Markets: Yes, the Fed Matters; Politiucs: More White-Bashing

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We are looking for the markets to react to Fed Chairman Powell’s speech which will get underway about 8:45 AM Eastern.

In advance, the Wall Street Journal was saying “Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s Approach to Interest-Rate Policy Wins Bipartisan Backing.”

Tomorrow on our Peoplenomics.com subscriber side, some notes about Fed rates and where markets head.

And the Consumer Debt report (they call it “credit” because the bankster class are “creditors”) came out late Monday.

In the report (here) we can see that we can see that the Consumer may be back to hitting what we describe as super-saturation, again.  That is evidenced by the growth of credit going up at an annualized 4.3 percent in Q1 2019 which is down from 5.4% annualized in Q4.

Moreover, another indicator that consumers may be “smartening up” is that the annual rate of increase in consumer spending on the revolving side (e.g. credit cards) was only up 1.5% while more useful (durable) things ucategorized ‘non-revolving’ (school loans, mobile homes and such) was still going up at a 5.3% annualized rate.

Another interesting point – which I’m sure our bond trader friends ( Don Bondi) will find curious is that the 48-month car loan rate is again ‘inverted.’  5.5% for a 48-month loan in Q1 versus a 60-month for 5.24%.  Normally, the shorter the term of the loans, the lower the rate, not higher.

Such inversions cause the bond traders no end of lost sleep these days.

Going into the Fed Chair talk this morning, the Dow futures were down about 100.

From the FINRA 4210 pattern day trader (Gee, who might that be?) the question is whether this is a sell the rumor buy the news situation.  If Powell pleases, we see blue skies into mid August for markets.

What would we love to see?  Just the right speech and a moonshot to take the Dow into the 27,000’s and the S&P into the 3,000’s.  That would get Trump off his back, the market to the annual highs window, and who knows what else?

This still leaves several interesting problems on the table.

First, is the consumer becoming ‘burned-out?’  I know when we go out to the store (or whatever) we look at brand new cars which mostly carry a $45-thousand price tag (and up) for what we drive.  Then one of us will remark something like  “Meh…still four wheels, a motor, with air conditioning and power windows and locks. But we already have that….So what would we be getting for $45-thousand less the trade-in?”

Sure, sure, there are some improvements over “Old Reliable” our 2005 Lexus.  But is “auto-following with braking” and “lane change assist/warning” and a back-up camera, worth draining retirement savings of $35-kilobucks?  I bet you can figure out the answer to this without too much help…

The second consumer problem is, after a car so you can get to all five jobs in the NGE (new gig economy) is What Else do you need?  Futons and memory foam mattresses are cheap.  Sure, I’d maybe like one of those new steam-ovens for the kitchen to pop out the perfect crusty loaf.  Truth is, we’re out of counter space until I get around to the remodel of the kitchen…

Needs around the house?  Electronics are past full: – eight computers, plus 3 Kindles plus an iPad and 4 big screens, three WiFi networks.  Seriously….what else could we possibly need?

You see, this is the kind of economic fundamentalism that really drives an economy.  Whether to raise rates, or not, is less the issue than “What will people come ‘out of pocket for?’  BTSOM

The answer, though it’s still verging (as in being on the verge) is the new ‘mixed reality’ technology which we’re betting the Amazon-Microsoft alliance could really find a home run from.  I’m on the edge of buying some mixed reality gear myself just for the geekiness of it all.

But, again, the problem is:  What’s it worth?  We can each already blend reality by simply living a rational like and then going to CrazyLand by turning on the news.  Being able to overlay idiocy on top of our pastoral lifestyle just doesn’t seem worth $3-kilobucks in faster video card, a computer upgrade and the HMD unit.

Yet… When the mixed reality movies and the usefully high def affordable 3D layer gets here (which people like Dr. Pete are working on out in L.A.) then you bet!  Where do we sign?

We want Tai Chia Crisco Warrior Exercise Demon in mizxed reality (MR-3D) which would be fun to have as another exercise in the gym.  You can only listen to so much on Alexa while doing the daily hike, right?

As we noted recently on the PN side of the house, what we are doing as a culture is actively engineering to bring Dreams to the Waking State (D2WS).  Not very many people have the vision yet, but when you cut out all the BS and Hype, that’s where the present cultural roads lead.

