September 4, 2020
President Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference at 5:00pm ET.
White House Livestream – Fox News Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream Link
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Tag Archives: 2019 State Of the Union
“Peace is The Prize” – President Trump Negotiates Beginning of Historic Cooperation Between Serbia and Kosovo…
September 4, 2020
Once again showcasing the strategic success of the Trump Doctrine: focusing on economic security as a tool for national security – President Vučić of Serbia and Prime Minister Hoti of Kosovo joined President Trump in the oval office today to sign a joint statement of economic cooperation between the two nations. Truly a remarkable accomplishment.
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[White House] – Statement by the President Regarding Economic Normalization between Serbia and Kosovo
Today, I am pleased to announce yet another historic commitment. Serbia and Kosovo have each committed to economic normalization. After a violent and tragic history and years of failed negotiations, my Administration proposed a new way of bridging the divide. By focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries were able to reach a real breakthrough on economic cooperation across a broad range of issues.
We have also made additional progress on reaching peace in the Middle East. Kosovo and Israel have agreed to normalization of ties and the establishment of diplomatic relations. Serbia has committed to opening a commercial office in Jerusalem this month and to move its embassy to Jerusalem by July.
It has taken tremendous bravery by President Vučić of Serbia and Prime Minister Hoti of Kosovo to embark on these talks and to come to Washington to finalize these commitments. By doing so, they have made their countries, the Balkans, and the world safer. I look forward to seeing Serbia and Kosovo prosper as we work together on economic cooperation in the region going forward.
President Trump has been executing a foreign policy, a clear doctrine of sorts, where national security is achieved by leveraging U.S. economic power. It is a fundamental shift in approaching both allies and adversaries; summarized within the oft repeated phrase: “economic security is national security.”
The Trump Doctrine of using economics to achieve national security objectives is a fundamental paradigm shift. Modern U.S. history provides no easy reference.
“Peace is the prize” ~ President Donald Trump
The nature of the Trump foreign policy doctrine, as it has become visible, is to hold manipulative influence agents accountable for regional impact(s); and simultaneously work to stop any corrupted influence from oppressing free expression of national values held by the subservient, dis-empowered, people within the nation being influenced.
There have been clear examples of this doctrine at work. When President Trump first visited the Middle-East he confronted the international audience with a message about dealing with extremist influence agents. President Trump simply said: “drive them out.”
Toward that end, as Qatar was identified as a financier of extremist ideology, President Trump placed the goal of confrontation upon the Gulf Cooperation Council, not the U.S.
The U.S. role was clearly outlined as supporting the confrontation. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates needed to confront the toxic regional influence; the U.S. would support their objective. That’s what happened.
Another example: To confront the extremism creating the turmoil in Afghanistan, President Trump placed the burden of bringing the Taliban to the table of governance upon primary influence agent Pakistan. Here again, with U.S. support. Pakistan is the leading influence agent over the Taliban in Afghanistan; the Trump administration correctly established the responsibility and gives clear expectations for U.S. support.
If Pakistan doesn’t change their influence objective toward a more constructive alignment with a nationally representative Afghanistan government, it is Pakistan who will be held accountable. Again, the correct and effective appropriation of responsibility upon the influence agent who can initiate the solution, Pakistan.
The process of accurate regional assignment of influence comes with disconcerting sunlight. Often these influences are not discussed openly. However, for President Trump the lack of honesty is only a crutch to continue enabling poor actors. This is a consistent theme throughout all of President Trump’s foreign policy engagements.
The European Union is a collective co-dependent enabler to the corrupt influences of Iran. Therefore the assignment of responsibility to change the status is placed upon the EU.
The U.S. will fully support the EU effort, but as seen in the withdrawal from the Iran Deal, the U.S. will not enable growth of toxic behavior. The U.S. stands with the people of Iran, but the U.S. will not support the enabling of Iranian oppression, terrorism and/or dangerous military expansion that will ultimately destabilize the region. Trump holds the EU accountable for influencing change. Again, we see the Trump Doctrine at work.
