A Most Unusual Morning

by

Very short post this morning.  Long one was wiped out when our “big pipe” onto the net went down.  We are in severe thunderstorms this morning so “hold that drought.”  I will be making notes and updating as we go…on battery power right now.  Rain  and hail coming down like mad.

Briefly: :  Bitcoin 7,500, Dow Futures +40.

Wow Weather

This is what the rain looks like when it’s coming down hard enough to take down satellite links.

The National Weather Service has an advisory out for the Plains starts this morning and looking at NEXRAD, you can see how our part of Texas has a line of storms coming through.  We’re under that red stuff.

The bad news is we’re still in a drought, but this will give us enough water to make lawn mowing an issue again shortly.  Almost 1/2-inch of rain in 10-minutes.

In Three Rings:  Circus America

In the first ring,. we see the $20-million Mueller Fishing and Hooker expedition is trying to get Paul Manafort jailed.  Seems he called someone on his cell after being indicted and (OMG!) talked to them.

“Attempted Witness Tampering” says the chief fisherman’s brief.

Lesson?  Next time you get indicted for something having nothing to do with Russia collusion, don’t call anyone, OK?

Lesson #2:  Don’t use iCloud to hide documents and data you don’t want seized.  Moving on…

In the Third Ring

We have Trump’s chief apologist/lawyer Rudy Giuliani going on about this and that about the idea of president Trump pardoning himself.

The Tweeter-in-Chief firing off overnight with:

“What is taking so long with the Inspector General’s Report on Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey. Numerous delays. Hope Report is not being changed and made weaker! There are so many horrible things to tell, the public has the right to know. Transparency!”

Peanuts?  Popcorn?  NUTS?

We figure Jeff Sessions will want to get his resume polished up with this report: Trump blames Sessions for ‘Russian Witch Hunt Hoax’.

And in the Center Ring

With all the hullabaloo about kneeling and football, a planned visit of the Philadelphia Eagles to the White House has been canceled.  Mr. Hardly-Ever-Tweets explaining:

“The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!

We have had many Championship teams recently at the White House including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Patriots, Alabama and Clemson National Champions, and many others. National Anthem & more great music today at 3:00 P.M.

But, the Eagles were dis-invited because so few were interested.  But Philadelphia’s democrat-in-chief mayor used the occasional to pimp the Trump-hater brand calling the prez a fragile egomaniac.   Hmmm…when comes to slurs “fragile egomaniac” versus “career democrat politician” is a close call – not sure which is worse.

I swear to you this is not news.  But it’s a fine example of what we’ve pointed out previously:  Namely that a) there is too much “news channel capacity” and not enough content to fill it.  And b) Trump is going around the corporate-locked news with Twitter which could lead to why Homeland is reported  compiling a list of alt-news influence-makers.

What’s missing in the discussion is how all WH credentialed journos have to go through background checks.  And, if you read my 2012 book Broken Web, it’s clear that unfettered access to the net is one thing but using social and pseudo news sites to incite?  Quite another.

Split-Shot Americano Tall President??

Howard Schultz is backing out of Starbucks after making megabucks and is reported eyeing politics.  Perhaps enough so he will become the next “rich guy to buy the White House.”  SSATP, maybe?

With a reported $2.8 billion, he could likely be a serious bidder.  No need of a Foundation, or Vichy government,  huh?

And gosh, think about all the restrooms where homeless could see vote Howard posters!  Make fine local campaign offices, too…Why, people could register while peeing!

Congressional Pricks Dept.

OK, let’s face it:  Only ONE guy (Trump) has been working the NorK talks.

But now we’re seeing how the mad dogs of Congress are lining to to try and scam some of the credit.

Here’s a plan:  STFO *(stay the f out) of Trump’s deal.  If there is a deal, he has to desk it…so he will bring it in. Save the grandstanding BS.  If no deal, then stay in Washington and DO NOTHING like usual, ‘K?

(God save us from Congress and other career toads.)

Speaking of the NorK’s  – good article over here on how China will be making a mint on new trade with the NorKs if a semi-peaceful end comes to the talks.

Now, who is it tells you (daily) “Everything is a business model!”?

Monetizing the Dead

Still in style, apparently as CNN rolls with “Remembering RFK, 50 years later/”  We can’t help but call it double monetizing,  of the dead and of the democrats.  Republicans need to buy a network, yeah?

Mexico Retirement Plans?

Uh.. rethink: American couple shot dead in Mexico home in apparent botched robbery, official says.   Course it could happen anywhere, but…..

If you really want to live in a city with cartel influence, try Chicago.

