Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Father of Lies and of Madness

 

“Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another.  It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and live well with others, developing thoughtfulness, and fostering effective self-expression and communication.  Civility includes courtesy, politeness, mutual respect, fairness, good manners.”

Pier Massimo Forni, Choosing Civility, February 28, 2002

"So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.  Let us never negotiate out of fear.  But let us never fear to negotiate.  Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us"

John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961

"I recall having cautioned you all that we have entered a period of hysteria several times. I saw this phase coming years ago. And here we are.

1.Exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement.

2.A psychological disorder whose symptoms include conversion of psychological stress into physical symptoms, selective amnesia, susceptibility to autosuggestion.

At other times I have referred to what follows from hysteria as 'the madness.' That is when hysteria is driven into action, sometimes by those who would seek to use that madness for their own ends. And as you recall I often say, 'the madness serves none but itself.'

I think there is a lot of fear and uncertainty out there. And it is going to get worse. And in such a time it is even more important to stick to the facts, maintain your composure, keep a cap on the rhetorical flourishes and excesses, and remember that if you do not know what will happen, that the other guy might be right as well. Age has taught me that those who see things in pure black and white are often just color blind and nearsighted.

It is those who can proceed calmly and with serenity who will pass through this period relatively well, and even if they do suffer some unavoidable misfortune, they can do so without regret."

Jesse, A Plea for Civility, 14 April 2013

"Why do you not understand what I am saying?  It is because you cannot bear to hear my words.   You are from your father, the devil, and you willfully carry out your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and he does not stand with the truth, for there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks in accord with his nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

John 8:43-44


What else can one expect to happen if a social system is created that values money and power above all else?    That chooses to create and act within its own false reality?  

Where the thought leaders of a nation prefer to say nothing, or go along to get along, to promote and prophesy illusions?

The 'elite' of the West have struck a monumental Faustian bargain for money and power.   

And there will be hell to pay.  For them of course, but for many, many innocents. 

Stocks soared.

Gold and silver rallied hard up to overhead resistance.

VIX did not decline, which was interesting.

The Dollar fell sharply.

Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday.

The geopolitical situation is on a rolling boil, whether we wish to ignore it or not.

Forewarned is forearmed. 

What matters most in the long run is your soul, and the souls of those that you love. For that is what this is all about.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - This Attractive But Deceitful World - From Hysteria to Delusion

 

"Narcissists are unstable and go through repeated cycles of self-destruction, with other people usually paying the heft of the price.  Narcissists tend to be divisive, vindictive, confrontational, aggressive, hate-filled, raging, incoherent, judgment-impaired, and irrational." 

Sam Vaknin 

 

"Federal policy is increasingly dictated by the wealthy, by the financial sector, and by powerful (though sometimes badly mismanaged) industries.   These policies are implemented and praised by these groups’ willing servants, namely the increasingly bought-and-paid-for leadership of America’s political parties, academia, and lobbying industry.   

If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the control of a small, ultrawealthy elite.  Such a society would be not only immoral but also eventually unstable, dangerously ripe for religious and political extremism." 

Charles Ferguson, Predator Nation, 2012 

 

“The mob believes everything it is told, provided only that it be repeated over and over. Provided too that its passions, hatreds, fears are catered to. The grosser, the bigger, the cruder the lie, the more readily is it believed and followed. The mob has no memory; needless to pretend to any truth: the mob is radically incapable of perceiving it: the mob can never comprehend that its own interests are what is at stake.” 

Alexandre Koyré, Réflexions sur le Mensonge

 

“Corrupt citizens breed corrupt rulers, and it is the mob who finally decides when virtue shall die.” 

Taylor Caldwell, Dear and Glorious Physician

 

Maybe not so much corrupt in the common sense, but selfish, lacking empathy, and willfully delusional.

The Fed gave the equity  markets the sugar-coated message they wanted to hear, and it was artfully done.

And so stocks went on a tear to the upside,with new highs on most of the major indices.

Of note was the strength in the Russell 2000, and the resurgence in the big cap tech sled dogs.

Gold and silver were smacked down early and hard.

If you are trading on momentum and leverage, you probably got blown out of your positions.

But by the end of the day silver was back in the green, and gold had recovered much of its decline, to finish back up near the trading channel it has been climbing.

The dollar slipped off the 94 handle.

