There is a baseline CTH readers are likely familiar with, but something we have not emphasized enough in quite some time.

The Republican National Committee (RNC), and the Democrat National Committee (DNC), are private clubs.

The RNC and DNC are corporations, private businesses; and just like all private businesses, they have the ability to make rules, bylaws, terms and conditions of membership and association that are completely arbitrary according to their charter.

The RNC and DNC are not entities of government.  The RNC and DNC are not affiliates of government.  The RNC and DNC have absolutely no connection to government, other than their arbitrary business model for helping politicians enter and remain within government.

In fact, the RNC and DNC are simply private corporations who engage in the business of politics.  Whenever we start to forget the DNC and RNC are private corporations, we can slip into the mistaken belief that they operate on any form of baseline altruism.

These corporations exist for the fulfillment of their mission; and their mission is to use the business of politics as a method of financial reward to sustain the business model.

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Emerald Robinson has a terrific outline on the RNC donor class priorities and the Machiavellian intents of Mike Pence throughout the term of Donald Trump’s presidency.

~ SEE HERE

“The Treachery of a Vice President“

Everything Robinson outlines rings true.

The pathetic Canadian Prime Minister continues to attach hate-filled labels against ordinary working class Canadians who are protesting for the removal of COVID-19 mandates and restrictions.

These Alinsky attacks against his own countrymen are genuinely creepy and uncomfortable to see.  Trudeau is continuing to melt down in a very public way.  Other than a very small circle around him, I doubt these statements are generating much support.

[Source Link]

It’s always good to review ground reports from middle class Americans.  Much like the feedback from CTH readers, there is a raw honesty you don’t find in any of the economic outlines from financial punditry.

In this Fox News Digital report, Maryland residents react to the consequences of Joe Biden’s economic and energy prices. Maryland has been shifting further to the left socially as the DC-centric commuter base has moved into the suburbs.  However, they are not happy with prices.  WATCH:

The same sentiment is reflected in a recent Gallup poll [data here] highlighting a large majority who note the direction of the country is not good.  Joe Biden policy is crushing the working class, and we can all feel it.  Middle America knows we are going in the wrong direction.

At this point in our nation’s history, certain acceptances are needed in order to accurately identify the current status of our situation.

• • The Legislative Branch (SSCI) created the Intelligence State, the Fourth Branch of superseding government.
  • The Executive Branch (FBI, DOJ, NSA) control the Fourth Branch of superseding government.
  • The Judicial Branch (FISA Court) is the facilitating approval apparatus for the Fourth Branch.

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With that empirical and well documented reality in place, all three branches of U.S. government work in unison.  Who or what can intervene to stop the Fourth Branch of government from operating unilaterally?

This is the serious question that no one ever discusses.

The FISA Court is the private, secret, unchecked judicial system authorizing the power for the Intelligence State.

As a result, we continue to see NSA reports showing the unconstitutional surveillance of the American people continuing without consequence [NSA Release Here].

This is the 5th straight year where the National Security Agency (NSA) produces a document admitting their metadata capturing system, the system that captures all electronic communication of every single American and puts it into a stored database, is continually used as a research library for unnamed federal agents to scour (without search warrants) for the private documents of American citizens.

At this point, the NSA admission without consequence is simply just another Tuesday, it literally doesn’t even make the headlines anymore.

The executive summary does, however, include the NSA introducing the latest admissions about violating the 4th amendment right of Americans, while bragging about how their diversity hiring efforts have paid off.

So, there’s that.

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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are the federal police for Canada.  As many local law enforcement communities have refused to move against their own citizens, the Canadian government is now deploying the RCMP against the Alberta trucker blockade.

The border crossing between Coutts, Alberta (CA) and Sweet Grass, Montana (USA) continues to be blocked as truckers allied against COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine passports are united.  The Alberta protests are in support of the larger trucker protest taking place in Ottawa.

Tensions are increasing as the truckers are refusing to move, but the RCMP has vowed to get rid of the blockade.  Supporters for the truckers are working through freezing temperatures to keep them supplied with food and fuel to keep the blockade in place. Even farm tractors have joined the effort.

