Category Obama – Devils Handmaiden

Aug 13 2022

Interview: Trump Raid Deathblow to Democracy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Aug 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Commentary from Greg Hunter:

Last month, legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong said the time to prepare is now for the chaos that is coming in 2023.  The destabilization of America has been kicked into high gear early with the FBI raid on President Trump’s Florida home this week.  Armstrong explains, “This really is unprecedented . . . . In the United States, we are supposed to have civilized transfer of power.  That’s all coming to an end.  I am not being dramatic here.  From a legal perspective, this is completely unprecedented.  The danger of this is once they have done this, if the Republicans are ever allowed to get back into power, they would only end up doing the same thing to the Democrats. . . . It’s striking a real deathblow to the very idea of a democracy.  We are not, at least we were not until today, someplace like Guatemala where you throw the opposition in jail, kill them or whatever you do.  This is what’s going on.  They are so afraid of Trump running in 2024 that this is just over the top.  Once they did this, there is no end.”

Aug 13 2022

The Managing of DeSantis, Five Days in the Bunker and a New Press Secretary


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 12, 2022 | Sundance 

Bunker boy Ron DeSantis has completed five days of silence and is scheduled to re-emerge tomorrow in Arizona as part of the TPUSA national tour.  Those of you who have walked the deep weeds of national politics, know exactly what is happening.  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has entered the managing phase of the GOPe candidate process.

[The TLDR version is HERE] – The well-liked Florida Governor has remained silent and invisible for five days, ever since the FBI raid against President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in West Palm Beach, Florida.  {Go Deep} The governor of the state has said nothing and avoided any opportunity where he may have been asked for comment.  Instead, he has transmitted two pre-recorded statements from the bunker.

The silence is deafening transparency for those who accept how the professional republican club operates; the key word is “accept.” Unfortunately, there is a jaw-dropping amount of denial.  We are seeing the outcome of Ron DeSantis being professionally managed by the GOPe club.

Now we move into the phase of re-branding where risks are mitigated, and positions are modified.  Earlier today, while still in the bunker, DeSantis’ press secretary Christina Pushaw announced her exit.

As the rebranding takes shape, Ms. Pushaw is now moved away from the principle (that’s Ron) and becomes a part of the campaign team.

(FLORIDA) – Christina Pushaw, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary, departed her administrative role Friday to join the Republican Governor’s re-election campaign.

The Florida Standard, a conservative new media outlet, was the first to report Pushaw’s shuffle and published her resignation letter, which Pushaw sent to Chief of Staff James Uthmeier and Director of Administration Dawn Hanson on Friday. She will become the campaign’s Director of Rapid Response beginning Monday.

Deputy Press Secretary Bryan Griffin will step in as lead Press Secretary on Monday, where he will report directly to Communications Director Taryn Fenske. (more)

DeSantis has no primary challenger, so the club timing right on schedule.  He emerges from the bunker with a few weeks to break in the new alliance, new team, new campaign motive and new brand image.  Bold becomes pastel.  Tomorrow the GOPe club kick-off the relaunch through the aligned TPUSA organization, which they have now taken control by purchasing Charlie Kirk.   Remember, in club politics it’s the money that changes things.

The script will follow the customary mapping.  DeSantis will start a national enhanced branding effort, increased exposure to unfamiliar audiences, and simultaneously absorb the MAGA aspect the GOPe need.  MAGA bona fides will come from appearances with names like Kari Lake and Blake Masters, under the auspices of endorsements.

On its face, it is supposed to look like DeSantis is endorsing Kari Lake and Blake Masters, two strong MAGA candidates.  However, the actual club motive is to transfer the MAGA currency of Lake and Masters into the pocket of DeSantis.

The club gets much more out of it than Lake or Masters.  The club gets the stealth benefits that people never pay attention to. This is part of the brand image for DeSantis and club strategy.

Whether Ron DeSantis knew of the DC/FBI targeting effort before Monday is a moot point.  What DeSantis did know was that this week a new branding effort would begin. It started with the “Dear Governor DeSantis” commercials. The subtle shift is to nudge him out of Florida politics into a more prominent national role

All of this is coordinated by the national club.  Nothing is just random, but the presentation to the voters must retain the illusion of choice.

Everything now is about club branding and club management. That’s why I knew four days ago that Pushaw would depart, and I started to deliver statements on Twitter toward that end. Many people became upset.  However, I do not take such a severe position, as I did on Monday, without overlaying all of the data-points we have assembled. I know it sometimes shocks people, they get mad at me, but as you watch it you will see it unfold. This is simply how the club operates.

It’s not DeSantis fault per se’. He doesn’t really have many options. He holds no independent wealth to keep the club away from influence.

DeSantis is being managed now. He’s shifted into the Pence, Jeb, Haley, professional wing of the club. Things change. He’s accepting GOPe grooming (bunker silence). Simultaneously risks are distanced (Pushaw departs official orbit), proximity mitigation. It really is just a mgmt/branding effort.

Now he will begin a national tour. A book (written for him) is looming. The pattern never changes.

