I do not see anything on the horizon that will stop this continued dropping in existing home sales.  Financial analysts keep expected a month-over-month uptick, which would indicate the floor of the housing market has been reached.  However, that ‘uptick’ never happens, and each report shows the month-over-month number continuing negative, meaning the slope of the decline is continuing and no bottom is visible.

The gaslighting financial media keep using terms like “the pace of the decline is slowing” in an effort to continue supporting the policies that are ultimately contracting the entire economy.  The reality is behind the phrase “transitioning to the new economy,” which, by the very nature of the approach, means this is a managed decline in overall economic activity.

The temperature on Fed stove is slowly being raised, so the frogs in the economic pot don’t notice it.

(Reuters) -U.S. existing home sales dropped to the lowest level in more than 12 years in January, but the pace of decline slowed, raising cautious optimism that the housing market slump could be close to reaching a bottom.

[…] Existing home sales fell 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million units last month, the lowest level since October 2010, when the nation was grappling with the foreclosure crisis. That marked the 12th straight monthly decline in sales, the longest such stretch since 1999.

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In his opening monologue Monday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson outlined the insufferable Ukraine narrative and the geopolitical consequences that will flow from the outcome of foreign policy.

Additionally, Carlson contrasts the difference in DC priority for financially assisting Ukraine while places like East Palestine, Ohio, suffer a catastrophic toxic chemical disaster.  WATCH:

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Matt Taibbi is a smart guy, he’ll get there.  I’m not sure why my gut says to trust him, but it does – and I do. Recently he’s been getting hit by the leftists who are asking why Taibbi is not looking at the Trump administration pressure on social media to control and manipulate public information [Twitter Here].

Taibbi has been hitting back against his detractors by saying, there’s no evidence of Trump doing that; yet there is massive evidence of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) contacting Twitter to do exactly that.

This is interesting to me and CTH readers because we outlined in real time what the SSCI and HPSCI were doing in order to promote the Trump-Russia conspiracy before and after the 2016 election.

What’s fascinating about this… is that the same people who are attacking Taibbi right now, are the same people who received and promoted the propaganda from the SSCI (Burr and Warner) in addition to the HPSCI (Schiff and Swalwell).

In essence, the ancillary media attack hounds are attacking Taibbi because at the end of the research trail Taibbi is following he will find the same names of the ancillary media who are attacking him.

[SEE SHORT THREAD HERE]

In my opinion, Taibbi is on the right trail in following the SSCI and HPSCI manipulation of the social media platforms, specifically Twitter.  In addition to the SSCI creating the structure that supports the intelligence weaponization by DHS and FBI, Senate Intel Chair Richard Burr and then Senate Intel Vice-Chair Mark Warner are at the epicenter of it.

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I’m not going to re-write anything. [SEE HERE]  Instead, I’m just dropping this little video snippet into the discussion as a confirmational datapoint.

CNN journalist Alex Marquardt: “I’ve been here for the past five days. I have not heard any explosions. I have not heard any air sirens, until about half an hour ago, right when President Biden was in the center of Kyiv.“

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At this point it’s a little humorous to read the DC inside Republican narrative as they produce their DeSantis messaging.  The Hill has an article {SEE HERE} titled “GOP Impatience Grows for DeSantis to Make Move on Trump.”

However, political followers will notice the tell behind the story in the first few sentences:

(WASHINGTON DC) – Senate Republicans nervous about former President Trump’s lead in presidential primary polls are impatiently awaiting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to jump into the race.  

GOP lawmakers don’t expect DeSantis to make his move until after the Florida legislative session ends in early May, but the waiting game is playing on nerves, with some thinking DeSantis has lost political momentum since his big reelection win in November. (link)

Setting aside the reality that Ron DeSantis cannot run for office without first legally abdicating his role as governor, as required by Florida law, the “Senate Republicans” are “nervous.”  Gee, I wonder who those Senate Republicans might be.

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According to Axios, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News (Paul Ryan) and Tucker Carlson access to the 41,000 hours of CCTV footage.

Presumably Speaker McCarthy figures this approach will support his previous promise to release and “make public” the full unedited House footage.  I’m not sure I would qualify this as fulfilling the pledge.  Why is an intermediary needed?  Why not just release the footage and let people review it raw and unfiltered?

Via Axios – House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has given Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot, McCarthy sources tell me.

• • Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin digging through the trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds. Excerpts will begin airing in the coming weeks.

Why it matters: Carlson has repeatedly questioned official accounts of 1/6, downplaying the insurrection as “vandalism.”

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The theatre and pantomime of Ukraine, as orchestrated by the White House & State Dept. and summed up in the phrase “World War Reddit,” continues.  I will admit, the air raid sirens were a nice touch.

