Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Rolling Stone 1964 Rice Krispies Jingle

 

Mick Jagger was always a fan of capitalism.(Via

Farnam Street Knowledge

Thomas Sowell's 3 Questions

Compared to what? At what cost? And - what hard evidence do you have? 

These questions are not just for questions of politics but should be asked for many issues you may face in your life.

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you. 

"Beware false prophets, who will come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." - Matthew 7:15-16

"Excellence is the next five minutes... Forget the long term. Make the next five minutes rock!" - Tom Peters

"The mind requires some relaxation, and cannot support its bent to care and industry." - David Hume

"Create all the happiness you are able to create: remove all the misery you are able to remove." - Jeremy Bentham 

The History of Zero - One of the Most Important Concepts in History

The Story of Zero - Getting Something from Nothing from The Royal Institution on Vimeo.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Djokovic, Irving, and Rodgers as Modern Day Muhammad Ali's?

Clay Travis makes the argument that the refusal to get vaccinated in the face of great public pressure makes Novak Djokovic, Kyrie Irving, and Aaron Rodgers modern day heirs to Muhammad Ali and his protest against the Vietnam War.

At first I thought this comparison to Vietnam was ridiculous but now I think Travis has a better point than maybe he even knows.

  • The were 53,220 US servicemen killed in Vietnam. The excess total mortality deaths from vaccines in the US may well eclipse that number. The increased all cause mortality in Israel for after when vaccines were introduced in 2021 and 2022 (up to July) is almost 6,000. And Israel is about the size of New Jersey.
  • During Vietnam men could get deferments by going to college or flee to Canada. Now colleges required proof of vaccination to attend and Canada's restrictions were even harsher than the US's.
  • Just like PTSD from Vietnam continued to claim many lives after the war was over - science has no idea how many additional deaths could be traced back to the changes brought on by the introduction of mRNA into the body or from psychological damaged caused by lockdowns

The Needle and the Damage Done

Dr. Eli David puts it very well:

Israel official total mortality numbers released.

2020 was the year of "once-in-a-century pandemic" with no vaccines available. But total mortality in 2021 and 2022 is dramatically higher.

What's killing people en masse? Climate change?

It is a global genocide sanctioned by world governments - some out of ignorance, others out of greed. The evidence is mounting. Also note that the 2020 numbers are only slightly higher than the 2019 number of deaths. 

Just When You Thought the FBI Couldn't Sink Any Lower

The FBI is now robbing banks:

The FBI told a federal magistrate judge that it intended to open hundreds of safe deposit boxes seized during a March 2021 raid in order to inventory the items inside - but new evidence shows that federal agents were plotting all along to use the operations as an opportunity to forfeit cash and valuables.

Around $86 million in cash, gold, jewelry and other valuables were seized from people who were never charged with a crime and who were using safety deposit boxes for their intended purpose - to hold valuables that people wanted to keep safe.

This has to be one of the biggest attempted bank heists in history - and it was attempted by the FBI. Let that sink in. The more your read of this article - the worse it gets too. 

Thanks Kim.

The Wealthiest Billionaire in Each U.S. State

These maps can be interesting. And of course Warren Buffett is the richest person in Nebraska.

Amused to think that Michael Bloomberg has more money ($76.8 billion) than all the top billionaires from Maine down to Maryland combined. Yet he still couldn't buy the Democratic nomination for President.

Warren Buffett

"Risk comes from not knowing what your doing." - Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett turned 92 today. Here's some of his best advice:

- Understanding your circle of competence.

- Life advice from Warren Buffett

- The guide to becoming the world's greatest investor

"The big question about how people behave is whether they've got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard." - Warren Buffett

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself." - Paulo Coelho

"Inspiration is perishable, act on it immediately." - Naval Ravikant

"Men cannot do without beauty, and this is what our era pretends to want to disregard." - Albert Camus

"Discipline creates opportunity." - Shane Parrish

Truth

Via

Monday, August 29, 2022

Well This is True

And on top of that the Federal government will spend millions every year running "Click It or Ticket" advertisements even though seatbelt laws are at the State not Federal level. (Photo via)

Your Feelgood Story for the Day


Doctor channels his inner MacGyver to help infant on transatlantic flight.

