Market’s Inflation-Driven Rally – PPI Figures

by

My consigliere – a wizened tax attorney – is more than slightly savvy on Money.  He was projecting an “economic showdown with China” as early as 1979. And here we are…

So, when he called to talk about the “hollow money” problem – we both (being students of Long Wave Economics – knew exactly what the problem was.

Essentially in this period, the U.S. will be forced by economic realities to relinquish the Dollar’s role as the global reserve currency.  A lot then begins to move around on the playing field.

For one, the U.S. – in order to maintain liquidity and operations in its international financial sector – will be faced with having to “print like hell” in order to keep “systemically important institutions” from failing.  SVB isn’t the only problem – it’s only ta recent one.  We have decades of economic denial to make up for.  Including bailouts of pension systems that should have either been allowed to collapse (and assets moved to Social Security), or serious work be started on a national retirement plan.

Since that didn’t – and won’t – happen (we have zero willpower when comes to honesty anymore) we wake up some days to “news oof the approaching train.”

Two widely cited examples today are Fed economists project recession this year, in potential blow to Biden – POLITICO and Deficit Tops $1 Trillion in First Six Months of FY2023.

“How can that be?  We don’t even have a Budget yet?” you’re wondering.

Source: CBO.gov

The reason we are in this pickle is because the glad-handing, victim coddlers we call the Fools on the Hill – having lived detached lives unfamiliar with the realities of budget-making – have consistently overspent.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that America is headed for the (financial) skids when spending 28 percent more than we bring in.

And we’ve been doing it for years.

X-Relationships

Most useful concept in a lifetime of economics is the plain fact that money is all about “proportional relationships.”

If one thing drops in price 20%, then you may confidently look for something else to have gone UP 25 percent.

Why not down 20 percent offset by up 20 percent?  Math doesn’t work like that.

If a “thing” that cost $100 drops 20 percent, its new cost is $80, following?

But to return its cost to $100, you need to increase that $80 cost by 25 percent.  In other words, a quarter of 80 is 20 and $80+$20 = $100 again.

Sadly, this is also why – when you lose 50 percent on a rotten stock trade, you need a DOUBLE just to get back to breakeven.

So financial relationships are not “equal” – they are “proportional.”

Which is why, when the Dollar drops (relative to the Euro this morning) from a high of 0.911 Euro to an earlier low of 0.907, we can say the Dollar lost 0.439 percent of its value.  Proportionality says “When the dollar is worth less, then anything priced in dollars will go up proportionally.”

This explains why Gold ranged earlier from a low of $2,015 and a high around $2,927.50.  Sure, sure, it went up 0.6 percent.  The gain is usually larger on the asset going up.  Not precisely proportional, but it gets you in the ballpark.

Generally, when the dollar goes down, the market rallies.  Note that in a modest hyperinflation you can really get ahead.  Because a gain in dollars may only – just – barely – keep up with price appreciation at the grocery store.

(Finally, to my consigliere’s point:) Bitcoin’s rally is likely as much Dollar devaluation hedge as it is driven by rules in Asia (China in particular) where its hard-to-get assets out of the country.

This is all very much in keeping with a November 2022 (U.S.) Federal Reserve paper that explained generally why Bitcoin and the crypto complex tends to move in tandem with whichever way stocks are moving.

As the Russia-China Yuan tie-up to provide reserve currency settlement outside of “normal” (US) dollars expands, the value of Dollars is likely to decline.  With the big, honking Euclid earth mover standing in for the straw that broke the camel’s back, China’s Reserve Currency Push will serve to rally U.S. markets. Briefly.

Until the war breaks out.  At which time, the U.S. markets will collapse as we realize the long-term folly of offshoring.

The circles are unbroken.

On to P.P.I.

While the U.S. CPI Wednesday was widely hailed in the financial press as a good thing, check that optimism at the door, please.  The All-Items (less food and energy component was still up 5.6 percent year-on-year.

So, the “annual” expectation would be (ceteris paribus, or all things equal) that P.P.I. would be in this range UNLESS (if higher) more inflation is seen coming down the pike.  OR corporations are planning to make more money OR inventory/supply chains are breaking OR…well, let’s just say there’s lot of “shit that can go wrong.”

With that as our “grounding rod” may I have the PPI envelope, please?

“The Producer Price Index for final demand declined 0.5 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices were unchanged in February and increased 0.4 percent in January. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index
for final demand advanced 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended in March.

In March, two-thirds of the decline in the index for final demand can be attributed to a 1.0-percent decrease in prices for final demand goods. The index for final demand services moved down 0.3 percent.

Prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services edged up 0.1 percent in March after rising 0.2 percent in February. For the 12 months ended in March, the index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 3.6 percent.

One other factor just out today is the New Unemployment filers. You’ll remember that last week, the numbers were tame and continuation of declining trends.  So, no surprise as…

Source: USDOL data

Notice – someone worrying, is the yellow highlighted area.  Sign of recession flashing?

The next economic surprise package will be along half an hour after the market close today when the Fed drops its Balance Sheet on the news-grubbing public.  Volatility may result, but that’s why God has conveniently arranged for there to be a world tomorrow.  To sort out today’s messes.

Thisses and Thatses

What really will impact your life today?  Not much, normally.  More on that in the “Around the Ranch” note in a sec.  For now, how about:

Let’s see if anyone gets “Older But Wiser” from reading what happens when you mix a bullshit social agenda with beer: Anheuser-Busch sheds nearly $5 billion in value since Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney pact sparked outrage.  Between Jack Daniels antics and buttwiper, I’m damn near bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again.  Please keep Carlo Rossi an apolitical winemaker!

Of course!  Let’s blame security leaks on gun owners because they can’t disprove a negative, right?  Media report big US intelligence leak carried out by gun enthusiast in 20s.  Um, but where did they get the data?  Smell agenda in the air?

Dear Ireland: Please keep him. US President Joe Biden to address Irish Parliament and visit President of Ireland Michael D Higgins.

Breach of Attorney Client, anyone? Trump sues former lawyer Michael Cohen for US$500m.

