Goodbye Global Supply Chain, Hello American Manufacturing
Once news of local and state lockdowns went public, many Americans rushed to the grocery store to stock up on food and other necessities. This initial wave of consumers left shelves empty and many people without supplies for coming weeks. Now, three weeks into state lockdowns, grocery stores are still struggling to keep their shelves stocked–and it isn’t just because of frantic shoppers. Many stores rely on a foreign supply chain that is beginning to see the effects of new safety regulations and export bans. As stricter regulations are put into effect to contain the virus, risks of disruption to the global supply chain are growing. Seaports have closed to new shipments, there aren’t enough truckers to transport goods, and air freight capacity is at an all-time low as very few planes are flying. Along with shipping restrictions, many foreign providers are considering restricting exports due to food insecurity. Fitch Solutions put together a list of potential halted exports last month. The list includes countries that have already stopped exporting some goods:
Global Supply Chain Disruptions are ReverberatingOn March 15th, The Consumer Brands Association sent a letter to the U.S. State Department and Trade Representative urging them to prepare for supply chain disruptions. “In times of pandemics … essentials include over-the-counter medicines, cleaning and disinfecting agents, personal care products and non-perishable staples,” the letter said. “Absent early intervention, Consumer Brands fears that efforts by other countries to restrict the export of base materials, nutritional and food inputs, chemicals and other essential manufacturing supplies and ingredients will prevent manufacturers from being able to increase production, ultimately leading to consumers being unable to obtain products that are vital to treating and stopping the spread of COVID-19 and remaining healthy.” As pressure has increased, many brands with foreign suppliers have rushed to locate domestic options to get products to consumers and businesses more quickly. Companies who rely on local suppliers are likely more prepared to respond to the situation as it unfolds. In the case of Coronavirus, it is clear to see why a domestic supply chain is the most reasonable option in times of crisis. Although it may be pricier and more difficult in ordinary situations, it could ultimately save lives when pressure is put on the global supply chain. The Coronavirus outbreak has highlighted the resilience and adaptability in the American food industry and workforce as a whole. Bringing Manufacturing HomeA key finding in a new survey by Thomas Net shows that over half of manufacturers are ‘likely to extremely likely’ to bring production and sourcing back to North America. Additionally, 47% of U.S manufacturers report they are now seeking domestic sources of supply. “I have been saying this for decades. While it’s unfortunate a crisis like this is what has shined a light on our dependence on China, how people are waking up to the importance of domestic production is a good sign for the future of U.S. manufacturing,” said Don Buckner, President of MadeinAmerica.org. The fact that the China-centered global supply chain is no longer needed (if it ever was) has recently been shown by the multinational toolmaker Stanley Black and Decker. It brought production of its Craftsman tools from China back to Fort Worth, Texas, a year ago. It reports no increase in costs and much less impact from the coronavirus than would have been the case if it had remained in China. __________________________ 
Anyone with courage and clear thinking will do extremely well
Simon Black March 11, 2020 Bahia Beach, Puerto RicoThe year 1348, in the words of historian A.L. Maycock, was the closest that humanity ever came to going extinct. That was the year the Black Death descended on the European continent. And many historians today estimate that it killed as much as 60% of Europe’s population. Italy was hit especially hard by the plague. Port cities like Venice were accustomed to receiving ships from all over the world, and many of them carried the Yersina pestis bacteria which caused the plague. And it was out of this pandemic that the first modern public health measures emerged. Did you know? You can receive all our actionable articles straight to your email inbox... Click here to signup for our Notes from the Field newsletter. Venice created a special council to reduce the outbreak… and one of their first decrees was to ban infected (or suspected) ships from docking. Plus, any traveler who arrived from a plague-infested area was required to isolate themselves for a period for 40 days, or quaranta journi in Italian. This is the origin of the word quarantine—it’s a reference to the 40-day isolation period during Bubonic Plague. Even when the worst was over, though, the effects of the plague were disastrous. In his book An Introduction to the History of Medicine, author FH Garrison described the social impact of the pandemic, writing that family members and lifelong friends abandoned one another in an effort to save themselves from infection. And public gatherings, including church attendance, declined dramatically. The Black Death also ravaged European economies. So many people died that there simply weren’t enough willing, healthy workers. Commerce ground to a halt. Trade was nonexistent. And by many measures, Europe didn’t fully recover its population or economic activity for hundreds of years. What we’re experiencing right now is not going to be anywhere near as bad as that. Not even close. I wrote about this on Monday—the world is not coming to an end despite what you might read on Twitter. But Corona will certainly have a major impact. Just look at Italy. The entire country is on lockdown, practically frozen in time like the ruins at Pompeii. We can’t even begin to grasp how much of an impact that will have on the economy. China– the world’s second largest economy and biggest manufacturer—effectively shut down last month. That alone is enough to tip the world into recession. Planes, trains, and ships are virtually empty. This is as bad as 9/11 was for the airline