Perhaps the most obvious application of the Trump Doctrine is found in how the U.S. administration approached the challenging behavior of North Korea. Rather than continuing a decades-long policy of ignoring the influence of China, President Trump directly assigned primary responsibility for a reset to Beijing.
China held, and holds, all influence upon North Korea and has long-treated the DPRK as a proxy province to do the bidding of Beijing’s communist old guard. By directly confronting the influence agent, and admitting openly for the world to see (albeit with jaw-dropping tactical sanction diplomacy) President Trump positioned the U.S. to support a peace objective on the entire Korean peninsula and simultaneously forced China to openly display their closely-guarded influence.
While the Red Dragon -vs- Panda influence dynamic is still ongoing, the benefit of this new and strategic approach has brought the possibility of peace closer than ever in recent history.
No longer is it outlandish to think of North Korea joining with the rest of the world in achieving a better quality of life for its people.
Not only is President Trump openly sharing a willingness to engage in a new and dynamic future for North Korea, but his approach is removing the toxic influences that have held down the possibility for generations. By leveraging China (through economics) to stop manipulating North Korea, President Trump is opening up a door of possibilities for the North Korean people. This is what I mean when I say Trump is providing North Korea with an opportunity to create an authentic version of itself.
♦The commonality in these foreign policy engagements is the strategic placement of responsibility upon the primary influence agent; and a clear understanding upon those nation(s) of influence, that all forward efforts must ultimately provide positive results for people impacted who lack the ability to create positive influence themselves.
One of the reasons President Trump is able to take this approach is specifically because he is beholden to no outside influence himself. It is only from the position of complete independence that accurate assignments based on the underlying truth can be made; and that takes us to the ultimate confrontations – the trillion dollar confrontations.
A U.S. foreign policy that provides the opportunity for fully-realized national authenticity is a paradigm shift amid a world that has grown accustomed to corrupt globalists, bankers and financial elites who have established a business model by dictating terms to national leaders they control and influence. We have our own frame of reference with K-Street lobbyists in Washington DC. Much of President Trump’s global trade reset is based on confronting these multinational influence agents.
When you take the influence of corporate/financial brokers out of foreign policy, all of a sudden those global influence peddlers are worthless. Absent of their ability to provide any benefit, nations no longer purchase these brokered services.
As soon as influence brokers are dispatched, national politicians become accountable to the voices of their citizens. When representing the voices of citizens becomes the primary political driver of national policy, the authentic image of the nation is allowed to surface.
Fortunately we are living in a time of great history, and we have multiple examples surfacing around the world. National elections in Poland, Hungary, Italy, Brazil and right here in the U.S. via Donald Trump highlight responses to dysfunctional multiculturalism and financial influences from corrupt elites within the institutions of globalist advocacy: The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Globalism can only thrive amid a class structure where the elites, though few in number, have more controlling power over the direction of government. It is not accidental the EU has appointed officials and unelected bureaucrats in Brussels as the primary decision-making authority.
As the Trump Doctrine clashes with the European global elite, the withdrawal of the U.S. financial underwriting creates a natural problem. Subsidies are needed to retain multiculturalism.
If a national citizenry has to pay for the indulgent decisions of the influence class, a crisis becomes only a matter of time.
Wealth distribution requires a host.
Since the end of World War II the U.S. has been a bottomless treasury for EU subsidy. The payments have been direct and indirect. The indirect have been via U.S. military bases providing security, the NATO alliance, and also by U.S. trade policy permitting one-way tariff systems. Both forms of indirect payment are now being reversed as part of the modern Trump Doctrine.
We are living in historic times….
August Jobs Report: 1.4 Million Jobs Recovered, Unemployment Rate Drops to 8.4 Percent…
September 4, 2020
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) highlights the August jobs report today and both measures (Household Survey and Establishment survey) show a remarkable recovery underway from the COVID-19 crisis. Overall, 1.4 million jobs were recovered and the national unemployment rate drops to 8.4%.
