investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Welcome to America’s Cultural Revolution. Even in the opinion section, only approved thought is perm

Welcome to America’s Cultural Revolution. Even in the opinion section, only approved thought is permitted.

The Times can claim that a harsh tone and a small factual error in Senator Tom Cotton ’ s recent op-ed was the reason the entire paper had a meltdown , but the staffers who revolted initially claimed that Cotton ’ s argument for bringing the National Guard into cities put black lives in “ danger.
” Cotton ’ s critics are correct that not every dumb or radical idea deserves a debate or a place in the country ’ s biggest newspapers — although some of us believe editors should make room for contrarian and unpopular arguments .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That Cotton ’ s column , which tonally and philosophically was well within the parameters of traditional editorial writing , might have found an audience .
At root , our cultural revolutionaries are frightened of ideas .
Do we honestly believe that had another paper published it , the same people wouldn ’ t have deemed that inappropriate , too ?
None of the Times ’ editors , all of whom are apparently comfortable with running fabulist histories or odes to Communist tyrannies , pushed back against the caustic notion that engaging in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bowed to the internal mob and pleaded for forgiveness .

via nationalreview
The Times can claim that a harsh tone and a small factual error in Senator Tom Cotton’s recent op-ed was the reason the entire paper had a meltdown, but the staffers who revolted initially claimed that Cotton’s argument for bringing the National Guard into cities put black lives in “danger.”
Cotton’s critics are correct that not every dumb or radical idea deserves a debate or a place in the country’s biggest newspapers — although some of us believe editors should make room for contrarian and unpopular arguments. But this insistence masks their real objection: That Cotton’s column, which tonally and philosophically was well within the parameters of traditional editorial writing, might have found an audience. At root, our cultural revolutionaries are frightened of ideas. Do we honestly believe that had another paper published it, the same people wouldn’t have deemed that inappropriate, too?
None of the Times’ editors, all of whom are apparently comfortable with running fabulist histories or odes to Communist tyrannies, pushed back against the caustic notion that engaging in debate was act of violence. They bowed to the internal mob and pleaded for forgiveness.


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--READY FOR PART 3? It’s the COLLAPSE Of the BANKING SECTOR

1 ) Plandemic ( won ’ t get into it , we all know…crippled the financial system among other things ) 2 ) Riots- also ties in economically among other things 4 ) Eventually dollar collapse but that comes later Here ’ s the article from The Atlantic : The U.S. financial system could be on the cusp of calamity .
This time , we might not be able to save it .
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic , American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy : broken supply chains @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep , prolonged recession .
But there ’ s another threat to the economy , too .
It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks , and it could be cataclysmic .
Imagine if , in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic , you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed .
… sometime in the next year , we will all stare into the financial abyss .
…The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sectors .
If it fails , fundamental aspects of modern life could fail with it .
We could lose the ability to get loans to buy a house or a car , or to pay for college .
Without reliable credit , many Americans might struggle to pay for their daily needs .
This is why , in 2008 , then–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson went so far as to get down on one knee to beg Nancy Pelosi for her help sparing the system .
He understood the alternative .
If we do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year without waking up to a collapse , we must find ways to prevent the big banks from going all in on bets they can ’ t afford to lose .
Their luck—and ours—will at some point run out .

by Head2Bunker
They’re warning us.
1) Plandemic (won’t get into it, we all know…crippled the financial system among other things)
2) Riots- also ties in economically among other things
3) Bank Collapses- Bank Holiday-coming soon
4) Eventually dollar collapse but that comes later
Here’s the article from The Atlantic:
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The Looming Bank Collapse
The U.S. financial system could be on the cusp of calamity. This time, we might not be able to save it .
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic. Imagine if, in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed .
… sometime in the next year, we will all stare into the financial abyss.
…The financial sector isn’t like other sectors. If it fails, fundamental aspects of modern life could fail with it. We could lose the ability to get loans to buy a house or a car, or to pay for college. Without reliable credit, many Americans might struggle to pay for their daily needs. This is why, in 2008, then–Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson went so far as to get down on one knee to beg Nancy Pelosi for her help sparing the system. He understood the alternative.
If we do manage to make it through the next year without waking up to a collapse, we must find ways to prevent the big banks from going all in on bets they can’t afford to lose. Their luck—and ours—will at some point run out.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/07/coronavirus-banks-collapse/612247/


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Is this the fastest zero to starving speed record commies have ever achieved?

UPDATE : From the comments : “ I ’ m liking our chances if this turns into civil war .
@ @ @ @ @ supply lines and force an early surrender.
” Plus : “ I knew there were @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know they were LAUGH riots !
” THE DEMANDS OF THE COLLECTIVE BLACK @ @ @ @ @ TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SEATTLE , WASHINGTON

HEH:
Plus:
Also heh.
UPDATE: From the comments: “I’m liking our chances if this turns into civil war. We cut off their soy supply lines and force an early surrender.”
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Plus: “I knew there were riots, but I didn’t know they were LAUGH riots!”
Area leftists declare themselves autonomous, immediately beg for international aid. pic.twitter.com/toxVnOdMP5 — James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) June 10, 2020
THE DEMANDS OF THE COLLECTIVE BLACK VOICES AT FREE CAPITOL HILL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
h/t GR


