The United States of America is not a democracy nor a republic. Previously, I stated that at best we lived under a republic since we the people do not have ultimate power. The government has taken over more power in the last few years than ever before. Our elections are completely rigged and the United States is now under the control of a dictatorship led by globalists behind the curtain.
Jailing the top political opponent was not enough for the left, nor was opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants to redistrict areas where they are losing support. California announced the new Remote Accessible Vote-By-Mail (RAVBM) program, which permits voters to PRINT THEIR OWN BALLOT TO MAIL IN.
Sign the envelope (using the envelope provided with the vote-by-mail ballot or the voter’s own envelope)
Return the printed and signed selections either by mail or by dropping it off at a voting location. The selections cannot be returned electronically.
Certain districts in California plan to send everyone vote-by-mail envelopes. As the propaganda video above notes, they are attempting to frame this as an option for voters with disabilities. If that were the case, then why is EVERYONE in the state provided with this option? Unsurprisingly, the guy in the video opted to raise taxes on his imaginary ballot. “Any voter can request to use Remote Accessible Vote-by-Mail (RAVBM),” California’s Secretary of State said in a press release.
You can request a fraudulent ballot up to seven days before the actual election. Citizens overseas may also request RAVBM, nearly ensuring non-citizens will end up voting in US elections. This is also a great way for illegal migrants to vote in our elections, incorporating millions of additional votes into our system.
We simply wanted people to show their identification prior to voting, as is required for any other government interaction. This blows the lid off creative voter fraud as it is so blatantly rigged – unbelievable.
NO ONE WILL ACCEPT THIS ELECTION! The computer has been indicating that the 2024 US Presidential Election will only produce violence.
Posted originally on the CTH on July 17, 2023 | Sundance
Sometimes things speak for themselves:
♦ September 2015 – Billionaire Paul Singer contracts with Glenn Simpson and Fusion GPS for opposition research on candidate Donald Trump during 2016 GOP presidential primary. Simpson prior work during time at Wall Street journal serves as reference.
♦ November 2015 – Simpson hires Nellie Ohr to assist on Trump project. Ohr was CIA open-source analyst. Revelations by NSA compliance officer in April 2016 point to November 2015 as origin of multiple unauthorized searches of NSA database.
♦ December 2015 – Mrs. Ohr contacts Christopher Steele, submitting data for cross-reference with sources and seeking collaboration on Trump project. Ohr using ham radio license as independent operator.
♦ January – March 2016 – GOP Presidential primary ongoing. Candidate Donald Trump wins majority of primary delegates from all early state contests. Momentum for Donald Trump becomes significant. Cruz, Kasich, Rubio final group along with Trump. Late March, Paul Singer contacts Glenn Simpson to cancel opposition research. NSA compliance officer notifies NSA Director Mike Rogers about unauthorized use of database by “contractors.” Rogers asks for full review.
♦ April 2016 – April 16, 2016, NSA compliance officer reports to Director Rogers of approximately 10,000 database searches, using “same identifiers” over “multiple dates.” Rogers responds by shutting down contractor access and blocking all FISA-702(17) “about” queries. April 17, 2016, Glenn Simpson wife, Mary Jacoby, visits White House. Glenn Simpson pitches preassembled oppo-research file on Trump to Clinton Team. Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann takes over payments and signs contract with Fusion for continued work.
♦ May/June 2016 – Chris Steele constructing dossier on Donald Trump, submissions returned to Fusion GPS, Nellie Ohr and husband Bruce Ohr, #4 in DOJ-NSD. External contacts made to Trump orbit by foreign officials from Australia (Downer), U.K (Mifsud) and Cyprus. Trump campaign continues presidential primary victories. Trump enlists Paul Manafort as delegate manager for upcoming RNC convention.
♦ July 2016 – FBI opens official investigation of Trump for Russia collusion, predicated on contact from Australian Ambassador about non-existent claim Trump group receiving Clinton/DNC emails from Russian hackers. Attempted FISA application rejected.
♦ August 2016 – CIA Director John Brennan informs Harry Reid of Clinton oppo-research effort known colloquially as Trump-Russia. Former Acting CIA Director Mike Morrell, long time Clinton ally, publishes article in New York Times claiming Russians want Trump victory. Hillary proclaims vast Russian conspiracy theory.
♦ September 2016 – Director Brennan directly informs White House, President Obama, Susan Rice, Lisa Monaco of Clinton oppo-research effort known colloquially as Trump-Russia. Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson and Michael Sussmann identified as sources for organizing oppo-research Steele Dossier.
♦ October 2016 – Steele Dossier assembly used by DOJ-NSD in FISA application against Trump campaign official Carter Page. Through April 2016, FBI used Carter Page as undercover employee in case against Russian Evgeny Buryakov; now October 2016, FBI claims Carter Page is official “agent of a foreign government” to gain FISA warrant. Steele Dossier serves as replacement for Woods File supporting Title-1 search warrant.
♦ November 2016 – Donald Trump wins 2016 presidential election defeating Hillary Clinton and stunning world. Clinton campaign blames Russians for her loss. Accuses Trump of colluding with Russia. Trump campaign and transition team now under Title-1 full counterintelligence surveillance by FBI via Page FISA warrant.
♦ December 2016 – Joint Analysis Report released by intelligence community, claiming Russians were involved in attempting to influence 2016 election. All Trump campaign and transition members under full physical and electronic surveillance. All communication intercepted. Officially FBI Director James Comey denies President-elect Trump under investigation.
♦ January 2017 – Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) released by Obama administration claiming confidence Russia had attempted to interfere in the 2016 election. Sanctions imposed by Obama; Russian diplomatic corps expelled. FISA surveillance warrant resubmitted with no new context and renewed by FISC without question.
