It falls flat on its face.
Charlie Kirk and America’s Crisis of Meaning https://t.co/CZCEjXgvMD --- Good read.
— BootsandOil (@BootsandO6892) October 5, 2025
Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Saturday, October 4, 2025
The political left as a religion
Friday, October 3, 2025
Napoleon's revenge
Napoleon sold Louisiana to the USA in order to get back at England. As a result, America became a superpower. So says this video.
Fed Funds rate cut insufficient
10/3/25:
Armstrong Economics
New Hires Fell to 16-Year Low in September
Comment:
Comment:
Which is it? Recession or boom? If it is a boom, the interest rates can be justified. If a bust, then the Fed should lower rates. You don't need to wait for data from the government. The market is telling you this information on its daily trading in the bond markets.
9/28/25:
Support for the Milton Friedman point of view that the Fed exacerbated the Great Depression. If the Fed isn't more careful, history can repeat itself. The saying goes: History repeats, the first time as tragedy, and the second time as farce.
As Jim Rickards opined, the Federal Reserve isn't really supplying any stimulus with this rate cut. The open markets are leading the way, and the Fed is just following. So this paltry rate cut of 25 basis points is not going to help much, if at all.
Rickards also said, be careful what you wish for, as lower rates already indicate RECESSION. Indeed, if the market rates already indicate recession, it follows that the Fed funds rate SHOULD be cut much more aggressively.
The Federal Reserve is repeating the history that Milton Friedman said was the real cause of the Great Depression. Friedman blamed it on faulty Fed policy, not the stock market crash.
Also Rickards points out the raison d'ĂȘtre of the higher Fed funds rate--that the economy is actually overheated. But clearly, it is NOT. So, I ask this question: Could the Federal Reserve be sabotaging the economy for political reasons? Is this another way of trying to destroy Trump politically? For if the economy tanks, the Democrats are sure to try to exploit it.
If Trump cannot get the Fed to lower rates much more aggressively than this, then he should at least get out in front of it. I think he is doing so with his attempt to influence Fed policy. It was mentioned elsewhere ( sorry no link ) that the Fed's so-called "independence" is a myth anyway. This is an attempt to freeze Trump out of any meaningful action. I think this is economic sabotage.
The attack of the drones
How long will it be when there's something that can be done about these drones? You keep hearing about them. It seems that the tech already exists, or could be modified, so that these things can be shot down. They aren't that big, and should be vulnerable to a relatively cheap solution.
The Ukies are said to have been quite successful in destroying a lot of Russian military equipment with these things. Nobody should be taking them lightly.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BILL WHITTLE: IT TAKES A SUPERHERO
10/2/25:
Methinks Whittle is talking about ye olde skin suits. He says that they want the power and the money that they cannot get without taking it away from someone who has it. That's coveting what someone else has. To covet is an envy so strong that it isn't enough to have what another has, but to deny the other as well. The left wants to skin suit anything good and confiscate it for their own use.
7/19/14:
Whittle debunks Clinton's notion of "It takes a village" and replaces it with the title. No, it doesn't take a superman, just somebody willing to work hard and take some risks. Anybody can be a superhero in that model. But everybody can also be a part of the mediocrity of the village mode that Hillary espouses. The choice is up to you.
Joy Reid spells it out
She goes full-blown commie here. Is she aware of that, or has the USA turned commie and nobody sent me the memo?
Joy Reid on the fascist agenda:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 30, 2025
"They want to take us back to no income tax, no regulations, earn what you want, family inherits everything" pic.twitter.com/pb1574eEBh
Rainbow Stew
Nikita Khrushev called fellow communists "progressive", so why refer to Democrats as "progressive" unless they're communist?
Inquiring minds would like to know. Have a bit of that stew.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
I heard it through the grapevine - Creedence
10/1/25:
Opinions can change over time. At the moment, I think Marvin Gaye's verion is better. Maybe because the Creedence version is too danged long... Funny that this song popped in my head earlier today before getting back home and checking out the blog. This post was 14 years ago. Long time.
