Input From Various Memo Readers. Now Is The Time For The Zany Left To Attack Pence For Being A Religious Christian.

Subject: POWERFUL VIDEO

Watch this video... absorb with what you know, have seen and heard. Then you be the judge.
https://www.youtube.com/embed / _VpFNgfbebY
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And so it goes and will continue to go. Even China will eventually fall in line.  Not cave but they will bend.  They just need to save face.

The mass media will portray, in the most negative manner, by focusing on how much any agreements fall short etc.(See 1 below.)

The time for hating our V.P is building in the event Trump is thrown out of office by the haters.

The weapon of choice and angle against Pence is attack his Christianity.  Liberals and progressives have been on a crusade against crusading Christians for decades and now it is time to direct their knives at Pence.

Religion teaches us right from wrong.  Religion provides a moral compass for mortals to follow. This is particularly relevant for a people who profess to believe in and adhere to the rule of law. In other words, Americans.

If we weaken the foundation on which such adherence is based we broaden the range of options for those who embrace relativism. Once everything is relative there is no place for right and wrong and then chaos can rule and that is the goal of the radical left, the haters, the wild eyed marchers and assorted fascists and most particularly the hypocritical Hollywood trend setters whose lifestyles are off most normal charts - whatever goes for normalcy these days..  (See 1a below.)
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From time to time I receive e mails from friends and fellow memo readers that have no particular relevance to anything I am writing or posting but are interesting and/or humorous. Here are a few. (See 2, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e and 2f below.)
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Dick
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1)

