Armstrong Economics Blog/Socrates Re-Posted May 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
This was the Question asked:
Socrates, how do I solve a debt crisis without a default that is fair to both sides?
Tag Archives: Doxing
Second Biden Removal Leverage Deployed and Timed to Coincide with First – Prosecutors Near Decision on Hunter Biden Indictment
Posted originally on the CTH on May 3, 2023 | Sundance |
If you think about Joe Biden’s 4-year term in office as an intentionally constructed single term with no limits or consequences to the cascading damage inflicted; and if you think about the ideologues behind the plan to use cognitively challenged Biden as a tool to achieve their agenda; then everything from the way he was selected in 2020, to the disconnected and fragmented policy and Biden’s interpretation of them, just makes sense.
As our friend Lee Smith summed up in early 2021, “Joe Biden is an avatar for Barack Obama’s third term.” That is what we have been witnessing. A term in office where every policy wish list and far-left agenda item could be triggered without any care or consequence of political damage.
The people behind Biden are ideologues using this unique opportunity to further the “fundamental change.” From that perspective every single granular move during the Biden term makes sense. However, this also means there’s no term two in the design. The damage will be so great, there’s no way for a second term.
Again, if you accept that background, and ignore the puppet presentations, everything currently underway that seemingly makes Biden look vulnerable and disposable makes sense. It’s not Republicans trying to take him down, it’s Democrats – who will use republicans to assist them.
Into this landscape comes the second leverage point for the removal. The vulnerability represented by Hunter Biden. This approach also explains why the Hunter Biden investigation was completed long ago, and the Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco/Obama-minds were simply waiting for the timing of the election calendar. Earlier today a Main Justice whistleblower provided the triggering mechanism for one removal approach. Here is another:
WASHINGTON DC – Prosecutors are nearing a decision on whether to charge President Biden’s son Hunter with tax– and gun-related violations, according to people familiar with the matter, the culmination of a four-year investigation that Republicans have sought to portray as evidence the Biden family is corrupt.
Biden’s attorneys met at Justice Department headquarters in downtown Washington last week to discuss the case with U.S. Attorney David Weiss of Delaware, according to the people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing criminal investigation. Typically, that sort of meeting — in which defense lawyers urge prosecutors not to seek an indictment of their client, or to seek reduced charges —comes toward the end of an investigation.
The people familiar with the matter said Weiss is nearing the end of his decision-making process, although they offered no specific timetable. They cautioned that the probe has taken longer than some officials thought it would, frustrating some law enforcement officials, and conceivably could slow down again before a decision has been reached. (read more)
Every single conflicting point reconciles, if you accept the Biden program was a one-term disposable effort.
The timing is up, now the removal leverage is deployed with enough time to present the branding needed for the Biden replacement.
Assets like Susan Rice are pulled from the White House. The Obama embeds position to avoid damage, and the circumstances for Biden’s removal are created by the same people who control the collection of the evidence against him.
There isn’t going to be a Joe Biden DNC nominating convention in Chicago. There isn’t going to be another presidential race by Biden; it was never the intention from the outset in the 2020 plan to use him. Biden is in the process of being excommunicated from the party. His usefulness exhausted, this is the disposal phase.
The only thing left to negotiate are the terms of the exit.
Pentagon Confirms Document Leak
Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Apr 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
There is a mole within the Pentagon and officials are eagerly seeking to find the source. Someone has been leaking classified documents to the public that include plans to involve the international community in the Ukrainian conflict. Someone in the intelligence community wants the public to know about America’s increasing involvement in the Russia-Ukraine proxy war.
A source close to Zelensky has said that Ukraine has scrapped previous war strategies due to the leaked information. The documents actually mention that the US has been spying on Zelensky himself, which comes as no surprise. Chris Meagher, the assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, said the leak is under investigation and that they do not know how much information has been leaked. Meagher claims some of the documents have been altered in an attempt to cover up the truth. He is reassuring allies “of our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and fidelity to our security partnerships.”
The documents were highly classified and contained information on how the US spies on its allies and enemies alike. The documents began appearing on Discord servers, 4Chan, and other platforms about a month ago, with over 50 sensitive documents now revealed to the public. The Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, are now urging the US to rectify the situation immediately. Time will only tell what secrets these documents reveal.
