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As war rages in Ukraine and global food worries intensify, investors are thinking more about commodity investments. Chris Rawley from Harvest Returns talks about how even the smaller investor can take part.
As calls for his head intensify over his handling of the pandemic, Dr. Tony Fauci said this week that he is seriously considering stepping down from the position that he’s held for nearly four decades.
In a podcast interview on ABC’s ‘Start Here’ that was released on Friday, the longtime National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director and current Chief Medical Advisor for the Biden Administration continued his usual fearmongering and ‘previewed‘ a new ‘potential covid surge’ in the US.
Inbetween the propaganda, Fauci, who’s 81 and was appointed to Director of the NIAID in 1984, was asked by the host if he had any thoughts about retiring or potentially shifting to a lesser role within government.
“I certainly am because I’ve got to do it sometime,” Fauci said. “I can’t stay at this job forever unless my staff is going to find me slumped over my desk one day. I’d rather not do that.”
Fauci’s answer was quite different than the one he gave just a couple of months back. In November, he vowed that he would not leave his post until Covid is “in the rearview mirror,” while also laughably claiming that he, himself, is the embodiment of sCiEnCe.
‘Absolute Hubris’: Ted Cruz and Rand Paul Blast ‘Smug’ Fauci Over “I Represent Science” Comments
To make it look as if he was not going back on his word, Fauci also addressed his past comments in the interview on Friday.
Apparently, we are out of the so-called ‘pandemic phase,’ according to the NIAID Director.
From Fauci on ABC’s ‘Start Here:
“I have said that I would stay in what I’m doing until we get out of the pandemic phase, and I think we might be there already. If we can stay in this, then we’re at a point where I feel that we’ve done well by this but I don’t have any plans right now to go anywhere, but you never know.”
With the calls for him to be held accountable for his criminal handling of the pandemic, and his role in developing the Covid virus, growing louder daily, it’s no surprise Fauci is changing his tune now. This megalomaniac wants to step away on his own terms before the consequences can reach him.
Megalomaniac Tony Fauci Fears GOP Will Target Him If They Take Control of Congress Next Year
One of Fauci’s most vocal critics over the past few months, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), has been leading the charge within the federal government to hold him accountable. This week, Sen. Paul, who has hammered Fauci during multiple congressional hearings and caused him to perjure himself repeatedly, said Fauci has become a “dictator-in-chief” and introduced a measure that would have removed Fauci as the director of NIAID. The measure would have also scrapped the agency altogether in favor of three new institutes that would collaborate to make public health decisions.
Unfortunately, the legislation did not have enough support in the Democrat-controlled Congress to pass, but that does not mean Fauci is in the clear – he’s far from it.
In addition to Sen. Paul’s efforts, several notable lawyers and doctors who have been outspoken critics of the US public health response to Covid, most notably Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough, Dr. Naomi Wolf, and Attn. Thomas Renz, are coming out swinging against Fauci, looking to finally pin him down for his crimes.
They aren’t just calling for him to resign, either. Fauci’s most qualified critics are calling for severe punishment, like jail time and hearings along the lines of the Nuremberg trials, because what he has done amounts to crimes against humanity, according to them.
Perjuring yourself, alone, should come with jail time. So Fauci is facing a serious docket if, and when, he is finally forced to face the music.
A slap on the wrist won’t be enough for this.
In addition to Fauci’s proven ties to funding the Chinese Communist’s development of the SARS CoV-2 Covid virus at the Wuhan Lab through dangerous gain-of-function research, the NIAID director has routinely misled and lied to the public about critical information in an effort to maintain arbitrary health restrictions, and has led the way in pushing the experimental mRNA vaccine on Americans despite their massive failure, negative efficacy, and severe, life-threatening side effects – like myocarditis.
In short, the mRNA Covid vaccine is by far the most dangerous vaccine ever recorded in VAERS, especially considering the still-unknown long-term effects, but the US Public Health Regime, led by Dr. Fauci, has been pushing everyone, including very young children, to take not one – not two – but three vaccines – with a fourth jab coming right around the corner.
Oh, and they are testing the vaccine on toddlers and infants as we speak so they can become eligible for the vaccine.
