Tag Archives: End of Free Speech

Aug 14 2023

Dating in America


From Armstrong Economics Posted Aug 14, 2023

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, You are so right about this country being totally screwed. I dated a girl three times. Everything seemed OK. We had similar goals and interests. Then I mentioned the Trump indictment. Suddenly, she just said, oh, you are a Trump supporter. The conversation turned cold, and suddenly, I saw a look of hatred in her eyes. It is an understatement to say I got the check, and that was it. I asked her about war and Biden’s Crime Family. The war was justified because Putin supported Trump. As for the Biden Crime Family, that was a right-wing conspiracy theory. There was nothing left to talk about.

I cannot say enough. Socrates has pegged our future correctly. There was no talking to her, even on a polite level. I do not see how this country can stand as one. We are too far gone. There is no basis for the compromise of you to leave me alone, and I leave you alone. They really do not tolerate even our existence. We have no right to disagree.

I just had to say my experience firsthand.

EK

REPLY: Perhaps you should lead with that – state your political belief FIRST. That appears to be the #1 criterion for dating anymore.

The media has spun such hatred. They think this is like a football game. They score a goal and win. This is real life. What they have done to America is no different from what they did to the Jews in Germany. They had their Kristallnacht, and we will see the same outcome here—wait for the 2024 election. Human nature can turn really violent.

Aug 14 2023

Biden Needs $24 Billion More for Ukraine


From Armstrong Economics Aug 14, 2023

The blank checks are never-ending. I speak of the economic impact Biden has had on our country daily. This war in Ukraine has simply been the largest money grab in recent history rivaling COVID. Biden is asking for another $24 billion in aid to Ukraine. At this point, it is nearly comical because most of us realize that Ukraine is going to ask for aid indefinitely, and our politicians willfully comply because that’s in their best interests as well. They’re going to keep the war and money wheel going. Everyone but the people are enjoying the spoils of needless war. No details on where the money will be spent and why our politicians are prioritizing foreign aid over domestic.

Weeks ago, the Pentagon reported that they lost $600 billion in aid to Ukraine over an accounting error. Every supposed check and balance is letting that slide because Biden and the Neocons have become unstoppable. House Republicans say they will not vote for more aid, but there are Neocons who WANT WAR on both sides.

Absolutely no one with a sane mind is voting to send their money to fight “Russian aggression.” Times are not what they used to be and we do not have a common enemy. We have never had a common enemy. US politicians are ignoring the $31.4 trillion in debt that they cannot pay off. Postponing the debt ceiling debate was one of the main reasons US debt was downgraded.

Not everyone living in Ukraine is in squalor. There is a reason all top officials casually travel there like the airport is JFK. This entire scheme of Ukraine is going to cause an uprising.

Aug 14 2023

British Lose Confidence in Banks


From Armstrong Economics Aug 14, 2023

Britain’s four largest banks have reported that clients have withdrawn £78 billion, marking the steepest bank run since 2018. NatWest, Barclays, Lloyds, and HSBC all reported significant withdrawals in the 12 months leading up to June 2023. Worsening matters, the House of Commons Treasury Committee accused the four banks of “blatant profiteering” and “squeezing higher profits from their loyal savings customers.” The people simply have lost confidence in the banks.

The Bank of England (BoE) all but admitted the UK was officially in a recession back in September 2022. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey stated there was nothing the central bank could do to prevent a recession at that stage. The central bank raised rates for the 14th time at its last meeting, bringing the borrowing rate to 5.25%, which marks the highest level since February 2008. Those with two-year mortgages have felt the pressure as the average fixed rate now sits at 6.85% compares to 3.95% last August. Bailey said “depending on what the evidence on the economy indicates, we might need to raise interest rates again but that’s not certain,” worsening confidence in the central bank.

The big four, as they are known, have passed their costs onto the consumers and then some. Unite analysis found in March 2023 that these institutions managed to profit an additional £7 billion due rising rates. Yet, the ONS found that households were spending 1.5 percentage points more on financial services, a cost that continues to rise. The financial sector is coming out as the winner in all of this as workers in the sector have seen their incomes nearly triple since 2021. Additionally, the big four have seen a 42% rise in profits since the pandemic and have been aided by government tax cuts.

