Rates will go up before the Fed “overtly tightens.” Whether the money supply increases or decreases by X is fairly irrelevant to where interest rates go. It not a “stock” question. It’s a matter of flows. The Fed had been buying $120 Billion of bonds every month. Name another asset class where a price insensitive buyer has that kind of decreased buying, and it would not effect prices.
What gives?
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Faith, family, and Friday night football
HALIFAX, Pennsylvania — One of the common denominators in small towns across this country is that while the lives lived here are still filled with all of the stresses that exist elsewhere, they manage to navigate the stresses better because of their rootedness to place and connectivity to each other.
The other common denominators are faith, family, and Friday night high school football, in that order. All three serve as the fabric that binds them to each other and a sense of place that is more valuable to them than the tangible benefits that come from upward mobility.
If your town’s team is winning, well, that makes the Friday night tradition in high schools across the country obviously better. However, there is an argument to be made that how your children and community conduct themselves when losing reveals their character.
There is also an argument to be made that character is measured by your conduct in triumph toward your vanquished rivals when you are the winning team.
In particular, when the winning team is handing the other a whopping of a lifetime.
Two weeks ago, the local high school team, the Halifax Wildcats, met its Big Spring rivals out of Newville for one of the first games of the season. The Dauphin County school district here along the Susquehanna River is tiny, but locals will remind you that isn’t a bad thing.
Big Spring High School, of Cumberland County, is a little bit bigger than Halifax, but it's still a very rural district mostly made up of blue-collar families. The coaches at the school are teachers or former teachers who live in the community.
For all of the small towns that make up the district, going to their games either at home or away isn’t just about the players themselves. The cheerleaders, marching bands, and student sections play integral parts in the whole experience.
Every week, the students organize a theme. It could be a white out or a maroon out, both of which are the school colors. At Halloween, they'll wear costumes. They’ve even done generation themes with ‘60s or ‘70s attire. They are active, they work together, and their enthusiasm and school spirit is contagious and engages the community at large.
They sing the alma mater twice at the game, both before and after. No one has to be reminded to take off his or her hat or be quiet during the playing of the anthem, and everyone stands. Their sense of pride in their school and their community says much about not just them, but how they were raised.
It is a different look of America than we often see when we log on to social media or watch the network news.
All that said, when playing Halifax, it was clear from the first play of the game that Big Spring was going to have a very good first half, too good. By halftime, Big Spring was up 63-0.
That is when the magic of the team's character started to unfold.
Click here for the full story.
And:
No longer able to laugh at ourselves:
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Jackie Mason, 1928-2021
By New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Levin
Tell an Italian his wife looks like a prostitute and he'll punch you in the nose. Tell a Jewish woman she looks a prostitute and she'll think it's a compliment. She'll say, "Really?!"
Jackie Mason, the greatest comedian and performer of my lifetime and yours, passed away yesterday at the age of 93.
Jackie Mason's career could never have happened today, for two reasons.
First, his observational humor primarily focused on the differences among ethnic and religious groups.
In many ways, America really has turned out to be the melting pot we learned about in high school civics class.
As a result, the clearly defined differences among groups have faded, removing the primary source of Mason's comedy.
The second reason why Jackie Mason's career could not happen today is because, as a society, we have completely lost our sense of humor.
We are not allowed to laugh at ourselves, or anyone else.
Comedy is not comedy any longer. Instead, it's perceived as a series of micro-aggressions, and aggrieved people are much more interested in canceling anyone who dares say something remotely funny, rather than recognizing that we ourselves are the butt of every joke.
Men are dishonest. They take women out to dinner not because they want to have dinner with them but because they want to sleep with them. Me? I'm honest. I stand outside the restaurant, and when a woman comes out, I say, "Did you eat yet?"
Jackie Mason came from a respected rabbinical family and was ordained as a rabbi primarily to please his father.
Mason says that when he first had a congregation, he did so many jokes that more Gentiles than Jews were showing up. So he put in a cover and a two drink minimum.
And then he went on to perform in clubs.
In the 1960s, Mason made it to the pinnacle of the entertainment world, the Ed Sullivan Show, a TV program that all of America watched.
Sullivan was signaling to Mason to wrap up his routine, and Mason's returned hand gesture looked to Sullivan like he was giving the host the finger.
It wasn't true, but Mason's bookings dried up overnight.