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--BLM Demands in Seattle

BLM Demands in Seattle

• The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform .
We do not request reform , we demand abolition .
We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus .
This means 100 % of funding , including existing pensions for Seattle Police .
At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE in the city of Seattle .
• In the transitionary period between now and the dismantlement of the Seattle Police Department , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be banned entirely .
No guns , no batons , no riot shields , no chemical weapons , especially against those exercising their First Amendment right as Americans to protest .
• We demand an end to the school-to-prison pipeline and the abolition of youth jails .
Get kids out of prison , get cops out of schools .
We also demand that the new youth prison being built in Seattle currently be repurposed .
• We demand that not the City government , nor the State government , but that the Federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and current cases of police brutality in Seattle and Washington , as well as the re-opening of all closed cases reported to the Office of Police Accountability .
In particular , we demand that cases particular to Seattle and Washington be reopened where no justice has been served , namely the cases of Iosia Faletogo , Damarius Butts , Isaiah Obet , Tommy Le , Shaun Fuhr , and Charleena Lyles .
• We demand reparations for victims of police brutality , in a form to be determined .
• We demand that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of officers involved in police brutality a matter of public record .
Anonymity should not even be a privilege in public service .
• We demand a retrial of all People in Color currently serving a prison sentence for violent crime , by a jury of their peers in their community .
• We demand decriminalization of the acts of protest , and amnesty for protestors generally , but specifically those involved in what has been termed “ The George Floyd Rebellion ” against the terrorist cell that previously occupied this area known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes the immediate release of all protestors currently being held in prison after the arrests made at 11th and Pine on Sunday night and early Saturday morning June 7th and 8th , and any other protesters arrested in the past two weeks of the uprising , the name Evan Hreha in particular comes to mind who filmed Seattle police macing a young girl and is now in jail .
• We demand that the City of Seattle and the State Government release any prisoner currently serving time for a marijuana-related offense and expunge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the City of Seattle and State Government release any prisoner currently serving time just for resisting arrest if there are no other related charges , and that those convictions should also be expunged .
• We demand that prisoners currently serving time be given the full and unrestricted right to vote , and for Washington State to pass legislation specifically breaking from Federal law that prevents felons from being able to vote .
• We demand an end to prosecutorial immunity for police officers in the time between now and the dissolution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • We demand the abolition of imprisonment , generally speaking , but especially the abolition of both youth prisons and privately-owned , for-profit prisons .
• We demand in replacement of the current criminal justice system the creation of restorative/transformative accountability programs as a replacement for imprisonment .
• We demand autonomy be given to the people to create localized anti-crime systems .
• We demand that the Seattle Police Department , between now and the time of its abolition in the near future , empty its “ lost and found ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city .
• We demand justice for those who have been sexually harassed or abused by the Seattle Police Department or prison guards in the state of Washington .
• We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that each and every SPD officer turn on their body cameras , and that the body camera video of all Seattle police should be a matter of easily accessible public record .
• We demand that the funding previously used for Seattle Police be redirected into : A ) Socialized Health and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ B ) Free public housing , because housing is a right , not a privilege .
C ) Public education , to decrease the average class size in city schools and increase teacher salary .
D ) Naturalization services for immigrants to the United States living here undocumented .
( We demand they be called “ undocumented ” because no person is illegal . )
E ) General community development .
Parks , etc .
We also have economic demands that must be addressed .
• We demand the de-gentrification of Seattle , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand the restoration of city funding for arts and culture to re-establish the once-rich local cultural identity of Seattle .
• We demand free college for the people of the state of Washington , due to the overwhelming effect that education has on economic success , and the correlated overwhelming impact of poverty on people of color , as a form of reparations for the treatment of Black people in this state and country .
• We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that Seattle Police be prohibited from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and disturb our homeless neighbors , and on equal footing we demand an end to all evictions .
• We demand a decentralized election process to give the citizens of Seattle a greater ability to select candidates for public office such that we are not forced to choose at the poll between equally undesirable options .
There are multiple systems and policies in place which make it impractical at best for working-class people to run for public office , all of which must go , starting with any fees associated with applying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic demands , we also have demands pertaining to what we would formally call “ Health and Human Services.
” • We demand the hospitals and care facilities of Seattle employ black doctors and nurses specifically to help care for black patients .
• We demand the people of Seattle seek out and proudly support Black-owned businesses .
Your money is our power and sustainability .
• We demand that the city create an entirely separate system staffed by mental health experts to respond to 911 calls pertaining to mental health crises , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a program be put through thorough , rigorous training in conflict de-escalation .
Finally , let us now address our demands regarding the education system in the City of Seattle and State of Washington .
• We demand that the history of Black and Native Americans be given a significantly greater focus in the Washington State education curriculum .
• We demand that thorough anti-bias training become a legal requirement for all jobs in the education system , as well as in the medical profession and in mass media .
• We demand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington remove any and all monuments dedicated to historical figures of the Confederacy , whose treasonous attempts to build an America with slavery as a permanent fixture were an affront to the human race .
medium.com/ @ seattleblmanon3/the-demands-of-the-collective-black-voices-at-free-capitol-hill-to-the-government-of-seattle-ddaee51d3e47 Sowell is talking exactly about these folks… At least historians will look back and say “ Not EVERYBODY was crazy… .
”

by Venus230
The Seattle Police Department and attached court system are beyond reform. We do not request reform, we demand abolition. We demand that the Seattle Council and the Mayor defund and abolish the Seattle Police Department and the attached Criminal Justice Apparatus. This means 100% of funding, including existing pensions for Seattle Police. At an equal level of priority we also demand that the city disallow the operations of ICE in the city of Seattle. In the transitionary period between now and the dismantlement of the Seattle Police Department, we demand that the use of armed force be banned entirely. No guns, no batons, no riot shields, no chemical weapons, especially against those exercising their First Amendment right as Americans to protest. We demand an end to the school-to-prison pipeline and the abolition of youth jails. Get kids out of prison, get cops out of schools. We also demand that the new youth prison being built in Seattle currently be repurposed. We demand that not the City government, nor the State government, but that the Federal government launch a full-scale investigation into past and current cases of police brutality in Seattle and Washington, as well as the re-opening of all closed cases reported to the Office of Police Accountability. In particular, we demand that cases particular to Seattle and Washington be reopened where no justice has been served, namely the cases of Iosia Faletogo, Damarius Butts, Isaiah Obet, Tommy Le, Shaun Fuhr, and Charleena Lyles. We demand reparations for victims of police brutality, in a form to be determined. We demand that the City of Seattle make the names of officers involved in police brutality a matter of public record. Anonymity should not even be a privilege in public service. We demand a retrial of all People in Color currently serving a prison sentence for violent crime, by a jury of their peers in their community. We demand decriminalization of the acts of protest, and amnesty for protestors generally, but specifically those involved in what has been termed “The George Floyd Rebellion” against the terrorist cell that previously occupied this area known as the Seattle Police Department. This includes the immediate release of all protestors currently being held in prison after the arrests made at 11th and Pine on Sunday night and early Saturday morning June 7th and 8th, and any other protesters arrested in the past two weeks of the uprising, the name Evan Hreha in particular comes to mind who filmed Seattle police macing a young girl and is now in jail. We demand that the City of Seattle and the State Government release any prisoner currently serving time for a marijuana-related offense and expunge the related conviction. We demand the City of Seattle and State Government release any prisoner currently serving time just for resisting arrest if there are no other related charges, and that those convictions should also be expunged. We demand that prisoners currently serving time be given the full and unrestricted right to vote, and for Washington State to pass legislation specifically breaking from Federal law that prevents felons from being able to vote. We demand an end to prosecutorial immunity for police officers in the time between now and the dissolution of the SPD and extant justice system. We demand the abolition of imprisonment, generally speaking, but especially the abolition of both youth prisons and privately-owned, for-profit prisons. We demand in replacement of the current criminal justice system the creation of restorative/transformative accountability programs as a replacement for imprisonment. We demand autonomy be given to the people to create localized anti-crime systems. We demand that the Seattle Police Department, between now and the time of its abolition in the near future, empty its “lost and found” and return property owned by denizens of the city. We demand justice for those who have been sexually harassed or abused by the Seattle Police Department or prison guards in the state of Washington. We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that each and every SPD officer turn on their body cameras, and that the body camera video of all Seattle police should be a matter of easily accessible public record. We demand that the funding previously used for Seattle Police be redirected into: A) Socialized Health and Medicine for the City of Seattle. B) Free public housing, because housing is a right, not a privilege. C) Public education, to decrease the average class size in city schools and increase teacher salary. D) Naturalization services for immigrants to the United States living here undocumented. (We demand they be called “undocumented” because no person is illegal.) E) General community development. Parks, etc.
We also have economic demands that must be addressed.
We demand the de-gentrification of Seattle, starting with rent control. We demand the restoration of city funding for arts and culture to re-establish the once-rich local cultural identity of Seattle. We demand free college for the people of the state of Washington, due to the overwhelming effect that education has on economic success, and the correlated overwhelming impact of poverty on people of color, as a form of reparations for the treatment of Black people in this state and country. We demand that between now and the abolition of the SPD that Seattle Police be prohibited from performing “homeless sweeps” that displace and disturb our homeless neighbors, and on equal footing we demand an end to all evictions. We demand a decentralized election process to give the citizens of Seattle a greater ability to select candidates for public office such that we are not forced to choose at the poll between equally undesirable options. There are multiple systems and policies in place which make it impractical at best for working-class people to run for public office, all of which must go, starting with any fees associated with applying to run for public office.
Related to economic demands, we also have demands pertaining to what we would formally call “Health and Human Services.”
We demand the hospitals and care facilities of Seattle employ black doctors and nurses specifically to help care for black patients. We demand the people of Seattle seek out and proudly support Black-owned businesses. Your money is our power and sustainability. We demand that the city create an entirely separate system staffed by mental health experts to respond to 911 calls pertaining to mental health crises, and insist that all involved in such a program be put through thorough, rigorous training in conflict de-escalation.
Finally, let us now address our demands regarding the education system in the City of Seattle and State of Washington.
We demand that the history of Black and Native Americans be given a significantly greater focus in the Washington State education curriculum. We demand that thorough anti-bias training become a legal requirement for all jobs in the education system, as well as in the medical profession and in mass media. We demand the City of Seattle and State of Washington remove any and all monuments dedicated to historical figures of the Confederacy, whose treasonous attempts to build an America with slavery as a permanent fixture were an affront to the human race.
medium.com/@seattleblmanon3/the-demands-of-the-collective-black-voices-at-free-capitol-hill-to-the-government-of-seattle-ddaee51d3e47
Sowell is talking exactly about these folks…
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At least historians will look back and say “Not EVERYBODY was crazy….”