Most economists did not predict the unemployment rate would drop into single digits until next year. However, the historically accurate household survey shows 3.8 million people recalled, returned or found jobs; with 2.8 million saying they were no longer unemployed.
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Despite the ongoing challenges there is good news for the most heavily impacted sectors of the economy: leisure and hospitality. Well over half of those jobs lost have been recovered. In the past four months 3.6 million jobs have been gained in this sector. Employment in food services and drinking places is still down by down by 2.5 million since the peak in February but the gain is significant and reflects a “V-shaped” recovery ongoing.
All sectors of the economy are gaining jobs back at a remarkable rate; and the key demographics are benefiting in proportion to the initial COVID-19 impact. [BLS Report HERE] With the expiration of the “extra” federal unemployment benefits at the end of July, the negative incentive has been removed; more people are stepping back into the workforce.
“This was a strong report that shows the recovery remains on track,” said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors. “The labor market has come back faster than expected and we are seeing improvement in all segments of the economy and the workforce.” (MSM Link)
President Trump MAGA Rally in Latrobe Pennsylvania – 7:00pm ET Livestream…
September 3, 2020
Back in rally mode, tonight President Donald J. Trump will be holding a campaign rally at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. President Trump is expected to speak at 7:00pm ET with pre-rally speakers beforehand.
Donald Trump Campaign Livestream – RSBN Livestream Link – Fox News Livestream
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The Trump Bull Market
Anyone who has seen my cartoons knows I support Trump and his re-election. Biden and Kamala would be a disaster for our country. However, I don’t always agree with the president and before we at GrrrGraphics begin producing a Republican Convention cartoon extravaganza, I thought I would temper it with a bit of criticism.
When Trump brags about the stock market going up and making new highs, I cringe. This is not a healthy stock market based on logic, earnings, or a healthy economy. The market has disconnected itself from capitalism and a true value discovery.
What’s really going is a Federal Reserve takeover of our economy. What we’re seeing is a monumental transfer of wealth from the have nots to the haves. It widens the gap between a few money lords and the vast majority of We, The Serfs. Before you say I sound like Bernie Sanders, this isn’t about class warfare, but it is about destroying what’s left of the middle class. It makes it easier for the illuminati and their point man, George Soros, to usher in their tyrannical socialism.
Leaving no good crisis unused, they’re leveraging the ‘plannedemic’ to help globalist corporations get fabulously wealthier and more powerful while the smaller businesses—the Mom and Pop middle class–are crushed. The Fed has poured in nearly $7 trillion into the stock market this year alone–and while it does help out those with 401ks as Trump says, it mostly helps those at the very top of the pyramid the most. Amazon’s Bezos has raked in countless billions of dollars has his company makes new highs. Apple has a two trillion dollar market cap. Tesla has the largest market cap of any auto company, even if their sales don’t justify it. Elon Musk is favored by the “Green New Deal” illuminati, so he gets propped up while competition gets stamped out.
The Federal Reserve, in a fascistic manner, gets to funnel money toward favored companies while revenue for small businesses is down 30 percent. The Fed creates money from thin air and keep ‘their’ stock market bull moving up, thus making the fabulously wealthy central bankers and the handful of powerful families at the top who own the Fed gets fabulously wealthier and more powerful. The top 1 percent already owns nearly 40 percent of the stock market. The rest of us get to pay for the bubble through inflation. Have you noticed how expensive food has become? Yet we don’t get to share in the money-glutted stock market. Has the Fed sent you a share of Amazon or Apple? Of course not. Yet we pay for their robbery through the massive creation of debt. It’s always the same—the powerful screw over the powerless. We’ve already passed the point of no return with the national debt (now nearing $27 trillion) and every few seconds another $100,000 is added to it.
Many Americans can’t afford to participate in the stock market bubble. They’re too busy worrying about how to pay their rent while the rich are getting incredibly richer by ill-gotten means. This is something Trump should consider before he brags about new stock market highs.
