As previously noted, the 118th Congress is expected to authorize a “Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.”   The subcommittee will fall under the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee led by Chairman Jim Jordan.   Additionally, Thomas Massie (R-KY) is being reported as a representative under consideration for the chairmanship the House subcommittee.

In order to avoid another complete waste of time; and considering the background of the current political dynamic which will surround this subcommittee; and considering my accurate predictions for all other special committees and House investigations; and considering that I have ZERO optimism that this committee will generate anything any different than the prior investigative sub and select-committees that preceded it (Fast and Furious, IRS Targeting, Benghazi, etc.); and with full understanding of the complexity of the daunting challenge such an undertaking would require; I have been asked to outline an actual roadmap for success in this noble endeavor.

So, I will….  Even if I believe it is futile.

Let me also say up front that many readers will not like this approach, and most professionally Republican along with media in/around Washington DC will absolutely hate the ideas as they are presented.

Assuming Jim Jordan and Thomas Massie have some grasp of the scale and scope of the opposition they are about to face; and assuming they have a fully prepared staff to support them – willing to take on the most consequential investigation in our lifetimes; then we begin by first defining who will oppose any effort to investigate the “weaponization of government“.   Which is to say everyone!

The entire apparatus of the DC political system will do everything in their power, individually and with collective assistance, to ensure this committee fails.  The stakes are basically for all the marbles.  DC politics is a system of compartmentalized silos. A collection of weaponized institutions that view their common enemy as the American people not within them.

Specifically, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and every Republican member therein, including SSCI Vice-Chairman Marco Rubio, will make it their priority mission to block any investigation that touches on how the intelligence apparatus of the United States government is weaponized against the people.   The SSCI facilitated the creation of the National Security State, and any effort to investigate the outcome will make the House investigators mortal enemies to the Senate.

(more…)

While everyone was focused on the House Speaker battle this week, a few interesting stories were overwhelmed and deserve to be revisited.

Matt Taibbi released Twitter File drop #12 (IC Infiltration) and Twitter File Drop #13 (FBI Specifics) using information from his access to the internal documents of the social media platform.   Additionally, columnist Lee Smith wrote an excellent and extensive outline showing the arc of the FBI involvement in social media, as specifically centered around former FBI Legal Counsel James Baker.

[Lee Smith Article Here]

In the Taibbi release (Twitter File #12) he outlines how Senate Select Committee Vice-Chair Mark Warner was instrumental in framing a media narrative that boxed in Twitter, forcing them to allow the intelligence apparatus through the front door.

Within the Russiagate and intelligence state storyline, the one person who has not been given enough scrutiny is Senate Mark Warner.  In fact, Warner was elevated to his position inside the SSCI in January of 2017 specifically as an outcome of the 2016 election.  Senator Warner replaced Senator Dianne Feinstein with the specific mission to coverup the committee involvement in 2016 election operations.

(more…)

Given the nature of our current political dynamic, some may find this interesting; I did.

Because it is rather lengthy, I have prompted the video to begin at a certain place pertinent to our current conversation.  Just hit play and then exit when you find yourself no longer interested; but try to stick with it at least through to the Senator Mark Warner and Adam Waldman stuff.  WATCH: 

https://youtu.be/FSX7ESKLdTM?t=2735

.

(more…)

Part of the successful negotiations amid the 21 congressional holdouts to the McCarthy speakership, was a pledge to create a subcommittee styled after the Frank Church committee.  The purpose of the subcommittee would be to investigate the intelligence apparatus of the U.S. government and the conflicting intersections created by the unconstitutional surveillance state.

It appears from a review of the 6-page framework [See Proposal HERE], the subcommittee will fall under the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee which will likely be chaired by Jim Jordan (R-OH).  The framework of the committee as it is surfacing would be structured to have investigative authorities into U.S. intelligence operations, Homeland Security, FBI and DOJ-NSD activity.  Thomas Massie will likely be a member of the committee and appeared with Tucker Carlson to discuss. {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

Readers here are very familiar with how the intelligence and national security interests have risen to control almost every institution of government.  CTH has deeply outlined how these intelligence departments and homeland security systems have enmeshed to control the executive, legislative and judicial branch of government.

What this committee appears to be motivated toward, and what Massie is outlining in that interview, is the process of going into each of the purposefully created information silos (CIA, DHS, ODNI, FBI, DOJ-NSD etc), reviewing their operational missions, extracting the evidence of their activity and then cross-referencing with unconstitutional outcomes.

The subcommittee has a noble goal; however, the success or lack thereof will ultimately come down to the personnel choices on and in the committee itself.  Additionally, and this is a major hurdle, the subcommittee is going to run head-first into the Senate Intelligence Committee obstruction and disinformation system.

The operational mission of the current Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), is entirely to stop any government action that might impede, investigate or attempt to remove the Fourth Branch of Government the Senate has created.   The SSCI, the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Dept of Homeland Security will target this House Subcommittee, the members, the staffers and their families, with extreme prejudice.

