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BLS Report – January Inflation from Tariffs Non-Existent, Core Inflation Lowest Since 2021

The pundits, economists and financial media are shocked, perplexed, befuddled and flummoxed.  The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has released the January inflation data [SEE HERE] and the results are much better than they expected.

Overall inflation is 2.4% year-over-year, and there are zero indications that tariffs are having any impact on consumer prices [See Apparel].

[DATA LINK]

CORE inflation, which removes food and energy, comes in at 2.5% year-over-year, the lowest number since March 2021. This is like reliving 2018 all over again, when the pundits proclaimed with absolute certainty that Trump’s tariff approach was going to cause inflation; it never happened.

VIA ABC – Inflation cooled in January, dropping price increases to their lowest level in nine months, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. The lower-than-expected reading defied fears of a tariff-induced hike in overall costs.

Prices rose 2.4% in January compared to a year earlier, according to the Consumer Price Index.

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The Subject was Kushner – More Details Surface About Subject of Intel Gossip Underneath Ridiculous Whistleblower Claim Against DNI

It’s a strange time within the Intelligence Community. You can tell it’s all in flux when you see the New York Times giving a version of the story that is positive toward DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and the Wall Street Journal continuing with debunked/fake information still trying to get DNI Tulsi Gabbard removed.

The New York Times version appears to be the most truthful, factual and cited. It also makes the most sense.

In essence, two foreign nationals were having a phone call about Iran and discussing Jared Kushner’s role and influence in the policy of Trump toward Iran. The phone call was intercepted by a foreign intelligence agency, who then relayed their interpretation of the discussion to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

NEW YORK TIMES – […] It was a discussion last year between two foreign nationals about Iran, not an unusual topic for American spies to study. But an intercept of that communication, collected by a foreign spy service and given to the United States.

[…] Mr. Kushner’s name was redacted in the original report from the National Security Agency, but people reading it, including the whistle-blower, were able to determine that the reference was to him.

[…] The foreign nationals, they said, were commenting on Mr. Kushner’s influence with the Trump administration. At a time last year when Mr. Kushner’s role in Middle East peace talks was less public than it is now, the foreign officials were recorded saying that he was the person to speak to in order to influence the talks.

[…] The intercept also included what officials described as “gossip” or speculation about Mr. Kushner that was not supported by other intelligence.

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Nancy Mace Did Not Get Endorsement in SC Governor Race – Now Pledges to Use Epstein Politics to Gain “Scorched Earth” Position

Highlighting how the various anti-Trump factions of the Republican apparatus are using the Epstein drama to support their specific needs, Representative Nancy Mace announces yesterday she will use Epstein drama to, “go full blown scorched earth for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his friends. With no regard to our personal, or professional detriment.”

The background and political timeline hold the key to understanding the mooonbat crazy of it all.

Thursday morning South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to succeed him when he leaves office at the end of the year. {LINK} This triggered the generally unstable Nancy Mace into an explosive fit of rage, because it’s likely President Trump will also follow McMaster’s endorsement. {LINK}

By the end of the day Thursday, Nancy Mace had her strategy in place.  The LAUNCH:

[SOURCE]

See how it works?  Don’t get what you want in MAGA-era politics; simply throw out the Epstein name and become a virtue signaling member of the righteous tribe, vowing to take down the corrupt Trump system that allows Epsteinism to exist.

Approximately 80% of every narrative surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein saga is manufactured nonsense.  The politicians like Thomas Massey and Nancy Mace are working diligently inside that 80% to manufacture false stories based on innuendo, rumor, gossip and strawman arguments that collapse when scrutinized.  In short, it’s a grift!

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio Heading to Munich Security Conference Notes

U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, departs from Joint Base Andrews en route to Germany, where he will attend the Munich Security Conference.

Giving brief remarks to the traveling press pool, Secretary Rubio notes, “this conference is at a defining moment.” Further stating, “the world is changing very fast in front of us. The old world is gone, frankly; the world I grew up in, and we live in a new era in geopolitics. And it’s going to require all of us to reexamine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.”  WATCH:

Within the notes about the current geopolitical stakes of the world, Rubio alludes to his own reset and way of thinking or approaching U.S. national security issues and policies.

As new alliances form, new national viewpoints and sovereign discussions take shape, multinational globalism has ended, and a new world of strategic national alliances has risen.  The era of Bush and John McCain has ended, and with-it Marco Rubio accepts the sovereign state framework of President Trump.

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President Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Announce Reversal of Green Energy Climate Mandates

The Obama-Biden administration couldn’t get the votes needed in Congress to amend the Clean Air Act and regulate “greenhouse gases.” So, they both decided to ignore the law and create trillions in regulatory costs on the American people.

As noted by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, “The Trump Admin is proudly following the law, saving $1.3 TRILLION for the American people, lowering new car costs by over $2,400 per vehicle, and getting rid of the climate participation trophy for manufacturers to install Obama Switches that shut vehicles off at red lights and stop signs.” WATCH:

.

Media questions begin at 19:31.

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Ellison Scalp? DOJ Antitrust Head Departs, Possibly Fired

Asst Attorney General Gail Slater was the head of the Antitrust Division of the Dept of Justice.  Today she announces she has “left her role.”  CNN is reporting that AAG Slater was fired.

Gail Slater was in charge of the antitrust division and a hawk on the mergers and acquisitions of Big Tech and Big Corporate media.  As head of the DOJ Antitrust Division, Slater’s view on competition was against the interests of the major Big Tech billionaires and corporate media conglomerates who intersect with them.

