Tag Archives: #DrainTheSwamp

Oct 24 2022

Sunday Talks, Kari Lake Describes the Ongoing and Escalating Arizona Border Crisis, 227,547 Illegal Aliens in September Alone


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 23, 2022 | Sundance 

Appearing with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures {Direct Rumble Link Here), Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake describes the specific interests to Arizona ahead of the November election.

Mrs. Lake describes the ongoing and escalating border crisis driven by Joe Biden’s open border policies, including expanded drug running, human smuggling and escalating crime, evil outcomes of unlawful immigration.  WATCH:

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Captured illegal border crossers, illegal aliens, were 227,547 in September 2022 at the U.S. border with Mexico. That’s the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency and was up 11.5% from 204,087 in August, and 18.5% higher than the 192,001 in September 2021.

In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2.38 million illegal aliens were encountered, up 37% from 1.73 million the year before.  The 2022 annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest-level during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2019.

CONTEXT – Keep in mind when 60,000 illegal aliens crossed in 2014, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson declared a state of emergency and asked congress for $4 billion in emergency funding.  In September 2022 alone, 227,547 illegal aliens crossed.

Nearly 78,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were stopped in September, compared to about 58,000 from Mexico and three countries of northern Central America that have historically accounted for most of the flow.

Oct 24 2022

Lee Smith Nails a Key Point, The Fourth Branch of Government and Media Operate Together


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 23, 2022 | Sundance |

Lee Smith makes an important point in this brief podcast excerpt. {Direct Rumble Link Here}  We have outlined his point on these pages for several years.

Essentially, the point Lee Smith drives home is how the U.S. Corporate Media, and the Big Tech monopolies, are the front force of the new national security and intelligence state.  It is a relationship that extends far beyond the customary leanings of media, and now covers a full synergistic relationship.  WATCH:

“We’re all familiar with the fact that the press has historically leaned to the left. That’s not what we’re looking at now. We’re looking at something very, very different. We’re looking at the press as being a part of the intelligence community. They are the ones who is putting these operations out there.”

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The New York Times and Politico are the public relations firms for Main Justice, the DOJ and FBI.  The Washington Post handles the needs of the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Central Intelligence Agency.  Meanwhile CNN is managed by the needs of the U.S. State Dept.   These direct relationships have been discussed here for several years.

Oct 23 2022

The Albertsons and Kroger Merger Faces Legislative Scrutiny as European Company Ahold Assembles Competitive Bid


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 22, 2022 | Sundance 

Last week we discussed the announcement of a $24.6 billion merger deal between Kroger and Albertsons supermarkets {Go Deep}.  The majority stockholders in both companies are institutional investment groups, Blackrock, Vanguard and Cerberus.

The merger would consolidate the second and third largest food retailers in the U.S. and would certainly dilute the competitive dynamic amid the supermarket industry.  Concern over price controls and decreased competition has now arrived on the desks of DC legislators who are reviewing the deal.

(Reuters) – […] U.S. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and Republican Senator Mike Lee were quick to say that they would hold a hearing to discuss the merger. A European interloper could make deal plans even harder.

Frans Muller, Chief Executive of Stop & Shop owner Ahold Delhaize (AD.AS), has made no secret of his desire to consolidate U.S. grocers. The Netherlands-based firm is already the fourth largest grocery chain. If it managed to cobble together a better offer than Kroger’s bid for Albertsons, it would become the second largest supermarket. Plane spotters tracked two Albertsons jets next to Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. base in Massachusetts in early August. Ahold declined to comment.

Ahold can also afford a chunky deal. The Dutch grocer has debt of just 2 times its $6.7 billion of EBITDA estimated for this year, according to Refinitiv. That’s 50% less than the average. If investors reckoned there was merit in a deal, Muller could also use equity to beef up the offer. At more than 12 times, Ahold’s price-to-earnings ratio is a fifth higher than Albertsons’, giving it currency.

Aspects of the deal might make it easier for antitrust authorities to get comfortable, too. Kroger and Albertsons would have a combined market share of 13%, whereas a deal with its Dutch rival gives much less of the pie. Ahold focuses on the East Coast of America whereas Albertsons has a big presence on the West Coast. So regulators wouldn’t have to worry about a larger Kroger shutting down competing Albertsons stores.

[…] U.S. senators who scrutinise antitrust issues expressed “serious concerns” about grocery company Kroger’s plan to buy rival Albertsons, and said they would hold a hearing in November on the $25 billion deal.

The announcement by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee antitrust panel, and Republican Senator Mike Lee confirmed a previous report by Reuters.

A Kroger spokesperson said the company looked forward to the hearing. “We welcome the opportunity to outline how this transaction will benefit America’s consumers by expanding access to fresh, affordable food,” the company said in a statement.

The Federal Trade Commission is expected to review the deal to ensure it complies with antitrust law. (read more)

This might be one of those rare times when a legislative and regulatory review may actually be beneficial to the outcome for the consumer.

