CUSP of a RECESSION??!

Inflation out of control, rising interest rates and a Fed that seems, at best, very confused.

As the first half of 2022 rolls to its completion, the stock market is on track for its worst first six months of the year since at least 1970.

The S&P 500 index, the cornerstone of many stock portfolios and retirement accounts, peaked in early January and has fallen 19.9% over the past six months.

Since mid-January, high inflation, which is now running at the fastest pace in more than 40 years and made worse by soaring food and energy prices because of the war in Ukraine, has eroded corporate profit margins.

That has come on top of the persistent supply chain interruptions that have also made it harder for companies to fill customer orders and manage inventories [and let tell me, this element of snarls has now had a dramatic effect on local Farmers’ Markets, which, in normal times, is a crucial source of ‘cash flow’ for many on the Prairie].

Next time you’re shopping, take a moment and talk to the individual store management about their situation, it’s NOT covered in happiness…more so with grim signs of pessimism for the balance of the year.

A FOUNDATION of FACT(s)

We ALREADY knew that the Orange Despot refused to act !!! for 187 minutes to disperse the 1/6 mob.

With Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony, this week, we heard more evidence that he spurred the insurrectionists to attack!!! Mike Pence.

As the mob stormed the Capitol, Trump tweeted that Pence “didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”

Just gave that some serious thought for a few moments.

Just as important, the significance of Hutchinson’s revelations is that it shows Trump knew, in the moments before he took to the podium to give his ‘fire-and-brimstone’ Ellipse speech, that the mob was armed to the teeth, including with firearms.

Donald John Trump was beside himself over the use of magnetometers – it thinned the crowd around the podium, which was NOT the optic he wanted; railing at his aides to let people in, even if they were armed and dangerous, because they were “no threat to me.”

That said, Trump knew the mob were a threat to someone – namely the government officials at the Capitol.

He demanded that they be let in and said that they could then “march to the Capitol.”

You want to talk about “state of mind?“

Roll that fact around as well.

As we know, Trump galvanized and intentionally whipped his supporters up with his fiery speech.

Allow me to pose a simple question: Why aren’t the above points sufficient evidence for a seditious conspiracy criminal case !!! related to Trump’s actions and inaction on 1/6, like those brought against the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys and their leaders??!

Isn’t it a serious federal crime to intimidate government officials with the threat of force or aid to others in doing so??!

And, surely, it’s a crime to corruptly obstruct congressional proceedings, right??!

These hearings have very gradually introduced villains, first focusing on the Orange Despot, then on legal helpers for his attempted coup, John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark.

Last Tuesday, we met another, “Mayberry Mark” Meadows.

It’s simple, Trump intended to use the intimidating threat of armed violence to his advantage!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ABE is REMOVED…

Settle back in your seat, and I’ll tell you a brief tale; in fact, one covered in complete and utter embarrassment.

A bust of President Abraham Lincoln and a plaque of the Gettysburg Address have been removed !!! from a Cornell University library.

The display was removed after some type of complaint, by whom we do NOT know, at this juncture, without any further details or explanation.

Boys and girls, unless someone can explain where we’re headed as a culture and society, class is dismissed!!!

FOR WHOM the BELL TOLLS

The victory-at-any-cost mentality of the Orange Despot far right – vividly described yesterday during Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony before the 1/6 House Select Committee hearing – is part of a broader trend of deeply antidemocratic values that are at odds with what many Americans still aspire to. 

The win ‘at any cost’ mentality means anything can be justified!!! to achieve political objectives.

The US has become a shadow of a democracy with extreme gerrymandering [mainly Republican] allowing radicals unwilling to compromise to be elected.

Back to yesterday’s testimony by the former aide to “Maybery Mark” Meadows…

Because of a courageous woman, we are now able to understand more clearly the deep levels of the narcissism of Donald John Trump.  

Hutchinson testified that Trump was so committed to walking to the Capitol with his own supporters that he allegedly tried to grab the wheel of his Secret Service vehicle, after being told there was NOT enough security to protect him properly.

She painted the picture of an individual, while still the president of the United States, utterly out of control, a man so committed to preserving his own power that he approved of the riot and believed that Mike Pence deserved to face mob justice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apprised of the intensifying danger, aware of the potential destruction, Trump wanted to join the rioters at the Capitol, where he could behold and savor the havoc that he was able to ferment.

Hutchinson claims she overheard Trump say about the crowd, “You know, I don’t effing care that they have weapons. They’re not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here. Let the people in. Take the effing mags away.”

