He's right, but for the wrong reasons.

Every time I read ZH talk about housing I laugh. I don't know why it takes three pages to describe what happened with the housing market. I think he tries to dazzle people with bullshit.

During the pandemic they put all these protections which effectively stopped evictions and foreclosures as you can see from the following chart.

This effectively made it so prices really couldn't go down. So, they only went up. If anyone had felt any pain in the pandemic we might not be here right now. You see... this backstop made it so NO ONE had negative equity. This enabled the banks to keep lending and lending sending prices up 20% or more.

Now the moratorium has ended and things are returning to normal. But a lot of demand was pulled forward. And rich people are the first to ditch their assets when the think things are going South.

Have a nice day!

When the damn breaks - it breaks.

Lastly... endemic doesn't mean what you think it does. Endemic is a word for third world countries because they are poor or lack the skills to eradicate something.

When these viruses get into the animal reservoirs they can cross back and forth. I was just reading an article last night about house cats and COVID which they do get and can spread at least to other cats. What if your cat is an outside cat? I guess it is in the realm of possibility that some random person can get infected from their cat, who was infected from an outside cat. Seems pretty funny and farcical. Right?

Okay. Then let's look at  the Avian Flu outbreak that literally no one is covering. It's been going on for months and is why eggs are so expensive. This is hitting backyard flocks and everything. No big whoop right? Buuuuuut... what if bald eagles are suddenly in the infection zone?

Bald Eagles Are Dying From Bird Flu.

We just had a pelican die off... and although I haven't heard the cause yet - it isn't fantasy that it could be avian flu.

COVID is already in the deer population. And many other animals. Apparently the pox also has animal reservoirs like prairie dogs.

So... how far do we let this get out of hand?

Memories.....

COVID: Why Delta coronavirus wave might be last major wave of infection. 

Omicron may have peaked or ‘plateaued’ in parts of the world, giving experts cause for optimism.

Today I see FoxNews out with their hack experts on the monkeypox outbreak saying it's only transmitted through close contact and gay sex. Despite a child in Canada and several women now becoming infected and a very strong rumor it's airborne.

But these hacks doctors always start the same way.

"I'm not worried" Let's just wait and see. Of course by the time it is painfully obvious - it's too late.

Oh... and the monkeypox cases are doubling every 1.6 days right now.

These people never lose their jobs because they are just telling people what they want to hear. Problem solved.

WHOATUS

 

Normally this wouldn't have made it to the blog. But I guess those gas prices are garaging sports cars. I don't think I've seen a lambo in months.

A nation of liars.

It's been long enough now I can blog about this without outing the people in question.

Because of the vax mandate things became a little sketch here at the Snarkolepsy household for a little while. Employers were being forced into enforcing the government mandate. They didn't really want to. But rules are rules. Things became really close at one point.

Once the mandate was lifted I was able to get into a couple of conferences. I only went to one... but sort of a funny thing happened with the other. Said in the most sarcastic way.

This conference was still requiring a vaccine to get in. Which I understand. Their house - their rules. So  I emailed them to say I needed a refund. This is the email they sent back to me.

Hello Mrs Snarkolepsy, 

"Sorry about the delay. Even though there isn’t a requirement for vaccinations in the county or city, we are, as event hosts, requiring proof of vaccination. In lieu of showing us a vax card, you can also sign a statement staying you have had Covid previously, if, of course, you have. That can be done on site."

I have never had COVID. I could have shown them a negative test as I test roughly once a week even though I am not required to do so. I tested the night before I was suppose to attend. And I test whenever I take a risk possibly I shouldn't have. Not only to show that I am NOT the person who got you sick, but to see if YOU got me sick. Because this is what responsible people do!

I literally have no idea why people won't do this. The first time it's scary. Because you might be positive. But after that it. feels like security. Testing is the ONLY way out of this.

I didn't even attend that conf because I didn't think it was worth lying for.