I hesitate to think of the consequences for the infant and the baby's parents if Dr. Guru was not onboard. Have to think the parents will never forget to have the child's medicine with them on the plane and not in their checked luggage ever again.

You're a hero Dr. Guru.

EDIT: Just realized the story was from 2015 (but it was new to me)

Monday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observation post up on Substack.

If Hollywood were to remake The Godfather they would probably change the Luca Brasi line from, "May your first child be a masculine child" to "May your first child have the freedom to choose its own gender" and the movie would flop. Please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. 

Reflection on the Two Men - or on Today's Military?

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"In the long run, optimists shape the future." - Kevin Kelly

"Every action you take is a vote for they type of person you wish to become." - James Clear

"What people call stubborn isn't someone who doesn't change opinion but anyone who doesn't agree with them." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"Distance yourself from people that you don't want to become." - Shane Parrish

Heh Heh

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Novak Djokovic Sees Things Clearly - Do You?

I Am a Reader

The Adventure of the Creeping Man

 

A Sherlock Holmes adventure read by Christopher Lee - a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

Heh Heh

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"A lion never roars after a kill." - Dean Smith

"Be happy, strong and healthy. The rest is bullsh*t." - Wim Hof

"If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this universe, into parts - physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on - remember that nature does not know it!" - Richard Feynman

"We should be optimistic not because our problems are smaller than we thought, but because our capacity to solve them is larger than we thought." - Kevin Kelly

Find Something Beautiful Today

The Butterfly Nebula as seen from the Hubble telescope (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupindit.

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Today I Join "the Free" (While Watching College Football)

Intoxication is an antidote to cognitive control, a way to temporarily hamstring that opponent to creativity, cultural openness, and communal bonding...

Dionysus appeals to the more ancient, primitive regions of our brain, those dedicated to sex, emotions, movement, touch...

We need to become looser - one of Dionysus' alternative names in Latin was Liber, "The Free." 

From Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization by Edward Slingerland.

America’s Fire Sale: Get Some Free Speech While You Can

From this Caitlin Flanagan post in The Atlantic. You should stand for free speech no matter if you agree with the speaker or not. It should be a non-negotiable principal.

Sometimes Its Not Imposter Syndrome

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

College football is back today and I'm so excited I couldn't sleep so I guess I'll be excited but exhausted today. Please subscribe, hit the Like button, share with others, and root for my Nebraska-Illinois money-line parlay.   

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "The price that society is paying for political correctness continues to go up." - Naval Ravikant

"You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." - Jesus

"The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller." - Steve Jobs

"If there were no illusion, there would be no enlightenment." - Buddhist saying

Joe Rogan - Freedom

Friday, August 26, 2022

Attack Your Weekend with the Zest of a Drunk David Hasselhoff Attacking a Cheeseburger

 

No idea why I'm hassling the Hoff but this video just popped into my head. And yes there's no audio to that video (copyright issue maybe?). Happy Friday!

Funny Because It's True

HT The View from Lady Lake 

Big Beliefs

Morgan Housel lists some of his "Big Beliefs." Worth your time.

Hard to argue against any of them.

Golf as a Metaphor for Life

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "All tyranny begins with the desire to coerce others for the greater good." - Naval Ravikant

"Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality." - William James

"Why, Johnny Ringo. You look like someone just walked over your grave." - Doc Holiday 

"Luck is the residue of design." - Branch Rickey

Heh Heh

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Kurt Vonnegut and the Shape of Stories

Exhibit A Why Kurt Vonnegut was Awesome


 "In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond."

I've seen this letter before but reading anew gave me such joy. God Bless You Mr. Rosewater Vonnegut.

Can We Finally Do Away with Using the Mercator Map?

As a kid I was always bothered by the fact that Australia was a continent while Greenland was not when to my youthful eyes - Greenland seemed so much bigger. Well that's because my eyes were being lied to by the Mercator map.

Maybe I still hold a grudge.

