If You Can Bear To Hear The Truth You’ve Spoken

If …

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

🕵️‍♂️ Epstein Didn't Kill Himself: Documents reveal that the circle of people who associated with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction as a sex offender is wider than previously known. CIA Director William Burns, former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, and Bard College President Leon Botstein all had meetings with Epstein. Noam Chomsky, a professor, author, and political activist, was scheduled to fly with Epstein for a dinner in 2015. The purpose of most of these meetings remains unclear, and many people involved claim their interactions were related to Epstein's wealth and connections. - WSJ

🏦 Don't Call It A Comeback: PNC Financial Services Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Citizens Financial Group Inc submitted final bids for First Republic Bank in an auction by US regulators. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) had planned to announce a deal and likely seizure of the lender. First Republic Bank, the 14th biggest lender in the US, had total assets of $233 billion at the end of Q1, and a deal would follow the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Regulators previously insured all deposits at these banks and created a 'bridge bank' to protect depositors; it is unclear if this will occur with First Republic Bank. - Reuters

☀️ I Should Run The World: Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, is expected to make a major announcement about his potential 2024 presidential campaign on May 22. Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, gained national prominence after delivering the GOP response to President Biden's address to a joint session of Congress. Many Republicans view him as a rising star in the party and a possible contender for the 2024 presidential nomination. The senator has focused on issues such as police reform, criminal justice reform, and economic mobility in his legislative work, gaining bipartisan support in some instances. - Fox News

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✌️ It's Not You, It's Me: Bob Maistros explores the concept of the "Great American Opt-Out," where the US would separate into distinct red and blue nations due to deepening divisions and unresolvable issues. Existential threats, such as weakened security and economic ruin, cannot be addressed since dissent is punished and silenced. The only viable solution proposed is for conservative states to opt out, potentially dissolving the union and forming a new government. Despite the obstacles, Maistros urges prompt and decisive action to confront the nation's accelerated decline and the elites' efforts to undermine the citizenry. - Bob Maistros

💸 Take The Wheel: President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have failed in their handling of the ongoing banking crisis, particularly the impending failure of First Republic Bank. Yellen's response has been inept and overly optimistic, focusing on short-term bailouts rather than addressing the broader implications of the crisis. Yellen should have put First Republic into government receivership earlier, paid off depositors up to the $250,000 insurance limit, and focused on the overall health of the US economy. Yellen must learn from past financial crises and not repeat mistakes that encourage risky behavior. - NY Post

🏠 Give Banks More Money: The Biden administration's recent changes to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's pricing framework for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will adjust loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) and affect mortgage rates for future homebuyers. This policy means homebuyers with credit scores above 680 will pay a 1% LLPA fee, while those with credit scores below 680 receive a 1.75% discounted LLPA fee. Critics argue that this approach penalizes financially responsible Americans and promotes risky mortgages for buyers with bad credit, similar to the conditions that led to the 2008 housing market crash. - Pete McGinnis

"If" by Rudyard Kipling - Read by Sir Michael Caine

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