Today’s News 14th November 2024

• Remember Peanut: A Treatise On Evil And Why The State Killing Of A Squirrel Matters So Much
  Remember Peanut: A Treatise On Evil And Why The State Killing Of A Squirrel Matters So Much

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  What is evil? For the average person it’s a difficult concept to explain but most of us know it when we see it. Every once in a while there’s an event which strikes the collective consciousness in such a way that it becomes deeply symbolic. Sometimes these events symbolize ultimate good, and sometimes they symbolize ultimate evil. The public is affected by these things in ways they didn’t expect and might not even comprehend, but they are archetypal and profound nonetheless.

  

  In the wake of Donald Trumps election victory and the jubilant celebration some people might overlook one of these recent events; the state assassination of a man’s pet squirrel and the national anger that followed.  Why does the death of a squirrel matter? It’s not only about the squirrel, it’s about the context and what it means for our civilization at large.

  In a progressive controlled state (New York), Mark Longo ran a legal animal sanctuary for abandoned and injured animals. He promoted the sanctuary on social media with videos featuring his long time pet, Peanut the Squirrel. Longo rescued Peanut after his mother was killed in an accident and he raised the animal for seven years.

  Peanut became internet famous as the mascot for “P’Nut’s Freedom Farm”, and he was clearly never a threat to anyone.  So, why after seven years does the New York Department of Environmental Conservation suddenly target Mark Longo for a criminal raid which resulted in the seizure of some of his animals (including Peanut) which were then immediately euthanized?

  The State of NY indicates that SOMEONE made multiple reports against Longo, accusing him of violations including keeping animals with rabies. They also claimed Peanut had bitten people. No evidence has been presented to show these accusations to be true. And, as with all government bureaucracy, the state sent thugs to terrorize the poor man and his family instead of simply talking to him.

  Whoever set Longo up did their homework, because accusations of rabies lead to the immediate death of an animal. The CDC requires that an animal be put down before samples can be sent for rabies testing. Peanut never had a chance.

  So far there is no confirmed information on who actually lied and set up Longo for the raid. What we do know is that the person responsible for greenlighting the raid is State DEC officer Karen Przyklek (yes, an actual Karen).

  Regardless of who swatted Longo and his animal sanctuary, it was the State of New York and the DEC that was responsible for handling the case and they did so in the worst way possible.

  According to Longo they treated him like a drug dealer and then they killed his beloved pets without telling him and without due process. Longo and Peanut were guilty until proven innocent.

  I have to say, when it comes to my pets I take a hard line position: They are a part of my family. Hurt my pets and I’ll hurt you. I don’t care what the law says. I don’t care about your rationale. Retribution is coming.

  I think there’s a lot of people out there that agree with this sentiment and most of them are conservative. There is also clearly an element of government overreach here that made the death of Peanut a catalyst for political debate between conservatives and progressives over state power. Leftists love the state and defend it blindly. Conservatives are suspicious of the state and seek to contain it.

  But there’s something more going on underneath the surface that I want to address, and that’s the emotional and spiritual side of injustice. Why target Longo? What was he doing to anyone? As far as I can tell he was bringing happiness to people while giving a home to animals in need. Why target a loved pet? What motivates certain people to do these things? What motivates the government to do these things?

  I have pondered these questions for many years and like most people I first turned to innocuous explanations. Maybe these terrible situations are a result of simple misunderstandings? Maybe the complexity of bureaucracy leads to unintended consequences? Maybe the system is broken but the people within it generally have good intentions?

  None of these things ultimately explain something like the killing of Peanut. Instead, I can only come to one conclusion: There are very evil people in the world and the state often colludes with those people to destroy good things.  Their goal is to seek out any and all goodness in the world and suffocate it. And this is what has so many people upset about a pet squirrel.

  One of my favorite television shows of all time is a series from the 1990s called ‘Millennium’ starring Lance Henriksen. The show explores the idea of physical evil; not evil as an archetypal concept or a social disease, but evil as a tangible predatory entity and how it seeks to destroy mankind.

  In that series one of my favorite episodes is called ‘A Room With No View’. A character by the name of Lucy Butler (Lucifer), kidnaps and imprisons promising children with unique qualities. She then psychologically tortures them until they agree to give up on their dreams. When they promise to turn to a life of mediocrity, she sets them free because they are no longer a threat to the machinations of evil.

  For me this depiction of evil was a revelation. It wasn’t the usual cackling, mustache twirling devil of most popular media, trying to get people to commit a mass shooting or commit suicide or start a world war. Rather, this was a subtle and insidious evil that inspires people to simply give up trying to do good. This devil wasn’t a reactionary randomly attempting to create chaos today; he was planning generations ahead and making the future increasingly less hopeful.

  It’s the kind of thing we see from narcissists and psychopaths all the time – That desire to extinguish positive motivation and leave the people around them in drudgery. That malicious drive to make good people stop doing good things and grinding them down to nothing over the course of years or decades. Evil is often subversive and it plays the long game.

  When I hear progressives defend the state of NY and their actions against Longo, I can’t help but be reminded of the idea of evil as a subtle living force. I saw a lot of leftists on social media trying to diminish public concerns about the event by making false comparisons. They say conservatives “care more about a dead squirrel than they cared about the death of George Floyd.”

  I say yes, we do, because Peanut the Squirrel was more valuable to the world than George Floyd.

  Peanut was doing good. Even though he was just an animal he was doing far more good than the majority of leftists combined. We’re worse off without Peanut, we’re better off without career criminals like George Floyd. And I think it says a lot about a group that idolizes a man who robbed a pregnant woman at gunpoint while they simultaneously ignore government abuse of power when it’s inconvenient for their political agenda.

  My feeling is that, for whatever reason, Mark Longo and Peanut caught the eye of evil people and those people saw a positive social effort that they immediately wanted to snuff out. And one thing I’ve noticed about evil people is that they gravitate to other evil people. They seem to find each other in a crowded room. They work together across great distances and help each other in the destruction of innocents.

  (How else do you explain the rapid spread of trans indoctrination of children, for example?)

  In other words, when you set out to do something positive for the world or enact legitimate solutions to real problems, just understand that you WILL eventually be targeted. You probably won’t know why. It probably won’t make any logical sense. And it will be people you’ve probably never met in your life or people that you barely know. Maybe they’re demons in disguise. Maybe they are possessed. Maybe they symbolize a twisted test to see if you’re truly dedicated to your cause.

  When these challenges arrive and evil seeks you out, know that it will use whatever means at its disposal to sabotage you and that usually includes government. To confirm how evil your society truly is, all you have to do is determine who the government chooses to help and who the government chooses to hurt. If the government regularly comes to the aid of people with ill intent while stepping on the necks of those with pure hearts, then you know that your society is on the doorstep to hell.

  *  *  *

  If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 23:25

• Virginia Family's EZ-Pass Charged $576 After Driving RV Just 45 Miles On State Toll Road
  Virginia Family’s EZ-Pass Charged $576 After Driving RV Just 45 Miles On State Toll Road

  It’s easy to laugh off people who constantly complain that the government is watching their every move and has hands in their wallets. Then, you stumble upon a story like Jeff Landry’s. 

  When Landry set off for a camping trip with his family near Virginia’s Luray Caverns in early October, he expected to pay some tolls – especially because he had his RV.

  Traveling from Falls Church with his wife and youngest child following in a minivan, they took I-66’s express lanes during peak hours, expecting to pay $30 or so each way in tolls. But to his surprise, when the EZ-Pass charges appeared days later, the bill totaled an eye-popping $569.50 for the roundtrip, according to MSN/MotorBiscuit.

  At first, Jeff thought the bill was a mistake, but after checking the toll website, he realized it was accurate.

  The MSN/MotorBiscuit writeup says that his three-axle RV was charged a premium due to its size, but $569.50 for a 22-mile round trip felt excessive to him. He hadn’t anticipated how much dynamic pricing could drive up tolls for larger vehicles during peak hours.

  

  It turns out…the I-66 express lanes, managed by I-66 Express Mobility Partners, adjust toll rates based on traffic demand, charging drivers more to bypass congestion.

  Larger vehicles, like Jeff’s 1997 Holiday Rambler RV, incur even higher tolls due to their size and road impact. According to a toll operator’s spokesperson, Jeff’s RV wouldn’t even qualify to use certain other toll lanes in Virginia, so the high charges are firm.

  The writeup notes that drivers unfamiliar with toll pricing can easily misjudge costs, as Jeff did.

  It says to avoid similar surprises, plan your trip to avoid peak hours, when toll rates are highest; traveling during off-peak times can significantly reduce toll charges. Additionally, check your vehicle’s toll classification, especially if you’re driving a larger, multi-axle vehicle, which typically incurs higher tolls. Lastly, explore alternative routes.

  While non-express lanes may add some travel time, they can save large vehicle drivers hundreds of dollars. For Jeff, the express lane shaved only 20 minutes off his trip—an advantage that, in retrospect, didn’t justify the steep toll.

  Or, maybe just stay home next time…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 23:00

• Did Trump Really Call Putin Late Last Week?
  Did Trump Really Call Putin Late Last Week?

  Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

  There are reasons to doubt WaPo’s report…

  

  The Washington Post’s (WaPo) report alleging that Trump called Putin the Thursday after he won the election and told him not to escalate the conflict was contradicted by both the Kremlin and Kiev. The first called it “pure fiction” while the second said that it was “unaware” of the call despite allegedly being informed of it. The Trump team hasn’t commented on it at the time of writing. Nevertheless, the report’s timeframe raises questions about its credibility, which will now be elaborated on.

  Putin participated in his traditional Q&A session that evening at the Valdai Club’s annual meeting, which lasted until around midnight. He claimed not to have talked to Trump by that time but said that he’d be interested in speaking with him if he calls.

  If WaPo’s report is correct, then it means that Putin either talked to Trump before the aforesaid event but lied about it or that he talked to him sometime afterwards but before 8am Moscow time, which would be midnight of the next day at Mar-a-Lago.

  It can only be speculated why Putin would lie about this if that’s indeed what happened, which is unlikely, and it’s also equally unlikely that he’d agree to have a detailed discussion with Trump between midnight and 8am in the morning after the prior evening’s long Q&A session. After all, these sorts of calls aren’t impromptu but are arranged ahead of time, and Putin could always have rescheduled. Therefore, WaPo’s report is probably fake news, thus making one wonder why it was published in the first place.

  One possibility is that someone on his team was tasked with introducing the report’s two narratives, that Trump told Putin not to escalate but also informed Ukraine of the call too, into the discourse. This could have been done to test the water by gauging their reactions to what he might have planned to do. Another possibility is that subversive elements close to him wanted to undermine his planned call. And finally, the last possibility is that it was made up, whether by WaPo or whoever else for whatever reason.

  In the order that they were shared, the first “trial run” theory would have shown that Russia is uncomfortable with being told what to do while Ukraine doesn’t want to be left out of the loop. As for the second, both might now know what to expect, but Trump could also switch it up to surprise them. Regarding the last one, it drove traffic to WaPo’s site and reaffirmed the perception of them as one of the preferred outlets for insiders to leak to, but it had no noticeable effect beyond that.

  Looking forward, the first official Putin-Trump call (whenever it may be and assuming that WaPo’s report is fake news as was argued) will probably see the returning American leader sharing more details with his Russian counterpart about exactly what he has in mind for ending the Ukrainian Conflict. Readers can learn more about what that might look like here, here, and here. It’ll take more than one call to achieve this, most likely at least one in-person meeting too, but everything is moving in that direction.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 22:35

• West Bank Annexation 'Of Course' A Possibility, Says Trump's Israel Envoy Pick Huckabee
  West Bank Annexation ‘Of Course’ A Possibility, Says Trump’s Israel Envoy Pick Huckabee

  Mike Huckabee, announced Tuesday as the incoming Trump administration’s designated US Ambassador to Israel, spoke to Israel’s Army Radio in a short interview Wednesday morning.