8/23/11:
I remember the original by Marvin Gaye
. It was a late sixties hit, if memory serves. This cover by Creedence Clearwater Revival was remarkable in its own way because of the long instrumental with the guitar wailing away. I'd say this is actually a better version than the original.
With that, I bid you goodbye. Thanks for visiting.
. It was a late sixties hit, if memory serves. This cover by Creedence Clearwater Revival was remarkable in its own way because of the long instrumental with the guitar wailing away. I'd say this is actually a better version than the original.With that, I bid you goodbye. Thanks for visiting.
Blazing Saddles taking himself hostage scene
10/1/25:
Another post for your consideration and edification. (Not really, I can't back that up.) Are we just blankety-blank? Somebody is, time to fess-up!
9/26/25:
Are the Dems gonna blink? They radicalized part of the Dem base has Schumer's testicles in its vise.
9/25/26:
This video has been up for 15 years, and has 676k views. Just mentioning that before posting it here. It might get taken down. Probably out of spite. Whatever. In this scene, which is supposed to be funny, the incoming black Sheriff, takes himself hostage. The townspeople there fell for it. Who knows? They may keep the video up. It just puts "whitey" down as much as it uses the word that can no longer be spoken.I'm using this scene to illustrate what is going on with these shutdown threats that the Democrats make. Especially this one. There's absolutely no way that the Dems should win this faceoff, but who knows with the GOP. The Democrats are hoping that the GOP does its usual el foldo.
Trump has threatened to fire a lot of Federal Employees if there's a shutdown. Indeed, he has to. There's not enough revenue to pay them, and if we cannot mint money out of nowhere, then there's no money to pay them. But the government is still funded, and can pay its bills through tax collection. Just can't spend as much. To shut down the government ends the authorization to keep spending money. The House has already passed a funding bill, but the Senate refuses to approve it.
It's the Democrats holding their constituents' jobs hostage, and there's probably members of the GOP who are worried about that. Why worry? Just fire them, and don't hire them back. The government will shrink. The world won't end. A lot of Dem voters in DC will lose their jobs, and they'll not be able to blame anyone but themselves. But of course, they'll try.
DHS Releases Information Showing TSA "Quiet Skies" Connected to FBI Operation "Arctic Frost"
Sundance at CTH connects the dots
Comment:
Weaponizing the government is a term that you may hear a lot from the Democrats these days. Sundance reminds us that that is just exactly what the Dems did themselves.
If the Dems have the bigger megaphone, their message might be heard before any opposition can get out a message.
That sucks.
Dems want a sh!tstorm over the budget
10/1/25:
Admiral Ackbar sez "It's a trap!" Oh, no! Not again!
9/29/25:
Since this post on Sept. 13th, Trump Administration has prepared a list of those who will be fired if there's a shutdown. Now this story has come in on the eve of the deadline---100k Fed employees will "walk out" (,or is it resign). They probably won't resign, because there's probably going to be an attempt to force a rehire through the courts. If they resign, they lose their jobs--or should.
9/13/25:
They want to force a government shutdown over spending. What should the GOP do? They should stick together. The Dems are counting on the weak hands in the GOP to fold over the shutdown. I have always held that the shutdown was not something to be feared, but there are those in the GOP who DO fear it. That's why the Dems are trying this gimmick.
Dems always win fights like this, but this time had better be different. Trump has a problem here. His margins in the Congress are razor thin, and the Dems are going to try to break it, so that they can break HIM. Therefore, it is Trump's problem TOO.
Would could he do? Deposit that coin in the Fed. Fund some stuff that is essential in keeping his weak kneed group of wusses together, and outlast the Dems.
They want to force a government shutdown over spending. What should the GOP do? They should stick together. The Dems are counting on the weak hands in the GOP to fold over the shutdown. I have always held that the shutdown was not something to be feared, but there are those in the GOP who DO fear it. That's why the Dems are trying this gimmick.
Dems always win fights like this, but this time had better be different. Trump has a problem here. His margins in the Congress are razor thin, and the Dems are going to try to break it, so that they can break HIM. Therefore, it is Trump's problem TOO.
