Category Zelensky – Devils Handmaiden

Jan 30 2023

Sunday Talks, Speaker Kevin McCarthy -vs- Margaret Brennan


Posted originally on the CTH on January 29, 2023 | Sundance

With talking points in hand CBS’s Margaret Brennan drops all pretenses and goes straight into her role as defender of the Biden regime in the White House.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears on Face the Nation for a dueling narrative contest with Ms. Brennan.  WATCH (transcript below):

[Transcript] -Mr. Speaker, good morning to you.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-California): Good morning. Thanks for having me back in studio.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It must be sobering to hear that reminder.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, it took me a little while to get there, but it feels good.

(LAUGHTER)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, you are here now at this key moment in time. And I want to get to some of the top agenda items.

You have accepted an invitation to meet with President Biden. When will that happen, and what offer will you put on the table?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, we’re going to meet this Wednesday.

I know the president said he didn’t want to have any discussions, but I think it’s very important that our whole government is designed to find compromise. I want to find a reasonable and a responsible way that we can lift the debt ceiling, but take control of this runaway spending.

I mean, if you look at the last four years, the Democrats have increased spending by 30 percent, $400 billion. We’re at a 120 percent of GDP. We haven’t been in this place to debt since World War 2. So we can’t continue down this path.

And I don’t think there’s anyone in America who doesn’t agree that there’s some wasteful Washington spending that we can eliminate.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: So, I want to sit down together, work out an agreement that we can move forward to put us on a path to balance, at the same time, not put any — any of our debt in jeopardy at the same time.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But avoid a default, in other words?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you have any indication that the president is willing to discuss both lifting the debt ceiling and the issue of future spending?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, if he’s changed his mind from his whole time in the Senate and vice president before — I mean, he literally led the talks in 2011 and he praised having those talks. This is what he’s always done in the past.

And if he listens to the American public, more than 74 percent believe we need to sit down and find ways to eliminate this wasteful spending in Washington. So, I don’t believe he would change his behavior from before, and I know there’s a willingness on our side to find a way that we can find a reasonable and responsible way to get this done.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But, right, I mean, you know why I’m asking that…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: … in terms of not linking one as leverage for the other.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

Well, in my first conversation — and, to be fair, the president, when he called me to congratulate winning speaker, this is one of the first things I brought up to him. And he said we’d sit down together.

Now, I know his staff tries to say something different, but I think the president is going to be willing to make an agreement together.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll watch for that on Wednesday.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I’m hopeful, yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to dig into what you are willing to put on the table because Republicans campaigned on fiscal responsibility.

You promised you won’t spend more next year than you did last year. Are you willing to consider any reductions to Social Security and Medicare?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No. Let’s take those off the table. We want to…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Completely?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

I mean, if you read our commitment to America, all we talk about is strengthening Medicare and Social Security. So — and I know the president says he doesn’t want to look at it, but we’ve got to make sure we strengthen those. I think…

MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you mean by strengthen them? You mean lift the retirement age, for example?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No, no, no.

What I’m talking about, Social Security and Medicare, you keep that to the side. What I want to look at is, they’ve increased spending by 30 percent, $400 billion, in four years. When you look at what they have done, adding $10 trillion of debt for the next 10 years in the short time period, if you just look a month ago, they went through and they never even passed a bill through appropriations in the Senate.

While Mr. Schumer has been leader, he’s never passed a budget. He’s never passed the appropriation bill. He simply waits to the — to the end of the year and allowed two senators who are no longer here to write a $1.7 trillion omnibus bill. I think we…

MARGARET BRENNAN: You want to work with Democrats to come to agreement on a budget?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is that what you’re saying?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes, I — I first think our very first responsibility, we both should have to pass a budget. We both should have to pass the appropriations bill, so the country can see the direction we’re going.

But you cannot continue the spending that has brought this inflation, that has brought our economic problems. We’ve got to get our spending under control.

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK, just fact-check, though, 25 percent of the debt was incurred during the last four years of the Trump presidency. I mean, this is cumulative debt over many, many years.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes, well, over the short — this time period.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But you’ve also found that you had a pandemic.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: And, as that pandemic comes down, those programs leave. I have watched the president say he cut it.

No, it is spending $500 billion more than what was projected. They have spent more. And we’ve got to stop the waste.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is defense spending on the table?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, look, I — I want to make sure we’re protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure it’s effective and efficient.

I want to look at every single dollar we’re spending, no matter where it’s being spent. I want to eliminate waste wherever it is.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But when you became speaker, you did come to that agreement I have referenced of capping ’24 spending at ’22 levels.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, look, listen…

MARGARET BRENNAN: So that would call for reductions.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, I mean, look, you’re going to tell me, inside defense, there’s no waste? Others? I mean…

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: So defense spending is up for negotiation?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: They spend a lot of — I think everything, when you look at discretionary, is sitting there.

