lewrockwell--2020-12-08--Here’s Why Goldman Sachs’s Projected Post-Covid ‘Rally’ Is Risibly Corrupt

The mainstream narrative is so corrupted by greed , sloth , and groupthink that it has become a caricature of itself .
In plain English , what is held to be true by the powers-that-be is flat-out unreliable , unhinged , and unsustainable .
For instance , the mainstream media is giddy about the new stock market forecast from Goldman ’ s chief equity strategist , David Kostin .
According to this overpaid genius , the silver bullet of a COVID vaccine is now assured , owing to the Pfizer announcement , so we will soon be back to normal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will soar to 4,300 by the end of 2021 .
Stainless Steel Mixing ... Best Price : $ 15.90 Buy New $ 24.99 Then again , it needs to be recalled that , in their wisdom , sell-side analysts now see December 2020 trailing earnings on the S & P 500 coming in at $ 91.80 per share and then leaping upward by 47 % to $ 135.13 per share by December 2021 .
Even if the latter hockey stick should come true , the implied PE multiple at Goldman ’ s new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You ’ ve got to believe that neither Sleepy Joe , Kamala Harris and her progressive-left comrades , COVID , nor a gridlocked Washington will stand in the way of a booming return to economic normalcy , a 47 % gain in profits , and a PE multiple more than double the historical average .
But , hey , don ’ t snicker .
That ’ s the mighty Goldman Sachs reinforcing the mainstream narrative .
Of course , Goldman doesn ’ t base its stock price forecast on the kind of earnings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the SEC on penalty of jail time : namely , GAAP net income .
They want you to believe that multiples are reasonable through the use of ex-items earnings , which are always 10 % –30 % higher than reported earnings .
That ’ s because they eliminate purported one-time gains and losses and non-cash items charged to the P & L in the current period , like goodwill write-downs or restructuring provisions .
humanN SuperBeets Soft ... Buy New $ 39.95 ( $ 0.67 / Count ) But here ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ income statement was a cash item at some point in either the past ( e.g.
, goodwill ) or the future ( e.g.
, restructuring provisions ) .
If it carries a negative sign , it represents a dissipation of corporate resources and value .
Likewise , eliminating one-time gains and losses is not a valid earnings-neutral smoothing procedure because in every quarter in history , one-time losses always exceed one-time gains and usually do so vastly .
So you can take the “ reasonable ” PE canard with a grain of salt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Goldman stock price forecast embodies the mother of all hockey sticks .
That is , ex-items earnings for the S & P 500 are now forecasted by the street consensus to weigh in at $ 117.36 per share for the December 2020 LTM period , which will push Goldman projections to rise to $ 175 per share by December 2021 .
So you have to believe that ex-items earnings will soar by 50 % in just one year ’ s time and still be willing to pay 24.5X for the said miracle of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Unhinged ” does aptly characterize the current mainstream narrative .
That ’ s in part because we think the imminence and efficacy of the vaccine silver bullet are way overdone .
Also , despite the Fed ’ s best verbal flim-flam , we do not think the laws of sound money have been repealed and that the Fed can keep monetizing 100 % of Uncle Sam ’ s $ 2–3 trillion deficits indefinitely .
Yet , if there is no vaccine silver bullet next year , you will have the Virus Patrol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Building does not keep buying up Uncle Sam ’ s tsunami of debt , the bond market is a cataclysm waiting to happen .
As to the silver bullet , just consider what Pfizer actually reported .
Namely , that from a trial pool of 43,538 participants , they now have results for 94 individuals who tested positive for COVID , of which 86 were in the placebo group and eight among those getting the two-shot vaccinations .
That ’ s how they get their ballyhooed 90 % effectiveness claim .
That conclusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the trial universe , yet the company ’ s press release—which enabled the CEO to sell 60 % of his stock recently at a huge profit—contained zero information on whether the 94 cases were representative of the study population with respect to age , medical condition , and so on , and whether the actual COVID cases among the 94 reported to have tested positive were sniffles , mild , moderate , severe or death-threatening .
The truth is , the company ’ s press release amounted to nothing more than an ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Albert Bourla is now $ 6 million richer , but the most substantive thing contained in the press release not previously known was , well , this bit of soap-selling : adidas Women ’ s C ... Buy New $ 46.97 This gets us to the point that the irrepressible Jon Rappaport keeps rising .
To wit , why would anyone think that a 0.216 % share of the trial universe is meaningful or reliable ?
Moreover , why would the FDA go along with this , or especially the entire study @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s press release conveys the following : Yes , forget about the 43,538 participants and all the efforts to ensure its representative nature because Pfizer is going to quit when exactly 0.377 % ( 164 participants ) of the sample have reported .
A halfway attentive layperson might well wonder what is really going on here .
But having said that , he might , upon modest further investigation , also grasp the entire scam involved in fast-tracking the vaccine .
The reason for shutting down the trial after less than one-half of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heard from is that in this day and age , you can ’ t test a vaccine candidate by deliberately infecting a patient with the virus , most especially the unlucky folks who get the saltwater tablet placebo .
Instead , what you have to do is put your feet up on a stool and wait for participants to contract the disease and become infected in the “ wild ” —that is , in their homes and on the highways and byways of normal life .
But alas , Tony Fauci and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have unleashed among blue-state mayors and governors , and the constant chyrons of death running across the cable TV screens have most of the sheeple , including those enrolled in the Pfizer study , scared to death .
So they do not leave home without their mask up and without social distancing on the sidewalks , hallways , and grocery store checkout counters .
So , then , how in the hell are study participants supposed to catch the COVID in the wild ?
Under the rules of ethics in these matters , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not even be told to get frisky and drop their mask every now and then in order to help the corporate folks at Pfizer complete their study and harvest their tens of billions of vaccine sales .
ASICS Women ’ s Ge ... Buy New $ 64.95 Needless to say , that ’ s why only 0.216 % of participants ( 94 ) managed to get the plague , which is allegedly running rampant in America , during the first three months of the trial , and why at that rate , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ return from even 10 % of the participants .
So there is a reason why it normally takes three to five years to do a vaccine trial : It seems that even the FDA is unwilling to let drug companies deliberately kill placebo-taking patients in order to speed up the process .
And that gets us to an even more insidious aspect of the silver bullet myth .
Namely , because it takes so ungodly long for mask-up trial participants to get infected in the “ wild ” when the latter is operating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study protocol assumes that any old case will do—even if it is so mild as to be barely symptomatic and readily cured with bed rest and drinking lots of liquids .
As Jon Rappaport noted regarding the generic case with all of these COVID vaccine trials : What Rappoport is saying is that by the very nature of COVID , the only point of a vaccine is to protect the small minority who develop severe cases owing to age , comorbidities , or otherwise weakened immune systems , and especially those who suffer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But as of the present , the CDC estimates that about 88 million Americans have been infected—the overwhelming bulk of whom were unaware that they were infected because they were asymptomatic or experienced mild courses of the disease and were cured at home .
In fact , according to recent CDC data , only 500,000 of these 88 million have been hospitalized .
And according to the CDC ’ s expansive way of counting , the number of COVID deaths stands around 269,000 , the majority of which occurred in hospitals .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 87 million of the 88 million infected persons so far were in no mortal danger , nor would they have been helped much even if Pfizer ’ s vaccine or any other vaccine had been available from day one .
So the question recurs .
Among the 94 cases reported , how many required hospitalization or involved even a serious home-cured course of the illness ?
The company ’ s press release didn ’ t say , and when they run the clock to the FDA-approved protocol ’ s 164 positive-cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say .
That ’ s because , again , due to the any-case-will-do study design , the trial results can not prove that the vaccine is effective in individuals who would otherwise suffer a severe course of the disease .
In fact , according to the current national metrics , among any random universe of 164 infected people , exactly 0.9 persons would be hospitalized , and 0.4 persons would die .
Alas , perhaps even the purportedly brilliant Mr. Kostin would agree that you can ’ t prove efficacy by comparing fractions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there in the wild , after the vaccine is broadly distributed by , say , next June , the universe of the vaccinated will not be 88 souls as at present with the Pfizer study , but tens of millions .
And if the vaccine doesn ’ t work on the severe cases and even a few hundred deaths and/or hospitalizations are reported among the vaccinated , there will be panic in the already-frightened streets .
As we said , the mainstream narrative is risibly corrupt .
The Best of David Stockman

