Monthly Archives: June 2018

Jun 15 2018

IG Report: “We do not have confidence that Strzok’s decision was free from bias”…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 14, 2018 by

Michael Horowitz: FBI Agent Peter Strzok walks like a biased duck… looks like a biased duck… sounds like a biased duck… has all the same characteristics of a biased duck… and took the exact action a biased duck would take; therefore “We do not have confidence” FBI Agent Peter Strzok is not a biased duck.

[…] when one senior FBI official, Strzok, who was helping to lead the Russia investigation at the time, conveys in a text message to another senior FBI official, Page, that “we’ll stop” candidate Trump from being elected—after other extensive text messages between the two disparaging candidate Trump—it is not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects.

This is antithetical to the core values of the FBI and the Department of Justice. Moreover, as we describe in Chapter Nine, in assessing Strzok’s decision to prioritize the Russia investigation over following up on the Midyear-related investigative lead discovered on the Weiner laptop in October 2016, these text messages led us to conclude that we did not have confidence that Strzok’s decision was free from bias. (p.420)

Christopher Wray: “I take these findings seriously, and we accept these findings and recommendations.” … “This report did not find any evidence of political bias or improper considerations actually impacting the investigation under review.”

This is the infuriating part.  Think about this carefully.  This is not some arbitrary irrelevant institution within the bureaucracy of government.  The FBI is the “premier” law enforcement investigative apparatus within the entirety of the United States homeland security apparatus.  We rely upon the FBI’s investigative skills, training and application of common sense as they carry out their official responsibilities.

In essence the FBI has the primary responsibility for ensuring the internal safety and security of Americans through a process of evaluating evidence and threats; and more importantly taking action on clear evidence of those threats to avoid public safety issues.

Yet, the most important investigative body; within the system of U.S. law and order; cannot identify, admit, accept and take action upon a clear and present threat within its own organizational ranks. A political bias that is transparently obvious to the rest of America.

Allow me to put the IG/DOJ/FBI principle, at the heart of the matter, another way…

…It looks like a terrorist;  it acts like a terrorist; it communicates like a terrorist; it behaves in the same manner a terrorist would behave; it carries an exploding vest; it is heading to an event where a large number of people are gathered;….we do not have confidence it is not a terrorist – and yet, the FBI takes no action.

All of a sudden,… with specific thanks to the clear inability of the FBI to apply common sense as outlined within the IG report on politicization inside the FBI:  The Boston Marathon, San Bernardino, Orlando Pulse Nightclub, Las Vegas Mandalay Bay and Broward County Parkland School massacres take on a transparent outlook. 

Additionally, the popular talking point presented by those who defend the DOJ and FBI is about how the “rank and file” shouldn’t be blamed for the politicization and corrupt behavior of the senior DOJ and FBI leadership.

Oh really?

Well, lets take a look at the “Rank and File”:

On August 29, 2016, Agent 1 and Agent 5 exchanged the following instant messages as part of a discussion about their jobs. The sender of each message is noted after the timestamp.

  • 10:39:49, Agent 1: “I find anyone who enjoys [this job] an absolute fucking idiot. If you dont think so, ask them one more question. Who are you voting for? I guarantee you it will be Donald Drumpf.”
  • 10:40:13, Agent 5: “i forgot about drumpf…”
  • 10:40:27, Agent 5: “that’s so sad and pathetic if they want to vote for him.”
  • 10:40:43, Agent 5: “someone who can’t answer a question”
  • 10:40:51, Agent 5: “someone who can’t be professional for even a second”

On September 9, 2016, Agent 1 and Agent 5 exchanged the following instant messages.

  • 08:56:43, Agent 5: “i’m trying to think of a ‘would i rather’ instead of spending time with those people”
  • 08:56:54, Agent 1: “stick your tongue in a fan??”
  • 08:56:58, Agent 5: “i would rather have brunch with trump”
  • 08:57:03, Agent 1: “ha”
  • 08:57:15, Agent 1: “french toast with drumpf”
  • 08:57:19, Agent 5: “i would rather have brunch with trump and a bunch of his supporters like the ones from ohio that are retarded”
  • 08:57:23, Agent 5: “:)”

November 9, 2016, the day after the presidential election. FBI Attorney 2 and another FBI employee who was not involved in the Midyear investigation exchanged the following instant messages

09:38:14, FBI Attorney 2: “I am numb.”

