Friends, in the late summer and fall of 2021 CTH warned of massive waves of price increases that would push inflation to record highs.  We watched as each wave arrived almost on schedule throughout 2022, and as a direct result of Joe Biden energy and economic policy, prices necessarily skyrocketed.

In essence in 2021 we were warning about the expenditure side of the ledger that all working-class and fixed income families would experience.  We advised to take every proactive measure possible to avoid future price increases.

Now, unfortunately, we begin moving those same warnings to the other side of the ledger; because as a natural consequence of consumer checkbook pain, the financial pressure always transfers to the income and employment side of the economic dynamic.

Keep in mind, retail sales are calculated in dollars spent by consumers.   November 2022 retail sales as reported by the commerce department today [DATA pdf], reflect a 0.6% decrease in spending vs October.  November data includes Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the traditional early holiday shopping.  0.6% less dollars were spent, despite prices being double digits higher than the prior year.

When the prices you are charging for goods and/or services are 10, 20, even as high as 60 percent more than prior year, yet your sales are running flat to negative – that means consumer purchases of those goods/services are substantially lower.

If you were selling 100 widgets for $1 each in 2021, you gross $100.   If your widgets now sell for $1.25 and you gross $94 in 2022 sales, you have sold 75 widgets.

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This afternoon President Donald Trump released a video outlining a campaign platform position around free speech. {Direct Rumble Link}

Referencing the latest revelations about various political groups, campaigns and government agencies instructing social media platforms on the removal of content, President Trump notes his position would be to dismantle the government systems that facilitate the censorship.   President Trump notes he would sign an executive order banning any federal agency from censoring or limiting the free speech of American citizens.

Additionally, President Trump noted he would ban federal money from being used to label domestic speech as misinformation or disinformation, along with firing any bureaucrat who has previously engaged in the domestic censorship, directly or indirectly, including within all agencies of the DHS, FBI or DOJ who have targeted the free speech rights of Americans.  WATCH:

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Among other initiatives, President Trump called for the federal government to break ties with any nonprofits and academic programs that are aimed at tacking mis- and disinformation.

“If any U.S. university is discovered to have engaged in censorship activities or election interferences in the past, such as flagging social media content for removal of blacklisting, those universities should lose federal research dollars and federal student loan support for a period of five years, and maybe more,” he said.

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Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake appeared on Fox News with Tucker Carlson to explain some of the details surrounding her election day lawsuit {Direct Rumble Link Here}. 

As Mrs. Lake notes there were widespread issues throughout the state and multiple irregularities in Maricopa, County specifically.   Approximately 60% of the voting equipment was not working on election day and Mrs. Lake believes an intentional effort to create crisis was behind the lack of preparation.  WATCH:

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I do not recall when a post-election lawsuit has ever succeeded in overturning a certified election result.   If Mrs. Lake is successful in her legal battle, I’m afraid the victory would be pyrrhic. The court may agree the lawsuit provides evidence that the 2022 election was demonstrably fraudulent, yet the certified results still stand.

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Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to Paris France for a three-day visit December 12-14.  As reported by Le Monde, “Members of the Ukrainian government will also come, including Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and several ministers in charge of reconstruction, including Yulia Svyrydenko (economy), Oleksandr Kubrakov (infrastructure) and German Galushchenko (energy).”

However, social media has erupted today after a “reliable store clerk” working on the ritzy Avenue Montaigne, has reported that Olena Zelenska went on a Christmas shopping spree spending €40,000 euros in an hour. (citation) Previously President Zelenskyy’s wife was received by French first lady Bridget Macron.

If the reporting is accurate, the spending spree comes at a bad time optically, as Mrs. Zelenska’s husband Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is simultaneously asking the European Union to provide more financial support for the embattled country.

Additionally, the Biden administration is trying to push congress to pass another $38 billion spending package for Ukraine to bring the total spent well over $100 billion.

Mrs. Zelenskyy Christmas shopping in glitzy Paris stores and dropping €40,000 while her husband bangs his tin cup isn’t exactly a good look.

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House Democrats have returned to their old ‘deem as passed’ playbook to provide a vehicle for the Senate to construct another stopgap omnibus spending bill despite the legally required non-origination from the House.

WASHINGTON DC – The House is expected to pass a stopgap spending bill Wednesday night that would give negotiators an extra week to finish a $1.7 trillion year-end spending package, setting up an all-out legislative sprint before lawmakers leave for the holidays. (more)

Texas Representative Chip Roy explains exactly what the House is doing.  WATCH:

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Yup, it’s Deja vu all over again.

Did you know the last regular order congressional budget was passed in September of 2007 for fiscal year 2008.  That’s it.  Every single year from 2008 to now has been a series of baseline budgeting, continuous resolutions and omnibus spending bills.