The mainstream narrative is so corrupted by greed, sloth, and groupthink that it has become a caricature of itself. In plain English, what is held to be true by the powers-that-be is flat-out unreliable, unhinged, and unsustainable.
For instance, the mainstream media is giddy about the new stock market forecast from Goldman’s chief equity strategist, David Kostin.
According to this overpaid genius, the silver bullet of a COVID vaccine is now assured, owing to the Pfizer announcement, so we will soon be back to normal, and the S&P 500 will soar to 4,300 by the end of 2021.
Back up the trucks!
Stainless Steel Mixing... Best Price: $15.90 Buy New $24.99 (as of 05:51 UTC - Details) Then again, it needs to be recalled that, in their wisdom, sell-side analysts now see December 2020 trailing earnings on the S&P 500 coming in at $91.80 per share and then leaping upward by 47% to $135.13 per share by December 2021. Even if the latter hockey stick should come true, the implied PE multiple at Goldman’s new December 2021 price target is 31.8X.
You’ve got to believe that neither Sleepy Joe, Kamala Harris and her progressive-left comrades, COVID, nor a gridlocked Washington will stand in the way of a booming return to economic normalcy, a 47% gain in profits, and a PE multiple more than double the historical average.
But, hey, don’t snicker. That’s the mighty Goldman Sachs reinforcing the mainstream narrative.
Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Price Target
Of course, Goldman doesn’t base its stock price forecast on the kind of earnings that CEOs and CFOs must report honestly to the SEC on penalty of jail time: namely, GAAP net income.
They want you to believe that multiples are reasonable through the use of ex-items earnings, which are always 10%–30% higher than reported earnings. That’s because they eliminate purported one-time gains and losses and non-cash items charged to the P&L in the current period, like goodwill write-downs or restructuring provisions. humanN SuperBeets Soft... Buy New $39.95 ($0.67 / Count) (as of 06:22 UTC - Details)
But here’s the thing. Anything that hits the income statement was a cash item at some point in either the past (e.g., goodwill) or the future (e.g., restructuring provisions). If it carries a negative sign, it represents a dissipation of corporate resources and value.
Likewise, eliminating one-time gains and losses is not a valid earnings-neutral smoothing procedure because in every quarter in history, one-time losses always exceed one-time gains and usually do so vastly.
So you can take the “reasonable” PE canard with a grain of salt, but even then, the current Goldman stock price forecast embodies the mother of all hockey sticks.
That is, ex-items earnings for the S&P 500 are now forecasted by the street consensus to weigh in at $117.36 per share for the December 2020 LTM period, which will push Goldman projections to rise to $175 per share by December 2021.
So you have to believe that ex-items earnings will soar by 50% in just one year’s time and still be willing to pay 24.5X for the said miracle of escape from a COVID lockdown-shattered economy.
“Unhinged” does aptly characterize the current mainstream narrative. That’s in part because we think the imminence and efficacy of the vaccine silver bullet are way overdone. Also, despite the Fed’s best verbal flim-flam, we do not think the laws of sound money have been repealed and that the Fed can keep monetizing 100% of Uncle Sam’s $2–3 trillion deficits indefinitely.
Yet, if there is no vaccine silver bullet next year, you will have the Virus Patrol reenergized.
Likewise, if the Eccles Building does not keep buying up Uncle Sam’s tsunami of debt, the bond market is a cataclysm waiting to happen.
As to the silver bullet, just consider what Pfizer actually reported. Namely, that from a trial pool of 43,538 participants, they now have results for 94 individuals who tested positive for COVID, of which 86 were in the placebo group and eight among those getting the two-shot vaccinations.
That’s how they get their ballyhooed 90% effectiveness claim. That conclusion is based on only 0.216% of the trial universe, yet the company’s press release—which enabled the CEO to sell 60% of his stock recently at a huge profit—contained zero information on whether the 94 cases were representative of the study population with respect to age, medical condition, and so on, and whether the actual COVID cases among the 94 reported to have tested positive were sniffles, mild, moderate, severe or death-threatening.
The truth is, the company’s press release amounted to nothing more than an (apparently) legal stock touting ad. Mr. Albert Bourla is now $6 million richer, but the most substantive thing contained in the press release not previously known was, well, this bit of soap-selling: adidas Women’s C... Buy New $46.97 (as of 06:22 UTC - Details)
“Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine’s ability to prevent COVID-19,” said Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer Chairman and CEO.
This gets us to the point that the irrepressible Jon Rappaport keeps rising. To wit, why would anyone think that a 0.216% share of the trial universe is meaningful or reliable?
Moreover, why would the FDA go along with this, or especially the entire study protocol, about which the company’s press release conveys the following:
“The trial is continuing to enroll and is expected to continue through the final analysis when a total of 164 confirmed COVID-19 cases have accrued.”
Yes, forget about the 43,538 participants and all the efforts to ensure its representative nature because Pfizer is going to quit when exactly 0.377% (164 participants) of the sample have reported.
A halfway attentive layperson might well wonder what is really going on here.
But having said that, he might, upon modest further investigation, also grasp the entire scam involved in fast-tracking the vaccine.
The reason for shutting down the trial after less than one-half of one percent of the participants have been heard from is that in this day and age, you can’t test a vaccine candidate by deliberately infecting a patient with the virus, most especially the unlucky folks who get the saltwater tablet placebo.
Instead, what you have to do is put your feet up on a stool and wait for participants to contract the disease and become infected in the “wild”—that is, in their homes and on the highways and byways of normal life.
But alas, Tony Fauci and his malpracticing doctors, the wannabe Robespierres they have unleashed among blue-state mayors and governors, and the constant chyrons of death running across the cable TV screens have most of the sheeple, including those enrolled in the Pfizer study, scared to death. So they do not leave home without their mask up and without social distancing on the sidewalks, hallways, and grocery store checkout counters.
So, then, how in the hell are study participants supposed to catch the COVID in the wild?
Under the rules of ethics in these matters, the ones getting the real shot cannot even be told to get frisky and drop their mask every now and then in order to help the corporate folks at Pfizer complete their study and harvest their tens of billions of vaccine sales. ASICS Women’s Ge... Buy New $64.95 (as of 06:22 UTC - Details)
Needless to say, that’s why only 0.216% of participants (94) managed to get the plague, which is allegedly running rampant in America, during the first three months of the trial, and why at that rate, it would take 11 years to get a return from even 10% of the participants.
So there is a reason why it normally takes three to five years to do a vaccine trial: It seems that even the FDA is unwilling to let drug companies deliberately kill placebo-taking patients in order to speed up the process.
And that gets us to an even more insidious aspect of the silver bullet myth.
Namely, because it takes so ungodly long for mask-up trial participants to get infected in the “wild” when the latter is operating effectively under economic martial law, the study protocol assumes that any old case will do—even if it is so mild as to be barely symptomatic and readily cured with bed rest and drinking lots of liquids.
As Jon Rappaport noted regarding the generic case with all of these COVID vaccine trials:
“You see, the vaccine maker starts out with 30,000 HEALTHY volunteers. So, if they waited for 150 of them to come down with severe pneumonia, a serious case of COVID, how long do you think that would take? Five years? Ten years? The vaccine maker can’t possibly wait that long. These 150 COVID cases the vaccine maker is looking for would be mild. Just a cough. Or chills and fever. That scenario would only take a few months to develop. And face it, chills, cough, and fever aren’t unique to COVID. Anyone can come down with those symptoms. THEREFORE, THE WHOLE CLINICAL TRIAL IS DESIGNED, UP FRONT, TO FIND 150 CASES OF MILD AND MEANINGLESS AND SELF-CURING ‘COVID.’ About which, no one cares. No one should care. But, as we see, Pfizer is trumpeting their clinical trial of the vaccine as a landmark in human history.”
What Rappoport is saying is that by the very nature of COVID, the only point of a vaccine is to protect the small minority who develop severe cases owing to age, comorbidities, or otherwise weakened immune systems, and especially those who suffer a life-threatening course of the disease.
But as of the present, the CDC estimates that about 88 million Americans have been infected—the overwhelming bulk of whom were unaware that they were infected because they were asymptomatic or experienced mild courses of the disease and were cured at home.
In fact, according to recent CDC data, only 500,000 of these 88 million have been hospitalized. And according to the CDC’s expansive way of counting, the number of COVID deaths stands around 269,000, the majority of which occurred in hospitals.
So no matter how you slice it, more than 87 million of the 88 million infected persons so far were in no mortal danger, nor would they have been helped much even if Pfizer’s vaccine or any other vaccine had been available from day one.
So the question recurs. Among the 94 cases reported, how many required hospitalization or involved even a serious home-cured course of the illness?
The company’s press release didn’t say, and when they run the clock to the FDA-approved protocol’s 164 positive-cases mark, they still won’t say.
That’s because, again, due to the any-case-will-do study design, the trial results cannot prove that the vaccine is effective in individuals who would otherwise suffer a severe course of the disease. In fact, according to the current national metrics, among any random universe of 164 infected people, exactly 0.9 persons would be hospitalized, and 0.4 persons would die.
Alas, perhaps even the purportedly brilliant Mr. Kostin would agree that you can’t prove efficacy by comparing fractions of a person.
Nevertheless, out there in the wild, after the vaccine is broadly distributed by, say, next June, the universe of the vaccinated will not be 88 souls as at present with the Pfizer study, but tens of millions. And if the vaccine doesn’t work on the severe cases and even a few hundred deaths and/or hospitalizations are reported among the vaccinated, there will be panic in the already-frightened streets.
As we said, the mainstream narrative is risibly corrupt.
The Best of David Stockman


