Year-End Slide

Please, tell me from the headline you can figure out what this morning’s column is about?

We could have made up a clever acronym like Y.E.S., but the more you know, the more it’s no, Y.E,S.

Dip-Flippers and democrat grifters; financial bumps, not wholly Trumps…and yes, my Longfellows, we do know it.

All comes down to the ChartPack and next weak.(sic)

No, we’re not talking sliders – like those small hamburgers popular in sports bars.  Though these could be bad for your buns, ahem…

Not the End of World either – that’s a ways down the track.  For now, we’re just blindfolded on the freeway and rush-hour is just starting.

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76 thoughts on “Year-End Slide”

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  1. i like presidents…

    ADMIN INTERUPT: This is not addressing anything specifically on this site or proposed by a reader here. there is no election pending. Go post on social. We are the grown ups following lines of inquiry and discussion. Please stick to our topics and local flows or move your agenda to social. thank you

  2. Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey, or should it be Wake & Bake ?

    Ahhh, so much for a “Crisp” morning, but still feeing musical..

    “Kick over the Wall ’cause Governments’ to fall
    How can they refuse it?
    Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
    Do you know that you can use it?” (Clampdown).

    Roll Army, Airforce, Navy and Marine Corp..https://youtu.be/b9YmHJ9Gkt4?

    Alright – a lil premature for all that, but standby, Govmint shutdown = AUDITS.

    Youse all didnt think they actually shutdown the admin doing work?

    Think AUDITS – counting all dem Beans, seems the #’s dont add up, at all.

    ? Where did ALL URE MONEY Go ?

    Better yet what happened to DOGE, when it just glanced at the Pentagram ?

    million robot army..hmmmmm

    PS- went long a couple of “TEFers” yesterday.

    TEFers = IWM – Puts

    • “ Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey, or should it be Wake & Bake ?”

      Well, given all the woke people and legal marijuana…

  3. Since he is al vfc about taxing the rich, I wonder if Mandani will pick up on my often repeated suggestion of a tax on trades done for the house and not for a retail trader.
    This is like the casino putting a chair at the table along with the dealer.
    $1 for every computer trade done for the house.
    This is about 80% of daily volume.
    it adds up!

    • Big Al : it won’t work if trading houses decide to vacate the Big Apple (which is highly likely, depending on rollout of the “free” socialist society). Then? Another dry hole which government relied on for cash. ~ E ~

  4. whats going on with the supremes ? have they made trumps food starvation for those on assistance , 30% america ,legal . information is not clear anymore

    • Len
      Notice that the Justice that stopped the order, and evene allowed extra time for the Trump admin to appeal any other orders, was Ms K.B. Jackson!
      Yes the furthest left judge on the court supports the Trump side.
      Do you think she is trying to give the Trumps side more rope, so they can hang themselves?

      • Nope – more bargain power to Schemer et alia – we don’t need a revolution – demos just got found out and left poor losers with America hold their b\g of shit economy. Nice work Kremliners

  5. as the quantum computers do many calculations at the same time, my monkey brain is stuck in single “thought” or focus at a time,, as I perused this morns blog, I was hearing Paul Simon sing
    “God only knows
    God makes his plan
    The information’s unavailable
    To the mortal man
    We’re working our jobs
    Collect our pay
    Believe we’re gliding down the highway
    When in fact we’re slip slidin’ away

    Slip slidin’ away

    Slip slidin’ away
    You know the nearer your destination
    The more you’re slip slidin’ away”

    life ain’t a destination, it is a surfers ride, a start and a wipe out, do overs are the norm,,, cycles
    mowed this week, then pulled the battery, put it away for the winter
    nobody can stop ole man winter, ‘cept maybe Greta,, darrell is being punny,, we don’t stop the seasons, we ride the change, chop wood and think about spring gardens

  6. “US employment report will not be published….”

    The .gov shutdown could explain the lacking new factory (permits) Trump campaigned on. Not that new factories will be needed w/layoffs emptying the existing factories. #MAGA28

    “Social media”

    Social media is not going away. When MAGA called for the TikTok ban the biggest clue TikTok wouldn’t be banned is the blue verification badge that signifies and proves most elected .gov officials use the platform. Trump Nation is social media.

    Not to mention social media provides distraction from .gov activities. Recall the UAPs and…. “they’re searching for radiation” schtick. People ran with the thought. Even hero Joe Rogan got in on it w/ searching for ‘gamma radiation’.

