US City to Roll Out Guaranteed Basic Income


Armstrong Economics Blog/USA Current Events Re-Posted May 10, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The “Rise Up Cambridge: Cash Payments for Families with Kids” will provide low-income households with a monthly check for $500 to test guaranteed basic income. Those eligible are families with children who earn under 250% of the federal poverty level ($75K for a family of four). The 18-month program will not be based on a lottery like other guaranteed basic income rollouts, and anyone eligible may apply. The city has allotted $22 million for the initiative and expects around 2,000 families to apply.

The money to fund the program will primarily come from the American Rescue Plan, distributing our Federal tax dollars to others, and some independent donors will pitch in too. This program is only eligible for people with children under 21 and will not make a noticeable dent in the homeless population, nor will it help the elderly who live alone. That said, families with children already receive the most in Federal funds and if they’re living in high-cost Cambridge, chances are they’re receiving income elsewhere. The cost of living in Cambridge is 73% higher than the national average. The median rental price is around $4,277 per month, and the median home price is over $1.4 million.

“We want to stabilize as many households as possible and make sure that they have a chance to continue to stay in our city that, you know, is not easy to stay in,” Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui stated. A $500 payment in a high-cost city will never financially stabilize families. Instead, it will increase inflation and bypasses the middle class. Unlike traditional welfare programs, those eligible will receive direct deposit payments that they may spend as they see fit.

The American Rescue plan was not marketed as a guaranteed basic income initiative. Siddiqui is buying votes with Federal funds. The city is pricing out the middle class by providing handouts to those who cannot afford to live in an expensive city. Free money becomes like a drug and the people become hooked on receiving that monthly direct deposit. But, as with all drug, they will become dependent and will need more and more as the cost of living increases. This will only incentivize people to not work and vote for politicians who promise handouts at the expense of responsible taxpayers.

Tucker Starting on Twitter – Yes He Was Fired Probably for Jan 6th Clips


Armstrong Economics Blog/Press Re-Posted May 9, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Tucker Carlson Announces Venture with Elon Musk’s Twitter Broadcasting


Posted originally on the CTH on May 9, 2023 | Sundance 

Only if you really understand the background of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop, an argument can be made that the deal between Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson is trying to get the unsubsidized financial viability of Twitter under the control of an independent platform.  At least, that’s my slant on the positive perspective here.

As a free communication platform, Twitter has never been, and is not now, financially viable.  However, if Musk can continue finding ways to monetize the platform, subscriptions, exclusive content, advertising, and now broadcasting etc., he might finally be able to break free from the data processing subsidy running behind it.  We should be cautiously optimistic, yet pragmatic to the reality of the challenge.

Toward that end, Tucker Carlson announced today an intent to use the social media platform as a free speech and journalistic broadcasting system.  If Elon Musk chooses to make Carlson the anchor of this ¹Twitter enterprise it would be akin to ²Fox streaming services making Carlson the anchor of Fox News digital, via Fox Nation.  {Direct Rumble LinkWATCH:

Tucker Carlson teams up with Twitter

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¹On an investment/return approach, it would make a lot of sense for Elon Musk to give Tucker Carlson a percentage stake in the enterprise (25% backend wealth) in combination with a front-end lump sum and generous expense deferred contract [all write-offs for Musk].  Carlson retains full proprietary control of his created content; Musk gets platform profitable; a genuine win-win.

²Tucker Carlson and the show Tucker Carlson Today was the prior anchor of Fox Nation digital. Murdoch shot themselves in the streaming foot when they fired him.  However, you will notice Murdoch waited until Carlson had produced a year’s worth of yet to be broadcast long-format programming which Fox Nation still owns.

(Via Axios) Tucker Carlson, two weeks after being ousted by Fox News, accused the network Tuesday of fraud and breach of contract — and made a host of document demands that could precede legal action.

Why it matters: The aggressive letter from his lawyers to Fox positions Carlson to argue that the noncompete provision in his contract is no longer valid — freeing him to launch his own competing show or media enterprise.

On Tuesday, Carlson announced he would be bringing his show to Twitter.

