"Don't Fear The Reaper" (opens in separate window)

this is “the” fight, and there are trillions at stake

friday, january 4th, 2019

there is a very pointed, repeatedly, toward a very specific economic and financial dynamic because President Trump is uniquely focused on Main Street’s “real economy“. Everything happening in/around the financial markets is very predictable when you focus on understanding the principles of Main Street MAGAnomics and how those basic principles diverge from Wall Street’s “paper economy”. President Trump is clawing back American wealth; inch by inch… bit by bit. This is the full monty. This is economic nationalism. This is for all the marbles.

This is it.

Time.

Everything is happening in a very predictable sequence. Few understand the MAGAnomic reset, and what was predicted to happen in the space between disconnecting a Wall Street economic engine (globalism and multinationals) and restarting a Main Street economic engine (nationalism/America-First). In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 CTH explained where we would be today. With current Wall Street events, perhaps it is worthwhile remembering the dynamic.

President Trump’s MAGAnomic trade and foreign policy agenda is jaw-dropping in scale, scope and consequence. There are multiple simultaneous aspects to each policy objective; however, many have been visible for a long time – some even before the election victory in November ’16. What is happening within the financial markets should not be a surprise.

If we get too far in the weeds the larger picture is lost. Our CTH objective is to continue pointing focus toward the larger horizon, and then at specific inflection points to dive into the topic and explain how each moment is connected to the larger strategy.

Today, as a specific result of a very predictable stock market reaction, we repost an earlier dive into how MAGAnomic policy interacts with multinational Wall Street, the stock market, the U.S. financial system and perhaps your personal financial value. Additionally, we outline the global market forces and how they are aligned. Again, reference and source material is included throughout the outline.

If you understand the basic elements behind the new dimension in American economics, you already understand how three decades of DC legislative and regulatory policy was structured to benefit Wall Street, Multinational corporate interests, and not Main Street USA.

Time is relentless.

The intentional shift in economic policy is what created distance between two entirely divergent economic engines to the detriment of the American middle-class.

REMEMBER […] there had to be a point where the value of the second economy (Wall Street) surpassed the value of the first economy (Main Street).

Investments, and the bets therein, needed to expand outside of the USA. hence, globalist investing.

However, a second more consequential aspect happened simultaneously. The politicians became more valuable to the Wall Street team than the Main Street team; and Wall Street had deeper pockets because their economy was now larger.

As a consequence Wall Street started funding political candidates and asking for legislation that benefited their multinational interests.

When Main Street was purchasing the legislative influence the outcomes were -generally speaking – beneficial to Main Street, and by direct attachment those outcomes also benefited the average American inside the real economy.

When Wall Street began purchasing the legislative influence, the outcomes therein became beneficial to Wall Street. Those benefits are detached from improving the livelihoods of main street Americans because the benefits are “global”. Global financial interests, multinational investment interests – and corporations therein – became the primary filter through which the DC legislative outcomes were considered.

There is a natural disconnect.

As an outcome of national financial policy blending commercial banking with institutional investment banking something happened on Wall Street that few understand. If we take the time to understand what happened we can understand why the Stock Market grew and what risks exist today as the financial policy is reversed to benefit Main Street.

President Trump and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin have already begun assembling and delivering a new banking system.

Instead of attempting to put Glass-Stegal regulations back into massive banking systems, the Trump administration is creating a parallel financial system of less-regulated small commercial banks, credit unions and traditional lenders who can operate to the benefit of Main Street without the burdensome regulation of the mega-banks and multinationals. This really is one of the more brilliant solutions to work around a uniquely American economic problem.

When U.S. banks were allowed to merge their investment divisions with their commercial banking operations (the removal of Glass Stegal) something changed on Wall Street.

Companies who are evaluated based on their financial results, profits and losses, remained in their traditional role as traded stocks on the U.S. Stock Market and were evaluated accordingly. However, over time investment instruments -which are secondary to actual company results- created a sub-set within Wall Street that detached from actual bottom line company results.

Time is immutable.

The resulting secondary financial market system was essentially ‘investment markets’. Both ordinary company stocks and the investment market stocks operate on the same stock exchanges. But the underlying valuation is tied to entirely different metrics.

Financial products were developed (as investment instruments) that are essentially wagers or bets on the outcomes of actual companies traded on Wall Street. Those bets/wagers form the hedge markets and are [essentially] people trading on expectations of performance. The “derivatives market” is the ‘betting system’.

