Tag Archives: Mitch McConnell

Jul 4 2023

Are you Still Proud to be an American?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 4, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Once upon a time, being an American and traveling overseas, you had this persona like some halo around your head, and you were actually proud to be an American. When my father took me to Europe for the summer in 1964, I had Kennedy half dollars. When people saw I had one, they would forget the bill and settle for just a 50-cent coin. I remember telling my father we should have brought rolls of the new coin with us.

I was in Berlin and looking at the machine gun bullet marks on a concrete wall. An old German guy approached me and yelled – You did that! That incident stuck with me. I came to understand that there were always two views, and what he was expressing was his support for the nationalism of Germany, not actually the policies of Hitler. As they say, history is written by the victor. Both sides always commit atrocities in a war. That is just the nature of war itself.

Years later, I was in Hiroshima. Given the civilian deaths, I was perhaps embarrassed at first to be an American in that city. Yet an old Japanese lady approached me, noticing that I was an American, and apologized to me for her government forcing the United States to have dropped the bomb. I was stunned.

What is unfolding currently is that Americans I know in Europe are being tainted by the likes of warmongers such as Lindsey Graham, who always promotes war and interventionism in international affairs. As we celebrate our Independence Day, Gallup’s recent poll reveals that pride in being American has now plummeted to a historic record low. According to Gallup, indicates that only 39% of Americans consider themselves “extremely proud” to be American. When I was in London, even the Brits liked celebrating the 4th of July. Those days seem to be declining.

Speaking to European friends, they may try to avoid the subject entirely. This is the problem with the Neocons. They paint all Americans with this hatred. In turn, they get people to gate all Russians applying the image of Putin to everyone there. The truth is, the average American and Russian could care less about international objectives. They want to get by and provide for their families. The words of Goring on how to manipulate the people are words we should never forget, for all governments will seek to engage in propaganda to manipulate the people.

Jul 4 2023

Did the Supreme Court Properly Rule in Moore v Harper?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

There will be repercussions from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that rejected a GOP-led effort to change federal election rules through the “independent state legislature theory” (ISL). In Moore v. Harper, the Court voted 6-3 on Tuesday to reject the ISL theory, which claims that an election clause in the Constitution gives state legislature authority to control federal elections through gerrymandering electoral maps and passing laws that could harm voter rights.

This ISL legal theory argues that the Constitution of the United States delegates authority to regulate federal elections within a state to that state’s elected lawmakers without any checks and balances from state courts, governors, or any other bodies with legislative power, which would include independent commissions and even constitutional conventions. This theory has been interpreted from two clauses found in the Constitution – Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 (The Elections Clause) and Article II, Section 1, Clause 2.

Article I, Section 4: Clause 1  Elections

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

A plain reading of this language would support that the state legislatures have discretion. However, it then states that Congress “may at any time” alter those regulations by passing legislation that would then need to be signed by the President.

Article II, Section 1, Clause 2: Presidential Electors Clause

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

The phrase “the Legislature thereof” in both the Electors Clause and the Elections Clause is interpreted under ISL to refer specifically to a state’s elected representative body, not other parts of the state government. The issue at hand in Moore v. Harper was filed after North Carolina’s Supreme Court struck down a congressional map drawn in the GOP-led state legislature over alleged gerrymandering. During oral arguments at the Supreme Court, it was presented that the state court violated the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause when it overturned the map citing the ISL theory that state legislatures have more authority than state courts and state constitutions regarding federal elections.

Since the Supreme Court rejected this ISL theory, the way the law is twisted can create problematic alternatives. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito dissented in this case. The majority wrote:

“Elections Clause does not vest exclusive and independent authority in state legislatures to set the rules regarding federal elections…[and] does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.” 

