"It is crudely general to suggest collective responsibility for the German populace. It is, however, fair to suggest that those who continued to defend the idea of Germanhood publicly as the war went on—when this had become synonymous with barbarity—were in fact renouncing their humanity for the sake of individual survival and peace of mind."
Panayiotis Demopoulos, Götterdämmerung: Suicide Music
"Up against the corporate government, voters find themselves asked to choose between look-alike candidates from two parties vying to see who takes the marching orders from their campaign paymasters and their future employers. The money of vested interest nullifies genuine voter choice and trust.
The democracy gap in our politics and elections spells a deep sense of powerlessness by people who drop out, do not vote, or listlessly vote for the least worst every four years and then wonder why after every cycle the least worst gets worse.
We’re told that we’re a polarized society, right? That’s the way the ruling classes have manipulated people for more than two thousand years: divide and rule. And, sure, there are differences between the Left and the Right over reproductive rights, school prayer, gun control, government regulation, and now, immigration.
But on at least two dozen issues you’ll find combined Left-Right support from 75 to 90 percent of the population. You’ll find it on breaking up the big banks; you’ll find it on civil liberties [privacy]; you’ll find it on getting rid of corporate welfare and crony capitalism; you’ll find it on criminal-justice reform. There is huge Left-Right support to crack down on the corporate crooks of Wall Street."
Ralph Nader
How Bush and Obama Paved the Way for the Trump Presidency, and Why It Isn’t Too Late to Reverse Course
“Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
"When narcissists behave in an exhibitionistic manner they are seeking the same sort of admiration as toddlers, and for the same reasons. They want attention. Some examples include inappropriate dress, talking too loudly, or gesturing in expansive and space-intruding ways.”
Mark Ettensohn
“I know now that one of the characteristics of evil is its desire to confuse.”
M. Scott Peck
“You might as well bang your head into a brick wall if you expect the narcissist to be reasonable, empathetic or human in any way. If you sense or witness any of these traits, there is an ulterior motive. When the narcissist is being nice, it’s because they have something to gain.”
Tina Swithin
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and clever in their own sight,
Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant in mixing strong drink,
Who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of justice."
Isaiah 5:20-23
Most politicians have over-sized egos, and tend to bend the rules in service to power when it is convenient. This is why so many ordinary people don't care for them in general. There are a few good ones, but mostly not, especially while they are trying to gain or hold on to power.
But lately the political class has been taking things to a whole new level., and on both sides of the aisle. Although by their words they like to assume the 'high ground' they act like moral midgets. And not to put too fine a point on it— the toddler-in-chief lies with an expansive abandon, and leads the pack with the traits of an outsized narcissistic demagogue, shockingly obvious even in an amoral cesspool like DC.
It is not an easy time for independent minds, and for those who wish to do the right things. And the temptation to submit one's will to escape the pain of thinking is great. The lesser of two evils is still evil.
The VIX futures were in contango today. That means that the nearer term months were at a higher value than the following months. Usually it is the other way around. backwardation, with the futures in the following months gradually increasing in price.
This is a signal that a nearer term and disruptive spike in risk is being expected by a number of traders, and they are seeking protection from it.
If you look at the NDX futures chart below, you can see how every day for the past three days that the futures have slumped heavily lower, recovering a bit in the afternoon while Asia and Europe are asleep, only to drop sharply again the next day, and fail to completely recover.
Stocks may turn around and rally higher from here. But the risk for equities is pronounced.
Gold and silver took a hit today, a post Non-Farm Payrolls punch in the gut. It is what they do.
The dollar was only marginally higher.
Grab something solid and hang on. And be wary of who and what it is that you serve.
Recent history suggests that gold and silver are both putting durable bottoms based on the composition of the positions in the futures market and the extreme of the decline in price.
The dichotomy between gold and silver outflows with both metals in price declines is interesting, to say the least. Physical gold is flowing out of the funds and ETFs, while silver is actually increasing.
It is telling us something about how funds and ETFs might add to their gold holdings when the price declines stop and the bull rally begins anew.
One difference is that the central banks do not have large physical holdings of silver that they are prepared to lease out to private concerns.
The use of this extreme leverage in physical gold in the face of steady buying and competing claims is like combining potassium nitrate and concentrated sulfuric acid.
Let us pray for those whose hearts are hardened against His grace and loving kindness by greed, fear, and pride, and the seductive illusion and crushing isolation of evil.
We pray that we all may experience the three great gifts of our Lord's suffering and triumph: repentance, forgiveness, and thankfulness. And in so doing, may we obtain abundant life, and with it the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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