The medical community has continued to say the Omicron variant, to the extent there is such a thing, is akin to a traditional head cold.  Symptoms include sniffling, sneezing, coughing and a stuffy head.  However, that said, the Omicron is also being used as a justification for shutting down human activity.

One way to look at the motives of Omicron as a tool to control behavior, is a method to stop travel, work, transportation services and other economic activity that involves the use of gasoline.  In essence, Omicron becomes a tool to target the demand side of higher gas prices.  If the proles would just stay home and lock down, then demand for energy would slow, and the citizens would not notice the negative effects of energy policy.

Enter Joe Biden today, to tell everyone the Omicron variant will fill up the hospitals with the unvaccinated and unboosted during a time when the winter cold and flu season generally does the same.  The White House fear mongering is in direct proportion to the drop in White House approval ratings. WATCH:

BIDEN – […] “Omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would’ve otherwise done and as is happening in Europe. But it’s here now, and it’s spreading, and it’s going to increase.  For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm.” (read more)

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First things first… If the governor responsible for organizing the state response to a massive crisis is still incapable of controlling his emotions, and cries in front of the media five days after the damage, I guarantee you he/she is a Democrat.  I don’t mean to be brutal or insensitive about it, but the emotional inability of effeminate Democrat Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is embarrassing to watch.   Cowboy the f**k up, and get on with the job.

That said, it is obvious the White House political communications team are not planning to let a crisis go to waste.  The opportunity provided by the devastating tornadoes that tore through Kentucky, is an opportunity for Biden to rebrand himself and attempt to get his collapsed polling numbers to reverse.

That’s the reason for the heavily engineered presser yesterday, and that’s the reason for the federal response.  On the positive side, the flood of help is good for Kentucky; however, cynically that benefit is mostly possible because the Biden White House is desperate and needs positive PR.

Traditionally, when there’s a FEMA-level crisis in a red state or region, and Democrats are in the White House, the federal response is weak.  It’s just how they roll.  However, fortunately for Kentucky, this time the crisis coincides with the White House occupant desperately needing to rehabilitate his image. And it’s a Democrat governor holding office over a Red state, so the White House producers, script writers and narrative directors have massive latitude.

It was smart of Ron Klain to send Jill Biden to Wisconsin on the same day he sent Joe to Kentucky.  After a few words from Klain to coordinate with the CNN crew, Kate Bennett delivered the conflated article brilliantly for the Google search engines.   It now looks like the faux-President visited Wisconsin [ SEE FOR YOURSELF, read it carefully ]. Obviously he didn’t, but when you know the intent is to manipulate and give the illusion that he did, well, the way Kate Bennett constructed the outline is brilliant.

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Folks, this story is not from The Onion or any version of sarcastic media.  This is very real.

To meet the compliance standards of the Paris Climate Accords and the subsequent treaty that all EU nations agreed to, they must reduce carbon emissions in freight and transit systems.  They have spent thousands of hours pouring over possible solutions and will begin the test phase next month.

Bloomberg News – At the start of next year, the Ville de Bordeaux, a 154-meter-long ship that moves aircraft components for Airbus SE, will unfurl a 500 square meter kite on journeys across the Atlantic Ocean. It will undergo six months of trials and tests before full deployment.

While the industry has come up with multiple decarbonization initiatives, it is struggling to keep pace with goals set out under the Paris Agreement on climate. There’s also pressure on shipping lines from large customers who are pressing to make their own supply chains less polluting. (read more)

Yes my friends, the extremely well educated scientists, physicists, climatologists, sustainability engineers and cross functional decarbonization problem solvers for the planetary saving climate justice agenda, have invented…. wait for it….

….Sailboats!

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West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin appears to be done with the badgering and pressure over the Build Back Better legislation.

Politico reports the discussions between Senator Manchin and the White House are at a stalemate, with the White House saying “things are going poorly.”  Meanwhile, the New York Post is reporting that Manchin finally exploded on communist stenographers who have been continually hounding him for the past two months.

