The Politics of Pretense: The Status Quo Is the Problem, But It Can’t Be Touched

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by Charles Hugh-Smith Ultimately, all doomed ruling elites face the same problem: there isn’t enough money to fund their take and fuel the vast machinery of power. The politics of the U.S. boils down to one sustained pretense: politicians win votes by promising to fix problems that are the direct result of our bloated, corrupt, unsustainable … Read more

Risk Assets, Forced Steadily Higher for a Decade, Now Left to Fall

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via Daily Reckoning: Global governments have been forcing investors into the stock market ever since the Great Recession. In the most insulting examples, returns on the supposedly safest investments, government-backed bonds, literally offered a negative rate of nominal return in Japan, Germany, and Sweden. Not that there’s a whole lot of difference between earning -0.25% … Read more

Sessions Is Either Asleep At The Wheel – Or He’s Playing Everyone

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by Jon Hall, Free Market Shooter Over the past year, President Trump has directly blasted his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, on Twitter. The reoccurring theme regarding Trump’s criticisms is the lackadaisical nature of Sessions, who seems more content on focusing on the war on drugs over prosecuting the storied and historic corruption that took place under the Obama administration. Dating all … Read more

President Trump confirms intent to sign states’ rights cannabis bill that was introduced in Congress yesterday

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This is huge. It seems like plenty of people were willing to send this country down river in exchange for legal cannabis. If Trump signs this, he paves the way for nationwide legalization/decriminalization, which could be a monster Trump card (all puns intended and included) to play right in time for the 2020 election. Cannabis legalization is … Read more

18 Times The Fed Has Gone Through A Rate Hiking Cycle, And 18 Times It Has Caused A Huge Stock Market Decline And/Or A Recession

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by Michael Snyder  Since 1913, the Federal Reserve has engaged in 18 distinct interest rate hiking campaigns, and in every single one of those instances the end result was a large stock market decline, a recession, or both.  Now we are in the 19th rate tightening cycle since 1913, but many of the experts are insisting … Read more

Guatemala warns of falling ash as volcanic activity picks up… Families left on own to keep searching for dead

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via Reuters: Guatemalan officials warned of falling ash from the Fuego volcano late on Thursday and urged caution with flights as the Central American country recovers from devastating eruptions that have killed at least 109 people. The seismological, volcanic and meteorological institute Insivumeh advised the civil aviation authority to take precautions with flights amid renewed … Read more

Rural malls hit hard times, leaving shoppers adrift as more stores close…

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OTTUMWA, Iowa — This city’s Target store is gone. So is Kmart, MC Sports, JCPenney, Vanity and soon Herberger’s, a department store. “The mall is pretty sad,” says Amanda Cain, a teacher and mother. “Once Herberger’s closes, we’ll have no anchors.” About two-thirds of Ottumwa’s Quincy Place Mall will be empty with Herberger’s loss. Bon-Ton … Read more

Ex-Navy Sailor Jailed for One Email Violation, Pardoned by Trump Plans to Sue Obama

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by Thinker Kristian Saucier, a former Navy sailor who received a pardon from President Trump, explains on ‘The Story’ why he is planning to file a lawsuit against the Obama administration. Ex-Navy sailor doesn’t have a case against Obama: Judge Napolitano Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano discusses how former Navy sailor Kristian … Read more

Crescat Capital: ” A New Bear Market And The End Of Aged Bull Market”

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via Crescat  Even as the S&P 500 drifted higher, global financial markets showed major cracks in May. In the face of continued Fed tightening and a strong dollar, various emerging market currencies melted down. Also, the formation of a new populist government in Italy sent Italian bonds into a tailspin potentially reigniting the European sovereign … Read more

A Weapon Far More Important Than The AR-15

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by Daniel Carter Technology continues to advance at an unprecedented rate, and the technology of weaponry is no different. The science fiction of ten or twenty years ago is now becoming a reality. Killer robots are on the rise. And no, I’m not joking (as you will see below). There has been a loud debate in … Read more