Category U. S. Deep State

May 13 2022

Pennsylvania GOP Primary Brings Out All The Club Moves


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

Perhaps you’ve noticed. For the past two nights Fox News and a host of corporate allies have been doing a full-frontal attack against Pennsylvania Senate Candidate Kathy Barnette.

The club reaction appears to have been triggered by a GOP Trafalgar poll showing Kathy Barnette in a close second place (23.2%), surging ahead of David McCormick (21.6%) and right on the heels of Mehmet Oz (24.5%).  [Bartos 7.2%, Sands 6.5%]

In this outline I will explain the easily visible GOPe club moves without trying to support any particular candidate, that’s for Pennsylvania voters to decide.  However, once you understand the background play, it might help clarify what the Keystone state voters are witnessing.

BACKGROUND.  President Trump has endorsed Mehmet Oz.  However, many people in the MAGA base are stuggling with that endorsement because they just don’t like the guy and question the bonafides of his sudden, seemingly convenient, MAGA-mindedness.

Meanwhile, David McCormick is the GOPe candidate from the mold of the typically Wall Street Mitch McConnell tribe.

McCormick is the quintessential corporate republican, or what might be described as the ‘establishment’ party choice.  I would call McCormick the club candidate.

Kathy Barnette is the alternative favorite in the race for the MAGA base who just cannot bring themselves to support Oz.  Barnette is the outsider and carries a fierce independent streak that appeals to frustrated voters who have had enough of the nonsense.

As a result, the top three in the race break down into McCormick as the Club candidate, while Barnette and Oz are splitting the MAGA vote.  By my estimation the MAGA support looks like 60%(ish) Barnette and 40%(ish) Oz.  What is happening now in this race is very Karl Rove-ian.

The Club for Growth (CfG) is seemingly more aligned with David McCormick and needs to split the MAGA base, so they funnel money toward Barnette in order to disrupt and diminish the professional MAGA endorsements of Team Trump.

Seeing Mehmet Oz struggling to get support, and seeing a rise in the polling for Kathy Barnette, Fox News Sean Hannity started to attack Barnette on Wednesday with a full-throated ridiculing of her campaign.

Hannity labels Barnette as an ‘unelectable extremist’ with a history of controversial statements, positions and tweets.  After a 10-minute nasty attack segment, Sean Hannity then invites the previously scheduled Mehmet Oz to pile on.  The total Wednesday attack program lasted almost 30-minutes on prime-time television.

Then Thursday (6pm), corporate Fox News Shannon Bream announces David McCormick will appear tomorrow (Friday) on Special Reports segment for a promotional interview.   This makes sense because McCormick would be the corporate Fox News favorite republican in the mold of Marco Rubio.

During the 8pm hour (Tucker Carlson show) Fox News Corp then runs a promotional segment for Sean Hannity who says, “tune in at 9pm when we will go deeper into the controversial past of Kathy Barnette and expose her radical positions.”

As promoted at 9pm Hannity leads with another 15-minute attack against Barnette and then opens the floor to two other PA candidates, Jeff Bartos and Carla Sands, to continue the onslaught.

Destroying Barnette works for the agenda of Hannity (promoting Oz) and for the agenda of Corporate Fox News (promoting McCormick).

As a result, Kathy Barnette is taking fire from the GOPe Club, Corporate Fox News and the entirety of the Trump endorsement team which includes Sean Hannity and Ric Grennell.  Trump Inc supporting Oz, while Fox Inc is supporting McCormick.  This forms the gauntlet of the attack.

The beneficiary of this Rovian strategy is David McCormick.

Team McCormick is likely hopeful this onslaught will bring the destabilized Barnette wing of the MAGA base into his team; because the Barnette wing of the MAGA base will not support Mehmet Oz.

Both Oz and McCormick are sketchy to the ultra-MAGA base, but with McCormick the club alignment is what Mitch McConnell would call a “more approved” fit.