A Resolving Picture

Much as Chief Justice John Roberts would like to be the finger down the Deep State ’ s throat to trigger the up-chucking of Mr. Trump from the nation ’ s gullet , it looks like he won ’ t get his chance in the new 6-3 disposition of the US Supreme Court .
So far , it is Justice Samuel Alito in the lead , preparing a landing zone for the President ’ s case against the state of Pennsylvania in its shabby-ass attempt to stuff its ballot boxes with iffy mail-in votes .
I believe that case is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Roberts ’ position will be moot .
The problem over in PA is that its Act 77 bill passed before the election by the state legislature to expand absentee balloting ( i.e.
, mail-in voting ) did not comply with the PA state constitution , and required a constitutional amendment , which never happened .
Could be pretty cut-and-dried .
While the SCOTUS is thought to be reluctant to intervene in state constitutional issues , a case involving federal elections may prove an exception .
And then there are other issues with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Nevada , and Arizona .
A lot of electoral votes there .
The virtual takeover of US elections by the Dominion vote tabulation company was a stealth operation probably enabled by the connivance of scores of elected officials at both the federal and state levels — senators , congressmen , governors , and on down .
It ’ s been going on for years due to the secrecy of the op and the complacency of the public , with a little help from the Democratic Party ’ s friends in the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Potential criminal violations abound .
Hanes womens Comfortso ... Buy New $ 12.00 What on earth was Canada-based Dominion , with its grotty Smartmatic software — connected to Venezuela and to George Soros ’ s would-be world-changing Open Society Foundation , and very possibly to China ’ s ruling party — doing in charge of counting our votes ?
Perhaps serving something other than America ’ s national interest .
We ’ ll soon find out in a way that will make a lot of heads explode .
An awful lot has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before the election .
Mr. Trump was onto the mass write-in vote scam enabled by the media-assisted hysteria over Covid-19 .
The wheels of genuine US intel against national security threats still turned in spite of whatever Deep State perfidy had been aimed at Mr. Trump himself from Day One in office , and the president made use of his own private counter-intel hackers to suss out the game — which was finally to overthrow him by ballot fraud .
The result was Executive Order 13848 issued in September 2020 , which specified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unusual and extraordinary threat to national security ” and laid out some pretty stringent remedies .
The main one was a requirement for the top executive agencies — DOJ , DOD , Homeland Security , Treasury plus the Director of National Intelligence ( Mr. Ratcliffe ) — to deliver an assessment within 45 days of the election .
We ’ re now in the sweet-spot of that 45-day delivery period when something has to pop .
Looks a little like the AG , Mr. Barr , has been dithering and wriggling painfully over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resigning .
But he may have already surrendered his credibility , with the foot-dragging of the FBI under Christopher Wray and the agency ’ s apparent lack of interest in election fraud .
The consequences of EO 13848 will roll out with him or without him .
Trump 2020 hat Keep Am ... Buy New $ 13.99 The real action was over at the Department of Defense , where the President hastily cleaned house this fall and installed the trustworthy Christopher Miller as SecDef , along with top aide Kash Patel and Ezra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Intelligence and Security .
Mr. Cohen-Watnick had been an assistant to General Michael Flynn , former Director of Defense Intelligence , in his brief tenure as National Security Advisor before getting sandbagged by Barack Obama and James Comey .
Both Mr. Cohen-Watnick and General Flynn are intimately familiar with the apparatus of Defense Intelligence , of course , and have been actively using it to identify DNC and Joe Biden activists who played a role in election irregularities as well as foreign actors .
This wasn ’ t any RussiaGate type bullshit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ EO 13848 includes this provision : Ivanka Trump Women & rsq ... Best Price : $ 63.09 Buy New $ 24.99 The “ remedial actions ” are interesting .
They include pretty severe sanctions against any “ persons ” ( entity or company ) involved in or enabling foreign interference in elections : attaching property in the US , blocking trade , and an array of financial restrictions and penalties .
The EO does not spell out criminal penalties that might fall under the sedition and treason statutes , but expect these to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Quite a few political celebrities and figures in the news and social media may have exposed themselves to liability in this .
If it doesn ’ t mean the end of Facebook or Twitter , it may spell the end of Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey running them .
Also include the less-well-known execs at The WashPo , The New York Times , and several cable news networks .
Eventually , Mr. Trump will have to personally deliver the bad news to Joe Biden that he and Dr. Jill won ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( live or on Zoom ) .
Sound too wild to be true ?
Well , stand by on it .
We ’ ll know soon enough .
The Best of James Howard Kunstler

Much as Chief Justice John Roberts would like to be the finger down the Deep State’s throat to trigger the up-chucking of Mr. Trump from the nation’s gullet, it looks like he won’t get his chance in the new 6-3 disposition of the US Supreme Court. So far, it is Justice Samuel Alito in the lead, preparing a landing zone for the President’s case against the state of Pennsylvania in its shabby-ass attempt to stuff its ballot boxes with iffy mail-in votes. I believe that case is going to be heard, and Justice Roberts’ position will be moot.
The problem over in PA is that its Act 77 bill passed before the election by the state legislature to expand absentee balloting (i.e., mail-in voting) did not comply with the PA state constitution, and required a constitutional amendment, which never happened. Could be pretty cut-and-dried. While the SCOTUS is thought to be reluctant to intervene in state constitutional issues, a case involving federal elections may prove an exception. And then there are other issues with the states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona. A lot of electoral votes there.
The virtual takeover of US elections by the Dominion vote tabulation company was a stealth operation probably enabled by the connivance of scores of elected officials at both the federal and state levels — senators, congressmen, governors, and on down. It’s been going on for years due to the secrecy of the op and the complacency of the public, with a little help from the Democratic Party’s friends in the news media. Did money change hands? Potential criminal violations abound. Hanes womens Comfortso... Buy New $12.00 (as of 06:23 UTC - Details)
What on earth was Canada-based Dominion, with its grotty Smartmatic software — connected to Venezuela and to George Soros’s would-be world-changing Open Society Foundation, and very possibly to China’s ruling party — doing in charge of counting our votes? Perhaps serving something other than America’s national interest. We’ll soon find out in a way that will make a lot of heads explode.
An awful lot has been churning in the deep background for months before the election. Mr. Trump was onto the mass write-in vote scam enabled by the media-assisted hysteria over Covid-19. The wheels of genuine US intel against national security threats still turned in spite of whatever Deep State perfidy had been aimed at Mr. Trump himself from Day One in office, and the president made use of his own private counter-intel hackers to suss out the game — which was finally to overthrow him by ballot fraud. The result was Executive Order 13848 issued in September 2020, which specified foreign interference in elections as “an unusual and extraordinary threat to national security” and laid out some pretty stringent remedies.
The main one was a requirement for the top executive agencies — DOJ, DOD, Homeland Security, Treasury plus the Director of National Intelligence (Mr. Ratcliffe) — to deliver an assessment within 45 days of the election. We’re now in the sweet-spot of that 45-day delivery period when something has to pop. Looks a little like the AG, Mr. Barr, has been dithering and wriggling painfully over this, and even making noises about resigning. But he may have already surrendered his credibility, with the foot-dragging of the FBI under Christopher Wray and the agency’s apparent lack of interest in election fraud. The consequences of EO 13848 will roll out with him or without him. Trump 2020 hat Keep Am... Buy New $13.99 (as of 06:23 UTC - Details)
The real action was over at the Department of Defense, where the President hastily cleaned house this fall and installed the trustworthy Christopher Miller as SecDef, along with top aide Kash Patel and Ezra Cohen-Watnick as Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. Mr. Cohen-Watnick had been an assistant to General Michael Flynn, former Director of Defense Intelligence, in his brief tenure as National Security Advisor before getting sandbagged by Barack Obama and James Comey.
Both Mr. Cohen-Watnick and General Flynn are intimately familiar with the apparatus of Defense Intelligence, of course, and have been actively using it to identify DNC and Joe Biden activists who played a role in election irregularities as well as foreign actors. This wasn’t any RussiaGate type bullshit; it was the real deal. EO 13848 includes this provision:
The report shall identify any material issues of fact with respect to these matters that the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security are unable to evaluate or reach agreement on at the time the report is submitted. The report shall also include updates and recommendations, when appropriate, regarding remedial actions to be taken by the United States Government, other than the sanctions described in sections 2 and 3 of this order.”
Ivanka Trump Women&rsq... Best Price: $63.09 Buy New $24.99 (as of 06:23 UTC - Details) The “remedial actions” are interesting. They include pretty severe sanctions against any “persons” (entity or company) involved in or enabling foreign interference in elections: attaching property in the US, blocking trade, and an array of financial restrictions and penalties. The EO does not spell out criminal penalties that might fall under the sedition and treason statutes, but expect these to be activated as the law provides. Quite a few political celebrities and figures in the news and social media may have exposed themselves to liability in this. If it doesn’t mean the end of Facebook or Twitter, it may spell the end of Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey running them. Also include the less-well-known execs at The WashPo, The New York Times, and several cable news networks.
Eventually, Mr. Trump will have to personally deliver the bad news to Joe Biden that he and Dr. Jill won’t be attending the inaugural ball on January 20 (live or on Zoom). Sound too wild to be true? Well, stand by on it. We’ll know soon enough.
Reprinted with permission from Kunstler.com.
The Best of James Howard Kunstler