The standoff continues as the RCMP have been reluctant to forcibly arrest the rather hardened and burly truckers.  There is also a legal defense fund established to assist the truckers against any criminal charges. [SEE HERE]

Canadian state media, aka the CBC, are trying to frame the protesting truckers as villains and violent fringe extremists.  However, after calling the essential working truckers heroes previously, the majority of the Canadian people, specifically the people in/around the Alberta province, are not buying the nonsense from the CBC as supported by the leftist government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

(Via CBC) – RCMP have approached a blockade of vehicles that has jammed traffic for days at a Canada-U.S. border crossing in Alberta after warning that those participating in the protest may be subject to arrest Tuesday afternoon.

[…] RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters confirmed to CBC News that enforcement has begun, although it is unclear what that will entail. (more)

Rebel News has journalists embedded with the trucker blockade in Alberta and has been tweeting about the standoff.

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An interesting study from Johns Hopkins University [DATA HERE] shows the 2021 government lockdown did virtually nothing to stem death from the pandemic, but likely created more adverse “social ills” and long-term negative health outcomes.

WASHINGTON – […] The lockdowns during the early phase of the pandemic in 2020 reduced COVID-19 mortality by about 0.2%, said the broad review of multiple scientific studies.

“We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality,” the researchers wrote. But the research paper said lockdowns did have “devastating effects” on the economy and contributed to numerous social ills.

“They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy,” the report said.

“Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument,” the paper concluded. (read more)

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The latest BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report [DATA HERE] reflects a headline of 4.3 million U.S. workers quitting in December.  However, that number is 161,000 fewer quits than November. The job openings are starting to fill up.

While there is evidence the mandatory vaccine requirements are still working through the job market, we are still about another month away before the fog clears from the private sector employment data.

This Friday we will see the unemployment data from December, but in the interim this JOLT’s report is tracking with CTH expectations.

The primary driver of the quits rate has been inflation.  Workers seeking higher wages in an effort to deal with inflation can get faster paycheck results by switching jobs rather than asking current employers for more money.

We have been watching this trend for several months.  However, the rate of job-jumping is slowing down as the available jobs to jump into are fewer, and the vaccine mandate impact is settling down.

Despite the number of job openings, blue collar workers are starting to see job vacancies decreasing.  The service industries around accommodation, food services and basic dirty fingernail positions still have many vacancies; this is the epicenter of where the job jumping takes place. Employment in durable goods manufacturing is at that phase where things are about to get sketchy for tradespeople and union workers.

The white collar jobs are static and/or slightly downsizing.  The total number of hires was 6.3 million for December, a drop of 333,000 from prior month.  The number of people hired in professional and business services dropped by 159,000.

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Many people were wondering who it was that preempted Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer making the announcement of his stepping down from the court.  That answer comes today.

White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, was the one who leaked the Breyer retirement, likely in an effort to change the narrative of negative stories that continue to overwhelm the Biden team.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s chief of staff leaked Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s plan to retire to “a limited group” on Wednesday, a top Democrat told reporters.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin told reporters he received a “surprise” call on Wednesday morning from White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who “said that President Biden wanted [Durbin] to know that Stephen Breyer was about to announce his retirement from the court.”

Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said Klain told him to keep the news a secret and that Breyer planned to make an official announcement on Thursday. (read more)

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Jumpin’ Ju-Ju Bones, we shall have to dust off the happy dance shoes.  The wrong thinking “fringe minority” have raised over $7.5 million [LINK] in support of their trucker Freedom Convoy.   The Canadian freedom movement is representing very well.

As the first wave of the convoy rolls into Ottawa, we start the update with the patriotic voice of fellow Canadian and friend of the Treehouse, Mark Steyn.

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Thousands of Canadians have braved brutally cold weather to stand on the side of the roads and highways for hours while cheering on the convoy and providing food, drinks and supplies for the massive logistical effort.  It really is incredible to see the contagious cheers, flags, happiness and unifying smiles erupting after years of government doom, gloom and proclamations of the pending “winter of death.”

With horns a’ blaring, the leading edge of the massive truck and support convoy has started to arrive in Ottawa.   The capital city is not known as a residential metropolitan area, but the residents who do live there appear to be happy to see the Freedom Convoy arrive.   What a sight.

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