For the ultra-MAGA voter, with McCormick you get the openly Jeb Bush republican (Decepticon).

For the ultra-MAGA voter, with Mehmet Oz you get the closeted Mitt Romney democrat (RINO).

That’s why the majority of the ultra-MAGA voters were supporting Kathy Barnette in the first place, as an alternative to Oz.  That’s why Donald Trump endorsing Mehmet Oz was received with such disdain by the base.

The Republican Club (McCormick) and the Trump Club (Dr. Oz) are both trying to bring down Kathy Barnette and saying she can never win the general election in Pennsylvania.

Are they correct?  Well, that’s up to Pennsylvania voters to decide.  The pundits will all tell you the suburban women’s vote is the deciding factor in Pennsylvania politics.  Supposedly Dr Oz is more liked by that group of voters.  I have no idea.

This type of battle is what primary voting contests are all about.

My only purpose in this outline is to explain why McCormick wants to split MAGA (the move by Rove), and why Trump is trying to avoid a split MAGA vote (to avoid McCormick).

For those still torn over what to do, my own advice is:

♦ Vote your heart in the primary contest.

♦ Vote pragmatically in the general election contest.

Bottom line, VOTE!

May 13 2022

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Food Security is National Security


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

Earlier today ultra-MAGA representative Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered remarks about the failures of the Biden administration as they are reflected in the continual food security and pricing crisis.   I strongly recommend watching these brief remarks, very impressive.

MTG accurately identifies the origin of the current baby formula crisis, as an outcome of stress within the supply chain caused by government intervention into the overall system.  MTG then notes that FDA rules and regulations make supply interruptions worse.

Additionally, in the background of the federal DHS and HHS contracts for food products, including baby food/formula, most of those federal contracts contain a ‘first right‘ or ‘prioritized continuity‘ provision, creating a distribution outcome (via contractual mandate) where illegal aliens end up with preferential allocation.  WATCH (2:55 mins):

May 13 2022

J6 Committee Issues Subpoenas to Five House Republican Members


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

The entire premise of the J6 committee is a farce.  The overwhelming majority of Americans fully understand it is a political exercise between Democrats in congress and their hired Lawfare allies.  The goal is to label their political opposition as extremists, block and/or tarnish President Trump and manufacture a false premise to advance the Democrat 2022 election goals.

Despite this reality the effort continues in order to fuel their far-left base and media allies.

Today, the House committee triggered subpoenas against House republican members.  The subpoenas were sent to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (U-DC), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Rep Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Mo Brooks (R-Ala.). All five of the house members had previously rejected investigators’ requests for voluntarily testimony.

The subpoena authority is likely, hopefully, to be challenged in court.  The premise of a House committee issuing subpoena’s to the political opposition of the same House membership appears to violate the function of government on many levels.

WASHINGTON DC – […] The Republican leader indicated he might not comply with the subpoena.

“My view on the committee has not changed,” said McCarthy, who added he had not yet seen the subpoena. “They’re not conducting a legitimate investigation. It seems as though they just want to go after their political opponents.”

The select committee demanded testimony from the five lawmakers in the final week of May.

Members of the select panel have wrestled for months with the question of how to handle their GOP colleagues. The Capitol riot committee’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), had previously doubted the wisdom of that subpoenaing lawmakers, as that would likely trigger a lengthy court fight unlikely to be resolved before in the current Congress.

But the select panel’s thinking appears to have changed, as every avenue of the probe led investigators toward fellow House members.

Some of the subpoena targets — and several other GOP lawmakers — were regularly in contact with Trump and the White House in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. They helped amplify false claims about the integrity of the 2020 election and were among the earliest to call on colleagues to challenge the results.

