The surveillance state is an outcropping of the Fourth Branch of Government, which is, essentially, the unelected intelligence community in control of our government.

The surveillance state comes from the creation of the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) which is an entirely inward-looking agency. Prior to the Patriot Act, the surveillance sweep searching for terror threats focused outward, looking outside the U.S borders. The Patriot Act took the surveillance sweep a full 360 degrees and looked inside the Homeland for terror threats. Hence, DHS was created.

The office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) was also created by the Patriot Act, and was specifically created as the pivot point to combine the surveillance sweeps. The Pentagon and CIA intel agencies sweeping outside the U.S. and the DHS sweeping inside the U.S.

It was the creation of The Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) that destroyed what remained of privacy protections within the constitution (4th amendment). Americans are no longer secure in their ‘papers and effects’, nor protected by the ‘probable cause’ need for warrants. The erosion of the 4th amendment was absolutely connected to the creation of DHS; there is zero doubt about this cause and effect.

With the ODNI and DHS created, the sub-silos of the surveillance state then began. The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is one agency within the Dept of Homeland Security that was an outcome. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also gained massive tools within this new system.

The key point behind all of this context is what I refer to as the ‘Surveillance State.’ American citizens have lost all privacy protections within this new system of surveillance, that has extended far beyond even what most people fathom.

When you understand the root origin of the Surveillance State, then the discussion turns to what we have accepted within its creation, and what is the current status of American Liberty as an outcome of it.

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Many people, perhaps even I at times, debate the granular aspects of President Trump’s administrative agenda. However, there is one component of President Donald J Trump that can never be debated, he is the most consequential U.S President in the past century.

There is not a single intellectually honest person who would doubt the intent and focus of Donald Trump to protect and defend the vital interests of our nation. President Trump’s perspective on the biggest of big pictures can never be denied. He has our total support.

President Trump is directing focus toward the U.S. vital national interest in the Panama Canal with a direct and brutally honest message to the government of the nation who benefitted from the most significant engineering accomplishment in all of the Americas.

[Source]

In a set of messages from his Truth Social account, directed toward the government of Panama, President Trump is placing a strong marker to say the control of the Panama Canal will never be allowed to fall into the hands of those who do not have our best interests in mind.

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Syria is a hot mess.  There’s only one face with a genuine smile today, Turkish Leader Recep Erdogan who has been attempting to leverage support for the “rebels” in Syria for a decade.  Through the years U.S. policy in Syria essentially armed and supported various factions of al-Qaeda, al-Nusra, and eventually Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), whose leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is essentially the Defacto head of the rebels who now control it.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.  The various elements of Islamic rebellion fall under the political umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood; however, they have yet to show an ability to effectively govern in any region or state without extreme authoritarian rule.  Odds are high that Syria will tilt in that direction and eventually fall upon the only governing mechanism they understand, Sharia Law.

Joe Biden hails the efforts of the Syrian Rebels as a victory; however, these are the same rebels we armed and then fought repeatedly -in various iterations- as an outcome of U.S policy under the Obama/Biden administration. Lessons never learned from Benghazi, Syria is a hot mess.

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(Via Fox News) – Islamist leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who led a lightning offensive through Syria, has a long history of extremism despite a recent appeal to moderate policies.

[…]  Golani would cut ties with al Qaeda in 2016 and lead a merger between HTS and other Islamist groups in northwest Syria in 2017, bringing him control of territory that had fallen out of government hands during the country’s long civil war.

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This is stunning, yet in a way not unexpected all things considered.

We previously outlined how Make Romania Great Again candidate Călin Georgescu came out of nowhere and won the first round in the presidential election. {GO DEEP}

The U.S. and EU heads went bananas at the surprise upset.

Georgescu is a nationalist, and his ideological outlook is the exact opposite of what the EU/U.S want to see. As a consequence, appeals were made to Brussels to intervene and simultaneously inside Romania the election results were reviewed by the court.