Extreme Weather Down Under:  Note for long-time reader Len:  Western Australians warned to take shelter as massive cyclone to hit Friday – UPI.com.

We may not be getting as big a slice of Chinese goods, but China’s March trade with Russia was robust despite weak global outlook | Reuters. Sanctions warfare isn’t perfect.

Realtime Stock data coming to Twitter:  Twitter joins eToro to let users see real-time stock information. Speaking of whom: Elon Musk Makes A Bet Over 1 Million Dogecoin (DOGE).

ATR: “Curb and Gutter People”

My buddy next door came by Wednesday, and it took him only five minutes to sort out the riding mower belt issue.  He’s mid 4os, and ace mechanic and eyes like a hawk.  I’m not twice that, but close enough and lesser eyes for sure. The help was much appreciated.

While we were “debriefing” over a hard cider after, talking about the mindset of people who live in cities, he dropped the term “curb and gutter people” on us.

Both Elaine and I looked at each other.  Noticing, all was explained.

“See, people who live in cities and can’t “live on their own land” are called “curb and gutter people” because they have no idea how to run a farm and they have no idea how complicated a place can be.”

Didn’t take long to see the difference.  Curb and Gutter people go into a box store, buy a pre-made sandwich, and go back to work (or Facebook) and call that lunch.

Out here, unless you want to drive 28-miles round-trip, if there’s no bread, you haul out the mixer and 3-hours later you have something WAY better for you.  While the bread’s rising, you water the tomatoes, get some greens for your sandwich picked out from fresh sprout trays.

Curb and Gutter people, we concluded, are increasingly detached from Life.  Not only do they pay through the ying-yang for those curbs and gutters in ridiculous in-city tax rates, but in addition there’s a “lost contact price.”  We happen to really like making bread from scratch, for example.  Or having a tiny garden and waiting on Ma Nature to take things off the shopping list.

Being outdoors a significant amount of time, of course, you automatically get your Vitamin D from the sun, fresh air, and exercise.  Things that to “curb and gutter” people are pills, filters, and gym fees.  Plus, when you turn over dirt out here there’s a sense of accomplishment to it.

Won’t belabor the point, because there’s no “right of wrong” to it.  But a shocking number of people can live their entire lives in 2,000 square feet daily if that.

Which, we reckon, may explain why portions of world population behave like caged animals that are fighting back against being caged.

People rediscovering home – as a place of work – has been a mixed blessing from Covid.  I mean besides seeing the government lie to us.  Some people realize the value of large and varied “personal ranging.” Walks, parks, yards.  Others, though, increase the amount of wasted energy on social media and focusing on the he-said, she-said bullshit of social which doesn’t add value and flushes precious time.

Ask yourself sometime:  Am I a “curb and gutter” person?  Could I live in a real world where there’s mud, planning, hard physical work, pests and insects, where weather actually matters?

I got a good laugh later, thinking about it.  People who say, “Turn up the weather for me!”  When they are not even in the weather.  Closed garage driven to covered parking at work.  Strange head game indeed.

And we wonder why the world is nuts?

Write when it clears up,

George@Ure.net

72 thoughts on “Market’s Inflation-Driven Rally – PPI Figures”

  1. “So, when he called to talk about the “hollow money” problem – we both (being students of Long Wave Economics – knew exactly what the problem was.”

    the suspense is killing me.. before I read further.. I want to say I think I KNOW..
    its hollow because it isn’t backed by anything more than a bozo that has to much says it is.. LOL LOL LOL nothing more than a texas chili fart.. OH wait a texas chili fart has some substance to it LOL LOL LOL
    the world currencies just had the people convinced it did..

    https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/news-nation/people-keep-asking-me-what-s-the-big-deal-about-de-dollarization-maybe-this-can-explain-it-to-them

    as that becomes more obvious.. the faith in its value will falter.. a happy meal two cheese burgers and fries.. coke.. twelve dollars.. a couple years ago it was two cheese burgers for a buck.. fries a dollar and pop all under five dollars..

  2. “Buttwiper”

    The suds are in all the stadiums. It’s an ecosystem. Recall the NFL “Hometown Heros” program, people loved it….. but now there is a “Hometown Heros” mortgage assisstance program in FL.

    “Get approved for the Hometown Heroes Program Florida with down payment assistance and closing cost assistance up to $25000.00.”

    How insulting. We bust our ass to get a down payment and payoff a house and they are running the prices up with freebies.

    I guess it;s not stealing as someone in “Authority” said it’s OK.

    • That mortgage program ultimately tuns FL blue. It’ll take a few years.

      Some of today’s buyers can’t afford a down payment. How are they going to pay for the water heater or lawn maintenance, FL needs AC? More credit they can’t afford to service.

      As the years roll by we’ll see some of them in a food line forming a voting block. Maybe they’ll demand .gov home repair assistance because the house they couldn’t afford is now slummy.

      It’s an ecosystem too where Blue State seeds are going thrive.

    • I can not imagine the screams of 18,000 milk cows being burned alive and calling for help. That is a sound I don’t think you would ever forget. It must have been horrible.

      • My guess is it acted like a thermobaric bomb that sucked all the air out of the area with nary a “moo” to be heard. Evidently ventilation was in desperate need of being serviced to evacuate the volatile gasses in the huge barn. One source I remember reading said it was an entire section of land under a roof – a square mile! That’s one heckuva gas bubble!