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Gun sales were trending downwards since 2016, until the pandemic and riots…how convenient.

Gun sales showed a slow decline until it got a stimulus with the pandemic and national protests .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ events were orchestrated to create panic and fear .
That seems to work well for @ @ @ @ @ driving up gun sales .

by lboog423
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Gun sales showed a slow decline until it got a stimulus with the pandemic and national protests. It’s almost as if these events were orchestrated to create panic and fear. That seems to work well for justifying losing civil liberties and driving up gun sales.


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--‘Black Lives Matter Is a Joke’ — Black D.C. Resident Tells Far-Left Group ‘Go to Chicago’

“ I don ’ t want our country to be portrayed like this , ” said an African-now-American citizen , @ @ @ @ @ George Floyd protesters in downtown Washington , DC , Sunday .
Nestride Yumga , a @ @ @ @ @ to shut up and leave when she voiced her opinion that Black Lives Matter protesters @ @ @ @ @ When black people kill black people , they don ’ t come out and do @ @ @ @

“I don’t want our country to be portrayed like this,” said an African-now-American citizen, pointing to a group of George Floyd protesters in downtown Washington, DC, Sunday. Nestride Yumga, a D.C. resident, was told to shut up and leave when she voiced her opinion that Black Lives Matter protesters are “hypocrites.” “When black people kill black people, they don’t come out and do this crap.”
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investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Chapter 11 Filings Rise…  Bank Collapse?

Chapter 11 Filings Rise…  Bank Collapse?

Art Van Furniture , Bar Louie and True Religion all sell different products , but they all have one thing in common : Each has gone bankrupt this year , as the coronavirus-induced recession that started in February flattens businesses large and small .
Recent data show 722 companies sought bankruptcy protection around the U.S. last month , a 48 % increase from the year-ago period .
Chapter 11 filings also jumped in April and March , as states started imposing business restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak .
“ This is a sign that already weak companies are succumbing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , an economist with the National Association of Credit Management , which tracks bankruptcies , said in a research note .
Businesses that were struggling before the pandemic “ are starting to get in some real trouble , ” he added Among those long-distressed companies finally tipped into bankruptcy by the economic fallout from COVID-19 : Gold ’ s Gym , Hertz , J .
Crew , J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus .
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic , American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , record unemployment , failing small businesses .
All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep , prolonged recession .
But there ’ s another threat to the economy , too .
It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks , and it could be cataclysmic .
Imagine if , in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic , you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed .
You may think that such a crisis is unlikely , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so fresh .
But banks learned few lessons from that calamity , and new laws intended to keep them from taking on too much risk have failed to do so .
As a result , we could be on the precipice of another crash , one different from 2008 less in kind than in degree .
This one could be worse .

Chapter 11 filings rise…
Art Van Furniture, Bar Louie and True Religion all sell different products, but they all have one thing in common: Each has gone bankrupt this year, as the coronavirus-induced recession that started in February flattens businesses large and small.
Recent data show 722 companies sought bankruptcy protection around the U.S. last month, a 48% increase from the year-ago period. Chapter 11 filings also jumped in April and March, as states started imposing business restrictions amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“This is a sign that already weak companies are succumbing to the lockdown recession,” Chris Kuehl, an economist with the National Association of Credit Management, which tracks bankruptcies, said in a research note. Businesses that were struggling before the pandemic “are starting to get in some real trouble,” he added
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Among those long-distressed companies finally tipped into bankruptcy by the economic fallout from COVID-19: Gold’s Gym, Hertz, J. Crew, J.C. Penney and Neiman Marcus.
Bank Collapse?
After months of living with the coronavirus pandemic, American citizens are well aware of the toll it has taken on the economy: broken supply chains, record unemployment, failing small businesses. All of these factors are serious and could mire the United States in a deep, prolonged recession. But there’s another threat to the economy, too. It lurks on the balance sheets of the big banks, and it could be cataclysmic. Imagine if, in addition to all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, you woke up one morning to find that the financial sector had collapsed.
You may think that such a crisis is unlikely, with memories of the 2008 crash still so fresh. But banks learned few lessons from that calamity, and new laws intended to keep them from taking on too much risk have failed to do so. As a result, we could be on the precipice of another crash, one different from 2008 less in kind than in degree. This one could be worse.


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--The Euro is the Bernie Sanders of Currencies with John Rubino

John Rubino returns… Well at least the riots are over , for now .
Defund the police seems like a @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re a progressive , then it makes total sense .
Even if someone @ @ @ @ @ economic problems , it can ’ t be done , we ’ re too far @ @ @ @ @ we can wear our masks and avoid the Coronavirus .
Oh wait , that ’ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s safe enough to publicly protest and riot then surely it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ s business back up and get this economy started again .
That ’ s already @ @ @ @ @ job numbers .
Nothing to see here folks .
Click Here to Listen to the @

from Financial Survival Network
John Rubino returns…
Well at least the riots are over, for now. Defund the police seems like a truly insane idea, unless you’re a progressive, then it makes total sense. Even if someone wanted to solve the underlying economic problems, it can’t be done, we’re too far gone. But at least we can wear our masks and avoid the Coronavirus. Oh wait, that’s over too, if it’s safe enough to publicly protest and riot then surely it’s okay to open one’s business back up and get this economy started again. That’s already happening based upon the magnificent job numbers.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
Nothing to see here folks.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Never Chase the Market with Nick Santiago (Ep #51)