Unite’s analysis concluded:

“Unite’s research shows how the banks have already made billions in extra profit from interest rate rises. If the MPC raises rates again they stand to gain even more. Banks treat these rises as a licence to pick the pockets of householders across Britain. “Unbridled profiteering is taking billions of pounds away from workers and communities and putting it into the hands of corporate Britain. Last year, the profits of the big four banks soared to an eye watering £33 billion.  Politicians need to wake up. It’s only by taking on runaway profiteering that we can end the cost of living crisis.”

Smart money is simply moving out of the banks. People are shopping around at smaller institutions that offer a competitive advantage and/or placing their money where it will not continue to decline in value. It will only become more expensive for consumers to keep their money in these institutions as rates rise since inflation is far from under control. So far, the banks are not worried about liquidity, but watch out if this becomes a trend.

Aug 14 2023

Americans Tapping into 401Ks amid Private Debt Crisis


From Armstrong Economics Posted Aug 14, 2023

Credit card balances in the US have surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, with balances up almost 20% from a year ago. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that total credit card debt stood at $986 billion in the first quarter of 2023, unchanged from the record hit at the end of 2022. The average credit card interest rate offered in the US over the last three months of 2022 stood at 21.6%, according to WalletHub, a jump from about 18% a year prior. Americans are now tapping into their retirement funds to make ends meet.

Hardship withdrawals allow employees to pull money out of their 401K for an “immediate and heavy financial need.” No one would recommend doing this unless the situation was dire. Bank of America reported that 15,950 employees enrolled in 401K programs made a hardship withdrawal during the first three months of 2023, a 36% rise from Q2 22. Individuals must show evidence that the money will be used for a major hardship in order to avoid the 10% early withdrawal fee imposed for those under 59.5.

It costs more money to borrow thanks to rising interest rates. The majority of Americans do not have money stashed away for a rainy day, and those who do are rapidly draining their accounts to keep up with Biden’s economy. The CPI report in June showed a rise of 3% YoY, but look around, absolutely everything is more expensive. Shelter costs have reached an all-time high and the price of food is on the rise, especially with wheat price manipulation going on using the war in Russia as a guise. Why are we sending hundreds of billions to a foreign nation when our own people cannot afford to live? The masses need to wakeup and get mad at their current predicament before the next election if we even have one.

Aug 13 2023

Land of the Free & Home of the Brave


Armstrong Economics Blog/CENSORSHIP Re-Posted Aug 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin,

For months now, I don’t receive about half of your blog emails, most of the time the ones that are politically the most sensitive.
For example, these last few days, I didn’t receive “Massachusetts residents… “ and “FBI carry out hit…”

Have a great day

P

REPLY: We are getting similar emails about Canada censorship. These are only stories reporting the news – not advocating an agenda.

Welcome to the land of the free and home of the brave – some restrictions may apply … void where prohibited. This has been the most popular T-Shirt we handed out at a WEC.

Aug 12 2023

London Riots


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Aug 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Hundreds of teenagers formed a mob and descended upon Regent Street in London after police issued a riot dispersal order at Oxford Street, as they were storming local stores and just looting everything. There has been a growing trend on social media calling for riots and looting in JD Sports. They shared posts on TikTok and Snapchat beginning the riots using the tag “Oxford Circus JD robbery.” There were even statements urging a “dress code” and a warning: “Don’t come if you can’t run. Don’t bring any weapons.”

Aug 12 2023

Devin Nunes – David Weiss is Another John Durham Protective Silo – The Deep State Operation Tracks Back to Obama Weaponizing Intel and DOJ


Posted originally on the CTH on August 11, 2023 | Sundance 

This interview segment is almost as if Devin Nunes reads here.  The former House Intel Committee chairman outlines the appointment of David Weiss as another DC silo creation similar in construct to John Durham. {Direct Rumble Link}

Obviously, Nunes is correct.  Additionally, as Nunes accurately outlines the entire weaponization process traces back to when Barack Obama took office and unleashed the apparatus of the intelligence agencies to target domestic political opposition.  At the same time, Obama’s AG Eric Holder created the DOJ National Security Division and then weaponized surveillance under the auspices of FARA and FISA Courts to target one side of the political dynamic.  WATCH:

Elevator Speech:

(1) The Patriot Act turned the intel surveillance radar from foreign searches for terrorists to domestic searches for terrorists.