Party?

Now that we know The moons of some giant alien planets could host life. we can ask the important question.

Sure they can host life, but do they host parties?

Don’t be confused: Try togetherness: Study promotes cooperative weed management to curb herbicide resistance is about the other kind of weed.

Seriously?  Here’s one to read completely”: How does alcohol influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease?  If you can’t remember to read it…

Dark Side of Climate Change

It could crash the global economy:

Except, since we’re really in Global Cooling and the Earth is now in the 206-year solar cycle chill (the Maunder Minimum ring a bell), it could be a clever ruse to save energy now so we don’t all freeze later.

If you plan a move to some new part of the country, do consider SOUTH OF 40a degrees, not north of it.  Varies, of course my how much data you can handle.

Peoplenomics tomorrow and more here Thursday… power’s back on and so’s breakfast…Dow futures now down 4.

35 thoughts on “A Most Unusual Morning”

  1. George, I have a couple of notes for this morning. One is that I sincerely think that a licensing requirement should be instituted for journalists. Much as with engineers, geologists (like me), lawyers, doctors or any profession whose conduct can affect the public welfare.

    Much of today’s journalistic practice affects the health, safety and welfare of the public, the environment, and the economy. Thus the public deserves to be protected.

    In other news, this one from WSJ, a timely piece:

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/climate-change-has-run-its-course-1528152876

    MAJ13

    • Like Kirk, I think we have proven licensing adds little value to the public and only increases power of government and cost of services to the users. Would be better to provide review services where people post their experiences with said professionals, like Yelp. You would hope the professional organizations would provide their own feedback and ratings for people working in their profession, but like Unions recently, it is not about working to having better services to the public, but to protect the members.

    • Licensed journalism might limit freedom of speech. France has just passed a new Fake News Law. I don’t know how the French legal system works or how it will be applied. Some people are claiming it is protecting mainstream journalism.

      As a hypothetical example: many countries around the globe have signed the Paris Climate Change Accord. It is hypothetically possible to interpret a fake news law to state that any blogger or news site that challenges the settled science of climate change may be subject to legal process.

      Think about that for a minute. Freedom of speech was invented to protect the right to hold an opposing point of view. Licenses that can be withheld if you don’t agree with government policy really are just a more subtle approach to censorship.

      • Licensed lawyers may wish to weigh in, but my understanding is that French law acts along the lines of “guilty until proven innocent”.

      • Regarding the comment by Larry – Yes, the French legal system (as well as other judicial systems originally based on the Roman legal system) does approach things from the idea that one is guilty and must be proved innocent. This is one hundred and eighty degrees from the English legal system (based on the Germanic legal system) where one is presumed innocent and must be proved guilty.

        Both approaches have their pluses and minuses – it can be argued that early ‘Germans’ were very individual in their way of living, while the Romans were extremely family oriented.

    • No way in hell would I ever agree to ANY sort of “licensing” of journalists. Once that’s enacted it’s a very slippery dangerous slope to eradication of 1A, and that leads to elimination of 2A. Good Americans can’t let that happen, otherwise we’ll be as screwed as the Brits where free speech is outlawed.

    • I disagree MAJ13….

      I want 100% compliance with the 1st Amendment. No licensing, no filtering, no editing out of curse words – WYSIWYG.

      There is more than enough control of media already, by virtue of the 6 conglomerates that own it and the 3 that own the social media platforms. We need MORE freedom to speak and write, not less. The evidence of controlled media is all around you – watch the nightly news and see the same stories with the same spin on all channels. Read the news rags and see the same thing – WaPo, NYT, WSJ, etc.

      They all receive the same talking points from their corporate masters. It is so obvious that I can no longer watch it, and then the talking heads pop up to explain to us “what it means”, which is then reiterated in print!

      Screw licensing of anything – it’s just another tax, no exceptions. Every license, from fishing to law, is a damned tax.

      I view my having to get a well control certification as a tax. People that know my capabilities and trust my judgement use my services. That is true for most every business. My having to spend $3000 every few years to prove I can still do the same equations that heven’t changed in 50 years is meaningless and it is a damnable tax.

      Your assertion that the public needs ‘protection’ is ridiculous. It is equivalent to outlawing matches because they cause fire. People are smart enough to smell a pile of crap when they read it, and most don’t even read to the end of crap.

      Your assertion for licensing journos is just furthering the thought and speech police.

  2. Maj13 …license to protect people? You mean like drivers lcense to prevent the ~35,000 highway deaths each year? Note: less than 1% of traffic deaths are by unlicensed drivers. Or medical licenses? Don’t even get me started there!