Ford Motor Company (only chosen as a commonly known entity) has a stock valuation based on their actual company performance in the market of manufacturing and consumer purchasing of their product. However, there can be thousands of financial instruments wagering on the actual outcome of their performance.

There are two initial bets on these outcomes that form the basis for Hedge-fund activity. Bet ‘A’ that Ford hits a profit number, or bet ‘B’ that they don’t. There are financial instruments created to place each wager. [The wagers form the derivatives] But it doesn’t stop there.

Additionally, more financial products are created that bet on the outcomes of the A/B bets. A secondary financial product might find two sides betting on both A outcome and B outcome.

Party C bets the “A” bet is accurate, and party D bets against the A bet. Party E bets the “B” bet is accurate, and party F bets against the B. If it stopped there we would only have six total participants. But it doesn’t stop there, it goes on and on and on…

The outcome of the bets forms the basis for the tenuous investment markets. The important part to understand is that the investment funds are not necessarily attached to the original company stock, they are now attached to the outcome of bet(s). Hence an inherent disconnect is created.

Subsequently, if the actual stock doesn’t meet it’s expected P-n-L outcome (if the company actually doesn’t do well), and if the financial investment was betting against the outcome, the value of the investment actually goes up. The company performance and the investment bets on the outcome of that performance are two entirely different aspects of the stock market. [Hence two metrics.]

Understanding the disconnect between an actual company on the stock market, and the bets for and against that company stock, helps to understand what can happen when fiscal policy is geared toward the underlying company (Main Street MAGAnomics), and not toward the bets therein (Investment Class).

The U.S. stock markets’ overall value can increase with Main Street policy, and yet the investment class can simultaneously decrease in value even though the company(ies) in the stock market is/are doing better. This detachment is critical to understand because the ‘real economy’ is based on the company, the ‘paper economy’ is based on the financial investment instruments betting on the company.

Time is constant.

Trillions can be lost in investment instruments, and yet the overall stock market -as valued by company operations/profits – can increase.

Here’s the critical part – Conversely, there are now classes of companies on the U.S. stock exchange that never make a dime in profit, yet the value of the company increases.

This dynamic is possible because the financial investment bets are not connected to the bottom line profit. (Examples include Tesla Motors, Amazon and a host of internet stocks like Facebook and Twitter.) It is this investment group of companies, primarily driven by technology stocks in the “tech sector” that stands to lose the most if/when the underlying system of betting on them stops or slows.

Specifically due to most recent U.S. fiscal policy, modern multinational banks, including all of the investment products therein, are more closely attached to this investment system on Wall Street. It stands to reason they are at greater risk of financial losses overall with a shift in economic policy.

That financial and economic risk is the basic reason behind Trump and Mnuchin putting a protective, secondary and parallel, banking system in place for Main Street.

Big multinational banks can suffer big losses from their investments, and yet the Main Street economy can continue growing, and have access to capital, uninterrupted.

Bottom Line: U.S. companies who have actual connection to a growing U.S. economy can succeed; based on the advantages of the new economic environment and MAGA policy, specifically in the areas of manufacturing, trade and the ancillary benefactors.

Meanwhile U.S. investment assets (multinational investment portfolios) that are disconnected from the actual results of those benefiting U.S. companies, highly weighted toward multinational investment, and as a consequence disconnected from the U.S. economic expansion, can simultaneously drop in value even though the U.S. economy is thriving. THIS IS EXACTLY what is happening!

There are massive multinational interests inherently at risk from President Trump’s “America-First” economic and trade platform. Believe it or not, President Trump is up against an entire world economic establishment.

When we understand how trade works in the modern era we also understand why the multinational control agents within the current system are so adamantly opposed to U.S. President Trump. In essence, this is a structural economic battle that is being waged politically.

Time is unpredictable.

The biggest lie in modern economics, willingly spread and maintained by corporate media, is that a system of global markets still exists.

It doesn’t.

Every element of global economic trade is controlled and exploited by massive institutions, multinational banks and multinational corporations. Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank control trillions of dollars in economic activity.

Underneath that economic activity there are people who hold the reigns of power over the outcomes. These individuals and groups are the stakeholders in direct opposition to principles of America-First national economics; for brevity these are called ‘globalists’.

The modern financial constructs of these entities have been established over the course of the past three decades. When we understand how they manipulate the economic system of individual nations we begin to understand why they are so fundamentally opposed to President Trump and their execution of a business plan to influence U.S. politics.