“Starting soon we’ll be bringing a new version of the show we’ve been doing for the last six and a half years to Twitter,” he said in the video. “We bring some other things too, which we’ll tell you about. But for now we’re just grateful to be here. Free speech is the main right that you have. Without it, you have no others.”

The intrigue: The Twitter move would seem to technically violate Carlson’s contract with Fox, but his lawyers’ letter effectively holds that Fox breached the contract first.

Sources told Axios that Carlson’s lawyers sent their letter before he took to Twitter to announce his new show.

Catch up quick: Axios reported Sunday that Carlson, frustrated by being held to his contract, is preparing to unleash allies to pressure the network into letting him work for — or start — a right-wing rival.

Carlson’s contract runs until January 2025 and Fox wants to keep paying him, which would prevent him from starting a competing show.

Carlson already has gotten eye-popping offers from several right-wing outlets, and has talked to Elon Musk about working together.

The details: The letter — from Carlson lawyer Bryan Freedman to Fox officials Viet Dinh and Irena Briganti — said Fox employees, including “Rupert Murdoch himself,” broke promises to Carlson “intentionally and with reckless disregard for the truth.”

The lawyers accuse Fox executives — which two sources say are Dinh and Murdoch — of making “material representations,” or promises, to Carlson that were intentionally broken, constituting fraud.

Notably, the letter alleges Fox broke an agreement with Carlson not to leak his private communications to the media and not to use Carlson’s private messages “to take any adverse employment action against him.”

Multiple outlets have reported on Carlson’s redacted communications from pre-trial discovery documents and have suggested that they led to his ousting.

The letter also alleges Fox broke promises not to settle with Dominion Voting Systems “in a way which would indicate wrongdoing” on the part of Carlson and not to take any actions in a settlement that would harm Carlson’s reputation.

Carlson was told by a member of the Fox board that he was taken off the air as part of the Dominion settlement, two sources briefed on a conversation told Axios. (read more)

*Headline updated 10:52pm EST as Musk denies any current joint partnership – which makes sense, giving the pending litigation on the contract at Fox News.

Georgia Gov Brian Kemp Organizes Billionaire Bush Clan on Sea Island to Plot State for DeSantis, While GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Meets With Zuckerberg CEIR Election Manipulation Group


Posted originally on the CTH on May 9, 2023 | Sundance 

The Bush clan is always in the background, like the stench of a rotting whale carcass just over the horizon.

With Georgia on their mind for 2024, Governor Brian Kemp hosts a stop Trump confab at their infamous and preferred Sea Island retreat.  Meanwhile, thanks to the intrepid boots-on-ground reporting of Laura Loomer, we discover that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is meeting with Zuckerberg’s far-left Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), in Washington DC.

Why would state election officials be meeting with far-left election manipulation groups.  Well, put those two datapoints together, and once again the strings on the election official marionettes start glowing.  As we have said from the outset of the DeSantis construct in early 2022, watch the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) closely.

We are about to see exactly how the billionaire corporate funders control the Red State operations and manufacture the ‘illusion of choice‘.  The difference between now and the Romney era of 2012, through the Bush era of 2016, is that the American electorate are eyes-wide-open.  We are watching the assembly in real time, and once again at CTH we have no financial affiliation to influence our sunlight.  The gang might be getting back together, but The Truth Has No Agenda.

[Source – May 8, John Boehner attending Stop Trump Summit]

GEORGIA – […] Kemp gathered donors this week for a three-day retreat on Sea Island, Georgia, to plan for the 2024 campaign with a focus on the specific role of Georgia, a vital state for Republicans if they have any hope of winning the White House. According to a source familiar with the retreat, the event raised $1.2 million for Kemp’s committees. 

The retreat comes as former President Donald Trump leads in the polls among 2024 GOP presidential candidates, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second — but trailing — as he prepares to announce his campaign.

Kemp’s activities around 2024 raise his national profile and position him to be part of the mix for a gubernatorial alternative for president should DeSantis stumble. At the least, it positions him for a possible Senate run in 2026, since he will be barred from running for governor again because of state term limits. 

