CTH begins every outline of the ongoing Durham investigation with the following disclaimer:  How is John Durham going to reveal everything that is possible about the deep state Trump targeting operation, and simultaneously handle the involvement of Robert Mueller, Andrew Weissmann and the Special Counsel team who were specifically appointed to cover it up?

Thanks to a more detailed filing by John Durham last night {pdf here, h/t Techno}, we can now see the guardrails, rules and general direction the prosecution is taking.

In essence, the underlying Trump-Russia conspiracy theory material from the Clinton campaign, via Rodney Joffe to Michael Sussmann, was fabricated – likely for a dual purpose:

(A) to coverup and make excuses for the stunningly embarrassing, potentially unlawful and politically terrible April 2016 DNC email leaks, which showed the DNC Club internally working to secure the nomination for Hillary Clinton, while trying to destroy her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders.

and

(B) to create the political Russia narrative against Trump, to be deployed later in the general election.

Within the general direction Durham is following, the FBI was duped by a purposeful and manipulative intent from the Clinton campaign.  Meanwhile, the CIA [Agency-2] did not buy into the technological evidence saying it was not “technically plausible” and was “user created and not machine/tool generated.”   (more…)

Energy development companies had identified 744,000 acres of federal land which could yield significant returns for oil and gas extraction.  Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) authorized leases for 173 parcels on 144,000 acres; approximately 80% less than was identified by energy companies.  [BLM Press Release Here]

Dept of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (pictured left) shared, “today, we begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans’ resources for the benefit of all current and future generations.”

The Biden administration, together with tribal leadership are concerned about environmental justice and sustainable energy equity for a host of multigenerational shareholder elements within the limited areas under consideration.

As the press release notes, “this pragmatic approach focuses leasing on parcels near existing development and infrastructure, such as gathering lines that can help reduce venting and flaring, and will help conserve the resilience of intact public lands and functioning ecosystems.

The new leases are mostly for areas where already existing oil and gas exploration is taking place, and the Biden administration has raised the federal royalty charges from 12.5% to a new 18.75%.   In order to keep upward pressure on gasoline prices, Green New Deal national target price $7/gal, the new leases will not be available until later this year.

[Media Article Here]

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The U.S. Census Bureau {LINK} reports the March retail sales data {pdf LINK} showing a contraction in sales overall (excluding gasoline) and a massive contraction in on-line sales.  As we expected, we are seeing the continued demand side contraction for non-essential purchases.

First, when you review the data, keep in mind all of the statistics are based on dollars.  Currently the BLS calculates the rate of inflation at 8.5 percent year over year. So, when we look at retail sales figures, we must remember the items being sold cost more.  Any reported sales figures in a sector that do not exceed the inflation in that sector, indicates decline in units sold.

The top-line for March retail sales is 0.5% growth; however, the rate of inflation is 8.5%, so the amount of goods sold is substantially less than the 0.5% dollar increase would indicate.  Subtract the sales of gasoline (w/ massive price increases), and retail sales are negative (-0.3%) in March.  SEE TABLE-2

A good category to note the contraction in non-essential purchases is electronics and appliances.  Again, CORE inflation in that segment is around 6%, and yet total sales were only 3.3% higher, meaning less actual units sold.  Compared to 2021, electronics and appliance sales dropped 9.7%.

Showing how much people are pinched, gasoline prices are around 60% higher than this time last year, yet gas station sales only increased by 8.9%.  This means people are buying a lot less fuel at much higher prices.  People have shifted their transportation habits because gas costs so much.

Two more very interesting notes:

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CBS has released their latest YouGov Poll [DATA HERE], again showing the top priorities of the American people are not even on the radar of the American government.  The DC beltway disconnect is stark.

Interestingly, the recent survey of Pennsylvania voters done by Reuters, turned up this almost identical priority list, only Rusia/Ukraine did not even appear in the top five.  The economy, inflation, gas prices, crime and immigration are the top five issues across the board, in almost every poll.

Russia/Ukraine is a non-existent issue. Yet, that is the actionable priority -with questionable importance for U.S. security interests- for a totally out of touch government and media to focus on.  Sending $14 billion to help Ukraine’s border fight, while our borders are crushed with illegal aliens, is a sharp stick in the eye for every American.