3 Ways to Overcome Resistance

"We need to embrace resistance, be aware of its existence, and understand our success depends on defeating our self-imposed roadblocks." 

Good advice. Like the Pat Riley phrase, "Peripheral Opponents."

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"You must always be willing to work without applause." - Ernest Hemingway

"Never underestimate Joe's ability to f*ck things up." - Barack Obama

"It's very common to be utterly brilliant and still think you're way smarter than you actually are." - Charlie Munger

"The desire to be seen as clever often prevents us from becoming so." - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Things Freud Should Have Said

Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Bruce Lee Playing Ping Pong with Nunchucks

 

Holy crap! Via

The Autocratic World will Split Before the West Does

"The US must act in a patient, even cynical way that stokes divisions among its illiberal adversaries."

Agree with this analysis. America first and as the great Al Davis used to say, "Just win baby! Win!"

Talking Points on ESG Divestment

Nice list of the real facts on ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and why ESG scores are so horrible. Not a conspiracy theorist but I could easily see leaders from the UN, WEF, China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia sitting around trying to come up with something gullible Americans would buy into and coming up with ESG. 

People who believe ESG scores are real barometers for a company's worthiness are no different in my mind to people who believe putting a bunch of virtue signaling bumper stickers on the back of their car can change other people's minds. Both sets of people are woke morons.

Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Hulk Smash!! You - subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. No Banner - only Hulk! 

Comparing U.S. Federal Spending with Revenue

The US Federal Government has a $2,775 BILLION deficit between the revenue taken in 2021 and the amount the government spent plus the amount the government spent includes $352 BILLION in net interest for money borrowed from previous years.

If that represented a household budget - the house would be in foreclosure, the credit cards would be maxed out, and the couple would have divorced over money issues.

Keep in mind that if interest rates climb - servicing that national debt will have to pay more, and more in net interest - which can only be accommodated by decreased spending or increased debt. This is unsustainable.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Beware taking financial ques from people playing a different game than you are." - Morgan Housel

"I work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, from the past 15 years. People still call me lucky." - Elon Musk

"IYIs, Intellectuals Yet Idiots, favor things that work in theory but not in practice to things that work in practice but not in theory." - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Ernest Hemingway

Farnam Street Knowledge

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Never Forget

Harsh but fair - and in my mind this will be General Miley's legacy.

Many Bored Ape NFTs Are in Danger of Getting Liquidated

"Dozens of Bored Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFT) used as collateral for loans sit perilously close to being forcibly sold, and there's worry that could trigger even more liquidations."

Talk about First World problems and what a strange world we live in these days. JPEG images of cartoon apes used as collateral to borrow millions of dollars worth of crypto currency may have to be sold at crypto auction which could trigger even more "foreclosures."  Keep in mind these loans are pegged to actual US dollars.

In the traditional world you could take a loan from a bank using your home as collateral - not even sure how to finish this sentence since this situation is so strange on so many levels.

Wonder if FarmersOnly.com will be coming out with their own NFT's. That's when you know we've truly turned the bend.

A Little East Coast Humor

Via

Elon Musk Subpoenas Ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

The Elon Musk vs Twitter legal battle heats up as Team Musk subpoenas former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. One wonders if Jack will bare his soul on how the company he helped found was overtaken by unscrupulous bean-counters?

Forget Johnny Depp-Amber Heard - the trial I want to watch is this five-day trial set to start October 17th in Delaware.  

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "We didn't love freedom enough. And even more, we had no awareness of the real situation. We spent ourselves... And we hurried to submit. We submitted with pleasure." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 

"Communication is when someone understands what you are saying. Motivation is when they act on it." - John Thompson

"The moment you see how important it is to love yourself, you will stop making others suffer." - Buddha

"It's the news job to make you anxious and angry. Underlying scientific, economic, education and conflict trends are positive. Stay optimistic." - Naval Ravikant

The Wrong Enemy vs the Right Enemy

Agree 100% with the above. Hat tip to Russ Roberts.

Monday, August 22, 2022

Tom Brady and Gronk to the Raiders?

Looks like there was a deal in place to send Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to the Raiders but Jon Gruden put the kibosh on it.