“Final Frontier:” Moderna Begins Testing Experimental Covid Jab on Infants as Young as 6 Months Old
The post Walls are Closing In: Fauci Says He is Finally Considering Retirement as Calls for Accountability Over His Handling of the Covid Pandemic Ramp Up appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to intensify on Tuesday, the liberal evening news broadcast networks have continued to cover the Biden administration’s tough talk and threats towards Russia to help him look like he’s handling it competently. Meanwhile, they’re giving little airtime to congressional Republicans’ criticisms that he’s not doing enough and going it too slowly.
On ABC’s World News Tonight, senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell reported on the ground in Ukraine that “American anti-tank and bunker-busting missiles arriving in Kyiv as the Biden administration steps up military support for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia.” He clarified that these were “meant to send a signal of support to the people of Ukraine, but also a message of deterrence to the Kremlin.”
World News Tonight then aired a soundbite of President Biden’s recent comments on when he will make a final decision on deploying ground forces:
What will lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the nearer term, just because it takes time.
Pannell followed up on Biden’s remarks by reporting that more “than 100,000 Russian troops are now gathered on Ukraine’s borders with trainloads of troops and equipment moving into Belarus on the northern frontier.” Biden warned that if Russia fully invaded Ukraine “it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.”
Later in the segment, Pannell reported that Biden warned “there’d be enormous consequences, including possible sanctions against Putin himself” if Russia follows through on its apparent plans to invade Ukraine.
Over on NBC Nightly News, it was much the same thing with NBC parroting Biden’s threats toward Russia while giving no airtime to any critics of the administration’s handling of the crisis.
NBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel did however report this startling development:
NATO allies big and small are also moving east. Spain deploying fighter jets to Bulgaria and warships to the Black Sea. Denmark sending jets to Lithuania. And France vowing to defend Romania. All of eastern Europe is a potential front.
Meanwhile, CBS Evening News did give the Biden administration’s Republican critics airtime by featuring comments from Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton who said “even when they’re taking the right steps now those right steps tend to be half-measures and they’re certainly much too late.”
On the flip side of the GOP coin, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell believes “the administration is moving in the right direction” when it comes to its handling of the situation in Ukraine.
This latest example of the liberal networks carrying water for the Biden administration while ignoring GOP criticism was made possible by CarFax on ABC and T-Mobile on NBC. Their contact information is linked so you can let them know about the bias news they fund.
To read the transcripts of each segment click “expand”:
ABC World News Tonight
1/25/2022
6:38:05 PM
DAVID MUIR: We’re going to turn now to Russia and Ukraine and U.S. Military equipment now arriving there. The pictures coming in tonight. And this evening, President Biden saying those 8,500 U.S. Troops already put on heightened alert to be sent to the region to support NATO allies, they may be moving in the nearer term, were his words today. A new shipment of American anti-tank missiles arriving in Ukraine. The Russians releasing new video tonight of their troops in training exercises. And what President Biden is now saying tonight about personally sanctioning Vladimir Putin. ABC’s senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell on the ground in Ukraine tonight.
IAN PANNELL: Tonight, American anti-tank and bunker-busting missiles arriving in Kyiv as the Biden administration steps up military support for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia. This is the latest delivery of U.S.-supplied weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian government. It’s meant to send a signal of support to the people of Ukraine, but also a message of deterrence to the Kremlin. 8,500 U.S. Troops are on high alert, standing by to deploy to Europe in case this crisis escalates further, and tonight, President Biden saying they could be on the move sooner rather than later.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, it depends. What will lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the nearer term, just because it takes time.
PANNELL: More than 100,000 Russian troops are now gathered on Ukraine’s borders with trainloads of troops and equipment moving into Belarus on the northern frontier. Biden now saying he’d even sanction Putin if he attacks.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
PANNELL: The Kremlin has consistently denied it plans to evade, accusing the U.S. of Hysteria. But America is taking no chances. Today’s 79-ton military shipment includes more than 270 javelin anti-tank missiles and over 800 shoulder-fired bunker-busting rockets. We saw these anti-tank weapons being used in training by the Ukrainian military last month. The Kremlin says this is American and NATO interference on its doorstep. The Ukrainian government’s been playing down the sense of crisis here, but speaking exclusively to ABC News, the acting American ambassador in Ukraine, Kristina Kvien warning Russia could do anything at any moment.
