Cortical Delusions

by

(A Glimpse Inside Peoplenomics: Issue 1217-A)
History has a habit of rhyming—sometimes in whispers, sometimes with a bullhorn. In this issue, we look at two rhymes playing out in real time.

The first is the rise of socialism: how it surged in the 1920s out of war, inflation, and dislocation, and how it’s back again in the post-COVID landscape, this time riding hashtags, immigrant politics, and algorithmic media. What looks like fringe today can become tomorrow’s policy. We’ve seen it before.

The second rhyme is more subtle, but just as dangerous to wealth: bubbles aren’t only numbers on screens. They’re hallucinations in the human visual cortex. Our Focus this week explores how investors literally “see” futures so vividly that dopamine overrules discipline, driving valuations into the stratosphere.

Whether it was airplanes and utilities in 1929, dot-coms in 2000, housing in 2007, or today’s AI hype—the neurological fingerprints are the same. Subscribers get the deep dive: sector spreads then vs. now, the neuroscience of why crowds lose their grip on value, and what this means for positioning capital in a high-change-rate world.

We connect the dots that mainstream financial media won’t touch—linking history, psychology, and markets into one coherent map. If you’re ready for more than clickbait headlines, join us. For $40 a year—less than a tank of gas—you get two detailed reports each week, plus the charts, context, and forward-looking analysis you won’t find anywhere else.

We don’t just report on markets. We study them as living systems. And right now, those systems are flashing warnings worth heeding.

Or not – your call.

More for Subscribers ||| Master Index 2018 to Present ||| Master Index 2001 thru 2017 ||| Missing out? SUBSCRIBE NOW!!! |||

69 thoughts on “Cortical Delusions”

  1. Polish clairvoyant ” very strong earthquake
    but we can expect in the very near future
    a very powerful earthquake
    perhaps also widespread earthquake.
    …the word Mongolia that I felt”

    Seems the timeline is current.

  2. Grandparents fled Spain during the civil war in1936, then had to flee again from Cuba in 1959. Twice in his life all he had worked for taken by the state. Parents landed here in 1959 and busted ass. Worked multiple jobs sent three kids to college. Don’t tell me this country is rigged, not for those who work. Been working since I was 14 and now in my twilight years see myself blessed. Only those who haven’t been knocked about could not see what the promise of this country is. You can work, keep most of your money, put it to work. For the most of us not worry about violent death or jailing on a daily basis. Maybe my expectations are just too low. But Compared to my recent ancestors I had it easy and this country is worth fighting for.

        • Hmm.Yes they are happier and their medical system makes ours appear like we are in the stone age from lack of equal availability.We were told that equality would bring happiness, but what we’ve lost is the ladder—real aspiration, real structure, and the dignity of earned distinction the ability to dream and strive for a better way of life. The problem isn’t social class itself… it’s that the business model has been corrupted by greed and corruptions. Merit has been replaced by spectacle, and wealth by access. In countries that prioritize cohesion, people may be happier—but here, we’ve hollowed out the middle, turned legacy into leverage, and replaced builders with branders. We don’t need sameness—we need meaningful tiers, where care, craftsmanship, and contribution are honored again.

    • Riggedness is perception.

      Back in the olden days (1525-1776 +/-) Spain was the super power. Spain controlled Cuba until 1898 then the Americans took the place.

      Spain wasn’t rigged until it was then the people moved to Cuba. Presumably they moved to Cuba becasue the perception of the day was Cuba wasn’t rigged. Then Cuba was suddenly rigged.

      Back in the olden days many folks supported Kristallnacht. Some folks thrived then they learned it was rigged.

      Up until around 1917 Russian citizens had firearms and people thrived. Many people supported law changes around 1918 then they got rigged.

      Trump is deploying Trumps into American cities. Many people support it.

      G writes about rhymes. The rhyme is Spain was OK then it wasn’t. Russia was OK then it wasn’t. Cuba was OK then it wasn’t. Would the next stanza be the U.S. lived happily ever after or…. it was OK until it wasn’t?

      Rear view mirror thinking?

      Gold might be pricing in a $ blowout or a major battle loss to the Axis of Asia. If the Americans assert dominance over the Axis gold will crash. If it’s the $ blowout the social credit system will be introduced and the tokenization w/confiscation will commence.

      If the U.S. citizens demand-demand their entitlements the transfer payments will have to come from confiscations. Do you see it any other way?

      Bear in mind again we see troops being deployed.

  4. re: “The Party’s about to Start!”
    feat: a teddy bear

    Yesterday the Princess Royal answered a call up for duty to visit Kyiv from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. The FCDO is housed in Westminster where signing of the Locarno Treaties was hosted in 1925.

    Princess Anne received a tour of St. Sophie’s Cathedral by the Ukrainian voice of Paddington Bear, the President of the Ukraine. Later in tandem with the Ukrainian First Lady, the Princess left her daughter’s teddy bear at a memorial to children.

    And now, make oneself comfortable as DJ George serves up tea and marmalade sandwiches fit for a Queen at the following Youtube link:

    https://youtu.be/7UfiCa244XE

  5. The take-away is the database has been built out. Similar to 23 & Me – nobody is going to hit delete on the information.

