TL;DR:    America is about to SNAP — budgets, benefits, tempers, and reality all fraying at once while markets throw a last-call party. Prep quietly, laugh loudly, and don’t mistake the confetti for stability.

Introit:* Call this “Mark Frederickson Day”

[* Introit refers to the opening hymn, psalm, or antiphon sung or recited at the beginning of a Christian worship service, particularly in the Roman Catholic Mass or Anglican liturgy. It sets the tone for the service and often includes a scriptural verse. The term comes from Latin “introitus,” meaning “entrance,” symbolizing the priest’s approach to the altar. In broader contexts, it can mean any introductory section, like in music or literature- or today’s report.]

What???!!!  You mean you don’t know who that is?  OMG – are you Mad?

Look here: Mark Fredrickson – Official Website.  He was a showcase artist for Mad Magazine for years and years.  Say, I bet you’ve never heard of Airbrush Action magazine, either.  The magazine is published on a bimonthly basis and has its headquarters in Lakewood, New Jersey^[1] Remembered for it hot times at the Hindenburg. Anyway, it annually hosts the Vargas Awards, named after Alberto Vargas, a pioneer of airbrush art.

Please, God, tell me you know who Vargas is?  The Vargas Girls from Playboy back in the day?  Why Getty Images has 171 images for license.  (Since we’re too cheap, but you’ll want a peep, here’s a link to make you think.) 171 Vargas Pin Up Stock Photos, High-Res Pictures, and Images – Getty Images.

“So what?”

Listen – when you’ve been around newsrooms as long as I have, you appreciate that certain days come along that scream visuals.  That’s what Frederickson nailed.  And, though we own a couple of air brushes, we know enough to ’em keep holstered and farmed out to the Other Intelligence that roams the Earth now.

Yeah…the love-it, hate-it fear-it online intelligence.  The one my new book Mind Amplifiers is all about.  (Smooth pitch, huh?)

The Day America SNAPS

Democrats and Republican are blaming each other for what’s likely to go down before prime time.

The Dims can’t sign onto a simple continuation bill.  And the R’s, though rightly pointing out the flawed support dims have from non-progress elements of American society, are still getting weak in the knees.

Part of the reason?  Dims have a lock on the narrative, so as we read how Stalemate on government shutdown set to drag into sixth week | AP News, the real headline is about how “Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats, shuns negotiations as shutdown drags on.”

That frames it as “Trump’s doing it and is to blame.”  But, not so fast. We keep going back to the “clean extension” which failed.

What’s lost? What’s on the Dimocrat shopping list is COVID subsidies that were renewed previously.  We all know how addictive free money is, right?  This is so obvious that even Bill Maher is calling it out: Bill Maher Says Democrats Pulled ‘Bait-and-Switch’ for Their Shutdown Narrative – WokeSpy.  Still, we’ve come to expect the worst from the pro Klan party back when…

Nevertheless, the Usual Suspects – the ones touting equality for all except at Budget Time – are coming out of the woodwork.  Everyone who’s “special” wants a bigger slice of pie when the checkbook is out.

Trump for his part should have been able to find a better way to checkmate the left.  Still, while A judge says the Trump administration has to fund SNAP. What happens next rolls out with the Wheaties today, we’re catching the scent of “Check’s in the Mail!” coming from the Trump choir. Treasury Secretary Bessent says SNAP food benefits could restart by Wednesday.

Sure…and those “early Christmas sales” could all be pulled-back, too.  But, wer wouldn’t bet on it.

We’re not even to the Monday Sermon, yet.  What we will point to is the SNAP of America – where a country buy Ozempic by the truck load is arguing about food subsidies.

What planet did you say this was, again?

Came in through the Portland Portal of Craziness?  Did’ja notice that Judge blocks Trump National Guard deployment to Portland, citing lack of justification?  What makes this particularly defiant of orbital dynamics is that the judge is a Trump appointee.

So, as we conclude this morning’s call to war ships, American’s SNAP’in is what’s be happ’nin.

A Word to War Shippers

‘Let’s roll first with Chinese Navy Outnumbers US and Allied Ships in Disputed Waters. Tariffs were set to lighten mid-week.  Want to re-calc the odds, bubba?

Abnother group of war shippers seen as Russian coast guard boat flying Wagner flag spotted near Estonia.

But the high seas drug runs? War powers law does not apply to Trump’s boat strikes, administration says – The Boston Globe.  Which is notable as The Globe is not exactly a beachhead of conservative thinking.

Market Blowing Higher

Yeah – here we go, again.

Dow futures were +41 when I checked.

The S&P looked about +28

But the real action?  Where we told you all that “free money” from the Fed would seep?  NASDAQ is set to pop +150 at the open.

All while America SNAPs.  (Is this a great country, or what?)

Cereally?  Gold is back over $4,000 and Silver is nuzzling the $50 mark, best it can.

Yet Bitcoin is still under $108,000 as the digital storytellers try to come up with a plausible scam to swap-out some kind of “made-up money” for the formerly dependable U.S. Dollar.  Which – facts be told – is a Federal Reserve Note which has the same intrinsic value as a crypto.  But at least maybe a useful BTU, or something, from the paper combustion…

If you were going to pick a day to “Quit drinking and turn your life around”?  This may not be it.