For more than 20 years , Master Trader Nick Santiago has been beating the markets .
He ’ s made some incredible calls along the way and now he ’ s looking to spread the word .
There ’ s no reason that the average trader should be coming up short .
So now we ’ ve started a daily show to bring you up to date on the latest market developments .
Nick will be sharing trades and concepts and discussing current trends .
Today we discuss : 1 .
Markets are selling off today .
This is actually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ huge rally that we just had .
Pullbacks are healthy in order for the charts to continue to keep the current up-trend .
Remember , parabolic moves are ending moves .
2 .
JP Morgan , financials , airlines , retail are down .
Tech is all up today and they ’ re gaining as we speak .
This tells us that it ’ s simply a pullback .
We ’ ve gone over levels that Nick didn ’ t think would be achieved this quickly .
3 .
Nick isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lows .
It would be very difficult to go down to the March lows .
Another buying opportunity is on its way .
We have an overbought condition .
S & P hit 3233 yesterday .
Time to digest .
4 .
Gold is up and silver is flat .
Silver has had a huge move and needs to work off the overbought condition .
Sideways pattern , waiting for a consolidation base .
A welcome pause and ultimately headed higher .
5 .
Nick closed out BP and Oracle positions yesterday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll be forming patterns for re-entry .
McDonalds holding tight over 200 and still has half a position in it .
For more info , go to www.InTheMoneyStocks.com .
Click Here to Listen to the Audio

from Daily Market Wisdom with Nick Santiago
For more than 20 years, Master Trader Nick Santiago has been beating the markets. He’s made some incredible calls along the way and now he’s looking to spread the word. There’s no reason that the average trader should be coming up short. So now we’ve started a daily show to bring you up to date on the latest market developments. Nick will be sharing trades and concepts and discussing current trends. Today we discuss:
1. Markets are selling off today. This is actually good to see and welcomed after the huge rally that we just had. Pullbacks are healthy in order for the charts to continue to keep the current up-trend. Remember, parabolic moves are ending moves.
2. JP Morgan, financials, airlines, retail are down. Tech is all up today and they’re gaining as we speak. This tells us that it’s simply a pullback. We’ve gone over levels that Nick didn’t think would be achieved this quickly.
3. Nick isn’t seeing us going down to the March lows. It would be very difficult to go down to the March lows. Another buying opportunity is on its way. We have an overbought condition. S&P hit 3233 yesterday. Time to digest.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
4. Gold is up and silver is flat. Silver has had a huge move and needs to work off the overbought condition. Sideways pattern, waiting for a consolidation base. A welcome pause and ultimately headed higher.
5. Nick closed out BP and Oracle positions yesterday. Hotels and airlines are down. They’ll be forming patterns for re-entry. McDonalds holding tight over 200 and still has half a position in it.
6. Watch the charts!
For more info, go to www.InTheMoneyStocks.com.
Click Here to Listen to the Audio


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--LOL: Chiraq Mayor Lightfoot begs Walmart to stay after destructive looting

With leadership like this , why would Walmart want to stick around ?
If you owned a business in a city ( most-likely a blue one ) where politicians allow rioters and looters to freely roam and destroy your property , what is your incentive to rebuild and stay there ?
Especially when many ( again , blue ) cities are talking about defunding the police ?
Apparently Walmart is considering not rebuilding in Chiraq .
And the mayor is trying to save face for her failure to control the chaos .
Washington Times reports that Walmart might leave .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ radio station reported on a conference call between the Democratic mayor and business leaders affected by the chaos .
WBBM ’ s Craig Dellimore said she “ pleaded ” with the company to stay .
Walmart , the nation ’ s largest retailer , was cautious about making any new commitments to the city as it assesses the damage .
“ I think in the case of Walmart , what they were focused on was assessing the damage , ” Ms. Lightfoot said , the station reported June 4 .
“ They are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to the extent of what ’ s left so it doesn ’ t perish , and other perishables , and they are taking their time , as I would expect .
My hope is that they will come back.
” Read the whole story here .
BTW Chicago residents : Even if Walmart does stay you will have less money to spend at their stores : “ Chicago mayor says taxpayers may have to foot bill for $ 700M budget shortfall .
”

by DCG
With leadership like this, why would Walmart want to stick around?
“Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Tells Concerned Alderman: “Your 100% Full of Sh*t”
If you owned a business in a city (most-likely a blue one) where politicians allow rioters and looters to freely roam and destroy your property, what is your incentive to rebuild and stay there? Especially when many (again, blue) cities are talking about defunding the police?
Apparently Walmart is considering not rebuilding in Chiraq. And the mayor is trying to save face for her failure to control the chaos.
Washington Times reports that Walmart might leave. From their story:
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“A local radio station reported on a conference call between the Democratic mayor and business leaders affected by the chaos. WBBM’s Craig Dellimore said she “pleaded” with the company to stay.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, was cautious about making any new commitments to the city as it assesses the damage.
“I think in the case of Walmart, what they were focused on was assessing the damage,” Ms. Lightfoot said, the station reported June 4. “They are doing an effort to donate fresh produce, to the extent of what’s left so it doesn’t perish, and other perishables, and they are taking their time, as I would expect. My hope is that they will come back.”
Read the whole story here.
BTW Chicago residents: Even if Walmart does stay you will have less money to spend at their stores: “Chicago mayor says taxpayers may have to foot bill for $700M budget shortfall.”
DCG


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Doug Casey on Why Dollars Are Not Money

