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How Chuck Noll cleaned house and won four Super Bowls. | King: “Most of You Guys Are Just Not V
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How Chuck Noll cleaned house and won four Super Bowls. [The Rude Awakening] January 04, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( King: âMost of You Guys Are Just Not Very Good.â [Sean Ring] SEAN
RING Good morning. Contrary to today’s headline, I think you’re terrific. Downright excellent, even. And I’m thrilled you’re here this morning. But good friend, Paradigm historian, and frequent Rude contributor Byron King spins an excellent yarn, and you’ve just got to read it! I just couldn’t help but get it to you immediately. See you tomorrow! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring
Editor,
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KING The sun sets, a year ends, and seamlessly, another year begins. Take a moment to look back at your successes and mistakes. And look ahead to more of the same. Just be better about it; more success and fewer mistakes. Get smarter. Be a learner, right? But first, let’s talk about football (n.b.: American football, not soccer). What the Hell Is an “Acrisure?” No, I don’t usually talk about football. Gold and silver? Oil and gas? Energy, mines, minerals, metals? Monetary policy? Military issues? Yes, that’s my beat. Not so much with football. I’m no sportswriter. But there I was Saturday evening, December 23, sitting in premium economy seats – just under the skyboxes – watching the Pittsburgh Steelers play against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. [Rude Awakening] A sea of Pittsburgh black and gold. BWK photo. Here’s what happened. My son is in the Army. A while back, my wife and I asked him what he’d like to do while home on leave for Christmas. “Dad, how about if you and I go to a Steelers game?” he said. (Mom demurred.) And per the request, I visited Stubhub. So there we were, Sergeant King and me, at Acrisure Stadium, where I asked myself, “What the hell is an Acrisure?” Because the place used to be called Heinz Field, named after the iconic Pittsburgh food company famous for ketchup, and I know what ketchup is. It turns out that Acrisure is a company involved with insurance, reinsurance, cyber services, and mortgages. Apparently, they’ve made enough money to buy naming rights to a National Football League stadium. But that’s a digression; let’s get to the point. Like I said, it was December 23, the anniversary of two important events, both of which crossed my mind as I viewed the gridiron proceedings from my perch above the 35-yard line. Because on December 23, 1913 – 110 years ago – in Washington, D.C., President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. Hold that thought. And also, on December 23, 1972 – 51 years back – in the old Three Rivers Stadium, Franco Harris caught what is known as the “[Immaculate Reception]( in a legendary contest between the Steelers and the then-Oakland Raiders. It just so happens that I was there at that Oakland game but not around, of course, for the Federal Reserve thing because I’m definitely not that old. The 1972 Steelers-Raiders game was a special moment in my life, an unexpected, early Christmas present from my long-deceased father. (“Hey Byron, I have Steeler tix. Against the Raiders!”) And somewhere in my basement, buried in a box, I still have my ticket stub. Remembering Things Past During my recent football attendance, the hometown team played well against the visiting Bengals. There were plenty of exciting plays, strong runs, crisp passes, and long marches down the field to score. And the Steelers won, 34 – 11. And as it all unfolded, I rooted for the home team and thought back to that Oakland game. Me and my long-departed father, in a long-demolished stadium (“Three Frozen Rivers,” we called it because the place was chilly even in July), watching players who have long since grown old or passed away, in a greatly changed milieu of a long-ago city – Steelers-steel; get it? – and economy in a world that has transformed into something different. That is, December 1972 was still the good old days of U.S. industry, built on coal and coke, steel and manufacturing, oil and refining; you get the idea, eh? Indeed, back then, U.S. Steel was still a U.S. company. Now, it’s about to be bought by Japan’s Nippon Steel, which prudently sees more value in iron ore, coal, rail lines, and steel mills than in U.S. or Japanese government bonds. Then again, December 1972 was also a mere sixteen months after el Presidente Nixon closed the gold window of the U.S. Treasury; indeed, a monetary asteroid that struck the earth on the evening (Eastern Daylight Savings Time) of Sunday, August 15, 1971, an event which I recall as well. That is, Nixon