industry. Tourism—which comprises more than 10% of global GDP, has completely collapsed. Sporting events and concerts are being cancelled; even the Olympics may be cancelled… all of which will clearly have a nasty economic impact. And we’re barely scratching the surface. You might remember back in late 2018 that the US stock market fell nearly 20%, mostly because the Federal Reserve in the United States had gradually raised interest rates to 2.25%. I mean… 2.25% is so low. It’s a joke. And yet that was enough to cause investors to panic and the stock market to plummet. Apple shares fell 40%. Facebook shares fell 43%. All because people were afraid of a tiny interest rate. Afterwards I wrote about this, saying: “[T]he lesson is, these falls can happen faster and be more severe than anyone expects. We saw some of the most popular and largest stocks in the world nearly get cut in half because the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a few basis points. What happens when we have a real reason to be worried? That “real reason to be worried” is now upon us. Stocks are down around 20% from the peak, just like in 2018. And it’s worth considering: if the market fell 20% back in 2018 because the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a measly 2.25%, it seems like this crash might still have a ways to go. There’s going to be real damage to the global economy. Corporate earnings will fall. Plenty of companies will fail (especially in oil and tourism). The unemployment rate will rise. Tax revenue will shrink and government deficits will skyrocket. And central banks will be completely powerless. Usually when there’s a big crisis, the Federal Reserve steps in and restores some calm. But that’s not happening now. The Fed only knows how to do basically one thing: cut interest rates. Whatever the crisis, that’s their solution. Earlier this month they already held an emergency meeting to cut rates by 0.5% to boost the economy and calm markets. But it had absolutely no effect. Markets continued to fall. People are still terrified. And the Fed may finally realize that their ridiculous interest rate cuts don’t matter. No one cares anymore whether rates are 2% or 1.5%. Rate cuts no longer have a big impact. Not to mention, no interest rate cut is going to make the Corona Virus go away. So there’s really nothing that any central bank can do about this. Bottom line– this is going to be a wild ride, and we’ve barely started. But as I’ve said before, we’re going to see some extraordinary opportunities come out of this. And anyone with courage and clear thinking will do extremely well. __________________________  Sandrine Belouzard, virologist and researcher, at work in high-level P3 biosafety security laboratory at the Pasteur Institute of Lille on Feb. 20, 2020, in Lille, France. (Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images)
Thousands Urged To 'Self-Quarantine' Across America as Statistician Warns Numbers Don't Add Up
By Jared Harris Published February 20, 2020 at 4:23pm As health officials ask thousands to quarantine across the United States, a respected statistician is going public with dire claims that COVID-19 data doesn’t look right at all. The American quarantines come as deadly coronavirus outbreaks have been reported in several other nations. In California, where diseases already have an easy time moving around cities thanks to unsanitary conditions and a large homeless population, more than 5,400 people have been asked by the state health department to quarantine themselves. In Washington state, over 700 are being monitored for possible coronavirus infections. Georgia, Illinois, and New York are among other states with hundreds of potential cases being watched by officials. This is a major increase in possible cases that comes after the administration of President Donald Trump ordered a historical quarantine to combat the novel coronavirus. As we’ve seen in China and aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, even strict quarantines may not be as effective as officials think. One expert even warned that the “quarantine process failed” aboard the ship, fanning fears that the virus may have gone airborne or could be easily transmitted in some other way. Despite COVID-19’s seemingly highly infectious nature, the Chinese government is reporting a slowdown of new infections. According to one statistician, the data that has been pouring out of the communist country doesn’t look right at all. Melody Goodman, an associate biostatistics professor at New York University’s School of Global Public Health, told Barron’s about her reservations. “I have never in my years seen an r-squared of 0.99,” she said, referring to an analysis of Chinese numbers. “As a statistician, it makes me question the data.” The r-squared value deals with the correlation and predictability of data. The closer the value is to 1, the more predictable a particular set of data becomes. With something as inherently unpredictable as a virus, Goodman said .7 would be more realistic — and even that would be “really good.” “Anything like 0.99 would make me think that someone is simulating data,” Goodman said. “It would mean you already know what is going to happen.” China, a newly industrialized country that is now the biggest cog in the global economy’s supply chain, risks losing everything if the novel coronavirus keeps factory floors shuttered. While Chinese propaganda mouthpieces assure the world that the government has everything under control, extreme measures caught on video hint that the ruling communist party is desperate to maintain control. Numerous videos like the one below have surfaced, showing Chinese officials in protective gear rounding up citizens who are seemingly infected with COVID-19. The Epoch Times - China Insider@EpochTimesChinaIn Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, a family forcibly taken away by people in protective suits.#Coronavirus #Wuhan #武汉肺炎 #新冠病毒 #COVID19 #ChinaVirus With new countries coming forward confirming cases of infected and experts casting doubt on China’s claims about the virus, it looks like we have yet to see how bad this outbreak really is. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. 