I think we are firmly in the delusional stage of the asset bubble now, especially if one considers the NFT and crypto, meme stock and IPO phenomena. 

The irrational mask and vaccine antipathy are sign of hysteria, and the mass persuasion of the not so hidden persuaders of the oligarchs, who are operating on longer term agendas of their own.

Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday.

Hubris is strong, nemesis awaits. 

The madness serves none but itself.

Have a pleasant evening.

  

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Der Untergang - The Madness Serves None But Itself

 

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.”

Leo Tolstoy 

 

"The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought." 

Rudiger Dornbusch 

 

"Reasoning is no use; facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved — indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can be just pushed aside as trivial exceptions.  We shall never again try to convince a fool by reason, for it is both useless and dangerous." 

 Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."

Charles Mackay

 

Stock futures did another overnight pop, and afternoon flop.

Gold and silver rose along their support lines, and the Dollar continued lower.

 Netflix slipped its growth estimates after the close.

The stimulus, the election, and vaccine questions are three significant exogenous economic factors. 

John Oliver's discussion of the World Health Organization from his Sunday night show is interesting.

We are in the midst of the hysteria I had forecast.    QAnon is the latest face of it.

It seems almost ordinary, because it came on so slowly, and over such a relatively long period of time.

Its resolution may come more quickly, and leave many wondering what happened, and what they were thinking.

Most will move on, but some will stubbornly seek justification in stubborn denial.

Have a pleasant evening.

Real News: About That Russian Hacking Indictment And Its Willful Misuse

Quadraro, Death of Justice

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!

Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do?  Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!

Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?  This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's!  And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?  Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

Robert Bolt, A Man For All Seasons

Aaron Mate of The Real News interviews Michael Isikoff about the Russian hacking indictment in the video below.

Michael Isikoff's dismissive and almost bullying remarks aside, I think most people will continue to look at this carefully, and will keep an open mind.

Isikoff is not persuasive, except if one is intimidated by veiled references to secret evidence and the invoking of 'authority.'

And clearly Aaron Mate is not. This is what makes him a much better, or one may say genuine, journalist.

I have trouble conceiving that this indictment will ever be tested in court, unless they decide to try the defendants in absentia.   It is a convenient way to make public charges without ever having show the evidence, and test their veracity in a public court of law.  But they do make nice talking points for the prevailing narrative.

It would be as if a prosecutor in Moscow were to indict top officials in the US government for cyber crimes, such as bugging the personal phones of allied heads of state, or interfering in other countries' elections, and expect them to fly over for a trial.

I can only imagine what the reaction here would be to such an obvious ploy.

But I am sure that this indictment will be frequently misused as 'proof' of the case, and widely referenced without critical thought, to try and shame honest skepticism and alternative views on this matter.

Such as in this article in The Intercept by James Risen, for example.

But Risen has shown the weakness in the presentation of his reasoning before, in his debate with Glenn Greenwald,

An indictment is proof of nothing, other than an indictment has been granted to proceed with something known as a 'trial' of the pertinent facts to determine guilt or innocence.   As since 'the evidence' is part of an indictment, it is not subject to open, investigative examination and potential rebuttal.

It is a 'charge' that is as of yet unproven, and we need to be very careful about giving charges such weight in the public discourse.  It can ruin lives and reputations without due process, and cause potentially innocent individuals to much hardship, intimidation, and even confinement.

No matter how many functionaries may have signed off on it.   How many times do we need to have this proven to us both pro and con, from WMD's to allegations of mass government surveillance?  It is presented to the public with such authority and weight—  until the truth rears its ugly head.

And innocence is presumed, or at least it used to be, before the hysterics were engaged after Hillary's stunning loss.

As regular readers know I am no 'fan' of Trump, or Hillary, and especially not of the Russian government,.  If anything  I am concerned that we are falling into the same type of authoritarian oligarchy that prevails there.

But I am not willing to toss aside principles and reason for personal satisfaction or political gain.   If we do, we are no different from those that we pretend to oppose—  we merely serve different ends without regard to means, like competing crime families.

Isikoff and those who speak and write in the mainstream media know this.  But they do not seem to care.  Such is the lack of principles for the sake of partisanship to which our modern media has descended, especially since it has been concentrated into a few powerful hands.

I am afraid that Michael Isikoff's conclusions will obtain such thoughtful scrutiny and analysis from the Sunday morning television pundits, both pro and con.

