Tag Archives: Covid-19

Current Events, Recent Posts

Rac-nophobia —

Image 12 Comments

— six boats, thirteen Marines, and an attitude

Returned last night from the only Marine reunion I attend — the RACPAC. If you know not of whom I speak, shame on you as you’ve not read “The Book.” If you have but don’t remember, go to chapter 46 and refresh. This one was special as Lt Tim Armstrong USMC was there for the first time, but he is now Col, USMC (Ret). What a joy it was to see Tim again. Anyway, it was, as always, a grand time to see these Marines again; it’s always great joy to see how every one of them turned out, not a dammed liberal among them!!! All very successful in their afterlife, especially the young enlisted  Marines who were not careerists, but chose to take their hard learned knowledge to the civilian world and succeed!

I’ve often asked myself over the years since retirement, especially every September as I fly to Virginia Beach, what did I do to deserve to serve alongside such giants of our Corps. As my coxswain and I were cruising down the Appomattox  River one sunny afternoon, he asked, “Popeye, can you believe the Marine Corps is actually paying us to do this ?” Of course, my reply was, “No Crazy I can’t, but they sure are!”  Having said that, do not dismay as this was a grueling and very demanding eighteen months with no guidance from MCDEC or HQMC, often working under arduous weather conditions and usually six and sometimes seven days a week. And here they are in all their glory.                     Lord, what memories!!

 

 

 

 

 

Now to the sad state of affairs of our once great nation. Another good one from my friend Greg; thanks Greg, I love your missives, and so do my followers.

By: G. Maresca

Hooking off the jab

In the sweet science, a skilled pugilist will be able to hook off their jab. The same holds for COVID era politicians and their obsession with vaccine mandates and boosters.

President Biden leads the mandate vaccine charge yet allows tens of thousands to pass through the southern border daily who have not been tested let alone vaccinated.

Initially, “if vaccinated, you are not going to get COVID,” has devolved to “people who got vaccinated remain at risk.” Infections are increasing among the vaccinated as a plethora of evidence highlights how the vaccine’s efficacy is waning.

For those who were vaccinated but plan to refuse the booster shot will find themselves back at square one because COVID is here to stay, just like any other influenza virus.

Quite the bioweapon China unleashed.

Democrats politicized COVID by refusing to acknowledge that China covered up and lied about the virus. They then used the pandemic as an excuse to lockdown the country and change election rules.

A study from the University of California San Diego highlighted how the vaccine’s effectiveness dropped from 94% in June to 65% in July with a 19-fold increase of those already vaccinated. Israeli data said Pfizer’s vaccine went from a 95% effectiveness to 39% by July. Apparently, Delta is more contagious but less lethal, according to English data and runs at 0.2% ⸻ the same as the seasonal flu. The CDC said those vaccinated who contract COVID have as high a viral load in their nasal passages as those who are unvaccinated.

It is not the unvaccinated that are driving COVID’s mutations.

In February even NPR reported, “vaccines can contribute to virus mutations.”

National Institutes of Health chief Francis Collins’s blog ridiculed a study his agency financed that said by December 2020, at least 100 million Americans were infected – five times the official count.

The pro-vaccine army that permeates government, the pharmaceutical industry and the mainstream media have cross-pollinated into a universal censorship android that prevents any information that conflicts with their narrative and balance sheets. They conveniently ignore the adverse health conditions and deaths resulting from the jab.

Texas is being sued by the Biden administration to protect a woman’s right of choice to an abortion. Yet, when it comes to a woman’s right to choose to vaccinate – forget it. It is only a choice when it can stop a baby’s beating heart.

Cells from an aborted fetus were used to test and produce the vaccine. Biden’s support of abortion only manifests itself in his vaccine mandate.

If this is about saving lives, access to every resource should be a given. The leftist media ignores or simply denies that Hydroxychloroquine has any efficacy in treating COVID when it has. Moreover, natural antibodies are a nonfactor even though studies say they provide greater immunity, both in breadth and duration. For those with immunity, vaccination is unnecessary and potentially grievous. However, there is no money or control in natural immunity underscoring how this is not about health care.

COVID conveniently removes the spotlight from the Afghanistan debacle, while Democrats would love to extend COVID through an unverifiable 2022 midterm mail-in ballot election. Initially, boosters were needed after eight months, then five, and arguably now for just susceptible groups like the elderly. With so many different versions and timelines, it is no wonder what the government and politicians say has no meaning.

Just months ago, Biden said he “would not demand that it be mandatory.” However, in Biden’s recent COVID vaccine mandate address, he flipped-flopped declaring: “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin.”