The United States and Mexico have reached a preliminary agreement on  NAFTA. The new negotiations have not included Canada, another partner to the deal, but specifically focused on the auto industry.  President Trump has called the existing NAFTA deal one of the worst in history and a new agreement could be a big win for the president in his ongoing trade war with Canada, Mexico, the E.U., and China. According to the New York Times: WASHINGTON The United States and Mexico have reached agreement to revise key portions of  the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement and a preliminary deal  could be announced on Monday, a crucial step toward revamping a trade pact  that has appeared on the brink of collapse during the past year of negotiations. Reaching an agreement on how to revise some of the most contentious portions  of what President Trump has long called the worst trade pact in history would  give Mr. Trump a significant win in a trade war he has started with countries  around the globe, including Mexico, Canada, the European Union and China. Still, a preliminary agreement between the United States and Mexico would fall  far short of actually revising Nafta. The preliminary agreement still excludes  Canada, which is also a party to Nafta but has been absent from talks held in  Washington in recent weeks. It centers on the rules governing the automobile industry and leaves aside other contentious issues that affect all three countries. To qualify for zero tariffs under Nafta, car companies would be required to  manufacture a greater proportion of an automobile’s value in North America  under the new rules. They will also be required to use more local steel, aluminum and auto parts, and have a certain proportion of the car made by workers  earning at least $16 an hour, a boon to both the United States and Canada. The absence of Canada will make for a contentious road ahead, as the U.S.  and Mexico will have to work to get Canada on board. Congress will also have  to ratify the deal once one is fully reached. But the agreement in principle  between the U.S. and Mexico is an encouraging sign and another win for the  Trump administration. Read more at http://trumptrainnews.com/articles/preliminary-nafta-deal- reached-between-mexico-and-u-s#2swpFwM8bZCRxUQI.99 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1a) Maybe the Best Ben Shapiro  Answer Ever? by Peter Heck Ben Shapiro’s quick-tongued intellectualism is perfect for a culture that now exists  completely in the digital age. His isn’t an entertainer that incorporates information. He is all  information, all the time, and for the intellectually curious in our culture, left or right, that  in itself is entertaining. While the internet is full of classic Shapiro debate moments, speeches, and sound bites, I  don’t know that I’ve ever seen him better than his recent conversation with Shannon Bream  about the left’s hatred, not of Donald Trump, but of Vice President Mike Pence.  Shapiro started off by confronting the painfully unhinged New York Times writer Frank Bruni’s  assessment that impeaching Trump would only bring about a “bigot,” “liar,” and “self-infatuated  holy terror” in Pence. Exposing the boy-who-cried-extremist credibility problem the left has when it comes to this sort of thing, Shapiro pointed out how McCain was once portrayed as  radically unstable, then Romney was a crazy extremist, now Trump is a deranged madman,  but there’s always someone worse according to the left…whoever the next person is that the  right supports. It gets tiresome and ineffective politically. But where Shapiro earned a standing ovation was when he articulated, perhaps better than  ever heard done before on television, how and why it is Pence’s Christianity that makes him such  a hated figure to progressives in America – from media to politics to entertainment:             “[T]here’s a baseline level of hatred, really, for Christians, on the cultural Left; it’s most  evident in New York and Los Angeles, places where I’ve spent a lot of time. There’s this belief that  everybody who deeply believes their faith is actually, secretly a bigot, that the reason they are  acting out their religion in public is not because they believe their religion, but because they  are using the religion as a cover for bigotry. It’s the same sort of thing that they’ve used with  regard to Jack Phillips over at Masterpiece Cakeshop; really, he hates gay people; it’s not that  he’s a Christian who believes he has to abide by his religious standards; it’s that he secretly hates  gay people and trans people and he’s just using religion as a cover. They say the same sort of  thing about Mike Pence; truly there’s a tyrannical tendency among religious people, and then  they just use Jesus or the Bible as an excuse.” One of the biggest reasons progressives oppose Christian rights to conscience in the public  square is because they don’t truly believe that the conscience is real. They see it, largely, as a  cover for bigotry rather than legitimate, personal faith convictions. While there are many  progressives who happily wear the label Christian, they don’t subscribe to a Biblical worldview,  and thus divorce Christian teaching on, say, sexual ethics from their public character. It is  unreasonable to them that anyone else would fail to do the same.  In short, they confuse a deep, abiding love and obedience to God for a deep, abiding hatred of the  “other.” I would have been satisfied with that Shapiro truth bomb, but the next thing I knew, he had  reloaded and was dropping another on the left’s panicked fears of Pence and other  Christians desiring theocracy in America:             “I find it absolutely bewildering that the same folks who are claiming that Mike Pence is  going to run a theocracy also want federal gun control to seize all the guns. It’s truly amazing. It’s  also amazing that the folks who are saying that Mike Pence wants to run a theocracy ignore  the fact that Mike Pence is a constitutional conservative who wants to limit the size and scope  of government. The only theocrats, the only people who actually want to rule from above by  instituting their moral preferences on society from the top down, are the folks on the Left, who  actually want to invade rights on a regular basis and force people to do things that they don’t  want to do. It’s a lot more common on the Left than it is on the Right, so they’re actually using  their own theocratic tendencies toward government, which a lot of folks on the radical Left see  as a quasi God-like figure; they’re using that own theocratic tendency and then projecting it  onto people like Mike Pence.” Think about it: liberals actually believe that Christians like Pence would compel every woman in  America to wear bonnets and red dresses. They fear it and believe it no matter how ludicrous it is.  Perhaps the origin of that fear comes from the fact that when they themselves have the  opportunity to harness the power of government, they are happily compelling non-progressives to  participate in activities against their will and conscience. To people who force nuns to pay for abortion drugs, or Christian bakers to celebrate sexual i mmorality, it probably isn’t that far out of the realm of their imagination to believe that someone  might force feminists to wear bonnets. This is why the left hates Ben Shapiro. He’s on to them and exposes them in a way few  others can. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2) THE MEANING OF LAUS DEO

LAUS DEO

One detail that is seldom mentioned is that in Washington, D.C. there can never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument.

With all the uproar about removing the Ten Commandments, etc., this is worth a moment or two of your time. I was not aware of this amazing historical information.

On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., are displayed two words: Laus Deo.  No one can see these words. In fact, most visitors to the monument are totally unaware they are even there and for that matter, probably couldn't care less.

Once you know Laus Deo's history, you will want to share this with everyone you know.

These words have been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches high, perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation, overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia, capital of the United States of America.

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, unnoticed words.

Out of sight and, one might think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in the world.

So, what do those two words, in Latin, composed of just four syllables and only seven letters, possibly mean? Very simply, they say 'Praise be to God!'

Though construction of this giant obelisk began in1848, when James Polk was President of the United States, it was not until 1888 that the monument was inaugurated and opened to the public.

