A long time forgotten

[Bill Bonner’s Diary]( A Long Time Forgotten By Bill Bonner Wednesday, March 31, 2021 We shall soon be in a world in which a man may be howled down for saying that two and two make four, in which people will persecute the heresy of calling a triangle a three-sided figure, and hang a man for maddening a mob with the news that grass is green. – English writer and philosopher G.K. Chesterton [Bill Bonner] YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Long-suffering Diary readers have accompanied us for the last two days… wandering in and out of the [woods]( back and forth in [history]( …wondering how come people forget the things that are most important to them… the things that make them successful. Well, today, we reach our destination – or at least, as far as we’re going to go: The wild weeds grow every day. Give them a chance, and they take over. Getting Weedier By our reckoning, America seemed to run out of “Roundup” around about the [turn of the century]( – in 1999. Since then, by almost every measure, the country has been [getting weedier](. Here’s the latest from Harper’s: The United States fell 11 places below its 2010 position, to just below Argentina and Mongolia, on a watchdog’s annual ranking of countries according to political rights and civil liberties; worldwide, freedom declined for the fifteenth consecutive year. What seems to be happening is a general dumbing down… so that important insights and the hard-earned lessons of the past are forgotten… neglected and abandoned. Balance the budget? The expression hasn’t been heard in Washington for many years. Free enterprise… free markets – yes, of course, but with federal guidance! Real money? What’s that? Work for a living? Why not just hand out more stimmy checks? More women in the Cabinet? That’s what we really need! Even the most fundamental brick in the whole social edifice – the family – has been cast aside. Marriage rates in the U.S. are at their lowest level on record. Recommended Link [Tech Executive Makes Shocking Confession]( [image]( For three decades, Jeff Brown has been both a highly respected angel investor and a high-level tech executive. Recently, as part of his work, Jeff received some shocking news. Instead of wallowing in despair… He considers himself lucky, and he wants to share why. Jeff believes the technology that revealed this startling information is set for a decade-long bull run. And he wants to show you how you can profit from that wave. [To find out how you can learn more, click here.]( -- Weeding and Pruning Civilization is restraint, said Sigmund Freud. But it’s more than that. It’s callouses. It’s planting and building. And it’s pulling out the weeds and pruning off foolish ideas. It requires discipline and a willingness to make distinctions – between what is true and what is false. Two plus two must equal four. [Not seven](. Words must have meaning; they [can’t mean anything you want](. And money must have value; it must represent real wealth, not just pieces of paper you pass out on street corners. Robbers and counterfeiters should be hung, not hired to run government. Murder ought to be punished, not disguised as “war.” Spending must be controlled, and debt must be limited… not allowed to run wild until the country is bankrupt. Two plus two must equal four. Civilization requires learning, too… and relearning… It means finding out what works and cleaning out what doesn’t… and always maintaining, shoring up… fixing and protecting. [Featured: Early investors drooling over this new tech cash cow]( Weeds Take Over But the weeds don’t stop growing. And when the civilizing energy is spent, they soon take over. Then, a few generations go by, and soon, nobody remembers anything. In the jungles of Central America, for example, there are vestiges of a powerful civilization – including vast stone temples and sculptured heads. But by the time the Europeans arrived… nobody knew who made them… or how. The same could be said about dozens of “lost” civilizations – the Zapoteca, Hurrian, Punt, Harapan… and so forth. On Easter Island in Polynesia, magnificent statues face out to sea. But the locals still don’t know why. Even here in Ireland, there are ruins that have been here for thousands of years. Who built them? When? Why? Nobody knows. Within a mile of our house, there is the Molana Abbey ([mentioned yesterday](. It is in ruins. And there is a Norman castle nearby, also in ruins. There are ruins on our property, too. Maps from the 19th century ignore them… as if they didn’t exist. The cartographers must have thought they weren’t worth noting. Our house here was the “rectory” of the church down by the castle. The church itself is fairly recent – from the 19th century. But it, too, is abandoned, and covered in vines. Recommended Link [The Man Voted “Most Trusted Expert in Crypto” Reveals His Next Top Pick for FREE TONIGHT at 8 p.m. ET]( [image]( Former Wall Street VP and hedge fund manager Teeka Tiwari picked Bitcoin in 2016, when it traded for just $428. Early readers who listened to Teeka’s advice had the opportunity to multiply their money over 120X as Bitcoin soared to $50,000 and above (becoming the first cryptocurrency to pass the trillion-dollar mark in market cap). And now Teeka Tiwari will give you the name of his next top pick… for FREE TONIGHT at 8 p.m. ET! It’s a coin he believes will be the next cryptocurrency to break the trillion-dollar market cap barrier. HURRY! You only have hours left to sign up… [Click here to sign up and get all the details.]