♦ February 2017 – National Security Advisor Michael Flynn under fire for talking to Russian ambassador in December during Christmas holiday. Flynn wrongly accused of discussing possible policy changes and not to worry about Obama sanctions. Full court press by FBI and DOJ to leak information to media about Trump under FBI counterintelligence investigation. James Comey leaks information to friend, Columbia University Professor Daniel Richman as intermediary to media. Washington Post publish article citing FBI intercept of Flynn-Kislyak phone call.
♦ March 2017 – • On 16th HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes releases information to public about Obama presidential daily briefing containing information about Trump-Russia collusion investigation and surveillance of Trump campaign by FBI. First public indications that “wires were actually tapped.” • On 17th copy of FISA application delivered from FISA Court to Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice-Chairman Mark Warner. Shortly after 4pm, Warner instructs SSCI Security Director James Wolfe to leak the FISA application to media. Wolfe transmits 82 pictures to Politico journalist Ali Watkins via encrypted phone images [FISA application 83 pages with one blank page]. FISA application returned to courier FBI Agent Brian Dugan. • March 20th, James Comey testifies to HPSCI during open hearing admitting for first time publicly that President Trump, and his entire administration, is under official FBI counterintelligence investigation. Comey claims no information previously given to congressional oversight due to “sensitivity of the matter.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions forced to recuse.
♦ April 2017 – Absent AG, and without confirmed DAG, interim and acting DAG Dana Boente receives request for FISA renewal from FBI Director James Comey. On same day FISA application is renewed for second time, journalist Ali Watkins -having ownership of illegal and leaked unredacted FISA application- writes first details of FISA application, then transfers employment to New York Times for senior role in Trump-Russia reporting. FBI continues leaking details of investigation to media. Mid April Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein arrives to take all responsibilities related to AG Sessions recusal.
♦ May 2017 – Early May, Deputy AG Rosenstein has phone call with FBI Director James Comey, “What do you want me to do – wear a wire?” Mid-May, Rosenstein takes former FBI Director Robert Mueller to White House for oval office meeting with President Trump. Next morning Mueller returns to White House to pick up cell phone he accidentally left in Oval Office. Later in afternoon, President Trump fires FBI Director James Comey. Following day Rosenstein talks to Mueller (3X) and coordinates meeting. Robert Mueller appointed Special Counsel; Mueller chief deputy Andrew Weissmann assumes organization of investigation.
♦ June 2017 – Weissmann assembles Crossfire Hurricane team into Special Counsel. WFO FBI Agent Brian Dugan begins to suspect SSCI leak of FISA application based on media reporting. Agent Dugan requests and receives first warrant for cell phone records of SSCI Security Director Wolfe and NYT journalist Ali Watkins. June 29th Andrew Weissmann requests renewal of Carter Page FISA warrant to continue surveillance of administration. Application renewed.
♦ July 2017 – While conducting investigation of internal FBI conduct during Clinton email investigation, Office of Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovers inappropriate activity within FBI investigative team. Horowitz informs DAG Rosenstein and SC Robert Mueller about Lisa Page and Peter Strzok compromise. Weissmann removes Page and Strzok to avoid scrutiny by OIG of special counsel team. President Trump White House Counsel Don McGahn discovers all 2016/2017 transition team emails, phone records, electronic communications and devices have been given to Andrew Weissmann by General Services Administration as requested by the FISA authority carried by special counsel.
♦ August 2017 – DAG Rod Rosenstein officially expands Special Counsel investigative scope as requested by Andrew Weissmann to include five specific targets: Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Carter Page, George Papadopoulos and Walid Phares [targeting angle = FARA violations, per DOJ-NSD authority] Mr. Phares organized interview between Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abel Fattah al-Sisi during 2016 campaign. FISA surveillance authority used to collect evidence of financial transactions, banking records, travel, communication and full Title-1 counterintelligence operations deployed against targets.
♦ September 2017 – FBI Agent Brian Dugan conducting surveillance of Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) and communication between SSCI Vice-Chair Mark Warner and Chris Steele representative Adam Waldman. Dugan intercepts Waldman side of conversation for investigative file. Weissmann and 18 lawyers, 50 FBI agents and 200 staff continue Trump targeting operations, continue full Title-1 authorized FISA surveillance, and outline cases against Manafort (financial crimes/FARA), Flynn (FARA), and Papadopoulos (lying to investigators).
♦ October 2017 – FISA search warrant used by Mueller/Weissmann special counsel expires. Weissmann requests expanded scope memo from Rosenstein to target Michael Flynn Jr for use against his father, Michael Flynn. Cases against Manafort and Papadopoulos ongoing. Media 24/7 with Trump-Russia collusion. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Brian Dugan first approaches SSCI Security Director James Wolfe about FISA leak and media contacts. Agent Dugan forced by USAO Jessie Liu to inform SSCI Chair Burr and SSCI Vice-Chair Warner about ongoing leak investigation.
♦ November 2017 – All prior surveillance and assembled evidence used via Title-1 search warrant authority, in combination with FARA and threats against Mike Flynn Jr, used to coerce a guilty plea by Michael Flynn (Nov 31). House Intelligence Committee now seeking to review FISA warrant, DOJ and FBI denying access. Political debate between Chairman Devin Nunes and ranking member Adam Schiff ongoing.
♦ December 2017 – AFTER securing Flynn guilty plea, immediately first reports of Lisa Page and Peter Strzok text messages released. Within days, Bruce Ohr identified, demoted twice, former Crossfire Hurricane investigation now being scrutinized. Nellie Ohr’s name surfaces. Chris Steele and Fusion GPS now being reviewed with increased suspicion. Testimony to Senate by Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson “accidentally” leaked by SSCI member Dianne Feinstein (keep stories straight, motive). Nunes memo -vs- Schiff memo battle for media narrative. Internal details of prior FBI targeting operation begin to surface with evidence showing sketchy behavior. FBI Agent Brian Dugan confronts SSCI Security Director James Wolfe with evidence against him, Wolfe admits to leaks. SSCI fire Wolfe.