The “mags” refer to magnetometers deployed to keep armed individuals away from the president. 

It is critical to try to corroborate Hutchinson’s sworn testimony by interviewing others who may have heard Trump’s words.

It should be noted that BOTH NBC and ABC reported that their sources said they expect the Secret Service to push back against any allegation of an assault against an agent or that Trump tried reaching for the steering wheel of the Secret Service vehicle, known as The Beast.

What about intentionality and likelihood??!

This drama is far from over. 

Let’s face it…

Trump knew the 1/6 mob was armed and dangerous; he was so confident that the insurrectionists intended him NO harm that he wanted to remove the “mags,” a key element of presidential security.

He didn’t just know the mob was armed, he wanted it to be armed!!!

NONE of what Hutchinson described in her testimony is new territory of this man…

Before taking up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Boy Orange had multiple behavioral red flags [foreign business dealings, bankruptcies, involved in multiple lawsuits for non-payment to contractors, documented lies about personal wealth, hiring of illegals, sexual allegations/suits, false-front enterprises – Trump University, steaks, bottled water, etc.] indicating he should NOT have ever been granted any form of federal clearance, much less been elected as leader of the country.

NO MATTER…the Cult of Trump was born.

Cults succeed by creating “a closed system of logic” and “belief.”

An idol in orange emerged…

 

CASSIDY, RING THE BELL!

The 1/6 House Select committee is expected to hear public testimony this afternoon from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to “Mayberry Mark” Meadows, the final chief of staff for the Orange Despot.

Who doesn’t love a surprise dose of Rock ‘n Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This committee has set a new high for attracting audiences, especially with the old Lobsterman.

Saying you are NOT going to hold any more hearings for 2 weeks and then announcing “something has come up and we can’t wait” is like being 11-years old again and heading out for a double Saturday matinee with a classic Commander Cody 13-part serial.

Good and Plenty was my go-to!

A wave of speculation surrounds Hutchinson’s pending testimony.

The announcement – and its sudden and secretive nature – gave way to a day of guesswork about what the panel might have learned, or whose cooperation it may have secured, to warrant upending a carefully choreographed hearing schedule during a week when members had left Washington to spend time in their districts around the country.

Word has it…lifeboats are being readied in many sectors of the country.

LIBERAL AGENDA under CRAZED REACTION

Many of you have been messaging me that I seem deeply concerned by SCOTUS‘s Roe decision.

In two words, I am.

The polarization, throughout the country, is worsening by the hour!!!

NO matter one’s posture/position on this or that issue, Hell is ’round the corner; and, on top of that attitude, it seems that ‘listening’ is a virtue NEVER to be seen/witnessed ever again.

We’re in the midst of a CIVIL WAR…

It seems like almost everyone feels they’ve been lied to, cheated by this or that, and have had portions of their lives stolen with impunity by the other side.

The legitimacy of the laws, how they were enacted and how the people who enacted them were selected has now become the “spark” that is dividing the nation with grave consequences in the present and incoherent reaction toward the future.

In the last couple of days, my wife and I have been trying to digest the ‘lay of the land.”

My better half, who is the smartest and most grounded person I’ve ever known, in the last 57-plus years, offered up the following:

• The over reaction by many is a direct result of social emotional learning in our public schools;
• Television, movies, the ‘net, illiterate social media platforms, and passive learning within our school system(s) have created a society of emotional permissiveness;
• Rage can NOT express intelligent response to answering one’s cause and agenda.

I’ll just leave you with this thought…Learning is hard, but stupidity is easy!!!

Plus, NO one wants to ever take responsibility for the mess they’ve created!!!!!! in either “word” or “deed.”

EMPLOYEE PACKAGES MAY CHANGE…

The corporate world has been relatively silent, thus far, as regards the Supreme Court‘s ruling on Roe last Friday.

That said, over the last 36 hours, some companies are now coming forward to announce that they would cover travel expenses for their employees to get abortions, with executives moving swiftly to BOTH: a) sort out the mechanics of those policies; and b) explain them to a work force concerned about confidentiality and safety.

Depending on exactly how this policy would be administered, Main Street businesses could really suffer with their hiring and employee benefits packages [if there is one].

Talk about the changing face of Labor Laws in the country, whoa!

As well as the insurance coverage policies now required by corporations/companies moving forward.

Responding by expanding their health care policies, companies appear to be looking to cover travel and other expenses for employees who can NOT get abortions close to home, now that the procedure is banned in at least eight states, with other bans set to soon take effect.