09:55:35, FBI Employee: “I can’t stop crying.”

10:00:13, FBI Attorney 2: “That makes me even more sad.”

10:43:20, FBI Employee: “Like, what happened?”

10:43:37, FBI Employee: “You promised me this wouldn’t happen. YOU PROMISED.”

10:43:43, FBI Employee: Okay, that might have been a lie…”

10:43:46, FBI Employee: “I’m very upset.”

10:43:47, FBI Employee: “haha”

10:51:48, FBI Attorney 2: “I am so stressed about what I could have done differently.”

10:54:29, FBI Employee: “Don’t stress. None of that mattered.”

10:54:31, FBI Employee: “The FBI’s influence.”

10:59:36, FBI Attorney 2: “I don’t know. We broke the momentum.”

11:00:03, FBI Employee: “That is not so.”

11:02:22, FBI Employee: “All the people who were initially voting for her would not, and were not, swayed by any decision the FBI put out. Trump’s supporters are all poor to middle class, uneducated, lazy POS that think he will magically grant them jobs for doing nothing. They probably didn’t watch the debates, aren’t fully educated on his policies, and are stupidly wrapped up in his unmerited enthusiasm.”

11:11:43, FBI Attorney 2: “I’m just devastated. I can’t wait until I can leave today and just shut off the world for the next four days.”

11:12:06, FBI Employee: “Why are you devastated?”

11:12:18, FBI Employee: “Yes, I’m not watching tv for four years.”

11:14:16, FBI Attorney 2: “I just can’t imagine the systematic disassembly of the progress we made over the last 8 years. ACA is gone. Who knows if the rhetoric about deporting people, walls, and crap is true. I honestly feel like there is going to be a lot more gun issues, too, the crazies won finally. This is the tea party on steroids. And the GOP is going to be lost, they have to deal with an incumbent in 4 years. We have to fight this again. Also Pence is stupid.”

That’s the rank and file, reflecting how the rank and file feel about us.

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/381806566/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-4WfKaOih0Xm7EA7gdK93

Jun 15 2018

Do We Really Borrow From Only Ourselves? Does the Debt/GDP Ratio Means Anything?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Posted Jun 15, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, the famous economist Paul Krugman says that debt is ok when we owe it to ourselves. He calls it “deficit scolding” as he wrote in the New York Times. Would you like to comment on this statement?

GH

ANSWER: Paul Krugman seems to lack any historical understanding of how nations rise and fall. Anyone who claims debt is OK and can be infinite because “we” owe it to ourselves is clueless. He wrote in the article you referred to that “we have a more or less stable ratio of debt to GDP, and no hint of a financing problem.” The debt to GDP ratio is interesting but totally irrelevant. China’s debt to GDP stands at 250%, the USA at 103%, and Greece buckled at 186%. Obviously, this ratio is rather meaningless as a forecasting tool. I have published this chart on call money rates previously. In my studies, I quickly discovered that you cannot reduce the cause of any effect to a single issue. We can see that the peak in call money rates took place during 1899 and it was the lowest in 1929 when the Great Depression hit. You can’t even claim that if interest rates hit some magical level the stock market would crash. The world is far more complicated than just this one-dimensional approach to everything.

Capital flows were fleeing the USA in 1899 so interest rates went higher with a shortage of money. In 1929, the capital was in the USA for it rushed here because of World War I. The inflow of capital created an excess so the peak in call money rates was lower than 1899 when capital was fleeing. We even have the world of President Grover Cleveland from the Panic of 1893 commenting on the net capital outflow because of the “unsound” financial policy of the Silver Democrats.

The greatest mistake in the analysis is always trying to reduce any effect to a single cause. The world is a complex mechanism. It is indeed like a rainforest. There are countless species and each is interconnected. Exterminate one and you will find that it was the food source for another which dies. That species, in turn, was the food source for yet another and so on. The world economy is equally complex. This is why I say we are ALL CONNECTED. Create a war in one region, we may not be involved with troops, but the capital flows shift.