Michael Avenatti Found Guilty On All Counts In Nike Extortion Trial
Spencer Platt/Getty Images ANDREW KERR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER February 14, 20202:48 PM ET FONT SIZE:A jury found celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti guilty Friday on all three charges he faced in relation to his scheme to extort over $20 million from sportswear and apparel giant Nike. Avenatti was charged with threatening the sportswear giant that he would stage a news conference exposing its efforts to corrupt college basketball unless it paid him between $15 and $25 million to conduct an internal investigation into his claims. Avenatti, who gained considerable fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her efforts to revoke a non-disclosure agreement against President Donald Trump, was found guilty of transmitting interstate communications with intent to extort, attempted extortion and honest services wire fraud, CNNreported. The celebrity lawyer reportedly showed no reaction as his verdict was read in New York. Stephen Brown✔@PPVSRBMichael Avenatti guilty on all counts in Nike extortion trial. He stared straight ahead and showed no reaction as verdict was read. “I’m not fucking around with this, and I’m not continuing to play games. And I don’t — you know, this isn’t complicated,” Avenatti told Nike representatives just prior to his arrest in March 2019. “You guys know enough now to know you’ve got a serious problem.” “And it’s worth more in exposure to me to just blow the lid on this thing. A few million dollars doesn’t move the needle for me. I’m just being really frank with you,” he added. “I’ll go take $10 billion off your client’s market cap.” Adult film actress/director Stormy Daniels (L) and attorney Michael Avenatti attend the 2019 Adult Video News Awards at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Jan. 26, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) “This is what extortion sounds like,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said of Avenatti’s demands to Nike. It was revealed during the trial that Avenatti faced nearly $11 million in debt as he attempted to extort Nike. Avenatti’s legal woes are far from over. He faces a trial in New York over charges that he stole $300,000 in book proceeds from his former client Daniels and another trial in California that he swindled settlement funds from a client. __________________________ Parts of San Francisco resemble the poorest slums in the world -- even though the city is one of the richest in America.
Florida Man Arrested Driving Van Into Tent of Trump Supporters in Parking Lot
By Elaine Williams February 11, 2020 The man who drove his van through a tent of Trump supporters who were registering people to vote in Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested Saturday night. 27-year-old Gregory William Loel Timm was taken into custody by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a person 65 years of age or older, one count of criminal mischief, and driving with a suspended drivers license. Timm’s bond was set at $507,512. Jax Sheriff's Office✔@JSOPIO#JSO has arrested the suspect who drove through the voter registration tent in the area of 11900 Atlantic Boulevard. Gregory Timm has been charged with Aggravated Assault, Criminal Mischief, and Driving While Driver’s License Suspended. After running through the tent and over chairs and tables, Timm got out of his van, took a video recording, made obscene gestures, and then got back into his van and drove away. Six volunteers barely avoided being hit by Timm’s van at the Kernan Village shopping center. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Mayor of Jacksonville Lenny Curry posted his statement on Twitter, “I just spoke to the local GOP chair. This is outrageous. The hate is toxic and dangerous. Thankfully, no one was injured, but certainly, they are shaken after being targeted because they were registering voters.” Dean Black, Duvals’s GOP Chairman, posted a statement to Facebook, “The Republican Party of Duval County will not be intimidated by these cowards, and we will not be silenced. I call on every Republican in our great city to stand up, get involved, and show these radicals that we will not be intimidated from exercising our Constitutional rights.” President Donald Trump sent out a warning, “Law Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with!” Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrumpLaw Enforcement has been notified. Be careful tough guys who you play with! https://twitter.com/GOPChairwoman/status/1226303878251122688 … Ronna McDaniel✔@GOPChairwomanThese unprovoked, senseless attacks on @realDonaldTrump's supporters need to end. I want to echo the @DuvalGOP in saying: We will not be silenced by cowards, and these disgusting acts will only make us work harder to win November. https://twitter.com/duvalgop/status/1226273637214408705?s=21 … 31.3K people are talking about thisSenator Rick Scott commented, “This appears to be a politically-motivated attack on hard-working volunteers in Duval County. Thankful that no one was hurt. @DuvalGOP will not be silenced or intimidated. They will redouble their efforts to support strong Republicans in NE Florida and around the state!” Rick Scott✔@ScottforFloridaThis appears to be a politically-motivated attack on hard-working volunteers in Duval County. Thankful that no one was hurt. @DuvalGOP will not be silenced or intimidated. They will redouble their efforts to support strong Republicans in NE Florida and around the state! https://twitter.com/DuvalGOP/status/1226273637214408705 … Duval County GOP✔@DuvalGOPToday in Jacksonville, Florida six Trump Campaign volunteers were intentionally targeted while registering voters. Enemies Within The Church
Trevor Loudon discusses his upcoming documentary and fact findings on the infiltration of the church in America. This is a wake up call for America. Laura Loomer published this short film about the current immigration crisis on America’s Southern border and the need for a border wall on the Southern border. Please watch:
UTT: Putting Freedom on the Offensive Where It Belongs
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COVID-19: How U.S. Manufacturers Are Helping the Fight
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a shutdown of about 25 percent of the U.S. economy. With that comes rising unemployment levels, a substantial drop in a real gross domestic product, and a looming recession. However, among the gloom and uncertainty, many manufacturers have found a way to keep themselves in business while also helping their community. In recent weeks, several companies have repurposed their production to help the healthcare industry and general public fight the virus by producing ventilators, face masks, hand sanitizer, and other essential items that are low in stock. Similar to during wartimes in the 20th century when companies like GM, Ford, and Chrysler joined the mobilization effort to produce military equipment, these companies are using their resources to produce medical equipment. VentilatorsGlobalData estimates that there are 880,000 ventilators in demand globally to cope with the Coronavirus. While hard-hit states like New York and Louisiana are desperately calling for more ventilators, several car companies have stepped up to produce a prototype as quickly as possible. Tesla, Ford, General Electric and General Motors have all begun efforts to mass-produce ventilators before the virus reaches its peak in the U.S. Ford and General Electric Healthcare teamed up last week with a plan to produce 50,000 ventilators in Detroit in the next 100 days and up to 30,000 per month after that time frame. General Electric is licensing the ventilator design from Airon Corp., a small Florida manufacturer. “The Ford and GE Healthcare teams, working creatively and tirelessly, have found a way to produce this vitally needed ventilator quickly and in meaningful numbers,” said Jim Hackett, Ford’s president and CEO. “By producing this ventilator in Michigan, in strong partnership with the UAW, we can help healthcare workers save lives, and that’s our No. 1 priority.” Michigan-based automaker General Motors is also working on ventilators and recently sent a team to Seattle to learn how Ventec builds its ventilators and how they can find suppliers for the components. Right now, they are training a team of over 1,000 employees at their Kokomo, IN factory to produce Ventec Life Systems and keep CDC health procedures in place. One of which is Kokomo local Debbie Hollis. “I have family all across the country, so (COVID-19) has impacted everybody that I know and love,” Hollis said. “I’m grateful that I get a chance to do my part and be a part of something…we are modern-day Rosie the Riveters.” Tesla is taking a slightly different approach by trying to develop their own ventilator design out of available car parts and some necessary medical equipment. The company posted a Youtube video on Sunday featuring a group of engineers explaining the process. “We’re trying to make some ventilators out of some car parts, so that we can help out the medical industry without taking away from their supply,” Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, says in the video. The company has yet to give a timeline of their ventilator production, but plans to start operations at their Buffalo, NY factory are underway. Face MasksFace masks are becoming increasingly more important as the CDC just issued a recommendation for all citizens to wear cloth face coverings in public spaces. Many apparel companies with U.S.-based supply chains have teamed up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to produce up to 10 million face masks per week in Central America and the United States. The effort consists of 10 companies that formed a supply chain basically overnight. The National Council of Textile Organizations put out a press release in March, in which it names the companies involved. The brands partaking in the coalition are Hanesbrands, Fruit of the Loom, American Giant, Los Angeles Apparel, AST Sportswear, Sanmar, America Knits, Beverly Knits and Riegel Linen. “Hanesbrands and Fruit of the Loom, often competitors in the marketplace, are banding together for the greater good of a nation facing one of its most monumental challenges,” stated the official press release. Hand Sanitizer and Other EssentialsThe rush to stockpile hand sanitizer has caused a shortage in the U.S., but many distilleries all over the nation have switched production to make bulk hand sanitizer. Hundreds of distilleries have shifted gears to help the medical industry, retirement homes and overall population in fighting the virus–many of which are doing it completely for free or for a discounted price to help the healthcare industry and high-risk individuals. Bacardi Bottling Corp., the producer of Bacardi Rum, recently repurposed production to hand sanitizer at their Jacksonville, FL facility. They are currently working on producing 24,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to distribute to hospitals and first responders throughout Florida. “As a family-owned company, Bacardi puts people first and this time will be no different. We are part of the community and are here to support those in the front lines helping to keep us safe,” said Darrin Mueller, director of operations for Bacardi. The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented and dreadful time in world history–but the kindness and compassion of the companies and workers that are helping the American people does not go unnoticed. Made in America thanks everyone from the medical professionals on the front lines to grocery store clerks for risking their health to help others. __________________________ CRUZ: What The Hell Do Carbon Emissions Have To Do With Coronavirus
WHY HAVE SO MANY OF OUR RECENT VIRUSES COME FROM BATS?