It’s like every single household. It’s like every single state. We shouldn’t just print more money. We should balance our budget. So I want to look at every single department. Where can we become more efficient, more effective, and more accountable? That should be…

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, more efficiencies in Social Security and Medicare as well?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: The one thing I want to say, we take Social Security…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Completely?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: … and Medicare off the table.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Would you support a short-term debt limit extension until September, buy more time for talks?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Look, I don’t want to sit and negotiate here.

I would rather sit down with the president, and let’s have those discussions. The one thing I do know is, we cannot continue the waste that is happening. We cannot continue just to spend more money and leverage the debt of the future of America.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: We’ve got to get to a balanced budget.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, and I think many people would agree with you on the issue of fiscal responsibility, but there’s that deadline on the calendar in terms of facing potential default.

Are you saying…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, wait. Wait a minute…

MARGARET BRENNAN: … you will guarantee the United States will not do that?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Listen, we’re not going to default.

But let me be very honest with you right now. So we hit the statutory date. But let’s take a pause. We have hundreds of billions of dollars. This won’t come to fruition until sometime in June. So the responsible thing to do is sit down like two adults and start having that discussion.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Mm-hmm.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Unfortunately, the White House was saying before, like, they wouldn’t even talk.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I’m — I’m thankful that we’re meeting on Wednesday, but that’s exactly what we should be doing.

And we should be coming to a responsible solution. Every family does this. What is — what has happened with the debt limit is, you reached your credit card limit. Should we just continue to raise the limit? Or should we look at what we’re spending?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it’s paying past commitments.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: If Chuck Schumer — yes, but if — no, no.

Chuck Schumer never passed a budget since he’s been leading. He’s never passed an appropriation bill. Those are the most basic things that Congress should do. And what — if you’re going to show to the American public where you want to spend your money, and if you’re going to ask the hardworking taxpayer for more of their money, you first should lay out how you’re going to spend it, and you should eliminate any waste, so you don’t have to raise more taxes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But just to put a fine point on it, because it matters a lot to the markets in particular, you will avoid a default? You will not let that happen on your watch?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Look, there will not be a default.

But what is really irresponsible is what the Democrats are doing right now, saying you should just raise the limit.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But would you…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I think…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Would you get in the way — if 15 Republicans came to you and said they would be willing to raise the debt limit…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: The only person — but let me be very clear.

MARGARET BRENNAN: … would you allow them to do so with Democrats?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: The person — the only person who is getting in the way right now is the president and Schumer. They won’t even pass a budget. They won’t even negotiate. We have now until June.

I want to make sure we have something responsible, something that we can move forward on and something that we can balance our debt with. So I’m looking for sitting down. That’s exactly what I have been asking for. The only one who’s playing with the markets right now is the president to have the idea that he wouldn’t talk.

Does the president really believe and, really, all your viewers, do you believe there’s no waste in government? Do you believe there was no waste in that $1.7 trillion? That’s what we were spending just four weeks ago. So, I think the rational position here is, sit down, eliminate the waste and put us on a path to balance.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll watch for that meeting on Wednesday.

I want to ask you about your vision of leadership. You made a number of deals within your party to win the speakership. Senator Mitch McConnell, your Republican colleague, said: “Hopefully McCarthy was not so weakened by all this that he can’t be an effective speaker.”

How can you effectively govern with a very narrow majority and when your conference is so divided?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, that may be somebody else’s opinion. So let’s just see what my father always said. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.

So, let’s — you see what happened in the first week. So, in the very first week, we have passed what? We repealed the 87,000 IRS agents. We bipartisanly created a new Select Committee on China, where 146 Democrats joined with us.

We bipartisanly passed to stop the Strategic Petroleum Reserve being sold to China, where 113 Democrats joined with us. We have just now, for the first time on the House — it hasn’t happened in seven years, the entire time the Democrats were in the majority, where you had an open rule.

And let me explain what that is. An open rule allows every single member of the House to offer an amendment on a bill. So what I’m trying to do here is let every voice in America have their ability inside the House. We opened the House back up so the public could actually join.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you’re arguing you haven’t been weakened? But…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I — no, it’s only been strengthened.

Maybe people didn’t like what they saw that we didn’t win on the very first vote, but that was democracy. And what you found at the end of the day, we’re actually stronger.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, I would…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: You know what else?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: We changed it where members of Congress now have to show up for work. I know, in the Senate, they don’t come very often.

But if you look what we’ve been able to do, we’re transforming Congress. We’re looking for solutions.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you also allowed one — just one member now can force a vote to oust you as speaker.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: OK.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How can you expect to serve in the next two years in this role?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Exactly how every other speaker has served with that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Without those rules like that right now.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No.

MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s a risk.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: OK.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I mean, do you really think you can control the Freedom Caucus and some of those more conservative members who gave you such a hard time?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Everybody has a voice.

But let me — let me explain that. That one vote to vacate, that’s not new. That’s been around for 100 years. The only person who took it away when they got a small majority was Nancy Pelosi. So, Nancy felt she did not have the power to stay in office if that was there. I’m very comfortable in where we are.