Stories from Mr S.

Earlier today Mr S. sends me a text saying one the of the guys in his office has come down with the COVID. I basically text him back with LOL. (People have to learn the hard way.)

When I got back to the house however he exitedly wants to tell me the story. I smile and say okay.

Him - The guy in my office was over in the UK and got COVID. And they wouldn't let him go. Well, the US wouldn't let him back in. They must still test. So it sounds like somehow he flew to Canada, and then got back into the US. He continues... he still has COVID!

And this my Friends is why the lockdowns would have never worked. People evade them. Every lockdown they did, they gave you advanced notice and people basically fled on the wind like dandelions. I have receipts early days saying this. But if you had any modicum of caution the narrative crammed on you was that you were a pussy who has been locked inside their house the whole time. Yeah.. I'm mad. I don't care what you do.. that is up to you and your GOD. But people have blown up all the easy off ramps, and now only super effed up ones remain.

We should not be letting this virus mutate. Period. Every time it hits a human it has a chance to get stronger. Our incompetent government already can't keep up with it. I just don't understand when people are going to grow tired of an endless cycle of infection. It's insanity.

Aren't we tired of winning stupid prizes yet?

The Most Dangerous Vaccine.

(this article was written in 2002)

"60 Minutes II Correspondent Dan Rather reports that in evaluating the potential danger of smallpox, the Bush administration has faced a deadly dilemma: Do not vaccinate the population against small pox and leave millions of people vulnerable to one of the worst scourges known to man. Or treat people with a vaccine that is extremely effective at blocking the disease but can cause dangerous, sometimes fatal, reactions."

"The United States stopped giving mandatory smallpox vaccinations 30 years ago. Soon after that, doctors eradicated the disease from the planet. But now, the government has decided to bring back the vaccine because of fear that terrorists, or Iraq, could use the virus as a weapon. 

But smallpox was, or is, a terrible, virulent disease. It kills one out of every three of its victims. There is no cure.

The vaccine effectively immunizes against smallpox. But that protection has a price. Some people die from it; and others have serious reactions, some permanent. Scientists say it's the most dangerous vaccine known to man.

It could protect Americans from the unthinkable destruction of a smallpox attack. But the vaccine has a dark side. 

"We know if we immunize a million people, that there will be 15 people that will suffer severe, permanent adverse outcomes and one person who may die from the vaccine," says Dr. Paul Offit, one of the country's top infectious disease specialists, and he knows all about vaccines that prevent those diseases."

Obviously one death per million was a big deal back then. These stats seem dreamy by comparison to the COVID vaccine. But... what if people had been told like adults that in plain terms what the negative reaction rate was? Instead of treating people like throwaway trash. We all had to find this out from people we know that had problems. And then when we told the truth to others we got so much blowback. That we were spreading fear porn! Yeah... I'm bitter. If I knew someone who had died for THREE to FOUR month immunity? I can't even imagine how bitter I would be.

Apparently the smallpox vaccine is so dangerous that they don't recommend everyone getting a shot. Which is what should have been done for the COVID vaccine.

"Some of the people who shouldn't get the smallpox vaccine are those who have a weakened immune system, including those who are HIV positive, those who have gotten cancer treatments, and those who have a transplant," he says. Also included on that list are people with the skin-condition eczema, pregnant women and infants. Frieden's department has real-life experience with large-scale vaccination programs.

Now there is a very real concern about giving people a live vaccine when the possibility that COVID has damaged immune systems. And I don't know if this is true or not. We just have to wait for the data to come in.

Like it or not.

2021 was a Record-Breaking Year in Real Estate. 

Trump blew this bubble sky high. And it's not okay. Just because it's your guy doesn't make it okay.

"Last year, home buyers spent nearly $3 trillion on real estate—the highest ever. That exceeds previous highs by more than $600 million that were set in 2020 and 2005, CoreLogic reports. 