They could not deny that the papers were real. We have seen how the intelligence community treats those who expose the truth like Edward Snowden who must live out his existence in fear. The source knows the risks and will likely risk their life to expose the truth.
United States Code at 18 U.S.C. § 2381
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and …
DOJ Tells Republican Congress Not to Expect Cooperation and Thank You
Posted originally on the CTH on January 20, 2023 | Sundance | 200 Comments
The U.S. Dept of Justice (DOJ) has sent a five-page letter to congress, copying Politico for the public distribution therein. [SEE pdf HERE]
The snarky and passive aggressive Lawfare tone inside the letter is rather remarkable in its sanctimony and condescension. Essentially, Main Justice is telling congressional oversight, specifically House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, not to expect any timely responses because there’s a lot going on.
Additionally, as the letter directly implies, Republican oversight is not in the favor of the current administration or DOJ and, well, in general terms, get over it – they aren’t complying. However, feel free to initiate the formal negotiation process that will likely take several years.
From the letter to Jim Jordan, “Your January 17 requests—made now in your position as Chairman—initiate the constitutionally mandated accommodation process. Under this process, the Legislative and Executive Branches have a constitutional obligation to negotiate in good faith to meet the informational needs of Congress while protecting the institutional interests of the Executive Branch. We look forward to beginning this process in response to your January 17 letters.” (link)
(Via Politico) – […] The letter, addressed to Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), acknowledges the GOP’s multiple requests for information during the last Congress but doesn’t divulge any new information. Instead, Uriarte outlines how he hopes DOJ could have a “productive relationship” with Republicans in the new Congress, as Jordan had in previous letters accused the DOJ of “stonewalling” their requests, raised the possibility of a subpoena and said the committee could resort to “compulsory practices” to obtain the requested information and documents.
It’s an early marker of DOJ’s position as Republicans pledge to probe President Joe Biden’s administration over a laundry list of issues, including with a select subpanel that has a broad mandate to investigate the federal government. Conservatives have hinted they would use that panel to try to look into certain ongoing law enforcement investigations. (read more)
I think at this point everyone outside the professional political class in the Legislative Branch knew this was going to happen. However, the Republicans in Congress will likely pretend to be stunned by this development, Fox News Sean Hannity will be outraged by it, and then the RNC and RCCC will dispatch fundraising campaigns citing the refusal of the DOJ. Win, win, win… wash – rinse – repeat.
Predicting this approach was exactly why CTH said the House Subcommittee on Weaponized Government should not waste time looking for assistance, documents and or internal support from the various DC silos. Instead, the oversight committees need to go through the formal request process (blah, blah, blah) but focus their efforts at getting documents from the private sector collaborators outside the DC silo system.
If it seems like the Democrats always know how to use power more effectively than Republicans, you would be absolutely correct. However, few people really understand the reason for it. So, I will repeat.
The Republicans want money. The Democrats want power. The Republicans use power to get money. The Democrats use money to get power. The ideology of the Democrats drives their donor funding. The donor funding of the Republicans drives their ideology.
This core truism carries forward beyond electoral politics and into the realm of legislative battles and oversight conflicts. Republicans want money as their primary objective. If the Biden administration wants to get an ideological bill passed, the Democrats simply buy the votes of Republicans (especially Senators).
As an additional outcome, Republicans in congress have no core values, no core objectives, no goals to achieve. After all, their structural goal is money.
Give Republicans power and they don’t know what to do with it, because the voters essentially boosted the dog to catch the car… now what?
What you see in the outcome of elections is that Republicans do not have any plan for power, because it’s not the issue that takes up their intellectual time. That’s reserved for deep analytical thoughts about how to make money from (XXX).
The Democrats know this, they know the main mission of Republicans. Ergo, the Lawfare DOJ pats the Republicans on the head and waits for the frustrated voters to get sick of the GOP doing nothing again, and the Democrats simply wait them out.
We have been in this repetitious abuse cycle for about two decades.
Battered Conservative Syndrome is a very real thing.