—Ben Garrison
U.S. Tightens The Noose By Initiating Snapback of UN Sanctions Against Iran
“When the U.S. sanctions were violated, we enforced them. When UN sanctions are violated, we’re going to do everything we can to enforce them as well”
Re-Posted from the Canada Free Press By Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist —— Bio and Archives—August 25, 2020
The United Nations Security Council disgracefully rejected the U.S. initiative to extend the UN arms embargo against the Iranian regime beyond its current expiration this October. As the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said at the time on August 14th, “the United States stands sickened – but not surprised – as the clear majority of Council members gave the green light to Iran to buy and sell all manner of conventional weapons. History will easily trace the path of leadership in this era, and unfortunately it will not go through the UN Security Council.”
Iranian Defense Minister General Amir Hatami made the Iranian regime’s malevolent intentions crystal clear. “We have made it known that we are ready to provide high-quality and appropriately-priced weapons and equipment to countries that need this,” he said on August 18th.
Iran: World’s leading sponsor of terrorism
Ambassador Craft promised that the United States would not give up trying to prevent the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism from gaining unfettered access to the global arms market.
UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), lifted various nuclear-related UN sanctions against Iran that had been imposed in previous Security Council resolutions. The Security Council took this major UN sanctions relief step upfront in contemplation of the Iranian regime’s continuing compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA. Resolution 2231 provided a mechanism for those previous resolutions, with their accompanying prohibitions imposed on Iran, to “snap back” in the event of Iran’s breach of the JCPOA.
Iran has committed multiple material breaches of its JCPOA commitments relating not only to arms transfers and missile tests, but also to its core nuclear-related commitments regarding nuclear enrichment levels and access for international inspections. As one of the original participants in the process leading up to the full implementation of the JCPOA in reliance on Iran’s commitments, the United States has every right to initiate snapback of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions that had been in place prior to January 2016, regardless of whether the U.S. has the support of other countries that are parties to the JCPOA or otherwise.
On August 20th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo personally delivered letters to both UN Secretary General Guterres and to the president of the Security Council initiating the snapback process, leading to the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. “America will not appease,” Secretary Pompeo told reporters at UN headquarters in New York. “America will lead.”
U.S. has not violated any legally binding obligations imposed by Resolution 2231
The snapback is supposed to take effect in 30 days from notification of an issue involving “significant non-performance of commitments under the JCPOA,” according to the process outlined in Resolution 2231, unless a Security Council member or the President of the Security Council introduces a draft resolution beforehand that is passed to extend the sanctions relief on Iran. Such a draft resolution would not pass, however, as long as President Trump remains in office. The United States would be able to veto such a draft resolution, allowing the snapback to proceed into effect automatically.
Opposition to the U.S. initiative from China and Russia is to be expected. It is disappointing to say the least, however, that the Western European permanent members of the Security Council, France and the United Kingdom, have also come out publicly against the U.S. on invoking the snapback process. Then again, Western European countries are not known for their moral courage when potentially lucrative commercial deals are at stake.
The critics of the U.S. snapback initiative claim that the U.S. has no authority to invoke it after withdrawing from the JCPOA. The critics are wrong. The JCPOA itself is a non-binding political document that was not even signed. Security Council Resolution 2231’s endorsement of the JCPOA does not convert a non-binding political document into a legally binding agreement. If the U.S. decided, as it did for national security reasons, to reimpose its own unilateral sanctions, the U.S. has not violated any legally binding obligations imposed by Resolution 2231. However, what Resolution 2231 did do is to legally condition the lifting of United Nations sanctions that the Security Council had previously imposed on Iran upon Iran’s meeting of its JCPOA commitments.
The United States is identified in Resolution 2231 as one of the “JCPOA Participants.” The U.S.’s “participant” status under Resolution 2231 derives solely from its original active participation in the negotiation, finalization and implementation of the JCPOA. Resolution 2231 sets no other qualifications or conditions on the original or continuing eligibility of such specifically identified JCPOA Participants to initiate a snapback.