  He issued some surprisingly bold statements, amid controversy from some corners of US Congress who are alarmed at the choice, given he has long been among the most staunch and hardline supporters of Israel. He spelled out that he is on board with a complete Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, if that’s what Trump policy leaders decide.

  

  “I’m kind of in shock. It’s been an unusual and wonderful day all at the same time. And I’m just incredibly honored that the president would ask me to serve in this capacity,” Huckabee said at the start of the interview.

  The Israeli Army show host probed and pressed him on what might be the most forward-looking changes that President-elect Donald Trump might bring to US-Israel relations.

  Currently, there are a handful of hardline Israeli ministers who have gone so far as to call for declaring the West Bank as Israeli sovereign territory.

  Among the most outspoken are Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Smotrich recently declared that “now is the time” to declare Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territories, especially the West Bank.

  Huckabee in the Wednesday morning interview, which appears to be his first since being tapped as Israeli ambassador, began with “I have been, as you know, a frequent visitor to Judea and Samaria.” His reference was to what is internationally known as the West Bank. Israel chooses to use the ancient biblical names of Judea and Samaria.

  “I also very much believe that the people of Israel deserve a secure and safe country, and anything I can do that will help accommodate that is going to be a great privilege for me,” he added.

  But that’s when Army Radio’s Yanir Kozin – sensing that Huckabee was choosing his words and response very carefully, again pressed Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor was asked what his true opinion on the matter of Israel taking over the West Bank, and he responded as follows:

  “Well, of course. And you know, I won’t make the policy. I will carry out the policy of the president. But he has already demonstrated in his first term that there’s never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing, uh, an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel from the moving of the embassy, recognition of the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as the capital. No one has done more than President Trump. And I fully expect that will continue,” said Huckabee.

  As for the question of recognition of any future settlements in the Gaza Strip, where the army is in the midst of a more than year-long anti-Hamas operation, Huckabee explained, “Well, I haven’t had time to process that…As I say, today has been a pretty intense day of just fielding hundreds, literally hundreds of calls, emails, text messages.”

  He continued, “So, you know, I don’t want to make any comments about policy because those won’t be mine to make. That’ll be the president’s. And it will be my job to carry out the policy that he prescribes.”

  

  Interestingly and controversially, some Israeli officials have hinted at Tel Aviv’s potential pursuit of a ‘Greater Israel’ project – something which has been talked about openly since the 1980s. American neocon policy officials have also talked about this possibility since the 1990s.

  A French language documentary recently got Smotrich on record as strongly suggesting he would like to eventually see Israel’s border expand to Damascus: 

  Smotrich stated that “it is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus,” adding ominously “only Jerusalem, until Damascus.”

  Such rhetoric from top-ranking Israeli officials is sure to only perpetuate the war. Israel is not only at war in Gaza, but is conducting a ground and aerial offensive in southern Lebanon, with strikes extending even into the north and central of the country, with heavy strikes on Beirut. The last week has also witnessed at least four significant air raids of Syria as well, mostly focused on the Damascus suburbs, where Israel says Iran’s military has a presence.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 22:10

• Peter Schiff: The Fed Is Trying To Save Itself At Your Expense
  Peter Schiff: The Fed Is Trying To Save Itself At Your Expense

  Authored by Peter Schiff via SchiffSovereign.com,

  Well, inflation is up again. You’re probably not surprised, and neither are we.

  

  Over the past few months, in fact, we’ve repeated again and again that inflation will keep rising, and even identified some strange reasons why.

  Remember back during the early days of the pandemic when used car prices went through the roof? Supply chain dysfunction and stay-at-home orders prevented the big auto manufacturers from producing too many new cars. So, demand for used cars surged… and used car prices shot to the moon.

  But used car prices eventually started to fall back to earth. And throughout this year, the government inflation reports showed steep drops in used car prices– like 10 to 12% year-over-year declines.

  We made two key points about this:

  1) The big drop in used car prices was essentially dragging down the inflation average. Other prices, like housing, medical care, etc. were still rising by 5% or more. But after averaging in the negative 10% used car price declines, the overall inflation rate seemed to be falling.

  2) We also said this would be temporary. Used cars could only fall for so long before they reached ‘normal’ levels. And once that happened, inflation would start to rise again.

  This appears to have now happened.

  During the summer, for example, used car prices fell 10.9% year-over-year in the month of July. Then in August, the year-over-year decline decelerated to -10.4%. Then the following month to -5.1%. Well, the October data was released just this morning, and used cars index fell 3.4%.

  In other words, we’re almost at the end of the ‘used car deflation’ benefit that dragged down the government’s inflation report. So, it’s no coincidence that we also see inflation once again rising, from 2.3% in September to now 2.6% in October.

  And there are plenty of categories that are WAY more that 2.6%, especially the things that people buy on a regular basis. Health insurance is up 6.8%. Car insurance is up 14%. Airfare is up 4.1%. Housing costs are up 5.2%. Daycare is up 6%.

  Sure, there are obviously categories where prices have fallen. And congratulations if you were in the market for a men’s sport coat last month– you paid 5.9% less. Plus, the all-important “dishes and flatware” category plunged 7.4%.

  But these hardly make up for the big price hikes in the key categories that are essential to most people.

  This is what makes the Fed’s policy actions so bizarre.

  Last week they cut rates, again, for the second time this cycle… which is the OPPOSITE of what a central bank would normally do in the face of rising inflation.

  In the same way that they pretended inflation was “transitory” throughout 2021, they are now asserting with equal vigor that the inflation beast has been tamed.

  They’re so full of self-congratulatory hubris, in fact, that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated that he will refuse to step down if Donald Trump demands his resignation.

  Bear in mind, Powell is the guy who totally missed inflation in 2021. I mean, he was MISTER Transitory. He failed to act in a timely manner and waited until mid-2022 to start hiking rates in earnest. He then failed to predict any negative consequences from the rate hikes– including the meltdown in the US banking system.

  Powell even testified before Congress– just TWO DAYS before Silicon Valley Bank went bust last year– that he saw “nothing in the data” to suggest there were any risks to the Fed’s monetary policy decisions.

  I would also point out that during Powell’s chairmanship, two of the most senior Fed officials were found to have been personally profiting from their monetary policy decisions through questionably timed stock trades. It was almost as if Nancy Pelosi was running the joint.

  So, Powell– who has been consistently wrong in the most remarkable ways– now insists that he will NOT step down. Apparently, HE and HE ALONE can lead the Federal Reserve. And we’ve seen that arrogance before from Joe Biden, Tony Fauci, etc. It’s not a good look and doesn’t bode well for the Fed.

  All that aside, it’s pretty clear that the Fed is in a bind. Inflation is rising, so they should realistically hike rates. But interest rates– even at current levels– are killing the federal government.

  The US spent an unbelievable $1.1 trillion in the last fiscal year paying interest on the national debt. That will almost certainly increase for this current fiscal year. And if rates stay where they are now, the total interest bill will exceed $2 trillion in a few years.

  That’s a pretty bad situation considering that interest rates are still relatively cheap on a historical basis.

  But it’s not just the federal government. Current interest rates are also bad for banks.

  Remember that banks across the United States bought mountains of Treasury bonds during the pandemic– at a time when interest rates were at record lows, and those bonds yielded as little as 5 basis points (i.e. 0.05%).

  Thanks to the Fed’s interest rate hikes, those banks’ bond portfolios have tanked in value. (When interest rates go up, bonds lose value.) In fact, across the entire US banking system, the total unrealized bond losses exceed $500 BILLION. That’s about 20% of the total capital in the US banking system.

  Naturally banks don’t want to take that hit. And the only way to unwind those losses is for interest rates to fall, i.e. the bonds once again increase in value. So, yeah, banks desperately want rate cuts too.

  But the most important one is the Fed itself.

  Just like banks across the country bought US government bonds during the pandemic, the Federal Reserve bought literally TRILLIONS of dollars of bonds. And their interest rate hikes have caused unbelievable losses to the Fed’s own bond portfolio.

  How big are their losses? Roughly ONE TRILLION dollars.

  In other words, the Fed is wildly, woefully insolvent. And at this point, they’re just out for self-preservation. Cutting rates is the only way to reduce those unrealized losses and prop up their solvency, even if that means more inflation… or even stagflation that could be worse than the 1970s.

  That is especially significant since, during his last press conference, Powell admitted that the Fed has no contingency plan for stagflation. They’re not even thinking about the risk. They’re just focused on saving themselves at your expense.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 21:45

• Dear Border Czar: This Nonprofit Boasts A List Of 400 Companies That Employ Migrants
  Dear Border Czar: This Nonprofit Boasts A List Of 400 Companies That Employ Migrants

  President-elect Donald Trump made public safety and national security a central element of his campaign, ensuring the American people that illegal aliens would be deported. 

  On Monday, incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan, told “Fox & Friends” hosts, “Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority…they pose the most danger to this country.” 

  Homan said, “Where do we find most victims of sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking? At worksites…” 

  Homan’s comment about the potential for large-scale worksite raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents next year reminded us of a note we shared with readers in March titled “How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor.”

  Earlier this year, Bloomberg paraded Turkish billionaire businessman and founder of the Chobani yogurt empire, Hamdi Ulukaya, a top Kamala Harris supporter, who, according to public records data, is one of the officers of the Tent Partnership for Refugees, an advisory nonprofit that companies use to work with resettlement agencies, staffing agencies, and other nonprofits, to source cheap migrant labor. 

  In March, Ulukaya explained to Bloomberg that “employing refugees and committing to their successful onboarding is what’s driving Chobani’s success” and allowed it to double its earnings in the first nine months of 2023. 

  A separate Bloomberg note showed that Tyson Foods partnered with Ulukaya’s Tent for cheap labor. As of March, Tyson employed a whopping 42,000 immigrants among its 120,000 US workforce. 

  “We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” Garrett Dolan, who leads Tyson’s efforts to eliminate employment barriers, said in March. 

  What’s very clear is that migrants did not aimlessly walk across the wide-open southern border and then find instant job placements that displaced and replaced blue-collar native-born workers. There is a massive NGO network, internationally and domestically, that channels unvetted migrants from foreign lands into US factories.

  Suppose the Trump administration wants to learn more about potential worksites that have hired migrants over the years.

  

  In that case, Tent boasts a massive network of 400 companies hiring migrants.

  Here’s the partial list…

  

  

  Homan’s team will have a field day with Tent’s list. 

  America can no longer afford to have ten-plus million unvetted illegal aliens running around the nation.

  Mega-corporations that have displaced US workers with migrants over the years are likely to face significant labor challenges next year if worksite raids are conducted by ICE. Perhaps it’s time to consider hiring American workers again.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 21:20

• Tucker: Joe Rogan Has "Changed American History"
  Tucker: Joe Rogan Has “Changed American History”

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  During a recent discussion with Joe Polish‬ at the Genius Network Annual Event, Tucker Carlson heaped praise on Joe Rogan, going as far to say that the podcast king has “changed American history.”

  

  Tucker noted that “Rogan created the genre of podcasting. I’ve been in the media my whole life. Rogan used to be a sitcom actor, a standup comedian, and an MMA fighter. So he starts this thing called a podcast where he talks for like three hours.”

  Carlson admitted “I’m in television at a big network and I thought it was dumb. No one is going to listen to a three-hour podcast from some MMA fighter?”

  “I know, right?” Carlson said as the audience began to chuckle.

  “And this guy’s not even in our business! What’s he doing?” Carlson related, explaining his feelings at the time.

  “He completely changed not only American media but also American history. he created a whole new genre — it would be like if one guy invented the newspaper or television, that’s how big what he did was,” Carlson urged.

  He continued, “And I will admit I did not see it coming, I did not understand it, I did not think it would work. And the fact that it did work says something so great and important about Americans. Rogan proved that Americans really want to learn.”

  “They’re not learning in school, they’re not learning in the rest of the media. It’s all shallow and dumb, about race and gender, it’s all lying,” Carlson further asserted.