♦ January 2018 – Apex for Special Counsel. Brian Dugan assembles file against Wolfe submits for grand jury indictment. Due to file touching on Trump-Russia issues, Wolfe criminal activity file submitted to Special Counsel Weissmann for review. Nunes memo released and discussed.
♦ February 2018 – Text messages between SSCI Vice-Chair Warner and Chris Steele layer Adam Waldman surface. Andrew Weissmann organizes a press conference for Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to conduct, announcing indictments of 17 Russians and entities for 2016 election interference; this is timed as Trump departs for summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
♦ March 2018 – Public begins to absorb totality of FBI (mis)conduct in the Trump targeting operation. The information war is in full swing. Narrative battles are throughout media.
♦ April 2018 – Leaks of the FISA application against Carter Page now under scrutiny. A criminal referral from OIG toward FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for lying to INSD investigators about his media leaks.
♦ June 2018 – The criminal indictment of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe unsealed and made public.
♦ July 2018 – The DOJ informs the FISC that despite issues surfacing about the predicate of the FISA warrant they authorized against Carter Page for being an agent of a foreign power, everything was ok. A week later, the DOJ then releases to the public the first FISA Title-1 search warrant ever seen, …
…the publicly released version of the FISA application is the exact copy of FISA that was contained in the FBI evidence file against James Wolfe. The same exact document hand carried from the FISC to the SSCI on March 17, 2017, was the copy released by the DOJ in July 2018; not the DOJ-NSD copy. How did that happen?
♦ December 2018 – Despite the DOJ refusing to indict James Wolfe for leaking the Top-Secret Compartmented Intelligence Carter Page FISA application, and after the guilty plea was entered for lying to investigators, and while the Judge was considering Wolfe’s sentencing, in December of 2018, after the midterm election and under penalty of perjury, the USAO in Washington DC swears to the Judge in the case that James Wolfe leaked the FISA application.
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Cover up much?
This timeline is off the top of my head for the interests of the group who requested. I may come back and fill in more details and citations, but this should get you started. For everyone else, remember, everything at CTH is always free for use as needed.
Posted originally on the CTH on June 9, 2023 | Sundance
Good news, bad news and granular news..
First, the good news.The judge assigned to the Trump documents case is U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. She is the same judge who handled the lawsuit last year after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Judge Cannon was the judge who appointed the “special master” to review the documents the DOJ was claiming were classified, but Team Trump was contending that definition.
Now the bad news. The DOJ is no longer legally arguing that Donald Trump held any classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. The DOJ is arguing that President Trump held documents vital to U.S. defense security. It’s a farce but that’s their position. The classification status of documents is moot, nonexistent, except to create the predicate for the proverbial FBI nose under the tent.
The DOJ-NSD (that’s Lisa Monaco) got a warrant to look for classified documents, but never intended to use classified documents as a case cornerstone because President Trump had full declassification authority. The DOJ got a search warrant by convincing a judge they were looking for something that wasn’t even a violation of law. That’s why the DOJ would not reveal the probable cause affidavit. The search was built upon a fraudulent pretense. “Classified” is a snipe hunt.
You will notice Jack Smith never discussed “classified documents” in his remarks, and the issue of classified documents appears nowhere except in the indictment as a purposeful lawfare description of documents. The DOJ is not legally charging anything relating to the classification status of the documents. That’s the Lawfare and media banter to create a talking point. The term “classified” is all over the indictment, but as a lawfare adjective only; it’s like using the word “stash”.
The special counsel legal framework is centered around documents the DOJ define as vital to “the defense security” of the United States. EVERYTHING is predicated on 31 counts of an 18 U.S. Code § 793(e) violation. The DOJ defines what is considered a defense document, and that intentionally has nothing to do with classification.
The granular news. You might have heard that two of Trump’s lawyers, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, quit today. The media wants to use their exit as a point to indicate Trump is in legal jeopardy; however, that’s not the case.
As soon as Trusty and Rowley saw their forced testimony was used in the indictment, they had no option except to exit the case. Despite the lawyers providing no damaging information against Trump, the DOJ used language in the indictment to turn Trump’s lawyers into material witnesses. Weissmann’s Lawfare tactic create a conflict, forcing the two Trump lawyers to depart.
WASHINGTON DC – Two of Donald Trump’s top lawyers abruptly resigned from his defense team on Friday, just hours after news broke that he and a close aide were indicted on charges related to their handling of classified documents.
Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who helmed Trump’s Washington, D.C.-based legal team for months and were seen frequently at the federal courthouse, indicated they would no longer represent Trump in matters being investigated and prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith, who is probing both the documents matter and efforts by Trump to subvert the 2020 election.
The resignations were shortly followed by an announcement from Trump himself confirming that a close aide, Walt Nauta, had also been indicted by federal prosecutors. Nauta, a Navy veteran, had served as the former president’s personal aide and was a ubiquitous presence during his post White House days.
In their place, Trump indicated that Todd Blanche — an attorney he recently retained to help fight unrelated felony charges brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg in April — would lead his legal team, along with a firm to be named later. Trump and his team have liked Blanche, who is expected to play a more elevated, central role. (more)
Weissmann, Eisen and Smith are using lawfare in the indictment to put the interests of Trump and his aide Walt Nauta against each other. Obviously, Nauta would not turn on Trump, so the prosecution made Nauta a target for a federal 1001 charge of lying to investigators and will pressure him throughout the case to take a plea in exchange for testimony against Trump. Nauta is the baseline of the “Conspiracy Elements” which require two or more people. Again, pure Lawfare.
Obviously, Jim Trusty was unaware last night that his forced testimony would be used in the indictment. WATCH:
COMMENT: Martin, I’m gay and I agree with you on this transgender drivel, especially letting male-born athletes compete in women’s sports. It is becoming scary for those of us who are just gay. We are being thrown in the same category as this transgender agenda. I too have been to Thailand. The Ladyboys in Thailand are numerous and are accepted in society. They are smart enough to not make a political issue of it as is taking place here in America.