In the Western World, separate from communist control perspectives (ie. China), “Global markets” are a modern myth; nothing more than a talking point meant to keep people satiated with sound bites they might find familiar.

China is the ultimate controlled economy. There are very few free market forces at play within the Chinese economy; or how that economy interacts with the global marketplace.

Simultaneously, those global markets have been destroyed over the past three decades by multinational corporations who control the products formerly contained within distinct global markets.

The same is true for “Commodities Markets”. The multinational trade and economic system, run by corporations and multinational banks, now controls the product outputs of independent nations. The free market economic system has been usurped by entities who create what is best described as ‘controlled markets’.

U.S. President Trump smartly understands what has taken place. Additionally he uses economic leverage as part of a broader national security policy; and to understand who opposes President Trump specifically because of the economic leverage he creates, it becomes important to understand the objectives of the global and financial elite who run and operate the institutions. The Big Club.

Time is Unfeeling.

Understanding how trillions of trade dollars influence geopolitical policy we begin to understand the three-decade global financial construct they seek to protect.

That is, global financial exploitation of national markets.

FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS:

•Multinational corporations purchase controlling interests in various national outputs and industries of developed industrial western nations.

•The Multinational Corporations making the purchases are underwritten by massive global financial institutions, multinational banks.

•The Multinational Banks and the Multinational Corporations then utilize lobbying interests to manipulate the internal political policy of the targeted nation state(s).

•With control over the targeted national industry or interest, the multinationals then leverage export of the national asset (exfiltration) through trade agreements structured to the benefit of lesser developed nation states – where they have previously established a proactive financial footprint.

Against the backdrop of President Trump confronting China; and against the backdrop of NAFTA renegotiated; and against the necessary need to support the key U.S. steel industry; revisiting the economic influences within the modern import/export dynamic will help conceptualize the issues at the heart of the matter.

There are a myriad of interests within each trade sector that make specific explanation very challenging; however, here’s the basic outline.

For three decades economic “globalism” has advanced, quickly. Everyone accepts this statement, yet few actually stop to ask who and what are behind this – and why?

Influential people with vested financial interests in the process have sold a narrative that global manufacturing, global sourcing, and global production was the inherent way of the future.

The same voices claimed the American economy was consigned to become a “service-driven economy.”

Time Is Immune To Our Wishes.

What was always missed in these discussions is that advocates selling this global-economy message have a vested financial and ideological interest in convincing the information consumer it is all just a natural outcome of economic progress.

It’s not.

The process is not natural at all. It is a process that is entirely controlled, promoted and utilized by large conglomerates, lobbyists, purchased politicians and massive financial corporations.

Again, I’ll try to retain the larger altitude perspective without falling into the traps of the esoteric weeds. I freely admit this is tough to explain and I may not be successful.

Multinational corporations purchase controlling interests in various national elements of developed industrial western nations.

This is perhaps the most challenging to understand. In essence, thanks specifically to the way the World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, national companies expanded their influence into multiple nations, across a myriad of industries and economic sectors (energy, agriculture, raw earth minerals, etc.). This is the basic underpinning of national companies becoming multinational corporations.

Think of these multinational corporations as global entities now powerful enough to reach into multiple nations – simultaneously- and purchase controlling interests in a single economic commodity.

A historic reference point might be the original multinational enterprise, energy via oil production. (Exxon, Mobil, BP, etc.)

However, in the modern global world, it’s not just oil; the resource and product procurement extends to virtually every possible commodity and industry. From the very visible (wheat/corn) to the obscure (small minerals, and even flowers).

•The Multinational Corporations making the purchases are underwritten by massive global financial institutions, multinational banks.

During the past several decades national companies merged. The largest lemon producer company in Brazil, merges with the largest lemon company in Mexico, merges with the largest lemon company in Argentina, merges with the largest lemon company in the U.S., etc. etc. National companies, formerly of one nation, become “continental” companies with control over an entire continent of nations.

Time Has It's Own Schedule.

…. or it could be over several continents or even the entire world market of Lemon/Widget production. These are now multinational corporations. They hold interests in specific segments (this example lemons) across a broad variety of individual nations.

National laws on Monopoly building are not the same in all nations. Most are not as structured as the U.S.A or other more developed nations (with more laws). During the acquisition phase, when encountering a highly developed nation with monopoly laws, the process of an umbrella corporation might be needed to purchase the targeted interests within a specific nation. The example of Monsanto applies here.

