Armstrong Economics Blog/Tyranny Re-Posted Jan 8, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

Google has just banned Parlar App and Apple has declared it will do the same giving them 24 hours. Twitter’s permanent ban on Trump shows that it is by no means a mere platform but is a political agenda in and of itself. Facebook has also banned Trump. For all the community guidelines are just a smokescreen. They are determined to try to prevent him from ever running for anything again or to use the internet to organize even a 3rd party. Meanwhile, the House will move to impeach Trump on Monday in a move to discredit him and all those who voted for him.

There are reports that thousands of conservatives have their accounts being deleted in a wholesale purge even if they had nothing to do with the siege of Congress. As I have warned, to me, this is the fault of the Supreme Court. It was their duty to rule was there evidence or not – plain and simple. Had they only ruled, this NEVER would have happened and that is assuming it was only Trump supporters while others are saying Antifa led the charge. If there was no evidence – just say so! But no. The courts are there to PREVENT violence. Refusing to rule, I have warned, leaves the only solution is violence. Just look at history! This is the very purpose of courts to ensure that civilization is maintained – i.e. remaining “civil” rather than violent.

Under all socialist/Marxism revolutions, the very first thing that goes is free speech. Next comes the loss of the freedom of movement – papers, please! The final stage is simply total oppression/surveillance and turning everyone against each other to prevent uprisings – see something say something. They are using Trump to simply demoralize all conservatives so they can have a free hand on Capitol Hill. Republicans will be intimidated to now support the Democrats and if they oppose, they will be painted with the same brush.

The future will not be anything resembling the past. The restraints upon free speech are politically motivated. They will now seek to suppress all opposition. We are looking at serious implications for the markets, capital flows, and the very future of all our freedoms, rights, privileges, and immunities. The Republicans will offer little opposition moving forward.

There is now a mad rush to abandon Google for DuckDuckGo.

I do not believe that at this stage there will be ANY Federal Court that will EVER rule in favor of the Constitution v any measures that will be submitted. The courts have gotten their example from the Supreme Court. The rule of law is finished. They will use the siege of the capital to silence any conservative and declare all such people who voted for Trump are suspect. They will keep this narrative in the main press the same as they kept the 911 scenarios suppressed.

All we need to do is look to Boris Johnson in England. He has delivered a blunt ultimatum – obey him or people will die. There is no debt anymore.

In this atmosphere, just where we put assets and investment will be a difficult decision, to say the least. We need to Turn to Socrates for this one.

Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on January 8, 2021 by Sundance

First things first…. It is important to identify protection and favor when it surfaces.  CTH is not only thankful for our ability to be faithful stewards to our community, but at this specific inflection point we are thankful to God for his providence.  CTH stands steadfast!

Was it not for the notification and deplatforming in November, and the inspired members of the Rebel Alliance that came to our aid, we may not have survived the past 24 hours.

Thank you.  We are humble and steadfast to our mission.  Ever faithful.

To the larger CTH community, we are fortunate to have an anti-fragile system in place to withstand the deplatforming currently underway by Big Tech.  So-far, so-good, fingers crossed.

Two recent features are interconnected.  (1) There is now an internal flagging system in the comment section to draw attention to content that is outside guidelines.  (2) Admins now have enhanced moderation tools to intercept that content.

With the enhanced focus of Big Tech to find justification, including in the comment sections of websites, to take down voices of the Rebel Alliance – it is unfortunately critical that we hold strong filters in place for tone and comment content at the moment.

As a reminder, here are the general guidelines for comments:

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD – and the full text of any discussion thread you wish to participate in.

Skipping to the comments to express an opinion without reading the content of the discussion is not helpful.

Often, unfortunately quite often, we find many of the points injected into comments are already outlined in the construct of the thread itself; questions asked while the answers are in the primary post.

2.) STAY ON TOPIC – please do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is a ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein, it is actually quite rude.

The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school‘ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community.

3.) NARROW YOUR THOUGHTS – Quality beats quantity. Please construct your comments to target specific areas and not broad generalizations about the discussion topic at hand. If you have four or five disconnected points, break them up into individual comments.

4.) AVOID GENERALIZATIONS – Do NOT speak in riddles. Words like “he, she, they, it, them” should rarely be used. Spell out “who” using the name, spell out who “they” are at the beginning of every sentence in your paragraph; so that there is clarity as to who you are talking about. Avoid using acronyms.

5.) BLOCK PARAGRAPHS – Do not post huge blocks of text. Think of the reader, and modify your presentation for understanding, not for exclaiming. Do not write to yourself, you are writing to others, so please structure your thoughts so other people can grasp and enjoy. NEVER post massive blocks of text without paragraph breaks.  In the current comment system hit the return twice to put two lines between your paragraphs; when the comment posts it will only show on space.

