Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 7/13/23
"Russian Nuclear Base Attacked; US Sent 3.000 Troops;
Historic Fires Rage In Canada!"
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o
Col. Douglas Macgregor, 7/13/23
"Striking The Salient Target of Ukraine"
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So, we rise from the rubble...
Thursday, July 13, 2023
"We're In Big Trouble, The Economy Has Been Destroyed; Stock Market Melts Up As People Lose It All"
Jeremiah Babe, 7/13/23
"We're In Big Trouble, The Economy Has Been Destroyed;
Stock Market Melts Up As People Lose It All"
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"A Look to the Heavens"
“Why is the sky near Antares and Rho Ophiuchi so colorful? The colors result from a mixture of objects and processes. Fine dust illuminated from the front by starlight produces blue reflection nebulae. Gaseous clouds whose atoms are excited by ultraviolet starlight produce reddish emission nebulae. Backlit dust clouds block starlight and so appear dark.
Antares, a red supergiant and one of the brighter stars in the night sky, lights up the yellow-red clouds on the lower center. Rho Ophiuchi lies at the center of the blue nebula near the top. The distant globular cluster M4 is visible just to the right of Antares, and to the lower left of the red cloud engulfing Sigma Scorpii. These star clouds are even more colorful than humans can see, emitting light across the electromagnetic spectrum.”
- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120828.html
"There Are Times..."
"The image that comes to mind is a boxing ring. There are times when you just want that bell to ring, but you're the one who's losing. The one who's winning doesn't have that feeling. Do you have the energy and strength to face life? Life can ask more of you than you are willing to give. And then you say, 'Life is not something that should have been. I'm not going to play the game. I'm going to meditate. I'm going to call "out". There are three positions possible. One is the up-to-it, and facing the game and playing through. The second is saying, "Absolutely not. I don't want to stay in this dogfight." That's the absolute out. The third position is the one that says, "This is mixed of good and evil. I'm on the side of the good. I accept the world with corrections. And may the world be the way I like it. And it's good for me and my friends." There are the only three positions."
- Joseph Campbell
"People Will Freak Out When Home Prices Collapse 50% In The Coming Months"
Full screen recommended.
"People Will Freak Out When Home Prices
Collapse 50% In The Coming Months"
By Epic Economist
"The housing market nightmare is getting worse all over America. The downturn that started in the summer of 2022 just triggered the biggest decline in home prices in eleven years! Mortgage companies are now engaging in mass layoffs, real estate economists are warning about a housing recession, and the National Association of Realtors believes that home prices still have much further to fall. In fact, in overvalued markets, homeowners may see the value of their properties drop by half before we enter 2024, according to experts’ estimates. This can translate into a six-digit loss in home equity in just one year. Conditions are getting eerily similar to the ones that led to the 2008 financial crisis, a famous Big Short investor says. In other words, now we all must keep a close eye the on the reg flags that indicate we’re heading into another disaster.
At this point, approximately 37 of the 50 largest markets in the country have already reported double-digit price drops, with homes in some markets falling by up to 25% from their 2022 peak, according to NAR chief economist, Lawrence Yun. During an interview with Insider, the expert revealed that home prices will fall by half in overvalued markets, and that’s especially true for metros in the West, where he is forecasting 0% home-price growth in 2023.
Goldman Sachs analysts wrote that "overheated housing markets in the Southwest and Pacific coast, such as San Jose MSA, Austin MSA, Phoenix MSA, and San Diego MSA will likely grapple with another decline of over 25 percent, presenting a localized risk of higher delinquencies for mortgages originated in 2022 or late 2021."
A notorious Big Short investor says that once again conditions are pointing to a financial nightmare. Dave Burt, CEO of investment research firm DeltaTerra Capital which helps clients manage risks, was one of the few experts who recognized the housing market was falling apart in 2007.
