"It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought."
John Kenneth Galbraith
“Foolishness is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease.
Against foolishness we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed – in such moments the foolish person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.
In all this the foolish person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a foolish person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the foolish person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Prisoner for God: Letters and Papers from Prison
"Misconceptions and laziness may produce more mischief in this world than deceit and malice."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
Henry David Thoreau
Stocks had a grand pop and flop today, as the initial exuberance over a possible vaccine for coronavirus and the apparent win by Biden took a large exogenous weight off equities.
And so it was risk on to near euphoric levels.
And then it was not.
Gold and silver got hammered today.
Looks like the traditional Non-Farm Payrolls report shenanigans were a trading day late.
I was pretty much in cash coming into today. I did add back a trading position in gold and a couple of miners, which were just brutalized.
Let's see how the rest of the week goes.
The Dollar was higher, but failed to take out the 93 handle.
Have a pleasant evening.