Today’s News 23rd March 2024

• The Language Of Force: How The Police State Muzzles Our Right To Speak Truth To Power
  The Language Of Force: How The Police State Muzzles Our Right To Speak Truth To Power

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “If the state could use [criminal] laws not for their intended purposes but to silence those who voice unpopular ideas, little would be left of our First Amendment liberties, and little would separate us from the tyrannies of the past or the malignant fiefdoms of our own age. The freedom to speak without risking arrest is ‘one of the principal characteristics by which we distinguish a free nation.’”

  – Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissenting, Nieves v. Bartlett (2019)

  Tyrants don’t like people who speak truth to power.

  

  Cue the rise of protest laws, which take the government’s intolerance for free speech to a whole new level and send the resounding message that resistance is futile.

  In fact, ever since the Capitol protests on Jan. 6, 2021, state legislatures have introduced a broad array of these laws aimed at criminalizing protest activities.

  There have been at least 205 proposed laws in 45 states aimed at curtailing the right to peacefully assemble and protest by expanding the definition of rioting, heightening penalties for existing offenses, or creating new crimes associated with assembly.

  Weaponized by police, prosecutors, courts and legislatures, these protest laws, along with free speech zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws, and a host of other legalistic maladies have become a convenient means by which to punish individuals who refuse to be muzzled.

  In Florida, for instance, legislators passed a “no-go” zone law making it punishable by up to 60 days in jail to remain within 25 feet of working police and other first responders after a warning.

  Yet while the growing numbers of protest laws cropping up across the country are sold to the public as necessary to protect private property, public roads or national security, they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a thinly disguised plot to discourage anyone from challenging government authority at the expense of our First Amendment rights.

  It doesn’t matter what the source of that discontent might be (police brutality, election outcomes, COVID-19 mandates, the environment, etc.): protest laws, free speech zones, no-go zones, bubble zones, trespass zones, anti-bullying legislation, zero tolerance policies, hate crime laws, etc., aim to muzzle every last one of us.

  To be very clear, these legislative attempts to redefine and criminalize speech are a backdoor attempt to rewrite the Constitution and render the First Amendment’s robust safeguards null and void.

  No matter how you package these laws, no matter how well-meaning they may sound, no matter how much you may disagree with the protesters or sympathize with the objects of the protest, these proposed laws are aimed at one thing only: discouraging dissent.

  This is the painful lesson being imparted with every incident in which someone gets arrested and charged with any of the growing number of contempt charges (ranging from resisting arrest and interference to disorderly conduct, obstruction, and failure to obey a police order) that get trotted out anytime a citizen voices discontent with the government or challenges or even questions the authority of the powers-that-be.

  These assaults on free speech are nothing new.

  As Human Rights Watch points out, “Various states have long-tried to curtail the right to protest. They do so by legislating wide definitions of what constitutes an ‘unlawful assembly’ or a ‘riot’ as well as increasing punishments. They also allow police to use catch-all public offenses, such as trespassing, obstructing traffic, or disrupting the peace, as a pretext for ordering dispersals, using force, and making arrests. Finally, they make it easier for corporations and others to bring lawsuits against protest organizers.”

  Journalists have come under particular fire for exercising their right to freedom of the press.

  According to U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, the criminalization of routine journalism has become a means by which the government chills lawful First Amendment activity.

  Journalists have been arrested or faced dubious charges for “publishing,” asking too many questions of public officials, being “rude” for reporting during a press conference, and being in the vicinity of public protests and demonstrations.

  For instance, Steve Baker, a reporter for Blaze News, was charged with four misdemeanors, including trespassing and disorderly conduct charges, related to his sympathetic coverage of the Jan. 6 riots. Dan Heyman, a reporter for the Public News Service, was arrested for “aggressively” questioning Tom Price, then secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during an encounter in the West Virginia State Capitol.

  It’s gotten so bad that merely daring to question, challenge or hesitate when a cop issues an order can get you charged with resisting arrest or disorderly conduct.

  For example, Deyshia Hargrave, a language arts teacher in Louisiana, was thrown to the ground, handcuffed and arrested for speaking out during a public comment period at a school board meeting.

  Fane Lozman was arrested for alluding to government corruption during open comment time at a City Council meeting in Palm Beach County, Fla.

  College professor Ersula Ore was slammed to the ground and arrested after she objected to the “disrespectful manner” shown by a campus cop who stopped her in the middle of the street and demanded that she show her ID.

  Philadelphia lawyer Rebecca Musarra was arrested for exercising her right to remain silent and refusing to answer questions posed by a police officer during a routine traffic stop. (Note: she cooperated in every other way by providing license and registration, etc.)

  Making matters worse, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Nieves v. Bartlett that protects police from lawsuits by persons arrested on bogus “contempt of cop” charges (ranging from resisting arrest and interference to disorderly conduct, obstruction, and failure to obey a police order) that result from lawful First Amendment activities (filming police, asking a question of police, refusing to speak with police).

  These incidents reflect a growing awareness about the state of free speech in America: you may have distinct, protected rights on paper, but dare to exercise those rights, and you risk fines, arrests, injuries and even death.

  Unfortunately, we have been circling this particular drain hole for some time now.

  More than 50 years ago, U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas took issue with the idea that merely speaking to a government representative (a right enshrined in the First Amendment) could be perceived as unlawfully inconveniencing and annoying the police.

  In a passionate defense of free speech, Douglas declared: 

  Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? The constitutional theory is that we the people are the sovereigns, the state and federal officials only our agents. We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet. The situation might have indicated that Colten’s techniques were ill-suited to the mission he was on, that diplomacy would have been more effective. But at the constitutional level speech need not be a sedative; it can be disruptive.

  It’s a power-packed paragraph full of important truths that the powers-that-be would prefer we quickly forget: We the people are the sovereigns. We have the final word. We can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy. We need not stay docile and quiet. Our speech can be disruptive. It can invite dispute. It can be provocative and challenging. We do not have to bow submissively to authority or speak with reverence to government officials.

  In theory, Douglas was right: “we the people” do have a constitutional right to talk back to the government.

  In practice, however, we live in an age in which “we the people” are at the mercy of militarized, weaponized, immunized cops who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat, what constitutes resistance, and how harshly they can deal with the citizens they were appointed to “serve and protect.”

  As such, those who seek to exercise their First Amendment rights during encounters with the police are increasingly finding that there is no such thing as freedom of speech.

  Case in point: Tony Rupp, a lawyer in Buffalo, NY, found himself arrested and charged with violating the city’s noise ordinance after cursing at an SUV bearing down on pedestrians on a busy street at night with its lights off. Because that unmarked car was driven by a police officer, that’s all it took for Rupp to find himself subjected to malicious prosecution, First Amendment retaliation and wrongful arrest.

  The case, as Jesse McKinley writes in The New York Times, is part of a growing debate over “how citizens can criticize public officials at a time of widespread reevaluation of the lengths and limits of free speech. That debate has raged everywhere from online forums and college campuses to protests over racial bias in law enforcement and the Israel-Hamas war. Book bans and other acts of government censorship have troubled some First Amendment experts. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments about a pair of laws — in Florida and Texas — limiting the ability of social media companies such as Facebook to ban certain content from their platforms.”

  Bottom line: what the architects of the police state want are submissive, compliant, cooperative, obedient, meek citizens who don’t talk back, don’t challenge government authority, don’t speak out against government misconduct, and don’t resist.

  What the First Amendment protects—and a healthy constitutional republic requires—are citizens who routinely exercise their right to speak truth to power.

  Yet there can be no free speech for the citizenry when the government speaks in a language of force.

  What is this language of force?

  Militarized police. Riot squads. Camouflage gear. Black uniforms. Armored vehicles. Mass arrests. Pepper spray. Tear gas. Batons. Strip searches. Surveillance cameras. Kevlar vests. Drones. Lethal weapons. Less-than-lethal weapons unleashed with deadly force. Rubber bullets. Water cannons. Stun grenades. Arrests of journalists. Crowd control tactics. Intimidation tactics. Brutality. Contempt of cop charges.

  This is not the language of freedom. This is not even the language of law and order.

  Unfortunately, this is how the government at all levels—federal, state and local—now responds to those who choose to exercise their First Amendment right to speak freely.

  If we no longer have the right to tell a Census Worker to get off our property, if we no longer have the right to tell a police officer to get a search warrant before they dare to walk through our door, if we no longer have the right to stand in front of the Supreme Court wearing a protest sign or approach an elected representative to share our views, if we no longer have the right to protest unjust laws by voicing our opinions in public or on our clothing or before a legislative body, then we do not have free speech.

  What we have instead is regulated, controlled, censored speech, and that’s a whole other ballgame.

  Remember, the unspoken freedom enshrined in the First Amendment is the right to challenge government agents, think freely and openly debate issues without being muzzled or treated like a criminal.

  Americans are being brainwashed into believing that anyone who wears a government uniform—soldier, police officer, prison guard—must be obeyed without question.

  Of course, the Constitution takes a far different position, but does anyone in the government even read, let alone abide by, the Constitution anymore?