  He continued, “Rogan is just willing to just sit there with interesting people and talk for three hours. That was the most affirming, reassuring thing I’ve seen in 35 years of media — that that worked.”

  “I’m thrilled and proud to be Rogan’s friend. I admire him more than anybody in media — by far,” Carlson concluded.

  🚨 TUCKER: “Rogan created the genre of podcasting. Rogan used to be a sitcom actor, a standup comedian, and an MMA fighter. Then he creates this thing called a podcast where he talks for 3 hours? I thought it was dumb. Who is going to listen to an MMA fighter talk for 3 hours? He… pic.twitter.com/Hq9YdUgbIF

  — Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 12, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  The entire discussion is here:

  As we highlight in the following video, Trump’s victory, along with the success of Tucker, Rogan and many others could be the final hammer blow that renders the legacy media largely irrelevant.

  *  *  *

  Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 20:55

• Southwest Airlines Offering "Voluntary Separation Packages" Due To "Overstaffing"
  Southwest Airlines Offering “Voluntary Separation Packages” Due To “Overstaffing”

  We just saw the ‘success’ of the Biden administration not allowing M&A in the airline industry when Spirit, once slated to merge with jetBlue, instead filed for bankruptcy this week. “That’s the miracle of Bidenomics!”

  And they aren’t the only carrier under distress, it appears. 

  Southwest Airlines, based in Dallas, is addressing overstaffing issues at select airports by offering voluntary separation to ground operations, cargo, and provisioning employee, according to SimpleFlying. 

  In a memo distributed on Friday, the airline noted that overstaffing—largely due to aircraft delivery delays—affects nearly 20 airports where Southwest has a significant presence, though the issue is not universal across all locations. Certain positions at Southwest’s headquarters are also eligible for the voluntary separation program.

  Aviation analyst JonNYC first reported that Southwest Airlines is offering a voluntary separation program to address overstaffing at specific airports.

  Southwest “Saw this floating around the airline groups on FB. Looks like ATL and LAX stations taking some big hits.” pic.twitter.com/AgP6M6Ovcm

  — JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 9, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  In a memo to staff, Chris Johnson, Vice President of Ground Operations, along with Cole McGuire and Wally Devereaux, both vice presidents overseeing operations, outlined that the voluntary separations aim to align staffing levels with Southwest’s revised capacity plans, impacted by aircraft delivery delays.

  The SimpleFlying report notes that the 2024 Voluntary Separation Program (VSP 24) is open to contracted and non-contracted employees, including customer service agents, ramp agents, cargo agents, and provisioning agents.

  Eligible positions also extend to operations agents, supervisors, assistant managers, and operations managers. Employees at 18 airports, including Atlanta, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles, and Tampa, will receive information about the VSP 24 package soon. Select employees at Southwest’s Dallas headquarters will also be eligible.

  The program is particularly targeted at employees nearing retirement, or those interested in pursuing personal interests such as returning to school or spending more time with family. These employees will have several weeks to review the resources and determine if the VSP 24 aligns with their goals.

  

  For those opting for voluntary separation, the resignation date is set for December 30, 2024.

  This initiative coincides with a planned reduction in Southwest’s Atlanta operations, where over 300 pilot and flight attendant positions will be cut by April. The airline, under shareholder pressure from Elliott Investment Management, is focusing on revenue growth and has also reduced hiring rates to prevent further overstaffing.

  A Southwest spokesperson confirmed the program, noting that aircraft delivery delays have limited fleet capacity, prompting adjustments in staffing. The voluntary separation, combined with a hiring slowdown, is intended to prevent workforce excesses at impacted locations.

  It remains unclear what actions Southwest will take for employees who choose not to participate in the VSP 24.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 20:30

• Doug Casey On Trump's Second Term: What It Means For America And Investors
  Doug Casey On Trump’s Second Term: What It Means For America And Investors

  Via InternationalMan.com,

  International Man: What are your overall thoughts on Trump’s second term?

  How do you expect it to differ from his first term?

  

  Doug Casey: Thank heavens Kamala lost. If she’d won, the Jacobins would have cemented their hold on the country, and it would have been “game over.” We would have seen an acceleration of cultural decline, vastly higher taxes and regulations, and a serious push to shut down free speech.

  It feels like morning in America again. But unfortunately, morning only lasts six hours. You’ve got to remember that roughly half the country voted for Kamala, despite her total lack of any qualifications and her extreme commitment to socialist/statist values. Half the country believes in these things; they’re unhappy and not going away.

  In other words, it ain’t over till it’s over. And it ain’t over yet.

  Regarding Trump’s next four years, I hope that he shows better judgment than he did in his first term when he surrounded himself with all kinds of spineless toadies, deep-staters, and political hacks. But I’m optimistic. For instance, he’s announced that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley—horrible people—are out.

  Better yet, he’s putting RFK Jr. in a position of power over the FDA. He’s tasked Elon Musk with trying to cut Federal spending by $2 trillion. They’re talking about putting Ron Paul in a position to weigh in on monetary policy. And they’ve apparently offered Joel Salatin a position in the Department of Agriculture.

  While Trump doesn’t have a philosophical core, flies by the seat of his pants, is not terribly knowledgeable, and demonstrated horrible judgment about people the last time around, this time, he’s doing a much better job picking the people who are going to actually make things happen.

  What scares me most? There have been two assassination attempts, and there might be a third or a fourth before he’s inaugurated. He has become a totem for cultural conservatism. And the Jacobins who control the US government, academia, the entertainment industry, the corporate world, and all of the power centers of America don’t want to see him in office. They’re presently in disarray, but they’re capable of any knavery.

  International Man: How do you see Trump’s policies in a second term impacting the federal debt, inflation, and the broader US economy?

  Is there any realistic path to reversing the current trajectory?

  Doug Casey: First, let me reemphasize how important it is that Kamala and the Democrats lost.

  The Democrats would’ve gone hog wild toward the socialization of America. I’m extremely grateful for their defeat. And very happy Trump seems angry enough to meet out some justice.

  On the downside, though, Trump has always called himself a “low-interest rate guy” and the “king of debt.” Remember that he was a big spender during his first term and ran up huge deficits. They were relatively and absolutely bigger than those of the baby Bush or Obama. And even bigger than Biden’s over the last four years. I expect that since he has no real grip on economics, he’ll encourage printing money to “help” the economy. Not that he has any choice; they have to keep printing, or the debt bubble will implode.

  Going back to the bright side, he wants to massively deregulate the economy. That’s a huge plus. And he wants to reduce taxes. That’s wonderful. But the bad news is that he clearly doesn’t understand that there is no such thing as lowering taxes unless you lower government spending. Especially now, when a third of all government spending is funded by selling debt to the Federal Reserve, which amounts to printing money. There’s going to be more of that. Retail prices will go up for sure. But perhaps the stock market—overpriced as it is—will go even higher with the flood of money.

  Is there any realistic path to reversing the current trajectory? No.

  It’s wonderful that Elon Musk wants to cut the budget by $2 trillion per year, roughly the amount of the deficit. But I’d say the chances of that are close to zero. Things like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, interest payments, and the military budget are sacrosanct—and over 90% of the budget.

  On the downside, Trump has indicated unwavering support towards Israel. The US might become Israel’s proxy for a hot war with Iran, which would be a disaster. Israel isn’t our 51st state. Despite the fact Trump wants to avoid war, he might yet involve us in a nuclear dust-up with the Middle East version of the Hatfields versus the McCoys.

  On the bright side, again, he says he can end the war in the Ukraine because he thinks that he has a good personal relationship with both Zelensky and Putin. Say what you want about Putin, but Zelensky is even more dangerous, responsible for looting scores of billions from the US to prolong a pointless border war. The only winners are Ukrainian bureaucrats and equally corrupt military “defense” companies.

  Let’s hope Trump doesn’t try to back the Russians into an impossible corner because he likes to put forward an image of being “tough.” A propaganda-driven hysteria has been created in the US. Americans believe that Russia is evil, and the terminally corrupt Zelensky regime is good. As happened in World War 1, US intervention would likely be catastrophic.

  So we’re not out of the woods in foreign policy or domestic affairs. I’m afraid that morning in America, like all mornings, will only last six hours.

  International Man: Trump has promised to end citizenship-based taxation for American expats.

  What would be the broader implications of this change, and do you think he’ll deliver on this promise?

  Doug Casey: It’s a wonderful idea because the US is the only country in the world, other than Eritrea, that taxes its expats.

  If Americans leave the country, they’re still taxed as residents for as long as they live. It’s an insane policy. Of course, he should try to change it.

  Will he be able to change it?

  I’d say the chances of that are slim and none, and Slim’s out of town. With the US government on the way to bankruptcy, Congress won’t want to cut off that source of revenue. If it does, scores of thousands of rich Americans would leave the country to escape its onerous tax and regulatory burdens.

  In addition to that, the entire world is going the other direction. Among other places, France and Canada are talking seriously about taxing their expat citizens.

  I hope it happens, but don’t count on it. A US passport will remain a huge liability for anyone with assets.

  International Man: What geopolitical and foreign policy shifts do you foresee under a second Trump administration?

  Doug Casey: The US relationship with the BRICS is becoming important. It’s all about the declining US dollar. Most of the rest of the world wants to stop using dollars. They know that it’s the unsecured liability of a bankrupt government. They’ve seen how it can be weaponized. The $30 or $40 trillion outside the US are hot potatoes and Old Maid cards, even while new dollars are being created like confetti.

  Of course, the BRICS are trying to create their own currency and their own SWIFT system equivalent so people don’t have to use the dollar.

  Rather than trying to make the dollar once again “as good as gold’, Trump is resorting to threats. He’s said, “Well, you don’t have to use the dollar. But if you don’t use our currency, we’ll charge 100% duties when you try to export to the US.”

  He doesn’t seem to realize that the US no longer exports much. We don’t produce nearly what we consume. Our major export since the 1980s has been dollars, not Boeings or soybeans.

  If Trump puts heavy duties on imports, there’s an excellent chance that he could destroy the world’s economy, which is vastly more dependent on international trade than it was in 1929, when Hoover did that with the Smoot–Hawley tariffs. High tariffs would, in effect, put the US under a self-imposed trade embargo.

  There’s only one way to solve the government’s fiscal problems: Radically cutting spending. That’s unlikely to happen under Trump, despite the best efforts of Elon Musk’s efficiency efforts.

  International Man: How are you personally positioning your portfolio for a second Trump term?

  What specific sectors or investment strategies do you believe will thrive in this environment?

  Doug Casey: I continue to be long gold because they’re going to continue destroying the dollar; its fate is sealed—even if we have a wholesale credit collapse, which is a real possibility.

  I continue to think oil, and especially natural gas, are going higher. Even though Trump has said that he will encourage more production—which is wonderful. The world runs on hydrocarbons. I especially like coal. Until the world goes nuclear, it’s the only feasible answer to generating more electricity.

  What specific investment strategies will work in the Trump years?

  For a while, it will continue to be stocks because money drives the market, and the Trump regime will definitely create lots more money and credit. That said, I’m still not interested in stocks, even though they may become even more overpriced. I have better places to be.

  Although the Donald says that he’s a low-interest rate guy, there’s nothing he can do to control long-term interest rates, which are headed higher. I suspect they’re headed back to, and beyond, the levels we saw in the early ’80s. Bonds are a disaster in the making.

  As important as knowing what to do, however, is knowing what not to do. You don’t want to lose your capital by putting your money in dangerous places. And that includes bonds, most stocks, and failing to diversify politically.

  Don’t forget that—as important as this election was—it can’t immediately undo decades of economic and cultural debauchery.