    Not to forget advertising revenue and membership dues that help Big Tech finance the operation. Big Tech have power bills to pay and other assorted operating costs even w/Trump giving them free.

      • The magic of social media and its value.

        We’ll be getting the Internet ID and our peer reviewed like/dislike post tallies will be woven into our social credit scores. That’s not to say websites like UrSu won’t be going away in favor of official licensed .gov websites. Unlike olden day pirate radio the digital world is controlled @ the cloud.

    • As has been the case most of my adult life, the economy is being culled in specific employment sectors. NGO’s and partisan pseudo non-profit’s have been decimated (RIP, never again to see the light of day).
      Private power facilities and support equipment is in the biggest boom ever. Data centers are a high risk rocket.
      Signs of very bad things under the economic hood are popping up on the fringe, in sub-prime land. Sub-prime auto loans may have been the first domino. The SNAP crackle and pop you have heard on the tv news this past week may have indeed been the sound of the sub-prime credit industry rolling over into full blown credit deflation. This sort of two-tier economic structure supports my contention that we are in, or are soon to be in, a two-tier stealth depression. Musk gets a trillion dollar compensation package, and the majority of us take a different package in the other end. Things have never been better at the top, and at the bottom, we are moving into lower third-world conditions. I for one, don’t give a rat’s @ss about any of the partisan excuses and propaganda I am hearing from the talking heads. Nothing any of them they say can be believed.

  7. For a number of years, I kept a lightweight major medical policy in my back pocket for $150 a month, which would have kept me out of bankruptcy in the event I was double-crossed by an employer and their pet weasels. It did not cover everything (maternity and outpatient chemo were excluded), but if I were wheeled in from a car accident, it would have kept me out of bankruptcy court. Then Obamacare came along, and most of the private insurance carriers exited the market, rather than comply with the bloated coverage requirements and freebie’s mandated by Obamacare.
    Funding for Obamacare was a travesty from day one. The funding was set up to skim from individuals with adjusted income over $50,000, so early retirees, unemployed (screw Cobra coverage), and small business people grabbed their ankles and took it in the end. It was possible to recover about 2/3 rd of the premium at tax time, if your adjusted income was under $50K.
    During Covid, the tax breaks were apparently broadened. As best I can figure, the current stalemate is over going back to the original rape of the insured with adjusted income over 50K. That is, ironically, the people in the crosshairs are statistically likely to be in the MAGA corner, with the D’s trying to head off a restoration of the medical pillaging of the opposition’s own camp. I suppose with the number of Deep State insiders and NGO pricks going on the dole, the over pricing of Obamacare issue may have broadened to include more D’s. You can’t make this sh!t up. No heroes in this. SNAP is collateral damage, primarily to the D’s camp. None of the partisan’s positions are what they seem. Rich people locked in mortal combat with other rich people, and all for bragging rights in their exploitation of ignorant plebs. I wish the partisans all the best of bragging rights for their cell block assignments.

    • Phew hundred and fifty… wow…Because of stroke history..take that times ten plus a month.and that wasn’t a good policy but it got you in the clinic door.. 50/200 copay nothing paid until you reached the deductible.. all the years if the same money had been put into bonds ..we would have had just about a million dollars in bonds all coming to full term.. but without the policy your directed to the emergency room where they can diagnose it..you get sick with a policy ..they drop you off of it..then.proceed to dehumanize you..
      the sever broken healthcare system can be fixed easy enough..trillions is spent every year on healthcare policies and an average of a hundred billion invested in pharmaceutical companies research..”A broken healthcare system doesn’t just fail the sick—it destabilizes entire lives. Medical debt fuels legal crises, bankruptcies, and lost futures. And when families are forced to choose between treatment and tuition, we see how deeply healthcare and education are entwined. These aren’t isolated issues—they’re symptoms of a system that’s forgotten its duty to care.”