And therefore one goes to other sources like The Real News to get a more balanced picture.

Do not point the finger at the underwhelming actions of the Russians for the lack of trust and deep partisan divide here.

We have ourselves to blame, our lack of critical thinking and demand for justice with accountability, and acquiescence to the repeated heavy-handed actions of enablers in service of money and power, might over right.

As long as the con jobs sell, and money is being made, no one in the money and power pipeline has an incentive to stop the lying unless it is their conscience. And with this craven and spiritually adulterous generation, good luck with that.

October 30, 1938 - Mercury Theater Presents The War of the Worlds

"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices."

Edward R. Murrow, talk to his staff at CBS before See It Now, 7 March 1954 on Senator Joseph McCarthy

And 'The Night America Trembled' 1957

The US Is In a Societal Panic: Why Our Tax and Economic Debates Are Irrational

David Cay Johnston is an excellent lecturer, who can address economics and public policy in clear and simple statements.

This is one of most informative talks I have heard about where we are, and how we got here, what the crony kleptocracy is, and how it works.

Johnston's concept of a societal panic corresponds to the notion of national hysteria which I have expressed on a number of occasions.  But he fills out the idea more fluently and fully.   It is a dangerous period of time which can yield new ideas and concepts, depending on how well we survive it.

It is a must watch, and I rarely say that.

What Does the Recent Fall in the Price of Gold 'Prove?'

"And this means that it is deeply, deeply wrong to think of rising gold prices when bond yields are low as some kind of symptom of monetary excess."

Paul Krugman, 10 September 2011

So don't think of gold as an indicator of monetary excess when it is going up,  but when it is going down it can be used to prove your hypothesis of a lack of excess, as PK does in the new article cited below. 

But there is some wiggle room between excess and hyperinflation, and degrees of excess, and I would agree if the argument he presented was well reasoned and well tempered, which is it not.  It is just over the top, playing to the crowd. Well, that's show biz, and perception management.

I really would have preferred not to reference this article below, but I am afraid I must because it establishes one important point. It does not have much else to recommend it.  And I have decided to avoid most other articles like this that deal in 'goldbuggery.'  You know where I tend to place my focus, and name calling is what one does when their arguments are insubstantial.  And then it becomes de rigueur on both sides, and thought fails. No need to add to the hysteria.

In taking his victory lap for his economic theory in this manner, Mr. Krugman endorses the ability of gold to predict monetary dislocation and policy error. I would also add that it is a strong indicator of real interest rates.  When they are negative they are good for gold, and when they offer a fair return, they are not.  This is without regard to the nominal level of inflation, Paul.  But you knew that, or ought to have known that.  But the key takeaway is that Krugman admits that gold does matter, and he watches it.  And will use it in his data when it serves his purposes.

I think that is important. He would likely dodge this and say that it does not matter, but merely shows that some people believe that it does and therefore they buy it. When one deals in otherworldly economic models, they can make them do almost anything. The thing that economics does best is rationalizing as you wish after the fact.  There is a paper, by the way, about Gibson's Paradox by Larry Summers that PK can read if he wishes to see a more 'wonkish' linkage.  Oh that's right, he caught up with that in 2011.

But I guess it is ok to use it as an indicator that all is well on the monetary front when it is going down, as he does today.

I will take an aside, and say that the claims that monetization are not yet causing inflation proves nothing. All that proves is that one can give wheelbarrows of money to their friends to prop up their bad debts, as long as the friends keep the money in their own bank and trading accounts.  The first result will be bubbles in financial assets, and the accumulation of wealth in a narrow segment of the target population. 

But I do think that we have passed from the phase where gold is irrelevant and can be ignored, to the point where even 'very serious people' must take it seriously, and deal with it in some manner,  with fear and ridicule.

Open interest generally does not RISE when prices are falling, and people are fleeing away from a particular investment vehicle, especially a commodity. When a 'long' position sells, it closes, and open interest, or the number of contracts, goes down. Open interest increases on falling prices when short selling is pressing a market lower against a steady demand from legitimate investment. But that is a detail, and not in his models.

As you know I only became interested in gold because of my study of currencies back in the 1990s.  And I do not favor a return to a gold standard, although it is painfully obvious that the existing monetary arrangement for trade based on the dollar is as unstable as is the euro in Europe, and for many of the same reasons.  The dollar regime has simply lasted longer, for some of its own scale and reasons. 