As for your view of Trump as the only hope to save our politics, I profoundly disagree. I think he is arrogant and ignorant. He doesn’t care if what he says if it is true or not.
CP
REPLY: With respect to Trump, you have to separate the individual from the politics. I understand people hate Trump. The media have spread this BECAUSE he is a threat to the Washington political establishment. Nonetheless, not even Trump can stop the decline and fall of Western Civilization.
People get offended by his crude statements at times. But at least you know what he really thinks. Is it better for a career politician to say everything you want to hear and then look at you as a stupid fool and do the opposite?
I have worked in Washington. There is ABSOLUTELY nobody who is a career politician in either party who will really stand up for the people. They are under pressure all the time to conform to the unelected party bosses.
I have met many heads of state in my 40 years. I have said the truth. Trump was the ONLY such person who ever impressed me as actually being human. His statement that he wanted to bring our boys home from Afghanistan because he was tired of writing letters to their parents to thank them for their son’s sacrifice of dying for his country. He actually said what are we doing there? They are fighting over borders for a 1,000 years. What difference will we make?
No head of state EVER spoke about the people. It was always about their policy. I have come to see that we are just the pawns – expendable pawns at that. There are always more of us to come. They look down upon the people as stupid scum. This whole digital currency thing is to track everything we do.
So you may find Trump’s statement and his arrogance at times as distasteful. We will never find someone perfect. But all of this is irrelevant. For there is NOBODY coming on some white horse to save the day. Trump’s quality was that he was NOT a career politician and what he was doing was for his personal legacy from ending wars to building a wall to protect our borders.
So all I can say is to those who hate Trump so much, you better look closely at the others for they have nothing but contempt for you.
Back in the ’70s, I hired a death mute – Danny. He taught me sign language and we could communicate and laugh together. I had a major surgeon as a client and he said that he probably could restore his hearing. I offered to pay for everything for him and he declined. He was afraid to hear sounds. He grew up that way and was in his late 20s and did not want to change. He taught me that what I thought would be a generous offer was really just me thinking that normal was the ability to hear. We cannot judge others by ourselves.
One of our staff who is black, was rather upset about the whole Black Lives Matter movement. She explained that it was being usurped by non-blacks. There was clearly a strange agenda behind the curtain. Soros and his defund the police agenda was to create civil unrest and cause the country to get prepared for this one-world government.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg was the first woman to make it to the Supreme Court. She was an advocate for women’s rights. But she came out and explained that the entire Abortion Movement was a fraud. They called it women’s rights and have indoctrinated many women who passionately take that position. They have been cleverly manipulated by the Gates crowd and the Rockefeller Foundation for their real goal was to reduce the population. Gate’s father started the whole Planned Parenthood and placed them in minority areas to reduce their population on a racist basis. Like his father, Gates has targeted Africa to reduce population.
Now, the total number of people who identify as Transgender is 1.6 million out of a population of 331.9 million (2021). That is 0.0048%. Now, how has this become such a major issue? There is absolutely NO WAY this Transgender group had the money or the clout to turn this into such a huge issue. Diving deep behind the curtain and you will find, just like abortion, it is being funded for the purpose of reducing the population – and has NOTHING to do with Pride or gay rights. They are being exploited just as women were told it was their right to have an abortion – kill that baby and save the planet.
This Transgender nonsense is in fact destroying the right of the Gay Community because they are being thrown in with this Transgender nonsense advocating changing children’s sex without parental knowledge all before puberty. Let’s get real here. This agenda is to promote the reduction in the population and has NOTHING to do with the Gay Community or their rights to inclusion and equality.
This is always the same strategy – manipulating society to achieve its undeclared goal be it war, politics, or women/transgender rights. It is like LIFE Insurance which is really DEATH insurance. They sell fire, accident, theft, and hurricane insurance. But they could not sell DEATH insurance so they called it LIFE insurance and people brag how much they have.
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Remember the lockdowns? The whole COVID nonsense was a scam to end commuting and terminate offices bringing in virtual work from home all to reduce gas consumption. That was also a manipulation of society for climate change – not for health. There are people still to this day wearing masks driving alone in a car. They have been mentally damaged by these tactics.
NOTHING is ever what it seems. We are the fools and they are always using sophisticated tactics to manipulate society to achieve objectives that they will never reveal.
It’s just time to take the Red Pill and wake up if you EVER hope to survive as a viable human being or take the Blue Pill and live in your fantasy that government actually cares about you.
Posted originally on the CTH on May 18, 2023 | Sundance
In the fifth week since the Bud Light backlash began, the latest scan data released shows a worsening drop in sales. The overall trend now shows Bud Light has lost a full quarter of its market position, dropping 23.6% in unit volume and -27.7% in dollar sales.
Despite these dollar losses, the parent company does not seem willing to address the root cause. Despite North American sales impacts, the Diversity Equity and Inclusion outlook of the Anheuser-Busch global company is still strongly entrenched in the branding. It does not appear the company is going to modify anything as the very vocal Alphabet ideologues have them captive.
(Washington Examiner) – Bud Light sales are down for a fifth straight week as the financial beating endured by the Anheuser-Busch brand following its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney appears to have no end in sight.
Sales of Bud Light fell 23.6% for the week ending on May 6 compared to numbers recorded in 2022, according to a report citing data acquired by Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ. (read more)
Previously – Across the United States, wholesalers are on the hook for inventories of Bud Light and Budweiser products that no one is buying. These products have an expiration date, thanks in part to the A/B freshness campaign long ago created. The wholesalers have to swap out the close-dated products that are not being sold in retailers and restaurants. The wholesalers are then stuck with out-of-date product and turn back to the corporate office for help.