“I’m always on the lookout for big systemic issues and there are a few reasons for that,” Burt told CNBC. The correction that is already in motion will be “very, very damaging within those exposed communities,” Burt warned. Concerns over a housing crash are also panicking investors like Jeff Greene, who made a lot of his wealth during the 2008 recession and is warning about a destructive period across the entire real estate market.
Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, said in a statement that the current Fed outlook is reminiscent of 2007 before the housing market crashed. "This current environment could be eerily similar to early 2007 when the Fed held a tightening bias on rates as they believed the housing market was stabilizing, the economy would continue to expand, and inflation risks remained," Roach said. "Clearly, those expectations were not met since we know what happened in later quarters. Investors should anticipate some volatility during these months where the economic outlook remains cloudy."
Sadly, even though the drop in prices may be good news for aspiring homebuyers hoping to catch a break, the crash could ultimately wipe out $100,000 of the value of the average home, NAR estimates. This would leave many families with negative home equity, and a mortgage crisis could break out, plunging us into the worst financial crisis in modern times. The red flags are many, and we all should stay alert and carefully watch the new developments of this crisis."
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"Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 7/13/23"
Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 7/13/23
"Is Inflation Cooling Down? War Is Heating Up!"
"In this weeks Trends in the News Gerald Celente breaks down the latest global developments from inflation to cruise missiles. The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."
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"The Grand Chessboard"
"The Grand Chessboard"
by Chris MacIntosh
"In 1997, geopolitical advisor to David Rockefeller, Zbigniew Brzezinski, wrote a book, called "The Grand Chessboard." The book is particularly interesting as it shows the thinking of the Rockefeller empire in regards to Eurasia. Consider the following, which provides some insight into their view of Eurasia and how to control it (actually the very idea of controlling it provides insight into their lust for power):
"For America, the chief geopolitical prize is Eurasia." "Ever since the continents started interacting politically, some five hundred years ago, Eurasia has been the center of world power." Given this viewpoint it’s no surprise that the US have employed the doctrine of keeping both the European and Asian powers from forming any sort of economic and hence political power that could test US hegemony. This excerpt is revealing.
"… But in the meantime, it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America. The formulation of a comprehensive and integrated Eurasian geostrategy is therefore the purpose of this book."
All empires have at some point realized and deployed similar geo-political strategies. Namely, prevent collusion, maintain security dependence among vassals, which will keep these tributaries compliant, forment occasional wars in order to bring in more tributaries seeking protection (witness Sweden and Norway seeking NATO membership), and then for those barbarians that are not under the empire’s control, ensure they never come together to form a collective resistance. These barbarians are the Russians, Indians, Chinese, and Arabs.
It follows that America’s primary interest is to help ensure that no single power comes to control this geopolitical space and that the global community has unhindered financial and economic access to it. When viewed through the lens of history and the desires of powerful men throughout the ages, the Ukraine conflict makes perfect sense.
The idea that Putin, after 20 years of continued economic growth, increased stability, and enjoying a high popularity, suddenly rolled out of bed and said, "Meh, fukit. I’m risking it all and invading another country for shits and giggles," is one of the most absurd and idiotic narratives the MSM has ever produced. And the peasants actually believe it.
Here we are again, and though we’re certainly not apologists for Russia or Putin (he’s a thug, along with the rest of them), failing to view the situation with at least some level of a filter flies in the face of history, not to mention recent history, isn’t wise.
Continuing on with the American/Rockefeller view so that we may be able to better understand probabilities: "America is now the only global superpower, and Eurasia is the globe’s central arena. Hence, what happens to the distribution of power on the Eurasian continent will be of decisive importance to America’s global primacy and to America’s historical legacy. Without sustained and directed American involvement, before long the forces of global disorder could come to dominate the world scene. With warning signs on the horizon across Europe and Asia, any successful American policy must focus on Eurasia as a whole and be guided by a Geostrategic design."