Kemp’s private retreat featured a long list of Republican operatives and leaders who gave presentations on a wide range of topics connected to the next election. Speakers included former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio; Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush; and former Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia.

During his remarks to the group, Kemp outlined what he believes the eventual GOP nominee must focus on for the party to be successful in 2024. 

“First, we have to tell voters what we’re for. Second, focus on the future. And third, we have to be able to win a general election. Because we can’t score points if we don’t have the ball,” Kemp said, according to the source familiar with the retreat. 

Kemp never mentioned Trump by name, but he warned Republicans that it will be difficult to win back the White House if the party continues to relitigate the 2020 election. He also has repeatedly said that electability should be a priority for GOP primary voters. 

After the 2020 election, Trump was angry that Kemp did not do more to challenge the presidential results in Georgia, so much so that he recruited former Sen. David Perdue to challenge Kemp in the Republican primary for governor in 2022. Kemp soundly defeated Perdue, and then Stacey Abrams, to win re-election. 

The retreat was put on by Kemp’s Hardworking Americans Inc., a federal super PAC he launched shortly after winning re-election last fall, and Georgia First Leadership Committee, his state leadership PAC.  (read more)

A fireside chat Sunday night to kick off the retreat between Kemp and Boehner. A panel moderated by conservative radio host Erick Erickson, featuring Rove and conservative pollster Brent Buchanan. A discussion with Kemp’s data guru Mark Stephenson. A policy discussion focused on national security and the global economy with a specific emphasis on China led by Loeffler […] joined on the panel by former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Feith and Club for Growth favorite Dave McCormick (PA).

BORDER invasion escalates as cities prepare for tent cities and tuberculosis outbreak | Redacted


Redacted News Posted originally on Rumble, Streamed on: May 8, 4:00 pm EDT Title 42 expires on May 11th and cities across America are preparing for an influx of illegal migrants. Michael Yon joins Redacted from the Darien Gap to show us what’s really happening south of the border and why the United States is funding this invasion.

Occam’s Razor – Fed Entrapment


Posted originally on the CTH on May 7, 2023 | Sundance 

Occam’s Razor: When faced with competing explanations for the same phenomenon, the simplest is likely the correct one.

(1) An investigative silo within the federal apparatus falsely identified me as “1% Watchdog.”  (2) When confronted with the truth of the matter, and after their own independent investigation, federal investigators acknowledged that some other entity fabricated their bona fides using my identity.  (3) Admitted (by them) the most likely motive was to influence trust amid the communication group of “1% Watchdog.”

In my humble opinion, and applying Occam’s Razor, “1% Watchdog” was/is a federal agent.

What other motive would a person carry to fabricate their identity, create false bona fides, if not to influence a sense of trust in their target audience?

NOTICE the wording: […] “your administration of the “Stop the Steal J6” channel.”

This appears to outline “1% Watchdog” as the owner/administrator/controller of the communication platform.

These are not unfounded suppositions.  Simply reverse engineer the process, apply the scientific method to your review, then apply Occam’s razor.

Counselors – On behalf of your client(s) file a motion with the judge requesting a court order compelling Zello to give up the registration records of the ‘Stop the Steal J6’ channel.  This will identify the person behind “1% Watchdog”.  If federal prosecutors fight the request for the court order, well: (a) there’s your answer; and (b) take the next step of using the preexisting congressional subpoena as evidence to support your compulsion.

For MEDIA – In an effort to improve personal time management, and devote necessary time to advancing our goals, please consider this a standard form letter response to any further inquiry:

Dear Mr./Mrs. XXXXXXXX, prudence and necessarily instilled manners dictate that all correspondence deserves the full weight of a polite response.

Allow me to thank you, with the humblest and earnest of appreciation, for all you do on behalf of a simple citizenry of which I am a proud and insignificant member.

Indeed, if our paths were ever to cross in person, I hold no disposition that you, as a person of consequence, would ever afford these calloused and well-worn hands the time of day. I am, like many, comfortably invisible.

