Ok, this one strategic maneuver has just pegged my too-much-winning needle on max overdrive. Donald Trump took a congratulatory phone call from the President of Taiwan, and now the Chinese will be apoplectic.
Those of you who have been with us for a while, will note our arguments against China’s MFN (Most Favored Nation) trade status have continually fallen on deaf ears within DC.  Why?  Because they are political ears paid to remain necessarily deaf, while various Chinese national interests have taken influence over our legislative priorities on trade and commerce.

In short, we’ve been ripped off.  Bigly.  For decades.
Rule #1 in any trade deal is to fully understand who is the customer within the equation.  The U.S. market is the biggest trade customer on this entire beautiful blue planet.  We hold all the leverage.  Access, or denial of access, to this market is the leverage.  (more…)

Oh My Gosh – what an amazing Trump/Pence Victory Rally in Cincinnati.  Pinch me.  All this winning is exhausting; but we’ll be ok… we can take it. Bigly.
During the event tonight President-elect Donald Trump made the officially unofficial announcement that General James Mattis will be nominated to be Secretary of Defense.

From our earlier discussion – The last retired General to run the Department of Defense was George C Marshall in 1950-1951, and he was only brought in for one very specific year. Thereafter the DoD has been headed by various business and political officials, with a smattering of institutionally academic military leaders.
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According to a report citing two transition sources, Governor Sarah Palin is being considered for the position of Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Governor Palin has been a strong supporter of Donald Trump for several years and was one of his most fierce defenders against the insufferable GOP establishment class.  She would make an exceptional cabinet member in either VA or Interior.
The bench for possible VA Secretary is extremely deep and loaded with dream team candidates, including:  Governor Sarah Palin, Senator Scott Brown and Chairman Jeff Miller (House VA Committee).   The challenge of modernizing, restructuring, removing the corruptocrats and rebuilding the VA structure to provide improved veteran benefits, including healthcare, is urgent and important.
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A very interesting and insightful interview with King Abdullah II of Jordan.  The discussion includes perspectives on the incoming Donald Trump presidency, the Syrian and Mid-East conflict and the larger issues of radical Islamic extremism.
Well worth watching, especially if you have followed the evolutionary relationship between Jordan, Egypt and Russia. If you don’t have time for the full interview watch the first 7-8 minutes:

Far away from the chaotic banter of political discourse, a small network of patriots have come together – yet few, if any, will ever elevate their mindset to notice the significance of their assembly.
Specifically, this Thanksgiving, we stand thankful for, and raise our glass toward, General James Mattis and General John Kelly.  Both have joined ranks with Admiral Mike Rogers (NSA), General Michael Flynn (Nat Sec) and Representative Mike Pompeo (CIA) to unite behind President-Elect Donald Trump and stand the gap after a long 65 year void.

The last retired General to run the Department of Defense was George C Marshall in 1950-1951, and he was only brought in for one very specific year. Thereafter the DoD has been headed by various business and political officials, with a smattering of institutionally academic military leaders.
We have previously presented the outline of black hats and white hats within the various domestic law enforcement and national security discussions. However, seemingly invisible to all but those who are paying very close attention, is the dawning of a new security era focused on civic defense and national restoration.
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Those who enjoy the deep weeds of politics, especially White Hat/Black Hat intrigue, will find this Reuters Story popcorn worthy.

The Back Story – Admiral Michael Rogers, not to be confused with former House Intel Chair Rep. Mike Rogers, is the Director of the NSA (National Security Agency) and U.S. Cyber Command.
Admiral Michael Rogers met with President-Elect Trump, somewhat quietly, last week (Thursday).

It has been reported that Admiral Rogers did not inform his “superiors” of the meeting with President-Elect Trump. President Obama is out of the country. Def Sec Ash Carter and DNI Chair James Clapper, both loyalists to President Obama, do not necessarily align with Admiral Rogers (they would also be the “superiors” per se’).
Many pixels are still needed to bring clarity to the picture. However, reasonable spidey senses indicate the libertarian sensibility side (smaller intrusion of government, less snooping and more freedom liberty etc) of President-Elect Trump (think R and R Mercer here too) is antithetical to those who made the Patriot Act a hammer instead of a scalpel.
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Would require a congressional waiver; yet, in my humble opinion, ‘Mad Dog’ would most definitely be the type a Trump transition team would consider even if needing such an avenue.  Your thoughts?…

James Mattis, retired Marines general and possible candidate for defense secretary or other national security post, now meeting with Trump.

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 19, 2016

As Mattis exited, Trump told press: "All I can say is he is the real deal." "We'll see" if role as defense sec. A "brilliant wonderful man." https://t.co/5mcsfhMixB

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 19, 2016

(New York, NY) – President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced that he intends to nominate U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as Attorney General and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has been selected to be the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions has dedicated his life to public service. He has a distinguished legal career and has served as both the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama and Alabama Attorney General prior to his service in the U.S. Senate. He has been one of President-elect Trump’s trusted advisors on the campaign and will now continue his service as our nation’s chief law enforcement officer. (more…)

Media are reporting that General Michael Flynn is being “offered” the position of National Security Adviser to President-Elect Donald Trump.   However, there should be some reasonable caution on this announcement:
Almost everyone who supports Donald Trump has also supported Michael Flynn.

HOWEVER, recently, unbeknownst –at least originally– to the to the Trump campaign, General Flynn accepted a lobbying role for the government of Turkey, specifically to advocate for Recep Erdogan and Turkish interests, and presumably never told the campaign.
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RED SEA – (CNN) The Navy destroyer USS Mason [Guided Missile Destroyer] fired countermeasures in the Red Sea on Saturday after it detected what it believed were incoming missiles.

Officials Saturday night were uncertain about what exactly happened, if there were multiple incoming missiles or if there was a malfunction with the radar detection system on the destroyer.
“We are aware of the reports and we are assessing the situation. All of our ships and crews are safe and unharmed,” one US defense official told CNN.  The USS Nitze and the USS Ponce were sailing nearby. (more…)