You will now understand why the US has always backed both sides of wars in the Middle East and in Eurasia. "That puts a premium on maneuver and manipulation in order to preempt the emergence of a hostile coalition that could eventually seek to challenge America’s primacy…"
Now consider this excerpt: "The most immediate task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role.
Potentially, the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia, and perhaps Iran, an "anti-hegemonic" coalition united not by ideology but by complementary grievances. It would be reminiscent in scale and scope of the challenge once posed by the Sino-Soviet bloc, though this time China would likely be the leader and Russia the follower. Averting this contingency, however remote it may be, will require a display of U.S. geostrategic skill on the western, eastern, and southern perimeters of Eurasia simultaneously."
This war is a war between the West, led by the US, and the "barbarians," who are still out of the hegemonic fold currently fronted by Russia while including China, the Mid East and India. I fear countries will be forced to pick sides during this decade.
Ask yourself this. If you were a pointy shoe sitting in a Rockefeller seat, how would you go about both maintaining dominance and increasing it? Based on their thinking, alluded to here, I’d say you’d start a war involving these powers. China, Iran, Russia, and possibly India. You’d pit them against each other, if possible.
We know the Saudis and Iran are longtime foes, and we know that both Russia and China have been forging strong relationships between both countries. Neither want a war and are likely to be the diplomats here while the West will seek to exploit and fuel conflict. Sounds crazy and contrary to the narratives you hear on MSM? Sure, but go read those excerpts again, then look at the dolly birds on the idiot box and the men with shiny teeth and tell me what’s really happening. Now, I don’t know for sure but the recent ramp up of angst here is oddly timed. But something to watch, I'd say."
○
Freely download "The Grand Chessboard", by Zbigniew Brzezinski, here:
Interesting... you'll note that this download comes from the official CIA website...
"What The Herd Hates The Most..."
"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man."
- Bertrand Russell
"If you're going to tell people the truth make them laugh, or they'll kill you."
- Oscar Wilde
Gerald Celente, "Predicting the Impending Doom"
Full screen recommended.
Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 7/13/23
"Predicting the Impending Doom"
Comments here:
"10 Big Restaurant Chains That Have Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy"
Full screen recommended.
The Atlantis Report, 7/13/23
"10 Big Restaurant Chains That Have
Filed For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy"
"Picture this: You're driving down the street, and you notice the familiar glow of your favorite restaurant's sign has gone dark. It's a sight that's becoming all too common these days. Welcome, my friends, to the harsh reality of the restaurant industry in 2023.
In the wake of the pandemic, even the giants of the industry are toppling. Big names, the ones we thought were untouchable, are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It's a domino effect that's shaking the very foundations of the food world. We're diving deep into the stories of 10 big restaurant chains that have filed for bankruptcy. We'll explore the reasons behind their downfall, the impact on employees and communities, and what this means for the future of the restaurant industry.
Chapter 11 bankruptcy, often referred to as a reorganization bankruptcy, is like a lifeline thrown to companies drowning in a sea of debt. It's a form of bankruptcy that allows a business to stay afloat while it restructures its obligations. When a restaurant chain files for Chapter 11, it's not a death sentence. Instead, it's more like a timeout in the game of commerce. It's a chance for the company to catch its breath, reorganize its playbook, and come up with a new strategy to tackle its debts. The process is complex and can be lengthy.
During this time, the debtor, often referred to as a 'debtor in possession', continues to run the business as usual. However, certain decisions, such as selling assets or entering contracts, must be approved by the courts. The end goal of a Chapter 11 filing is to emerge leaner, stronger, and ready to compete again. This could involve downsizing operations, renegotiating debts, or in some cases, liquidating assets to repay creditors."
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"Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls, 7/13/23"
Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls, 7/13/23
"Ukraine Is On Its Last Legs"
"Ukraine Has Lost 300,000 To 350,000 Killed"
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o
Full screen recommended.