lewrockwell--2020-12-08--The Christmas Cookie Inflation Index

The Christmas Cookie Inflation Index

This is the time of year I start my Christmas baking and , I ’ m happy to report , it is going well .
Without travel impacting my schedule , I have been able to work ahead ( a year ago I was in the two last weeks of the 12-week Strong America Tour ) .
I have twenty-two boxes of sugary love I ’ m planning to deliver this year so there is no time to waste .
I ’ ve been baking cookies since the mid-1990 ’ s .
Both of my grandmothers—one Norwegian and one German—baked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As much as the music and the other traditions , the incredible selection of treats they produced , and the joy that accompanied them , are a large part of my Christmas memories .
When they passed away , it was important to me that someone carry on that tradition .
In their honor , I ’ ve been working to improve my baking skills , and share my creations , for more than two decades .
This involves the annual trip to the grocery store for baking supplies , a kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a personal tradition ( imagine a cart overflowing with sugars , chocolates , and the like ) .
It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that the supplies are becoming more and more expensive , but it was always a sticker shock reaction without any data to support it .
Mibote 17 Pcs Silicone ... Best Price : $ 24.69 Buy New $ 27.99 Until now .
I have long sensed that Americans are being gaslit about inflation , a topic I ’ ve raised that perpetually draws scorn and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preppers and anti-vaxers .
( FWIW , I ’ m a prudent prepper-lite and have all my shots , thank you ) .
Think what you might , it does not seem to me to require a grand conspiracy to believe that our government , which benefits tremendously from underreporting inflation , may systematically favor approaches that understate inflation .
With that in mind , and as a way to verify my hunch , in 2019 I created a basket of goods from my annual baking list that I plan to track year-to-year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would have used , so it is not like they are going to change in quality or quantity .
There are no substitutions , weighting , or hedonic adjustments that apply ( if you don ’ t know what that is , you should ) ; just a standard basket of goods that gives an indication of how much more or less it costs to produce my Christmas cookies each year .
I am not using sale prices , as my wife will attest .
Now I have two years of data and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way definitive—we need some more years to identify a real trend—the Christmas Cookie Index has risen 4.3 % in the last year .
This is compared to the official inflation rate of 1.2 % .
Here ’ s the official basket of goods in the Christmas Cookie Index : I ’ m not pretending the Christmas Cookie Index is some definitive form of inflation index that should be tracked and reported by the BLS , but I do think it may be instructive over time .
We ’ ll see .
Certainly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ list , the index would have been in deflation , but try baking this plate of cookies without vanilla .
If you are critical of this approach , or if you think I ’ m doing some great injustice to the pursuit of economics , I ’ m interested to hear your critique .
In the meantime , I ’ m going to get back to work in the kitchen .
There is lots of holiday cheer to spread .

This is the time of year I start my Christmas baking and, I’m happy to report, it is going well. Without travel impacting my schedule, I have been able to work ahead (a year ago I was in the two last weeks of the 12-week Strong America Tour). I have twenty-two boxes of sugary love I’m planning to deliver this year so there is no time to waste.
I’ve been baking cookies since the mid-1990’s. Both of my grandmothers—one Norwegian and one German—baked continually, but especially at Christmas time. As much as the music and the other traditions, the incredible selection of treats they produced, and the joy that accompanied them, are a large part of my Christmas memories. When they passed away, it was important to me that someone carry on that tradition. In their honor, I’ve been working to improve my baking skills, and share my creations, for more than two decades.
This involves the annual trip to the grocery store for baking supplies, a kind of bizarre kickoff event that has become a personal tradition (imagine a cart overflowing with sugars, chocolates, and the like). It has occurred to me on more than one occasion that the supplies are becoming more and more expensive, but it was always a sticker shock reaction without any data to support it. Mibote 17 Pcs Silicone... Best Price: $24.69 Buy New $27.99 (as of 06:24 UTC - Details)
Until now. I have long sensed that Americans are being gaslit about inflation, a topic I’ve raised that perpetually draws scorn and makes some of you categorize me alongside preppers and anti-vaxers. (FWIW, I’m a prudent prepper-lite and have all my shots, thank you). Think what you might, it does not seem to me to require a grand conspiracy to believe that our government, which benefits tremendously from underreporting inflation, may systematically favor approaches that understate inflation.
With that in mind, and as a way to verify my hunch, in 2019 I created a basket of goods from my annual baking list that I plan to track year-to-year. These are standard items my grandmothers would have used, so it is not like they are going to change in quality or quantity. There are no substitutions, weighting, or hedonic adjustments that apply (if you don’t know what that is, you should); just a standard basket of goods that gives an indication of how much more or less it costs to produce my Christmas cookies each year. I am not using sale prices, as my wife will attest.
Now I have two years of data and, while that is not in any way definitive—we need some more years to identify a real trend—the Christmas Cookie Index has risen 4.3% in the last year. This is compared to the official inflation rate of 1.2%.
Here’s the official basket of goods in the Christmas Cookie Index:
I’m not pretending the Christmas Cookie Index is some definitive form of inflation index that should be tracked and reported by the BLS, but I do think it may be instructive over time. We’ll see. Certainly, had I excluded vanilla extract from my list, the index would have been in deflation, but try baking this plate of cookies without vanilla.
If you are critical of this approach, or if you think I’m doing some great injustice to the pursuit of economics, I’m interested to hear your critique.
In the meantime, I’m going to get back to work in the kitchen. There is lots of holiday cheer to spread.
This originally appeared on Strong Towns.


lewrockwell--2020-12-08--Lin Wood: Consider the Source

Lin Wood: Consider the Source

As the media and pundits leap to disparage Georgia attorney and Trump supporter Lin Wood or discredit his claims of widespread voter fraud—it is important to consider who he is : a defamation lawyer .
And perhaps no one is better equipped or proven at correcting a false narrative than Wood .
His biggest victories include representing two of the most publicized instances of defamation or libel in the last 20 to 30 years in his representation of Richard Jewell and Nick Sandmann .
Jewell was incorrectly identified by the media and FBI as the bomber during the 1996 Olympics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a flagrant racist while on a high school field trip to the Lincoln Memorial and Washington D.C. Fullstar Vegetable Cho ... Best Price : $ 15.61 Buy New $ 16.97 When an attorney who carved out a niche successfully suing some of the most powerful organizations over false and damaging speech starts levying bold criminal allegations against politicians , it carries a degree of weight .
If anyone knows the legal or financial repercussions of spreading falsehoods , it is Wood .
Wood himself provided context at a rally with fellow attorney Sidney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I know about the law of defamation .
I know about the damn crooked FBI too .
I represented Richard Jewell , ” he said .
After clarifying his background– Wood went scorched earth , challenging and railing against the powers that be in Georgia and across the globe .
“ The law of defamation says if you make a false statement against someone that is defamatory , they can sue you .
Listen carefully Governor Kemp .
Listen carefully Brad Raffensperger , ” he said .
“ I state as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminals .
You took money from Dominion .
You took money from China with the Covid purchase .
And I damn well bet you will never sue me because the truth will prove that I am right .
You need to go to jail .
Follow the money .
Follow the money .
These fat cats sitting around spending your money .
Giving it to China .
Sticking it in their family ’ s pockets .
That ’ s not America.
” Pancake & Cupcake Batt ... Buy New $ 24.99 Woods comments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of calling your shot in baseball .
Kemp or Raffensperger won ’ t sue him , according to Wood , because his allegations are true .
Wood is keenly aware of the repercussions of defamation in a way that few others are .
Nothing and no one were off limits .
It was an equal opportunity attack .