Joe Biden made a surprise trip into Kyiv, where the word “surprise” is intended to fall upon the eyes and ears of the American public, not the Ukrainian government or the Russians who were given advanced notice that Joe Biden was traveling to Kyiv to meet with President Zelenskyy.

The White House admits in their on-the-record briefing {Read Here} that Russia was informed of the trip prior to Biden’s departure from Washington DC. So, the New York Times framing of the transportation aspect, “after a trans-Atlantic flight to Poland, Mr. Biden crossed the border by train, traveling for nearly 10 hours to Kyiv, as other American officials have in recent months,” was clearly done as part of the theatre around the visit.

Additionally, as every media article about the visit includes (for additional “color” of the performance) air raid sirens were sounded as Joe Biden and President Zelenskyy stepped out into the streets.  From the screenplay as written. I suggest reading in your best Richard Attenborough dramatic voice:

“Mr. Biden arrived early Monday morning to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two stepped out into the streets of Kyiv even as an air-raid siren sounded, a dramatic moment that underscored the investment the United States has made in Ukraine’s independence.“

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This video interview segment was sent to me today along with a “wow, you were right” message.  Apparently, the interview took place a few weeks ago (it’s new to me), but the admissions within it are quite remarkable.

The CNBC discussion surrounds inflation and the federal reserve raising interest rates. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is talking about the jobs report, inflation and the intention of the federal reserve to continue raising interest rates until they achieve 2% inflation, regardless of consequence.  Kashkari doesn’t hedge on the latter issue of consequence; he affirms with absolute guarantee the fed will keep raising rates until the economy shrinks enough such that 2% inflation is achieved.  However, watch what happens when Joe Kernan takes that outlook and overlays “supply side” energy policy.  WATCH (10:22 prompted):

The issue is quite simple, really.  When additional oil, coal and natural gas development is blocked as an outcome of policy, energy prices jump massively.  We are seeing 2022/2023 price increases in electricity, home heating, fuel, gasoline, natural gas and other total energy price outcomes in the 60%+ range.

As a direct outcome of energy policy, all of the downstream products and services have massive upward supply side price pressure.  When the input prices are driving upward of 60%, the downstream prices increase accordingly.  Farming costs, fertilizer, feeding, transportation costs, food at retail and wholesale, and just about every petroleum-based product, which is almost everything, increases in price accordingly.

If supply side energy price increases are pushing +60%, and the Fed will only accept a 2% inflation output result, the only method of achieving the desired result is to shrink energy demand.  This is the goal of the current Fed monetary policy.  In this interview Kashkari admits the dynamic for the first time in public.

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Keeping up the coy and deliberately managed strategy of not running for 2024 while running for 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will embark on a multi-state promotional effort to showcase his pro law enforcement outlook.

DeSantis starts Monday in Staten Island, New York, and the managers are counting on being able to do the ’24 run for office without angering the base Republican voters who see duplicity and deception in the construct.

As George Soros said of DeSantis personality, he’s “shrewd, ruthless, and ambitious,” the perfect blend of characteristics to operate as a pliable vessel operating on behalf of his Machiavellian management team.

NEW YORK – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will visit New York City Monday for a pro-law enforcement rally at a catering hall in Staten Island – a holiday incursion into one of former President Trump’s most loyal strongholds.

The 7:30 a.m. President’s Day speech at Privé will be the governor’s first stop on a multi-city tour to showcase his pro-cop bona fides as he gears up for an expected 2024 White House campaign, insiders said.

 “On Staten Island, we are proud to support our law enforcement,” said Assemblyman Mike Tannousis, the Staten Island GOP chairman. “I’m happy that our law enforcement community will get some recognition and support.”

The city’s reddest borough is packed with Trump backers, who gave him 57% of the island’s vote in 2020 – making Monday’s foray a crucial test of DeSantis’s chances among the former president’s remaining devotees. (read more)

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With a visit by Joe Biden coming up next week, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki discusses the status of the ongoing Ukraine conflict with Russia and the expectation of this being a long NATO supported fight.

Poland is in a weird place with their internal politics.  Domestically, their population is not in alignment with the leftist, globalist approach.  However, for the past two years -especially since the Russia/Ukraine conflict began – they appear to be walking a tightrope with U.S. policy, leaning favorably to the Biden administration.

It appears Poland is like many EU countries in the leadership disconnect from the mindset of the underlying population that grants them power, with NATO representing the corrupting influence in the disconnect.  Then again, the same could be said for almost the entire western system of government, including the United States.   Interesting dynamic to watch: 

(Transcript) – MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face The Nation. President Biden heads to Poland this week, his second visit since Russia began its war in Ukraine. For more we go now to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Good morning to you.

POLISH PRIME MINISTER MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI: Good morning madam.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So President Biden will be visiting Warsaw, we know you’ve said President Zelenskyy will also be in Poland. What do you expect from these visits?

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