  4. Well you know George as the fellow said “sell our politicians for what they cost,and buy them back for what their are worth,that would go a long way in draining the swamp…

  6. Great words of truth George, the great round-up/cull the herd is on. Less worth-less eaters=less demand. Given,” the BIG PICTURE” ? between natural?/CREATOR events,add in man-made ie. wars & weather mod.ENTER AI . Think of this, the big box sees all {feeds from allbirds ,land & sea based included. Add in the financial feeds} You now have a very big REAL TIME view. Owners of the BB have all the cards…Let’s say BB detects an EVENT/’s runs the #’s from all sources & concludes A very,very bad out-come. The BB issues FLASH=ORDERS & moves or sells assets in that place. He wins we loose! lot more to that STORY..u no ..Did u see Clif moved to HIGHER GROUND….hint ! You should buy that new otter .with analog panel & Teach G. to fly . When shtf u have nice twin w/ no payments lol..

    Love & peace to all

  7. George, regarding your 206 year climate cycle: Cool theory, to be sure, and certainly worthy of investigation. But by chance do you have any compelling supporting data? Like maybe 97% of all peer reviewed, published scientific papers? In the meantime, most of us need more than a cool hunch upon which to base immediately critical decisions. Best, Mike.

    • Some Wiki stuff to begin:
      “The Waldmeier effect names the observation that cycles with larger maximum amplitudes tend to take less time to reach their maxima than cycles with smaller amplitudes;[27] maximum amplitudes are negatively correlated to the lengths of earlier cycles, aiding prediction.[28]
      Solar maxima and minima also exhibit fluctuations at time scales greater than solar cycles. Increasing and decreasing trends can continue for periods of a century or more.
      The 87 year (70–100 year) Gleissberg cycle, named after Wolfgang Gleißberg, is thought to be an amplitude modulation of the Schwabe Cycle,[5][29][30] The Gleisberg cycle implied that the next solar cycle have a maximum smoothed sunspot number of about 145±30 in 2010 (instead 2010 was just after the cycle’s solar minimum) and that the following cycle have a maximum of about 70±30 in 2023.[31]

      Periodicity of solar activity with periods longer than the sunspot cycle has been proposed,[5] including:
      The 210 year Suess cycle (a.k.a. “de Vries cycle”).[30] This cycle is recorded from radiocarbon studies, although “little evidence of the Suess Cycle” appears in the 400-year sunspot record.[5])
      The Hallstatt cycle is hypothesized to extend for approximately 2,300 years.[35][36][37]
      An as yet unnamed cycle may extend over 6,000 years.[38]
      In carbon-14 cycles of 105, 131, 232, 385, 504, 805 and 2,241 years have been observed, possibly matching cycles derived from other sources.[39] Damon and Sonett[40] proposed carbon 14-based medium- and short-term variations of periods 208 and 88 years; as well as suggesting a 2300-year radiocarbon period that modulates the 208-year period.[

      There is some more than casual data warfare in play: the IPPC climate grant-eaters do not want to context these cycles – esp. DeVries – as that would eat into their revenue prospects on the one hand and on the greedy expansionists in government who – absent genuine growth and improvement of the human conditions – are selling gender and climate…which is akin to replumbling people and selling ’em weather.
      Sweet, huh?

      Then See “A Phenomenological Study of the Cosmic Ray Variations over the Past 9400 Years, and Their Implications Regarding Solar Activity and the Solar Dynamo.” McCracken, Beer, Steinhilber and Abreu, Solar Phys DOI 10.1007/s11207-013-0265-0 (2013).

      It’s a data war.

      And try this on:”

      https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264671457_Reconstruction_and_prediction_of_the_total_solar_irradiance_From_the_Medieval_Warm_Period_to_the_21st_century

    • …And before Copernicus’ death, 100% of all peer reviewed, published scientific papers, placed Earth at the center of the Universe.

      • Greek mathematician Aristarchus had postulated the theory of heliocentricity (Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun) in 242BC, and star theory (Stars are each, their own “suns,” and are so-distant from Earth as to be essentially stationary objects — based partially on Anaxagoras’ work) in 238BC, but was discredited by the Church because he was a pagan, and because, thanks to a sack of Athens, his work had ceased to exist.

        N. Copernicus discovered him via a reference in one of Archimedes’ texts, and worked backwards to learn enough to formulate his own work. Copernicus’ work was done in the 1520s-1540s, and published from his deathbed, in 1543. The belief in heliocentricity was heretical, because

        IT VIOLATED 100% OF ACCEPTED SCIENTIFIC BELIEF,

        and [it was] punishable by death at the stake. I can’t even imagine how severe the punishment for mathematic proof of heliocentricity and star theory would have been, but apparently ol’ Nick didn’t want to find out, hence the posthumous publication.