Hindustan Times, 7/13/23
"'Nuclear Threat In Ukraine':
Russia's Clear Warning To West After NATO Summit"
"Russia has slammed NATO nations for pledging F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow will view F-16s jets as a 'nuclear threat' if they are supplied to Ukraine. Lavrov cited F16 fighter jets' ability to carry atomic arms to warn the Western nations."
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Gregory Mannarino, "Incredible! Debts And Deficits Continue To Hyper-Balloon; Dollar Falls Even Faster"
Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/13/23
"Incredible! Debts And Deficits Continue
To Hyper-Balloon; Dollar Falls Even Faster"
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Bill Bonner, "Mega Minsky Moment"
"Mega Minsky Moment"
After long periods of calm and tranquility...
comes the real market meltdown.
by Bill Bonner
Poitou, France - "I don't think there's ever been a moment when the trajectory looks nearly as ominous as it does now." ~ Larry Summers
Summers was speaking about federal finances. The feds have gotten into the habit of spending money they don’t have and never will get. As we saw earlier this week, the Biden Team added $1 trillion to US debt in just 5 weeks. And the Trump Team before them did more fiscal damage than any administration theretofore.
All government spending is merely redistributing wealth. Those transfer payments – taken from some, given to others – were running at an annual rate below $3 trillion before Trump took over. When he left, the money was changing hands at an $8 trillion annual rate – the biggest, most reckless giveaway in world history. And now, both parties are looking for ways to spend more money. What better reason than ‘national security?’ The CHIPs act provided a $53 billion boondoggle for silicon chip makers. How long will it be before the money flows to ship makers?
From Chips to Ships: Thedrive.com warns: "Alarming Navy Intel Slide Warns Of China’s 200 Times Greater Shipbuilding Capacity." "The data compiled by the Office of Naval Intelligence says that a growing gap in fleet sizes is helped by China's shipbuilders being more than 200 times more capable of producing surface warships and submarines. This underscores longstanding concerns about the U.S. Navy's ability to challenge Chinese fleets, as well as sustain its forces afloat, in any future high-end conflict.
The slide also includes projected sizes for the U.S. Navy and PLAN "battle forces" – defined as the total number of "combatant ships, submarines, mine warfare ships, major amphibious ships, [and] large combat support auxiliary ships" – for every five years between 2020 and 2035. It says that as of 2020, the PLAN had 355 battle force ships and the U.S. Navy had 296. By 2035, the gap between the figures for China (475) and the United States (305 to 317) widens substantially."
All right. Remind us. What gave the North the edge in the War Between the States? The yankees’ fighting spirit. Its great generals? Or the fact that it could make a lot more ships, guns and shoes than the South?
And what about WWI? Was French commander Joseph Joffre’s ‘Plan XVII’ better than Helmut von Moltke’s ‘Schlieffen Plan’? Or did the allies simply have the world’s biggest economy – the USA – on their side? And in WWII, was American military genius triumphant…or the fact that the US could turn out three times as many fighter planes as Germany? Shipbuilding in Germany came to a near halt in WWII, while America built nearly 6,000 vessels.
And now, what to do? ‘Spend more money – on ships…and chips!’ So say the loose lips in Congress.
Deluge Incoming: A word of caution: nations win modern wars by spending on bombs and guns. But the economy that can produce an abundance of guns and bombs is most often the one that didn’t waste its money on those things when it didn’t really need them. What? Huh? It’s a ‘slow-burn Minsky moment,” writes James Montier.
Hyman Minsky was an economist who noticed that periods of volatility seem to follow periods of stability. The reason for this is pretty obvious. The longer it doesn’t rain, the fewer people fix their roofs. Then, when the water comes down, it drenches everything.
The future casts its shadow back over the present. If property prices go up steadily, year after year, people begin to expect them to go up forever. Then, lenders lower interest rates, because they think the value of their collateral is increasing. Sellers raise prices; they think they are giving up future gains. Buyers, looking ahead to higher house prices, are willing to pay more for an appreciating asset.