        • around here.. one dairy farmer was having issues with methane build up in the pipes.. we ( he pulled weeds for me in my garden to nice kid) were having a lemonade and I told him about my visit to a chicken egg farm.. they augered the waste to a digester.. from that point turned it into gas.. that he heated his farm ran his tractors on it and cars..
          Anyway the kid took that suggestion back to the dairy farm.. and they put up digesters.. produce over two billion square feet of gas that they sell back to the gas company…
          https://www.amazon.com/PUXIN-Biodigester-Transform-Anaerobic-Electricity/dp/B08MF39JW3/ref=sr_1_7?
          https://www.homebiogas.com/product/homebiogas-2/
          https://www.build-a-biogas-plant.com/PDF/digester_installation_manual_mozambique_2012.pdf

          my guess is.. as big of an operation the heat in texas.. it was something that was bound to happen… improper waste disposal and the heat of texas.. Now .. With an operation as big as that.. eighteen hundred cows.. the one here doesn’t have anywhere near that many cows.. and makes more from thier gas production.. in Texas the temperatures are more suitable for gas production.. WHY then didn’t they do that.. have the waste washed down into the digester and augers.. then let the gas escape into the bladder..
          https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/biogas-storage-bladders.html
          anyone living on a farm with animals should be utilizing this… its a waste to let it escape into the atmosphere..

          https://www.solarcities.eu/education/388

          any small hobby farm should have them.. now compressing the gas into tanks.. yes you can do that.. but that piece of equipment is a little more expensive..
          and unless you have a huge operation the best method is to just use it for heating and cooking..

        • Being downwind of my cows, after they’ve trotted across the pasture to see me and are all shook up, their odor has always reminded me of smoked oysters in the can. One of my favorite snack foods.

          Looking at the barn or shed after the blast I don’t see one single ventilation point anywhere on that roof. There’s plenty now though!

        • Cl I Div 1 GP CD enclosed spaces with limited ventilation and no one who knows sh!t about hazardous area electricals minding the store have a track record for this sort of thing. The source could be something as simple as a light or switch which didn’t meet hazardous area codes, or was improperly installed.

        • @n____

          “enclosed spaces with limited ventilation and no one who knows sh!t about hazardous area electricals ”

          (I’m assuming this place was not built in the last few years, and has E-26 lighting…)

          Leviton wall switch ~$.39
          Eaton non-arcing hazardous location switch ~$24.00

          Leviton ceramic light fixture ~$1.99
          Crouse Hinds explosion proof light fixture ~$745.00

          Etcetera…

          ‘Nuff said?

  4. I traveled all over the USA and overseas in my field of work, Many times I had to be in areas of heavy populations and I did this for MANY years up until my retirement about 7 years ago, every time I was in those heavy pop areas it became obvious most of those people did NOT think nor act like those who had been raised in rural settings and knew how to hunt, fish and live off the land. I had lots of discussions with others and we ALL saw what was happening and what the probable outcome would be as they and their skewed thinking would have to much influence (by voting numbers) on voting scumbags into offices of power and we see it today on a major scale. Unless this is somehow reversed ( not happening) our future is very DIM that is until the big flash of a nuke lights things up. I could say more but you know it as well. glad your mower is working again!

  5. Funny thing, There are curbs and gutters on my Island. As for Vitamin D? I highly recommend living on an Island :-)

  7. Predication and business opportunity:

    Soon, they say, the flow of CONEX-burdened mega cargo ships will stop — when the Taiwan war breaks out, WHICH I predict will NOT breakout: it’ll be curtailed by a sell-out by their politicians, rather than be smashed.

    Point is: all the Chineesium Krappe will disappear from the market shelves — perhaps suddenly — IF there’s a Taiwan war.

    Where we gonna get our Krappe?

    (Most Americans don’t realize how MUCH stuff we still manufacture in America, but there’s a lot we still make here.)

    This will make for a chaotic marketplace to say the least.

    Imagine now a large retail store, not unlike a “Dollar Store,” in size, and with aisles of big “gondolas” (Term for modular shelving units like supermarkets use) filled with what amounts to tons of Tag Sale type stuff, well organized.

    “Buy, Sell, Swap.” Bring it in, we’ll buy it, fix it if necessary, and then sell it for twice what we paid you. NOT a pawnshop, you make a clean final sale to us, and we fix, stock, and sell it to somebody who will accept a Used Good. Because “new’ is simply not available anywhere at any price.

    Such Buy Sell, Swap stores will be a short lived phenomenon, because American manufacturers will resurrect themselves and spool up operations ASAP. But ASAP will be a while — maybe as long as a few years for products that need complex process or tooling.

    Real Estate — storefronts — will be dirt cheap for a while, because the economy will be flat on its butt for a while, as entrepreneurs seize the opportunity, and quickly bail before the music of “Made In America” gets loud again, when the CONEX cargo mega-ships resume.

    Until then, big “Buy, Sell, Swap” stores, a Great American Tag Sale (plus), will make some serious cash.

    If you do it: send me 1%.

    – 73 –

    • Correct WR2.

      “Soon, they say, the flow of CONEX-burdened mega cargo ships will stop — when the Taiwan war breaks out, WHICH I predict will NOT breakout: it’ll be curtailed by a sell-out by their politicians, rather than be smashed.”

      You are a student of the Kabuki Theater. In a Twist the cargo ships are going to stop for awhile [no kinetics]. Where will they be? Some will be stranded in Ports of Call, Some in Ports of Origin. All over the place. Their reefer units not being refueled.

      Regardless, what was a cottage industry will be full on again. When there’s 4th turning Summer inflation coming, its hugely more economical to repair than replace. I thinks its a mega trend not a passing fad. And will be part of the way US avoids Mad Max IMHO.

      https://www.ifixit.com/

      Got Blockchain?

    • Already been doing that for 26 years. Don’t usually have to buy. So much stuff available for free.

