.

I write about Stoicism, a philosophy of self-discipline and strength. Stoicism promises to help you build an “inner citadel,” a fortress of power and resilience that prepares you for the difficulties of the world. But many people misread this, and assume that Stoicism is a philosophy designed to make you superhuman - to help you eliminate pesky emotions and attachments, and become invincible.

This is wrong. Yes, Stoicism is partly about making it so you don’t break as easily - so you are not so fragile that the slightest change in fortune wrecks you. At the same time, it’s not about filling you with so much courage and hubris that you think you are unbreakable. Only the proud and the stupid think that is even possible. Instead, the Stoic seeks to develop the skills - the true strength - required to deal with a cruel world.

So much of what happens is out of our control: We lose people we love. We are financially ruined by someone we trusted. We put ourselves out there, put every bit of our effort into something, and are crushed when it fails. We are drafted to fight in wars, to bear huge taxes or familial burdens. We are passed over for the thing we wanted so badly. This can knock us down and hurt us. Yes.

Stoicism is there to help you recover when the world breaks you and, in the recovering, to make you stronger at a much, much deeper level. The Stoic heals themselves by focusing on what they can control: Their response. The repairing. The learning of the lessons. Preparing for the future.

This is not an idea exclusive to the West. There is a form of Japanese art called Kintsugi, which dates back to the 15th century. In it, masters repair broken plates and cups and bowls, but instead of simply fixing them back to their original state, they make them better. The broken pieces are not glued together, but instead fused with a special lacquer mixed with gold or silver. The legend is that the art form was created after a broken tea bowl was sent to China for repairs. But the returned bowl was ugly - the same bowl as before, but cracked. Kintsugi was invented as a way to turn the scars of a break into something beautiful.

You can see in this tea bowl, which dates to the Edo period and is now in the Freer Gallery, how the gold seams take an ordinary bowl and add to it what look like roots, or even blood vessels. This plate, also from the Edo period, was clearly a work of art in its original form. Now it has subtle gold filling on the edges where it was clearly chipped and broken by use. This dark tea bowl, now in the Smithsonian, is accented with what look like intensely real lightning bolts of gold. The bowl below it shows that more than just precious metals can improve a broken dish, as the artist clearly inserted shards of an entirely different bowl to replace the original’s missing pieces.

In Zen culture, impermanence is a constant theme. They would have agreed with Hemingway that the world tries to break the rigid and the strong. We are like cups - the second we are made we are simply waiting to be shattered - by accident, by malice, by stupidity or bad luck. The Zen solution to this perilous situation is to embrace it, to be okay with the shattering, perhaps even to seek it out. The idea of wabi-sabi is precisely that. Coming to terms with our imperfections and weaknesses and finding beauty in that.

So both East and West - Stoicism and Buddhism - arrive at similar insights. We’re fragile, they both realize. But out of this fragility, one of the philosophies realizes there is the opportunity for beauty. Hemingway’s prose rediscovers these insights and fuses them into something both tragic and breathtaking, empowering and humbling. The world will break us. It breaks everyone. It always has and always will.

Yet…The author will struggle with the ending of their book and want to quit. The recognition we sought will not come. The insurance settlement we so desperately needed will be rejected. The presentation we practiced for will begin poorly and be beset by technical difficulties. The friend we cherished will betray us. The haunting scene in "A Farewell to Arms" can happen, a child stillborn and a wife lost in labor - and still tragically happens far too often, even in the developed world.

The question is, as always, what will we do with this? How will we respond? Because that’s all there is. The response. his is not to dismiss the immense difficulty of any of these ordeals. It is rather, to first, be prepared for them - humble and aware that they can happen. Next, it is the question: Will we resist breaking? Or will we accept the will of the universe and seek instead to become stronger where we were broken?

Death or Kintsugi? Fragile or, to use that wonderful phrase from Nassim Taleb, 'Antifragile?' Not unbreakable. Not resistant. Because those that cannot break, cannot learn, and cannot be made stronger for what happened. Those that will not break are the ones who the world kills. Not unbreakable. Instead, unruinable."
Freely download "A Farewell To Arms", by Ernest Hemingway, here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Native Elder,
"How to Reclaim Your Strength After Life Broke You Down"

"Someone To Believe In It"

"Someone To Believe In It"
by Quora

"On a freezing February morning in 1956, Harry deLeyer arrived too late. The Pennsylvania horse auction was over, and what remained was not opportunity, but condemnation: the last animals had been loaded onto a truck headed for slaughter. He was about to leave when he saw, at the bottom of the truck, a large gray gelding, mangy, thin, marked by years of hard work. A horse no one had wanted. Yet, in his eyes, there was no resignation. There was calm. Kindness. Trust.