(2) Obama/Biden then redefined what is a “terrorist” to include their political opposition.

The changed definitions continue through today.  The DHS partnership with Big Tech is an extension of the issue.  Thus, political opposition spreads “disinformation,” ergo the voice and content of the political opposition must be removed.  The targeting is one long continuum.

Aug 12 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Heading to Prison After Intimidating Key Witness Using Leaks to New York Times


Posted originally on the CTH on August 11, 2023 | Sundance 

Let’s see… We will trade you one SBF incarceration in exchange for one DJT incarceration and call it fair.

After a US judge in New York tells Sam Bankman-Fried he does not have unlimited first amendment rights, Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked bail and sent SBF to jail for using leaks to the media to intimidate a key federal witness against him – his former girlfriend.

Setting the stage for…

A US judge in DC telling President Donald John Trump he does not have unlimited first amendment rights; establishing the groundwork for sending DJT to jail for using his political platform to intimate Mike Pence, a key federal witness against him – his former Vice President.

Both of these things happened.  A narrative coincidence, I’m sure.

(Via NBC) – Sam Bankman-Fried will head to jail on Friday after a judge sided with a request by federal prosecutors to revoke the FTX founder’s bail over alleged witness tampering. Bankman-Fried will be remanded to custody directly from a court hearing in New York, where he will remain ahead of his criminal trial – which is due to begin on Oct. 2. 

Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Bankman-Fried’s request for delayed detention pending an appeal.

[…] In the motion requesting Bankman-Fried’s detention, the government said that, over the last several months, the defendant had sent over 100 emails to the media and had made over 1,000 phone calls to members of the press. The final straw, according to prosecutors, was Bankman-Fried leaking private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, to the New York Times. Ellison pleaded guilty to federal charges in Dec. 2022.

Ellison, who is also the former chief executive of Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, has been cooperating with the government since December and is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution. 

[…] The prosecution described the effort by Bankman-Fried – who faces several wire and securities fraud charges related to the alleged multibillion-dollar FTX fraud – as an attempt to discredit Ellison, characterizing it as a “means of indirect witness intimidation through the press.” 

It is an argument that proved sufficient to convince Judge Kaplan to send Bankman-Fried to jail ahead of his trial. (more)

Meanwhile in DC….

(Politico) – U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan warned Donald Trump and his attorney Friday that repeated “inflammatory” statements about his latest criminal prosecution would force her to speed his trial on charges related to his bid to subvert the 2020 election.

“I caution you and your client to take special care in your public statements about this case,” Chutkan told Trump lawyer John Lauro during a hearing. “I will take whatever measures are necessary to safeguard the integrity of these proceedings.”

Chutkan’s stark admonition came at the conclusion of her first courtroom session in the newest criminal case against the former president. The aim of the hearing was for special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors and Trump’s attorneys to hash out disputes about the handling of evidence in the case. Once Chutkan enters a so-called “protective order” governing evidence, prosecutors say they’re prepared to share millions of pages of documents with Trump’s team, jumpstarting the case and setting it on a path to trial.

But Chutkan, aware of the national spotlight on her oversight of the explosive case, repeatedly emphasized that she intended to keep politics out of the courtroom and treat Trump like any other criminal defendant. That included potential consequences if he makes statements that could be construed as harassing or threatening witnesses.

“The fact that he’s running a political campaign has to yield to the orderly administration of justice,” Chutkan said. “If that means he can’t say exactly what he wants to say about witnesses in this case, that’s how it has to be.”

“Even arguably ambiguous statements from parties or their counsel, if they can be reasonably interpreted to intimidate witnesses or to prejudice potential jurors, can threaten the process,” Chutkan added later. (read more)

Aug 12 2023

Here We Go – Garland and Weiss Throw Bag Over Hunter Biden Investigation with Declaration of Special Counsel Status


Posted originally on the CTH on August 11, 2023 | Sundance 

Oh, there will be voices who will proclaim this is the beginning of the end for Joe and Hunter, but that’s nonsense.  We don’t do pretending on these pages.  What happened today was an agreement between USAO David Weiss and US Attorney General Merrick Garland to fortify a silo of protection around the Biden family.