From reporting in the Wall Street Journal, Anheuser-Busch (A/B) is telling the wholesalers to give the product free to their employees rather than dump it. By law, they cannot give it away to consumers, and they cannot cross promote the beer by “bundling” alcohol with another CPG product (ie, buy chips, get free beer).
The story is being promoted as A/B being magnanimous in giving the beer to the employees; however, in reality as the product hits its expiration or sell-by date, A/B only has that option, other than to dump it in the garbage and recycle the containers.
New mortgage originations have reached their lowest level since Q2 of 2014. Inventory remains historically low, shelter costs are historically high, and it makes no sense for most to refinance with current mortgage rates over 6% on the 30-year. Originations, including refinances, came in at $323.5 billion during Q1 of 2023. The NY Fed reported that borrowing in general has reached $17.5 trillion, a $150 billion increase, as families grapple with inflation. The refinance boom in 2020 and 2021 will impact real estate for generations to come.
The NY Fed discusses the COVID refinance boom (Q2 of 2020 to Q4 of 2021) in a recent article. Fourteen million mortgages were refinanced during this period when mortgage rates reached record lows. Mortgage rates plummeted 200 bp from Nov. 2018 to November 2020. The last upticks in refinances occurred in 2003 and again in 2013 when rates also fell 200 bp. However, rates were at their lowest level during the COVID refinance boom, allowing many to take out equity from their homes and reinvest. Home equity reached a record high in the time leading up to the pandemic, and the continued rise in home prices provided numerous owners with additional equity.
One-third of all outstanding mortgages were refinanced over the span of 7 quarters. About 64% of refinances were “rate refinances,” classified as those with a balance increase of less than 5% of the mortgage amount. Those who chose this route saved an average of $220 per month. Cash-out refinancers took out $82,000 on average, increasing monthly payments by $150. Around 5 million borrowers extracted a total of $430 billion during the COVID refinance boom—a significant sum.
The 9 million who did not extract equity reduced mortgage payments by $24 billion annually. These figures are something I do not expect to see again in my lifetime. Those holding their breath for rates to drop under 3% again should come up for air. Homeowners are disincentivized to sell at current rates, not to mention home prices are AT LEAST 36% higher than before the pandemic. Everyone’s investment strategy is unique, but those who were able to use their home’s equity to invest during the bottom of the market made out well. The period between Q2 of 2020 to Q4 of 2021 will be a reference point for years to come.
Posted originally on the CTH on May 16, 2023 | Sundance
People ask why I find it difficult to write about the Durham report empirically confirming everything we previously outlined in the past five years. Here’s my answer.
Eventually, after the shock & awe of the Durham confirmations wear off, I am hopeful that people will stand back and realize the bigger question that covers all of the Trump-Russia collusion conspiracy nonsense. This was a United States government operation to conduct full-throated surveillance on a U.S. presidential candidate, and then remove that candidate from the office of the presidency after his victory in the 2016 election.
With John Durham outlining in granular details how the FBI, DOJ and larger intelligence apparatus acted politically to weaponize government on behalf of an allied presidential candidate in Hillary Clinton, a bigger question remains. There never was any merit to the Trump-Russia nonsense, so what exactly were Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann doing for two years?
Using the silo defense as a method of obfuscation, John Durham noted in his report [page #2] as below, never delved into that obvious question. Durham specifically, and with great intent, says he did not look at what Mueller and Weissmann were doing; even though, Durham destroyed any predication that might have given merit to the intention of their special counsel existence.
Durham writes a 316-page report, meticulously detailing the false construct of the Trump-Russia narrative. Yet for some reason, the Mueller/Weissmann investigation, an entire special counsel investigation that was predicated and justified by that false Trump-Russia narrative, never found the same evidence?
Durham never looked at it. Why? Because he knew Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann were installed to cover up the original fabrications by the CIA, FBI, DOJ and U.S. intelligence apparatus. Mueller’s probe existed in material fact to hide the Obama weaponization to target Donald Trump. Durham knew this; that’s why he never touched it.
Stop pretending. Once you stop pretending, you realize just how rotten this system is.
John Durham intentionally and with specific foresight, did not want to reveal the criminal conduct of the Mueller/Weissmann special counsel.
He knew exactly what they were doing; his investigation paralleled what their investigation would have done if Mueller was not established to hide the originating schemes.
Everything Durham found, Mueller could have easily found, and stated, and ended the nonsense.
This reality, and Durham’s intentional decision to avoid confronting the Mueller fraud, is why no one should defend any part of what John Durham was doing, nor the report he delivers in conclusion. Durham is just as dirty as Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann. If he wasn’t, he would have outlined the purpose of Mueller and left them naked to the consequences. But that’s not what a good little silo maintainer does.
Instead, John Durham simply acts as if Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann didn’t exist to try and destroy President Trump. Durham ignores the cleanup operation entirely.
Everyone in Washington DC knew that Trump-Russia was a manufactured lie created by Hillary Clinton, promoted and supported by President Obama and fully weaponized by the Obama era justice department. Nobody in Washington DC did not know this. Everyone knew.
Everyone in Washington DC also knew that Robert Mueller was installed to cover up the 2016 targeting operation. Nobody in Washington DC did not know this. Everyone knew, including John Durham.
We really need to stop pretending and start asking the obvious questions. If Durham can destroy the predicate of the Trump-Russia nonsense, then what the hell were Robert Mueller and Andrew Weissmann doing for two years?
We know the answer.
The investigators know the answer.
Washington DC knows the answer.
Republicans know the answer.
They all know that we know the answer, and yet that BIGGER question just sits there….
…because everyone keeps pretending!
A reminder from the MUELLER REPORT:
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You might remember, Robert Mueller was in front of congress in July 2019, answering questions about Chris Steele, the dossier and the Steele sources therein. Mueller was able to deflect and dodge answering questions about it because AG Bill Barr put John Durham into place in May 2019.
