The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the Fourth Quarter GDP (Q4) data today [DATA HERE], and the White House will likely spin a victory message.  However, the real economic picture is covered by the continued storm of inflation.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the economy, minus the dollar value of goods and services we import.  The percentages discussed are percentages of change over time.

The fourth quarter result was an increase of 6.9 percent over the prior quarter.

The total U.S. economy is now estimated around $23 trillion annually. [Tables pdf Here]

What the GDP doesn’t show is the diminished purchasing value of the dollar and/or the actual rate of inflation which towers over the valuation.  With goods and services costing much more, the estimated value of those goods and services (the amount of money spent on them) increases.

Because we are in a severe inflationary cycle, the resulting evaluations of the economy are skewed.  The BEA attempts to remove the inflationary impact of their evaluations, but they do so by using a 5.5% inflationary rate, which is a much lower inflation estimate than actually exists.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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A massive convoy of truckers is headed toward Ottawa, Canada, to protest the vaccination regulations of the Trudeau administration against Truckers and all Canadian citizens. The scale of the Freedom Convoy has now garnered the attention of the ruling class, and it looks like a predictable conflict is looming.

Supporters of the trucker protest have raised over $1.8 million using a GoFundMe Effort to cover the expenses, fuel and lost income of the drivers.  However, do not be surprised if the Canadian government does not use law enforcement to try and stop their arrival.  The regime will not want to face pressure of the scale that is being assembled through a grass-roots movement.

Recent video shows how many truckers have joined the convoy that now stretches for miles.  WATCH:

There are concerns within the industry that political ramifications might reflect badly.  The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), a seemingly leftist organization within the trucking industry, is now taking a position against the convoy’s intent to confront the government.

The CTA is trying to get the truckers to abandon their effort and released a public statement telling them the vaccine mandate is permanent, irreversible and the Trudeau government will not cede an inch, so stop and go home.

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Neil Oliver notices the subtle tidal shift that seems to be happening as more and more people are realizing the unscientific government COVID regulations having very detrimental consequences.

Perhaps it is the open proclamations of the medical establishment to chase a seemingly never-ending series of booster shots.  Perhaps it is the malleable definition of what it means to be vaccinated.  Perhaps it is because people are seeing a greater futility in mandates; or perhaps it is because the COVID passport consequences are now being followed to their natural conclusion.

Whatever the reason, the fickle tide has changed and now many leaders are left naked to their policy.  WATCH:

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The professional political leftists are starting to rebrand themselves as having fallen victim to the “bureaucracy of COVID”, and according to those high-minded people who think very highly of themselves, we are supposed to embrace this new enlightenment from the same people who were demanding our acquiescence to their dictates.

This example of “THE AWAKENING” from an uber-progressive, Ms. Bari Weiss, on a television show, is supposed to be something I am told to appreciate.  WATCH:

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I/We are expected to appreciate the same people who demanded our acquiescence to every policy that was created by their ridiculous fear, simply because they now admit ‘oops, my bad‘?   Sorry, not happening.

For two years they shoved their intolerant fingers in our faces, destroyed lives and livelihoods, made ridiculous demands in order to sustain their own fear, threatened our children, destroyed the economy, used COVID as an excuse to destroy families and steal an election, attempted to force us to kneel at the altar of their mask wearing and never-ending vaccine crap… and we’re just supposed to what, forgive them?

Fat chance.  That sound you heard was millions of us locking the door, turning around to face them, and now the reckoning is about to begin.

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It has only just begun.

Effective today, all U.S. and Canadian cross-border truckers must show their vaccination passport in order to deliver their loads.  Approximately 15% of Canadian truckers and approximately 50% of U.S. truckers are not vaccinated.   The logistics and distribution of food supplies into and out of Canada are collapsing.

Pay attention to the scale of impact in this example.  It will only take a few days for this to go from a problem to a full-blown crisis of epic proportions.

CALGARY –  “For the product to be right there and not being able to touch it, we’ve never seen it before in the 12 years that we’ve been open,” he said. “The U.S. is full of product, and we just can’t get it up here.”

The produce warehouse in Northeast Calgary routinely received two or three trucks a day to restock their shelves. Now, when they are attempting to import 80 to 90 per cent of their stock from the U.S., they are lucky to get one truck every two or three days.

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I know most CTH readers are aware of the issue – the action and consequence side of things.  However, the current conditions in/around our nation’s capitol deserve to be emphasized in order to share with those who are not connecting the dots.

The shortage of food products, in/around the metro-DC area, is a direct consequence of that same area demanding Vaccination Passports to enter any venue providing “food away from home.”

The vaccine passport mandate blocks people from restaurants, dining, bars and other sources of food.  The process forces people into grocery stores where they are encountering shortages.

In essence, what we are seeing in the DC-Metro area is a microcosm of what previously happened nationally with shortages in food supplies and basic essentials.  The retail food delivery system in our nation is not designed or prepared to shift large numbers of people out of the “food away from home” lane and into the “food prepared at home lane.”  It really is that simple.

Even small percentages of demand shift in a very detailed and complex supply chain -already operating at maximum capacity- can have massive consequences.   One fractured gear tooth in a system of thousands of interconnected gears can bring the entire machine to a halt.

The DC outcome is an excellent example of bureaucracy and political policy being dictated by ‘elites’, out of touch leftists and governing officials, who do not have the skills to follow their policies to their natural conclusion.   This is also an example of private sector experts who are kowtowed and fearful of telling those government officials they are wrong.

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