Slater was in a position to influence the Warner Brothers-Discovery’s deal to sell the Warner Bros. studio and HBO to Netflix, which Paramount (David Ellison) is trying to stop.

If you have followed the influence of Larry Ellison (Oracle, TikTok) and his son David Ellison (Paramount, CBS) in/around the Trump administration as it relates to Elon Musk (a beneficiary of Ellison), then the timing of Gail Slater’s removal doesn’t look good at all.

Gail Slater came into the administration as a part of the JD Vance network (Peter Thiel, Palantir, etc.), and it looks like that same Vance network stood aside and watched Larry Ellison leverage his position to see her removed.

Slater was a solid MAGA voice in a critical Antitrust position against the interests of Big Tech and Big Corp.  However, I said on Christmas Day 2024 – we were likely to be very disappointed by the influence of Big Tech/Big Corp in the White House {SEE HERE}.

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Economy Adds 130,000 Jobs in January, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.3 Percent

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics releases the employment figures for January today [BLS DATA HERE].  Overall, in the establishment survey, 130,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.  This is much stronger than anticipated and there are indications of significant movement back to work as the exfiltration of illegal alien workers continues.

Via WSJ – “The U.S. added 130,000 jobs in January, surging past expectations and marking a strong start to the year following a weak year of job growth. The January numbers from the Labor Department were above the seasonally adjusted 48,000 jobs added in December, which were revised slightly lower. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting 55,000 jobs in January.

The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey from the jobs figures, fell to 4.3% from 4.4%.” (more)

What I find interesting in the Household ‘Employment’ Survey is the number of people going back into the workforce.  I am left to wonder if the ICE removals are starting to create employer driven incentives, increased wages etc. that seem to be pulling sidelined workers back to the labor market.

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Steve Bannon Text Messages About Trump Included in the Epstein File Release

Apparently, Steve Bannon and Jeffrey Epstein had a considerable relationship together.  Bannon is cited frequently in the 3 million+ Epstein files that were released by the DOJ.

Unfortunately, part of the document production includes text messages between Steve Bannon and an unknown individual.  Within a segment of the text messages Bannon calls Jared Kusher “the idiot son-in-law,” and frames himself as more important that President Donald Trump who Bannon sees as “transitory.”

[DOJ Source File]

STEVE BANNON (SB) – “To do that shows that [Trump] is center of gravity of this movement and not me — will never do — they are transitory figures — the dc game is to succumb to that — it’s why I never did before joining campaign — I could have been the trump whisperer years ago — avoided on purpose”

This rather elevated sense of self-importance likely explains why Bannon was the source for Michael Wolf via leaks, and why President Trump seems to have kept distance from Mr. Bannon.  However, people who walk the deep weeds of U.S. politics will also remember when Steve Bannon was the editor of Breitbart and together with financial owner Robert Mercer in 2015/2016 was backing Ted Cruz in the run-up to the 2016 election.

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DOJ Releases FBI Affidavit Underpinning Seizure and Search Warrant of Fulton County Election Records

The Dept of Justice has unsealed the FBI affidavit that outlines the probable cause for the search and seizure of Fulton County, GA, 2020 election records [pfd Affidavit Here].

The affidavit, filed by FBI Special Agent Hugh Evans, outlines witness abnormalities in the records of the 2020 presidential election conducted in Fulton County, Georgia. Including a Georgia State Election Board member observed ballot images from 2020 that were modified in January 2024.

[SOURCE]

The FBI raid targeted the county’s election warehouse, resulting in the seizure of paper ballots, voter data, election records, and other materials from the 2020 general election.

“If these deficiencies were the result of intentional action, it would be a violation of federal law regardless of whether the failure to retain records or the deprivation of a fair tabulation of a vote was outcome determinative for any particular election or race,” Evans wrote.

Agent Evans did not outline precisely when the FBI’s investigation began, nor did he describe any steps agents took in the probe before seeking to seize the Fulton ballots and other materials. He pointed to two federal statutes that were likely violated: one making it a felony to engage in voting fraud in connection with a federal election and another making it a misdemeanor to fail to preserve records related to a federal election for at least 22 months after Election Day.

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Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski Vows to Defeat the SAVE Act, Voter ID and Election Bill

It should not come as a surprise to see the Senator who lost her 2010 primary, then refused to leave congress and ran as a write in candidate; then supported changing the state voting system to a ranked choice structure; who then lost again in 2022 but ultimately won because Democrats all listed her as their second choice in the new structure; come out against anything that would lead to stronger voting requirements.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has now pledged to vote against the SAVE Act.  The SAVE Act would bar states from registering a person to vote unless they provide documents or evidence proving U.S. citizenship. It would also require all Americans to present ID when they go to vote.  The SAVE Act is supported by President Trump and strongly opposed by GOPe members of the UniParty.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first Republican senator to speak out against the SAVE Act, a sweeping election bill backed by President Donald Trump that would require proof of citizenship to vote nationwide.

In doing so, the Alaskan reminded her colleagues on Tuesday that they roundly claimed to oppose new federal election laws as recently as Joe Biden’s presidency.

“When Democrats attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Now, I’m seeing proposals such as the SAVE Act and MEGA that would effectively do just that. Once again, I do not support these efforts.” (read more)

Also, to drive home the point, don’t forget!👇

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