Think the deal worked out best for all involved - except Jon Gruden because the one franchise that may have had his back in his lawsuit against the NFL now may be thinking, "That SOB cost us Tom Brady!" Gronk in Vegas would have been, to quote Dicky V, "Awesome baby!"

Kudos to Dana White for being able to keep a secret.

Top 5 - Nick Saban and the 5 Values He Wants His Program to Have

Here's the 5 values Nick Saban tries to instill in his football program at Alabama. These 5 values could work in any competitive setting or your own daily life. 

1. Discipline

2. Commitment

3. Toughness

4. Effort

5. Pride

From this Daily Coach thread where they go into more detail on each of the values.

The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel

A new rigorous study confirms what most of us knew already. Why anyone is still on Facebook (aka Meta) is beyond me.

The article is from the Harvard Business Review. Is there any irony in the fact that Facebook was born at Harvard?  

Monday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

"Hark - who goes there?" Who says "hark" anymore - unless you're a Herald Angel? My twisted brain still does. If anything in my post makes you smile or think please subscribe (it's FREE), hit the Like button, or share with others. Thanks in advance. 

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"When your sense of self and happiness comes from within and isn't a roller coaster ride dependent on others or circumstances, you approach life differently. You make better choices. You draw to you the people and situations that matter. The others, they fall away." - Kamal Ravikant

"I've learned to ignore what experts say I should do. Instead, I do what they do." - Scott Adams

"A black woman will become President over my dead body!" - Joe Biden

"The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become." - Heraclitus

AKA Kamala Harris on the Campaign Trail

Via

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Great Observation from Michael Lewis

Not All US Military Spending is Money Well Spent

Exhibit A - the Zumwalt stealth destroyer class fiasco.  

The US Navy seems to have a history of boondoggles lately. This article does a good job of showing how the sausage gets made in the modern military-industrial complex.

Top 10 Countries by Military Spending

No surprise that the USA is by far the #1 spender in the world.  

The US and China combined make up 50% of the money spent worldwide on the military. Surprised that the US ($801 billion) more than doubles the amount spent on the military by China ($293 billion) and Russia ($66 billion) combined.

USA! USA! USA!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it." - Bruce Lee

"When listening to another person, don't just listen with your mind, listen with your whole body." - Eckhart Tolle

"With money you are a dragon, with no money, a worm." - Chinese Proverb

"The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think." - Horace Walpole

Stress

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Nearly Half of Pregnant Women in Pfizer Trial Miscarried

According to a review of the 300,000 Pfizer documents they had to release as part of a FOIA request, 44 percent of pregnant women who participated in Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine trial miscarried. Remember - this is according to Pfizer's own documentation!

Tar and feathering is too good for those at Pfizer who participated in this and for the CDC officials who still recommend pregnant women get the vaccine. This should be the biggest scandal in the country!

Fuck Pfizer!

Obesity in America

Cultural Offering has an excellent post on why Americans are so fat. You should make time to go through the post and let the information sink in on how bad the American diet is. If you have kids - go through the post with them so they can learn how they are being manipulated and their health being put at risk.

Eat real food - eliminate anything that comes in a box or a package from your diet. Only drink things that occur in nature. Soda is perhaps one of the worst things you can put in your body. I've narrowed down the things I drink to pretty much water, coffee (black), tea, and beer (we've been drinking beer for thousands of years). 

Heh Heh

Via

Is It Crazy That I Want One of These?

 

$125,000 may be out of my price range though. Would make a great Christmas present though (Hint! Hint!) Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"Adam and Eve saw that they were naked, and they became afraid. Unconscious denial of their animal nature set in very quickly... They began to disassociate from their body. They now saw themselves as having a body, rather than just being it." - Eckhart Tolle

"You can reduce your stress by not having a strong opinion about everything." - Vala Afshar

"If tobacco companies get in trouble for selling products that give people cancer, then universities should get in trouble for selling student debt to students with worthless degrees." - Naval Ravikant

"Another flaw in human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance." - Kurt Vonnegut

Heh Heh - the Roman Version of TLDR

Via

Friday, August 19, 2022

Heh Heh

HT Stephen Landry

Friday Flotsam and Jets

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

As Mufasa said, "When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass [and the lions eat the antelope]. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life." In the Great Circle of Flotsam and Jetsam, I write the post, you read the post and then you hit the Like button, subscribe, and share with others. Then I write another Flotsam and Jetsam. Hakuna Matata!