KRISTINA KVIEN (Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine): It’s like a gun to the head of Ukraine, and we don’t think that Ukraine should have to live with a loaded gun to its head.
MUIR: And Ian Pannell back with us from Ukraine’s capitol again tonight. Just incredible reporting from you and the team. And Ian, I know you said today that President Biden is now indicating that he would consider personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin if Russia invades?
PANNELL: Yeah, that’s right, David. If Putin invaded Ukraine, President Biden says, quote, there’d be enormous consequences, including possible sanctions against Putin himself. Worth remembering, though, that when U.S. Senators proposed the very same idea last week, the Kremlin said it would be a great mistake that would potentially cut off all relations between America and Russia. David?
CBS Evening News
1/25/2022
6:33:07 PM
O’KEEFE: A Russian military show of force today on the country’s western border with Ukraine, and no signs that Vladimir Putin plans to back down. That’s why President Biden, shopping today at a small business in Washington, says he may soon deploy to eastern Europe some of the almost 9,000 U.S. Troops he’s put on heightened alert.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I may be moving some of those troops in the near term, just because it takes time, and, again, it’s not provocative.
O’KEEFE: Several thousand U.S. Troops already in Europe also could be repositioned, but the growing allied response force is still no match for Putin’s roughly 100,000 troops on the ground. At this point, almost completely encircling Ukraine. The White House says an invasion is imminent, and Mr. Biden summoned his top national security advisers for a meeting on the crisis, saying he would specifically target Putin with economic sanctions if the Russian leader invades.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
O’KEEFE: The Russians reiterated today they have no plans to attack. But the administration fearing Putin could cut off fuel shipments that run through Ukraine in the coming weeks is now working with oil and gas suppliers around the globe to ensure there is adequate supply. Some Republicans say they fear Mr. Biden is still moving too slowly against Putin.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Even when they’re taking the right steps now those right steps tend to be half-measures and they’re certainly much too late.
O’KEEFE: But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a frequent critic of the President has a different view.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL: It appears to me the administration is moving in the right direction.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Ed joins us now from the White House. So what are you hearing about U.S. Troop deployments?
O’KEEFE: Well, CBS News has learned tonight the Pentagon is preparing to announce elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborn Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, could be among the elements deployed to the region.
NBC Nightly News
1/25/2022
7:06:46 PM
LESTER HOLT: With weapons and words, the United States and NATO allies are sending Russia a powerful new message tonight to stay out of Ukraine. President Biden warning of enormous consequences if Russia invades. Richard Engel is in Ukraine tonight.
RICHARD ENGEL: With diplomacy failing, NATO and Russia are both mobilizing for a potential war. Tonight more American weapons, part of a $200 million, 90-ton package, arrived in Ukraine to help defend against a possible Russian invasion. President Biden saying he’s close to deciding whether to mobilize additional U.S. Troops already on high alert to eastern Europe although not inside Ukraine.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: What would lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the near term just because it takes time.
ENGEL: And saying he might sanction President Putin himself if he invades.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
ENGEL: NATO allies big and small are also moving east. Spain deploying fighter jets to Bulgaria and warships to the Black Sea. Denmark sending jets to Lithuania. And France vowing to defend Romania. All of eastern Europe is a potential front. While Russia denies it will invade, with new military drills today, it keeps the world guessing. Ukraine’s President is telling people to remain calm and that he’s seeking a diplomatic solution. But here in the east, some volunteers are already signing up in case they need to fight. Lester?
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to intensify on Tuesday, the liberal evening news broadcast networks have continued to cover the Biden administration’s tough talk and threats towards Russia to help him look like he’s handling it competently. Meanwhile, they’re giving little airtime to congressional Republicans’ criticisms that he’s not doing enough and going it too slowly.
On ABC’s World News Tonight, senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell reported on the ground in Ukraine that “American anti-tank and bunker-busting missiles arriving in Kyiv as the Biden administration steps up military support for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia.” He clarified that these were “meant to send a signal of support to the people of Ukraine, but also a message of deterrence to the Kremlin.”