  The government does not want us to remember that we have rights, let alone attempting to exercise those rights peaceably and lawfully. And it definitely does not want us to engage in First Amendment activities that challenge the government’s power, reveal the government’s corruption, expose the government’s lies, and encourage the citizenry to push back against the government’s many injustices.

  Yet by muzzling the citizenry, by removing the constitutional steam valves that allow people to speak their minds, air their grievances and contribute to a larger dialogue that hopefully results in a more just world, the government is creating a climate in which violence becomes inevitable.

  When there is no First Amendment steam valve, then frustration builds, anger grows and people become more volatile and desperate to force a conversation.

  As John F. Kennedy warned, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

  As I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the government is making violent revolution inevitable.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 23:30

• Judge Tosses Challenge, Upholds Law Allowing 'Noncitizens' To Vote In DC
  Judge Tosses Challenge, Upholds Law Allowing ‘Noncitizens’ To Vote In DC

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a District of Columbia law allowing “noncitizen residents” to vote in local elections.

  

  Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an appointee of President Barack Obama, found that a group of seven citizen plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the legislation.

  Their lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections, filed on March 14, aimed to block the 2022 law passed by the Council of the District of Columbia.

  They argued that “noncitizens” do not have a fundamental right to vote in the United States and that allowing them to cast ballots and hold office in the District of Columbia dilutes the votes of U.S. citizens.

  “It follows from our national independence that United States citizens have a right to govern, and be governed by, themselves. The constitutional right to citizen self-government, moreover, has been recognized in repeated holdings of the Supreme Court of the United States,” their complaint reads.

  “Nor does any noncitizen have a constitutional right to govern the United States,” the complaint adds.

  The group argued that the Supreme Court has recognized and protected these rights against infringement in “multiple precedents.”

  The group, in their complaint, argued that vote dilution caused by expanding the franchise to illegal immigrants has been analyzed under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment “on the ground that they discriminate against an identifiable group by harming that group while benefitting another.”

  And while the complaint noted that the 14th Amendment only applies to the states, they contended that the 5th Amendment due process clause grants residents of the District of Columbia the same equal protection right.

  No Standing

  However, in an opinion issued Thursday, Judge Jackson determined that the seven plaintiffs failed to demonstrate “that they have personally been subjected to any sort of disadvantage as individual voters by virtue of the fact that noncitizens are permitted to vote, too.”

  “They may object as a matter of policy to the fact that immigrants get to vote at all, but their votes will not receive less weight or be treated differently than noncitizens’ votes,” the judge wrote.

  “They are not losing representation in any legislative body; nor have citizens as a group been discriminatorily gerrymandered, ‘packed,’ or ‘cracked’ to divide, concentrate, or devalue their votes,” she continued.

  The judge concluded: “At bottom, they are simply raising a generalized grievance which is insufficient to confer standing.”

  The Epoch Times contacted the D.C. Board of Elections for comment.

  ‘A Direct Attack on American Self-Government’

  The Epoch Times contacted the D.C.-based Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), which represented the plaintiffs, for comment.

  In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Christopher Hajec, IRLI’s director of litigation, said the law “is a direct attack on American self-government.”

  “This law doesn’t just give foreign citizens a voice in our country’s affairs, it gives them voting power that politicians inevitably will have to respond to. That transfer of power flies in the face of the clear right of the American people to govern themselves,” he said.

  The IRLI’s executive director, Dale Wilcox, said in a statement on March 14 that when the voting power of citizens is eroded, “our nation begins to lose its independence.”

  “If laws like this are not struck down, next there will be calls in many states to allow aliens to vote in statewide and even federal elections,” he added.

  Noncitizen Voting Act

  The law in question, known as the Noncitizen Voting Act, removed the prior citizenship requirement for voting in municipal elections, allowing all residents over 18 who have lived in the district for 30 days, regardless of immigration status, to vote in local elections only.

  Those who qualify can vote in district races for mayor, council, attorney general, and advisory neighborhood commissioners. They can also vote on local initiatives, referenda, recalls, or charter amendment measures.

  Additionally, in combination with other laws, the Noncitizen Voting Act permits illegal immigrants to serve as D.C. mayor, to serve on the D.C. Council, and to serve on the D.C. Board of Elections.

  According to a court filing, at a meeting of the D.C. Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety on Sept. 27, 2022, Council Member Charles Allen, speaking in support of the legislation, said, “Our noncitizen neighbors, many of whom have lived, worked, and raised a family in the District for decades deserve the opportunity to have a stake in their government and determine their own leaders just as we all do.”

  The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Allen for further comment.

  Congress must review legislation passed by the D.C. Council; however, efforts to overturn the law through legislative means ultimately stalled in the U.S. Senate.

  After the U.S. House passed a resolution disapproving of the act on Feb. 9, 2023, the Senate failed to pass a resolution against the act within the prescribed time frame.

  This prompted the group of seven citizens to bring their lawsuit.

  The lawsuit argued that it violates the 5th Amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection for citizens. The lawsuit also alleged that the law violates “the constitutional right of citizen self-government” by allowing “noncitizens to hold public office,” according to a court filing.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 23:00

• Russia Confirms Increase Of Artillery Shell Production By 150% In Past Year
  Russia Confirms Increase Of Artillery Shell Production By 150% In Past Year

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Thursday that Russia’s production of artillery shells has increased by nearly 2.5 times over the past year as Moscow is significantly out-producing the West.

  Shoigu also said that Russia was producing components for artillery at a rate of 22 times what it could make last year. “Speaking about manufacturing of artillery munitions, the volume of production of components to such ammunition was increased by almost 22 times,” he said.

  

  Shoigu’s comments came after CNN reported that Russia was producing nearly three times as many artillery shells than the US and Europe combined.

  The report, based on a NATO assessment, said Russia has the capacity to produce 3 million shells per year while the US and Europe can make 1.2 million.

  It’s been clear for a while that NATO could not keep up with the production needed to fuel the proxy war in Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last year that Ukraine was using artillery ammunition at a much faster rate than what the entire alliance could produce.

  “The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production, and this puts our defense industries under strain,” Stoltenberg said in February 2023.

  At that time Stoltenberg urged that NATO needs to “ramp up production” and that European leaders should focus on “ways to increase our defense industrial capacity and replenish stockpiles.”

  Due to its shortage of conventional 155mm artillery ammunition, the US has been arming Ukraine with artillery shells packed with cluster bombs, which are notorious for killing and maiming civilians and are banned by over 100 countries.

  The US announced a new $300 million arms package that included more cluster bombs. The US supplied Ukraine with the package despite the lack of new funding for the war and claimed it was paid for with money saved in the US Army budget.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 22:30

• FDA Settles Ivermectin Case, Agrees To Remove Controversial 'Stop It' Post
  FDA Settles Ivermectin Case, Agrees To Remove Controversial ‘Stop It’ Post

  Authored by Zachary Steiber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to remove social media posts and webpages that urged people to stop taking ivermectin to treat COVID-19, according to a settlement dated March 21.

  

  The FDA has already removed a page that said: “Should I take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19? No.”

  Within 21 days, the FDA will remove another page titled, “why you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19,” according to the settlement announcement, which was filed with federal court in southern Texas.

  “The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals,” the page currently states. It also says that data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, despite how some studies it cites show ivermectin is effective against the illness.

  The FDA in the settlement is also agreeing to delete multiple social media posts that came out strongly against ivermectin, including one that stated: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

  In exchange, doctors who sued the agency are dismissing their claims, the filing states.

  “FDA loses its war on ivermectin and agrees to remove all social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID, including its most popular tweet in FDA history,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, one of the doctors, said in a statement. “This landmark case sets an important precedent in limiting FDA overreach into the doctor-patient relationship.”

  “We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the settlement as it is a victory for every doctor and patient in the United States,” added Dr. Paul Marik, chief scientific officer of the FLCCC Alliance and another plaintiff. “The FDA interfered in the practice of medicine with their irresponsible language and posts about ivermectin. We will never know how many lives were affected because patients were denied access to a lifesaving treatment because their doctor was ‘just following the FDA.’”

  An FDA spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency “has chosen to resolve this lawsuit rather than continuing to litigate over statements that are between two and nearly four years old.”

  “FDA has not admitted any violation of law or any wrongdoing, disagrees with the plaintiffs’ allegation that the agency exceeded its authority in issuing the statements challenged in the lawsuit, and stands by its authority to communicate with the public regarding the products it regulates,” the spokesperson said. “FDA has not changed its position that currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19. The agency has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19.”

  Ivermectin was approved by the FDA in 1996 to treat several conditions, including onchocerciasis, a tropical disease caused by a parasitic worm.

  In the United States, it’s common for doctors to prescribe medicine off-label, or for a different purpose than the one for which the medicine is approved.

  After some doctors began prescribing ivermectin for COVID-19, the FDA ramped up its campaign, including the Aug. 21, 2021, post on Twitter, now known as X.

  Dr. Bowden and two other doctors sued the FDA, arguing the agency’s actions went beyond its authority, as conferred on it by Congress.