Unless we take the class/race/gender  global ego warfare route.  Which gets us to the second noodle…How’s that going?

Pelosi Goes White Bashing

For us you and this is abhorent.  We’re just the fair-minded, egalitarian, even-keeled, salt of the earth working class.  We go chasing ‘the bag’ (of money) and live a simple life.

But the political criminal classes?  Bent of dividing and conquering?

“Pelosi says Trump is trying to ‘Make America White Again’ with census question .”

This she-devil in human form doesn’t seem to understand Un-Mixed Reality (UMR) very well.  When I was born, America was 85% white.  Over 70 years, and without a single public vote, the liberals and lefties have conspired to increase minorities from 15% to 48%.  Leaving the whites in the 60% range.  And according to Census, whites will be a minority by 2045.  25-years…that’s the trajectory.

She-devils also can’t seem to read papers.  If they did, they would have seen the headline “Record 60 million Hispanics in US, 52% of population growth.”

Don’t misunderstand:  I love all people who want to assimilate and be part of Team America.  Black, Hispanic, and especially Cuban.  But when the left is fielding divisive tactics via AoC and what’s her scarf, it’s not a good thing.  It’s an attack on America.

White bashing has been brainwashed into the GMG – the great mass of gullibles.  It fuels idiotic SJW’s who in turn are propelled by Marxist teachers on the public dime.

A fine example?  The  Sky News report “Festival scraps cheaper ‘people of colour’ tickets after ‘white supremacist threats’.”

So lemme see if I got this right:  The festival promoters  get to be white-hating racists with punitive pricing but turn about isn’t fair play?   Ah…more of that divisive “We’re all equal, except you” thinking.  Which is what racism is, of course.

Not around here.  ANY racism is BAD racism.  There are good people of all races and beliefs and there are bad.  It’s what makes Life such a long game to work through.  Even after 70-years of play, I wake up and find one of the manipulators – in this case Pelosi – is trying to turn-the-board so they can cheat.

The good news is it proves one of the underlying tenets of UrbanSurvival:  Stay away from bad people, keep your head down, shield your heart, and make the best life you can in a world of digital zombies.  The  Digital Mob  Rule being pushed by the  Digitlantes can get along without you.

We got bigger problem if we just think about it:  The need to secure food and happiness for our families and loved ones tops the sane person’s list.

Oh, Those Clintons

We were wondering the other day:  Would there be some connection found being those in the Clinton orbit and those in the Jeff Epstein orbit?

A good  Reuters  piece about Jeff Epstein claiming ‘Not Guilty’ to charges (you expected something else?) offers this insightful paragraph:

“Epstein was known for socializing with politicians and royalty, with friends who have included U.S. President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton and according to court papers, Britain’s Prince Andrew. None of those people was mentioned in the indictment. “

So for now, we’ll just skip the ratings-desperation play-by-play of the PMS (Pandering MainStream) on Epstein.  But, we will pass along the shame names involved as they come out, so to speak.

Dribs and Drabs

Shake it up, baby, department: “Supervolcano fears: ‘Big One’ is coming.”

Assuming you know social media is an exploitive monetization and you and your friends…”Instagram introduces new anti-bullying features.”

“2019’s Fastest Wireless Network Crown Goes to This Carrier”  Spoiler alert:  AT&T.

And fort our business students: Chart: Diversification enhances profitability of marijuana product manufacturers – to an extent.

Off to another..here”s the link to the Powell remarks and do come back for moron the ‘morrow…

32 thoughts on “Markets: Yes, the Fed Matters; Politiucs: More White-Bashing”

  1. A good new small 4-cyl SUV which can run 200k+ mile can be had for the mid-twenties from Mazda, Honda, or Subaru in base trim. The upscale nameplate and oversized engines are what cost the extra $ 20,000.

  2. An explanation for the apparent inversion of auto loan rates may be that by extending the loan by 12 months and dropping the rate by 24 bps may be the difference between a sale and no sale. Without pulling out my HP12C I think there’s more net income for the 60 month note, and if not, at the rate available to the finance companies it’s worth it to make the sale.

