NYC Journal

Phil_F_NM said:
"This is no way to correct the housing shortage"
I said the exact same thing in my conversation with my Navy buddy.
I know that the administration is doing this in a short-sighted manner, and have not even considered the tertiary consequences and further ripples down-market which the policies will eventually cause. Like I said in a previous post: the 8==D-tater creates a massive national problem, scapegoats some marginalized people, says he's the one to fix it, then gets SCOTUS to revisit the 22nd amendment, declare it "unconstitutional" and gets Congress to repeal it through coercion. There are enough team orange sociopaths out there to do his bidding on a whim. All he has to do is get on one of his national loudspeakers and say something analogous to "cut the grass" just as was done in Rwanda.
Ph
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He'll be re-elected, don't worry. Or some even worse version of him. The last election was the last free and fair election in this country. But we'll continue to have elections, of course. Just like they do in Russia. Just enough to keep up the pretense of "democracy".
 
Retro-Grouch said:
He'll be re-elected, don't worry. Or some even worse version of him. The last election was the last free and fair election in this country. But we'll continue to have elections, of course. Just like they do in Russia. Just enough to keep up the pretense of "democracy".
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But that’s the reason you have the Second Amendment in US, to be able to protect your democracy, no?
 
The last in-context line of Lincoln's 1855 letter to Joshua Speed:
"When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic]." Full text: Abraham Lincoln's 1855 Letter to Joshua Speed
While I am quoting out of context, as the discussion was regarding slavery and the Missouri Compromise, the sentiment is the same. Hypocrisy. Here we have thinly veiled autocracy through lip-service democracy.

On a photo relate note, I took out the old M4 with 2.1cm O-Nikkor today. Snapped a few photos of some fun geometric play of light in narrow alleyways.
Phil
 
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Had the PSA blood taken. In a few days the results.

So the expected zero might not be the case. I was reminded I have an aggressive Cancer, and also it did make the jump to the neck of my bladder.

There is a threshold of 0.1 on my PSA. If higher then the secondary treatment begins: if below then another PSA text in three months.

On my way in I ran into my suite mate in the hospital I had post-surgery. Basically another patient of my surgeon that had also a radical prostatectomy, but earlier in the day.

Pretty much he recovered his bladder control as I did. The Internet says it typically takes 3-6 months. My friend mentioned that he has a friend who had the same procedure a year ago and still leaks and gushes, likely one of the 10% who never recover bladder control.

Cal
 
In the waiting room of a lab, I saw a complete episode of Deal-No Deal.

I don’t watch TV, so it was kinda interesting. Pretty much a contestant is playing against an Al-gur-rythem for $1M.

I would rename the show Greed-No Greed…

Anyways spoke to me a lot about American culture.

Filled up my gas tank: $3.739 a gallon for Moble Premium.

Cal
 
I was married to a woman from Costa Rica.

Back in the day the Nicaraguan Revolution had just been won, and I asked why and how the Sandinistas got entrenched. One Costa Rican revealed the history that happened in Costa Rica after they experienced a Civil War.

They were told to take their guns home to defend their Democracy, but in Nicaragua the Sandinistas said the fighting is over, so turn over your weapons.

Pretty much the difference was the right to bear arms…

Then another history happened in Canada. They had “The Year of the Gun” where there were a series of mass murders, and mass shootings. The Canadians regulated and enforced gun laws, but also maintained the right to bear arms.

So perhaps I’m a bit of a Right Wing Liberal if there can be one. I fully support the right to bear arms, but of course with sensible restrictions. I’m also in full support of “King of the Castle” so that if someone invades my home I am entitled to use lethal force. In my book “King of the Castle” is self defense.

So I go back to my spin on Rule of Law verses Rule of the Jungle. I think you know where I stand having known and experienced hate crimes.

L. Mangeone is looked upon as a folk hero, but think about some terminally ill patient, or some marginalized senior citizen, or some other person that has nothing to loose. The way things are going there will be many lone wolves who were once decent outstanding law abiding citizens who were cornered and pushed too far.

Street justice will prevail because there is no rule of law.

Cal
 
BTW my judgement that my Cancer was caught just in time was validated by today’s meeting with my urologist/surgeon.

He emphasized I have an aggressive Cancer, and my PSA might not be the expected “zero.”

Pretty much at this point a coin toss.

Cal
 
A green screen in the early morning turned red.

Gold bumped up, and the price of oil is down to $68.XX suggesting an economic slowdown.

The next few days leading to Friday’s job report will be interesting.

Separately Ray Dalio is suggesting a debt death spiral for the U.S. within the next 3 years. Pretty much debt, interest on debt, and being able to roll over debt into new debt becomes unsustainable. Pretty much we have been on this path for a long time, and the only response was more and more deficit spending.

Pretty much you can’t live by borrowing money indefinitely.

The only way out would be some very steep cuts along with an economic miracle, but that ain’t happening.

“Look out below…”

Cal
 
Calzone said:
I was married to a woman from Costa Rica.

Back in the day the Nicaraguan Revolution had just been won, and I asked why and how the Sandinistas got entrenched. One Costa Rican revealed the history that happened in Costa Rica after they experienced a Civil War.

They were told to take their guns home to defend their Democracy, but in Nicaragua the Sandinistas said the fighting is over, so turn over your weapons.