Published on: Friday, 21 February, 2020 Coronavirus is far from the first disease they've passed on to usMy article from The Spectator: I’m no Nostradamus, but 20 years ago when I was commissioned to write a short book about disease in the new millennium, I predicted that if a new pandemic did happen it would be a virus, not a bacterium or animal parasite, and that we would catch it from a wild animal. ‘My money is on bats,’ I wrote. We now know that the natural host and reservoir of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, is a bat, and that the virus probably got into people via a live-animal market in Wuhan. This is not the first disease bats have given us. Rabies possibly originated in bats. So did, and does, Ebola, outbreaks of which usually trace back to people coming into contact with bat roosts in caves, trees or buildings. Marburg virus, similar to Ebola, first killed people in Germany in 1967 and is now known to be a bat virus. Since 1994 Hendra virus has occasionally jumped from Australian fruit bats into horses and rarely people, with lethal effect. Since 1998 another fruit-bat virus, Nipah, has also infected and killed people mainly in India and Bangladesh. Sars, which originated in China in 2003, is derived from bats, though possibly via civet cats. So is Mers, a similar bat-borne coronavirus that’s killed hundreds of people and camels in the Middle East since 2012. All these have high mortality but are not easily passed on from one person to another. Covid-19 is the opposite: highly contagious but rarely lethal. There is a good reason for this trade-off between infectivity and virulence, but it helps to think like a virus to understand it. On the whole, unless transmitted by insects, dirty water or sex, new diseases evolve towards lower virulence if they spread far. The 200 or so different rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and coronaviruses that cause what we call ‘the common cold’ have a vested interest in not disabling us much, let alone killing us: they want us to struggle into work, coughing and sneezing, or turn up at parties, kissing and shaking hands. In this way, milder strains spread farther than fiercer ones and gradually displace them. Likewise, bats can ‘carry’ Covid-19 but not die. By contrast, malaria wants us to lie down in a darkened room, delirious, so as to attract and not notice mosquitoes. Herpes, syphilis and HIV — the worst new animal-acquired infection of recent decades by far, caught from chimpanzees — like to subside for months or years in the hope that we move on to a new sexual partner. Evolution is a cunning foe. Why are bats responsible for so many recent zoonoses (posh Greek for infections acquired from other animal species)? First, bats are mammals, which means they are sufficiently closely related to us for some of their viruses to thrive in our bodies. A virus that lives in a fish or a bird is less likely to be able to infect a human being, influenza being a rare exception, caught from ducks via pigs. Second, bats have never been domesticated. On the whole we have already caught the diseases of cows and pigs and dogs. Measles, smallpox, anthrax and tuberculosis were all gifts from our farmed animals. Third, unlike most other mammals, bats live in huge flocks — just as we do. They therefore host viruses that spread by casual contact. Tigers meet so few other tigers and so rarely that they are hopeless hosts for ambitious viruses. Bracken Cave, in Texas, is home to roughly 20 million breeding Mexican free-tailed bats, similar to the (human) population of the Mexico City urban area. In places there are 500 bat pups per square foot on the wall. To a virus that represents a tasty buffet. But why now? That is easy to answer too. It’s not because of climate change or the destruction of forests. Bats have lived in belfries, as well as dead trees, for centuries. It’s because we now live at such high densities and travel so much. With 7.7 billion people on the planet, many of whom now travel long distances, we are a tempting target. As I wrote 20 years ago: ‘The rewards for a germ that colonised us would be immense. It would quickly become one of the most successful microbes in history.’ The chances are that plenty of people died of bat-borne infections in the past too, but the epidemic usually petered out because villages were small and long-distance travel was rare. However, it seems bats probably did not give us Covid-19 directly. The virus’s sequence of RNA (DNA’s cousin) in human beings is 96 per cent the same as that found in a bat sampled in Yunnan in 2013 during the search for the origin of Sars. This implies that they share a common ancestor at least 25 years ago. By contrast, the pangolin version of the virus is 99 per cent similar to ours. Probably, captured pangolins, on sale in the live-animal market in Wuhan and mainly imported from Malaysia, had somehow caught the virus from bats. Pangolins are globally endangered because of demand from China. Fortunately, the modern world not only makes us a tempting target for new diseases, it also gives us new tools to combat them. It took years to sequence the genome of HIV, weeks to sequence the genome of Sars and days for Covid-19. Our ability to diagnose the disease is therefore rapidly catching up, and the chances are that a vaccine will soon be available, while quarantine and strict self-isolation may yet keep the virus from going global. If it does, virulence will probably fall; not much comfort for those who do die, but meaning that the death of billions is unlikely. In the meantime, please can we learn two obvious lessons? First, let’s stop bringing wild animals into markets alive (if at all): viruses do not survive long in dead bodies, even if not refrigerated. It’s a cruel practice anyway. And second, let’s keep our distance from bats. Definitely don’t eat them. To stay updated, follow me on Twitter @mattwridley  Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont pauses during a news briefing at his campaign office on March 4, 2020, in Burlington, Vermont. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)
Less Than 24 Hours After Bernie Flops, Americans' Confidence in Future of Health Care Explodes
By Carmine Sabia Published March 4, 2020 at 7:04pm You know, perhaps it was not coronavirus that was sinking the stock market. Perhaps it was the surge of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Following former Vice President Joe Biden’s killer performance on Super Tuesday, health care stocks and the market itself came roaring back, Fox Business reported. See MoreWednesday saw the Dow Jones industrial average climb more than 1,173 points while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose four percent and the Nasdaq composite almost reached four percent. MarketWatch linked those changing numbers in part to fears over Sanders’ “Medicare for All” proposal. CFRA analyst Sel Hardy said that Sanders’ signature plan would lead “to the termination of existing health insurance plans,” the outlet reported. “In terms of our overall outlook for our stocks, unless there is a major shift in market conditions, Centene Corp., UnitedHealth, Humana Inc., and Cigna Corp. are set for double-digit top-line growth in the next three years, in our view, as they continue to have strong fundamentals,” Hardy wrote in a note to clients. Keith Speights of The Motley Fool wrote that the rise in health care and health insurance