Unfortunately, our opinion doesn’t matter, and frustratingly, the people using Biden as a tool to achieve their goals do not have any concern whatsoever about political fallout.  Biden is a disposable tool for a program of rapid single-term advancement of the democrat-communist agenda.

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Can anyone honestly look at this video and not recognize who is really in charge?

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Big Mike’s husband commands the room while Mr Sniffy mutters aimlessly to himself.

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GBNews pundit Neil Oliver uses his weekly monologue [Transcript Here] to ask what is this new madness that forces us to suspend disbelief in order to accept it?

Curiouser and curiouser we find ourselves muttering as those who operate the global funhouse mirrors bend the reflected narrative to give the appearance of fat made skinny, boys made girls, and contorted views of their political truth.  WATCH:

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[Transcript] – “I wonder how far all this will go. By “all this”, I mean the headlong push, always in the same direction, always away from the world I recognise. To me it seems as though a pendulum is swinging, has been swinging for years now, but always and only one way – further and further from the point where I stand. I wonder too, how far that pendulum can swing before it must stop and, inevitably swing back the other way, and with a vengeance. Every action, after all, has an equal and opposite reaction.

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As workers and middle class Americans continue to be squeezed by Joe Biden inflation, the inability of wages to cover housing costs continues to create a burden in the housing market.

Investment groups are purchasing hard asset real estate, which continues to keep upward pressure on home values. However, ordinary Americans are no longer able to afford upgrade or starter home purchases.

Potential homeowners are forced to continue renting as prices for everything including food, gasoline and energy costs skyrocket.   Scraping by is JoeBamanomics in action.

(CNBC) – In a grim sign for the housing market’s busiest season, pending home sales, which measure signed contracts on existing homes, fell 4.1% in February compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales were down 5.4% compared with February 2021. Analysts were expecting a slight gain. This is the fourth straight month of declines in pending sales, which are an indicator of future closings, one to two months out.

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White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield said it is “tragic” that Florida passed a law prohibiting young kids from being taught sex and gender theory, during the White House press briefing today. WATCH:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke about the ridiculous backlash from the far-left woke Democrats and their corporate media sycophants earlier today.

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When Joe Biden appeared before the press corps today, the intent was to clean up the mess he created in his trip to NATO this past weekend.

When Biden makes policy statements and reads from the teleprompter, Joe Biden usually doesn’t answer questions.  Today was different.  Today, it was obvious the White House communication team needed Biden to clean up his NATO statements.

The evidence for that is very clear, as someone was able to capture a picture of the talking points that were prepared for him to read.  One pre-printed response even reads, “I was not articulating a change in policy.”

(New York Post) –  President Joe Biden once again referred to a printed cheat sheet as he doubled down on his unscripted weekend claim that Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”

On Monday Biden, 79, told reporters he made “no apologies” for his remarks — made off the cuff and not part of his prepared speech in a nationally televised address from Poland Saturday — and did not view it as a provocation to Russia.

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An enterprising journalist from Bolivia [Twitter Link] mapped the countries that support the sanctions against Russia (yellow) versus the countries that are not participating in the western sanctions against Russia (grey).  The image provides a visual reference to consider our previous discussions about the cleaving of the global economy between two overarching ideologies.

[Source Credit]

In my estimation this intentional global cleaving, using the opportunity created by the Ukraine crisis, is going to be the major story of this year.  This global splitting can be looked at in multiple ways, but the overarching story is the ramifications of two global trade relationships.

The western alliance (in the yellow above), has forced the world to reevaluate the dollar as the global trade currency, by denying Russia and their trade partners the ability to use the financial mechanisms under western control. To work around the sanctions, Russia is working on new financial systems to sell oil and farm products in non-dollar currencies.  There is also a possibility the petro-dollar, for the global trade of oil, might be dropped.

Russia is part of OPEC.  While many countries develop their own resources, OPEC sells the majority of oil the rest of the world consumes as the basis for their economic engine.  One way to look at the global cleaving is to look at the way energy is viewed.

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