  U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown dismissed the case in 2022, ruling that the FDA did not act outside the authority. But an appeals court in 2023 ruled in favor of the doctors, finding that the agency “has identified no authority allowing it to recommend consumers ‘stop’ taking medicine.”

  Between the time of the ruling and the settlement, the FDA refused to change any of its statements on ivermectin, and asked for a fresh dismissal of the suit.

  The Case

  Drs. Robert Apter, Bowden, and Marik brought the case in 2022. They said they suffered repercussions after prescribing ivermectin to patients with COVID-19, and that the FDA was to blame.

  Dr. Apter, for instance, said that pharmacists refused to fill the prescriptions, citing the FDA.

  “This refusal delays his patients in obtaining their prescribed treatment—when early intervention is paramount—while they look for a pharmacy to fill their prescription, if they can find one at all,” the suit states.

  He also said that insurance companies were refusing to pay for ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

  The suit said the FDA illegally interfered with the relationships between the doctors and patients. The doctors said with regard to ivermectin, the FDA overstepped the authority conferred on it in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

  Government lawyers argued that the FDA was acting within the confines of the law, and succeeded in getting the dismissal.

  Judge Brown, appointed under President Donald Trump, said the FDA’s powers were only limited with regard to medical devices.

  “As there is no statute limiting the FDA’s actions here, it cannot have acted outside of any statutory limitations,” he wrote in his ruling. “Further, it cannot be said that the FDA had no colorable basis of authority. The FDA is charged by Congress with protecting public health and ensuring that regulated medical products are safe and effective, among other things.”

  A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit disagreed, finding that the law did not authorize the FDA to give medical advice.

  “FDA can inform, but it has identified no authority allowing it to recommend consumers ‘stop’ taking medicine,” U.S. Circuit Judge Don Willett, appointed under President Trump, wrote for the court. The appeals court remanded the case back to the district court.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 22:00

• Despite Supreme Court Ruling, States Are Still Confiscating People’s Homes
  Despite Supreme Court Ruling, States Are Still Confiscating People’s Homes

  Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Horses taught Christine Searle the importance of being fair. Intelligent and innately honest creatures, horses know deceit when they see it. She wishes they could teach that principle to the state of Arizona.

  

  The 70-year-old horse trainer and Arizona native is on the verge of losing her life’s savings over an unpaid $1,607.68 property tax bill.

  “I owed them the money. And that’s what they should get—the money I owe them,” Ms. Searle told The Epoch Times.

  “I don’t think that they should have the right to take all of it.”

  Arizona is one of almost a dozen states that allow creditors to keep all the proceeds from sales of homes foreclosed due to unpaid taxes—known as tax lien sales, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).

  A 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case out of Minnesota offers some hope to property owners in these situations, but only if a similar case is brought in their state. In the 2022 case, the justices ruled that Minnesota’s practice of keeping all the proceeds of a tax sale constitutes an illegal seizure of property.

  “The taxpayer must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the unanimous decision.

  But, under their current laws, 10 states and the District of Columbia have no means of returning the excess proceeds of a home sale; what Mountain States Legal Foundation lawyers representing Ms. Searle call “home equity theft.” The states include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and South Dakota.

  Ms. Searle hopes her case will be the one to set things right in Arizona.

  In Arizona, a county treasurer can place a lien on a property for taxes owed. These financial claims are then sold at an online auction. In the auction, buyers bid the lowest interest rate they intend to charge property owners to redeem their lien. The bidding begins at 16 percent and the lowest bid wins.

  Purchasing a tax lien doesn’t transfer ownership of the property. In Arizona, the property owner has three years to pay the back taxes, which includes fees and interest. If it is not redeemed within that time, the lienholder may foreclose and sell the property.

  Unsold tax liens are turned over to the state. The state has the same right to foreclose, but must return any excess proceeds to the former property owner.

  In 2005, Ms. Searle bought a three-bedroom, two-bath house as a rental property for $255,000. The house is in Gilbert, Arizona, 22 miles southeast of Phoenix. Its 2024 property tax appraisal came to $376,800, but she stands to lose much more than the taxable value.

  

  Various real estate websites estimate the current market value to sit somewhere between $420,000 and $510,000.

  The investment firm Arapaho LLC Tesco purchased the tax lien on Ms. Searle’s property when it bought all of Maricopa County’s 2015 and 2016 tax liens. Arapaho stands to gain a significant profit if it sells the property under current law.

  Arapaho’s contact information was not available. An internet search showed that the Phoenix-based company —which is involved in a number of legal actions in Arizona—lists Hamilton Municipal Financing of Altamonte Springs, Florida, as a principal. Hamilton is incorporated in Delaware.

  According to PLF, tax liens are popular with banks, investment firms, and other financial institutions because they are seen as relatively secure investments.

  Public data gathered by PLF shows that Maricopa County sold 567 tax liens between July 2012 and March 2021. A review of those records by The Epoch Times found that at least 424, or approximately three-quarters of those purchasers, were businesses.

  This is based on buyers being listed as Incorporated, an LLC, a Trust, or a DBA (Doing Business As).

  Retirement Plan Upended

  On a dusty ranch near Tucson, Ms. Searle sits on a metal patio chair under a shady tree in front of some stables and talks about her retirement plan.

  “I have all my money invested in that home as my retirement instead of putting it in a CD [Certificate of Deposit] or some kind of a bank account. I can make a little money on the side to pay the mortgage and keep, and sell it when I need the money,” she said.

  She’s shocked at how close she is to losing her life savings to an investment firm.

  For 18 years, she lived in Chandler, Arizona, with her husband and son, Randy Searle. According to Ms. Searle, she led a typically comfortable, suburban middle-class American life. Her then-husband worked for a jewelry and memorabilia company serving high schools and colleges, and she trained horses.

  

  She knew it was possible to lose property over unpaid taxes. But that happened to other people. It wasn’t part of her life or something she really knew very much about.

  “I didn’t think about it,” she said.

  Then came the divorce, and she had to consider many things she had never given much thought.

  She had to find a way to support herself. Her son was grown, so she could afford a simpler lifestyle. Ms. Searle took her divorce settlement and purchased the house in Gilbert to use as a rental to supplement her income.

  Her work goes beyond teaching horses to respond to commands. Many horse owners live and work far from the stables in Tucson, so Ms. Searle is their horse’s primary caregiver. She is responsible for arranging veterinary care, farrier services, feeding, and exercising the animals.

  “I don’t have a nine-to-five job; I have a 24-hour job. Whenever there’s something wrong, I come down here and work on it, take care of it,” Ms. Searle said. “I’m doing it just because I enjoy it … it’s not like anyone’s making a lot of money here.”

  Her son blames himself for his mother’s predicament.

  Mr. Randy Searle, as the tenant at the Gilbert house, said it was his job to manage the property. At the same time, he was trying to get a solar energy company in Rhode Island off the ground.

  “I had been responsible for paying [the property taxes], and when our company went out of business in Rhode Island, I didn’t have the money to pay them,” Mr. Searle told The Epoch Times.

  Mr. Searle said he had worked out a plan with Arapaho to redeem the 2016 lien. However, due to a miscommunication, he didn’t realize foreclosure proceedings had been initiated over the 2015 taxes.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 21:30

• Nancy Pelosi's Son Dodges Charges In Money Laundering, Mail Fraud Scheme Linked To San Francisco Flop House
  Nancy Pelosi’s Son Dodges Charges In Money Laundering, Mail Fraud Scheme Linked To San Francisco Flop House

  Nancy Pelosi’s son has dodged the hammer of justice for a seventh time, after being excluded from a case in which two fraudsters linked to Paul Jr. are set to be sentenced in a money laundering and mail fraud scheme involving “shady dealings over a San Francisco flop house that Pelosi Jr. claimed to own,” the Daily Mail reports.

  

  Bill Garlock and Gina Rodriguez scammed investors into fronting over $1 million for supposed real estate ventures, and instead used the cash to pay for their lifestyle – including rent, loan repayments, credit card bills, and ‘horse-related expenses,’ according to San Francisco federal prosecutors.

  The two obtained money from investors “by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by means of concealment of material facts, including through the use of half-truths,” according to a 2022 indictment.

  One project which the pair presented to duped investors was the renovation of a dilapidated mixed-use building at the corner of Utah and 24th Street, which Paul Pelosi Jr. claimed to own 20% of – and was involved in a 2017 bribery scheme to obtain permits for the property, a move which led to the imprisonment of a city official and an engineering consultant following an FBI sting.

  The property, located in the Mission District of San Francisco, has a troubled past of code violations and squalid conditions. In other words, a flop house.

  

  Pelosi Jr. was not charged in the bribery scheme, and was only listed as “Client 9” in the complaint.

  In 2017, he was listed as the selling realtor on transaction documents as part of a sale to Feng 24th, LLC – a company controlled by Garlock and Rodriguez. As the Mail further reports, “according to the property manager and permit applications, Pelosi Jr. continued to be intimately involved with the flop house after its sale to the two fraudsters.”

  “But he is nowhere to be seen in the July 2022 indictment leveled against Garlock, 74, and Rodriguez, 57, in a Northern California federal court,” according to the report.