It took twenty-five years to finally cap the memorial with a tribute to the Father of our nation, Laus Deo, 'Praise be to God!'

From atop this magnificent granite and marble structure, visitors may take in the beautiful panoramic view of the city with its division into four major segments.

From that vantage point, one can also easily see the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles L'Enfant ..... a perfect cross imposed upon the landscape, with the White House to the north, The Jefferson Memorial is to the south, the Capitol to the east and the Lincoln Memorial to the west.

A cross you ask? Why a cross? What about separation of church and state? Yes, a cross; separation of church and state was NOT, is NOT, in the Constitution.

So, read on.

How interesting and, no doubt, intended to carry a profound meaning for those who bother to notice.

When the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4th, 1848 deposited within it were many items including the Holy Bible presented by the Bible Society. Praise be to God! Such was the discipline, the moral direction, and the spiritual mood given by the founder and first President of our unique democracy 'One Nation, Under God.'

I am awed by George Washington's prayer for America .... Have you ever read it? Well, now is your unique opportunity, so read on!

"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.

And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love MERCY, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation.

Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Laus Deo!

2a) SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT FOR SOME OF US.

A woman dies at age 65 before collecting one  benefit check.  She and her employer paid into the  system for almost 50 years and she collected  NOTHING.   Keep in mind all the working people that die every  year who were paying into the system and got  nothing!  And these governmental morons mismanaged the  money and stole from the system, so that it's now  going broke.  BEAUTIFUL!  And they have the audacity to call  today's seniors "vultures" in an attempt to cover  their ineptitude.    DISGRACEFUL!     The real reason for renaming our Social Security  payments is so the government can claim that all  those social security recipients are receiving  entitlements thus putting them in the same  category    as welfare, and food stamp recipients.  THIS IS WORTH THE FEW MINUTES IT TAKES  TO READ AND DIGEST!  F.Y.I.  By changing the name of SS contributions, it gives them a means to refute this program in the  future.    It's free money for the government to  spend under this guise.  The Social Security check is now (or soon will be)  referred to as a   *Federal Benefit Payment* ?    The government is now referring to our Social  Security checks as a  "Federal Benefit Payment."  This is    NOT  a benefit. It is  OUR money ,  paid  out of our earned income!  Not only did we all  contribute to Social Security but our employers did too !  It totaled 15% of our income before taxes. If you averaged $30K per year over your working  life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social  Security.  If you calculate the future value of your monthly  investment in social security ($375/month,  including both you and your employers  contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate  compounded monthly, after 40 years of working  you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved.     This is your personal investment. Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per  year,   or $3,277 per month.      That's almost three times more than today's  average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per  month, according to the Social Security  Administration. (Google it – it's a fact).   And your  retirement fund would last more than 33 years  (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only  imagine how much better most average-income  people could live in retirement if our government  had just invested our money in low-risk interest- earning accounts.  Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger *Ponzi scheme* than Bernie Madoff ever did (or  Lyndon Johnson).  They took our money and used it elsewhere.  They "forgot"(oh yes, they knew) that it was OUR  money they were taking.  They didn't have a  referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the  money to them   ... and they didn't pay interest on  the debt they assumed.    And recently they've told  us that the money won't support us for very much  longer.    (Isn't it funny that they NEVER say this  about welfare payments?)  But is it our fault they misused our investments?   And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a  *benefit*, as if we never worked to earn every  penny of it.   This is stealing!  Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't  mean that our investments were for charity!  Let's take a stand. We have earned our right to  Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our  legislators bring some sense into our government.  Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare  going for the sake of the 92% of our population  who need it.  2b)New breathalyzer can flag early onset  Parkinson’s, Israeli researchers say Technion team also identifies breath signatures of 17 other  ailments that could be detected by the handheld breath  analysis device, including Alzheimer's and gastric cancer By Shoshanna Solomon A team of researchers at Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology has developed a device  they say can detect the early onset of Parkinson’s disease by analyzing the breath of users. Since antiquity physicians have been evaluating their patients by the odor of their bodily fluids: the  stools and urine of noblemen’s children were often sniffed daily by their physicians. Of these, exhaled breath is the most accessible and useful source for monitoring health and disorders, the researchers said in a paper, one of several they published on the subject. Armed with this knowledge, the researchers, led by Prof. Hossam Haick of the Department of  Chemical Engineering and Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute of the Technion, set out on a quest to find out if a breathalyzer could help identify patients who are at the very early stages of Parkinson’s disease. Get The Start-Up Israel's Daily Start-Up by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition that affects dopamine-producing neurons in an area of the brain. Dopamine, a chemical, is responsible for coordinating movement. Symptoms of the disease develop gradually over the years, causing patients to experience hand tremors, limb rigidity and gait and balance problems. And although there is no cure, the affliction is treated by dealing with the symptoms by using dopaminergic medications, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Because people with Parkinson’s start experiencing symptoms only later in the course of the disease, when a substantial number of neurons have  already been damaged, scientists are trying to find ways to identify bio- markers that can lead to an earlier diagnosis and hopefully more tailor-made  treatments to help slow down its progression. More than 10 million people worldwide live with Parkinson’s, with some 60,000  Americans diagnosed each year and nearly 1 million forecast to  have the disease in the United States by 2020. The direct and  indirect costs of Parkinson’s — which include treatment, social security payments and lost income — is estimated at nearly $25 billion per  year in the US alone, the Parkinson’s Foundation says on its  website. The breath analyzer developed by the Technion multidisciplinary team, which included electrical and chemical engineers and medical researchers, consists of miniaturized sensors that can help detect the early  onset of the disease and help with follow-up treatment, Haick  said in a phone interview with The Times of Israel. The 10x5x5-centimeter (4x2x2-inch) handheld device holds a set of 40 chemical sensors that have been trained via algorithms to detect  specific markers in the breath that could flag the onset of the  disease. The researchers collected breath samples of Parkinson’s patients and loaded it onto the sensors, which have chemicals that react to molecules in  the breath. These reactions are transformed into electrical  signals, with the breath of Parkinson’s patients marked by the  algorithms with their own kind of electrical signal. The sensors in  the breathalyzer were then trained to identify those specific  breath compositions that indicate Parkinson’s, said Haick. So  when people are tested with the device, the sensors are able to  distinguish the breath of those who have the disease from the  breath of those who don’t. Over 80% accuracy The researchers conducted their studies with the breathalyzer over a number of years on a sample population of up to 500 people, Haick said. In  their most recent study, published in ACS Chemical  Neuroscience last month, Haick and his team set out to find out  if their device could detect differences in the breath of patients  with early-stage, not-yet-treated Parkinson’s disease. The researchers tested the device on the exhaled breath of 29 newly diagnosed patients who had not yet begun taking medication for their  illness. When comparing the sensor output to that of 19 control  subjects of similar age, they found that the breathalyzer managed to detect early Parkinson’s disease  with over 80 percent accuracy, almost as  good an outcome as an ultrasound scan of the brain. “Just as a dog can be trained to memorize a smell,” said Haick, “so we have trained our sensors in the  breathalyzer to identify those that are  specific to Parkinson’s.” Although the device still needs to be improved and validated with larger studies, the researchers say that it has potential as a small, portable  system to screen at-risk individuals without the need for big  and expensive analytical tools or highly trained specialists. To commercialize the device, the baton now must be picked up by either pharma companies or startups, Haick said. The Technion has  already reached licensing agreements for the technology with  seven entities, some of them big international firms and some startups, in the US, Israel, Asia, Germany and Toronto, he said. “I think it could be a point of care device,” Haick said, where doctors can screen patients in their clinics. “The development of the disease can  be slowed down, if detected and treated at an early stage.” The researchers have also identified the breath characteristics of 17 diseases.  “We have proven that each of these diseases has a signature in breath,” he said, so they could use the same technology for  those diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, lung cancer and gastric cancer, he said. 2c Phyllis Diller was the Female equivalent of Will  Rogers....  