Asylum Rounds

And bring Nurse Ratched* along with you. (* You forgot? “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Aye, these kids, today!)

Out in the Wards – of NYC: (a nuttier place is hard to find):  6 things to watch in NYC mayor’s race between Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa.  Yes sir, this is like one of those silent movies where the train wreck is about to happen and you just can’t take your eyes off it.

Tesla’s semi-bulletproof Cyber truck has found its market: Las Vegas police hit the streets in the first-ever Tesla Cybertruck patrol fleet.

The “high cost  of free” comes into focus when you think through In U.S. First, New Mexico Launches Free Child Care for All.  Free as in $600-million a year to taxpayers?  Wait – isn’t this a dimocrat stronghold?

Key Indicators:

• State Government Control: New Mexico has a Democratic trifecta, meaning Democrats control the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature (State Senate: 26-16 Democrat; State House: 44-26 Democrat).
• Federal Representation: Both U.S. Senators are Democrats, and all three U.S. House seats are held by Democrats.
• Presidential Voting History: The state has voted Democrat in every presidential election since 2008, including 2024 when Kamala Harris won with about 52% of the vote over Donald Trump. Prior to that, it was more of a swing state (e.g., voting for George W. Bush in 2004).

Cereally? A “let’s have a drink and talk about it” state?

MTG seems to have gotten something right: Let’s have one as MTG says – but also a registry for those (like MTG?) who were influenced by the Deep State in the past.  As you know, we’re huge fans of equality and total disclosure.  So our tip: don’t narrow this to Israel – let’s go with Russia, China and any other foreign power and their spynets, shall we?

Around the Ranch: Blue Jay Blues

Don’t let the market rally (early) today fool you. America’s got some serious economic problems to address. For one we have next month’s Fed Meeting where the Free Money department will be generating still more paper for the coming bonfire of the equities.

Still, the Dodgers win in the Series isn’t all bad. Just mostly.

Yeah, you heard that right—Shohei Ohtani and the boys in blue pulled off a repeat, edging out the Toronto Blue Jays in a nail-biting Game 7 thriller that went to extra innings. The final out came on a dramatic strikeout, and Dodger Stadium erupted like a volcano of champagne and confetti.

But spare a thought for those poor Blue Jays; they’ve got the blues alright, flying back north with nothing but a participation trophy and a long winter of “what ifs.” Toronto put up a helluva fight—Bo Bichette’s grand slam in Game 4 nearly turned the tide—but in the end, LA’s star-studded lineup proved too much. It’s the Dodgers’ ninth title overall and their first back-to-back since… well, ever in franchise history. Congrats to the West Coast dynasty, I suppose, but let’s not pretend this masks the bigger picture:

While billionaires celebrate with caviar and private jets, the rest of us are dodging economic curve balls that make a knuckle ball look straight.

Now, back to that market rally fooling folks this morning. Sure, the S&P 500 ticked up 0.41% Friday to close at 6868, with futures pointing to more gains—Dow up a smidge, Nasdaq futures popping 0.4%. Wall Street’s cheering like they just hit a walk-off homer, buoyed by one year since Trump’s re-election and a surge in stocks and bonds. But zoom out, and it’s a different ballgame.

The ongoing government shutdown—now dragging into its 33rd day—is acting like a lead weight on the economy, stalling everything from SNAP benefits to federal paychecks. Millions are going hungry while the fat cats on the trading floor pop corks over Palantir earnings and private reports that scream “all clear.” It’s the ultimate disconnect: Markets at all-time highs, yet hiring’s slowing sharper than a sinker, unemployment’s creeping up (forecast to average 4.2% this year, heading toward 5% by 2027), and that $4.8 trillion commercial real estate debt bomb is ticking louder with borrowing costs stuck high.

The Fed still in the business of printing greenbacks to keep this house of cards standing. Inflation might be “tamed” on paper, but ask anyone at the grocery store—prices ain’t coming down, and with Europe stagnating and Germany’s engine sputtering, global headwinds are blowing our way. The shutdown’s exacerbating it all, turning a slowdown into a potential stall. We’ve got weaker immigration crimping GDP growth, democrats drove the play on synthetic growth into the ditch. Jobs reports flashing red, and recession risks hovering like a rain delay.

It’s like the Dodgers’ win: Flashy on the surface, but underneath? Injuries piled up (remember Ohtani’s shoulder scare?), bullpen blew leads, and they barely scraped by.

Same with the economy—resilient, sure, but we live one bad pitch (say, a debt ceiling fiasco or fentanyl-fueled border mess) and it’s game over. New Mexico’s holding blue, but even strongholds feel the pinch with poverty and economic inequality biting hard.

As we nurse our post-Series hangovers, let’s not get too high on that early market pop. Prep your urban survival kits—stock up on canned goods, not just stocks. Learn to garden and catch water. The bonfire’s coming, and it won’t be pretty.

We’re keeping one eye on the ranch and the other on the horizon. Smoke will be along.  Those equities are highly combustible.

To steal a line from The Bitcoin Nazi, this weekend was 10 points for Gryffindorf! And makes about as much sense.

Monday’s Benediction: Drop by tomorrow morning for another lesson in how to piss people off, helpfully.

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