  8. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that America is headed for the (financial) skids when spending 28 percent more than we bring in.
    And we’ve been doing it for years.”

    when was it that the interest on what we owe became higher than what we take in.. at 8% interest.. they need the war to revaluate the currencies that aren’t backed by anything other than a promise.. with the business activities that were disruted in ukraine.. if it’s true and the puppeteers really were funneling 37 trillion daisies a year through their cleaning service that would explain the drive to flip this..37 trillion nothing is better if it’s valued

  9. Great cities and nations have fallen before us, again, and again. Seems a trait of human nature, that GOD allowed us free will just to see what happens. Better novelty than the boredom of perfection. And isn’t it true, that we as humans take novelty to some odd ends. Is any of it right?or wrong?
    Learning is fun.
    Here’s a concept. Nuclear waste/fallout. Anything to do with nucleotide mutation should be fun to watch. If you were otherwise bored. It would have a “wellllll…wouldja look at that!” sorta feel. Who knows. Maybe having a thick skull, deep set eyes, thick matted hair, leathery epidermis, scaley feet, and an angry disposition will be cool again. Cave life, female (fashionably mutated much like you) keeping a fire lit and sitting on the ovum waiting for what comes out next while hoping you can drag one of those tasty giant cockroaches home for dinner. Friggin’ entertaining!
    Stiks

    • Exactly.. patterns..
      we experience the great fall..
      we learn attempt to change it..
      then those that worked so hard to change the issues.. leaves
      new blood comes in and not having the past experiences.. goes about making the same mistakes.. HEY THATS A MOVIE
      https://youtu.be/Y1xI8wreNQ8
      https://youtu.be/WBgfuoie9EM
      we keep making the same mistakes over and over and over.. the reason.. is usually .. GREED. and POWER..
      https://youtu.be/oxieVARtZ7c
      its a paradox.. learning from the past.. and letting go and doing what we think to learn the same answers over and over..

      • Why you, me and everybody on this board has been designed/engineered to die and reboot every 72 yrs ..so No ONE remembers what really is going on, what has really happened to Humans..over and over again.

        Its a prison farm – loosh farm for the “archons”/annuna, and we be the Moosies.

  10. “curb and gutter people”.., and not just in the big., or bigger cities. Small towns are now filling up with them. Those that have left the larger cities., but, bring the exact same “curb and gutter” mind-set along with them. They still don’t understand. I see it all the time around my little burg. If the bottom drops out as much as some are predicting -there is going to be a lot of people around here in a world of hurt. I have no idea what they are going to do.
    .
    Out of my trade already this morning. Got in yesterday as the market was slowly slipping downward. Didn’t do as well as the numbers said I might – but…, I will not complain with a 2.4%.

    • ” If the bottom drops out as much as some are predicting -there is going to be a lot of people around here in a world of hurt. I have no idea what they are going to do.”

      You know exactly what they’re going to do.

      You are a sensible person, therefore you don’t want your mind to go to the place where that knowledge comes to the surface.

      …But you DO know.

    • A new study found that 27% of New Yorkers plan to relocate out of state within the next five years. New York once represented the symbol of American prosperity and growth. People dreamed of living life in the “Big Apple” and America’s international image was largely portrayed at the New York fairytale in films and books. Yet, New York no longer resembles what it once was.

      https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/americas-current-economy/the-coming-new-york-exodus/

      • Personally I blame penicillin and its derivatives. There are sooooo many people that would have died …. should have died …. could have died and left the game while it was still going on leaving enough to allow others to carry on. It’s all a logical conclusion to allowing stupid people to have a third, fourth chance an on into infinite number of chances with little to no consequences you’d normally experience in life over the past 12,000 years. This is what our higher tech developments have been used for rather than actually giving us a chance to truly improve ourselves.

  11. Should have put this CPI comment yesterday.

    But the year over years are going to come down big time starting in July.
    The monthly numbers from last year.
    July -0
    Aug-0.2
    Sep-.04
    0ct -0.5
    Nov 0.2
    Dec- -0.5
    Jan 23 -0.5
    Feb23- .0.4
    Mar.23 – 0.1 – 9 months add up to 28. So 3 percent and trending down. May and June were 0.9 and 1.2 which ups the annual figure.. I guess the Fed wants 2% soon with their May Fed Fund increase of .25.

    • TikTok idiot said: “I don’t see why we need farms when we can buy all the food we want from the grocery store.”

      Yesterday a different idiot on TikTok was raving how stores are now killing Lions and selling their meat. Package said: Loin meat!

      Sad to see the ignorance in people. Oh, another one: Chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

    • Now I have to say BIC.. that is about the best entrance that
      I should tell you about my decades old rant about Greenscaping the cities.. building solar towers starting from the furthest point from the power plant and building back.. and CO2 filters put on every lamp post in a city.. LOL LOL everyone thinks it is the stupidest idea.. but think about it fifty five acres a minute of farmland is lost forever.. if you green scaped.. then the fifty five acres becomes several thousand acres of crop growing potential.. the big issue is the Business model..heaven forbid that some child eat a few grapes or cherries.. or whatever.. pull a carrot.. good lord how could we deal with it..

  14. George,
    Concerning the meme about the election and re-election of crooked/nonfunctioning politicians from my reading of the Federalist universal suffrage is not a good. When a constituency is formed that has a majority of unintelligent and nonthinking voters what do you think you are. going to get? George Carlin once said “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”. The election system of this country is failing or has already failed. The problem seems intractable. Also I am concerned that given the current state of the electorate the country is vulnerable to a good orator who can rally large groups like Hitler’s 1935 Nuremberg rally (Der Trump des Willens) ;-) .

    • just one little difference from my low IQ view,,
      Hitler led his people into war, while Trump was getting US out of the endless wars, that seems Quite the opposite.
      The ‘owners’ of Carlin fame, supported both Hitler and the allies,,, I wonder how these hidden handed ‘owners’ feel about Trump. Every news source and corporate ownership seems to be against him. They/permanent gov/FBI/CIA/DOJ/SDNY are using every legal avenue, plus some highly improper/illegal means to attack Trump and take him out.
      I guess my standing is pro-Trump.
      I AM a never masker, vax free, saw through the covid attack, as an attack, warfare! from within and without, CONspiracy it is.
      Warfare against the US Constitution,,,,, Who will stand and protect this sacred agreement? It is the first two amendments that have the global owners unhappy.
      Military tribunals is not my first choice, but the system is so cancer filled, it can not heal it’s self. We need a trusted surgeon. It needs to be done legally and open, for all to witness. During trump’s inaugural in this article, there is a short video of military officers with military justice hat bands, a signal to those who see, returning POWER to the people.
      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4142324/Moment-soldiers-stand-Trump-inaugural-speech.html

      in the inaugural speech here, start @3:30 go to 4:40 to see the military come in and then leave after that announcement
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-mfhjaPvsM
      Rest in Peace, President Kennedy.

