The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released the July inflation figures known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) [DATA HERE]. I’m not going to spend much time on the review because the big picture results are exactly what we expected, the appearance of a false inflation plateau, drop and/or moderation of inflation.

The July energy prices dropped significantly driven by a reduction in consumer demand for gasoline and fuel oil, which lowered prices.   We can expect a very similar outcome in August (report in Sept).

Most financial and economic media are reporting an “unexpected” drop in inflation, ex:

“Prices that consumers pay for a variety of goods and services rose 8.5% in July from a year ago, a slowing pace from the previous month due largely to a drop in gasoline prices. On a monthly basis, prices were flat as energy prices broadly declined 4.6% and gasoline fell 7.7%. That offset a 1.1% monthly gain in food prices and a 0.5% increase in shelter costs. {link}

Most econ people will look at the price drop sectors and accept that consumer spending on durable goods and non-essentials has become a downward price point on key categories like vehicles etc.

This is the ‘stag’ part of the ‘stagflation’ (economy), or the new lingo; the ‘dis’ part of the ‘disinflation’ (consumer spending).

For the middle-class or working class, especially those families with young children, I would shake all those data points away, clear the table and look more closely at [BLS Table-2] to see where our eyeballs should be focused.

Look closely at all food group products that originate as “ROW CROPS” and/or “GRAIN”.   Just by looking at the current rate of price increase, you can easily see that all grain and row crop outcomes are going to explode in price in around 60 to 90 days.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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There’s an interesting angle given the revelation that Judge Bruce Reinhart signed-off on the sketchy FBI search warrant for the residence of President Trump in Florida.

Judge Bruce Reinhart was the former U.S. attorney in West Palm Beach who spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor, before leaving his position in order to defend a network of employees who operated the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking operation.  First the background:

(NY Post) […] Reinhart was elevated to magistrate judge in March 2018 after 10 years in private practice. That November, the Miami Herald reported that he had represented several of Epstein’s employees — including, by Reinhart’s own admission to the outlet, Epstein’s pilots; his scheduler, Sarah Kellen; and Nadia Marcinkova, who Epstein once reportedly described as his “Yugoslavian sex slave.”

Kellen and Marcinkova were among Epstein’s lieutenants who were granted immunity as part of a controversial 2007 deal with federal prosecutors that allowed the pervert to plead guilty to state charges rather than federal crimes. Epstein wound up serving just 13 months in county jail and was granted work release.

[…] Reinhart was later named in a civil lawsuit by two of Epstein’s victims that accused him of violating Justice Department policies by switching sides in the middle of the Epstein investigation, suggesting he had spilled inside information about the probe to build favor with the notorious defendant, the Herald reported in 2018.

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Details are starting to come out about the ridiculous FBI raid on the home of Donald and Melania Trump in Mar-a-Lago.  According to information provided to Miranda Devine of the New York Post, FBI agents from Washington DC raided the home despite cooperation from Trump attorneys.

The raid was executed focused solely on presidential records and evidence of classified information being stored there. A dubious pretext considering that Trump attorneys and records administrators had previously look through 15 boxes of personal documents that were part of the Trump administration.

The FBI did not leave a copy of the search warrant and left no list of items they confiscated.  The documents were of a general nature including letters and mementos from Trump’s presidency, reportedly including letters from Barack Obama and Kim Jong Un, and other correspondence with world leaders.

(Via New York Post) FBI agents scoured Melania Trump’s wardrobe and spent several hours combing through Donald Trump’s private office, breaking open his safe and rifling through drawers when they raided the former First Family’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida Monday morning.

The Post has learned that the search warrant used by the FBI to enter the palatial Palm Beach property focused solely on presidential records and evidence of classified information being stored there.

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Nigel Farage gives a great interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room with his opinion of the FBI raid on the home of President Donald Trump.  Within the interview Mr. Farage outlines the shock that also shook the people in the U.K who see, many for the first time, that U.S. justice institutions really are politicalized.

One of the key takeaways from Europe is the realization that a Deep State really does exist in the United States of America. {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

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Tonight, the midterm elections are held in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota and Vermont.

In ¹Wisconsin a lot of people will be interested in the GOP primary race for governor.

The republican candidates include Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate Tim Michels -vs- Pence-endorsed Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch for the republican challenge to current Wisconsin governor Tony Evers.  Wisconsin has a strong establishment GOP club, and the MAGA team is at a structural disadvantage.

New York Times – Election Results Here

CNN Election Results Here

¹NOTE – As part of the club rules, Wisconsin does not have a statewide system for reporting unofficial results on Election Night, and there is not a central official website where results will be reported.  Results are transmitted from municipal clerks to Wisconsin’s 72 county clerks, who are required by law to post unofficial results to their websites. Click here for a list of all 72 county websites.

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Appearing to be medicated, today Joe Biden repeatedly refused to answer questions about his involvement in the FBI raid of President Trump’s home in Florida.

A few examples below. WATCH:

There is no way the FBI would conduct a raid on former President Donald Trump without involvement from the White House.

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The previous first quarter productivity drop of 7.4% was the largest quarterly drop in 74 years.  Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the second quarter productivity dropped another 4.6% [Data Here].

For July, companies are paying 5.7% higher wages and getting a 4.6% drop in output, resulting in a total unit labor cost increase of 10.8%.  That increase in final output cost will either result in higher prices or lower profits.

With weak consumer purchasing (low demand) already creating an inventory surplus, hence lower outputs, lower profit leads to cutbacks.  The largest company expenses are generally labor and energy costs. The more variable and controllable of those two expenses is labor.  You know what comes next.

(WSJ) – […] Rising productivity is the key to improving living standards; it allows companies to raise wages without raising prices and fueling inflation. Instead, businesses appear to be paying workers more to produce less. The higher unit labor costs suggest companies will either endure lower profits or pass on higher costs to consumers.

“The trend in productivity growth has worsened compared to prior to the pandemic, and the surge in unit labor costs makes the Fed’s challenge of getting inflation back down to its 2% target all the more challenging,” Wells Fargo economist Sarah House said in a research note.

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It’s not very often that you get to watch a DeceptiCon evolve in real time.  Usually, with history as a guide, DeceptiCon extremists hibernate in the evolutionary process for years, only leaving a minuscule trail from which to find them until they detonate like stealth terror cells.   However, Tim Scott has prematurely detonated himself.

Appearing on CBS news to kickstart his 2024 presidential ambitions, and react/respond to the FBI raid on President Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago, Senator Tim Scott advances the DeceptiCon narrative, “we need to let this play out” etc.  WATCH, prompted:

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Tim Scott will eat the bugs while funding support for the pensions and benefits in Ukraine.

We are in a time of great consequence, the greatest in several generations.  This is a political street fight to save the nation.  Those who demand we “wait for referees” while team USA gets beaten senseless are, quite frankly, worse than useless.  They are on the other side.

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