The “professionals” will now enter the picture. The orbit of DeSantis will be more controlled. Representatives will come from the professional political class. Speeches and remarks will be filtered and approved. Risks will be mitigated. Control mechanisms in place.  However, the illusion of authenticity must be retained.  This is the club weak point (see Cruz and Haley).  This is what the club will try to modify with DeSantis and Kristi Noem.

At first, whenever DeSantis reemerges – likely tomorrow, you will notice a subtle shift, perhaps an awkwardness. A slight change in the authenticity you used to love. A more careful and deliberate speech pattern. Longer thoughts before responses. More appearances on Fox News. Brett Baier et al, w/ the assist.

The technique is Norman Rockwell (optics) and Ward Cleaver (tones), soft hues and gentlemanly pastels.

Club branding is subtle on the image front, but very clear on the substantive messaging side. Social issues selected to maximize camp coalition, and influence base.

Consistently present political messaging where the republican voter base can say “yes.” Keep the “yes” messaging at the forefront (social emphasis). Focus on values. Schools, kids, safety, woke pushback, media bias etc, keep the audiences nodding yes.  Ultimately, it’s a sales technique. Identify with the target to influence their decisions.

Issues around multinational & corporate economics, hard lines, foreign policy, all these things must be avoided – except in general terms.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is not to be challenged, not really.  Keep the message social and build the emotional connection. It is harder to break an emotional bond than a logical or cognitive bond.

These are the political techniques of Lee Atwater that still make up the bulk of the GOPe club playbook.   The greatest skill of the professionally republican is to present the illusion of choice in such a way as the voters do not see it.

Keep in mind, back in Washington DC both clubs are collaborating on the Trump removal program because both clubs’ benefit.

If we watch closely, we will see a MAGA-lite, professionally controlled republican go from five-days as a pupa (now) to chrysalis (next), to national club butterfly.

.

Hi Karl.

Aug 13 2022

Motive Clear, DOJ Search Warrant Was to Seize Every Single Document During Entirety of President Trump Term in Office, Regardless of Classification


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 12, 2022 | Sundance

A lot of people are discussing the recently released search warrant authorized by a sketchy judge in Florida.  For the best legal analysis, I would direct people to our friend Techno Fog via substack: SEE HERE – Techno is, and has been, totally dialed in on a granular level throughout the Trump term in office.

I would emphasize one major point and draw attention to something in the background that almost no-one noticed years ago.

First, the search warrant was not specific, was not detailed, was not drawn out to avoid targeting ancillary items unrelated to the DOJ mission at heart.  The warrant itself was structured to seize every scintilla of documentary evidence, seen, created, or produced during President Trump’s term in office.  Literally every shred of paper. [WARRANT LINK]

This issue stands out for a host of reasons.  One of them speaks to the mindset of a judge who would authorize the raid itself.  What judge would authorize a raid on the home of the president with the parameters to seize “Any government and/or presidential record created between January 20, 2017 and January 20, 2021?”

That’s literally everything, including Christmas cards, notes, letters of appreciation from Americans, internal correspondence, the works.  Every shred of documentary evidence associated with the office of the President from the day he stepped into office until the day he left.  That’s the parameters for the seizure.

If that doesn’t showcase the targeting effort, nothing will.  That is an absurd demand that no president in the history of this nation has ever faced.  No DOJ official in any capacity past or present would ever consider that an appropriate parameter for a document seizure, until now.  THAT showcases the intensity of the DOJ and FBI effort to target Donald J Trump.

Against that backdrop I would also draw attention to something almost everyone forgot or didn’t know.

The same DOJ voices that are behind this current effort are the same voices that literally, and unlawfully, took every single document from the President Trump transition team in 2017.

Most people have forgotten, but in a massive breach of established protocol and legal structure, the Robert Mueller special counsel illegally took custody of the Trump transition documents from every official who was then entering office.   The issue was only discovered mid-December of 2017 [pdf link]:

From the letter:

Not only did the General Services Administration give the Mueller special counsel all of the Trump transition team information, but the special counsel lied about asking for it and receiving it.

What we see today in the search warrant from the Mar-a-Lago raid is an extension of this exact same DOJ effort.  It is one long continuum.

There is no greater example of political targeting than what we are witnessing right now.

(Techno) […] Garland also proclaimed yesterday that “the Department of Justice would speak through its court filings and its work.” Nobody believes that. Certainly Garland doesn’t. But he lies to the public anyway. It’s the height of cynicism.

No doubt the DOJ is speaking to its friends in the media on background or off the record. We couldn’t notice that yesterday, after Garland’s statement, it was leaked to the Washington Post that “classified documents relating to nuclear weapons were among the items FBI agents sought in a search of former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence.” (more)

Aug 13 2022

Quick Site Note


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 12, 2022 | Sundance

Several people, some very influential people, have written or made contact asking permission to extract the Four-Part series I wrote, updated and posted yesterday. A few want to put into a published format of some sort.  My response, go for it.

Everything I research, write and share is free for the taking.

Download it into a pdf form, modify the internal citations as footnotes, proofread, add, subtract, modify it, change the language, simplify it, do whatever you want to make it your own in whatever format suits your needs. No attribution or citation is needed.

