"The wealth of another region excites their greed; and if it is weak, their lust for power as well. Nothing from the rising to the setting of the sun is enough for them. Among all others only they are compelled to attack the poor as well as the rich. Robbery, rape, and slaughter they falsely call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."
Tacitus, Agricola, circa 98 AD
"For if you for sure change your ways and act justly, if you are fair as you judge between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger from another land, or the child whose parents have died, or the woman whose husband has died, and do not kill those who are not guilty in this place, and stop servnig other gods, for that will destroy you, then I will let you live in this place, in the land of your fathers."
Jeremiah 7:5-7
“Addiction might be the best word to explain the lostness that so deeply permeates society. Our addiction make us cling to what the world proclaims as the keys to self-fulfillment: accumulation of wealth and power; attainment of status and admiration; lavish consumption of food and drink, and sexual gratification without distinguishing between lust and love. These addictions create expectations that cannot but fail to satisfy our deepest needs.
As long as we live within the world's delusions, our addictions condemn us to futile quests leaving us to face an endless series of disillusionments while our sense of self remains unfulfilled. In these days of increasing addictions, we have wandered far away from our Father's home. The addicted life can aptly be designated a life lived in 'a distant country.' It is from there that our cry for deliverance rises up.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1991
"We have learned nothing, and are emboldened by our willful ignorance. We make beasts of ourselves, to avoid the pain of our lack of humanity. We make a private cult out of our own childlike selfishness, sinning shamelessly against the word and the spirit. We lay down with swine, and call it greatness."
Jesse, 8 October 2021
Stocks were wobbling again today after yesterday's wash and rinse.
Gold and silver fell back, a correction after some extraordinary gains from the breakout.
The Dollar chopped sideways.
VIX ticked higher.
And so we see the end of another week.
They are serving the beast with with a slaughter of innocents, shrouding it in a complicity of lies.
They have shamed and dishonored their oaths.
They think that there will be no consequences, for who can stand against the beast.
And so they slide further, peacefully into the abyss.
The madness serves none but itself.
Have a pleasant weekend.
