"Wealth is not without its advantages. But, beyond doubt, wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding. "
John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society, 1958
"At first, the love of money, and then that of power began to prevail, and these became, as it were, the sources of every evil. For greed subverted honesty, integrity and other honorable principles and, in their place nurtured pride, inhumanity, contempt of true religion and general corruption.
Ambition prompted many to become deceitful; to keep one thing concealed in the breast and another ready on the tongue; to estimate friendships and enmities, not by their worth, but according to interest; and to carry rather a specious countenance than an honest heart.
These vices first advanced but slowly, and were sometimes restrained by correction; but afterward, when their infection had spread like a pestilence, the state was entirely changed, and the government, from being the most equitable and praiseworthy, became the most rapacious and unsustainable."
Sallust, De coniuratione Catilinae, circa 40 BC
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, so shall he reap."
Galatians 6:7
"The days are coming when men will go mad, and when they meet a man who has kept his senses, will rise up against him, saying, 'You are mad, because you are not like us.' And I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said, groaning, 'What can get us through such snares?' And then I heard a voice saying to me, humility.”
Anthony the Great, Abbot of Colzim Egypt, and saint, 251-356
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be with the coming of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given away in marriage, up until the very day that Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came, and swept them all away...
And they said to him, 'Where will this happen, Lord?' And He said to them, 'Where death is, there will be a gathering of vultures.'”
Luke 17:26-27, 37
Stocks dumped with some downward conviction from the overnight, but managed to catch a bounce off the bottom in the late afternoon.
I am not sure why except that it was well overdue.
Perhaps there are some thing happening behind the scenery.
Gold and silver rocketed high, with gold futures tapping $3600 late in the day.
Silver made a good show of it as well, touching $42.
I remember well when silver was at $4.50, and no one would believe it would even crack $10.
I had a friend in Texas, who had accumulated quite the silver hoard over time. He liquidated everything at $15. He thought it was done.
I said we were going to $50.
And this was not all that long ago.
VIX rebounded up to its 200 DMA.
Uncle Buck made a good showing as well.
It looked like a bit of a 'flight to safety.'
How you feeling, Donnie?
It's always something.
The rest of the world is in a rebellious mood.
They are growing tired of the antics of some of the US associates.
The European leaders seem rather rinsed out, servile, hapless.
Let's see what happens.
Have a pleasant evening.