drove the final nail into the coffin of America’s long era of hard money prosperity built on a foundation of gold and silver. Those days of yore, the early 1970s, were sixty years into the dangerous experiment of Federal Reserve monetarism, and despite this – certainly not because of it – the U.S. economy was still rolling along on its 1940s - 1960s/World War II and Space-Race momentum. To view things from a different historical angle, in the early 1970s, LBJ's Great (Expensive) Society was still taking root while his (equally expensive) Vietnam debacle was winding down. The full scope of the nation’s growing pile of bills and future obligations was not entirely apparent, but deep damage was taking root. First and foremost, the U.S. government could not pay its many growing debts in gold-backed Bretton Woods currency. Hence, for better or worse, Nixon did what he did. In retrospect, and if you’re just a bit mystical, abandoning the gold standard surely must have angered the gods, Vulcan, if not Mars. Because not too long after that 1972 Steelers-Raiders game, and despite the crystal-clear mandate of heaven evidenced by Franco’s astonishing catch and scoring run, less than a year later – in the fall of 1973 – global oil markets went nuts over U.S. monetary inflation, and a war in the Middle East focused on Israel. [Rude awakening] 1973: Oil embargo, gasoline lines, American panic, petrodollars. Out of that war came an Arab oil embargo against the U.S. A few months later, by the spring of 1974, and courtesy of the late deceased Henry Kissinger, we had petrodollars. And you know the rest, yes? Unmoored from monetary reality, the world became strange for half a century. Our country coasted along, awash in depreciating fiat dollars emitted from that Federal Reserve creature (see above, Dec. 23 anniversaries), blissfully oblivious to the tides of history. In other words, we lived large and lucky per the kernel of truth embedded within a wry quip by the old Iron Chancellor of Germany, Otto Bismarck, that “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.” What’s the takeaway? Well, first, it's easy to feel good about things when your country doesn't pay all its bills. Just charge up the national credit card. And if you hold assets, enjoy the bubble; but know that every bubble will sooner or later meet its own sharp pin. Stuff happens. Meanwhile, it’s now déjà vu all over again. As 2023 ends and ‘24 kicks off, we have war in the Middle East via Israel, with hostilities now breaking out in the Red Sea and along adjacent trade routes—all this, coupled with other Middle East tensions from Libya to Syria, etc. And not to overlook the fiascos on tap or lined up in Ukraine, Taiwan, and whatever else seemingly out of nowhere. That same Red Sea is, for all practical purposes, now closed to much Western trade. The fact of drones and cruise missiles hitting ships speaks for itself; although insurance carriers were dropping coverage, it also did much to seal the deal. A closely related effect of the Red Sea closure is that the Suez Canal is no longer a primary sailing route for Western trade. While far away, and for meteorological reasons (e.g., not enough rain), the Panama Canal is down to half capacity. Now, many ships must sail around entire continents to get places. Welcome to global trade based on navigation charts from the 1860s. I could go on, but the true question is, how's that globalism thing doing? Or posed another way, was it really such a great idea to close down all those mines, mills, and factories in the U.S. and Canada (think 1972!) and offshore everything to the other side of the planet? Spoiler alert: Looking ahead through 2024 and beyond, there’s big money to be made by investing in real things – energy, basic materials, precious metals, tangible outputs – that are re-shoring back to the U.S.-of-A. as a half-century of monetary folly unwinds. What Would Chuck Noll Say? Again, let’s revisit the lost world in 1972 of watching the Steelers beat the Raiders. And despite all manner of immutable human foibles at the time, it really was kind of an innocent level of bliss back then. If you know your football history, you’re familiar with Chuck Noll (1932 – 2014), who coached the Steelers from 1969 to 1991 and whose teams won four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s. His method, if not his hallmark, was to assemble great teams built around great athletes coached to the pinnacle of excellence. Then, take to the field and win. Along these lines, I recall a story related to me some years ago by Andy Russell, an All-Pro Steelers linebacker of the seventies and holder of two Super Bowl rings. It begins right after the Steelers’ disastrous 1968 season when the owners fired the previous coach and hired Noll in January 1969. Right after taking the job, Noll