But members were mindful that demanding testimony from lawmakers would potentially set a precedent. While House and Senate ethics committees have subpoenaed members and staff before, there’s little precedent for an investigative committee — particularly one mainly guided by the majority party — turning its subpoena powers on fellow members of the House.  (read more)

The committee is desperate to find something, anything, that can justify all of the time and expense they have been consuming in the effort.  The clock is running out fast and the pressure is building internally. As a target of their investigation, and as a recipient of one of these subpoenas’, I can assure readers of the ridiculousness of the people conducting the investigation fishing expedition.  It is nonsense.  All of it.

Take your pick of ultra-MAGA graphics, either one is appropriate…

Classic…

Modern…

May 13 2022

Senator Rand Paul Blocks Fast-Track Senate Vote for $40 Billion Additional Ukraine Funding


Posted originally on the conservative house on May 12, 2022 | Sundance 

Senator Rand Paul has blocked a fast-track senate vote on the additional $40 billion funding package created by Joe Biden and House Democrats.  Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell approved a fast-track vote; however, senator Rand Paul (KY) stood defiant against their effort.

Despite the high-profile pressure from the two Senate leaders, Rand Paul refused to move and that means the Senate will have to take procedural steps to overcome his objection, which could take several days. “My oath of office is the US constitution not to any foreign nation and no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America,” Paul said in his remarks before objecting to moving to swift passage of the bill. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.” WATCH:

The $40 billion supplemental spending bill for Ukraine is more than the total military budget of Russia.  The combined Ukraine aid packages now exceed $60 billion, more than the entire budget for the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security including border protection.

Rand Paul is on the right side of history with his position, and the overwhelming majority of Americans agree with him.   However, the opinion of the people is irrelevant to the Senate.   Even democrat Senator Chuck Schumer seemed to admit this point when he said Rand Paul’s position “was not the opinion of the overwhelming majority here,” meaning in the senate.  Schumer would have used other terms if he thought the American people agreed with him.  They don’t, and he knows it.

May 13 2022

Producer Price Inflation Continues Surging at 11 Percent, Annualized Processed Food Increases Now 34.8 Percent


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

The “Producer Price Index” (PPI) is essentially the tracking of wholesale prices at three stages: Origination (commodity), Intermediate (processing), and then Final (to wholesale). Today, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released April price data [Available Here] showing another 11.0% increase year-over-year in Final Demand products at the wholesale level.

Last month when looking at internal economic activity that showed a contraction in consumer purchases of goods, we said pay attention to the service side of the ledger now.  Knowing people have stopped buying ‘stuff’, if people are starting to run out of money, they will cut back in the service sector (dining out, etc).

While the PPI focuses on prices, the PPI data for April shows exactly that service side contraction now taking place.  Wholesale inflation in goods is determined heavily by higher costs for raw materials and processing.  However, the rate of inflation within the service sector is more connected to what consumers can afford.   Modified Table-A, look at the April difference between goods (1.3%) and services (0.0%):

[Ex. The lawn company might pay 50% more for oil and gasoline (goods side), but they may not be able to increase the rate they charge you by 50% to mow the grass (service side).]

The major current production inflation in both goods and services is directly connected to the cost of energy.  Energy prices are embedded in every sector of the economy.  For “goods” higher electricity, heating/cooling and petroleum costs (packaging, materials, transportation, etc) are unavoidable and passed on to consumers. For “services,” individuals and companies raise their prices to compensate for increases in their own costs.  It is a cumulative inflation snowball.

In April the Total PPI of 0.5% was influenced by downward price pressure from the service side.   The price of final demand (wholesale) goods increased 1.3%.  The price of final demand (wholesale) services was 0.0%.  [Note: Wholesale trade services dropped by 0.5%]

Normally I would clean up TABLE-A “intermediate demand goods both processed and unprocessed.” However, in this month the entire field of data tells a very compelling story.

Note that Intermediate Demand Processed foodstuff prices grew at 2.9% in April.  Annualized that is a 34.8% increase in price.  This is the scale of future price increases we are likely to see at the supermarket.   That 35% rate of inflation for center store products is exactly what CTH predicted for the third wave of price increases.

