Something fishy about Biden's stolen documents.

 AFTER 5 YEARS, SUDDENLY DOCUMENTS SHOW UP

WE HAVE TO SUSPECT MORE TO THIS STORY

A good question is, why have these secret documents surfaced now? We are told that Biden's lawyers just happened to find these documents while cleaning out an old office. Who hires lawyers to clean out an office? We are also supposed to believe that these same lawyers immediately contacted the archives to take control of these documents.

I do not assume I am an expert on the logs and tracking of classified documents, but from what is being reported these types of documents need to be signed for when taking possession and there is record of what they are and who last had possession of them. So, one explanation is that someone or some organization has been requesting, through the freedom of information act, access to these particular documents. Someone at the archives may have tipped off the Biden people that they are about to be exposed for having these missing documents. So, the only resort could be to just claim they were misplaced for the last 5 years and now they have made it right by turning them over. In effect, getting ahead of the coming story, exposing the missing documents.

We hear that some of these documents pertain to Ukraine. Ukraine again, Biden sure has a lot of red flags concerning Ukraine, a very corrupt country that seems to be the laundromat for the democrat party. It would be interesting to see if anyone will ever reveal what these documents are all about.

Some believe it it an attempt to discourage Biden from running again. After all, it has been anticipated that he is running and was supposed to announce in the immediate future. We will have to see, but I don't see a viable candidate for the democrats on the horizon, but they may be programming and developing a dark horse candidate. After all, they were able to push the likes Biden and Fetterman to victory, so anything is possible.

So far, the media doesn't seem to have perfected and coordinated their talking points, I suspect by today we will see that all materializing into some unified message. I expect it may reveal what behind this story, not by what they say, but what they don't say.

Restoring Democracy to the House of Representatives.

 MAKING HOUSE MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON

NOT REPRESENTATIVES OF WASHINGTON TO THE PEOPLE

While there has been much anguish over the refusal of some 20 Republican Representatives to vote for the Speaker of the House. It it is all a step in the right direction. Will these concessions lead to a resolution of all the problems and the corruption of the process in Washington? No, but it is a step that should be applauded by Representatives on both sides of the isle. It was without a doubt a very brave and bold step taken by these representatives and the precedent will not be lost on members from all parties who have found that being a representative is often nothing more than being a bobble headed yes for the party leaders. This is often accomplished by rules that are designed to keep them quite and in compliance with the leaders of their party and often to forces outside the House of Representatives.

The SPEAKER of the house as the title signifies is a representative of the body of representatives. He was never meant to be the dictator of the house, who uses his power to intimidate, coerce or bribe the members to vote in a way that he or his fellow leaders dictate. If they attempt to rock the boat, they will be punished by refusing to give them any positions of authority, deny them resources for their re-election or attempt to smear them with some scandal or maleficence. This whole process minimizes true representation of those approximately 750,000 citizens that these elected people are supposed to represent.

Much of this has now been accepted by the populace as how it works and it should just be acknowledged as the usual practice in Washington and also most state capitals. It should be unacceptable by the electorate.

Much of this has to with seniority idea that seems to be in place. So, the person who has gone along to get along and reaped lots of pork for their district will enjoy all the perks and privileges bestowed by leadership. Lots of money for reelection, good reviews and praise by the media as to what a great and honorable self sacrificing citizen they are in the service of the people. Of course, this is all an effort to keep these people in the body and then into leadership because they help to keep the whole corrupt scheme in place. This is of course true for both parties.

The leadership of the House and Senate both have way too much power to craft and force through legislation that in a free and open debate by members would most likely be much different. 

Much of this past weeks debate is addressing the piling on of far reaching additions to legislation that is forced to be passed in a huge package. It is a way to perfume the corrupt smell from these addons that could never be passed on their own. 

Another is allowing for time to analyse and amend legislation, that become impossible when they delay bringing timely bills to the floor and then give them just hours to be passed. This is another outrageous abuse. All intended to force through things that are only apparent weeks and sometimes months and years later. Are these tactics meant to improve the lives of average citizens or for special interests?

More and more of this country and many foreign countries are now dependent on the largess dispensed from Washington. A largess that is going to be paid by U.S. citizens and their descendants through taxes, inflation or withering opportunity. A largess that benefits mostly special interests who have direct access to the greatest money machine in history, the United States government. The result is a national debt of over 30 Trillion dollars, a unfunded liability for social programs of over 100 Trillion dollars and the possible rejection of the dollar as the mainstay of world economic transactions. These abuses that have created a system that has not had a balanced budget since 1969, except for a couple years after the demise of the Soviet Union.

This is only a few of the reforms negotiated, time will tell if they will be sincerely implemented or will the punishment of the dissidents be swift and a lesson to the rest of the members.

We will see if Speaker McCarthy can become a Representative for the good of the country or will he fight to keep the gravy train going. 

In the meantime, we will be subjected to the labels placed on these brave individuals as traitors, insurrectionist, right wing crazies or whatever adjective they feel will bring the greatest condemnation. Do not be surprised that some will be accused of all types of moral inadequacy such as human trafficking and child abuse of some kind.  I assume when they took this bold step they were prepared to risk their future for the sake of reform of this corrupt system. I hope more appreciate their sacrifice.