Whatever you may look like, marry a man  your own age. As your beauty fades, so  will his eyesight.  -Phyllis Diller      Housework can't kill you, but why take a  chance?  -Phyllis Diller     Cleaning your house while your kids are  still growing up is like shoveling the  sidewalk before it stops snowing.  -Phyllis Diller  The reason women don't play football is  because 11 of them would never wear  the same outfit in public. -Phyllis Diller     Best way to get rid of kitchen odors:  Eat out.  -Phyllis Diller  A bachelor is a guy who never made the  same mistake once.  -Phyllis Diller     I want my children to have all the things I  couldn't afford. Then I want to move in  with them.  -Phyllis Diller      Most children threaten at times to run  away from home. This is the only thing  that keeps some parents going.  -Phyllis Diller     Any time three New Yorkers get into a cab  without an argument, a bank has just  been robbed.  -Phyllis Diller  We spend the first twelve months of our  children's lives teaching them to walk  and talk and the next twelve years telling                     them to sit down and shut up.  -Phyllis Diller     Burt Reynolds once asked me out.  I was in his room.  -Phyllis Diller      What I don't like about office Christmas  parties is looking for a job the next day.  -Phyllis Diller       His finest hour lasted a minute and a half.  -Phyllis Diller     Old age is when the liver spots show  through your gloves.  -Phyllis Diller  My photographs don't do me justice - they just look like me.  -Phyllis Diller         Tranquillizers work only if you follow the  advice on the bottle -  keep away from  children.  -Phyllis Diller     I asked the waiter, 'Is this milk fresh?'  He said, 'Lady, three hours ago it was  grass.'  -Phyllis Diller  The reason the golf pro tells you to keep  your head down is so you can't see him  laughing.  -Phyllis Diller    You know you're old if they have  discontinued your blood type. -Phyllis Diller 2d) Ocasio-Cortez Visits Former Employer.  They Just Went Out Of Business  Because Of Policies She Supports. Mario Tama/Getty Images ByRYAN SAAVEDRA @REALSAAVEDRA August 20, 2018 Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited a restaurant that she used  to work at in New York City on Monday on its final day in  business, closing largely because of policies supported  by the 28-year-old bartender-turned-politician. Ocasio-Cortez's former employer, The Coffee Shop in Union Square,  has shut down after a 28-year run due to high rent and an ever- increasing minimum wage — a policy that Ocasio-Cortez strongly  supports. "The restaurant I used to work at is closing its doors," Ocasio-Cortez  wrote on Twitter. "I swung by today to say hi one last time, and kid  around with friends like old times." 2e) Kemp begins his ads and message. Friends, Tonight, our first ad of the General Election will air on prime time  television. "Ahead" highlights my strong commitment to continued job growth  in Georgia and support of early learning initiatives that prepare our  children for bright and promising futures. As governor, I will streamline government and slash regulations  that make it difficult for the private sector to create jobs. We will encourage local control, reduce mandates in the classroom, empower our teachers, and dramatically improve our 3rd grade  literacy rates. Finally, I will work to protect those that are the most vulnerable and  urge able-bodied folks in our state to work. We will celebrate those  that follow the law, and always put hardworking Georgians first. I believe in Georgia and know that with bold, trusted leadership at  the State Capitol, we can continue moving in the right direction. If you share my vision and support my plan for Georgia's future,  please share our new ad with your friends, family, and neighbors. Together, we can earn victory on November 6. With your help, we  can ensure that our best days are always ahead. Sincerely, Brian P. Kemp Conservative Businessman Republican Nominee for Governor 2f) Revolutionary Future Ahead By John Mauldin  Change Happens Fast The Mathematical Reason for Accelerated Change Turning Back the Clock New Space Race Financial Revolution It Is Happening Everywhere Summer Winding Down Back in 1936, in Esquire magazine of all places, F. Scott Fitzgerald  wrote something profound. “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” As someone privileged to have met some of the world’s greatest thinkers, I know what first-rate intelligence looks like. I am not in their league, but I think I’m pretty good at holding opposing ideas. It’s why I’m often called the “muddle-through guy.” When I consider contradictory scenarios, I figure reality will be somewhere in between. That’s right more often than you might suspect. So, let’s consider two seemingly conflicting ideas. Major economic pain is coming. We have a bright, prosperous economic future. Can both of those be right? I think so. I explained last week in The Good News Economy how the current recovery should continue for a couple more years. Beyond that lies the Great Reset, featuring the “major economic pain” part. But beyond  that is something much better… a time unprecedented in human history, when life will improve in ways we can barely imagine right now. We’ll have a better chance to get through the Great Reset with assets and sanity intact if we remember the good things waiting for us on the other side and take advantage of them as soon as possible. Today we’ll talk about some of the technology and biotechnology developments that I believe will drive economic growth in the next decade or two. Full disclosure: This is a very short version of my forthcoming book, The Age of Transformation. Change Happens Fast Our various gadgets become so integral to daily life that we can forget what life was like without them. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: No one on Earth had a smartphone until 2007. That first iPhone, revolutionary at the time, was primitive compared to even  today’s low-end models. Now, can you imagine living without your iPhone or Galaxy or whatever you have? The answer for most of us is probably not. Some Luddites don’t like being online, and to each his own. I like my tech. But that just illustrates how fast the world can change. One invention, in one decade, radically altered both daily life and the global economy. Not without some downside, but I think mostly for the better. Think about it from the other direction. In 2007, could you have imagined those little devices would have the staggering impact we now see as perfectly normal? Again, probably not. Many imagined the opposite: “Why do I want the internet in my pocket?” Guess what: Almost everyone who said that now has the internet in their pocket and would not dream of living without it. Certainly not if you are a Millennial. In the next decade, we’ll see multiple inventions bring similar and, I believe, even greater changes. The details won’t be immediately obvious, but the changes will come. By 2030, they will be as ho-hum to us as smartphones are today. It may not even take that long. The pace of technological change is accelerating, as is the speed at which new inventions propagate around the world. Intangible software and information can spread at lightspeed, while 3-D printing will let manufacturing capacity grow faster and more widely than we’ve ever seen before. In sum, the kind of change, magnitude of change, and rate of change will all likely speed up considerably in the coming years. It will be a roller-coaster ride. Now let’s look at some of the twists and turns it will bring us. The Mathematical Reason for Accelerated Change Back in the late 1700s, maybe a dozen people understood the steam engine, mostly dilettantes doing it for fun. James Watt understood the business implications and eventually built a steam engine that could do the work of four horses pumping water out of a coal mine. John Wilkinson—who developed a machine to make a true bore so cannons could shoot longer and further—decided to use steam engines to power his fires. He took the engine apart, saw that the “bore” of the engine was not true and redid it. Voilà, a 16-horsepower engine. Then dozens and eventually hundreds of engineers and tinkerers improved performance further. Fast forward to today. Today we routinely throw hundreds of scientists and engineers at much simpler problems. But it is going to accelerate even more. Google and Facebook are in a race to make wireless internet available to every part of the earth. Google will use what is known as high balloons and Facebook is working on solar drones. Google is already supposedly circumnavigated the globe at one meridian in the southern hemisphere. Both technologies are viable, it will simply be a matter of which is the less expensive and more workable. In the not-too-distant future, and certainly by 2025, wireless voice and data networks will be available to every human on the earth. By the middle of the next decade, Wi-Fi will be essentially free or at negligible cost. Seriously. That means three billion more people will be connected to the internet. If 0.0001 percent of those three billion people (or merely 30,000) create a major new technology or business idea, that will accelerate the pace of change and make life better for all of us. Give them access to the internet and artificial intelligence expert systems, and stand back and watch what happens as individual humans try to improve their own lives. Turning Back the Clock Demographic challenges lie behind many of our economic problems, and the #1 demographic challenge is aging. Specifically, too many of us aging at the same time and not doing it very well. The resulting health problems both cost money to treat and may remove us from the workforce when we could otherwise stay happily productive. This is going to change for the better. I don’t mean simply longer lifespans, though I think that will happen, too. Adding more years is not necessarily a blessing if they simply extend your pain and make you a burden to others. Much better to have a long, healthy life, and then decline quickly when it naturally ends. That is exactly where biotechnology is taking us. My friend Patrick Cox writes about this extensively. He believes, as do many top scientists we both know, that we are only a few years away from treatments that can not only slow the aging process to a crawl, but in some quite profound ways, actually reverse it. We already see it in animal studies. Elderly mice exposed to these new treatments regrow their hair, gain muscle mass, see and hear better, and even regain their sexual vigor. Maybe not the mythical fountain of youth, but at least a fountain of middle-age. And let me tell you from where I stand, about one month shy of 69, middle-age sounds really good right now. Obviously, humans are not mice and the research is ongoing. In fact, it is accelerating because the Japanese