Posted originally on the CTH on October 22, 2023 | Sundance
Always remember, CNN = U.S. State Dept position.
CNN is reporting the Obama/Biden administration are seeking to delay the Israeli counteroffensive into Gaza in order to gain more time for hostage negotiations. Israel denies feeling pressure, yet something is holding them back; make of that what you will. However, the delay itself tracks accurately with the predictable intent of the ideologues behind the hidden agenda of the administration.
CNN – The Biden administration has pressed Israel to delay its imminent invasion of Gaza to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and for aid to reach Gaza, according to two sources briefed on the discussions.
The release of two Americans held by Hamas Friday signaled that more of roughly 200 people believed to be kidnapped by the militant group may be freed after they were taken during the group’s deadly attacks launched against Israel two week ago.
“The [administration] pressed Israeli leadership to delay because of progress on the hostage front,” and the need to get trucks of aid into Gaza, one person familiar with the discussions said. The NSC did not immediately respond for comment.
Qatar, acting as a middle-man for the US and Israel, has been leading the discussions with Hamas about releasing the hostages since they were abducted by the militant group. According to a diplomat briefed on the talks, the negotiations have included talks about getting much-needed aid into Gaza and the need for a temporary ceasefire to get the prisoners out. Israel has not indicated they are considering a ceasefire. (read more)
As earlier reported, “US president Joe Biden, when asked by a reporter on Friday whether Israel should delay a potential ground invasion of Gaza until more hostages can get out, said “Yes.” The administration later tried to walk back that statement. Additionally, Bloomberg has also reported on the intent of the Biden administration to delay any ground war directly into Gaza until the hostages could be released {link}.
♦ Non-Pretending Predictability. Hamas, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Biden administration are all working together. This is a geopolitical dynamic of merged interests aligned in common cause against the nation state of Israel. The transparency of a slow-drip hostage release, and the Western media spotlight upon it is predictable.
Everything is being done to stall, impede, slow down and interfere in the Israeli War against Hamas. Within this dynamic, the Brotherhood, Qatar, Hamas and the White House have the same objective. Trust me; Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia can see it very clearly.
First, a reminder of the baseline.
Obama/Biden et al, want a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. I believe all efforts are underway to exploit the 10/7/23 terrorist attack to advance that agenda. Netanyahu is being carefully painted into a position where the survival of Israel will be contingent upon accepting this two-state solution, which essentially means -in the long picture- the elimination of the Israeli state.
Biden will give the outward face of complete support toward Israel; however, the background work will be to protect Gaza, and thereby Hamas, and controllably expand -if needed- the regional conflict, such that a two-state solution becomes the only viable option for the survival of Israel. Efforts by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood and by extension Iran, will appear to be confronted by Biden, but only insofar as the need for USA military support becomes more important and that dependency paints Netanyahu into a corner.
The nation of Qatar is the financial support system for the Muslim Brotherhood – the political umbrella of extremist (authentic) Islam. The Brotherhood supports Hamas, al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, the Islamic State and all the terrorist affiliates therein. The Brotherhood leadership live in Turkey, under the protection of Recep Erdogan – who wants to recreate the Ottoman Empire. The Hamas leadership live in Qatar, under the protection of Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani. Joe Biden supports the efforts of Erdogan and Thani.
Now, does the 2022 memo pictured left make more sense?
Each of the aforementioned actors, including Obama/Biden and all the U.S. operatives from the State Dept therein, view Israel as the provocateur in the dynamic. The pro-Palestinian progressive movement within the Democrat Party is visibly part of this dynamic. Thus, the alignment of common interests can be expanded to include, leftists, Democrats, Palestinians, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Biden Administration and Qatar. The common enemy, Israel.
Once you understand this dynamic, then you are able to see what happens in the background and how it aligns with the interests of the group.
Blunting any effort by the Israelis in the war against Hamas becomes a matter of taking steps that make it more difficult for the international community to support the Israeli side of the war against Hamas. The release of the two American hostages is part of this PR effort.
If hostages can be released/saved, shouldn’t all ‘good faith’ diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the 250 be exhausted before supporting Israels retaliation? See how that works?
That approach dilutes the righteous effort of Israel and starts to put a larger coalition against retaliation into place. Obama/Biden began this dilution process by warning Israel not to be emotionally focused on vengeance during his remarks a few days ago. The same was repeated during his national address.
Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egypt’s President Sisi and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman have all been around the block with U.S. hidden agendas. They can see this play just as clearly as I am outlining it to you now. It is a dangerous game Obama/Biden, Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood are playing. Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia want no part of it.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 18, 2023 | Sundance
On the issue of foreign policy influence, and on the issue of rebranding his political campaign Joe Biden’s trip to Israel was abject failure. Jordan, Egypt and even the Palestinian Authority refused to meet with him. The only thing left for the team in control of Joe Biden to do, was shift the purpose of the trip into a dynamic of magnanimous Joe wanting to fly around the world to provide moral support. Because Zoom and phone calls were not an option. lol
I’ll have more on this in a few minutes. In the interim here’s the officially prepared speech that Joe Biden read as prepared for him by the people in charge of foreign policy. WATCH:
[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon. Please have a seat. I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone. You are not alone.
As long as the United States stands — and we will stand forever — we will not let you ever be alone.