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: So I don’t have any fear in that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You don’t regret any of the concessions you made?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: The only concession I made was taking it from five to one, where it’s been around for 100 years.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about some of the makeup of your caucus.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: According to CBS records, 70 percent of the House GOP members denied the results of the 2020 election.

You’ve put many of them on very key committees, Intelligence, Homeland Security, Oversight. Why are you elevating people who are denying reality like that?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, if you look to the Democrats, their ranking member, Raskin, had the same thing, denied Trump when Bush was in there. Bennie Thompson, who was the…

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Did you see those numbers we just put up there?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Did you see the — yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Seventy percent.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Did you also be fair and equal and where you looked at Raskin did the same thing. Bennie Thompson, who’s a ranking member and was the chair?

These individuals were chair in the Democratic Party.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m asking you, as leader of Kevin McCarthy’s House…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But I’m also — I’m also…

MARGARET BRENNAN: … why you made these choices. These were your choices.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes, They’re my choices, but they’re the conference choices.

But I’m also asking you, when you look to see just Republicans, Democrats have done the same thing. So maybe it’s not denying. Maybe it’s the only opportunity they have to have a question about what went on during the election.

So, if you want to hold Republicans to that equation, why don’t you also hold Democrats? Why don’t you hold Jamie Raskin? Why don’t you hold Bennie Thompson, when Democrats had appointed them to be chair? I never once heard you ask Nancy Pelosi or any Democrat that question when they were in power in the majority, when they questioned…

MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking about things going back to 2000, which was a time…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, you’re talking about…

MARGARET BRENNAN: … when I didn’t have this show back then…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: … which is why I’m asking you now about your leadership.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No, on, but they were — they were in power last Congress. So, why — why…

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you’re talking about questions from 2000 election.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But you’re asking me about that happened to another Congress.

MARGARET BRENNAN: About these choices you just made, you just made.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: You’re asking about questions for another Congress.

So, the only thing I’m simply…

MARGARET BRENNAN: This is your Congress.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: These — these are members who just got elected by their constituents, and we put them into committees, and I’m proud to do it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Let me ask you about some specifics then. Marjorie Taylor Greene, you put her on a new subcommittee to investigate the origins of COVID.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: She compared mask requirements to the type of abuse Jews were subjected to during the Holocaust. She called for Fauci to be arrested and imprisoned, and she spread conspiracy theories.

How is anyone supposed to take that work seriously and find that work credible?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Very well. You look at all of it, so you have all the questions out there. I think what the American public…

MARGARET BRENNAN: You think these are legitimate questions?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I think what the American public wants to see is an open dialogue in the process. This is a select committee where people can have all the questions they want, and you’ll see the outcome.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You know that there is a lot of doubt about institutions and faith in institutions in this country.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Oh, yes, when you saw what happened in Congress where they had proxy voting, where bills didn’t go through committees, and you…

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: I don’t think most people know what proxy voting is.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, let — well let — Well, let’s explain what proxy…

MARGARET BRENNAN: But — but approval…

(CROSSTALK)

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But I think it would be fair to your viewers…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Approval level, according to Gallup, of Congress is at 22 percent. Approval level of journalists is also not very high, I will give you that.

But doesn’t it further wear down credibility when you put someone who is under state, local, federal, and international investigation as a representative of your party on committees?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Are you talking about Swalwell?

MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m talking about George Santos…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No, I…

MARGARET BRENNAN: … representative from New York.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, we should have that discussion. So let’s have that discussion.

You want to bring up Santos, and let’s talk about the institution itself, because I agree wholeheartedly that Congress is broken. And I think your — I think your listeners or viewers should understand what proxy voting was, because it never took place in Congress before.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But I’m asking you about George Santos.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I know you asked me a question. Let me ask you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Because you could put it to a vote to try to oust him.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: You asked me a question. I would appreciate if you let me answer.

So let’s go through this, because it’s not one simple answer. Congress is broken, based upon what has transpired in the last Congress. The American public wasn’t able to come in to see us. People voted by proxy, meaning you didn’t have to show up for work, Bills didn’t go — have to go through committee.

So what I’m trying to do is open the people’s house back for the people so their voice is there, so people are held accountable.

So, now, as I just had in the last week, for the first time in seven years…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: … every member got to vote.

MARGARET BRENNAN: If you got a third of your caucus to vote to oust him, you could do so.

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you — you don’t think you could get your Republicans to do that?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I wasn’t finished answering the question.

So, if every single new person brought into Congress was elected by their constituents, what their constituents have done is lend their voice to the American public. So those members can all serve on committee.

Now, what I’m trying to do is change some of these committees as well, like the Intel Committee is different than any other committee.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you’re just not going to answer the question I asked?

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well, no, I — no, you don’t get a question whether I answer it. You asked a question. I’m trying to get you through that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I don’t think you’ve said the name George Santos, like, once.

