Scattershots – 10nov21

George Rebane

A lot has been happening in the Rebane clan lately.  This has kept me from posting at my usual rate.  Not only that, but every time I look at the news, I get into a dour mood and get to feeling hopeless again.  One of my current books underway is VDH’s The Dying Citizen (2021) in which he gives an historical overview of citizenry over the ages that shines a light on how our current middle classes have adopted the mantle of serfdom without the slightest inkling of it.  Not only that, but a national dialogue about our society’s state and direction is proscribed today by the Left’s minions in public education, academe, and the media.  The writings of right-leaning pundits like Fred Siegel, Robert Nisbet, Joel Kotkin, and Charles Murray are off limits, and citing their studies, no matter how well documented, is now forbidden in polite leftwing company (as I also recently discovered here).

In the past when I have found myself in such doldrums, the surefire road back has always involved ‘pushing squigglies’ on some new idea or invention.  So I dived into some financial engineering stuff on trading probabilistics of the kind pioneered by Didier Sornette – Why Stock Markets Crash (2003) – and John Casti.  (If you want to see a super-exponential, look at the recent behavior of the Dow, SP500, and Nasdaq.)  Hopefully, this work will lead into some proprietary IP.  But rummaging around with some ideas I discovered a new and handy use of the ‘WoRM formula’ beloved of artillerymen everywhere. (more here and here) It makes possible the extraction of distances and object sizes from photographs, and also allows graphic artists to correctly represent desired distances and sizes in the works they create.  I’ll write up the method so that interested readers can download a pdf of it.

Macdonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinsky stated something pretty obvious to the country’s remaining thinkers about parents having failed their children who were killed in gang warfare and police shootings.  Telling the wrong truth and calling attention to parents of the wrong race can get a well-paid executive fired.  So Kempczinsky did what anybody who puts purse before principle would do, he groveled.  My takeaway is that the poor bastard had not made his ‘go-to-hell’ stash yet, and really needed the job.  (more here and here)

COP26, the ongoing climate conference in Glasgow, has been the kabuki dance that I and most other sober observers predicted.  With leaders of major polluters absent, the rest are left to talk about utter crap like “multi-stakeholder decarbonization initiatives.”  Only people like Team Biden and its halo of flacks pretend to take any of this seriously.  Even Saint Greta of Thunberg dunned the affair as nothing but a “two-week long celebration of business as usual.”

Comments

[Bill Tozer]

“A lot has been happening in the Rebane clan lately. This has kept me from posting at my usual rate. Not only that, but every time I look at the news, I get into a dour mood and get to feeling hopeless again.”

I hear ya, Dr. Rebane. We are but mortal beings and all need a break from the Daily Kaos of the news. Been feeling down myself...seems like reading things like Linda Campbell’s column is too much to ask of me. Way to much to even consider right now. Don’t think I have it in me at the moment. The I-Pad or cell phone feels like it weights 90 lbs lately. Heart ain’t into right now. This too shall pass.

My current distraction is redoing the kitchen cabinets....without sanding or stripping. Elbow grease cleaning and a new (to me) product that just might do the job fine. Wipe and walk away. Might be a miracle product. Time will tell.

Amidst these dour times, there is always some silver lining out there on the Left Coast. Push back in Grants Pass, Ore. Do not recreate a hostile work environment for our dear teachers.

https://justthenews.com/nation/free-speech/school-board-reinstates-educators-fired-proposing-male-only-female-only

[scenes]

Time of the Doldrums. In Year Zero we don't need no steenkin' calendar.

"....That moment of recognition of how things have gone and where things are going is here. We’re in it. Yeats’s gyre has widened. We’re close to escape velocity. And then maybe we will begin again, walking in sunlight rather than darkness."

https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/the-recognition/

[scenes]

Time of the Doldrums. Mk II.

I can't say that Democrats surprise me in any way at this point.

----
"BLM threatens riots if Mayor-elect Adams reinstitutes NYPD anti-crime units

"If he thinks that they’re going to go back to the old ways of policing, then we are going to take to the streets again. There will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed because we believe in defending our people.""

https://thepostmillennial.com/blm-threatens-riots-if-mayor-elect-adams-reinstitutes-nypd-anti-crime-units
-----

"Non-binary professor advocates to destigmatize pedophiles in new book

In an interview with Prostasia's Noah Berlatsky, Old Dominion professor Allyn Walker justified feelings of pedophilia and the people who have them."

https://thepostmillennial.com/non-binary-professor-advocates-to-destigmatize-pedophiles-in-new-book

[Bill Tozer]

Thanks scenes for increasing the doldrums by posting links that give me more of the doldrums.

