Bob Hoye (BobHoye.com) has been researching investments for decades, which eventually included the history of financial and political markets. He considers now to be the most fascinating time for both since the Great Reformation of the 1600s. Bob casts a caustic eye on all promotions and, having a degree in geophysics, is severely critical of the audacity that a committee can “manage” not just the economy, but also the temperature of the nearest planet. He has had articles published in major financial journals and, as a speaker, has amused assemblies in a number of cities, from London to Zurich to Tokyo.
Throughout history there has been nothing more absurd than fatuous courtiers, fatuous politicians, fatuous bureaucrats, fatuous reporters and fatuous intellectuals. Somehow, they all seem to come together in always dangerous experiments in authoritarian government. Ambitious factions have combined such that those with privilege have imposed hardships upon ordinary folk, unrelentingly dictated from the seat of government.
Throughout history, societies have lived relatively peacefully within the politics of limited government and individual freedom. No matter where or when prevailing, it has provided the most prosperity. And over the last few generations, prosperity has provided unprecedented longevity. What is there not to like? But some in living a life of endless personal dissatisfaction, seem driven to change things. The nemesis to peace and prosperity has always been crazed authoritarian forces acting only through government. With a number of historical turning points either for or against freedom. Some within this writer’s experience.
Quite simply: “No!”. But in looking beyond today’s political furies, a return to Constitutional government will restore American freedoms. That have been assaulted by a seemingly endless experiment in authoritarian government. It will also restore control of government expenses to the people. What’s more, the irony is that most in government are required upon oath to defend and protect the Constitution. For far too many this is unfashionable, while acutely disturbing, the political mania by control freaks is not new. Nor is the growing movement to restore law and order. Peace and prosperity are again becoming more important than “causes” promoted by “experts”, such as Dr. Fauci or Al Gore. Or professional thugs under “Antifa”.
One would have hoped that financial rip-offs committed by medieval princes would have been permanently shelved when liberal enlightenment ended the divine right of kings. Instead, some kind of divine right of bureaucrats has forced too much in-your-face and in-your-wallet government. Today's version of greedy royalty.
And the remedy lies in popular uprisings against bullying government.
A tweet from the National Weather Service in Miami: "Brrr! Much colder temps expected for Christmas. Falling iguanas are possible".
On Christmas Day, the Associated Press reported: "With unexpectedly cold weather in the forecast and pandemic-related curfews. Florida is about to have a Christmas unlike any other in recent memory, and it may involve falling iguanas."
It seems that the lizards which are cold-blooded like to sleep in trees. But when it gets unusually cold their body temperature drops enough, they go sort of dormant. And in losing their grip fall from the branches. Without warning, which was part of the weather alert that temps could be the lowest in some 21 years.
From the profoundly-crafted Constitution, most know what “we the people” means. Ever since it was a declaration on parchment the concept of American self-government has never suffered such a dislocating assault. From nihilism in the Streets to corruption in the FBI, DOJ and the CIA. Essentially, forced by the governing classes becoming, well, ungovernable. Confirming old observations that America can only be destroyed from within. Why the nation of freedom should suffer the same political furies that destroyed Venezuela is beyond this article. Instead, it reviews how ordinary citizens have reformed similar destructive experiments in authoritarian government.
Over many centuries.
Obviously, promoters of big government can’t tolerate “No!”. Thus, the mania to obliterate the traditions of official opposition and limited government. Worth emphasizing, is that with every European experiment in authoritarianism, the governing classes granted themselves the ultimate privilege--state murder.
The line about the KGB and Democrats appeared in the American Thinker on Sunday and is a scathingly accurate observation by Don Surber, a blogger. In thinking it might be a caption for a cartoon a check of “Images” listed some variations but no cartoon. For those old enough to recall network radio shows, there was “F.B.I. In Peace And War” as well as “This is Your FBI”. These ran from about 1944 into the early 1950s and featured its then highly regarded administrator J. Edgar Hoover and his field agents always solving domestic crime. They were there to help. And now the supposedly independent agency colludes with alien political forces in an attempt to overthrow a Constitutional Republic.
America is suffering its greatest political storm without the bloodshed of outright hostilities. Some 15 years ago, the struggle between ordinary folk and ambitious politicians began to become noticeable and this writer wrote some articles titled “Cold Civil War”. Well, the belligerents are still intruding, but thankfully it is still “Cold”. What created the clash is that the Left which had had its own way for ages was suddenly hit by opposition. While justifiable, it was and is shocking to the establishment. So much so, that dominating media and its Democrat party can’t tolerate policy debate. The political storm is the shocked reaction to informed opposition. Ordinary people in suffering horrendous political intrusion are bearing the brunt of the storm. However, it is inspiring another benign popular uprising. Which, if the past continues to guide, will be successful.
The New York Times accomplishments have ranged from admirable to deplorable. But no matter how questionable the "newspaper of record" can be, it's always been esteemed by fashionable people.
A regrettable phase occurred in the early 1930s when most everyone from hairy intellectuals to society matrons admired Communism. A 1990's FEE article outlined that the USSR in the 1930s had a persuasive lobby going on the East Coast. And the NYT published a series of articles about how wonderful full-on central planning was in Russia. In publishing glowing articles, the editors ignored the atrocity of deliberate famine.
America’s electoral choice has rarely been more distinct, or perilous.
The debate is not between policy differences, but between freedom and tyranny. The former is defined by the Constitution and the latter by mob rule, which is being deliberately conducted in the streets of Democrat cities. The riots are mainly professionally run but seem similar to early stages of the Russian or French Revolutions. Or, to be more up to date, the Venezuelan Revolution that destroyed a uniquely prosperous country in less than twenty years.
Although the big boom suffered a severe contraction earlier in the year the overall party has revived. Whereby both private and government sectors continue to be hyperactive. Even the deliberate COVID Crash of the global economy, country by country, is an example of hyperbolic policymaking. Paid agents continue to riot and in destroying parts of Democrat cities are inspiring downtown dwellers to move away from radical city politics. Lumber recorded a spectacular rise. Ambitious central bankers throw money at the markets and governments send out special welfare cheques. Those with too much at-home-time take the money and become day-traders on Robinhood.
Fascinating events in the financial world have been sudden reversals from straight up to straight down. Sunshine forever to gloom in a relatively short time.
Much the same can happen in the political markets. On the huge global commodity boom to 1920, the political left became very excited and ambitious. With the crash, political furies diminished, allowing constructive reform.
No matter in what century they occur, benign popular uprisings have been inspired by one thing—the iniquity of governments living the good life while the taxpayer suffers hardship and driven to desperation begin to say “No!” to the bullies.
Such opposition to the privileged has been shocking.
The second part of this serial essay was published on October 14th, which was a follow-up on American Spring, published on July 2, 2016. The theme from history, is that widespread dissatisfaction and hardship in the face of governing classes living well can inspire a benign popular uprising. This was the case in Eastern Europe in late 1989 when ordinary and unarmed folk took on an armed and murderous single-party state.
Politically, there have been essentially two kinds of uprisings. Each prompted by widespread dissatisfaction and hardship.
One restores freedom and economic success.
Last week, the Global Warming policy Forum headlined “La Nina Is Here”. Why the headline? Because the warming El Nino is over and the change to the La Nina represents cooling. Like seasonal and actual climate change it is a regular event. Which in physics means logical and predictable. And some cooling is showing up in various charts. Well, in the ones not altered by climate promoters.