This is a battle to save our nation from a corrupt enterprise. I put no parameters on any tool or intellectual weapon you may find of benefit. That just isn’t me.  Those who have been around a while know where I stand…. which is right next to anyone who is in the fight.  Getting the message out is the urgent and important part; how it arrives, is of no issue for me.

We are not on a last hill; we are far beyond that.  We are on the precipice.

It would be intensely against the very core intent of the Treehouse spirit to me to put limits on any intellectual armament that might help.

Love to all and abundant appreciation for most,

Sundance

 

Aug 13 2022

Mar-a-Lago Search Warrant Unsealed, The Most Urgent, Critical, National Security Issue in the History of All Time, had 14 Days to Execute


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 12, 2022 | Sundance 


…. and the DOJ/FBI had already reviewed the documents in June 2022.

I think we already know what documents the FBI and DOJ were on a mission to retrieve, and they had nothing to do with nuclear secrets {GO DEEP}.   Try to avoid the shiny things, the pushed narrative, and keep the full context of the last SEVEN YEARS of DC targeting operations as the primary intellectual filter.

Donald Trump held evidence of a politically weaponized U.S. intelligence and justice system. To include an extensive paper trail showing how the DC apparatus under the Obama-era intelligence system, Dept of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Security, Dept of Justice and FBI coordinated with the Hillary Clinton campaign to install her into office {Go Deep}.  THAT is the top-secret classified intelligence that must NEVER reach sunlight.

[DOCUMENT LINK]

If the content of the documents was so urgent, so vital to national security, so critical to safeguard “nuclear weapon information” from potential exposure…. Then why did the warrant have a 14-day window to execute?  That narrative is a hoax, a cover story intended to justify the DOJ and FBI throwing a bag over the documentary evidence that shows the same DOJ and FBI wrongdoing.

The DOJ-NSD warrant, and the subsequent raid on Mar-a-Lago can only be related to records the U.S. government deems “classified” and material vital to national security interests.  Hence, DOJ National Security Division involvement.

In prior outlines we have exhaustively covered the details of President Trump’s desire to publicly release information about DOJ and FBI conduct in their targeting of him during the fabricated Trump-Russia claims.

.

(Newsweek) […] On June 3, three FBI special agents and a senior Justice Department official visited Mar-a-Lago to discuss any additional documents in response to the subpoena. The visiting officials were shown the basement storage room where White House records were stored, and in fulfillment of the subpoena, left with “a small number of documents,” according to Soloman. The documents were classified as Top Secret and were compartmented, according to people familiar with the investigation. Trump and his spokespeople say the visit was cordial and that the Trump camp fully cooperated.

After the June visit, according to the Trump camp, communications with the investigators ceased until agents showed up on Monday to execute the search warrant. According to people familiar with the search, the decision to escalate the matter to a surprise search came because investigators concluded that additional documents were at Mar-a-Lago—documents so sensitive, they had to be retrieved in order to protect national security. (read more)

To understand the nature of the content of the boxes, first review the declassification memo provided by President Trump to the DOJ upon his departure from office.

In broad terms there are two sets of documents that intermingle and are directly related. First, documents that highlight the activity of Hillary Clinton’s team in creating the false Trump-Russia conspiracy theory (2015/2016).  Second, documents that highlight the activity of government officials targeting Donald Trump within the same timeframe (Crossfire Hurricane), that continued into 2017, 2018 and 2019 (Robert Mueller).

Think of the two sets of documents as evidence against two teams working in synergy.  Team one (Clinton) was outside government. Team two (DOJ/FBI) was inside government.  The documents pertain to both groups but are also divided.  That helps to explain the wording of the memo above.

The documentary evidence against the outside group (Clinton et al) would also involve government documented evidence as the DOJ/FBI inside group interacted with them.  Notes from interviews, materials provided, FBI 302 summaries of interviews, etc.

We can extract a lot of information on the first sets of evidence from the lawsuit filed by President Trump in March of this year, mostly against the outside actors. [LINK HERE]

The lawsuit was filed against specific persons and most of those persons were interviewed by the FBI as part of the originating investigation.  Within the subjects of the lawsuit we find names and groups including:

Hillary Clinton, Hillary for America Campaign Committee, DNC, DNC Services Corp, Perkins Coie, Michael Sussmann, Marc Elias, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charles Dolan, Jake Sullivan, John Podesta, Robby Mook, Phillipe Reines as well as Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, Peter Fritsch, Nellie Ohr, Bruce Ohr, Orbis Business Intelligence, Christopher Steele, Igor Danchenko, Neustar Inc., Rodney Joffe, James Comey Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith and Andrew McCabe.

In addition to being named in the lawsuit, many of those names were interviewed by the FBI as part of the origination of the Trump-Russia investigation, and/or part of the ongoing investigation of the Trump-Russia fabrication. Each of those interviews would carry an FD-302 report summarizing the content of the interview, the questions and answers given.

The totality of those 302 documents is a lot of evidence likely consisting of hundreds of pages.

For the government officials on the inside, in addition to 302’s (ex Bruce Ohr) there would be documents of communication between them.