called a team meeting. According to Russell, Noll stood before the entire roster of Steelers players and coaches and said, “I’m your new coach, and I’d like to say that I’m looking forward to getting to know you. But that would not be right. Because most of you guys are just not very good, and you won’t be playing for me next year.” The room went into stunned silence. “Anything else?” asked Noll. And most players just stood up and walked out as the new coach stared at them. Per Russell, “That was my kick in the pants. I spent the next six months running, sprinting, lifting weights, and tossing big tires on a field. Then, I showed up to training camp, ready to go. And I made the team, although hardly anyone else from the old Steelers roster was still around.” Great story. And really, don’t you wish that you – or someone – could walk into so many failing institutions these days and repeat what Noll said? Imagine walking into Congress, or the White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, or Federal Reserve, or Treasury; or walking into the board rooms of many companies, media empires, and universities; or pick another favorite organization… and say, “Most of you guys are just not very good, and you’re not going to be working here much longer.” (It worked for Elon Musk at former Twitter.) Here’s the moral: Welcome to 2024, when we will work hard, focus hard, learn as much as possible, stay away from losers, and buy winners. That’s all for now. Happy New Year. Thank you for subscribing and reading. All the best, [Byron King] Byron King In Case You Missed It… Gay’s Harvard: DEI Must DIE [Sean Ring] SEAN
RING “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” I’ll always believe America’s political downfall started with that sentence. [When Bill “Slick Willie” Clinton uttered that phrase while he was being grilled over a particular White House intern]( I knew the game changed. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was plain as a pikestaff. That was the day Clinton signaled to the other elites there’s always a way out. There’s no honor nor outrage. And indeed, no apologies. Just ponder the meaning of words like “is” and see if a lawyer is clever enough to take apart your argument. No lawyer is. Because it’s not an argument, it’s a runaround. Really, it’s a steaming pile of bullshit. And to this day, I pat myself on the back for voting for Bob Dole in 1996. As I sit here in Italy, watching America’s slow-motion car crash from afar, few instances epitomize how far America has fallen than Claudine Gay’s testimony, plagiarism, and resignation. Will DEI DIE in 2024? When it was first introduced at large companies, the new “wing” of Human Resources departments was called “Diversity and Inclusion.” Then, “equity” became the next big buzzword. However, the initials of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity were DIE, which is what most people wanted it to do. So they changed it to “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” or DEI. Like all flawed ideas, there was a kernel of goodness in affirmative action. The idea was to get the right people in the right places, even if they didn’t have the “right” upbringing, connections, or education. The idea was to increase merit, not to decrease it. We wanted equality of opportunity, not outcome. Of course, the message of affirmative action got distorted over time. Now, it means “anyone non-white, except Asian-Americans, get ridiculously preferential treatment.” And as Thomas Sowell once said, "When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination." There is nothing more unAmerican than preferential treatment. [Rude] Credit: [@paulg]( [Critical Customer Service Notice]( Hi, this is Dustin Weisbecker, the Director of Customer Service for Jim Rickards. And I’m trying to reach readers about [a massive change we’ve just implemented to Strategic Intelligence.]( As a reader of Jim’s work, this change could have a direct impact on you and your subscription. What’s more, this change will be going into effect immediately – in fact, you may have already noticed it. To bring you up to speed, I just recorded a short video explaining all of the important details about this upgrade. [Click here now.