While the decision, on the surface, avoids giving partisan legislatures power to shape election laws, it can still present a REAL CONFLICT WITHIN THE SEPARATION OF POWERS. It effectively hands the sole decision in such matters to the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to decide on election disputes. This may lead to even more disputes leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

JUSTICE THOMAS, with whom JUSTICE GORSUCH joins, and with whom JUSTICE ALITO joined in dissenting, makes a very important point.

As a corollary of that basic constitutional principle, the Court “is without power to decide
moot questions or to give advisory opinions which cannot affect the rights of the litigants in the case before it.” St.
Pierre v. United States, 319 U. S. 41, 42 (1943) (per curiam). To do so would be to violate “the oldest and most consistent
thread in the federal law of justiciability.” Flast v. Cohen, 392 U. S. 83, 96 (1968) (internal quotation marks omitted).

The opinion that the Court releases today breaks that thread. It “affirms” an interlocutory state-court judgment
that has since been overruled and supplanted by a final judgment resolving all claims in petitioners’ favor. The issue on which it opines—a federal defense to claims already
dismissed on other grounds—can no longer affect the judgment in this litigation in any way. As such, the question is
indisputably moot, and today’s majority opinion is plainly advisory. Because the writ of certiorari should be dismissed, I respectfully dissent.

I believe that the majority went out of its way to reject the ISL theory and decided to hear this case that truly did not warrant review. This was yet another overreach of Judicial Power, which seems to be what this was all about – expanding the Judicial Power. This may be highly problematic when the 2024 election takes place. Is the Court setting itself up for an election it knows will be problematic in and of itself?

In Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 1 Cranch 137 137 (1803), it was the first time the Supreme Court struck down an Act of Congress as unconstitutional. This was the case that established the Judicial Power stating that it was emphatically the duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is.

Article III, Section 2: 
The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;–to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;–to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;–to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;–to Controversies between two or more States;– between a State and Citizens of another State;–between Citizens of different States;–between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

Since the case was no longer in a controversy, this is why the dissent of Justice Thomas was correct and it appears that the Court simply wanted to decide the ISL Theory.

Jul 3 2023

Malaria is Back – Thank Bill Gates and Oxitec


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Cases of malaria have emerged in the US for the first time in 20 years. The timing could not be better as they are planning to release a new mRNA vaccine to combat malaria. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Oxitec, a biotech company, a large grant to develop genetically modified mosquitos. They are making us sick and profiting on providing us with a cure.

In April 2021, the Gates Foundation announced that 150,000 mosquitoes would be released throughout Florida. Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species known to carry infectious diseases, was set to be released in mid-2021 in both Texas and Florida. The braindead idea was that these mosquitos, although deadly to humans, cannot reproduce and therefore would eliminate the mosquito population. The number of diseased mosquitos set for release continues to increase. In August of 2020, CNN reported that 750 MILLION diseased mosquitoes were set to be released in the Florida Keys. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is utterly useless and agreed to this mass experiment without analyzing the risks. Governor Ron DeSantis did nothing to prevent these GMO insects from infecting Floridians.

Oxtitec is calling this experiment “Friendly Mosquito Technology.” The company “anticipates” that it will not post a risk to animals, people, or the environment. The government, CDC, WHO, FDA, EPA, and every corrupt government agency funded with tax dollars to protect the public is allowing this to take place.

“During these field tests, Oxitec will release into the environment male mosquitoes genetically modified to carry a protein that will inhibit the survival of their female offspring when they mate with wild female mosquitoes. The male offspring will survive to become fully functional adults with the same genetic modification, providing multi-generational effectiveness that could ultimately lead to a reduction in Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in the release areas. EPA anticipates that this could be an effective tool to combat the spread of certain mosquito-borne diseases like the Zika virus in light of growing resistance to current insecticides.”

Gates funded the largest mosquito-growing facility in the world. A two-story building in Medellín, Colombia, is producing 30 million modified mosquitos per week. They are dropping eggs packed in gelatin capsules into the water to hatch, as well as releasing fully grown adult mosquitos into the air.

