Josh Groban, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)"
So, we rise from the rubble...
Friday, January 15, 2021
"A Message To Anyone Who Feels Like 'Winston' In Orwell's '1984'"
"A Message To Anyone Who Feels Like
'Winston' In Orwell's '1984'"
by Simon Black
“The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering... all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting - three hundred million people all with the same face.” That was a quote from George Orwell’s seminal work "1984" - a masterpiece that describes life in a totalitarian state that demands blind obedience.
The ‘Party’ controlled everything - the economy, daily life, and even the truth. In Orwell’s "1984", “the heresy of heresies was common sense.” “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
If you were ever caught committing a thoughtcrime - dissenting from the Party for even an instant - then “your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten.”
Now, our world obviously hasn’t become quite as extreme as Orwell’s dystopian vision. But Big Tech, Big Media, and Big Government certainly seem to be giving it their best effort. 70,000 thought criminals have already been purged from Twitter. Facebook and Reddit are feverishly removing user content. Apple, Google, and Amazon have banned entire apps and platforms.
Undoubtedly there is plenty of wacky content all over the Internet - misinformation, ignorance, rage, hate, violence, and just plain stupidity. But these moves by the Big Tech companies aren’t about violence. If they were, they would have deleted tens of thousands of accounts over the last few years– like the mostly peaceful BLM activist who Tweeted “white people may have to die”. Or the countless others who have advocated for violent uprisings against the police Then, of course, there’s the #assassinatetrump and #killtrump hashtags that has Twitter has allowed since at least 2016. Or the #killallmen hashtag that’s allowed on Twitter and Instagram.
This is not about violence. It’s about ideology. If you hold different beliefs than the ‘Party’, then you risk being canceled or ‘de-platformed’ by Big Tech. Icons like Ron Paul - who spent years criticizing the current administration’s monetary and national defense policies, and had nothing to do with the Capitol, have been suspended or locked out of their Facebook pages.
The hammer has dropped, and it is now obvious, beyond any doubt, that you better watch what you say - your livelihood, your social life, and your safety may just depend on it. Or else, you will be purged, canceled, deleted from the Internet, denied payment processing by Visa, PayPal, and Stripe, and expelled from domain registrars like GoDaddy.
The message is clear: behave and think exactly as we tell you, or you will lose everything you have worked for, in the blink of an eye. Sure, the ‘Party’ may give lip service to tolerance and unity. As long as you fall in line. Otherwise it’s more rage and ridicule. They act like you’re a crazy person because you have completely legitimate questions and concerns - whether about Covid lockdowns, censorship, media misinformation, etc.
It’s extraordinary that after so much deliberate misinformation and bias, the media still expects people to take them seriously. CNN seems to believe that think anyone who doubts their credibility is a ‘conspiracy theorist.’ All of these trends are probably making a lot of people very nervous. Even scared. Despair has undoubtedly set in, much like in Winston Smith, the main character in Orwell’s "1984."
So, for all the Winstons out there, the most important thing right now is to remain rational. As human beings we tend to make terrible decisions when we’re scared, sad, or angry. Have confidence in knowing that you have MUCH more control over your own life, livelihood, and future than they want to you believe. But you absolutely will have to make some deliberate, potentially difficult decisions.
For example, if you’re fed up with Big Tech, you can de-Google your life. No one is holding a gun to your head to have a Facebook account or use gmail. There are plenty of other options out there that we’ll discuss in future letters.
More importantly, you might find that your hometown isn’t safe anymore - especially if you live in a big city controlled by politicians intoxicated on their Covid powers. It’s really time to consider your immediate environment - if the local schools are brainwashing your kids, the dictatorial health officials shutting down your business, or nosy neighbors ready to turn you into the Gestapo for having family over for the holidays, then you might think about moving. That might simply mean moving a few miles to a new county. Or a new state/province. Or potentially overseas. We’ll help provide you with information on plenty of options.
It might also be time to reconsider some of your business infrastructure - to have backup web servers and payment processors, for example, if you have an online business. It might be time to consider some new financial options as well, lest the banks jump on the band wagon and start ‘canceling’ accounts for heretics.