China Might be at the Edge of an Economic Catastrophe

Disturbing analysis of the current economic situation in China.  The author does a good job of connecting various dots and all the dots seem to spell out trouble.

First take the fact that the "Shanghai Stock Exchange composite (equivalent to our S&P 500) has not yet recovered its 2008 peak, despite the Chinese GDP having tripled since then!" The Chinese seem distrustful of their own stock exchanges and instead put their money into real estate with "nearly 96% of the Chinese population having exposure to real estate and about 70% of national wealth tied up in real estate."

Problem is there seems to be a real estate bubble about to burst. Bigger problem is it's not so much a bubble as a Ponzi scheme. "Now like all Ponzi schemes, they continued to work until one day, they suddenly didn't." And that "one day" has arrived. 

The trouble has therefor spread to the banking system which has involved the government (which has been involved to a lesser extent all along). Add in rampant corruption and none of the news on the Chinese economy is good. Decouple now!

College Football Fans are the Best!

Elon's troll Tweet topped by Georgia Bulldogs fan troll tweet - USA! USA! USA! (Via

Quotes for Today

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants." - Epictetus

"The more sweat on the training field, the less blood on the battlefield." - Col. David Hackworth

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our responsibility for the future." - John F. Kennedy

"Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Truth

Thursday, August 18, 2022

The Golden Mechanical Horse

 

Very cool! Today's moment of Zen. (Via)

Odin 2024

Via

The Internet Remembers

The Orwellian language changes to medical definitions like "natural immunity" and the very definition of the word "vaccine" should never be forgotten especially when coming from people who cry out to "follow the science!" 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is true prosperity." - Eckhart Tolle

 "The best place to store food is in the belly of a friend." - African proverb

"You are 99 years old, you are on your deathbed, and you have a chance to come back to right now. What do you do?" - Christopher Carmichael

"If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly, but the good endures. If you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly but the shame endures." - Gaius Musonius Rufus

Truth

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Rick Rubin's Source

Today's Steven Pressfield post on Rick Rubin's new book The Creative Source describes what Rubin calls the Source. It's what Pressfield calls "the muse" but it remind me of Eckhart Tolle and his book The Power of Now and especially this quote:

"...as light emanates from the sun. Awareness of the inner body is consciousness remembering its origin and returning to the Source." - Eckhart Tolle

What the Hell?

Obviously a European product but still - what the hell? (Via)

Improve Your Decision-Making with These 10 Cognitive Razors

You make many decisions each day - here's 10 rules of thumb to help you make better decisions.

Good advice. The chart that starts off the article would be a good thing to have in your office next to an Eisenhower Matrix.

Reaping the Whirlwind

Opinion post in the Wall Street Journal states, "What went around Monday will come around hard for the Democrats when Republicans control the Justice Department and the FBI." How true!

What went around Monday will come around hard for the Democrats when Republicans control the Justice Department and FBI.

If anything, a perceived political persecution of Mr. Trump could help him to a second term. And he would be even more unrestrained as the 47th president than he was as the 45th...

Payback could come even sooner. Democrats set a new low with their Ukrainian impeachment circus, and a GOP House next year might be up for a reprise. Get ready for a few more select committees—perhaps excluding the minority party, as the Democrats effectively did with the Jan. 6 committee—to investigate Mr. Garland’s politicized department or Hunter Biden’s finances.

Again I'll ask, if the Republicans take back the House and Senate in November - how soon thereafter will Joe Biden issue a blanket Presidential pardon for Hunter Biden and his associates - before of after Thanksgiving? Not looking forward to it but you know Republican political rallies will almost universally start featuring the chants of, "Lock them up! Lock them up!" 

And the corporate media will all decry the loss of decorum in politics.