Here, this will add to the mood.

‘Tree Planting So White? Bizarre Racism at Vice’

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/matt-philbin/2021/11/12/tree-planting-so-white-bizarre-racism-vice

[George Rebane]

Scenes 405pm - “… defending our people.” Not only are those black leaders evil, but they are also idiots. Reinstating previous policing procedures will save countable black lives that are lost daily due to Democrat policies inspired by the communist BLM movement. And then, what can we say about the wisdom of the black voters who return these de facto killers of their own people to office at every election?

[scenes]

re: GeorgeR@7:35pm

A not bad essay. Surprisingly, even the comments section is pretty good.

https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/when-you-condone-chaos-you-condone

[Don Bessee]

The civil war going on within the dems is fun to watch, especially the hard left who are tone deaf! -

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kamala-harris-a-2024-problem-for-biden-and-the-democrats/ar-AAQCPWh?ocid=msedgntp

Judging from the results of off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey last week, the Democratic Party would be wise to run an uncompromising gut check and find out — quickly — if Americans want, or fear, the same things that seem to take up a lot of time among Democratic politicians. Apparently, they don’t.

Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe was supposed to win big a month or six weeks ago, but he narrowly lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin. New Jersey’s Democratic governor may have survived by an eyelash, but he wasn’t supposed to break a sweat. His race was a virtual tie.

As a side light, Minneapolis voters soundly rejected a ballot initiative that would have disbanded the city police department in favor of a “Department of Public Safety” more aligned with treatment and social services. That wasn’t surprising — people always vote tough on crime — but in was a conservative win in a liberal part of the country.

It would be hard to overstate the ominous implications of these results for the Biden Administration and Democrats in 2022. How many House or Senate members in swing states are going to rally around a president whose approval ratings are under water — and sinking?

If you’re a legislator, knowing the president’s party always takes a beating in the first mid-terms, do you want to tie yourself to Biden? Especially if you’re from a district he lost, or won by less than 5%? Or if you think your party is going to lose control of the House and Senate next year, do you distance yourself and salvage re-election?

Biden ran as a moderate but the first year of his presidency he has appeared to be too accommodating to the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

. But the public image they put forth shows too much concern for which pronouns some people prefer and how America’s history should be depicted in public schools.

Exit polls showed education was uppermost in the minds of Virginia voters, so what did McAuliffe do? He handed Youngkin a gift beyond measure by declaring in a September debate, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”

Of course, disagreeing with them was a “racist dog whistle.” For some reason, calling them racists didn’t persuade a lot of voters.

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/democrats-image-makeover-fast-cotterell-110149549.html

;-)

[scenes]

In the immortal words of J. Gleason...and awaay we go!

"The Oklahoma National Guard has rejected the Defense Department’s requirement for all service members to receive the coronavirus vaccine and will allow personnel to sidestep the policy with no repercussions, an order from the governor that could serve as a blueprint for other Republican-led states that have challenged Biden administration mandates.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, appointed this week by Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) as adjutant of the state’s 10,000 National Guard soldiers and airmen, on Thursday notified those under his command that they are not required to receive the vaccine and won’t be punished if they decline it."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2021/11/13/oklahoma-national-guard-vaccine-mandate/

It's pretty obvious at this point that the vaccine hullabaloo is all about dominance. Not a bad flashpoint.

[scenes]

moi @ 1:46PM

By the bye, check out the comments section. It's like every crazy Emeryfrischpellinecross brain cell all in one place.

Outrage gold.

[Walt]

This is one scary b**ch
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/11/13/bidens-banking-nominee-calls-eliminate-all-private-bank-accounts/
"Saule Omarova, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), called during a March 2021 virtual conference to eliminate all private bank accounts and deposits.

Omarova spoke at the Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project’s “Law & Political Economy: Democracy Beyond Neoliberalism” conference in March.

Omarova discussed one of her papers, “The People’s Ledger How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy,” which would help “redesign” the financial system and make the economy “more equitable for everyone.”

Her paper calls for eliminating all banks and transferring all bank deposits to “FedAccounts” at the Federal Reserve.

During her conference speech, she said, “There will be no more private bank accounts, and all of the deposit accounts will be held directly at the Fed”"

Now this is the real meat and potatoes of the "oh shit"
"Omarova said her proposal would give the Fed more “proactive” monetary policy tools, such as “helicopter money.” She also pondered how the Federal Reserve could “take money” from Americans during an inflationary environment."