But that’s the silver lining: we’ve never had more alternatives than now. Everything - technology platforms, financial institutions, and even our personal residence - it’s all replaceable. All of it. We have never had more control over our own privacy, data, livelihood, and environment… as long as you have the willingness to take action."
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Freely download "1984", by George Orwell, here:
"A Chime Of Words..."
"Yes there is a meaning; at least for me, there is one thing that matters-
to set a chime of words tinkling in the minds of a few fastidious people."
- Logan Pearsall Smith
Read online "A Chime Of Words", by Logan Pearsall Smith, here:
"Note to Heaven – Get Out of the Way!"
"Note to Heaven – Get Out of the Way!"
By Bill Bonner
"Give me a lever long enough, and a fulcrum on
which to place it, and I shall move the Earth."
– Ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes
WEST RIVER, MARYLAND – "The new administration is setting an ambitious goal for itself. Archimedes expressed what at least was a “theoretical” possibility. Joe Biden went off the deep end, saying his administration would move “Heaven and Earth” to give people a shot in the arm. From USA Today: "President-elect Joe Biden wants Americans to get 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots during the first 100 days of his administration, a lofty goal to reverse a slow start to the nation’s vaccine rollout."
Our guess: Heaven will stay put. It’s the Biden Team that will crawl out of its hole… and venture where no man has gone before… and where none ought to go. Which is why 2021 is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining years ever.
Failed Stimulus: Yes, Dear Reader, moving Heaven and Earth was just part of a larger program… a $1.9 trillion grab bag of boondoggles and absurdities… including $2,000 “stimmy” checks… pretending to be “relief.” Here’s The Washington Post: "The Biden plan directs roughly $400 billion to fighting the public health crisis, including through a national vaccination program, scaling up testing and contact tracing and providing paid sick leave to contain the virus’s spread, senior Biden administration officials told reporters ahead of the speech.
To fill the lingering holes in the economic recovery, the plan also includes more than $1 trillion in direct aid to struggling families by increasing stimulus checks to $2,000, extended unemployment insurance, rental protections and nutrition assistance. The Biden proposal also allocates $440 billion to small-businesses, local communities and transit systems on the brink."
As foretold, more stimulus is on the way. Biden says the feds have a “moral obligation” to provide money they don’t have to people who don’t need it. We have already seen that “stimulus” can raise prices (especially asset prices). But it can’t magically turn printing-press money into the goods and services a real economy requires.
Last year, the feds unleashed as much as $6 trillion in new stimulus, the most ever in one year. Federal debt jumped nearly $4 trillion in the last 12 months. According to the theory, stimulus is like a lever… You can use it to pry into the economy and lift up growth. But where’s the growth?
Later in the same article quoted above, the Post tells us that: "Fears that the economic recovery is losing ground are mounting as nearly a million people filed for unemployment last week and the country lost jobs in December, marking the first decline since the recovery began in May." Yes, the stimmy delivered in 2020 failed to do the trick. The stock market took off. But the real economy still sags.
Just the Beginning: So what’s next? Moving Heaven? Nah… Just more stimulus, of course. Even CNN sees which way the wind is blowing: "US debt surged by $7 trillion under Trump. It will go much higher under Biden. President Donald Trump certainly lived up to his self-proclaimed status as the King of Debt during his term in office. The national debt spiked by $7 trillion during Trump’s tenure – and it’s about to soar much higher under his successor."
Biden says this is just the beginning. There’ll be more coming… as necessary. He’s already on the case… with a proposal to double the minimum wage. From Bloomberg: "Incoming President Joe Biden will seek to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, a move that could complicate its passage through the closely divided U.S. Senate. Biden had previously said he would make increasing the minimum wage – currently $7.25 an hour – an early priority."
Nothing is impossible now. Apple is now said to be worth $2.2 trillion… or 40 times its net income. A price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 40 is usually reserved for new companies whose earnings are rocketing upwards. But Apple is now 44 years old… and its sales over the last five years are almost flat. So what gives?
Tesla stock is at maniac levels, too; the company is now supposedly worth $800 billion. There is almost no chance that Tesla will ever earn enough to justify that valuation.