The government is permitting Gates to use the population as his test subjects. Every government agency has approved of this method, swearing up and down it is safe. Now we have a resurgence of a deadly disease not seen in the US for two decades. Where is the outrage?

Jul 3 2023

Aspartame Deemed Carcinogenic


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The World Health Organization is set to label aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic.” If the FDA or USDA actually considers labeling something as “possibly carcinogenic,” you know it’s bad. They let us eat and drink actual poison to improve their bottom line. Aspartame is an artificial sugar that is allegedly 200 times sweeter than the natural product. The FDA, European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, and UK Food Standards Agency and Cancer Research ALL approved the use of aspartame in independent studies. It was marketed as a sugar-free weight loss supplement, but that also proved to be false.

“Replacing free sugars with NSS [non-sugar sweetener] does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety. “NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.”

Aspartame is in everything from diet sodas, gum, energy drinks, candies, and even sold in pure form under the brands Sugar Twin and Equal. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that the gastrointestinal tract hydrolyzed and absorbed aspartame, releasing aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine. The liver oxidizes the methanol to formaldehyde than again to formic acid. Both methanol and formaldehyde are toxic to liver cells. Aspartame has also been linked to neurological disorders such as neuropsychiatric reactions such as headaches, convulsions, and depression.

Healthcare is big business, and they are profiting from keeping the population sick. Let’s see which health agencies ban aspartame in the food supply. It is no coincidence that mental and physical ailments are on the rise despite advancements in modern medicine. Consumers deserve to be aware of what they are unwillingly consuming.

Jul 3 2023

$200 Billion in COVID-19 Funding Missing


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

What the hell is the US government doing with our tax dollars? We just heard that the Pentagon managed to misplace $600 billion in funds to Ukraine. They simply have no idea where $600 billion wandered off to and are not investigating. Now, a watchdog group revealed that over $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds also went M.I.A.

We already knew paycheck protection funding was widely abused. But an inspector general from the US Small Business Administration now believes AT LEAST 17% of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were “disbursed to fraudulent actors.” Fraud estimates for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans reached $136 billion, or 33% of the entire program. Then it is estimated that an additional $64 billion was stolen from Paycheck Protection Fraud.

Government agents deny mass fraud. They say that the recent report “contains serious flaws that significantly overestimate fraud and unintentionally mislead the public to believe that the work we did together had no significant impact in protecting against fraud.” The problem here is that this is the money of the American people. In less than two weeks, the US government just announced they lost nearly a trillion due to bad actors and/or accounting errors. We deserve a complete overhaul of government accounting and a thorough investigation into where these funds went. Chalking it up to an accounting error or being duped is not sufficient. They need to tell the people exactly how they are spending our money, especially since they continually ask for more each year while providing nothing in return.

Jul 3 2023

Sunday Talks, Former DNI John Ratcliffe Points Out the Obvious DOJ Corruption in the Hunter Biden Case


Posted originally on the CTH on July 3, 2023 | Sundance 

Former Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, appears on Fox News to point out the obvious inconsistencies with the claims by the DOJ in their effort to protect Hunter Biden and the Biden family from investigations.

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Jul 3 2023

Representative Byron Donalds Tells Townhall Audience an Important Point…


Posted originally on the CTH on July 2, 2023 | Sundance 

Representative Byron Donalds (MAGA – SWFL) brings an important point to the audience at a local townhall.  The issue of institutional corruption, and the total lack of faith and confidence in the institutions of our government, are at the forefront of the electorate.  Representative Donalds is challenged about the intent of the MAGA republican legislators and what must be done about the transparency of corruption we all witness and know to exist.

During his response, Donalds notes a key distinction.  The MAGA coalition saw what the 2010 Tea Party conservatives went through. The MAGA coalition saw and sees what President Trump has gone through.  The MAGA coalition is delivering a message to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others, that those who stand on the principles of anti-corrupt influence are not concerned with the perks, benefits, affluence and legislative influence that DC uses to diminish their opposition.