Think about the full unredacted text messages between Lisa Page and Peter Strzok as an example.  The DOJ publicly released over 600 pages of those text messages, and that wasn’t all of them.  The text messages were also redacted, under claims of privacy and national security.  We can assume any version of these text messages declassified by President Trump would not be redacted.  Hence, you go back to the January 20th memo and see the notes about “privacy.”

We also know there are many pages of communication between DOJ lawyer Lisa Page and her boss in the FBI Andrew McCabe.  Almost none of them were ever made public; but they exist.  This internal communication is likely the type of material contained in both the “binder,” left for the DOJ to release, and the boxes at Mar-a-Lago to be used as evidence against the named defendants in the lawsuit.

Bruce Ohr has 302’s and emails relating to his involvement as a conduit between Fusion GPS and the FBI.  Some of those were released in redacted form, and some of them were never released.  Additionally, Nellie Ohr, Bruce’s wife, who worked at Fusion GPS invoked spousal privilege when called to testify before the House committee investigating the issues.  However, it is almost certain the FBI interviewed her so there are likely 302’s on Nellie Ohr.

Chris Steele, Igor Danchenko and Rodney Joffe were also interviewed by the FBI.  Those 302’s were never released.  Presumably John Durham has stakeholder equity in that part of the Trump-Russia hoax, but the documentary evidence prior to January 20, 2021, that exists outside the special counsel could also be records at Mar-a-Lago.

Then we get to the big stuff…. The records and evidence in unredacted and declassified state, that would drive the DOJ-NSD to claim vital national security interests.

The NSA compliance officer notified NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers of unauthorized use of the NSA database by FBI contractors searching U.S. citizens during the 2015/2016 presidential primary.  That 2016 notification is a classified record.

The response from Mike Rogers, and the subsequent documentary evidence of what names were being searched is again a classified record.  The audit logs showing who was doing the searches (which contractors, which agencies and from what offices), as noted by Director Rogers, was preserved.  That is another big-time classified record.

In addition, we would have Admiral Rogers writing a mandatory oversight notification to the FISA court detailing what happened.  That’s a big and comprehensive classified record, likely contained in the documents in Mar-a-Lago… and then the goldmine, the fully unredacted 99-page FISA court opinion detailing the substance of the NSA compromise by FBI officials and contractors, including the names, frequency and dates of the illegal surveillance.  That is a major classified document the Deepest Deep State would want to keep hidden.

These are the types of documents within what former ODNI John Ratcliffe called “thousands of pages that were declassified by President Trump,” and given to both John Durham and Main Justice with an expectation of public release when the Durham special counsel probe concluded.

In short, President Trump declassified documents that show how the institutions within the U.S. government targeted him.  However, the institutions that illegally targeted President Trump are the same institutions who control the specific evidence of their unlawful targeting.

These examples of evidence held by President Donald Trump reveals the background of how the DC surveillance state exists.  THAT was/is the national security threat behind the DOJ-NSD search warrant and affidavit.

The risk to the fabric of the U.S. government is why we see lawyers and pundits so confused as they try to figure out the disproportionate response from the DOJ and FBI, toward “simple records”, held by President Trump in Mar-a-Lago.   Very few people can comprehend what has been done since January 2009, and the current state of corruption as it now exists amid all of the agencies and institutions of government.

Barack Obama spent 8 years building out and refining the political surveillance state.  The operators of the institutions have spent the last six years hiding the construct.

President Donald Trump declassified the material then took evidence to Mar-a-Lago.  The people currently in charge of managing the corrupt system, like Merrick Garland, Lisa Monaco, Chris Wray and the Senate allies, are going bananas.  From their DC perspective, Donald Trump is an existential threat.

Given the nature of their opposition, and the underlying motives for their conduct, there is almost nothing they will not do to protect themselves.  However, if you peel away all the layers of lies, manipulations and corruption, what you find at the heart of their conduct is fear.

What do they fear most?…

…..THIS!

People forget, and that’s ok, but prior to the 2015 MAGA movement driven by President Donald J Trump, political rallies filled with tens-of-thousands of people were extremely rare; almost nonexistent.  However, in the era of Donald J Trump the scale of the people paying attention has grown exponentially.  Every speech, every event, every rally is now filled with thousands and thousands of people.

The frequency of it has made us numb to realizing just how extraordinary this is.  But the people in Washington DC are well aware, and that makes President Trump even more dangerous.  Combine that level of support with what they attempted in order to destroy him, and, well, now you start to put context on their effort.

The existence of Trump is a threat, but the existence of a Trump that could expose their corruption…. well, that makes him a level of threat that leads to a raid on his home in Mar-a-Lago.