When Robert Mueller is saying there’s another group in the DOJ looking specifically at the Chris Steele, Dossier, Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson aspect to the fraudulent 2016/2017 claims about Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 election, he is talking about the John Durham investigation.
Mueller was citing Durham as the reason why his purview, and subsequent report as released, did not include the Steele dossier, Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson information.
Mueller was saying that stuff is the responsibility of “the other internal investigative unit,” ie. John Durham.
When you stand back and remind yourself of the Bill Barr statements and affirmations about the ‘integrity’ and ‘honor’ of Robert Mueller, one can only accept that AG Bill Barr put John Durham into place in May 2019, immediately following Robert Mueller’s completed investigation, April 2019, so that Mueller would have a shield for why the origin of the Trump-Russia is outside his purview.
This is how they use silos as weapons and shields. Not in my purview is the same as not in my silo.
Mueller was citing Durham as the reason his team did not expand their probe to fully investigate Chris Steele et al. Mueller’s special counsel has an escape hatch for why they did nothing with their own investigative findings…. That was John Durham’s job. This is the outrage trap.
AG Bill Barr established John Durham’s probe (silo) so that Robert Mueller’s probe (silo) would have cover.
If John Durham’s investigative inquiry did not exist prior to that July 2019 testimony by Robert Mueller, then Mueller would have lied to congress.
AG Bill Barr put Durham into place, essentially constructed another silo, to protect his ‘good friend’ Robert Mueller….
Posted originally on the CTH on April 19, 2023 | Sundance
Another three endorsements for President Trump today from the Florida congressional delegation, bringing the total so far to ten with more anticipated. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is in Washington DC seeking support. DeSantis is warmly greeted, but President Trump gets the endorsements. What’s going on?
Republican Congressman Greg Steube gives an explanation below about the Ron DeSantis Floridians know, but nationally most do not.
DeSantis is an out-of-touch aloof persona, who generally projects himself as better than others. In person he projects an arrogance and condescending personality trait also carried by his insta-selfie supporters and ‘influencers.’ It comes through the camera lens. Everything constructed around DeSantis is fake, even the fake blue-collar handshakes that have to be photo-shopped to give a common man impression.
The donors are pouring in hundreds of millions to pay for the fake DeSantis constructs, Top Gov brand imaging and Madison Avenue illusions, but you cannot purchase authenticity, and you cannot rewrite the history of who DeSantis is. Greg Steube explains:
[I]n a brief interview last night [Steube noted] that DeSantis has never once reached out to him during his five years in Congress nor replied to his multiple attempts to connect. He recalled a recent news conference dealing with damage from Hurricane Ian where the governor’s aides initially invited him to stand alongside DeSantis, only to tell him that he wouldn’t be part of the event when he showed up.
Trump, on the other hand, was the first person Steube remembers calling him in the ICU to wish him well after he was injured in a January tree-trimming accident. “To this day I have not heard from Gov. DeSantis,” he said.
Things suddenly changed last week, Steube said, as Trump started rolling out his Florida congressional backers. ”For the first time ever, I hear from DeSantis’s political person,” he said, referring to aide RYAN TYSON, who reportedly contacted other Florida Republicans about their endorsements.
For Steube, the outreach was too little, too late. And he continues to have sharp words for DeSantis, criticizing him for his robust political travel schedule amid a busy legislative session and just months after winning a new four-year term. “Floridians want him focused on Florida,” he said, “which is the job they elected him to do.” (read the entire article)
Like I said last year, once people get to see Ron DeSantis up close, his disdain for people just jumps out at you. He loves standing at the podium telling you what’s wrong with you, and what is brilliant about himself; however, he just doesn’t like people in an authentic or natural way you would expect from executive leadership.
The same disconnected snobbery applies to everyone his team has recruited.
Ken Cuccinelli and Jeff Roe are two of the biggest self-important jackasses in national politics. They don’t carry an ounce of humility or introspection. They are always right, and the problem is it just takes too long for everyone to come around to admitting how great they are. This is the character of DeSantis that flows through everyone he associates with. Here’s an example from one of the ‘influencers” a few days ago.
This Twitter account is connected to both Representative Thomas Massie and DeSantis campaign official Christina Pushaw:
That tweet encapsulates the worldview of the average Ron DeSantis supporter in Florida.
This is why the overwhelming majority of the Florida Republican delegation, will not endorse him. These outlooks are toxic and elitist. Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis did not wear elbow length silk gloves at the noon-time inauguration day event accidentally. Casey already went shopping with Cindy McCain and has her 2024 tiara picked out.
As I keep saying, there are not enough people who take Instagram pictures of their lunches to make Ron DeSantis a viable candidate. The polo club, cocktail party circuit of people who eat crustless triangle cucumber sandwiches and look down their noses at everyone else, is just not a large enough coalition to win DeSantis the nomination. It means he will have more money; however, factually, the professional donor class is annoying with the level of self-righteousness and condescension they promote.
WASHINGTON DC – […] In yet another blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s not-yet-official presidential bid, two more Republican members of Congress from his own state are gearing to endorse Donald Trump for another term. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez are each planning to announce their support for the former president this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME.
Their pledges continue something of a downward spiral for DeSantis, who has been steadily losing ground in the endorsement battle for legislators from his own backyard. The development is even more noteworthy after his political team recently tried to stop the bleeding by asking Florida Republicans to refrain from endorsing Trump.
Bilirakis and Gimenez have also committed to be at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday night, as the former President hosts members of the Florida delegation who have already endorsed him, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Greg Steube. It’s not clear yet whether Reps. Byron Donalds and John Rutherford, who have also endorsed Trump, will be at the gathering.