      On the other hand , I have wondered if Trump is part of the deep state, in that case, bend over and kiss it goodbye, we remain cattle headed for the slaughter house.
      But my money is on Trump, for the win, if I am wrong, we lose.
      FREEDOM hinges on free and fair and open elections, paper ballots and IDs. No machines or software
      Puppet Pedo Joe and his handlers are pushing for WWIII, lets go blow up another gas line.

  15. I certainly appreciate the self sufficient mindset. But almost no modern US homesteader is even close to any such thing. How long is your hydraulic equipment going to stay working, your diesel equipment, your small motor equipment. Yes you may last longer then those of us in the suburbs, but not that much longer. You may raise 5-10% of your caloric needs. A working homestead without modern equipment would take far more effort then you a senior citizen could likely put in without significant injury.

    Few of us would be prepared to supply their own needs without modern equipment. That is why farms had “hands” and animals that helped with the grunt work. Sure you might hunt, but who is protecting the homestead while you are gone. Your homestead would be quite easy pickings for a small group of young men to overwhelm as they consolidate holdings to feed themselves.

    I just believe most of the self sufficient people, vastly over estimate how prepared they are for a SHTF moment that last more then a couple of weeks.

    The tight knit communities where there are like minded young men around to get the work done and protect their land and families will be those that likely come out the other side.

    • Your homestead would be quite easy pickings for a small group of young men to overwhelm as they consolidate holdings to feed themselves…
      …The tight knit communities where there are like minded young men around to get the work done and protect their land and families will be those that likely come out the other side.

      This is why the best plan is to disappear, and for no one to know where.

      If you have a community of 20, what’re you going to do when a band of 100 comes along, and they’re scared, hungry, horny, and desperate?

      If you have a community of 100, what’re you going to do when a band of 1000 comes along, and they’re scared, hungry, horny, and desperate?

      If a true, man-made SHTF comes along, should you not be able to hide and leave neither tracks nor signs for at least 6 months, you will die. Any community, colony, or commune large enough to fight off the hordes is too large to both self-sustain and protect its lines & flanks…

    • This would explain an incident of Progressive criticism of the CCP. The money is drying up and the romance is over.

  17. DoD information leak redux:

    I will say again what I said a couple of days ago in my longish post on the subject about the US Governement with it’s computerization of ALL of it’s data:

    …. When the US Government puts information on a Computer System and they are simultaneously putting out a FLASHING Neo Sign along the road that says “Come Read Me”!!

    Sheesh, the head count of spies working for the US that have now been executed because of Computers information leakage is now at least in the low hundreds.

    Sheesh, the amount of supposedly “Top Secret” information that leaks out REGULARLY is unbelievable.

    Per the NY Times the current leaker is a 21yo National Guard Member!! WHY in the hell could they even access that information?

    A repeat of how LOW LEVEL people can STILL access Classified information in large quantities, a flaw that came to light YEARS AGO because of Manning, Assange, and Snowden AND HAS STILL has not been stopped.

    As I said in that post a few days ago the best and brightest computer nerds are mostly uninterested in working for the US Government, pay is low compared to the private sector, and it takes one decades to climb the bureaucratic ladder.

    Of course the leakage of material such as those previous cases and the current one has to do with Systems Design … which shows just how BAD and not very bright the people who designed the systems were.

    The fact that those systems are STILL leaking like a sieve shows just how bad the US Government is at correcting even KNOWN PROBLEMS.

    Go back and read my previous post on the subject if you want to read more of my rant on this issue.

    Notice to ALL:
    The US Government Computers are OPEN FOR BUSINESS!! Come read any and all things you want to read!

    Library access will remain open for the entire foreseeable future!!

    • “The fact that those systems are STILL leaking like a sieve shows just how bad the US Government is at correcting even KNOWN PROBLEMS.”

      The Agency puts up an impenetrable firewall.
      It is truly unbreachable.
      Then the only way to access the network is from behind the firewall.
      Then they depend on their vetting & clearancing process to deny anyone access who doesn’t pass it.
      Then they assume anyone who does, has the degree of honor, patriotism, and devotion to fulfill their assumption.

      ‘Looks like a bunch of conditionals and assumptions, don’t it?

      If somebody who works on the secure side of that firewall gets in a really bad physical or financial pinch, and a foreign or terrorist agent hands him a thumbdrive and promises to make his troubles vanish, what’s he gonna do, report the contact or take the 6-figure payout?

      After 45 years of WAN networking, the vast majority of people who understand computer security are too nerdy to comprehend “hive human nature” and can’t teach security or fix stupid…

      I gave you an example of a “G-Man” who’s very bright. He’s NSA, not Military (the vast majority of computer leaks come from, or through .MIL computers), and has never worked security. If he did, he’d compartmentalize data (which the government is usually wont to do anyway), then do the same thing I did — deny system-level access to everyone.

      You only lift access for a single user at a time, and only within their permitted compartment (NOBODY is “superuser,” not even your superiors.) You use a batch routine steganography program to imbed a unique watermark into every page of data and a checksum routine to create a validation code for every executable or library, which is checked by an integrity utility after every access. With this in place, the user can only steal data from his(her) compartment. Stolen data can instantly be traced to the person who pilfered it, and the user can’t imbed a bomb or worm in the network to allow outside access.