[Support CTH Here]

Aug 8 2022

Worse Than Monkeypox, Nikki Haley Says She Will Run in 2024 for President “If There is a Place” For Her, What to Watch For


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 7, 2022 | sundance

Reminder, Nikki Haley in February 2021: …”“I don’t think [Trump’s] going to be in the picture,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” […] “We need to acknowledge he let us down,” she said. “He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again.”  (link)

Two months later, April 2021, when asked about her 2024 presidential ambitions Nikki Haley says:…”Out of respect I would never do anything to go against [Trump], he knows that. I would have a conversation with him and talk to him about it should we decide we want to pursue it; but, um, no, I have a great respect for him, and I would never consider running against him.” (link)

Today when asked about her presidential ambitions Nikki Haley says, “if there’s a place for me.” WATCH (Prompted):

CTH has been warning about Nikki Haley ever since she asked Sarah Palin to help her win the South Carolina Governor’s race, and then stabbed Palin in the back with the most derisive negative commentary thereafter.  Nikki Haley would never have been governor without Sarah Palin; those who know politics know this is absolutely true…. And Haley is a snake.

Use the CTH site search tool function and type in “Nikki Haley” for the results.  Take a few Snickers bars because you are going to be there a while.

Why so much focus on Nikki Haley?

For the same reason CTH focused so heavily on Mitch McConnell; these are backstabbing liars of the highest order.  These are the snakes from the poem President Trump recited quite often….

…These Haley types are the scheming DeceptiCons.  Haley has no redeeming qualities if you are well versed in understanding the manipulative intents of the conniving big government, cocktail party, Wall Street republicans.

Nikki Haley is the Mitt Romney of John McCains.

October 2019 – Nikki Haley purchased a $2.4 million home in Kiawah Island, Charleston county, South Carolina (link). Nikki Haley released her book “With All Due Respect” on November 12th (link). Mrs. Haley also took a position on the board of directors for Boeing Co, likely an extension of success for her prior efforts recruiting Boeing to the state. (link)

The board position, home purchase and book tour follows a very predictable pattern for those who follow GOPe politics closely. Indeed, there is speculation Nikki Haley was/is positioning for a 2024 presidential bid; speculation that generally aligns with the pattern.

OCTOBER 2018 – Ms. Haley comes from the political house of Prescott/Bush; hence the original Rubio support in 2016 etc. She is a political animal from the establishment wing.

Within the traditional political class the customary approach to a White House run is to gain about five years of wealth in advance of a presidential run. Haley would be following a wealth process for a 2024 presidential run.

During this wealth accumulation period the cocktail party circuit (the billionaire crowd) will front-load wealth, purchase homes and all expenses etc, for the future candidate. This ‘Five Year Plan‘ was the same historic approach done for Ronald Reagan.

With a candidate in the private sector, the professional donor-class make investments in the candidate while it is legal to do so. The investments are made in anticipation of future influence.  This is simply how money influences politics.

With the “Me Too” movement in high political value, the currency of Nikki Haley, as an investment candidate, is at the apex.  Haley checks the right boxes; she is making a predictable move to capitalize on that process, politics and timeliness.

The U.N., as an institution, is also in alignment with the high-brow Prescott Bush clan. Ms. Nikki Haley is regarded by this clan as a very valuable commodity. If they can’t get Jeb, or another Bush (ie. Rubio) over the finish line, they will be much better positioned with investments in Nikki Haley.

Due to the increasing success of the MAGA or Trump Republican apparatus, Haley will need to carefully position herself as a stealth Decepticon and not upset the vulgarian hordes; ie. the new republican party base voter. As a smart and tactical politician Haley will invest heavily in the optics of supporting the MAGA movement.

Much like the primary of 2016 (w/ Jeb), the primary race of 2024 will determine if Haley can con enough people into not seeing her elitist Decepticon position.

The Bush clan and professional political cocktail circuit was rebuked in 2016, so we can anticipate their strategy in 2024 will be with those strategic lessons at the forefront.

DeSantis = Closest to MAGA domestically, ergo most valuable to Wall Street for globalist economics.

Noem = MAGA-lite, with a twist of Koch.  Club influencer.  She’s in the race, guaranteed.

[ Watch out for the club to push a DeSantis/Noem ticket.]

Haley = Purebreed Decepticon.  UniParty Establishment favorite. Endorsements from Bush and Cheney likely.

Cruz = Controlled opposition. Useful to draft Haley or Noem into the club lane in exchange for DOJ AG position.

WHAT TO WATCH FIRST – Pay attention to the club meeting this winter and the decision on how to line up and modify the 2024 primary election dates by state.  AFTER the dates and sequence are established, then overlay the delegate changes to voter results from “winner take all” or allocated “proportionally.”  These are club decisions with major ramifications.  The RNC club is a private organization.  They select the rules for the election.

Aug 8 2022

Sad Stephanopoulos Promotes Dick Cheney as Democrats Hope to Help Joe Biden


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 7, 2022 | sundance

George Stephanopoulos has a new hero not named Obama.  Skipping both the red and blue pills in favor of Xanax and whiskey, a visually verklempt Stephanopoulos uses Dick Cheney as the introduction to the 2022 midterm election victory map.  The last 3 seconds of this clip are funny as heck.

Pay no attention to the 67% of Americans who say things are getting even worse, and instead let’s cheer Dick Cheney and baby killing, after all – they are weirdly connected in a way.  Thus, George has figured the new DNC strategy.  Brilliant.

.