Since Biden is so impatient, perhaps he should resign.

Patience with Biden’s poor decisions from Afghanistan to the southern border is what is truly “wearing thin.” Apparently, unable to help himself or the nation, Biden compounded the issue by rejecting the Constitution he swore to uphold saying, “This is not about freedom or personal choice.”

Mandates are not only unconstitutional but polarizing and inherently un-American.

Mandates underscore how the left’s default position is always force.

What happened to unifying the country? Biden would rather lay blame while mandating vaccine compliance or lose your livelihood.

If it is your prerogative to jab your way into oblivion, knock yourself out.

Originally posted 2021-10-05 16:02:26.

Current Events

Beware of Halloween Spooks

2 Comments

Hello followers. I hope this missive finds you and yours in the best of health and staying safe. My bride and I returned from our getaway to St. Lucia very early this morning. Truly a relaxing place for the late twenty to late thirty crowd. For the early eighty crowd, not so relaxing; glad I purposely did not bring my Hearing Aids. Not quite my genre of music; in fact, it was unbearable. However, the place is so large and dissected in such a way we found a quiet pool away from all that. Anyway, we both had a great time, lots of fun in the sun.

I arrived home to find an excellent treatise by Greg on the current state of the economy in this once vibrant and glowing country of sane people. And as usual, I totally concur with all he states. It is coming folks. For those living off their 401K’s beware!! I and most who think like me have been selling for the past several weeks, and I shall continue during the ups and downs of Wall Street. I shall also do some selective buying, but inflationary companies, which are many, will not be on my sought-after lists.

The highlights in red within Greg’s treatise are mine.

October Instincts

By: G. Maresca

The Executive Director of JPMorgan Chase admitted that the stock market’s “biggest nightmare periods have tended to be October. You go back to obviously the crash in 1929, but the 1987 crash, and in 1989… was in October. You tend to have these October moments.”

Financially most are feeling pretty good as brokerage accounts never looked healthier and home prices are over-the-top. Over the past year, the S&P 500 has closed at new, all-time highs over 50 times and in so doing has created the illusion that the market only rises.

This results in taking more chances when investing.

The K-shaped economy and booming stock market underscore that Main Street and Wall Street are at a major disconnect. Many dismiss the growing rate of inflation, the unprecedented intervention by the Federal Reserve’s nonstop money-printing and increased debt believing that the dollar today is worth the same as it was last year.

It’s not.

The duality of low interest rates and those stimulus payouts have devalued the dollar. Thanks to inflation and time, savings in fixed investments like CDs, bank accounts and money markets lose purchasing power. With yields registering next to nothing, where are investors expected to put their money?

As a result, savers seek more risk in order to obtain better returns leading to a stock market that is cooking and overvalued. Increasing stock prices coupled with a mushrooming federal debt is a brick road paved over with inflation.  As the Fed continues easy-money policies, the market will continue higher as the infusion of cheap dollars rules the day.

Most bankers, brokers, and politicians understand that these bouts with inflation are what economists call: “The Money Illusion.” It is when one’s wealth is measured in how many dollars they possess, rather than its purchasing power.

Among investors, the Money Illusion breeds risk taking and heightened speculation. It’s like watching a skilled magician work his stagecraft. It looks and appears amazing and impossible, but it is not at all what it seems.

Low interest rates did, in fact, rescue the market. The Fed slashed short-term interest rates to near zero at the onset of the COVID-19 debacle and bought large purchases of Treasury and mortgage bonds making dollars discounted. In so doing, The Fed propped up not only the bond markets, but stocks, too.

Many are in denial about what is truly happening throughout our financial system. To paraphrase writer Upton Sinclair, it’s difficult to get someone to look when their getting paid depends on not looking.

Adding to the illusion is that 40% of all U.S. currency in circulation has been printed since March 2020. Few comprehend the effects of so many trillions in our financial system. The Case-Shiller Index which measures home prices has risen 18.6% for the year, up from a record 16.8% the month before. The index is the proverbial rat in the financial mine that brings with it a healthy dose of inflation.

Financial storm clouds are forming as the economy experiences labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, rising prices, and increasing inflation. With too many dollars chasing too few assets, the good times won’t last forever.

One out of every four companies are on life support because of low interest rates. With rates near zero, and with inflation rising, The Fed cannot afford to keep them low forever.

Bankruptcies are on the horizon.

The federal debt continues to grow as trillions crowd the government’s balance sheet with the debt literally growing by the second. Inflation does to a degree keep the debt somewhat manageable. However, as inflation rises, Social Security, and other assorted fixed incomes like pensions will see their buying power shrink even further.

