2019 ANTHEM
Month: December 2018
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM WILDWOOD
We’re headed to the Shamrock in another hour or so to see Billy Jack and celebrate the New Year. I need a drink after writing my new article. I depressed myself. It’s been fairly mild, so we’ve been able to walk on the beach and boardwalk, enjoying the serenity and quiet of a nearly deserted town.
2019 FROM A FOURTH TURNING PERSPECTIVE
“An impasse over the federal budget reaches a stalemate. The president and Congress both refuse to back down, triggering a near-total government shutdown. The president declares emergency powers. Congress rescinds his authority. Dollar and bond prices plummet. The president threatens to stop Social Security checks. Congress refuses to raise the debt ceiling. Default looms. Wall Street panics.” – The Fourth Turning – Strauss & Howe
Strauss and Howe wrote their book in 1996. They were not trying to be prophets of doom, but observers of history able to connect events through human life cycles of 80 or so years. Using critical thinking skills and identifying the most likely triggers for crisis: debt, civic decay, and global disorder, they were able to anticipate scenarios which could drive the next crisis, which they warned would arrive in the mid-2000 decade. The scenario described above is fairly close to the current situation, driven by the showdown between Trump and the Democrats regarding the border wall.
It has not reached the stage where all hell breaks loose, but if it extends until the end of January and food stamp money is not distributed to 40 million people (mostly in urban ghettos) all bets are off. The likelihood of this scenario is small, but there are numerous potential triggers which could still make 2019 go down in history as a year to remember.
“I Had To Quit For My Sanity”: Teachers Resigning At Highest Rate Ever Recorded
Teachers and other public education employees are quitting their jobs at the fastest pace on record after roughly 10% of the industry quit over a 12 month period ending in October, according to data from the Labor Department.
While US workers overall at the highest rate since 2001 amid a tight labor market and historically low unemployment, quitting a job in education is notable since the field is known for stability and rewarding longevity, reports the Wall Street Journal‘s Michelle Hackman and Eric Morath.
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Your tax dollars at work: Govt officially forgiving student debt
Guest Post by Simon Black
When all the tribes of Israel still lived in their holy land, they practiced something called the Jubilee.
According to the Book of Leviticus, the Jubilee existed because the Israeli land actually belonged to their god Yahweh…. and the current owners were just borrowing it (sounds like land ownership today – try not paying your property taxes and see who really owns your land).
So every 49 years, the Israelites would celebrate by freeing slaves, redistributing property and forgiving debts.
Of course, a 49-year cycle where debt is forgiven and land is returned to previous owners is ridiculous… markets can’t function under this system. Imagine buying a piece of land and not knowing if you have to give it back down the road… or lending someone money with the possibility that those debts just disappear and you get nothing back for the risk you took.
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House Democrats Draft Legislation That Would Make It A Hate Crime To Eat At Chick-Fil-A
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Under intense pressure from their left-leaning constituents to do something about the dangerous, Christian-founded restaurant chain, Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled legislation Tuesday that would make it a hate crime to eat at Chick-fil-A.
HUMANITY
Rough Times Ahead, But Liberty Can Still Win
Guest Post by Ron Paul
While Congress and the president fight over funding a border wall, they continue to ignore the coming economic tsunami caused by the approximately 22 trillion dollars (and rapidly increasing) federal debt. President Trump may not be troubled by the debt’s effect on the economy because he believes he will be out of office before it becomes a major problem. However, the crisis may come sooner than he, or most people in DC, expects.
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GUESS THE RACE
Three women have been charged after police accused them of fighting at a Connecticut mall the day after Christmas in a massive brawl that included hundreds of juveniles.
Police responded to Buckland Hills Mall around 6 p.m. on Dec. 26 after officers inside the mall reported that 200 to 300 people — “most appearing to be juveniles” — were involved in a large fight and other disturbances during post-holiday shopping, Manchester police said in a news release.
Police said there were so many people involved in the brawl that officers called for backup from nearby towns.