    Lawsuit accuses firearms group of using gun owners’ personal data to tailor political ads

    HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A firearms industry trade and lobbying organization secretly built a database containing the personal information of millions of gun owners and used the data to reach gun rights supporters with political ads dating back to the 2000 elections, according to a new lawsuit.

    The suit against the National Shooting Sports Foundation, based in Shelton, Connecticut, alleges the organization obtained the data from major gun manufacturers, whose customers never agreed to share their personal information for political purposes. The suit filed by two gun owners alleges “unjust enrichment” — that the NSSF benefited from using gun owners’ information without paying for it.

    https://apnews.com/article/national-shooting-sports-foundation-database-lawsuit-b910ac0f784f244c3d90689b2f0ef71e

    • unjust enrichment is a shitty cause of action. it’s used after the law isn’t in your favor, the facts aren’t in your favor and banging the table doesn’t work. the plaintiffs should include cabellas/bass pro shops since they’re the ones that turned over the info. they also need to sue under privacy guarantees tendered by the companies to their customers and find a statute under the FTC or CFPB to sue under. unjust enrichment, no, not gonna work.

      interesting article though where it mentioned how the NSSF used cambridge analytica and FB data to micro target political ads. of course CA shut down after it got busted collaborating with russian intel services to game the US election. yelling hoax despite all of the evidence ain’t a good survival strategy.

      “Did Cambridge Analytica Collude with Russia’s Intelligence Services to Interfere in US Elections? Wendy Siegelman looks at new evidence about the US polling data handed to Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik, and the role of the now-defunct election campaign company co-founded by Steve Bannon” https://bylinetimes.com/2021/04/20/did-cambridge-analytica-collude-with-russias-intelligence-services-to-interfere-in-us-elections/

      “US sensitive polling and election data, however, were passed to Russian Intelligence via a Cambridge Analytica contractor Sam Patten, Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, and Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik, who was indicted during the affair.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Analytica

      • How did they find a Saul?

        The takeaway is info being more valuable than a payout. Get the usable database, pay the fine and keep it moving.

  6. GU : been mulling your list since yesterday, so without visiting Peoplenomics https://peoplenomics.com/ on the contributor side, to glance at your chart work … a few opinions.

    Ure’s Plan to Save MAGA

    Say rather : Ure’s Plan to Save America. Let’s save the whole country, for everyone, then work on the world. I’d love to be pie in the sky reverse order but think we have plenty to work on here first.

    Also, on order, while most to-dos are agreed, the order? Probably not. Matter of priority. And, it’s too big of a list. What are your top 3? If complete, what next 3? Ya see, people think in 3s.

    I am chortling over the (predictable) media hyperbole this morning. Also, salivating, that a Harvard settlement may fund trade schools? Fix kids pronto, top 3 then they can work the other stuff.

    Work on not working so much.
    Grow a beard…
    Egor

    • John T. Malloy never was keen on them. (Beards unless trimmed almost daily which my “sailing beard” was.

      (“””For the Children who don’t remember Molloy: Who is John T. Molloy?
      John T. Molloy was a writer who became famous for teaching people how to look sharp and confident in the world of work. He was born in 1937 and spent his life studying how clothes affect the way people are treated.

      His most famous book was “Dress for Success”, published in the 1970s. In it, he explained that the way you dress can change how people see you and even help you do better in school, at job interviews, or in business. He called this idea “wardrobe engineering”—picking outfits that send the right message.

      Molloy’s work had a big influence on office style. Because of him, lots of people started wearing suits, ties, and neat clothes to work so they’d be taken more seriously.He passed away in 2022, but his ideas about dressing for confidence and success are still used today.

      TAKEHOME AFTER RECESS: “Dress for the Job You Want, not the job you have.” Which people like most of us around Urban had to struggle to live and learn…after seeing enough better-dressed pricks get ahead faster…)
      —
      Beards seem only “appearance engineering” in limited circumstances. Academics, medical are semi-exceptions. Now back to this morning ponder: Why do men think more hair is masculine while in fact, baldness can be caused by high T levels? It’s a curious paradox — the cultural code says “more hair = more man,” yet the biology says otherwise. Elevated testosterone can shrink hair follicles on the scalp while simultaneously fueling facial hair growth, leaving the crown bare but the chin thick. In effect, a bald man with a beard may be telegraphing higher androgen influence than the full-haired, clean-shaven fellow. Which raises the deeper question: is masculinity really about appearance, or about the unseen chemistry running beneath the skin?

      Egor’s beard, rest assured will not “de-power” him. Beard GROWTH doesn’t cause your …um…to wander off… Bald bikers? Avoid. Especially when dressed for a Cartel job itnerview. Not like the Chelan Cerious type bikes – the one’s who’ve left their locks perobably due to berserker behaviors…releasing floods of high T (and other souls in the process)

      • Your Georgeness : John T. Malloy was not unknown to me. I read Dress for Success and had the most marvelous set of suits, shoes and leather accessories on the planet.

        Our garb, everyone in my offices, would have fit in at the White House situ. A side hustle, I trained new folks and made them read the Malloy book(let). Several years ago I let E2 go shopping in my silk tie collection and gave the rest, save a very few, away. No need.