There are an enormous amount of codependent enabling voters in this process. I call them Seagull Republicans because they are voters who will fly down and shit over anyone who complains about this reality – then they fly up to their high perches and look down their noses.
In case you missed it, the Seagull Republicans are currently aligned to support Harmeet Dhillon and Ron DeSantis.
One UniParty consisting of two wings, the RNC and the DNC. One bird, two wings.
The GOPe priority around money is the one constant on the right wing. But don’t worry, because the Seagulls are promising that Ron DeSantis will protect us from teh geys.
The Uni-Party of Capitol Hill
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jan 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong
This speech by Congressman Matt Gaetz is actually very important. Listen carefully to what he is saying – he and others will not vote for this “uni-party” candidate Kevin McCarthy from California. I cannot emphasize more that what he is talking about is what I have been writing about for a long time.
John McCain would have voted for Hillary before Trump because they are all the same – they protect the SWAMP. The battle is not as fierce between the Republicans and Democrats as it often appears. Both sides like things the way they are. Kevin McCarthy would simply be another Pelosi. There really would be no difference. This is why we must simply Crash & Burn. Politics is hopeless. The corruption has eaten away everything from the inside out. Gaetz is correct for they call it on the Hill the “uni-party” where it is not for the people, but for maintaining power.
Rep Matt Gaetz Asks Congress Why Kevin McCarthy Has Moved into House Speakers Office, Because He’s Not Speaker
Posted originally on the CTH on January 3, 2023 | Sundance
Apparently, California Representative Kevin McCarthy has already moved his personal effects and furniture into the House Speaker’s Office despite not winning enough votes to be considered Speaker of the House.
Republican House member Matt Gaetz, a strong opponent of Mr McCarthy, sends a letter of inquiry asking how is this possible?
Full letter below.
Video, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Second Inauguration Speech
Posted originally on the CTH on January 3, 2023 | Sundance
The management and branding team behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continue to track a transparent path toward a 2024 nomination run. Florida Governor DeSantis was sworn into office today at Noon eastern, complete with Jeb Bush as a special on-stage guest of honor.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is one of the primary organizers and influencers for DeSantis ’24 presidential bid. Former governors Rick Scott (R) and Charlie Crist (R/D) did not participate in the ceremony. Additionally, despite the early hour and not appearing to be coincidental, it appeared the political branding team decided to have Casey DeSantis take a page from First Lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe style. WATCH:
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They are going to recreate Camelot whether you want it or not. However, once you see the strings on the marionettes, it’s impossible not to watch the performance and not see them.
Ron DeSantis is the counterfeit $100 bill on a fishing string being dragged through the MAGAhood by the professional political class and Bush family revenge operations.
After Three Failed Attempts to Elect a Speaker, The House of Representatives Adjourns Until Noon Tomorrow
Posted originally on the CTH on January 3, 2023 | Sundance
The House of Representatives failed to elect a House Speaker through three rounds of voting. Approximately 20 members of the Republican conference will not vote for Kevin McCarthy, as a result there is a stalemate. The Republican caucus requested adjournment until noon tomorrow, Wednesday January 4th.
Essentially Kevin McCarthy needs to: (1) step aside and accept he will not be Speaker, or (2) continue the House voting in futility, or (3) find a way to convince the Republican holdouts to support him.
“They’re just not into you Kevin”…
This has happened before, just not in the modern political era. The holdouts want Jim Jordan to accept the Speaker position.
Don’t get defrosted, worried or overly attached to any outcome. This is simply the way our system was designed.
VIDEO, Congress Electing Speaker of House, Republican McCarthy Fails on First Bid, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries Achieves Highest Votes in First Round
Posted originally on the CTH on January 3, 2023 | Sundance
The House of Representatives continues efforts to elect a Speaker of the House. Republican candidate Kevin McCarthy failed in his first-round effort on the floor in dramatic fashion. A group of conservatives blocked his path amid one of the smallest GOP House majorities in history. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries had the highest overall number of votes, but still not enough to become speaker.
As noted by Politico, “In a stunning moment of chaos on the first day of the new Congress, McCarthy and his allies will now attempt to quell the revolt, preparing members to take repeated votes as pressure mounts from their colleagues. It will mark only the second time since the Civil War that a party will need multiple attempts to choose its leader on the House floor — with all business in the chamber, even the swearing-in of members, halted until a speaker is chosen.”