  *  *  *

  The truth is, we’re on the cusp of an economic crisis that could eclipse anything we’ve seen before. And most people won’t be prepared for what’s coming. That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse. Click here to download the PDF now.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 20:05

• OpenAI, Google, & Anthropic Face Hurdles In Advancing AI Models, Casting Doubt On Near-Term AGI
  OpenAI, Google, & Anthropic Face Hurdles In Advancing AI Models, Casting Doubt On Near-Term AGI

  Tech companies focused on chatbot development, like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, have faced significant near-term headwinds in advancing large language models. Despite tens of billions of dollars in investments, these tech firms are experiencing diminishing returns in advancing more sophisticated LLMs.

  Sources told Bloomberg that OpenAI’s new Orion LLM has experienced performance limitations. This means the new LLM would outperform the firm’s existing models, but it does not mean there will be a significant leap in development, like that of GPT-3 to GPT-4. 

  As of late summer, for example, Orion fell short when trying to answer coding questions that it hadn’t been trained on, the people said. Overall, Orion is so far not considered to be as big a step up from OpenAI’s existing models as GPT-4 was from GPT-3.5, the system that originally powered the company’s flagship chatbot, the people said. -BBG

  The breakneck pace of developing more sophisticated LLMs appears to have also hit a proverbial brick wall at Google, in which its Gemini software has not lived up to expectations, according to sources, adding Anthropic also faces challenges with its long-awaited Claude model called 3.5 Opus. 

  Bloomberg noted one of the top obstacles these tech firms have encountered has been “finding new, untapped sources of high-quality, human-made training data that can be used to build more advanced AI systems.” 

  Sources said Orion’s dismal coding performance was due to the lack of sufficient coding data to train the LLM. They added that even though the model has improvements compared to legacy ones, it has become increasingly challenging to justify the massive costs of building and operating new models. 

  The setbacks may reveal an inconvenient truth for the tech industry plowing tens of billions of dollars into AI data centers and infrastructure, and the feasibility of reaching artificial general intelligence in the near future might be a pipedream. 

  John Schulman, cofounder and research scientist at OpenAI who recently left, said AGI could be achieved within a few years. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes it could be achieved by 2026. 

  However, Margaret Mitchell, the chief ethics scientist at AI startup Hugging Face, pointed out, “The AGI bubble is bursting a little bit,” adding that “different training approaches” may be needed for progress. 

  In a recent interview with Lex Fridman, Anthropic’s Amodei said there are “lots of things” that could “derail” the AI progression, including the possibility that “we could run out of data.” However, he was optimistic that AI researchers would overcome any hurdles.  

  Scaling efforts are slowing… 

  

  “It is less about quantity and more about quality and diversity of data,” said Lila Tretikov, head of AI strategy at New Enterprise Associates and former deputy CTO at Microsoft.

  Tretikov said, “We can generate quantity synthetically, yet we struggle to get unique, high-quality datasets without human guidance, especially when it comes to language.”

  Moving forward, Noah Giansiracusa, an associate professor of mathematics at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, said AI models will continue to improve, but the hypergrowth in recent years is unsustainable:

  “We got very excited for a brief period of very fast progress. That just wasn’t sustainable.”

  If tech firms are struggling to advance LLM performance, this raises serious doubts about whether large investments can continue to be made in AI infrastructure. 

  “The infrastructure build for AI is the bubble. The AI 2.0 companies that can actually figure out a way to monetize it are the investments years from now. Might as well light a match to this fund. The infrastructure build like the telecom infrastructure during the dotcom boom will be oversupplied and pricing will collapse,” Edward Dowd recently noted on X.

  Well Nvidia has soared to new highs. 

  

  AI companies struggling to develop more advanced LLMs is undoubtedly an ominous sign for the AI bubble.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 19:40

• Why Roger Ver Deserves A Presidential Pardon
  Why Roger Ver Deserves A Presidential Pardon

  Authored by Aaron Day via The Brownstone Institute,

  The US government is attempting to imprison Roger Ver for 109 years for the crime of following his lawyers’ advice. 

  

  His case represents an unprecedented attack on attorney-client privilege that threatens everyone who relies on professional counsel.

  Today, Ver sits silenced in Spain, unable to defend himself publicly, while prosecutors use his own lawyers’ records against him—records that show his meticulous attempts to follow the law. This isn’t just about cryptocurrency; it’s about whether any American can safely consult legal counsel without fear of prosecution.

  If this precedent stands, seeking professional advice could become evidence of criminality. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens who rely on lawyers and accountants will all be at risk. The time to act is now, before this dangerous precedent becomes permanent.

  Imagine for a moment that you’re an entrepreneur with an unwavering belief: state control over money isn’t just wrong—it’s a weapon. It fuels violence, breeds poverty, and crushes individual freedom. You’ve seen the wreckage it leaves behind and know that there has to be a better way.

  You know this because you’ve experienced the state’s brutality firsthand. 

  At just 22, you were imprisoned for ten months in federal prison. Your supposed crime? Selling firecrackers on eBay’s then-legal Guns & Ammo section without a license. But the real reason, as Roger tells it, was speaking truth to power—declaring that taxation is theft and wars are mass murder.

  In prison, you experienced psychological torture that haunts you to this day. A guard planted a weapon on you as a “joke,” threatening you with additional years in prison until you broke down in tears. You witnessed the theatrical deception when inspectors visited—seeing how the system maintains its façade of legitimacy while grinding down human dignity behind closed doors. In Roger’s own words from his emotional testimony:

  “That man just purely tortured me for his own amusement…when he sees that enough tears are coming down my face and that I’m crying enough, he pats me on the shoulder and says ‘Relax, I’m just kidding with you.’”

  Then, in 2010, you discover Bitcoin—a revolutionary concept. A form of money that can’t be manipulated by any government, any central bank. Digital cash for the people. Your mind races with the possibilities. For the first time in history, money could flow freely across borders, free from the control of states that use it to fuel wars, or impoverish entire nations. You see what many do not: Bitcoin could be the key to spreading freedom and prosperity to every corner of the earth.

  You dive in, headfirst. You’re not just a believer—you become the first merchant to accept Bitcoin, the first investor in Bitcoin-related companies. Your relentless advocacy earns you the title “Bitcoin Jesus.” You invest in decentralized companies with one mission: to free the world from the shackles of centralized control.

  But the US—the land of the free—begins to look less and less like the place you want it to be. So, you make the difficult choice to legally expatriate. Despite the murky regulations surrounding this new currency, you hire the best attorneys and accountants to ensure every penny of tax is paid. Your conscience is clear.

  A decade passes. Then, without warning, they come for you—not just for you, but for your lawyers too. You find yourself arrested and thrown in a Spanish prison—the same prison where fellow libertarian John McAfee mysteriously died. You don’t speak the language. You’re cut off from everything you know. After months of legal battles, you’re finally out on bond, but the situation is bleak. Six months pass, and you still have no clarity, no answers.

  Now, in a cruel echo of his past persecution for speaking truth to power, Roger finds himself essentially gagged. He cannot speak out about his case or the broader implications of his prosecution for fear that his words might be used against him in court—or worse, lead to the revocation of his bail and his return to the same Spanish prison where McAfee met his end. The silencing of Bitcoin Jesus isn’t just about one man’s freedom—it’s about whether any of us will be free to challenge the financial status quo.

  Roger Ver: Where Natural Law Meets Human Impact

  When people ask me what I believe in, the answer is simple: natural law. Not the academic theory of natural rights, but the living, breathing reality that we can make the world better through right thought and right action. That by aligning our behavior with universal principles of non-aggression, voluntary cooperation, and genuine care for human flourishing, we can create the conditions for freedom to thrive.

  In all my years studying and advocating for these principles, I’ve never encountered anyone who embodies them more completely than Roger Ver. While others talk about freedom in the abstract, Roger has dedicated his life to manifesting it in reality.

  A Legacy of Impact

  I first encountered Roger’s work in 2012 at a Free State Project event called Liberty Forum, where he introduced many of us—including several who are now prominent voices in the crypto industry—to Bitcoin for the first time. In the decade since, I’ve watched him consistently stay ahead of the curve, identifying and supporting technologies that offer real alternatives to centralized control.

  But Roger’s impact extends far beyond cryptocurrency. He has invested his heart and resources into more than 40 companies that are transforming the world for the better. From groundbreaking medical technologies making diagnostics accessible to underserved communities, to biotech innovations advancing personalized medicine, to projects reimagining governance itself—Roger’s work touches on every aspect of human freedom and flourishing.

  The Hidden Champion of Truth

  This weekend, I had the honor of participating in Brownstone Institute’s annual conference in Pittsburgh. For two intense days, I witnessed something remarkable: a gathering of some of the world’s most courageous voices in the fight for human liberty and scientific truth.

  The accomplishments of Brownstone over just three years are staggering. When voices of reason were being systematically silenced during the pandemic, Brownstone emerged as a sanctuary for truth-tellers. They’ve fought lockdowns and mandates not just in the public sphere but in the courts. They’ve exposed the machinery of censorship, revealing how government agencies collude with tech companies to suppress dissent. Their research team dismantled flawed pandemic risk assessments and exposed how organizations like the WHO and the G20 manipulated outbreak data to justify massive new funding through REPPARE. Most recently (with my addition as a Fellow), they’ve been at the forefront of warning about the dangers of CBDCs and the weaponization of the financial system against dissenters.

  But Brownstone’s story begins with a profound act of moral courage. Jeffrey Tucker, witnessing the collapse of scientific discourse and basic human rights during the pandemic, created Brownstone from a place of deep caring—caring about truth, about humanity, and about protecting those who dare to speak out. He wanted to create a haven for dissidents like myself and many other Brownstone Fellows who faced cancellation, professional destruction, and worse simply for doing what was right: speaking the truth.

  What few people know—what I didn’t even know until after becoming a Brownstone Fellow—is that none of this would have been possible without Roger Ver. As Brownstone’s founding donor and board member, Roger’s support was crucial in getting this beacon of truth off the ground. In typical Roger fashion, he never sought recognition for this role. While others might have used such support for publicity, Roger quietly helped build an institution that has become one of the most important voices for freedom and scientific integrity in our time.

  This is characteristic of how Roger operates. Behind nearly every major initiative promoting human freedom and fighting against authoritarian control, you’ll often find Roger’s quiet support. From Bitcoin adoption in the developing world to fighting against CBDCs, from supporting victims of state persecution to funding research that challenges official narratives—Roger has been there, usually without acknowledgement or acclaim.

  Now, in a cruel irony, while Brownstone continues its vital work exposing government overreach and defending individual liberty, one of its key founders sits silenced in Spain, facing persecution from the very systems of state control he helped others fight against. The same commitment to truth and freedom that led Roger to support Brownstone now has him fighting for his own liberty.

  The parallel is stark and troubling: just as Brownstone fights to prevent the financial system from being weaponized against dissenters through CBDCs, its own founding donor faces the weaponization of tax law against him. Just as Brownstone works to expose the machinery of state persecution, Roger faces that machinery firsthand.

  Natural Law in Action

  What makes Roger unique is his understanding that natural law isn’t just a philosophy—it’s a blueprint for action. Rather than just describe Roger’s passion, I encourage you to watch him speak in his own words. In this powerful video, you’ll see Roger’s raw emotion and genuine care as he explains why decentralized money must be accessible to everyone, not just the elite.

  When he declares that “Bitcoin is for everybody…regardless of how much money they have or where they were born,” it’s not just rhetoric—it’s backed by decades of concrete action. You can hear the urgency in his voice when he explains:

  “More babies are dying in countries around the world because they have less economic freedom…people are literally dying because of this. I’m not exaggerating; this is a life and death matter around the world.”

  Beyond Cryptocurrency to Human Freedom

  Roger’s vision extends far beyond financial technology. His work in medical accessibility, internet decentralization, and biotech innovation shows his understanding that freedom requires a holistic approach. When he breaks down discussing government monetary control, we see someone who deeply understands the human cost of centralized power:

  “I apologize for crying but it just disgusts me from my core when I see government people murdering people around the world…it’s not just theoretical; these are real people with real lives.”

  The Price of Principles

  Now Roger faces persecution precisely because he’s been so effective at putting these principles into practice. The charges against him aren’t just an attack on one man—they’re an attack on everyone who believes in building voluntary systems outside state control.