And I do not favor austerity as a policy, and believe in the efficacy of stimulus when applied effectively and directly to a demand/employment condition of deadlock or stagnation brought on by a credit bubble collapse as we are in now.   I am what would be called a 'progressive.' 

But all the stimulus one can muster will not repair a system that is still broken and corrupt.  It is like sending aid to some third world nation where it is diverted by the ruling warlords from ever reaching the people, save for some crumbs.  And Paul Krugman, in his zeal for his cause, seems to miss this. 

That is the FDR model, applying stimulus directly to creating jobs and increasing the median wage while reforming the system. And that is most certainly not what we have today.  We are bailing out the banks while allowing their abuses to go unpunished, and the system to be substantially unreformed, for the sake of  'the system,' or more properly the status quo.  And the status quo is quite happy with things as they are, because they are gettin' paid as they say in the vernacular.

I have said for quite some time that the outcome I see from this mistaken policy is stagflation, or as some may choose to call it, the new normal.  It is the price that the public must pay to sustain a system of corporatism, historic inequality, and injustice.

Repressing dissent like the Occupy Movement, limiting people's investment options, and managing perceptions will only go so far.  One needs an exit strategy from a period of sustained and pervasive policy error and corruption.  And that must include real reform and change.  The new normal is not self-sustaining, but is an unnatural equilibrium that must be maintained by force, economic and otherwise. 

Once again, a plea for civility. The future will be what it will be. And all the name calling and repression, financial or otherwise, all the violent language on both sides will only make things worse. 

Chris Hedges is right on some critical things.  This is tied in with the death of the liberal class as an effective bulwark against the rapaciousness and lawlessness of corporation and those who serve their interests, the rise of extremism, and the decline of the individual overshadowed by the rise of the state.   In the parlance of the 1960's,  the liberal class has 'sold out.'  The price varies.

When the tide goes out you not only see who is naked, you see who they are naked with.

Willfulness can take many forms, whether it be a personal desire for riches, or power, or just to be 'right' at any cost, even through control frauds.   It is when those desires override conscience and justice that things begin to go horribly wrong.  It teaches by example, it is contagious, and it breeds.

So the only thing that this recent episode in the metals markets proves is that if you give the Banks enough money and regulatory latitude they can bend the markets to their will. And we already knew that. What is going on in the precious metals markets is apparent to those who look at the trading patterns, the volumes, and the open interest.

The only thing that is lacking is the exact reason, the motive for this, the disaster that has been averted, or the corruption and decay that is being concealed.

Markets are based to a large part on confidence. And when confidence breaks it is hard to get it back. And these jokers on Wall Street are stretching it to the limit, whether they realize it or not.

Gold Does Not Glitter
By Paul Krugman
April 15, 2013

So, the slide in gold has turned into a rout. As Joe Weisenthal says, this should be seen as really good news, because it offers strong evidence that the goldbug/inflationista view of the world — which says that we need to stop all efforts at monetary and fiscal stimulus lest we turn into Weimar — is, in fact, all wrong.

But Joe is, I think, deluding himself if he imagines that this will make any difference. After all, the inflationista view of the world has been repeatedly, devastatingly wrong on many fronts — interest rates, inflation, the effects of austerity. Has anyone other than Narayana Kocherlakota (who deserves big props for intellectual flexibility) actually changed his or her mind in response?

In fact, by and large the goldbug response to each failed prediction has been to claim that evil government officials are hiding the truth. Interest rates are low? That’s because the Fed is suppressing them. How can it do that, year after year, without causing runaway inflation? Oh, actually we have runaway inflation, but the BLS is faking the numbers (and independent measures, like the Billion Prices Index, are part of the plot).

Read the entire article here.

A Plea for Civility

"When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency."

Samuel Johnson


"As citizens we have to be more thoughtful and more educated and more informed. I turn on the TV and I see these grown people screaming at each other, and I think, well, if we don't get our civility back we're in trouble."

Emmylou Harris


“Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another. It is complex and encompasses learning how to connect successfully and live well with others, developing thoughtfulness, and fostering effective self-expression and communication. Civility includes courtesy, politeness, mutual respect, fairness, good manners...”

Pier Massimo Forni

I recall having cautioned you all that we have entered a period of hysteria several times. I saw this phase coming years ago. And here we are.

1.Exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement.