Harry asked to let him down. He paid $80. He took him home. His daughter, seeing him, said he looked like a snowman. Thus was born the name: Snowman. At first, there was nothing extraordinary. Snowman was a calm horse, perfect for beginners at the riding school where Harry taught. No particular talent. No hidden promise. So much so that Harry sold him to a neighbor for $160.

Then something happened that no one could have predicted. Snowman returned. He jumped the new owner's fence and showed up at Harry's barn. They brought him back. He returned again. And again. Until Harry realized: that gentle horse was overcoming fences more than five feet high just to come back to him. He bought him back. And began training him.

In less than two years, the horse destined for slaughter entered Madison Square Garden. And won. In 1958 and 1959, he was named Horse of the Year by the American Horse Shows Association, the first in history to win the title twice in a row. The press dubbed him "The Cinderella Horse." He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Life Magazine dedicated photo shoots to him. Children wrote him letters.

And yet Snowman remained the same: gentle, calm, devoted to the man who had saved his life. He retired in 1969, greeted by a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden as the audience sang "Auld Lang Syne." He died peacefully in 1974, at the age of 26, with Harry at his side. He was inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame in 1992. Harry deLeyer died in 2021, at the age of 93.

Their story continues to resonate because it touches on something profound: the idea that valor isn't always visible, that champions can hide in the most unlikely places, and that all it takes is a different perspective - a perspective willing to see what others ignore - to change a destiny. Snowman isn't just a rescued horse. He's living proof that greatness, sometimes, just waits for someone to believe in it."

Bill Bonner, "Guardians of Empire"

"Guardians of Empire"
by Bill Bonner

Gualfin, Argentina - "Our problem, and here we speak for the human race, is that we can’t understand things that are complicated and we can’t remember things that are simple. How the Funny Money system works, exactly, we don’t know. It’s too complicated to understand it fully. Few people try. And those that do, generally lose their money, their friends, and their marriages - in that order.

But it’s too easy to forget the basic dynamic of it: as the feds ‘print’ more and more money, each dollar is worth less than the last one. That’s why the patient math of an inflationary bubble dooms late arrivals. And it’s why the boomers are more likely to appreciate the status quo than their children and grandchildren - the geezers got there first.

Last week, we saw that the feds’ spending and their attempts to lower it were both fraudulent. The spending rarely achieves anything close to what was advertised. The latest evidence, the New York Times: "Blowing Up Boats Hasn’t Slowed Cocaine Traffic to U.S., Experts Say." Almost nine months into the operation, epidemiologists, addiction scientists and public health experts say cocaine, by far the top drug smuggled out of South America, is as easy to get in much of the United States as it was before the strikes began.

And efforts to bring some measure of sanity to federal spending are usually fraudulent and fruitless, too. How much did DOGE cut out of US deficits? Not a penny. The result is bipartisan rip-off...in which the empire goes broke while Democrats and Republicans blame each other. Richard Cantillon noticed that the insiders who got John Law’s new money - based on shares in the (mostly mythical) Mississippi Company - did well. They could pass along the money at par value. Then, the supply of ‘money’ increased and the value of it decreased, leaving later recipients holding an empty bag.

The boomers defenestrated Thomas Massie for the cardinal sin of actually being a ‘conservative.’ They did so to preserve the status quo, not to upset it. Their houses paid for...their Soc. Security checks in the mail...they’ve become the guardians of the rot...the Imperial Guard of a dying empire. But how many more elections will they control? They are disappearing...dropping from the electoral rolls into quilted silk-lined caskets. Meanwhile, the younger generations peer at the corpses with mixed emotions; it was those old SOBs who fouled the economy.

Tom cued us in to what could be an important warning. Walmart has dropped 14% in the last two weeks. And Costco is down 13% since May 19th. These are where people buy stuff. The fall in the stock could be telling us that consumers are buying less stuff. Which wouldn’t be at all surprising.

Grosso modo, the Cantillon Effect...put in motion a long time ago...moves towards its conclusion. And Donald Trump gives it a push. It seems almost impossible, but when Donald Trump was elected in 2016, US government debt was around $20 trillion. Now it’s almost $40 trillion.

