“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest.
As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”
C.S. Lewis
"It was pride that turned angels into devils."
Augustine of Hippo
"A more repulsive picture can hardly be imagined. A mob, a moneyed class, and an aristocracy almost equally worthless, hating each other, and hated by the rest of the world; swarms of slaves beginning to brood over revenge as a solace to their sufferings; the land going out of cultivation; native industry swamped by slave-grown imports; the population decreasing; the army degenerating; wars waged as a speculation, but only against the weak; provinces subjected to organized pillage; in the metropolis childish superstition, whole sale luxury, and monstrous vice.
The hour for reform was surely come. Who was to be the man?"
A.H. Beesley, The Gracchi Marius and Sulla, 1921
"Many will become addicted to hateful and malicious thoughts and hateful words. Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, angry despisers of what is good and right. With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and blinded by clouds of conceit.
They will demand and find their delight in the pleasures of this world, and ignore their need to serve God. They may act religious, but they want to serve themselves."
2 Timothy 3:1-5
“Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune. ”
Carl Gustav Jung
Stocks had the wobbles again today, but managed to end up with only minor losses.
The Dollar rallied higher to the mid 95 level.
Gold and silver gave up a little ground.
The VIX also gave up a bit of ground.
The big infrastructure bill was signed into law today in Washington DC.
The 'shortage of turkeys' for Thanksgiving seems to be another false rumor here.
At every store I checked there were many available, and my local grocery is going to be giving us a free one again this year.
At Costco they had plenty fresh turkeys on offer for $.99 per pound.
Don't believe everything that you hear.
The flim-flammers and their spokesmodels are out there trying to sway public fears for their own profits and purposes.
Even when it comes to issues of health and public safety.
Yes there are some supply chain disruptions. But in almost every case I have checked it is because of a very poor management planning with a strong emphasis on short term profits, with la brazen disregard for the consequences of 'just-in-time' fragility and single sourcing and offshoring critical components.
Logistics are the rocks on which many a high-flying business leader has foundered.
These are all too often accidents of fragility in planning, managerial short-sightedness incompetence, waiting to happen.
It was a pet gripe of mine when I was managing some significant aspects of a global business. The guys who paid attention to these kind of practical details and processes were always looked down upon by the pampered princes as nay-sayers and wet blankets -- until the shit hit the fan.
Details, details.
And who could have seen it coming, right?
Have a pleasant evening.