Attempt by China, other UN Security Council members to change the explicit text of Resolution 2231 with hollow declarations is meritless
The U.S. could have vetoed Resolution 2231 because of the provisions lifting the previous UN sanctions but did not do so in reliance upon Iran’s commitments to abide by the terms of the JCPOA. Absent an amendment to the resolution to delete the United States as a JCPOA participant state after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal in May 2018, which the Security Council never adopted, the U.S. maintains its original standing to initiate a snapback.
In short, the snapback provisions of Resolution 2231 are keyed to Iran’s JCPOA non-performance, not to the performance or non-performance of any other JCPOA Participant.
“[T]he United States” and any other “JCPOA participant State” may initiate snapback. Operative paragraph 11 of Resolution 2231 sets out the requirements for initiating snapback. Those requirements are that (i) a “JCPOA participant State” (ii) notify the UN Security Council (iii) of an issue it believes constitutes “significant non-performance” of commitments under the JCPOA. That has been done, and the snapback clock is ticking.
The attempt by China and other UN Security Council members to change the explicit text of Resolution 2231 with hollow declarations is meritless. China and Russia also attempted to enlist the current president of the Security Council in essentially ignoring the U.S. notification, as if somehow that would make the notification disappear or render it null and void. Indonesia’s UN Ambassador Dian Triansyah Djani, Security Council president for August, went along with the scheme. In his capacity as Security Council president, he said that he was “not in the position to take further action” on the U.S. snapback notification. Ambassador Djani said that there was no consensus in the Council supporting the U.S.’s move. Ambassador Djani should go back and read Resolution 2231 in detail. While a consensus may be desirable, no consensus is required for the snapback to take effect.
Simply ignoring the U.S. notification as if it did not happen will have no legal effect in stopping the snapback from taking effect
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, tweeted what he viewed to be the result of the Security Council president’s decision to take no action: “It means, there is NO SNAPBACK.”
Wrong! The president of the Security Council does not have authority under Resolution 2231 to decide on whether the United States’ snapback notification is valid or not. He is authorized to introduce a draft resolution for a vote by the Security Council to keep the sanctions relief provisions of Resolution 2231 in place, which the United States can then veto. Simply ignoring the U.S. notification as if it did not happen will have no legal effect in stopping the snapback from taking effect.
When asked by reporters at the UN about sanctions enforcement, Secretary Pompeo would not get ahead of President Trump’s decision. “But you just need look no further than the history of the last two and a half years,” Pompeo said. “When the U.S. sanctions were violated, we enforced them. When UN sanctions are violated, we’re going to do everything we can to enforce them as well.”
Premier Liu He and USTR Lighthizer Discuss Renewed Phase-1 Deliverables…
August 25, 2020
United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s Vice-Premier Liu He release a joint statement showing renewed emphasis on phase-1 purchases.
Washington, DC – Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin participated in a regularly scheduled call this evening with China’s Vice Premier Liu He to discuss implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the United States and China. The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer.
The parties also discussed the significant increases in purchases of U.S. products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement. Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement. (link)
This is interesting timing. In the foreground President Trump has openly stated he was/is not seeking further trade discussions with China. However, in the background if China does not meet the $75 billion phase-1 purchases, then a set of automatically triggering tariffs kick-in…. so it is in China’s interest to engage.
This trade leverage, combined with President Trump’s willingness to completely decouple from China…. combined with tariffs against China being favored by President Trump… explains the position of the administration. Do nothing and tariffs kick back in.
According to Reuters analytics China has only purchased $7.3 billion in agricultural products through the first half of the year. The phase-1 agreement (tariff avoidance) requires $36.5 billion in purchases for 2020.
Additionally, in the energy sector: “China bought only 5% of the targeted $25.3 billion in energy products from the United States in the first half of 2020. Chinese state-owned oil firms have booked tankers to carry at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September.” [Reuters Link] Again, if China doesn’t meet the agreement threshold the suspended tariffs return in full force.
It looks like Vice-Premier Liu He is attempting to head-off the re-institution of tariffs due to phase-1 purchases falling below the agreement; thus Beijing is trying to avoid the built-in tariff penalty aspect.