        In later years clients became trained to expect a nice golf shirt under sport coat, though that fell away too, meaning the coat. I was hired in, back when “IBM look” was a thing, with a Corporate cut beard and sported one throughout.

        Go look back far enough in your family and … they wore beards. A photo of my Great Great Grandpa, and Great Grandpa surfaced (posed with their best horse) and both had handsome beards. Shaving is a waste of time. Nope.

        Egor

        • Ah, Admiral – feel free to provide a whole longish article on Dress for the Job You Want – ebcause I had that convo with my helper kid. Lopng hair, long beard…had the b ike look without the bike…
          But on this beard thing (having one for all 11 years on the boat – it really is a face-warmer!) I checked the old pics = the Ure’s were clean-shaven due to work habits. For example, all the firefighters (most of the family) had to be clean shavcen (a good working house fire would solve that notion for you). Abnd most of the places worked (Seattle Transit billionairs of years back for one late rel.) the Pre Molloy strict uniform no facial hairw allowed we are meeting the public kind of thing. bus drivers had a certain look – along with used car salesmen, lol.
          Love to read your experiences.
          I rmemeber in radio the station hired a new program director who showed up ion silly t shirt sna djeans all the time.Look so ‘effing stupid (Molloy had ben in the IBM look too as this point) but he may have known what he was doing…/go figure

      • “…the way you dress can change how people see you and even help you do better in school, at job interviews, or in business. … Dress for the Job You Want, not the job you have…”

        Obviously Palmer Luckey did NOT read his book. Imagine how successful Palmer Luckey COULD have been if he had read it and taken John T. Malloy theories to heart!!

        • (“the way you dress can change how people see you”)

          Dam..no wonder everyone thinks I’m a bum..

      • “Dress for the Job You Want, not the job you have.”

        When I was a starving musician trying to break into the “conventional job” market in the middle of Jimmy Carter’s recession, the conventional wisdom of the time was:

        Dress one level (but only one level) above the job you seek. Not dressed “well enough” means “I’m not serious.” Overdressing means “I’ll be gone as soon as the next rung shows itself.” Everybody moves up the ladder, but managers (no HR in the ’70s) wanted their hirelings to at least pretend they would contribute to the company.

        • My brother use to send me hand made suits and ties.. he would change his suites couple times a year..I am not a suit and tie person.. one day I was looking at a full closet and asked the wife..can you remember a day you ever seen me in a stupid suit with a hang!and knot around my neck.. nope..packed all of them up and gave them to the homeless shelter..

  7. Da Future presents in realtime, ala Big Dick Alligire latest white board session on blind target..”Hidden Debt Solution”.

    Seems the TPTB are already planning for the FAILURE, the chaos, the infected financial systems in need of isolation. Got to ask Ureself, Can I handle it ?

    I dont care about Ure feelings, only Ure survival going forward, so tough titties, here is a summary.

    ” bonds and securities “Cleaned” and Tranferred.
    new asset class valuations assigned during chaos period
    those positioned correctly will benefit from “puzzle piece” restructuring
    block chain tech central to new financial structure.”

    ” high level diplo meetings happing now
    private negotiations separate from public announcements
    blockchain-based “sterile” system ready to replace current infrastructure.

    * “Order out of Chaos” implementation thru controlled financial tumult.

    * dont forget Ure doormouses’ advice – “feed Ure head”
    -https://youtu.be/AVER6hyoyJo?si=QjF9n13WZjT_-N66

  8. i dont want to detract from Ure work Mr Ure.

    this is interesting update from the white house. they mention Pope Leo XIII

    https://x.com/argosaki/status/1972928382162616559?t=M7_zHJ3Z-P41g1bNZHHFSw&s=19

    Which is interesting since i did deliver that Book signed by Pope Leo XIII, to a catholic church in Mount Vernon, Washington to be returned to The Vatican. The Priests their told me to their knowledge it was the last one known to exist. the other 72 printed copies were destroyed.

    that could be why we have a new Pope Leo. marking that The Vatican recieved the book back.

    and when the priests asked me my name i may have told them Michael. then turned and walked out.

    which Michael my middle name. lol so i wasnt lying. lo

    And Drew Michael.

    that is my name. lol

    we all have a part to play, I will leave you to Ures.

    :)

    I Win with God within.

    • i do understand the implications of me going to work aiding the US Military.

      after all in a Holy War, who would you want on your side but Michael who bound satan and cast him down.

      and THE DUDE laughs.

      • And today’s George pile, about the same time, comes this:
        A Crackpot Domain Theory
        What if giving in this realm — the waking, embodied life — is actually a kind of currency for positioning in other domains? In that view, generosity isn’t just social grease or moral good; it’s an energetic transaction. The respect, trust, and relational equity we create here become the “account balance” we carry into afterlife domains. In other words, by giving time, resources, and care now, we are quietly buying respect and status in the next dimension of existence.

        This flips the usual logic: wealth isn’t what we keep, but what we circulate. A miser may hoard power in the waking world but arrive bankrupt in the afterlife; a giver may seem ordinary here but command high position there. If domains are truly interconnected, then every act of generosity in this one echoes forward — not as charity lost, but as rank conferred.

        • Nerp .

          Ancient technique my good man, ancient technique.

          Today this practice is called “Cultivating De” (pronounced duh). As in the unwritten rule/advice of 70% Cultivation, 30% actual Practice (guided meditation).