(LAUGHTER)

MARGARET BRENNAN: I have asked you a few times.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But you know what? I just — but — but…

MARGARET BRENNAN: You’re talking about proxy voting and other things.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: No, no, no, but — no, you started the question with Congress was broken, and I agreed with you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: No. Congress…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But I was answering the question of how Congress is broken and how we’re changing it.

So, if I can finish the question that you asked me, how Congress is broken, I equated every single member…

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: … that just got elected by their — by their constituents. They have a right to serve.

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: So that means that Santos can serve on a committee…

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: … the same way Swalwell, who had a relationship with a Chinese spy.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Speaker…

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: But they will not serve on Intel, because I think…

(CROSSTALK)

MARGARET BRENNAN: They’re wrapping me in the control room, because we have a break.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: Well that’s unfortunate. I wish I could answer the question.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I have to leave it there. I would love to have you back.

REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MCCARTHY: I would love to be able to come back and have time to answer the questions.

MARGARET BRENNAN: OK. We’ve spent a lot of time here, and I have more questions for you.

But I got to go.

Jan 29 2023

More Russian Sanction = World War III


Armstrong Economics Blog/Russia Re-Posted Jan 29, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

For the life of me, there is absolutely no logic to any of this attack on Russia except the desire to conquer and destroy it as any sort of a superpower or independent nation-state. Every President always sought peace until Biden who seems to be reading the cur cards for Armageddon. Even Henry Kissinger said every president has invited him to the White House EXCEPT Biden.

Even if we assume that the sanctions worked and forced Putin to withdraw from protecting the Russians in the Donbas whom the West had all agreed were entitled to their human rights and self-determination with the fake Minsk Agreement, what would happen in the political crisis in Russia? We confiscated all Japanese assets, put energy embargoes on them, and threaten to prevent them from dealing with any other country for energy. Roosevelt did everything he could to get Japan to attack Pearl Harbor. Biden has done the same to Russia.

The risk of overthrowing Putin would lead to a potential civil war and the further breakup of Russia with more nukes than the West. Of the 14,500 nuclear weapons on the planet, Russia and the United States own the lion’s share, with a combined total of approximately 13,350 nukes. The remaining 1,150 weapons are held by seven countries. The USA has 6,500 nukes and Russia has 6,800. Destabilizing Russia is just insane. Russia will wipe out Europe in the blink of an eye if pushed and they now know that this Ukraine bullshit is really a war of the USA and NATO against Russia and we are the aggressors.

I can say that US troops have been told that we will be at war with China by next year.

All my sources are saying that the Biden Administration is DOMINATED by inexperienced climate zealots who are demanding we have no time to wait and we MUST end fossil fuels NOW before there are any alternatives in place. They are the ones pushing to destroy Russia which is embraced by the Neocons, all because the majority of their GDP is all fossil fuels.

The sanctions now are imposed by the European Union and will ban imports of refined Russian fuels on February 5th, 2023, adding to its embargo on seaborne Russian crude oil that began in December. The EU is putting its entire future and the lives of ALL its population at risk for the Donbas which has been occupied by Russians for centuries and two former Russian leaders came from that region. It was Khrushchev who drew the border within the USSR purely for administrative purposes. That region was never occupied by Ukrainians.

There is no difference if Mexico had demanded Texas and everyone who lives there must surrender their language and their religion to fit the norm of being Mexican. Then Texans have no right to vote on their future. The entire Minsk Agreement has been a joke. It was a deliberate ploy to buy time for war. This has now confirmed to both China and Russia that the United States and Europe cannot be trusted. Treaties mean absolutely nothing! this stupid ploy has opened the door for World War III because there is no point negotiating with the EU, Germany, France, or the United States when they will not HONOR their agreements. That means there can be no resolution!

That leaves only All Out War to the Death

But hey! There will be new business opportunities as well. Just think of the guided tours to show how foolish these mortals have been. There will be plenty of nuked cities to explore. The good news, we will exterminate all the climate change zealots who insisted on destroying Russia. Yet it may be up to us to prevent the politicians from crawling out of their safe underground bunkers to the new light of CO2 free world after they killed off all those nasty trees and plants that need CO2 to survive. They say the one bug that will survive a nuclear attack is cockroaches. I guess that’s why we are supposed to eat bugs now.

Jan 27 2023

Here’s Why the Big Club and People Managing Ron DeSantis Hate Donald Trump


Posted originally on the CTH on January 26, 2023 | Sundance 

President Trump transmitted a message to congress, warning them not to cut Social Security and Medicare {Direct Rumble Link}.  Many politicians and pundits will look at Trump’s position from the perspective of it being good to campaign for older voters, but that’s not the core of his reasoning.

In 2016 CTH was the first place to evaluate the totality of President Trump’s economic policies; specifically, as those policies related to the entitlement programs around Social Security and Medicare.  We outlined the approach Trump was putting forth and the way he was approaching the issue.   In the years that followed, he was right.  He was creating a U.S. economy that could sustain all of the elements the traditional political class were calling “unsustainable.”