This causes prices to rise…and soon to reach levels that are unrealistic and unsustainable. The average person can no longer afford an average house. Sales slow. Prices sag…and then fall. Families, whose mortgages are higher than their home values, leave the keys in the door and move on.
In any complex system, there are always pressures, mistakes, and contradictions. If they aren’t corrected, they build up. Then, the correction can be catastrophic.
Uncivilization Ahead: The phenomenon happens across the whole range of human activity. Stability begets chaos. We tried to explain the yin and yang of it in our classic “Uncivilizing America.” There are only two ways to get what you want (here, we’re talking about the material aspects of life). You make it…and trade. Or you take it by force or fraud. The deals are either win-win. Or they are win-lose. They are either peaceful, free-market transactions…or they are political transactions.
We bring it up because ‘politics’ appears to be on the rise. And ‘politics’ are always volatile...chaotic…and, in the end, destructive. They also have a logic of their own. As hinted above, the nation that practices ‘politics’ most enthusiastically (North Korea?) is the one least likely to afford the latest weapons…and least likely to prevail in the ultimate political struggle – war.
Yes, there are Minsky Moments in megapolitics, too, when the stability of one era tips over into the volatility and violence of another. At some points in history, for reasons that have never been clear to us, the “zeitgeist” shifts…from favoring freedom and markets…to getting into a lather for war, sanctions, funny money and central planning. Civilization leads to peace and prosperity (and the ability to build ships and guns). Then come the deficits, the subsidies, the industrial plans, the sanctions…the barbarians…and the defeat."
"We Are Out Of Cash"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 7/13/23
"We Are Out Of Cash"
"Several experts of step forward and said that the economy is about to run out of gas. Jeremy, Siegel, Michael Burry, and others have stepped forward to say that things do not look good moving forward."
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"Getting Some Great Deals At Kroger And Showing Our Very Small Grocery Haul!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 7/13/23
"Getting Some Great Deals At Kroger
And Showing Our Very Small Grocery Haul!"
In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and showing everything we bought! We found some great deals today, and we are showing how you can take advantage of some of these good sales!"
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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Col. Douglas Macgregor, "Ukraine is Being Annihilated"
Col. Douglas Macgregor, 7/12/23
"Ukraine is Being Annihilated"
"Colonel Douglas Macgregor shares intel on the Russia Ukraine war with Stephen Gardner. Ukraine is losing and NATO knows it. Yet NATO won't let Ukraine into NATO or it will trigger article 5 and start world war 3. We are the closest we've ever been to world war 3 at this moment with the UK and NATO offering long rang missiles to Ukraine. An attack on Moscow would be met with an immediate and strong show of force."
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"Warning! Failed Background Check; Consumers Now Financing Groceries; Fake Inflation Numbers"
Jeremiah Babe, 7/12/23
"Warning! Failed Background Check;
Consumers Now Financing Groceries; Fake Inflation Numbers"
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"Alarming News! (I'm Actually Scared), Russian Minister's New F-16 Warning; 100,000 Troops To Poland"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 7/12/23
"Alarming News! (I'm Actually Scared),
Russian Minister's New F-16 Warning; 100,000 Troops To Poland"
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"Car Prices Face Biggest Drop On Record As Auto Market Apocalypse Begins"
Full screen recommended.
"Car Prices Face Biggest Drop On Record
As Auto Market Apocalypse Begins"
by Epic Economist
"A car market crash of epic proportions is already in motion, according to new data released by Manheim Market Insights and Cox Automotive. In June, car prices faced a record drop, marking the end of two years of hefty increases. Used vehicles saw the biggest monthly declines since the pandemic boom, while new cars are about to plummet in value due to an oversupply crisis that is shaking the US auto market. Still, higher interest rates are making monthly car payments far more expensive than they were just a year ago, and many Americans who bought a vehicle in the past couple of years, and are now seeing its cost fall off a cliff, are already underwater on their loans, which indicates that a wave of financial turmoil is right ahead.