    • Totally agree, Ed. But, thing is it’s not always been so…which is the super saturation question. When buyers aren’t hungry, sellers are…

  3. This was an interesting article this morning and two points caught my attention;
    • I have a similar vehicle situation that I have opted to address in the same fashion you have. One year ago I returned from an extensive road trip with a sinking feeling that I was approaching a Thelma and Louise moment. As part of my due diligence I took it to the dealer for a full 360 analysis. The quote was 6K and plan B was a used replacement for 30K. Ultimately, I opted for the repairs to be completed by my local mechanic for 4K. I anticipate that I will have no difficulty getting another 30 to 40,000 miles on this vehicle.
    • The Epstein case is only interesting from a political groupie perspective in that this may be an indirect movement on the Clintons. Having watched with disgust the senate hearings on Benghazi and the Mueller circus incompetence leads me to believe that the justice system and the congressional hearings system is so corrupted that they are a national embarrassment. Any attempt at prosecution under British common law would be stalled for years by the corrupt or nonexistent justice system run by political appointees with questionable qualifications beyond EEOC. This is not to say that our communist system is superior in is just an observation how the U.S. System can function with blatant lying under oath to the congressional hearings and in the courts.

    • “I took it to the dealer for a full 360 analysis. The quote was 6K and plan B was a used replacement for 30K. ”

      eljefe.. get a second opinion..

      A good friend of mine had a shelby cobra.. beautiful car.. it was his baby..
      He decides to get married.. and his brother and I are looking at this trying to decide how to decorate it.. (today I wouldn’t touch it) what we di was go get some marbles.. the thought was he would start out slow and the rattling would catch his attention. We popped the cap put them in laughing.. they come out jump in and he whips down the road. Not a sound…boy that was thrilling and we went our way.. a couple weeks later he comes back.. but hes dril ing a Chevy cavalier.. where’s the shelby.. oh we get two hundred miles away and the rear end went out.. parts for the cobra are hard to get so the dealer offered to trade even up for the cavalier…..
      My heart sank.. it was the marbles.. seen him at the shop a mo th or so ago..he has a cobra as a keychain.. his brother is a multimillionaire got it by owning a casino.. we were toking and I said I’m surprised you didnt buy your brother a shelby..you know it was those dam marbles that rattled and the dealer took advantage of him.. if I was a millionaire I sure would just because of the guilt feelings..

      So get a second opinion.

  4. Just a couple of observations. In Idaho right now we are experiencing a influx of new people. Most are from Cali but we are seeing license plates from across the country like never before. 15 years ago I purchased my home for $215,000.00. Now I am being told that the value of my home is $425,000.00 or more. We have upgraded a number of things but to double the value in that time frame? That’s nuts! I think that most of the working class people are trying to focus on the priority you mentioned.

    Second; it is interesting when Obama was elected and we were told that the race issues in the USA would start to get healed. But then we saw how racist he was. How quick he was to denounce the white cop or the hispanic security guard, how he bowed and paid homage to all the Muslim leaders. To the point if insuring Iran received enough money to continue their terror on the west! He did more to keep the race issues exacerbated in this country than any other president in my lifetime!

    The Democrat party has become the Anti-white, no boarders, anti-American, pro-illegal alien party. If they get power this country will be fundamentally changed, as Obama and Biden wanted. And then comes the next revolutionary battle. God Help us all!!

  5. The problem I foresee politicos like Pelosi & AOC causing is stirring the racial pot by advertising to the world our disagreements over “open borders”, “free healthcare” “jobs galore”, “reparations”, etc. etc. At some point these “POC” (people ‘o color) get the idea they’re ENTITLED to all the goodies without working for them.
    Is that good for America and race relations? I don’t think so!

    • Really! You know, the Ure family arrived in 1840 from Scotland (179 years) while the Danish side of the family came over on the Lucitania’s last westbound trip (it was sunk on the return).
      And we’re still mostly working 60-80 hours a week, ‘cept for the really retired ones. I started paying income tax in 1963, so why not prorate bennies on how you’ve been contributing to the tax base?

      Or, how about a 20-year vesting program. Any felonies and it resets to zero and you start over.

  6. How many non white countries are not extreme violaters of human rights? Why do you think those people want to come here. Look at Africa. In the US, complaining about not getting enough government freebies & breaking immigration laws is a human rights violation.

    Eq Expat got his money here & then went home to spend it where labor & servants are cheap so he could take advantage of them, & then complain about the US like he is a saint. Get real.

    It is not the job of the US to give everyone a home. Once this illegal immigration destroys our country, who is going to save the rest of the world from Russia & China & terrorism. Europe is in a mess.