stocks is directly linked to Sanders’ faltering on Tuesday. “Sen. Sanders advocates a Medicare for All program that would largely eliminate the need for health insurance. His strength in the ongoing presidential campaign caused investors to worry about what might happen with big companies including Anthem, Humana, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, and CVS Health (which owns Aetna),” Speights wrote. “Now, however, former Vice President Biden appears to be the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Several candidates have dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, with former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg the most recent to do so.” Speights warned that Sanders could still win the nomination, and that if he does, “healthcare stocks, in general, and health insurance stocks, in particular, will likely be highly volatile.” Democrats always present an existential threat to the stock market, but Sanders and his free-ride plans present an even more prominent danger than usual. Coronavirus scares likely had something to do with the dip in the market, but it is tough not to see the correlation between Sanders taking a pounding and the market bouncing back. It goes to show what many of us have said all along. Electing a Democrat, particularly a socialist, as president would annihilate the economy. Not that Biden would be much better. He has moved to the left on many issues, including a much more relaxed stance on illegal immigration. There is also the issue of Biden’s advanced years. If he were to pick a progressive vice president who would be a heartbeat away from the presidency, it could be another downer for the market. Biden does not advocate a “Medicare for All” system right now, but rest assured that is where the Democratic Party is heading. One Super Tuesday victory by the lesser of two evils is not going to stop that train. That is why it is important to elect not only President Donald Trump again in November, but also a Republican House and Senate to finally fix health care. ___________________________ 
Fewer recessions thanks to the shale revolution
Exclusive: Steve Goreham serves up stats on how oil used to affect economic downturns By Steve Goreham Published January 31, 2020 at 7:06pm The United States economy currently enjoys the longest period of expansion in history. The economy has been growing for more than 10 and a half years, since the end of the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Behind the current expansion is the rise of the U.S. to become the world's leading energy producer. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real gross domestic product (GDP), real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales." U.S. recessionary periods trigger business failures, changes in political leadership and impact the daily lives of Americans. According to NBER, there have been seven U.S. recessions during the last 50 years. The recession of 1969-1970 coincided with attempts to close budget deficits from the Vietnam War and the raising of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quadrupled oil prices, triggering the 1973-1975 recession, which at the time was the most severe recession since World War II. Rising gasoline prices hammered consumers, and unemployment reached 9%. The federal government mandated a 55-mph speed limit and established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This was the first of recent recessions caused by high oil prices. The next decade brought a short recession in 1980, followed by a deeper recession in 1981-1982. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 caused oil prices to rise to over $120 per barrel, causing a world energy crisis. To counter rising inflation from the 1970s, the Federal Reserve tightened monetary policy, boosting home mortgage rates to double-digit levels. Unemployment soared to 10.8%. The recession of 1990-1991 was caused by a combination of the 1987 stock market crash and the collapse of the U.S. savings & loan industry. Soaring oil prices from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in the summer of 1990 also contributed to the slowdown. The economic slump of 2001 was one of the few recent recessions where oil prices were not involved. This recession was caused by a combination of the collapse of the speculative dot-com bubble, the stock market pull-back in 2001 and the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. This recession ended the decade-long period of growth in the 1990s. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 was 18 months long, the longest since the Great Depression of 1929. The subprime mortgage crisis caused the recession, leading to the collapse of a U.S. housing bubble and the failure of several financial institutions. World crude oil prices spiked to $164 per barrel in June of 2008, adding to the crisis. Of the seven U.S. recessions since 1969, high world oil prices were the primary cause of three of the slumps and a contributing factor in two other recessions. Oil price shocks played a major role in both U.S. and global economic instability over the last 50 years. But during the last three decades, U.S. geologists and petroleum engineers learned to extract oil and natural gas from shale rock formations by using the technological breakthroughs of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. This U.S. shale revolution now appears to have removed oil shock as a factor in economic instability. Prior to the shale revolution, U.S. crude oil production fell from 9.6 million barrels per day in 1970 to 5 million barrels per day in 2008. U.S. oil production, an annual $200 billion industry, was in long-term decline. Industry experts proclaimed that we had reached "peak oil" and that world oil output would soon fall. But because of breakthroughs in shale oil technology, U.S. crude production soared beginning in 2008, reaching 12 million barrels per day last year, more than double the 2008 output. Production of natural gas also more than doubled from 2008 to 2019. In 2011, the U.S. surpassed Russia as the world's largest producer of natural gas. In 2018, the U.S. became the world's largest producer of crude oil, passing Saudi Arabia. Oil prices are now largely determined by U.S. production, rather than OPEC or Russia output. Back in 2005, 60 percent of U.S. consumption of petroleum products was provided by imports. This year will be the first year in more than 70 years that the United States is a net exporter of petroleum products, thanks to the shale revolution. On Sept. 14 of last year, 25 drones and missiles exploded at two oil processing facilities of Saudi Arabia. More than 5.7 million barrels of Saudi production capacity was taken offline, more than half of Saudi output. But oil prices hardly budged. On Jan. 8 of this year, Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraq facilities housing U.S. military personnel. Yet, world oil prices today remain at low levels, just above $50 per barrel. The missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and Iraq in previous decades likely would have triggered significant oil price spikes. The shale revolution and ramping U.S. oil production brings a new level of stability to U.S. and world economic systems. There will still be recessions, but U.S. recessions will be less frequent and less severe since oil dependency and price shock are no longer significant factors. 