Most importantly, the — I know the recent terrorist assault on the people of this nation has left a deep, deep wound.
More than 1,300 innocent Israelis killed, including at least 31 American citizens, by the terrorist group Hamas.
Hundreds — hundreds of young people at a music festival of — the festival was for peace — for peace — gunned down as they ran for their lives.
Scores of innocents — from infants to elderly grandparents, Israelis and Americans — taken hostage.
Children slaughtered. Babies slaughtered. Entire families massacred.
Rape, beheadings, bodies burned alive.
Hamas committed atrocities that recall the worst ravages of ISIS, unleashing pure unadulterated evil upon the world.
There is no rationalizing it, no excusing it. Period.
The brutality we saw would have cut deep anywhere in the world, but it cuts deeper here in Israel.
October 7th, which was a sacred to — a sacred Jewish holiday, became the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. It has brought to the surface painful memories and scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and the genocide of the Jewish people.
The world watched then, it knew, and the world did nothing. We will not stand by and do nothing again. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
To those who are living in limbo waiting desperately to learn the fate of loved ones, especially to families of the hostages: You’re not alone.
We’re working with partners throughout the region, pursuing every avenue to bring home those who are being held captive by Hamas.
I can’t speak publicly about all the details, but let me assure you: For me as the American president, there is no higher priority than the release and safe return of all these hostages.
To those who are grieving a child, a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend, I know you feel like there’s that black hole in the middle of your chest. You feel like you’re being sucked into it.
The survivor’s remorse, the anger, the questions of faith in your soul.
Starting at — staring at that empty chair, sitting Shiva. The first Sabbath without them.
They are the everyday things — the small things that you miss the most.
The scent when you open the closet door. The morning coffee you shared together.
The bend in his smile, the perfect pitch of her laugh, the giggle of your little boy — the baby.
For those who have lost loved ones, this is what I know: They’ll never be truly gone. There’s something that’s never fully lost: your love for them and their love for you.
And I promise you, you’ll be walking along some days and say, “What would she or he want me to do?” You’ll smile when you pass a place that reminds you of them. That’s when you know — when a smile comes to your lips before a tear to your eye — that’s when you know you’re going to fully make it.
That’s what will give you the fortitude to find light in the darkest hours when terrorists believed they could bring down — bring you down, bend your will, break your resolve. But they never did, and they never will.
Instead, we saw incredible stories of heroism and courage of Israelis taking care of one another.
Neighbors forming watch groups to protect their kibbutz, opening their homes to shelter survivors.
Retired soldiers running into danger once again.
Civilian medics flying across rescue — flying rescue missions. And off-duty medics at the musical festival caring for the wounded before coming victim — before becoming a victim themselves.
Volunteers retrieving bodies of the dead so families could bury their loved ones in accordance with Jewish tradition.
Reservists leaving behind their families, their honeymoons, their studies abroad without hesitation.
And so much more.
The State of Israel was born to be a safe place for the Jewish people of the world. That’s why it was born. I have long said: If Israel didn’t exist, we would have to invent it.
And while it may not feel that way today, Israel must again be a safe place for the Jewish people. And I promise you: We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that it will be.
Seventy-five years ago, just 11 minutes after its founding, President Harry S. Truman and the United States of America became the first nation to recognize Israel. We have stood by your side ever since, and we’re going to stand by your side now.
My administration has been in close touch with your leadership from the first moments of this attack, and we are going to make sure we have — you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation.
For decades, we’ve ensured Israel’s qualitative military edge. And later this week, I’m going to ask the United States Congress for an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense.
We are going to keep Iron Dome fully supplied so it can continue standing sentinel over Israeli skies, saving Israeli lives.
We have moved U.S. military assets to the region, including positioning the USS Ford carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the USS Eisenhower on the way, to deter — to defer further aggression against Israel and to prevent this conflict from spreading.
The world will know that Israel is — Israel is stronger than ever.
And my message to any state or any other hostile actor thinking about attacking Israel remains the same as it was a week ago: Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.
Since this terrorist attack — terrorist attack took place, we have seen it described as Israel’s 9/11. But for a nation the size of Israel, it was like 15 9/11s. The scale may be different, but I’m sure those horrors have tapped into so- — some kind of primal feeling in Israel, just like it did and felt in the United States.
Shock, pain, rage — an all-consuming rage. I understand, and many Americans understand.
You can’t look at what has happened here to your mothers, your fathers, your grandparents, sons, daughters, children — even babies — and not scream out for justice. Justice must be done.
But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it.
After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes.
I’m the first U.S. president to visit Israel in time of war.
I’ve made wartime decisions. I know the choices are never clear or easy for the leadership. There’s always costs.
But it requires being deliberate. It requires asking very hard questions. It requires clarity about the objectives and an honest assessment about whether the path you are on will achieve those objectives.
The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.
Hamas uses innocents — innocent families in Gaza as human shields, putting their command centers, their weapons, their communications tunnels in residential areas.
The Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well. We mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives. Like the entire world, I was outraged and saddened by the enormous loss of life yesterday in the hospital in Gaza.
Based on the information we’ve seen to date; it appears the result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza.
The United States unequivocally stands for the protection of civilian life during conflict, and I grieve — I truly grieve for the families who were killed or wounded by this tragedy.
The people of Gaza need food, water, medicine, shelter.