West's sanctions on Russia: Symbolism over substance

 EU IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA INCREASED IN 2022

WIDE RANGE OF IMPORTS, NOT JUST ENERGY

There are several reports now indicating that the sanctions against Russia are in fact having very little effect in damaging the economy of Russia. It seems that the reality is that sanctions are damaging the economies of those who have imposed sanctions more than the damage to Russia. Exports from the EU into Russia were down 37% while imports from Russia into the EU were up 69.9%. Below is graph of imports and exports between EU countries and Russia.

It was also reported this week by the U.S. treasury department that sanctions on oil will not apply to products from Russia that are refined by third party countries. So any crude oil that is piped or transferred to China, India or other countries and then refined into diesel, heating oil or gasoline are exempt from sanctions. It is clear that sanctions are not damaging Russia's ability to make money. It is also clear that many countries are in fact being damaged by their inability to sell products and services to Russia. It appears all the companies that have lost billions on their exit from Russia will never be able to recoup their losses and will not likely ever be going back to those markets. Those voids have been filled by other countries and companies and domestic business.

The point is that sanctions have mostly been ineffective in changing political outcomes. Dialogue and diplomacy has always been more effective in the long run. We have seen sanctions imposed on North Korea and Iran that have been in place for over 40 years with little effect. While sanctions have hurt many of the small countries with limited export capacity, it is very difficult for such measures to have lasting effects on large countries with resources on which that others are dependent.

While at this point it is unlikely that this scene will ever be reversed, it should be noted for future reference that sanctions can be damaging to all involved and should be calculated carefully. 

House members practicing their biggest power, saying NO

 NEW HOUSE HAS LITTLE LEGISLATIVE POWER

THEIR FUNCTION WILL BE OVERSIGHT AND RESTRAINING THE NEXT 2 YEARS OF BIDEN

The failure to elect Kevin McCarthy to House speaker is now looking like the first indication of what will be the function of this new House.  Many of the members, not only the 20 who have voting no, are disturbed by the leaders of the Republican Senate and House passing a continuing resolution on the budget. This action denied them the ability to use their positions to insure restraint on the spending until next fall. 

They now feel that the present leadership will cave in any negotiations in fashioning an actual budget resolution, a duty of the House, that has not been enacted since 2015. This and their concern for the raising of the annual debt limit as just another simple procedure, without any effort to control debt, is at the heart of much of this controversy. Without support of the Speaker there will be no restraint in fashioning an actual budget or raising the debt ceiling.

In actuality, this House will have no power in enacting any legislation, only in the ability to either deny or amend such legislation. Again, without a Speaker who is dedicated to these objectives it will just be more of the same. It seems many of the House members do not believe that McCarthy will be willing to use the power of the majority to attempt to change direction of the rubber stamp demanded by ever recurring threats of government shutdowns and a history of last minute voting or crisis. 

The other power of the Congress will be in oversight and investigation of the abuses and corruption in the Intelligence agencies of the government. The fascist cooperation of the media and the government to restrain free speech, the bedrock of a free country. The involvement of the intelligence agencies in actually pushing false and misleading information through all the major media outlets. This is the biggest threat to this country in its history. If not corrected and accountability defined it will be the end of this experiment in self government. Some believe that McCarthy will not be able to withstand the pressure from within the bureaucratic state to actually engage in meaningful action.

There is little risk to the country of the House being on hold for even months, if not days. The country will continue on and lives will go on without a working House of Representatives.

So, this is where we are. Those members who have now staked their political futures on the line have no choice but to hold fast or they will be destroyed by the leadership. It has already been made clear from the leadership that they will be put in the corner for the next two years. It is now one of those situations were they will either hang together and prevail or hang separately, one by one.

Democracy at work in House

 SOME MEMBERS WANT RULES THAT ALLOW FOR DEBATE AND GUARANTEES BEFORE VOTING FOR MCCARTHY

MAY HAVE DOOMED SPEAKERSHIP WITH THREATS

For the first time in 100 years the speaker of the House has failed to win the necessary votes on the first ballot. While many claim that this is a sign of dysfunction, it is actually just democracy at work. It also magnifies a lack of trust by some in the direction that the House will take in the next session.

So, today after some discussion they will try again. Maybe they will be reassured of their concerns, it seems they want these assurances in writing. While McCarthy has support of a broad range of members it is now possible that an alternative is going to prevail. It seems that some would prefer Jim Jordan as Speaker, he has proven his determination and also knows the issues that many members are concerned about. We will see later today.

Actually the House will survive even if there is no speaker for some time. It of course would stop all business in the House and we can surely survive that development. We can all survive without new spending and new legislation, something that is not in short supply.

Many members have complained for years that the House rules make the speaker the dictator of the House. Rather than the speaker doing the will of the representatives, who should in fact have the ability to represent their districts rather than be servants of the speaker who can be influenced by others. If you have influence over this one representative you indeed have eliminated the power of the other members. The speaker has enormous power to control the direction and also to pressure and intimidate other members with many sticks and carrots.

