"In you, Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue and deliver me;
listen to me and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
my stronghold to give me safety;
for you are my rock and fortress.
My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the evil and violent.
You are my hope, Lord;
my trust, God, from my youth.
On you I have depended since birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength;
my hope in you never wavers.
I have become a warning to many,
but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth will speak your praise,
shall sing your glory every day.
Do not cast me aside in my old age;
as my strength fails, do not forsake me."
Psalm 71:1-9
"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for. Don't imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the boot-licking propagandist of any régime, and then suddenly return to mental decency."
George Orwell, Facing Unpleasant Facts
“Lawlessness has come out of Babylon, that is, from the elders who were to govern the people as judges. They perverted their thinking; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. How you have grown evil with age. Now have your past sins come to term, passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty."
Daniel 13:5,9,52-53
“We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.”
Francis of Assisi, Fioretti di San Francesco
Stocks finished an edgy session of light trade and choppiness ahead of the weekend. The broader market was off a bit, and the SP 500 rose slightly to overhead resistance.
CPI and PPI next week.
Gold and silver were mostly unchanged.
The Dollar did its usual choppy thing.
The geopolitical situation is on a steady boil, helped along by the madcaps in the Biden administration.
But they have power, and like most people who are lacking in strategic intent, they tend to squander it foolishly, here and there, with old borrowed plans on which they hang the decisions of a day.
Well, change is coming. Let's hope it brings something beneficial.
I am not hopeful that the political duopoly can deliver anything of the sort. They are captives of long-standing fever dreams and delusions and dark money.
But they have power. And power attracts the morally weak and corruptible.
None of this is new. In fact it is remarkably old.
"We live in a world where love itself is condemned. People call it weakness, something to grow out of. Some are saying: 'Love is of no importance, we should rather develop our strength; let each one become as strong as he can, and let the weak perish.'"
Titus Brandsma, Dutch priest, executed at Dachau, 26 July 1942
As old as Babylon, and evil as sin.
Have a pleasant weekend.