( (By clicking the link, your email address will automatically be added to Teeka’s RSVP list.) -- Lost Civilization This past weekend, we cut into the laurel, the trees, the vines, the weeds, and the underbrush to try to reestablish a road that led from the old “lodge” (which must have functioned as a gate house) to the rectory. The lodge was barely visible when we arrived – completely covered in vines. The farm itself is about 60 acres. Before the Great Famine in the 19th century, the area had more people… and much more human activity. The fallen-down walls and houses attest to a more carefully planned and tended property, with large families and many hands at work. [image]People used to live here The old Ordnance Survey map from 1837 shows roads, houses, walls, orchards, and gardens that no longer exist. Back then, local people lived off the local produce that the farm supplied; it had to be productive. They couldn’t “print” bread, apples, or potatoes. Today, much of Ireland’s GDP comes from high-tech businesses centered around Dublin. Rural areas have been relatively neglected, except for the remaining farmers, who rely on the latest in farm equipment to make up for scarce, and expensive, labor. [Featured: Gold Could Hit $3,000 on October 22, 2021?]( Exploring the Woods Unable to penetrate the thick underbrush on the old road coming up from the lodge, last Saturday, we brought in reinforcements – one of the O’Keefes with a backhoe – and Matt, who helps around the house. While they continued working on the road, we decided to explore from the other side, leaving from the house, crossing the cow pasture – hopping gingerly over the wire so as to avoid electrocution – and then entering the woods. At least, this time of year, we can see much more; the trees and brambles have not yet set out their leaves. Once over the wire fence, we came to a stone fence, only about 3 feet high, with big gaps where the stones have disappeared. On the other side, a short, steep hill led down to a small stream, easily forded by stepping on stones. Up on the other bank was a large beech tree, so grand and thick, it had killed the competition, leaving only a carpet of ivy on the ground. It was not hard to see where the Celts got their weavy patterns – they are on display, natural expressions of the vines. [image]Vines on a tree Hidden Portal Crossing over the ivy, we ducked under a laurel limb, and there it was – one of two large portals in an ancient wall. This wall – hidden in the woods – is higher than others in the area – about 12 feet tall. And it was built to a different standard. The stones are tighter, more carefully laid up than most. [image]Hidden portal The entry passageway – big enough for a horse-drawn carriage – was sculpted with cut stone. Going inside, we saw that the wall continued around in a horseshoe form, with another large passageway on the opposite side and two doorways in between. [image]Ancient doorway The two large portals were in good shape, with scarcely a stone out of place. But a big stone must have recently fallen from the arch of one of the doorways; it lay naked on the ground, unclothed by moss or vines. We ducked under more laurel limbs… some growing over or into the high walls. A sycamore tree, too, has grown up in the middle of the horseshoe. What was it? An entry… but to what? And why was it open on one side, while seriously closed on another? When was it built? By whom? Why? Recommended Link [Brace Yourself]( [image]( Our country is falling apart. And it’s about to get much worse. The siege of the Capitol… the riots and protests… the political division… that’s all nothing compared to [what’s coming next]( – as soon as hours from now. The most important thing you must do, right away, is this… Protect your wealth while you still can. [Click here to learn what’s going on—and how you can prepare.]