As the media and pundits leap to disparage Georgia attorney and Trump supporter Lin Wood or discredit his claims of widespread voter fraud—it is important to consider who he is: a defamation lawyer.
And perhaps no one is better equipped or proven at correcting a false narrative than Wood.
His biggest victories include representing two of the most publicized instances of defamation or libel in the last 20 to 30 years in his representation of Richard Jewell and Nick Sandmann.
Jewell was incorrectly identified by the media and FBI as the bomber during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and Sandmann was mischaracterized as a flagrant racist while on a high school field trip to the Lincoln Memorial and Washington D.C.
Fullstar Vegetable Cho... Best Price: $15.61 Buy New $16.97 (as of 05:51 UTC - Details) When an attorney who carved out a niche successfully suing some of the most powerful organizations over false and damaging speech starts levying bold criminal allegations against politicians, it carries a degree of weight.
If anyone knows the legal or financial repercussions of spreading falsehoods, it is Wood.
Wood himself provided context at a rally with fellow attorney Sidney Powell in Alpharetta, Georgia on Wednesday.
“I know about the law of defamation. I know about the damn crooked FBI too. I represented Richard Jewell,” he said.
After clarifying his background– Wood went scorched earth, challenging and railing against the powers that be in Georgia and across the globe.
“The law of defamation says if you make a false statement against someone that is defamatory, they can sue you. Listen carefully Governor Kemp. Listen carefully Brad Raffensperger,” he said. “I state as a matter of fact that you are criminals. You took money from Dominion. You took money from China with the Covid purchase. And I damn well bet you will never sue me because the truth will prove that I am right. You need to go to jail. Follow the money. Follow the money. These fat cats sitting around spending your money. Giving it to China. Sticking it in their family’s pockets. That’s not America.” Pancake & Cupcake Batt... Buy New $24.99 (as of 06:25 UTC - Details)
Woods comments at the rally are the legal equivalent of calling your shot in baseball.
Kemp or Raffensperger won’t sue him, according to Wood, because his allegations are true.
Wood is keenly aware of the repercussions of defamation in a way that few others are.
Wood called out George Soros. China. Joe Biden. Governor Brian Kemp. Kelly Loeffler.
Nothing and no one were off limits. It was an equal opportunity attack.
Read the Whole Article


All Hail Democrats

My title is not a misprint .
And neither have I lost my mind and joined the Democratic Party .
I wouldn ’ t join the Democratic Party any more than I would join the Republicans Party .
I am an equal opportunity critic .
Sometimes I criticize Democrats , progressives , and the Democratic Party ; and sometimes I criticize Republicans , conservatives , and the Republican Party .
I rarely have anything good to say about either of these groups .
However , when they do something good ( which is not often ) , I applaud them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cut the Social Security tax rate from 6.2 to 4.2 percent for 2011 and 2012 .
And like when the Republicans all united and voted against Obamacare in 2010 ( but not since then ) .
I am often accused of being a Democrat or a liberal ( or worse ) when I write about the hypocrisy and the evils of Republicans and the Republican Party .
Lest there be any misunderstand , let me restate what I have written in the past about the evils of the Democratic Party : COSORI Air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 73.08 Buy New $ 119.99 It is the party of liberalism , progressivism , collectivism , socialism , paternalism , statism , abortion on demand ( at taxpayer expense for low-income women ) , the transgender movement , feminism , social justice warriors , economic egalitarianism , larger and more intrusive government , organized labor , increased government regulation of the economy and society , public education , government-mandated employee benefits , environmentalism , climate change , green energy , universal healthcare , an ever-increasing minimum wage , anti-discrimination laws , affirmative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and education as constitutional rights , more welfare with fewer work requirements , higher taxes on “ the rich , ” income-transfer programs , defunding the police , wealth-redistribution schemes , and every alternative lifestyle known to man .
And now I can add lockdowns and mask mandates ( which some Republicans support as well , but that is a subject for another article ) .
So , what is it that the Democrats did that we should applaud ?
On December 4 , Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures , distributes , or possesses marijuana.
” I say that Democrats passed the bill because the vote was 228-164 , with 222 Democrats in favor and only 6 opposed .
Five Republicans supported the bill : Representatives Matt Gaetz and Brian Mast of Florida , Tom McClintock of California , Denver Riggleman of Virginia , and Don Young of Alaska ; but 158 of them voted against it .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was the first time in history that a full chamber of Congress has taken up the issue of decriminalizing marijuana .
The bill now goes to the Senate , which is controlled by the Republicans , where it has zero chance of passage .
I mentioned recently that this bill had been languishing in the House for over a year .
To reiterate , the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement ( MORE ) Act of 2019 : Utopia Kitchen Glass F ... Best Price : $ 25.11 Buy New $ 27.99 • replaces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cannabis , • requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees , • establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs , • imposes a 5 % tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund , • makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers , • prohibits the denial of federal public benefits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions , • prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event ( e.g.
, conduct or a conviction ) , and • establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses .
Is this a perfect bill ?
Of course not .
But when has Congress ever passed a perfect bill ?
Congress rarely passes a good bill , and usually passes terrible bills .
Did Democrats pass the bill because of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some did .
Would they have voted for the bill if the tax provision was not in it ?
I don ’ t see why not .
Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan tried to quash the tax provision , as he said on Twitter : “ Speaker Pelosi refuses to allow votes on amendments to the House ’ s cannabis bill , including my amendment to strike new federal taxes/regulation that harm the goal of leaving cannabis policy to the states .
Legislating is about ideas , deliberation , and compromise .
Let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is why neither he nor the great Rep. Thomas Massie ( R-KY ) voted for the bill , and I respect them for that ( and believe me , I have absolutely no respect for 99 % of all current and former members of Congress , Ron Paul , Walter Jones , and John Duncan being notable exceptions ) .
But back in 1933 , when the Twenty-first Amendment to repeal Prohibition was being considered , the state conventions that ratified the amendment wisely chose the inevitability of federal taxes and regulations on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alcohol .
So , what does this bill mean and what does it not mean ?
It does mean that marijuana is effectively legal on the federal level .
Stainless Steel Knife ... Buy New $ 49.99 It does not mean that other drugs are legal on the federal level .
It does not mean that the federal war on drugs is over .
It does not mean that the federal drug czar will be fired .
It does not mean that a single employee of the DEA will apply for unemployment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ government will not regulate marijuana .
It does not mean that all Americans can now light up and get stoned .
And it does not mean that marijuana is now legal in every state .
As a result of the November election , there are now thirty-five states where the medical use of marijuana is legal and fifteen states where the recreational use of marijuana is legal ( both are legal in the District of Columbia ) .
This means that there are fifteen states where marijuana use for any reason is still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only permitted for medical use .
That is still a lot of places in the United States where one can be arrested , fined , and imprisoned for growing , using , buying , selling , or possessing marijuana .
As long as Republicans have their way , the federal war on marijuana will continue .
Almost to a man ( and woman ) , they are resolute drug warriors who want to lock people in cages for possessing too much of a plant that the government doesn ’ t approve of .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I can ’ t ever imagine myself praising Democrats again .
But when it comes to marijuana on the federal level , they are on the right track while Republicans aren ’ t even at the train station .
The Best of Laurence M. Vance