Senator Joe Manchin on Wednesday angrily shouted at reporters to go away — telling one, “You are bulls–t!” and “I’m done!” after he was peppered with questions about his reluctance to support President Biden’s mammoth social spending bill.

“I’m not negotiating with any of you, OK?” the West Virginia Democrat said as reporters followed him around Capitol Hill. 

Eventually Manchin added, raising his voice: “You guys, let me go. This is bulls–t. You are bulls–t! OK? I’m done! I’m done! God Almighty.” (link)

The communist guerillas never relent, they just modify their attack angles to keep pushing forward.

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To me, this is just jaw-dropping.  The Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell made statements today akin to saying the emperor is wearing a beautiful coat.  I can share examples, but to really encapsulate the issues, it’s actually easier to start by sharing a chart he presented when discussing inflation.

Do you notice anything missing in this chart?   Look at it carefully.

If you look at it and say: “hey, where’s the actual 2021 data he is talking about“, give yourself a cookie.

The guy is talking about the issue of 2021 inflation and expressing his empathy that inflation is running “far ahead” of the federal reserve projections.  Yet, the graphic Powell uses doesn’t even show the 2021 rate of inflation that he is expressing his concern about.

Why wouldn’t the graphic show the rate of inflation for 2021?   Well, take one look at what the graph would look like, and you realize immediately why he would not want to put it in front of people.

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Apparently living amid a city that is fraught with crime is comfortable for a lot of people in San Francisco, at least according to one of the most leftist Mayors in the nation.  You know things are bad when the Mayor of San Francisco, who ran on a platform to remove cops from the streets, starts shouting about the “bull**it that has destroyed the city”, and proclaiming that rampant lawlessness needs to stop.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed delivered a statement yesterday that is the exact opposition of her social program message from the past few years.  Apparently, the rise in random gangs of looters destroying the city and organized retail theft has become problematic for the politicians who hold power over the city.

Quite a remarkable shift in position, however, the transparency of motive is clear.  Breed’s faux anger and conveniently new frustration over the crime surge in the city were on full display at her noon news conference where she changed the rules of the safari park.   WATCH:

Democrats are worried about how their anti-police position has brought the criminal chickens home to roost.  Politically, Democrats -writ large- are trying to distance themselves from the crime their policies have created.  National polls show voters are correctly attributing the rise in crime to Democrats.  Thus, they need to change direction quickly.

SAN FRANCISCO – After months of viral videos showing deteriorating conditions on the streets of San Francisco, including smash-and-grab robberies and open-air drug use, the city’s mayor has moved to implement a new public safety approach to curb criminal behavior. Her move could signal a recognition by the Democratic establishment that crime may prove a potent issue in upcoming elections.

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The Commerce Department November retail sales data was release today [DATA HERE] – [DETAIL pdf HERE].  The top line issue is a shocking drop in retail sales for November in key categories that align with previous discussion of inflation spending priorities for all U.S. consumers.

Before getting to the data, one point is critical to remember.  The commerce department sales figures are based on dollars spent. This point is important, because the items being purchased have inflation within them.  When prices are higher due to inflation, sales figures should be higher due to higher prices.  Ex. If there is an 8% increase in retail price, but only a 4% increase in retail sales, that means less stuff is being sold.  [Less units sold at a higher price gives the illusion of an increase in sales.]

Despite the start of the traditional holiday sales and shopping period, the total sales growth in November was 0.3% over October [Column A].  Factoring in inflation during the same month to month comparison at 0.9%, you can tell that overall in November there was a drop in units sold across the total of retail sales outlets.

A drop in sales at a time when holiday shopping should be taking place is concerning.  However, the sales reality aligns with the employment data last week showing a drop of 20,000 workers in the retail sector for November.  Put them together, and the picture shows retailers did not need employees, because consumers are not spending.