He went from comedy star to pariah.
He never gave up, and worked the same obscure clubs where he had started years earlier.
And then someone had the brilliant idea of putting him on Broadway in a one-man show.
Mason's blend of ethnic, religious, and political humor caught fire with 1980s audiences, and he never looked back.
Mason toured the world, a star once more, in a performing career that lasted more than 60 years.
It's easy to tell the difference between Jews and Gentiles. After the show, all the Gentiles are saying 'Have a drink? Want a drink? Let's have a drink!' While all the Jews are saying 'Did you eat yet? Want a piece of cake? Let's have some cake!'
If you've never seen him perform, Google Jackie Mason The World According To Me or any of his subsequent shows.
His material, his delivery, his timing...all impeccable.
There was no one like him.
Today, however, no comedian could talk about the differences between religious or ethnic groups.
The chorus of naysayers, with their absolute lack of a sense of humor, on social media and in traditional media, would be howling for his head.
No one would dare laugh at his jokes, because laughter would be deemed as complicity.
The great comic Steve Allen once wrote that "The jester serves at the pleasure of the king."
Today the king is the online mob.
The online mob has no tolerance for the admission of or exploration of differences.
You better not laugh.
So I'm grateful to have grown up in a world where comics had the permission, and yes, the audacity, to explore the differences between us, because when Jackie passed yesterday, that whole world passed with him.
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Trust in mass media continues to sink:
A Banner Week for Journalistic Integrity
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Coming apart at the seams!/? You decide.
Biden is Totally Incompetent
Top Biden federal authorities are grappling with a series of crises, ranging from the Mexico border to a worker shortage to support business problems. Meanwhile, detractors claim there is a massive void among top Cabinet officials.
When Will It be Too Much?
“The majority of Cabinet officials are anonymous strangers who are not well recognized by the American public. They are not competent to step forward, protecting what the government is doing in their respective areas,” Fox News correspondent Karl Rove said on Friday’s “USA Reports.”
The difficulties with which the administration is grappling cover a wide range of topics and agencies. There are substantial supply chain issues that are leading to higher costs and may lead to shortfalls around Christmas, according to the White House.
President Biden addressed the issue earlier this week, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took a two-month paternity vacation without announcing it until Politico broke the story on Thursday.
While Buttigieg is on vacation, the Transportation Department will not respond to requests for comment on information about who will be in command of the agency.
The southern border continues to witness a large number of immigrant entries, with many of them being discharged deep into the nation’s heartland; court dates are set far in the distance and minimal monitoring is in the interim.
However, no headway has been made in stopping the flow, which Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, as well as Vice President Harris, have indeed been tasked with.
Trump’s Policies are Back
The Trump administration’s “Remain-in-Mexico” program for asylum applicants will be reinstated, according to the Homeland Security Department, but only once a federal court orders it.
However, the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests from Fox News on Friday, regarding concerns the continuing influx of migrants is harming border towns. On Friday, Harris’ office did not respond to requests for comment on immigration.
Employers in the United States are still having problems filling vacant positions, a problem that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh claimed he is having difficulty solving in a new interview with Axios.
He cited the coronavirus epidemic as a contributing factor, as well as people seeking career shifts that will allow them to achieve a better work-life mix. However, the Department of Labor did not respond to Fox News seeking comment on Friday.
This is when they were asked what concrete steps the department intended to take to address a problem Republicans attribute to the Biden administration’s policies.
Gas costs are also rising and conservatives are criticizing the Biden administration’s climate policies for this. Other events, like hurricanes and rising demand, also play a role. According to Politico, the Biden government has sought out the oil industry for assistance in lowering gas costs.
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China also has some amazing technology that is about weaponizing their ability to defeat adversaries:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ About time:
Clark Hunt, Owner of the Kansas City ChiefsMr. Hunt called a meeting with all of his Coaches, Players and field staff and firmly told them, "You are all simply paid performers on a stage and that field is my stage!You will stand, with your hand over your heart and with respect, when our Country's National Anthem is being played or you will no longer be a Kansas City Chief, a Coach for the Kansas City Chiefs or have any association with the Chiefs Organization!I will immediately fire you, no matter who you are!" You can make your political statements off the field, but when you're employed by me and I'm signing your check, I demand that you make our fans proud and not embarrass them."++++++++++++++++++++++
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