  The Roger Ver Timeline 

  

  Constitutional Crisis: Robert Barnes Exposes the Ver Persecution

  Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes recently delivered a chilling analysis that should terrify every American who relies on professional advice: The government isn’t just prosecuting Roger Ver—they’re attempting to criminalize the very act of following legal counsel.

  The Unprecedented Attack on Attorney-Client Privilege

  “This isn’t just about Bitcoin or taxes,” Barnes explains in his detailed analysis. “They’re establishing that they can put you in prison and create new tax policy through criminal law enforcement against individuals, even when you’ve followed expert advice to the letter.”

  Consider the timeline that Barnes lays bare:

  • 2014: Ver faces the challenge of valuing Bitcoin for his exit tax

    • The largest Bitcoin exchange (Mt. Gox) had just collapsed

    • No clear valuation guidelines existed

    • The IRS itself admitted they couldn’t determine how to classify Bitcoin

    • Even basic questions about cryptocurrency taxation remained unanswered

  • Ver’s Response: Exactly what any prudent person would do

    • Hired top-tier attorneys

    • Consulted leading accountants

    • Documented every step of compliance

    • Followed expert guidance meticulously

  The Government’s Shocking Response

  Then comes what Barnes calls “the most disturbing breach of attorney-client privilege I’ve seen:”

  1. Raided Ver’s lawyers’ offices

  2. Seized privileged communications

  3. Found extensive evidence of Ver trying to follow the law

  4. Is now using that evidence of compliance as proof of criminality

  “You read the quotes from his lawyer,” Barnes reveals, “and this is the evidence of someone trying to comply with the law, not someone trying to not comply with the law.”

  What This Means for Every American

  Barnes outlines four immediate threats to anyone who relies on professional advice:

  1. Small Business Owners

     • Your consultations with tax attorneys can be seized

     • Your compliance efforts become evidence against you

     • Even following advice perfectly offers no protection

  2. International Business

     • Complex regulations require expert guidance

     • That guidance can later be used to prosecute you

     • No “safe harbor” even when following professional advice

  3. Tech Entrepreneurs

     • Evolving regulations demand constant legal consultation

     • Today’s compliance could become tomorrow’s crime

     • No way to prove good faith without creating “evidence”

  4. Individual Taxpayers

     • Cannot safely seek professional guidance

     • Cannot trust attorney-client privilege

     • Cannot document compliance efforts without risk

  The Constitutional Crisis

  Barnes identifies three fundamental rights under attack:

  1. Attorney-Client Privilege

     • Once sacred, now routinely violated

     • Communications with counsel used as evidence

     • No safe way to seek legal advice

  2. Due Process

     • Retroactive criminalization of legal conduct

     • No clear standards for compliance

     • Good faith efforts used as evidence of guilt

  3. Right to Counsel

     • Following legal advice becomes criminal

     • Creating compliance records becomes dangerous

     • Professional guidance offers no protection

  The Dangerous Precedent

  “If this stands,” Barnes warns, “we’ve entered a world where:

  • Seeking legal advice becomes evidence of guilt

  • Following professional guidance provides no protection

  • Documenting compliance efforts creates prosecution evidence

  • Perfect compliance offers no safety from prosecution.”

  Watch Barnes’s complete analysis to understand why this case represents a Constitutional crisis that threatens every American and business that relies on professional advice. As he concludes: “When the government can breach attorney-client privilege, find evidence of compliance, and still pursue prosecution, we’ve moved beyond the realm of law enforcement into territory our Founders feared most: a system where no one is safe.”

  The implications are clear: If they can do this to Roger Ver—a man who actively sought to comply with the law—they can do it to anyone. The time to act is now, before this precedent becomes permanent.

  Two Dreams, One Persecution: Why Trump Must Resurrect Bitcoin Jesus

  

  There are moments in history when parallel lives intersect to reveal profound truths about power, persecution, and the price of challenging the status quo. Donald Trump and Roger Ver’s stories are such a moment.

  The American Dream Under Siege

  Both men exemplify the quintessential American success story. Trump transformed New York’s skyline through sheer force of will and vision. Ver saw the revolutionary potential of Bitcoin when it was merely computer code and helped build it into a global force for freedom. Both men didn’t just succeed—they dared to reimagine what success could mean.

  But in today’s America, such audacious success comes with a target on your back.

  The Playbook of Persecution

  The parallels between their persecutions are not just striking—they’re identical:

  The Weaponization of Attorney-Client Privilege

  • Trump watched in horror as federal agents raided his lawyer Michael Cohen’s office, seizing privileged communications

  • Ver’s attorneys faced the same violation, with prosecutors seizing private legal consultations showing his meticulous efforts to follow the law

  The Tax Weapon

  • Trump endures endless audits and investigations, with rules twisted to create crimes from normal business practices

  • Ver faces prosecution for following expert advice on Bitcoin taxation during a time when even the IRS admitted they didn’t know how to classify cryptocurrency

  The Criminalization of Success

  • Trump’s business empire became evidence of alleged criminality

  • Ver’s pioneering work in cryptocurrency transformed into supposed proof of wrongdoing

  The Breach of Sacred Rights

  Both men have watched as fundamental legal protections crumbled:

  • Their attorneys raided

  • Their private communications seized

  • Their attempts to follow the law transformed into evidence against them

  Why Trump Must Act

  Mr. President, you alone understand the machinery of state persecution that’s been unleashed against Roger Ver. You alone have the power to end it. Here’s why pardoning Ver would be a masterpiece of justice:

  1. It Breaks the Deep State’s Weapon

     • Shows that weaponizing justice against innovators will no longer be tolerated

     • Demonstrates that following legal advice won’t be criminalized

  2. It Restores American Innovation

     • Declares America open for blockchain business

     • Signals that challenging financial orthodoxy isn’t a crime

  3. It Reaffirms Sacred Rights

     • Restores the sanctity of attorney-client privilege

     • Proves that seeking legal counsel is a right, not evidence of guilt

  4. It Sends a Global Message

     • America still rewards dreamers

     • Innovation will be protected, not persecuted

  The Power of Parallel Justice

  Mr. President, you’ve felt the sting of politically motivated prosecution. You’ve watched as attorney-client privilege was shredded. You’ve seen how success can be twisted into evidence of criminality. You alone can turn this moment of parallel persecution into parallel justice.

  By pardoning Roger Ver, you won’t just be freeing one man—you’ll be declaring that America still stands for the dreamers, the builders, the innovators who dare to imagine a freer world. You’ll be showing that when the deep state tries to crucify a visionary, America’s highest office still stands for justice.

  The symmetry is perfect: The man persecuted for challenging real estate orthodoxy can save the man persecuted for challenging financial orthodoxy. The businessman who became president can restore justice to the entrepreneur who became Bitcoin Jesus.

  Mr. President, on Day One, write your name in the history books. Show that America still believes in dreams, in innovation, and in the sacred right to challenge power without fear of persecution.

  Pardon Roger Ver. Resurrect Bitcoin Jesus. Let freedom ring.

  Defend Freedom: Why Every American Must Stand With Roger Ver

  The President holds the power to take a decisive stand, but ultimately, this fight calls on all of us. Roger’s battle isn’t just his own—it’s a rallying cry for anyone who values the right to question authority, seek counsel, and live free from unjust persecution.

  This moment demands a response from each of us. Here’s how you can join the movement to defend freedom and stand up for Roger Ver’s rights, along with our own.

  The Open Letter

  We, the undersigned, call on the US government to end the unjust prosecution of Roger Ver, a pioneer in cryptocurrency and advocate for economic freedom. This isn’t just about Roger—it’s about protecting innovation, defending liberty, and ensuring that following legal advice doesn’t become a crime.

  Take Action Now

  1. Sign the Open Letter

     Visit Freerogernow.org to join supporters who have already taken a stand. Your signature helps show the strength of our movement to:

     • End this retaliatory action

     • Allow Roger to continue contributing to a free and open financial future

     • Protect the right to legal counsel

  2. Share Your Story

     Tell the President why you support pardoning Roger Ver:

     • How has Roger’s work impacted you?

     • Why does attorney-client privilege matter to you?

     • What does this case mean for American innovation?

  3. Spread the Word

     Share across your networks using #FreeRoger:

     • Facebook

     • Twitter

     • WhatsApp

     • LinkedIn

     • Telegram

  4. Stay Informed

     Sign up for “Freedom for Roger: Updates & Actions” at Freerogernow.org to:

     • Get the latest case developments

     • Learn about new ways to help

     • Join coordinated actions

  The Stakes Are Clear

  As Hijacking Bitcoin reveals, this case emerged just as Roger exposed how powerful groups undermined Bitcoin’s original vision. The timing is no coincidence—this prosecution represents an alarming misuse of power aimed at suppressing innovation and dissent.

  Together, we can make our voices heard and help secure justice for Roger Ver. But we must act now, before this dangerous precedent becomes permanent.

  Join the Movement

  Visit FreeRoger.org today to:

  • Sign the open letter

  • Share your story

  • Stay updated on the campaign

  • Stand with Roger

  Because tomorrow, the person facing persecution for following legal advice could be you.

  #FreeRoger

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 19:15

• "Grand Political Theatre" – FBI Raids Home Of Polymarket CEO; Seize Phone, Electronics
  “Grand Political Theatre” – FBI Raids Home Of Polymarket CEO; Seize Phone, Electronics

  With just a few short weeks until President Trump (and his freshly appointed new AG Matt Gaetz) take over, the FBI has decided to rush in and raid the home of the founder and chief executive of Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market that was a popular (and very accurate) platform for bets on the US presidential election.

  

  The NY Post reports, citing a source close to the matter, that Shayne Coplan was woken up at 6:00 am Eastern Time in his New York City apartment by US law enforcement officials who demanded he hand over his phone and electronics.

  

  It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the FBI’s search but Polymarket quickly tied the raid to its track record in the recent election, in which bettors on its platform correctly anticipated that Donald Trump would beat Vice President Kamala Harris.

  “This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” said a spokesman for the New York-based company.

  “Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections,” the spokesman added.

  The CEO of the decentralized prediction markets platform appeared to confirm the reports on X, claiming to make a post from a new phone.

  

  A person close to the matter described the Coplan’s incident as “grand political theatre” to the NY Post.

  “They could have asked his lawyer for any of these things.

  Instead, they staged a so-called raid so they can leak it to the media and use it for obvious political reasons.”

  Coplan appeared on CNBC last week – which likely irked the establishment:

  I went on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning to talk about how Polymarket called the election. Here’s the full interview: pic.twitter.com/d0Cg2aIRhO

  — Shayne Coplan 🦅 (@shayne_coplan) November 7, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Polymarket does not allow trading in the US, though bettors can bypass the ban by accessing the site through VPN, and Bloomberg reports that the DoJ is probing the company for allegedly accepting trades from US-based users, according to a person familiar with the matter.

  Under an agreement with the CFTC reached in 2022, Polymarket is to prevent US-based traders from making transactions on the platform.

  Coplan took to X once more this evening, clearly pissed off at the obvious politicization:

  “It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being non-partisan, and today is no different, but the incumbents should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach may be what would have changed their fate this election.

  Polymarket has provided value to 10’s of millions of people this election cycle, while causing harm to nobody.

  We’re deeply proud of that.

  I’m also proud to say that the future of America, and in particular American entrepreneurship, has never been brighter.

  In the face of adversity, we build.”

  Investors in Polymarket include Founders Fund, the Silicon Valley venture firm started by billionaire Peter Thiel, and a number of prominent crypto personalities.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 18:50

• Schoolhouse Limbo: How Low Will Educators Go To 'Better' Grades?
  Schoolhouse Limbo: How Low Will Educators Go To ‘Better’ Grades?

  Authored by Vince Bielski via RealClearEducation,

  Maryland’s new education chief, Carey Wright, an old-school champion of rigorous standards, is pushing back against efforts in other states to boost test scores by essentially lowering their expectations of students.