  Garlock and Rodriguez were indicted on 15 counts of money laundering and mail fraud, including a scheme to bilk $400,000 from investors in the 24th Street property.

  According to prosecutors, Garlock failed to list himself on Feng 24th LLC’s filings despite having “substantial control” over the firm which owned the Pelosi-linked property.

  Pelosi Jr.’s ties to the building, and the shady dealings around it, appear to be both financial and personal.

  DailyMail.com previously revealed that Pelosi Jr. had a romantic relationship with the building’s former owner, Karena Feng – and that she sued him in 2019 claiming that he conspired with Garlock and Rodriguez to scam her out of the property.

  In one email obtained by DailyMail.com, Pelosi Jr. wrote to Feng: ‘I am list [sic] as the real estate agent for the transaction and have been working hard for you for over two years. In January 2016, you and your family made me an officer of Feng RE with a 20 percent ownership. As an officer and owner of Feng RE, I want the best outcome for your and your family.’  -Daily Mail

  Nicole Bulick, Pelosi’s ex-girlfriend, says that the FBI interviewed Paul Jr. three times about the 24th Street property, while business associate Naveen Singha also said agents interviewed him about Pelosi Jr.’s links to the building.

  “Paul’s been under FBI [questioning] like three times over this,” the 48-year-old Bulick told the Mail. “Maybe in the summer of 2017… The FBI looked at this for almost two years. They called me too… He went and spoke with the FBI three times.“

  And according to the Mail, this is the seventh federal case linked to Pelosi Jr. for which he hasn’t been charged.

  DailyMail.com has previously revealed:

  • The 52-year-old joined the board of a biofuel company after it defrauded investors according to an SEC ruling, and whose CEO was convicted after bribing Georgia officials
  • Pelosi Jr. was president of an environmental investment firm that turned out to be a front for two convicted fraudsters 
  • He joined a lithium mining company and received millions of shares, allegedly issued as part of a massive $164million fraud 
  • He was vice president of a company previously embroiled in an investigation of scam calls that targeted senior citizens 
  • He has close business ties with a man accused by the Department of Justice of running a fake UN charity that stole investors’ money 
  • A medical company Pelosi Jr. worked for tested drugs on people without FDA authorization, according to an FDA investigation
  • A permit expeditor and a city official were imprisoned over a bribery scheme of cash for permits, with Pelosi Jr. as one of their clients

  Maybe Hunter Biden should speak with Paul Jr.’s attorney?

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 21:00

• FAA Issues Warning For Air Travel Disruptions During Total Solar Eclipse On April 8
  FAA Issues Warning For Air Travel Disruptions During Total Solar Eclipse On April 8

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning on Thursday about potential disruptions in air travel surrounding the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8.

  

  The celestial event, set to cast a path of totality across 13 states, is anticipated to impact air travel operations before, during, and after the eclipse, according to the aviation agency.

  The FAA indicated that the eclipse’s effects on U.S. airspace are anticipated between approximately 2:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. ET. At this time, some 32 million people in North America are expected to witness the rare event, which is anticipated to be the most-watched solar eclipse in history.

  A total solar eclipse occurs when the new moon passes directly in front of the sun, completely blocking out sunlight and casting the moon’s shadow on the surface of Earth. The most recent total solar eclipse to happen on American soil was the Great American Eclipse in 2017.

  A notice issued by the FAA to airmen emphasized potential impacts on air traffic and airports along the eclipse path from April 7 to April 10. Pilots and aviation personnel are advised to stay informed and prepared for possible disruptions.

  In a statement, the FAA suggested that aircraft should ready themselves for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and departure clearance times that might be issued for all domestic IFR arrivals and departures during the eclipse.

  Departing aircraft from airports along the eclipse path are “strongly encouraged” to coordinate their departure times as early as possible to assist fixed base operators with staging aircraft and alleviating ramp congestion.

  “There may be a higher traffic volume than normal anticipated at airports along the path of the eclipse. Traffic should anticipate delays during peak traffic periods,” the FAA stated.

  The agency cautioned that parking may be limited, particularly at small, uncontrolled airports. Delays with issuing IFR departure clearances might also happen.

  “VFR departures may also expect delays for airborne pickup of IFR clearance within 50 NM either side of the path of the eclipse,” the FAA stated.

  The eclipse will also impact or possibly prohibit aircraft from conducting practice approaches, touch-and-go operations, flight following services, and pilot training at airports during the event.

  “Airmen should check NOTAMs carefully for special procedures/restrictions that may be in place at affected airports. Specific NOTAM procedures may be revised, and arrivals to some airports possibly restricted so please review NOTAMs frequently to verify you have the current information,” the agency advised.

  ‘Great North American Eclipse’

  Dubbed the “Great North American Eclipse,” the celestial event is expected to be more impressive than the one in 2017, lasting longer, being wider, and traversing more highly populated parts of North America.

  On April 8, it will begin over the South Pacific Ocean and move across North America, spanning across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The 2024 event will move in a different direction than the 2017 event, marking a cross on the United States.

  The moon’s shadow will create a relatively narrow ribbon—the path of totality—of about 100 miles over Earth’s surface. To experience a 100 percent total solar eclipse, viewers should be located in this narrow band. This will reveal “the star’s outer atmosphere, called the corona,” according to NASA.

  Totality will last for longer than four minutes in some parts of the United States.

  According to NASA, the path of the eclipse will traverse Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse.

  The eclipse will enter Canada in southern Ontario, journey through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton before exiting continental North America on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland at 5:16 p.m. NDT, according to NASA.

  Special security provisions may be enforced for this event, the FAA said, including temporary flight restrictions, two-way radio communications, and discrete transponder requirements.

  “Specific NOTAM procedures may be revised, and arrivals to some airports possibly restricted so please review NOTAMs frequently to verify you have the current information,” the FAA reiterated.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 20:35

• US Decries "Outrageous" China & Russia Veto Of Its Gaza Ceasefire Resolution At UN
  US Decries “Outrageous” China & Russia Veto Of Its Gaza Ceasefire Resolution At UN

  On Friday Russia and China, along with Algeria, vetoed a US draft resolution on Gaza calling for ceasefire, with the objectors complaining that the language fell short of a clear and unequivocal demand for a ceasefire. 

  The draft ceasefire sought to directly link an immediate ceasefire with the release of all hostages from Gaza. China and Russia saw in it language that paves the way for okaying an Israeli offensive against Rafah. 

  US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the proposed resolution, “We want to see an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that leads to the release of all hostages being held by Hamas and other groups and that will allow much more life-saving, humanitarian aid to get into Gaza.”

  

  But Russian ambassador to the Security Council Vasily Nebenzya accused the US of engaging in “hypocritical” posturing:  

  He accused the United States of doing nothing to rein in Israel in Gaza, and mocked Washington for speaking of a ceasefire after “Gaza has been virtually wiped off the face of the Earth”.

  “We have observed a typical hypocritical spectacle,” he said.

  Nebenzya said that the resolution offered by the Biden administration would have “ensured the impunity of Israel, whose crimes are not even assessed in the draft.”

  This comes after several prior US vetoes of attempted ceasefire resolutions. Friday marks the fourth attempt to move forward a ceasefire resolution. In this case, the Biden administration can seek to lay blame on Russia and China for not wanting to seek peace: 

  Thomas-Greenfield has reacted to Russia’s and China’s vetoes of the US resolution by saying the two countries “refuse to condemn Hamas for burning people alive, for gunning down innocent civilians at a concert and for raping women and girls”.

  “This was the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and a permanent member of the Security Council cannot even condemn it,” she said. “I’m sorry, but this is outrageous and is below the dignity of this body.”

  An alternative resolution is soon next to be put before the Security Council which urges an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, out of which could come a hoped-for permanent ceasefire. The US is expected to veto it.

  U.N. Security Council fails to pass U.S. resolution calling for immediate Gaza cease-firehttps://t.co/OBNNx07kDk pic.twitter.com/GY2CU7xZou

  — MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 22, 2024

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

  Given the death toll in Gaza has reportedly surpassed 30,000 mostly civilians killed, the war is becoming increasingly unpopular internationally, and Israel’s actions have been especially condemned by Global South countries.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 20:10

• US Intelligence Says It Knew ISIS-K Was Planning Terror Attack On Moscow
  US Intelligence Says It Knew ISIS-K Was Planning Terror Attack On Moscow

  Update(1950ET): The initial reports that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terror attack in Moscow appeared rumor at first, and has still been subject of widespread scrutiny and debate, however, US media and government officials are saying that the Islamic State (or ISIS-K) statement is authentic. “A branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for the attack in Moscow that killed at least 40 people and injured about 100 others, and U.S. officials confirmed the claim shortly afterward,” The New York Times writes late in the day. 

  What’s more is that US intelligence knew there was to be an imminent attack on Moscow: “The United States collected intelligence in March that Islamic State-Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, the branch of the group based in Afghanistan, had been planning an attack on Moscow, according to officials. ISIS members have been active in Russia, one U.S. official said,” according to more from NYT.