Neither Bilirakis nor Gimenez responded to requests for comment. Rep. Brian Mast, another Florida Republican, has also told associates he plans to formally back Trump in the coming days. And on Wednesday, Rep. Vern Buchanan officially thew his weight behind Trump. TIME reported last week that Buchanan was planning to endorse Trump in the coming days.
All of their endorsements will bring Trump’s tally of members of Congress from Florida to ten, whereas DeSantis has just one, Rep. Laurel Lee, who announced her support for the governor on Tuesday. Before winning her House seat last year, Lee served as DeSantis’s first Secretary of State. (read more)
Lance Gooden (R-TX) – “Today, after careful consideration and a positive meeting with Governor DeSantis, I have decided to endorse President @realDonaldTrump for 2024.”
Rolling Stone – […] “Over the past few years, the Florida governor has risen to Trump’s top internal rival without even declaring his candidacy. And part of that rise has been fueled by his pull with the GOP’s megadonor class, who prefer him to Trump because, while he brings a similar set of MAGAfied policies, he has not, to date, attempted a coup. That wellspring of financial support has been instrumental in fueling his rise, but the investments are predicated in large part on a belief that he can take down Donald.
That belief seems to be wavering, as the donor revolt has been brewing since at least last month. And it’s not just skittish donors like Richard Uihlein or Thomas Peterffy, who went public with his complaints last week. Several other top donors to DeSantis were livid about the governor referring to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute,” with at least one major donor calling DeSantis to urge a walk-back, a source with knowledge of the outreach and another person briefed on it say. “My understanding is that the message was: ‘If we wanted a fucking MAGA candidate, we would donate to Donald Trump,’” the second source says.
[…] Those polling troubles may be giving some megadonors second thoughts. Sources familiar with Schlitz Brewing heir and shipping titan Richard Uihlein’s thinking told NBC News that the “brakes are pumped” with the megadonor’s DeSantis giving after the governor’s lackluster polling has given some “pause” about his viability.
Other conservatives have taken to predicting that DeSantis is potentially the second coming of Scott Walker, another Republican governor and conservative-media darling who many thought would be the favored candidate in a presidential primary — only to flame out before any ballots were cast. (read more)
Posted originally on the CTH on April 16, 2023 | Sundance
Tucker Carlson has interviewed Twitter CEO Elon Musk and will broadcast the interview on Monday at 8:00pm ET.
If Carlson had the accurate and full context of the background situation, he would be able to ask the right questions. It appears Mr. Carlson does have the key issues well understood. This should be a good interview.
In this preview segment {Direct Rumble Link Here}, Musk admits his mind was blown when he discovered the extent of the full government access to everything that was happening on Twitter. He essentially confirms two key elements. First, our long-held framework of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop, is accurate. Second, Musk had no idea when he bought it.
There has been an ongoing debate about whether Elon Musk was aware of the U.S. government and intelligence community control over Twitter prior to the purchase; with many people saying there is no way that Musk could not know given the scale of the money involved, $42 billion and the due diligence that generally follows such transactions.
However, in this interview Musk states he had no idea how much operational control and influence the government and intelligence apparatus held over the platform prior to the purchase.
Readers here are so far ahead of the curve on this story, it’s kind of cool, funny, and yet frustrating at the same time. Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop is all a wild conspiracy theory born from the oddly wired brain of some dude in the corner of the internet; until suddenly it’s not.
Factually, it has been visible since the U.S. Government operation began in 2011/2012, yet no one was willing to believe it. For several years, CTH has been outlining the relationship between DHS and social media, specifically Twitter. However, as I said from the outset of this new awakening moment, I promise you things are not what they seem.
As noted earlier, and it is worth repeating, let me put some context to the dynamic that will hopefully clarify the issue and perhaps the context will help explain what we are seeing and not seeing as this unfolds. There are going to be a lot of citations to fill in the details, and understanding the modern Fourth Branch of Government is critical.
♦ Elevator Speech: Twitter was/is to the U.S. government as TikTok is to China. The overarching dynamic is the need to control public perceptions and opinions. DHS has been in ever increasing control of Twitter since the public-private partnership was formed in 2011/2012. Jack Dorsey lost control and became owner emeritus. As he now admits, Elon Musk had no idea.
To explain the background activity of Twitter in a way that readers could understand, I used the metaphor of Twitter as Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop.
…”The metaphorical Jack had a great idea, open a coffee shop where the beverages were free and use internal advertising as the income subsidy to operate the business. Crowds came for the free coffee, comfy couches, fellowship, conversation and enjoyment.
It didn’t matter where Jack got the coffee, how he paid for it, or didn’t, or what product advertising the customers would be exposed to while there. Few people thought about such things. Curiously, it didn’t matter what size the crowd was; in the backroom of Jack’s Coffee Shop they were able to generate massive amounts of never-ending free coffee at extreme scales.
Over time, using the justification of parking lot capacity and township regulations, not everyone would be able to park and enter. Guards were placed at the entrance to pre-screen customers. Some were denied. A debate began.”…
Here’s what happened….
In/around 2011 and 2012 the U.S. Government, Obama administration and the U.S. State Dept., came into Jack’s Coffee Shop and asked him for help.
The govt officials needed to deliver massive amounts of coffee to their allies in Egypt, Libya and the middle east to support the Arab Spring party. Jack told the officials he was willing to help but didn’t have the capacity to deliver on that scale. The officials told Jack not to worry, they would handle that aspect – he just needed to agree to the partnership and let them utilize his business. Jack agreed.
[Note, the timing here is not accidental. The operational agreement happened at the same time DHS was fine tuning the domestic surveillance systems to monitor social media platforms and target political opposition. See The Fourth Branch.]
Over the next several weeks, months and eventually years, Jack watched as hundreds of new employees flooded into the business to facilitate the rapid expansion. Along with a myriad of new faces, new equipment was delivered, and soon Jack found himself looking at heavy industrial equipment erecting large buildings in the back lots of the property. Coffee urns were replaced with massive industrial coffee delivery systems that far exceeded anything Jack ever imagined.