Getting Loopy" And don’t forget bitcoin (BTC). It’s a whole ‘nuther thing, of course. Is it good money? Bad money? We don’t know… But Big Money is going into BTC. Where does all this money come from? Surely it, too, must be a feature of the feds’ “stimmy” programs.
When money is so easy to come by, everything becomes a little lighter… easier to pry loose and levitate. That is, when you can replace years of hard work, saving, self-discipline, innovation, resources, and time itself… with fake money…the SKY’S the LIMIT! So Heaven will have to get out of the way."
"Covid-19 Pandemic Updates 1/15/21"
"Covid-19 Pandemic Updates 1/15/21"
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JAN 15, AT 10:09 AM: "NYC Risks Running Out Of COVID Vaccines By Next Week; BoJo Closes Travel Corridors: Live Updates"
JAN 15, AT 9:56 AM: "World Nears 2MM COVID Deaths As Hospitalizations Start To Slow: Live Updates"
JAN 15, 2021 - 8:01: "What They Said About Lockdowns Before Covid"
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January 15, 2021:
"Virus deaths are skyrocketing in the U.S. as the national toll nears 400,000. Much of the surge is coming from Arizona and California. (Here’s the breakdown by state.)
At least 28 U.S. states have begun vaccinating older people. Check the rules in your state here."
Jan. 15, 2021 7:48 AM ET:
The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 93,211,200
people, according to official counts, including 23,371,130 Americans.
Globally at least 1,995,700 have died.
Jan. 15, 2021 7:48 AM ET:
Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count○
"The COVID Tracking Project"
Every day, our volunteers compile the latest numbers on tests, cases,
hospitalizations, and patient outcomes from every US state and territory.
- https://covidtracking.com/
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Every day, our volunteers compile the latest numbers on tests, cases,
hospitalizations, and patient outcomes from every US state and territory.
- https://covidtracking.com/
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"We've All Heard..."
- “Meredith”, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Gerald Celente, "The Biden Bounce, The Worst Is Yet To Come"
Gerald Celente,
"The Biden Bounce, The Worst Is Yet To Come"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over hype and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What’s Next in the increasingly turbulent times ahead."
As only Gerald could do... lol
"Is 2021 an Echo of 1641?"
"Is 2021 an Echo of 1641?"
by Charles Hugh Smith
"The reason why history rhymes is that humanity is still using Wetware 1.0 and so humans respond to scarcity, abundance and conflicts over them in the same manner. I am struck by similarities between the conflict-torn mid-1600s and the present: global climate change (The Little Ice Age in the 1600s), political upheavals and wars which intertwined civil and imperial conflicts. Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the 17th Century is a fascinating overview of this complex era which disrupted regimes and empires from England to China.
Climate change (The Little Ice Age) generated scarcities of grain in a time of burgeoning human populations. As in the present day, everyone assumed ample harvests would continue forever--expanding abundance is the New Normal. Alas, Nature is not a steady-state system and cycles are not tamed by our desire for ever-expanding abundance.
Humans respond to scarcity by assessing who's getting the biggest pieces of the shrinking pie. When hunger begets desperation, various dynamics are set into motion as those without agency and capital, i.e. political and financial power do whatever they can to get enough to survive while those holding the majority of political and financial power, jockey to maintain or expand their power.
These dynamics are fluid and prone to non-linear flows in which relatively small actions unleash enormous consequences that are not predictable. If we squint, however, we can discern some repeating patterns in this chaotic swirl:
1. Private owners of capital (i.e. elites) seek to influence the state to protect / expand their holdings.
2. The dispossessed/disenfranchised masses seek redress/succor from the state.
3. The geopolitical balance of power becomes increasingly precarious as competition for control of resources and political power heats up.
4. The state's resources are diminished by famine, decline of trade, etc. as pressures from geopolitical rivals, elites and the masses are spiking, reducing the state's ability to respond to the multiple challenges/overlapping crises.
5. The overlapping crises reveal and exploit the weaknesses in the political, social and economic structures, and in the competing elites.
6. Leaders concentrate centralized power in the hands of the few as a coping strategy by reducing the influence of broad-based councils, assemblies, etc. This concentration of power at the expense of the many (including lower-level elites who were accustomed to holding some consequential power) increases resistance of those being cut out of the decision-making and increases the odds of catastrophic errors of judgment in the few at the top.