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you. 

"Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you can learn something, in which case it's no longer a mistake." - Eckhart Tolle

"Always carry bolt cutters." - Werner Herzog

"If you don't want to go to the meeting right now, your future self won't want to go do it later, either." - Naval Ravikant

"Many people die at 25 and aren't buried until they are 75." - Ben Franklin

Truth

Via

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Twitter ordered to Hand Over Data on Fired Executive to Musk

Interesting development in the saga of Elon Musk vs Twitter over fake accounts. If I were to guess I'd say Twitter has much more that the >5% bot/spam accounts. Much more.

I reiterate my suggestion that Musk should offer a $10 million bounty to any Twitter engineer that can provide proof that Twitter is inflating the subscriber counts.

Ron Swanson Loves Capitalism

U.S. Missiles Sent to Ukraine Aren’t Easily Replaced

Holy crap! This should be bigger news. "The United States has shipped about a third of its existing arsenal of Stinger anti-air and Javelin anti-armor missiles to Ukraine - systems that are not quickly replaced."   The Stinger production line is actually shut down (as of this article's posting in April).

Even with the Javelin, we are probably five years' away from replenishing that stock despite its manufacturing line remaining open.

This is a potential disaster waiting to happen. What if the War in Ukraine continues to drag on and then the Chinese invade Taiwan? Logistically we'd be screwed because someone prioritized green policies and 87,000 more IRS agents? Screw that! Use Title 3 of the Defense Production Act now. 

The military would be much better served worrying more about their missile stockpiles than their correct pronouns.

Tuesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Nothing's over until you subscribe, hit the Like button, and share the post with others. 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Something could happen at any moment, and if you are not absolutely awake, absolutely still, you will miss it." - Eckhart Tolle 

"People who are brutally honest generally enjoy the brutality more than the honesty." - Richard Needham

"The game of life is the game of everlasting learning. At least it is if you want to win." - Charlie Munger

"God will not have his work made manifest by cowards." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Find Something Beautiful Today

Temple of Zeus in Athens (photo via). Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Shouldn't Laugh at This But...


 HT Some It's Just as Well

Monday, August 15, 2022

Green Elitism And Boneheaded Elites Behind Farmer Crackdowns

The policies the PM's of the Netherlands and Canada are trying to force on farmers raise many troubling questions - all of which the Occam's razor answers lead to behind the scenes evil.

Why aren't elections being called for in Canada and the Netherlands? If the World Economic Forum is behind this - why aren't they asking for the same sort of reforms on China that they are trying to make Western nations make? The common sense answer you arrive at when asking these questions is very troubling.

The Espionage Act

Not sure if Liberals understand how truly dangerous a slippery slop having the FBI raid Donald Trump's home under the guise of a violation of the Espionage Act truly is. Remember it was not that long ago that Liberals were for repealing the Espionage Act:

Some news media commentators are finally coming to the realization that if the Espionage Act can be enforced against [Julian] Assange for what he did, it can be enforced against anyone in the press for revealing damaging inside information about the national-security establishment - i.e, the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA. 

Add on top that the FBI may have also (knowingly?) taken confidential attorney-client information and information covered by Executive Privilege - you have the makings of a real Constitutional mess. What's to stop Donald Trump or any Republican from turning around and weaponizing the Espionage Act themselves to go after Joe Biden through Hunter Biden in January 2024? There's a lot more treasonous smoke in Hunter's laptop than in Mar-a-Lago. 

Why stop at Joe and Hunter Biden? Remember those NYT false reports that Vladimir Putin was offering bounties for American military deaths in Afghanistan? Why not settle a score with the New York Times as well? General Miley undercutting the Commander in Chief by talking with the Chinese? The "Justice" Department waited 19 months to go after Trump - so the time frame is also out the window. No statue of limitations on treasonous acts.

The Democrats would be wise to repeal the Espionage Act now while they still have the votes because the gloves are bound to come off. They should remember - revenge is a dish best served cold.

How the US Government Fights Inflation

Ford will open up orders for the next wave of F-150 Lightning reservation holders this Thursday [August 11th], but those buying the electric pickup as of this weekend will need to dig deeper in their pockets. The automaker is bumping up the prices by between $4,200 and $8,900...