•The Multinational Banks and the Multinational Corporations then utilize lobbying interests to manipulate the internal political policy of the targeted nation state(s).

In underdeveloped countries the process of buying political outcome is called bribery. Within the United States we call it lobbying.

With control of the majority of actual lemons the multinational corporation now holds a different set of financial values than a local farmer or national market. This is why commodities exchanges are essentially dead. In the aggregate the mercantile exchange is no longer a free or supply-based market; it is now a controlled market exploited by mega-sized multinational corporations.

Instead of the traditional ‘supply/demand’ equation determining prices, the corporations look to see what nations can afford what prices. The supply of the controlled product is then distributed to the country according to their ability to afford the price. This is essentially the bastardized and politicized function of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This is also how the corporations controlling WTO policy maximize profits.

Back to the lemons. A corporation might hold the rights to the majority of the lemon production in Brazil, Argentina and California/Florida. The price the U.S. consumer pays for the lemons is directed by the amount of inventory (distribution) the controlling corporation allows in the U.S.

If the U.S. lemon harvest is abundant, the controlling interests will export the product to keep the U.S. consumer spending at peak or optimal price. A U.S. customer might pay $2 for a lemon, a Mexican customer might pay .50¢, and a Canadian $1.25.

Time Passes Quickly.

The bottom line issue is the national supply (in this example ‘harvest/yield’) is not driving the national price because the supply is now controlled by massive multinational corporations. Another example is China purchasing Smithfield, the largest pork producer in the United States. Domestic U.S. pork production, and inventory, is no longer driving the price of U.S. pork products because the end product is being exported.

• POTUS Trump closing the NAFTA loophole within the USMCA,

The mistake people often make is calling this a “global commodity” process. In the modern era this “global commodity” phrase is particularly nonsense.

A true global commodity is a process of individual nations harvesting/creating a similar product and bringing that product to a global market. Individual nations each independently engaged in creating a similar product.

The production efficiency, the quality and capability of each nation, to produce the product is independent and proprietary to the businesses within the nation. In the natural course of national production, not all products are therefore identical; there are variances.

Under modern globalism this process no longer takes place. It’s a complete fraud. Massive multinational corporations control the majority of production inside each nation and therefore control the global product market and price. It is a controlled system; the free-market has been usurped.

The outputs are now almost identical regardless of the producing nation. The processes used for a specific manufacturing sector output in the U.S. are now the same processes used for production in Mexico, or South Korea, or China etc. Any technological efficiency gains are quickly purchased by the multinational and distributed internationally.

[Edwards Demming was a U.S. industrial expert who went to Japan following WWII and taught them the best processes for industrial manufacturing. Japan embraced the teaching and instituted an improvement process called “Kaizen“.]

•Back to lemons – EXAMPLE: Part of the lobbying in the food industry is to advocate for the expansion of U.S. taxpayer benefits to underwrite the costs of the domestic food products they control. By lobbying DC these multinational corporations get congress and policy-makers to expand the basis of who can use EBT and SNAP benefits (state reimbursement rates).

Expanding the federal subsidy for food purchases is part of the corporate profit dynamic.

With increased taxpayer subsidies, the food price controllers can charge more domestically and export more of the product internationally. Taxes, via subsidies, go into their profit margins. The corporations then use a portion of those enhanced profits in contributions to the politicians. It’s a circle of money.

In highly developed nations this multinational corporate process requires the corporation to purchase the domestic political process (as above) with individual nations allowing the exploitation in varying degrees. As such, the corporate lobbyists pay hundreds of millions to politicians for changes in policies and regulations; one sector, one product, or one industry at a time. These are specialized lobbyists.

If Time Is infinite...

• The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)

CFIUS is an inter-agency committee authorized to review transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person (“covered transactions”), in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States.

CFIUS operates pursuant to section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 (FINSA) (section 721) and as implemented by Executive Order 11858, as amended, and regulations at 31 C.F.R. Part 800.

The CFIUS process has been the subject of significant reforms over the past several years. These include numerous improvements in internal CFIUS procedures, enactment of FINSA in July 2007, amendment of Executive Order 11858 in January 2008, revision of the CFIUS regulations in November 2008, and publication of guidance on CFIUS’s national security considerations in December 2008 (more)

•With control over the targeted national industry or interest, the multinationals then leverage export of the national asset (exfiltration) through trade agreements structured to the benefit of lesser developed nation states – where they have previously established a proactive financial footprint.