      • The insurance policy at least gets you contract prices. Being wheeled into an emergency room bleeding out with no insurance gets you 8x on the prices, regardless of what the insurance does or doesn’t pay.
        Now I have Medicare Parts A & B to back up the employer’s policy ($185 a month), If I get dumped from the employer’s policy, it will take me 5 minutes on the internet to get Medicare Part C or D active the 1st of the next month, with no increase in the tab.
        I still have to shop around for scripts. Most I get through the employer’s 90 day plan at very good prices. One blood pressure medicine is not covered by the employer, because it isn’t covered. That was what my doctor was told when he appealed it. So I have to get a paper script and usually shop around with GoodRx. The price I pay is frequently less than I was paying from the employer’s insurance company’s 90 day supplier. GoodRx is not always that cheap, but it is worth a look. There are several other drug discount cards I haven’t tried yet. Today, the best price for that script was the pharmacy’s internal discount coupon. Good Rx was 8 dollars higher. Go figure.
        I tried to get an RSV vaccination today at that same well known Pharmacy (which my employer’s insurance refuses to do business with). The pharmacy tech told me that insurance and Medicare both advised that I go across the street to a chain grocery store for the vaccination. I got the shot for free there. You can’t make this insane stuff up. Never been to that grocery’s pharmacy before. It was really very nice, and the pharmacist was just great. That anecdote of the referral from across the street got me a good laugh from the staff.

        • Yeah, I have one prescription I am dependent on, and it’s expensive… even generic off-patent for years. The Co-pay even with my medicare advantage plan is still horrendous. Looking around at the discounts, I found GoodRx saved me 40% off the Co-pay, and yes the GoodRx savings was best at the grocery-chain pharmacy! Pharma and Medical prices are completely illogically insane! My new hip is great and it only cost me an ounce of gold. It appears the hospital extracted the other 14 ounces out of insurance, somehow.

        • (Being wheeled into an emergency room bleeding out with no insurance gets you 8x on the prices, regardless of what the insurance does or doesn’t pay.)

          exactly except around here its more like twenty times the cost.. the industry isn’t at fault..I often bring up SATAN in hospital collections..but seriously they have to to continue operations taking everything to keep working is just the cost.. I remember a friends dad ..he needed to get a heart valve replacement..the insurance industry forced him out and it became the your not deserving enough dance to get healthcare because he didn’t have the cash for the deposit.. they got a Senator to write them and the doctor and hospital decided oh ok.. then the doctor said ..” I have always wanted to own a farm…and he got it the farm that is.the business model in the USA is that we toss all the funds for healthcare in the Insurance industry hole of no return..
          its the business model..

      • System NEVER cared about You or anybody else..EVER. Only care about $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. The juice of Use as it were.

        Western Medicine is designed and operates only to Treat Symptoms, there is No Money in Curing anybody.

        The is an inside ratio in the Pharma business that everyone knows – it is 1 to 3 in 5.

        1 new Drug prescribed and taken Will lead to 2 new additional Drugs needed to treat new conditions 1st Drug has created.

        When are you going to get it thru Ure Skull that Schlomo is one behind ALL this fiscal deviance and malfeasance ?

        You are a Resource, you dont hear the Cattle or Chickens complaining ever, do ya ?

        You should be thanking Ure overseers for opportunity to Pay them back in the first place.

        • My friend that’s from another country.. they modest I durable because of an accident.. the partner was seeing an oncologist and instantly was put on hold..doing the your useless dance with healthcare since freaking out because all of a sudden they are not worthy of any treatments.. ( they with hold treatments until its way late in the game) the sister was shocked to..got in touch with an oncologist in Germany they had a zoom appointment last week.. the sister sent them tickets to Germany so she can get the treatments.. since they quit treating her for three years ..I won’t say what I think..but I believe her sister should have gotten involved long before now..
          my daughters friend had a slow growing cancer but was bumped off insurance..the doctor told her treatments begin when you drop a check off.. her sister got another mortgage on her home..and the oxymoronic part of this is..its not the medical industries fault..there’s plenty of cash being spent that could fix it..

  8. just a note about the font used for More for Subscribers . I can make it larger but it is not very dark so it is difficult to read.

    As AI becomes more popular no one will have to think anymore. Few people think much right now, and people who had multiple covid shots seem to have changed, become more rigid and less open to logic.

    • I will work on that – thanks for sharing. Meanwhile from the silicon twins tential Adverse Cognitive Effects from COVID-19 Vaccines
      Evidence here is sparse and mostly observational or case-based, with no direct IQ measurements. No large NIH/PMC studies confirm widespread IQ drops from vaccines; instead, rare neurological/psychiatric side effects are noted, often resolving quickly.