Would could he do? Deposit that coin in the Fed. Fund some stuff that is essential in keeping his weak kneed group of wusses together, and outlast the Dems.
From what this guys says, Lisa Cook is Cooked
10/1/25:
The Supreme Court has ruled that Lisa Cook isn't well-done enuff. So she can cook a litle longer before they can stick a fork into her. She's a rather exotic beast. Needs plenty of seasoning.
8/31/25:
Not being a legal beagle meself, it seems pretty convincing that she has screwed the pooch. At least that is how this is being presented, and I would have to agree at this point. There's no way out for her to win, and not only that, she has put the Federal Reserve in a bind.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
DC Corruption on Scale - The "Too Big to Jail" Aspect
DC - Out of Control. Can anything be done?
A stark picture emerges from this essay by Sundance at CTH. If there really are so few people really willing to clean up DC, then how in the world can it be successful?
In other words, any attempt to reform DC is running against a tsunami of corruption. It's so big that it cannot be cleaned up.
A stark picture emerges from this essay by Sundance at CTH. If there really are so few people really willing to clean up DC, then how in the world can it be successful?
In other words, any attempt to reform DC is running against a tsunami of corruption. It's so big that it cannot be cleaned up.
Monday, September 29, 2025
The Swartz is strong with you, young Spanberger, but...
...you're not a Govenor yet.
This post is approved by just about nobody.
Who said it better: Abigail Spanberger or Emperor Palpatine? pic.twitter.com/XYZBVYpQ7i
— Winsome Earle-Sears (@winwithwinsome) September 26, 2025
Maybe I ought to create a new category
What was rare is now commonplace
If you're a communist, everyone who disagrees with you is a fascist. So, what does that make the Democrats these days? If there's a difference between communists and Democrats, it's a difference without any distinction.
All he so-called right-wing extremists should start calling the Democrats by their right names---Communists.
Democrats like to say this is "our Democracy".
9/28/25:
So now Trump is Hugo Chavez? All of this is for the narrative that Trump is a dictator.
9/27/25:
Yeah, it might be "theirs", but it isn't "ours".
They will try to get this assassin off scot-free, or only a slap on the wrist. How do I know this? Just look what is going on. Nothing could be more clear. Maybe 50% of this country doesn't seem to understand what's going on. The other 50% might understand a little, but are they MOTIVATED?
We're hanging by a thread to what is LEGALLY a REPUBLIC. It has some democratic elements, but it isn't a "democracy". In the sense that the Democrats mean, it would mean one-party rule forever. You can get that in North Korea. Or Red China. Or Russia.
When the Democrats say "our Democracy", they'll own us all--- lock, stock, and barrel. The sad thing is that a whole lot of folks out there don't understand it that way. If they did, Trump would have a higher approval rating. Whatever hope that there may be in a future for this Republic may depend on this guy. Not the Democrats. Trump is the only politician that I've ever seen that actually took them on. It's going to take that and more in order to save what's left of the Republic.
Sunday, September 28, 2025
The Amish and Mennonites still helping hurricane Helene's victims of last year
đš#BREAKING: The Amish have confirmed they have completed their very last tiny home for Western North Carolina victims of Hurricane Helene.
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) September 27, 2025
This final tiny home is being delivered today to David Hostetter, a Vietnam veteran who lost his home in the storm.
GOD BLESS THE AMISH!!! pic.twitter.com/bN778YosCT
The illusion of equality that is sold, but it is snake oil
There's talk about young people wanting to cap corporate salaries. Let's examine this policy from an non-ideological perspective. The argument against this may be that it is a socialist idea. On the other hand, big corporations are using the public markets to enrich themselves while denying the fruits of their paper wealth to others. Corporations get their charters from government action. The government means "everybody", and is therefore no longer entirely private arrangement.
There's another thought I'd add to this mix. Market cap is defined as the current market price times the share price at market prices. Okay, but market prices are dynamic. A market cap is therefore not a fixed and unchanging price. If millions of shares go on the market all at one time, the market price will go down due to an excess of supply.
Just saying that the market cap is not an accurate measurement of wealth. A lot of the wealth may be speculative, with many buyers coming in order to reap a profit later of today's demand for the stock. A hot stock today may be a loser tomorrow.