The Intermediate Demand Unprocessed foodstuffs, increased in price by 2.5% in April, those foodstuffs are entering the wholesale market at a 30.0% annualized rate of inflation vs last year.

As an analogy, think of the difference between processed foodstuffs (center store and dairy) and unprocessed foodstuffs (fresh produce, meats) as you would normally think about them in the supermarket.   As you can see the processed product rate of inflation (34.8%) is higher than the non-processed (30.0%).  The difference is the additional costs associated with processing as a major result of energy prices.

What the producer price index at the wholesale level is telling us, is that inflation on consumable goods is still not yet at the apex.   For durable goods the prices are less volatile, but price pressures are still in the upward direction. The price of gasoline and transportation overall will be a big factor in current prices of highly consumable goods.   We cannot and will not start to climb out of the inflation spiral on goods until we see oil, gas and energy prices stabilize first.

On the service side, inflation is going to be determined by how long businesses and operators can continue operations without raising prices.  How long can a restaurant pay 30-to-35% more for their supplies, before those price increases need to show up on the menu?

Joe Biden sucks.

(WASHINGTON) – […] The producer price data captures inflation at an earlier stage of production and can sometimes signal where consumer prices are headed. It also feeds into the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index.

Thursday’s figures came just a day after the government released consumer price data for April, which showed that inflation leapt 8.3% last month from a year ago. That increase is down slightly from the four-decade high in March of 8.5%. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.3% in April from March, the smallest increase in eight months.

Still, there were plenty of signs in the consumer price report that inflation will remain stubbornly high, likely for the rest of this year and into 2023. Rents rose faster as many apartment buildings have lifted monthly payments for new tenants. Prices for airline tickets jumped by the most on records dating to 1963. And food prices continued to rise sharply.

The Federal Reserve has stepped up its fight against rampant price increases, lifting its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-point last week to a range of 0.75% and 1%. That increase is double its usual quarter-point hike. (read more)

May 13 2022

Brilliant Satire Contrasts National Priorities of Joe Biden


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

When the satire hits the central nerve of accuracy….

(READ HERE)

May 12 2022

Major Medical Mystery: Why Some People Despite Exposure Don’t Get COVID


By joelshirschhorn medical researcher, analyst at Joel S. Hirschhorn | Telling the truth with good data Published originally on TrialSite News on May. 12, 2022, 9:00 a.m.

A global medical mystery is being aggressively pursued by medical researchers.  The core issue is that a relatively small fraction of people despite high exposure to COVID have not gotten ill with COVID infection.  Think of health workers in hospitals in contact with many seriously ill COVID patients.  Also, members of households that stood out because unlike others in the home who got ill with COVID they did not get infected.  The mystery is what explains how highly exposed individuals did not get ill with COVID infection.

There are two main ways of explaining resistance to COVID.  One is that some people have strengthened their immune systems by any of a number of actions taken before or during the pandemic.  For example, some may have elevated levels of vitamin D in their blood by taking high doses of supplements.  The other explanation that appeals to medical researchers is that some people have a genetic makeup that gives them total defense against COVID infection,

May 12 2022

Zelensky Fights Alongside Nazis


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted May 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

A reader sent in this picture that they saw on President Zelensky’s Twitter account before it was deleted. Zelensky posted a proud Ukrainian soldier but mistakenly forgot to photoshop out the massive Nazi symbol on his chest. The skull image symbolizes the 3rd SS Panzer Division, “Totenkopf” (English translation: death’s head), which was an elite group of Nazis who fought for Germany during World War II. The group has a notoriously gruesome past and is responsible for atrocious war crimes such as the Le Paradis massacre where the division murdered 97 British troops after they surrendered.

Totenkopf also invaded the former Soviet Union and was responsible for killing high-ranking officers. The division fiercely battled against the Red Army and the symbol goes hand in hand with Russian hatred. The group was also responsible for murdering countless Jews in Poland and operating concentration camps. They participated in Intelligenzaktion or “mass shootings” in Poland where it is estimated that 100,000 Poles were massacred. When fighting the French, the squad murdered black prisoners of war solely based on race.

