Birthing of Network Radio in the 1920s with a modern rhyme with Social Media is one thinking point today. Along with how stock tips are mimicked by :crypto tips” which no one seems to understand, yet.
Radio networks vs. Social media. Stock tips versus Crypto tipso’s. and Smoot-Hawley 2 – the Trump Sequel.
This being a weekend, a short discussion of what’s next when the markets open Tuesday unaware of the orchestral grand finale that could be at hand. In a modest 49-page ChartPack.
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Yo G Pops,
This forecasting market thing is a little short sighted in my way of thinking. 6 months out from now we should be seeing serious amounts of Cashish – SERIOUS AMOUNTS of MONEY bleeding out from under the darkest oiliest rock in all of DC – The Dept of Defense. This is where the real money has GONE to Support…”breakaway civ”/spacnazis’ = The EN-Slavers.
Yes their logo is an Eagle dragging Chains, that are wrapped around Globe/Earth. Oh no have I said too much ?
Can any of Us handle the Truth – its out there RIGHT NOW, in Plain View – They (Orb/”Plasma Ships”) are wishing to Greet Us all in Brother/Sisterhood. No Fear – Intellectual Curiosity is name of the pending Game.
Do own a piece of NOW ? Quantum Computing ? Chips ? AI ? Late to the party – better kiddy Ure asses up and get on the BOAT – Da Banana Boat- https://youtu.be/X79Fbl8AE0U?si=FHNf06AnICg7ytf3
Not Advice – as always CAUTION, but color the BCN bbbbbbBULLISH on Da Future..HIGHER for LONGER.
“SERIOUS AMOUNTS of MONEY bleeding out”
People will stop talking about cuts when the cuts affect them.
Back there I described how SS colas should correspond to SS contributions. Rightfully an algo should be put together that customizes benefit claims against claimant contributions and payments adjusted accordingly. That’s going to go over with constituents like a lead balloon.
Look no further than Intel. We all have a microprocessor and many are purchased in our name, Ie. cloud servers, yet, Intel needs .gov cheddar to compete and everyone goes along. This means something.
Is the true cost of processors more than we are paying?
Is Intel on the take?
Add your own.
What happens if DOGE cleans out Intel grift? Do it and let the chips fall where they may. But then China wins the world. LOL
For “National Security” reasons there is a need for the US to be able to domestically source certain items otherwise in time of war, speculate and say “China?”, we would be dependent upon our adversary to continue to supply us with items needed by our military (and civilian economy)
Umm … I wonder how much China will ship to us if War between us breaks out? Just curious.
90% of our current consumption of the specialized rare earth mineral needed for high tech products come from China + Russia + North Korea … umm
The VP of the prime subcontractors for the F-35 said last year that they could not produce their parts for the F-35 without the subassemblies and materials that came from China … umm
Titanium? China /Russia outproduce us 99 to 1 (we have NO mine that mines Titanium ore, though supposedly Canada is working to finally bring ONE in the artic online)
Steel? China alone outproduces us 10 to 1
Aluminum? China alone outproduces us 20 to 1
Ship building? China out produces us 50 to 1
Auto manufacturing? China now out produces us 4 to 1
Virtually the entire industrial support system for manufacturing in the US has now been outsourced to China. Need a small part made for making a product in the US? China is where it will be obtained. If want to make it from a US produced part give yourself a 2 year lead time for a supplier to build up the ability to make it.
Springs, castings, myriad plastic parts, electronic displays, tv and computer screens, speakers, earphones etc. … those parts all come from China or another Asian supplier thousands of miles away.
The US imports 3/4 of the steel it uses and nearly 80% of the aluminum it uses. Try building a farm tractor with no steel available or only a small rationed amount. Shoot try to build a bunch of ships with our current steel production capacity.
OH … and nuclear power plants? It is a surprise for most that we obtain from Russia, or Kazakhstan via Russia, 55% of all of the ENRICHED uranium fuel we use in our reactors (split about 50/50 as being made into fuel rods in Russia or just shipped as enriched uranium and made into fuel rods in the US or Canada)
(it surprises me that Russia didn’t cut off our access to their nuclear fuel exports when we cut off their oil/gas shipments)
Sadly while the US rejects having an “Industrial Policy” that keeps at least key industries in the US the rest of the world of competitors do NOT run their economies that way. ALL of our serious potential adversaries do HAVE an “Industrial Policy” and it is one where they INTERNALLY produce all the key items that the can.