One such carrot is earmarks, which were banned for 10 years and are now back. It is in fact legalized bribery and opens the rules for extortion. Members can be promised money for projects in their districts and members can refuse to support some things unless they get such earmarks. It is a corrupt practice that many advocate because it gives the leadership much power to get members to vote for their favored legislation. It should be done away with permanently.

The other stick and carrot, one that McCarthy used yesterday was to threaten to withhold committee assignments to members who do not cooperate. These assignments can also be used as trading leverage to get cooperation. I think it would be better for the house member's to vote on committee leaders, rather than it being used again as a form of bribery or extortion. Some of these rules are the rules that some members want assurances about.

This is the House of Representatives, all members should have equal ability to represent their districts in a way that they feel is in the best interest of their voters. Such a system would surely be slower and more chaotic. There is very little that needs to be done in a hurry. We are constantly being subjected to the narrative that all these votes need to be made quickly, without debate and very likely without any scrutiny of what they are voting on. Most members never read or understand what is in much of this legislation, thousands of pages of legalese, all with the intended motive to make the consequences harder to foresee. Debate and scrutiny should be months not hours. That would be in the best interest of the nation, not just special interests.

2023, more of the same.

 EXPECT A CONTINUING OF THE TRENDS OF 2022

POLICY CHANGES UNLIKELY

While many hope that 2023 will bring about some solutions to the ongoing problems faced around the world, it is very unlikely that any changes in direction will come. In fact, we can expect a doubling down on many fronts. Without a free and objective press, we can expect more of the same.

Biden will most likely not be able to resist running for president, after all, he was elected from his basement in 2020 and John Fetterman is the poster child of the Democrat election machine. The media will continue to support Biden for President.

Trump will also continue his campaign and it is possible that he will be able to run unopposed. No one is willing to take on Trump, no republican can win the presidency without the die hard Trump voters. Only a Trump decision to support another candidate would create the climate for another to run.

The conflict in Ukraine will continue to grind up NATO equipment and money and Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. It appears neither side can compromise at this stage and only military victory will end this conflict.

Governments around the world will continue to move to more authoritarianism, censorship, using the legal system to punish dissidents and non conformists. We can expect an increase in social unrest across Europe. It is likely that there will be many government changes.

The media's credibility is at an all time low and it seems it is impossible for the major media to change direction. They are locked into their partisan narrative and only financial collapse and replacement will offer any relief. I find very few who believe anything they are pushing. 

Energy and food will continue to be a source of shortages and supply problems.

It is likely to see a further flight from paper assets as the world economy appears to be increasingly unstable.

The move to a bi-polar world economic system will spell long term financial hardship for the western world. A rejection of the dollar for a more sound and uninflated currency will cause a massive amount of inflation and possibly a bond market collapse. If this trend is not reversed it will require major changes in the social fabric of the western world with all the related chaos. It seems there is no indication again of any move to change the direction of world economic policy.

One positive indication is an increasing awareness of the corruption and dysfunction of this unholy alliance between the socialist's, war interventionists, business and the media. Whether this awareness can be directed into positive changes will be another story. Again, without an objective press and media it will be a difficult task to change direction by electoral means, it may only be possible after a collapse of the corrupt institutions by the natural laws of consequences.

While things may be dire for the coming year, we all have the ability by sound decisions to survive and possibly prosper both financially and spiritually by rejecting the false choices and choosing truth and sound virtues that are eternal.

Trump's personal tax returns meaningless

 WHILE PRESIDENT HE COULD HAVE CLAIMED NO TAXES DUE

JUST ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING

For years the media and the democrats have been fighting to get Donald Trump's tax returns, a meaningless political exercise. The Democrat house claimed it needed to see his returns to make policy decisions, because just wanting to go on a fishing expedition would not be legal. The court finally gave in to their demands and they promptly proved their insincerity by releasing his returns to the public. 

I assume the media will try to either indicate that he has avoided taxes or that he is really a failed business man. It is just so much political hysteria without any substance.

In reality, Trump could have very easily claimed no income for all the years he was in the White House. He could have abstained from taking any income from his business interests and  he took no pay while serving as president. 

A 1040 is a personal income tax return, it does not necessarily indicate any income for Trump Inc. While president and his family were provided with housing, transportation, healthcare, security, food and entertainment expenses. There is not one item other than gifts he may have purchased that were not paid for by the United States. His business's could have made money that he has not drawn from and would not be part of his 1040 form. 

The media and democrats have been claiming for years that his sole reason for wanting to president was to make money, something that is clearing not the case. I would expect Trump has lost more money for being president than any other president in history. It was the goal of the opposition politicians and the media from the beginning and has not stopped, I expect they will still be demonizing Trump after he has left this earth. Much of this is to not only to damage Trump, but to send a message to any others to not take on the corrupt entrenched bureaucracy that runs this country.

This whole exercise was just another pathetically obvious political strategy that actually demonstrates the hysterical and desperate attempts to trash Trump. It just shows who and what these people are.