  The Kremlin had earlier in the day demanded answers of Washington explaining why the US Embassy in Moscow issued an alert earlier this month for all US nationals to avoid public venues and be extra vigilant. We previously reported on that early March embassy notification here. NY Times continues, citing US officials: “After a period of relative quiet, the Islamic State has been trying to increase its external attacks, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials. Most of those plots in Europe have been thwarted, prompting assessments that the group had diminished capabilities.”

  Importantly, Russian state media and sources have been slow to report the ISIS-K claims, nor have state officials identified any culprits or group at this late hour. Russian media in general has not reflected Western press reports concerning the claims that ISIS-K was behind it, likely pending a deeper and ongoing investigation. It is possible that some of the gunmen may still be at large.

  Speculation continues to run rampant, and there’s as yet been little that’s confirmed from Russian security services and authorities.

  If ISIS is indeed behind the Moscow attack, here’s a likely reason why: Russia helped prevent an ISIS takeover of Syria during the CIA-led dirty war there.

  John Kerry admitted this, while also disclosing that the US “watched” ISIS grow in Syria in the hopes it could help… https://t.co/01cMNwZYHw

  — Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) March 22, 2024

  At least 40 were killed when a group of heavily armed, unidentified gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall music venue. Russia’s Health Ministry has released a list of names of 145 people who have been hospitalized in critical condition. Children are among them.

  Below: video has emerged showing the moments the gunmen entered the concert hall, after randomly massacring people in the attached mall area of the complex…

  MASSACRE IN RUSSIA – THE MOMENT THE SHOOTING STARTED INSIDE THE CONCERT HALL. DOZENS REPORTED DEAD.pic.twitter.com/ib9e4MTIht

  — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 22, 2024

  * * *

  Update(1735ET): The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the Moscow terrorist attack according to a report by the Amaq news agency (and otherwise unconfirmed).

  🚨🇷🇺BREAKING: ISIS CLAIMS MOSCOW TERRORIST ATTACK

  Reportedly, the terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Crocuc Concert Hall in Moscow that left at least 40 people dead and dozens injured.

  Source: @BNONews https://t.co/M8yVhEZ5Io pic.twitter.com/7sQTgShjfg

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 22, 2024

  We will update this story as details are confirmed.

  *  *  *

  Update(1635ET): Moscow has come out with fighting words while also pointing the finger at Washington about ‘what it knew’ ahead of time and when:

  Medvedev threatens Ukraine’s top officials will be ‘destroyed mercilessly as terrorists’ if the ‘Kyiv regime’ is linked to Moscow concert hall attack.

  The former president Deputy Chairman of the Security Council is known to routinely issue threatening and hawkish words, but the Russian foreign ministry has issued the following as cited in Reuters:

  “On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about someone’s innocence?” She added that if Washington had information, it should be shared and that if Washington had no information, it should not be talking in such a way.

  

  At least one of the attackers is said to be in Russian custody, also as security services inspect a van in the vicinity and other suspicious vehicles. The mall and concert hall venue previously rampaged by heavily armed gunmen continues to be engulfed in flames, according to a summary in RT:

  Multiple fire brigades and aircraft have been deployed to put out the blaze at a large mall outside Moscow that was attacked by terrorists on Friday night. The popular shopping center and music venue is located in Krasnogorsk, just northwest of the Russian capital. 

  A group of gunmen stormed the Crocus City Hall on Friday night, killing at least 40 people, according to the authorities.

  The assailants reportedly set the building on fire. Witnesses also said they heard explosions inside the mall.

  According to regional emergency services, around 100 people have been evacuated from the underground floor. The rescuers are working to evacuate people from the roof.

  ⚡️One of the shooters in Moscow has been captured and arrested pic.twitter.com/ClLvpfkKKT

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) March 22, 2024

  There have been reports that parts of the roof over the complex collapsed, with hundreds of emergency responders battling the blaze and seeking any gunmen who may be at large.

  * * *

  Update(1440ET): Russian state media as well as The Wall Street Journal’s regional correspondent is reporting at least 40 people killed, and over 100 wounded and injured, in the unfolding major terror attack on Moscow’s largest concert hall. 

  Initial videos have emerged showing what appears to be attackers in combat fatigues with assault rifles going around the mall part of the venue (which is attached to the concert hall) and shooing randomly. There are reports from RT of follow-up blasts happening even amid a huge security, police, and emergency response. 

  BREAKING: Footage shows deadly shooting in Moscow — 40 killed, 100 injured in terror attack in Moscow concert hall, local media reports

  pic.twitter.com/uf7i1Qyt65

  — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 22, 2024

  Below: 20 seconds into clip… is that a flamethrower?

  Multiple gunmen have broken into the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow, opening fire on those inside. Raw footage shows the terrorists opening fire on civilians and security forces. pic.twitter.com/ynTelGwqUu

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 22, 2024

  A mere days ago the US Embassy in Moscow released the following alert telling all US nationals still in the country to avoid large gatherings and public venues. What did they know?

  

  Russia has called the shooting a ‘bloody terrorist attack’ in an initial statement. The White House has also issued an initial assessment as follows:

  • WHITE HOUSE: NO INDICATION AT THIS TIME THAT UKRAINE INVOLVED IN MOSCOW SHOOTING
  • MOSCOW CANCELS ALL THE WEEKEND MASS GATHERINGS – MAYOR

  Unconfirmed reports say some of the attackers may still be at large. Below–Warning, Graphic:

  WARNING 🔞 Not for the faint-hearted

  Terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in the Moscow region: The death toll has risen to 140 — local media. It is reported that special forces are already in the building, and gunfire can be heard.

  Join ‘Voice of Europe’ on Telegram… pic.twitter.com/jCJ9rlTLkY

  — Voice of Europe 🌍 (@V_of_Europe) March 22, 2024

  Watch Live Feed of local media coverage below:

  * * *

  Some kind of major attack just occurred at a Moscow concert hall with contradictory breaking reports emerging from on the ground and several circulating unconfirmed videos. There are possibly at least ten casualties and videos from the scene showing a large fire and plumes of black smoke over the venue. It may have been the result of a large explosion, or possibly even a cross-border drone strike, but conflicting reports say this is likely a mass shooting situation. According to the breaking Associated Press report, at least three gunmen in combat gear stormed the concert hall, with riot police responding:

  Several gunmen in combat fatigues burst into a big concert hall in Moscow on Friday and fired automatic weapons at the crowd, injuring an unspecified number of people, Russian media said.

  Russian news reports said that the assailants also used explosives, causing a massive blaze at the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow. Video posted on social media showed huge plumes of black smoke rising over the building.

  EXPLOSION IN MOSCOW CONCERT HALL https://t.co/k5yNFeLLGO pic.twitter.com/3o8NbGDK1Y

  — Russian Market (@runews) March 22, 2024

  Video from inside the concert hall shows smoke and a chaotic scene of masses of people scrambling to evacuate the venue.

  Unconfirmed statements say it happened at the largest indoor concert venue in Moscow, called Crocus City Hall.

  

  The scope of the attack was clearly a very large, coordinated op or terror event.

  BREAKING – Multiple fatalities reported after shooting in a Moscow concert hall in Russia, concert hall reportedly on fire

  https://t.co/Bc2Ny0h1E2

  — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 22, 2024

  Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency said that several gunmen opened fire on the crowd in Moscow concert hall, resulting in unknown casualties, the AP has cited.

  The incident has unfolded at during a week of rapidly escalating cross-border attacks on Russian territory from Ukraine, and also large-scale retaliatory strikes on Ukraine by Russian aerial forces.

  Reports of armed men storming the concert hall, but the visuals also strongly suggest a large explosion…

  An apparent terrorist attack at a club/shopping center in Moscow before a performance started. Dozens wounded and dead. There was also an explosion and the building is on fire.
  Early videos show multiple men (3, per state media) in camo shooting rifles. pic.twitter.com/WCRmznrldq

  — Aric Toler (@AricToler) March 22, 2024

  A massive emergency and security response is ongoing:

  MORE THAN 50 AMBULANCE CREWS SENT TO SITE OF SHOOTING NEAR MOSCOW – RIA

  developing…

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 19:50

• VDH: From Russian Collusion To "Bloodbath" – A Decade Of Toxic Hysteria
  VDH: From Russian Collusion To “Bloodbath” – A Decade Of Toxic Hysteria

  Via Victor David Hanson,

  Ever since late June 2015—following Donald Trump’s announcement that he was running for president, and his voicing of controversial agendas (on tariffs, China, illegal immigration, foreign policy, NATO, etc.)—leftwing toxic hysteria has been the norm.