          Cultivating of De is “doing for others, and expecting NOTHING back in return. NOTHING .

          The ultimte goal of this practice of Cultivating De, Is the Generation of Good, Positive Thoughts about you from others.

          For Thoughts are “Things” – ya just gotta learn how to “Gong” em, and that good citizen takes practice.

          My advisor spent many teenage years in Service to Others..raking, cleaning, gleaning, mending, fixing stuff for others, years before his Master (s) would teach him more.
          This guy was last House Boy in Shaolin Temple -China(official), his martial arts instructor, Monk Hai Deng was the official martial arts Teacher at the Temple. Invited by venerable Shi Xingzhen to teach there, he stayed from 1982-1986.
          He had lived at Shaolin temple for short periods in 1947,1953, 1964.

          Not fantasy/movie, real life scheisse. There is documentary about his life produced by CCTV in 1983. Released on video in America, and featured an additional segment with Jet Li . Yeah he is guy who recorded doing 1 finger handstands in his late 80’s, as well as leaping up on cut telephone pole (5-6ft high) and leaping from pole top to pole top. His longevity was capped – by his act (s) of Revenge on the his Parents Killers(Bandits). Talked about it openly, how those acts governed or limited his “ride” time. This cat even visited SF back in the day at Golden Mountain Monastary on 15th street..
          He arrived in SF with only a toothbrush and Sweat suit. Someone had tried to give him a suitcase – he gave it away. Later he explained his lack of possessions, “I’ve told you I cannot accept offerings. Everything you take accrues a debt and you have to pay it back later, maybe in fur and horns” meaning that you lose Ure human body.

          Learn Qigong, learn how to subdue Ureself – no need to Fight = increased Longevity ! Otherwise you bee -https://youtu.be/bmfudW7rbG0?si=LsAoDwGuA52OXrDU

        • I’m going with you here, George. I have always given, especially since almost dying in shipwreck… a moment that changed everything in my life. After that I had nothing left, nothing to lose, and could only give of me. There was a relentless flow of good things as long as I subdued the power that came from having nothing to lose. My wives cursed me for never wanting, my business partner was always trying to make me see the light, and of the instances of helping and giving, many benefited, many came back years later with thanks and even financial appreciation at timely moments, and there was only one truly shitty fellow who I’m sure will get his here in this life.
          We can either be service to self, or service to others. The middle ground is a razor’s edge.
          GU, you are most happy serving others, and it is much appreciated in this hull.
          Stiks

        • it’s all about the velocity and leverage of our energy, not currency. unfortunately, many humans, especially most americans, are windigos.

          “Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource. I accept the gift from the bush and then spread that gift with a dish of berries to my neighbor, who makes a pie to share with his friend, who feels so wealthy in food and friendship that he volunteers at the food pantry. You know how it goes. Why then have we permitted the dominance of economic systems that commoditize everything? That create scarcity instead of abundance, that promote accumulation rather than sharing? We’ve surrendered our values to an economic system that actively harms what we love. I’m wondering how we fix that. And I’m not alone. The currency of exchange is gratitude and relationship rather than money. It includes a system of social and moral agreements for indirect reciprocity. So, the hunter who shared the feast with you could well anticipate that you would share from a full fishnet or offer your labor in repairing a boat.” https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/

        • This is a basic tenet of Christianity.

          “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” -Matthew 6 19-21

          The treasure is the things you do for others, and if you do those things for recognition in this life, it doesn’t count. Thus, confiscating the earnings of people who work, and redistributing them to others who won’t work, may buy you votes in this life, but stores nothing in the next. The deeds that are remembered are done with your own resources, without fanfare and without expectation of reward – just because they were the right thing to do.

        • it apears that Theselonians 4:16. is currently in play,

          “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

          many manuscripts say that the voice of the archangel mentioned is Michael. whose name means:

          One who is like God.

      • i answered this ponder in the comment section of the Sheppards Sanctuary,

        “To answer your question, if you all see is coin in that image, you are missing the rest of what is present. The gold which is lavishly spread around the room, catches the eye of the foolish to draw them away from The True Treasures that hold unfathomable riches. What value is a few gold coins compared to the alchemy to produce an infinite amount of them at will? The foolish thief takes a few gold coins and scrams. The thief thinks he is getting away with something. He is Leaving behind the Wisdom that brings them all back to Their Creator.

        Render unto Ceazar what is Ceazar’s. Render unto God what belongs to God.

        Everyone on this earth is a created being. Everyone sets off to journey out into life thinking they are going somewhere with it, going to make something of it, but when they die, they find themselves standing back before their Creator. It is the same with the gold coins lavishly spread around The Shepards Sanctuary. They always return to their maker.”

        what you do with them, (the few gold coins you aquaire in life) is get to keep on the other side. the gold coins themselves always return to their maker.

        i have walked away from everything i owned more than a few times and everywhere i went new stuff was always provided.

        i left my Tv, dresser, bed, blankets, night stand and lights, almost all my clothes in palm desert, drove to spokane and a new bed, new blankets, new tv etc was provided. did the same thing when i left alki beach and went to Alaska. did the same thing when i left Alaska and came back to washington. did the same thing when i left washington to go to soda springs idaho. did the same thing when i left soda springs idaho and moved to eagle mountain ranch, when i left eagle mountain ranch and moved to where i am now, i slept on an air mattress for 3 weeks then a whole new bed, brand new mattress, brand new blakents, night stands and a bigger tv was all provided.

        everytime. i only took some small momentos from my childhood and some clothes. every time everything else was provided shortly after i got to where. THE DUDE was taking me.

        the last time i rented a Uhal to move was when i gave away everything i owned 7 years ago to a lady with 2 kids and all she had was a matress on the floor and a lawn chair.