If we look deeper into the November sales figures, we can see that a contraction in discretionary spending is the primary issue. Electronics (-4.6%), Department Stores (-5.4%) and even online sales at ZERO.  We can also see a direct correlation in comparative inflation impact within the sales data for November 2021 when compared to November 2020 [Column B].

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The first words that crossed my mind were “SERIOUSLY?!”   Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, is married to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s legal counsel at the DOJ?….  What the…

The same Jake Sullivan who was one of Hillary Clinton’s foot soldiers, a foreign policy advisor pushing the fraudulent Trump-Russia conspiracy theory, is now Joe Biden’s national security advisor.  That was always sketchy by itself.  However, to discover that Sullivan’s wife, Margaret Goodlander, is the legal counsel to Attorney General Merrick Garland, opens up an entire world of conflict issues.

As noted by Chuck Ross, Attorney General Merrick Garland is being advised by Jake Sullivan’s wife and overseeing the John Durham criminal probe, which is looking into the role of Jake Sullivan in the construct of the fabricated Trump-Russia conspiracy, the use of the FBI as a political tool, and Sullivan’s lies in testimony to congress.

(Washington Free Beacon) – A top adviser to Attorney General Merrick Garland is facing calls to recuse herself from the Justice Department’s investigation of the Trump-Russia probe, which has looked into the actions of her husband, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. (read more)

The intemperate Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney is on a hate-filled kamikaze mission to attack the base of the political party she abhors. {Direct Rumble Link Here}

Previously, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski set the low bar for contempt against the Tea Party movement, however, this week Liz Cheney says ‘hold my beer’ and goes all in against the MAGA base.  Ugly is as ugly does – inside and outside.

(WaPo) – Rep. Liz Cheney’s disclosures of intriguing Jan. 6 text messages between Mark Meadows and both Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News personalities are the big news in the committee’s investigation right now. But don’t lose sight of what Cheney said immediately after she read those texts aloud.” (more)

Deep State alum Ms. Liz Cheney is desperately trying to use her position on the ridiculous January 6th committee to gain position inside the DC system.  As a person with no redeeming qualities, the DC swamp is about the only place where her unlikable lawfare skills still have some marketing viability.

As the Washington Post notes, Cheney is desperate to attach some element of criminal lawbreaking to President Trump.   Cheney was pointing to a specific criminal statute — a felony, 18 U.S. Code § 1512 — that she suggests President Donald Trump violated.

Cheney’s comment matches the language of the statute. It states, “Whoever corruptly … obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.” That law defines an “official proceeding” as including “a proceeding before the Congress.”

Is there a more self-centered, arrogant, smug and narcissistic member of the current Republican Party?  I cannot think of one.

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Reuters is reporting on an interesting dynamic within the vaccine mandate as it pertains to Amtrak.  Reading between the lines tells us something very specific about this vaccine mandate that we have discussed here, and it’s starting to show.

The article itself points to how Amtrak is suspending their vaccine mandate as a result of the federal courts blocking enforcement of any mandate pending litigation.  From their perspective as a federal contractor, Amtrak is now in a position to cease the vaccine requirement until the legal issues are resolved.  However, there’s an element touched upon that needs to be considered.

First the article (the emphasis is mine):

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) – U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Tuesday it will temporarily suspend a vaccine mandate for employees and now no longer expects to be forced to cut some service in January. In a memo seen by Reuters, Amtrak Chief Executive Bill Flynn said the railroad would allow employees who were not vaccinated to get tested.

Currently, fewer than 500 active Amtrak employees are not in compliance. Last week, the railroad told Congress it anticipated “proactively needing to temporarily reduce some train frequencies across our network” because of the mandate.

Flynn said 95.7% of Amtrak’s 17,000 employees are either fully vaccinated or have an accommodation — and including employees with one dose 97.3% of employees are in compliance.

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