My title is not a misprint. And neither have I lost my mind and joined the Democratic Party. I wouldn’t join the Democratic Party any more than I would join the Republicans Party.
I am an equal opportunity critic. Sometimes I criticize Democrats, progressives, and the Democratic Party; and sometimes I criticize Republicans, conservatives, and the Republican Party. I rarely have anything good to say about either of these groups. However, when they do something good (which is not often), I applaud them. Like when Obama and the Democrats cut the Social Security tax rate from 6.2 to 4.2 percent for 2011 and 2012. And like when the Republicans all united and voted against Obamacare in 2010 (but not since then).
I am often accused of being a Democrat or a liberal (or worse) when I write about the hypocrisy and the evils of Republicans and the Republican Party. Lest there be any misunderstand, let me restate what I have written in the past about the evils of the Democratic Party: COSORI Air Fryer Max X... Best Price: $73.08 Buy New $119.99 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details)
It is the party of liberalism, progressivism, collectivism, socialism, paternalism, statism, abortion on demand (at taxpayer expense for low-income women), the transgender movement, feminism, social justice warriors, economic egalitarianism, larger and more intrusive government, organized labor, increased government regulation of the economy and society, public education, government-mandated employee benefits, environmentalism, climate change, green energy, universal healthcare, an ever-increasing minimum wage, anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action, government-funded child care, healthcare and education as constitutional rights, more welfare with fewer work requirements, higher taxes on “the rich,” income-transfer programs, defunding the police, wealth-redistribution schemes, and every alternative lifestyle known to man.
And now I can add lockdowns and mask mandates (which some Republicans support as well, but that is a subject for another article).
So, what is it that the Democrats did that we should applaud?
On December 4, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R.3884) to decriminalize marijuana that “removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.”
I say that Democrats passed the bill because the vote was 228-164, with 222 Democrats in favor and only 6 opposed. Five Republicans supported the bill: Representatives Matt Gaetz and Brian Mast of Florida, Tom McClintock of California, Denver Riggleman of Virginia, and Don Young of Alaska; but 158 of them voted against it. Thirty-eight representatives did not vote. This was the first time in history that a full chamber of Congress has taken up the issue of decriminalizing marijuana. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is controlled by the Republicans, where it has zero chance of passage.
(The members of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) actually just voted to reschedule marijuana, backing a World Health Organization (WHO) proposal.)
I mentioned recently that this bill had been languishing in the House for over a year. To reiterate, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019: Utopia Kitchen Glass F... Best Price: $25.11 Buy New $27.99 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details)
replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis,
requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,
establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,
imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund,
makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,
prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,
prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), and
establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.
Is this a perfect bill? Of course not. But when has Congress ever passed a perfect bill? Congress rarely passes a good bill, and usually passes terrible bills. Did Democrats pass the bill because of the 5 percent tax it imposes? Perhaps some did. Would they have voted for the bill if the tax provision was not in it? I don’t see why not.
Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan tried to quash the tax provision, as he said on Twitter: “Speaker Pelosi refuses to allow votes on amendments to the House’s cannabis bill, including my amendment to strike new federal taxes/regulation that harm the goal of leaving cannabis policy to the states. Legislating is about ideas, deliberation, and compromise. Let us legislate.”Although he voted for the bill, I presume that this is why the great Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted against the bill, and I respect him for that (and believe me, I have absolutely no respect for 99% of all current and former members of Congress, Ron Paul, Walter Jones, and John Duncan being notable exceptions).
But back in 1933, when the Twenty-first Amendment to repeal Prohibition was being considered, the state conventions that ratified the amendment wisely chose the inevitability of federal taxes and regulations on alcohol over the existing federal prohibition of alcohol.
So, what does this bill mean and what does it not mean?
It does mean that marijuana is effectively legal on the federal level. Stainless Steel Knife ... Buy New $49.99 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details)
It does not mean that other drugs are legal on the federal level.
It does not mean that the federal war on drugs is over.
It does not mean that the federal drug czar will be fired.
It does not mean that a single employee of the DEA will apply for unemployment.
It does not mean that the federal government will not regulate marijuana.
It does not mean that all Americans can now light up and get stoned.
And it does not mean that marijuana is now legal in every state.
As a result of the November election, there are now thirty-five states where the medical use of marijuana is legal and fifteen states where the recreational use of marijuana is legal (both are legal in the District of Columbia). This means that there are fifteen states where marijuana use for any reason is still illegal and thirty-five states where marijuana is only permitted for medical use. That is still a lot of places in the United States where one can be arrested, fined, and imprisoned for growing, using, buying, selling, or possessing marijuana.
As long as Republicans have their way, the federal war on marijuana will continue. Almost to a man (and woman), they are resolute drug warriors who want to lock people in cages for possessing too much of a plant that the government doesn’t approve of.
The Democratic Party is so evil that I can’t ever imagine myself praising Democrats again. But when it comes to marijuana on the federal level, they are on the right track while Republicans aren’t even at the train station.
The Best of Laurence M. Vance


lewrockwell--2020-12-08--Another Step Toward Cashless, Because Corona

It ’ s a wonder the Gesundheitsfuhrers didn ’ t shut down gas stations given that people touch the pump handles and the cases !
the cases !
Well , that ’ s coming – even though people will still be touching the pumps .
But they won ’ t be touching money – especially cash money .
Instead , the “ money ” will be automatically extracted from their electronic wallet via something called PayByCar .
The idea is for “ contactless ” transactions – to “ stop the spread ” of WuFlu .
Stainless Steel Knife ... Buy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people will still handle the pumps is difficult to understand .
What ’ s easy to understand is that “ contactless ” means cash-less , which also means – if this system ever became default – that it may become very hard to buy gas with cash or even a credit card .
Instead , you ’ d pay via an “ app ” on your phone – and a bug buried in your car , as PayByCar envisions .
This company – which is a “ provider of in-vehicle payment solutions ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ OEM supplier Gentex Corp to introduce something called the Integrated Toll Module , which works like it sounds .
A device is integrated with the vehicle that knows ( via RFID chipping ) where the car is in relation to gas stations ( as well as other things ) .
It then sends a text to the driver , whose identity is paired to the car – who texts back the station pump number and the system obligingly turns on the pump and debits the cost of the fill-up from the person ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and surely will be – debited as well .
Because of the “ interest in new revenue streams , ” that the parties involved expect to cash in on .
Ross-Simons Sterling S ... Buy New $ 85.00 For instance , by electronically debiting the driver for using a road at a given time ; i.e.
, congestion pricing – made automatic and so unavoidable , if your car has the integrated module .
It knows where you ’ re driving and when you ’ re driving – and makes change .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pilot programmed ” in several states as a way to mulct drivers for avoiding motor fuels taxes by driving electric cars or paying lower motor fuels taxes by driving more fuel-efficient cars .
There are all kinds of possibilities .
One could even imagine the ITM tied into one ’ s social credit standing ; if you don ’ t wear your Face Diaper or aren ’ t up-to-date on your vaccinations , you get dunned if you drive .
The Best of Eric Peters

It’s a wonder the Gesundheitsfuhrers didn’t shut down gas stations given that people touch the pump handles and the cases! the cases!
Well, that’s coming – even though people will still be touching the pumps. But they won’t be touching money – especially cash money. Instead, the “money” will be automatically extracted from their electronic wallet via something called PayByCar.
The idea is for “contactless” transactions – to “stop the spread” of WuFlu.
Stainless Steel Knife ... Buy New $49.99 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details) How that works when people will still handle the pumps is difficult to understand. What’s easy to understand is that “contactless” means cash-less, which also means – if this system ever became default – that it may become very hard to buy gas with cash or even a credit card. Instead, you’d pay via an “app” on your phone – and a bug buried in your car, as PayByCar envisions.
This company – which is a “provider of in-vehicle payment solutions” – has “partnered” with big-time OEM supplier Gentex Corp to introduce something called the Integrated Toll Module, which works like it sounds. A device is integrated with the vehicle that knows (via RFID chipping) where the car is in relation to gas stations (as well as other things). It then sends a text to the driver, whose identity is paired to the car – who texts back the station pump number and the system obligingly turns on the pump and debits the cost of the fill-up from the person’s account.
Other costs could be — and surely will be – debited as well. Because of the “interest in new revenue streams,” that the parties involved expect to cash in on.
By eliminating cash.
Ross-Simons Sterling S... Buy New $85.00 (as of 06:27 UTC - Details) For instance, by electronically debiting the driver for using a road at a given time; i.e., congestion pricing – made automatic and so unavoidable, if your car has the integrated module. It knows where you’re driving and when you’re driving – and makes change.
And tax-by-mile, something already being “pilot programmed” in several states as a way to mulct drivers for avoiding motor fuels taxes by driving electric cars or paying lower motor fuels taxes by driving more fuel-efficient cars.
There are all kinds of possibilities.
One could even imagine the ITM tied into one’s social credit standing; if you don’t wear your Face Diaper or aren’t up-to-date on your vaccinations, you get dunned if you drive.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters


lewrockwell--2020-12-08--Amanda Suffers From CS. Do You?

Amanda Suffers From CS. Do You?