        THE DUDE always makes sure, i have a good home, good bed, money, food, fellowship, a warm beautiful woman to share my bed with and a Good Car, full tank of gas, a gym membership, a phone a few bucks in my wallet.

        And….. who am I to say… IF THE DUDE wanted me to be a Multi, Multi Millionare? and that was part of HIS perfect plan and purpose for my Life? THY will be done.

        THE DUDE can use the Material Rich as much as THE DUDE can use the material poor. There is no limitations to what THE DUDE can do. THE DUDE taught Solomon the Greatest Wisdom and nobody here on earth has ever been as material rich as much as King Solomon was.

        and THE DUDE can use a small unknown, humble sheppard boy to slay a Giant. a Giant that made all men tremble in fear.

        i will assure you, faith is not an easy path. living by faith, is not an easy path. stepping out into the unknown, alone with God, isnt easy.

        like when i took that job in soda springs idaho. i had never heard of the place or The Valley of Enoch until the day before i left. i had no friends there, didnt know anyone. i just packed my stuff in my car and drove there. rented a hotel room and a place with a brand new queen bed on a ranch was provided 3 weeks later. and friends who now consider me family and said of the shit ever hits the fan? we got enough food and amo for you to keep you fed for 10 years here. just get your but over here. they named a room in their house after me. it was truly wonderful experiance working within a living expression of a Merkaba in The Valley of Enoch.

        i think that is all refections of what awaits us in the afterlife.

        i never thought of myself as an angel. i have been called that more times than anything else in this life. and over 100 people i met in life said they saw my face and new my voice from when they had their near death experiance and every single one of them said i said to them, Its not your time yet. go back and you will see me in your future. and not single one of them knew any of the others.

        and none of them did i remember ever seeing or talking too.

        honestly, i am not to concerned with my Treasures in Heaven. all that I leave up to THE DUDE to decide. i will tell ya one strange thought i had last night, What if I am The Arch Angel Michael, posing as a human and God knowing every secret thought and deed was keeping track of every persons thoughts and secret deeds that interacted with me while i was on earth and in the afterlife suprize! when the books were brought out and the accounts were settled. some who did stuff in neferious ways would most definently be recompensed eternally. there is nothing Hidden from THE DUDE.

        i can assure you of that.

        maybe that is why people like The Richest man on the planet and Elon Musk get nervouse when they are around me. GOD is examining them.

        this will be my final post for a while on any platform. i must keep a low profile, since i am taking my drug test with MSC this morning.

        I Win with God within.

      • im always mindful of the thief on the Cross next to Christ, who did everything wrong in life.

        yet, in his final hour he said to The King of the Jews, Christ Jesus, Remember me when you enter your Kingdom. and Jesus replied, I assure you, today you will be with me in Paradise.

        that thief did everything wrong in life. he never participated in the chips and salsa (Communion), he never helped nobody. he was completely selfish and self obsorbed his whole life and yet in his last hour, He asked Jesus to remember him

        and Jesus had Mercy on him amd granted him access to Paradise.

        one Question remains, Who Watches the Watchers? Who is examining their reactions and hidden thoughts while The Watchers Watch.

        oh look at the time.

        ~ We are right on schedule ~

  9. The ADP report shows a surprise decline in private payrolls of 32,000. The government has shut down, tens of thousands of government employees are furloughed for what could be a long time. Republicans are weighing sweeping cuts, while the Democrats want to add $1.2 trillion dollars to the package.
    …, and the stock market is up.

    …, go figure………….

    • Yeah – that’s an odd one – maybe the market is saying “We don’t need government” – ignoring reality again…warlords and cartels are better run, often however.

  10. Not a whole lot of people close to him believed that Hunter S Thompson committed suicide. His wife has been trying to get Colorado to reopen the case for many years. They finally, after 20 years, agreed and the ruling of suicide and his death will be reinvestigated.

  11. I know this is from Berkeley, but there is some good stuff in it:

    https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/SaezZucman14slides.pdf

    Household wealth concentration in this country bottomed out in the mid eighties and has rebounded significantly, but is nowhere near the level seen in the 1920’s.
    The 50’s through the 60’s exhibited very tightly controlled wealth distribution. I would guess manipulation of high end income tax rates probably had a lot to do with that.
    There is a case for the concentration of household wealth driving the reprise of Marxism. Just how that can be thwarted without raising my taxes, putting me out of work, or cutting off my SS & medicare remains to be seen. Maybe increasing upper tier income tax rates again would help.. The case for trickle down economics has not ever materialized in the real world. In fact, one can infer just the opposite from the stats.
    I am not making a case for increased socialism, but I would say that we have more robber barons than ever before, and it is time to exert some control. Cutting off the NGO’s was a great first step for the government to take. A government shutdown maybe required to finish that clean-up. Hopefully the cost cutters don’t get laid off.
    Trumps tariffs seem to have potential for wealth redistribution. Neither the lefties or the right have any motivation to study that. They are funded by the elites who are taking it in the end from the tariffs, right and left. I regard Trump as a populist more than a conservative, and his policies seem to support my notion. Slowing down wealth concentration by giving Americans a chance to work at jobs with a livable wage has much merit. That has been thrown under the bus by MBA’s waving all manner of false banners, with both the partisan right and left profiteering. Time for a change.