The process of charging the U.S. consumer more for a product, that under normal national market conditions would cost less, is a process called "exfiltration of wealth". This is the basic premise, the cornerstone, behind the catch-phrase ‘globalism’.

It is never discussed.

To control the market price some contracted product may even be secured and shipped with the intent to allow it to sit idle (or rot). It’s all about controlling the price and maximizing the profit equation. To gain the same $1 profit a widget multinational might have to sell 20 widgets in El-Salvador (.25¢ each), or two widgets in the U.S. ($2.50/each).

Think of the process like the historic reference of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Only in the modern era massive corporations are playing the role of OPEC and it’s not oil being controlled, thanks to the WTO it’s almost everything.

Again, this is highlighted in the example of taxpayers subsidizing the food sector (EBT, SNAP etc.), the corporations can charge U.S. consumers more. Ex. more beef is exported, red meat prices remain high at the grocery store, but subsidized U.S. consumers can better afford the high prices.

...Why Is There Never Enough Of It?

Of course, if you are not receiving food payment assistance (middle-class) you can’t eat the steaks because you can’t afford them. (Not accidentally, it’s the same scheme in the ObamaCare healthcare system)

Agriculturally, multinational corporate Monsanto says: ‘all your harvests are belong to us‘. Contract with us, or you lose because we can control the market price of your end product. Downside is that once you sign that contract, you agree to terms that are entirely created by the financial interests of the larger corporation; not your farm.

The multinational agriculture lobby is massive. We willingly feed the world as part of the system; but you as a grocery customer pay more per unit at the grocery store because domestic supply no longer determines domestic price.

Within the agriculture community the (feed-the-world) production export factor also drives the need for labor. Labor is a cost. The multinational corps have a vested interest in low labor costs. Ergo, open border policies. (ie. willingly purchased republicans not supporting border wall etc.).

This corrupt economic manipulation/exploitation applies over multiple sectors, and even in the sub-sector of an industry like steel. China/India purchases the raw material, coking coal, then sells the finished good (rolled steel) back to the global market at a discount. Or it could be rubber, or concrete, or plastic, or frozen chicken parts etc.

The ‘America First’ Trump-Trade Doctrine upsets the entire construct of this multinational export/control dynamic. Team Trump focus exclusively on bilateral trade deals, with specific trade agreements targeted toward individual nations (not national corporations).

‘America-First’ is also specific policy at a granular product level looking out for the national interests of the United States, U.S. workers, U.S. companies and U.S. consumers.

Time Passes So Quickly.

Under President Trump’s Trade positions, balanced, fair and reciprocal trade with firm regulatory control over proprietary national assets, exfiltration of U.S. national wealth is significantly stalled.

This puts many current multinational corporations, globalists who previously took a stake-hold in the U.S. economy with intention to export the wealth, in a position of holding contracted interest of an asset they can no longer exploit (exfiltrate).

For durable goods: If the corporation wants the benefit of access to the U.S. market, President Trump applies price pressure (tariffs) which changes the ‘total cost of goods‘ dynamic and leverages the company interest to produce inside the United States.

Perhaps now we understand better how and why massive multi-billion multinational corporations and Wall Street institutions are aligned against President Trump.

© 12/17/18 By sundance, "The Conservative Treehouse".

A Day In The Life.

Up at 8:30a on Friday, it was a cold, rainy, dreary 44°, so I fired-up the furnace, had a smoke while the kettle water boiled, and made coffee. That helped a lot. Love that nicotine and caffeine stuff. So why is nicotine classified as an "addictive drug", and caffeine isn't? I get cranky and mild headaches if I don't get my Turkish Grind Gourmet Coffee and Half & Half, every morning. What's the deal with that, FDA idiots? I know a couple people who get downright nasty if they don't get their ciggies and coffee, first thing in the morning. Yikes.

The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen.

I stopped at one of the local Fine Wine and Good Spirits Stores, which I'd never been to, in the local York Marketplace Mall, to p/u 15 bottles of 2014-2017 "investment wines". I used to have a 1,000 bottle wine collection, back in 1990 when I moved to PA, but selling-off thousand-plus dollar bottles (which I'd bought for $99 in the 70s), and having drank a fair portion of it, decimated The Collection. I gave the remaining bottles to Dad for his wine cellar, when I quit alcohol on 1/9/11. I'm not starting a new collection; just stockpiling some bottles for later resale.

In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing when you look at the sky at night. And there is sweetness in the laughter of all the stars, and in the memories of those you love.

