Some are saying "I told you so." Some are saying "buying opportunity."
Some are blaming China. Some are going to spend the weekend wondering
if they should get out on Monday.
My unprofessional opinion:
The markets were over-valued and they had to come down.
The markets are still over-valued.
It isn't China's fault. China just jumped onto the devaluation bandwagon that we started.
China's devaluation (measly 3%) just reminded everyone that there are other forces at play besides a company's revenue, profit and growth rate.
UPDATED AND BUMPED, BLACK MONDAY 8.24.15:
When the S&P500 Futures trading is halted for the first time in history, you know its bad. I guess we know what investors decided to do over the weekend after Friday's down day.
Some of the things I'm going to be listening for before I get worried:
Obama announces he will intervene in the markets.
"More QE"
"Unusual activity in the derivatives markets..."
The Dept. of Justice announces a crackdown on speculators (people who saw this coming).
UPDATED TUESDAY 8.25.15:
The last time I saw the market act like this, I lost my shirt in the dot-com bubble. Same thing: rapid ups and downs, and the MSM cheerleaders saying "buying opportunity" and "spike coming." Only years of despair followed.
Today's futures hinted we'd have a 4% spike. We had a 2% spike, but ended the day 1% down.
We are only 4 business days into this slump and everyone is blaming China. China devalued their currency 3% a couple weeks ago because they were tired of the US devaluing its currency and exporting inflation to China.
Really? We're going to blame another country for the performance of companies in our country?
Of the 7 articles I captured last week, here are the ones I'd recommend:
Comrade Aaron Clarey posted this one at his blog, Captain Capitalism: How Socialism Makes Women Barren. Another excellent post about the demands of society of our youth, and the costs of those demands. He asks women:
...before you get all angry at me for being the messenger telling you biological truths, you need to look back and ask who and what made it so it was basically impossible for you to have children and raise a family in today's society. --- Who predominantly controls academia and benefits from you postponing your life another 4-6 years? ---
It's the left.
It is the left who wants to enslave you at a school where you learn nothing till you're 18.
It is the left who mandates you into thinking you need a college education to have any worth in this society.
It is the left that tells you you are oppressed and need to be freed, replacing your family with a career.
It is the left that convinces you to ignore the biological programming and demands of the (necessary) half of humanity needed to bring and raise children in this world.
And it is the left that tells you you need to spend money on stupid crap to have fulfillment in life.
The libertarian at Free-Man's Perspective criticizes us who "pour their time and money into the sewer of politics, to be lost forever" by writing a 4 page rant on said topic. The title, It’s 460 AD in Rome: This Won’t Be Fixed," suggests the article will show parallels of one failed state with America. Quite a valuable exercise for those of us wondering if America can recover from its recent decline. He offers some excellent quotes from a Roman citizen, Salvan. But he then spirals into Hillary and Chelsea Manning, names that do not belong in a 4-page post on the end of America. He closes with suggesting we "start building something better." Maybe he'll tell us what that is in a future post.
The number of revolutions that were followed by a state of affairs freedom lovers found preferable is very small. ---
Unless what collapses the existing regime also eliminates 98% to 99% of the population of this country, such men will still exist, and will strive to continue the substance of what came before. There may be a change in form, possibly a quite dramatic one. A change in substance is far less likely.
However firm you may be in your conviction that the status quo cannot be repaired by conventional means -- that it simply must fall to make room for something better -- don’t root for it. Especially, don’t work actively to collapse it in perfect confidence that what follows simply must be superior.
Vanderleun at American Digest has an excellent proposal to remind the world of the destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons: set one off. I second the proposal, endorse his reasoning, and would even add another reason: it'd be an opportunity to test older components and verify EMP and other effects that have only been modeled on super-computers. Hiroshima Day - or- Nukes: Time for a Live Demo:
What we need to do this is: "The Live Demo." By this I mean we need to find a small island or deserted space somewhere on the planet and sacrifice it for the greater good by setting off one, just one, low-yield thermonuclear device in the atmosphere for all the world to see. --- I can assure you that having the entire world tune in for "The Live Demo" -- and the whole world will tune in -- shall give the entire planet pause. It's not enough for humans to be told about nukes. Every so often, we need to see to believe.
Related: Check out NukeMap. Place a 'small' detonation on your home town, or 90 miles SW from your home town, and see what happens.
I smoked a Nub Cameroon as I passed the halfway point in Death of the Family by Christopher J. Green. This is a new book on the topic of cultural marxism. It speaks directly to the core Ushanka warning: that a communist takeover can only occur once traditional family values and religious values are sufficiently diluted. I'll post a review here shortly.
Cigar #2 was a Romeo as I played two games of chess with Zhukov, who brought a RP Sun Grown. He had the white pieces.