Eventually, a significant tax increase will hit all Americans hard and below the belt – regardless of income.

Rising stock prices are great, but when easy money begins to create social, political, and economic turmoil, something is seriously amiss. A White House which believes that global warming, systemic racism and COVID are our greatest threats, does not possess the foresight and wisdom to comprehend what is economically occurring.

The laws of economics cannot be repealed, no matter what one’s wishful thinking may be.

As October looms, consider this a heads-up.

Postscript: Beware of the ghouls of October, they are coming, meanwhile many Americans keep chasing those soon to be negligent goods and, to paraphrase Mack the Knife , “Spending like a Sailor.”

Originally posted 2021-09-20 14:39:12.

Recent Posts

Go Army or Not?

5 Comments

Biden Throwing Cadets In Solitary Confinement For Not Getting Vaccinated

Well, well, how goes it at West Point? What have the swamp creatures done now? Shocking to say the least. This is despicable, I don’t care what service we are talking about. What a shame for an institution that produced such great leaders e.g. MacArthur, Pershing, etc. to have become Woke Academies. I’m sure those from years past when our country was a Republic are screaming in their graves.

National File

Military cadets at West Point Academy who refuse to take one of the controversial COVID vaccines are being put in solitary confinement, with more stringent restrictions than those who tested positive for the virus.

At West Point Military Academy, a number of cadets are currently rebelling against the push from the Biden administration and military higher-ups to take one of the controversial COVID-19 vaccines. 700 cadets who initially refused the vaccine were brought together into a meeting room, and were briefed as to the benefits of the vaccine. The number of cadets has now dwindled significantly after allegations of daily pressure by “senior officials” at the school, and rumors of reductions of leave. Some cadets relented and received the vaccine, while many left West Point due to the pressure.

Those who still refuse to take the vaccine are forced to wear masks everywhere, marking them out from everybody else who is vaccinated. A number of parents of those holdouts have now organized legal counsel on behalf of their children, with CDMedia reporting that they are “banding together to fight this perceived criminal behavior by those in power over their children.

An anonymous whistleblower, whose identity National File is protecting, gave a breakdown of the current restrictions that West Point cadets who refuse to take the COVID vaccine have to face. For those cadets returning for summer programs, they will have their two week leave shortened to one, as they have to spend 7 days in a quarantine that amounts to serious solitary confinement. The cadets are locked up for 23 hours each day in one room, and are only allowed out for one hour to walk or run outside.

Crucially, these cadets are not tested for COVID-19 before they are put into self-isolation. In fact, they are only tested at the end of the period. If they test negative, they will be released to their training programs. In a letter sent to the cadets deemed “high risk,” there was no detail as to what would happen if the cadet tested positive instead, in terms of whether they would be forced to endure another week or more of the solitary confinement. National File contacted West Point for details on this program via phone and email, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

The new regime could not accurately be described as self-isolation or quarantine, as such programs already existed at West Point for cadets returning after the summer and Christmas breaks this academic year who tested positive. For those cadets, before the vaccination program kicked into high gear, they would be restricted at some points, but could also work out in the outside gyms, and leave their accommodation to go and order food, albeit being ordered to stay away from cadets who were not infected. These luxuries are not afforded to the cadets who refuse to take the vaccine, even though they may not have the virus.

West Point allegedly plans to round up all the cadets who are refusing the vaccine and transfer them into all one company or platoon based on how many they’re are. At the time of writing, around 50 cadets have not backed down. The whistleblower said this would likely be better for them, as they would not be around other troops who derogatorily shout at them, calling them “anti-vaxxers,” and instead would be with those who stand with them. “They’re being treated like criminals,” the whistleblower added. “They’re trying to protect other people’s rights and their rights are being compromised.”

National File reported last year on two successive suicides from the Colorado Springs Air Force, with students expressing to the academy that the deaths may have been linked to depression springing from the then extremely strict social distancing policies and punishments for violating the six-foot distance protocols. Following the deaths, looser restrictions were enacted.
I read the comments and vehemently disagree with two of them. I spent nearly thirty-six years in the Corps and no one, absolutely no one, ever “made” me take the Flu shot. I don’t know what service they were in, but it sounds like “War Stories” to me. Now, I was made to take certain inoculations if I was being sent to an area rampant with some disease e.g., Vietnam and Peru.

Originally posted 2021-06-10 13:20:32.

Current Events

All Dollars and Little Sense

3 Comments

Good day fellow patriots and conservatives. Haven’t posted in a few days as I have been overwhelmed with tales from the swamp creatures and their devious ways. The trial is over, and as we expected he was was found guilty, albeit with Joe and the b**ch from california ( I refuse to capitalize the name of that foreign land) spouting off at the mouth there is lots of ammo for an appeal. Let’s keep praying for it to happen..