( -- Ancient Enemies We walked back down the hill to where we heard a chainsaw at work. Matt was cutting a big tree that lay across the road. Pat O’Keefe stood by his machine, waiting to push the debris down the hill. The O’Keefes have been in this area for “donkey’s years,” we were told. “They were a powerful family. And they probably know more about local history than anyone.” So we asked Pat about the ruins. “Do you know anything about them?” “Yu blwa vul ashn crotrech” said Pat, a thin man with a thin beard. We don’t know what he said, either. So we turned to Matt, our regular translator. “What did he say?” “I don’t know meself. He’s from the other side of the river. And over here, we don’t talk to the O’Keefes.” Regards, [signature] Bill --------------------------------------------------------------- Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=A long time forgotten). --------------------------------------------------------------- MAILBAG Dear readers debate real money, gold, and bitcoin… Today, the dollar, bitcoin and gold are all real money, in that they can all be exchanged for goods and services. Gold is actually less real as money than the dollar and bitcoin, in terms of transaction volume for goods and services. Gold, however, and possibly bitcoin, will still be around when it becomes cheaper to use dollar bills than toilet paper. – Lowell P. Based upon thousands of years of monetary transactions, typically the value was tied to something physical in nature. Over time, manipulation has occurred, especially when the old countries began to shave bits of precious metal from the coins they minted. Gold and silver have been historically the physical stores of value for money until the past century, when countries debased the currency away from gold and silver, thus creating the fiat currencies we have today. Fiat currency is, essentially, a currency with nothing of physical value behind it and bitcoin is just another fiat currency! It was created by someone’s imagination and then put out there as a store of value, with the caveat that there would not be any more bitcoins created. Has anyone seen the locks on bitcoin to ensure there will be no more created? Or do we have to trust someone else that this is correct? The only thing differentiating bitcoin from other fiat currencies is that they will not create any more, and thus, there is no way to devalue it. It is true that there continues to be more gold mined, but the additions are small over time. Unless there is a huge find of gold, I like having a physical store of value rather than thin air, which someone has told me has value. – Ross W. Gold versus bitcoin is a fool’s trap. With all the people buying into an unproven “new” form of money, it is obvious the “Tulip Mania” is reoccurring. Once the bloom is off the bulb, I wonder who the last fool will be. Gold has served as money for millennia because of scarcity, and because of usefulness. What can you produce with bitcoin? Second question: What happens if government outlaws any cryptocurrency not controlled by them? Can’t happen, you say? Look at the last year of clearly unlawful government edicts resulting in lost jobs, lost income, and lost possessions. Now, where is that last fool? – William C. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck... Probably is a duck. Bitcoin per se and many other cryptos are quacking very loudly. And some are looking more and more like a means of exchanging or storing value – globally. But what “value” to price these new ducks in? Dollars? Gold? The old ducks? As a businessman, would I prefer payment in crypto or fiat? Put the question another way – do I trust mathematics and cryptology more than I trust politicians and bankers? – Michael G. In what do you find real value? Is debating money a fool’s trap, as William believes? Write us at [feedback@rogueeconomics.com](mailto:feedback@rogueeconomics.com?subject=A long time forgotten). IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… [It’s OFFICIAL: 93,862 Millionaires Minted (Get the Ticker Below)]( Legendary Fund Manager Bill Miller said no other asset has more upside potential than [this investment. (Get the ticker here.)]( He might be right because so far, it has already minted 93,862 paper millionaires. Make no mistake; this could be the hottest tech investment of 2021. [Get the ticker symbol here. No strings attached.]( [image]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Get Instant Access Click to read these free reports and automatically sign up for daily research. [image]( [How to Earn Free Bitcoin]( [image]( [The Trader’s Guide to Technical Analysis]( [image]( [An Insider’s Guide to Making a Fortune from Small Tech Stocks]( [Rogue Economincs]( Rogue Economics 55 NE 5th Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33483 [www.rogueeconomics.com]( [Share]( [FACEBOOK]( [Tweet]( [TWITTER]( To ensure our emails continue reaching your inbox, please [add our email address]( to your address book. This editorial email containing advertisements was sent to {EMAIL} because you subscribed to this service. To stop receiving these emails, click [here](. Rogue Economics welcomes your feedback and questions. But please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized advice. To contact Customer Service, call toll free Domestic/International: 1-800-681-1765, Mon–Fri, 9am–7pm ET, or email us [here](mailto:memberservices@rogueeconomics.com). © 2021 Rogue Economics. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution of our content, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission from Rogue Economics. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Use](