2.A psychological disorder whose symptoms include conversion of psychological stress into physical symptoms, selective amnesia, susceptibility to autosuggestion.

At other times I have referred to what follows from hysteria as 'the madness.' That is when hysteria is driven into action, sometimes by those who would seek to use that madness for their own ends. And as you recall I often say, 'the madness serves none but itself.'

I have read some things today on the web from fellow bloggers that were utterly 'over the top.' I am not talking about those sites that seek to whip up hysteria in order to provide them a following and 'clicks' for pay because that is to foolishly expect the unexpected, that is, civility from sites that serve their own ends, often political but always commercial.

There are professional people who make a living doing this on television.  Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh come to mind.  Most of the others are legitimate shock comedians and their humour is dark, but sometimes rather funny.  But these others are just vile people pandering to what is most ugly in the human condition.

The bloggers I follow are people from whom I would expect better, because I can tell from their writing that they are informed, most often sincere and intelligent.   And I am disappointed.

I think that saying to one of the mothers of a child that was killed at Newtown that they are an "incompetent and defective sack of meat -- your son is dead because you are unfit to be parents" because they have spoken out in favor of gun control laws to be completely over the top and inexcusable,  even by today's remarkably low standards.

And although it ought not to matter, I happen to be a long time gun owner, and have participated in regional matches, albeit in my younger years.  And my son carries on in this. I don't speak of this much because it is not relevant to what I do intend to talk about.  And I am in favor of background checks and licenses for things that can pose a danger to other people in their use, like airplanes, automobiles, and firearms.

And although I know that markets are made up of differences of opinion, remarking on the fairly heavy handed bear raid on the precious metals sector by saying "Where the fuck is your Gold Messiah now?" is a bit much.   I mean, really. This is analysis?

I can look at the record and see how and where the selling came from as well as these others. And the rest of what follows is about as insubstantial and based on mere opinion rather than anything approaching analysis. I found the sneering takedown of those who are following a long term strategy to be particularly obtuse. Are we all not supposed to be day traders now? 

I think the system as we knew it is changing. And the lack of reform in the financial markets is going to break the confidence of the public.  And those who make their living off the markets may give some mind to speaking out for reform, or learn a useful trade doing something else. Not everyone remembers what the 1970s were like for trading, but some do.

I won't even respond further, because I only do so with public figures speaking out in favor of policy. And sometimes I do use humour and satire. That is what I do. That is what it is called when the weaker party like myself takes on the more powerful. When the more powerful figure takes on the weak the same way, it is just bad manners and bullying. This is why I get so incensed sometimes at the way in which powerful figures beat up the little guys, even while they are taking advantage of them.

I am even breaking a long standing tradition by commenting directly on what other bloggers say. Things are tough enough without those who are operating outside the mainstream fighting amonst themselves, and I probably won't do it again.  That is how formidable I think things are going to be.

I know that people who speak out for and against some thing get abused sometimes by those who hold the other side of the opinion. I get it. And since I happen to be a center progressive I get it a lot, and sometimes from both sides at the same time! For me that is why spam filters exist, and why I do not take the time to monitor comments on my site, preferring to take them privately instead and use what is factual and ignore what is not. Lashing out at those who attack you with ridicule and viciousness merely takes you down to their level where they will beat you with the energy of excessiveness.

I think there is a lot of fear and uncertainty out there. And it is going to get worse. And in such a time it is even more important to stick to the facts, maintain your composure, keep a cap on the rhetorical flourishes and excesses, and remember that if you do not know what will happen, that the other guy might be right as well. Age has taught me that those who see things in pure black and white are often just color blind and nearsighted.

It is those who can proceed calmly and with serenity who will pass through this period relatively well, and even if they do suffer some unavoidable misfortune, they can do so without regret.

"So let us begin anew, remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof."

John F. Kennedy

And if you wish you can aspire to something even higher,  probably not fully achievable as a goal based on my own experience, but worthy of an attempt as a way of life.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

Mother Teresa

Why Go After the Depositors To Save 'the Taxpayers?'

One thing that puzzled a couple of people is this.

Why go after depositors, in order to save the 'taxpayers.' Aren't they the same people?

Well, obviously in the case of the European Monetary Union this is not the case. And this is the great weakness of a single currency without more comprehensive provisions for fiscal union that makes it inherently unstable.   Wealthy Germans feel no kinship with Cypriots, Greeks, or Spaniards.