Inherent wealth isn't so transient. If you have a skill and you keep it sharp, that is a form of wealth. A skill set of many various skills makes one a wealthy person ( in a sense ) as well.
Likewise, if one wins a lottery, they may have money. But maybe not for long. Having money doesn't necessarily make you wealthy if you don't know how to manage it properly.
Young people may be plugged into the seeminly "unfair" nature of the market economy. But to keep all people the same is going to relegate people to a lower standard of living, because all of the merit has gone out of it. Without incentives, nobody will seek to improve themselves, and therefore make themselves worthy of their money.
If you just give money away, why improve yourself? Keeping everyone "equal" has its downsides. But there's nothing wrong about rectifying unjust practices. If corporate salaries are really too rich to be justified, and if the corporations are in existence due to the government action, then it is not injustice to limit their salaries to some extent. But how do you decide what's "fair"?
The snake oil is in the details of how this "fairness" is going to be determined. People who seek government interventions don't always get it to stop in convenient spots. Government's powers have a tendency to grow. Those in the government may well go too far when the government gets too big and powerful. The illusion is that the government will always act in the best interests of all. But who will tell the government "no" when it gets too big and powerful?
Obama's booby trap
Democrats are still using this in order to gain an advantage. That advantage would still be there even if what Obama did was reversed. The thing that Democrats can exploit is the desire for accountability for wrongdoing done. In my opinion, Donald Trump was very badly wronged by Obama and the Democrat party. Now that Trump has overcome to a certain extent the advantage the Democrats sought, the Democrats are crying about "revenge seeking".
Don't confuse revenge seeking with justice. At the very least, there should be some type of accountability. Unfortunately, the only accountablity that might be achievable in this environment is POLITICAL. The Democrats hope to win with their advantages, but it should cost them instead. Maybe those losses would be taken to heart, and they'd stop acting badly. I blush as I write this.
Don't confuse revenge seeking with justice. At the very least, there should be some type of accountability. Unfortunately, the only accountablity that might be achievable in this environment is POLITICAL. The Democrats hope to win with their advantages, but it should cost them instead. Maybe those losses would be taken to heart, and they'd stop acting badly. I blush as I write this.
War Stories
9/28/25:
As can be seen in the post below this update, once upon a time, I was thinking of marketing my own software. As a matter of fact, I did do that before. It wasn't profitable, so it couldn't last. It would be nice to make some money off those programming skills. Yep, I'm thinking about that as a way to make money. Money-making isn't the goal of this blog anymore. It was in the beginning, but not now.
The blog could be used to practice some html skills. Updating my skill sets and then trying to make money again may be in the cards. But that kind of thing is very time-consuming. It takes a commitment of sorts. For example, I am committed to this blog. If I wanted to scale back on that, I could. I am also commmitted to making something out of my off-grid project. That has been on hold for years now. I still have the land. If I had more money to spend, I could do more on that. Right now, it is out of the question. Hence the idea to make some money.
2/29/24 : Update to Sept 22, 2012 post:
This is interesting in light of what I wrote yesterday about the random walk theory. I'm sure that I had heard about the random walk theory back then, but did not read up on it. I dived into the markets with the idea to beat the markets because I thought I could. My methods didn't work out, but it seemed like I came close. You can only beat the markets if you find an inefficiency in it. I was using a home grown software package that I also intended to market if it ever worked. Of course, it didn't.
But what if the markets are rigged? You can get that impression. Indeed, there is crooked shit in the markets, and you can definitely get burned. I know that from first hand experience. Never did a comprehensive tally of my winnings and losses in the markets, but I'd say I lost more money that I gained.
What about the markets today? I am still of the opinion I had when I tried going short in 2009. The markets are bound to crash at some point, but as with all things, it is very, very hard to judge the timing of it.
end update, the original post from 2012 follows directly below:
The stock market is a bit nuts right now, so I'm not in it. But it may be useful to go back and tell a few of my investments and why some worked and others didn't. Or, to put it more accurately, why I think it happened the way it did.
