by Mr. Schnell
We were never exceptional … self centered, hoarding, greedy, narcissistic? … of course! Willing to live with enormous debt, spend money we don’t have, flush indoor toilets, smuggle narcotics from Central American, addict an entire social class, rank number one in gun violence and gun running, and possess a mercenary military empire second to none … yes. But exceptional? Well…now that I think about it … we are pretty much off the charts in quite a few categories and there is that trillions upon trillions of dollars of mounting debt; growing by the second. By goodness golly we are exceptional and all it took to knock our inflated sense of superiority down a notch or two was a killer viral pandemic. A little itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie microbe you can’t even see with the naked eye it’s so itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie. It has shut down Wall Street, ended the NBA season, emptied out Texan megachurches and stymied the moral decay of legal prostitution in Reno Nevada. Simply unheard of in these modern times.
Have we been humbled? Will it make us play nice in the sandbox? Will we be part and partner in the world community or continue our previous role as Overlord?
Does Anyone Know Where I Set My Coffee? 
I think you have hit the nail on the head with bubble. The bubble was bigger than the US, and is bigger than the pandemic. Most of us will survive the virus, but it is becoming clear that the world economy is well past peak growth. There is plenty of money sloshing around with no where, (profitable), to go, so we all pile in to the markets and invest in companies that are clearly not sustainable and whose profits are illusory.
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I have opened my reference books and completed a review of the pulmonary system, SARS, corona virus and CoVD-19. My trump political cartoons and blogs were meant to be “crazy” to represent my total loss of confidence in this corrupt business con man that is the electoral college president . For 38 years I worked in ICUs and viewed thousands of chest xrays of interstitial and atypical pneumonias as well as cared for the ventilated patients with these issues. I remember looking at serial films, day to day, and seeing the “white out” creep in. This progression in many cases was lethal. This pandemic is quite lethal (sorry for the gross understatement). I am watching the stock markets as they signal a reflection of the seriousness of this viral crisis. All the money in the world can’t buy health. Getting control of this pandemic is going to require sanctions much as China has done. stock up, isolate, stay safe Schnark. I want to read more of your sailing adventures!
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I will heed your advice Mr Schnell, but I would not trust the markets to provide an analysis as clear and correct as your own.
I certainly do not trust your duplicitous president who points his little pinkie at everyone but himself.
I hope you can keep yourself safe too.
Stephen
P.S. too much life in the way of the sailing of late.
PPS As you know I am convinced things are going a very bad way, I do not want to live through too many more of these dramas but I do accept responsibility for doing what I can to look after my own health and doing what I can for my elderly parents.
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I feel the same way. I have lived a full life and a responsible life….won’t change that. I will do what I can and hope for the best. Weathering the storm on the other side of the pond….enjoying our correspondence!
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