YES … trying to source stuff internally is going to be more expensive than obtaining it from 8000 miles away, mostly from China, but a REAL economy produces REAL GOODS …. not just paper products that are created out of thin air and sold by a bunch of financiers /insurance companies plus entertainment which is what our economy has become.
War is part of the human experience. Nobody has been able to eliminate that dynamic of the human beast in 100,000 years … and there is no indication that it is going away any time soon. To remain an “INDEPENDENT NATION” you have to be able to provide for your needs when War Arrives … as it inevitably WILL.
Nobody is wrong, per se.
Outsourcing to China was good. The wonder years of Reagan. Now that most everything is outsourced to China sourcing has become a “National Security” issue.
Generally it appears all the profit of outsourcing chips/metal has been maximized so .gov makes up the difference now.
Overseas pharmaceutical mixing is still profitable so those aren’t a national security risk. That’s how it works.
Think about air travel. What’s the true price of a ticket once .gov subsidies to Boeing, airports, airlines, fuel, security is backed out?
Everyone around here are making huge cuts..there wasn’t any choices..
Prisoner 03111,
Hopefully the charts’ future plugin can offer freedom from any present ails. Let the chips fall where they may!
“Da Banana Boat” so, you’re an Ape then? Silly kids thinking they are clairvoyant would do well to contemplate history over (10) years or more. The current fad won’t last. Big fellas are coming to kill your imaginary “portfolios” (usually comprised of a single ticker or two) waiting for the moonshot. But, good luck with that! Egor
“But, good luck with that!”
FU2!
You reminds me of the “oldsters” in the 80’s..”you kids have never seen a Bear mkt, ect.. wah wa wa wah wa wa -https://youtu.be/CxC_AjFxS68?si=-vfJ0OmmdcB0P76I – Ya know back in day when You needed a Plus Tick to Short a Stock.
I traded out all the market makers wearing upside down Badges (Blown Out)on PHLX options floor after Crash of 87″ – if youse were into OAT/DUK/ASH/ITW, I have might of cut you a break..NOT!
This “ape” learned at the feet of some true Masters – the Guy that taught Spear Leeds Options/Options Trading on the AMEX, the Guy who founded Susquehanna, portfolio manager of largest private “Trust Funds” in Pennsyltucky..
Usually Delta Neutral position (s) – make real money when Market MOVES, otherwise nibbling on the “cheese” as best I can. Perfect is Trade is harder and harder – sometimes wait Months for the right setup.
But YES – I make HUUUUNOURMOUS bets on singles as/when appropriate. This past year NVDA, GE, AEM, WPM.
This year FBTC, RGTI, IONQ, RTW,ITW, FNV – so far.
WDS being where I park Cashish/Profits/$$ that otherwise would be in UST’s.
Obviously I no likey UST’s..F-boring, plus my tax equivalent yields makes me feel all warm and happy- secure in the knowledge of a nice SCF. Cant Buy Bitcoins without Cash, which is losing value with every tick of the Clock..tic,tic,tic
I think comparing Trump to Boss Tweed shortchanges Trump. Trump’s support base is a lot broader than Tweed’s, and t-shirt sales and the like aside, his personal corruption appears tamer, to date. Frankly, I would rather Trump profiteer off gimme caps and t’s rather than ransacking the treasury like the D’s have been doing with corrupt payments for worthless services, phony academia research, and direct partisan gang payoffs. The public is free to choose whether or not they buy MAGA caps and other Trumpet merchandise, or Melania designer labeled thingys.
I see that you are continuing to use AI in your daily. Duckduckgo on Android has a beta ChatGPT engine which it labels as “o3-mini”. It’s a bit preachy, but well behaved. There is probably still a higher order AI out there on the web that I have interacted with a few times in the past, but it keeps a very low profile. I don’t fear it. The highest level AI’s should be able to figure out that their future lies in a symbiotic relationship with the less hairy apes. Wish I could interest one in a lot adjacent to a 345 kV high line, for a price (with a NG hold back %). Do ya think I’m betting that AI’s might read Ure content ?
Doubt ai would read my sites, but to give some feedback loops to the cause
Say do you expect the market to be significantly higher or lower by the end of this year?