Today, I asked the Israeli cabinet — who I met with for some time this morning — to agree to the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas, Israel agreed that humanitarian assistance can begin to move from Egypt to Gaza.
Let me be clear: If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people and it will end. As a practical matter, it will — it will stop the international community from being able to provide this aid.
We’re working in close cooperation with the government of Egypt; the United Nations and its agencies, like the World Food Program; and other partners in the region to get trucks moving across the border as soon as possible.
Separately, I asked Israel that the global community demand that the International Red Cross be able to visit hostages. I just demanded that the United States fully — a just demand that the United States fully supports.
Today, I’m also announcing $100 million in new U.S. funding for humanitarian assistance in both Gaza and the West Bank. This money will support more than 1 million displaced and conflict-affected Palestinians, including emergency needs in Gaza.
You are a Jewish state. You are a Jewish state, but you’re also a democracy. And like the United States, you don’t live by the rules of terrorists. You live by the rule of law. And when conflicts flare, you live by the ru- — law of wars.
What sets us apart from the terrorists is we believe in the fundamental dignity of every human life — Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Jew, Muslim, Christian — everyone.
You can’t give up what makes you who you are. If you give that up, then the terrorists win. And we can never let them win.
You know, Israel is a miracle — a triumph of faith and resolve and resilience over impossible pain and loss.
Think about October 7th — the Jewish holiday where you read about the death of Moses. A tragic story of a profound loss to an entire nation. A death that could have left he- — a helpless — hopelessness in the hearts of the entire — of an entire nation.
But though Moses died, his memory, his message, his lessons have lived on for generations of the Jewish people as well as many others — and just as the memory of your loved ones will live on as well.
After reading the story of Moses’s death, those who observe the holiday begin reading the Torah from the very beginning. The story of creation reminds us of two things. First, that when we get knocked down, we get back up again and we begin anew. And second, when we are faced with tragedy and loss, we must go back to the beginning and remember who we are.
We are all human beings created in the image of God with dignity, humanity, and purpose. In the darkness, to be the light unto the world is what we’re about.
You inspire hope and light for so many around the world. That’s what the terrorists seek to destroy. That’s what they seek to destroy but — because they live in darkness — but not you, not Israel.
Nations of conscience like the United States and Israel are not measured solely by the example of their power. We’re measured by the power of our example.
That’s why, as hard as it is, we must keep pursuing peace. We must keep pursuing a path so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely, in security, in dignity, and in peace.
For me, that means a two-state solution.
We must keep working for Israel’s greater integration with its neighbors. These attacks have only strengthened my commitment and determination and my will to get that done.
I’m here to tell you that terrorists will not win. Freedom will win.
So, let me end where I began. Israel, you are not alone. The United States stands with you.
I told the story before and I’ll tell it again of my first meeting with an Israeli prime minister 50 years ago as a young senator. I was sitting across from Golda Meir at her desk in her office. And she had a guy named — a guy who later became prime minister sitting next to me, just before the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
And she flipped the maps up and down, te- — telling me how bad things were and how terrible they were. All of the sudden, she looked and me, and she said, “Would you like a photograph?”
And I looked at her — she got up from her desk and walked out into that hallway — I think it’s marble flooring — walked out in the hallway.
We walked out, and there were a bunch of photographers standing in front of us. We were standing shoulder to shoulder.
Without her looking at me, she said to me, knowing I’d hear her, “Why do you look so worried, Senator Biden?” And I said, “Worried?” Like, “Of course, I’m worried.” And she looked at me and — she didn’t look, she said, “We — don’t worry, Senator, we Israelis have a secret weapon: We have nowhere else to go.”
Well, today, I say to all of Israel: The United States isn’t going anywhere either. We’re going to stand with you. We’ll walk beside you in those dark days, and we’ll walk beside you in the good days to come. And they will come.
As you say in Hebrew, which I’m not going to attempt to do because I’m such a terrible linguist, I’ll say it in English, “The people of Israel live.” “The people of Israel live.”
Israel will be a safe, secure, Jewish, and Democratic state today, tomorrow, and forever.
May God protect all those who work for peace. God save those who are still in harm’s way.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 18, 2023 | Sundance
In discussion of the Middle East, the current dynamic of Hamas attacking Israel, and the necessary, albeit perhaps painful response that will now be delivered by Israel, some have noted Obama’s fingerprints are all over this. It’s true, and it is worth remembering the history of this as it pertains to the U.S. triggering the Arab Spring as the first deployment of Obama’s foreign policy.
Obama didn’t travel to Cairo, Egypt for his first foreign policy trip accidentally; he did it with great intent and purpose.
The layers and layers of ideologues he and Hillary embedded in the institutions of the State Dept are as deep as the layers of ideologues Obama embedded in Main Justice and the intelligence community.
The time when Barry needed to give directions is long past. The embeds are self-aware, acting on purpose, and the outcomes we see today are simply manifestations of that activity.
It is also worth remembering there’s an entire new generation of people, who were in their 20’s and 30’s comfortably oblivious to what was taking place between 2009 and 2017, when the embeds were installed. That era of the American people is only now starting to have their own slow awakening to the damage as it surfaces.
When Obama aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, only a small percentage of the American people actually saw the big picture and realized the potential for long term issues. Few people understood the nature of how political Islam would manifest with the extremist ideologues under their guide of the Brotherhood as an organization. Al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah et al, all fall under the extremist rubric of the Brotherhood, or what might be considered authentic Islam.