Blindness of the clergy has allowed for the Silencing of the Shepherds. Unless the people unite and stand against the sinister Equality Act that is intended to demoralize the nation there will be no future for Truth. Join us as Reverend Ted Pike exposes the dangers of the Equality Act.
Views are of guest may not always be the views of Israeli News Live Ted Pike www.truthtellers.org |
On March 1, 2020, Trevor Loudon is releasing his new book!
Presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are currently fierce rivals in the race for the Democratic party nomination. However not so many years ago Bernie Sanders was Pete Buttigieg’s “socialist” hero. In 2000, teen-aged Pete Buttigieg won the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum’s annual “Profiles in Courage” Essay Competition. His subject was then Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders. Here is an extract from Pete Buttigieg’s essay: "Sanders’ courage is evident in the first word he uses to describe himself: 'Socialist'. In a country where Communism is still the dirtiest of ideological dirty words, in a climate where even liberalism is considered radical, and Socialism is immediately and perhaps willfully confused with Communism, a politician dares to call himself a socialist? He does indeed… Even though he has lived through a time in which an admitted socialist could not act in a film, let alone hold a Congressional seat, Sanders is not afraid to be candid about his political persuasion." Pete Buttigieg’s late father was the world-renowned Marxist scholar Joseph Buttigieg. Both Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders have a long association with the small “c” communists of Democratic Socialists of America. Pete Buttigieg worked closely with local Marxists while serving as Mayor of South Bend Indiana. How then, can Pete Buttigieg claim to be the “moderate“ in the race? See screenshot: below Bernie Sanders is a communist pretending to be a “democratic socialist.” Pete Buttigieg is running as a “liberal”... But what is he when the voters aren’t watching? ___________________________ 
Pentagon Linguist Charged With Espionage, Accused Of Outing US Intelligence Assets To Hezbollah-Linked Operative
March 4, 2020 Chuck Ross on March 4, 2020 A Pentagon linguist was charged Wednesday with espionage and accused of providing highly classified information, including the names and photos of confidential U.S. intelligence sources, to a Lebanese national with links to the terrorist group Hezbollah. Prosecutors allege that Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, accessed 57 classified files related to eight separate intelligence sources, and provided some of the information to the Hezbollah-linked operative. “By compromising the identities of these human assets, Thompson placed the lives of the human assets and U.S. military personnel in grave danger,” the Justice Department said in a press release announcing Thompson’s arrest. According to an affidavit signed by FBI special agent Danielle Ray, Thompson had been stationed at a U.S. military facility in Erbil, Iraq since mid-December 2019. On Dec. 30, 2019, a day after U.S. forces conducted strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Thompson began searching for classified information on Defense Department computer systems that she “did not have a legitimate need” to access. The affidavit alleges that Thompson accessed files on the eight intelligence sources from Dec. 30, 2019 through Feb. 10, 2020. “These files contained classified national defense information including true names, personal identification data, background information, and photographs of the human sources, as well as operations cables detailing information the human sources provided to the United States government,” the affidavit says. FBI agents searched Thompson’s residence in Erbil on Feb. 19, 2020, and discovered documents in Arabic under her mattress. The documents listed the names of three U.S. intelligence assets, and included a warning that a target of the U.S. intelligence sources should be warned. The target is affiliated with Hezbollah, according to the affidavit. The affidavit says that Thompson admitted to providing the information to the Lebanese national, and that she had a romantic interest in him. Thompson said that the man has a nephew working for Lebanon’s ministry of the interior. She was arrested on Feb. 27. “While in a war zone, the defendant allegedly gave sensitive national defense information, including the names of individuals helping the United States, to a Lebanese national located overseas,” John C. Demers, the assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. “If true, this conduct is a disgrace, especially for someone serving as a contractor with the United States military. This betrayal of country and colleagues will be punished.” Timothy J. Shea, the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., said that Thompson’s alleged conduct posed “a grave threat to national security, placed lives at risk, and represents a betrayal to our armed forces.” Thompson is charged with Delivering Defense Information to Aid a Foreign Government, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. She will make her first court appearance on Wednesday afternoon. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected]. ___________________________ 
Pelosi, Casten, and Dems: Wasting Taxpayer Money at the Madrid Climate Conference
