‘If we wanted to ruin a kid’s life, we’d tell him that whatever happened, it wouldn’t be his fault.’
Bill Bonner
‘94 again today.’
Yes, it’s hot here in Charm City.
In more ways than one. Every weekend brings a heat wave and a crime wave. And the waves keep coming:
‘Three shot in street corner fight.’
‘Man rushed to hospital after shots exchanged on JFX.’
‘189 fatalities so far in 2022.’
The local news is just one shooting report after another. The mayor is on the defensive…he looks overwhelmed…out of his depth…like he just got cut from a high school basketball team. The chief of police, though, could have come right out of central casting…a heavy man with a decent manner; he sounds like he’s doing his best.
It’s a city on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Many of the shops, bars, and offices are empty. There are few people out on the streets. And those who are should probably be arrested…or put into some sort of long-term care.
They shuffle…waddle…lean…and stumble along like zombies.
Blameless and aimless
Many are ‘unhoused’. That is, they’re ‘suffering homelessness’. These statements — brought to us by the press, the government, and activists — reveal the problem. It’s not their fault!
Being ‘unhoused’ suggests no cause and effect between the housed and the houses. It’s just something that happens, like the weather. If someone is unhoused, it must be because the economy failed…the gods failed…or the government…or the housing industry. Someone…somewhere…failed. But not the obvious person — the guy sleeping on the steps.
This morning, we walked up the hill to the office. There, in the doorway of the Methodist Church on the corner, someone was asleep. Laid out on the stone steps. A broken beer bottle next to him. Otherwise, nothing.
The church steps seem to attract people who suffer homelessness. Practically every day, one or two are there suffering it…but mostly passed out. They get up eventually and make their way to one of the many shelters or ‘caring’ centres in the neighbourhood. Some have been kicked out of their houses. Some have just never gotten themselves together. Others have drug, alcohol, or mental issues. Often, it’s some combination.
It’s a remarkable time we’re living through. A person is not expected to be able to put a roof over his head. And a city can’t keep its people from killing one another. But Americans think they should tell the Ukrainians what to do with the Donetsk Peoples’ Republic. And many humans believe they can control the weather for the whole planet.
Too hot? It’s just another problem to be solved — by the same people who solved the terrorist threat…and the COVID-19 threat. They rescued the world economy in 2009. They saved millions of lives in 2020–21. And they’re solving the Russian aggression crisis….and homelessness, too.
‘Code Red’
With so much on their plate already, do they really have the ability for the most ambitious crusade in the history of the world? They must think they have no choice.
‘Code red for humanity’, says President Biden.
Here’s the latest on the weather from The Washington Post:
‘Extreme heat prompts alerts in 28 states as Texas, Oklahoma hit 115
‘Records are crashing as temperatures spike amid a high-end heat wave baking the Great Plains. Temperatures have spiked to 115 degrees in Texas and Oklahoma, with more than 60 million Americans anticipated to see triple-digit heat over the next week.
‘Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings affect more than 105 million people in 28 states both across the central United States and the Northeast, where the combination of hot weather and high humidity will lead to conditions ripe for heat-related illness or heatstroke.’
Meanwhile, from Europe…the scorched earth policy seems to be working already. But it’s not the Russians who are doing the scorching. It’s the weather. CNBC:
‘A deadly heat wave in Western Europe has triggered intense wildfires, disrupted transportation and displaced thousands of people as the continent grapples with the impact of climate change.
‘The record-breaking heat is forecast to grow more severe this week and has prompted concerns over infrastructure problems such as melting roads, widespread power outages and warped train tracks.
‘Several areas in France have experienced record-breaking temperatures that approached or surpassed 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the national weather forecaster. In Britain, where few homes have air conditioning, the highest temperature has also reached nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, falling just below the national record.’
Our neighbours in Poitou, France, report temperatures in the ‘90s…swimming pools so hot they don’t want to get in…and the countryside is almost shut down during the day. ‘Only mad dogs and Englishmen’ venture out into the noonday sun, they say.
The government has to ‘do something’ about it. Everybody says so.
But what can it do?
Declare an emergency! Announce more policies…more controls…more spending!
Sure…whatever.
Regards,
 |
Bill Bonner,
For The Daily Reckoning Australia