Doug Casey on Why Dollars Are Not Money

Gold ’ s main use , contrary to the belief of some , isn ’ t in jewelry or dentistry – although those uses are important .
Its main use has almost always been as money .
But gold ’ s ancillary uses are growing in importance because , given its physical characteristics , it ’ s a high-tech metal .
It ’ s one of the most resistant to chemical reaction , one of the most ductile , the most malleable of all the elements , and it ’ s an exceptional electrical conductor .
There are lots of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It ’ s by far the most private kind of money ; gold coins , unlike paper currency , don ’ t even carry serial numbers .
That makes it truly untraceable .
At current prices , it ’ s more portable than cash , even in the form of $ 100 bills .
It doesn ’ t retain traces of drugs , as does currency , which makes it less liable to arbitrary confiscation .
Although efforts have been made to counterfeit gold bars , with tungsten filler and such , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ currency .
Until quite recently , 90 % of the world ’ s people were either flat-out prohibited from owning gold ( Russia , China , and the rest of the ex-communist world ) or simply too poor to consider it ( most Indians and other residents of the Third World ) .
But these people are now allowed to own gold and have a fast-increasing ability to buy it .
And they ’ re rapidly doing so .
Their cultures have long histories with the metal and recent histories of living in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ value of real money .
Although common people are now the biggest gold buyers , their governments and central banks are accumulating it as well .
I expect that gold will soon become the preferred medium of exchange for many .
Early adopters will include dealers in drugs , armaments , and other prescribed merchandise ; these folks are very security-conscious .
They will be joined by all manner of people who just want to do business below the government radar .
And in the years to come , paper currency is gradually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favor of debit cards , credit cards , and other media of electronic transfer .
Governments prefer these things , for obvious reasons .
People , therefore , are going to need a private way to trade when paper cash is unavailable .
It ’ s not just that cash will be harder to come by and harder to use .
People won ’ t want to hold it as inflation gets serious ; as U.S. dollars are increasingly viewed as hot potatoes , people around the world will gradually go to gold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dollar is already the de facto currency for large purchases and long-term saving .
What will people in these countries do as the dollar starts losing value rapidly ?
They won ’ t go back to their local currencies ; their only reasonable alternative is gold .
All these things will add to demand for the metal .
This is good news for those who own gold in size now .
Almost everybody , even gold bugs , has far too little gold .
Most people have no gold at all .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be reinstituted as money within our lifetimes , simply out of necessity .
But that can only happen at higher prices , since only about 6 billion ounces exist above ground in the entire world .
Now that we ’ ve defined what money is , let me further define what money is not : debt .
All U.S. dollars , which is to say Federal Reserve Notes , are debt .
They are neither redeemable for anything by their issuer , nor is there a limit on how many can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vague claim against the “ good faith and credit ” of the United States government , which is to say the government ’ s ability to extract taxes from its subjects .
But Uncle Sam has shown himself to be remarkably lacking in good faith and is currently embarked on a course to destroy his credit .
The dollar is literally an “ IOU nothing.
” It ’ s true that your grocer and your barber have to accept the dollar because of “ legal tender ” laws , and because they currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take in payment .
But that ’ s not true of foreigners , who own something like $ 6 trillion .
Paper money is an excellent means for governments to tax people indirectly , surreptitiously , through inflation .
That ’ s one reason central bankers love paper money .
But also , phony economic theories , like those of John Maynard Keynes , hold that the government not only can , but should , meddle with the economy .
The ability to print paper money gives them a means to do that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not only do people around the world take it for granted that paper is money , but that it should be so .
But it ’ s all nonsense .
After the current system collapses , as every paper money system in the past has collapsed , some form of money will have to replace it , and it ’ s almost certainly going to be gold .
You know , in the 19th century , the “ paper money ” you carried in your wallet was called banknotes .
Why ?
Because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ representing a specified amount of real money on deposit .
People carried these things because they were much more convenient for large amounts of money than chests of gold .
Dollars today say , “ Federal Reserve Note , ” not “ XYZ Bank Note , ” on the back , because they aren ’ t redeemable for anything besides more Federal Reserve notes .
That ’ s why today ’ s paper money substitutes are called fiat currencies ; they have zero intrinsic value and are not redeemable for anything , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you in jail if you don ’ t .
It ’ s a fiat accomplished by force , not real value recognized by those who accept the notes .
Hundreds of years ago , people accepted bank notes because they knew the reputations of the banks issuing them ( when you traveled , you went to a reputable local bank , which knew the reputation of the bank that issued your notes , and the local bank could issue you new notes in local currency , etc. )
.
There was no central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , people don ’ t think that way .
They think it takes a government to assure the value of money .
Of course , anyone in Zimbabwe can tell you a government ’ s guarantee is not necessarily worth anything .
A collapse of the dollar – the world ’ s de facto reserve currency – could spark such a change in that way of thinking .
Gold is also the only asset class that is not also simultaneously someone else ’ s liability .
And in a world as financially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just don ’ t want to hold on to someone else ’ s liabilities any more than you have to .
Especially if that ’ s a liability of an entity like the U.S. government .
Other currencies are no better ; most are worse , and many of them are backed largely by dollars .
Governments , however , are not the only ones who think that debt is money .
It seems that many people who get a bunch of credit cards , enabling them to spend beyond their means , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they also think that owning the debt of others – like government bonds – means they have money .
A bank deposit isn ’ t really cash ; it ’ s a debt of the bank .
There are about $ 3 trillion in money market funds ; 100 % of that money is invested in the short-term debt of banks , corporations , and governments .
I would be very leery of these things .
Debt is not always repaid .
Money , however , simply “ is.
” That distinction is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t be among them .
So you should own gold because it ’ s money , because of its security , and because it ’ s an excellent speculation .
