Taking Time For Christmas And the Things That Matter

Pardey, Daffodils in Search of Grace

"As the lily among thorns, so is my true love among His daughters."

Song of Solomon 2:2


"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus."

Phil 4:7

The posting will be light from now until the New Year.

There is nothing particular going on with the queen at the moment, so no need for concern.

Rather, I am taking a breather, and profoundly enjoying spending more time with her and her constant cold weather companion, Dolly. I like snuggling the two of them up together in the big chair under some blankets for their afternoon shows on television, The Chew and Dr Phil.

No I do not watch them, but the queen is an aficionado of both, as well as the Food Network and Househunters. Perhaps she is living vicariously because she does not cook much beyond the simplest meals, and we have only moved once in our lives.  I became very flexible in commuting once she put down our roots and made a house into a home.

When Dolly came in from her walk this morning, which by the way the queen herself conducts which is therapeutic for the both of them, she jumped up in my chair in the living room and would not stop licking my face. I suppose she remembers being homeless and on the streets of Elizabeth NJ last winter.

The market will always be there.  They won't.

And as I grow older, I find more joy in the little things, than in extravaganzas and gadgets, and the other things that people ordinarily associate with 'happiness.'

People like to reflect and remember at this time of year. The only difference is that now, unlike when I was running around a worldwide organization, I have the time to do it. So perhaps I can do it a little for you as well, so you can feel the joy in the ordinary things, the sacrament of the moment, and the prayerful gratitude for all of them.

And we have so much to be grateful for this year. Again, this is the year of Dolly and the queen. The doctors were convinced she would never walk again, and there she goes. And Dolly came in and filled the void left by our old shih tzu who passed away the week before she arrived.

I have become so rich in friends through Le Cafe. I came for a work, and found a blessing.

I lost one of the best in my good friend Harold the artist this year.  And my Amish father-in-law.  The early part of this year was hard times indeed.

But I gained others. I am glad for all of them.

Especially the little gems like Andrew in Long Island, who at one time fancied himself a misanthrope, but is in fact among the most companionable and interesting of people, and has introduced me to more kinds of ethnic foods and the joy of bird feeding.

And then there is Jan the Knight in Krakow, and his counterpart Carlos in South America, Mark the faithful physician, George the maven of all things DC, Bruce in Tokyo, Joe the Hawaiian,  George the accountant, Steve my brother, Dave in Colorado, Bill in Dallas, Knukles and String the characters, Arby the wise, Adam of the vineyards, Hugo the insightful,  Joachim the obscure, Malcolm the eloquent, Bruce the forester, Peter the German, Anthony the professor, John the router, Elizabeth in Vancouver, Ann the musician, Michele the nice lady in South Jersey, and Erik and Bill the internet travelers in Maine.

And so many others, who light up my life when I hear from them on occasion.

I am grateful for all of it, and remember all of you in my thoughts, but especially in my prayers, always.

Things can be replaced; people can't.  

When the oceans run dry, and the last stars burn out, only the souls of the faithful will remain.

Do not be afraid. This will all work to our advantages. He truly does all things well, even as He may afflict us, but only as we might afflict ourselves, if we were wise, and had a genuine understanding of the ways of His economy.

Unless something significant happens, I'll see you again on Monday.

Charts For a Winter Afternoon - Fed Hikes 25, Signals 3 Hikes In 2017

The Fed hiked 25 basis points today, as most everyone expected.

They also made some hawkish noises for next year, which had the dollar soaring, and the metals and stocks slumping.

Gold is now at the full retracement if this cup and handle formation is valid. More like a ladle with a pretty long handle. lol.

Let's see where this all goes.

A strong dollar is the last thing the real economy wants, and what one might wish to see if they were Donald Trump, looking to stimulate the economy by dampening imports.

Have a pleasant evening.

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Winter Snow

"The [neoliberal] goal has been the 'Third Worldization' of the United States:

• an increasingly underemployed, lower-wage work-force;
• a small but growing moneyed class that pays almost no taxes;
• the privatization or elimination of human services;
• the elimination of public education for low-income people;
• the easing of restrictions against child labor;
• the exporting of industries and jobs to low-wage, free-trade countries;
• the breaking of labor unions;
• and the elimination of occupational safety and environmental controls and regulations."

Michael Parenti, Land of Idols, 1993

Michael Parenti wrote that quote above during the Clinton Administration in the 1990's. And it seems to accurately describe the neo-liberal agenda of the Wall Street Democrats.

The extension of their economic neo-liberalism around the globe, under the standard of the dollar, in order to enable the universal peace of a new American Century, brought them into a very powerful combination with the traditionally Republican neo-conservatives, who had a predilection for the use of 'diplomacy by other means' as a very early, if not first choice, policy initiative.

Empire by any other name, or under any other rationale, still involves the imposition of the will to power upon others.  They make a desert and call it peace.

There was a short intraday commentary here about the very large offtake of physical gold bullion from the Shanghai Gold Exchange in November.

I suppose that when the current gold pool blows itself up, which it most likely will, there will be a determined campaign to blame the insidious Chinese and Russians, and not a reckless and aggressive neo-liberal campaign of dollar hegemony around the globe to bring about the American Century.

It will be curious to see how Trump handles this. I had some strong inkling of how Lady Clinton would have done it based on how she and her minions are accepting their defeat.

What we are seeing now with this campaign emanating from the Clinton branch of the Democratic Party, and passed along by their courtiers and minions, is almost shockingly over the line into sheer propaganda.

As you know I do not care for Donald Trump as President, not even a little, and did not vote for him (or her).  And looking ahead with an open mind, some of his cabinet appointments and statements are cringeworthy and highly discouraging to say the least.

But on the other hand, I find myself being thankful, in a new way almost every day, that Hillary and her ilk are not coming back into that most powerful of positions.

Their particular brand of perfidy, although much more sophisticated and subtle, is every bit as noxious and vile but all the more damaging, because it is cloaked in false virtue and more cleverly done, with very broad support in a professional class that has persuaded itself of its natural imperative to rule all others.   And that makes that particular brand of narcissistic corruption the slightly worse of the two evils.

So all in all, it is a lousy situation and a dilemma for most of us.  And it would certainly be easy to despair without some greater perspective based in history and a higher moral order.

Our parents and grandparents certainly faced worse scenarios and greater threats to their liberties,  and came out all right in the end, probably because of their moral fiber and determination. I would imagine that we can do the same thing for our children and grandchildren as well.

But at the end of the day, the worst tragedy is to lose your self, your very soul, in giving yourself over to evil, and not to be found, imperfectly, wobbly, and a bit bowed perhaps, but still standing among the saints.

Let's see what happens.

Have a pleasant evening.