From May to June, wholesale used vehicle prices declined by a record 4.2 percent, according to Manheim Market Insights. More notably, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a closely watched measure of prices, plunged 10.3 percent year-over-year in June. Compared to one year ago, prices for pickups and vans went down by 6.6 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. Sports cars were the worst off, falling 14.8 percent in prices compared to last year, while compact cars and midsize cars each dropped by more than 12 percent from June 2022.
Looking ahead, the three strongest predictors of used car prices – new vehicle inventories, new vehicle incentives, and the new-versus-used price differential – all point to a significant crash, the firm notes. In fact, Goldman Sachs analysts lowered their user car inflation forecast by 4 percent to -11 percent, which means that the bank is assuming that used car prices are going to face a 14 percent downside from current levels by the end of the third quarter. That would result in an almost 25 percent crash in a span of just six months, and an oversupply crisis in the new car market could bring the price of used cars even lower before the end of the year.
Right now, the market for new cars is in a strange state. UBS analysts argue that a price war is on the horizon with dealers duking it out by dropping new car prices. In May, new-vehicle inventory reached its highest level in two years, with a notable increase from the previous month. Charlie Chesbrough, Cox Automotive's senior economist. says that the new car market will continue to see weakening demand due to worsening economic indicators, and the increase in supply will force many dealerships and automakers to start offering discounts.
At the same time, the share of new auto loans with monthly payments exceeding $1,000 has hit a new record as borrowing costs continue to rise. Consumers are taking on too much auto debt, which could have catastrophic consequences during the recession. The latest number available on the average negative equity value of auto trade-ins was $5,341 in Q4 2022, a 29 percent jump from the previous year. The number of vehicle sales that involved a trade-in with negative equity also climbed by 17 percent over the same period. The negative equity trend could accelerate even further as vehicle prices continue to drop. In other words, conditions for borrowers will become even tougher before the market stabilizes. Car prices still have a lot of room to fall, and during that process, countless Americans may find themselves buried in negative equity."
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Musical Interlude: 2002, "Falling Through Time"
Full screen recommended.
2002, "Falling Through Time"
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Over 400,000 light years across NGC 6872 is an enormous spiral galaxy, at least 4 times the size of our own very large Milky Way. About 200 million light-years distant, toward the southern constellation Pavo, the Peacock, the remarkable galaxy’s stretched out shape is due to its ongoing gravitational interaction, likely leading to an eventual merger, with the nearby smaller galaxy IC 4970. IC 4970 is seen just below and right of the giant galaxy’s core in this cosmic color portrait from the 8 meter Gemini South telescope in Chile.
The idea to image this titanic galaxy collision comes from a winning contest essay submitted last year to the Gemini Observatory by the Sydney Girls High School Astronomy Club. In addition to inspirational aspects and aesthetics, club members argued that a color image would be more than just a pretty picture. In their winning essay they noted that “If enough color data is obtained in the image it may reveal easily accessible information about the different populations of stars, star formation, relative rate of star formation due to the interaction, and the extent of dust and gas present in these galaxies.”
Chet Raymo, “The Uses of Enchantment”
“The Uses of Enchantment”
by Chet Raymo
“There was a time when every wood, every tree, was thought to be inhabited by spirits called dryads, every pool and stream by naiads. Even not so long ago, our road here in Ireland was called “the fairies’ road.” The world, we say, was enchanted- every stone and plant infused with an animate spirit. Science put paid to all that, chased the spirits from their woods and pools, drove the fairies from their hills. Disenchanted the landscape. Well, maybe not. It depends on how you define enchantment.
Remember those spider webs I wrote about the other day, made visible by dew? Once the sun burned away the mist and the dew evaporated, the webs became invisible. But of course they are still there, a thousand silken snares, each with its resident spider. As I walked down the drive today I sensed their presence—the field alive with invisible spirits, a thousand arachnoid dryads crouching in their bowers.