If you think of your gold as cash , and the dollar as a merely temporarily fashionable means of exchange , you ’ ll find yourself loading your portfolio with much more gold and gold proxies .
That will protect you against the very rapid loss of value the dollar faces in years to come .
Inflation is going to truly get out @ @ @

Via Casey Research
Gold’s main use, contrary to the belief of some, isn’t in jewelry or dentistry – although those uses are important. Its main use has almost always been as money. But gold’s ancillary uses are growing in importance because, given its physical characteristics, it’s a high-tech metal. It’s one of the most resistant to chemical reaction, one of the most ductile, the most malleable of all the elements, and it’s an exceptional electrical conductor.
There are lots of other advantages to gold as money. It’s by far the most private kind of money; gold coins, unlike paper currency, don’t even carry serial numbers. That makes it truly untraceable. At current prices, it’s more portable than cash, even in the form of $100 bills. It doesn’t retain traces of drugs, as does currency, which makes it less liable to arbitrary confiscation. Although efforts have been made to counterfeit gold bars, with tungsten filler and such, it’s much easier to authenticate than currency.
Until quite recently, 90% of the world’s people were either flat-out prohibited from owning gold (Russia, China, and the rest of the ex-communist world) or simply too poor to consider it (most Indians and other residents of the Third World).
But these people are now allowed to own gold and have a fast-increasing ability to buy it. And they’re rapidly doing so. Their cultures have long histories with the metal and recent histories of living in a police state; they understand the value of real money. Although common people are now the biggest gold buyers, their governments and central banks are accumulating it as well.
I expect that gold will soon become the preferred medium of exchange for many. Early adopters will include dealers in drugs, armaments, and other prescribed merchandise; these folks are very security-conscious. They will be joined by all manner of people who just want to do business below the government radar.
And in the years to come, paper currency is gradually going to be eliminated by governments in favor of debit cards, credit cards, and other media of electronic transfer. Governments prefer these things, for obvious reasons. People, therefore, are going to need a private way to trade when paper cash is unavailable.
It’s not just that cash will be harder to come by and harder to use. People won’t want to hold it as inflation gets serious; as U.S. dollars are increasingly viewed as hot potatoes, people around the world will gradually go to gold.
In 100 or so countries, the dollar is already the de facto currency for large purchases and long-term saving. What will people in these countries do as the dollar starts losing value rapidly? They won’t go back to their local currencies; their only reasonable alternative is gold. All these things will add to demand for the metal. This is good news for those who own gold in size now.
Almost everybody, even gold bugs, has far too little gold. Most people have no gold at all. Pity the poor fools. Gold is going to be reinstituted as money within our lifetimes, simply out of necessity. But that can only happen at higher prices, since only about 6 billion ounces exist above ground in the entire world.
Debt
Now that we’ve defined what money is, let me further define what money is not: debt. All U.S. dollars, which is to say Federal Reserve Notes, are debt. They are neither redeemable for anything by their issuer, nor is there a limit on how many can be created. They represent only a vague claim against the “good faith and credit” of the United States government, which is to say the government’s ability to extract taxes from its subjects. But Uncle Sam has shown himself to be remarkably lacking in good faith and is currently embarked on a course to destroy his credit.
The dollar is literally an “IOU nothing.” It’s true that your grocer and your barber have to accept the dollar because of “legal tender” laws, and because they currently wouldn’t know what else to take in payment. But that’s not true of foreigners, who own something like $6 trillion.
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Paper money is an excellent means for governments to tax people indirectly, surreptitiously, through inflation. That’s one reason central bankers love paper money. But also, phony economic theories, like those of John Maynard Keynes, hold that the government not only can, but should, meddle with the economy. The ability to print paper money gives them a means to do that.
In today’s world, not only do people around the world take it for granted that paper is money, but that it should be so.
But it’s all nonsense. After the current system collapses, as every paper money system in the past has collapsed, some form of money will have to replace it, and it’s almost certainly going to be gold.
You know, in the 19th century, the “paper money” you carried in your wallet was called banknotes. Why? Because they actually were notes from your bank representing a specified amount of real money on deposit. People carried these things because they were much more convenient for large amounts of money than chests of gold. Dollars today say, “Federal Reserve Note,” not “XYZ Bank Note,” on the back, because they aren’t redeemable for anything besides more Federal Reserve notes.
That’s why today’s paper money substitutes are called fiat currencies; they have zero intrinsic value and are not redeemable for anything, but are accepted because the government will put you in jail if you don’t. It’s a fiat accomplished by force, not real value recognized by those who accept the notes.
Hundreds of years ago, people accepted bank notes because they knew the reputations of the banks issuing them (when you traveled, you went to a reputable local bank, which knew the reputation of the bank that issued your notes, and the local bank could issue you new notes in local currency, etc.). There was no central authority to certify these notes. But today, people don’t think that way. They think it takes a government to assure the value of money.
Of course, anyone in Zimbabwe can tell you a government’s guarantee is not necessarily worth anything. A collapse of the dollar – the world’s de facto reserve currency – could spark such a change in that way of thinking.
Gold is also the only asset class that is not also simultaneously someone else’s liability. And in a world as financially unstable as today’s, you just don’t want to hold on to someone else’s liabilities any more than you have to. Especially if that’s a liability of an entity like the U.S. government.
Other currencies are no better; most are worse, and many of them are backed largely by dollars.
Governments, however, are not the only ones who think that debt is money. It seems that many people who get a bunch of credit cards, enabling them to spend beyond their means, imagine that they have money. And they also think that owning the debt of others – like government bonds – means they have money. A bank deposit isn’t really cash; it’s a debt of the bank.
There are about $3 trillion in money market funds; 100% of that money is invested in the short-term debt of banks, corporations, and governments. I would be very leery of these things. Debt is not always repaid. Money, however, simply “is.” That distinction is lost on almost everyone. Don’t be among them.
So you should own gold because it’s money, because of its security, and because it’s an excellent speculation. If you think of your gold as cash, and the dollar as a merely temporarily fashionable means of exchange, you’ll find yourself loading your portfolio with much more gold and gold proxies. That will protect you against the very rapid loss of value the dollar faces in years to come. Inflation is going to truly get out of control.