7. As the state falters or divides into warring factions, the most powerful elites take control of resources and power from the state, both as a defensive measure and as a means of exploiting the crisis to their own advantage.
8. Populist leaders arise demanding a fairer distribution of resources and power. The more repressed the masses, the greater the disorder created by this emergence of long-silenced voices.
9. Each node seeking to defend or expand its share of resources and power projects and amplifies persuasive rhetoric, symbols and beliefs to unify its supporters around deeply held values and aspirations.
10. With so many loyalties in play - local, regional, linguistic, political, social, religious and economic - each node/faction seeks to decisively cement loyalties by establishing all-or-nothing hard lines via ideologically "pure" rhetoric that demonizes competing factions, effectively dividing the populace into us-and-them camps that leave little middle ground for compromise or negotiation.
11. In this fevered competition for loyalty and trustworthy followers willing to sacrifice for the faction, leaders view every advance as evidence that compromise is unnecessary as total victory awaits the next "win."
12. Given the grievous losses and potentially devastating consequences of competing factions gaining ground, the victors of each battle hasten to take revenge on the losing faction, laying waste and inflicting cruelties that harden the hearts of the surviving losers and inciting their own determination to exact a full measure of revenge when fortunes turn their way.
13. Only when the land, people and treasure are all exhausted does the promise of total victory fade, and the factions seek some negotiated settlement that leaves whatever power they still have intact lest they lose everything.
14. The eventual settlement could have been reached in the initial stages of disorder, but the leaders of the factions were too myopic, too confident in their own judgment and power, too greedy for more and too hubris-soaked to appreciate their own weaknesses and the immense pitfalls ahead.
If you don't discern any of these dynamics in the present, what are you choosing not to see?"
"Animals"
"Animals"
"I think I could turn and live with animals, they
are so placid and self contain’d;
I stand and look at them long and long,
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied - not one is demented with
the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is respectable or industrious over the whole earth."
- Walt Whitman
"Life, eh?"
"We said together, wistfully, 'Life, eh?' It says everything without having to say anything: that we all experience moments of joyful or painful reflection, sometimes alone, sometimes sharing laughs and tears with others; that we all know and appreciate that however wonderful and precious life is, it can equally be a terribly confusing and mysterious beast. 'Life, eh?"
- Miranda Hart
Thursday, January 14, 2021
"$200 Extra Monthly Social Security Benefits 2021(SSI SSDI SSA), Stimulus Check Update"
Andrew Paulo, 1/14/21:
"$200 Extra Monthly Social Security Benefits 2021(SSI SSDI SSA),
Stimulus Check Update"
Must Watch! "Massive Job Losses Decimate Middle Class And Poor; 965K New Jobless Claims; Debt Slaves Surge"
Jeremiah Babe,
"Massive Job Losses Decimate Middle Class And Poor;
965K New Jobless Claims; Debt Slaves Surge"
"Be Ready For Retail Apocalypse, Bankruptcies & Store Closings In America!"
"Be Ready For Retail Apocalypse,
Bankruptcies & Store Closings In America!"
by Epic Economist
"Brick-and-mortar retailers and multiple major restaurant chains were already on the verge of collapse before the health crisis started, but authorities' response to the crisis turned out to be the nail in the coffin for many iconic businesses, as lockdowns and social distancing regulations accelerated the bankruptcy or permanent store closure of several retail stores last year. Not even during the holiday season sales improved and revenue in 2020 has been the worst for retailers in almost 25 years. Amid another round of restrictions and the prolonged closure of nonessential businesses, the retail apocalypse will likely be aggravated in 2021, especially since those who managed to stay afloat in spite of all the struggles they have been facing are having financial losses that might be too big to overcome. Another massive wave of bankruptcies is being anticipated and soon many celebrated American stores might be gone forever. That's what we expose in this video.
Tens of thousands of stores have closed their doors for good last year, and as soon as people are encouraged to leave their homes and resume their habits, they will probably find a very different scenario because, according to newly available data, many retailers have experienced unrecoverable losses, which means that the meltdown will continue well into 2021. The year has already started with Macy's announcing 37 store closures all around the nation. Last Tuesday, the company revealed that the cuts come as an effort to regain profitability and, as previously disclosed, the chain intends to close 125 stores by 2023, adding to the list of the many victims of the retail apocalypse.