…If you plant your trees in another man’s orchard, don’t be surprised when you have to pay for your own apples…
Republican National Convention – RNC Live Coverage
Day 1 Land of Promise
Re-Posted for the Canada Free Press By Right Side Broadcasting —— Bio and Archives—August 24, 2020
Land of Promise, Speakers include former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, Donald Trump Jr., and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
Kellyanne Conway Announces Departure from White House…
August 23, 2020
Citing a need to renew focus on her children, White House advisor Kellyanne Conway has announced her departure from the administration:
STATEMENT: The past four years have allowed me blessings beyond compare as a part of history on Election Night 2016 and as Senior Counselor to the President. It’s been heady. It’s been humbling.
I am deeply grateful to the President for this honor, and to the First Lady, the Vice President and Mrs. Pence, my colleagues in the White House and the Administration, and the countless people who supported me and my work. As many convention speakers will demonstrate this week, President Trump’s leadership has had a measurable, positive impact on the peace and prosperity of the nation, and on millions of Americans who feel forgotten no more. (read more)
Manipulation – Confusion – Election Jitters
Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics
Re-Posted Aug 20, 2020 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: Greetings Martin
I hope family is doing well. Your latest PB mentions the organized effort by gates and world economic forum to manipulate the entire world.
All of your past teachings have always said that No one can manipulate the World markets as “even Buffett couldn’t corner silver.” Even when they asked you to go in with them in Russia and they had the world bank on their side. Still failed.
So if they are manipulating this extremely organized effort do we think It will succeed? And if It does or doesn’t do you have suggestions for your subscribers as to where the hell we should go?
Like all of your readers I am MUCH!! Less concerned about Covid and Much more concerned about civil unrest and taxation etc
I work and live in NYC🙈🙈🙈
Everything you’ve written has occurred. I awake at night in panic about what to do. Just sell my practice and move to another state/country is a frequent conversation of my wife and I.
Leaving a buisness behind is one hard thing – leaving my other family members behind another. But we are willing to do whatever is best.
You had mentioned that you are going to release an update on places etc
Do you know when this may occur?
Normally I am concerned with equity markets but Socrates has done a great job of keeping us in the market to the long side even when all looked hopeless. Now with all of the “day traders” thinking its 1999 is It time to get a bit defensive as we head into the election cycle?
Much thanks as always!! You may know how much you help all of us, BUT I want you to hear It again. We All Thank you!!
Regards,
JCL
ANSWER: I do not see this attempted manipulation of the world economy as being successful. They are truly out of their minds, but they are a bunch of academics and billionaires who have never walked out of the street and dared to speak to one of the great unwashed. To them, we are all just pawns of finance too stupid to understand what their super-human minds are capable of seeing the future. However, sometimes a pawn can take down a king.
Leaving the cities like New York is ultimately the smart thing to do. However, it all depends on the election. If Trump wins there will probably be more violence from the usual characters. The Democrats have promised to bail out the states if they keep people locked down and unable to vote when possible other than mail. If Trump wins, those states will be hard-pressed for destroying their economies on a wish and a prayer.
The problem you have is that property values will decline in the cities. They are rising even in North New Jersey with people coming in and bidding over asking price. You can at least hedge your bets by trying to sell and rent until you see what happens. At least then you will be in a better position to leave faster.
This is certainly dividing families. Some refuse to think it can get worse. They want to be optimistic. My old professor said two people were standing on the top of the World Trade Center and a gust of wind blew them both off. The pessimist immediately started praying to be forgiven for his since. The optimist, as he was passing the fourth floor, said: Well so far so good!
Just try to be nimble. It is hard to leave – I know. Elizabeth Warren lays it out. They are playing to change America into a socialist country that has failed whenever it has been attempted.
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As far as the markets go, the indexes are being propelled by a very select few stocks. The broader market is better reflected by the Russel 2000. There is always the risk that summer rallies end up in October panics.
Centinel2012 