Zhukov marched down the board in Game #1 as if he was headed into Berlin. It wasn't even fair.
However, in game #2 (pictured), I reminded Zhukov that #BlackLivesMatter as I overcame Zhukov's white privilege with a brilliant flanking move.
It is a story of immigration on a short timeline. It is a story of crisis-as-a-means.
All that is still true, but I have to advise that you do not buy this book.
I bought the Kindle version. It is not formatted for the Kindle. There are many typos. The author's writing style and paragraph structure are horrible. I didn't take notice during the fascinating parts of the book (mostly in the first half), but it was a chore to finish the book as the last half looks like something I wrote in high school.
Having said that, I promised a review, and I think this book deserves a review. An excellent story, and clearly a brilliant author.
Review:
I was first shocked that I had not heard of this book before. It read like an Ayn Rand book. The author easily shifts between dialogue of pro-western characters and the pro-immigration useful idiots. He captures the motivations and rationalizations of each. We hear the opinions of townfolk, government bureaucrats, media and elected leaders.
Another Ayn Rand comparison is the publication date. This must have been a widely dismissed book back in 1973. But now, like an Ayn Rand book, it is clearly a warning from a very intelligent and prescient author.
It is an accelerated story of illegal immigration. Mass immigration. Imagine. You have a couple week's notice of a million immigrants headed to your shores on stolen ships. I share the author's assumption that our government leaders will stall, hesitate and ignore the threat until it is too late. He equally predicts the useful idiots who are anxious to welcome the 'citizens of the world' to their shores. The author delivers these themes in such a way that no future book will compare. (I'm only speaking to the first half of the book.)
Another comparison would be to Zombie books. You have a hoard of beings coming for your property. They know nothing of western life, nor have any interest in knowing. They take, then move on to take elsewhere. Their only feelings, per se, are that you owe them and their arrival will restore the world to its natural state.
I highlighted a lot. Here is just a taste:
On this Easter Sunday evening, eight hundred thousand living beings, and thousands of dead ones, were making their peaceful assault on the Western World. Tomorrow it would all be over.
---
There was no electricity. Obviously, the technicians from the power plants along the coast had fled north too, with all the others, the petrified mob, turning tail and running off without a word, so as not to have to look, not see a thing, which meant they wouldn't have to understand, or even try.
---
The poor had overrun the earth. Self-reproach was the order of the day; happiness, a sign of decadence.
---
"No hope, Doctor Hailer?" "No hope, Mr. Mayor. Unless you kill them all, that is, because you'll never change them. How about that?" "Good God, man, hardly! Let's just wait and see what happens, and try to do the best we can..."
---
And you know what? You'll have to knock at your door, your very own door, to beg for a glass of water!
---
Real-world drama, served in the comfort of home by that whore called Mass Media, only stirs up the void where Western opinion has long been submerged. Someone drools at a current event, and mistakes his drivel for meaningful thought. Still, let's not be too quick to spit our scorn its way. Empty drivel indeed, but is shows nonetheless how reading the papers or watching the news can provoke at least the appearance of thinking.
The max score is 3, yet no candidate is half that.
These rankings are based on strict conservative issues, and as I mentioned two days ago, 44% of the candidates have yet to post their positions on their websites. I anticipate rankings will go up once candidates start taking a stand on the issues. Too hopeful?
As I was preparing this report, I noticed a theme on many of the candidates' websites. I call these 'near misses' as the candidate is clearly for or against something, yet he fails to explain what exactly he'll do and scores a zero. Since this report seeks specific promises, the candidates are getting zeroes when they should be getting the max score of three on particular issues. Here are three examples:
Pushing Russia out of Ukraine is one of the six Foreign Policy subcategories. Rubio addresses the Russian threat to European stability, yet states he will be looking for "innovative thinking from our alliance." What kind of leader turns over his foreign policy to the French?
One such challenge is Russia’s blatant attempt to overturn the post-World War II order in Europe. Handling this crisis will require innovative thinking from our alliance. Our goal should never be to needlessly antagonize Russia, but rather to ensure our efforts to strengthen Ukraine and rollback Russian aggression are coupled with a forward-looking agenda for Russia’s own future.
The Domestic Policy section of this report has ten sub-categories. One is tax. Specifically, three points are awarded for replacing the tax code with a flat income or consumption tax. One point is awarded for promises to dramatically simplify the code. I have no doubt Carson is in favor of this thinking, yet he fails to tell us what he wants to do. So this is his score on the tax sub-category in Domestic Policy: 0.
We need wholesale tax reform.
We need a fairer, simpler, and more equitable tax system. Our tax form should be able to be completed in less than 15 minutes. This will enable us to end the IRS as we know it.