    Aren’t Pelosi, her children, & grandchildren white. Nervous Nancy is so afraid of the far left, she forgot she is white.

  7. Calling all white people racists is now a profit making business. Even whites, like Nervous Nancy, are on board, forget reality. Just like the war on drugs, it is too profitable, why stop it.

  8. Before the 1970 Census, all Spanish-speaking “people of color” were considered “White.”

    Spaniards are Caucasian.

    The “Latin-American” people were what happened when ten generations of horny Conquistadors were loosed on a technologically inferior indigenous population.

    QoD: What happened in the 1960s to cause Castilian/Indian offspring to be socially-promoted to the status of “race,” and why?

    • The concept of “race” is political, not genetic. There are tribal ethnic groups who share genetic markers, and may have silmiliar skin pigmentation. I have never seen anything that indicates there is a genetic basis for the concept of race. Most of the racial politics is a holdover from the slavery era. That the D’s promote slavery era classifications is not surprising. What is surprising is that so many still bite on the bait. Nancy Pelosi is promoting ethnic hate cleansing in the name of racial politics.

  9. G, nice that you’re still here contributing to the delinquency of the forward thinker. I’ve been reading you again recently and I’m glad to see you’ve lost the sky is falling hysteria of a few years ago. I don’t know what happened, but I really like the new calmer George. Think I may even sub again.

    You still have your mini studio out there? If so, why aren’t you podcasting? Even if you only post it for subscribers of PE. Hell, Tom Woods has a free how to on the subject. I think it’s your logical next step. You know, being as how you (we) have a face for an audio only medium.

    Thanks for still being here. All the best,

    FD

  10. A couple of thoughts re the Digital Mob. First, a book worth reading is “The Storm Before The Storm” by Mike Duncan. It describes how the Roman Republic slid into being a dictatorship; note that divisive mob tactics and getting votes by promising freebees were involved. Secondly, whenever I see an article on discussions by (Dem) politicians around reparations for slavery, I find myself thinking that this is just an attempt at stoking some serious divisions among people and — perhaps this is being really cynical (or not) — that it is just possible some politicians would love to see this issue result in goading some far right types going over the edge into violence so they can point their fingers at anyone who is not in agreement with their views and say everyone who disagrees with them is bigoted.

  11. Q anon has come out of hibernation and is posting furiously. Some interesting Fed meme posts have been made. I was convinced that Q was gone and the custodial staff had taken over for him or them. Apparently that is not the case. This should stir Stu up even more.
    Looks like the D’s handlers have lost their blackmail leverage: two steps forward, how many steps back? The R’s still haven’t overcome their national healthcare policy deficit, so no steps forward for them. Election season is shaping up to be a gender-neutral politically-corrected animal-righted cat and/or dog fight. One thing is for certain, the winners will likely still be the same old moneyed primates, regardless of who their proxy animals are.

  12. I think it was about 2001 or 2002, when I began to notice ALL the things on store shelves, that I DIDN’T NEED. Now I rarely go into a store and see anything that I DO. I don’t know which surprises me more: That marketers can market utter dross to retailers, or that retailers (and MadAve) can convince low-information, low attention span consumers to buy such.

    • Ray…..
      Have you ever noted that the majority of the new stuff in the commercials on tv are at child height.. when we stocked shelves.. we always.. put store named and name brand products at eye height.. new products at childs eye height and the less expensive brand stuff either high or low. a loss leader on one side of the isle at the beginning and one on the other side of the isle midway and criss crossed all the way down. almost always loss leaders were essentials in almost everyones homes..we were always told that twenty dollars had to be spent to pay for the loss of the cost of the loss leaders.
      which that has be curious.. online shopping buy your list items.. pay stop and pickup.. the last shopping day I went in for four items .. came out with two hundred dollars more spent than what was on the have to get list. So with spontaneous purchases how will this affect the brick and morter who’s very existence depends on spontaneous spending .. especially since even product placement is to promote spending. ( ever wonder why they move crap around all the time.. that is to get you to wander in different directions exposing you to more products..)

  13. All of my vehicles and most of my trailers have “backup cams.” A quality reverse cam, which is independent of the “reverse” switch on the shift lever, can be had from Amazon for ~$20 (+about $12 for necessary cabling & adapters) and will feed anything with an LCD screen and an input (or buy a camera monitor for $30 more…) Its function (witness the Rover commercial) is to enable me to see behind me, when my vision is impaired.