  In the last ten years, we’ve witnessed the Russian collusion hoax, calls from military officers and analysts for extra-legal interventions and coups, the Alfa ping hoax, the drink bleach hoax, the “suckers” D-Day hoax, the celebrities’ contest about the best way to decapitate, stab, blow up, shoot, or incinerate Trump, the 2016 leftwing postelection effort to turn state electors into “faithless” apostates to elect Hillary, the nutty Mark Milley call to his Chinese counterpart, the Antifa/BLM riotous months of 2020 and effort to storm the White House grounds, the two first-term impeachments, the laptop “Russian disinformation” hoax, the pee accusation, the “51 intelligence authorities” ruse, the FBI hiring of Twitter censors to suppress unwanted news, the Senate trial of a private citizen, the January 6 “insurrection” where “five police officers were killed” lie, the farcical two Republican members of the Jan 6 committee, the attempt to remove Trump from state ballots, the insane E. Jean Carroll suit, the Letitia James “find me the man, and I’ll find you the crime” writ, the monstrous $355 million fine growing daily to $450, the Alvin Bragg bootstrapping of an inert federal suit, the Fani Willis/Nathan Wade circus, the Jack Smith antithesis to Robert Hur’s twin investigation, the effort to bankrupt the Republican nominee, and of course the constant calls to pack the court (when the Left lost the majority), to end the filibuster (when Democrats control the Senate), to add two new states and four new senators (provided they are DC and Puerto Rico) and to end the Electoral College (once the Left lost the surety of the reliable blue wall).

  

  What is the effect of all this decade-long civil strife on the 2024 voter?

  There are two knowns and two unknowns from this unprecedented effort to destroy rather than defeat at the polls Donald J. Trump.

  • First, we now know that the more they have tried to destroy Trump through media lies and distortions, lawfare, and extra-legal means, the greater his resiliency and popularity.

  • Two, we also realize that the greater the anti-Trump hysteria, venom, and furor on the Left, the more leftists melt down and project their own paranoias onto Trump.

  They think something like: “If we were Trump, and we were smeared with the stuff we are dishing out, we know what we do to our tormentors when we got power. So naturally Trump will do to us what we would to us in his place.”

  Their projection then turns into our now daily unhinged screams that Trump will “take revenge” and “demand retribution”, ensure a “bloodbath”, and “end democracy”—and “therefore we have to double down to employ even more extra-legal means to destroy him”.

  Of the unknowns, we are somewhat unsure about the cumulative effect of this historic effort to warp the electoral system to destroy a candidate, and in at least two regards.

  One, as the Left ramps up its hatred and frenzy over the next seven months before the election (and they surely will), what will be effect on Independents, swing voters, and the undecided? Will they grow incensed at the damage the Left is doing to the country and react by supporting Trump all the more?

  Or, alternatively, will they finally curl up, fetal-like, with  hands over ears, and simply whimper and wish for someone to make all this conundrum go away—and along with it the disrupter Trump, who, however much the victim, still somehow is responsible for the insane reaction he elicits from the left?

  As far as the second unknown in the upcoming months, could  or would Trump as the Happy Warrior better finesse the vitriol to his own advantage by joking about his tormentors’ insanity, using Reaganesque humor to ridicule his critics, or simply shrug, stick to business, ignore the madness, and press on? Can he not unite the country by rising above the tit-for-tat taunts and put-downs?

  That is, should he not avoid his gratuitous slights (often against fellow Republicans like DeSantis and Haley), curb silly stuff like “birdbrain” and the usual social media ridicule?

  Or does it even matter at this late date—given the Left will distort anything Trump says anyway—as we just witnessed with the “bloodbath” psychodrama, and the laughable spin to suggest Trump was calling for insurrection rather than the damage Biden will do to the automotive industry?

  Are we reaching a point, then, where it does not matter how carefully Trump speaks and how ecumenical he might sound, given whatever he says or does will still be distorted given the existential hatred for who he is, what he represents, and what his agendas might portend?

  Add up what we know and the things we know we don’t know, and it is going to be a wild, dangerous next seven months in which we are going to witness things from the Left never seen before in this country.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 19:45

• Russia & China Strike Shipping Deal With Houthis To Ensure Safe Vessel Transits, Report Says 
  Russia & China Strike Shipping Deal With Houthis To Ensure Safe Vessel Transits, Report Says 

  According to Bloomberg’s sources, Russia and China have sealed a deal with Iran-backed Houthis to allow their commercial vessels to transit the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without fear of drone and or missile attacks. 

  One of the sources said China and Russia reached a deal with diplomats in Oman with Mohammed Abdel Salam, one of the Houthis’ top political leaders. They said the safe passage of vessels is in exchange for the Houthis’ political support at the United Nations Security Council. 

  Bloomberg noted, “It’s not entirely clear how that support would be manifested, but it could include blocking more resolutions against the group.” 

  Since November, Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked vessels in the Red Sea. Rebels assert that their attacks are aimed only at ships connected to Israel, demonstrating their support for the Palestinians amid the ongoing Gaza conflict.

  In response to the Red Sea crisis, the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, a military operation led by the US and other allied countries to protect the critical shipping lane. However, months later, the operation failed to protect ships. Furthermore, the US and UK have launched bombing raids on Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries to fight back against Iran-backed terror groups. 

  

  “China and Russia are deepening their strategic alliance with Iranian-backed terrorists. It’s a further sign of an emerging new world disorder that threatens freedom of navigation, commerce, transit, and communications,” said David Asher, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, who commented on the Bloomberg report. 

  Asher continued: “No one should doubt that Putin and Xi are increasingly coordinating their moves with Tehran while the US embraces appeasement, including via releasing billions of dollars to the Iranians with no substantive result to American interests, power, and prestige.”

  In a recent note titled “The Weaponization Of Crude Could Trigger The Next Financial Shock,” Asher warned that “Iran is preparing for an oil war—and markets ignore the growing risks.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 19:20

• 'Gender Science' Was Merely Ideology All Along
  ‘Gender Science’ Was Merely Ideology All Along

  Authored by Wesley J. Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Did you hear the news? England’s National Health Service (NHS) has decided that children diagnosed with gender dysphoria will no longer receive puberty blockers because “there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness … to make the treatment routinely available at this time.”

  

  The premier of Alberta, Canada, is planning legislation to restrict “gender-affirming” surgeries such as mastectomies for minors and puberty blockers for youth aged 15 and under. Other socially liberal nations have also hit the brakes on “gender affirmation,” in children, including Norway, Finland, France, Denmark, Sweden, and New Zealand. So have a score of American states.

  Why did it take so long for common sense to return to this contentious issue? Blame the cultural imperialism of gender ideologues who, while most of us were not paying attention, successfully instituted “treatment guidelines” that focused almost exclusively on “affirming” a child’s gender confusion as medically necessary, while branding the more cautious approach of deeply exploring the mental health issues that could have contributed to the patient’s confusion as “transphobic,” and, even, likely to drive gender-confused children to suicide.

  WPATH—which stands for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health—led the charge. Members of the organization are committed to the belief that “gender”—as opposed to sex—constitutes a human being’s true self and that gender “identity” can be known by the child when very young—in some cases, even before starting school.

  Moreover, when a child claims a particular gender identity different from that “assigned at birth”—male, female, nonbinary, transgender, etc.—that patient must be believed, “affirmed,” and set on the road to an eventual “transition.”

  But gender ideologues didn’t just promote their views about how gender dysphoric children should be treated in the marketplace of ideas. Rather, the entirety of the woke cultural infrastructure mobilized to punish those who challenged the new orthodoxy.

  Social authoritarianism became the order of the day. Many elementary and high schools were at the vanguard. Administrators ordered teachers not to alert parents to their child’s gender confusion at the risk of job loss. Teachers were fired if they “mis-pronouned” a gender-confused student or used the child’s “dead” (given) name instead of the gender-affirming name chosen by the child. Some teachers even proselytized gender ideology to their students, for example by placing LGBT flags in classrooms and assigning readings from pro-gender transitioning books.

  Meanwhile, social media companies canceled the accounts of those who disputed affirmation as the “medically necessary, life-saving standard of care.” Blue states such as California passed laws threatening to remove the custody of children from parents who refused to affirm their child’s declared gender identity. Medical professionals who sought to continue the more traditional approaches to care were accused of engaging in hateful “conversion therapy” and threatened with professional discipline.

  For a time, the ideological juggernaut seemed unstoppable. But as the old saying goes, eventually truth “will out.” Less ideological medical professionals reviewed the actual data and noticed that the supposedly settled science was much less certain than the activists claimed. Moreover, the potential medical harm from puberty blocking and performing surgeries on healthy bodies came to the forefront—in large part thanks to the advocacy of “de-transitioners” who were affirmed in their gender confusion but came to realize that they are, indeed, the sex they were born. The tragic testimonies of young women without breasts and boys with potential lifelong sexual dysfunction exposed the potential cruelty of the gender-affirming approach.

  And now, a shocking new report—“The WPATH Files,” published by Environmental Progress—has exposed WPATH’s rank ideological method as primarily “consumer-driven and pseudoscientific”—as opposed to evidence-based—and (appearing) to be “political activism, not science.”

  Not only that, but the study demonstrates that contrary to WPATH’s claims, the “psychiatric condition of gender dysphoria is not a fatal illness, and the best available studies show that in the case of minors, with watchful waiting and compassionate support, most will either grow out of it or learn to manage their distress in ways less detrimental to their health.” In other words, alternative non-invasive approaches can help young patients overcome their gender confusion without mutilating their bodies.

