Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - In Time of Plague

"Beauty is but a flower
Which wrinkles will devour;
Brightness falls from the air;
Queens have died young and fair;
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us."

Thomas Nashe, A Litany In Time of Plague


"He prompts you what to say, and then listens to you, and praises you, and encourages you.  He bids you mount aloft.  He shows you how to become as gods.  Then he laughs and jokes with you, and gets intimate with you; he takes your hand, and gets his fingers between yours, and grasps them, and then you are his."

J.H.Newman, The Times of Antichrist


The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism


“It isn't that they can't see the solution.  It is that they can't see the problem.”

Gilbert K. Chesterton

They can't see the problem, or they will not allow themselves see the problem, or admit that they have seen it.

They love their pride and their paychecks, more than the truth, and His commandments to love and to serve.

Nothing becomes too vile, too dreadful, or too awful for them, in the end.

And that is the credibility trap.

Do not join them, no matter how attractive or rewarding or fashionable it may seem.

It is to embrace the unspeakable; it is more obscene than you can imagine—  it is a dalliance with the abyss.

Thank you for remembering me in your prayers.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - Buck Wild

'On this lonely road, trying to make it home,
Doing it by my lonesome— pissed off, who wants some,
I see them long hard times to come.'

Gangstagrass, Justified Theme

Stocks were a bit wobbly today in anticipation of Trumpolini's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear treaty.

Gold and silver finished largely unchanged despite a slightly higher dollar.

We will be getting more economic data this week that *might* shed some light on the inflation situation.

We are beginning to see the primary elections to select candidates for the elections this November.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - What Time's the Next Swan?

"I'm particularly interested in black swan events: unprecedented surprises that destroy the conventional wisdom about how the world works."

Paolo Bacigalupi


"The essence of God is existence, and He defines Himself as: 'I am Who am.' The essence of the devil is the lie, and he defines himself as: 'I am who am not.' Satan has very little trouble with those who do not believe in him; they are already on his side.”

Fulton Sheen


"Satan’s monomaniac concern with himself and his supposed rights and wrongs is a necessity of the Satanic predicament. Certainly, he has no choice. He has chosen to have no choice. He has wished to ‘be himself,’ and to be in himself and for himself, and his wish has been granted. 

To admire Satan, then, is to give one’s vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda, of wishful thinking, of incessant autobiography.  Yet the choice is possible."

C. S. Lewis

Stocks were higher, rallying from the opening hours.

The rally faded a bit in the afternoon, with stocks giving back from the highs but still managing to add another gain in May.

Gold and silver were largely unchanged and the Dollar was a bit higher.

Tomorrow Trumpolini is promising to have a decision on the nuclear treaty in Iran around 2 pm.

Later this week we will be getting a look at the state of inflation in the US.

Have a pleasant evening.

Stocks and Precious Metals Charts - The Merry Month of May - Hobson's Choice

"Narcissists gravitate towards professions where they can control people and elicit adulation. They are more likely to work in politics, finance or medicine than in shoemaking...They are aware of what they are doing to others - but they do not care.”

Sam Vaknin, Malignant Self Love


"Lack of accountability is a pet peeve for sure, and also a common problem with narcissists.  Although there are many disturbing factors in the personality of a narcissist, this one is tough to deal with in any relationship.  It’s hard to understand.  What is so difficult about owning up to mistakes when we’re wrong?"

Karyl McBriade, Narcissists Are Not Accountable


"The narcissist looks down on everyone and exploits people all of his life. For many narcissists life is all about money and power. Getting more and giving less is his motto."

Linda Martinez-Lewi, Narcissist’s Outrageous Self Entitlement

The Non-Farm Payrolls report showed a moderate number of jobs added with a continuing weakness in wage growwth.

Stocks were hestitant at first, and then the traders saw that a rally into the weekend would be largely unopposed.

And so equities were able to finish the week largely unchanged.

Near the end of the day one of Obama's trade secretaries was talking on Bloomberg about trade deals like the TPP, and their inevitability and goodness.

And I watched a new performance by Hillary in which she explains why her staunch commitment to capitalism cost her the election, and how she was failed by the voters.

This helped me to remember why, despite what a terrible President that Trumpolini may be, and he is, that I am still glad that Hillary and her Merry Corporate Pranksters are not in office. 

It is not much of an election when your 'choice' is between two different flavors of narcissist from competing crime families.  Especially when both are seeking to sustain a self-destructive, kleptocratic system while doing whatever is required to circumvent and distract from meaningful reform. 

The choice for a lesser of two evils is still evil.  And how much less one is than another is too often just a matter of perspective.

Remember to care for His simplest creatures, and those who are most in need of His mercy.

Have a pleasant weekend.