The economic data coming in the past week is in alignment with prior forecasts.  Bottom line, energy driven inflation has collapsed consumer spending, inventories climbing, vendors are cancelling orders, and this is peak season for transpacific shipping- which has now recorded the most rapid drop in history.

A single transpacific container shipment cost $19,000 in 2021, then $14,500 in 2022 as the intentional slowdown began.  Now it’s only $3,900 as entire fleets of cargo shipments are cancelled due to lack of demand by U.S. purchasers.

Folks, get ready…. because it’s not going to get better.  Prior farm costs, an outcome of energy price increases, are now reaching the supply chain. Food costs will continue increasing throughout the holiday season.

(Wall Street Journal) […] Trans-Pacific shipping rates have plummeted roughly 75% from year-ago levels. The transportation industry is grappling with weaker demand as big retailers cancel orders with vendors and step up efforts to cut inventories. FedEx Corp. recently said it would cancel flights and park cargo planes because of a sharp drop in shipping volumes. On Thursday, Nike Inc. said it was sitting on 65% more inventory in North America than a year earlier and would resort to markdowns.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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The only thing I can do is research and write about it.  With an even stronger degree of certainty than originally expressed, and with all of the subsequent data points falling into alignment with the initial suspicions, the background of Jack’s Magic Coffee shop remains unchanged. {Go Deep}

Six weeks ago, the Twitter security ‘whistleblower’ came forward to congress.  The whistleblower is a former technology expert who came from within the research farm of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, is a well-known cybersecurity expert who left government work, entered the public world, and eventually became the head of Twitter security, reporting directly to the CEO. {Go Deep}

According to a recent SEC filing [LINK HERE], Elon Musk is now back to supporting the purchase of Twitter as the first step in creating the “everything app.”

{{{sarcastic voice}}} Gee, what could this be about?  I mean what could go wrong?….  We already know the infrastructure of Twitter’s operational database is tied into portals with the Dept of Homeland security {citation}, and now Musk wants to use that central infrastructure to create an all-inclusive “everything app”?

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Ms. Veronica, an incredibly wise and multigenerational counsellor of souls.

Ms. Veronica is a lady of impeccable generosity, identified not simply by the hospitality and greeting, but also by the few moments of grace deserved and afforded in polite request to make herself more ‘presentable‘ for unexpected company.

Upon return, Ms Veronica immediately became Vera, a woman, widow, great grandma and neighbor who may not have enough, but she’d give a stranger half – and they would never know.

This is a powerful woman filled with a message. “Hurricane Ian did not create victims,” she immediately captured my full and undivided attention.   She continued, “I am not a victim.”

“There are dead people, and there are survivors.”

Long pause.  The depth of her eyes, intense.

I am wise enough to notice moments when my prior opinion of self, strength and fortitude are immediately being redefined. I am also smart enough to stay silent.

“Our loving God does not create victims, and apparently he is not finished using me.”  Veronica’s eyes now alight. “In this moment I am filled with rejoicing,” she said, “because I know there is a purpose I have yet to fulfill.”  From me, more smart silence.  “How incredible is it for me at 90 to realize there’s more use, more purpose, and more time,” she concluded.

Then, just as casual as one might order a familiar coffee on any ordinary Tuesday, Vera asked…. “How is it I can help you boys?“…

There are rare moments in life when we say the right thing.  For me today was one of those moments. My reply was simply, “I think you just did.”

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

(more…)

Fortunate is a word often accompanied with thankfulness; the complicated conversations always begin with both.  We are blessed, fortunate and thankful. Personally, I have tried to avoid the complicated conversations, choosing instead to throw the starfish back into the water one at a time.

According to most, hurricane recovery and restoration is complicated business. They are likely correct; however, I do not see a broom, mop, screw gun or sandwich delivered as complicated business, so y’all are not going to read analytics of the complex from me.   Instead, the focus is on seeing a person with a problem and tackling it in a way to make their situation just a little bit better.

I’ve watched ants move rocks because rocks needed to be moved.  The task did not seem complex, the only variable seemed to be the number of ants needed.  I doubt they used extras. The ants somehow knew exactly how many of them were needed for the task and modified their assembly based on the terrain.  If you watch closely, the ants keep arriving until exactly the rock moving number of ants are on task – and they move the rock.

Perhaps it is a complicated process for ants to move rocks.  Is there a boardroom of ants, with ant planning and zoning?  Or does one ant just start pushing on the obstacle and the other ants join in.  I think the latter is more likely.

Need gasoline, we can get it.  Need the road cleared, we got that too. We can make a sandwich, deliver fuel, saw, sweep, mop, scrub, clean and/or make just that little space closer to the normal of memory.  It is entirely possible to replace a missing downspout, and it is entirely possible to provide an uncomplicated ear to listen. Both tasks are equally important during recovery because both outcomes reduce burdens.

Day 5 finds more ants arriving in the western impact zone of Hurricane Ian.  Here’s the rock:

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Shortly before sunset this evening, as the search and rescue missions continue throughout the western impact zone, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Cape Coral to provide the latest updates and new information for the people in Southwest Florida (SWFL).   Toplines:

♦ Cape Coral, Pine Island and Sanibel only have 3% power restoration.  Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) is overwhelmed and refusing to pay the mutual aid costs for assistance. LCEC is making people suffer.  The Florida Governor has seen enough. The state is stepping in.

♦ Effective tomorrow, up to 3,500 personnel from Duke Energy are being redeployed into Cape Coral and Lee County, the State of Florida will pick up the bill for the mutual aid payments LCEC is unwilling to support.  As a result, the power restoration timeline for Cape Coral is now moved from October 23rd to October 8th.

♦ Effective tomorrow, 50 generators from the Florida Dept of Emergency Management are being moved into Cape Coral to service water and sewer issues created by LCEC unwillingness to restore power.  Lift stations will be powered by state generators until Duke Energy personnel take control and do the work LCEC is unwilling to do.

♦ Effective tomorrow, The Florida Dept of Transportation and the Florida Army Corp of Engineers will begin rebuilding an interim bridge for Pine Island Road access.  A temporary bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the week, allowing Pine Island residents to cross into the mainland.  Lee County can then figure out a permanent solution.

♦ Effective immediately, the Florida Dept of Transportation will begin a parallel operation with Lee County Transportation to outline a temporary bridge and transit system to reconnect access to Sanibel Island from Punta Rassa (South Fort Myers).  Governor Ron DeSantis said there’s no reason to wait a year for a permanent fix to begin.  The state will pick up the tab for a temporary bridge system, as Lee County begins the process of figuring out what to do.

♦ The Florida National Guard will begin airlifting utility crews into Sanibel and Captiva Islands to begin restoration assessments.

.

All good decisions by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)