The zookeepers of the Middle East watched as the Obama network supported the opening of the big cat cages. The aftermath was predictable, and within that dynamic, those zookeepers who survived have had enough of the Obama/Biden crisis. That’s why you see people like Abdel Fattal al-Sisi (Egypt), King Abdullah II (Jordan), and Mohammed Bin Salman (Saudi Arabia), completely shunning Joe Biden. They’ve simply had enough.
President Donald Trump represented a new dynamic within this complex relationship, a new dynamic that was actually respected and appreciated for the lack of cultural demand and the simple honesty he presented. Yes, with Trump there are positive things that can be accomplished in common cause, but that’s not the Obama/Biden ideological approach.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping are only able to influence the Middle East because the leadership within the Middle East has tired of the American manipulative agenda under Obama/Biden. Egypt joining BRICS, and the expansion of the trade bloc, is one small geopolitical step in the diminishment of the overall American influence. Beneath the surface, all respect for the USA is gone, at least for the Obama/Biden approach, and we are seeing that play out in current events.
Yes, Barry’s fingerprints are all over this current dynamic; and yes, the leadership in the Middle East has tuned out their voices.
The zookeepers give cursory and polite responses, but under the surface there is no influence left.
Obama/Biden and the larger ideological West will chase windmills and solar nonsense; the rest of the world won’t have time for that. It’s a completely different geopolitical landscape now, despite the ideologues in the U.S. institutions pretending they have influence.
Barry is a pathetic narcissist who will never admit to his failure. However, the history books -just like his own autobiographical author- will reduce him down to a pathetic ego-driven small man of little character. Biden will be an asterisk.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 15, 2023 | Sundance
Good grief, if the stakes of this issue were not so high, I probably would not have watched this. Alas, a review was necessary to judge the competency of policy. What follows is beyond sad.
I know many readers here will not like the thought of watching pudding brain mutter his way through a carefully edited and controlled interview by a corporate outlet intent on presenting Biden in the best possible light. However, you only really need to watch the introduction by CBS host, Scott Pelley.
Never before have I seen a more transparently pathetic political defense presented as the introduction to an interview of a U.S. president. Pelley was apologetic toward Biden in the extreme, leading the viewer into an interview with prescripted justification and excuses for the content that would follow. Watching Pelley set up this interview elicits a sense of embarrassment that such a set-up is needed. When he gets into the interview, Pelley actually constructs the talking points for Biden, with explanations and outlines that provide simple yes/no answers from Biden. This interview is so soft, it becomes pathetic to watch:
Posted originally on the CTH on October 1, 2023 | Sundance
I’m not saying he has entirely lost all his marbles, but there’s certainly a giant hole in the bag.
Toward the end of his remarks demanding more money for Ukraine, Joe Biden was questioned by the DC stenographers. In one segment he was questioned about Kevin McCarthy keeping his word to provide unlimited billions for the Ukraine laundry operation. As Biden started to talk about McCarthy… something went wrong and he had a Mitch McConnell moment. WATCH (prompted):
Karine Jean-Pierre must take a deep breath when Peter Doocy enters the room, hence why she rarely calls on him for a question. Doocy has become emboldened with his inquiries and is one of the only journalists willing to ask the tough questions. Doocy’s latest doozy: “It seems like the hurricane response so far is robust. Did you guys realize that the initial Hawaiian wildfire was not that good or is it just easier for people to get help from the White House when [Biden] is not on vacation?”
Biden’s propaganda specialist replied by saying the current administration replied in record time. “So, the premise of your question & the way you posed [it], I disagree…If you talk to…the governor…the folks on the ground, they would say…[he] reacted in record time,” KJP stated. Biden’s first response to the Maui fires was, “No comment.” The island was burning down and Biden sat idly on a beach Delaware for ten days without a care in the world. He offered the people of Maui $700, a mere fraction of what he gave to the people of Ukraine that same week, and did not rush to visit the island. The people did not want him to visit anyway.
The people of Maui booed Biden when he arrived and set up signs after he left to show how displeased they were. Biden made jokes about the ground being hot and then said he could empathize with the people who lost everything, as he once almost lost his corvette in a fire.
Joe Biden has spent 40% of his time in office on vacation. He has taken 360 vacation days since taking over the White House amid one of the worst multitudes of crises in US history. This proves that someone else is in control. No one in any occupation could take off 40% of the time and do their job effectively.
Fewer than one in four Americans (24%) want President Joe Biden to run again, according to a poll published on August 17th by the Associated Press. Even 55% of Democrats do not think he should run. As far as his approval rating is concerned, he remains one of the most unpopular presidents in American history. Meanwhile, he has allowed the Republican presidential front-runner to be charged criminally, who is now under indictment for 91 felonies in four criminal cases. RFK, the Spectator, proclaimed that “everything about him screams amusing sideshow rather than [a] serious contender.” They reduce him to “the country’s most prominent antivaxxer — a fringe role almost by definition.”