My daughter ’ s friend—I ’ ll call her Amanda—never wears a mask anywhere .
When the clerk standing outside our local grocery store distributing free masks and hand sanitizer asks if she ’ d like a mask , Amanda smiles and says “ No , thank you.
” If he asks , “ Are you sure ?
” she nods and says , “ I don ’ t have to wear a mask .
I suffer from CS.
” The clerk then says , “ I ’ m sorry , ” and waves her inside the store .
CS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some congenital ailment of the lungs or heart , or some affliction derived from asbestos or smoking .
For Amanda , CS stands for “ Common Sense.
” Bedsure Satin Pillowca ... Best Price : $ 8.83 Buy New $ 10.99 I laughed when I heard this story , but then got to thinking : Why is it I have so detested masks ever since the first day the governor mandated them here in Virginia ?
If masks protect others , shouldn ’ t I be happy to cover my nose and mouth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Honda Civic , I practice defensive driving ; I don ’ t tailgate , I double check my rearview mirror before changing lanes , and if another driver behaves rudely or foolishly , I try to keep my cool .
So why am I having such difficulty showing people similar courtesies when it comes to wearing a mask ?
My reasons , from least to most important , are the following : Comfort .
The masks I wear irritate my cheeks and chin and also stifle my breathing .
After spending just 15 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ begin feeling like a caged animal as I pull and tug at the corners , seeking air and relief from discomfort .
Glasses .
Wearing a mask fogs up my glasses , in turn demonstrating that the mask is not working , my breath is escaping around the corners .
Ray-Ban unisex adult R ... Buy New $ 109.95 This time last year , and for three years before that , I visited our public library several times a week , where I would browse the books before settling down to a couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seating galore , including a vestibule with five tables where I could eat lunch and sip my coffee while working .
Masks have put an end to those prolonged stays .
The library staff is strict about this mask business , they even removed the tables from the vestibule because some patrons were removing their masks to talk with friends .
Besides , typing with befogged glasses is a misery I ’ ve decided to avoid .
Today I go to the library to find a particular book or two , then I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protection .
Physicians and scientists have argued about whether masks even work .
The thousands who signed the Great Barrington Declaration , including prominent epidemiologists , argue against lockdowns and for herd immunity instead , encouraging the healthy and the young to resume their normal lives .

My daughter’s friend—I’ll call her Amanda—never wears a mask anywhere. When the clerk standing outside our local grocery store distributing free masks and hand sanitizer asks if she’d like a mask, Amanda smiles and says “No, thank you.” If he asks, “Are you sure?” she nods and says, “I don’t have to wear a mask. I suffer from CS.”
The clerk then says, “I’m sorry,” and waves her inside the store.
CS carries a dire tone, sounding like some congenital ailment of the lungs or heart, or some affliction derived from asbestos or smoking.
For Amanda, CS stands for “Common Sense.” Bedsure Satin Pillowca... Best Price: $8.83 Buy New $10.99 (as of 06:28 UTC - Details)
I laughed when I heard this story, but then got to thinking: Why is it I have so detested masks ever since the first day the governor mandated them here in Virginia? If masks protect others, shouldn’t I be happy to cover my nose and mouth? When I’m in my Honda Civic, I practice defensive driving; I don’t tailgate, I double check my rearview mirror before changing lanes, and if another driver behaves rudely or foolishly, I try to keep my cool.
So why am I having such difficulty showing people similar courtesies when it comes to wearing a mask?
My reasons, from least to most important, are the following:
Comfort. The masks I wear irritate my cheeks and chin and also stifle my breathing. After spending just 15 minutes masked in the grocery store I begin feeling like a caged animal as I pull and tug at the corners, seeking air and relief from discomfort.
Glasses. Wearing a mask fogs up my glasses, in turn demonstrating that the mask is not working, my breath is escaping around the corners.
Ray-Ban unisex adult R... Buy New $109.95 (as of 06:28 UTC - Details) This time last year, and for three years before that, I visited our public library several times a week, where I would browse the books before settling down to a couple hours of writing. The library offered seating galore, including a vestibule with five tables where I could eat lunch and sip my coffee while working.
Masks have put an end to those prolonged stays. The library staff is strict about this mask business, they even removed the tables from the vestibule because some patrons were removing their masks to talk with friends. Besides, typing with befogged glasses is a misery I’ve decided to avoid. Today I go to the library to find a particular book or two, then I check out and go home.
Ineffective protection. Physicians and scientists have argued about whether masks even work. The thousands who signed the Great Barrington Declaration, including prominent epidemiologists, argue against lockdowns and for herd immunity instead, encouraging the healthy and the young to resume their normal lives.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-12-08--Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Psychological Warfare Disguised as a Pandemic Threat

It ’ s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers all over again .
The nation is being overtaken by an alien threat that invades bodies , alters minds , and transforms freedom-loving people into a mindless , compliant , conforming mob intolerant of anyone who dares to be different , let alone think for themselves .
However , while Body Snatchers—the chilling 1956 film directed by Don Siegel—blames its woes on seed pods from outerspace , the seismic societal shift taking place in America owes less to biological warfare reliant on the COVID-19 virus than it does to psychological warfare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Men ’ s Ess ... Best Price : $ 19.11 Buy New $ 37.56 This is how you persuade a populace to voluntarily march in lockstep with a police state and police themselves ( and each other ) : by ratcheting up the fear-factor , meted out one carefully calibrated crisis at a time , and teaching them to distrust any who diverge from the norm .
This is not a new experiment in mind control .
MOERDENG Men ’ s W ... Buy New $ 79.99 The powers-that-be have been pushing our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much cattle since World War II , at least , starting with the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor , which not only propelled the U.S. into World War II but also unified the American people in their opposition to a common enemy .
That fear of attack by foreign threats , conveniently torqued by the growing military industrial complex , in turn gave rise to the Cold War era ’ s “ Red Scare.
” Promulgated through government propaganda , paranoia and manipulation , anti-Communist sentiments boiled over into a mass hysteria that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your friends , the next-door neighbor , even your family members could be a Communist subversive .
This hysteria , which culminated in hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee , where hundreds of Americans were called before Congress to testify about their so-called Communist affiliations and intimidated into making false confessions , also paved the way for the rise of an all-knowing , all-seeing governmental surveillance state .
The 9/11 attacks followed a similar script : a foreign invasion mounts an attack on an unsuspecting nation , the people unite in solidarity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government gains greater war-time powers ( read : surveillance powers ) that , conveniently enough , become permanent once the threat has passed .
AstroAI Balaclava Ski ... Buy New $ 9.58 The government ’ s scripted response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been predictably consistent : once again , in order to fight this so-called “ foreign ” foe , the government insists it needs even greater surveillance powers .
As we ’ ve seen since 9/11 and more recently with the COVID lockdowns , those in power have always had a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perceived threats .
However , unlike the modern America police state , the American government circa the 1950s did not have at its disposal the arsenal of invasive technologies that are such an intrinsic part of our modern surveillance state .
Today , we are watched and tracked 24/7 ; data is collected on us at an alarming rate by governmental and corporate entities ; and with the help of powerful computer programs , American domestic intelligence agencies sweep our websites , listen in on our telephone calls and read our text messages @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic and its offshoots such as contact tracing and immunity passports , the governmental landscape is even more invasive .
Yet no matter the threat , the underlying principle remains the same : can we hold onto our basic freedoms and avoid succumbing to the soul-sucking dredge of conformity that threatens our very humanity ?
Ultimate Socks Mens Th ... Buy New $ 11.95 This conundrum is at the heart of the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers , which was based on a 1954 science fiction novel by Jack Finney ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1978 film by Philip Kaufman ) .
Body Snatchers not only captured the ideology and politics of its post-war era but remains timely and relevant as it relates to the worries that plague us today .
Filmed with only seven days of rehearsal and 23 days of actual shooting , Body Snatchers is considered one of the great science fiction classics .
Body Snatchers is set in a small California town which has been infiltrated by mysterious pods from outer space that replicate and take the place of humans who then become conforming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ character , is a local doctor who resists the invaders and their attempts to erase humanity from the face of the earth .
At the very least , the film conveys a double meaning , serving as both a mirror of a particular moment in history and a compass pointing to a growing societal illness .
Following World War II with the emerging military empire , the atomic bomb and the Korean War , Americans were confused and neurotically preoccupied with domestic threats , the polio pandemic and international political events , not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preoccupied with domestic and international political drama , terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic .
Yet Siegel ’ s film delves beneath the surface to confront an even more sinister threat : the dehumanization of individuals and the horrifying possibility that humanity could become infused as part of the societal machine .
ZIONOR Lagopus Ski Sno ... Buy New $ 19.99 Central to the film is one key speech delivered by Bennell while hiding from the aliens : As Siegel makes clear , it is not Communists or terrorists or even viral pandemics that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is invasive governmental measures—something we now see happening across the country—and , thus , totalitarian conformity .
And resistance must be against all government measures that threaten our civil liberties and against all kinds of conformity , no matter the shape , size or color of the package it comes in .
When all is said and done , however , the real threat to freedom ( in the fictional world of Body Snatchers and in our present-day America ) is posed by an establishment—be it governmental , corporate or societal—that is hostile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge the status quo .
The mob hysteria , sense of paranoia , fascist police and the witch hunt atmosphere of the film mirror the ills of a 1950s America that is frighteningly applicable to present American society .
Acknowledging that Body Snatchers portrayed the conflict between individuals and varied forms of mindless authority , Siegel stated , “ I think the world is populated by pods and I wanted to show them.
” He explained : All of the threats to freedom documented in my book Battlefield America : The War on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we the people ” stopped thinking for ourselves and relinquished control over our lives and our country to government operatives who care only for money and power .
While the specific game plan for turning things around is complicated by a police state that wants to keep us at a disadvantage , the solution is relatively simple : Don ’ t be a pod person .
Pay attention .
Question everything .
Dare to be different .
Don ’ t follow the mob .
Don ’ t let yourself become numb to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Be humane .
Most of all , think for yourself .
The Best of John W. Whitehead