It’s no news that the elimination of brick-and-mortar stores started with the growth of online shopping tendencies, particularly with Amazon leading the entire e-commerce retail sector. But now that consumers are stuck in their homes, and shutdowns have been compromising the operations and, therefore, the revenue of these stores, the deterioration of the industry has happened faster than expected, and things are about to get worse.
Traditionally, Americans love to shop and most American shoppers have favorite stores, places to which they developed a trusting bond and have been regulars for years. That has made the current meltdown of brick-and-mortar retailers in the face of growing e-commerce that much more upsetting for a lot of people as their familiar, acclaimed retail institutions are going extinct.
Evidently, consumers' pain is a minor determinant when compared to the impacts on staff and suppliers, who have either undergone or just about to undergo termination. The mass lay-offs triggered by the industry's collapse is inflaming even further the labor market crisis and putting these people in serious doubt on how their livelihoods will be affected when their store closes.
Not even the holiday season has helped companies to produce enough revenue to survive through this dark winter. Last years' holiday shopping has made it clear that most retail sectors are not out of the woods yet and might experience further losses.
What used to be one of the busiest periods for brick-and-mortar stores, actually had a disappointing attendance and record-low sales. Shopping centers have never been emptier during that time of the year. Experts have been arguing that the retail apocalypse may also lead to a major collapse of shopping malls.
Economists are forecasting that retail sales won't regain traction the same level of traction they had in 2019 until at least 2022. Needless to say, this extended time of financial constraints is the perfect recipe for a disaster.
Retailers suffered their worst annual sales performance in all U.S. history in 2020. Non-food products demand dropped nearly 5%. The overall contraction of one of the most powerful sectors of the U.S. economy is projected to be at 0.5% to 1%, depending on how different surveys conducted their calculations. Either way, it is already the worst annual performance in almost 25 years.
The decay of non-food retailers isn't just affecting businesses. According to an Entrepreneur op-ed, "these companies hire workers who, unable to pay their rent, are now facing a grim situation. Some of the most populous commercial hubs in the world are seeing the result of the retail apocalypse through a reduction in real estate values as workers migrate to less expensive areas".
That is to say, the commercial real state crash that is looming is also being propelled by the retail apocalypse. And by the look of things right now, everything is hanging by a thread, and a collective collapse like this one that has been forming for years will undoubtedly slow down the prospects for a recovery, compromising the U.S. economic strength for over a decade."
"Here It Comes"
"Here It Comes"
by Brian Maher
“More than $1 trillion,” guessed The Washington Post. “Roughly $2 trillion,” countered CNN. Reuters split them both - $1.5 trillion. These were spending estimates for Mr. Biden’s proposed “vaccination and economic rescue legislative package.” Our spies have spent days sleuthing for the correct figure. But they too heard conflicting whispers. They expressed the most confidence in CNN’s crystal gazing. They were correct… evidently.
We are reliably informed that the proposal will enter the record at $1.9 trillion. Why it is not $1.8 trillion… or $2 trillion… we do not know. But we are further informed the package will furnish wherewithal for state and local aid. Education grants. The child tax credit. Unemployment insurance. And “stimulus” checks. We are finally informed these stimulus checks will run to $1,400 for each American adult - perhaps more.
How To Spend the Money? We will of course accept our $1,400 cheque from kind Uncle Samuel. Will he lift it from our back pocket and slip it into our hip pocket? In essence he will. The free lunch has no existence. But let that be tomorrow’s fret. We may turn that $1,400 into $14,000,000 by throwing it at bitcoin - or turn that $1,400 into $14 by throwing it at bitcoin. We do not know which outcome is likelier. Or we may bury it in the bank… and watch the $1,400 blossom into $14,000,000 by our 987th year on Earth.
We will consult our financial advisor.
Music To the Market’s Ears: Wall Street took to the news as cats take to catnip… The Dow Jones was up and away 150 points this morning. Both S&P and Nasdaq joined it aloft. They all came back down this afternoon, perhaps - because - of the latest unemployment data... First-time unemployment claims came in 965,000 last week. A Dow Jones survey of economists had divined 800,000. One day - the laws of chance assure it - these wiseacres will give an accurate forecast. That day we await with the highest expectations. But let it go for now.