    • Depends how you read data, my good man.
      Let me explain the time/power view. In the chart you linked there are 6 data points to move dein 15% ti 25%
      Un the current case, 46 data points to mofve from 7 percent to 23%
      I always took data intervals times rise in order to figure what would impact – frogs slowly boiled or the short squeezings.
      Their data window ends 2013 – and nasdaq has barked a bit since.
      Recent research shows U.S. wealth is at least as concentrated as it was before the Great Depression, and on some measures even higher. In 1929, the top 1% held about 45% of total wealth. Today, Federal Reserve distributional accounts and work by Saez and Zucman show the top 1% holding roughly 30–32% of wealth, but the top 0.1% has expanded dramatically, controlling nearly as much as the entire bottom 80% combined. Since 2014, tech and financial asset booms have driven further concentration, pushing the upper tail above historical levels when compared by narrower slices. By contrast, the bottom 50% of U.S. households now hold only 2–3% of wealth. These numbers indicate that inequality has returned to, and in some dimensions surpassed, the extremes of the late 1920s ?gabriel-zucman.eu??inequality.org?

      • Would we be in agreement in saying that concentration of wealth has increased sharply since the 1980’s, that tinkle down economics has shown no merit, and we are overdue for some change?

    • “I am not making a case for increased socialism, but I would say that we have more robber barons than ever before,”

      I would agree. However, they are not nearly as wealthy as the elites of, say, 1912. I would guess for someone today to be as wealthy as a Carnegie or Rockefeller, he or she would have to have a personal fortune [which was] considerably in excess of two trillion dollars.

      Also, try comparing our rich folk to those of other countries. In socialist nations it is not unusual for the top 1% of the wealthy elites to own 95% of all the “ownable” property — especially real estate. Look at Germany, France, and Venezuela (which I did a few years ago) and be surprised.

      This is why I said (and still say) that “socialism” is a two-class caste system made up of a very small, privileged and elite “ruling class” (comprised of oligarchs, politicians, and a few, select academics and media personalities) and a huge class comprised of “everyone else.” There can never be upward flow between the castes, and downward flow is rare, punitive, and permanent. There are most-certainly wealthy people and families within a socialist system, but they remain so only as long as they serve the politicians…

  12. – From the London School of Medicine, a three-year study seems to prove that excessive brain activity can shorten your life span.
    – So.., those who refer to the 5th Grade as their ‘Senior Year’.., are going to outlive me. Does that seem fair ?

      • The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long.
        Pardon me while I go for my afternoon life-extension nap!

        I would submit that both George and d’Lynn have put the lie to that ‘research’ at their ages.

  13. Slipped my legs out from under the covers this morning.., plant my feet firmly on the carpet., still dark out.., and gave my usual sarcastic grin: “I’m still here your bastards.” Then., it came over me.
    I caught a wave.., of very negative vibes. That something is about to happen. Something bad.
    Don’t know if it was aimed me, or the world in general.

    I’ll be watching the news and paying close attention to my surroundings today and tomorrow.

    • Suddenly sending 30+ refueling tankers across the pond early in the week (haven’t checked since Monday, more may have gone since Monday) is NOT indicative of a Kumbaya Moment on the horizon.

      Thank you for your personal observation … such things are often very valid
      (MANY people were stressing out in the month before 9/11, during the week before the psychic and sensitives boards lit up like crazy … people were definitely feeling a disturbance in the force)

  14. ChatGPT uses 3 bottles of fresh water for every query you put into it.

    https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/meips/ADKq_NaS3JxSRqhPqHB41AeZuciH0GUFD59jdROu6RWiYbuAIJbOZpXtGdhIkzmLWKObz9AtHWIeydHkGu05K-do9TRAuioAXU5YTyK7lRWvYdSZGh1Mtfc9p5BMq6DUXzbhRamsTCyo9H0uFdxOZXbFOcrLoi90AxjFBoiEYnzvMVLWX0aIk3ATmjebbQdrqlD9iL30NjPyOjaMuQ3bPYheDQV4K3sCVyuyUYMX58_OaxjHHKCeRXK4S4NR2aUB7PWTU6O-y3hqwU3gKECsSeVPELq_aMnvlw1r6AHsECZ61fJlA9ATKOngeYY3UqvDVj217tWJFg=s0-d-e1-ft#https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZvMB!,w_501,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7da6ba1f-05e9-4a51-bed0-b47542adea50_501x720.jpeg

    • Remember whose son builds server farms? Google published a methodology for their AI (Gemini) saying the median text prompt consumes 0.26 mL of water (about five drops) in their serving infrastructure.
      arXiv

      A publicly shared figure by OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, claims an average ChatGPT query uses about 0.000085 gallons of water (which is roughly 0.32 mL) — that’s in the ballpark of a few drops.
      The Verge

      Academic work suggests that an individual AI query might use on the order of 10 mL of fresh water (in more pessimistic or less efficient settings).
      journals.calstate.edu

      Some broader reports estimate that to cool equipment, data centers might use up to 2.4 gallons of water per kWh of power consumed (for certain cooling systems) in less efficient setups.
      Wanna have a drink and talk about it?