That said, and with the utmost respect for your professional endeavors, I hope you will consider this correspondence carefully.

It is not our “goal” to raise our profile through the injustice that corruption represents. It is our goal to shine light upon that corruption….

When you see that justice is measured, not by due process, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to invoke your sixth amendment right to due process, you need to obtain permission from men who rebuke the constitution – when you see that justice is determined by those who leverage, not in law, but in politics – when you see that men get power over individual liberty by graft and by scheme, and your representatives don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption holding influence and individual liberty so easily dispatched and nullified – you may well know that your freedom too is soon to perish.

You present opportunity for interview as if it is reflective of some courageous or magnanimous endeavor on your behalf. Alas, the disconnect, and innocent naivete’ of those only partially immersed in the battle to save the republic, shines through.

I’m almost certain that you hold the best of all intentions. However, in viewing a goal to be getting this type of story advanced, you miss the entire point.

My honest and respectfully intended question to you would be: What is it that makes media folks always want to “get an interview” when the information is there for the taking?

Perhaps, by training, by habit, or by unintended consequence you have developed your business model, and as a consequence yourself, to live for the process itself as an end result. Is it logical to believe that journalism is the interview; the conversation is the point; the smoke is the fire?

Please forgive my uneducated and poorly worded suppositions, but apparently journalism has evolved into reveling in the process and, as a consequence, it completely ignores the end point, misses the bottom line, doesn’t actually SEE the subject matter and never actually applies what might be discovered.

In fact, I’m led to believe that sometimes those within the media avoid the subject matter deliberately, because if they get their heads around it and nail it home, they won’t have anything to talk about anymore – because they will have exhausted their stash.

Not attempting whatsoever to lump your intention into such a fray; however, many have gotten into the habit of milking each situation for “so many leads,” “so many interviews,” “so many column inches,” and “so many angles” that problem-solving does not appeal to them at all. They oddly appear to favor the endless process.

So, when there’s an approach like what you are encountering with our significant site research, and my reluctance for self-involvement, I don’t fit – because I don’t give a flip about “the process.” And therefore, I do not fit into the rationale of the box or the PERT chart.

If you want to make these truths known, they are free for the taking; and they are by no matter or consequence dependent on my advancement.

Borrowing from Mike Vanderboegh – This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.

But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.

And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

With profound appreciation for your time and attention, and the warmest of regards.

Truly,

Sundance

[Support The Conservative Treehouse Here]

Week in Review: Kremlin Bombing “False Flag” Allegation, Fox/Tucker Fallout, & Dems Rig Election for Biden, w/ Michael Tracey | SYSTEM UPDATE #82


Glenn Greenwald Streamed originally on Rumble on: May 5, 7:40 pm EDT

The Hate & Great Divide – Tearing Apart Even Families


Armstrong Economics Blog/Great Divide Re-Posted May 6, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT #1: I see you are not a 100% diehard Republican or a Democrat. Not sure what that makes you. Perhaps you should run for president.

LR

COMMENT #2: The more I have looked into everything, the more I see your point. The majority of people think linearly. Everything is just a straight line. It seems hopeless to ever get humanity to advance and see the world of cycles.

PV

COMMENT #3: You are as biased as Tucker. Your day is coming too.

HN

COMMENT #4: These are trying times. I and my son no longer talk. He voted for Biden and I for Trump. He refuses to relent and we no longer have respect for one another. Never thought this would come to that.

WH

REPLY: First, I am sure you are being sarcastic. I think they would assassinate me before my hand ever got close to the book to swear in. I don’t have the passion to rule from the White House. I believe in cycles, not the authoritarian rule. The country is too deeply divided. I am middle of the road. I believe in individual freedom of speech, religion, and rights. Our company is like the UN. We have offices around the world with different races, creeds, and ethnic backgrounds. We all get along and we all respect each other. Our staff is there because they are qualified – not to fill some slot to pretend we are diversified.