Before getting to the details, here’s his video message and policy as delivered yesterday. WATCH:

Fortunately, we do not have to guess if President Trump is correct. We have his actual economic policy results to look at and see how the expansion of the economy was creating the type of growth that would sustain Social Security and Medicare.  This was/is MAGAnomics at work.

♦ On Social Security – Unlike many other 2016 Republican candidates, Donald Trump did NOT call for rapid or wholesale changes to the current Social Security program; and there’s a very good reason why he was the only candidate who did not propose wholesale changes.

With the single caveat of “high income retirees” (over $250k annually), which previously Trump said he was open to negotiating on, President Trump does not consider these programs as “entitlements”. The American people pay into them, and the federal government has an obligation to fulfill the promises made upon collection.

To fully understand how Donald Trump views the solvency of Social Security, you must again understand his economic model and how it outlines growth.

The issue with Social Security, as viewed by Trump, is more of an issue with receipts and expenditures. If the aggregate U.S. economy is growing by a factor larger than the distribution needed to fulfill its entitlement obligations, then no wholesale change on expenditure is needed. The focus needs to be on continued and successful economic growth.

What you will find in all of Donald Trump’s positions, is a paradigm shift he necessarily understood must take place in order to accomplish the long-term goals for the U.S. citizen as it relates to “entitlements” or “structural benefits”.

All other candidates and politicians begin their policy proposals with a fundamentally divergent perception of the U.S. economy.

The customary political economy theory, carried by most politicians, positions them with an outlook of the U.S. economy based on “services”; a service-based economic model.

While this economic path has been created by decades old U.S. policy and is ultimately the only historical economic path now taught in school, President Trump initiated his economy policy with the intention to change the dynamic entirely, and that’s exactly what he did.

Because so many shifts -policy nudges- have taken place in the past several decades, few academics and even fewer MSM observers, were able to understand how to get off this path and chart a better course.

Donald Trump proposed less dependence on foreign companies for cheap goods, (the cornerstone of a service economy) and a return to a more balanced U.S. larger economic model where the manufacturing and production base can be re-established and competitive based on American entrepreneurship and innovation.  This is the essence of MAGAnomics.

The key words in the prior statement are “dependence” and “balanced”. When a nation has an industrial manufacturing balance within the GDP there is far less dependence on the economic activity in global markets. In essence the U.S. can sustain itself, absorb global economic fluctuations and expand itself or contract itself depending on the free market.

When there is no balance, there is no longer a free market. The free market is sacrificed in favor of dependency, whether it’s foreign oil or foreign manufacturing, the dependency outcome is essentially the same. Without balance there is an inherent loss of economic independence, and a consequential increase in economic risk.

No other economy in the world innovates like the U.S.A. President Donald Trump saw/sees this as a key advantage across all industry – including manufacturing and technology.

The benefit of cheap overseas labor, which is considered a global market disadvantage for the U.S., is offset by utilizing innovation and energy independence.  This was the core of the economic program that created so much immediate GDP growth in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

2017: […]  “This policy will be successful in moving the U.S. economy away from low-growth secular stagnation towards significantly more buoyant performance. We would not be taken by surprise by a doubling of the growth rate of real GDP in the U.S. over the next two years, nor by a further significant move up of equity valuations and a material further appreciation of the dollar.”  ~  David Folkerts-Landau, Chief Economist, Deutsche Bank

The third highest variable cost of goods beyond raw materials first, labor second, is energy. If the U.S. energy sector was unleashed -and fully developed- the manufacturing price of any given product would allow for global trade competition even with higher U.S. wage prices.  This is why President Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip, followed closely by a trip to Asia.  He was putting the basics of his U.S. economic policy into place.

Additionally, the U.S. has a key strategic advantage with raw manufacturing materials such as: iron ore, coal, steel, precious metals and vast mineral assets which are needed in most new modern era manufacturing. President Trump proposed we stopped selling these valuable national assets to countries we compete against – they belong to the American people; they should be used for the benefit of American citizens. Period.  This was the central point of the Steel and Aluminum tariffs.

EXAMPLE: Prior to President Trump, China was buying and recycling our heavy (steel) and light (aluminum) metal products (for pennies on the original manufacturing dollar) and then using those metals to reproduce manufactured goods for sale back to the U.S.

As President, Donald Trump stopped that practice immediately, triggering a policy expectation that we do the manufacturing ourselves with the utilization of our own resources.  Then he leveraged any sales of these raw materials in our international trade agreements.

When you combine FULL resource development (in a modern era) with the removal of over-burdensome regulatory and compliance systems, necessarily filled with enormous bureaucratic costs, Donald Trump began lowering the cost of production and the U.S. became globally competitive. In essence, Trump changed the economic paradigm, and we no longer were a dependent nation relying on a service driven economic model.