Do not post huge blocks of text

6.) PARAGRAPHS – Should NEVER be longer than two or three sentences taking up three to five standard lines of text. Again, you are writing to be understood, the emphasis should be on the reader comprehending what you are sharing.

Do not post huge blocks of text

7.) SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION – This is not school and we do not demerit for poor spelling, nor do we allow anyone to call others out for the same. However, if your construct is too poorly written the context is lost and important details can be missed. Read the comment carefully before you send it. Proofread it again. Does it make sense?

8.) TIME – Everyone ‘s time is valuable. Many of our discussion threads are 500 to 1,000+ comments long. We try to limit the comments to 500 and then post another related thread, but with some research threads it is challenging to do so because we do not want to break a continuity.

9) CITATIONS – There’s a big difference between an opinion and an assertion of fact. Feel free to provide opinions; however, if you are making an assertion of fact you must attach a citation for review. If you do not have a citation – don’t post; this avoids spreading rumors, gossip and unfounded claims.  Also related, do not post links without an explanation of the reason, purpose and content that is behind the link.

10.) THOUSANDS ARE WATCHING – For every person writing a comment, there are easily hundreds of thousands of reading lurkers on every discussion thread. There are thousands of CTH readers and a community reach of well over 15 million/mo. Do not write anything you would not say in your own living room. Do not disparage our conversation with vulgarity, profanity, or any expressions of any “ism”.

11.) MODERATION / FILTERING THE HATE – Because of our honest approach at seeking facts and truth, and openly discussing various analytical theories along the way, we are bombarded by those with ulterior motives which include:

• Intentional efforts to distract
• Intentional diatribes to affix labels to our objectives
• Intentional expressions of rabid hate, vulgarity, and threats.
• Trolling and professional obfuscation.
• Concern Trolling as a tool of distraction and derailing conversation.
• Psy-ops and intentional efforts to diminish fact-finding.

We do our earnest best to stop the agenda-horde at the moderation gates, however sometimes they get through. If you see something untoward say something. When a new comment surfaces that we view is likely presented only to argue, we watch carefully – but we also are not perfect. You can help. Feel free to flag or alert us via email.

12.) MANNERS MATTER – Simple kindnesses and courtesy should always be present in tone and content. When writing, ask yourself before you hit send: does this add value?

13.) NO PERSONAL ATTACKS – Ever. The fastest way to lose commenting privileges is to ridicule, bully or personally attack another person’s opinion or comment. Unfortunately people, often good people, let their passion interfere with good manners and personal judgement. If you cannot be polite or respectful, pause – and – do not comment.

14.) TONE and HONESTY – Often the information and research CTH provides are about challenges we face and/or events that are hidden from larger review. It can be frustrating to see the scale of corruption; however, only you control how that information is absorbed by you. The truth doesn’t care about our feelings. Try to keep an even keel and optimistic disposition.

15.) DEVICES – It is a reality that many people use their phones to browse information and/or comment. Cellular phones and iPads are okay for reading, but also present challenges in commenting. Please make every effort to avoid the run-on issue of text from these devices. Put extra spaces in your paragraphs. Also remember your service provider (ISP) may have filters to limit the websites they permit you to view. It’s not CTH, nine out of ten issues are related to your service provider. This issue is worse in 2020 for obvious reasons.

We are working to build-out enhancements to the current platform that will make phone and tablet users have a better experience while retaining the overall theme.

SUMMARY: The Tree House community has historically accomplished a lot. Through exhaustive research and analysis our accuracy and reputation for truthful fact-finding, regardless of where it leads, is well regarded. Retain that distinction of intellectual armament.

We are The Conservative Tree House, not because of political affiliation, but rather because the word “conservative” expresses our outlook. We would rather be deep, than wide; we would rather be honest, than popular; we avoid semantics in favor of accurately presenting both intention and meaning.

We are bold in our willingness to go into conversational places where others do not, and we are brave enough to stand firm for principles which are time tested.

We would rather advertise our outlook, so the viewer can understand our perspective on a particular subject, than deceptively claim we are something else and deliver an inherently biased view. The entire spectrum of the MSM is based on the latter.

Every reader knows where we stand on any given issue, and our opinions -while they may be unpopular- are based on solid research and analytical insight into the subject matter at hand. This is why our predictive analysis is routinely more accurate than others.

