Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 536 Comments

Team-One (State Dept, CIA, Intel Community) continue to pummel Team-Two (Biden, WH, Pentagon, NSC) with leaks to media.

After Joe Biden delivered his speech to the nation claiming no-one saw the collapse of the Afghan government coming, the intel group leak the transcript and recording of a July 23rd phone call between Biden and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani showing everything Biden said today was a lie.

(Reuters) – […] Reuters reviewed a transcript of the presidential phone call and has listened to the audio to authenticate the conversation. The materials were provided on condition of anonymity by a source who was not authorized to distribute it.

[…] In much of the call, Biden focused on what he called the Afghan government’s “perception” problem. “I need not tell you the perception around the world and in parts of Afghanistan, I believe, is that things are not going well in terms of the fight against the Taliban,” Biden said. “And there is a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.”

[…] In a follow-up call later that day that did not include the U.S. president, Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, General Mark Milley and U.S. Central Command commander General Frank McKenzie spoke to Ghani. Reuters also obtained a transcript of that call.

In this call, too, an area of focus was the global perception of events on the ground in Afghanistan. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Ghani “the perception in the United States, in Europe and the media sort of thing is a narrative of Taliban momentum, and a narrative of Taliban victory. And we need to collectively demonstrate and try to turn that perception, that narrative around.”

“I do not believe time is our friend here. We need to move quickly,” McKenzie added.

A spokesperson for McKenzie declined to comment. A spokesman for Milley did not respond by publication time.  (read more)

Whoops…

Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 211 Comments

During the White House press briefing today, the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki once again made the claim that no one could foresee the rapid collapse of the Afghan government.  That claim is the White House narrative, and despite the evidence to the contrary they are sticking to it… because a stunningly incurious media is allowing them to.

When questioned about the incompetence of the Biden administration not seeing the Afghan government collapse, Jen Psaki said today: “I don’t think anyone assessed that they would collapse as quickly as they did. Anyone — anyone in this room, anyone anywhere in the world,” Psaki responded, “If you have anyone who did I would be surprised.”

This continued White House claim is disputed by evidence provided by both the intelligence community and internal cables from the U.S.  State Department. Let’s review; first ABC:

ABC NEWS – […]  U.S. officials tell ABC News that the opposite was true, insisting that key intelligence assessments had consistently informed policymakers that the Taliban could overwhelm the country and take the capital within weeks. […] “[U.S.] leaders were told by the military it would take no time at all for the Taliban to take everything,” an anonymous U.S. intelligence official told ABC News. “No one listened.” (read more)

Then there was the internal State Department cables from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, dated July 13th:

WSJ – […]  The classified cable represents the clearest evidence yet that the administration had been warned by its own officials on the ground that the Taliban’s advance was imminent and Afghanistan’s military may be unable to stop it. […] In all, 23 U.S. Embassy staffers, all Americans, signed the July 13 cable, the two people said. The U.S. official said there was a rush to deliver it, given circumstances on the ground in Kabul.  The cable was sent to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmed. Mr. Blinken received the cable and reviewed it shortly after receipt, according to the person familiar with the exchange. (read more)

Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 619 Comments

The installed occupant of the White House is scheduled to deliver remarks today attempting to take a victory lap for his efforts in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  It is highly doubtful he will take questions, because he cannot defend his decision-making which led to the death of 13 U.S. marines and service members.

The effort to distract, obfuscate, cast blame toward others and deny accountability is scheduled to begin at 2:45pm ET with livestream links below:

White House Livestream – Fox Business Livestream –  Alternate Livestream Link

Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 153 Comments

Despite the media trying to cover for it, obfuscate it and deny it, there is tremendous anger in this nation toward Joe Biden and his conduct in office.  When contrast against the lost American service members in Afghanistan, the aforementioned “cold anger” is quickly becoming a rage.  I have not seen this level of focused anger before.

Earlier today, the family of Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum appeared on Fox News to discuss their meeting with Biden and why some of them chose to decline meeting with the installed occupant of the White House.   Their grief is heartbreaking, understandable, but also very reflective of a current sense in our nation right now.

No words….

Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 85 Comments

The latest measure of consumer confidence [Data Here] reflects a continued trend, and the index drops well below expectations.  The Consumer Confidence Survey is a monthly report detailing “consumer attitude, buying intentions, vacation plans and consumer expectation for inflation, stock prices and interest rates.”

The index now stands at 113, a drop from last month when it was 125.  The decline in confidence is an outcome of workers and consumers feeling the impact of massive inflation from Joe Biden economic and monetary policies.   With gas and food prices climbing rapidly, it should not be a shock to see consumer confidence begin dropping; however, the financial analysts were caught off guard by the unexpected size of the drop.

According to Marketwatch, “Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a reading of 123.1”, a drop to 113 is a much more severe change in consumer confidence than expected.   The economists who get this stuff wrong repeatedly are inside the echo-chamber of Wall Street and the financial class.  There is a disconnect between those analysts and the real economy on Main Street; that’s why they are always surprised.

Inflation is eating at the middle-class on serious checkbook issues.  All of the COVID stimulus and relief funds targeting the working class are being eaten up by the inflation those policies create.  It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.   As we have noted in prior data, consumer spending for durable goods has completely dropped.

“Spending intentions for homes, autos, and major appliances all cooled somewhat; however, the percentage of consumers intending to take a vacation in the next six months continued to climb.” (link)

Unfortunately, this trend will likely continue as ‘real wages‘ (wage growth minus inflation) continue to drop.

Energy costs are high and climbing; food costs are high and climbing; gasoline costs are high and climbing… as this continues it has a negative impact on all types of consumer spending, including durable goods and housing.   This is Obamanomics all over again, only now it is JoeBamanomics.

Posted originally on the conservative three house on August 31, 2021 | Sundance | 140 Comments

President Trump sat down for an extensive hour long interview with Dan Ball the host of ‘Real America’ on OAN.   Within the interview, President Trump discusses all of the current issues facing our nation beginning with the Afghanistan mess.  The interview is in five segments.

Segment One – Direct Rumble Link

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Segment Two – Direct Rumble Link

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Segment Three – Direct Rumble Link

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Segment Four – Direct Rumble Link

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Segment Five – Direct Rumble Link

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Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 30, 2021 | Sundance | 282 Comments

As the chaotic operation to rescue Americans and allies from Afghanistan ends, the Biden administration pushes Secretary of State Anthony Blinken toward the microphones to make a statement.   The anticipated statement is scheduled to begin between 6:30pm and 7:00pm ET.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarks on the situation in Afghanistan from the Department of State’s Treaty Room. U.S. forces have completed their evacuation from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war.  Update: Video Added

State Dept Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream Link – Global News Livestream Link