The cornerstone to the success of this economic turnaround was the keen capability of the U.S. worker to innovate on their own platforms. Americans, more than any country in the world, just know how to get things accomplished. Independence and self-sufficiency are part of the DNA of the larger American workforce.

In addition, as we saw in 2018 and 2019, an unquantifiable benefit came from investment, where the smart money play -to get increased return on investment- became putting capital INTO the U.S. economy, instead of purchasing foreign stocks.

With all of the above opportunities in mind, this is how President Trump put us on a pathway to rebuilding our national infrastructure.

The demand for labor increased, and as a consequence so too did the U.S. wage rate which was stagnant (or non-existent) for the past three decades.

As the wage rate increased, and as the economy expanded, the governmental dependency model was reshaped and simultaneously receipts to the U.S. treasury improved.

More money into the U.S Treasury and less dependence on welfare/social service programs have a combined exponential impact. You gain a dollar and have no need to spend a dollar – the saved sum is doubled. That was how the SSI and safety net programs were positioned under President Trump.  Again, this is MAGAnomics.

When you elevate your America First economic thinking you begin to see that all of the “entitlements” or expenditures become more affordable with an economy that is fully functional.

As the GDP of the U.S. expands, so does our ability to meet the growing need of the retiring U.S. worker. We stop thinking about how to best divide a limited economic pie and begin thinking about how many more economic pies we can create.  Simply put, we begin to….

…. Make America Great Again!

We know it works, because we have the results to cite.

It was the Fourth Quarter of 2019…..

Right before the pandemic would hit a few months later…. Despite two years of doomsayer predictions from Wall Street’s professional punditry, all of them saying Trump’s 2017 steel and aluminum tariffs on China, Canada and the EU would create massive inflation, it just wasn’t happening!

Overall year-over-year inflation was hovering around 1.7 percent [Table-A BLS]; yup, that was our inflation rate.  The rate in the latter half of 2019 was firmed up with less month-over-month fluctuation, and the rate basically remained consistent.   [See Below]  The U.S. economy was on a smooth glide path, strong, stable and Main Street was growing with MAGAnomics at work.

A couple of important points.  First, unleashing the energy sector to drive down overall costs to consumers and industry outputs was a key part of President Trump’s America-First MAGAnomic initiative.  Lower energy prices help the worker economy, middle class and average American more than any other sector.

Which brings us to the second important point.  Notice how food prices had very low year-over-year inflation, 0.5 percent.  That is a combination of two key issues: low energy costs, and the fracturing of Big Ag hold on the farm production and the export dynamic:

(BLS) […] The index for food at home declined for the third month in a row, falling 0.2 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs decreased 0.7 percent in August as the index for eggs fell 2.6 percent. The index for fruits and vegetables, which rose in July, fell 0.5 percent in August; the index for fresh fruits declined 1.4 percent, but the index for fresh vegetables rose 0.4 percent. The index for cereals and bakery products fell 0.3 percent in August after rising 0.3 percent in July. (link)

For the previous twenty years food prices had been increasingly controlled by Big Ag, and not by normal supply and demand.   The commodity market became a ‘controlled market’. U.S. food outputs (farm production) was controlled and exported to keep the U.S. consumer paying optimal prices.

President Trump’s trade reset was disrupting this process.  As farm products were less exported the cost of the food in our supermarket became reconnected to a ‘more normal’ supply and demand cycle.  Food prices dropped and our pantry costs were lowered.

The Commerce Dept. then announced that retail sales climbed by 0.4 percent in August 2019, twice as high as the 0.2 percent analysts had predicted. The result highlighted retail sales strength of more than 4 percent year-over-year.   These excellent results came on the heels of blowout data in July, when households boosted purchases of cars and clothing.

The better-than-expected number stemmed largely from a 1.8 percent jump in spending vehicles. Online sales, meanwhile, also continued to climb, rising 1.6 percent. That’s similar to July 2019, when Amazon held its two-day, blowout Prime Day sale. (link)

Despite the efforts to remove and impeach President Trump, it did not look like middle-class America was overly concerned about the noise coming from the pundits.   Likely that’s because blue-collar wages were higher, Main Street inflation was lower, and overall consumer confidence was strong.  Yes, MAGAnomics was working.

Additionally, remember all those MSM hours and newspaper column inches where the professional financial pundits were claiming Trump’s tariffs were going to cause massive increases in prices of consumer goods?

Well, exactly the opposite happened [BLS report] Import prices were continuing to drop:

[Table 1 – BLS report link]

This was a really interesting dynamic that no-one in the professional punditry would dare explain.

Donald Trump’s tariffs were targeted to specific sectors of imported products.  [Steel, Aluminum, and a host of smaller sectors etc.]  However, when the EU and China respond by devaluing their currency, that approach hit all products imported, not just the tariff goods.

Because the EU and China were driving up the value of the dollar, everything we were importing became cheaper.   Not just imports from Europe and China, but actually imports from everywhere.   All imports were entering the U.S. at substantially lower prices.