World News Tonight then aired a soundbite of President Biden’s recent comments on when he will make a final decision on deploying ground forces:
What will lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the nearer term, just because it takes time.
Pannell followed up on Biden’s remarks by reporting that more “than 100,000 Russian troops are now gathered on Ukraine’s borders with trainloads of troops and equipment moving into Belarus on the northern frontier.” Biden warned that if Russia fully invaded Ukraine “it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.”
Later in the segment, Pannell reported that Biden warned “there’d be enormous consequences, including possible sanctions against Putin himself” if Russia follows through on its apparent plans to invade Ukraine.
Over on NBC Nightly News, it was much the same thing with NBC parroting Biden’s threats toward Russia while giving no airtime to any critics of the administration’s handling of the crisis.
NBC chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel did however report this startling development:
NATO allies big and small are also moving east. Spain deploying fighter jets to Bulgaria and warships to the Black Sea. Denmark sending jets to Lithuania. And France vowing to defend Romania. All of eastern Europe is a potential front.
Meanwhile, CBS Evening News did give the Biden administration’s Republican critics airtime by featuring comments from Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton who said “even when they’re taking the right steps now those right steps tend to be half-measures and they’re certainly much too late.”
On the flip side of the GOP coin, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell believes “the administration is moving in the right direction” when it comes to its handling of the situation in Ukraine.
This latest example of the liberal networks carrying water for the Biden administration while ignoring GOP criticism was made possible by CarFax on ABC and T-Mobile on NBC. Their contact information is linked so you can let them know about the bias news they fund.
To read the transcripts of each segment click “expand”:
ABC World News Tonight
1/25/2022
6:38:05 PM
DAVID MUIR: We’re going to turn now to Russia and Ukraine and U.S. Military equipment now arriving there. The pictures coming in tonight. And this evening, President Biden saying those 8,500 U.S. Troops already put on heightened alert to be sent to the region to support NATO allies, they may be moving in the nearer term, were his words today. A new shipment of American anti-tank missiles arriving in Ukraine. The Russians releasing new video tonight of their troops in training exercises. And what President Biden is now saying tonight about personally sanctioning Vladimir Putin. ABC’s senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell on the ground in Ukraine tonight.
IAN PANNELL: Tonight, American anti-tank and bunker-busting missiles arriving in Kyiv as the Biden administration steps up military support for Ukraine in its standoff with Russia. This is the latest delivery of U.S.-supplied weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian government. It’s meant to send a signal of support to the people of Ukraine, but also a message of deterrence to the Kremlin. 8,500 U.S. Troops are on high alert, standing by to deploy to Europe in case this crisis escalates further, and tonight, President Biden saying they could be on the move sooner rather than later.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, it depends. What will lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the nearer term, just because it takes time.
PANNELL: More than 100,000 Russian troops are now gathered on Ukraine’s borders with trainloads of troops and equipment moving into Belarus on the northern frontier. Biden now saying he’d even sanction Putin if he attacks.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
PANNELL: The Kremlin has consistently denied it plans to evade, accusing the U.S. of Hysteria. But America is taking no chances. Today’s 79-ton military shipment includes more than 270 javelin anti-tank missiles and over 800 shoulder-fired bunker-busting rockets. We saw these anti-tank weapons being used in training by the Ukrainian military last month. The Kremlin says this is American and NATO interference on its doorstep. The Ukrainian government’s been playing down the sense of crisis here, but speaking exclusively to ABC News, the acting American ambassador in Ukraine, Kristina Kvien warning Russia could do anything at any moment.
KRISTINA KVIEN (Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine): It’s like a gun to the head of Ukraine, and we don’t think that Ukraine should have to live with a loaded gun to its head.
MUIR: And Ian Pannell back with us from Ukraine’s capitol again tonight. Just incredible reporting from you and the team. And Ian, I know you said today that President Biden is now indicating that he would consider personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin if Russia invades?
PANNELL: Yeah, that’s right, David. If Putin invaded Ukraine, President Biden says, quote, there’d be enormous consequences, including possible sanctions against Putin himself. Worth remembering, though, that when U.S. Senators proposed the very same idea last week, the Kremlin said it would be a great mistake that would potentially cut off all relations between America and Russia. David?