government (which not coincidentally faces major demographic headaches) is removing many  of the bureaucratic hurdles that slow down progress. Some treatments could be available there as soon as two or three years from now. If it works in Japan, other countries will follow quickly because it will be in their own financial self-interest. Taking care of an aging, unhealthy population is expensive. Think of all the time, money, and attention that goes to health care. In the US, it’s about 18% of GDP— the majority of which is spent on elderly people. If we can not only get them healthier but actually make them younger, some of that money can find better uses. Then there is the astonishing progress being made against our most challenging medical foes: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and assorted other killers. Big data and AI systems are quickly decoding the genetics behind some of them, leading to better detection and treatment. I truly believe we will have eliminated most cancers by 2030, or at least turned them into minor, easily treated conditions. Imagine the productivity boost from having all those patients stay alive and working. (Again, full disclosure: I’m invested in a company that is in phase 2 of a “silver bullet” cancer cure. If we are successful, and it is still if, the treatment will not require hospitalization and seems to have minimal side effects. I now think the biggest risk to my investment is not that our drug does not work, but that other drugs will be cheaper, better, and faster.) You can’t believe how much progress there is being  made in this area. As with HIV, cancer may soon become a chronic condition treated with a cocktail of drugs rather than just one therapy. There are so many possible scenarios, it’s almost impossible to describe what the path will look like over the next 10 to 15 years. But barring stupid governments, by 2030, cancer will be a nuisance and not a death sentence, and certainly not something that will take massive national expenditures. New Space Race At the end of last week’s letter, I mentioned the billionaires’ space race. Paul Allen, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk all want to send satellites and/or people into orbit and eventually beyond. Unlike the 1960’s US-Soviet space race, this one has unashamedly commercial motives. These men are so wealthy, in part because they can recognize opportunities and what it takes to seize them. Reaching space at a reasonable cost is the first step, so that’s the first order of business. They have different ideas on how to do it. Time will tell what works best… and competition between them will probably work better and faster than waiting for the government to do it. The first goal is to put more satellites in orbit. We forget that our  smartphone location features depend on the satellite-based Global Positioning System. And of course, satellites take the pictures you see on your phone’s mapping app. All that works well, but more satellites will make it even better. My friend Peter Diamandis wrote an interesting blog post on this last month. As of August 2017, there were nearly 1,800 operational satellites in orbit. Of these, 742 are communications satellites, 596 are used for Earth observation, and 108 are used for navigation. We’re seeing a massive increase in the number of operational satellites as satellites become smaller and launch costs plummet. Private companies all over the world are building out satellite technology. For example, China plans to place 60 commercial (i.e. private) high-resolution Jilin 1 imaging satellites in orbit by 2020. Planet Labs is a disruptive company using milk-carton sized imaging satellites to help entire industries obtain game-changing data. Planet Labs showcases 175+ satellites in orbit, enabling them to image anywhere on the globe with up to 3.72-meter resolution. Alternatively, Planet Labs offers a specialized, targeted satellite option  called SkySats. Thirteen of these satellites can achieve up to 72- centimeter resolution. SkySats can also capture video, which can be used to extrapolate 3D models. These satellites are built on the same technology that Google deployed to capture crisp 3D image views for Google Maps.Imagine Google Maps satellite imagery that is live, not months or years old. What could you do with that capability? Farmers, mapping software, construction, maintaining operational control of your logistics supply line, and a thousand other things we haven’t even thought about today. We’re going to find out, on top of many other benefits from easy, low-cost access to space. Beyond that, a wealth of minerals are just waiting to be collected out there, both in asteroids and on the Moon. Bringing them to Earth in greater quantities than we have now could enable untold miracles. Financial Revolution Recently I heard someone say banks are now essentially technology companies. So much lending now happens in the capital markets and “shadow banks” that the legacy banks are mostly service providers. They process payments, hold assets in custody, and provide the financial system’s necessary plumbing. Old-style “banking” is on the way out. That may be a stretch, but it is true that the financial services business is changing fast, due largely to technology. Stock trading commissions are one obvious example. Remember when it used to cost $50 to buy 100 shares of a stock? It wasn’t that long ago. Now the fee is pennies or even zero. That’s partly because brokers have found new ways to make revenue from order flow, and partly because their costs are mostly fixed. Once you have the systems in place, the incremental cost of processing one more trade is negligible. Competition does the rest and customers win. More competition is coming. You know what Amazon has done to the retailing industry? Banks may be next. Here’s an amazing graphic from CB Insights. Source: CB Insights In short, Amazon has ways to deliver many of the services we  presently get from banks. So where exactly is that line between  technology and banking? It’s hard to say and getting harder. Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies are slowly finding their place in  the financial system, too. I’ve been a Bitcoin skeptic—and it may yet  give way to some other currency—but this isn’t fool’s gold. The  technology has real advantages that will change the industry. When I see people like John Burbank and Mark Yusko essentially go  “all-in” on blockchain investments, staking their careers and  reputations and hundreds of millions of dollars on something so  ephemeral to most of us, I sit up and take notice. Something is  happening here. Finally—and you wouldn’t know this from all the tariff talk—capital is  flowing around the world like never before. Investors who once  thought they should stick “close to home” have branched out  internationally. They do this in part because technology makes it  possible to monitor assets you own, even on the other side of the  world. This is good because it means capital will flow more easily to  the entrepreneurs with the best ideas, wherever they may be  geographically. Ultimately, that’s good for everyone. It Is Happening Everywhere Cambridge and Oxford could have been Silicon Valley. They had the  Turing machine, but the bureaucrats were so afraid Russia would  steal it they literally tore it down. They drove the greatest  mathematical mind of the time, Alan Turing, to suicide simply  because he was homosexual. Over in the United States, ENIAC was formally dedicated at the  University of Pennsylvania on February 15, 1946, and was heralded as  a "Giant Brain" by the press. It had a speed on the order of one  thousand times faster than electro-mechanical machines; this  computational power, coupled with general-purpose programmability,  excited scientists and industrialists alike. (Wikipedia) What did the US do? The University of Pennsylvania threw a  conference and three dozen schools came. Shown every design  detail, they all went back and created computer schools and courses  at their universities. Truly open source development. From a human perspective, it really doesn’t make any difference  where an invention comes from, as long as it improves our lives. 35%  of artificial intelligence research funding will come from China in the  next three years. PricewaterhouseCoopers recently projected AI’s  deployment will add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030, with China  taking home $7 trillion of that total, dwarfing North America’s $3.7  trillion share. You think engineers and scientists in India are going to sit back? Or  Thailand? No. Ricardo was right, different countries will specialize in  their strengths. Yes, we would all like our home team to be the one  that benefits the most, but the reality is the world is going to benefit,  and we are all part of the world. One day I will do a letter on China’s rising companies. Yes, many are  state-sponsored, and we can grouse about it all we want, but then a  lot of US research has been state-funded, too. That’s just what  countries do. You think Airbus doesn’t get a lot of subsidies? But  they make good planes. I like them. Just like I like Boeing planes. It  makes no difference to me which plane I get on if it gets me there  safely. In India, you can get all the music you want streamed to your phone  or device for literally pennies a month, not the $10 a month we pay to  Spotify, which still seems incredibly low. I could go on with examples  for pages, and probably will in my book. But understand, all of these remarkable changes and improvements  in our lives are going to happen even as we figure out how to deal  with global debt. And those changes and improvements are going to  be extraordinarily powerful investments if we get there at the right  time and place. Summer Winding Down None of this means we are entering Nirvana next week. We’re going to  have another recession eventually. The Great Reset is still coming. I  expect to be talking about recessions in the next century. But the  Great Reset and recessions won’t be the end of the world. Good  things will keep happening, and we’ll get to the other side. In the Vietnam War, “light at the end of the tunnel” became kind of a  joke because the war seemed endless. Finally it did end, and some  bad years followed. But now Vietnam is at peace and its economy  growing fast. One of my favorite frontier market investors told me at Camp Kotok  that Vietnam is his favorite opportunity right now. There really was light ahead in their long, dark tunnel. Getting to it just took time. We  will get there, too. I don’t have any trips or personal news to report this week. We’re in  August, it’s hot and summer is winding down. I’m looking forward to  cooler weather and even cooler new technology.    Your really optimistic about the future analyst, John Mauldin Chairman, Mauldin Economics ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++