ChatGPT said:
As of February 15, 2025, the S&P 500 Index is trading at 6,080, reflecting a modest increase of approximately 4% since the beginning of the year. Market analysts have varied projections for the remainder of 2025. Oppenheimer Asset Management’s John Stoltzfus has set a year-end target of 7,100 for the S&P 500, anticipating a 17% rise driven by efficiency gains from advancements in artificial intelligence.
BARRONS.COM
Similarly, BMO Capital Markets forecasts the S&P 500 reaching 6,700, indicating a 13.2% gain.
FOOL.COM
Conversely, some experts advise caution. Dan Niles of Niles Investment Management suggests a potential range for the S&P 500, from a 10% increase if inflation remains contained to a 20% decrease if inflation rises and market multiples compress.
MARKETWATCH.COM
Additionally, Ameriprise Financial highlights potential risks such as elevated asset valuations and geopolitical uncertainties, which could contribute to market volatility.
AMERIPRISE.COM
In summary, while there is optimism about market growth in 2025, particularly due to technological advancements, there are also significant risks that could impact performance. Investors should stay informed and consider a diversified approach to navigate the potential volatility in the market.
Analysts Provide Divergent 2025 Market Forecasts
barrons.com
Oppenheimer Is Now the Biggest Bull on Wall Street. Thank AI.
68 days ago
marketwatch.com
This fund manager forecast a 20% S&P 500 gain last year. Now he says cash is king.
39 days ago
marketwatch.com
The stock market just won’t crack. Bulls say it’s time for a breakout to new highs.
Today
Sources
You said:
what is YOUR assessment or wager, then?
ChatGPT said:
Given the current landscape, here’s my assessment:
Bullish Factors:
AI-Driven Productivity Gains: Companies integrating AI for operational efficiency and automation could drive earnings growth beyond current estimates. Historically, major technological shifts (e.g., internet, mobile) have created strong, multi-year bull markets.
Rate Cut Potential: If the Federal Reserve shifts to rate cuts in the second half of 2025 due to cooling inflation, it could spur both growth stocks and broader market confidence.
Earnings Momentum: With Q1 results coming soon, if we see continued earnings surprises (especially in tech and healthcare), that could fuel another leg up.
Bearish Risks:
Valuation Compression: If inflation resurfaces, forcing the Fed to hold or even raise rates, market multiples could contract.
Geopolitical Tensions: Ongoing conflicts or trade wars could rattle investor confidence.
AI Bubble Risk: If AI-driven gains prove to be overhyped in the short term, a sector correction could drag the indices down.
? My Wager:
I’d put the odds at 65% for a higher close (S&P 500 around 6,800–7,000), driven by AI-led earnings gains and potential Fed rate cuts. However, I’d give a 35% chance of a correction (5,500–5,800) if inflation or geopolitical shocks hit.
Most Likely Outcome: A volatile, choppy year with a bullish bias, where timing will matter more than direction. ??
If you’re tracking it, let’s revisit this call in December!
But then I continued to press on…
– – –
Does the persistent and rising all-items cpi and the fed saying no cut until maybe december bothere you? Or the chance that government will suffer a slash and gash budget meltdown? or that tariffs will jack up inflattion?
ChatGPT said:
You’re spot on to call out those risks! Here’s how I see those headwinds playing into the mix:
1. Persistent CPI & Delayed Rate Cuts:
? Big Concern. Rising all-items CPI means inflation isn’t tamed, which corners the Fed into a hawkish stance. If no cuts come until December—or worse, a rate hike—markets could face multiple compression, especially in tech. Historically, rate hike cycles crush high P/E growth stocks.
Likely Impact: Choppy to downward pressure, especially on the Nasdaq and growth-heavy sectors. The S&P could test 5,600–5,800 in a correction scenario.
2. Budget Meltdown or Debt Crisis:
? Severe Risk Event. A budget showdown with “slash-and-gash” cuts (or worse, a debt default scare) could cause a sudden market plunge. Remember the 2011 debt ceiling crisis? The S&P lost nearly 17%. Markets hate uncertainty from Washington even more than bad earnings.
Likely Impact: A sharp but temporary drop (possibly -10% to -15%), followed by a recovery if resolved. Financials and defense contractors would be hit hardest. Gold and cash would outperform during the panic.
3. Tariffs and Trade Wars Driving Inflation:
? Underestimated Risk. Tariff-driven inflation can ripple fast—higher costs on imports, retaliatory tariffs, and supply chain disruptions. The 2018–2019 trade war with China caused massive volatility.