    IMO there’s a difference between handy stuff like ABS and traction control, useful stuff like modern suspensions, and the fancy electronic crap like lane monitor and pass assist (and Subaru has a new’un — attention monitor, which nags the driver whenever they take their eyes off the road) which is just crap. If’fn you need any of this stuff, you frankly shouldn’t be driving.

    AMD has manufactured billions of imbeddeds. For some stupid reason, the Auto industry feels the need to use them all up. I was in an auto shop about 8 years ago. The tech mechanic was pulling his hair over a 2009 Ram pickup because the truck had nine onboard computers — ecm, transmission, ignition, seats/steering/mirror position, lights, plus one for each door. AYFKM?

    No! Just NO. Every time a car manufacturer replaces a switch or relay with a computer it adds another level of unnecessary complexity and not one, but a whole new series, of things which can break, then be difficult (expensive and time-consuming) to diagnose. For people who HAVE to have the tech, or the latest and greatest, that’s fine… for them.

    I’m okay with necessary complexity, customizable buttscratchers, not so much. Don’t get me wrong, every time I see a Tesla or Hyundai Genesis or top-shelf Acura, I feel the lust for the tech. Every time I’m in an Auto shop and see the Boss pass out a $2500 bill to a customer for a piddly-arsed repair that’d have cost me 87 bucks on my pickup, de lust, she run’d away…

      • I think every car should have a dash cam… and rear-view cam…
        in most buses now days and school buses. they have these both outside and inside.. when kids are misbehaving and you tell the parents.. the first thing the parents will do is my little johnny didn’t do that.
        the same thing in an accident.. I mentioned I fell thirty feet and got busted up really good.. what is funny is I don’t remember it.. only fractions of the moment it took for the fall.. the same thing goes in an accident in a car.. your mind will blank out some of what happened.. which one did this or which one did that.. put a cheap dash cam in.. for the same reasons is why the auto industries put back boxes in cars. in a tragic accident where you lost your life or someone else did.. the officials can get copies of your driving habits and what happened. similar to lowjack can even pinpoint the car.
        they are doing this with clothing to.. to get marketing demographics..

        https://www.amazon.com/CHORTAU-Dashboard-G-Sensor-Recording-Detection/dp/B07Q5R22DV/ref=asc_df_B07Q5R22DV/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343830697560&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5170686475550619226&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020401&hvtargid=pla-931230293192&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=69616187899&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343830697560&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5170686475550619226&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9020401&hvtargid=pla-931230293192

      • “I think every car should have a dash cam… and rear-view cam…”

        Beginning 40 years ago I would occasionally import something from the Far East. DH-Gate and later Deal Extreme were my mainstays (I’m not an importer, so 1k or 10k lots were wasted on me.) About 2000 or 2k1 automobile cams began to show up — first cab monitor and forward dash, then later front & rear cams. I spent a lot of time reading the user reviews. Virtually all cab and dash cam reviews came from people living in former Soviet-bloc and Sino-spheric (like HK and Singapore) regions, and Cuba. When multiphone cellphones became available (having both GSM and CDMA network capabilities and carrying multiple SIM cards) from PacRim developers (Huawei and about 100 of its clones), bright folks in China began to integrate them into the cam systems, to feed real-time onto the Internet.

        Over the past 10 years these cam systems have become very popular in Ureope.

        We take for granted that in the United States the onus for proving a criminal charge, and in many cases a civil suit, lies with the accuser. We are “innocent, until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Such is not the case, elsewhere. I noted at the time that the function of these car-cams was to generate evidence with which an arrestee could help prove their innocence.

