The Commerce Department has released the first advanced estimate of retail sales and consumer spending for June. Core retail sales increased 0.7 percent last month (very strong), and 3.8 percent year-over-year; very strong retail sales.
Retail sales is an important component to the U.S. economy as more than two-thirds of our GDP is based from retail sales. In essence, one of the unique attributes to the U.S. economy is that we buy lots of stuff. Actually, the U.S. consumer buys almost three-quarters of everything produced. We are -for the most part- self-sustaining; we do not necessarily need to depend on exports. When the U.S. consumer is buying stuff the internal economy is strong.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in June, pointing to strong consumer spending, which could help to blunt some of the drag on the economy from weak business investment.
[…] Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales edging up 0.1% in June. Compared to June last year, retail sales advanced 3.4%.

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The motives for Pelosi, Nadler and Schiff to call-up former special counsel Robert Mueller are transparently obvious.  The committees are hoping to weaponize Mueller’s appearance to attain a political edge; and that’s why committee staff have spent weeks in detailed coaching and strategy sessions with Robert Mueller and his Lawfare team members.
House Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins discusses the political collusion between Mueller, the DOJ/FBI “small group” and the House committee chairmen.
Pelosi, Nadler and Schiff have constructed the rules so there’s only one hour of open hearing, and one hour of closed-door testimony, per committee? C’mon man !! Their purpose to protect Mueller from questions about the corrupt investigation is stupidly visible.

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There’s additional value in the notation from Bill Hemmer as he shares his discussion with Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes for those with eyes and ears to accept.
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In a stunning press conference today U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi explains why she she has taken no action to curb the illegal immigration influx into the U.S.
While explaining why she will not allow congress to debate, change or modify U.S. immigration laws, Pelosi outlines how the United States is part of a global society, without borders and without any sovereign right to impede the “human society” from entering our nation.  Therefore, according to her outlook and worldview, U.S. politicians have no right to stop any migration movement.

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Keep this in mind as we approach the 2020 election.  The Speaker of the House is essentially saying, openly, publicly and without any reservation or concern, the United States of America is no longer a sovereign nation.
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The next round of Democrat primary debates are scheduled for July 30th and 31st, hosted by fake news CNN.  Narrative engineers Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper will hold DNC responsibility for elevating candidate Kamala Harris, and once again undermining Crazy Bernie; sans Donna Brazille and those “damn emails” 2019.

(Via CNN) The window to determine debate eligibility closes on July 16, and candidates will be informed the next day if they will be invited to participate in Detroit. On July 18, CNN will air a live draw to determine the specific candidate lineups for each debate night.
The campaign representatives also learned on Tuesday that candidates will be given 60 seconds to respond to a moderator-directed question, and 30 seconds for responses and rebuttals.  In addition, the campaign representatives were told:
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President Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani appears on Fox News with Laura Ingraham to discuss the 2020 democrat candidates; the upcoming appearance by Robert Mueller; the recent arrest of Jeffrey Epstein and the race-baiting of Nancy Pelosi:

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Attorney General William Barr discusses the shift in DOJ approach to support President Trump’s request to put the citizenship question on the 2020 census; also his support for Robert Mueller if the special counsel should change his mind and not testify on July 17th to the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees.

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One of the more unique aspects of having a genuine “people’s president”, are the unscripted moments when a generally invisible ordinary American is provided the opportunity to share their perspective.  Mr. Bruce Hrobak from Billy Bones Bait and Tackle of Port St. Lucie, did exactly that today in the White House.  [Watch]

[Transcript] President Trump […] And I also signed legislation authorizing $100 million to fight red tide — a big problem that some people don’t know about but, when you do know about it, that means trouble because it is bad — and other toxic algae that damages coastal areas. It’s causing tremendous havoc, and we have a way of straightening it out, and we’ll get it done.
We’re joined today by Bruce Hrobak, owner of Billy Bones Bait ‘N Tackle in Port St. Lucie — a place I know very well — Florida. His business was devastated by toxic algae from Lake Okeechobee.
Bruce, please come up and tell us about what’s happened and what we’re doing for you. Where is Bruce? (Applause.) Bruce. Hi, Bruce. Please.
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Leading from behind, democrat presidential candidate Eric Swalwell becomes the first zero percent member of the clown car to jump out of the race.  Swalwell is expected to make a formal announcement at a press conference this afternoon.
WASHINGTON – […] The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that Swalwell, who is a close ally of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, is expected to announce he will launch a reelection bid for his fifth term in the lower chamber.
Speculation swirled over the weekend that Swalwell would be putting an end to his campaign after he canceled Independence Day events in New Hampshire last week.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted June 29 to July 1 showed Swalwell polling at zero percent among Democratic primary and caucus voters. (read more)

Gordon Chang appears on Fox News with Charles Payne (filling in for Bartiromo) to discuss the downstream consequences from the G20 meeting between President Trump and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.
While he generally frames the picture accurately, lately Chang has been hit or miss.  He accurately outlines how a win/win trade deal is not possible from the perspective of Beijing and their zero-sum outlook; however, he misses on the issues around Huawei; misses the entire hostage dynamic with Kim Jong Un; and then hits again on Hong Kong.

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♦ On China President Trump appears to be working on a complete and total decoupling from the U.S. However, there are steps required in the interim that are in flux (EU and USMCA). Once those matters are resolved we will likely see the decoupling.
♦ On North Korea, just because DPRK state media spouts something doesn’t mean Kim Jong-Un has any control over it.  Beijing has majority influence over DPRK officials.
♦ On Hong Kong, after the Kim hostage rescue; and while the China decoupling is underway; we can expect Hong Kong to be a larger part of Trump’s Indo-Pacific initiative.
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One of the best testimonials to President Trump’s pragmatic perspective is his ability to rise above the ridiculous partisan political attacks and look at issues from a non-political solution-driven perspective.
In the latest example California Governor Gavin Newsom has been antagonizing the administration yet outlines how President Trump, a builder-in-chief, immediately called him and expressed his full commitment to helping California recover from two serious earthquakes that hit the state in two consecutive days. After Newsom toured some of the damaged areas he spoke to reporters at a press briefing.
Governor Newsom said he and President Trump talked about the challenges California has recently face, including two devastating wildfires just six months ago. “There’s no question we don’t agree on everything, but one area where there’s no politics, where we work extremely well together, is our response to emergencies”, Newsom said. “He’s committed in the long haul, the long run, to help support the rebuilding efforts” the governor said of President Trump.

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