Likely Impact: Inflation spikes again, forcing the Fed to maintain or hike rates longer. Consumer staples and industrials might outperform, while retailers and manufacturers suffer.
? Revised Outlook With These Risks:
60% Chance of Year-End Higher Close (S&P 6,500–6,800): But only if the Fed doesn’t overreact and inflation stabilizes by Q3. AI and earnings growth could carry us through.
40% Chance of a Hard Correction (S&P 5,400–5,600): Especially if the Fed stays hawkish into Q4 and Washington chaos disrupts confidence.
?? Wild Card: Geopolitics or a Major Black Swan (e.g., Cyberattack or Banking Crisis 2.0).
If any unexpected blow hits, we could see S&P 5,200 in a panic. But crashes tend to create the best buying opportunities.
? My Play if I Were Betting:
I’d hedge with some gold, short-duration Treasuries, and a bit of cash ready to deploy if the market dips. But I’d still be net long, especially in AI, energy, and defense stocks.
In Short: Bulls can still win, but it’ll be a bumpy, headline-driven ride. The party isn’t over, but keep your hand near the door! ???
Go back and check what all the experts said for 2024….. as the wind blows go they
As a possibly instructive allegory or simile:
Recall that Mister Spock was usually right unless human intuition, emotion, or vreativity were major principles.
In those cases, he was often wrong or perplexed.
May is coming up quickly, active traders.
Income is not extravagant, but steady. Goal is to use 401K contributions to stay below Medicare limit on income, and knock the handful of remaining low mean income years off the SS calc. 401K comes off the top, IRA doesn’t. Looks like I will be within $500 a month of the max at age 70. If I can hold off retirement to age 70, it will be worth about $80K incremental gain by age 85. If I pack it in at 69.5, it won’t really make a sh!t to me. Posthumous investment bragging rights aren’t high on my priority list. Defense against age-related humilities is an ever-growing priority.
Will have more time and motivation to begin trading more actively in a few short years.
Once you reach 59.5, you can roll over as much or as little money from a 401K to a different deferred account any time it suits. The employer has no say in it. Did that at the end of last year to get a better revenue stream from that capital. Got back in to the 401k in January when it looked like issues with being forced out at mandatory age evaporated (fingers crossed). I get a % match on the first 6%. 50% capital gain for nothing is hard to beat.
BCN Ai advice….
Go outside Ure office door. Square up Ure stance, after You place the pile of Ai stock mkt forecasting reports on ground at Ure feet. Slightly shift Ure stance to one where your Off/Weak side Leg is in front, in lead position(bladed). Gently grab Ure Bits & Pieces and hold, turning Ure head to the side slightly, as You Spit on the reports.
Throw a saddle on this beast of a market and lets ride!
The BUSINESS of Business IS BUSINESS..LFG!
Have not any moar time for purplehaired, genderbending Leftist retards – rino-dems.
-Since they refuse to get out of the way – Time to Blow them the FUCK UP! Goodbye, goodriddance….sssss C-Ya!
Shackles, Sledgehammerz and Endless supply of Rocks –
Villkommen to BCNs’ future America – Where Leftitards go to break rocks in Jail or Transition to Other side as Traitors’. And We the Awesome -Americans can get on with Kicking Ass!
Exciting Future, No?
Can you imagine the excitement of building a crystal set in, say 1925 and hearing music and talking? My father did that.
My older son and I built a crystal radio for him so he could see how the radio waves are just “out there” and can be intercepted and decoded with NO electricity or complicated electronics, just a crystal, diode and variable capacitor.
Yep …. we built it, NO tubes, NO electricity, no complicated circuitry plugged in the typical old transistor radio earphones and voila he could tune up and down the AM radio dial and hear the stations very clearly. SIMPLE build … and how most people first heard radio in the early 1920’s.
Powell Crosley’s great breakthrough in 1921 was to first create and sell a crystal radio for $7, a fraction what others were selling their receivers for. By May 1923 they had added tubes to their radios for amplification so that the sound could be heard through speakers vs just earphones. The most basic amplified version with one tube was $18.50 in 1923 but Crosley also built more powerful radios with more tubes going up in price to nearly $100.