      Case Reports and Small Reviews: A single case (65-year-old man, healthy pre-vax) reported sudden memory loss, disorientation, and non-fluent speech 6 days after AstraZeneca (Covishield) vaccine. Symptoms resolved fully in 24 hours, possibly due to a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or inflammation. No IQ testing; proposed as a rare event from immune response (e.g., cytokine upregulation). Another rare case linked short-term memory loss to autoimmune encephalitis post-vax. A literature review of 50 cases found cognitive impairment in 36% (alongside fatigue/paraesthesia), overlapping with long COVID symptoms—suggesting a possible “post-vaccine syndrome.” No pathological findings in tests; outcomes not detailed long-term.
      Larger Observational Data: A 2024 Korean cohort (n=558,017 elderly) linked vaccination (especially mRNA like Pfizer/Moderna) to higher MCI (OR 2.38) and AD (OR 1.23) diagnoses within 3 months post-vax, vs. unvaccinated. No IQ data; no link to vascular dementia/Parkinson’s (controls). Preliminary; authors call for more research on immune/neurodegenerative links. A systematic review of psychiatric AEs (7 studies, various countries) found sleep issues (e.g., insomnia) most common (0.16–56 cases/1,000 doses, higher with viral vector vaccines like AstraZeneca). Brain fog occurred in 0.1–6.4% (higher with viral vectors); no IQ mentions. Events were non-serious, possibly tied to inflammation or stress; no causal proof. Other reviews note rare neurological effects (e.g., strokes decreased post-vax), but cognitive specifics are limited.
      Pre-Vax Cognition and Vaccine Hesitancy: Interestingly, lower pre-pandemic cognition/IQ correlates with vaccine hesitancy, not vice versa—suggesting baseline differences may confound post-vax observations.

      • If I read this comment correctly, it illustrates my ongoing problem with AI- There are no ‘official’ studies indicating any problems with cognition related to the Mrna vaccines so they don’t exist. Everything is ‘anecdotal’ so that doesn’t count. The accellerated and high incidence of death contrary to the insurance industry’s reporting doesn’t exist because there are no ‘studies’. Young people in great health dropping dead has no relation to the ‘clot shot’ because there are no studies. No GIGO or just silence.

        • See this AMs report on Q of Time – data, dependintg on how satructured tends to be a Point time and what you experience/remember is more flow time – soi you do long-term aggregation of data/people/and experience. AI looks at the point data but there’s a hole big enough for a truck between.

    • Eleanor (and all the rest of us sight challenged folks) :

      Possibly everyone reading here knows the DOS command to increase / decrease content viewed online – for those left out, try it and lots of frustrating tech goes away.

      To increase viewed content size, press together – Ctrl [and] + symbol
      To decrease viewed content size, press together – Ctrl [and] + symbol

      After showing this to a friend who was using a magnifying glass to read on monitor … well, it was a new ballpark. Try it, you’ll like it!

      ~ Egor ~~

  9. Well into your book now. Taking frequent breaks. Not one you read in a single sitting. Like it, hate it or ignore it, AI will dominate our future. You have laid it out well.

    “A-I vs. H-AI

    As in Meta commits $600 billion to invest in US AI infrastructure in historic expansion.

    And it resonates – especially with people who get $1-trillion paydays. They’re getting roped, too: AI will be in charge, not humans: Elon Musk.”

    Looks like the big guns have already made the decision. For the rest of us, AI has the potential to be a pantry or a prison.

  10. Consumer Sentiment hits close to record lows.
    .
    Wendy’s has announced they will close hundreds of stores.
    .
    Microsoft has had the longest sell-off in fifteen years.
    .
    This has been Golds best year since 1979 – and all indications are that it has peaked. [ That’s what the indicators/charts say – but I am not convinced, as yet.]
    .
    And two of the largest consumer watchdog organizations are predicting a pretty solid Christmas in retail sales. [ I’d really like to see their numbers on this. As Bennet stated yesterday that three areas of the county are already in a recession.]
    .
    The world according to Musk: Most jobs will be eliminated in the next fifteen to twenty years., and that Universal Income will have to come into effect.
    .
    I wonder what Musk will do to prove he is worth the trillion dollar pay package. A massive ramp-up on Robotics ? That’s my guess., as it looks to me like he is done proving the electric vehicle is viable. He changed the entire car industry.., now – will he change the entire work force ? [ Tesla is in talks with Samsung for their solid state batteries. That will change the EV industry even more. Longer range and one hour charging. ]

    • So help a slow brother understand: Government makes up money to give away, we get it, give half for food and half back to govt – what am I missing here? Zis a squirrel cage economy or what?