The Senate passed a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and Ford announces that they will be raising their prices by an average of $7,500 - coincidence? They're "fighting" inflation for the big corporations - not for the average American family. Your tax dollars at work.

Via

Heh Heh

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"There were many people who did not recognize Jesus or the Buddha, as there are and always has been many people who are drawn to false teachers. Egos are drawn to bigger egos." - Eckhart Tolle

"The mainstream media is not your friend. The culture is not your friend. The government is not your friend. Big business is not your friend." - Russell Brand

"The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible." - Salman Rushdie

"Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Heh Heh

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

 

Mark Knopfler explains how he came up with this iconic song. Said it before but Knopfler is the most underrated artist of the last 50-years.

If Einstein Had The Internet

Interesting  interview with Balaji Srinivasan who is one of the smartest guys going

Interview is from last August but worth revisiting. Balaji makes some interesting points and observations such as how, "These new faiths replaced g-o-d with g-o-v, faiths which centered the State over God as the most powerful force on earth."

And how, "The NSA won't need to hack its way in, it'll get a front door. And then it will likely get hacked in turn, spraying all of your data over the internet."

I Don't Support the Current Thing

Via

Jordan Peterson and Eckhart Tolle - Comparing Two Teachers

 

Perhaps the best is to walk a middle way between the two. Put another way - adapt the phrase act locally (Tolle) but think globally (Peterson).

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"To complain is always nonacceptance of what is... When you complain, you make yourself a victim." - Eckhart Tolle

"I wouldn't give a tinker's damn for a man who isn't sometimes afraid. Fear's the spice that makes it interesting to go ahead." - Daniel Boone

"The happy man is one who is freed from both fear and desire because of the gift of reason." - Seneca

"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Friedrich Nietzsche 

Life Advice

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Farnam Street Knowledge


Machiavelli and the Four Princes of Pragmatism.

You have to both see and accept the world for how it really is.

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack

I say "mucho" to all my Hispanic friends. It means a lot to them. And to you I say please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. Gracias. 

Every Mission to Mars in One Visualization

Basically USA 74 (%) - Russia 5 (%). And this is before Elon Musk and SpaceX.

USA! USA! USA!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Wisdom comes by facing the wind; fools let it carry them." - Daniel Boone

 "If it's endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining." - Marcus Aurelius

"The wealth required by nature is limited and is easy to procure, but the wealth required by vain ideals extends to infinity." - Epicurus

"Negativity is never the optimum way of dealing with any situation." - Eckhart Tolle

Heh Heh

HT The View from Lady Lake

Friday, August 12, 2022

Four Principles For Being Present, According To Albert Camus

 

HT Digg

A Well Deserved Honor

Well deserved but too bad they couldn't have announced this while Bill was still alive.

Woke Elites Control the Institutions Meant to Serve Us

Glenn Reynolds on how leadership of institutions like BlackRock and the Democratic Party pursue their own agendas instead of the interests of those they are supposed to serve.

Looking around, it seems pretty clear that this isn’t a problem just for BlackRock and the Democratic Party. All over America — and to a substantial degree, the world — institutions seem to be run on behalf of the people who control them rather than to support their missions or the people they’re supposed to serve.

Both BlackRock and the Democratic Party are like parasites who have taken over their hosts' bodies. The parasites are in most cases wealthy white woke activists (or at least wealthy whites who play activists for the camera but who are really in it for the graft). 

One complaint is that Professor Reynolds doesn't mention the elephant in the room - the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese funds. Both BlackRock (especially) and the Democratic Party are flooded with Chinese money which colors all their decisions.

Heh Heh

Via

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Negativity is never the optimum way of dealing with any situation." - Eckhart Tolle

 "Harry Truman longed for a one-armed economist because then he wouldn't be able to say 'but on the other hand' because there'd be no other hand." - Russ Roberts

"I got food poisoning today. Don't know when I'm going to use it." - Stephen Wright

"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I Remember

Via

Thursday, August 11, 2022