Fourteen Democrat members of Congress have arrived at the United Nations Climate Conference in Madrid. Speaker Nancy Pelosi leads the US delegation, which includes Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Representative Sean Casten of Illinois. However, there is little evidence that the conference will have any effect on the climate, but Ms. Pelosi’s delegation will spend a lot of taxpayer money. Speaker Pelosi describes the delegation and the conference as an effort to “combat the existential threat of our time: the climate crisis.” More than 25,000 attendees and 1,500 members of the media have joined the conference. After flying halfway around the world on private or commercial jets, Ms. Pelosi and her team will be discussing with world leaders how best to put restrictions on citizens of the US and other nations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Reduced air travel, forced adoption of electric cars, and elimination of natural gas for heating and cooking are all likely to be topics in an effort to “save the planet.” The official conference name is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP25. COP25 means that this is the 25th “Conference of the Parties.” These meetings have been held every year for the last quarter century. If we all live long enough, we may see the 50th Conference of the Parties. But there is no evidence that these meetings and the thousands of climate laws enacted around the world over the last 30 years can measurably change global temperatures. The Pelosi delegation trip is expensive, probably costing millions of dollars in travel, lodging, food, and security. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The 2015 Paris Climate Accords called for the United States to transfer billions of taxpayer dollars each year to “developing” nations, including China and India, payments which the Democrat delegation favors. The Trump Administration ended these payments with US withdrawal from the Paris Accords. All leading Democrat candidates for president propose massive expenditures to “solve the climate crisis.” Senator Bernie Sanders touts the most extravagant spend, proposing a total of $16 trillion over 10 years, or more than $50,000 for each man, woman, and child in the US. Representative Sean Casten of Illinois calls for “massive, coordinated, international action” to “stabilize” the climate. But Earth’s climate has been changing for all of history, including ice ages, warm periods, and cold periods. There is no evidence that driving electric cars, building wind turbines, or changing light bulbs can “stabilize” the climate. The Madrid delegation should return to the US and get to work on real economic, jobs, trade, and health care issues that affect Americans. ___________________________ 
Pro-life Democrats ‘Fed Up’ with Party’s ‘Abortion Extremism’
Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D. 1 Feb 20201,010 Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, has threatened to withdraw support from candidates who would exclude pro-life Democrats from the party. “We’ve had enough,” Ms. Day told Catholic News Agency (CNA) this week following an encounter with presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg who said he would be willing to live without the support of pro-life voters in order to maintain his total support for abortion-on-demand. As Breitbart News reported, Buttigieg told Ms. Day that there is no room for the pro-life position in the Democrat Party and that he would never support any restrictions on abortion. “I am pro-choice, and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision,” Buttigieg said in a Fox News town hall in Iowa when questioned by Day regarding the party’s diversity and inclusion of pro-life people. In her interview with CNA, Day expressed her dismay over the Democrats’ utter subservience to the abortion industry, noting that pro-life Democrats are simply “fed up.” These presidential candidates “are so afraid of the abortion lobby” that they will make no room for pro-life Democrats, she said, because “they’re afraid that they’re going to lose all their money and support.” “I just wanted to know if he [Buttigieg] thought there was room for us in the party. And he doesn’t,” she said. Ms. Day said that pro-life Democrats need to show more muscle when dealing with the party leadership. “We need pro-life Democrats all over the country to go to these candidates and ask the question: Do you want pro-life Democrats in the party? Because if not, we won’t vote for you,” she said. Day also told CNA that Democratic activists are very vocal about their support for abortion but do not faithfully represent the rank-and-file, which is more divided on the issue. When it comes down to the details of abortion policy, many Democrats cannot be classified as “pro-abortion,” she said. While many describe themselves as pro-choice, regarding legal abortion for all nine months of pregnancy or the removal of safety regulations of abortion clinics, “when it comes right down to it, most people agree with me,” Day said. The party’s “abortion extremism,” she said, “is not going to be a good long-term strategy for them.” Ms. Day had already condemned her party’s radical pro-abortion platform prior to the 2016 presidential elections, which saw pro-abortion Hillary Clinton defeated by Donald Trump. Day said that some Democrats had phoned her to say they would not vote for Hillary Clinton because of her extreme pro-abortion stance. “This platform’s language just says (to pro-lifers) you are no longer welcome,” Ms. Day said at the time. “This has been the general message pro-life Democrats are receiving across the country.” __________________________ Socialism Stories: Oskar Arreaza
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Published on May 22, 2019 Best-selling author Peter Schweizer examines the ways Joe Biden's son Hunter benefitted financially through deals that mirrored his father's travels and actions as Vice President 
Thank you Kent Lamberson
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