"The shepherds sleep on in the love of themselves, in greed and corruption: they are so drunk with pride that they sleep and do not feel. They see that the devil, the hellish wolf, carries away the life of grace in them and their subjects, but do not care. And the whole cause of this is the perverse individuality of self-love.
Love itself is dying of thirst and hunger for our salvation. No longer be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand voices. For it is clear that, through silence, the world is ruined, and the Bride of Christ is impaled."
Catherine of Sienna, Lettera 16, A uno grande prelato,
"This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal."
Aaron Bushnell, 25 February 2024
“Fascist politics invokes a pure mythic past tragically destroyed. Depending on how the nation is defined, the mythic past may be religiously pure, racially pure, culturally pure, or all of the above. The dangers of fascist politics come from the particular way in which it dehumanizes segments of the population. By excluding these groups, it limits the capacity for empathy among other citizens, leading to the justification of inhumane treatment, from repression of freedom, mass imprisonment, and expulsion to, in extreme cases, mass extermination."
Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works, 2018
"If at the start this cancerous growth in the nation was not particularly noticeable, it was only because there were still enough forces at work that operated for the good, so that it was kept under control. As it grew larger, however, and finally in an ultimate spurt of growth attained ruling power, the tumor broke open, as it were, and infected the whole body."
The White Rose, Second Leaflet, Munich, 1942
"Let no man pull you so low as to hate him."
Martin Luther King, A Knock at Midnight, 11 February 1962
It is not that they 'don't know.' It is that they don't care.
Care enough to see. Care enough to hear. Care enough to speak. Care enough to feel.
Because to do so might require them to do something, deny themselves something, incur some obligation which is a risk, a limitation, a task, an annoyance.
Love dies not only through hate, but envy, pettiness, indifference, and fear.
But the devil lurking behind all of them in the darkness is pride.
Lead, kindly Light, amidst the grey and gloom
The night is long and I am far from home
Here in the dark, I do not ask to see
The path ahead— one step enough for me
Lead on, lead on, kindly Light.
Stocks were slumping after a wide ranging session on the futures markets, as is customary for a triple witch option expiration these days.
Valuation are cut loose from their moorings in any sort of rational model connected to reality.
The pricing of bitcoin is the emblem of our time, as tulips had been the symbol of a prior market bubble.
Gold and silver had the usual ride as well, finishing up a bit mixed on the day.
The Dollar was choppy as well.
VIX remains largely complacent, hovering around its longer term moving averages.
Our foreign policy is anchored in adolescent, intemperate madness, and the greed and pathology of a few.
You are always in my prayers, as I hope I am also in yours.
Have a pleasant weekend.