      • A start-up company, that just received $300million from Nvidia has a new cooling system for mainframe systems that require no water.
        If industry approved, it will change the game somewhat.

        • @ George Ure

          “There are theremal electronic coolers that are pretty neat”

          I’ve played with them off and on since 2003. They ARE neat, but not ready for prime time. The “water coolers” are, IMO more reliable than the air coolers. The thermistors are really nifty in theory but are problematic in real life because they condense water out of the atmosphere. The frost diminishes the effectiveness of the cooler, and requires a “water disposal solution” in addition to the cooling function. My best solution was dropping a motherboard with a conventionally air-cooled CPU into a mini-frig, to make the “cooling atmosphere” a static ~35°F.

          I’m the guy who “invented” the concept of putting a computer inside a refrigerator. I’m also the guy who created the concept of using a remote central vacuum system as a device to evacuate warm air from the CPUs in a server farm, thus eliminating CPU fans and their noise. I gave that one to Georgetown University over 20 years ago. I still don’t know if they implemented it (and I don’t care…)

      • Can you say HYPOCRITE ?

        Do you even know, understand what exactly a hypocrite is ?

        Obviously NOT!

        Fork please..

  15. wee hee … another buy the dip day, keep this party going … control the sheep, UP and UP she goes (until they decide it ends, when? who knows) …. wow …. be safe all

  17. America was a global manufacturing powerhouse after World War II. But research shows job losses began as early as 1979. Economists explain that technology, automation and robotics increased output while reducing the workforce. Manufacturing output grew even as jobs fell.

    Goldman Sachs estimates that continuing tariffs could lead to 500,000 job losses, partially offset by 100,000 potential gains.

    A.I. jobs lost. No one is certain, but estimates place the numbers in high six digits over the next two years.

    ISM’s Manufacturing PMI of 48.0 in July 2025 marked the fifth month of contraction. Values below 50 show declining production, orders, and employment. Factory employment dropped to 43.4, the lowest level since July 2020.

    The manufacturing sector contributes 10.2% to U.S. GDP. It lost 7,000 jobs in May 2025 alone.

    Factory employment hit a five-year low in July 2025. Census Bureau data shows roughly 70,500 manufacturing establishments were lost from 1997–2022. Over 70,000 manufacturers closed-up shop in a five year period. Hell., even Tupperware moved their manufacturing to Mexico.

    The human factor. Competition for jobs? Compete with China ? Seriously?
    – Shanghai has the highest monthly minimum wage among the 31 Chinese provinces at US$370 per month, and Beijing has the highest hourly minimum wage US$3.70 per hour. Yet even China is seeing a contraction in the manufacturing sector.

    Baristas at the Starbucks flagship store in downtown Seattle went on strike., demanding no dress code, less hours and $40 an hour. They next day Starbucks announced that due very slow sales and customer complaints the store will be closed.

    Then look at India., and Mexico.., we can not compete.

    Manufacturing will continue to erode and jobs will continue to be lost.

    • “Baristas at the Starbucks flagship store in downtown Seattle went on strike., demanding no dress code, less hours and $40 an hour.”

      Fixed that for you:

      Baristas at the Starbucks flagship store in downtown Seattle went on strike., demanding to run the company and get paid journeyman’s wages for entry level jobs.

      We can’t compete because we’ve raised two generations of spoiled brat entitled and effete wastrels. I have a friend who hired in at McDonalds at 16, and spent his entire life working for the clown. When he retired, he was pulling down a couple Quarter Pounders shy of $1000 a day. He was also the exception to the rule and would have scored that corner office at any employer for whom he chose to work.

      Fast food, cstore, coffeeshop, etc., employment is “entry level.” It is the job everyone takes before they score their first “real job.” Its entry level minimum wage should be 1 mill per hour, negotiated up for each employee, on an individual basis.

      Entry level jobs were never meant to become permanent.
      Entry level employees were never meant to become permanent.

      When people choose to make their entry-level job a career choice, they also choose to make their entry level income the income which supports themselves, their family, and their lifestyle.

  18. Gotta love the socialists
    The Seattle Mayor and the State Governor held a press conference over the use of federal soldiers coming to Seattle. The Gov explained that they have spent months of legal research to sue Trump if he order troops into Seattle. The Mayor stared at the camera and warned Trump : “Stay out of Seattle !”
    The very next news segment was a poll [ KOMO4 News ] on your take of federal troops coming to Seattle. 74% Approve/Back Federal Troops – 18% Were apposed – 8% had no opinion / doesn’t concern them.
    74% back federal troop deployment in Seattle. Yet their Mayor is virtually threatening Trump if he does.
    Gotta love these idiots.
    .
    .., but – maybe this is the start of the political turnaround for conservatives over liberals in the Washington government. Maybe ?