Aug 8 2022

Sunday Talks, SF Fed Chair Sees Half of Inflation Driven by Excess Demand of Some Unknown Something


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 7, 2022 | sundance

The great pretending continues.  During a Sunday talk show appearance, San Francisco Fed Chair Mary Daley states, “what I see is supply and demand are just unbalanced. About 50% by my own staff’s estimates of the excess inflation we see is related to demand. The other 50% to supply.”  Note, she is not talking about energy.

Margaret Brennan, maintaining her position as the professional CBS narrative engineer, never thinks to ask: (a) where is this demand you speak of, and what exactly are they demanding? and/or (b) What is this 50% inflation on the supply side connected to?  Obviously, an actual probing of inflation wasn’t in the script. The great pretending continues.  [Transcript Here]

CTH has stated without reservation that August’s inflation report will show a significant –albeit temporary– drop in inflation as measured by the govt.  The drop in gasoline prices throughout July (created by a drop in demand) will allow the fiscal and monetary policy makers to falsely claim overall inflation peaked. However, after a brief respite the inflation now growing in the ground (massive increases in farm costs), will then launch into the food supply chain.  This delayed food inflation will overtake the energy inflation in the latter part of this year.  WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the state of the economy and the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Mary Daly. Good morning to you.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO PRESIDENT MARY DALY: Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The San Francisco Fed said fiscal spending during the entirety of the pandemic, all the congressional funding contributed 3%- a 3% hike in inflation. Do you expect the congressional bill that’s about to pass to add to inflation as well?

DALY: Well, let’s remember that during the time that there was this fiscal relief during the pandemic, there was also monetary policy relief. And those were things necessary to get us through the pandemic. So that’s why that was such an important component in history, will be the judge, whether it was too much or too little. But right now, that’s where that was. And my staff have evaluated that. When I look forward, there are so many things going on in the economy right now, both domestically and globally. And we are struggling with high inflation. But the Fed is committed to bringing that down. And we’re looking at not only things that Congress passes, but also what happens across the entire world.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So do you think this bill will- will add to inflation? Has inflation peaked? Can you say that?

DALY: You know, I really can’t comment on pending legislation, and it’s really hard to tell because all the details haven’t been worked out yet and or the time frame in which those things will take place. So right now, I think the most important thing, Margaret, is that inflation is too high and the labor market is strong. The global economy is struggling with ongoing high inflation, and that’s what I’m focused on.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You are a labor economist. We had this surprisingly strong jobs number on Friday. Why was it so surprising? What was it that economists missed here? What was your takeaway?

DALY: You know, it’s super interesting. You know, it did surprise everyone who tries to figure out exactly what the number will be. And we were you know, a number of projections were well off. But, you know, frankly, if you’re out in the communities, if you’re you’re traveling anywhere, you’re you’re just going in your own community. I don’t think consumers are workers or businesses were that surprised. There’s help wanted signs all over the place. People are can find multiple jobs if they want them. Search times for jobs aren’t that long. So I think the labor market is continuing to deliver. It just tells me that people want to work and that people want to hire. But the universal truth is that inflation’s too high.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But does it still or does it indicate that recession is not where we are or where we’re going?

DALY: If you’re out in the economy, you don’t feel like you’re in a recession. That’s the bottom line. The most important risk out there is inflation. And I think the job market just confirms that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay. We’re going to take a break and come right back with you. Mary Daly, stay with us. We have more questions.

*COMMERCIAL BREAK*

MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We continue our conversation now with the head of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, Mary Daly. In that jobs number on Friday, we also saw that wages rose, but they’re not rising as quickly as inflation is. How concerned are you that that shows inflation is really becoming embedded in the economy in a way that is really going to force sure your colleagues at the Fed to continue to have to hike rates.

DALY: You know, I don’t see inflation is embedded in the economy, the kinds of things that we would worry about just not being able to correct easily. What I see is supply and demand are just unbalanced. About 50% by my own staff’s estimates of the excess inflation we see is related to demand. The other 50% to supply. The Fed is really well positioned to bring demand down, and we already see the cooling forming in the housing market and investment. So I do see signs that the economy is cooling. It just is going to take some time for the interest rate adjustments we’ve made to work their way through. And we are far from done yet. That’s the the promise to the American people. We are far from done. We’re committed to bringing inflation down and we’ll continue to work until that job is fully done.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So it would still be appropriate to raise rates in September by half a percent?

DALY: Absolutely. And we need to be data dependent. It could. We need to leave our minds open. We have two more inflation reports coming out, another jobs report. We continue to collect all the information from the context we talk to you to see how this is working its way through the economy. But you mentioned, you know, wage growth a little bit above 5% inflation. Last print at 9.1%. Americans are losing ground every day. So the focus has to be on bringing inflation down.

MARGARET BRENNAN: One of the things the Fed can’t control is geopolitical risk. How concerned are you about what is happening in the Taiwan Strait right now?

