Thoughts on Coming Apart and the Coming Great Reset
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Kit Webster
May 10, 2024
LBGTQ For Palestine
But supposing that the world has become "filled up," so to speak, with liberal democracies, such that there exist no tyranny and oppression worthy of the name against which to struggle? Experience suggests that if men cannot struggle on behalf of a just cause because that just cause was victorious in an earlier generation, then they will struggle against the just cause. They will struggle for the sake of struggle. They will struggle, in other words, out of a certain boredom for they cannot imagine living in a world without struggle. And if the greater part of the world in which they live is characterized by peaceful and prosperous liberal democracy, then they will struggle against that peace and prosperity, and against democracy. - Francis Fukuyama
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. - Arthur Schopenhauer
Markets
> No change in market outlook
> To get the strong dollar argument, listen to Macrovoices interview with Brent Johnson. You should listen to him instead of me.
> Luke Gromen - well worth considering
1. USD will not lose global reserve CURRENCY status.
2. USTs have been losing & will continue to lose primary global reserve ASSET status to gold, accelerated & reinforced by Peak Cheap Oil & US sanctions.
3. The mythical "BRICS Currency" is gold, floating in all currencies.
> Headline from The Economist -
America’s fiscal outlook is disastrous, but forgotten
On the campaign trail, both main candidates largely ignore the problem
> LBGTQ For Palestine
People marvel at the LBGTQ-for-Palestine bit. I actually think I see how it works, and I am sympathetic - to a point. They have separated the LBGTQ bit, which is immoral and punished, potentially by death, in Palestine, from the Palestine bit. In other words they say, "regardless of what they believe, I think the mass killing of Palestinians is bad." However, things get complicated when that is combined with "from the river to the sea," which implies the extinction of Israel and, with a high probability, the deaths of many Jews. In other words, "because of who they are and their colonization, the killing of Jews is ok." The conclusion that one type of human is superior to another type of human - black, white, disabled, LBGTQ, Jew - based on religion or authenticity - is an interesting one. It is antithetical to the liberal experiment of the last 60 years, not to mention a complete contradiction of words-as-violence, which is central to the youth/woke culture.
(It also raises questions about why the killing and imprisonment of Uighurs does not register at all. The Han are killing people and are colonizers. There is something else going on here.)
Having said all of that, I simply return to my views that humans are tribal, that tribalism can be suppressed or subsumed within a larger tribe (eg, the woke), but that it will ultimately express itself in, eg, antisemitism and segregated graduations (and similarly on the right, but that is not the theme here).
Woke and integration are culture.
Tribal is genetic.
Genes wins.
One of the great books about human nature is Lord of the Flies. I recommend that you take the time to read, or re-read, it. A wonderful-but-terrifying thought experiment is, what happens to people when the layers of civilization are stripped away and you wind up in the middle of a dystopian movie?
No need to speculate. Start with any inner city in the country, or no-go zones in more civilized cultures like Sweden and France. Or the "mostly peaceful" Antifa riots.
Or maybe just the library at Portland State.
The Bee:
Short Takes
Repeating the Fukuyama quote above
"But supposing that the world has become "filled up," so to speak, with liberal democracies, such that there exist no tyranny and oppression worthy of the name against which to struggle? Experience suggests that if men cannot struggle on behalf of a just cause because that just cause was victorious in an earlier generation, then they will struggle against the just cause. They will struggle for the sake of struggle. They will struggle, in other words, out of a certain boredom for they cannot imagine living in a world without struggle. And if the greater part of the world in which they live is characterized by peaceful and prosperous liberal democracy, then they will struggle against that peace and prosperity, and against democracy."
I think boredom, particularly in our culture, is a primary motivator for change. One poster child for that is changing fashion and taste. Who needs pre-ripped jeans? Or Megan Three Stallion? But I also think that most of our turmoil is that we are just different people with different values. And part of that is genetic, so that conflict is unavoidable. One of the primary strengths of democracy is as a conflict-resolution mechanism.
Unfortunately, democracy is historically unnatural and temporary. Natural tendencies seem to be to some kind of power hierarchy. That is the way we are heading, both with Biden, and particularly with Trump. I do not think either will be the ultimate end of the trend; both will be transitory figures on the way to a fuller expression of centralized power. In my view of a "man" on a white horse, Biden clearly does not fit the bill and Trump is closer to a parody. I am continuing to look for the real deal.
Unless a counterrevolution occurs - always look for the antithesis.
Don't count that out, but don't hold your breath.
> Biden has some of the least qualified people working for him since Trump - Bernstein embarrassed himself by flubbing Econ 101 questions in an interview - This is a big deal for a guy in decline, who wasn't particularly bright to begin with -
Meet Jared Bernstein, Biden’s chief economic advisor:
Art Degree, Manhattan School of Music
Mainstay on NYC jazz scene
Master of Social Work, Hunter College Doctorate in Social Welfare from Columbia
Senator Bernie Sanders, 82, has announced that he will seek reelection for Senate in Vermont.
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd says the future of dating is having your AI date other people's AI and recommend the best matches for you to meet
Barron Trump Picked as Florida At-Large Delegate to RNC
It's interesting how the the human brain doesn't recognize the second "the."
From a wonderfully offensive Babylon Bee video and following an actual interaction in the Bible, a young man approached Jesus and asked, "Tell me Lord, what must I do to be saved?"
Exquisite irony from the steps of Columbia University
Sam Altman asks if our personalized AI companions of the future could be subpoenaed to testify against us in court
Sure, why not? All the cool kids are doing it
Ro Khanan - @BernieSanders and I just introduced a bill to CANCEL all medical debt. 40% of Americans report carrying medical debt, and 25% say they have skipped health care due to costs. The consequences are devastating.
You just can't make this stuff up - the jokes write themselves
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reveals doctor told him a worm got into his brain and ate part of it leading to temporary memory loss
Beth notes that Kristi Noem was probably the one that killed that worm.
The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, early Friday approved a proposal that will restore the names of Confederate military leaders to two public schools
Clearly an overreaction
Police clear George Washington University encampment where protesters called for faculty beheadings
> Some deaf children in China can hear after gene therapy treatment.
> A window into our world which is being driven by a small percentage of our population
Just 13 percent of college students say the war in the Middle East is important to them. They are much more interested in healthcare reform (40 percent), education funding and access (38 percent), and economic fairness and opportunity (37 percent). (Axios)
> We are a violent and diverse culture; the Swiss are not
> Here we go again - what an extraordinarily bad idea - the government seems to be unable to help itself
Last month, the government-sponsored mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac filed a proposal with its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to enter into the secondary mortgage market, otherwise known as home equity loans
It Ain't Easy Being Green
> The world just had its hottest April on record – extending the sequence of record-breaking months to 11 in a row.
New York City pizza shops are going electric. A citywide ordinance just went into effect that requires wood- and coal-burning ovens to cut their pollution, and many are turning to electric ovens instead of undertaking the costly upgrade
Miscellany
There is a meme going around in which women are asked whether they would rather encounter a bear or a man in the woods - most women are choosing the bear
Candidate for all-time favorite
This is one of those - not an editorial but I think it is pretty clever