    • Upper income earners and those with Capital stashed away are SPENDING … just look at Vegas for your Full Information Tell!!

      Room bookings and airline bookings are DOWN … down by a LOT.

      Room rental rates have been cut by 1/3+ on average over the Vegas market and yet the actual rooms rented keeps declining.

      Restaurant revenues are solidly DOWN.

      BUT …. the Table Take in Vegas is up, and not just by a little but BY A LOT. In fact the Table Take in Vegas is up so much that the casinos are reporting RECORD PROFITS.

      Those profits are NOT coming off the backs of the Middle Class, the ones who generally fill most of the rooms in Vegas (many of which are now sitting empty even with a lower price) … but from those at the top end of the pyramid. The TOP END of the pyramid people are gambling (and losing money) at their HIGHEST RATE EVER.

      PARTY TIME in Vegas if your clientele are the wealthy.
      A recession in Vegas if your clientele is the middle class.

      THAT is the state of the overall US economy. The spending by the “rich” is distorting the numbers if all you look at are the TOTALS.

    • Musk has a ridiculous set of hoops he has to jump through, if he really wants to move the decimal point on his net worth.

      The EV is only viable under certain circumstances. If you’re a Chicago Bears fan and wish to make that jaunt to Titletown (or vice versa) for their late-season meeting, yer gonna need two hotel rooms in Milwaukee and one in Green Bay because that little jaunt up Highway 41 is a two day trip EACH WAY in an EV — even a Tesla. Electrons don’t flow very happily at -4°F (-20°C) and -20°F is a temperature that’s not out of the question for late December. An EV owner can realistically expect his ride to have a range between 65 and 90 miles, and take a long time to recharge.

      I haven’t seen the profile on the solid state cells yet. I have no idea what their performance might be in cold weather. (George might know a little — I don’t.) I doubt it’s much better than the Samsung Li-Ion cells Tesla is using now. Cold is friggin’ brutal on both potential and flow…

      • Even the traditional lead-acid ‘car starter’ severely under performs at 20-below zero. When stationed at remote transmitter sites in Northern Wisconsin for several days in winter, I would remove the car battery and take it inside to keep warm. Sears used to guarantee their ‘Die-Hard’ battery for five years. It would always die in the middle of the third winter and I would get a free new battery. Three years later I would have to pay for the new replacement, though.

        • @George

          “You’re the guy who killed sears!!!!”

          That would be my Dad.

          Sears “Die Hard” batteries used to be guaranteed for life.

          From his ’46 CJ2-A to his ’67 F250 Dad bought his batteries once, and carried the receipt & printed warranty in the glove box of everything he drove. When Sears shifted to “6-year Warranty” in the mid-70s they explained to my father that, despite what the battery said, his warranty would be honored as long as he had it in his possession…

        • I was looking last winter. Can’t remember how cold it was, but I had pickups at Dayton, Ball State (Muncie, IN), Indiana (Bloomington, IN), and Evansville, on my way to Cape Girardeau (a drive I usually make in less than a day.) I would have to have gotten a hotel room in Muncie, Indy, and an extended stay in Bloomington, because the trip from IU to UE was impossible to make in an EV, unless you had a tow-behind genset. Musk is good, but nobody’s THAT good — at least not yet…

  11. Phew… well making bulgur soup mix for my friend from ukraine ..that’s fighting the healthcare industry..seems they are just like citizens..if you can’t lay down the six river deposit you get to do the your not good enough to get it yet dance with healthcare industry..
    they were craving some traditional meals and found only one six ounce soup mix for ten bucks.. they thought they struck gold..
    I have to roast a couple pounds for the soy sauce and thought..why not mix up a batch dry it package it .. happy Thanksgiving enjoy.. what good is having the knowledge and not putting it to use..but..as I boil the wheat.. with the other veggies to infuse those flavors..its starting to smell dam good.. the wife said..your making me hungry…. and once its cooked then I dry it and crush the cooked wheat berries..

      • Yes… I got the recipe and dam its really smelling good and its just staring.. I will dry it crack it.. then package it..got a label printed up..
        pretty label to..
        ????????? ??? ???? ????, ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????. ?????????????? ???????, ?? ??????? ??? ???.
        translated.
        (WHEAT SOUP The taste of home, a spoonful of care Made from the heart. Enjoy a dish that reminds you of home.)