Home prices are the main culprit behind that surge. By the end of 2021, home prices were 50% above their highest peak before the market downfall in 2006, CoreLogic reports." 

The article goes on to say... 

"Researchers also cite the difference in types of homes purchased as another factor. Sales of higher-priced and spacious homes with larger square footage have boomed since 2020. In the 2000s, however, home sales favored smaller units in lower-priced areas."

Emphasis mine. Because apparently, suddenly it became easier to buy second and third houses within the last two years. Which normally I wouldn't have a problem with.... but.. You can't suppress one side of the market causing housing prices to skyrocket, and not think there is going to be a problem.

Honestly the housing crisis would blush at the shit I've seen.

This is the world people want?

Repeat infections with COVID-19 may become the norm, experts say.

"COVID-19 vaccines and previous infections might protect against severe disease, but neither has been able to prevent some folks from catching the virus again and again. 

"It may well be that this virus now has mutated so that it's highly contagious but produces, by and large, mild illness," said Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases."

I was fully unprepared for the amount of illness people will accept. I know a girl that has had it FOUR times now.

It was known year ONE that this was the case. I blogged about it many times. But it was more important to score political points.

What if you guys were wrong and repeat infections only age your immune system? I don't know for certain this is the case, but as time goes by....... it's looking more like. 

Herd immunity was always a lie, and Team herd immunity just wouldn't listen to anyone.

lol

Maybe if we turn it upside down?

It really is the funniest thing watching the FED fight inflation they caused by printing so much money and Biden banning fracking and all the other things Trump did to bring down oil prices.

But.. this is what people voted for.

I guess everyone forgot about this.....

U.S. GDP fell at a 1.4% pace to start the year as pandemic recovery takes a hit. 

Including me. 

This morning I said - Self... didn't we already print a negative GDP? 

So...there is no way the next print wont be a technical recession. I'm old enough to remember when high gas prices were an immediate tax on the consumer. MANY of us who lived through the housing recession believe that gas prices tipped us.

My zen is all gone already.

 

One pandemic is bad enough. Who knew another was on the way? I don't know if I have the strength to go through another - we know everything about this virus. No big deal. If you talk about it at all you are spreading fear porn. It's sort of weird because the Republicans are all on this Elon Musk free speech thing, but if you talk about the virus you are spreading fear.

There are a strange amount of mutations in this new virus. And I'm not saying this is the case at all.. for now. But honestly, if a country like Russia wanted to inflict pain on us..... why wouldn't they just release a virus instead of a nuke? They see what complete babies we are in dealing with this. China was very successful. And Russia is the kind of country that will put some tiny speck of nuclear material in your food and wait for years for it to kill you.

And oh yeah...since small pox was eradicated, likely very few people born after 1972 have been vaccinated.

So, the husband and I went on a 25 mile rail bike trip this time. I think five miles is too short, and 25 is too long. For the most part if you've seen one redwood forest, you've almost seen them all.

 

Glass beach

It was a very overcast day, so I didn't take many pictures.

Oh! And I forgot about the crazy squirrels at the beach. When you smooch at them, they start to walk right up to you. Not just one or two - every single one you smooched at came right up. So much it was making Mr S. mad. I think he was afraid of the squirrel pox. I didn't have any food.

 

The Keynesians must to be proud.

 

As I watch everyone jumping out of their underpants to convince us that we are not going into recession, I just have to shake my head because we have been in recession since 2020. We just printed 5 TRILLION dollars in two years to make it look like we weren't. It literally took Obama 8 years to print that much money.

We did not create anything new. Our production didn't go up. We are not better off. But.... I do find it fascinating how people cover this. For instance ZH says the fall in new hone sales is the largest since 2010. No mention of all that Keynsian money printing. Maybe it's because our guy started this fire - Biden only threw a little gas on it. I fixed his chart with the one below that shows the fall in real estate is basically back to the trend line. The lower arrow is Trump, the upper Biden.