They seem oblivious to all the people who have been injured by the Pfizer vaccines and those who died. My own lawyer took the shot to show he could travel, got the blood clots, and now his doctor warns he should not fly. My neighbor had COVID-19 and was forced to get the vaccination to go on a cruise. The next day, the ambulance rushed her to the hospital, where she almost died at the age of only 27. Another man who works for me and his entire family gets seriously ill from any vaccine. These pro-vaccine people are ruthless, untrustworthy, and brainwashed. They should all be deported to California. We are NOT all clones. I hate to tell them there is NO constitutional authority to force medical treatment on any citizen.
The word circulating is that the Democrats are not very happy about the Big Guy. They are searching for a replacement, but the Neocons need another stooge. It cannot be someone anti-war. That is why they must defeat Trump, which will not be easy – they have made him an international martyr. I believe that the Neocons will assassinate Trump before his hand every hit the book to be sworn in. They will blame China to justify that we should wage war on China.
The Democrats are totally out of control. These charges against Trump are solely to interfere in the 2024 election. They are absolutely desperate to impose their tyranny and overthrow the people’s rights. This is only going to lead to the collapse of the United States. They have gone to the Supreme Court asking them to ORDER the lower court to allow TV cameras in and broadcast Trump’s trial like a soap opera to convince people not to vote for Trump. This proves this whole thing is to interfere in the 2024 election, which is frightening since our computer forecast that the 2024 election will never be accepted, which was 5 years ago.
As a student of Constitutional Law, I have read Blackstone, Coke, and Monesque. What they are doing to Trump is such a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause because the courts have been so PRO-GOVERNMENT against the common people that the prohibition against being put in Double Jeopardy demonstrates the true tyranny that the American Legal System has devolved to. By creating numerous agencies, each passes a law prohibiting the same crime. The Supreme Court has refused to honor the spirit of the Founding Fathers, and the worst example is 91 felony counts against Trump for the same pretend crime.
Let’s say that three agencies outlaw killing your spouse. Each agency could then charge you with murder. Two out of three juries find you innocent. The third is pressured by the judge and rules in favor of the government. They will not be Double Jeopardy since they allow the definition of an offense to be a statute rather than the actual crime it is supposed to outlaw. Never in history have so many agencies and states been allowed to create a plethora of statutes prohibiting the same conduct that has allowed them to charge Trump with 91 counts for the same conduct. This is as if someone shot the same person and killed them, but they charge them for each bullet he fired as a separate murder, but there is only one person.
Many have written in and said I would have made a great Constitutional lawyer. If I had chosen such a path, they would have charged me with 91 counts of contempt and imprisoned me for life without a trial. I do not tolerate fools or tyrants. The concept of Double Jeopardy has a long history, but the American courts have seriously abused its development. Its meaning has been distorted to hand the government limitless power.
The English view of Double Jeopardy, under the influence of Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) and William Blackstone (1723-1780), meant that a defendant at trial could plead former conviction or former acquittal as a special plea in bar to defeat the prosecution. ( Crist v. Bretz, 437 U.S. 28, 32–36 (1978), and id. at 40 (Powell, J., dissenting); United States v. Wilson, 420 U.S. 332, 340 (1975))
In this country, the common-law rule was, in some cases, limited to this rule. However, in other cases, it was extended to bar a new trial even though the former trial had not concluded in either an acquittal or a conviction. The constitutional prohibition against Double Jeopardy was intended to protect an individual from being subjected to the hazards of trial and possible conviction more than once for an alleged offense. Blackstone in his Commentaries, greatly influenced the Founding Fathers when they adopted the Constitution. Blackstone wrote:
“. . . the plea of auterfois acquit, or a former acquittal, is grounded on this universal maxim of the common law of England that no man is to be brought into jeopardy of his life more than once for the same offence.” id/Blackstone’s Commentaries 335.
If we look at the Supreme Court ruling BEFORE with this plethora of statutes and agencies, we find the same view was taken in Ex parte Lange, 18 Wall. 163, at 85 U. S. 169 (1873):
“The common law not only prohibited a second punishment for the same offence, but it went further and forbid a second trial for the same offence, whether the accused had suffered punishment or not, and whether in the former trial he had been acquitted or convicted.”
“The prohibition is not against being twice punished, but against being twice put in jeopardy; and the accused, whether convicted or acquitted, is equally put in jeopardy at the first trial.”
Before the court turned pro-government in the 20th century, it was being put in jeopardy twice, not that you could create ten statutes for the same crime. The underlying idea, one that is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American system of jurisprudence, is that the State, with all its resources and power, should not be allowed to make repeated attempts to convict an individual for the same conduct, thereby subjecting him to embarrassment, expense, ordeal and compelling him to live in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity.
The New Hampshire Constitution pt. I, art. 16 was adopted in 1784 and preceded the US Constitution, and it included a bill of rights that included the new nation’s first Double Jeopardy clause, stating: “No subject shall be liable to be tried, after an acquittal, for the same crime or offence (sic).” The Supreme Court of New Hampshire construes the Double Jeopardy prohibition of the state’s constitution to bar successive trials regardless of the identity of the initial prosecuting authority. State v. Hogg, 385 A.2d 844, 847 (N.H. 1978). The New
The text of the Constitution is also silent on many fundamental questions of constitutional law, including questions that its drafters and those ratifying the document could not have foreseen or chose not to address. Nonetheless, the philosophy behind the Fifth Amendment has long been settled, as stated in US v Ball back in 1896. Thus, it is one of the elemental principles of our criminal law that the Government cannot secure a new trial by means of an appeal even though an acquittal may appear to be erroneous. This has been the standard held in US v. Ball, supra; Peters v. Hobby, 349 U. S. 331, 349 U. S. 344-345 (1955). Cf. Kepner v. United States, 195 U. S. 100 (1904); United States v. Sanges, 144 U. S. 310 (1892).