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The political branding and campaign team behind Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have structured a “Win with Ron 2024” strategy constructed around the politicization of the COVID-19 vaccine.  Yesterday, the team launched the effort through the governor’s office [Details Here].

The polarizing federal vaccine and mask mandates continue to create an opportunity for exploitation by political interests.  The WWR ’24 team see the opportunity within the republican base for Ron DeSantis to create a 2024 lane by presenting himself in alignment with medical autonomy in a similar vein that a candidate might create with strong support for the second amendment.

To accomplish this brand strategy, the people around DeSantis need to pretend the Florida Governor did not advocate for lockdowns and vaccines in 2020 and 2021; even going so far as to threaten the liquor licenses for non-compliant bars and restaurants.  Through a series of continuous and carefully organized drumbeats surrounding the later held position on medical freedom and autonomy, the WWR24 team attempt to rewrite history in advance of his 2024 GOP nomination announcement.

The branding and image strategy for Ron DeSantis has been carefully mapped since early 2022 and includes the coy game of pretending to be above the national political fray while simultaneously dropping into national political issues at carefully constructed moments.

COVID-19 has been poll-tested amid the base of the republican party and positions have been established based on surveyed responses.  That’s the background for a rollout that took place yesterday in Florida complete with the creation of a Florida Public Health Integrity Committee.  The Florida governor grabs headlines by asking for a state grand jury to “hold the federal government and Big Pharma accountable.”

The ‘medical freedom‘ rollout yesterday included a simultaneously timed 2024 election primary poll showing DeSantis with the highest favorability rating.

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The logic within the research outline is silly.  Unvaccinated people have a 72% higher rate of severe vehicle accidents than vaccinated drivers according to the study.

Could it be the difference between rural vs metropolitan populations; one drives frequently, for longer durations and distances, while the other does not?

Apparently, that type of commonsense possibility did not make it into the analysis.  However, the authors of the study do suggest insurance companies should start considering insurance risk hikes based on vaccination status.

(Via Yahoo) – If you passed on getting the COVID vaccine, you might be a lot more likely to get into a car crash.

Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine. During the summer of 2021, Canadian researchers examined the encrypted government-held records of more than 11 million adults, 16% of whom hadn’t received the COVID vaccine.

They found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was transported to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated. That’s similar to the increased risk of car crashes for people with sleep apnea, though only about half that of people who abuse alcohol, researchers found.

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Mike Lindell appears with Steve Bannon to talk about his progress so far contacting RNC members who will vote for the next chairmanship position in January. {Direct Rumble Link} Currently, Ronna McDaniel, Harmeet Dhillon and Mike Lindell are the top three candidates seeking to take control of the RNC chair position.

Ronna McDaniel is the current chair akin to Mitch McConnell (Tim Scott ’24), Harmeet Dhillon represents party interests in alignment with Kevin McCarthy (Ron DeSantis ’24), and Mike Lindell is the outsider voice in the MAGA lane.   WATCH:

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President Trump has announced on Truth Social that he will be making an announcement about something tomorrow.  Perhaps President Trump is planning an endorsement for the RNC chair in this race.

Given the nature of the 2024 contest as it is being carried out by the schemes, plans and strategies of the background participants, I would love to see President Trump endorse Mr. Lindell and force the RNC into a position that would create a bigger potential for a second party to break through.

Let the club reject Lindell, sooner or later the Republican party needs to be fractured.  Continuing to work on reforming a party that connives for its own interest and hates the voting base is not sustainable.

The DNC wants power. The RNC wants money. The DNC uses money to get power. The RNC uses power to get money. The ideology of the DNC drives their donor activity. The donor activity of the RNC drives their ideology. This is the only current difference between the two clubs, two wings of the same vulture.

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As we have often discussed on these pages, inflation would ultimately moderate and plateau not because prices were dropping but rather because of the calendar cycle.

As the economy cycles through a year of large price increases, the current inflation rate cycles through to the period when prices first increased.  This calendar cycle means continued price increases are lower as a percentage and thus the inflation rate appears to modify despite prices continuing to rise. [BLS Report]

This scenario, prices remaining high and continuing to climb – yet lower as a percentage, now provides the justification for the federal reserve to state inflation is moderating.

(Via NBC) – Amid signs that price growth in the U.S. economy is rapidly cooling, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it was slowing the pace of its rate-hiking program designed to tackle inflation — but that more hikes were still on the table.

The Federal Open Market Committee said it was increasing its key federal funds rate by 0.5%, after announcing four-straight 0.75% hikes at its most recent meetings. In its Wednesday statement, the Fed said it continues to target an inflation rate of 2% over the long term and would continue to increase the federal funds rate to do so.

“Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the committee said.

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The profound thoughts of great consequence can only flow from the consequential minds of the most profound.

Once again Kamala Harris delivers an oration that leaves the audience speechless in conclusion. “The ability To See What Can Be, Unburdened By What Has Been” 40 seconds, WATCH:

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