“People with advantages are loathe to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages. They come readily to define themselves as inherently worthy of what they possess; they come to believe themselves 'naturally' elite; and, in fact, to imagine their possessions and their privileges as natural extensions of their own elite selves.”
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite, 1956
"You push away every thought of disaster, but only bring the time of violence closer."
Amos 6:3
"Repentance and forgiveness are the two great gifts of God, freely given. But there is the third and greatest gift, which is thankfulness. For with thankfulness our sinful pride is vanquished, our hearts are opened, and love enters. And a light comes into our lives."
Jesse, Love and Thankfulness, 15 November 2018
"In his forgetfulness of God, the sinner squanders his fortune, the natural and supernatural gifts which he has received, using his natural gifts, his health, his physical powers, and his reason, to offend God.
The sinner, having forsaken the service of his God, falls under the dominance of Satan, and becomes the slave of his lowest passions, which are signified by the swine which the prodigal was forced to feed. But the more he obeys his passions, the more dissatisfied he becomes. No pleasure of the senses can give him happiness, and he feels an emptiness and spiritual hunger in his heart which he is powerless to satisfy. He knows no rest; he only knows that he is miserable, and hateful to himself."
Friedrich Justus Knecht, Practical Commentary On Holy Scripture, 1923
"The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity— greedy, dishonest, adulterous— or even like this tax collector over there."
Luke 18:11
"They do not see the image of Almighty God before them, and ask themselves what He wishes. And, for the same reason that they do not please Him, they succeed in pleasing themselves. Hence, they become both self-satisfied and self-sufficient; they think they know just what they ought to do, and that they do it all; and in consequence they are very well content with themselves, and rate their merit very high, and have no fear at all of any future scrutiny into their conduct.
The more secret God's hand is, the more powerful— the more silent, the more awful."
John Henry Newman
Stocks had yet another ranging day, wobbling around their record highs.
Or at least highs for the indices, if not for the bulk of the market.
Narrow rallies like this either broaden out on fundamentals, or suffer violent corrections.
VIX fell.
Gold and silver rallied.
They are just sweeping back and forth in a range for now.
The Dollar is just chopping.
US markets will be closed tomorrow in observance of Juneteenth.
On Friday there will be a major stock option expiration.
Worldly leaders act as if possessed by the lawless willfulness of powerful interests.
I cannot escape the feeling that their relentless madness is about to go off the rails.
Maybe I just need a day off.
You may have heard that long time silver analyst Ted Butler has passed away.
I remember him in my prayers. His last message to his subscribers was poignant.
At some point we will all say goodby, some like Ted with a simple grace to their small circle of family and friends, and others with their usual hollow words to vast crowds of enablers, sycophants, and hangers-on.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
See you on Thursday.
Have a pleasant evening.
