3/9/25 – An eternally applicable sermon. The cross is the only thing that matters. The rest is a bubble that bursts. Come to the cross. Come to Jesus Christ, and find what matters.
Sex, Power, Riches and Materialism | Billy Graham Classic Sermon
3/9/25 – If we allow Ukraine to lose the war, it would be a moral indictment, not of Ukrainians and not just of Russia, but of all of us because we would have let it happen. “Decisions about war and peace are often morally complex. But in this case, the defense of the indefensible is happening through a social Darwinist argument that is already hollowing out much of American life. Such a view says that the power to do something is itself a moral justification—or even worse, that moral considerations are themselves a sign of ‘virtue signaling’ and weakness. We have seen before where this leads.” We are our brother’s keeper.
The Moral Cost of Murdering Ukraine
3/8/25 – The measure of any country is quite simple. Do you want to live there? Do you want to live in China, the country of Uighur rapists and killers, of chaining human beings, or Russia, the country of baby rapists and defenestration, or North Korea, the country of every form of oppression and torture? If you’re a sane person, you don’t. What is quite plain is that a certain person wants to make our country like these countries, particularly like Russia. We understand that MAGA is quite confused, but this is his obvious goal. If this trajectory continues, we will become a country nobody, not even Americans, will want to live in.
3/8/25 – One of the great privileges of being a public servant in the United States, whether it’s first responders, police officers, public school teachers, etc., is that you get to serve the most diverse group of people ever assembled. It is an honor and a privilege. It also comes with great responsibility. One of the things you never want to do is alienate the people you serve by asserting your personal political views while serving them. There are some basic human rights that we all agree on, even if we might phrase them differently, such as all people are created equal. This comes from the Judeo-Christian tradition, but we consider it a universal value. Whether you’re dealing with a Hindu who believes in the caste system or a white self-described “Christian” who believes in white supremacy or whoever along these lines, we assert this value because it is morally correct. However, when it comes to highly controversial and sensitive topics, for example, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, no public servant should be taking sides while serving the people. We are all free to exercise our First Amendment rights outside of our professional responsibilities and associated activities. This obligation to be inclusive naturally extends to any associated unions. Being a professional and a public servant is an honor, a privilege and a responsibility. Anybody blessed to be in this position needs to take it seriously and exercise good judgment and personal restraint.
3/6/25 – A certain person’s policies not only violate our democracy, privacy rights and separation of powers, but we might be heading to stagflation. Our constitutional structure is designed to keep us from becoming an autocracy and to sustain free markets. Autocracies, such as Russia, China, North Korea, etc., never do capitalism well. So, what do you want, America, a king and a kleptocracy, or democracy and capitalism? They come in pairs, and you have to choose between them as such. You don’t get to mix and match.
3/6/25 – This is a good opportunity for Europe to realize its ambition of truly becoming a global reserve currency and “the United States of Europe.” As the article correctly notes, to do so, it needs a bond market to rival the United States, meaning issuing more EU debt. To do so, Europe also needs more fiscal integration, including ideally automatic fiscal transfers. With Germany, particularly its auto industry, humbled, this is also a good time to convince them that fiscal integration is in its long-term interests. Not only are these changes overdue, particularly for the eurozone, but it will allow Europe to truly compete with the United States and to better collectively finance some of the basic functions of the state, such as defense. Another upside to this change for the eurozone specifically is that it will make the currency union function better, especially by making it less brittle in the event of an exogenous shock.
Investors Dare to Imagine a World Beyond the Dollar
3/5/25 – Examination of conscience and penance: let us be somber and serious for the next 40 days. Let us ALL reflect on our sins as we wander in the wilderness.
Songs of Lent, Music for the Lenten Season
3/4/25 – We will not be spending our Lent obsessing on MAGA’s poor judgment or a certain person’s terrible decisions and behavior. Expect gaps in programming. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Fast, and go to church.
3/4/25 – Disruption for disruption’s sake is dumb. This has been MAGA’s problem. They are frustrated and angry, and they want to burn the whole thing down and inflict misery on others. Misery loves company, as they say. They are intemperate and illogical. As we said before, we will be holding them accountable. They voted for this, and they will be responsible for cleaning up their mess. We wish them well. Please keep us updated.
3/3/25 – Is the United States Ukraine’s enemy now? Would Ukraine be better off doing a deal with Iran, which could really use the help? Minerals for drones? What’s that saying: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”?
3/3/25 – How long does it take to develop the military capacity to build drones? Can we build anything anymore? Are there any competent people in the world, right now?
3/3/25 – Can everyone stop with the blame game and focus on repairing the breach? The Ukrainians are in a considerably more difficult situation now.
3/2/25 – As a general observation about American liberals, one of the many paradoxes about them is that they think of themselves as sensitive and compassionate, yet they lack sophistication in interpersonal communication and dynamics. Their sensitivity is directed entirely towards themselves, and, in their infinite self-righteousness and arrogance, they bludgeon people with their viewpoints or try to force them down their throats either by overriding what should be a democratic process with antidemocratic means or with implied censorship. They also use so many $10 words, yet they can’t string together words or sentences to build consensus or negotiate compromise.
3/2/25 – The sudden interest in minerals is likely coming from the tech sector. This is the main player in the plutocracy right now. Europe, as a whole, needs to figure out how it can get the best deal. It does not have adequate military production at this time (even though they had ample time and warning to get it together…but they chose not to because they are lazy and entitled), and they need to leverage their collective mineral and other natural resource wealth to buy arms from the United States and to buy time to develop more of their own military production capabilities. Leverage what they have and don’t need to get what they need immediately and to plan better for the future.
3/2/25 – “As a conservative, I’ve long respected the concept of ‘Chesterton’s fence,’ named after G.K. Chesterton, a British writer, philosopher and Catholic apologist. Chesterton argued that the best and most careful approach to change required us to discern why, say, a fence might block a road and not to just tear it down.
‘The more modern type of reformer,’ Chesterton wrote, ‘goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”’”
Trump Is Breaking Things We Can’t Just Fix
3/2/25 – We understand that Zelensky is probably exhausted and has understandable antipathy towards a certain person. For his country, he has to either get over it or resign. Trying to win this war or get a peace agreement without the United States is an unlikely proposition. That does not mean hand over the nation’s wealth. The terms need to be reasonable. We have been supporting the Ukrainian people since the beginning of the war. We are their friends. Please heed our advice.
For all of his really terrible qualities, a certain person does want to be liked. He wants people to think well of him. He wants the Nobel Prize. Now, people might say that it’s all narcissism. It is, but it’s also different from dealing with a psychopath. It’s a spectrum. Work the point on the spectrum where he falls. He has probably had a million and one fights with people. He’s a New Yorker, and that’s also his personality. Zelensky needs to overcome his bitterness and be pragmatic. His job is to deliver for his country, no matter what his personal feelings might be. If he didn’t like the deal, which seems quite possible, he still has to go back to the negotiating table. See the point above. There is no free lunch, and there are not only luxuries in life. We all have to do things we would rather not do.