Becky stopped-by, to p/u some documents related to Dad's Estate, and I made lunch for us: sliced medium-rare Filet Mignon sandwiches and Lobster Bisque Soup. The rest of the afternoon I spent loading my Office wine racks with the investment wines, paying bills online, doing some computer and file house cleaning. I had a small glass of JaM Cellars 2017 Butter Chardonnay California ($17.99), and it was the best Chardonnay I've ever had; in 5-7yrs, it'll be awesome and worthy of 10pt medals in any competition. Right now, it's beyond superb. Get some. By 11p, I was ready for sleep, closed down and went upstairs to bed.

I slept-in until 9:30a on Saturday, just as the noisy garbage trucks were coming thru the condo complex. With the heat up, I made coffee, scanned the news and weather, and got ready to leave for some errands. Traffic was extremely heavy, especially at The Galleria Mall of York, just ¾-mile from me. As usual, during the Christmas & New Year Holidays, I took the back roads around the mall, and got my errands done. UPS delivered 2 packages, Becky stopped-by with some Chinese food from Wegman's® in Lancaster, near where she gets her hair done. I watched "American Pickers" until 11p, shut down and crashed.

After sleeping-in until 9:30a on Sunday, I got the heat up, made coffee, 32° outside, and started several loads of laundry, grabbed my morning shower and weighed myself (159.8-lbs). Two UPS deliveries were scheduled for today, which I can get thru Amazon® $8-10 cheaper than Sam's Club®, or anywhere else. I don't know how they do it, and still stay in business. I listened to the "Chris Plante Show" rerun, 9a-12noon on local WSBA-910am, as only crap/dogshit was on CATV. Soon, it was 41° and I had the place opened-up, to get some fresh air.

People where you live, grow five thousand roses in one garden. Yet they don't find what they're looking for. And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose.

Ever wonder what the Top50 Conservative Websites are, for 2018? Right here.

I sauteéd the 1-lb netbag of baby potatoes, ½-lb at a time in a single layer 8" fry pan, with sliced fresh garlic, pimentos, parsley flakes, salt & pepper, to go with the Chinese food Becky'd brought over last night. They were delicious. I don't see them normally in Weis Market, but Wegman's in Lancaster had them. Once reserved for chefs at fancy-schmancy restaurants, they're now becoming widely available, as Bite-Size Potatoes. I stayed-in to do laundry, catch-up on paying bills, and watch 6 or 7 of the many NatGeoTV's "Drain The Oceans" series episodes, and the sad "Titanic: 20 Years Later" episode, dealing on the survivors' memories. I also took a trip down memory lane, and watched a 1986 "Magnum, P.I." episode, various Billy Joel, Peter Cetera & Chicago Songs By 1:30a, I was on the way upstairs to sleep.

Again, I slept-in until 9:30a on Monday, New Year's Eve Day, and just lounged around, drinking wonderful coffee, 42° outside and rainy. I did a couple of small errands, but the traffic was very heavy, so I decided to wait until Wednesday, when it would get to semi-normal and not resemble a slow-moving "parking lot". I signed-up for the Lancaster Wegmans Shoppers Club, taking me up to 413 accounts, needing usernames & passwords. I have one folder, called Note Tab Documents, and it has 413 individual NoteTab files in it, on my primary HD and external HDs, for back-up. Lots to keep track of, and they're detailed and handy. I also have a copy on one of my Cruzer Thumb Drives. The rain became almost torrential during the evening, with massive thunder and lightening, and along with all the 6-8" we've had since last week, storm drains backed-up and overflowed, streets and lawns flooded. Sucks to be living in any low-lying areas, right now. But at least it wasn't snow.

In one of those stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night. And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me. You will always be my friend... I shall not leave you.

Becky's coming here tomorrow to watch Penn State vs. Kentucky, in the Citrus Bowl, at 1p. I've also invited Stacey & Dave, but she's not feeling well, so they may not come. I'm not really a pro/college football fan, but it seems that everyone here in PA watches the crap, so I can do it for this one day. After a ham & Swiss sandwich on rye, baby potatoes and Brussel sprouts for a late lunch, I latched on to the MotorTrend Channel (former Velocity Channel), and watched their offerings until 12:15a. This one and this one were special, with the MB 300SL Gullwing (replica) rehab. The rain continued, I shut down, and went upstairs for a good night's sleep.

