"Through his first year in Germany [1933], US Ambassador William Dodd had been struck again and again by the strange indifference to atrocity that had settled over the nation.
For Dodd, a diplomat by accident, not demeanor, the whole thing was appalling. He was a scholar and a Jeffersonian democrat, a farmer who loved history and the old Germany in which he had studied as a young man. Now there was official murder on a terrifying scale. Dodd's friends and acquaintances, people who had been to his house for dinner or tea, had been shot dead.
In a letter to Hull, Dodd forecast an even more terroristic regime. 'The people hardly notice this complete coup d'etat. It takes place in silence. I would swear that millions upon millions have no idea what a monstrous thing has occurred.'"
Erik Larson, The Garden of Beasts
"It would be no sin if statesmen learned enough of history to realize that no system which implies control of society by privilege seekers has ever ended in any other way than collapse."
William Dodd, historian and US Ambassador to Germany, 1933
"Living in a totalitarian land taught me to value highly—and fiercely—the very things the dictators denied: tolerance, respect for others and, above all, the freedom of the human spirit. I find that most true happiness comes from one’s inner life; from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation. And self-discipline. You have to have patience and understanding. And, when you can, seek God."
William L. Shirer, This I Believe
"A country approaching the fascist phase showed symptoms among which the existence of a fascist movement proper was not necessarily one. At least as important signs were the spread of irrationalistic philosophies, racialist aesthetics, demagogy, heterodox currency views, criticism of the party system, widespread disparagement of the regime, or whatever was the name given to the existing democratic set-up. All at once, the tremendous industrial and political organizations of labor and of other devoted upholders of constitutional freedom would melt away."
Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation, 1944
Stocks managed to overcome their early losses and turn in yet another gain for the new year.
The Dollar slipped a little.
Gold and silver rallied up through resistance and stuck a strong close.
Next week's stock index option expiration may test the stocks bulls, and even the metals' mettle.
The VIX posted another decline to a year long low.
Tut tut, looks like rain.
US markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King day.
Have a pleasant weekend.