Voting continues, video below. UPDATE After Three Failed Votes, the House is adjourned until noon tomorrow:
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Retail Sales Drop 0.6% in November
Posted originally on the conservative tree house on December 15, 2022 | Sundance
Friends, in the late summer and fall of 2021 CTH warned of massive waves of price increases that would push inflation to record highs. We watched as each wave arrived almost on schedule throughout 2022, and as a direct result of Joe Biden energy and economic policy, prices necessarily skyrocketed.
In essence in 2021 we were warning about the expenditure side of the ledger that all working-class and fixed income families would experience. We advised to take every proactive measure possible to avoid future price increases.
Now, unfortunately, we begin moving those same warnings to the other side of the ledger; because as a natural consequence of consumer checkbook pain, the financial pressure always transfers to the income and employment side of the economic dynamic.
Keep in mind, retail sales are calculated in dollars spent by consumers. November 2022 retail sales as reported by the commerce department today [DATA pdf], reflect a 0.6% decrease in spending vs October. November data includes Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the traditional early holiday shopping. 0.6% less dollars were spent, despite prices being double digits higher than the prior year.
When the prices you are charging for goods and/or services are 10, 20, even as high as 60 percent more than prior year, yet your sales are running flat to negative – that means consumer purchases of those goods/services are substantially lower.
If you were selling 100 widgets for $1 each in 2021, you gross $100. If your widgets now sell for $1.25 and you gross $94 in 2022 sales, you have sold 75 widgets.
In 2021 you sold 100 widgets, in 2022 you sold 75 widgets, a difference of 25 widgets.
Everything attached to the raw material, creation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of those 25 missing widgets is no longer part of the economic activity associated with your widget business. You are now telling your suppliers you don’t need as many widgets, because they are not selling. You have lost 25% of your business in this scenario.
Everything associated with the drop in consumer spending now begins to downsize. Downsizing means less labor needed. This process triggers the economic impact shifting from the consumer sales side of the ledger to the income side of the ledger for employers, employees and workers.
If this consumer spending trend continues, and there is absolutely no reason to think it will reverse, we are entering a phase of serious financial instability for the American worker, at a scale that will dwarf the 2006/’07 and ’08 recession.
I am not a doomsayer pundit on economic matters. I am a proactive planner on economic forecasts. With consumer credit costing more, with fed interest rates climbing, with import orders cancelled, with shipping costs dropping, with consumer spending contracting, with fewer units moving, with inventories climbing, all of the data only points in one direction.
Serious consumer defaults are looming.
Government policy has been hammering the demand side of the economy, proclaiming -falsely- that excessive consumer demand was the cause of inflation. This game of economic pretending is about to get very serious.
Consumer spending, as measured in actual units created and purchased in the economy, has been contracting since the third quarter of 2021 (started June, July, August ’21). Simultaneously, consumer spending as measured in actual dollars spent to purchase food, fuel and energy, has been skyrocketing. This is a supply side inflationary cycle with no soft landing.
(Wall Street Journal) – U.S. retail spending and manufacturing weakened in November, signs of a slowing economy as the Federal Reserve continues its battle against high inflation.
November retail sales fell 0.6% from the prior month for the biggest decline this year, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Budget-conscious shoppers pulled back sharply on holiday-related purchases, home projects and autos. Manufacturing output declined 0.6%, the first drop since June, the Fed said in a separate report.
The Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate 0.5 percentage point to a 15-year high and signaled plans to continue lifting rates through the spring. Fed officials have increased rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s to cool the economy and bring down inflation, which is running near a 40-year high.
“Most households are acting strategically, planning for a road ahead that may be more difficult to traverse, with higher interest rates, the housing slump, and ongoing inflation—and the very real possibility of a recession,” said Craig Johnson, president of the retail consulting firm Customer Growth Partners. (read more)
Businesses are going to start cutting expenses in order to survive.
The number one expense for almost all businesses is the labor cost.
Non-essential and high wage labor is going to get removed first.
Centinel2012 