DALY: Well, there’s so much going on globally, and I think that’s really something that we need to think about. It’s just getting through COVID, making sure the new variants don’t derail economic activity. We have central banks across the globe raising interest rates to try to bridle their own inflation. And we have ongoing developments that take place geopolitically or just more generally among countries and all of those things. The war in Ukraine, all of those things create headwinds, if you will, for the US economy and we’re going to have to lean against those headwinds for growth while we bridle inflation.

MARGARET BRENNAN: The Fed has its work cut out and I know we’ll be talking again. Thank you very much, Mary Daly. (LINK)

Aug 7 2022

A Curious Case of Transferred Battery Technology


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 6, 2022 | sundance

Every once in a while, you come across an article that seems like one thing but is actually another thing entirely.  The NPR story of how “The U.S. made a breakthrough battery discovery — then gave the technology to China“, is one such article.

Several people sent this to us for opinion and review; however, the background of the article reveals something quite different. Then again, perhaps that’s exactly why NPR wrote it.

[READ THE STORY HERE]

It is important to read the story as presented by NPR, because it is oddly written as if someone is trying to use the outlet to get out ahead of something else.

The issue surrounds a new product technology called a vanadium redox flow battery.  Essentially the U.S. government funded scientists to develop an advanced battery that could store energy without degrading.  After success, the technology was then sent to China for manufacturing.  China then invested heavily in the product and used the technology to mass manufacture the battery for the global market. The United States is now behind in the product development and manufacture.

As the story is told in NPR, “the Chinese company didn’t steal this technology. It was given to them — by the U.S. Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense, and later, in 2021, as part of a license transfer.”  Except that’s not what happened at all.  There is some major ‘ass-covering’ in that false narrative.

The lead scientist working on the vanadium redox flow battery project was a man named Gary Yang.  Mr. Yang was born in China and emigrated to the U.S. becoming a U.S. citizen.  Yang worked with U.S. scientists to develop the technology and was funded by a multi-million research grant from the Dept of Energy.

After their initial success, according to NPR, “in 2012, Yang applied to the Department of Energy for a license to manufacture and sell the batteries.”  The Dept of Energy license was granted, and Yang launched UniEnergy Technologies as the parent company to develop the commercial application of the product.

It’s 2012 and Gary Yang was now looking for investors and manufacturing in the commercial sector to produce the battery.

Here’s where it gets interesting…. According to Yang, “he couldn’t persuade any U.S. investors to come aboard. “I talked to almost all major investment banks; none of them (wanted to) invest in batteries,” Yang said in an interview, adding that the banks wanted a return on their investments faster than the batteries would turn a profit.” This is Yang’s justification for what he did next.

After he couldn’t find U.S. investors (which I will say up front seems like an excuse), Yang then took the technology to China to have them manufacture the product.

The Chinese embraced the technology, created entire manufacturing eco-systems around it and now corner the market on the technology behind vanadium batteries.  However, giving the technology to China for manufacturing and development is a violation of the license Chang was given.

Yang even admits he knew it was not allowed. “Yang’s original license requires him to sell a certain number of batteries in the U.S., and it says those batteries must be “substantially manufactured” here. In an interview, Yang acknowledged that he did not do that.” Now we start to look a little more skeptically at the claims by Gary Yang, because a whole bunch of stuff just doesn’t add up.

As noted by NPR, five years after getting the license from the Dept of Energy, “in 2017, Yang formalized the relationship and granted Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd. an official sublicense, allowing the company to make the batteries in China.”

After China had fully developed the technology, they obviously no longer needed Gary Yang to go global with the product.  As a result of what can only be considered as ‘getting cut out’, Yang -still holding the original DoE license- then turned to Europe.

Gary Yang not only sublicensed Chinese manufacturing, supposedly without DoE notification, in 2021 he sold the license to the Netherlands.

“In 2021, Yang transferred the battery license to a European company based in the Netherlands. The company, Vanadis Power, told NPR it initially planned to continue making the batteries in China and then would set up a factory in Germany, eventually hoping to manufacture in the U.S., said Roelof Platenkamp, the company’s founding partner.

Vanadis Power needed to manufacture batteries in Europe because the European Union has strict rules about where companies manufacture products, Platenkamp said.  “I have to be a European company, certainly a non-Chinese company, in Europe,” Platenkamp said in an interview with NPR.”

Before moving on, let me recap because things are going to start making sense about why this story has some major ramifications.  Also, don’t overlook the timing of events and keep in the back of your mind what you know about Hunter Biden (remember, ‘energy sector’ with no experience) and Biden’s deals with China being made in/around this same timeframe.

♦ 2006 – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory original grant. “It took six years and more than 15 million taxpayer dollars for the scientists to uncover what they believed was the perfect vanadium battery recipe.“

♦ 2012 – The lead scientist, Gary Yang, asks the Dept of Energy for a license.  He then creates UniEnergy Tech.

♦ 2013/2014 – Unable to find investors in the U.S., Gary Yang enters a manufacturing and development agreement with China.

♦ 2017 – Gary Yang officially grants a sublicense to Dalian Rongke Power Co. Ltd in China.

♦ 2021 – Gary Yang then sells his license to Vanadis Power in the Netherlands.