Over half the country gets its health-care coverage from employers, and the wave of new employer commitments has raised concerns from some workers about privacy.

To the old Lobsterman, this future possibility presents itself as a “doomsday scenario” from a purely ethical point-of-view – employers now deciding/offering health-care options for their employees on a sanctify of life matter.

The scrutiny of political donations to politicians, on BOTH sides of the abortion ban, by corporations will also amp up by a factor of 10!!! by the general public. 

The companies that have ALREADY said they would assist employees who have to travel for abortions are Disney, Macy’s, H&M, Nordstrom, Nike, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America.

The country’s largest private employer, Walmart, has declined to comment, as of this posting, on the Supreme Court’s ruling.

h/t: Becker’s Hospital Review.

EVERYONE HAS a PIECE of the BLAME

Our southern border…

A massive administrational disaster going back as far 1986, and the echoes of olde “Dutch” Reagan…to today’s impotence shown by the pathetic antics of VP Kammy Harris [a growing embarrassment for the Dems, almost on an hourly basis].

Technically, the border remains sealed off to most migrants under a health order imposed in the early days of the pandemic that was designed to stem the flow of the Coronavirus.

But…

The policy, known as Title 42, has had the unintended effect of encouraging people to enter the country illegally more than once.

Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), facing re-election for a third term in November, has positioned himself as the defender of the country from migrants, making his aggressive stance on unauthorized migration central to his political campaign, even though his policies have been ultimately unsuccessful!!! in stemming the arrival of migrants.

The number of migrants apprehended while entering the United States through the southern border has jumped to the highest level in decades.

Last month, encounters between Customs and Border Protection officials and unauthorized migrants near the southern border rose more than 30% from a year earlier, according to the agency’s data. 

Yesterday, in another example of unintended consequences, surrounding this crisis, the bodies of at least 46 people believed to be migrants who crossed into the United States from Mexico were found dead!!! in and around a tractor-trailer that had been abandoned on the outskirts of San Antonio, state and city officials said.

At least 16 others, including children, were taken to local hospitals alive but suffering from heat exhaustion and apparent dehydration, city officials said during a news conference at the scene of what appeared to be one of the worst episodes of migrant death in the United States in recent years.

The closest border crossing, from this incident, is roughly 140 miles away.

In May alone, agents apprehended more than 239,000 migrants!!! along the border, an all-time high, including people who had ALREADY attempted to enter before. 

h/t: Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection.

“RECENTLY OBTAINED EVIDENCE”

The 1/6 House Select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol announced, within the last hour or so, there will be an abruptly scheduled hearing for tomorrow afternoon to hear what the panel called “recently obtained evidence” and take witness testimony.

Holy Jack Webb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just the facts, Mam…

The panel had NOT been scheduled to have any additional sessions this week, with NO legislative action planned and lawmakers scattered across the country.

The Committee’s approach to telling their tale appears to be compelling those at risk of eventual prosecution to come forward preemptively in hope of mitigating the damage to their reputations and careers.

There are very few reputations left to be saved from the point-of-view of the old Lobsterman at this juncture.

Has there been a Merrick Garland sighting, by the way??!

Aides, as of this posting, refused to divulge what additional evidence they planned to present tomorrow or who would be testifying, saying that the panel was concerned for the security of its witnesses.

There’s NOTHING on Planet Earth as additive as bad people, under the glare of new evidence, gasping for oxygen and a clear head.

Right, Rudy??!!??

PENDING VIOLENCE??!

In a sign of escalating tension over the Supreme Court‘s ruling on abortion, fringe groups on the far right and far left issued calls to take up arms!!!

With people across the country taking to the streets to protest and/or support the decision, officials, over the last 48-plus hours, have warned that the United States could face a wave of violence from extremists.

A memo published Friday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warning that churches, judges and abortion providers could be at a heightened risk of violence “for weeks” in response to BOTH the ruling and expected changes in state laws and ballot measures stemming from the decision.

This is exactly what I’ve been concerned about over the last couple of days.

The FREAK SHOW of protesters, on BOTH sides, has NO boundaries!!!

The DHS memo was being referenced as a call to arms to protect pregnancy centers and churches from abortion rights extremists, according to disinformation researchers.

Pregnancy centers are nonprofit organizations set up by antiabortion advocates to counsel women against having abortions.

This could be a “tinderbox situation.”

Question: How active will Twitter and Facebook be in monitoring the situation for potential violence??!

h/t: The Alethea Group.