  Backing up the study’s many data-derived criticisms, author Mia Hughes also quotes actual transcripts of some WPATH members’ shocking disregard for the wellbeing of their patients made in private communications. For example, the report quotes one of the authors of WPATH’s standards of care guidelines admitting that children are too immature to comprehend the enormity of the transition they may desire: “[It is] out of their developmental range to understand the extent to which some of these medical interventions are impacting them.”

  Another WPATH member shrugs that minor patients do not fully appreciate the consequences of sterility that some medically “affirming” treatments can cause. “It’s always a good theory that you talk about fertility preservation with a 14-year old, but I know I’m talking to a blank wall. They’d be like, ew, kids, babies, gross.”

  Environmental Progress’s exposé illustrates the danger of meekly following “the experts.” This is particularly true when the main defense of a new and radical agenda is based on a supposed consensus, and that therefore, the science is now “settled.” As my Discovery Institute colleague Stephen C. Meyer says: If you have to rely on a supposed “consensus” to defend your [scientific] position, it means there isn’t really a consensus. That goes double when skeptics are coerced into silence to maintain the primacy of a particular cultural orthodoxy.

  “The WPATH Files” demonstrates that courageous resistance to destructive social fads is never futile. But good golly it can be difficult when ideology successfully masks as science. Hopefully, the report will hasten the end of our destructive transgender moral panic—at least as it impacts minors—and we will finally protect these agonized youngsters in the way all vulnerable children deserve.

  Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 18:55

• "Our Country Is Being Poisoned": 270,000 Overdose Deaths Catapult Fentanyl As Major Voter Topic In Presidential Race
  “Our Country Is Being Poisoned”: 270,000 Overdose Deaths Catapult Fentanyl As Major Voter Topic In Presidential Race

  In a recent interview on Fox News, former President Donald Trump warned, “Our country is being poisoned from within by the drugs and by all of the other crime that’s taking place.” 

  According to the latest provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between November 2019 and October 2023, there have been a shocking 270,000 overdose deaths from synthetic opioids – or about 80,000 overdose deaths per year – across the nation. 

  

  Under the Biden administration’s first term, Americans have been increasingly traumatized by the tsunami of overdose deaths as disastrous open southern border policies flood the nation with illegal drugs and millions of unvetted migrants that have sparked chaos across major metro areas. 

  

  American voters are increasingly frustrated with progressive policies that have backfired, resulting in the loss of countless American lives, many of them young people. 

  This is how China uses open southern borders to poison the American people.

  

  A new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll of nearly 5,000 registered voters shows 8 in 10 voters in seven swing states believe fentanyl misuse is a “very important” or “somewhat important” issue when deciding who to vote for in November. The drug overdose issue trumps abortion, climate change, labor and unions, or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 

  Early in President Biden’s first term, he stated one of the central pillars of his “Unity Agenda” was to solve the overdose crisis. Fast-forward to today, Biden’s team of clowns has failed as they prioritize open southern borders over the well-being and health of law-abiding taxpayers. Just think about that for a few seconds… 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 18:30

• Pentagon Still Open To Allowing US 'Boots On The Ground' In Haiti
  Pentagon Still Open To Allowing US ‘Boots On The Ground’ In Haiti

  Authored by Will Porter via The Libertarian Institute, 

  A senior US military official said the Pentagon has not yet ruled out an American deployment to Haiti, which has seen a spike in violent unrest that prompted the resignation of the country’s prime minister last week. 

  Speaking during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Tuesday, US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) head General Laura Richardson was asked whether she envisions “boots on the ground” in the Caribbean nation.

  

  “Not right now,” she said, before adding “They could be at the end of the day. We wouldn’t discount that at any time.” Without elaborating, Richardson also went on to suggest that Haitian refugees fleeing violence could be housed at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay – the notorious torture prison which has held hundreds of foreign terrorism suspects without charges for years on end.

  Haiti has been gripped by a long bout of chaos since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was replaced by Prime Minister Ariel Henry – then the West’s favored successor. Also assuming the powers of the presidency, Henry took office in lieu of a popular vote, repeatedly postponing elections even after lawmakers’ terms expired last year and left the legislature crippled.

  However, with Henry failing to rein in gangs and armed groups running rampant across Port-au-Prince – some even seizing control of ports and other key infrastructure – the PM gradually lost his international backing, agreeing to resign last week under pressure from Washington and other regional states. 

  The premier will be replaced by a nine-member transition council intended to pave the way to future elections – at a yet-unspecified date – and create an “action plan for near-term security,” according to Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, who helped to broker Henry’s resignation.

  After repeated appeals to the United Nations for an international security force to help quell the violence, Henry finally struck a deal earlier this month for a Kenyan-led mission backed by other nations and largely financed by the United States. It is that initiative which Richardson suggested US troops could ultimately join.

  With Henry stepping down, however, Nairobi has signaled that the multi-national security mission would be delayed until the new council is established, leaving it unclear when – or whether – the plan will come to fruition.

  “The deal they signed… still stands, although the deployment will not happen now because definitely we will require a sitting government to also collaborate with,” Kenyan Foreign Ministry spokesman Salim Swaleh told the New York Times last week. “You don’t just deploy police to go on the Port-au-Prince streets without a sitting administration.”

  HAITI REMAINS AS THE MOTHER OF ALL FAILED STATES.

  Americans are gradually being evacuated via helicopter to the neighboring Dominican Republic as Haiti is engulfed in chaos.

  pic.twitter.com/d06y2g3Jy8

  — Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) March 22, 2024

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

  With a lengthy and often violent history of outside intervention in the country, some Haitians have objected to any foreign troop presence, fearing it may do more harm than good given disastrous experiences with UN-led missions in the past. 

  “The Haitian people have kept the bitter taste of a foreign force in charge of our situation: theft, rape, cholera, food dependence, deregulation of the economic system, without mentioning the fact that we don’t remember seeing then-gang leaders be arrested or rendered unable to do harm,” Haitian think tank Groupe de Travail sur la Securite (Security Working Group) said in a statement in 2022, soon after Henry’s first appeal for an international deployment.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 18:05

• Large US Banks Suffer Another Weekly Deposits Outflow; Stocks & Fed Reserves Completely Decoupled
  Large US Banks Suffer Another Weekly Deposits Outflow; Stocks & Fed Reserves Completely Decoupled

  With The Fed’s bank bailout facility now expired, the 12-month term loans are starting to mature and the fund dropped over $17.2BN last week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Money-market funds saw a big outflows of almost $62BN, which we wonder if related to tax-year liquidity issues, but it is a little early in the year…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  And as money-markets saw outflows, so banks saw deposit inflows… +$38.2BN (SA) and +$41.3BN (NSA) in total deposit increases…

  

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Excluding foreign deposits, domestic banks saw their second straight week of SA inflows +$23.5BN (Large Banks -$8.7BN, Small Banks +32BN), while NSA deposits saw a third straight week of inflows +50.1BN (Large banks +47.4BN, Small banks +2.7BN)

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Large Domestic US banks have seen deposit outflows for 5 of the last 6 weeks (while Small banks saw a huge deposit boost)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Overall loan volumes rose, but very modestly (Large banks +$1.9BN, Small banks +$1.8BN)

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Interestingly, there was a large jump in small bank cash relative to total assets last week (and viuce versa for large banks) which happens to coincide with the end of the BTFP facility

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Finally, US bank reserves at The Fed shrank this week as US equity market cap soared to a new record high…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Quite a decoupling.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 17:40

• Florida Bans Homeless Encampments
  Florida Bans Homeless Encampments

  Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

  On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) signed a bill into law that bans homeless encampments in the state of Florida.

  

  As reported by Just The News, House Bill 1365, formally titled the Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping Act, demands that homeless individuals be placed in temporary shelters that will be monitored by state law enforcement agencies, while also banning the use of drugs in such shelters and providing drug and alcohol treatment to occupants who need it.

  Furthermore, the law gives residents and businesses the power to sue a city or county government if it allows homeless camps to continue on public property. In the event that homeless shelters reach full capacity, the Florida Department of Children and Families will provide alternative shelters.

  “Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” said DeSantis during a press conference.

  “The legislation I signed today upholds our commitment to law and order while also ensuring homeless individuals have the resources they need to get back on their feet.”

  The bill was sponsored by State Representative Sam Garrison (R-Fla.), who said that “in Florida, we will learn from the mistakes of cities like San Francisco, Denver, Los Angeles, and more, which are paying the price for their unwillingness to act.”

  “This bill will not eliminate homelessness,” Garrison admitted.

  “But it is a start. And it states clearly that in Florida, our public spaces are worth fighting for. The status quo is not an option. In Florida we choose to act. It is simply the right thing to do.”

  The bill was passed by the State House of Representatives on March 1st, by a vote of 82 to 26, and subsequently passed the State Senate on March 5th by a vote of 27 to 12.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 17:15

• Wake-Up Call
  Wake-Up Call

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  “Those who organized the disaster will take advantage of the inevitable discontent arising from efforts to overcome it, for if there is one thing that they are skilled in, it is demagoguery.”

  – Theodore Dalrymple

  Can you feel it? The tension rising to the red-line? It runs clear through all of Western Civ. We are ruled by governments of fiends. But now, the sun rides higher in the sky. The sap is rising in the northern forests. The earth heaves. The buds swell and blush. Something is in the air. The animals are waking from their long winter sleep. The natives are restless.