        BTW, the first “big boy” book my mommy ever gave me was the first English translation of: “The Flammarion Book of Astronomy.” I was nine. Before I was ten, I had read and (more or less) digested its many, MANY pages…

        I accept your right to believe in the religion of GCC. I shan’t convert to your belief, because it runs counter to both reason and known fact. I ask that you accept my right to base my climate opinion on over 50 years of personal observation, and a basic knowledge of meteorology and astronomy.
        _______________________________

        George: You might wish to check out the works of Nicolas Camille Flammarion. He was a 19th Century French astronomer, but also delved into things in which you’ve been interested of late…

  8. Sure, sure…nothing like a thunderclap from the gods to get a writer back on track. Sudden, attention-getting, and an upset to well-laid plans. It baffles me completely too as to why people live on the active side of a volcano in the first place. Still, Rome had Pompeii.

    The heat and humidity that you are willing to tolerate makes me shake my head. Whether change is hot or cold, one hopes for something gradual. The fish out of water effect brings to mind a book of an 1857-1858 settler expedition’s diaries opening up the western plains that I browsed through. A task one winter day was to find a missing missionary journeying in a blizzard between two closely situated aboriginal encampments. The locals told him not to go. He did and never made it. What weirded the expedition party out was that the shaman who hadn’t left camp acted out the trail taken by the missionary, where he turned, where he rested, and his pose at death. I’ll dig out the book title when I have opportunity.

    • Well, I located the book. It’s not copyrighted and Internet Archive in fact has it digitized. A couple of mea culpas are probably in order after I did a reread of the passages. There’s no shaman per se, and the native in the acting role may have been a tracker. Still the related event seems to have wowed the white explorers. Do pardon any verbal insensitivities expressed through the course of various chapters. Political correctness was not yet upon the land.

      The book by Henry Youle Hind is entitled “Narrative of the Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition of 1857 and of The Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition of 1858”. The passages relating the passing of the missionary are in volume 2 page 95 onwards at the following link:
      https://archive.org/stream/narrativeofcanad02hind_1#page/95/mode/1up

  9. Could the next Bitcoin success be a combined Bitcoin/PayPal. Blockchain technolgy has been great in securing transactions. I don’t know if this idea has been discussed elsewhere, but I would be an investor. Online payment methods are still in its infancy.

  10. Could the next Bitcoin success be a combined Bitcoin/PayPal. Blockchain technology is extremely secure. I don’t know if this idea has been discussed elsewhere, but I would be an investor. Online payment methods are still in its infancy.

  11. Licenses simply convert a right into a privilege. If we’re to be fully human, we must have great freedom of action, with logical consequences, both good and bad.

    Free people welcome personal risk with proportional reward. Those who crave personal security above everything else gain nothing and lose their freedom. The worst are those busybodies that want to regulate others who can do no harm to them. Unfortunately, most politicians are of that ilk.

    The EU right now is trying to implement a new rule on copyright that would eliminate fair use and tax web links. That would truly make for a “Broken Web”.

  12. If the cost to do one Bitcoin transaction is an average months household energy cost. Block chain technology will not take hold until the new quantum computer systems and Plasma Power systems take hold is my guess?

  13. I think most people would even be willing to listen to Megan Kelly to avoid licensing journalists or Twitter.

  14. Organized broadcast journos (more of whom are formerly-unemployed attorneys than are degreed journalists) are already licensed, via the licensing requirements of their employers. Newspaper journos are soon to die off, as their communications media has been rendered irrelevant everywhere but the fish markets. Unorganized journos (which is ALL THE REST OF US) are the lifeblood of free speech and free thought. ANY regulation which limits or hurts a network or Internet mouthpiece, hurts us a lot more.

    We, meaning the entirety of Western Civilization, have gotten into the habit of applying band-aids to issues and problems, “managing” them instead of fixing them. To fix a problem, one has to define the problem, define the solution, then draw a line from “point A” to “point B.” If one thinks “propaganda-spewing journos” is a problem, the solution would be to place them in front of an audience [that is] educated enough to recognize BS and propaganda. Such an audience will walk when the BS flows. When audiences walk enough times, the mouthpiece will either learn how to be an actual journalist, or [will] go back to sacking groceries at Kroger.