    • “A repeat of how LOW LEVEL people can STILL access Classified information in large quantities”

      First off.. I don’t believe there are any secrets.. have you seen how govt. does things.. they have a plan.. this plan goes through a commitee that sends out sections of the plan to organizations and colleges to be studied.. by the time anything is done .. there are thousands of people that have all the information on the subjec.. sure they may only have the corner post but heck it doesn’t take a genius to put it together.. .. the things they want to keep covered over they lock up.. but the story is out there.. like you said.. the biggest flag is the label.. come read me.. no one is curious about a story that has very little if any logical connection to anyone.. and written in bible fine print and by someone that writes in a level above 8th grade reading .. OH HEY THAT MAY BE WHY CONGRESS DOESN”T WANT TO LOOK AT THEM EITHER..
      the stories that end up coming out to be secrets in plain site are the page six stories.. then they spend millions and billions to discredit them..
      Now I figured they got it from Hunters computer..did he pass on the passwords to sites that are not obtainable to the general public..
      https://youtu.be/YjJONLPzGfY
      Now being on the game circuit.. I can tell you there were people from all over the globe reading that stuff.. if they found them interesting enough to look at.. mostly I am going to guess the average person or child didn’t want to waste his time reading them..

  18. “Am I a “curb and gutter” person?”
    I am fortunate to have spent the first five years of my life on the home ‘hobby farm’. No animals, but we had a huge garden and 10 acres my brothers farmed for sweet corn or soybeans. Mom canned all the garden excess. Fast forward to my professional life in the big city of Honolulu for four decades. Living in a concrete box… ugh. And worrying about a 2500 mile ocean supply chain for the groceries?

    I am extremely grateful to have made it to retirement in the rural jungle where I grow a surprising amount of my food.

  19. Re: “caged animals”
    fear: the rat race

    Folks,

    Good news! The rats are not fleeing the ship. The BBC ‘s Toronto correspondent advises on the state of the Prime Minister’s official Ottawa residence, 24 Sussex Drive, childhood haunt of the current PM. The circa 1868 12,000 sq. ft. dwelling ceased human habitation in 2015 following its last major refurbishment in 1951 during the reign of King George VI. The National Capital Commission which manages the historical site notes “…an important rodent infestation…lead, mold, asbestos…fire trap…drafty windows…and no air conditioning.

    Sounds like a handyman special. Could be a diamond in the rough.

  20. I wonder how long Anhowitzer Bushed is going to bleed $700 million per day before they can the trans and the dippy chick who came up with the idea, and everyone who told her it was a good’un, and come groveling back to their market?

    I guarandamtee y’all, there won’t be a Buttwiper involved anywhere in NASCAR or powerboat racing, and likely not baseball, until A-B finds an adequate way to apologize to 130 million consumers, many of whom speak with a drawl and possess a high degree of personal integrity…

    • First NASCAR, next the public libraries … Do I hear muskets firing in the distance? The American consumer awakens. Will we live to hear a Progressive trash mouth the CCP in a public forum?

  21. Ask yourself sometime: Am I a “curb and gutter” person? Could I live in a real world where there’s mud, planning, hard physical work, pests and insects, where weather actually matters?

    We grow our own food from a garden, we tend chickens for eggs and meat (when they quit laying eggs – dress a chicken, they look so cute in a tux. :-) ), we have an orchard for mid-summer to mid-fall canning… we dehydrate and freeze dry food… there is a running creek from a spring on the property for fresh water…

    We sometimes make noodles and bread from scratch (hard to do without a threshing mill, but if there is wheat available, it can be done.)

    Goats for keeping the weeds down… heck, some of them even give milk… no cows… last of those we cooked in Texas… but the thought of a few bummers is still lingering around…

    I guess we are not all “curb and gutter”. I like being a few miles outside of the town we live near, but far enough out we can still take care of life… speaking of which, have to use the riding mower to bring a trailer out of the back wooded area… I hope the copperheads and timber rattlers are down by the water and not near the bee hives.

  22. Some guy on YouTube talking about stars and horoscopes said that April 20th will be a day the world will remember forever . The 20th is the last day of Ramadan which Stewart said might be around the time we all pee and poop our pants.

    • LOL LOL LOL .. just wait they will add it as a MAP on the game board pretty soon.. my guess is the kids couldn’t care less about it.. and neither does anyone else.. on discord.. ( where it was posted) my guess is two people were talking and one said to the other.. you should see this crap.. and then posted it for a co game player to look at.. the rest of the people wouldn’t waste their time .. NOW.. exposure.. I can tell you people on game play discord.. there are thousands all over the globe that visit it daily.. how many opened the file.. who knows..

      • Something’s wrong.

        There are certainly 21yos who could hack a computer to which they have access, but…

        The talking “news” heads all said (are still saying) that kid had the “highest possible security clearance,” despite being an A1C in the freaking RESERVE. He was a “tech specialist,” but not a geek. (That doesn’t mean he’s not a geek, just that he didn’t play one in the AFR.) He’s the guy that, if you pulled your Cat-5 cable out of the wall jack, would bring you the new cable and install it. If’fn a “weekend warrior” Private had multi-compartmental top level clearance, somewhere there’s a Colonel or General who should be breaking rocks and living in the cell next to his…

        Unfortunately, because of the times in which we live and the government we’ve been saddled with, I can postulate there’s a nonzero chance this kid is somebody’s fall guy. I’m not going to say he is, but it disappoints me that I also can’t say he isn’t…

  24. Yo Jorge, appears that BUD has “filled the diaper” with the woke beer campaign. Lost $6b in market cap in a matter of days. See
    the hedge:
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/anheuser-busch-loses-6bn-six-days-execs-never-signed-trans-ad-campaign
    Company execs are now in the “plausible deniability” phase distancing themselves from this marketing disaster. Go woke go broke.
    Now for something completely different, a little tune from one of the greatest drummer and band leaders of a time, Mr. Buddy Rich and his band
    playing Birdland.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvRnK5aGAys
    Enjoy my friends….

  25. Totally off topic…
    I went to a library book sale last week and picked up a dozen or so books from 1960 to 1990. The language is much more complex than books written today. Words like harking, exiguous, snippets, and briskening are on almost every page. They are a delight to read.

  26. Whiney crybaby republicans, u.s. pays less taxes than 40 other industrialized countries, gonna havta compromise and have those one percenters (raise corp taxes also) pay their way someday:
    https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/highest-taxed-countries

    China’s got worse cracks in it’s piggy bank than u.s.:
    http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/CHINA-DEBT-HOUSEHOLD/010030H712Q/index.html

    u.s. not the biggest debt to gdp:
    https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/debt-to-gdp-ratio-by-country/

    • What? You posted something that might reflect badly on the CCP’s debt slavery system? Note this in Ure records G____ , an incident of Progressive party line dissent. Is the CCP getting behind on it’s pay-offs, or something ? Oh the humanity !