I thought about getting into the markets back in 1987. I talked to a guy about a stock broker job and it seemed like he wanted to hire me, but I got wet feet. Not too long afterward, the market crashed. It seemed like a good decision.
By 1998 though, I decided to get in. Online trading made it easy for anyone and the market was going gangbusters, so I was in. But I got creamed. One of the first stocks I tried was Computer Horizons. This was a Y2K stock, and by 1998, it had seen its better days. But this was not obvious, at least to me at the time. But there was a pretty strong hint. It is called a head and shoulders type chart. By the time I started trading, I knew what a head and shoulders chart was, and I saw it for Computer Horizons. The trouble is that I didn't believe it. So, I invested anyway and got my head handed to me.
To make matters worse, I did what you shouldn't do. I averaged down. I knew this was against good practice, but I did it anyway. It only added to my losses. Being stubborn when you are wrong only makes matters worse, you know. You have to be able to admit to yourself when you are wrong. Did I learn this lesson? No, because a couple years later, I did it again.
By 2001, the bull market was over and I decided to stay bullish. Big mistake. I bought a stock called JDS Uniphase. As with Computer Horizons, it became obvious that was a loser, but I didn't want to believe it. So, I averaged down and only added to my losses. The fate of that stock is hardly any better than Computer Horizons. While Computer Horizons has gone out of business, the last time I checked, JDS is still kicking. But that investment would never have paid off. There are times when I look back and think that it might have if I waited a little longer, but time muddies the waters a bit. Closer examination showed that it was a loser and the loss could never be regained.
In both of these cases, I really didn't know what I was doing. That's why I lost so badly. So, I stopped speculating in stocks and tried some other stuff. Stock picking ain't my game. But what game could I play and win? I tried currency trading and precious metals. Currency trading didn't work. There was a reason why it didn't work. Currency trading is highly leveraged. If you time it wrong, you can be wiped out and wiped out fast. It was too hard. Precious metals did work. I think it worked because the risk was limited. Your investment can never be completely wiped out. It will always retain some value, so if your timing is right, you can make money. If your timing is wrong, you can get back most of your money. Yes, and this did work for me. I regained most of my losses from before, plus a small profit.
Despite all the failures, I wouldn't condemn trading. There were plenty of opportunities to make a killing, but it didn't happen. I just ran out of time.
For instance, just before the market started on its last upward blowoff top in 2000, I put in an order for Broadvision. The order nearly completed when the rally began. That meant I missed the boat by 3/8, which is about 38 cents per share. If that order filled, the potential would have been a 20 to 1 return on my investment. Of course, I would have had to had played it right to get that, but the opportunity was there. There are many stories like this that I could tell. But it never did happen. I had to understand what a blowoff top is and why it was a blowoff top. I had to understand how doggone hard it is to judge a bottom perfectly and buy at the bottom. It is also doggone hard to judge a top too. But this is possible, just not possible to do with great precision.
By 2006, I still wanted to trade stocks so I bought a stock called Altair Nano. They made batteries intended for automobiles. But in 2007, things started going south for the economy. Fortunately, I saw and remembered that you don't want to be long in the markets when the economy tanked. I sold and went short the entire market. That play worked like gangbusters.
Going short is high risk though. It worked for me because I was right. But if you're wrong, your losses can be unlimited.
By 2009, I was absolutely convinced that current economic policy was nuts. I tried going short, but I got my butt kicked. I've been out ever since. Sure, I could have gone long and made big bucks, but I have no confidence in the markets. For I've learned that when the market turns against you, losses can mount very fast. I wouldn't touch these markets with a ten foot pole.
That's a short history of my doings in the market. Basically, it all boils down to learning from the school of hard knocks. You learn what works and what doesn't. Besides that, you learn about yourself. For example, some people can tolerate risk better. I'm not one of those people. A high risk play is probably not for me. You have to know these things if you want to have any hope of success. Another thing is that you can make plenty of money if you are right. Likewise you can lose your butt if you are wrong. So you better be right. The opportunities are there as long as the market is sane and working properly. I don't think it is right now.
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