Business was booming, but slowly Jack realized he had lost control. Jack was riding a dragon.
As the years progressed, thousands of new employees moved into the offices of the new buildings and massive pipelines were producing incredible scales of coffee. Jack noted offices of the United Nations Human Rights Commission were now creating unique blends of coffee for international distribution, and the European Commission had an entire suite of specially trained coffee production engineers creating alternate combinations and flavors.
By 2018, Jack had essentially become an “owner emeritus”; his name was on the shingle, but the day-to-day operation of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop had turned into an industrial park complex.
Jack saw his personal wealth attached to the success of the business, but operationally, his only responsibility was traveling to symposiums and venues where he would stand on stage and wax philosophically about the future of a coffee delivery organization he no longer controlled. Day-to-day operations were now controlled by experts in the scale of massive industrial coffee. Those experts came from the Dept of Homeland Security.
[The Intercept] – […] Behind closed doors, and through pressure on private platforms, the U.S. government has used its power to try to shape online discourse. According to meeting minutes and other records appended to a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican who is also running for Senate, discussions have ranged from the scale and scope of government intervention in online discourse to the mechanics of streamlining takedown requests for false or intentionally misleading information.
“Platforms have got to get comfortable with gov’t. It’s really interesting how hesitant they remain,” Microsoft executive Matt Masterson, a former DHS official, texted Jen Easterly, a DHS director, in February.
In a March meeting, Laura Dehmlow, an FBI official, warned that the threat of subversive information on social media could undermine support for the U.S. government. Dehmlow, according to notes of the discussion attended by senior executives from Twitter and JPMorgan Chase, stressed that “we need a media infrastructure that is held accountable.” (read more)
To streamline the operational efficiencies as the industrial coffee system grew, direct portals between the Washington DC government offices and Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop were created. Officials no longer needed to travel to the location of Jack’s Coffee Shop in order to operate the valves, mixers, grinders and systems to generate the scale of blends being produced.
Experts could now use direct portals to the facility to operate the coffee production systems remotely, with a limited number of specially trained (FBI) coffee engineers doing the laborious tasks and maintenance at the facility.
The badges were intimidating to Jack who went to sleep every night under the realization he no longer had any clue about how the coffee shop communication business was operating.
[…] The extent to which the DHS initiatives affect Americans’ daily social feeds is unclear. During the 2020 election, the government flagged numerous posts as suspicious, many of which were then taken down, documents cited in the Missouri attorney general’s lawsuit disclosed. And a 2021 report by the Election Integrity Partnership at Stanford University found that of nearly 4,800 flagged items, technology platforms took action on 35 percent — either removing, labeling, or soft-blocking speech, meaning the users were only able to view content after bypassing a warning screen. The research was done “in consultation with CISA,” the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Prior to the 2020 election, tech companies including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord, Wikipedia, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Verizon Media met on a monthly basis with the FBI, CISA, and other government representatives. According to NBC News, the meetings were part of an initiative, still ongoing, between the private sector and government to discuss how firms would handle misinformation during the election. (keep reading)
After several years of increasing distance from the Coffee Shop operation he initially started, eventually Jack decided it was silly to own an industrial coffee delivery system that he didn’t control. So, Jack decided to sell his shingle to someone else.
Enter, Elon Musk.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a man intimately familiar with large industrial systems and government, had been watching the disgruntled visitors to Jack’s Coffee Shop who were no longer permitted to enter. Musk saw an inequity between the amount of coffee that was available, and the scarcity of the coffee amid a community blacklisted by the operational executives and managers of the shop.
With expressions of both interest and fellowship, Mr. Elon Musk told Mr. Jack Dorsey he would take ownership of Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop and remove any discriminatory guards that were now controlling permitted entry. Jack had no aversion to Elon and eventually a deal was brokered.
After the transfer of sale was complete, Mr. Musk fired many of the guards and then set about checking the payroll to identify which group of shop employees were actually involved in the generation of coffee, and which employees were involved in promotion of the industrial coffee delivery system that were no longer needed.
Within this process, Elon Musk begins to discover the complex nature of what, at least at the surface, appeared to be an uncomplicated coffee shop. Why is there a 500-room glass walled office building on the backside of the coffee shop? What is going on in that GEC building that has anything to do with selling domestic coffee?
The sunlight revelations began surfacing several months ago, when someone of reasonably intelligent curiosity finally asked Elon Musk the right question about this direct portal from DHS into the coffee shop. Twitter owner Elon Musk had no idea a DHS portal into the coffee shop existed and what it would be for.
To put it in brutally honest terms, the State Dept initially created the partnership between the U.S. government and Twitter (Arab Spring). However, when the operations needed to become domestically centered (post Trump election), another agency stepped in. The United States Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) is the operating system running in the background of Twitter.
The State Dept started it with GEC, but ultimately DHS, via CISA, controlled Twitter. The justification for control was ‘national security.’ Mr. Elon Musk is now the face of a quasi govt controlled enterprise. This is why what we see being released by Elon Musk in the Twitter Files is actually a filtered outcome as a result of this new ownership dynamic.
Put simply, DHS stakeholders, to include the DOJ, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), are mitigating any consequential public exposure of their domestic surveillance activity by controlling and feeding Mr. Musk selected information about their prior Twitter operations. DHS is still the ghost in the machine.
The larger objective of U.S. involvement in social media has always been monitoring and surveillance of the public conversation, and then ultimately controlling and influencing public opinion.
I will continue peeling these types of issues apart, applying sunlight as heavily as possible, because the mechanisms and the institutions themselves need to be destroyed. They cannot be reformed because they have assembled too much power. They need to be completely defunded and removed.
[…] “Intelligence agencies backed new startups designed to monitor the vast flow of information across social networks to better understand emerging narratives and risks.” [HERE]
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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