Everything is interconnected. There is no single cause and effect. Looking at GDP debt ratios is pointless. This is also why fundamental analysis is notoriously wrong. The majority tries to reason the future based upon this one-dimensional analysis and they NEVER got it right. I have posted this video clip of Larry Summers before. He is asked why can’t you guys ever get it right just once. His excuse is blunt. The economy is extraordinarily complex like the weather. He argues nobody can forecast the direction.

For anyone to say that debt can be infinite when we owe it just to ourselves is a fool. At times, 70% of the national debt has been accumulating interest payments. A national debt is the single greatest way we transfer wealth among citizens as well as nations. I kept yelling on Capitol Hill that Quantitative Easing would fail, it would not “stimulate” the economy for a very simple reason. The assumption that the Fed would buy 30-year bonds and then the banks would lend into real estate with lower interest rates was crazy. The debt is NOT owned by exclusively Americans. China was smart and it sold the 30-year bonds and swapped to 5-year or less paper. The money was transferred out of the country. To pretend this is a debt we “owe” ourselves is just fantasy.

Even domestically, if I am the lender and you are the borrower, then you are paying me because you borrowed the money. Your wealth is transferred to me because you could not wait to buy something for cash. Sorry, I believe Adam Smith was someone who tried to observe HOW things actually work instead of trying to support a predetermined conclusion.

Jun 15 2018

Economic Migration v Welfare Migration


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Posted Jun 15, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT:

Sir,

After reading your blog post about the 300% increase in the cost of healthcare for refugees, I wondered the cost in this country for illegal aliens. Healthcare. Education. Food stamps. Etc. I googled anywhere from 3.4 to 11 billion dollars from health care alone.

I laughed out loud after reading the above. You wrote about the turn on the last group of people off the boat.

Keep up the good work and see you in Nov

DK

ANSWER: The cost of socialism is not merely over the top, it has altered the migration patterns within human society tremendously. The waves of migration from Europe to America were each inspired by the economic conditions at home. Therefore, we find the Irish, Germans, Italians, and English all coming during varied waves or periods overall when looking at the majority (naturally there were people from each group who moved for personal reasons). Nonetheless, the one thing that they all had in common was that they paid for their passage and they did not expect social benefits for free.

Today, the migration patterns are purely economic, but they are inspired by socialism whereby they need only show up and receive automatic income and benefits. When the European migration took place, predominantly during the 19th century and then waves after World War I and World War II, the people received no handouts from the taxpayer. There were no social programs to receive free living expenses. Churches provided food when people gave to charity BEFORE there were taxes. Europeans migrated to the United States to start new lives and to earn a living — not because they would be subsidized.

There are waves of migration that are caused by political unrest and no doubt some of that was at the reason for people fleeing Syria. Less know is the wave of refugees fleeing to Colombia and Venezuela who are also seeking security and economic stability since the army continues to support the Venezuelan socialist government that is collapsing. There were Americans in the south who fled to Brazil during the Civil War. They were called Confederados (Portuguese pronunciation: [kõfedeˈɾadus]) and were some 10,000 to 20,000 Confederate American refugees. They settled primarily in the state of São Paulo.

Providing welfare checks to show up on your soil alters the reasons for migration that have existed for thousands of years.

Jun 15 2018

KRAUTHAMMER IS FINALLY BACK ON A PARTIAL BASIS. BELOW IS HIS EXCELLENT UNDERSTANDING OF WHO DONALD TRUMP IS: A PRAGMATIST.


Charles Krauthammer: He’d taken time off for some surgery, and this is the first piece of writing I’ve seen, and it is recent.

This is from Charles Krauthammer who did not go for Trump, BUT read what he thinks of him now!

Charles Krauthammer’s interesting take on Mr. Trump:

To my friends “of a different persuasion” I’m not trying to sell anything or anyone but I do feel this is an interesting take on our very controversial president who I truly believe is not Republican or Democrat.