The shift in David Weiss from an investigative US Attorney to an officially appointed Special Counsel [SEE pdf HERE], is nothing more than loading the new color spray paint into the cannister.  Pesky House Oversight Committee inquiry now hits the block of an “ongoing investigation,” a purposeful deployment of a DC replay we have seen repeatedly in the last several years.  The cancer of corruption is institutionally metastatic.

We know the specific motives of USAO David Weiss as a result of the conflict between his public statements, letters to congress and the private statements he gave in meetings with IRS investigators.  Toward the public, Weiss said he had full autonomy and power to investigate Hunter Biden; however, in private he told four investigators the decision-making was not his.  The public statements were refuted and affirmed by two investigators who were witness to his private statements and gave testimony under oath.

As a result, the intent and institutional alignment of David Weiss is clear. This is the cold hard truth of the matter, and it will not change regardless of how much disingenuous concrete they pour around the walls of the silo Main Justice has built.  Ignore any voice who would demand us to pretend the reality is not self-evident.

Here’s the SILO as presented by Garland:

Dept of Justice – “Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss to serve as Special Counsel for the ongoing investigation and prosecutions referenced and described in United States v. Robert Hunter Biden, as well as for any other matters that arose or may arise from that investigation. Mr. Weiss was nominated by the former president in 2017 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2018. In 2021, he was asked to remain as U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, where he led this ongoing investigation. On Tuesday, Aug. 8, Mr. Weiss requested to be appointed as Special Counsel, and today the Attorney General made that appointment.

“On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Weiss advised me that in his judgment, his investigation has reached a stage at which he should continue his work as a Special Counsel, and he asked to be so appointed,” said Attorney General Garland. “Upon considering his request, as well as the extraordinary circumstances relating to this matter, I have concluded it is in the public interest to appoint him as Special Counsel. This appointment confirms my commitment to provide Mr. Weiss all the resources he requests. It also reaffirms that Mr. Weiss has the authority he needs to conduct a thorough investigation and to continue to take the steps he deems appropriate independently, based only on the facts and the law.”

The Attorney General also said, “As Special Counsel, he will continue to have the authority and responsibility that he has exercised previously to oversee the investigation and decide where, when, and whether to file charges. The Special Counsel will not be subject to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the Department, but he must comply with the regulations, procedures, and policies of the Department … Today’s announcement affords the prosecutors, agents, and analysts working on this matter the ability to proceed with their work expeditiously, and to make decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law … I am confident that Mr. Weiss will carry out his responsibility in an even-handed and urgent matter, and in accordance with the highest traditions of this Department.” (more)

Aug 11 2023

Massachusetts Residents Asked to House Illegal Migrants


Armstrong Blog/Immigration Re-Posted Aug 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Our politicians have absolutely no idea how to handle the massive wave of migrants sweeping the nation and are proposing brain-dead solutions. Massachusetts is the latest state to declare a state of emergency due to the “rapidly rising numbers of migrant families” seeking shelter. By state law, they must accept and house families who qualify. Governor Maura Healey said that over 100 illegal aliens PER DAY applied in July, and she is now asking the people to personally house migrants in their homes.

Taxpayers in Massachusetts are footing a $45 million monthly bill to house 5,600 migrant families. Healey said that the state simply cannot keep up with the demand and noted that most of these people are unable to work legally and have no other resource besides US tax dollars. These people who trespassed into the country cannot obtain licenses to drive or earn a paycheck and will require full sponsorship from you in addition to your tax dollars. Of course, there have been no background checks on these people either since no one knows who they are or where they came from. There are currently 20,000 migrants throughout MA, with shelter capacity expanding by 80% in the past year.

“If you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Safe housing and shelter is our most pressing need,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said. So, they know most Americans are in a tight financial situation right now. Our right to self-defense is limited, if not void. But these politicians think we should willingly open our doors to complete strangers to solve the crisis they created. Let us also not forget a few years ago, we were unable to host our own family members in our homes due to the risk of disease. We were encouraged to drive by and wave at our loved ones from the window during the holidays.

The politicians who promoted America as a sanctuary country should lead by example and allow these people to stay in their mansions. Send the buses to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and let them set up an encampment on the lawn. They certainly have a few extra rooms to spare. Our constitution prevents us from housing soldiers, but does it protect us from housing migrants if they push this through by force? Will they soon offer our tax dollars to financially desperate people as a bribe to host illegal migrants? Ridiculous and dangerous. America has been invaded.