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Harvard and Hiring I should’ve known something was up when I returned to New York to teach in 2022. I had been teaching in Asia for thirteen years and hadn’t seen the changes since 2009 when I left for Singapore. In 2007 and 2008, I used to shake before walking into a classroom. These kids, from schools like Harvard, Penn, Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, University of Tokyo, Stanford, and MIT - the world’s finest - were incredibly bright, enthusiastic, and switched on. They knew finance theory inside out. Our classes were sometimes too basic for them. Fast forward to 2022, and the banks were no longer recruiting out of many of these schools. First, many of these kids left their mundane banking jobs after a year to go into tech, and the banks knew it. Second, the quality of the students dropped quite precipitously. Sure, I’d have a couple of superstars in the classroom, but not a classroom full of superstars. Very quietly, schools like Harvard not so much lost their cache but weren’t the places to find high-quality, long-term hires. And as the Generation X affirmative action kids grew up and got on television, it was easy to see why. We Know, Joy. We Know. Luckily, I had left the States before Joy Reid got famous. I knew she was a Harvard grad who talked nonsense on MSNBC. That’s all. Yawn. But then SCOTUS ruled in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023), that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions processes violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. From [Reid herself]( I got into Harvard only because of affirmative action. I went to a school no one had ever heard of in Denver, Colorado, in a small suburb. I didn’t go to a prestigious high school like Exeter or Andover. I didn’t have college test prep. I just happened to be really nerdy and smart and have really good grades and good SAT scores. But someone came to Denver to look for me. A Harvard recruiter flew in, met me at a restaurant, and did a pre-interview to pull me into Harvard. I was pulled in — affirmatively. This was not the recruiter saying, "We’re going to take an unqualified person and put them in Harvard." Rather, they were saying, "We’re going to take a very qualified person who we would never know existed and put them in Harvard." My first reaction is that this is how the system was meant to work. Finding talent, wherever it is, and allowing it to flourish in the best possible places. Of course, [the internet reaction was, “Yes, Joy, we know.”]( And that’s because Joy Reid hasn’t done anything but spout gibberish on MSNBC. In other words, the game is up. The [Peter Principle]( is kicking in. Perhaps we’ve always known that a “Harvard education” isn’t the same for all Harvard students. Keep The Cash. We’ve Got Plenty! This brings us to Claudine Gay, the now-former President of Harvard. To catch you up, courtesy of [Breitbart]( Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday, following antisemitism scandals at the Ivy League university, a disastrous congressional testimony, and scores of plagiarism allegations being unearthed in recent months. Her six month tenure marks the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history. Gay’s resignation — just six months and two days into her presidency — makes her tenure as president the shortest in Harvard’s history, according to a report by the Harvard Crimson. One question: how can advocating the extermination of Jews not be a violation of a university’s Code of Conduct? A simple “yes” would have saved her and everyone looking through her scandalous academic resumé, which shows she plagiarized nearly fifty(!) times in the only eleven papers she ever published. Fine, she thinks Israel is committing a humanitarian catastrophe. But as an educator, how can you not commit to protecting all of your students? This alone warrants her firing. But her subpar output and her demonstrated serial plagiarism in a subject (African-American Studies) that doesn’t exactly tax the intellect, still got her the Harvard presidency. Still, Harvard has let her keep her job and salary, too, according to [The New York Post](. From The Post: House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik — a Harvard graduate who emerged as Gay’s chief critic — ripped the decision to allow her to remain on the faculty. Stefanik argued that Gay’s plagiarism charges are an indelible stain that mars the school’s legitimacy. “She’s not fit to be a faculty member,” Stefanik told The Post. “It’s unacceptable when you have students at Harvard who would be expelled for plagiarism to allow a faculty member who has nearly 50 examples of plagiarism in their very slim body of academic work. It’s absurd and everybody knows it. Harvard knows it, too.” Wrap Up Universities are overvalued by vast amounts. Really, they are Human Resource filters, so companies don’t have to do the actual work of vetting hires. Companies used to trust places like Harvard to do the vetting for them. But if the institution has become such a political animal, rather than a place of unblemished education, of what value is it? Unfortunately, just like Slick Willie, Gay got off with a slap on the wrist. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring
Editor,
Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗
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