The term “Nazi” is thrown around by politicians globally, but in this instance, the fighters are wearing actual Nazi symbols and making it known that they support those ideologies. On Victory Day, Putin stated, “It’s [our] goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide … for the last eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.” So yes, the West is indeed providing military power to the same organizations that our ancestors fought against during World War II.

May 12 2022

Baby Formula Shortage Hits Crisis Levels


Armstrong Economics Blog/North America Re-Posted May 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: My sister in Texas begged me to mail her formula for the past two weeks. She has been close to rationing the milk she gives her 4 m.o. son. The shelves are empty and there is no baby formula in sight! There have been news stories but it has not been discussed enough. My sister is scared for her baby and the stores by me are also low on formula. I am limited to what I can purchase in one trip and drive to multiple stores each week. What do we do when the day comes when nothing is available?

-A Concerned Aunt

REPLY: We have entered the baby formula rationing stage of Biden’s presidency. I am glad you were able to find milk for your nephew because shortages have been recorded across the country. Datasembly reported that formula shortages reached 8% during the first half of 2021. From November 2021 to the beginning of April 2022, baby formula shortages reached 31% which was cause for concern to everyone but the FDA and the White House. As April continued, the out-of-stock rate spiked to 40%! During the last week of April, at least seven states reported a 50% or greater shortage in supply.

Target and Costco are rationing online baby formula purchases. CVS and Walgreens announced weeks ago that they would do the same. The FDA recalled three brands of formula in February after finding traces of bacteria, but that is only one factor for the shortages. Formula inventories were already down 17% on an annual basis in January prior to the recall. The ongoing supply chain issue is to blame as products simply cannot be delivered fast enough to meet demand.

The White House downplayed the issue and blamed the shortage on the recalls. “The FDA issued a recall to make sure that they’re meeting their obligation to protect the health of Americans — including babies who, of course, were receiving or taking this formula — and ensure safe products are available. That’s their job,” Psaki said in a lighthearted manner. They will be hard-pressed to fix an issue if they do not understand how it evolved. Despite manufacturers working around the clock, the shortage cannot meet the demand at this time.

I cannot advise on what to do; I can only comment on the reason for the shortage. However, I would encourage mothers to speak with their pediatricians. Watering down formula is extremely dangerous, and not all will respond well to a switch in brands. I could also suggest avoiding hoarding, but we all act in our own self-interest, as Adam Smith said, and I would not blame a desperate mother for taking extreme measures. The Biden Administration should have addressed this issue at the beginning of the year, but per usual, they waited until it became a full-blown crisis.

May 12 2022

Is China Really Still Communist?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted May 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION:  Hello Martin –
In today’s “Spread The Love”, you mention at the end that today, neither Russia or China are communist.
I think the assertion that Russia is not communist is probably believable and something most of us have heard in one form or another since 1989…
But how can you say China is not communist?
If they aren’t, please tell me what they are…Thank you!
MSC

ANSWER: Communist means the government owns everything. There is private ownership and stock markets which do not exist in communism. The government continues to call itself the CCP.
However, in reality, they are no more communist than the United States. There are many rich Chinese buying arts, real estate, and even ancient coins. Communism collapsed in 1989, they just did not want to change the name of the government for that would be admitting Mao’s ideas were wrong.

I went behind the Berlin Wall before it fell. You did not own your home. You were assigned a place to live. You could not move without permission and you were not allowed to get a car without government permission. Communism failed because it was more concerned with “equality” and ignored human nature.

When the United States began, there was the Federalist Party v Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party. The Federalists collapsed and then the Slavery issue split the party of Jefferson into the Democratic (slave party) v Republican. Today, the Democrats do not stand for any democratic process, they are functioning still as a representative party under a Republic. They also never changed their name to reflect the true nature of their party.