The key to enchantment is to be aware of what can’t be seen. The spiders in their webs. The spinnerets extruding gossamer. The DNA zipping and unzipping in each cell of the spiders’ bodies, the amino acids, A and T, G and C, grasping hands in their dervish dance. The atoms in their resonant vibrations.
“What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well,” wrote Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The key to enchantment is to never stop thinking about the well.”
"A Waking Dreamer..."
"Humanity today is like a waking dreamer, caught between the fantasies of sleep and the chaos of the real world. The mind seeks but cannot find the precise place and hour. We have created a Star Wars civilization, with Stone Age emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. We thrash about. We are terribly confused by the mere fact of our existence, and a danger to ourselves and to the rest of life."
- Edward O. Wilson
Fred Reed, "Odds and Bits"
"Odds and Bits"
By Fred Reed
"Freedom of expression, as distinct from speech. Fred, Grand Klarified Klingle of Los Cucu Clan, with severe visual problems, but still dangerous. Regalia by Violeta, of used typing paper. Probably a fire hazard. Obsidian knife shows ethnic sensitivity. Today we will have luminous insights in small dollops. They will doubtless spur the formation of new university departments and restructuring of governments, preferably by the salutary application of a guillotine.
Why we should scrap the Constitution. Or admit that we already have. The Constitution says nothing about freedom of expression. It says freedom of speech. Freedom of speech means that I can say that Biden is a horse’s ass. Freedom of expression means that I can march in KKK robes with thirty of the like-minded through black or Jewish neighborhoods or, at least in San Francisco, defecate on the American flag. In practice of course speech is tightly controlled by the press and social media which in practice are organs of the government.
The Constitution says nothing about separation of church and state. It says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Understanding this requires a grasp of history which the schools make sure that few have. The Founding Fathers most assuredly did not intend the Constitution to forbid a nativity scene on a town square in Alabama, and for two centuries it never occurred to anyone that it might.
The Constitution says we have trial by jury. We do not. The United States has become such a fetid, bubbling swamp of moral putrescence and rampant crime that jury trials would require the population of China just to fill jury boxes. Jury trials are for the rich and for important show trials. If we had trial by straightforward bribery the effects would be the same and we wouldn’t need so many damn lawyers.
The Constitution says we have the right to a speedy trial. We do not. Check how long those daffy yoyos who invaded the capitol awaited trial.
Nor do we have a Supreme Court. Instead we have a microlegislature of last resort consisting of ideologues appointed by Presidents for the predictability of their votes and likely longevity. Some seem actually ignorant of the law, which makes no difference as this has nothing to do with their function. They could be done in software at much less cost.
Some advice: How to Watch Television: When you are watching the lobotomy box, and you see someone standing in front of the flag, change the channel. Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, said Doctor Johnson. Anyone using the flag as a backdrop thinks you are a boob, or is at least playing the odds, knowing that most people are boobs. If there are three flags, the assumption of your marginally human intelligence increases as the cube.
When an official in Washington says “national security,” hold your wallet firmly in one hand and a pistol in the other. You are about to be pillaged. Do you want another goddam semi-functional aircraft carrier or pricey trinket of a fighter plane that can barely fly. You would be better off with a new lawnmower.
Whenever some wretched pickpocket of a pol starts talking about the fight against climate change, you should ignore him, unless you are in range and happen to have a baseball bat. He doesn’t care about global warming any more than he does about trash pick-up in another galaxy. Anyway, as Republicans say, there is no such thing as global warming. It’s just that the world gets hotter every year, which makes it look like global warming.
I am not entirely sure what to do when someone in office starts talking about human rights, though at close range bird shot is said to work. Rock salt can be used in a pinch. The United States values human rights intensely. Just now it promotes them in the Ukraine by poisoning the place for generations with depleted uranium and spreading cluster bombs around to blow the legs off their children. This is so they will have freedom and democracy. But not legs.