I have never heard anyone speak more clearly on pro-life matters than Gov. Huckabee. His website tells us what he has done in the past on this issue, yet he fails to present a plan or make a promise for what he'll do as president. Huckabee's score on Life: 0.
As Governor, I promoted and signed a fetal protection act. I imposed a ban on partial birth abortion, established waiting periods, created parental notification requirements, and passed a bill so mothers who brought a newborn to a hospital or fire station would not be prosecuted for child abandonment.
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) tried a proven tactic to get their message across. I suspect they are students of the late great Andrew Breitbart. They have earned this Ushanka Tribute post.
Just as Breitbart partnered with James O'Keefe to crush ACORN with the successive rollout of anger-inducing videos, so too the CMP is executing an attack against abortion-mill Planned Parenthood.
Keep in mind, as for the political, this scandal has zero impact. If someone had already rationalized and redefined murder as "choice," then why would they change their position now that they know the dead baby is butchered for profit? Politically, this story is just an embarrassment to liberals. Kind of like Bill Clinton in 1998. Or Detroit. Or Benghazi. They just want it to go away.
So far CMP has released two shocking videos. Video 1. Video 2. The CMP hints there are more videos, and so Planned Parenthood has all but admitted this (GP). PP has done their damage assessment and must have realized they may have provided a cameraman access to the organ-harvesting operations within. My questions:
Do they use a cleaver?
Do they harvest even if they don't yet have a buyer?
Do they they dance in the baby's blood?
Do the clinic staff receive extra compensation based on the condition of the organs?
As you know, Ushanka keeps the abortion posts to a minimum. Not out of respect, mind you. But because your host, Karl here, finds the topic abhorrent. I'm a happy guy and I like to stay happy.
And now we know why they so adamantly desire late-term procedures. Don't we?
In the DECADES that I've been following this subject, only once or twice have they ever pointed to an actual case of a woman's health justifying an abortion. And since they pointed to it, it is suspect, as I would assume their stats on incest-pregnancies are equally inflated. To these 'people,' ANYTHING justifies more blood and less births.
As ugly as it might sound, I've always suspected that an abortion translates into a lifelong Democrat voter. It is easier to vote Democrat than to confront this demon. (Of course, my heart goes out to those few who do. I fully understand the brainwashing that happens to our young adults as I was one of them once.)
And of course, the act of sharing this opinion does not result in dead bodies. Just liberal tears now, and an early cot in the re-education camp later.
Worse. MSNBC rushed to defend Planned Parenthood. I didn't make it through this, but maybe you can. And isn't it great that YouTube is forever?
I am suspicious of any group with the word "progress" in their name, but CMP passed the test with both their videos and their mission statement:
The Center for Medical Progress is a group of citizen journalists dedicated to monitoring and reporting on medical ethics and advances. We are concerned about contemporary bioethical issues that impact human dignity, and we oppose any interventions, procedures, and experiments that exploit the unequal legal status of any class of human beings. We envision a world in which medical practice and biotechnology ally with and serve the goods of human nature and do not destroy, disfigure, or work against them.
No liberal cause is defended with more dishonesty than abortion. No matter what else they pretend to care about from time to time--undermining national security, aiding terrorists, oppressing the middle class, freeing violent criminals--the single most important item on the Democrats' agenda is abortion. Indeed, abortion is the one issue the Democratic Party is willing to go to war over--except in the Muslim world, which is jam-packed with prohibitions on abortion, because going to war against a Muslim nation might also serve America's national security objectives. To a liberal, 2,200 military deaths in the entire course of a war in Iraq is unconscionable, but 1.3 million aborted babies in America is something to celebrate.
The Orwellian dishonesty about abortion begins with the Left's utter refusal to use the word abortion. It would be as if members of the National Rifle Association refused to use the word gun. These "pro-choicers" treat abortion the way Muslims treat Mohammed. It's so sacred, it must not be mentioned.
---
The only other practice that was both defended and unspeakable in America like this was slavery....
Abortion is the sacrament and Roe v. Wade is Holy Writ.
CMP could have just accused Planned Parenthood of selling baby parts, but we know that would have gone nowhere. This effort to gather evidence and release in increments has led to a grand slam against America's abortion mills. Bravo!
U/T: FB comrades for providing the cool images. Especially comrade Ben!
UPDATED and BUMPED 8.14.15:
Another shout-out to CMP. The ghouls at Stem Express have severed their contract with the ghouls at Planned Parenthood (GP). PP will now have to find another buyer of their baby parts. And, as the CMP videos clearly show, they were always seeking out that higher demand.
In a sane world, PP would have been forcibly shut down within 24 hours of the first CMP video. Today's news is the next best thing.