        As I age, I begin to see where such camera-cellphone systems could have a viable use in America, and the vision saddens me…

      • Ray..I agree.. I had not really considered the dash cam for legal purposes other than being able to back you up in knowing what happened on an accident.. a few years ago the talk at shift report was a nurse…Anyway the Story I heard was she worked the late night twelve hour shift in the ER in LA California…She had a horrible rotten night.. staking crime victims up like cordwood.. you know irritible uncooperative patients nasty doctors that hate their jobs because they to work long hours and didn’t really figure out what the job was until after they had spent so much so they come in all pizzy and crawl up her cabose showing her just how much they enjoyed her doing her job.. a night to remember.. I have had a few of those.. even told one chart tosser he should toss that dam thing at me because I was the one that told her about the issue.. ( dam him would not do it. I could have vented my frustraitions to that night) .. if my memory is right it was just before a full moon to..
        she was on her way home from work.. it was a late shift day where charting took up more time as well and trying to play catch-up.. decided to give her kid a call on the cell phone to make sure he or she was up for school… its illegal.. to use a cell phone while driving….
        the idiot officer leaving from his morning coffee and donuts seen it.. stopped her slammed her to the ground face planting her.. then pushing her along the asphalt.. slammed her into the car head first.. cuffed her.. and shoving her in the car.. then on top of it.. High fiveing his partner….
        OK that made morning report the same way an officer being frustrated flipped a guy in a wheel chair over onto the street.. several thousand miles away…there is one thing about medical personnel.. hate the job love the job shizty hours.. short shifts and all.. the same way with making fun of a fireman they stand together and hate or love each other stick up for the others…. I would have hated being an officer having been shot going into the er in LA for about a month after that.. oh my that looks bad.. go to observation room one thousand please drop your drawers we need an accurate temperature on you.. I am positive that they were eager to see them and was on top of the list to be seen.. ( any officer after that was the last one on an already busy shift to get seen I am sure of that.. there had to be some major azz kissing after that I am sure of that) It was all caught on camera from the restaurant.. the whole thing…and went viral in almost every medical facility I knew of.. it was the talk of the shifts thousands of miles away the same day it happened..

    • I’m a High Tech dude! Been everything from electronics technician to design engineer and a shade tree mechanic for my own vehicles.
      My next vehicle will be a 1970’s to 1980’s pick up truck with minimal electronics. Put in a new V-8 engine and tricked out auto tranny, It will also have a pre-computer point style ignition system so it is EMP resistant and easily repaired. I don’t have a need for a high MPG vehicle. I have a need for a reliable vehicle that’s easy to work on.

      The new vehicles are purposely built with over complexity to force you to use dealer service or buy a new one.

      A pox on car manufacturers!

      • If I could buy another 65 Beetle, or a Citroen 2-CV I would have the checkbook out ion a heartbeat.

        See the King Midget when they come up on eBay –

      • I had a 64 beetle.. loved that car.. unfortunately it just didn’t have any room..
        Here is what I would love to have..but can’t talk the wife into letting me buy it..
        I did get a chance to buy an old egg truck.. about the same size as this antique the egg guy would drive house to house delivering eggs.. cool as heck.. wife said no to that one to… LOL
        https://ranger.polaris.com/en-us/ranger-xp-1000-eps-northstar-edition/

        the egg delivery truck was just like this but the size of the all terrain vehicle.

        in a true SHTF scenario though.. an emp etc .. first if your in the epicenter of the event and it isn’t grounded all the wires will be bare..possible fire from fuel tanks.. etc.. the further away you are from it happening.. the better you are.,. the grid.. that will fail not so much from the emp.. but from the tiers falling.. like domino’s.. of course that is my opinion..
        here is what I want to get for that..

        https://www.ebay.com/itm/Surrey-bike-with-Electric-Assist-up-to-20-miles-pedal-free-with-electric-assist-/173956422037

        things would revert to the way it was during the time of Moses..
        when we designed our Emergency community plan’s.. ( FEMA had all community leaders draw up a set of plans.. I was involved in ours)
        It wasn’t drawn up as the I will do for me.. but we will do for ours.. since no one is an island you have to have the capacity to work together.. as a group you can do wonders..
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pphUfE0ERt0
        so do you know your neighbors.. what are their hobbies.. what do they do for a living.. whos the hunter whos the gardeners who does needle point etc.. so we plotted it out who does what and who can do what..
        The mormons are a good group to take a look at it.. the Helping hands Yellow shirts

        https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/humanitarian-service/helping-hands?lang=eng

