Thanksgiving 2019

"Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.   Let your gentleness and consideration be known to all, for the Lord is always near.   Do not be anxious about anything.  But with prayer, and by supplication, and with thanksgiving, let your needs be made known unto God.  And the peace of the Lord, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds, in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:4-7


"Our Lord's love shines forth as much in the simplest of souls as it does in the most highly gifted, as long as there is no refusal of His grace."

Thérèse Martin de Lisieux

May the peace of the Lord, which surpasses all understanding, be with you and yours, always.

DÜRER, St. Jerome In His study

"The blessed John the Evangelist lived in Ephesus until extreme old age [age 94 c 100 AD).   His disciples could barely carry him to church and he could not muster the voice to speak many words.  During individual gatherings he usually said nothing but, 'Little children, love one another.'   The disciples and brothers in attendance, annoyed because they always heard the same words, finally said, 'Teacher, why do you always say this?'  He replied with a line worthy of John: 'Because it is the Lord's commandment, and if it alone is kept, it is sufficient.'"

Jerome, Commentary on Galatians, based on the commentaries of Origen of Alexandria

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Weighed, and Found Wanting - Shameless Arrogance

"Congratulations to the Federal Reserve. You've successfully created the most extreme, pre-collapse yield-seeking bubble in U.S. history! With lower return prospects than Aug 1929. While encouraging a debt bubble where half of all 'investment grade' debt is one step above junk."

John P. Hussman


"All the world marveled at this, and gave their allegiance to the Beast. And they worshiped the dragon for giving such power to him. as they also worshiped the Beast. 'Who is as great as the Beast?' they exclaimed.  'And who is able to resist him?'   The Beast was allowed to commit great blasphemies against God.  And he was given the authority to do as he willed, but only for forty-two months."

Revelation 13:3-5


"Daniel answered the king, 'Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what this means.

Number, number, weight, division.  And this is what it means: number, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and will bring it to an end;  weight, you have been weighed on the scales of justice and are found to be wanting;  division, your kingdom will be divided up and given to others.”

Daniel 5:17, 26-28

Stocks closed at new highs on very high holiday trading volume.

Gold and silver were off a bit in similar light trading.

US markets will be closed tomorrow for a national holiday of Thanksgiving.

They will be open until 1 PM on Friday, in what is likely to be very light volume.

And no one could have possibly seen it coming.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving.

And for the rest of the world, please try and carry on without the guidance of the pampered princes of empire.

The Defenses Being Offered So Far in the Matter of Alleged Abuse of Presidential Power

This is a fairly even handed and thorough review of the facts and defenses offered in the situation before the House.

I thought it might be of interest based on some things that various readers have asked me or commented upon so far.

The case for obstruction of justice is not dealt with here, and is particularly compelling as it so often proves to be. It's not the crime but the coverup and the perjury.

But in all seriousness, the major defense is going to be political. This is going to be the 'so what' defense.  When you don't have the law or the facts, just pound the table.  Just lie boldly, yell at people, attack them personally, and try to scare them into silence and submission.

So what if Trump did all these things. They are not impeachable, and the GOP in the Senate will not act upon any charges in a suitably judicial manner, because they can.

And they may do so as long as it appears that their base is buying it. If public opinion were to swing against him, the GOP establishment would be on their man like a pack of jackals, as I have stated before.  They are unbelievable hypocrites, being politicians.

What's the point? It is useful for you to know what you may be doing, and why you are doing it. Unfortunately in the end it is an assault on justice and the rule of law itself.

And so you can see what others are doing, and are thereby showing who and what they are, and what they are capable of doing and saying to further their own advantages.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Repentance, Forgiveness, Thankfulness

"No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.

And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."

Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation of Thanksgiving, 3 October 1863


"Democratic leaders must learn to talk about class issues again. But they won’t on their own. So pressure must come from traditional liberal constituencies and the grass roots, like the much-vilified bloggers...

The more comfortable option for Democrats is to maintain their present course, gaming out each election with political science and a little triangulation magic, their relevance slowly ebbing as memories of the middle-class republic fade."

Thomas Frank, Rendezvous With Oblivion, NYT 2006

Sous vide water cooker

Gold and silver got the expected slamdown to gut-check the holders of new futures positions from yesterday's Comex options expiration.

Stocks were unchanged most of the day, but managed to drift higher into a very quiet trading close.

We are nearing what may prove to be a rather notable if not notorious intermediate high point for equities.

The Fed is bailing out the banks, again and aggressively so.  They care little for the general public.

P.S. We had the spare ribs for dinner.  They had cooked for about 20 hours at 152°. We took them out of their airtight cooking bags and finished them under the broiler with a lite garlic teriyaki sauce.

They were deeply flavored from cooking in their own juices and spices. They were extremely tender, but not falling apart, which I liked quite a bit. Not dry or tough in any regard. I could have easily finished them on the outdoor grill.  On to the next experiment. lol 

Have a pleasant evening.