gm - notes from the field, happy Friday!

gm!

Great call this morning with John. I have a tendency to be hard on people, judgmental. Politics are getting to me. I don't want to be like that. Got me back to a message of spreading love. I'm grateful to John for pinging me.

There are a few things on my mind, tho.

I'm worried about this weight loss drug that's spreading like wild fire.

I spent some time on their site this morning. Their message seems to be, the hard work of eating whole food plant based + daily exercise is too hard. It's not sustainable. So take our drug instead.

There's no doubt about it, living the life Renee and I do didn't come easy. Renee didn't lose any weight to start. She gained a few pounds. And the food didn't taste good. But we stuck with it. Over time, we figured it out. Renee and I lost weight, we're both at our natural weight now. Our food is mouth watering delicious. All the bad habits we had with food have been overwritten by all our good habits with food. So we reprogrammed our minds. Looking back, I don't remember how hard it was. All I can think about, is how happy we both are that we did this.

So if anyone is out there needing help with getting to this way of life, please contact me. We're glad to help.

BTW. Whadda ya wanna bet big food are investors in their drug? Remember. There's no money in healthy people.

Next up.

I'm a little worried about the economy. I'm seeing signs that the stock market could be in for a big correction. Both Michael Burry and Warren Buffett are shorting the stock market.

This in and of itself doesn't mean it'll happen. I don't follow soothsayers. But stocks are emotional. Much to my chagrin, we live in a followers world. If retail investors get spooked they'll start selling. It won't take much for a big down leg to start.

There's other signs that are bothersome. I don't believe the cost of living index is accurate. I think the cost of living is way higher than what's reported. Just look around. So many are having a hard time making it. Homeowners insurance in Florida (and California) is really expensive or not available.

And this. If the Republicans get back in power they're going to implement Project 2025. From Jim Hightower's substack:
"Consider “Project 2025,” put together by former Trump officials and the Koch brothers’ network of billionaire plutocrats. Their strategy is to win the presidency next year by demonizing all environmental protections and promising to halt all national efforts to cope with the obvious crises of climate change. Their proposals include repealing regulations that curb fossil fuel pollution, terminating our nation’s transition to renewable energy, shutting down all environmental protection agencies, encouraging more oil and gas drilling and use, and promoting the deadly delusion that global warming is not a real problem".

So basically Republicans are going to burn things down then blame it on the Democrats. Which is what they always do.

I also think we're closer to civil war than most want to admit.

So wen I add it all up, I conclude we're teetering on the brink. I'm going to sell the Coinbase stock I bought yesterday. Not because I don't like the company. All because, I want to increase cash so I can buy it at a lower price.

Which brings me to Bitcoin. I've got a Stop-Limit order in at 24.6k. Because if 25k breaks we're most likely going to 20k. If things get real weird, we're heading back to 15k territory.

Next up, digital town hall thoughts.

Before I go on, now I'm having Renee's chili beans with Renee's not cheese sauce, teeny bit of guacamole, and a slice of sourdough bread (get used to eating with a slice of sourdough bread - it's good for digestion). Food is life. If anyone needs help living this way please let me know. We're so happy to help.

Back to digital town hall thoughts. I like the message of this piece:

The world needs a digital town hall. A place where we gather digitally. A digital town hall is a good thing. What it doesn't need, is today's social media which I've often called a social disease. Twitter and Facebook aren't, good things. I think they're a big reason why we're at each other's throats.

Overall, I like what the author wrote. I think the Fediverse is two steps in the right direction.

The author mentioned Mastodon, as an alternative social network. But let's stop saying "social network". Digital town hall may not be the right phrase. But social network isn't. If we're going to break new ground we need a new name.

My friend Jen Wallace reminded me of Mastodon. BTW. Check out Jen's cool thing she's building on Discourse. Jen also coded up my blog here on Ghost, a platform we both love. If you want a blog, use Ghost. It's decentralized, opensource, and Ghost is a cool company. Thank you, Jen. I'm grateful to know you.

I have the Mastodon app, it's fine. But there's no one on it. And it feels like alpha level software.

So it's great that this author and more are working on alternatives to Twitter and Facebook. But power is never ceeded without demand.

Frederick Douglass said -“Power and those in control concede nothing…without a demand. Hey never have and never will…Each and every one of us must keep demanding, must keep fighting, must keep thundering, must keep plowing, must keep on keeping things struggling, must speak out and speak up until justice is served because where is no justice there is no peace”.

Things won't change unless people stop using Twitter and Facebook. I wish this author and those who support digital town halls would encourage people to stop doing Twitter and Facebook, stop taking the drugs their on.

I know it's hard. I was on Twitter for over 3 years. It damaged my mind. I just about lost all ability to concentrate. I haven't posted in almost a month. My mind is feeling better every day.

Which brings me back to health.

Pills keep us sick and addicted. We are what we eat. If we eat whole food plant based, move our bodies daily, we'll achieve peak health. Getting there is hard work, our brains will tell us it's too hard. But this too passes. There's always darkness before the light.

If there is a dark
Now we shouldn't doubt
And there is a light
Don't let it go out

Staying on Twitter and Facebook keeps us sick and angry. Leaving is hard. But once we do, we're sending signals to entrepreneurs that we want something better. They get the signals, digital townhalls such as Mastodon then become where it's at.

I promise.

tty next time,