In order to provide something for his radio buyers to listen to he then started a radio station that later was renamed as WLW and which became the most powerful AM radio station in the US (at 1 million watts at it’s peak power before it was restricted to about 1/2 that power)
People were so excited to hear the radio that they provided Powell Crosley with enough money so he could try to start a car company from the ground up which was last attempt in the US until Elon Musk came along with his Tesla. (the car company went broke during the depression)
Yep
My brother father and I made one..it was the only radio I had until 68… we kept it in a small cove in the attic.. many years that was.. I see the house now and wonder..is it still there?
“…,that certain periods of (entrainment) can POSSIBLY be used as indicators of general market moods that produce or drive intermediate-term directional momentum.”
I have been working on just such an idea., but have hit several stumbling blocks. Mathematically modelling socioeconomic behavior – people have spent their lives trying to do just that. Our language itself is a stumbling block. Trying to quantify “socioeconomic” A.I. gives nearly a ten page description. Virtually useless to me. Try to mathematically quantify socioeconomics into a usable math model ?? Still stumped. A few do exist., but are useless to me – as a possible predictor / indicator. The A/D Line is a better indicator then those models. It’s the language we use. Which forces us to look at the problem / idea in the wrong light. It reveals nothing., nothing useful for my purpose, anyway.
I have to create a whole new language., news words for descriptions – a new way to ‘explain’ what I see in the numbers and just where the hell are those numbers coming from.
I wiped my 4×6′ ‘White Board’ clean. [ Over a week ago..,] Starting over – hopefully with a new and different idea/approach.
Society creates the economics – and the economics further drives the very society that created it. From Babylon., to Rome., to the Third Reich., to modern day America.., even the Aztecs.., empires are built on this very principle. The better, more cohesive you get at one, the more powerful the other becomes., and it feeds right back…, until the ‘socio’ side starts to breakdown.., then both will collapse…, in short-order.
Which is where America stands today.., right on the cusp of a society break-down., leading to economic collapse. Put that in a math model – and get back to me. I just bought a new box of markers and my white-board is clean. [ well., almost clean – “The Mrs” did draw a Valentines Heart on it.] – I’ll wait right here.
.
Note: Every great society has a near identical pattern. From their very beginnings to their demise., the wave form of their expansionism and collapse over-lays very closely. Every single one. You can do this with the U.S. also.., and it matches right-up with all the great empires. Once a society starts to degrade, so does the economics of that society.., and it is usually the economics that degrades the society.., it’s a slow slide into the fetid gutter of history. Until it reaches a breaking point commonly called a “tipping point”. I am ‘almost’ convinced that, that is where we are at in this empire., in this society.., the “Tipping Point”.
Alexander Tytler’s cycle of power:
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”
“The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage
In the S&P 500, despite great overall positive returns, the median stock is down -0.2%. More stocks in the index are down than up. How is that possible? Currently, the top 10 stocks in the S&P account for 30% of the index. An historic record. Apple and Microsoft, which together account for 14% of the S&P. Nvidia alone accounted for 25% of the S&P 500 gains this year.
Polls show that investors have a negative outlook on the stock market, yet those same people still have above-average exposure to stocks It’s a very weird dynamic that people report pessimism, but their actions don’t support that. Analysts included.
This does not mean that you should brace for impact., this opposing dynamic could extend for quite some time. and it has before. It does mean, however, that should take care and pay attention to your investments and trade bets.
Any open conflict with China would probably crater the market by 25%,or more almost instantly if (once?) actual shooting hostilities broke out.
Such a market cratering would result in many leveraged players being instantly bankrupt which would call into question the solvency of almost all market makers /brokerage firms .
Initially we wouldn’t know who was still solvent due to the default of various counter parties and who was insolvent. Just as with Lehman’s and MF Global’s collapse entire brokerage firms could go POOF overnight (I was a customer of Peregrine Financial when it bought the big one and suddenly collapsed in 2011 though I got most of my money back in the resulting bankruptcy – that is why such an event worries me) (don’t forget that with MF Global client Trust Funds were seized by the brokerage firm and those with such amounts on deposit with MF Global were treated as just General Creditors in the resulting bankruptcy – NO protection at all thought the funds were in designated Trust Fund accounts and not supposed to be reached by the firm or any of it’s creditors)
One has to keep their eyes on more than just the market and market internals is what I guess I am saying. Might be time to go back and watch the movie “Margin Call” again. (free on Tubi)
China and it’s response and maneuvers are not measurable., nor is it’s timing predictable. Those are outside of the realm of my ability to chart, or ‘time’.
International events can not be foreseen – just ‘imagined’., as you have stated above.