And of course the House voted to make DC a state. Oh isn’t that great two more leftist senators and one congressman for the swamp. I don’t hold out much hope from the senate to strike it down; too many leftist republicans in there. So, how will we arrange the stars in the flag?  That will be fun to watch.

From my tone you may wonder what is going on. Well at my ripe age, I refuse to get excited about what happens. Oh, don’t get me wrong. When the war comes, I shall man the lines as I have done before, and if anyone offers me a billet such as a battalion commander, I shall rise to the occasion, as I am sure you will as well.

Had lunch today with two old fellow retired colonels with whom I have served several times, but not seen them in a while — I really don’t know why since we are all retired.  Joining us was another local retired colonel and a retired captain. Of course the items of discussion was a few war stories and lots about the swamp. It’s always a good time when Marine brothers can get together — I miss that.

Okay, what’s the post? Well , as many of you know, I am an Economist by education and full time hobby. I enjoy playing in the market. Today’s post came from my old friend and contributor , Eric Maresca. As a market player I found the article interesting and a dire warning to those who do as I do. Read and learn

By Eric Maresca

The stock market bull rally that got underway after a giant fall last February and ushered in the COVID era has been relentless. Who would believe record highs were even possible after such a swift drop during a pandemic, followed by political turmoil and civil chaos.

After the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again and went on a printing spree pumping trillions into the economy through three stimulus packages, the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were catapulted to virgin territory. Likewise, we are in the midst of a cryptocurrency revolution where their hourly values run like an amusement park roller coaster.

With the M1 Money supply – the amount of liquidity available for spending – also at an all-time high at $18.4 trillion, the potential for one of the biggest economic booms in U.S. history is primed.

This optimism has predicted a strong 2021 second half.

The larger concern is 2022 and beyond.

Historically, long periods of low interest rates combined with a growing federal debt is no yellow brick road to Oz. You cannot ignore the laws of physics, gravity, or economics, as the government is spending itself into oblivion. From 2010 to 2019, the aggregate GDP growth was nearly the same Uncle Sam spent in COVID stimulus.

With so much stimulus finding their way to Wall Street, stock prices have been inflated. To underscore how pricey stocks are all you have to do is to juxtapose the price-to-earnings multiple at 31.5 and the price-to-sales at 2.9. At the peak of the dot-com bubble in March 2000, the price-to-earnings ratio was 29 and the price-to-sales ratio at 2.3. In addition, the stock market capitalization-to-GDP ratio that measures markets relative to the economy that peaked in 2000 at 140%, stands today at 190%.

Can you whisper bubble? Such a pop would result in a fiscal 9/11 and catch many nascent investors napping. Many were too young to recall the dot-com bubble burst over a generation ago and will pay dearly.

As the stock market rolls along, so does the national deficit. In fact, it seems to be about the only thing that is mushrooming faster. This should concern plenty, but along the D.C. Beltway such matters are dismissed.

 Stock trading has drawn plenty of new players armed with their “stimmy.” Rather, than paying bills, buying necessities, or paying down their debts, these emerging investors have turned day trading into gamification. With success they gain confidence and buy more shares, but the market’s present trajectory won’t last. When it drops many will see it as a fire-sale opportunity.

The stock app at center stage is aptly named Robinhood having taken its namesake from the English Democrat who robbed from the rich and redistributed their wealth. In this stimulus era of Robinhood fever and GameStop, why waste time researching good companies at reasonable prices, and then waiting years for returns to compound?

Apps like Robinhood, SoFi, Webull, and Public.com can be fun, but addictive, and a bookkeeping nightmare.

Such internet trading platforms make basic tax-abating strategies difficult to implement. Buying and selling stocks by the lot can lower your tax bill by choosing which shares to sell. However, selling specific lots are difficult or impossible to do online as sales are based on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis, where the oldest shares are sold first.

These time-honored tactics may be the least of their concerns when the market turns because it will. Once the public buys in, time is short and the potential for disaster gains momentum. When the melt down commences, nearly everyone will lose more on the way down than they made on the way up. Melt Downs do not end quickly, but over time. If the market is one thing – it is unforgiving.

Market peaks are clear in retrospection, but not in the moment, but the warning signs are there.

Do not confuse a bull market for brains.

As the timeworn adage rings: “Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” That applies for booms, too.

Mot people do not have an exit plan like trailing stops that protects your gains and prevents you from losing more money. A diversified portfolio and fixed selling points is always your friend.

