This is the kind of fasting that I want;
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burdens of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not turn your backs to your family and friends.
Isaiah 58:6-7
"We confess to being fools and wish that we were more so. What we would like to do is change the world–make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And to a certain extent, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute–the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor in other words, we can to a certain extent change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world.
We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world."
Dorothy Day
The US Jobs Report came in shockingly low. So low in fact that after the initial shock, the markets were able to largely disregard it into the close.
There is a widespread feeling though that the Fed has been sidelined for the year in their program of higher interest rates. But they still seem to be determined to steadily unwind their very bloated balance sheet.
And commensurately gold and silver took off from their short term oversold lows.
Although there is some cheering with regard to the increase in average wages, 'average' does not quite do it, in a time of epic inequality, and the increase was slight.
And a few astutely noted that the work week declined a bit as well. So much for full employment and strains on labor.
Hardly signs of a recovery. But hope, and the narrative of bulloney in which it is wrapped these days, beats eternal in the worldlings.
There will be a great deal of fresh economic news next week. I have included the calendar for next week below.
Foolishness and foolhardy stubbornness has already infected many, driving them to love the lie and stoke a smoldering resentment against the other in their hardened hearts. I fear that few will be able to remain standing when the cold winds of consequence begin to sweep across the land. And being a favored group in identity politics is certainly no safeguard or protection from the taint of evil. We become what we hate.
Need little, want less, love more. For those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them.
Have a pleasant evening.
