"For these are a rebellious people, deceitful children, unwilling to listen to the commandments of the Lord. They say to their seers,‘Do not see!’, and to the prophets,‘Say nothing of what is right. Tell us only the things that please us— prophesy illusions.
Isaiah 30:8-10
"It is important to observe that nowhere is it suggested that Dives' wealth is ill-gotten nor that Lazarus was his victim. The sin of Dives is that, cushioned by his lavish life-style, he was simply oblivious to the presence of a beggar at his gate."
Wilfrid Harrington
"There are commonwealths, plainly to be distinguished here and there in history, which pass from prosperity to squalor, or from glory to insignificance, or from freedom to slavery, not only in silence, but with serenity. The face still smiles while the limbs, literally and loathsomely, are dropping from the body.
These are peoples that have lost the power of astonishment at their own actions. When they give birth to a fantastic fashion or a foolish law, they do not start or stare at the monster they have brought forth. They have grown used to their own unreason; chaos is their cosmos; and the whirlwind is the breath of their nostrils.
G.K. Chesterton, Miscellany of Men, 1912
"In a world where success is the measure and justification of all things, the figure of Him who was sentenced and crucified remains a stranger, and is at best the object of pity. The world will allow itself to be subdued only by success. Success alone justifies wrongs done.
The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought that takes success for its standard."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Behold the Man: Dietrich Bonhoeffer Werke, 1998
"I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts."
John 5:41
Stocks paused in their meteoric rise higher.
As a reminder this is all leading up to the FOMC meeting next week, and expectations for a rate cut, or a signal that a rate cut will be forthcoming.
The VIX drifted lower.
The Dollar chopped sideways.
Gold and silver rallied higher, with silver taking back all the ground it had lost and then some.
There are moments in history, in the cycle of human events, when much is asked of us, and the time cries out for a broad and selfless vision, for wisdom and leadership.
And there are times when that call to greatness is answered carelessly, with a preoccupation for narrow ambitions and selfish desires, by frivolous and deceitful children.
And so here we are.
This is our history.
Have a pleasant evening.