Last Monday the Romanian courts validated the first-round results, affirming their legitimacy.  However, on Friday with information provided by CIA and various intelligence services, just two days before the second round of voting, the same court annulled the election results, threw out the votes, and now say another election must take place.

The EU intelligence services apparently said social media platforms like TikTok were to blame for Georgescu’s surge in popularity.  His voters violated customs and norms of regular media that are used to control political outcomes in Romania, and therefore the election result cannot be allowed to stand.  The people in Romania are stunned at the intervention, and no political party agrees with it.

ROMANIA – […] The Constitutional Court in its published decision cited the illegal use of digital technologies including artificial intelligence, as well as the use of “undeclared sources of funding.” It said one candidate received “preferential treatment on social media platforms, which resulted in the distortion of voters’ expressed will.”

Georgescu slammed the verdict as putting “democracy is under attack.”

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According to Reuters, “Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs early on Sunday after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents marched on the capital, Damascus.”

Responding to the situation on the ground, President Elect Donald Trump says we should stay out of it.

[Source]

Meanwhile a joint statement was released from officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Russia after an emergency meeting in Doha.

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I have been waiting for someone to outline what the Dept of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is all about.  Unfortunately, perhaps due to the history of the matter, it appears few understand. So, with that in mind, and accepting the operators of DOGE may not have a fulsome comprehension of the dynamic, here is what it means.

The last Federal Budget that passed through “regular order” was for Fiscal Year 2008, signed by President George W Bush in September of 2007.  Every budget since has been outside regular order; a series of continuing resolutions, omnibus spending packages and short-term funding mechanisms.  {CITATION}

That is correct.  In the past 17 years, all federal spending has been ‘short-term’ or ‘stop-gap’ spending measures, generally known as “Continuing Resolutions,” where the govt (House and Senate) continue to perpetually resolve to fund the government.  The CRs as they are known, punt the spending debate by accepting a baseline of prior spending and tweaking around the edges.

The key takeaway to begin thinking about DOGE is to understand that REGULAR ORDER has not been used since Fiscal Year 2008.

Title III of the Congressional Budget Act outlines a legal timeline that each President and Congress must follow {SEE HERE}.  Prior to 2007, Continuing Resolutions were only used to resolve short term arguments about spending priorities.

♦ BACKGROUND – The President is required by law to submit his budget by the first Monday in February.  Yes, even when an election takes place and a President doesn’t assume office until January 20th, the first Monday in February is still the legal requirement for the new White House budget proposal.

The Presidents’ budget is then submitted to The House of Representatives, where two weeks later the Congressional Budget Office, reviews the budget and issues an opinion as to the cost of the budget.   No later than six weeks after the President submits his budget all House committees send the House Appropriations Committee their spending proposals [April 15].

Through May and June, each budgetary appropriations bill from the House is sent to the Senate.  The Senate receives the House appropriations bills, then reviews through the Senate Appropriations Committee (Thune just picked Susan Collins as Chair).  The Senate proposes their spending priorities based on the House bill because the House has constitutional authority to originate all spending [June 15].  The House and Senate budgets are “reconciled” using parliamentary procedures [June 30] and then sent to the President for signature.

The fiscal year begins October 1st.

That’s the regular order process.

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First things first, Tucker Carlson deserves enormous credit for gaining reentry into Russia during a time when Russia has essentially locked down their entry visa process. This was not a simple task, and Tucker’s motives for doing so are accepted without immediate reservation. As the only other American I know who has navigated this dynamic, congratulations Tucker.

There have been no diplomatic channels used by the U.S. government toward Russia for over two years. Literally, all talks between government officials and emissaries have been severed for the past two years. As I have said before, this is a very dangerous dynamic.