Pretty much the difference was the right to bear arms…

Then another history happened in Canada. They had “The Year of the Gun” where there were a series of mass murders, and mass shootings. The Canadians regulated and enforced gun laws, but also maintained the right to bear arms.

So perhaps I’m a bit of a Right Wing Liberal if there can be one. I fully support the right to bear arms, but of course with sensible restrictions. I’m also in full support of “King of the Castle” so that if someone invades my home I am entitled to use lethal force. In my book “King of the Castle” is self defense.

So I go back to my spin on Rule of Law verses Rule of the Jungle. I think you know where I stand having known and experienced hate crimes.

L. Mangeone is looked upon as a folk hero, but think about some terminally ill patient, or some marginalized senior citizen, or some other person that has nothing to loose. The way things are going there will be many lone wolves who were once decent outstanding law abiding citizens who were cornered and pushed too far.

Street justice will prevail because there is no rule of law.

Cal
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An interesting take on a seemingly endless conundrum for you Americans.

This is why so many of us will now no longer visit your shores.

But I was not aware of Canada's gun laws. In the 1950s every male in our farming family (on my mom's side) had guns. Which they used sensibly, excepting one cousin who would go to the forest and shoot all living things he saw. Which totally put me off guns by the time I was in my mid-teens and my own mind about such issues was more developed.

Said cousin later had a moral turnaround, and aggavee up his guns in his 20s. But he was always an enthusiastic trout fisherman and enjoyed spearing eels through holes chopped in river ice in the winters.

He passed away a few years ago, in his late 70s. By then he was long a committed conservationist, and he taught his three sons to respect wildlife.

So people do change. But as for guns, eh heh...

PS Positive and encouraging news about your cancer, Cal - but be always vigilant.
 
My friend Mike the Skinny Hipster called today to see how I’m doing.

Mike’s life for close to two year’s has been hell. He went to Croatia to meet his girlfriend’s parents, and pretty much his girlfriend could not get back into the U.S. Mike married her and then went through the process with the State Department to gain her entrance, but that took over a year.

She got back to New York on December 22d of last year. A week later and it still would of been pending.

Then AI is changing the fashion photography industry. Mike is a working pro fashion photographer. Mike says getting work is harder, and in 2-3 years there won’t be any need for his services.

So now he is regrouping to be a “Wedding” photographer.

Mike’s wife was in the top 20 rankings as a tennis pro in Croatia, and she got a tennis scholarship here in the U.S.

I would consider Mike and his wife as being ultra-fit athletes. Mike is a psycho on a track bike. Pretty much a complete wack job.

Anyways I’m glad they are together again. A while back then rode their gravel bikes on the viaduct from Madhattan to Peekskill to visit us during a high heat index summer day. I BBQ’ed a feast. “Maggie” fdid not understand how important it was to feed them immediately upon arrival.

They took the train back to NYC.

When we lived in the luxury apartment in East Harlem, Mike and his gal lived one floor right above us.

Cal
 
Another big drop in the markets.

The curse of when Philly wins a championship is kinking in: the markets tank in a historic manner…

Gold is back over $2900.00…

Oil is down predicting less demand and a slowdown.

Friday’s employment numbers could be the exclamation point predicting a recession.

Tomorrow the Canadian and Mexican tariffs begin in earnest.

I think raw building materials like aluminum, steel and lumber will hurt a lot from Canada, and food prices from Mexico where we get 40% of our produce, fruit and nuts.

Time to load up the truck on nuts and nut butters…

Nuts are a great source of plant based protein…

Cal
 
When you expand out the DOW charts 42,000 would mark a threshold of a “triple-bottom.” When and if that gets breached this Friday could mean “game-over,” and a new bear-market begins.

“Look out below…”

Gold could get might close or breach $3K.

Tomorrow is another day…

Cal
 
Calzone said:
When you expand out the DOW charts 42,000 would mark a threshold of a “triple-bottom.” When and if that gets breached this Friday could mean “game-over,” and a new bear-market begins.

“Look out below…”

Gold could get might close or breach $3K.

Tomorrow is another day…

Cal
Click to expand...
It's all out of our hands ("us" being the little folks of no consequence). All we can do is lay low, economize, and hope for some (unlikely) sanity in Washington.
 
Here in New York we have a pretty big sales tax.

These tariffs are basically a new sales tax, but at a Federal level. Pretty much a consumption tax.

Best to have what you need stockpiled and not consume much. Future purchases will cost more. This is how I can justify the last “hurrah” of spending, then I tighten up tighter than a clam removed from water. I’m kinda there right now.

I finished up those 5 quarts of plum tomatoes. They condensed down to less than half with my simmering. The tomatoes are thick now. I would not call these tomatoes sauce, they are just condensed plum tomatoes without their skins. This was not a lot of work, and next time I will scale things up for efficiency.

This season I will scale up big time.

“Maggie” does this great Prima-Vera with eggplant and zucchini. Mucho good. Very healthy over a Trader Joe’s whole wheat pasta.

Cal
 
5 quarts of plum tomatoes (zip-loc bags) after simmering off the excess water only amounted to about 20 ounces of condensed tomatoes.

Kinda amazing. Also did not require a lot of work or effort.

Figure that a jar of Trader Joe’s sauce is 24 ounces. At CVS they have these containers that are 24 ounces that are perfect that are somewhat flat about the right size to store a sandwich. Pretty efficient…

I love it…

POSTSCRIPT: Not a bad cleanup…

Cal
 
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