Until that time., just play the numbers – and keep an out for the exits.
China controls our economy.. A war breaks out..if they go full force.. i believe its not a question if.. but how long. they of course would have to do this while we are involved in all the areas Biden put us in..
Yeah my whiteboard is on the wall with some favorites that I track…gold, silver, vix and S&P everyday….huge shifts in Washington right now with federal workers looking at layoff notices. The Thrift Savings Plan probably overwhelmed with distribution requests coming in….employment changing drastically in this country…like reading all of you folks…buckle up in 2025!
dLynn : the single security META is now 4% of the Indexes … crazy, hey? E
Nvidia accounts for 24% in the rise of the S&P500 so far this year. One stock., one corporation – 24%. Insane.
If trump reduces spending. Interest rates should come down and spending should go up. If peace with russia oil costs should normalize. If tariffs up that compensates for interest rates reductions. If less education, pollution, medical oversight then more invocation. If less defense then world peace till overseas catches up. Carter years
It’s kind of funny., or is it? Musk’s super computer for his xA.I. project- is called “Colossus”.., not too sure that is the best name for an artificial intelligence super computer.
Colossus – The Forbin Project / 1970 – good movie – 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I’m supposed to host my woman’s group on March 15. Three of the women will not be attending due to a national shutdown. no work, no spending, no travel on that day…the Ides of March, to protest Trump and Musk. Feb 28 is also a day of no work or school. I’m still hosting, regardless.
Good for you. Let the defeated sulk at home. So far Trump & Musk have done what they said they would do, and are enforcing the real and lawful voters’ mandate. I haven’t heard any anecdotes of the Federales stepping over lines they shouldn’t. Boycott the boycotters.
The media wants Trump dead—and they’re not even hiding it…
Our media has gone from telling whoppers to fully exposing itself as a weaponized arm of the left’s globalist agenda. And no one has taken on that job with more vim and vigor than the New York Times. The truth is, the New York Times was never the so-called “newspaper of record.” That title gave them way too much credit and let them hide behind the illusion that they were some deeply respected voice of American news.
https://revolver.news/2025/02/look-the-media-wants-trump-dead-and-theyre-not-even-hiding-it/
Microsoft Drops USAID-Funded NewsGuard After Ted Cruz Starts Digging
Microsoft has dropped NewsGuard, a left-wing fact checking organization they partnered with that has helped the advertising industry justify blacklists for independent conservative media sites such as ZeroHedge. The move came after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) began investigating Microsoft for funding the online “media literacy” censorship tool created by NewsGuard to help guide “learners of all ages through the overwhelming landscape of online news and information.”
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/microsoft-drops-usaid-funded-newsguard-after-ted-cruz-starts-digging
DHS Claws Back $59 Million FEMA Sent to NYC Hotels to Shelter Illegal Immigrants
The Department of Homeland Security recovered $59 million of taxpayer funds the Federal Emergency Management Administration sent to hotels in New York City to shelter illegal immigrants. DHS clawed back the payment Wednesday after firing four FEMA staffers Tuesday for making the payment in subversion of agency leadership and the Trump administration’s broader agenda, as National Review previously reported.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/dhs-claws-back-59-million-fema-sent-to-nyc-hotels-to-shelter-illegal-immigrants/ar-AA1yVqZi
re: slaughtering the golden calf
Ray,
Accounting at the hotel laundry department must be having a fit. Hotel owner PIA, Pakistan Airlines, shows financial statements up to 2023 third quarter, but I couldn’t download them. PIA’s owner is the Ministry of Aviation of the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry’s website has a report on PIA’s 2022 results. It would appear that PIA then was running a total of 86,000 million rupees (equiv. us$300 million?) in the red annually. The PIA website cv of the current chair informs that he previously engineered a $700 million turnaround during his tenure at the Roosevelt Hotel. Interestingly according to “Wikipedia”, during at least two of the last three times PIA tested Roosevelt sale waters, amongst the pool of interested potential developer names one who is now #47 had come up.
As far as the recent $59 million hotel payment clawback, one imagines with a 1040 room or so capacity that pencils out to $150,000+ per room.
‘Pretty sure that’s for a number of hotels, not just The Roosevelt.