One of my partners before he died out of the blue asked me to make sure that everything went to his second wife. He no longer was on speaking terms with his children. I have witnessed this many times. I remember growing up my father had a client who left everything to the woman who was his caretaker. When he dies, the kids ransacked the house punching holes in the wall and looking for hoards of cash they thought he had. The justice was, they had to pay for all the damage for he left them with nothing. Many have written in about how this Great Divide has divided their families.

It is not as uncommon as one might think. As some have said, you have a 50% chance they kids may be like your wife and if you split because you did not get along, then I suppose it makes sense. Another friend cannot speak with his children for they thought COVID was real and called their father a conspiracy nut. They refuse to admit they were wrong and just will no longer speak to their father.

When you try to tell people how to live and follow some rules arbitrarily created, you will infringe upon freedom. That is why there MUST be a separation of religion from state. Once any religion seeks to control the state, freedom ends. We have gone through so many upheavals in history outlawing drinking to outright religious wars that became gun battles on the streets in the United States. Even the Civil War was inspired by religion.

There were gun battles between Protestants and Catholics bringing the old hatred from England to America. Attacks on Muslims today is simply how history unfolds. Whoever the press demonizes, transforms into prejudice and then violence. The Muslims were demonized because of the Terrorists and we will see similar violence against Russians in the not-to-distant future. They locked up all the Japanese during WWII.

This is a video I would show at conferences over the decades. This illustrates the complexity of cyclical behavior.

There is such hidden complexity that it is impossible to regulate society and create whatever people dream of. To Marx, it was to eliminate the business cycle and he blamed the rich. Confiscating all the assets from people did not terminate the business cycle. Keynes followed Marx and tried to create a government to also eliminate the business cycle.

All I can hope is that we move toward a realistic form of government and STOP this leftist idea of authoritarian rule to create some utopia that is just impossible. The fools like Bill Gates who tries to reduce the entire world to CO2 illustrate for as smart as people think they are, they are still very primitive and have never tried to discover the true nature of the world in which they live.

I know a lot of people who hate me read this blog just to see what I have said now. Don’t worry, I have no interest in ruling the world. I am just waiting for Scotty to beam me up. The government tried to kill me once but I survived and woke from a coma. I’m sure they will try again when they no longer want to listen to the forecasts.

For you see, just as you hate me, I am not fond of the world you are trying to advocate. So go ahead – vote for Biden and let’s get WWIII over with ASAP. This is all part of the cycle and you are fulfilling your role in bringing this American experiment to an end. Somehow you lost the meaning of freedom. You just hate anyone who does not comply with your ideas.

Follow Up – Answering Questions


Posted originally on the CTH on May 5, 2023 | Sundance 

A follow-up to answer some of the popular questions about my experience with the corrupt administrative state, what I prefer to call the Fourth Branch of Government that operates behind the visible Potemkin Village.

♦Why did you wait a year to outline what took place?  Common question. Lots of reasons, some obvious, some obscure and strategically granular.  First, I know the people who are not in alignment with the principles of freedom also watch our discussion.  If I am engaged with them in conflict, I do not want them to see my path.  Second, I did not want them to shut down our conversation using ‘national security’ as the blanket often deployed.  Third, I wanted to watch and assemble data quietly.

♦Why tell the story now?  AG Garland just quantified publicly what the DOJ was doing.  They just put details on the scope of their unconstitutional activity.  Keep in mind, AG Garland is the Robert Mueller of the DOJ. Garland has no better understanding of what is going on inside that heavily siloed institution of Main Justice than Joe Biden understands what is going on inside his (White House).  The true manager of the apparatus is Lisa Monaco, Obama’s eyes and ears into Main Justice operations.   The Lawfare operatives ultimately report to Monaco, not chairman emeritus Garland.

♦Who benefits from the current information?  If you take the time to fully absorb what is evident, traceable and provable to a demonstrable certainty, the representatives of any target who was/is also facing evidence gained by similar construct benefit.  The source information is all there, free for the taking; following it leads to the same outcome – it is what it is.  Whether it is beneficial or not is unique to the individual, or their rep.  Beyond that, hopefully the general public will take pause and think about the ramifications.  When you change the way you look at something, what you look at changes.   The truth has no agenda.

