The motive for the FBI to say there is “scant evidence” of any coordinated group activity in the January 6th Capitol Hill events is transparent.  The FBI need to cloud their involvement, their coordination, their agents, their planted informants and the FBI direction in the events.

Reuters is writing today that current and former FBI officials have reversed course and said there is scant evidence that any right-wing or extremist group coordinated any attack on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – The FBI has found scant evidence that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was the result of an organized plot to overturn the presidential election result, according to four current and former law enforcement officials.

Though federal officials have arrested more than 570 alleged participants, the FBI at this point believes the violence was not centrally coordinated by far-right groups or prominent supporters of then-President Donald Trump, according to the sources, who have been either directly involved in or briefed regularly on the wide-ranging investigations.

“Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases,” said a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation. “Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages.”

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Facing growing backlash and ridicule from the majority of Americans; and with a massive drop in approval and polling; and with the world watching the oval office occupant hide in his bunker; the cognitively disconnected dementia patient who was installed into office will attempt to justify his current mess in Afghanistan.

Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks regarding the ongoing evacuation mission of American citizens, special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants and vulnerable Afghans out of Afghanistan, as the Taliban takes over the country following the withdrawal of U.S. troops and allies.  The effort is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm ET. Livestream Links Below

Fox News Livestream Link – State Dept. Livestream Link – Alternate Livestream Link

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Yesterday during a press briefing, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley was adamant from his podium when he proclaimed: “There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days.” WATCH (25 secs):

Unfortunately for General Milley, today reports are surfacing that 23 State Department staff at the Kabul embassy informed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken of exactly that…. Kabul will fall quickly to the Taliban:

[Via Wall Street Journal] … “The cable, sent via the State Department’s confidential dissent channel, warned of rapid territorial gains by the Taliban and the subsequent collapse of Afghan security forces, and offered recommendations on ways to mitigate the crisis and speed up an evacuation, the two people said.

[…] In all, 23 U.S. Embassy staffers, all Americans, signed the July 13 cable, the two people said. The U.S. official said there was a rush to deliver it, given circumstances on the ground in Kabul.  The cable was sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmed.

Mr. Blinken received the cable and reviewed it shortly after receipt, according to the person familiar with the exchange, who added that contingency planning was already under way when it was received, and that Mr. Blinken welcomed their feedback.” (link – paywall)

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CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky is promoting a new vaccination theory based on “controversial science” that is meeting some resistance.  The CDC is now pushing a booster shot on behalf of the major pharmaceutical companies science.

(Reuters) […] U.S. officials, citing data showing waning protection against mild and moderate illness from the Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N), and Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines more than six months after inoculation, on Wednesday said boosters will be made widely available starting on Sept. 20.

[…] Other experts said the U.S. plan requires thorough vetting by the FDA and a panel of outside advisers to the CDC. A meeting of those advisers to discuss boosters set for Aug. 24 is being rescheduled (more)

Walensky announced today the CDC is pushing vaccine booster shots for the most vulnerable population because the “science” indicates the effectiveness of the vaccine diminishes over time. According to Walensky this discovery represents an “increased risk of severe illness amid those who were vaccinated early.”  [Video @16:53]

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The message from one of the leading democrats in the House to stranded Americans in Afghanistan is: “you’re on your own.”   John Garamendi (CA) told CNN the U.S. military should not try to rescue stranded Americans outside the Kabul airport.  This rings a familiar Benghazi bell…

This is a remarkable statement considering Garamendi is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and one of the key people who supported, funded and authorized the current mess in Kabul. While his outlook is representative of the ideology of leftists, it is still quite alarming to see a leading U.S. political figure telling desperate Americans there will be no help coming.

Keep in mind the British forces are conducting search and rescue missions to extract their stranded citizens.  Quite a contrast. Watch this statement from John Garamendi:

This sounds like a massive hostage situation now….

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Political ads showcasing the ineptitude of the current White House occupant and his ideological incompetents have begun.  Joe Biden makes these ads easy, because every segment of the administration is failing miserably…. the most recent example is obviously Afghanistan.

Here is a sample of the ads. WATCH:

https://youtu.be/ZuhGtMMnmts

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Oh boy, Lara Logan appeared for an interview with Tucker Carlson [Full Article Here] and shouts a big trumpet.  In essence, Ms. Logan points out the current situation in Afghanistan is exactly the outcome those controlling the Biden administration want.   There is a benefit to someone or some group in the current outcome; because if there wasn’t, the outcome would be different.