    • Hmmm… now C.. that could be debatable……I do know millionaires that pay less in taxes than I do.. I am at the bottom of the barrel.. but hey.. this is apples to apples oranges to oranges.. and statistically we have lower taxes than other countries.. but Wait.. lets look at the business model of this..

      https://www.americanprogress.org/article/5-little-known-facts-about-taxes-and-inequality-in-america/

      How much are we spending for wars per person.. out of our tax dollars.. yes I believe that is why we printed money like no tomorrow.. the future of our futuristic view of a thousand dollar gallon of milk..

      https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2017/09/taxes-united-states-war-iraq-afghanistan-syria/141337/

      Now lets take a look at the services they get in comparison to the USA.. in lets take canada.. as an example.. there are talks of long wait periods to see a specialist.. well for the wage earner.. there is about a year wait to see a specialist here.. maybe longer if it is routine.. you will see a PA or a nurse practicioner.. even then there is a month or more waiting period.. unless of course it is an emergency situation.. I was having issues with changing weather and arthritis .. the answer I got was in six months when you can get in to see your primary physician.. I am sorry my arthritic issue was happening today not six months down the road….
      they take out of the bank.. every month two hundred and fifty to a thousand dollars.. and yes.. they don’t have to let me know.. they just do it.. the govt. collection agency is the IRS and the bank or lending institution will not argue with them.. I usually find out how much five days after it has been done..
      INSURANCE.. now the good news is Obama Care forced the insurance companies to accept appications.. but now for us.. because of a past history of stroke.. we were paying just shy twenty five thousand a year for the cheap policy it was sixteen thousand a maximum of three total visits to the doctor allowed in one year.. they pay zero lab work zero x rays and zero medications.. for the twenty five grand one.. you can see a doctor but can’t have a personal physician you have to see whoever is in the clinic.. there is a ( they just upped it) fifteen dollar generic drug copay and fifty for a standard doctors visit deductible.. for a specialist there is a two hundred dollar standard deductible copay.. they pay nothing until you reach your out of pocket copay of ten grand…. just for the wife.. I was to terrified to see how much it would be for myself the one with the most health issues..
      you will loose your home to a medical institution.. they used up all the money I had set aside just for physical therapy..
      Canadians don’t have to fear loosing their homes over medical.. the same in the majority of other countries that offer the basic services to all citizens..
      roads and other municiple expenses.. I pay three hundred a month in home taxes for schools.. oh that is higher for mansions.. but the majority of that money is for schools..
      that to isn’t on the income tax .. it comes from everyone.. through our home taxes..
      https://www.quora.com/How-are-public-schools-funded-in-Canada
      In the tax process this opens up education to be a more equally divided among all those wanting to attend a college at a fraction of what the average wage earners child will pay out at then percent interest.. the kid on average will seek out a govt job part time just to get their insurance.. a great retirement and their school loans paid off.. ( govt.s golden goose plans for federal workers.. my sister doesn’t have to pay any more than two hundred an fifty dollars a year.. on her plan..Personally I pay that and more a month.

      So yes if you are an old govt. employee or a member of the SIAR.. (Shit I am Rich) you will pay less.. here our domestic repairs and services are passed on to the people through various other taxes and charges..
      this is just a small list of taxes..
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_taxes

      for the UK.. as an example..

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_Kingdom

      see the difference.. other countries may pay more on personal income taxes.. but overall they pay less by several thousand percent..

      the other difference is if you need emergency medical care you can get it.. not get a second mortgage on your home or loose your farm or home to pay for it..

      https://www.cc.com/video/cbbn22/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-third-world-health-care-knoxville-tennessee-edition

      so yes in one way .. you are right but if you lay it all out apples to apples oranges to oranges.. you can see the difference and of course the american citizen is much higher..

      https://www.balancedpolitics.org/editorials/100_taxes_you_pay.htm
      and seriously I just brought up two points of interest there are hundreds or more of examples of the inequality..
      I still want to know what they did with the trillions they printed up to rebuild the infrastructure..

    • https://youtu.be/LViETnq18xo
      https://www.amazon.com/Proshine-Handheld-Chicken-Plucking-Electric/dp/B0B396S187/ref=sr_1_3?

      https://www.amazon.com/KVSERT-Plucker-Machine-Plucking-Epilator/dp/B0BRR7R9BQ/ref=sr_1_41?

      https://www.amazon.com/21833-Stainless-Processing-Integrated-Irrigation/dp/B01BI5D0MK/ref=sr_1_2?

      Personally I get my birds already plucked.. and since I know I could never hurt a chicken or bird.. I will never need one.. I do know where my food comes from.. I just won’t be the one to ever do the dirty deed.. that is why my cow is in someone elsed field.. it would die of old age….
      https://www.amazon.com/s?k=eating+good+vegan+cookbook&crid=1OQRI3U4QRFHJ&sprefix=vegan+eating%2Caps%2C120&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_12

      • Oh You fancy,

        ya dont need any more new fangled chykneesium gadgets to pluck dem yard burds or any other kinda burd.

        This is what the neighborhood kids are for..plucking Ure game burds, after the hunt when You be chilling with a cold Lite or Coors Light – hunters dont drink Gay beer,
        send em home with a couple of tail feathers for their trouble.

