Constant Variable

PoW, Respect the Cycles, Texas Hedged

[Ron Sovereignty Swanson⚡️🗝️ @RonSwanonson]

We essentially have to print money to pay the interest on money that we’ve already printed

But sure… a decentralized, finite, censorship resistant network protocol that fully audits itself every 10 minutes is the scam here, folks 😂

[Afshine Emrani MD FACC @afshineemrani]

I'm a cardiologist. I've held dying hearts in my hands in the cath lab at 3 AM. And I need to tell you something that changes everything about how we prevent heart attacks.

For decades, the entire field was built on one target: lower LDL cholesterol. Statins save lives — that's settled science. But too many of my patients did everything right — took their statins, hit their numbers, lived clean — and still ended up on my table with a ruptured artery.

We were treating the smoke while the fire kept burning.
The fire is inflammation. And the evidence is now overwhelming.

The CANTOS trial proved it first — lowering inflammation independent of cholesterol reduced cardiac events. But the newer data is what keeps me up at night.

AI-enhanced CT angiography can now detect inflamed arteries by measuring changes in the fat surrounding your coronary vessels — the perivascular fat attenuation index. Higher inflammation in the fat around even one artery independently predicts cardiac death. When multiple arteries show inflammation, the risk multiplies dramatically — even in patients whose cholesterol looks perfect.

This isn't theoretical. This is measurable. Right now. On a scan you can get this month.

Low-dose colchicine — a drug that's been around for centuries for gout — is now FDA-approved specifically for reducing cardiovascular events. It works by quieting the inflammatory cascade that destabilizes the plaque sitting in your arteries. A pill that costs pennies is saving lives the statins couldn't reach.

And the next wave is already in Phase 3 trials. Ziltivekimab — an IL-6 inhibitor — targets the central inflammatory pathway driving atherosclerosis. Phase 2 data showed a 90% reduction in hsCRP. The ZEUS cardiovascular outcomes trial is enrolling now, with results expected late 2026 into 2027. If positive, anti-inflammatory therapy will become standard in managing heart disease alongside lipid-lowering. The era of inflammation-targeted cardiology is arriving.
But it goes deeper than drugs. AI is now predicting heart failure and cardiac events 5+ years before symptoms — integrating CT imaging, electronic health records, and genetic data with accuracy that jumps far beyond traditional risk calculators.

And polygenic risk scores — a simple genetic test that flags inherited cardiovascular risk — are now formally recognized as a risk-enhancing factor in the 2026 ACC/AHA guidelines. A single blood draw can reveal risk that's been silently building since birth. Decades before the first chest pain.

Here's what this means for you right now — today:
Ask your doctor for a high-sensitivity CRP test. It's cheap, routine, and measures the systemic inflammation that standard cholesterol panels completely miss. You can have perfect LDL and inflamed arteries that are quietly preparing to rupture.
If your hsCRP is elevated, discuss low-dose colchicine with your physician. It's FDA-approved for exactly this.
Push for a coronary CT angiography with AI plaque and inflammation analysis if you have risk factors. This isn't the stress test your parents got. This is 3D visualization of your actual arteries — with AI quantifying not just how much plaque you have, but what kind it is and whether the surrounding tissue is inflamed.
Consider polygenic risk score testing — especially with a family history of early heart disease. It's now guideline-supported.

And the foundation that never changes: move daily, eat real food, sleep 7-9 hours, manage stress, and know your numbers — ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, fasting insulin.
I left Iran as a child with nothing. I rebuilt everything in a country that gave me the freedom to become a physician. I've spent twenty years watching patients get second chances.

The ones who haunt me aren't the ones who died on my table. They're the ones who survived but never acted on what the science was telling them — years before the event that didn't have to happen.

You can have perfect cholesterol and still have a heart attack. Inflammation plus genetics can drive plaque rupture in arteries that look "fine" on a standard panel.
The myth that normal cholesterol means you're safe has cost more lives than I can count.

We now have the tools to detect the fire — not just the smoke. AI to see it. Genetics to predict it. Drugs to quiet it. And the ancient basics — movement, real food, sleep, purpose — to prevent it from starting.

Prevention is the new cure. And the science to make it real is no longer coming.
It's here.

[Jeff Swanson @theswansjr]

To believe that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value means:

1. Believing that having a decentralized, global payment and settlement network outside the conventional financial system has no value.