[Don Bessee]

The losers at cnn will ignore it until they are all fired as it has been reported after the sale of cnn's parent company -

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/11/13/washington-post-columnist-calls-on-cnn-to-correct-its-dossier-reporting-after-wapo-corrects-its-own/

;-)

[scenes]

reL Walt@6:17PM

Yah, I saw that. The cool thing is that such a tiny percentage of rich folk money is even in bank accounts. It's kind of like the $600 limit on account activity for reporting to the gubmint purposes.

These are not yer friends.

GeorgeR: "I get into a dour mood and get to feeling hopeless again."

This feed should cure you of any unrealistic moods. "Optimism is cowardice" as O. Spengler says.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok

[scenes]

A quick one on the notion of the abolishment of personal banking, and a fully computerized (ie. cashless) financial system generally.

Just how long until the smart move for just regular folks will be to hold their savings like so:
. Hard assets (metals, collectibles, tools, etc.)
. Secretive fashion. (avoid land, avoid licensed vehicles, etc.)
. Needs some way to convert, as needed, assets to government-approved variety for paying for utilities, mortgages, Amazon.com

Of course, if people get scared of inflation or new banking law, the next step of the gubmint is to make holding physical assets, especially precious metals, illegal.

[Walt]

Scenes said,,"the next step of the gubmint is to make holding physical assets, especially precious metals, illegal."

It has been done before. The possession of gold was illegal for a time. Dad got cleaned out of his gold coin collection. Dad was a law abiding citizen no matter how bad the taste was in his mouth. I came across the empty coin sleeves with the names of what they were. There must have been about 60 of them. Would have been worth plenty today.
" In 1933, Executive Order 6102 had made it a criminal offense for U.S. citizens to own or trade gold anywhere in the world, with exceptions for some jewelry and collector's coins. ... By 1975 Americans could again freely own and trade gold."

[Don Bessee]

The bidens are bought and paid for by the chi coms just like lerch and his ties to chi com biz interests. They are laughing all the way to Taiwan (eventually) because this economic suicide is the opposite of deterrence its utter submission -

https://www.breitbart.com/environment/2021/11/13/pinkerton-joe-biden-and-john-kerrys-green-great-reset-punishes-america-rewards-china/

;-)

[Scott O]

Walt 6:59 - You were allowed to own gold jewelry so if you had the local jeweler solder a small gold loop to the coin and add a chain necklace of some sort you were good to go. My wife has exactly that (one of many in the family, I'm told) handed down from her mother.
Most folks just hid the stuff. My father told me his parents (otherwise totally law-abiding upright citizens) always had a good supply of hootch AND hidden gold during the dark days. How did the drug war stop folks from obtaining and using illegal drugs?
Let's Go Brandon!

[Scott O]

scenes 6:48 - "Secretive fashion. (avoid land, avoid licensed vehicles, etc.)"
Yeah, good luck.
Where do you live?
How do you get around?
Great for a young single male - sucks for most every one else.
It may sound like a great idea until you realize that they have won and reduced you to fugitive status.
Makes a fine dystopian sci-fi flick but it's not the way I want to live.

[Don Bessee]

Lets go brandon!! -

Democrat's incompetence responsible for higher prices, smaller paychecks: Emmer
Voters will hold Democrats 'accountable a year from now

https://www.foxnews.com/media/democrats-incompetence-responsible-for-higher-prices-smaller-paychecks-emmer

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

Doldrums? You betcha.

THE WEEK IN PICTURES: INFLATED EDITION
So inflation is back, and thus TWiP will have to raise its prices, or at least its picture and meme count, to adjust. Meanwhile, the steady deflation of the Biden presidency continues. And the latest UN climate summit—COP 26—has adjourned with an important agreement . . . to meet again next year! Because the time for words is over, but there’s always time for more meetings where everyone says the time for words is over—again.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/11/the-week-in-pictures-inflated-edition.php

[scenes]

" It may sound like a great idea until you realize that they have won and reduced you to fugitive status."

It's not a matter of all-or-nothing but a matter of hedging. There's a world that exists that lies between a jar of gold coins in the yard and trusting the government (and inflation) to keep it's mitts off of your Vanguard IRA.

I don't see any reason for there to be less civil unrest or less uncertainty in financial markets. It's worth considering what hard assets actually retain value or even appreciate. Maybe it turns out that portability/ability to move matters more than real estate ownership (leading one to renting or maxed out mortgages). It will all look obvious in retrospect of course.