December 16, 2020, Dozen Large Eggs $1.79

October 11, 2022, Dozen Large Eggs $7.29

(Source)

(DCBusinessDaily) – […] Scott Rasmussen Number of the Day shows 76% of voters have seen their grocery prices go up in the last month. The poll also found 60% of voters believe prices will continue to rise. Additionally, 54% of voters say gas prices have gone up in the last month and 59% believe gas prices will continue to go up. Ballotpedia’s poll methodology surveyed 1,200 registered voters from Oct. 6-8. According to the Ballotpedia website, the poll was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage and political party to reflect a fair balance of voters across the country. The margin of sampling error is +/- 2.8 percentage points.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary for the nation on Oct. 13, which found that the rate of inflation over the last 12 months stands at 8.2%. It rose 0.4% in September. In the last year, food costs have risen by 11.2%, energy costs have increased by 19.8%, gas prices have risen by 18.2% and the cost to purchase a new vehicle has increased by 9.4%. (more)

Oct 22 2022

Insufferable J6 Committee Files Political Subpoena for President Trump Testimony as a Midterm Loss Election Shield and Insurance Policy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 21, 2022 | Sundance

Yesterday, Politico noted President Trump had enlisted the law firm of Harmeet Dhillon as a proactive measure against a J6 subpoena. “Former President Donald Trump has hired a firm to engage with the Jan. 6 select committee on its forthcoming subpoena of him, POLITICO has learned.” {link} Less than a day later the J6 committee issues the formal subpoena.

Once again, the corrupt DC institutional system, and specific media participation, are identified by the leaks and recipients. The injustice system, DOJ/FBI always use the New York Times and Politico as their advanced public relations firms. The insufferable J6 subpoena details can be FOUND HERE.

WASHINGTON DC, J6 Committee – “Pursuant to a unanimous vote of the Select Committee, Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) today announced that the Select Committee has issued a subpoena to former President Donald Trump for testimony under oath and records relevant to the Select Committee’s investigation into the attack on the January 6th on the United States Capitol and its causes.

In a letter to Mr. Trump, Chairman Thompson and Vice Chair Cheney underscored his central role in a deliberate, orchestrated effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and block the transfer of presidential power, a matter central to the committee’s investigation as it reviews the facts and considers recommendations to prevent a recurrence of the violence of January 6th.” {link}

The committee is giving President Trump until November 4th to comply with the document request, with a demand for testimony by November 16th.

No president (executive branch) has ever been forced to give testimony to a legislative committee (legislative branch) because the very foundation of the demand violates the separation of powers as established in the constitution.  This legal argument will take some time to work itself out, and the (un)likelihood of the subpoena being successful speaks to the political nature of the theatrics in advance of the 2022 midterm election.

That said, having been the recipient of two J6 subpoenas, successfully defeated – in part thanks to your support, I can provide some insight into why President Trump enlisted the Dhillon Law Firm.

At least from my experience, there are only a handful of potential lawyers or law firms who will even take the case of a fight against a J6 committee subpoena because: (1) it is just so fraught with politics, and (2) the entire enterprise is a litigious and financial black hole.

The weaponized J6 committee has a bottomless budget, the J6 targets do not.  Ultimately, the financial cost is the root cause of why Lawfare succeeds.  It’s just too damned expensive to fight them off, even with great lawyers.  I can only imagine how much Steve Bannon has spent, and how much President Trump will have to spend.

Even a simple responsive letter to the committee, depending on scale and scope, starts around $10,000 and goes up from there; that’s just for the initial response.  If the initial response isn’t successful, the fight retainer starts around six figures for the next round… and that’s just a single and simple case.  The more complex legal arguments are exponentially more costly for the targets.  Justice system? Yeah, good luck with that.

Now, given the J6 subpoena against President Trump is likely to fail on constitutional grounds, let’s talk about the motive for why they would do this.

The J6 Committee has a timeline that is now extended beyond the midterm election.  This is not accidental.  The midterm election is likely to result in the House flipping from Democrat control to Republican control.  Keep in mind both Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are lame ducks right now.  Additionally, the people inside the J6 committee machinery are Lawfare agents like Mary McCord.

The committee is timing their political effort to extend beyond the midterms in order to shield itself from Republican scrutiny.  The oft familiar “ongoing investigation” shield becomes a purposeful technique to protect themselves, a transparent motive surfaces for their timeline.

Post-election, the committee will lean heavily on the media to avoid any/all discoveries of their malicious targeting conduct if the midterm elections remove the Democrats from power. This is the way these conniving and corrupt political lawfare agents work.

Unfortunately, the Republican wing is not an opposing force against the Democrat wing.  They are both wings of the same DC UniParty vulture.  So, we should not anticipate any full combat in the post-election House by an angered GOP against Democrats.  Everything will be optics; nothing will be substantive.

Bottom line, the J6 subpoena against Trump should fail, but that’s not the real motive for the J6 to push the subpoena against Trump.  They are using this Trump subpoena, and the long battle that will ensue over it, as a shield against scrutiny by a flipped power structure in the House of Representatives.