I happen to agree with this perspective because there are so many options that could have been taken before this point in the crisis was reached. We have seen this play out before [Bathtub Principle] where a crisis is created because the crisis has a purpose.

In Libya rather than Hillary Clinton and CIA Director Leon Panetta getting busted for selling surface-to-air missiles (SAMS) to al-Qaeda (Operation Zero Footprint), the State Department and CIA -essentially brother and sister agencies- helped “the Benghazi rebels” take over the Kadaffi weapons caches.  If SAMS were then used elsewhere (Syria), well, they came from Kadaffi’s stores… see how that works?

Based on current political alignment, alliances, and the ideology behind who is in charge of specific U.S. government agencies, it can reasonably be assumed someone (insert Obama here) wants Pakistan and Iran to have advanced military technology via the stolen weapons we leave behind in Afghanistan.  Why? Because those same people already made money selling advanced military tech to Iran, and this ‘crisis’ provides cover when it shows up later in their arsenal.

https://youtu.be/GD9JRcbGx90

Now, REMEMBER that thing about “Weird Stuff” FIRST…. then keep reading.

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Yesterday we shared that U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly dropped 1.1% in July [Source], and today the commerce department is reporting that U.S. housing starts unexpectedly dropped 7% in July [Source].   Stop me when you notice a trend…

The financial pundits continue to attribute these drops to supply chain issues, COVID impacts, material constraints and various ancillary factors that have nothing to do with the underlying and overarching issues – inflation and wages.

As long as skyrocketing food and fuel prices continue to impact the middle-class, forward looking purchasing decisions will be constrained.

We are in an economic era where working class family income priorities are focused on current day survival. “Food, fuel and energy price increases are changing consumer spending habits.  Non-essential purchases have stopped….. they haven’t slowed, they have stopped. ←Emphasize this because it is not yet showing up in the data lag.”  ~SD

Building permits have been issued, but we are in that period where speculative builders have noticed the consumer plateau and they have proactively stopped the home building process before they get caught upside-down with finished goods and no buyers.

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding fell more than expected in July, the latest sign that surging construction costs and home prices continued to constrain the housing market early in the third quarter.

The number of houses authorized for construction but not yet started last month was the third highest on record, indicating builders remained hesitant to undertake new projects.

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chief’s Chairman Mark Milley held a Pentagon press briefing today about the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan. [Full Presser Here] As the Taliban has taken full control over the country and capital, the U.S. presence in Kabul has been reduced to securing the airport as a temporary fortress, and telling U.S. citizens to try and get there.

When asked about the Taliban surrounding the airport, constructing checkpoints and the inability of Americans to reach safety for evacuation, Defense Secretary Austin said the military “don’t have the capability to…extend operations.”  The follow-up question was then about the U.S. essentially having to negotiate safe-passage with the Taliban… and rather than say, “Yes, that is accurate“, the question left Secretary Austin speechless.  WATCH:

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Ooof… THAT, my friends, is exactly what FUBAR looks like!

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We must be cautious in reviewing any/all media articles about the fluid situation in Afghanistan, as both Leftist and NeoCon media are framing the crisis story to fit their preferred narrative.  All DC media reporting should be viewed through the prism of cynicism and skepticism.

CNN is reporting the State Dept. Narrative that Taliban have surrounded the Kabul airport and there is no safe way for Americans to reach the evacuation point.   However, the Pentagon is reporting that the Taliban is “not interfering in their mission” to facilitate the evacuation of Americans, and  Taliban members “are not stopping U.S. citizens with American passports” from traveling to the airport.

When we review a State Department position (DoS) on anything, it should be noted that DoS personnel are, by ideological tribe, very dramatic, tender and pearl-clutching leftists in their worldview.  State Department officials are the wokeist of the international woke community. As a consequence of their alignment and role,  CNN is almost identically predisposed to the dramatic flair.

CNN takes the DoS bulletin and proclaims that Americans are trapped outside the airport by the Taliban. There is no evidence of this claim being accurate. There’s a difference between “we cannot ensure safe passage”, and “your passage is unsafe.”  Yes, things are sketchy and unstable, but there have been no reports of safety incidents with any Americans.

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