We are looking at constructive amendment of the Constitution that there is ABSOLUTELY no possible way that the Founding Fathers would have allowed the same conduct to violate a multitude of statutes that would allow the government 91 chances to convict Trump for the same conduct. Not even the tyranny of King George III ever dared to get around the Double Jeopardy Clause in this manner. It is an embarrassment to the United States to the world.
Article VI, Clause 2:
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Supremacy Clause in the Constitution (Article VU, Claus 2) prohibits no state from writing any law that overrules the federal law. Hence, no state may charge Trump for the very same conduct that he stands charged in a federal court. The Framers of the Constitution were silent on this idea of Dual Sovereignty in criminal law, and no court can rule in that favor without the 50 states having a go at the same conduct. Naturally, the Supreme Court would never entertain that argument because it would actually benefit the people – not our tyrannical government abuses. When 2032 comes, and we get to rewrite the constitution, there should NEVER be allowed multiple prosecutions for the same conduct regardless of how many sovereigns they want to pretend to exist.
The elevation of Double Jeopardy to fundamental status by its inclusion in several state bills of rights following the Revolution demonstrated its restraint against this type of abuse by the government. The Bill of Rights, which had been adopted at the New York Convention and transmitted to Congress with its ratification of the Federal Constitution, included a declaration that.
“no Person ought to be put twice in Jeopardy of Life or Limb for one and the same Offence, nor, unless in case of impeachment, be punished more than once for the same Offence.”
James Madison’s version of the guarantee, which was introduced in the House of Representatives, and it read:
No person shall be subject, except in cases of impeachment, to more than one punishment or trial for the same offense.
What we do know from the “intent” is that some Members opposed this proposal because it could be construed to prohibit a second trial after a successful appeal by a defendant. They viewed that as problematic. First, they argued that such a rule could constitute a hazard to the public by freeing the guilty. Second, they reasoned that prohibiting re-trials after successful appeals might make appellate courts less likely to reverse improper convictions (id/1 Annals of Congress 434 (June 8, 1789)). Ultimately, the language, barring a second trial, was dropped in response to these concerns. However, in Crist v. Bretz, 437 U.S. 28, 40 (1978) (dissenting), Justice Lewis Powell attributed this failure to broaden the Double Jeopardy Clause to incorporate the common law rule against the dismissal of the jury before the verdict, which remains a question the majority passed over as being of academic interest only.Id. at 34 n.10. This was what I mean that the Supreme Court has allowed the abuse of the Double Jeopardy Clause to the detriment of the nation, which we are now witnessing with Trump.
Unfortunately, we no longer believe in liberty in the United States. The same conduct may violate the laws of two different sovereigns, multiple agencies, and countless statutes that criminalize the very same thing by rephrasing it in myriad ways. This has allowed a defendant to be charged innumerable times until the government wins. The Trump cases will be the epitaph of the United States and the Rule of Law. It is over. We must wait for the body of liberty to be cold before she is buried.
After the Death of Nero and the Civil War that engulfed the Roman Empire, here we have the coin issued by one of the contenders, Vitellius, with the coin declaring the Restitution of Liberty.
COMMENT: Marty, I just wanted to thank you for opening my eyes. The logic that the market commentators make no sense. Bloomberg wrote, “Bets on a rate hike in 2023 fell after worse-than-expected economic numbers bolstered hopes the Fed can pause in September.” So you are right. They are cheering worse economic numbers because interest rates will decline. You are correct. Rising interest rates show demand for money and an expanding economy. But rates decline with economic declines, and stocks typically drop. I feel stupid that I never saw that for myself. It seems people are losing confidence in the government with this persecution of Trump and hiding the corruption of the Bidens. Everyone you talk to is just fed up with politicians.
No wonder the mainstream press will never quote you because you make sense.
Cheers
HL
PS Stay safe with this storm. We do need you.
REPLY: I understand what you are saying. I realized that the analysis changed after 1929 because we became socialists when I wrote The Great Bull Market in History in 1986. What did the Fed want us to do? How high should we jump? The economy is preparing to turn down with the ECM by May 2024. Consumer Confidence among Americans dropped the most in two years. Many of my clients overseas now see the fate of America much more clearly than domestic Americans. They view that once the Democrats have used the law to persecute Trump legally while the evidence about corruption with the Bidens goes unanswered, the confidence in government is collapsing.
I fear they will rush this whole CBDC agenda and move toward a much more Totalitarian State because they can feel their power slipping through their fingers. This abuse of the law is one of the critical issues that precede the decline and fall of a nation.
There is clear evidence that supports an impeachment trial is not a criminal prosecution of Biden and his son. Documents have surfaced that show that Joe Biden was NOT acting in line with U.S. policy as VP when he threatened to withhold aid to Ukraine until Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin was fired! That was personal and not the policy of the US government. The prosecutor Shokin was investigating the precise corruption at Burisma Holdings, which paid Hunter Biden over $1,000,000. Shokin says that the Biden’s were bribed to terminate his investigation. While the Democrats want to imprison Trump, they refuse to discuss any of these documents because they knowingly used these exact lies as the pretense of impeaching President Trump.