Where Will the Money Come From? A question immediately presents itself:Where does a government sunk $27.8 trillion in debt... locate a spare $1.9 trillion… to fund a vaccination and economic rescue legislative package? The answer - of course - is that it cannot locate a spare $1.9 trillion anywhere.Nor can it locate a spare nickel anywhere. It does not exist. The accounts are overdrawn.
The government must therefore sink to both knees, extend an open hat… and borrow its trillion(s). Last year alone the United States national debt skyshot $4.5 trillion. The United States required 205 years to pile up $1 trillion of debt — but one year to heap on another $4.5 trillion of debt. That is, the work of two centuries is now completed in four months or less. Here is progress - of a highly peculiar and exotic fashion.
The Check’s in the Mail: No one expects the debt to be retired, of course. It is merely rolled over upon maturation. We learn... by way of Bloomberg... that nearly $8 trillion in federal debt will mature in this year 2021. $8 trillion is roughly 2/5th of the gross domestic product. But there is additional debt to consider. In all, over $10 trillion in debt may mature this year — roughly half the domestic product.
Old Daily Reckoning hand Simon Black: "As it turns out (according to Bloomberg) $8 TRILLION worth of government debt in the US will mature THIS YEAR alone." Plus, the Congressional Budget Office expects another $2+ trillion deficit this year due to more Covid stimulus.
So that’s potentially $10+ trillion worth of government debt that will need to be placed this year. That’s $300,000 per second. $300,000 per second! Can you imagine it?
The Fed To the Rescue: Who will take up the job? Who will swap in the debt? Mostly the Federal Reserve. The work will inflate its balance sheet beyond its present $7.3 trillion… to a dizzying $10 trillion. Simon says: "The only way they’ll realistically accomplish this is if the Federal Reserve ‘prints’ trillions of dollars of new money... most likely the Fed will need to print another $3+ trillion, pushing its balance sheet beyond the $10 trillion mark."
Consider: this balance sheet scarcely exceeded $4 trillion one year ago. But as government powers expand under the lash of emergency… the balance sheets of their central banks expand under the lash of emergency. Will the central bank of the United States shrink its balance sheet when the emergency lifts?
Fed Officials Float a Trial Balloon: Its officials begin to whisper... in very hushed tones... that it will announce a halt this year. Example: President of the Federal Reserve’s Atlanta branch, Mr. Raphael Bostic: “I am hopeful that in fairly short order we can start to recalibrate [QE].”Another example - Dallas Federal Reserve president Robert Steven Kaplan: “I don’t want to prejudge right now [...] when we’re going to [taper QE]. But I would hope it might be this year.”
Yet we are not convinced the Federal Reserve will “recalibrate” or “taper” this year — not to any marked degree.
Past Is Prologue: In December 2017, Mr. Powell threatened to keep running quantitative tightening on “auto-pilot.” The stock market yelled blue murder and took to open rebellion. Stocks endured a thumping “correction.” By the first week of January 2018, Wall Street had Mr. Powell back safely in its hands. The balance sheet was instantly expanding again. Will the stock market react differently next time the Federal Reserve proceeds against its balance sheet? And will the chairman of the Federal Reserve react differently to the stock market’s reaction? We harbor very strong suspicions. But we had best keep them dark... lest we call the man’s honor and dignity into question.
But the stock market should not fear. Today Mr. Powell put down the insurrectionists in his court…
It’ll Never Be the Right Time: Here he refers to interest rates: “When the time comes to raise interest rates, we’ll certainly do that, and that time, by the way, is no time soon.” “No time soon” is our estimate. We hazard he harbors the identical stance on balance sheet reduction. That is, no interest rate hikes anytime soon. No balance sheet drainings anytime soon. The right time will never arrive of course. As well yank away the crutches from a crippled man.
And how can a nation $27.8 trillion in debt - $80 trillion, factoring private debt - withstand a meaningful increase in interest rates? There are some questions that answer themselves. And so the Federal Reserve will keep the crutches in place.