Now, voting. Don’t do it. It is like admitting you made four hundred’ on your SATs or can’t dress yourself. Anyway, it doesn’t matter which wing of the Bicephalous Uniparty you vote for since both will be in favor of democracy in some country and kill everybody there. Besides, anything with two heads and wings is probably unpleasant.
Liberals and conservatives: These are like having to choose between incurable dysentery and infected hemorrhoids. Instead of arguing about these twin plagues it would probably be better to go to a good dirt bar, maybe one with a pole dancer, and get drunk while telling dirty jokes. That’s what I would do, anyway.
Remember that, at their purest, conservatives are heartless and liberals, goofy. Typically the two work together in bipartisan efficiency. Traditionally conservatives have wrecked foreign policy while liberals have botched things at home. As many may know, the thing that most gnaws at the conservative’s heart, that makes him wake at three a.m. in a cold sweat, shuddering with the night horrors, is the thought of paying for anything for somebody else. Thus he balks at the government’s paying university for a brilliant kid who would probably invent antigravity or something.
Liberals insist that there is no such thing as intelligence, being themselves the best evidence for this proposition, except in heartwarming minorities, who have as much of it as everybody else even if there isn't any. The said liberals won’t let you have a test to find bright kids, who don’t exist anyway because they are social constructs and, besides, learning anything is structural racism or something.
We are doomed. And probably deserve it. Why are we doomed? Because decent people, honest, well-intentioned, content with a good life cannot, no matter how smart, compete with the selfish, avaricious, kleptomaniacal, amoral, and ambitious. The ideal for rising to high position is the matinee-idol psychopath. Sometimes just grubby and unprincipled will do the trick.
Note that in the White House we have Baffled Joe, who finished seventy-sixth in a class of eighty-five in a second-rate law school after being caught cheating, a Napoleonic draft-dodger, neck deep in corruption in the Ukraine and with an equally corrupt, meth-head of a felonious son. Then we have Kamala with the brains of a water hyacinth and, waiting in the wings, Trump, mean, vindictive, and crooked as kite string in a ceiling fan.
In Congress we have as our rulers provincial lawyers chosen in popularity contests. Having worked their way up in the politics of Nebraska or Idaho, having learned on the way the arts of talking out of three sides of their mouths and soliciting bribes however disguised without seeming to, they now govern a vast world empire about which they know nothing. Oh, happiness.
You may think this harsh. It isn’t. A friend, very much in a position to know, estimates that ninety percent of the Senate doesn’t know where Myanmar is. All of Washington colludes in hiding the ignorance of elected officials. A reporter doesn’t ask, “Senator, where is Catarrh?” but, “Senator, what do you think of our Catarrh policy?” “Well, I think we need to take into account all factors, such as human rights and democracy, and of course global warming.” No mention of nasal spray. I need a drink."
"They Are All Quitting"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 7/12/23
"They Are All Quitting"
"The days of being normal or over. Companies are not hiring full-time workers, but we’re not supposed to be concerned. Businesses are hurting so bad that they’re squeezing money out of every place they can."
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The Daily "Near You?"
Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Thanks for stopping by!
And thank you from Casa Grande ;-)
The Poet: May Sarton, "Unison Benediction"
"Unison Benediction"
"Return to the most human,
nothing less will nourish the torn spirit,
the bewildered heart,
the angry mind:
and from the ultimate duress,
pierced with the breath of anguish,
speak of love.
Return, return to the deep sources,
nothing less will teach the stiff hands a new way to serve,
to carve into our lives the forms of tenderness
and still that ancient necessary pain preserve.
Return to the most human,
nothing less will teach the angry spirit,
the bewildered heart;
the torn mind,
to accept the whole of its duress,
and pierced with anguish…
at last, act for love."
~ May Sarton
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