[scenes]

"" It may sound like a great idea until you realize that they have won and reduced you to fugitive status.""

As a side note, being more private about finances (from both your neighbors and the government) will probably amp up as a concept. Maybe our local bar musician friend had it right all along, although tip jars don't pay as well as salaries.

The truth is that there's a physics of money, maybe a kind of osmosis. The rich will largely escape the system through clever means. The Woke Nomenklatura not only represents a huge power base (.gov bureaucracy, schools, media, identity groups) but a nearly infinite hunger for money. The saver cohort of the middle class is the obvious target. Everyone wants a piece of the Little Red Hen's bread. It will be siphoned off one way or the other.

[Scott O]

scenes "As a side note, being more private about finances (from both your neighbors and the government) will probably amp up as a concept."
Yep.
And that's why we'll see a big push towards all digital currency.
Don't think I'm ignoring the trends or underestimating just how loco things can get. I'm aware just how itchy they're getting for our rapidly appreciating homesteads and our retirement funds. Gates, Musk and Bezos etal make good public targets for the Dems as a source of gelt to run their socialist fantasy but the middle class is where the real money is. I'm amazed at the number of people that are openly talking about taxing unrealized gains as a good thing. You would think it would be the end of their public career. Of course there is the growing number of folks who pay no net taxes so any new tax sounds wonderful to them.
When the number of eaters rise substantially above the number of producers we're in real trouble. I wish I could spot that tipping point in time.

[George Rebane]

ScottO 746am - Rejoice Scott, there is still time. What's your PlanA?

[Scott O]

George - "Rejoice..."
Always. History shows most people through the ages never had it so good as we do. I never worry about what is to come as there isn't really a whole lot I can do about it anyway. Plan A was in place before I was even a twinkle in my father's eye.
A strong family network and just outside that a strong network of good friends.
It does help to have a truly diverse collection of assets. The downside of that is that my wife and I are not mobile at all as far as having to relocate on short notice. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.

[George Rebane]

ScottO 1143am - Good plan, one that the Rebanes also embrace, although WW2 interfered with my dad making a similar plan - we had to make our own family here since the one in Estonia was not readily accessible.

[scenes]

re: GeorgeR@1:00PM

Being caught between the Germans and the Russians is a textbook play on 'man plans, but God laughs'.

That had to be a world-class example for contingency planning.

[Don Bessee]

This level of tone deaf denial wont be going away anytime soon, good for us! -

MSNBC anchor deemed 'Stephanie Antoinette' after arguing Americans can afford more expensive groceries

https://www.foxnews.com/media/msnbcs-stephanie-ruhle-says-americans-actually-can-afford-more-expensive-food

;-)

[Scott O]

George 1:00 - Yep - we can plan all we want and then stuff happens. Still, your parents called on some basic assets a lot of folks don't have and they (and you) ended up alright. Hopefully I'll die peacefully never knowing if I truly have that same level of survival skills.

[George Rebane]

Re 134pm/316pm - During those times of travail and destruction, God sent the family matriarch, my father's Tante Alvi, to provide advice and show by example. Her counsel - 'Do everything so that it's most likely you'll be captured by the Americans.' - became the overarching utility that drove all decisions. So PlanA became to escape the Red Army and the Gulag (or worse) meant Germany, and after D-day it meant southern Germany (since Goebbels' nightly reports told us where and against whom the Wehrmacht was having its 'victories'). The more proximal efforts were just to survive tonight's bombing raid.

[scenes]

Sometimes news articles actually clarify matters. If we're in the soup, I'd like to know what flavor.

"Scottsdale school board president BUSTED with dossier of parents who oppose CRT including photos of their CHILDREN

Jann-Michael Greenburg, the president of the Scottsdale Unified School District, has been caught with a dossier of parents protesting over critical race theory. The dossier had info and photos of 47 parents and, shockingly, their children. "

https://thepostmillennial.com/scottsdale-school-board-president-busted-with-dossier-of-parents-who-oppose-crt

[scenes]

Stop the presses. The NYT actually found an immigrant they don't like.

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1459200599518556160?s=20

[Don Bessee]

Tru dat! -

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/11/14/exclusive-tom-cotton-high-gas-prices-intended-effect-joe-biden-energy-policy/

;-)

[Don Bessee]

The socialist's know its bad when they have cnn telling the truth about them! =

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/11/14/exclusive-tom-cotton-high-gas-prices-intended-effect-joe-biden-energy-policy/

;-)