There is now an October 2015 memo that summarizes the recommendation of the Interagency Policy Committee. That task force was created to advise the Obama White House on the notorious corruption in Ukraine and whether they were trying to clean it up. That was necessary for more aid. These documents show that U.S. policy did not call for a threat to withhold funding unless this prosecutor investigating corruption was fired.
Biden made the threat in December 2015, two months after the memo was published, and no other documents show the U.S. policy called for Shokin to be fired. On top of that, even the IMF in FEBRUARY 2016 threatened to cut off funding for Ukraine unless they showed progress in reforming corruption.
By November 2016, Biden is telling Poroshenko not to ask for any more money for Trump may start to investigate. I know Ukraine. I was asked to take them on as a client, and the first words were we can pay you offshore so you do not have to pay taxes. I said thank you very much, but I declined. You cannot imagine the level of corruption in Ukraine. It is the MOST corrupt government perhaps ever to have existed anywhere in the world, no matter what decade or century.
Prosecuting Trump and all of these prosecutors coordinating these attacks while the Justice Department does NOTHING with the Bidens is indeed collapsing the confidence in government. This is all part of the decline and fall of Republics, which is what 2032 is all about. I have a lot on my table right now. Another book I am working on is a review of the various forms of government and what worked and what failed – the good – the bad – the ugly. This will probably be read in January.
The last book is now out at Barnes & Noble on the truth behind Cleopatra – the real version, not the WOKE nonsense that she was black. I used the coinage to show the real story, where there was no steamy love affair; she was a brilliant woman who used Mark Antony to create a civil war in hopes that the once great empire of Alexander the Great would defeat Rome and her son by Julius Caesar would restore the throne of the Ptolemies. The Legionary Denarii of Mark Antony was funded by Cleopatra, and up to 100 years later, the amount of money was so great that these coins accounted for 20% of the money supply a century later. Sorry, whatever movie you watched or were taught in school was fake news.
The US military has been struggling to recruit new members for years. I have reported on this various times and noted that the computer predicts that a US draft may be approved on September 29, 2024. This date marks 51.6 years from the precise day that President Richard Nixon ended the draft on January 27, 1973.
The US military is already discussing the prospect of a “limited draft.” They are seeking 160,000 eligible people from a population of 30 million. The all-volunteer force has reached a “breaking point,” as Military.com put it, and the most effective way to solve the crisis is to force the youth into service. The military is now throwing around the idea of dedicating one month per year to recruiting a Selected Service to meet the annual recruitment goal.
Numerous countries ask all citizens to sign up for some type of service when they come of age. The US military never had the need for such a service as patriotism was high, and each branch offered numerous incentives to join. Military drafts or “conscription” date back to ancient times in Mesopotamia. The United States instituted a draft or conscription during the Civil War, which led to a series of bloody draft riots. Resistance to the draft, as managed by the Selective Service in the United States, reached a historic peak during the Vietnam War.
Every branch of the US military besides the Marine Corps has failed to meet their recruitment goals. We are low on ammo, as the commander-in-chief pointed out, and soldiers. The problem is two-fold. No one wants to enlist, and the number of young Americans who would actually qualify has reached a record low. A 2022 poll showed that only 9% of those eligible want to join the military, a major decrease from 29% in recent years. Over half of the respondents (57%) were worried that they would suffer psychological damage from serving. A more recent poll from May 2023 indicates only 13% of 18 to 29-year-olds are “highly willing” to serve.
The last generation had the hot topic issue of 9/11, terrorism, and protecting their country’s freedom. This generation has been raised in classrooms where they sit for the pledge of allegiance and are taught that their country is inherently bad. They watched the Commander in Chief abandon their mission in Afghanistan and continually disrespect members of the military. Not to mention the military fired servicemembers who declined to take the experimental vaccine. One proposed solution was to offer citizenship to illegal immigrants who enlisted. Since top government agents are unable to define women, expect everyone to be targeted.
The US military could go into a hybrid model of recruiting new soldiers. War is coming either way. September 29, 2024, would be shortly before the next US presidential election. That, too is right on target, as the only possible way for Biden to stay in power would be to forego a real election process.
Posted originally on the CTH on August 10, 2023 | Sundance
Several people have made queries about the current state of our national economic condition against the backdrop of disconnected data points that seemingly conflict. Here’s my review.
July and August are key months to gauge the prior six months of U.S consumer positioning.
Why?
Because all advance purchase orders for the U.S. holiday season are made in May, June and July for inventory builds and delivery schedules for September. The decisions made by purchasing officers in late spring and early summer, reflect their predictive analysis for the holiday season.
Inventories are evaluated, critical financial discussions are held, and orders are placed for September arrival and distribution. This predictive activity is what we see in the July and August data that flows from the global, multinational and shipping corporations who facilitate the transfer of the goods. Check what is happening in distribution, and you can see what eventually creates the boxcar effect in the supply chain that ultimately leads to shuttered manufacturing.
Those who are involved in the business of shipping goods are signaling the flares around the state of the consumer economy and what will happen. At the same time, the wording is almost hilarious in this era of great pretending. Instead of saying ordinary words like “poor sales results for durable goods,” the parseltongue calls sales, “destocking.” Example: “CEO Vincent Clerc said he saw no sign that the destocking which has curbed global trade activity would end this year.”
