"On television, religion, like everything else, is presented, quite simply and without apology, as an entertainment. Everything that makes religion an historic, profound, sacred human activity is stripped away; there is no ritual, no dogma, no tradition, no theology, and above all, no sense of spiritual transcendence. I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether."
Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, 1985
“The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the wonders of the Western world. With modern technology it is the easiest of tasks for a media, guided by a narrow group of political manipulators, to speak constantly of democracy and freedom while urging regime changes everywhere on earth but at home."
Gore Vidal, Cue the Green God, Ted, The Nation, 1989
“There is nothing so threatening to systemic evil as those willing to stand against it regardless of the consequences.”
James W. Douglass, JFK and the Unspeakable
"Day by day the money-masters of America become more aware of their danger; they draw together, they grow more class-conscious, more aggressive. The war has taught them the possibilities of propaganda; it has accustomed them to the idea of enormous campaigns which sway the minds of millions and make them pliable to any purpose."
Upton Sinclair, The Brass Check
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be with the coming of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given away in marriage, up until the very day that Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came, and swept them all away.”
Luke 17:26-27
It is easier to repeat slogans that are heard day after day from the well-funded voices of the powers-that-be than it is to take an independent stand for righteousness.
And it is much easier to bully and abuse the weak, and puff up your pride, than to be a faithful child of God, and maybe even a hero.
There is a precedent as we may recall.
Be careful where you take a stand, because you may not like with whom you are standing when the music finally stops, and the fat lady screams.
The retail sales numbers came in much stronger than expected this morning.
Overnight the People's Bank of China cut their interest rate 15 bp to 2.5%.
Stocks sold off broadly, for the first 90% down day of SP stocks since April of this year.
Volumes were still a bit light for such a sell-off, but not for our pearl-clutching drama queens.
Weren't the spokemodels talking up the need for getting in on this big rally last week?
Uh-huh. Yeah buddy.
The Dollar just chopped sideways.
Gold and silver were off a bit after an initial vigorous sell off.
The VIX rose.
My read on this turns an eye [I still have one that works] towards the stock index option expiration on Friday.
And that same read caused me to put an even bigger hedge on my long positions yesterday afternoon.
I did not take any of those hedges off, and stocks went out on the lows.
Smells like teen spirit. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Have a pleasant evening.