♦What ramifications does this mean for the Twitter Files?   Not sure.  Essentially, the research team that Musk allowed to send requests and “key word searches” to the Twitter administrators/lawyers, who then transferred those search terms into the database requests and relayed the outcomes, already know the majority of this stuff.  What the research team, Twitter Files journalists with approval to make requests, do not know is what terms to ask for.  Really, that’s their biggest weakness – they don’t know what to look for.

Hopefully, this information now provides them material, at least stimulates their inquiry in another direction, and they can then turn their new knowledge into internal search requests.  This outlook assumes the lawyers at Twitter doing the searches will allow the results to be turned over to the journalists. That’s a big assumption with all potential class-action litigation considered.

♦Did you have to defend yourself against this?  Yes, and yes, it’s not cheap.  There are only a handful of lawyers within driving distance to DC who would even contemplate taking on a client who is going against the system with unlimited resources.  Those that do should be praised. Think about how much it would cost you to take a lawyer from outside the beltway to travel for a single overnight stay in DC to assist.  This is not feasible for anyone.  Thankfully, I had experience in knowing the system, and with guidance/advice could represent myself.

♦How did you know what approach to take?  Well, when you understand the issue, and understand there was absolutely ZERO merit to the probable cause, it opens a door to turn the tables on the inquisitors.   I studied the legal approach used by Eric Dubelier.  I studied several of his cases and reviewed all of his court filings.

I consider Eric ‘Dubes’ Dubelier the Yoda of the light forces aligned against the evil empire of DC.  If you are not familiar with Dubelier check out the Concord Mgt case against Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissman.  Dubes wins his cases in the discovery phase, making the sunlight uncomfortable for the crooks.

The Concord case was/is an excellent resource in how to turn the tables.  I found myself with many parallels.  Weissmann/Mueller dropped the Concord case, saying Dubes was forcing them to reveal the source provenance of the claims against his client, and that was a national security risk.  It was a little funny, but ultimately Dubes won in discovery.

Random stuff – Yes, Matt Taibbi is now aware of my encounter with this system.  The subpoena is just as crazy to him as it sounds to all of us.  I have said before, in my opinion Taibbi is a good guy who, almost identical to Tucker Carlson, changed the way he looked, and the thing he looked at changed.  Both Tucker and Taibbi have a fulsome perspective on the scale of corruption and manipulation that is everywhere.

Hopefully this also explains why CTH 2.0 took the path of creating a proprietary commenting system when we relaunched.  As you can tell, the platforms are monitored through back door arrangements with people, institutions and systems that ultimately may not have good intentions.  There is no backdoor into CTH and the privacy of people who comment here is a top priority.  This is a conversational place where we can all be comfortable, obviously grandma’s rules apply.

Bottom Line – We will win this battle and eventually this war.  We are on the right side of every issue, and we cherish freedom.  Our opposition is built upon a foundation of fraud and lies.  They are corrupt and their arguments collapse when challenged.  That’s why they need the rules and referees slanted in their favor.  That’s why they need censorship, deplatforming and control.

I know it can be overwhelming at times to find optimism against all of this corruption, but the choice of joy is ours.

Every time you enjoy your day, you are winning.  Every time to do not let them steal your peace of mind, you defeat them.  Every time you embrace the simple joys of the sun on your face or the breeze upon you, and you do it with gratitude and genuine thankfulness for this blessed life we are able to live, you defeat every element of darkness that would whisper on your shoulder.

Ultimately, this is what living your best life is about.  Life is about choices.  Choose to be happy, make a conscious effort to cherish and appreciate the people around you. Give that starter smile; if you have the time – give up your place in line to someone who doesn’t; open the door, help your neighbor, do something random and useful and good, and do it as much as you can.

Find a way to generate and express grace, even in the face of hate and bitterness.  Be wise, perhaps cynical and be strategic.  Be cautious and yet do not allow coarseness to become your center of gravity.  In the face of all adversity and disenchantment, keep peace within yourself.  Live with the joy our loving God provides and fearlessly live your best life.

I will share more as time permits and try to answer any questions that might surface.