This meant when we imported products, we were also importing deflation.

This price result is exactly the opposite of what the economic experts and Wall Street pundits predicted back in 2017 and 2018 when they were pushing the rapid price increase narrative.

Because all the export dependent economies were reacting with such urgency to retain their access to the U.S. market, aggregate import prices were actually lower than they were when the Trump tariffs began:

[…]  Prices for imports from China edged down 0.1 percent in August following decreases of 0.2 percent in both July and June. Import prices from China have not advanced on a monthly basis since ticking up 0.1 percent in May 2018. The price index for imports from China fell 1.6 percent for the year ended in August.

[…]  Import prices from the European Union fell 0.2 percent in August and 0.3 percent over the past 12 months.

[Page #4 – BLS Report, pdf] – BLS press release.

So yes, we know President Trump can save Social Security and Medicare by expanding the economy with his America First economic policy.  We do not need to guess if it is possible or listen to pundits theorize about his approach being some random ‘catch phrase’ disconnected from reality.  Yes folks, we have the receipts.

This was MAGAnomics at work, and this is entirely what created the middle-class MAGA coalition.  No other Republican candidate has this economic policy in their outlook because all other candidates are purchased by the Wall Street multinationals.

America First MAGAnomics is unique to President Trump because he is the only one independent enough to implement them.

That’s just the reality of the situation.  They hate him for it… 

Author’s note as said in 2016: “If I absolutely did not believe this economic model was doable, I would never expand the concept and place advocacy upon it. I am an absolute believer that we can, as a nation, reignite a solid manufacturing base and generate an expanding middle class.”  Yes, I bet on Trump, and he was right.    

Jan 27 2023

Retired Col. Douglas MacGregor Discusses Status of Ukraine War and Background of Biden Sending Abram M-1 Tanks


Posted originally on the conservative tree house January 26, 2023 | Sundance 

Col. Doug MacGregor appears with Judge Andrew Napolitano to explain the complexity of the tanks Biden has pledged to Ukraine.  Additionally, MacGregor gives a different perspective than western media about the status of the war in Ukraine, the position and motive of the Russians and the overall status of the EU and NATO coalition.

MacGregor emphasizes that what the western public are told about the war is not consistent with the reality what is taking place on the ground in Ukraine.  The term ‘hybrid warfare,’ which includes the U.S. State Dept. pushing a very specific propaganda message to the media, eventually runs into the reality of actual war fighting on the ground that is far more conventional.

The U.S. led NATO alliance may be winning the narrative, as outlined by media; however, the Russians are winning the actual fighting on the ground in Ukraine.  In addition to noting the Russian cultural aspects of the conflict, Col MacGregor gives some somber analysis about how dangerous this is becoming as the U.S. political voices are not willing to concede or admit anything that runs counter to their promoted narrative.  WATCH (prompted):

Jan 26 2023

Bang War Drums Loudly, Joe Biden Announces U.S. Sending Tanks to Ukraine as Deeping NATO War Against Russia Continues


Posted originally on the CTH on January 25, 2023 | Sundance

The Biden administration is pushing the United States into war against Russia to protect Washington DC’s political and financial interests in Ukraine.  None of this is a surprise as both Republican and Democrat politicians in DC continue to use Ukraine as a money laundering operation for key U.S. stakeholders.

Today Joe Biden announced he is sending 31 ‘Abram Tanks’ from the U.S. arsenal into Ukraine to further push the United States into direct conflict with Russia.  The potential for direct U.S. military engagement in Ukraine is now just a matter of formality, as the Abram’s tanks will be accompanied by military advisors, trainers, and the processes to sustain and maintain them on the battlefield.   WATCH:

[Transcript] – […] “today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion.

Secretary Austin has recommended this step because it will enhance the Ukraine’s capacity to defend its territory and achieve its strategic objectives.

The Abrams tanks are the most capable tanks in the world. They’re also extremely complex to operate and maintain, so we’re also giving Ukraine the parts and equipment necessary to effectively sustain these tanks on the battlefield.

And we begi- — we’ll begin to train the Ukrainian troops on these issues of sustainment, logistics, and maintenance as soon as possible. Delivering these tanks to the field is going to take time, time that we’ll see — we’ll use to make sure the Ukrainians are fully prepared to integrate the Abram tanks into their defenses.

We also closely coordinated this announcement with our Allies. (read more)

We are being pushed into a war that few Americans want.

This is getting out of hand mostly because the Russians are defeating Ukraine in the war.  Without the U.S. operators and material involved, Ukraine cannot win.  However, the Biden administration view Ukraine as a U.S. proxy in Europe, and as such all of the corrupt DC systems are in alignment to continue escalating this conflict.

This is happening against the backdrop of Ukraine officials being caught stealing money given to Ukraine to fight the war.

None of this is good, and it is likely to get worse.