  

  The two traditional political divisions, liberal and conservative died with Covid. Now there are simply the sane versus the insane. The sane have had enough of being pushed around by the insane. The insane don’t register much of what reality tries to tell them. They have a body of insane ideas to comfort and protect them from the reality’s rigors. To call that body of ideas an “ideology” is way too polite.That the insane call themselves “progressive,” is a signature of their insanity.

  Progress toward what better state of things? Toward a supremacy of fiends, sadists, degenerates, and morons seizing riches and power by every dishonest means possible outside the rule of law and common decency? It’s not even suitable to call them “communists.” They lack the necessary idealism for that.

  They don’t expect to put their shoulders to the wheel with their fellow man. They just want to grab your stuff and then kill you so they don’t have to hear any complaints.

  The insane do not believe any of the theoretical bullshit they want to force you to swallow. They don’t care about climate change. It’s just a cudgel they use to beat everyone over the head so they can steal your stuff. They don’t care about “democracy.” It’s just a line of bullshit to cover up their election-stealing. Do you suppose that sane people would keep using electronic vote-tabulating machines that were demonstrably connected to the Internet, and thus hackable, if they cared about election integrity? Of course not. They would arrange p.d.q. to junk them and use paper ballots, and only in person at polling places, with “absentee” exceptions only for people out of the country.

  The insane do not care about public health. Everything that is known about the Covid-19 vaccinations tells you that they are unsafe and don’t prevent infection or transmission of a flu-like illness that might not even be what it was officially labeled as. Our public health officials in the FDA, the CDC, and in other corners of the Department of health and Human Services, lie about everything they’re responsible for. This week, the CDC (under Director Mandy Cohen) released a 148-page study on myocarditis reactions to mRNA shots. Every word on every page of the document was redacted. The CDC printed countless copies of the report with 148 utterly blank pages, and then proffered them to the news media. How is that not insane?

  The insane do not care about the rule of law. The conduct of “Lawfare” is the subversion of the law by dishonest means. It is a species of racketeering. And that is why Lawfare rogues such Marc Elias, Norm Eisen, Andrew Weissmann, Mary McCord, Lisa Monaco, Matthew Graves, and Merrick Garland, should be charged under the federal RICO statutes for conspiring to deprive sane citizens of their rights and property in the many cases related to the 1/6/21 riot at the US Capitol.

  It is, so far, an abiding mystery of contemporary history as to how New York Attorney General Letitia James managed to get away with prosecuting a real estate case against Donald Trump that was no more than victimless business-as-usual between a borrower and his lenders. Ms. James ran for that elected office promising to “get” Mr. Trump on something, anything. That is not how the rule of law works. Under the rule of law, first you determine that there is a crime and then look for who did the crime.

  Letitia James must be insane and/or pretty stupid. The short-term gain of stealing Mr. Trump’s property under a false color-of-law and creating impediments to his election campaign, will, sooner or later, blow back at her as a matter of malicious prosecution and, plausibly, racketeering as well. (With whom did she conspire to bring this case? We shall find out.) She will eventually be disgraced publicly as her teammate Fani Willis has already been disgraced in Fulton County, Georgia. I’ll tell you something that all sane people now know but won’t talk about for fear of being crushed by the levers of Lawfare: this looks like a concerted effort by people-of-color to railroad people of non-color. If you think that is a good thing for race relations in our country, then you are insane.

  Here are a bunch of other things that are insane: Re-litigating the first amendment is insane. It means what it says, and states it plainly. The open border is insane. No credible sovereign polity would allow it. It would be opposed with force, if necessary. Turning children into transsexuals on a wholesale basis is insane, and fiendishly so. Everybody knows that it is not good for the children or for our society as a whole. But fiends got to fiend, and if you try to deprive them of being fiends then you are guilty of “hate.”

  The war in Ukraine is insane. We certainly didn’t ignite it in the service of “democracy.” Our pawn there, Mr. Zelensky, canceled the national elections last year. The war was arguably an effort by our CIA to deprive Russia of its market for natgas in Europe, and thus deprive Russia of a great deal of money, that is, of prosperity. The project failed. Russia overcame NATO’s proxy army and found other markets for its gas. Blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines only served to impoverish and weaken our NATO allies, who no longer have affordable gas to run their industries. The leaders of those allies were too insane to recognize that the Nord Stream op was an act-of-war against them. They were also busy destroying themselves, like the USA, with open borders. They will end up in a new medievalism, ruled by savages. You’d have to be insane to arrange that for yourself.

  What’s most obviously insane in our country is that the insane party is pretending to nominate the mentally unfit White House place-keeper, “Joe Biden,” for reelection. You would think that if this party wanted to retain power, they would run a candidate who, though insane, was not also visibly senile. But the rank and file of this party are too insane to see that this dodge is not working. They are pretending with all their might that this is okay, that the growing faction of the sane don’t notice.

  Sensing the growing impatience with insanity among the voters, the insane party has reached its point of terminal desperation. What will they try next? Murder? Why not? Nothing else seemed to work. They are too far gone in their insanity to understand that winter is over. We’ve entered the season of rebirth and renewal, starting with a renewed appreciation for being sane and for that indispensable ingredient that makes liberty in a free society possible: good faith. Really, the only question left is: how rough do they intend to play to prevent the return of sanity and good faith?

  *  *  *

  Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page or Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 16:25

• 'Powell Put' Sparks Surge In Stocks, Bonds, & The Dollar; Bullion & Black Gold Flat On Week
  ‘Powell Put’ Sparks Surge In Stocks, Bonds, & The Dollar; Bullion & Black Gold Flat On Week

  Positive macro, central bank love-fest, and AI catalysts… buy all the things…

  

  US Macro ‘outperformed’ expectations this week amid more pro-cyclical data points…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …which combined with a dovish tilt by Powell (which lifted 20-24 rate-cut expectation)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  …and positive AI catalysts…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Put this all together – rates, growth, and secular momentum –and it is perhaps not surprising that stocks have reached another all-time high in the US.

  Led to a solid week for all the majors with Nasdaq outperforming…

  

  The S&P 500 trades at a 2025 P/E of 20+.

  So the question may simply be: can the rates/growth/secular innovation dynamic be sustained long enough to allow corporate earnings to grow into the current market’s valuation?

  Shorts were aggressively squeezed Wednesday an Thursday…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Treasury yields ended the week lower, including the long-end (-4bps), but the short-end outperformed (-13bps)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Which left the curve (2s30s) stepper on the week….

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The dollar roared back to six week highs this week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Bitcoin ETFs saw large net outflows this week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  And that weighed on the underlying with spot bitcoin back at $64,000…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Gold ended the week around unchanged, despite a hige spike intraweek to a new record high…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Crude prices ended the week unchanged, roundtripping from the early week gains…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  And finally, this is not good news for Biden and his biddies…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Pump prices are heading up… and Biden’s approval rating down at the sane tune.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 16:20

• "We Have Reached A Bottom": Uranium Poised To Jump Again After 3 Month Correction
  “We Have Reached A Bottom”: Uranium Poised To Jump Again After 3 Month Correction

  Uranium prices may have dipped slightly over the last 4 months, but its looking like the new “top” we’ve set over the last year is going to likely act as “support” as we forge forward into what Bloomberg is calling a “nuclear future”. 

  In New York, the price of uranium futures has dipped to $88.50 per pound, a decrease from the peak seen in February, which was a 16-year high, yet remains significantly above the average price of $66.60 recorded last year.

  Jonathan Hinze, president of UxC, a nuclear industry research firm told the news outlet: “We have reached a bottom. The fundamentals are still strong, with increased demand and supply that hasn’t fully responded.”

  

  According to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Mike Kozak, there’s evidence to suggest that uranium prices have stabilized. Kozak forecasts a resurgence of fundamental buyers in the market, which is expected to propel prices upwards once more, Bloomberg wrote this week. 

  Optimistic investors are focusing on uranium’s future, driven by an increasing supply shortage and higher demand, as nations (finally pull their heads out from their a** and) seek nuclear energy solutions for climate change.

  This interest is highlighted amid supply warnings from Canada’s Cameco and Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, the leading producers responsible for half of the worldwide uranium supply. Kazatomprom forecasts a significant supply deficit escalating from 21 million pounds in 2030 to 147 million pounds by 2040.

  Geopolitical tensions, including a U.S. proposal to ban Russian uranium imports, which are essential for nuclear power and weapons, add complexity to the supply scenario, the report says. However, the potential resurgence of dormant mining operations due to rising uranium prices poses a risk of dampening the market rally, reminiscent of the recent boom-to-bust cycle in battery metals.

  “We have a number of geopolitical factors that have a really significant influence on buyer behavior, even though fundamentally nothing has changed. Buyers can use the spot to tell them the sentiment of the day, but must look at the long-term market to see that it is marching steadily up, it hasn’t taken a hiccup at all,” concluded Treva Klingbiel, president of uranium price provider TradeTech.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 03/22/2024 – 15:20

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