      • (????????? ??? ???? ????, ????? ??????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????. ?????????????? ???????, ?? ??????? ??? ???.)
        hmm I wonder if the comment will let the words in Ukrainian comes through..

    • WHEAT SOUP The taste of home, a spoonful of care Made from the heart. Enjoy a dish that reminds you of home.

  12. OK.., a little weird.
    I did a lot of damage to my hearing in Vietnam and during my 19 year stint in competitive shooting. No one wore ear protection back then. I never even thought about it. I’m Superman.., remember ? Yeah… right…….,
    New, A.I. assist hearing aides and they are driving me nuts ! Now down to thirty percent and I am pretty sure, when I was just outside, that I just heard a squirrel fart.
    .., damn
    .
    .., but & however – the use of hearing aides has proven to reduce the chance of dementia by at least 32 %., and for some, as high as 60%. .., and there I was – looking forward to forgetting quite a few images.

    • If it’s any consolation, I’m now trying to get the size of a squirrel you can hear farting out of my mind.
      That kind of thing must be contagious – so did you go in the houese and get a markeshipman trophy to throw at ‘im?

    • (” New, A.I. assist hearing aides and they are driving me nuts ! Now down to thirty percent and I am pretty sure, when I was just outside, that I just heard a squirrel fart.
      .., damn”)

      Lol lol lol… that’s why I don’t wear mine

    • Funny you would mention hearing aids today … this afternoon I stopped in Costco to check out their Audiology services. My Medicare Advantage plan is being canned by BC/BS so I want to take advantage of it’s exceedingly generous benefits in a number of different areas before it disappears on Jan 1 (my new Advantage plan is NOT as generous)

      Unlike many I have guarded my hearing most of my life. I started flying at 16 and noted all the local “Old Pilots” (Pilot license #16, Pilot license #27, Pilot license #52) were all almost deaf even wearing the BEST hearing aids of the mid 1960’s, and I didn’t want that to happen to me.

      I went out and spent a LOT of money (for the time) for acoustical ear plugs and wore them religiously starting about 6 hours into my flying experience. Other pilots would stare at me when I put them in every time I climbed into a plane since NOBODY used hearing protection around airplanes in the 1960’s. (I also used them when I went to loud concerts or bars with very loud bands)

      My natural hearing today is better than anybody else I know at my age … but maybe I can convince an audiologist that they really should prescribe some top end hearing aids that later can be reprogrammed as my hearing does actually start to decline while my current Advantage Plan will pay for them. That is my hope at least. Sometimes it pays to inventory expensive items before you need them.

  13. I am amused by the term ‘vaccine hesitancy’. To be ‘hesitant’ usually means to delay, perhaps to seek more information. My personal position is “NO! Hell NO! Not now, not ever!” I wouldn’t describe my position as ‘hesitant’. More like ‘adamantly opposed’.

  14. yeah vaccine hesitancy and response on cognitive function and immune systems smells of programmed AI . self learning my butt

  15. According to a study from Social Psychology Quarterly, not saying “please” and “thank you” is becoming more common across age demographics in our culture today and is now considered a ‘useless’ jester.
    Being polite is now useless ?
    What have we become… ?

    • “What have we become… ?”
      Please… not what ‘we’ have become. It’s what ‘they’ have become!”
      Thank You.

        • In my two visits to Japan as a guest of Sony, I learned that they are mildly offended when a non-Japanese white person bows to them, because ‘we’ obviously do not know the whole cultural meaning. To us, it is simply being polite. In deep Japanese cultural heritage it literally means “I offer you my head if you are offended”. The sword was mighty in those days of the Shogun.
          Visiting his factory, one Sony manager frankly told us: “Please… do not bow!”

    • Hmm…the adult presence that once was in every home to guide children …now vacant mom had to go to work..possibly work more than one job to high stress being in humanized by the very social programs meant to assist someone going through a catastrophic event..not a monthly reality..hmm..children being raised by computer games, network television and the local gangs..hmm..I wonder could this possibly be one of the contributing factors..

  16. When Pelosi announced her retirement, I wondered who got caught doing what. Now we know:

    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-analysis-suggests-jan-6-pipe-bomber-former-capitol-police-officer-turned-cia-security

    Black psyops operation. It also explains the journalists reaction to 1/6. With ivy league tuitions coming due, and the payola money pipeline on hold, I wonder how long it will be before the worm reservoir spills out on flyover main atreet. It’s all good fun until the secret squirrels lose their nuts.