WASHINGTON DC – […] The decision to provide the tanks marks a stunning reversal for the Biden administration, which had previously argued they would be of little benefit to Ukraine.

But the decision to send the Abrams tanks helped get Germany to move forward with a separate effort to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine, which the U.S. had seen as benefitting Kyiv.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Wednesday that Berlin would send Leopard tanks to Ukraine and allow for other European nations to also send the German-made tanks to Kyiv. (more)

Jan 25 2023

Flirting with Nuclear Catastrophe, Pompeo/Khashoggi Controversy, AOC’s Goons, & More! | SYSTEM UPDATE #27


Glenn Greenwald Streamed on: Jan 24, 7:00 pm EST

Jan 25 2023

Russia Prepared for NATO Invasion


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 25, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The West has decided to turn this into an all-out war to completely destroy Russia once and for all. Moscow has been put on high alert and air defenses are being put up in every sector of the city. The hardliners are being heard and Putin has little choice at this point. It has become absolutely obvious that even Germany now is sending tanks into Ukraine and they will be used to invade Russia. It appears that NATO “advisors” will be most likely driving these tanks.

I had hoped things would not unravel as quickly as they have. I warned that January was a major target in time coming up in our arrays. We also then have major targets in April/May and Panic Cycles in June. Even gold is moving higher which has NOTHING to do with inflation or the Fed. Gold rises during times of uncertainty with governments and war. Our computer has pinpointed the timing pretty well.

Even the prime minister of Finland has drunk the cool aid of war. Our world leaders are willing to throw everything society has accomplished into the rubbish all for this quest to destroy Russia, then China, and create this one-world dream of Soros and Schwab.

Understand that when war unfolds, they will impose capital controls in Europe ASAP. We even see Russian capital moving into Turkey buying real estate there in particular. Meanwhile, South Africa is aligning itself with Russia.

Jan 25 2023

Nuclear War to Save the Plan


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Jan 25, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Great article about Nuclear War and saving the planet. You forgot to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The “science” says both cities should have been uninhabitable for a 1000 years after a nuclear war. Yet, their populations doubled in 20 years after being nuked? Hiroshima now has 9 times its 1945 population. In 1945, after the A-bomb, it was 137,000. Now they have 1.2 million people? Doesn’t make sense!

Mike

REPLY: You are correct. I have even visited the area. I did not think to add that. The idea that a nuclear attack will poison the area permanently is also bad science just like Climate Change and the Earth will fry all because of CO2. I somehow think that not just cockroaches will survive a nuclear blast, but I get this strange feeling so will the people at the WEF.

Jan 25 2023

Multiple Ukraine Officials Removed or Resigned as Widespread Corruption and Embarrassing Financial Graft Discovered


Posted originally on the CYH on January 24, 2023 

While Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on tour banging his tin cup for NATO donations, apparently his top government officials were skimming the books and building an extravagant life on the backs of the U.S. taxpayers.  Slava Ukraini!  However, on a brutally obvious note, I mean the wife of Zelenskyy went Christmas shopping in Paris and spent over €40,000 in a few hours on ritzy Avenue Montaigne.  Where did people think she got that money?

In an effort to stop the embarrassing revelations of internal corruption from weakening support for the inbound flows of cash from corrupt U.S. officials, the government of Zelenskyy has begun getting rid of the officials who were stealing the war money.

But hey, don’t worry, remember, President Zelenskyy decreed rules making it illegal for any political opposition to exist; so, there’s nothing to worry about – just a seating rotation of the same corrupt group.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Several senior Ukrainian officials, including five front-line governors, lost their jobs Tuesday in a corruption scandal plaguing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government as it grapples with the nearly 11-month-old Russian invasion.

Ukraine’s biggest government shake-up since the war began came as Poland formally requested permission from Germany to transfer a modest number of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Germany builds the high-tech armor, and Warsaw needs Berlin’s permission to send them to a non-NATO country.

Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption platform in a country long gripped by graft, and the new allegations come as Western allies are channeling billions of dollars to help Kyiv fight against Moscow.

Officials in several countries, including the United States, have demanded more accountability for the aid, given Ukraine’s rampant corruption. While Zelenskyy and his aides portray the resignations and firings as proof of their efforts to crack down on graft, the wartime scandal could play into Moscow’s political attacks on the leadership in Kyiv.

The shake-up even touched Zelenskyy’s office. Its deputy head, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, prominent for his frequent battlefield updates, quit as the president pledged to address allegations of graft — including some related to military spending — that embarrassed authorities and could slow Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union and NATO. (read more)

What do Harmeet Dhillon, Ron DeSantis and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have in common?

They are all financial beneficiaries of multinational corporations.

Addressing a Chambers of Commerce meeting in Boca Raton today, Zelensky thanks BlackRock, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and others for their support of Ukraine. Adds that sending Ukraine heavier weapons, like Abrams tanks, represents a “big business” opportunity for US corporations pic.twitter.com/N1h8OVECLt

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) January 24, 2023