Jerome Powell previously insisted his bunch will do “whatever it can for as long as it takes.” That is, more QE. More warfare upon the vestiges of free markets. More desperates lunges to stimulate the economy... “For as long as it takes.”
The beatings will continue until morale improves, that is. And we do not expect morale to improve anytime soon…"
"A Look to the Heavens"
"How do clusters of galaxies form and evolve? To help find out, astronomers continue to study the second closest cluster of galaxies to Earth: the Fornax cluster, named for the southern constellation toward which most of its galaxies can be found. Although almost 20 times more distant than our neighboring Andromeda galaxy, Fornax is only about 10 percent further that the better known and more populated Virgo cluster of galaxies.
Fornax has a well-defined central region that contains many galaxies, but is still evolving. It has other galaxy groupings that appear distinct and have yet to merge. Seen here, almost every yellowish splotch on the image is an elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster. The picturesque barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 visible on the lower right is also a prominent Fornax cluster member. "
Chet Raymo, “Time, Person, Year, Way…”
“Time, Person, Year, Way…”
by Chet Raymo
“According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the 25 most used nouns in the English language are: time, person, year, way, day, thing, man, world, life, hand, part, child, eye, woman, place, work, week, case, point, government, company, number, group, problem, fact.
All very prosaic. Very workaday. Time leads the way, with year, day and week bucking up the calendar. Hand takes precedence over eye. Man, child, woman in her place. Case in point: government and company. Problem precedes fact. Work is always with us, of course; play is not to be found. Nothing in the list that reflects science or technology or the lofty ruminations of academics. More surprising, nothing that reflects religion. When it comes right down to it, it’s as the poet Rilke wrote in the Ninth Duino Elegy: “Perhaps we are here only to say: house, bridge, fountain, gate.”
“Praise this world to the Angel,” says Rilke. “Do not tell him the untellable…Show him some simple thing, refashioned by age after age, till it lives in our hands and eyes as a part of ourselves. Tell him things. He’ll stand more astonished.”
The Poet: Wendell Berry, “The Peace of Wild Things”
“The Peace of Wild Things”
“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free…”
- Wendell Berry
Free Download: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers From Prison”
“The fact that the foolish person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the foolish person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings. “
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Feb. 4, 1906 - April 9, 1945) was a Protestant Lutheran Pastor, theologian, and active in the German resistance to the policies of Hitler and Nazism. Due to his opposition to the Nazi regime, Bonhoeffer was arrested and executed at the Flossian concentration camp, during the last month of the war.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers From Prison”
Freely download “Letters and Papers From Prison”, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
"Economic Market Snapshot AM 1/14/21"
"Economic Market Snapshot AM 1/14/21"
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"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will
do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."
- John Maynard Keynes
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"Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...
Only the consequences are real - to you!
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Gregory Mannarino, PM 1/14/21:
"Grand Deception. The Fed: PRIME OBJECTIVE-
CREATE A SLAVE SOCIETY DEPENDENT ON THEM"
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"The more I see of the monied classes,
the better I understand the guillotine."
- George Bernard Shaw
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MarketWatch Market Summary, Live Updates
CNN Market Data:
CNN Fear And Greed Index:
Daily Job Cuts
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And now, the End Game...
"Depressing Stimulus"
"Depressing Stimulus"
By Bill Bonner
WEST RIVER, MARYLAND – "Hold onto your hats. Today, the president-elect will give us a measure of the catastrophe ahead. From The New York Times: "Biden Set to Call for Big Spending on Stimulus and Vaccines". "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday is expected to outline proposals for trillions of dollars in government spending to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the economy, with an initial focus on large-scale expansions of the nation’s vaccination program and virus testing capacity."
Brainwashed: In a modern democracy, the role of the citizen, after an appropriate period in the public schools, is to believe six impossible things before breakfast… and another six after tea. Tesla is worth $800 billion. Sure it is. Joe Biden is going to make America freer and more prosperous than ever – Sure he is! And how will he do it? With more stimulus, of course. Fortunately, your editor slept through his Civics 101 class… and missed the important lavage du cerveau that is critical for our government.
And here’s Chuck Schumer with a familiar message. From Bloomberg: "Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pressed President-elect Joe Biden to propose more than $1.3 trillion in spending for his initial round of Covid-19 relief, according to a person familiar with the matter."