Lastly, this Treehouse is a conversation. Hopefully, just like sitting on a porch with friends. Because the “conversation” is the ends and not the means, this approach inherently means YOU are important; do not diminish yourself:

[Remember] …”However each of us got here, it’s probably a fact that we have the turmoil of those storms in common, perhaps some unease that we could share and always, we also find fresh ground to cover from day to day.

We’re developing valuable relationships as we trust one another in our community in the woods. The chatting in the branches encourages, strengthens and equips for some serious walking.

We think the Treehouse is a good intellectual armory for those who doing long distance walking for the sake of our nation. We hope you’ll think so, too. Find yourself a good branch….or just pull up a rock to the campfire”.

Wolverines faithfully patrol the perimeter.

Humor is good way to avoid fear. Be kind and please be respectful… Manners really do matter… after all, this is a fellowship.  We are stewards.  The Rebel Alliance is strong.

Throughout history large armies have been defeated through the process of division.

It is not a leap to see the same strategic objectives being deployed against social assemblies, on-line communities, and even religious congregations.

The bond of fellowship is needed more than ever.

Each of us has a different connection to our community. Each of us has a different level of internal strength… such is the nature of living. However, the distance between people is manifestly not a good outcome when combined with the lack of food for the soul.

The control mechanisms of social media was already troublesome; physically distancing from human engagement only worsens the impact. There is no digital or virtual replacement for the true fellowship of humanity on a personal level.

Ultimately it is the currency of human connection that is the true value in our lives.

We have each felt how our positive influence upon the lives of others nourishes our own sense of purpose and fulfillment… Do not lose that. Do not think you can compensate for that through other arbitrary measures; you cannot.

Give the gift of hope and light to those you love by first reminding yourself of the gift that a loving God has given us all. It is too easy in our human sense to forget the biggest gift we have been granted, the gift of life. The ability to live and choose how we engage in the lives of others.

Remind yourself of the kind of purposeful HOPE that would leave a throne to be born into a manger as a baby only to grow into a Man willing to lay down His everything for the wretchedness of humanity.

No politics or false sense of security can overwhelm the message of HOPE that a loving God has provided. No effort of man or human disposition can surmount the greatest love of all.  “No power of hell, nor scheme of man” can come close to the purpose of God’s intent and love for you as a unique person qualified to receive that love.

Stand steadfast in faith and the Rebel Alliance will thrive.

Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on January 8, 2021 by Sundance

Labeling his content as subversive to the interests of the new totalitarian state, Twitter has announced their permanent deletion of Donald Trump’s Twitter account because of how his tweets can be “perceived and interpreted”.

“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” (link)

Consider their statement carefully because, in essence, Big Tech is banning the voice of President Donald Trump because they claim it may generate wrong think amid others. The Twitter statement continues using these two Tweets as justification for the ban:

[Via Twitter] “We assessed the two Tweets referenced above under our Glorification of Violence policy, which aims to prevent the glorification of violence that could inspire others to replicate violent acts and determined that they were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

“This determination is based on a number of factors, including”:

• President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (1, 2) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an “orderly transition” on January 20th.
• The second Tweet may also serve as encouragement to those potentially considering violent acts that the Inauguration would be a “safe” target, as he will not be attending.
• The use of the words “American Patriots” to describe some of his supporters is also being interpreted as support for those committing violent acts at the US Capitol.
• The mention of his supporters having a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and that “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” is being interpreted as further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an “orderly transition” and instead that he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election.
• Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.

“As such, our determination is that the two Tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.” (link to statement)

The justification itself is so bizarre it is Orwellian in nature.  Interpreting the thoughts of a person to determine their violation….  Good grief, you cannot get much more twisted and subjective than that.   This is an alarming statement and directly indicates the Big Tech systems will now define subversive activity.

President Trump sent the following response from his POTUS account, which Twitter quickly took down – (but not until we captured it).

This effort will backfire, bigly.  The rebel alliance will only gain in strength as the technocrats attempt to create these control mechanisms.

Consider this move an inflection point in history.

JoeBama is even more weak now than before.

Posted originally on The Conservative Tree House on January 8, 2021 by Sundance

Extreme control efforts are a reaction to extreme fear.  If the left-wing political elements who control most social media platforms were not fearful they would not be taking such aggressive action.  Today Brandon Straka announces his #WalkAway group has been removed from Facebook and deplatformed.

(link)

The “Walk Away” movement was an organization of voices of former Democrats who turned away from the extreme leftist moves by the democrat party.  The group was supportive of President Trump and the populist ‘America First’ message.

This move comes after Joe Biden called President Trump supporters “domestic terrorists” and announced his administration’s intent to target those voices as members of an insurrection against his administration.  An alarming move to a totalitarian state where dissenting voices must be silenced and removed.