        also the church is really good about cataloging who can do what..its about family community and being there for others when they are in need…
        I try to live what I preach.. so far I have missed a few.. but think about it.. if you did for ten a little bit.. not expecting anything in return.. they do did something for someone else.. the pay it forward ..
        everyone would be so busy there wouldn’t be time for wars.. I remember block parties where all the neighbors got together for potluck.. it was awesome..kids were afraid to get out of line because someone would tell the parents..
        then we went to the ME syndrome.. not the us.. companies went full bottom line and bonuses for those on top forgot about the guy that works below them..
        https://pics.conservativememes.com/when-youre-down-and-out-everyone-wants-to-screwy-dont-34807968.png
        My father worked for an old industrialist.. his company was and still is multi national.. yet I knew the ceo by his nickname.. ( the colonel) he knew my name knew my brothers and sisters he took his jacket off and helped me unload a trailer.. great man.. when my father retired he to sold his company and retired.. but he made sure all of his employees that were loyal to him were taken care of.. my mom never paid more than two hundred dollars a year for medical expenses.. he made sure of that.. prescriptions twenty cents.. the same for another company around here.. when dad owned it.. parents have to stay home if a child is sick.. he expanded had sick child daycare.. also busing for parents.. he bought a large scale tv.. loved it everyone got it.. took two weeks off and everyone working for them and their families went on vacation two week cruise.. today something like that happening.. rare.. I worked for a grocery chain.. they did the same thing.. the perks.. all were kept instead of management getting them and then a drawing at the xmas party.. that is where I first seen a surrey..and I have wanted one ever since..
        the changes that have been made is also the demise of civilization to.. just look at it from a different angle.. outsourced jobs.. destruction of self worth and pride in what one is doing.. lost work ethics, throw away rather than maintain..

      • Don’t forget carburetor or MFI. Electronic fuel injection is another system which can fail in an electromagnetic storm. I favor Delco distributors (which in the ’70s means GM or American Motors) because gap is easy to set through the dwell door. GM reversed the Germans’ mechanical fuel injection in the late 1950s, but I don’t know if they used it on anything besides the 1964+ Corvair.

        I’m personally partial to the Jeep Comanche and VW Caddy (Rabbit) diesel, but they’re both rare pickups and the Jeep is HTF in non-rusted-out condition. Stock for the Comanche was the AMC 4.2L (258CI) straight 6, which was really torquey and absolutely bulletproof. IIRC the Caddy had a 1.7L with Bosch MFI (actually, I believe it had the fewest wires ever on a production motor vehicle) and the 2nd (turbocharged) version from the mid ’80s would do zero to sixty in under a minute!

        That said, a BOV or EOTW truck should also be one from which spares can be obtained from most wrecking lots. Were I to buy (build) one, it’d probably be a Ford or C/K from the mid ’70s to early ’90s, and I’d either retrofit a rebuilt 352/351C or 350 (respectively) complete with 1960s pre-smog kit (carbs, ignition, fuel pump, etc.), a pre-oiler, and a Borg Warner T-10…

        — OR I’d do the above with a more-recent FoMoCo or GMC (much better suspension) that I’d gutted: I’d retrofit the antique driveline and fabricate mounts (to make it a <2-hour drop-in), then put the modern driveline back in and Amsoil the heck out of the EOTW driveline.

        My Dad's 1967 F250 full-bed had a curb weight of ~3800 pounds, my '90s F150 short-bed is ~5800. That's 2000 pounds of soundproofing, impact bumpers, door panels, airbags, underhood plumbing, spaghetti wiring, and plastic or rubber fitted over, or in place of, aluminum and steel. A new full-size F-series, or GM or Dodge, probably pushes four tons. If I had a bug-out truck that weighed in at 3-4 tons, I'd want it to be because its important bits were packed in boiler plate and 1" Lexan, not plastic and fluff.

        Unfortunately, the best idea is still to live where a BOV isn't necessary…

  14. “Not around here. ANY racism is BAD racism. There are good people of all races and beliefs and there are bad.”

    AMEN GEORGE…

    Our parents taught us kids that there are good and bad in all sizes, shapes, races and religions… to judge a person for who they are not what they are..

    people in a group I was in years and years ago use to give me crap because I didn’t go further than what I had.. they viewed everyone as drooling idiots. I quit.. ( because I thought they were droolers LOL LOL isn’t that the true oxymoron …) My argument is everyone had their own special skills and qualities it was the ability to take advantage of the opportunities that came their way.. like buying two thousand dollars worth of Microsoft when it first came out.. you would be a multimillionaire.. the vast majority don’t have the ability to take advantage of those opportunities. the only thing the paper on the wall does is open the door by saying you partied 90 percent of ten years to get it and was willing to spend the extra time reading and expanding your mind while little Sarah or john that didn’t have the extra half mil in cash had to work..Thus the paper opens you up for more opportunities ..
    I always tried to teach the kids.. pick your mates as if you were a blind person.. never judge the book by its cover..looks will be gone one day and all you have is what you have inside you..

