Taking a mental glance at the day’s calendar, we preview what awaits us in terms of places to go and things to do and people to see. Here we activate the insightfulness of Salesian spirituality — namely, that the responsibilities of our personal vocation constitute the real place where we act out the devout life. But this conjecture… Continue reading Live Today Well with Saint Francis de Sales
Biden’s ‘Blue-Collar’ War on Monopolies
President Biden believes he’s waging an economic war against big business, though that may surprise the general public, which has a long list of other distractions in these fraught times. Biden’s stated struggle is with monopolization — the unfair concentration of power in business, which, the White House now argues, has driven consumer prices ever… Continue reading Biden’s ‘Blue-Collar’ War on Monopolies
Weekly Market Overview for January 17, 2022
The S&P 500 is still whipsawing within the range between 4300 and 4800, making any near-term action within this range suspect until one of these levels is cleared with considerable momentum. SPY closed out 2022’s second trading week down 0.3%. US trading is closed on Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. day. … Continue reading Weekly Market Overview for January 17, 2022
We Are Beast Machines – Issue 111: Spotlight
I have a childhood memory of looking in the bathroom mirror, and for the first time realizing that my experience at that precise moment—the experience of being me—would at some point come to an end, and that “I” would die. I must have been about 8 or 9 years old, and like all early memories… Continue reading We Are Beast Machines – Issue 111: Spotlight
Goldman Slashes China GDP Forecast As CCP Locks Down 20 Million To Fight Omicron Wave
China’s “Zero COVID” strategy is starting to have serious repercussions for economic growth. After sealing off Tianjin from travel, a city that’s roughly 30 minutes from the Chinese capital of Beijing, earlier this week, the CCP is imposing still more lockdowns as it tries to stamp out the latest COVID outbreak that’s vexing China’s leadership… Continue reading Goldman Slashes China GDP Forecast As CCP Locks Down 20 Million To Fight Omicron Wave
Cheapening the Vote: The Other Inflation
You didn’t have to be a magician to recognize the sleight-of-hand when Democrats pulled a “voting rights” campaign out of their Jan. 6 “armed insurrection” hat. Even before President Biden finished his fire-and-brimstone speech condemning Republicans for “placing a dagger at the throat of democracy” in 2021, he and his handlers had pivoted to the… Continue reading Cheapening the Vote: The Other Inflation
Weeding the Garden of the Soul
“With persons more advanced in the way of perfection, the devil is more oblique. Where open attack would fail, he simulates the spiritual joys given by the good spirit in order to lead people astray.” (Servant of God John Hardon) I don’t know why, and maybe it’s cabin fever, but weed seeds have been on… Continue reading Weeding the Garden of the Soul
How Targeted Advertising on Social Media Drives People to Extremes
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Have you had the experience of looking at some product online and then seeing ads for it all over your social media feed? Far from coincidence, these instances of eerily accurate advertising provide glimpses into the behind-the-scenes mechanisms… Continue reading How Targeted Advertising on Social Media Drives People to Extremes
Futures Rebound As Fed-Induced Rout Finally Eases
After yesterday’s miraculous tech recovery which saw gigacaps drop as much as 4% before recovering all losses and closing green, Nasdaq futures led gains among U.S. stock-index futures, hinting at further relief for technology stocks as Treasury yields retreated in early trading but have since steadied around 1.75%, unchanged from Monday. Nasdaq futures rose as… Continue reading Futures Rebound As Fed-Induced Rout Finally Eases
The Debate Over ‘Common-Good Conservatism’
In the face of progressives’ persistence in portraying contemporary conservatism as a mortal threat to American democracy, conservative intellectuals have launched the latest round in a learned and hard-hitting debate — as old as the post-World War II conservative movement — about the character of the conservative task. Donald Trump’s tumultuous presidency and his post-presidential… Continue reading The Debate Over ‘Common-Good Conservatism’