    At this time, it should be apparent that the actual problem really isn’t the batârd with the mic, but the fact the audience is not well-versed in true factual history and in civics. So the real problem is an ignorant audience, and the real solution is to educate, whenever possible, with respect to history and especially, civics.

    The Constitution is only 28 pages long. It was written so a person of average intelligence and the capability of reading English could read, and understand it. Grab a “Pocket Constitution,” read it (memorize it? My parents and grandparents were required to do so, and the two from Scandinavia, to explain it to an interviewer at Ellis Island…), understand it, then explain to the fudge-for-brains crowd, ONE AT A TIME (or they’ll gang up on you), how our Government works (or, “is supposed to work…”)

    I spent 10 hours behind the wheel, today — hours of “Can Trump pardon himself.” Nauseating! The Prez can pardon himself for any offense for which he is not impeached, however that’s totally irrelevant, because the sitting President can also not be indicted or charged with a crime, while in office. He must be first impeached and removed from office, before he can be charged with a crime, and once removed from office, loses the power to pardon and commute sentences. The entire discussion is a nonsensical circular argument, and pointless. For more information, read (oh, PLEASE READ) the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2…

    IMO Mr. Trump played the MSM again. The “blathering idiots” (Like it? I just invented it – ‘seems quite apropos…) are going to be talking about this for the next several days and paying no attention to real newsworthy copy…

    • Wow Ray.. great post..
      I find myself wondering if the vast majority of the people are illiterate or ignorant ,deaf, dumb and blind…or just acquiescent to the state of our political system. We all know it’s broken. Similar to the insurance industry and medical pharmaceutical etc.
      Men have been elected using the promise of fixing a broken system. Instead it rolls on. Bandaids well everything is a business model. It could be fixed.. maybe..god I doubt it.. not without a total bankruptcy of our current system. It’s a business model. To much money.. no limits and to many ways for the haves to get out of paying their share.. I feel a flat tax. Deductions up to poverty level then flat tax. Let’s say fifteen percent. Without any way to hide the money they make. If it is discovered then they aren’t allowed to do business in the USA. Foreign goods and services. For every unbalanced dollar of goods imported tarif. You buy we buy you sell we sell then give breaks to companies that hire american build with American goods. Right now we are the bank and spending more than we are making. If you look at it like a checkbook we’ll it doesn’t matter if you still have a hundred checks.. you can’t kite the economy forever. Put profit caps.. there shouldn’t be any reason why Canada can sell a medication for 33.00 and the exact same medication sells for 10,000.00 in the USA.
      As long as there’s money being made nothing will change. Another dead horse.. well considering the economic situation of the fed reserve and the USA a dead herd of elephants.. and as long as money is being shuffled away and not moving the greater risks of implosion imho

      • They’re both illiterate and ignorant. They are not deaf, dumb, or blind, but are lazy and apathetic (remember from your grade school history where B. Franklin warned us against apathy: “Apathy is perhaps the greatest impediment to justice.”) They don’t get a hair up their butts until some stupid rule or reg affects them personally, and when they do, whine about it for sympathy, instead of doing a few minutes’ research to find the legal remedy for their issue.

        I’m a huge proponent of a flat, value-added, or “fair tax.” Such would hurt me personally, financially, but I’m for it anyway, because it is the right thing to do, and the way to affect the best overall fix to our draconian taxing industry (and yes, I deliberately called it an “industry.”)

  15. I feel better.. at least I wasn’t the only one to bring up something controversial.. our commander in chief drug the dead horse around with the tweet about the inspector generals report.. Nothing will come of it. The puppeteers have D.C. Tied up in a nice neat package. Similar to other issues if it revolves around the powerful it vanishes and the slight of hand happens. Now you see it now you don’t. ( my guess is any and all implicating evidence has disappeared in lightning speed.) there’s also the health issues.. it hasn’t been very healthy for anyone investigating.

    Where I began to drag the dead horse around..( nope wife wasn’t there to tell me to stop…) was at lunch the issue of congress banning abortion.
    I of course said.. it will never happen. I actually don’t think congress can at this point it’s a legal issue.
    Every politician uses it because it’s been a money maker guaranteed to get them a seat and another term. But once they are elected it’s tabled till the next campaign season. ( it’s been what forty five years that they’ve used it) this last election it was tabled before they were even out of the polling booths. A dead horse..
    But then all of this is my humble opinion. I might be wrong and they could shock me. But I seriously doubt it.

    • This is not a personal attack!

      STOP!!!! Words have meaning
      Using the word “democratic” as you
      have means you do not know to
      properly use the word. Plus you are
      trying to change the name of the
      political party you refer to.

      It is the Democrat Party

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