“Look! You fools! You’re in danger! Can’t you see? They’re after you! They’re after all of us! Our wives…our children…they’re here already! You’re next!”—Dr. Miles Bennell, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
It’s like Invasion of the Body Snatchers all over again.
The nation is being overtaken by an alien threat that invades bodies, alters minds, and transforms freedom-loving people into a mindless, compliant, conforming mob intolerant of anyone who dares to be different, let alone think for themselves.
However, while Body Snatchers—the chilling 1956 film directed by Don Siegel—blames its woes on seed pods from outerspace, the seismic societal shift taking place in America owes less to biological warfare reliant on the COVID-19 virus than it does to psychological warfare disguised as a pandemic threat. Arctix Men’s Ess... Best Price: $19.11 Buy New $37.56 (as of 07:46 UTC - Details)
As science writer David Robson explains:
Fears of contagion lead us to become more conformist and tribalistic, and less accepting of eccentricity. Our moral judgements become harsher and our social attitudes more conservative when considering issues such as immigration or sexual freedom and equality. Daily reminders of disease may even sway our political affiliations… Various experiments have shown that we become more conformist and respectful of convention when we feel the threat of a disease… the evocative images of a pandemic led [participants in an experiment] to value conformity and obedience over eccentricity or rebellion.
This is how you persuade a populace to voluntarily march in lockstep with a police state and police themselves (and each other): by ratcheting up the fear-factor, meted out one carefully calibrated crisis at a time, and teaching them to distrust any who diverge from the norm.
This is not a new experiment in mind control.
MOERDENG Men’s W... Buy New $79.99 (as of 07:46 UTC - Details) The powers-that-be have been pushing our buttons and herding us along like so much cattle since World War II, at least, starting with the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, which not only propelled the U.S. into World War II but also unified the American people in their opposition to a common enemy.
That fear of attack by foreign threats, conveniently torqued by the growing military industrial complex, in turn gave rise to the Cold War era’s “Red Scare.” Promulgated through government propaganda, paranoia and manipulation, anti-Communist sentiments boiled over into a mass hysteria that viewed anyone and everyone as suspect: your friends, the next-door neighbor, even your family members could be a Communist subversive.
This hysteria, which culminated in hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, where hundreds of Americans were called before Congress to testify about their so-called Communist affiliations and intimidated into making false confessions, also paved the way for the rise of an all-knowing, all-seeing governmental surveillance state.
The 9/11 attacks followed a similar script: a foreign invasion mounts an attack on an unsuspecting nation, the people unite in solidarity against a common foe, and the government gains greater war-time powers (read: surveillance powers) that, conveniently enough, become permanent once the threat has passed. AstroAI Balaclava Ski ... Buy New $9.58 (as of 07:46 UTC - Details)
The government’s scripted response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been predictably consistent: once again, in order to fight this so-called “foreign” foe, the government insists it needs even greater surveillance powers.
As we’ve seen since 9/11 and more recently with the COVID lockdowns, those in power have always had a penchant for enacting extreme measures to combat perceived threats. However, unlike the modern America police state, the American government circa the 1950s did not have at its disposal the arsenal of invasive technologies that are such an intrinsic part of our modern surveillance state.
Today, we are watched and tracked 24/7; data is collected on us at an alarming rate by governmental and corporate entities; and with the help of powerful computer programs, American domestic intelligence agencies sweep our websites, listen in on our telephone calls and read our text messages at will.
Now with the COVID pandemic and its offshoots such as contact tracing and immunity passports, the governmental landscape is even more invasive.
Yet no matter the threat, the underlying principle remains the same: can we hold onto our basic freedoms and avoid succumbing to the soul-sucking dredge of conformity that threatens our very humanity?
Ultimate Socks Mens Th... Buy New $11.95 (as of 07:46 UTC - Details) This conundrum is at the heart of the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which was based on a 1954 science fiction novel by Jack Finney (and later remade into an equally chilling 1978 film by Philip Kaufman).
Body Snatchers not only captured the ideology and politics of its post-war era but remains timely and relevant as it relates to the worries that plague us today. Filmed with only seven days of rehearsal and 23 days of actual shooting, Body Snatchers is considered one of the great science fiction classics.
Body Snatchers is set in a small California town which has been infiltrated by mysterious pods from outer space that replicate and take the place of humans who then become conforming non-individuals. Miles Bennell, the main character, is a local doctor who resists the invaders and their attempts to erase humanity from the face of the earth.
At the very least, the film conveys a double meaning, serving as both a mirror of a particular moment in history and a compass pointing to a growing societal illness. Following World War II with the emerging military empire, the atomic bomb and the Korean War, Americans were confused and neurotically preoccupied with domestic threats, the polio pandemic and international political events, not much different from today’s populace preoccupied with domestic and international political drama, terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet Siegel’s film delves beneath the surface to confront an even more sinister threat: the dehumanization of individuals and the horrifying possibility that humanity could become infused as part of the societal machine. ZIONOR Lagopus Ski Sno... Buy New $19.99 (as of 07:46 UTC - Details)
Central to the film is one key speech delivered by Bennell while hiding from the aliens:
In my practice, I see how people have allowed their humanity to drain away…only it happens slowly instead of all at once. They didn’t seem to mind…. All of us, a little bit. We harden our hearts…grow callous…only when we have to fight to stay human do we realize how precious it is.
As Siegel makes clear, it is not Communists or terrorists or even viral pandemics that threaten our well-being. The real enemy is invasive governmental measures—something we now see happening across the country—and, thus, totalitarian conformity. And resistance must be against all government measures that threaten our civil liberties and against all kinds of conformity, no matter the shape, size or color of the package it comes in.
When all is said and done, however, the real threat to freedom (in the fictional world of Body Snatchers and in our present-day America) is posed by an establishment—be it governmental, corporate or societal—that is hostile to individuality and those who dare to challenge the status quo.
The mob hysteria, sense of paranoia, fascist police and the witch hunt atmosphere of the film mirror the ills of a 1950s America that is frighteningly applicable to present American society.
Acknowledging that Body Snatchers portrayed the conflict between individuals and varied forms of mindless authority, Siegel stated, “I think the world is populated by pods and I wanted to show them.” He explained:
People are pods. Many of my associates are certainly pods. They have no feelings. They exist, breathe, sleep. To be a pod means that you have no passion, no anger, the spark has left you…of course, there’s a very strong case for being a pod. These pods, who get rid of pain, ill-health and mental disturbances are, in a sense, doing good. It happens to leave you in a very dull world but that, by the way, is the world that most of us live in. It’s the same as people who welcome going into the army or prison. There’s regimentation, a lack of having to make up your mind, face decisions…. People are becoming vegetables. I don’t know what the answer is except an awareness of it.
All of the threats to freedom documented in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People came about because “we the people” stopped thinking for ourselves and relinquished control over our lives and our country to government operatives who care only for money and power.
While the specific game plan for turning things around is complicated by a police state that wants to keep us at a disadvantage, the solution is relatively simple: Don’t be a pod person. Pay attention. Question everything. Dare to be different. Don’t follow the mob. Don’t let yourself become numb to the world around you. Be compassionate. Be humane. Most of all, think for yourself.
The Best of John W. Whitehead