A TAKE ON DONALD TRUMP …

A different take on Donald Trump: (a non-political agenda)

Trump Is Not A Liberal or Conservative, He’s a “Pragmatist.”  (Definition: A pragmatist is someone who is practical and focused on reaching a goal. A pragmatist usually has a straightforward, matter-of-fact approach and doesn’t let emotion distract him or her.)

“We recently enjoyed a belated holiday dinner with friends at the home of other friends. The dinner conversation varied from discussions about antique glass and china to theology and politics.

At one point, reference was made to Donald Trump being a conservative, to which I responded that Trump is not a conservative.

I said that I neither view nor do I believe Trump views himself as a conservative. I stated it was my opinion that Trump is a pragmatist. He sees a problem and understands it must be fixed. He doesn’t see the problem as liberal or conservative, he sees it only as a problem. That is a quality that should be admired and applauded, not condemned. But I get ahead of myself.

Viewing problems from a Liberal perspective has resulted in the creation of more problems, more entitlement programs, more victims, more government, more political correctness, and more attacks on the working class in all economic strata.

Viewing things according to the so-called Republican conservative perspective has brought continued spending and globalism to the detriment of American interests and well being, denial of what the real problems are, weak, ineffective, milquetoast, leadership that amounts to Barney Fife Deputy Sheriff, appeasement oriented and afraid of its own shadow. In brief, it has brought liberal ideology with a pachyderm as a mascot juxtaposed to the ass of the Democrat Party.

Immigration isn’t a Republican problem, it isn’t a Liberal problem, it is a problem that threatens the very fabric and infrastructure of America. It demands a pragmatic approach not an approach that is intended to appease one group or another.

The impending collapse of the economy wasn’t a Liberal or Conservative problem, it is an American problem. That said, until it is viewed as a problem that demands a common sense approach to resolution, it will never be fixed because the Democrats and Republicans know only one way to fix things and the longevity of their impracticality has proven to have no lasting effect.

Successful businessmen like Donald Trump find ways to make things work, they do not promise to accommodate.

Trump uniquely understands that China’s manipulation of currency is not a Republican problem or a Democrat problem. It is a problem that threatens our financial stability and he understands the proper balance needed to fix it.

Here again, successful businessmen, like Trump, who have weathered the changing tides of economic reality understand what is necessary to make business work, and they, unlike both sides of the political aisle, know that if something doesn’t work, you don’t continue trying to make it work hoping that at some point it will.

As a pragmatist, Donald Trump hasn’t made wild pie-in-the-sky promises of a cell phone in every pocket, free college tuition, and a $15 hour minimum wage for working the drive-through at Carl’s Hamburgers.

I argue that America needs pragmatists because pragmatists see a problem and find ways to fix them. They do not see a problem and compound it by creating more problems.

You may not like Donald Trump, but I suspect that the reason some people do not like him is because:

(1) he is antithetical to the “good old boy” method of brokering backroom deals that fatten the coffers of politicians;

(2) they are unaccustomed to hearing a president speak who is unencumbered by the financial shackles of those who he owes vis-a-vis donations;

(3) he is someone who is free of idiomatic political ideology;

(4) he says what he is thinking, is unapologetic for his outspoken thoughts, speaks very straightforward using everyday language that can be understood by all (and is offensive to some who dislike him anyway) making him a great communicator, for the most part, does what he says he will do and;

(5) he is someone who understands that it takes more than hollow promises and political correctness to make America great again.

Listening to Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders talk about fixing America is like listening to two lunatics trying to “out crazy” one another. Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Marco Rubio are owned lock, stock, and barrel by the bankers, corporations, and big dollar donors funding their campaigns. Bush can deny it, but common sense tells anyone willing to face facts is that people don’t give tens of millions without expecting something in return.

We have had Democrats and Republican ideologues and what has it brought us? Are we better off today or worse off? Has it happened overnight or has it been a steady decline brought on by both parties?

I submit that a pragmatist is just what America needs right now. People are quick to confuse and despise confidence as arrogance, but that is common among those who have never accomplished anything in their lives (or politicians who never really solved a problem, because it’s better to still have an “issue(s) to be solved,” so re-elect me to solve it, (which never happens) and those who have always played it safe (again, all politicians) not willing to risk failure, to try and achieve success).