But what about New Zealand and Canada, countries that have their own sovereign currencies and are viable political entities? Are the taxpayers and the depositors there essentially the same constituent base? And isn't the government responsible for regulation and policing the banks which they allow to act with a lack of transparency?   Is this not the basis of trust that sustains the financial system?

And what about the rest of the G20 that seemingly has adopted the same template of sacrificing depositors to save the gambling bankers?  What are they thinking?

When a major financial institution gets into trouble it is not usually a sudden event for the most part, but plays out over a period of time. This is true from MF Global to the Popular Bank of Cyprus to Lehman Brothers.

The public does not see what is going on because the financial system is opaque. But wealthy insiders often know what is going on in their interconnected world of money.   Remember the stories of the uber-wealthy who managed to get their funds out of MF Global before it collapsed? I seem to recall those friends of the people, the Koch Brothers, being mentioned.

The monied interests and their political footmen have their funds safely parked in offshore tax havens, and can move the rest around at will based on the distribution of 'asymmetrical information.'

But to the extent that they are taxpayers, they are exposed to bank failures that they may even know about, if the bailout is financed by 'the taxpayers.'

And this is what really irked the wealthy who were caught up in MF Global and Cyprus bank. They thought they were insiders.

The G20 is a tale of two economies, with one set of rules for the one percent, and another set of rules for everyone else. This new template of confiscating the savings of common depositors is just another manifestation of the one percent looting the wealth of the rest.

It may be hard to accept, but the notion of everyone in a country pulling together for the common good is not a viable concept in a crony capital kleptocracy.

And as things get worse, and their schemes start falling apart, their antics may start becoming even more blatant and more brazen, and more incredibly 'unfair.' As you know, I said that MF Global was the 'watershed event' for me.

I don't blame people for being edgy for the reasons I have stated on many occasions. The enforcement of the law is almost incredibly uneven, and the government has hidden key information, and acted in very odd ways far too many times.

When one sees something like this how can one not feel uneasy? Don't Panic, Financial Reform Will Come - By Barney Frank.    Are you kidding me?  These jokers have publicly stated they don't enforce the laws they already have!

Sift everything and look at the evidence, and draw your conclusions and actions accordingly.  Hysteria is contagious and has its dark attractions, but it is not helpful to you and your family's well being.  Trust in God, but make everyone else show their data.

About that FDIC Controversy, and Some Other Internet Rumours

I answered a few emails on this a week or so ago, but the issue seems to have come back again.

There was a change in the aggregation of accounts at the FDIC as of 31 Dec 2012. That change rolled back a consideration that had been granted for 'non-interest bearing transactional accounts' held at a bank. Such an account is what is normally considered a checking account. Those were to be aggregated with the other accounts of the account holder.

But in terms of aggregation, nothing else changed. Some people said the rule would aggregate ALL accounts at ALL banks to a single Social Security number in the amount of $250,000.

This is not what the FDIC said, not at all.  And there updated information from 1 January 2013 confirms this.

The aggregation rules are still based on a 'per bank' basis. And within that bank, those rules are roughly as follows per the FDIC's webpage.

I do not know the future. Some will ask, 'well do you trust the ....?'    Probably not, and I tend to trust in God, and look at the data for everything else. But there is a wide gap between blind trust and just making things up.   And it is there that we must make our stand, on as firm a ground as we can find.

It is not unreasonable to believe that dollar debts will be paid in devalued dollars, and there will be de facto defaults as well.   This has been going on for quite some time, and there is plenty of historical precedent.  Much of the hoohah going on in politics revolves around the allocation of financial pain.

There are legitimate concerns, and fears, and phantoms.   The difference between the first two is the difference between probability and possibility.  And with regard to the last, it is a terror of the imagination that is inimical to reason and to a rewarding life and the refuge of despair.

We entering a time of rumour and hysteria. I have been hearing some rather crazy things, about the Mormons buying up all the real estate of California, and the Queen of England buying up Nevada.  And some other things I do not care to even mention in this Café, from the usual repugnant sources of fear and hatred and violence about the usual victims of prejudice. 

Because to do that is not to stand with the truth as we can know it, even if we think we are wallowing with those in the mud for 'the right ends' and things we may sincerely believe.   That merely serves the madness, which serves none but itself.  

If hatred and fear crowd out the reason, and love, in our words and our minds, we have probably gone off the path.