Sleeping-in until 10:30a, I suddenly remembered that Becky was coming by at 12:30p to watch the Penn State v Kentucky Citrus Bowl Game at 1p, and that Stacey;s husband and friend, Dave, was coming by at 12n to see my recent condo makeover and 82" Samsung Monster TV. I turned-up the heat, although it was already a balmy 46° outside, made coffee, grabbed a quick shower and left for Rutter's Convenience Store to get some Marlboros. Back just as Dave arrived, and gave him a 40min tour of the place. Becky arrived at 12:45p, with a freshly-made, huge pan of meat Lasagna, of which I promptly made one of my patented Lasagna Sandwiches®, and we watched the idiotic Citrus Bowl, Penn State v Kentucky, as PSU played like dogshit, and lost 27-24.

The First of The New Year, January 1st, 2019... does it feel any different to you? Remember the 70s series, "Kung Fu"? Here's a episode to bring back some memories. Parts 1-6: "Kung Fu: Caine vs Scalp Hunters" and Caine vs Arrogant Tong" etc etc etc. Interesting to watch, and remember back in time. And time passes so quickly.

If I am attempting to describe her, in order not to forget her. To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend.

I watch some CATV shows until 11:45p, took my Rx pills, and called it Yankee Doodle for the night at 12m. Time to sleep.

I slept-in until 9:30a on Wednesday, knowing that I only had a few minor errands to do, and I needed the extra sleep. Believe it or don't, I actually miss getting-up at 4a, to get to the Ol' Garden Center & Nursery by 5a, getting everything going and starting work on either estimates or billing, or working out in the 8 massive GHs, until the crews and staff rolled-in around 7-7:15a. Being retired sucks, and each day I think about a new business venture, AFTER I rebuild my health, if I can. I fired-up the furnace, made a carafe of drip, Turkish-grind Gourmet Coffee, grabbed a quick shower, and left to do some errands.

Traffic wasn't heavy, so getting around was easy and quick. I guess all/most of the deal-shopping morons were either back to work, or in the local copshop's drunk tank for 24-72hrs, to get sober. I finished my few stops, washed the Jeep at the local DIY Car Wash, in East york, and went home for the day. Tammie, a high-end subcontractor who did a lot of window treatments and design work, for Dad's home and condo, Becky's condo & my condo, called, and wanted to stop by and p/u the 4 director's chairs I'd offered her, months ago. My new white chairs complimented the condo rehab so nicel, so I didn't need the 70s/80s pristine condition chairs. I lugged them upstrairs form the basement storage, helped her load them in her company's van, and gave her a final tour of the place and the monster Samsung 82" TV. After she left, I pulled the Jeep into the garage (snow flurries coming), took down the Christmas wreath, and closed-up for the night.

I Breathe The Silence of Your Thoughts; Some Day, You Will Be All That You Hoped For.

I had a late dinner of reheated Chinese foiod, that Becky had dropped-off, a few days ago, listened to the 3hr podcast of the "Chris Plante Show" podcast on WMAL-105.9FM/DC, watched 2 episodes of NatGeoTV Channels's Valley Of The Boom (Netscape Browser), Pt 1 of 2 Premiere Clips on CATV, took my evening Rx pills, and quit the night at 12;30a.

Awake and up at 3:15a, I just couldn't get back to sleep. It was sleeting and lightly snowing, although it was a warm 41° outside, it all turned back to rain by 4:30a I upped the heat, made coffee and planned to lay down on the LR sofa until at least dawn, around 7:15a, and get a few ZZZZZs. Otherwise, by 2-3p, I'll be asleep for 3-4hrs. I fired-up the computer and scanned the weather and news. After a mug of coffee, I moved to the couch, killed all the lights except a few electronic candles, and went back to sleep for 4½ hrs. Felt great getting-up from that extra sleep.

I left for my Opthamalogist MD at 9a, to get new lenses for my current frames, from Optometrist in the same building, and an Rx for drops for the r/eye Cataract Surgery on Feb 14th. The l/eye surgery is Mar 14th. Before, in between and after each surgery, there are umpteen-zillion pre-op exams and post-op exams. I had stops to make at the cleaners, at Rite for Rx refills, at Fine Wine & Good Spirits to get 3 bottles of Popcorn Chardonnay 2015, to try out, and then back home. I reheated some Chinese food, and went out for a walk, until temps dropped into the low-30s. My new WD (Western Digital) 2TB USB External HD) arrived today,m and I retire one of my old units to storage in the basement, and put this much marger and faster unit into service immediately.