  

  States, including Oklahoma and Wisconsin, are making it easier for students to demonstrate on annual assessments that they are proficient in math and English after a decade of declining test scores nationwide. By redesigning the assessments and lowering the so-called “cut scores” that separate achievement levels such as basic, proficient, and advanced, several states have recently posted dramatic increases in proficiency, a key indicator of school quality. 

  Wright warns that lowering the bar on proficiency can create the public impression that schools are improving and students are learning more when, in fact, that’s not the case. 

  “You can make yourself look better to the public by lowering your cut scores,” Wright, the Maryland state superintendent of schools, told RealClearInvestigations in an interview. “But then you are not really measuring proficiency. My position is no, no, no. Parents and teachers need to know if their children are proficient or not.”

  As most public schools continue to deal with the related crises of learning loss and chronic absenteeism years after COVID, Wright says now is the worst time to lower expectations of students, which can stifle the impetus to improve. In other moves to accommodate struggling students, districts and states have reduced graduation requirements and inflated grades with policies that ban failing marks. The best evidence comes from studies in Washington and North Carolina showing that grades have held steady at their pre-pandemic levels even though students are learning much less.

  “With grades and assessments, the education system seems to be sleepwalking into a policy of ratcheting expectations down to better reflect what today’s students can do, rather than doubling efforts to help get students to where they need to be,” said Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which advocates for high academic standards. 

  Wright, who took over Maryland schools this summer, is refusing to backpedal on standards in a state that plunged from the top to the bottom in U.S. performance over the last decade. The superintendent says she aims to improve Maryland’s declining proficiency rates the hard way by making academic standards more rigorous in all content areas. As students learn more in class, the theory goes, they should become more proficient on state tests. 

  But a strategy that asks more of teachers and students is never an easy lift in districts that often resist top-down calls for change. Without direct control over school districts run by local boards, state superintendents like Wright must depend on the ability to inspire principals and teachers to follow their lead and meet inconvenient truths head-on.

  Wright has done it before. As the state superintendent in Mississippi a decade ago, she collaborated closely with districts in lifting content standards and provided support to completely revamp literacy instruction in what was the worst-performing state in the union. Student proficiency soared without lowering cut scores. Educators called it the “Mississippi Miracle.”

  “If you set the bar low, that’s all you are going to get,” Wright said. “But if you set the bar high for students, and support teachers and leaders, it’s doable.”

  Lowering Cut Scores, Boosting Proficiency

  Each state controls its own definition of proficiency and how students can achieve the all-important marker of academic success. They set their own content standards that detail what students need to know in each grade, write their own tests to determine if they are proficient, and devise their own cut scores.

  The undertaking is more art than science. There is no accepted single definition of what makes a student proficient. States mostly aim for grade-level proficiency, or what the average student can do, based on their own content standards. A handful of states shoot higher, approaching a more rigorous definition of proficiency spelled out by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card. 

  By moving the bar on tests and cut scores, education officials have instantly raised or lowered proficiency rates. Over the years, some states have added enough rigor to allow only a third of students to show proficiency while others have reduced it to ensure that the vast majority perform well, Marianne Perie, who has helped more than a dozen states develop assessment methods, told the New York Board of Regents last year. 

  Today, states are lowering the bar and lifting proficiency rates. “Oklahoma just lowered their cut scores and Wisconsin is another one that ended up with less rigorous cut scores,” Perie told RCI. “If more kids are proficient this year compared with the previous years, it indicates that cut scores are less rigorous or that kids learned a lot more over the last year.”

  High Standards Fall in Wisconsin 

  Wisconsin, like most states, has experienced a big drop in proficiency. In 2017, 44% of public school students were deemed proficient in English. That percentage fell in 2018 and 2019 and then plunged in the early years of the pandemic before recovering a bit to 39% in 2023. 

  This year, Wisconsin rolled out its new test and cut scores. State Superintendent Jill Underly was transparent about the changes, explaining in October that the redesign was meant to fix a problem created a decade ago when Wisconsin and other states aligned their cut scores to an “extremely high” level used by NAEP, reducing Wisconsin’s proficiency rate in the years that followed. Underly wrote that Wisconsin’s new grade-level cut scores better reflect the actual proficiency of students, making results easier for families to understand. 

  What families saw was a dramatic boost in English proficiency to 48% this year – a nine percentage-point gain over 2023 – due to assessment changes that had nothing to do with classroom learning. 

  To be sure, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction didn’t tout the 2024 results. It announced that they shouldn’t be compared to prior years since testing methods changed. Still, families who don’t follow the fine print of assessments may be left with the impression that Wisconsin schools are performing much better this year. 

  Paul Peterson, a prominent Harvard professor of education policy who has tracked changes to state proficiency levels, says politics seems to be a driver in the lowering of testing rigor. “Student performance is falling so I would imagine the pressure on states to rethink standards must be considerable,” Peterson said. “Officials want to show that they are spending the public’s dollar well, and that students are learning.”

  No Notice in Oklahoma

  In Oklahoma, a similar assessment revamp unfolded this summer but with a controversial twist: State leaders in Oklahoma didn’t inform school districts or families that they had lowered the bar before releasing the test results in August, according to reports in the local media. 

  When school districts saw the results, principals and teachers were in disbelief over the huge increase in performance. In fourth grade English, for instance, 47% of students reached proficiency – an extraordinary 23-percentage-point jump compared to 2023. 

  Later in August state Superintendent Ryan Walters, a conservative who has been under fire for insisting that public schools teach the Bible, admitted that the state changed its assessment regime without publicly announcing it. Republican state lawmakers issued a statement criticizing Walters for “putting a false narrative out there” about a jump in test scores. Oklahoma’s Department of Education didn’t respond to a request from RCI for comment. 

  “I believe in transparency and communication,” said Perie, the testing expert. “Oklahoma was the only state where it seemed like they were hiding the changes.”

  New York Denies Lower Standards

  As in Wisconsin and Oklahoma, New York’s retooled content standards, assessments, and scoring also produced higher proficiency rates. 

  A New York education official told RCI that the goal was to determine what should be expected of today’s students and how to evaluate their proficiency in various subjects using the new content standards. New York saw a dramatic 13-percentage-point increase in math proficiency and a small boost in English in 2023, the year the changes were implemented.

  Officials in New York and Wisconsin are adamant that the updated assessments don’t amount to a lowering of academic standards even though proficiency rates jumped. The New York official added that while several factors impact student achievement from year to year, instruction is one of the most highly related attributes.

  “It is incorrect and irresponsible to derive from this that the standards have been lowered,” the official said in an email. 

  Petrilli of the Fordham Institute calls such explanations from state officials double speak. “By definition these states are lowering standards for proficiency because it’s easier for students to meet the standard than it was before,” he said.

  Wright’s ‘Mississippi Miracle’

  Education experts say Wright’s tenure as the state superintendent in Mississippi offers a lesson to states struggling with low proficiency rates today: Even in the worst of times, Wright showed, states can raise their expectations of students and get results.

  When Wright took over Mississippi schools in 2013, they were at the very bottom in performance nationally. A mere 21% of fourth graders were proficient in reading, according to NAEP. Educators in the South would say, “At least we are not as bad as Mississippi.” 

  The decade before the pandemic was a time of rising expectations in public education. With Wright in charge, Mississippi joined half of the states in raising the bar for fourth-grade reading proficiency between 2013 and 2019.

  The lifting of expectations was relatively easy. It’s policy making. The tough part for state superintendents was implementing changes in schools to reach those higher goals. For the most part, the higher bars didn’t translate into higher levels of proficiency by 2017, according to research by Daniel Hamlin at the University of Oklahoma and Harvard’s Peterson.

  There are only theories as to why: After the Great Recession of 2009, school funding declined. The Obama administration relaxed federal accountability measures put in place by President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind reform of 2002. The advent of smartphones became a major distraction for students. 

  Mississippi was a notable exception. Its fourth-grade reading proficiency jumped by 11 percentage points from 2013 to 2019, rising to a top 20 performer in the U.S., according to NAEP. In math, the increase was equally impressive.

  Wright got results the old-fashioned way, with a tenacious focus on improving proficiency for all students, including those living in poverty, says Washington Cole, then her chief of staff and now a district superintendent in Mississippi. To get there, Wright rolled out a literacy program that was backed by decades of research and, crucially, provided teachers and administrators with extensive training in the model and sent coaches into the lowest-performing schools. “The professional development was a huge part of it,” Wright said. 

  Wright also toughened the district grading system that provided public accountability. When districts earned an “A” for performance, they were publicly celebrated by community members and lawmakers, adding to the incentives for other districts to improve. Over a decade, Wright’s team transformed Mississippi into an unlikely national K-12 success story. 

  “Dr. Wright set high expectations and her hard work and determination were very infectious with everyone. She was amazing,” Cole said. “I have no doubt that she will do the same thing in Maryland.”

  Maryland Tries a Turnaround

  Wright has her work cut out for her. After a decade of decline in Maryland, 48% of students are proficient in English and 24% in math. 

  In Baltimore City, where almost all students are black or Latino, the numbers are tragically low. Only 6% of middle and high schoolers are proficient in math. More than 40% of Baltimore City students were chronically absent last year, according to a district estimate, well above the national average. Students can’t learn if they don’t show up.

  None of this seems to faze Wright, who assumed permanent leadership of Maryland’s schools in July. In returning to her native state, where she earned her doctorate in education and began her career as a teacher and administrator, Wright has wasted no time in setting a very ambitious goal.

  “In the next three years we are expecting a 5-percentage point increase in proficiency each year in English and math,” she said.

  To achieve that goal, Wright appointed a task force of teachers, leaders, experts, and parents to quickly recommend changes to the state’s accountability system, which she discovered painted a very rosy picture for the public. It was giving high marks to three-quarters of all schools despite their low proficiency scores. Wright wants the new system to provide school leaders with clearer measurements on a range of topics, such as the pace of student growth and graduation rates, so they can target their weak areas for improvement. 

  “Superintendents take a lot of pride in their ratings,” Wright said. “They want to be that district that gets recognized.”

  Major changes are also coming to classrooms. Wright’s new early literacy policy, which won state board approval in October, details expectations for instruction based on the science of reading and teacher training in an attempt to lift test scores that have fallen to 41st in the country. 

  The biggest change in policy puts an end to social promotion. Districts with parental consent will be able to hold back third graders who don’t meet literacy standards rather than promote them to fourth grade, where they will continue to struggle to read, hampering their future performance. It’s the kind of bold change that Wright wasn’t hesitant to push despite opposition from some board members and families concerned about the impact on disadvantaged students. 

  It worked for Wright in Mississippi, producing a very large increase in reading performance by sixth grade, according to researchers.

  “Putting a stake in the ground and saying we are not just going to move kids along if they haven’t learned to read by grade 3 is very powerful and much needed for our education system,” said Joan Dabrowski, the chief academic officer of Baltimore City Public Schools. “Dr. Wright is very clearly telling the districts they need to prioritize this policy and the state will be monitoring districts so there is a lot of accountability.”

  Will the policy work? Dabrowski says it depends on the support teachers and principals receive from Wright to make the difficult changes over several years. “I like everything in the policy, but there are lots of points where implementation could go well or not go well,” she said. 

  Illinois Next to Lower Cut Scores

  In June, Illinois made clear that it plans to boost proficiency too by following the approach of Wisconsin. Illinois Superintendent Tony Sanders said in a report that his state has one of the toughest definitions of proficiency in the nation. He said students who are on track for college could be mislabeled as not proficient, sending a wrong message to their families. 

  To fix this, Illinois is planning to adjust its assessment methods by 2025, which will likely boost the state’s proficiency rates. 

  If Wright fails in Maryland, would she consider following Illinois and other states in easing the rigor of assessments? 

  She scoffed at the idea. 