“It was very unnerving to think that’s happening at a place we go to all the time and don’t think twice,” said Claire Taylor, who altered her shopping itinerary Thursday after the Wednesday melee broke out, FOX 61 reports. “We are kind of just avoiding it. We’ve been going there for years and it always just seemed safe and we wouldn’t think something like that would occur in our neighborhood.”
Video from the scene posted on YouTube by WFSB shows dozens of teens running, screaming and pouring down escalators in front of a Sears.
Another video, this one posted by NBC Connecticut, appears to show an officer trying to break up the fighting inside, as well as a heavy police presence outside the mall.
One of the women arrested, Dynastee McCoy, 19, fought in the disturbance that triggered the broader fight, police said. Two other women, Inaeja Williams and Naejza Bates, both 18, were arrested after police said they “interfered with officers.” Each woman was charged with inciting a riot, breach of peace and interfering with officers.
An unidentified 17-year-old male was arrested as well. Police said they found a loaded handgun tucked into his pants. He was charged with criminal trespassing and carrying a pistol without a permit. He also faces the same charges as the women arrested on Wednesday, police said.
The brawl ended with no reported injuries roughly 30 minutes after it started and the scene was calm by 7 p.m., the Hartford Courant reports.
“Group mentality can definitely take effect, and I think it was just youth taking advantage of the situation,” Manchester police Lt. Ryan Shea said, according to the Courant.
Milford police said the Connecticut Post Mall had to close on Dec. 26 because of fights as well, the Connecticut Post reports.
That mall said it’s considering actions to prevent future fights.
“We are reviewing our policy regarding juvenile patrons and will make any necessary modifications needed to prevent future incidents,” Connecticut Post Mall managers said in a statement, according to the Courant. “Connecticut Post Mall is committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for all our guests.’‘
Police said they’re beefing up their presence at the Buckland Hills Mall “for the foreseeable future.”
WHY ONLY ONE HORN?
Forecast 2019: Ding Ding ! Margin Call USA
Guest Post by Jim Kunstler
Welcome to the American hall of mirrors… and mind the broken glass all over the floor. That’s Nature’s way of saying the country has run out room to punk itself. 2018 was the consolidation of bad faith in everything we do: politics, the news media, economics & finance, show biz, regular biz, jurisprudence, medicine, education, and relations between men and women — the year of peak dishonesty and self-deception. Of course, the trouble with dishonesty is that it doesn’t comport with Reality, and Reality being Mother Nature’s husband, bats in the cleanup position. Entering 2019, the bases are loaded with delusions, misdirections, and turpitudes. I shall get right to it without further throat-clearing.
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MEET LAUREN
Elizabeth Warren Announces Plans For Presidential Run
In a video announcement and email to supporters sent Monday morning, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced that she was officially launching an exploratory committee to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination, making her the first candidate to officially announce in what’s expected to be a “long and crowded” primary, according to the New York Times.
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44 Numbers From 2018 That Are Almost Too Crazy To Believe
Authored by Michel Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
Was 2018 everything that you expected it to be? Every year contains surprises, but 2018 truly turned out to be a year that we will never forget. Over the past 12 months we witnessed great political shaking, Wall Street experienced the worst downturn that we have seen since 2008, the crust of our planet was rattled by an increasing number of major seismic events, social decay spread like wildfire, and America continued to become even more divided as a nation. In comparison, 2017 was rather bland and boring, and I truly believe that one day we will look back on 2018 as a major turning point.
It is amazing that 12 months has flown by already. It seems like the years just keep getting faster, and perhaps that is because we are all getting older.
In any event, the following are 44 numbers from 2018 that are almost too crazy to believe…
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What’s A Few More Dead Americans If It Means The Dems Can Score A Few More Political Points?
Guest Post by Kurt Schlichter
Corporal Ronil Singh is dead, apparently murdered by a gangmember who was here illegally, and who stayed here illegally despite having been busted twice for DUIs. Thank you for ensuring that happened, Democrats. And thank you too, Fredocons, for so ably doing the bidding of your corporate donor cronies who desperately want to keep the foreigner spigot open.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY – Bloodiest year of the war ends – 1968
The bloodiest year of the war comes to an end. At year’s end, 536,040 American servicemen were stationed in Vietnam, an increase of over 50,000 from 1967.
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