(more…)

California Representative Kevin McCarthy finally succeeded on the 15th ballot during the overnight hours of Friday to Saturday. Mr McCarthy ultimately prevailed with 216 votes after six conservatives switched their votes to present. This lowered the threshold for a majority vote and essentially reversed their prior opposition. Their change followed 14 other holdout Republicans who flipped their votes to McCarthy during the 12th ballot and Andy Harris (R-Md.), switching to McCarthy on the 13th.

After Speaker Kevin McCarthy was sworn into office, he delivered a speech to the entire House.

.

(more…)

Republican Representative Mike Rogers (House Armed Services Committee Chair) was furious when Kevin McCarthy came up one vote short in his effort to become Speaker of the House on ballot #14.

While McCarthy tried to convince Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to change his vote, Mike Rogers came into the picture to fight and had to be physically restrained.  The event was captured on C-SPAN camera.   Video at 01:20 Prompted:

.

(more…)

The House is scheduled to begin the effort for the installation of California Representative Kevin McCarthy at 10:00pm ET.   It is unknown whether the 14th ballot effort will succeed or exactly how many representatives are still in DC for the activity.   The livestream is below:

UPDATE:

• Round 14 fails for McCarthy by one vote.  232 votes cast. McCarthy got 216 – one vote short of majority.
• Representative Mike Rogers (AL) tried to fight Matt Gaetz and had to be restrained. (LINK)
• GOP tried to adjourn.  Voice vote failed and failed counting of yeas and nays.  House cannot adjourn.
• Republicans now go for round #15

.

(more…)

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the December jobs report today [DATA HERE] showing 223,000 jobs gained in December ’22.

Most of the job growth was in the “leisure and hospitality” sector (+67,000), healthcare (+55,000), construction (+28,000) and social assistance (+20,000).  Additionally, average hourly earnings rose by 0.3%, with a year-over-year measure of wage growth at 4.6%.

At this point in the history of our economic pretending game, we are well aware the employment numbers are heavily manipulated in order to support the government policymaking that is destroying the same workforce they claim to represent.   It’s all a ruse, just look around your community and you will see what I am talking about.

The financial pundits, Wall Street, government policy makers and various individuals and economic gaslighters are concerned that worker wage growth could drive inflation.  This is one of the most aggravating aspects to reviewing the majority of economic punditry. [Example:]

This knuckleheaded narrative engineer from the New York Times/Atlantic even has the audacity to say, “let prices continue to fall to target,” as if there is a single item at any price that is dropping.  His spin is a good example of gaslighting just from the use of the statement “price inflation is falling back towards where we want it.”

Price inflation is not price.  ‘Price inflation’ is the rate of increase.  There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between “inflation falling back” and prices dropping. Inflation falling back is merely a lessening of the rate of price increase.  The price does not drop, and never will.

This reality is why it is infuriating to see government policymakers and pundits decry wage growth as a bad thing that might cause inflation.

(more…)

Our dear friend Sharon always reminds us, “Those whose motives are based on deception, will always find an audience willing to be deceived.”  That, my friends, is the current status of the Republican party watchers and one of the primary reasons this little corner of the internet, The Last Refuge, was formed.

We accept things as they are, not as we would wish them to be and never as we would pretend them to be.   Pretending is an endless quest akin to convincing. Those who operate in the world of political pretense expend an exhaustive amount of energy in constant vigilance against those who speak plain truths.

The House of Representatives has adjourned until 10pm tonight, when another vote will be taken, as outlined by the design of the Kevin McCarthy supporters.

Why adjourn?  Why return at 10:00pm on a Friday evening?  Simply, because the McCarthy team is counting on several House members (mostly Democrats) not being in attendance for the quorum, facilitating a lower threshold of the vote to achieve a majority.

435/434 members present = 218 votes needed
433/432 members present = 217 votes needed
431/430 members present = 216 votes needed
429/428 members present = 215 votes needed
etc.

(more…)

The twelfth ballot round ended up with Kevin McCarthy receiving 214 votes of support, fourteen more than previous ballot rounds.  McCarthy needs 218 votes to succeed (if all members are present).

The following group of 14 Republicans changed their vote to support Kevin McCarthy on the 12th ballot:

Rep. Dan Bishop (N.C.), Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen (Okla.), Rep. Michael Cloud (Texas), Rep. Andrew Clyde (Ga.), Rep. Byron Donalds (Fla.), Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.),Rep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna (FL), Rep. Mary Miller (Ill.), Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), Rep.-elect Andy Ogles (Tenn.), Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Rep.-elect Keith Self (Texas), and Rep. Victoria Spartz (IN) all voted to support Kevin McCarthy.

The Holdouts are:

Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep.-elect Eli Crane (Ariz.), Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Rep. Bob Good (Va.), Rep. Andy Harris (Md.) and Rep. Matt Rosendale (Mont.)

aka “The Magnificent Seven”

(more…)