  “When you look over the last decade of dropping test scores, now is not the time to be lowering the bar,” she said. “If you don’t set high expectations, you’re never going to achieve the kinds of goals that you want to achieve. And in our business, it’s called student learning.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 18:25

• US Deficit Explodes: Blowout October Deficit Means 2nd Worst Start To US Fiscal Year On Record
  US Deficit Explodes: Blowout October Deficit Means 2nd Worst Start To US Fiscal Year On Record

  It is only fitting that the twilight days of the Biden admin would exhibit more of the same fakeness that defined not only all of the past four years, but certainly the fakeness of that Kamala Harris presidential campaign which had a billion dollars a month ago and ended up in failure, broke and in debt. We are talking, of course, about the relentless debt-funded spree that somehow became synonymous with economic success in the US.

  According to the latest Treasury data released today, in October – the first month of fiscal 2025 – the US spent a massive $584.2 billion, a 24.3% increase from the prior year, and a record government outlay for the month of October. On a trailing 6 month moving average basis, to smooth out outliers months, the spending hit $586 billion, effectively at an all time high with just the record spending spree during covid pushing government spending higher.

  

  Key drivers of the deficit widening included outlays in the Departments of Health and Human Services and of Defense, up 12% and 13% respectively, adjusted for calendar differences. Health spending alone jumped by $62 billion compared with the same month last year.

  At the same time, the US government collected just $326.8 billion in taxes, down a massive 19% from the $403.434 billion last October, and down even more from the $527 billion in tax receipts in September ’24. As shown in the next chart, while spending continued to grow exponentially, tax receipts have flatlined, and the 6 month average in October was just $380 billion, the same as three years ago!

  

  It’s actually worse than it looks: according to the Treausry, last year’s October tax receipts were unusually higher due to deferred tax receipts that were received that month from companies and individuals affected by disasters including wildfires in California. Taking that into account, the budget deficit this October would have been 22% higher, a Treasury official said.

  In any case, netting the two means that the US deficit exploded in October to a staggering $257.5 billion, and even though this included several calendar adjustments – which explains the freak September surplus which as we said was due to calendar effects – the number was not only $25 billion more than consensus estimates of a $232.5 billion deficit, it was a staggering 4x bigger than the $66.6 billion deficit in October of 2023. Worse, it was the second highest October deficit on record, and only the budget busting October when the US was spending to prevent an all-out economic implosion, was bigger.

  

  And putting the deficit in context, October – the first month of the fiscal year – was just shy of the biggest deficit start to a year for the US Treasury on record, with just fiscal 2021 (i.e. October 2020) bigger.

  

  In contrast with what has been a terrifying trend for some time now, the Treasury’s debt-servicing costs only rose slightly in October. Gross interest costs totaled $82 billion in October, unexpectedly down $7 billion from $89 billion in the same month a year before.

  

  The drop meant that LTM interest spending posted the first (very modest) sequential drop – from $1.133 trillion to $1.126 trillion –  since August 2023.

  

  That’s because the weighted average interest rate for total outstanding debt by the end of September was 3.30%, at roughly 15-year highs, but down slightly from the month before, the second monthly decline.

  However, don’t expect this decline in interest spending to persist because even though the Fed has cut rates twice since September, this has been more than offset by the surge in debt which at last check was just shy of $36 trillion, and unless Elon’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE) manages to somehow slash trillions in both spending, this is what US debt will look like for the next few years, guaranteeing that interest on said debt will very soon become the single largest spending category for the US government.

  It’s either going to work or it’s not. Here is the alternative https://t.co/cHZA2wHnPB pic.twitter.com/LMEI4tISZL

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 13, 2024

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  The mindblowing figures illustrate the monumental challenge for Trump and all those promising to rein in US debt, which has exploded to 120% of GDP after four years of Biden’s “drunken-sailor” spending ways. Last night Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to look at ways to cut spending. Thursday’s figures showed the bulk of the outlays are in areas that are bound to be politically challenging to address, in other words, any cuts even remotely close to the $2 trillion suggested by Vivek would lead to a revolt.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 18:00

• Fight! Fight! Fight! …For The Truth
  Fight! Fight! Fight! …For The Truth

  Authored by Robert Gore via Straight Line Logic,

  The alternative media is the media.

  Donald Trump would not have won three elections without the alternative media (AM). The mainstream media (MSM) were almost uniformly opposed to his campaigns. He has made adroit use of social media site Twitter (now X) to bypass the MSM. However, not everyone is on X and in all three campaigns he received a crucial boost from the AM. They allowed his message to be conveyed to an ever-expanding audience and in many cases explicitly supported him.

  

  Plenty of AM commentary has hailed the MSM’s dwindling patronage and its impending demise. The numbers are even worse than they look because the MSM’s viewers and readers skew towards the senior citizen set. It is losing people not just because of its manifest deficiencies; its audience is dying off. Younger generations don’t watch TV news or read The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post. The Post’s owner Jeff Bezos recently noted his paper’s dwindling readership, credibility, and revenue. Put a toe tag on the MSM and slide its drawer closed. 

  I come not to bury the MSM, but to praise the AM, remind readers of its vital role, and encourage them to support it.

  People have turned to the AM because from its roiling cauldron of chaos, clashing opinions, tireless researchers, incisive analysts, idiosyncratic styles, competitive jockeying, backbiting, obnoxious self-promotion, and unwavering irreverence, truth tends to emerge. The AM can be likened to the ferment of true science (science didn’t used to have to have a true in front of it): assertions proposed, tested, rejected, accepted, refined, but never deemed ultimate truth.

  Robert Gore, SLL, “Ants at the Picnic, Part One,” May 25, 2023

  I said in Ants that: 

  Bullets and blogs are the ants at the globalist picnic, and they may prove just as hard to eradicate. It’s not overstating the case to say that the AM has been the reason we haven’t had to resort to bullets . . . so far.

  Consider the truths that have emerged from the AM.

  Trump’s massive support in 2016. The campaign by a criminal camarilla to destroy him, which began before the election and lasted through two impeachments, the second one as he was leaving office. The Hunter Biden laptop and Biden family criminality stories, which, with the exception of the New York Post, were suppressed by the MSM. The rigged 2020 election. The iniquitous persecution and punishment of January 6 protestors. COVID hysteria, COVID tyranny, and unsafe and ineffective COVID vaccines, in many cases involuntarily administered. The Biden/Harris administration’s failed immigration, energy, economic, regulatory, and crime polices. Its botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, disastrous proxy war in Ukraine, and support for Israel’s odious war in the Middle East. Its censorship partnerships with big tech and social media. Biden’s senility and dementia. Harris’s political ineptitude and lack of intellectual firepower, excused away by her DEI bona fides. Philosophically repugnant and psychologically devastating woke, transgenderism, LGBTQ promotion, and other such nonsense, which served as cover for an attempted Maoist-style Cultural Revolution.

  Countless articles, videos, podcasts, and X posts expose depredations, but special mention is due the memes that mercilessly mock their pompous, pretentious perpetrators. Recently, Haitian immigrant culinary practices and the tragic fate of Peanut and Fred evoked rage and a multitude of memes, putting additional wind in the the Trump campaign’s sails.

  Trump and Vance won’t get a free pass from the AM. The true believers and the skeptics will continue the battle that has raged since Trump’s first neocon appointments in 2016, through Operation Warp Speed, and continues to this day. Controversy has been rekindled with Trump’s selection of chief of staff Susie Wiles, who’s being criticized for her drug industry ties. Such is the nature of nonstop intellectual ferment. Trump will make mistakes and perceived mistakes, and the AM won’t be shy about pointing them out.

  The ruling caste will continue to stifle, censor, deplatform, and debank the AM. It would like to subject everything down to one-person blogs to the censorship regime masquerading as “fighting disinformation and misinformation” it’s already applying to social media. Europe is leading the way, but had Harris been elected, the U.S. would have been right behind. Trump has pledged to end the censorship already in place. We’ll see—don’t trust power no matter who holds it.

  The AM has come into its own. Due to time constraints, I limit the number of articles and memes I put up every night to 15; many nights the worthwhile material I consider is double that. The AM is the media—the ruling caste and its minions will have to deal with it. Like everything that’s been worthwhile for the last few centuries, it’s a bottom-up phenomenon. Just as MAGA is much bigger than Trump, the AM is much bigger than Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk.

  The AM is a dynamic ecosystem ranging from huge to tiny constituent elements. This overall system has become a bulwark against tyranny. People ask what they, as “mere” individuals, can do to fight tyranny. One thing most everyone can do is bolster this bulwark with financial support.

  Rogan, Carlson, and Musk don’t need it, but there are many worthy AM sites that operate on a shoestring that undoubtedly do. This is not special pleading for SLL or any other site; it’s special pleading for the entire AM. Many sites have DONATE or CONTRIBUTE buttons, both of which are misnomers. The AM is not a charitable enterprise and fighting tyranny is not a charitable endeavor. The proper word is COMPENSATE for the hard work, dedication, and courage that go into so many sites; their proprietors deserve it. If you want to compensate SLL (the link is in the right-hand column here), I’ll welcome the money and thank you for it. If SLL isn’t your cup of tea, please hit the button at the sites that are.

  If you decided not to get a potentially deadly COVID vaccine because of something you read in the AM, what’s that worth? If you’ve cheered because someone in the AM exposed the crimes of the people you despise, what’s that worth? If you’ve laughed to tears at spot-on memes, what’s that worth? If, after an inspiring article, video, or podcast, you found yourself believing that the march towards totalitarianism can be stopped, what’s that worth? Monthly compensation to the site(s) you value, even amounting to the cost of a coffee-house concoction, vitally reinforces a crucial front engaged in this desperate battle that must be won.

  What’s your freedom worth? Without the AM, all you’ve got left are bullets.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 17:40

• NatGas Prices Near Breakout Level Ahead Of Cold Blob Invasion
  NatGas Prices Near Breakout Level Ahead Of Cold Blob Invasion

  US natural gas futures are up 2.5% in late afternoon trading, reaching $2.98 per mmBtu, driven by new forecasts showing a shift in cold weather from the West Coast to the East next week. This suggests households may crank up their thermostats for the first time this season as a proper chill sets in. 

  Private weather forecaster BAMWX published a new mid-day GEFS run for late November that shows “massive cold trends” for the eastern half of the US. 

  “The pattern supports the cold stretch and we have a better tap to cold air ahead,” BAMWX wrote on X, adding, “Could get pretty interesting for a time late month for wintry potential.” 

  Massive colder trends on the mid-day GEFS run for late November. The pattern supports the cold stretch and we have a better tap to cold air ahead.

  Could get pretty interesting for a time late month for wintry potential. #Energy #NatGas #OOTT $ng $ung pic.twitter.com/UpJ5pT44t8

  — BAM Weather (BAMWX) (@bamwxcom) November 13, 2024

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  Meteorologist Ryan Kane wrote on X, “It’s safe to say next weeks ULL will be the big pattern changing system (Nov 20-23rd). Nice -EPO, +PNA & -NAO will all work to drive cold into the eastern half of CONUS.”

  “Snow potential should come Thanksgiving week as the -NAO attempts to break down as the cold air is established,” Kane noted. 

  It’s safe to say next weeks ULL will be the big pattern changing system (Nov 20-23rd). Nice -EPO, +PNA & -NAO will all work to drive cold into the eastern half of CONUS. Snow potential should come thanksgiving week as the -NAO attempts to break down as the cold air is established pic.twitter.com/thWrHJDSZZ

  — Ryan Kane (@ryankanerWX) November 13, 2024

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  BAMWX said the pattern shift to much cooler temps in the interior Northeast could produce ripe conditions for snow next week. 

  ❄SNOW CHANCES ARRIVING AROUND THANKSGIVING?

  For several days now, we’ve been mentioning the pattern changing with cooler temperatures arriving for the end of November/start of December.