That said, this conversation does not take place without the intent of Russia, specifically President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from wanting this conversation to take place. Without any doubt this is a public message, a direct and intentional communication, intended to reach a U.S. audience much deeper than the average American viewer. Perhaps an audience of one. Again, great job.  WATCH:

Chapters:
0:00 Is the US at War With Russia?
12:56 Russia’s Message to the West Through Hypersonic Weapons
17:47 Is There Conversation Happening Between Russia and the US?

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The U.S. State Department has decided to punish the country of Georgia for refusing to become a replacement for Ukraine, and for voting to remain free from U.S/EU influence.  Georgia says, fine – they prefer Donald Trump anyway!

The State Dept has terminated a strategic partnership with the nation of Georgia, choosing to end the relationship now that a new nationalist government has pulled back from joining the European Union.  Additionally, U.S Ambassador David Zalkaliani has resigned his post in the country and will return to the USA.

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, David Zalkaliani, stands with interventionist Lindsey Graham 

Despite the official diplomatic withdrawals, as the western funded riots on the streets of Tbilisi continue, it would appear that Samantha Power (USAID) and the CIA are still conducting opposition operations within the country. ‘All your elections are belong to us.’

EUROPE – The United States suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia on Saturday, condemning the country’s decision to pause its efforts toward accession to the European Union amid unprecedented protests against the move.

“The decision by Georgian Dream to suspend Georgia’s EU accession process goes against the promise to the Georgian people enshrined in their constitution to pursue full integration into the European Union and NATO,” the State Department wrote in a statement. “By suspending Georgia’s EU accession process, Georgian Dream has rejected the opportunity for closer ties with Europe and made Georgia more vulnerable to the Kremlin.”

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The picture of the seating assignments speaks so loudly you don’t need to hear a word they are saying.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sandwiched between Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick and the man who holds the hammer for Canada’s economic future, President-Elect Donald J Trump.

Also pictured to President Trump’s left is his pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and his wife Julia Nesheiwat, the sister of Surgeon General nominee Janette Nesheiwat. Also included in the photo is President Trump’s interior secretary pick, Doug Burgum.  Suffice to say, the economic half of the Trump Doctrine purposefully in place.

Corporate media are focusing on President Trump’s prior statements about imposing tariffs on Canada as the narrative to go with the hastily assembled visit by Justin from Canada….

ABC – […] The meeting came after Trump threatened sweeping 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada until both countries stop what he claims is a flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States.

Trudeau told reporters earlier this week after he and Trump spoke on the phone following the tariff threat that they had a “good call.” He added that he looks forward to “lots of great conversations” with Trump. (more)

According to narrative media, stenographers for the status quo, the focus is on President Trump potentially seeking an early renegotiation of the USMCA trade agreement which is scheduled for a revisit in 2026.

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Other than Trump winning the election, this is the best news all year. Mexico is threatening to retaliate against Trump’s border security tariffs, with some form of economic punishment. Pinch me, this is too awesome.

Keep in mind that around 35% of Mexico’s GDP is contingent upon exports to the USA, meanwhile only around 1% of our stuff exports to them. Then add in the remittances of dollars to Mexico, and more than 50% of the Mexican economy is contingent upon us just being friendly to their needs.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has no clue or comprehension about the scale of Trump’s leverage over her. This is like a spoiled teenager threatening to cut up the credit card dad gave her if she can’t go to the concert. Beyond funny.

WASHINGTON DC – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government would retaliate if President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with his threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on the country, warning of severe economic consequences for companies operating in both countries.

Sheinbaum unveiled the letter during her daily press conference in Mexico City, which responded to Trump’s plan to slap 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada in an effort to crack down on the flow of migrants and illegal drugs into the United States. Trump also pledged an additional 10 percent tariff on China.

“For every tariff, there will be a response in kind,” Sheinbaum wrote in a letter sent to Trump. The text was released by the Mexican Embassy Tuesday morning, which said the economic fallout of a trade war would harm shared enterprises, particularly automotive companies that operate in both countries.

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