If Republicans win the House, Nancy Pelosi will retire. Bookmark it. There is no scenario where Nancy Pelosi will remain in congress after all of the political manipulation, she has done in the past four years.  Adam Schiff will likely be minority leader.

Oct 21 2022

AOC Has Got to Go


Armstrong Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 21, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is no longer the progressive sweetheart in the public eye. AOC’s willingness to thrust America into war has caused her supporters to see her as a hypocrite and a coward. “I believed in you, and you became the very thing you sought to fight against,” one member in a Bronx AOC town hall event yelled. “You ARE the establishment!”

Her entire platform is crumbling. She came into the political sphere as an “outsider” who would fight against the establishment, but she is another swamp member. This is the same woman who pretended to cry at the southern border and demand that the encampments be taken down, only for her to ask the migrants to leave New York. Barely anyone showed up to her town hall meeting, but those who did had choice words for her.

AOC has voted to supply Ukraine with weapons and training. Her supporters were under the false impression that a progressive Socialist would be against a nuclear Armageddon. “You voted to mobilize and send money to Ukrainian Nazis! You are a coward! Where are you against the war mobilization?” one citizen shouted.

Hecklers began shouting, “AOC HAS GOT TO GO!” Her true colors are finally showing. She was never anti-establishment and never intended to be a voice for Main Street. This comes on the heels of Pelosi being booed at a major concert in New York and Jill Biden facing heckling at a Philadelphia Eagles game. All these incidents occurred in blue states. Things are not looking good for the Democrats this November.

Oct 21 2022

Another Appeals Court Finds Progressive Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Unconstitutional


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 20, 2022 | Sundance

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) was originally created by congress (Elizabeth Warren lead) as a quasi-constitutional watchdog agency to reach into the banking and financial system, under the guise of oversight, and extract money by fining entities for CFPB defined regulatory and/or compliance violations.

Essentially, the CFPB is a congressionally authorized far-left extortion scheme in the banking sector.  The CFPB levies fines; the fines generate income; however, unlike traditional fines that go to the U.S. treasury, the CFBP fines are then redistributed to left-wing organizations to help fund their political activism.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren as an outcome of the Dodd-Frank legislation. Within the CFPB Warren tried to set up the head of the agency, the Director, in a manner that that he/she would operate without oversight. Unfortunately, her dictatorial-fiat-design collapsed when challenged in court.  Backstory #1 – Backstory #2

Previously, a federal court found the CFPB Director position held too much power and deemed it unconstitutional. The court decision noted that giving the President power to fire the Director would fix the constitutional problem.  However, a second set of legal challenges targeted the core of the CFPB scheme, the financing.

WASHINGTON DC – An appeals court on Wednesday ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism is unconstitutional, in a victory for lenders that have targeted the agency’s structure in a years-long bid to tamp down regulation.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the design of the CFPB violated the Constitution because it receives funding through the Federal Reserve, rather than appropriations legislation passed by Congress. Democrats established the structure when they created the CFPB in the 2010 Dodd-Frank law as a way to shield the bureau from political pressures that could impact its oversight of the finance industry.

The judges also vacated a 2017 small-dollar lending rule targeted by the payday lending advocates who brought the case — the Community Financial Services Association of America and the Consumer Service Alliance of Texas.

“Congress’s decision to abdicate its appropriations power under the Constitution, i.e., to cede its power of the purse to the Bureau, violates the Constitution’s structural separation of powers,” the judges wrote.

The appeals court ruling marked the latest victory for the finance industry, which has fought for years in Congress and the courts to blunt the CFPB’s reach and limit its ability to police financial services. Republican lawmakers have also worked for years to stifle the CFPB and revamp its structure, arguing the agency lacks accountability.

“Even among self-funded agencies, the Bureau is unique,” Judge Cory Wilson wrote Wednesday. “The Bureau’s perpetual self-directed, double-insulated funding structure goes a significant step further than that enjoyed by the other agencies on offer.”

The CFPB Wednesday declined to say whether it would appeal the decision to the full 5th Circuit. CFPB spokesperson Sam Gilford said “there is nothing novel or unusual about Congress’s decision to fund the CFPB outside of annual spending bills.” (read more)

Here’s where we remind everyone of the importance of regular budget appropriations. There hasn’t been a standard federal budgetary spending process in place since 2008. Every budget since Obama’s first term has been a series of continuous resolutions, omnibus spending bills and appropriations without regular order.

This has not been an accidental outcome.

Oct 20 2022

Bill Gates Gives Up The Digital ID Game (Ep. 1870) – The Dan Bongino Show


The Dan Bongino Show originally Published on Rumble on October 11, 2022

This is a big deal if true!

Oct 20 2022

U.S. Military Rated ‘Weak’ For First Time



Newsmax TV Published originally on Rumble on October 19, 2022

James Carafano and Tony Shaffer join us to discuss the new Heritage Foundation report, which suggests America’s military is weak and will struggle to win a war.