    • “maybe”

      Dude, massive respects here, but are you starting to slip ?

      “maybe” ??? suggests you starting to go soft, hard to fathom that.

      d’Lynn a Mr Softie – oh gawd are we done for now ! G-pops – gonna need anotha Fork .

      Battlestar Galactica – Epilouge, 150,000 years later.

      -https://youtu.be/pHUEYIE_MZA?si=IT7vAMuojmpEkrXC

  19. Well., the market started down this morning., as expected., but then stalled and finished the day up. Not a lot., but in positive territory.

    Rather surprising.

    The big boys have completely ignored the economic data and the government shut-down. They are so focused on A.I. and chips [ which has fueled this rally for close to three years now.] that they can barely see the reality around them [ That sounds familiar., doesn’t it?]

  21. You might have a scam advertising on your site , cotosen.com. Prices to good to be true. You’re probably not getting any revenue from it , but it pisses me off that Google allows it.

    • Thank you – I blocked it – if you – or anyone else – notices a spammy add like thatg (I blocked a bunch of blind “Download” ads yesterday – please post a comment and I will run it down. Horrible that such crap gets through – Google does a good job but schemers are a crafty breed – they will look at “churchy” when they apply and asd soon as the backs are turned they put up crap ads – one that pissed me off what a fake microsoft infeciton ads – so let me know if y6ou see crap like that.\
      (Yes, it’s just one more reason I have been eyeing retirement and doing Peoplenomics only!)

      • What would you have to charge for Peoplenomics to cover the revenue lost by eliminating ads? I’d tolerate a modest increase!

  22. Copied — author unknown.

    I was trying to teach someone how to drive a manual. After some time, I realized the problem is MUCH bigger than trying to get them to operate the clutch pedal smoothly or to modulate the throttle properly.

    I ended up having to explain gears, how an engine works, RPM, redline, torque, etc.

    This was not the first time. I had no idea that a huge part of the population has no idea what RPM means… why you’d need gears… what gears actually do. What a tach does. They’ve been driving a CVT, and cannot understand any of this… and here I am trying to tell them when to shift up or down or why. To them sitting at 1000 or 6000 RPM may as well be the same.

    It’s much worse than I thought. I started to ask non-car people why you need gears and what they do and I’d get answers like “to go forward” or “to back up”. They don’t even get the most basic mechanicals… and I’m trying to explain when to rev an engine out and when not to. Trying to explain why the shift point changes. Imagine trying to explain heel and toe or double clutching to such a person. It’s entirely too much information for them.

    I took a lot of this stuff as common knowledge but normal people understand VERY little. When your circle of friends is mostly car people, you don’t realize how bad things are. Have you experienced this?
    ———————————

    I see this as an impending problem with every physical endeavor, from planting a garden to running a (shop) machine.

    The first sportscar I ever owned (still do) was an MGA (non-synchro first gear) with no battery and a non-functional clutch. I’d never driven a car with a manual transmission in my life. That car was in a barn, 12 miles from my mom & dad’s house. Dad dragged it out of the barn, I pumped up its flat tires with a hand pump, we pushed it out into the street. I put it in gear. Dad pushed me with his truck. The car sprang to life, and I drove it straight home through six miles of country and six miles of city without ever coming to a stop. By the time I got there, I was expert at RPM-matching and shifting a stick. The only driving help I got from my father was “You upshift to go faster and downshift to go slower. When you downshift, you have to speed the engine to match the RPM of the transmission, or you won’t be able to shift. When you upshift, foot off the gas. Be brave and snap the lever into gear. The engine should slow down exactly enough to make the shift go smoothly. (Years later, I read Dick Jacobs’ book describing his years driving for the MG factory racing team. Dick’s description of “power shifting” was identical to my Dad’s. Who’da thunk my father would’ve gotten so smart between the time I started high school and the time I hit college?

    ==================

    I’ve mentioned to y’all several times that I made my first gun, from scratch, when I was 14.

    I’ve never mentioned before, that I did so without a pattern of any kind, and never having used shop tools before. The function of the tools was intuitive, the design of the (breechloading) receiver and mechanism was something my brain said should work, and me working with a bandsaw, a drill press, and a set of files until my design effected the driving of a firing pin into the cap of a .38 via a trigger pull. FWIW I did grow up with a “Mattel Colt .45,” complete with brass “bullets” to which one could affix “Greenie Stick-M-Caps,” and which would launch plastic bullets out of the shells, when the hammer fell (I have to find some of this stuff. Those bullets are selling for a couple hundred bucks each and the guns sell for more money than real Colt Pythons. AFAIK they’re all still in the bottom of my toy box, which has graced my basement for nearly 50 years.) I probably took at least one apart, but don’t remember if it influenced my “homemade” gun.

    BTW, I also built a .50 cal muzzle loader and a 20mm cannon, both my own design, before the shop teacher discovered I was invading his classroom after school and locked me out. I used my own homemade black powder to fire both the latter. This is why I get bored really quickly when someone mentions “gun control” in the vein of gun confiscation. I, as a 14yo child who’d never used a lathe, boring bar, drill press, or bandsaw, built a functional gun that could kill, and I did it in a couple days, in a HS metal shop, with neither instruction nor experience…

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