  With the cooler temperatures, comes the possibility of winter precipitation👀

  Now… snow… pic.twitter.com/ZPQEy24iqB

  — Kirk 🇺🇸 Hinz | BAM ⚡️Weather (@Met_khinz) November 12, 2024

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  Here’s what other meteorologists are saying…

  Euro Ens (upgraded) showing a strong signal for wintery mischief here in the Mid Atlantic going into Thanksgiving week. 👇 It even has a little snow in the Baltimore Metro. Take that with a grain of rock salt, but all of the long-range modeling is seeing the cold air. Stay tuned pic.twitter.com/pwvsoKiJs7

  — Tony Pann (@TonyPannWBAL) November 13, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  eye candy euro control with Thanksgiving week snowstorm in interior east pic.twitter.com/VYm3V0Vn6Q

  — The American Storm (@BigJoeBastardi) November 8, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

  Back to NatGas fundamentals, here’s the latest data (courtesy of Bloomberg):

  Weather:

  • Forecasts shifted cooler for parts of the West Coast with colder temperatures moving eastward later in the Nov. 18-22 period: Maxar

  • See WHUT for a map of latest 6-10 day weather forecast: NOAA * Click here for two-week temperature forecasts for the US

  Storage:

  • Gas inventories probably rose 39 bcf last week, based on median of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg

  • Five-year average gas inventory change for week ended Nov. 8 is +29 bcf

  • Stockpiles totaled 3.932 tcf as of Nov. 1, 5.8% above the five-year average

  • EIA to report weekly storage data at 10:30am New York time on Thursday

  Daily BNEF Gas Data:

  • Lower-48 dry gas production on Wednesday ~100.4 bcf/day, or -5.2% y/y

  • Lower-48 total gas demand ~81.7 bcf/day, or -3.1% y/y

  • Dry gas exports to Mexico ~6.5 bcf/day, or -2% w/w

  • Estimated gas flows to LNG export terminals ~13.7 bcf/day, or +1.5% w/w

  Maybe a cold blast in the Northeast and other parts of the US will be the catalyst to push NatGas futures past the $3 mark, which has served as strong resistance for nearly two years.

  

  In mid-August, the 208th edition of the Farmers’ Almanac published the “Wet Winter Whirlwind.” It noted, “There will be a lot of precipitation and storms”—all dependent on location.” 

  And this: NatGas Bulls Rejoice: Colder Winter Lower 48 Forecasts May “Place Upward Pressure” On Prices

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 17:20

• Why Many Working Class Voters Shifted Rightward This Election
  Why Many Working Class Voters Shifted Rightward This Election

  Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,

  President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 election in part because working-class voters continued their migration toward the America First populism that Trump has advocated for the past three election cycles.

  

  One indicator of that shift is the working-class city of Fall River, Massachusetts, which voted Republican for the first time in 100 years.

  “Consider that from ’96 through the last Obama election, Democrats got 70 to 75 percent of the vote in Fall River. That’s an enormous swing,” author and political commentator E.J. Dionne said at a Nov. 12 panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution.

  “And that does speak to the decline of the Democratic vote among non-college whites and others without a college degree.”

  The shift is significant enough to be termed a global phenomenon, according to William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

  “We are witnessing the emergence of a new politics of class,” Galston said at the panel discussion.

  “Class, defined as educational attainment, dominates the scene in the United States and throughout the industrialized world.”

  How America Voted

  Here’s how the class divide looked in 2024 and what it means for the future of both parties.

  Analysts commonly use education and income levels as indicators of working-class identity.

  Among those who never attended college, Trump won 63 percent of the vote, according to exit polling conducted by Edison Research for a consortium of news organizations.

  Among those having some college education but not earning a degree, the number was 51 percent.

  Trump did best among voters near the middle of the income scale.

  Among those with an annual household income between $30,000 and $99,000, who accounted for nearly half of all voters, the majority voted for Trump.

  The median household income in 2023 was $80,610, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

  Harris did best with voters from the top and bottom of the income scale.

  The vice president won 50 percent of the votes from households earning below $30,000 per year. The federal poverty level for a family of four is $31,200 per year.

  Harris won 51 percent among households earning $200,000 annually.

  Households earning more than double the U.S. median are considered upper-income, according to Pew Research.

  While the majority of all women, 53 percent, voted for Harris, that trend did not hold for all working women, according to Galston.

  “White working-class women voted a lot more like white working-class men than they did women with college degrees,” Galston said. “It wasn’t even close.”

  Reckoning for Democrats

  Democrats lost the White House because they ignored the needs of working-class voters, according to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

  “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders wrote on Nov. 6.

  Jamie Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, criticized Sanders’s remarks, saying, “Biden was the most pro-worker president of my lifetime.”

  Others, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), agreed with Sanders that the Democratic Party had lost touch with the working class.

  “We don’t listen enough; we tell people what’s good for them,” Murphy wrote, adding that the party should listen to poor and rural people and men in crisis.

  “Real economic populism should be our tentpole.”

  “The reason we didn’t win, ultimately, is we didn’t listen enough to people on the ground,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said on “Face the Nation” on Nov. 10.

  “People like Chris Deluzio, Pat Ryan, who were saying, ‘Talk about the economy, talk about people’s economic struggles, convince people you have the better policies and better vision.’”

  Economic factors were the driving force behind this migration into the Republican coalition for at least one portion of the working class, according to Gabriel Sanchez, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico.

  “Overwhelmingly, the economy is what Latino men have actually been talking about for three election cycles in a row,” Sanchez said, noting that one in five Latino men work in the building industry.

  Trump’s outreach to men in particular helped close the deal, according to Sanchez.

  “Trump and Vance were communicating a much different message [than Harris] … that men, you belong here. We appreciate you and everything you bring to the table,” he said.

  While Democrats spent much of their time campaigning against Trump’s character, voters had other concerns, according to Dionne.

  “[We thought] Trump’s unpopularity and the danger he posed to the republic would move more voters than actually happened,” Dionne said. “It was a run-of-the-mill election because people were still deeply upset about the economy.”

  Latino men, in particular, were willing to overlook Trump’s drawbacks because they trusted him to fix the economy, Sanchez said.

  They told him, “I believe Trump will prioritize the economy over everything else because he did that during COVID,” he said.

  Republican Opportunity, Not a Guarantee

  While working-class voters helped put Trump on top in this election, experts say that should not be taken as a guarantee of future loyalty.

  One reason is that the victory is not as decisive as it may appear.

  “I think it’s very important to underscore that when all the votes are counted, it could be a point or a point and a half victory in the popular vote,” Dionne said.

  According to David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University, the electoral victory hinged on a relatively small percentage of votes in swing states.

  “A shift of 121,000 votes across Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would have produced a different result with Harris winning,” Schultz told The Epoch Times.

  Also, Harris won the majority of union voters at 53 percent, a slight decrease from 2020 but an increase from 2016 for her party.

  Although union members account for just 10 percent of the workforce, they were heavily courted by both Trump and Harris.

  If Republicans can make good on their promise to improve the economy, their compact with the working class and with Latino voters in particular may go beyond one election, Sanchez said.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 17:00

• Trump Expected To Appoint Ukraine Peace Envoy 'Soon': Fox
  Trump Expected To Appoint Ukraine Peace Envoy ‘Soon’: Fox

  President-elect Donald Trump has long promised to immediately negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine war upon entering office. Fox News is reporting Wednesday that toward this end he may “soon” appoint a Ukrainian peace envoy to head this up.

  “You’re going to see a very senior special envoy, someone with a lot of credibility, who will be given a task to find a resolution, to get to a peace settlement,” one of several sources told Fox. The person previewed that the appointment will happen “in short order.”

  

  Fox notes that “The job is not expected to be a salaried role – from 2017 to 2019, Kurt Volker had served as special representative to Ukrainian negotiations on a volunteer basis.”

  This comes amid the last couple days of new members of Trump’s future administration being announced. Many Trump supporters have observed that hawks have filled up key posts so far – with most being known especially for their stridently pro-Israel positions, such as Pete Hegseth, nominated for Defense Secretary. Steven Witkoff has also been named as special envoy for the Middle East.

  Over the weekend a Washington Post report said Trump held his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin wherein Trump warned the Russian leader not to escalate in Ukraine. Strangely, the Kremlin is denying that the phone call ever took place.

  As for what a potential Trump peace plan for Ukraine might look like, the WSJ days ago revealed that a main option being considered would see a ‘freeze’ on the war, which to Kiev’s dismay would involve “cementing Russia’s seizure of roughly 20 percent of Ukraine” while imposing a 20-year suspension on Ukraine pursuing NATO membership.

  Informal Trump adviser Elon Musk responded to a report about that plan on X, writing that “The senseless killing will end soon. Time is up for the warmonger profiteers.”

  As for who might be named special envoy for Ukraine peace, it’s anyone’s guess. Most State Department veterans who have worked on the conflict are likely hawks. Thus the “old hands” are unlikely to back any plan which permanently cedes the Donbass to Russian control.

  This means Trump would likely need an ‘outsider’ for his vision of enacting a rapid Ukraine ceasefire to have a chance. But it would also likely be someone commanding respect and influence among the Ukrainian and Russian sides.

  

  As for the the Russian side, the Kremlin has signaled openness to engaging Trump on the issue. However, Moscow would likely grow cold to the idea if a well-known Russia hawk was chosen for the crucial spot. Kremlin officials are without doubt watching Trump’s nominations closely, as the future trajectory of the conflict could hang in the balance.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 16:40

• A Stock Market Crash Is Bad But Nuclear Annihilation Is Far Worse; Jim Rickards Warns "Don't Put AI In The Kill-Chain"
  A Stock Market Crash Is Bad But Nuclear Annihilation Is Far Worse; Jim Rickards Warns “Don’t Put AI In The Kill-Chain”

  Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

  Seven-time, best-selling financial author Jim Rickards predicted in July 2023 (when gold was trading in the $1,600 range) that the yellow metal would get a big boost. 

  

  He was correct. 

  In his new book called “Money GPT: AI and the Threat to the Global Economy,” Rickards lays out the case for AI-caused disasters in everything from finance to nuclear war.  Rickards says,

  “About five stocks are upwards of 40% of the entire index. 

  Almost all those gains are being driven by AIs:  Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook/Meta and Google.  We all know their names. 

  The market is going higher on AI, and nobody wants to say anything negative on AI. 

  I have studied this very closely, and there are these huge dangers for investors that they need to be aware of.  Any crash is going to be worse because AI will be accelerating it.”

  It gets worse with an AI driven world, especially when it comes to nuclear war. 

  AI can and will accelerate that too.  Rickards explains,

  “You can’t teach a computer common sense. 

  You can teach it rules. 

  You can make it go up the escalation ladder for war. 

  A stock market crash is pretty bad, but nuclear annihilation is far worse. 

  I am offering constructive advice in the book saying here’s the problem. 

  Here’s how it works.  Don’t put AI in the kill chain because you will end up getting killed.

  Rickards is hoping Trump can deescalate the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East. 

  Even if Trump is able to turn down the volume on the war drums, the economy is already in big trouble.  Rickards says,

  “The US economy is definitely in for slowing growth at best, and probably a recession in the next 9 months.  Trump is going to get blamed for it because if you are President, you get blamed for whatever happens even though he has nothing to do with it. 

  This recession is already happening.  

  The stock market will draw down, and from there, I think it will come back.  Trump’s policies are enacted.  They get a tax bill through.  They get tariffs up.  They create high paying US jobs.  They cut regulation.  There are a lot of bullish things in the pipeline, but they take time to implement . . . and take effect. 

  In the meantime, we will have a rocky road.”

  Rickards still likes gold, silver and other tangible assets such as farm ground and fine art. 

  Rickards contends this is true diversification of your wealth.

  There is much more in the 54-minute interview.

  Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Jim Rickards, seven-time, best-selling author, not including his latest called “Money GPT: AI and the Threat to the Global Economy,” for 11.12.24.

  *  *  *

  To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

  If you want a copy of “Money GPT: AI and the Threat to the Global Economy,” click here.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 11/13/2024 – 16:20

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