        • LOL lol lol.. but then you don’t have the kitchen gadget LOL LOL…
          I am not a hunter.. I can if I absolutely have to.. but that is what I have grandkids and children for.. to hunt if need be.. I for one don’t think I could do it.. they look at you with those brown eyes its over with.. they like me are trying to get by the best that they know how.. amazing to.. birds.. we all could learn a lesson from the birds.. they may not like each other but are quick to lend a hand to another bird species.. the big birds let the little birds eat first then they rotate.. the little birds go and sit while the big ones go in and get a seed.. then they flip to let the little ones in.. if a momma bird is having troubles.. the other birds rush to help.. I had a sparrow that kept building a nest where she shouldn’t.. I kept tearing it down.. pretty soon there were black birds robins etc.. all carrying stuff for her to build a new nest.. then she chewed my butt out because I tore it down.. so I built her a bird house.. she lives there to this day.. I don’t have it anymore but Rocky the squirrel I would feed him.. then he got his mate.. one day on the garbage can where I would put an ear of corn.. he was sitting eating his mate right beside him and one of his paws was around her shoulders.. it was the cutest thing you ever did see.. the animal kingdom..
          Hey the seatle sea hawks are like that.. they play the game play hard but if they knock one down.. out goes the hand to give them a hand up.. my team … and my grandsons team.. we root for the sea hawks..

  28. “This is one reason young people today are “all ears” when it comes to electrics. A person driving 20,000 miles a year in a 25 MPG car can look forward to buying 800 gallons of gasoline and at prices this week, that’s $3,045 in fuel. And then there’s a set of tires,”

    The tires are m/l a wash. Tires for EVs and hybrids sell at a premium, because the rubber is denser and the tires run at a higher pressure, but rim sizes are creeping up for petrol-powered vehicles, pushing that Charger or SUV into the premium area, too.

    When you go to a “juicing station,” the electricity is not free. A 45-minute (80%) charge typically costs between $35 and $55, depending on market cost of both electricity and gasoline.

    {No, sonny, that electricity ain’t free…}

    When one of those few people who must be onsite drives his(her) Tesla to Google, the free charging station is one of the perqs of being employed by Google. If Suzy Searchette spent the weekend in Redding, sampling the local produce, and has to drive from there to Silly-con Valley, she’s going to charge up twice, and her fuel is going to cost her $110, just to get her to that “free” plug-in, in Mountain View.

    EVs do not save money — not on the front end; not on the back end; and especially not when you’re the unlucky bastard who has to drop the $14k for a new battery pack. They don’t save resources, or “the planet,” or lower pollution (AAMOF they worsen all three). What they DO is move air pollution away from a place which doesn’t tolerate it well (like the L.A. Basin) and give lead-footed drivers a near-orgasmic amount of low-end torque — all in exchange for an inability to drive long distances in a short amount of time.

    Young people are “all ears” when it comes to electrics, because they lack the desire to read or research, and the ability to draw reasoned conclusions from what little data they do absorb. They also constantly and consistently collect data from their peer group, rather than people who might have actual knowledge or insight on the topic, at hand…

    • “Young people are “all ears” when it comes to electrics, because they lack the desire to read or research, and the ability to draw reasoned conclusions from what little data they do absorb. They also constantly and consistently collect data from their peer group, rather than people who might have actual knowledge or insight on the topic, at hand…”

      Ray, that is the difference between IQ and Wisdom.

      • Bob, most people would be utterly amazed at the number of very high IQ individuals I’ve known, who were devoid of common sense and an ability to function, or even comprehend the world outside the bubble of their peers.

        When I speak of “intelligent” I’m referring to one’s IQ; when I speak of “smart” or “smarts” I’m referring to a specific individual’s (or occasionally a group’s) ability to apply whatever intellect they do possess to a specific problem. In other words,

        intelligence=potential,
        smarts=kinetic (NOT theoretical) application.

        The fact the kiddies’ raw intelligence is dropping, coupled with their obsession with themselves and a culture of narcissism which feeds it, and escapism, which lets them ignore real life, does not bode well. I fear, when it comes time to pay the Piper and they’re faced with a problem they must either solve, or die, there will be few survivors…

  29. “The Dark Tower”
    feat. Steven King

    Folks,

    President Biden’s 14 minute speech given yesterday evening at Dublin Castle is up on the White House website. AP called it “The Joe Show”. Thanks to DJ George for closing out the show with “Beautiful Day”.

    A good portion of the speech was devoted to thanking people including an extended callout to Mark Kennedy Shriver. The President recounted back to the latter’s time in the womb. Speaking of running campaigns, the speech also offered a shout-out to someone –

    “…A good friend is here as well, I think. Gary Hart is here, Senator Hart. Are you here, Gary? Gary, thank you. Gary was part of — (applause) —

    And — and I just want to say that — you know, I’ll end with this: I think we really do stand at an inflection point. I’ve used that phrase several times in talks I’ve had here. But the decisions we make now are going to determine what the next three or four decades are going to look like.

    They’re going to lay down the path that we’re going to follow. It’s happened every five, six generations throughout history. Things are changing…”

  30. “The trick here is to actually get a handful of important things done each day while keeping in mind that anything over 3-5 percent of your time being spent on planning is time stolen from doing. ”

    https://www.pens.com/us/p/full-color-note-caddy-rose-gold-pen-set/prd-ntcfzhvq/

    I carry one of those around all the time.. I like this one because it does have sticky notes in it.. the cost is decent.. make a list.. the most critical goes to the top.. then check them off.. what wasn’t finished goes on the next days sheet.. critical goes to the top.. eventually you get the list done..

      • Yes, the solid metal barrels hold together when you’re picking up and carrying stuff around a lot whereas the plastic part of the barrel will break somewhere along the threads eventually. Just be careful any sacks you pick up don’t scoop the pen out of your pocket. I’ve found many pens hanging on a feed sack when I realize they’ve disappeared again.

        I’ve found old full metal Zebra pens that have fallen out of my pocket in the ranch roads that have been run over no telling how many times that still almost work or would have if I’d rediscovered them a little earlier. I love the fine line Zebras make and they handle well – not too fat, not too slim.

        As far as note pads go I’ve got a plethora of freebies I’ve picked up here and there along with sticky notes, all of which have a ongoing shopping list or things to remember or to do in them. If the job doesn’t get done or item isn’t needed any more it gets crossed out or, if it’s important enough, it gets transferred to whichever pad is relevant at the moment. Chaos reigns supreme but things do eventually get done.

Comments are closed.