"Thus the elements are in place: a weak legislative body, a legal system that is both compliant and repressive, a party system in which one party, whether in opposition or in the majority, is bent upon reconstituting the existing system so as to permanently favor a ruling class of the wealthy, the well-connected and the corporate, while leaving the poorer citizens with a sense of helplessness and political despair, and, at the same time, keeping the middle classes dangling between fear of unemployment and expectations of fantastic rewards once the new economy recovers.
That scheme is abetted by a sycophantic and increasingly concentrated media; by the integration of universities with their corporate benefactors; by a propaganda machine institutionalized in well-funded think tanks and conservative foundations; by the increasingly closer cooperation between local police and national law enforcement agencies aimed at identifying terrorists, suspicious aliens and domestic dissidents."
Sheldon Wolin, Inverted Totalitarianism, 2003
"We are still under the sway of the destructive and thoroughly vain belief that man is the pinnacle of creation and not just a part of it, and that therefore everything is permitted to him. People are manipulated in ways that are infinitely more subtle and refined than the brutal methods used in the post-totalitarian societies. We still close our eyes to the growing social, ethnic, and cultural conflicts in the world. We are still destroying the planet that was entrusted to us.
I feel that the dormant goodwill in people needs to be stirred. People need to hear that it makes sense to behave decently or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human coexistence.
We are still incapable of understanding that the only genuine core of all our actions – if they are to be moral – is responsibility. Responsibility to something higher than my family, my country, my firm, my success. Responsibility to the order of Spirit, where all our actions are indelibly recorded and where, and only where, they will be properly judged. Truth and love will overcome lies and hatred.”
Václav Havel, Speech to the US Congress, , February 21, 1990
“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and your children."
Luke 23:28
Stocks dropped decidedly today, going out on their lows, and giving up most of the rally that was Trump's phony announcement of a 'truce' that was used by insiders to game the markets.
Gold and silver were hit hard because it is an option expiration on the Comex for the April futures contracts.
The Dollar moved to the top of the 99 handle.
Bitcoin gave up its recent push higher and slipped back down into the trading range it has been held in since the beginning of February.
VIX crept higher.
Israel and the US bases in the Mideast are largely exposed to Iranian missile attacks now, as the 'Iron Dome' has become depleted of effective interceptors.
The US seems to be preparing for some sort of ground action with light infantry. And of course there is the chance of a targeted strike as we had seen in Venezuela against the Iranian leadership and nuclear or missile facilities.
And so we continue on into the valley of tears and death, pulled forward by the vanity of madness.
They will never learn, but can we?
Have a pleasant evening.