investmentwatchblog--2020-06-10--Engineering a Race War: Will This Be the American Police State’s Reichstag Fire?

Watch and see : this debate over police brutality and accountability is about to get politicized into an election-year referendum on who should occupy the White House .
The Deep State , the powers-that-be , want us to turn this into a race war , but this is about so much more than systemic racism .
This is the oldest con game in the books , the magician ’ s sleight of hand that keeps you focused on the shell game in front of you while your wallet is being picked clean by ruffians in your midst .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It was February 1933 , a month before national elections in Germany , and the Nazis weren ’ t expected to win .
So they engineered a way to win : they began by infiltrating the police and granting police powers to their allies ; then Hitler brought in stormtroopers to act as auxiliary police ; by the time an arsonist ( who claimed to be working for the Communists in the hopes of starting an armed revolt ) set fire to the Reichstag , the German parliamentary building , the people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and order .
That was all it took : Hitler used the attempted “ coup ” as an excuse to declare martial law and seize absolute power in Germany , establishing himself as a dictator with the support of the German people .
Fast forward to the present day , and what do we have ?
The nation in turmoil after months of pandemic fear-mongering and regional lockdowns , a national election looming , a president with falling poll numbers , and a police state that wants to stay in power at all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Americans have finally reached a tipping point over police brutality after decades of abuse .
After all , until recently , the legislatures and the courts have marched in lockstep with the police state , repeatedly rebuffing efforts to hold police accountable for official misconduct .
Then again , it ’ s also equally possible that the architects of the police state have every intention of manipulating this outrage for their own purposes .
It works the same in every age .
As author Jim Keith explains , “ Create violence through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ control , agent provocateurs : thesis .
Counter it with totalitarian measures , more mind control , police crackdowns , surveillance , drugging of the population : antithesis .
What ensues is Orwell ’ s vision of 1984 , a society of total control : synthesis.
” Here ’ s what is going to happen : the police state is going to stand down and allow these protests , riots and looting to devolve into a situation where enough of the voting populace is so desperate for a return to law and order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their freedoms to achieve it .
And that ’ s how the police state will win , no matter which candidate gets elected to the White House .
You know who will lose ?
Every last one of us .
Listen , people should be outraged over what happened to George Floyd , but let ’ s get one thing straight : Floyd didn ’ t die merely because he was black and the cop who killed him is white .
Floyd died because America is being overrun with warrior cops—vigilantes with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ army that is waging war on the American people in the so-called name of law and order .
Not all cops are warrior cops , trained to act as judge , jury and executioner in their interactions with the populace .
Unfortunately , the good cops—the ones who take seriously their oath of office to serve and protect their fellow citizens , uphold the Constitution , and maintain the peace—are increasingly being outnumbered by those who believe the lives—and rights—of police should be valued more than citizens .
These warrior cops may get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t work for us and they certainly aren ’ t operating within the limits of the U.S. Constitution .
This isn ’ t about racism in America .
This is about profit-driven militarism packaged in the guise of law and order , waged by greedy profiteers who have transformed the American homeland into a battlefield with militarized police , military weapons and tactics better suited to a war zone .
This is systemic corruption predicated on the police state ’ s insatiable appetite for money , power and control .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Why do we have more than a million cops on the taxpayer-funded payroll in this country whose jobs do not entail protecting our safety , maintaining the peace in our communities , and upholding our liberties ?
I ’ ll tell you why .
These warrior cops—fitted out in the trappings of war , drilled in the deadly art of combat , and trained to look upon “ every individual they interact with as an armed threat and every situation as a deadly force encounter in the making—are the police state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new face of war , and America has become the new battlefield .
Militarized police officers , the end product of the government—federal , local and state—and law enforcement agencies having merged , have become a “ standing ” or permanent army , composed of full-time professional soldiers who do not disband .
Yet these permanent armies are exactly what those who drafted the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights feared as tools used by despotic governments to wage war against its citizens .
American police forces were never supposed to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they meant to be private security forces for the reigning political faction .
Instead , they were intended to be an aggregation of countless local police units , composed of citizens like you and me that exist for a sole purpose : to serve and protect the citizens of each and every American community .
As a result of the increasing militarization of the police in recent years , however , the police now not only look like the military—with their foreboding uniforms and phalanx of lethal weapons—but they function like them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do we have a civilian force of peace officers entrusted with serving and protecting the American people .
Instead , today ’ s militarized law enforcement officials have shifted their allegiance from the citizenry to the state , acting preemptively to ward off any possible challenges to the government ’ s power , unrestrained by the boundaries of the Fourth Amendment .
They don ’ t work for us .
As retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis warned , “ Corporate America is using police forces as their mercenaries.
” We were sold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now , we ’ ve been told that cops need military weapons to wage the government ’ s wars on drugs , crime and terror .
We ’ ve been told that cops need to be able to crash through doors , search vehicles , carry out roadside strip searches , shoot anyone they perceive to be a threat , and generally disregard the law whenever it suits them because they ’ re doing it to protect their fellow Americans from danger .
We ’ ve been told that cops need extra legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
None of that is true .
In fact , a study by a political scientist at Princeton University concludes that militarizing police and SWAT teams “ provide no detectable benefits in terms of officer safety or violent crime reduction.
” According to researcher Jonathan Mummolo , if police in America are feeling less safe , it ’ s because the process of transforming them into extensions of the military makes them less safe , less popular and less trust-worthy .
The study , the first systematic analysis on the use and consequences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police militarization neither reduces rates of violent crime nor changes the number of officers assaulted or killed.
” In other words , warrior cops aren ’ t making us or themselves any safer .
Militarized police armed with weapons of war who are allowed to operate above the law and break the laws with impunity are definitely not making America any safer or freer .
The problem , as one reporter rightly concluded , is “ not that life has gotten that much more dangerous , it ’ s that authorities have chosen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if they were in a warzone.
” Consequently , Americans are now eight times more likely to die in a police confrontation than they are to be killed by a terrorist .
Militarism within the nation ’ s police forces is proving to be deadlier than any pandemic .
This battlefield mindset has gone hand in hand with the rise of militarized SWAT ( “ special weapons and tactics ” ) teams .
Frequently justified as vital tools necessary to combat terrorism and deal with rare but extremely dangerous criminal situations , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have become intrinsic parts of local law enforcement operations , thanks in large part to substantial federal assistance and the Pentagon ’ s military surplus recycling program , which allows the transfer of military equipment , weapons and training to local police for free or at sharp discounts while increasing the profits of its corporate allies .
Where this becomes a problem of life and death for Americans is when these SWAT teams— outfitted , armed and trained in military tactics—are assigned to carry out relatively routine police tasks , such as serving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teams have been employed to address an astonishingly trivial array of criminal activity or mere community nuisances : angry dogs , domestic disputes , improper paperwork filed by an orchid farmer , and misdemeanor marijuana possession , to give a brief sampling .
Remember , SWAT teams originated as specialized units dedicated to defusing extremely sensitive , dangerous situations .
They were never meant to be used for routine police work such as serving a warrant .
Unfortunately , the mere presence of SWAT units has actually injected a level of danger and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present as long as these interactions were handled by traditional civilian officers .
There are few communities without a SWAT team today , and there are more than 80,000 SWAT team raids per year .
Yet the tension inherent in most civilian-police encounter these days can ’ t be blamed exclusively on law enforcement ’ s growing reliance on SWAT teams and donated military equipment .
It goes far deeper , to a transformation in the way police view themselves and their line of duty .
Specifically , what we ’ re dealing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which police , trained to view themselves as warriors or soldiers in a war , whether against drugs , or terror , or crime , must “ get ” the bad guys—i.e.
, anyone who is a potential target—before the bad guys get them .
The result is a spike in the number of incidents in which police shoot first , and ask questions later .
Making matters worse , when these officers , who have long since ceased to be peace officers , violate their oaths by bullying , beating , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taxpayers to whom they owe their allegiance—they are rarely given more than a slap on the hands before resuming their patrols .
This lawlessness on the part of law enforcement , an unmistakable characteristic of a police state , is made possible in large part by police unions which routinely oppose civilian review boards and resist the placement of names and badge numbers on officer uniforms ; police agencies that abide by the Blue Code of Silence , the quiet understanding among police that they should not implicate their colleagues for their crimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ offenses with greater leniency than civilian offenses ; courts that sanction police wrongdoing in the name of security ; and legislatures that enhance the power , reach and arsenal of the police , and a citizenry that fails to hold its government accountable to the rule of law .
Indeed , not only are cops protected from most charges of wrongdoing—whether it ’ s shooting unarmed citizens ( including children and old people ) , raping and abusing young women , falsifying police reports , trafficking drugs , or soliciting sex with minors—but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are fired for misconduct , it ’ s only a matter of time before they get re-hired again .
Much of the “ credit ” for shielding these rogue cops goes to influential police unions and laws providing for qualified immunity , police contracts that “ provide a shield of protection to officers accused of misdeeds and erect barriers to residents complaining of abuse , ” state and federal laws that allow police to walk away without paying a dime for their wrongdoing , and rampant cronyism among government bureaucrats .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is how perverse justice in America has become .
Incredibly , while our own Bill of Rights are torn to shreds , leaving us with few protections against government abuses , a growing number of states are adopting Law Enforcement Officers ’ Bill of Rights ( LEOBoR ) , which provide cops accused of a crime with special due process rights and privileges not afforded to the average citizen .
This , right here , epitomizes everything that is wrong with America today .
Even when the system appears to work on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the American taxpayer who ends up paying the price .
Because police officers are more likely to be struck by lightning than be held financially accountable for their actions .
As Human Rights Watch explains , taxpayers actually pay three times for officers who repeatedly commit abuses : “ once to cover their salaries while they commit abuses ; next to pay settlements or civil jury awards against officers ; and a third time through payments into police ‘ defense ’ funds provided by the cities.
” Deep-seated corruption of this kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politicians and corporations suddenly become conscience-stricken in the face of mass protests and start making promises they don ’ t intend to keep .
As I explain in my book Battlefield America : The War on the American People , we need civic engagement and citizen activism , especially at the local level .
However , if it ends at the ballot box without achieving any real reform that holds government officials at all levels accountable to playing by the rules of the Constitution , then shame on us .