I mean, honestly... what do they think is going to happen when they take the crack away? Oh... that's right. This has been going on so long that people don't really know or care. It's all a surprise.

Such an effin clown show. I honestly think I'm the last fiscal conservative on earth. Apparently money printing is fine if it's your guy. And it's one thing to make it so people don't get evicted in a pandemic. It's quite another to have housing prices to go up 20% YOY. 

I mean, I look at my new neighbor (who paid 500k over asking) and wonder if they know there has been an eviction moratorium for two years creating an artificial shortage. Or if they know how much inventory will be coming on. I think it's the most since the 1970's that is in some stage of development.

Additionally it seems like hoarding is finally tapering off. How anyone thinks this isn't going to be bad is living in an alternate reality. I mean... Trump basically used the helicopter money firehose. What kind of creative financial tools do they have left?

 

The history of money printing.

I must admit...

I am sort of enjoying the Biden Administration. Americans love fairy tails and pushing the consequences of their choices onto others. This might be one of those magical moments in time where reality comes in like a chainsaw. Americans voted for career politicians who have no idea how economics work. 

Don't get mad at me. Get mad at little old ladies who think oil is dirty.

Plus, I think Kamala's Quailisms are the best thing ever. I have litterally talked about that girl less than five times. She is nothing more than vacuous woo girl. And I love love love every time she talks.

Basically..

I had to dip out to recharge my batteries to prepare for this very intense year. I mean.. good news. China is opening back up. But just wait till we see what this does to gas prices.

Something New

And I don't know a single thing about it other than it comes from a company called BOE.

Your long suffering could be over-ish.

I've finally been granted the right of all humans to walk into convention halls. And no.. I'm not bothered or feel controlled. There really hasn't been much of interest, and the people out right now are so fricken thirsty. It's a lot. 

Mortgage layoffs started about two weeks ago. Just so ya all know.

When you print 5 trillion dollars in two years, I'm guessing there are a lot of people swimming naked. I bet Obama is absolutely green with envy. 

My very own new neighbor just paid 500k over asking. For a fixer upper. I just read about a house in Sunnyvale that went for a MILLION over.

Karma is a super crazy bitch, and you wanted her for a roommate.

Same with getting COVID. There is a reason people joke about this being viral AIDS. Because it destroys your immune system. The above info is really more than a year old. Some of us have known this for a very long time now, but couldn't say anything because of the negative feedback we get. People already thought I was crazy when I said you could get it over and over. Then again when I said that you could get infected again within weeks.

Version 4 and 5 are now here now. And it sounds like this ver. is killing kidneys.

It's hard to know what to feel because people invited this into their homes. Not only INVITED - demanded. And were super shitty to people who tried to warn them. "They don't need our help". We are sheep and are only interested in control. What an effed up world.

The sad thing about this child hep thing is, once I saw a woman on twitter say - I will never mask my child until the border is sealed. It is so crazy to use chidden as pawns like this. But... it's their life.

Additionally - herd immunity has ALWAYS been a lie. "Natural immunity" is NOT a thing with a virus that mutates so fast.

Just one question...

How can the economy be strong when China has been shut down for nearly six weeks? Go.

Yesterday.... the restaurant I went to in Sacramento, told me they had taken their Ruben Sandwich off the menu because they didn't think anyone would pay 30 bucks for it. 

I only found out because it was the very item I went there for. 

I'd never been there before, but it was a mom and pops - so we both took more time to talk. It was nice to know those types of places recognize that we tried to save them. But they do notice it trailing off. 

We are all tired at this point. We put up with growing pains at a time no one else was supporting them and they didn't really know how to run their businesses in that environment. Now we are growing a little tired of being "flexible". Not in a mean way....but if places don't have what you want...you won't come back.

They have been whipsawed like no other. Now this. I don't really know what is going to happen. Well.. I do.. but I don't want to admit it. But clearly Biden can't print any more money to save these business like in the pandemic.