In my ECON 101 class the professor told a story that I have found over the years to an absolute. “Put five Economists in a room and ask them a simple question and you will always get at least six answers.” I have been trimming my portfolios for the last two months. I have more cash than I have ever had, upwards of 30% cash, and I keep building it. I have good stocks e.g., DOW down over 300 points today and my portfolio was up 1.9%. But I keep taking some profits and paring down. I believe it is coming folks; somone has to pay the bills the swamp is piling up.  Greg is talking common sense.

Originally posted 2021-04-22 17:16:31.

Current Events

USSA

3 Comments

You ask what does USSA stands for? Read on!

Unityville, USSA

By: Greg Maresca

 

America has endured the worst public health crisis in a century, 70 million claims for unemployment, trillions of dollars in borrowed “stimulus,” civil unrest, a belligerent communist China, convoys of illegal immigrants on their way to the border, which begs the question what exactly is the priority of the Biden administration?

Apparently, impeaching the former president in an attempt to divide the GOP by splintering the MAGA and establishment Republicans, while simultaneously signing a record number of presidential executive orders is.

Call it unity – Biden style, which offers platitudes about bipartisanship and national harmony, while delivering leftist executive orders on a historic scale.

Our cognitively challenged executive order signer-in-chief is ratifying whatever his leftist minions put in front of him as your next president in waiting Kamala Harris is seemingly pulling the strings standing in the shadows.

With thousands of National Guard troops from every state in the union present for Biden’s inauguration, you can put to rest the notion that no one ever shows up for Biden.  Then again, perhaps they were there to ensure that Biden does not flee back to his basement campaign bunker.

How can signing so many executive orders on his first day in office – more than any other president – truly desire unity?  Talk of unity is one thing, but to govern, as the cliché goes, is to choose.  Biden’s choice is clear – govern by executive fiat. Biden’s calls for unity are strictly virtue signaling and intended to shame all who disagree.

Recall Biden’s October interview with ABC News honcho George Stephanopoulos where candidate Biden emphasized how “executive orders are the response of dictators.”  Biden talked up consensus, but since becoming president he has done the exact opposite.

Biden’s executive orders include wrecking women’s sports by allowing a man who identifies as a woman can now compete against them.  Ending thousands of jobs by stopping the Keystone Pipeline, and terminating the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes – all extreme measures.  In 1984, President Reagan established the Mexico City Policy, which forbids American tax dollars from supporting international abortions.  In 1993, President Clinton rescinded it. Since then, the policy has been re-enacted by every Republican president and rescinded by every Democrat.  Biden desires to revoke it permanently.

The Wall Street Journal is calling Biden’s executive order jamboree the biggest expansion of federal power since the Great Society with more on the way.

Democrats and their allies throughout the mainstream media have insisted that conservatives need to be “reprogrammed and reeducated,” a phrase out of Nazi Germany, which has only fueled hateful rhetoric throughout social media.

Welcome to 21st century America where the literary works of George Orwell continues to spook our fruited plain.  One wandering soul pontificated how they are looking forward to political reeducation classes because they always wondered what college would have been like sober.

When I get back from my re-education camp, I will grasp that Unityville is not just a township in Pennsylvania’s Lycoming County, or a hamlet in South Dakota, but budding from sea to shining sea.  In my new reprogrammed unifying self, I will forever congratulate Joe Biden for winning the 2020 presidential election and Bobby Bonds for breaking Major League Baseball’s home run record, Lance Armstrong for his numerous Tour de France victories and those Tinsel Town actors for getting their darling progeny into elite universities.

If the Biden administration was serious, they would consent Congress to legislate, while promoting a spirited public discourse – stimulating the democratic process on a national level.

Instead, Biden has doubled down on “identity politics” and resuscitating “critical race theory,” while promoting equity over equality that divides people into victims and villains by race, gender, income, and education, ad nauseam.

Whatever happened to just being an American?

Over the next four years forget about the nation’s Fourth Estate of holding the Biden administration accountable. Only the next election can do that and given the severe lack of historical and civic knowledge of your average American that is unlikely to happen. Moreover, any semblance of unity will not be possible if we cannot agree that an inflated government is no universal panacea.

We are not yet the United Socialist States of America – but certainly on our way.

Gang, if you don’t think we are on our way to becoming the USSA, you’ve been living under a rock. We, as conservatives, MUST continue the fight or we will become the USSA.  Someone has even developed the country’s flag when it happens. DO NOT donate to the RNC or the GOP; they are not our friends. Donate to individual candidates even if they are not in your State, but vet them thoroughly! God help us!

 

 

 

 

Originally posted 2021-02-03 19:31:58.