2. Believing that having a way to protect your purchasing power from inflation has no value.

3. Believing that being able to store your wealth without counterparty risk has no value.

4. Believing that the ability to send $5 or $50 million anywhere, anytime, with minimal fees has no value.

Yet, people say bitcoin has no utility or value.

[Marty Bent @MartyBent]

If you're not paying attention, you probably should be.

Caught up with @jvisserlabs to discuss the emergence of the agentic economy, whether or not AI is in a bubble, and what it means for bitcoin in the long term.

Must watch.

[Eric Weiss ⚡️ @Eric_BIGfund]

Bitcoin breaks tourists.

Then pays survivors.

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@SGBarbour The price tanks when he buys.

[Holy Bible @Holy__Bible1]

“Lord, when fear fills my heart, give me peace and strength. Remind me that You are always with me. Replace my anxiety with faith, my weakness with courage, and my worries with hope. Protect my mind and guide my steps. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@RedRedWineDawg @vbsciacca They are completely rebuilding college square. It’s blocked off. There are only a handful of homeless people around.

[EndGame Macro @onechancefreedm]

Strategy is still long Bitcoin in the biggest way possible, but retiring debt at a discount and holding dollar liquidity instead of using every available dollar to buy more BTC tells you they are thinking about survivability, liquidity, and future optionality. They are not abandoning the asset. They are making sure the liabilities do not eventually force them to sell the asset at the wrong time.

That is the nuance. Bitcoin may be the upside engine, but the bills are paid in dollars. If an instrument is offering around 11.5% when high quality bonds or Treasuries pay far less, that is not free money. That is the market demanding compensation for risk. Subordination risk, liquidity risk, dividend risk, Bitcoin volatility risk, and capital market access risk.

Strategy’s model works beautifully if BTC rises, MSTR keeps its premium, and capital markets stay open. But BTC produces no cash flow, while preferred dividends and debt service require dollars. So cash or short term Treasuries are not a philosophical pivot into government paper. They are a defensive liquidity buffer. Strategy is basically trying to keep the Bitcoin upside while reducing the chance that a bad macro tape, tighter credit, or a BTC drawdown turns the capital structure into the problem.

[MarylandHODL (aka The Transition) @MarylandHODL21]

Show this to anyone with a large dividend portfolio.

Then ask:

1) Do you know who runs iShares?

2) Do you think they would add an asset that’s only 8 months old to one of their flagship funds without thoroughly vetting the mechanics?

3) Do you think becoming the second largest holding in that fund after only 8 months is significant?

Maybe this deserves more of your time and attention.

At minimum, it’s worth a 5% allocation within a dividend portfolio, with a plan to reassess quarterly and increase exposure as the asset matures.

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@davidu Use @fold_app

[Walker⚡️ @WalkerAmerica]

Meanwhile, incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh wants to change the Fed's primary inflation gauge from Core PCE (currently 3.20%, excluding food/energy, LOL) to Trimmed Mean PCE (2.36%, excluding extreme monthly price swings, LOLOL).

The money is fake. They print it from nothing. The metrics they use to measure the decreasing value of the money are also fake.

They are stealing from you through monetary inflation, and they are lying to you about it.

They speak in passive tones about the "cost of living" going up, as though it happens by magic.

They tell you "2% inflation" is their target, yet they constantly change the gauge by which they measure price inflation.

But even the 2% target is an arbitrary number. Central banks around the world adopted it from the Central Bank of New Zealand, who made it up in the 1990s. The Federal Reserve didn't formally adopt it until 2012 under Bernanke.

"2% inflation" has no basis in any sort of economic reality, but it is the perfect amount to steal from the populace each and every year without them noticing the loss of purchasing power on a short time horizon. On a longer time horizon, it is quite obvious, but the damage is already done.

Central banks around the world explicitly target 2% theft of your purchasing power per year. Everything gets a little more expensive year after year after year. Sometimes things get a lot more expensive. Then the central banks just change the gauge by which they measure the theft and carry on as if nothing happened.

But everything should be getting cheaper every single year, not more expensive. Technology is naturally deflationary. The natural state of the free market is deflation, not inflation (@JeffBooth).

Once you understand this, you realize just how bad the theft truly is... They are not just stealing the +2% above zero inflation, they are stealing the multiple percentage points of deflation as well. They are stealing the gain of purchasing power you should realize every single year, and leaving you with a loss in purchasing power.

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

Every government / central bank in the world must continue to debase their currency, or the entire house of cards will come tumbling down.