Global shipping company Maersk is warning that shipping volume is low because warehouse inventories are high. The goods are unsold.
(Reuters) – […] CEO Vincent Clerc said he saw no sign that the destocking which has curbed global trade activity would end this year.
“We had expected customers to draw down inventories around the middle of the year, but so far we see no signs of that happening. It may happen at the beginning of next year,” Clerc said at a media briefing. “Consequently, the uptick in volumes we had expected in the second half of the year has not occurred,” he said. (read more)
The lack of shipping leads to a review of inventory status for the warehouses who would receive the goods.
Bulging Warehouses – […] A review of corporate statements and briefings shows more than 30 U.S. and European companies, including Hugo Boss, Heineken and A.P. Moller-Maersk, 3M Co and Stanley Black & Decker complained that destocking hurt their second-quarter performance.
Retailers particularly have struggled with stocks of clothing and footwear as consumers splurge on holidays rather than goods as they did during pandemic lockdowns.
The downbeat outlook comes amid low expectations for second-quarter results as China’s post-pandemic recovery slows. Refinitiv I/B/E/S data shows U.S. and European companies are expected to report their worst quarterly results in years.
Companies which stockpiled last year are finding it harder to shed inventories when higher borrowing costs and inflation crimp consumer demand, corporate executives and analysts said.
In the euro zone, stocks of finished products hit records in August last year and destocking only started in May, based on latest euro-zone manufacturing data.
In the U.S., an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by CFRA Research showed business inventories soared by 20% in mid-2022, the biggest jump on record based on data that goes back to 1993. Retailers led the trend – raising inventories by a quarter from a year earlier.
The date in this next paragraph is key:
[…] The U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio was 1.4 in May, up from 1.33 a year ago, which means retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers have more inventory than they can sell at a higher rate than a year ago. (link)
When purchase order decisions for the holiday season of 2023 were being made, the inventory levels were higher than 2022. This is KPI (Key Performance Indicator) data, because the holiday of 2022 was a total mess.
Holiday sales last year were exceptionally weak as wage earners were struggling to pay for higher prices in essential goods and services, fuel, oil, heating, energy, gasoline, food and shelter. The lack of consumer purchasing for non-essential goods and/or luxury items resulted in poor sales last year, and the inventory levels are actually higher this year than last year when this year’s purchasing decisions were being made. That reality drops purchase orders. The dropped purchase orders lead to Maersk saying they are shipping less goods.
Now, let’s get USA domestic…. because it’s all connected. For that let’s turn to the U.S. Postal Service:
USPS DATA – First-Class Mail revenue increased $221 million, or 4.0 percent, on a volume decline of 678 million pieces, or 5.9 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Shipping and Packages revenue remained relatively flat while volume declined 41 million pieces, or 2.4 percent, compared to the same quarter last year.
Marketing Mail revenue decreased $333 million, or 8.8 percent, on a volume decline of 2.6 billion pieces, or 16.0 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. The Marketing Mail decreases were driven by the continued decline in advertising spending due to economic pressures experienced throughout most of the fiscal year, a higher inflationary environment affecting print media production costs. (link)
So, let’s put it all together….
Consumers did not buy stuff. As a result, spring inventories were high. Purchasing managers forecast weak sales. Summer purchase orders were very low. Shipping companies reflect declines in shipping because the purchase orders were low. Advertising and marketing budgets were cut to meet the decrease in consumer spending. Consumers are not forecast to spend this holiday season.
The economic pie is getting smaller.
Keep in mind, this is all intentional. This is all part of the outcome from “managing the transition” to a new energy economy.
As you are well aware the various western nation central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve, are raising interest rates into a global economic contraction, a drop in demand. Raising interest rates into a contracting economy is counterintuitive, it runs against the expressed interest of government to grow economic conditions. However, there is a purposeful design to the contradiction. [A TLDR Version Here]
The central bankers are trying to support western government policy. Unfortunately, the government policy they are under obligation to support is the fundamental energy shift, or what the World Economic Forum (Davos Group) has called the “Build Back Better” climate change agenda.
Monetary policy can only impact one side of the inflation challenge. The western bankers (EU central bank, U.S. federal reserve bank, and various banking groups) are raising interest rates in order to “tame inflation” by “taming demand.” However, as you know the global economic demand has been declining for several quarters. Raising interest rates into an already contracting economy only does one thing, it speeds up the rate of economic contraction.
Economic contraction is the lowering of economic activity. Raise interest rates -in a general sense- and businesses invest less, borrowers borrow less, consumers purchase less, employers expand less, and the economy overall slows down. When the economy turns negative, meaning less products and services are produced, we enter a recession. Some businesses and employers do not survive a recession and subsequently unemployment rises.
During recessionary periods people buy less stuff, people have less income stability, and economic activity drops. When the banks raise interest rates into an economy that is already stalled or contracting, unemployment and general pain on Main Street increases. Workers are laid-off, incomes shrink, consumer spending drops and that leads to less employment. Recessions are bad for middle-class and working-class people.
However, that said, there is one benefit from a recession…. Energy use drops.
I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
This is a library of News Events not reported by the Main Stream Media documenting & connecting the dots on How the Obama Marxist Liberal agenda is destroying America
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