I watched "American Pickers" until 9p, ordered some things from Amazon, finally tired beyond any energy drink or coffee, and at 11p, shuteverything down and went to bed.

Tomorrow starts a new week here in the Journal, and so far, it's a light week, giving me time to work on projects in the basement. I have a list on my newly-refinished butcherblock desk/workbench, and need to get to it. There's also a small list of other small projectd throughout the condo, which I need to finish-up before Spring. I welcome the time off from medical stuff, and enjoy getting back to :my life".

The Fake News Media Doesn’t Even Put Up A Pretense Anymore.

All fake news, all the time. If you still do not believe that our national media establishment is 100% in the pocket of the Democrat Party and coordinates messaging with that political party on a daily basis, consider the following story.

We are now in Day 9 of a partial “government shutdown” that exists over the issue of illegal immigration. Early this week, in the midst of this “government shutdown,” a California law enforcement officer was murdered by an illegal alien who he was attempting to arrest for what would have been the illegal’s THIRD DUI crime. Yes, that’s right: thanks to California’s sanctuary laws, this illegal had already been arrested for and convicted of two DUIs, has known gang affiliation, and despite all of that had been allowed to just get out of jail and roam free on the state’s highways to put more lives in danger.

Anyway, that murder took place four days ago now, and in all that time, not one Democrat officeholder has been asked by one intrepid “journalist” to comment on the situation. Think about that: California has 53 members of the house and 2 U.S. senators, and not one of them has had to field a single question about how they can continue to support open borders and sanctuary laws when their state’s police officers and citizens are being murdered by illegal aliens.

The reason why is obvious: The media and the Democrats are coordinating on a narrative, and that narrative dictates that only Republicans must field difficult questions about illegal immigration. Any “journalist” who violates the narrative runs the risk of being dis-invited from all the best dinner parties. This is not complicated, folks.

Speaking of fake news... – two other fake news stories dominated the fake media this week, and boy, were they doozies.

First, you had the “bone spurs” story. This story, which we’ve heard many, many times before, made a comeback this week, with “new” information. That “new” information came in the form of the two daughters of the doctor who treated Donald Trump for bone spurs in 1968 claiming that her father – who is conveniently dead – told them that he faked the diagnosis on orders from Trump’s father Fred Trump, so that Donald Trump could avoid the military draft in effect at the time.

1968 is half a century ago, for those who are chronologically challenged.

So, first of all, who cares? Other than a bunch of pedantic Millenial soy boys and valley girls staffing the fake reporter desks at CNN and MSNBC, that is.

Second of all, why should we believe these two women? In all seriousness – there is literally no reason at all to believe they are anything other than liberal attention-seekers. They bring with them zero supporting evidence – no documentation, no statements from their father or any other doctor. No media outlet would have dreamed of going forward with this story were it leveled at a Democrat president, yet every media outlet in America has parroted the claim this week.

Third of all, who cares? Yes, that deserves repeating.

The next big fake story of the week came from the pathetic McClatchy News Service, which updated its claim from earlier this year that ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen had visited Prague during the 2016 campaign to hold secret meetings with Russian agents. This story has been debunked more times than the one about the moon landings being faked, but that didn’t stop McClatchy running with an update claiming that...

“A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter say.”

Those “four people with knowledge of the matter”? They are not merely anonymous sources – they are anonymous sources being quoted by other anonymous sources, as Brit Hume so ably pointed out:

Brit Hume? @brithume It turns out that the new McClatchy story on Michael Cohen in Prague is not based on intel their sources saw but what their sources’ sources said they saw. The story remains exclusive. (https://dailycaller.com/2018/12/28/michael-cohen-prague-mcclatchy/)

5,914 11:42 AM – Dec 28, 2018 Twitter Ads info and privacy

Michael Cohen Report Is Based On Third-Hand Information, Reporter Reveals McClatchy reporters did not see Cohen intelligence for themselves.

(dailycaller.com) 3,741 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy The reason why McClatchy’s story remains “exclusive” is that it is so obviously faked that none of the other fake media outlets want to touch it.

This is the sort of nonsense your OUR President has to put up with on a daily basis. It is intentional, it is relentless and it is unending.

The lowlife filth at AP clearly demonstrated their fake bian and hatred for Conservatives in the obit for Bre Payton, a conservative writer at The Federalist and frequent guest on television news outlets including Fox News Channel. AP is filth.

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