And here’s where simplicity comes back into the picture. As debt rises, interest payments are harder to make. Here’s Mishtalk: "Consumer Credit Stress Is Comparable to the Great Recession." Auto delinquencies are at a new record and credit cards are near record high. In nominal dollars Autos, credit card, student loans and other are higher now than in the Great Financial Crisis (GFC). Excluding housing there is about $621 billion in 60-day or longer delinquencies. People are paying their mortgages but struggling mightily everywhere else. Somehow the DOW isn’t helping.

And it’s not likely to get better before it gets worse. Treasury bond yields bottomed in 2020. They’ve been going up since then and are now at levels last seen just before the GFC. But rising interest rates and higher debt levels aren’t the only things bending the bottom leg of the K-shaped economy downward. Morningstar: "Consumer and wholesale prices are rising at the fastest rate in three years due to the Iran war. The surge in gasoline prices tied to the Iran war is set to drive U.S. inflation to a three-year high - and it might get worse before it gets better."

Tariffs are also driving up prices. WarontheRocks: "The reduced quality and shrinkflation effects are self-evident from bags of chips on grocery store shelves to shirts whose materials feel cheaper. The latest Consumer Price Index report indicated prices had risen 3.8 percent year over year for April 2026. If you isolate tariff-hit industries, you can clearly see higher prices due to the goods on shelves having tariffs added months ago. Footwear prices, for example, rose 4.2 percent in April - the fastest in 43 months - driven by tariff costs. Previously, prices were slowly rising as retailers worked through tranches of inventory at various tariff rates, but now footwear prices are rising faster than overall inflation directly because all shoes at retail have the full weight of tariff costs. Higher interest rates. More debt. Higher consumer prices. Simple analysis: not good. But as expected."

The Daily "Near You?"

Robstown, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Yet Now..."

“Yet now, as he roared across the night sky toward an unknown destiny, he found himself facing that bleak and ultimate question which so few men can answer to their satisfaction. What have I done with my life, he asked himself, that the world will be poorer if I leave it?”
- Arthur C. Clarke, “Glide Path”

"Can't See The Road Ahead, And It's Alright. In Silence, You Meet Your True Self"

Full screen recommended.
Apollo OpenMusic,
"Can't See The Road Ahead, And It's Alright.
 In Silence, You Meet Your True Self"
"The road ahead may still be blurry, but as long as your heart is steadfast, every step you take is a beautiful scenery. This melody today is dedicated to every soul rushing through life, who feels lost once in a while. May you close your eyes, slow down your thoughts, and let go of the noise and anxiety in your mind amid the peaceful rhythm. No need to hurry, no need to fear. At this moment, the world can wait, and time belongs only to you. In this tranquility, rediscover the long-lost peace and sacredness within. If this music brings you a moment of calm, feel free to leave a message and share how you feel right now, and let’s walk together through the power of music."

"I Ain’t Drunk, I’m Just Tired of Life"

Full screen recommended.
Midnight Delta Soul,
"I Ain’t Drunk, I’m Just Tired of Life"
Every scar has a story. Every story sings the blues.
This music speaks to your soul...

Oh, how familiar that is sometimes...
How about you?

"Too Stubborn to Die"

Full screen recommended.
Delta King's Blues, "Too Stubborn to Die"
"And such is Life... Life knocked me down more times than I can count, but I’m too stubborn to stay there.“Too Stubborn to Die” is a gritty, defiant Delta King’s Blues tune about resilience, hard-earned toughness, and the kind of determination that refuses to quit no matter what the years bring. A rough-edged, hard-driving acoustic guitar pounds out a steady groove like boots refusing to leave the fight. The harmonica growls low and fierce, carrying the sound of a soul that’s weathered every storm and kept moving forward. The rhythm stays slow but relentless, built for folks who’ve been through hell and still show up for another sunrise. This is blues with grit in its teeth. For people who got scars, setbacks, and stories - but never learned how to surrender. I may not be as fast as I used to be… but I’m still here, and that counts for something."

Native Elder, "Why Something Feels Wrong With the World"

Full screen recommended.
Native Elder,
"Why Something Feels Wrong With the World"
o
"Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about? But remember: I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it would be the truth." 
- Morpheus

"How It Really Is"

Good luck!