Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Sometimes It’s All About Timing

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There are times one just can’t help oneself from contemplating just how ignorant (or down right stupid) people are. You might think I’m speaking about the “mis” or uninformed. Or, the “under” as well as uneducated in matters of business, finance, politics, and more. Oh contraire!

I’m speaking of the people whom fill some of the highest positions within those very industries. Once again I have been left with my jaw planted firmly on the floor by some of the revelations or “explanations” from the so-called “smart crowd.” To paraphrase an old adage: “It’s better to keep ones mouth shut and be thought a fool rather than open it as to remove all doubt.” (more…)

The Reality of Reality

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One can’t sit back this weekend without feeling a little overwhelmed with what took place in Boston. Being a person whom both worked and lived around Boston, I like many watched intently as everything unfolded.

To see streets you know intimately shown across the television while explosions are going off. Then to view one of the busiest cities traffic wise shut down resembling as one reporter put it “The streets of Chernobyl.” You just can’t help but shake your head in bewilderment. (more…)

Welcome To Keynesian Shangri-La

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Welcome to your new destination. A place once believed only to exist in the imaginations of dreamers, and Keynesian’s the world over. A place where market fundamentals, free markets, and more seem to no longer have relevancy in the world. However, make no mistake about it – we have now arrived.

The Keynesian argument has been made for decades. I wonder if the man (John Maynard Keynes) would be impressed with just how much his ideology is so vehemently held in the halls of academia and political circles. Many religious devotees pale in comparison. (more…)

The Time Of The Asterisk *

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One cliché that get’s bandied around more than any other today is, “Well, it’s different this time.” The problem with that statement is its ability to be both right and wrong for different reasons, while simultaneously being the exact phrase to sum things up. I’m beginning to think we’re trying to use words to put into context what we all understand when we see it displayed on paper or in text. The symbol * known as the asterisk.

Everything today seems to need an asterisk beside it. From baseball, to politics. Nothing, and I mean nothing seems to be able to stand true for what ever the reasons.

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The Courage Of Your Convictions (by Mark St.Cyr)

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One of the hardest points to make people understand is the reasoning
behind the term I used for the headline. Far too many use this term as
if it means: Making a choice and sticking with it yet, changing it once
your shown new evidence or proven wrong. Actually that’s not it and in
some ways demeans the integrity the mantra is truly meant to imply.

Your grit as it pertains to a decision to do something or not i.e.,
quit smoking, is not the same as a conviction. i.e., I will not steal,
nor be associated with people who do because, if they will steal from
others – they will steal from me.

The example is intentionally broad and simplistic. And there’s many
right now thinking, “Sure, but that impossible in practice.” If that’s
you, I’m sorry to say you’re missing the point. I’ll also state (yes I
am that bold) “Unless you truly understand what it is to live and work
by convictions, you’ve probably had more things happen to you – than you make happen.”

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