There is only one absolutely finite asset in the world that can protect you from the theft of fiat monetary debasement.

Study Bitcoin.

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@TheVillanovan https://t.co/gWOvAXApaK

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@VillanovaU Heard a rumor that the announcement of students names as they walk across the stage will be removed from the ceremony due to the excessive heat. That tradition is By Far the most important part of the ceremony for the parents and students.

[Constant Variable @ConstantVarb]

@VillanovaU Heard a rumor that the announcement of students names as they walk across the stage will be removed from the ceremony due to the excessive heat. That tradition is By Far the most important part of the ceremony for the parents and students.

[Tevin Macharia Mukabana @TevinMacharia]

Father in the name of Jesus Christ,

I pray for restoration over every broken place in my life.
Restore my joy where sorrow has lived.
Restore my peace where anxiety and confusion have ruled.
Restore my strength where I have become weary.
Restore my passion for You where the fire has grown cold.

Lord, restore the years that pain, sin, disappointment, and battles have taken from me.
Heal my heart from every wound that still speaks.
Restore relationships that are according to Your will.
Restore my prayer life, my hunger for Your Word, and my walk with You.

Where I have fallen, lift me again.
Where I have become weak, strengthen me.
Where doors have closed, make a way for me.
Let Your mercy speak louder than my past.

Your Word says in Joel 2:25 that You will restore the years the locust has eaten.
And in Psalm 23:3, You restore my soul.

Father, breathe life again into every dead situation.
Let this season mark a new beginning.
May my testimony bring glory to Your name.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[Max Keiser @maxkeiser]

BONDPOCALYPSE NOW‼️

[Lawrence Lepard, "fix the money, fix the world" @LawrenceLepard]

This is why we can't have nice things.
Monetary inflation of 15% since early 2025. But hey, reported inflation is ~3.5%. Sure.
Chart by the brilliant @TaviCosta

[CooperBaggs 💰🍞 @edgaralandough]

When the time is right, God will align everything in a way that moves you to tears
and blesses your entire life. You will finally understand why you had to go through all the ups and downs, face challenge after challenge, and wait so many years. You had to get to a place where you could be one with God and
feel whole without any external validation or substance.

[Holy Bible @Holy__Bible1]

Dear God,
Thank you for this day and for the life you’ve given me.
Guide my thoughts, my words, and my actions.
Give me strength when I feel weak,
peace when I feel anxious,
and wisdom when I face decisions.
Help me to be kind, patient, and understanding with others.
Protect my loved ones and watch over those in need.
I trust in your plan, even when I don’t understand it.
Amen.

[Lawrence Lepard, "fix the money, fix the world" @LawrenceLepard]

Big Print Update

In written answers to the Senate Warsh re-emphasized that he does not think inflation statistics are accurate and in his testimony he suggested using the "trimmed mean" which throws out outlier prices and is currently printing much lower than headline numbers. Wake up folks. Bessent is calling the shots and Warsh is going to cut short rates. They have to to reduce government interest expenses. Given that this administration doesn't move slowly, I could see an unscheduled Fed meeting right after May 15 and a 100 bps rate cut. Last chance to get on the sound money train at relatively attractive prices: gold, silver, bitcoin.

Is this the Big Print? Yes and no. M2 the monetary base grows when the banks make loans and print money into existence. The Fed creates money out of thin air in the form of reserves which it gives to the banks in exchange for Treasury Bonds. Literally with a mouse click. The bank reserves do not hit M2 but they allow the banks to increase their lending which does hit M2. It generally does this in a crisis (2008, COVID). Warsh has said that (absent a market disruption) he wants to shrink the balance sheet (i don't believe he can) but that lower interest rates fuel growth. He believes in AI productivity gains he and Bessent emphasize growth. Therefore, he will cut. Another credit/inflation cycle will begin. All other things being equal: inflationary. The big unknown? The Bond Market. If the bond market realizes that real yields are hugely negative it will sell off hard and drive the Fed into crisis mode and YCC. Given that the middle east problem appears to be dragging on my operating assumption is lower rates, credit growth, more inflation, stock and bond trouble and then the CRISIS which creates the Big Print on the Fed's balance sheet. If they were to lock long bonds at 2.5% which they did to finance WWII the bond market will look at the Fed and say "sold to you". The Fed Balance sheet is ~$6.6T. US Federal debt is $39T. So, Big Print 1: GFC $3.6T, Big Print 2: COVID $5.0T. Big Print 3: ???

None of us own enough sound money assets.