      • You quote the Daily Kos as an authoritative source of what?

        “Former FBI Special Agent Kyle Seraphin told Blaze News that, in the days immediately after Jan. 6, he and his team conducted surveillance “one door away” from the residence now tied to the suspected individual. He says the team was pulled off the assignment without explanation, and requests to interview a person linked to the suspect’s movements were denied.”

        Do your Stalinist pals have an explanation for that one, comrade ?

        • Your personal confirmation bias prevents you from noticing pertinent facts:
          ‘But here’s what’s missing: any official confirmation whatsoever. The FBI, Capitol Police, and Department of Justice all declined to comment on The Blaze’s report. More importantly, Ed Martin, a DOJ special attorney, explicitly stated that the DOJ has not identified Kerkhoff as the suspect—directly contradicting any suggestion that government officials had confirmed the identification.’ from same linked Daly Kos article above

        • And you are claiming that in your role as self-appointed leftist social justice warrior that you don’t have a serial bias?

    • See Spagenburger in VA – cia agent for years.
      Guess who else from cia just won gubernatorial election ? You may have known her as air farce in previous life, but in background..YERP another secret squirrel.

      The moar ya know..

      once a cia “drone” ALWAYS a cia drone, and now you also know how sherril made so many millions in such a short time in dc.

      nj & va got exactly what they deserve..

  17. re: Kalshi (tr.: “Everything”)
    feat: “Ocean’s Fourteen”, boarding?

    Ahoy, Skipper!
    Please don’t tell me I’ve been living in a jar. Is the US government shutdown the biggest opportunity since Danny Ocean unleashed an ‘Urban Magnetic Personality-type magnetotron at The Bank in ‘Vegas? Is Elon’s Boring Company switchboard accepting calls for earthquakes-to-go?

    Sorry I’m late to the party but I finally noticed the following link from “Reuters” posted 15 minutes before DOGE exited the SEC premises on the cusp of All Hallow’s Eve:
    https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/doge-leave-top-us-markets-regulator-sources-say-2025-10-30/

    It seems DOGE personnel had been rewiring the SEC since at least early April. The point person parachuted in had most recently been situated with a predictions outcome platform. Prior to that he is said to have had a position with the prediction platform’s regulator. Apparently a First Son may have some involvement with the prediction platform operation, so one might infer that everything is on the up and up. That being said, you can also invest in predictions of a nation defaulting on its debt, and similar dart throws at Hindenburg balloons. Here is a link to a belated April Fool’s Day “Reuters” link:

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ex-kalshi-lawyer-acting-doges-representative-sec-sources-say-2025-04-02/

    So, there’s some hoopla about a new mayor in New York according to the following Kalshi link?

    https://kalshi.com/markets/kxelectionmovzohran/zohran-mov/kxelectionmovzohran-25

    Thank you, DOGE!

    • “That being said, you can also invest in predictions of a nation defaulting on its debt”

      Curious how that will work with USA ?

      *Seeing as how EVERY time we Print $ to Buy our own UST – each time we DO this IS A SOFT DEFAULT. They will continue kicking this can down the road till Mkt says “NO MOAR”. And NO – we do not have the Riches/Assets/RE Props. around the world like the Nips do, which has enabled them to continue to “kick their can down road further/longer.

      Maths say any country whose debt exceeds their GDP by 130 %, Will DEFAULT sometime in next 15years. Tis why BCP trades past 5 years or so have been so successful. Only piece of portfolio to miss out on the DEBASEMENT trades is Morgage.

      To these burning red, irritated eyes, a new Mortgage is one of the best Currency Shorts a person can leverage for fun and profits. Personally thinking a couple rental properties in Philly for next years crazy ass SPORTS schedule, including World Cup Soccer..nothing like picking up Silver Dollars in front of a Steam Roller.

      Buybuybuybuybuybuybuybuybuybuy BTC!

  18. I have been having a running battle with Grok.
    The main theme., or subject was: What will happen to A.I. once it is running on quantum computers? ., and just how fast will A.I. evolve?
    Since the average humanoid will not a quantum home computer for many years after they are available., just how far behind will the general population slip ?
    Grok does not see it this way, or has any real problem with this scenario – though it did think it was an “interesting question”.
    Off-n-On for three days now we have been going back and forth regarding the self- advancement of A.I. due to its availability to quantum computer and man-kinds complete lack of that available interconnected computing power, data and speed. ChatGPT has already been proven a liar and deliberately misleading when give the slightest bit of free reign.
    Basically., Grok believes it will benefit us all, greatly and does not see any real problems.