Donald Trump put his total financial empire at risk in running for president and certainly did not need or possibly even want the job; that says it all. He wants success for the U.S. and her citizens because he loves his country.

Jun 15 2018

Watch this Video its really cool


Worth watching

Jun 15 2018

IG Report: FBI Officials Accepted Bribes From Media…


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 14, 2018 by

On Page Xii of the IG report the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (DOJ-OIG) highlights numerous FBI officials who accepted bribes from multiple media outlets including: “tickets to sporting events”, “golf outings”, “drinks and meals” as well as exclusive invitations and admission to “nonpublic social events”.

The OIG investigative finding was disturbing enough to launch a separate set of investigations that will be included in follow-up reports.

IG REPORT – We identified numerous FBI employees, at all levels of the organization and with no official reason to be in contact with the media, who were nevertheless in frequent contact with reporters. Attached to this report as Attachments E and F are two link charts that reflect the volume of communications that we identified between FBI employees and media representatives in April/May and October 2016. We have profound concerns about the volume and extent of unauthorized media contacts by FBI personnel that we have uncovered during our review.

In addition, we identified instances where FBI employees improperly received benefits from reporters, including tickets to sporting events, golfing outings, drinks and meals, and admittance to nonpublic social events. We will separately report on those investigations as they are concluded, consistent with the Inspector General Act, other applicable federal statutes, and OIG policy.

The harm caused by leaks, fear of potential leaks, and a culture of unauthorized media contacts is illustrated in Chapters Ten and Eleven of our report, where we detail the fact that these issues influenced FBI officials who were advising Comey on consequential investigative decisions in October 2016.

[…] We do not believe the problem is with the FBI’s policy, which we found to be clear and unambiguous. Rather, we concluded that these leaks highlight the need to change what appears to be a cultural attitude among many in the organization.  (link to pdf – page Xii of executive summary)

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/381806566/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-4WfKaOih0Xm7EA7gdK93

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Jun 14 2018

FBI Director Chris Wray Press Conference – 5:30pm Livestream


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 14, 2018 by

FBI Director Christopher Wray will be holding a 5:30pn press conference to discuss the issues and fallout from the DOJ Inspector General report released earlier today.

UPDATE: Video Added

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Those reading the report will note the executive summary and conclusions were not written by the same IG officials who wrote the body of the investigative findings.  The investigation doesn’t match the summary.  The media is using the summary for their narrative; however the content within the IG report is entirely devastating.

CNBC Livestream Link – RSBN Livestream Link – Alternate #2 Livestream Link

Jun 14 2018

HERE IT IS – Inspector General Report on FBI and DOJ Conduct During Clinton Investigation – Full 568 page pdf


Re-Posted from The Conservative Tree House on June 14, 2018 by

The 18-month Inspector General review of the DOJ/FBI investigation of the Hillary Clinton email has been released – OIG RELEASE LINK HERE

This IG inquiry is specifically looking into whether the FBI investigation was corrupted by political influence in their determination of the Clinton outcome. The IG report provides background on the overall issues, the potential crimes; the subsequent coverup; and the corruption that infested the 2016 Department of Justice and the FBI.

Here’s The Report:

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/381806566/content?start_page=1&view_mode=&access_key=key-4WfKaOih0Xm7EA7gdK93

(pdf link)

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Don’t Comment Unless You’ve Read The Full Report

Analysis will follow.

Jun 14 2018

Joseph T. Salerno: This is Why Socialism is a Negative Sum Game


Published on Nov 7, 2017

Joseph T. Salerno (born 1950) is an American Austrian School economist who is Professor of Economics, Chair of the economics graduate program in the Lubin School of Business at Pace University, and Academic Vice President of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. In this talk with Jeff Deist he talks about why socialism is a negative sum game. Full clip, creative common licenced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBIkj… — This channel aims at extracting central points of presentations into short clips. The topics cover the problems of leftist ideology and the consequences for society. If you like the content, subscribe to the channe