  15. Let’s face it: If it were for “white people” we’d be all still sitting around campfires (and complaining ;-))

  16. With respect to rear-view cams, George asked:
    “Does it zoom for rear-ward cop-checking?”

    Ray’s rear-view camera review:

    No, but you can see the flashing lights from ¾ of a mile back in any light. Mostly, rearview cams use CGA res (380 TV lines) and have about a 120-125° field of view (despite any claims.) Bear in-mind, the wider the field of view, the less magnification the lens provides, so if a camera came with a “fish-eye” lens sufficient to actually provide a 175° (or 180°, or 185°) field of view, that last 45° to 55° on either side would be too distorted to be of use, and you’d need a 12″x32″ monitor to see the camera output, anyway. The cam Rover uses has a res of 380×160, provides a 47° FoV, and is mounted in its 3rd brake light, over the hatch. It’s nifty factor comes from the camera switch being mounted in the rearview mirror, where you’d expect a day/night toggle.

    Shopping these reminded me of shopping for high-fidelity amplifiers 30 years ago, where a manufacturer will make all sorts of

    -=physically impossible=-

    claims (then you read the fine print and discover that the “200w amp” is bridged ipp into a half-ohm load, at 100% THD…) Car and security cams, and (non Mil-Spec) LED car lighting, especially those made in certain Pac-Rim countries, are done the same way, with highly-focused testing of _nowhere close to real world_ conditions, to provide marketing points that are so exaggerated that they’re tens of degrees of latitude south of reality…

    I bought a half-dozen of the most highly-rated cams 3 years ago and tested ’em out. “0-Lux” (with infrared illuminators) is a gofaster and makes no difference. Back-up lights, or even taillights, provide sufficient illumination for the camera to “see” at night beyond its useful range. Four of the six cameras provided “fading daylight” (from before dusk, to past twilight) images which reminded me of a Kagaya landscape, with blues where greens should be, and fuchsia skies (instead of blue — not kidding!) Detail resolution was passable for all. The “license plate” cams were worthless, until I taped half a toilet paper tube over them, to shield the lens from the license plate light.

    Cameras respond to bright light differently than our brain. When our eyes see a bright spot on a dark field (like a headlight), our brain attenuates the bright spot, to provide minimal, but noticeable vision in the places that’re not so bright. Cameras have no such filter, and so, suffer from “lens flare.” The lens flare “washes out” the camera’s image, and all optics, regardless of type, suffer from it. That said, there was one cam I tested, which SO stood out from the pack that I’ll post it, in case anybody wants to acquire one before they cease being made, or get “improved” out of their usefulness. It is the “Esky EC170-11” { https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H3ZN3JK }

    I notice there is a newer model, so it’ll probably go away (or be “improved” into worthlessness) before too much longer. If you read the Amazon reviews, note that the reviews for both the landing line version and the “newer model” version are dumped in with the reviews for the 170-11. IIRC the rating for just the 170-11 was 4.6.

    The camera is about the size of the end-joint of my little finger. It has a ¼” Sony imager and does clear B/W @ 0.2LUX, color kicks in @ ~1.2LUX, both with 420TVL (which ain’t HD) but it provides a very noticeably sharper and cleaner image than the others, and it is color-accurate in any light, unlike ANY of the other (remember, all highly-rated) cameras I tested.

    Real FoV is about 125° (sees a “D” pillar blind spot, does not see a “C” pillar blind spot), and this model has no “landing lines.” Speaking of, the distance lines or “landing lines” are of minimal use, because they indicate relative distance to the camera, not the vehicle, and for my purpose (rear vision) are a bright, and unwelcome distraction. It (or at least the 7 I have bought between 2016 and 11 months ago) is actually waterproof. Water gets under the lens on some car-cams. The lens is never removable, and the droplets render the camera useless. Most cams are advertised at IP-67. This one actually seems to meet the IP-67 specification. Two of the cams I tested, failed after the first storm. The others passed and were installed on my trailers…

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