[Wall Street Journal] “Don’t dare call them protesters,” Mr. Biden said in remarks from Wilmington, Del. “They were a riotous mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic terrorists. It’s that basic. It’s that simple.”

Mr. Biden blamed President Trump for inciting the violence, saying he had “unleashed an all-out assault on our institutions of democracy.” The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

[…] Mr. Biden has said he plans to make a priority of passing a law against domestic terrorism, and he has been urged to create a White House post overseeing the fight against ideologically inspired violent extremists and increasing funding to combat them. (read more)

Additionally, there is currently a massive “pro-Trump” purge happening on Twitter.  They even banned Tech Fog, a CTH friend who was never controversial, always careful, and only posted court documents highlighting legal cases involving corruption.

Axios– Reddit has banned the subreddit group “r/DonaldTrump,” a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: While not an official group or page hosted by the president, it’s one of the company’s largest political communities dedicated to support for President Trump.

What they’re saying: “Reddit’s site-wide policies prohibit content that promotes hate, or encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence against groups of people or individuals. In accordance with this, we have been proactively reaching out to moderators to remind them of our policies and to offer support or resources as needed,” a spokesperson tells Axios.

• “We have also taken action to ban the community r/donaldtrump given repeated policy violations in recent days regarding the violence at the U.S. Capitol.”

The big picture: It’s the latest in a string of platforms to take action against Trump’s accounts following the historic pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.  (LINK)

The massive deplatforming and removal is unprecedented in scale.  The movement by WordPress/Automattic to deplatform CTH shocked many in the media when it happened to us the week after the election.

In the aftermath of CTH being deplatformed we received many notifications of support and shocked messages from inside the tech industry.  In recent days those same voices have signaled that CTH was likely a coordinated first-strike that previewed this post election wave to shut down voices of dissent.

These are remarkable times.  Stand strong in fellowship… now people are starting to realize why CTH strongly advocated for unity of assembly in the last six months.

There are more of us than them.  The Big Tech oligarchs who control the system are trying to shut down communication amid the dissenting voices that demand liberty and freedom.  This is a strategic effort in the battle for our nation.

Stand strong!

More to come….

They are not trying to silence Donald Trump, they are attempting to silence all American voices of dissent.

That's the scale of the 2020 election controversy. https://t.co/Ra57bn5Fmy

— TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) January 7, 2021

Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Posted Jan 8, 2021 by Martin Armstrong

It is beyond description that we face such crazy times politically around the world. The people are distracted between the left and the right but what is being ignored has been just what is the incentive for governments to join this cabal? What is really going on is simply that we have reached the end of perpetual borrowing by governments. Both Europe and Japan have destroyed their bond markets and Denmark, which moved to negative interest rates in 2012, has simply offered mortgages now at zero rates unable to stimulate their economy after 8 years of this failed policy.  The downside of all of this is that the old idea of saving and living off the interest for retirement is gone. They have wiped out the very foundation of credit. There is no longer profit in lending money which means the only other option will be to invest. Debt is dead!

Governments have pushed themselves into a corner. This is what we get from voting for people because they smile nice and have no qualifications whatsoever to run a nation-state. Unable to keep this debt bubble from busting, they have turned to the consortium of emerging Soros’s one-world government, Gates’ zero CO2/Population Control, and Klaus Schwab’s Stakeholder economics blended with Thomas Piketty’s communism of equality. This has resulted in an interwoven time bomb of interest rates/Banking, Government Debt, and Foreign Exchange.

When they created the Euro, the promise was that everyone would pay the same interest rates pointing to the dollar and one federal interest rate. They ignored the fact that among the 50 states, they may have had one currency, but the credit risks materialized in the interest rates for each state. The FAILURE of Europe quickly became self-evident. The promise that a single currency would eliminate volatility and bring “equality” to all proved yet another false dream. The volatility which existed in the currency markets in Europe was merely transferred to the bond market.

There is no question that unemployment will continue to rise into 2022 initially but the high will not be reached until 2025. The decline from there may be the result of a draft for war. Meanwhile, it appears that the low velocity was reached in 2020. This suggests that indeed the change in politics marks the shift in the confidence we have been stating MUST begin to take shape BEFORE there would be a shift in inflation and markets. Our resistance for the Dow in 2021 stood at 31200 and 35300.

It has been the politics that is critical to the markets since the interest rates have lost the focus. This is reflecting now who has the confidence of capital as we journey between here and 2024 – the next high on the Economic Confidence Model. Regardless if you voted for Trump or Biden – it no longer matters. We will all endure the same fate and the one thing that never changes, whatever the politicians promise – never comes true! It is always about them and holding their power. It is never about us – We the People.