As noted by Donalds sharing his discussions with Kevin McCarthy, the MAGA coalition is in place -in their face- to effect change and remove the corruption, not participate in the process to give the illusion of change.  WATCH:

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Jul 1 2023

Tucker Carlson Steps Back Through the Looking Glass to Discuss Admiral Rachael Levine on the Other Side


Posted originally on the CTH on July 1, 2023 | Sundance 

Unfortunately, Tucker Carlson has chosen the Twitter platform as the outlet for his monologue broadcasts. Twitter is now restricting viewers of the platform to only registered user accounts. As a result, Carlson’s message is now restricted by DHS monitors as the audience is filtered.

However, if you enjoy the Carlson discussions, several people are transferring the content onto shareable platforms that do not have Homeland Security restrictive oversight and direct FBI and Intelligence Community control mechanisms. {Direct Rumble Link}

[NOTE: Disclaimer – CTH remains inside the DHS system to throw sand into the machinery, because “NUTS”!]

Jul 1 2023

DeSantis Campaign Goes Full Westboro Baptist Church in Raving Campaign Ad Against Gays…


Posted originally on The CTH on July 1, 2023 | Sundance 

People are trying to figure out exactly what the DeSantis campaign were thinking when they created what appears to be an attack ad against Donald Trump, gay people and a host of others.  [published on twitter] It’s really quite a wild story.

Following on the heels of Ron DeSantis saying he intends to start shooting Mexicans at the southern border, a policy position -I might add- that reveals the uniparty agenda because the media completely ignore it, the DeSantis team now release a video highlighting their anger and hatred toward gays, lesbians and Donald Trump.

The video [see below] highlights how President Trump defended the LGBTQ community against targeting by identified Muslim hate groups.  The video is supposed to present Trump’s policy about gay people as a negative against Donald Trump. The video then evolves into a weird production of Ron DeSantis as the destroyer of gay people.

The ad is even more bizarre when you think about all the time and energy Ron DeSantis put into denying the Florida law against sexualizing children was really a “don’t say gay law.”

This might have sounded good in the echo-chamber of a toxic media network organized by Christina Pushaw, but the end result is something that only makes the campaign look more ridiculous.   See Tweet Video below:

Jul 1 2023

First Details Surface – Fox News Owner Rupert Murdoch Paid Ron DeSantis at Least $1.25 Million For Election Effort Book Deal


Posted originally on the CTH on July 1, 2023 | Sundance 

The details are starting to surface, but something is still sketchy.  According to required state financial disclosure filings, Ron DeSantis is reporting an additional $1.25 million in income from Rupert Murdoch’s publishing house Harper Collins.

However, given the fact that Megyn Kelly was paid $10 million by Rupert Murdoch for her 2016 effort to remove Donald Trump, the $1.25 million being reported by Ron DeSantis doesn’t fit. [Unless there are going to be a series of payments.] Additionally, according to the Florida financial disclosure rules, this income report is for last year, 2022. “the financial disclosure is due July 1 of each year for the preceding calendar year.” (link)

(Via Politico) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took home $1.25 million from his publisher for writing a book he released in February, according to a state financial disclosure filed Friday.

The book money is the first additional stream of income beyond his government salary that DeSantis has reported since he won election to lead Florida in 2018. (read more)

By now everyone is well aware how books are used as laundering and payment mechanisms for politicians, media influencers and people in positions of power. The entire book deal dynamic in politics is just another way to skirt campaign finance and laws on limits for contributions.

Given the nature of the stakes at play in combination with the scale of money being thrown around by billionaires, Wall Street and multinational corporations, I highly doubt that Ron DeSantis was only paid $1.25 million for his book. It just doesn’t pass the commonsense sniff test.

We will not know until July 1, 2024, how much income Ron DeSantis received in 2023.

All the suspicious cats remain, well, suspicious….