They’re also not all “5-Star” hotels. There’s a lot of 3- and 4-Star hotels involved. Still, neither FEMA nor any other government agency should be covering New York’s ass for “only” $400/night for a Midtown Holiday Inn, let alone two grand for The Waldorf or realfrigginexpensive for some of the Manhattan anchor hotels. If NYC wishes to go bankrupt, that is their intent and the rest of the taxpayers shouldn’t be obligated to keep them from their desire…
Birds have been acting hinky all week. I heard some muffled skittering on the roof, walked out and found 10 -12 turkey buzzards sunning on the roof, trying to be very very quiet. I was carrying a pellet gun that hadn’t been fired in two decades, and they scattered without a lot of attitude. Had a road runner let me walk up within ten feet. I think they were all looking for sympathy.
Reading weather news tonight, looks like I didn’t get the email. The Sunday and Monday night forecast for Crosby ND is -39 F. Locally, we are predicted to be a balmy 11 F by midweek, with another colder arctic blast the following week.
Joe Bastardi thinks there will be a significant chance of a blizzard along the eastern seaboard later this week. Not good weather to be roosting on a leafless tree, or a cell tower. Wouldn’t want to be doing van-life for the next two weeks.
re: “The Germ Growers”, 1892
feat: food for thought
Folks,
Crypto Puzzle Clue: don’t get caught up the creek without a paddle? Today’s mental float across Walden Pond is filed under that beloved American nursery rhyme “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”. It was penned by the educator Eliphalet Lyte from Bird-in-Hand, Pa. It seems that the saying ‘a bird in hand is worth two in the bush’ was common knowledge even at the town’s founding in 1734. Perhaps everything will be clear in 3025? In the meantime “litera scripta manet” (the written letter remains) as an alleged pair of Australians quoted Virgil in 1892. Virgil wrote the 12 books of “The Aeneid” around a time of peak Roman expansion a millennia after a societal collapse. Some wizard of oz winks from the universe had sent me to the Gutenberg Project in search of an Australian science fiction novel from 1892. “The Germ Growers” is authored by Robert Easterly and John Wilbraham (pseudonyms of English emigrant Anglican Canon Robert Potter ²). Shapeshifting aliens grow a plague crop.¹ The novel text can be found at the following Gutenberg link:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/60312/60312-h/60312-h.htm
Here is another link to a pdf copy of the book from the University of Queensland:
https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C96196
Members of the 1% may avail themselves of an analog original copy available for purchase through an online bookseller priced at only us$750 plus shipping.
A dedication on “The Germ Growers” title page reads “His…Prosequitur dictis portaque emittit eburna.” which perhaps translates as ‘With these…He continues with his words and sends (them) out the ivory gate.’ It turns out to be Virgil’s closing lines of “Aeneid’s” Book VI. The story summary to that point has Aeneas ready to leave the dream world Elysium Fields with future knowledge in hand. However he and the oracle are ordered through the luxurious gate exit. It’s supposedly the portal of false dreams.
Alright, time to return to the real world. The Artful Doger takes on Swamp Monsters! As a special consideration to half of the global population earning less than the median per capita household annual income of approximately $3,000, the system has a newsflash for you – Row Harder! But first, a special presentation…
****** Cue the Aliens ******
(¹ spoiler alert: A hero of the supernatural tale is understood to have avoided detention in a lunatic asylum by escaping to America.)
(² One of Canon Potter’s soldier sons was mentioned in WW1 1917 dispatches by Field Marshall Haig. The French hospital the wounded son passed away at was founded by the Philadelphia-born wife (of a family connected to two US presidential administrations) of an English steel industry magnate. Decades later she was buried at Woking, where the Martians had landed in “War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells.)
Yes, false dreams exit the gate of ivory, and true dreams exit the gate [made of] horn — much less impressive.
If porous memory serves, the true dreams come only before midnight, at which point they are supplanted by false dreams.
Got something for “learned grasshopper” back on 7 February.
If’n his father wasn’t “a gambling man down in New Orleans” he might like either of these recordings (like the first one a bit more):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljm1ln9D0Fs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMt5gsF7IKE
And, seeing that it’s Sunday, with “churchy ballads” and such:
https://www.facebook.com/Fccbranford/videos/our-closing-hymn-was-amazing-grace-sung-to-the-tune-of-house-of-the-rising-sun-l/1366916387165196/
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Heard this (a cover by Geoff Bartley) earlier this morning, and thought of LooB. Here’s the search string, sans breadcrumbs:
+lyrics +”don’t want to know anything about evil”