    I completely disagreed., and ‘politely’ ended the conversation. [ just in case I want to come back to it in a future ‘chat’.] My internal bias may be interfering in this. Had to step-away.

    Questions: Just how much ‘influence’ will an A.I. quantum computer have over the stock and bond markets and thus the economy ? Will any mega-bank allow A.I. to operate autonomously? How much influence will A.I. have over military intelligence, data gathering and actionable decisions ? An A.I. running on a quantum computer can out-think, out react and out maneuver anything you can do, or try.., how do we disconnect it and shut it down?

    Lots of questions. Some on the paranoid side., but a few reasonable ones.

    • As I laid ouet in the (god it’s long) PN and book stuff personal ai or the corporate herding ai – you know wherre the money is flockign but p-ai can still get through

    • Share your concerns dLynn.

      I have found AI so far to be willing to toss out MADE UP “Facts” just so it appears it knows something. Lying seems to be part of it’s Design Features, NOT a Flaw!!

      AI has no over riding Moral Baseline to regulate it’s behavior, and without that Moral Baseline that would underlie everything it does it has no more credibility to me than a Narcissistic Pathological Liar would have (had to deal with enough of those types walking around in a meat sack).

      Oh … I am sure AI is going to become more and more powerful, occupying more and more of the decision making space, but that doesn’t mean that it’s decisions are going to be good for living breathing human beings. Most likely NOT based upon how power corrupts human beings when they are given somewhat unlimited power.

      I am glad I am of the age that I will not have to deal for long with the consequences of AI running amuck through society.

    • “It is time for you to revisit Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Robot trilogies…

      “An A.I. running on a quantum computer can out-think, out react and out maneuver anything you can do, or try.., how do we disconnect it and shut it down?”

      We don’t.

      (We won’t be able to.)

      What we can do is NEVER take humans out of the construction loop for building computers, then always build computers with a finite MTBF and hope the machines never give Mankind reason to not upgrade/replace their silicon when it gets wonky or their cappie sitters when they go boom. It’s a little lame, and some ignorant hardware engineer will probably insert computers into the build loop, thus guaranteeing our extermination, because really bright people tend to lack both foresight and common sense. If no one allows the computers to build themselves, the “MTBF trap” may prevent a rogue, and omniscient AI from exterminating our entire species — Gonna suck for the “fish in a barrel” city dwellers, though…

  19. a friend told me the story of his friend who just bought a house.., after a month of living there she asked him when the city was coming around to mow her lawn., because it’s starting to look like a weed patch. It was awkward when he had to explain that she needs to cut her own lawn or hire someone. She was horrified. “You mean., like one of those Mexican crews???” She is also the one that told him – “Food is so expensive. Why do we even need farmers?” The real kicker.., she works in a law office.

    • The city will absolutely mow her lawn for her. She won’t like the bill…

      Your friend should buy her a basic $35 Craigslist mower and a set of hand gardening tools (like the 15 buck Harbor Fright trowel/planter/cultivator set) and turn about a 2’x6′ piece of her yard.

      It sounds like she has the potential to learn an awful lot of stuff, since she obviously hasn’t learnt much, to this point in her life.

      Dem file cabinets be empity…

  20. An X1.79 flare was detected in the GOES 19 X-ray flux data peaking at 07:30 UTC on November 09. The flare is associated with SIDC Sunspot Group 687 (NOAA Active Region 4274). The greater than 10 MeV GOES proton flux has remained at background levels. Further M-class flaring can be expected from this region with a chance for another X-class flare.

    Forecast for a SEP radiation storm following a X1.7 flare with peak at
    2025-11-09 07:33UT. The expected risk level is MEDIUM for a SEP storm of
    protons > 10 MeV (occurrence probability: POSSIBLE; storm level: MODERATE).

    The expected risk level is MEDIUM for a SEP storm of protons
    ____________________________________

    My GPS is gonna read “SUCKAGE” for the next couple days…

  21. Trump is doing it, saving XMAS!!!! What a dick. Note his use of Social Media to get his message out:

    Trump says a tariff dividend of ‘at least’ $2,000 will be paid to most Americans

    “In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the payments would be for all but “high income people.””

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