Tell me again how this NPR sentence makes sense: “the Chinese company didn’t steal this technology. It was given to them — by the U.S. Department of Energy. First in 2017, as part of a sublicense, and later, in 2021, as part of a license transfer.”

Do you see anywhere in this reformatted outline where the U.S. Dept of Energy gave the technology to anyone, except Gary Yang?

The only entity responsible for transferring the technology to China was Gary Yang.

Now, with all that in mind, check out the date on the picture that NPR uses in their article:

2015

Keep the guy on the left, Imre Gyuk, in mind as we move forward.  Note the date of “2015” with Imre Gyuk and Gary Yang. They are standing together.

Remember in the NPR article, the baseline for why Yang took the technology to China was that he couldn’t find investors to manufacture in the United States.

The vanadium battery license in question would have come from Imre Gyuk’s office.  Now, in addition to being the Director of Energy Storage Research in the Office of Electricity, of the Dept of Energy, Gyuk also held another role:  “As part of the program he also supervises the $185M ARRA stimulus funding for Grid Scale Energy Storage
Demonstrations” {Citation}

The ARRA funds referenced were the Obama-era stimulus funds; the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds; the shovel ready jobs funds.  Yet, Gary Yang cannot find investors?

Citation from 2014: “It’s not a given that lithium-ion batteries are the best batteries for electric cars, or for electrical grid storage. Other types of batteries today show promise, most of which you’ve never heard of: vanadium redox flow, zinc-based, sodium-aqueous and liquid-metal. Businesses looking to invest in batteries are deciding between these technologies and more. Market players will weigh the different technologies’ cost of manufacture, durability, usefulness.” {Citation} But Gary Yang couldn’t find U.S. investors? 

Citation from 2014: “The forever battery.” A Silicon Valley startup run by old-school technologists has invented an energy storage device that could take an entire neighborhood off the grid. This magic box is called a Vanadium redox flow battery. {Citation} But Gary Yang couldn’t find U.S. investors.

Citation from 2016: “Cost-effective, reliable, and longer-lived energy storage is necessary to truly modernize the grid,” said Dr. Imre Gyuk, energy storage program manager for DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, of UET’s system. “As third-generation vanadium flow batteries gain market share, it is essential to increase our understanding of storage value and optimization to accelerate adoption of integrated storage and renewable energy solutions among utilities.” {Citation} But Gary Yang couldn’t find U.S. investors.  {Here’s another Citation}

Citation from 2018: “On January 23, 2018, the Chinese Academy of Sciences hosted a meeting on energy storage with distinguished guests Dr. Imre Gyuk, director of energy storage research at the United States Department of Energy, and Dr. Gary Yang, CEO of UniEnergy Technologies.  Dr. Gyuk and Dr. Yang were met by China Energy Storage Alliance Chairman and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Engineering Thermophysics Deputy Director Chen Haisheng, China Energy Storage Alliance Deputy Chairman and Beijing Puneng General Manager Huang Mianyan, and CNESA Standing Council Representative and general manager of State Grid Electric Vehicle Service Company Wang Mingcai.” (image below)

[SOURCE]

This meeting is important because Imre Gyuk and Gary Yang are together, in China in 2018.  The year after the Dept of Energy license given to Gary Yang was unlawfully sublicensed to the Chinese.

NPR is correct in that U.S. taxpayers funded six years of research and development for vanadium redox flow batteries (2006-2012), and once the product was successful the technology was transferred to China (2014-2017) as part of the commercial manufacture.  However, it was Gary Yang who gave it to them, and by all appearances he did so unlawfully.

There is going to be much more to this story…. Much more.  We have only just begun to dig.

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Aug 7 2022

Report, Joe Biden Likely to Extend National COVID Emergency Declaration – To Facilitate Mail-in Ballots and Harvesting?


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 6, 2022 | sundance

Politico is reporting on the likelihood that Joe Biden is preparing to extend the national COVID-19 state of emergency through the 2022 midterm elections.

The debate, as outlined in just about every media narrative surrounding renewals of a national COVID emergency, is obtusely presented as if the primary political concern is public health.

Again, everyone must pretend not to know the true motive of the “emergency” is extending unilateral executive power and all of the control mechanisms therein. One mechanism would include the use of ‘Mail-in election ballots‘, which has absolutely nothing to do with public health.

The article appears to be somewhat testing the proverbial public winds.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is expected to extend the Covid-19 public health emergency once again, ensuring that federal measures expanding access to health coverage, vaccines and treatments remain in place beyond the midterm elections, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.

The planned renewal follows extensive deliberations among Biden officials over the future of the emergency declaration, including some who questioned whether it was time to let the designation lapse.

Under the proposed extension, the Department of Health and Human Services would continue the declaration beyond the November elections and potentially into early 2023 — pushing the U.S. into its fourth calendar year under a Covid public health emergency.

[…] Some health officials also feared that formally ending the public health emergency would dampen any remaining sense of urgency in Congress to allocate additional money toward the Covid response. The administration’s request for billions more dollars to bolster its stockpiles of vaccines, tests and treatments has stalled for months in the Senate, even as officials warn the funding shortage risks hampering their ability to continue the pandemic fight. (read more)