"Mark! where his carnage and his conquests cease.
He makes a solitude, and calls it— peace."
George Gordon Lord Byron, The Bride of Abydos
“In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not its taste but its effect, not how it makes people feel at the moment but how it makes them feel and moves them to act in the long run. Criticism may embarrass the country’s leaders in the short run but strengthen their hand in the long run; it may destroy a consensus on policy while expressing a consensus of values. There is, or ought to be, such a thing as being too confident to conform, too strong to be silent in the face of apparent error.
Criticism, in short, is more than a right; it is an act of patriotism, a higher form of patriotism, I believe, than the familiar rituals of national adulation. Throughout our history two strands have coexisted uneasily; a dominant strand of democratic humanism and a lesser but durable strand of intolerant Puritanism. There has been a tendency through the years for reason and moderation to prevail as long as things are going tolerably well or as long as our problems seem clear and finite and manageable. But when some event or leader of opinion has aroused the people to a state of high emotion, our Puritan spirit has tended to break through, leading us to look at the world through the distorting prism of a harsh and angry moralism.”
J. William Fulbright, The Arrogance of Power
“What shall I say about this generation? John the Baptist did not drink wine, and often went without food, and you called him mad. And I, the Messiah, both eat and drink, and you say that I am a glutton and a drunk, and am friends with the worst sort of sinners. The truth will be known by your works.*
Matthew 11:16-19
Stocks attempted to extend their post FOMC rally today, but were primarily successful in the morning, with the bright optimism of better things ahead fading into the close.
The Dollar weakened.
Gold and silver both rallied impressively, breaking through overhead resistance with authority.
Again, the vault reports from Hong Kong contain little additional information except that bullion levels remain rather low.
Perhaps this is some effect from the Lunar New Year.
My son is in Asia with his bride, and celebrating with her in Singapore. The food they are having has me very envious, the hot and incredibly humid weather, not so much.
Need little, want less, love more. For those who abide in God abide in love, and love in them.
Have a pleasant evening.