Relief? Hold on. Let’s set the record straight. The feds have no “relief” available to them. They are bust… broke… penniless. They bake no bread to offer the hungry. They weave no wool to clothe the naked. And they drive no nails to house the homeless. All they can do is hand out more fake money. How much “relief” that will bring is the subject of today’s ramble.
Modern Miracle: Imagine two guys shipwrecked on an island. One collects berries. The other gathers nuts. They trade with each other, keeping track with the money supply that was in their pockets when they washed up. Along comes a passing cruise ship. Well-meaning tourists, seeing the two men in rags, toss them money – enough to double their money supply. (For reference, the U.S. money supply – M1 – rose 70% last year.) Surely that stimulated their island’s economy, no? Each had more money to spend. But what difference did it make? None. The additional money didn’t help them find more nuts or collect more berries.
But just as medieval ecclesiastic scholars could explain the miracle of turning water into wine, so, too, can modern Ph.D. economists, Joe Biden, newspaper columnists, and indeed, the average New York Times subscriber, explain the magic of turning “printing press” money into real wealth. “Stimulus,” they say. The word rolls off the tongue and slides off the page. It conjures up an image of a man having a cup of coffee… looking at dirty pictures… or… facing a firing squad.
It suggests that with the proper encouragement, he might alter his behavior. He might put more spring in his step. He might work harder. He might take more chances with his time and his money; he might become more productive.
Aggressive Stimulation: That’s the theory… pathetic as it is. And how does it work out? We’re not even going to mention Zimbabwe, Venezuela, or Argentina… you know the story already. Besides, we know what you’re thinking: Those are “sh*thole” countries, as Donald Trump famously phrased it. America is different, isn’t it?
But impossible is impossible, no matter where you try to do it. And printing-press money causes disaster everywhere. The U.S. began resorting to the printing press in a major way following the crisis of 2008-2009. Since then, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet – a good measure of how much new money has been added – has grown from less than $900 billion to nearly $7.5 trillion. Never before had America “printed” so much or “stimulated” its economy so aggressively.
Lethargic Growth: And what happened? While the Fed added to the money supply at nearly 18% per year… real GDP – roughly measuring the exchange of goods and services in the U.S. economy – barely grew at a 1.3% annual rate. How did that compare to the previous 10 years?
Here’s the shocking thing. During those years, 1999 to 2008, the Fed “stimulated” at less than half the 2009-2020 rate… while the economy (as measured by GDP) grew twice as fast. In other words, “stimulus” made the U.S. economy more lethargic. Since the U.S. stepped up its stimulus efforts in 2008, the rate of wealth creation has been cut in half.So, Mr. Biden… More stimulus? Sure, why not."
"WOAH! $2400 For SSI, SSDI; $2000 + $600 Stimulus Check Update! $3600 For Families"
Wise Flys, "WOAH! $2400 For SSI, SSDI;
$2000 + $600 Stimulus Check Update! $3600 For Families"
2nd & 3rd Stimulus Check Updates.
Up To $3600 Per Family With Kids Under 17
SSI & SSDI Stimulus Update. $2400 SS Increase Update
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Helpful Numbers: • United States Capitol Switchboard (Senators): 202-224-3121
• IRS- 800-919-9835 & 800-829-1040
• HUD- 202-708-1112
• USDA National Hunger Hotline- 866-348-6479
• Assistance In Your Community- 211
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline- 800-273-8255
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"In this video, Matt discusses a commonly asked question, will Social Security retirement, Social Security disability, Social Security Survivors, SSI, VA, and our RB beneficiaries get the next stimulus check? We continue to come back on a daily basis with your stimulus check update, second stimulus check update, third stimulus check update, stimulus package Update, Stimulus Bill Update, Stimulus Proposal a Update, and the latest on stimulus. There have been a lot of questions lately regarding if Social Security, SSDI, SSI, VA, and our RB beneficiaries will receive the next stimulus check. Matth answers that exact question in this video, please be sure to share this video with your friends, family, social media and subscribe if you are new here! The Blind To Billionaire channel is dedicated to helping you through this time and giving you daily updates with everything going on."
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