by John W. Whitehead
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”— George Santayana
Watch and see: this debate over police brutality and accountability is about to get politicized into an election-year referendum on who should occupy the White House.
Don’t fall for it.
The Deep State, the powers-that-be, want us to turn this into a race war, but this is about so much more than systemic racism. This is the oldest con game in the books, the magician’s sleight of hand that keeps you focused on the shell game in front of you while your wallet is being picked clean by ruffians in your midst.
It’s the Reichstag Fire all over again.
It was February 1933, a month before national elections in Germany, and the Nazis weren’t expected to win. So they engineered a way to win: they began by infiltrating the police and granting police powers to their allies; then Hitler brought in stormtroopers to act as auxiliary police; by the time an arsonist (who claimed to be working for the Communists in the hopes of starting an armed revolt) set fire to the Reichstag, the German parliamentary building, the people were eager for a return to law and order.
That was all it took: Hitler used the attempted “coup” as an excuse to declare martial law and seize absolute power in Germany, establishing himself as a dictator with the support of the German people.
Fast forward to the present day, and what do we have? The nation in turmoil after months of pandemic fear-mongering and regional lockdowns, a national election looming, a president with falling poll numbers, and a police state that wants to stay in power at all costs.
Note the similarities?
It’s entirely possible that Americans have finally reached a tipping point over police brutality after decades of abuse. After all, until recently, the legislatures and the courts have marched in lockstep with the police state, repeatedly rebuffing efforts to hold police accountable for official misconduct.
Then again, it’s also equally possible that the architects of the police state have every intention of manipulating this outrage for their own purposes.
It works the same in every age.
As author Jim Keith explains, “Create violence through economic pressures, the media, mind control, agent provocateurs: thesis. Counter it with totalitarian measures, more mind control, police crackdowns, surveillance, drugging of the population: antithesis. What ensues is Orwell’s vision of 1984, a society of total control: synthesis.”
Here’s what is going to happen: the police state is going to stand down and allow these protests, riots and looting to devolve into a situation where enough of the voting populace is so desperate for a return to law and order that they will gladly relinquish some of their freedoms to achieve it. And that’s how the police state will win, no matter which candidate gets elected to the White House.
You know who will lose? Every last one of us.
Listen, people should be outraged over what happened to George Floyd, but let’s get one thing straight: Floyd didn’t die merely because he was black and the cop who killed him is white. Floyd died because America is being overrun with warrior cops—vigilantes with a badge—who are part of a government-run standing army that is waging war on the American people in the so-called name of law and order.
Not all cops are warrior cops, trained to act as judge, jury and executioner in their interactions with the populace. Unfortunately, the good cops—the ones who take seriously their oath of office to serve and protect their fellow citizens, uphold the Constitution, and maintain the peace—are increasingly being outnumbered by those who believe the lives—and rights—of police should be valued more than citizens.
These warrior cops may get paid by the citizenry, but they don’t work for us and they certainly aren’t operating within the limits of the U.S. Constitution.
This isn’t about racism in America.
This is about profit-driven militarism packaged in the guise of law and order, waged by greedy profiteers who have transformed the American homeland into a battlefield with militarized police, military weapons and tactics better suited to a war zone. This is systemic corruption predicated on the police state’s insatiable appetite for money, power and control.
This is a military coup waiting to happen.
Why do we have more than a million cops on the taxpayer-funded payroll in this country whose jobs do not entail protecting our safety, maintaining the peace in our communities, and upholding our liberties?
I’ll tell you why.
These warrior cops—fitted out in the trappings of war, drilled in the deadly art of combat, and trained to look upon “every individual they interact with as an armed threat and every situation as a deadly force encounter in the making—are the police state’s standing army.
This is the new face of war, and America has become the new battlefield.
Militarized police officers, the end product of the government—federal, local and state—and law enforcement agencies having merged, have become a “standing” or permanent army, composed of full-time professional soldiers who do not disband.
Yet these permanent armies are exactly what those who drafted the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights feared as tools used by despotic governments to wage war against its citizens.
American police forces were never supposed to be a branch of the military, nor were they meant to be private security forces for the reigning political faction. Instead, they were intended to be an aggregation of countless local police units, composed of citizens like you and me that exist for a sole purpose: to serve and protect the citizens of each and every American community.
As a result of the increasing militarization of the police in recent years, however, the police now not only look like the military—with their foreboding uniforms and phalanx of lethal weapons—but they function like them, as well.
Thus, no more do we have a civilian force of peace officers entrusted with serving and protecting the American people. Instead, today’s militarized law enforcement officials have shifted their allegiance from the citizenry to the state, acting preemptively to ward off any possible challenges to the government’s power, unrestrained by the boundaries of the Fourth Amendment.
They don’t work for us. As retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis warned, “Corporate America is using police forces as their mercenaries.”
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We were sold a bill of goods.
For years now, we’ve been told that cops need military weapons to wage the government’s wars on drugs, crime and terror. We’ve been told that cops need to be able to crash through doors, search vehicles, carry out roadside strip searches, shoot anyone they perceive to be a threat, and generally disregard the law whenever it suits them because they’re doing it to protect their fellow Americans from danger. We’ve been told that cops need extra legal protections because of the risks they take.
None of that is true.
In fact, a study by a political scientist at Princeton University concludes that militarizing police and SWAT teams “provide no detectable benefits in terms of officer safety or violent crime reduction.” According to researcher Jonathan Mummolo, if police in America are feeling less safe, it’s because the process of transforming them into extensions of the military makes them less safe, less popular and less trust-worthy.
The study, the first systematic analysis on the use and consequences of militarized force, reveals that “police militarization neither reduces rates of violent crime nor changes the number of officers assaulted or killed.”
In other words, warrior cops aren’t making us or themselves any safer.
Militarized police armed with weapons of war who are allowed to operate above the law and break the laws with impunity are definitely not making America any safer or freer.
The problem, as one reporter rightly concluded, is “not that life has gotten that much more dangerous, it’s that authorities have chosen to respond to even innocent situations as if they were in a warzone.” Consequently, Americans are now eight times more likely to die in a police confrontation than they are to be killed by a terrorist.
Militarism within the nation’s police forces is proving to be deadlier than any pandemic.
This battlefield mindset has gone hand in hand with the rise of militarized SWAT (“special weapons and tactics”) teams.
Frequently justified as vital tools necessary to combat terrorism and deal with rare but extremely dangerous criminal situations, such as those involving hostages, SWAT teams have become intrinsic parts of local law enforcement operations, thanks in large part to substantial federal assistance and the Pentagon’s military surplus recycling program, which allows the transfer of military equipment, weapons and training to local police for free or at sharp discounts while increasing the profits of its corporate allies.
Where this becomes a problem of life and death for Americans is when these SWAT teams— outfitted, armed and trained in military tactics—are assigned to carry out relatively routine police tasks, such as serving a search warrant. Nationwide, SWAT teams have been employed to address an astonishingly trivial array of criminal activity or mere community nuisances: angry dogs, domestic disputes, improper paperwork filed by an orchid farmer, and misdemeanor marijuana possession, to give a brief sampling.
Remember, SWAT teams originated as specialized units dedicated to defusing extremely sensitive, dangerous situations. They were never meant to be used for routine police work such as serving a warrant. Unfortunately, the mere presence of SWAT units has actually injected a level of danger and violence into police-citizen interactions that was not present as long as these interactions were handled by traditional civilian officers.
There are few communities without a SWAT team today, and there are more than 80,000 SWAT team raids per year.
Yet the tension inherent in most civilian-police encounter these days can’t be blamed exclusively on law enforcement’s growing reliance on SWAT teams and donated military equipment.
It goes far deeper, to a transformation in the way police view themselves and their line of duty.
Specifically, what we’re dealing with today is a skewed shoot-to-kill mindset in which police, trained to view themselves as warriors or soldiers in a war, whether against drugs, or terror, or crime, must “get” the bad guys—i.e., anyone who is a potential target—before the bad guys get them. The result is a spike in the number of incidents in which police shoot first, and ask questions later.
Making matters worse, when these officers, who have long since ceased to be peace officers, violate their oaths by bullying, beating, tasering, shooting and killing their employers—the taxpayers to whom they owe their allegiance—they are rarely given more than a slap on the hands before resuming their patrols.
This lawlessness on the part of law enforcement, an unmistakable characteristic of a police state, is made possible in large part by police unions which routinely oppose civilian review boards and resist the placement of names and badge numbers on officer uniforms; police agencies that abide by the Blue Code of Silence, the quiet understanding among police that they should not implicate their colleagues for their crimes and misconduct; prosecutors who treat police offenses with greater leniency than civilian offenses; courts that sanction police wrongdoing in the name of security; and legislatures that enhance the power, reach and arsenal of the police, and a citizenry that fails to hold its government accountable to the rule of law.
Indeed, not only are cops protected from most charges of wrongdoing—whether it’s shooting unarmed citizens (including children and old people), raping and abusing young women, falsifying police reports, trafficking drugs, or soliciting sex with minors—but even on the rare occasions when they are fired for misconduct, it’s only a matter of time before they get re-hired again.
Much of the “credit” for shielding these rogue cops goes to influential police unions and laws providing for qualified immunity, police contracts that “provide a shield of protection to officers accused of misdeeds and erect barriers to residents complaining of abuse,” state and federal laws that allow police to walk away without paying a dime for their wrongdoing, and rampant cronyism among government bureaucrats.
It’s happening all across the country.
This is how perverse justice in America has become.
Incredibly, while our own Bill of Rights are torn to shreds, leaving us with few protections against government abuses, a growing number of states are adopting Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBoR), which provide cops accused of a crime with special due process rights and privileges not afforded to the average citizen.
This, right here, epitomizes everything that is wrong with America today.
Even when the system appears to work on the side of justice, it’s the American taxpayer who ends up paying the price.
Literally.
Because police officers are more likely to be struck by lightning than be held financially accountable for their actions. As Human Rights Watch explains, taxpayers actually pay three times for officers who repeatedly commit abuses: “once to cover their salaries while they commit abuses; next to pay settlements or civil jury awards against officers; and a third time through payments into police ‘defense’ funds provided by the cities.”
Deep-seated corruption of this kind doesn’t just go away because politicians and corporations suddenly become conscience-stricken in the face of mass protests and start making promises they don’t intend to keep.
As I explain in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we need civic engagement and citizen activism, especially at the local level. However, if it ends at the ballot box without achieving any real reform that holds government officials at all levels accountable to playing by the rules of the Constitution, then shame on us.