CBS Evening News
1/25/2022
6:33:07 PM
O’KEEFE: A Russian military show of force today on the country’s western border with Ukraine, and no signs that Vladimir Putin plans to back down. That’s why President Biden, shopping today at a small business in Washington, says he may soon deploy to eastern Europe some of the almost 9,000 U.S. Troops he’s put on heightened alert.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I may be moving some of those troops in the near term, just because it takes time, and, again, it’s not provocative.
O’KEEFE: Several thousand U.S. Troops already in Europe also could be repositioned, but the growing allied response force is still no match for Putin’s roughly 100,000 troops on the ground. At this point, almost completely encircling Ukraine. The White House says an invasion is imminent, and Mr. Biden summoned his top national security advisers for a meeting on the crisis, saying he would specifically target Putin with economic sanctions if the Russian leader invades.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
O’KEEFE: The Russians reiterated today they have no plans to attack. But the administration fearing Putin could cut off fuel shipments that run through Ukraine in the coming weeks is now working with oil and gas suppliers around the globe to ensure there is adequate supply. Some Republicans say they fear Mr. Biden is still moving too slowly against Putin.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: Even when they’re taking the right steps now those right steps tend to be half-measures and they’re certainly much too late.
O’KEEFE: But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a frequent critic of the President has a different view.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL: It appears to me the administration is moving in the right direction.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Ed joins us now from the White House. So what are you hearing about U.S. Troop deployments?
O’KEEFE: Well, CBS News has learned tonight the Pentagon is preparing to announce elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborn Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, could be among the elements deployed to the region.
NBC Nightly News
1/25/2022
7:06:46 PM
LESTER HOLT: With weapons and words, the United States and NATO allies are sending Russia a powerful new message tonight to stay out of Ukraine. President Biden warning of enormous consequences if Russia invades. Richard Engel is in Ukraine tonight.
RICHARD ENGEL: With diplomacy failing, NATO and Russia are both mobilizing for a potential war. Tonight more American weapons, part of a $200 million, 90-ton package, arrived in Ukraine to help defend against a possible Russian invasion. President Biden saying he’s close to deciding whether to mobilize additional U.S. Troops already on high alert to eastern Europe although not inside Ukraine.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: What would lead to that is what’s going to happen, what Putin does or doesn’t do. And I may be moving some of those troops in the near term just because it takes time.
ENGEL: And saying he might sanction President Putin himself if he invades.
BIDEN: If he were to move in with all those forces, it would be the largest invasion since World War II. It would change the world.
ENGEL: NATO allies big and small are also moving east. Spain deploying fighter jets to Bulgaria and warships to the Black Sea. Denmark sending jets to Lithuania. And France vowing to defend Romania. All of eastern Europe is a potential front. While Russia denies it will invade, with new military drills today, it keeps the world guessing. Ukraine’s President is telling people to remain calm and that he’s seeking a diplomatic solution. But here in the east, some volunteers are already signing up in case they need to fight. Lester?
“You Are On Stolen land” – Protests Intensify At Mount Rushmore Ahead Of Trump’s Arrival
Tyler Durden
Fri, 07/03/2020 – 20:20
Update(20:21ET): Twitter handle Unicorn Riot, you may recall the account live-streamed the early days of the Minneapolis social unrest, is on the scene as demonstrators have erected a vehicle blockade preventing people from attending the firework display at Mount Rushmore this evening, which will host President Trump.
#NEW post — learn more about today’s event here
Indigenous Activists Assert Right to Unceded Land At Anti-Trump Protesthttps://t.co/SutW3aA7Qo
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 3, 2020
“A more intensive vehicle blockade has also gone up, blocking the road to Trump’s event in South Dakota. Indigenous people gathered here are invoking their unceded rights to the land – police preparing to make arrests,” Unicorn Riot tweeted.
Demonstrators are seen blocking the street with white vans, and at least one vehicle has the back driver side tire removed. One protester sign reads: “You Are On Stolen land.”
Unicon Riot notes, “Many Trump supporters are waiting to get through the roadblock.”
Moments ago, police declared the protests an “unlawful assembly.”
Police have just announced the gathering is an unlawful assembly.
we are #live in South Dakotahttps://t.co/hxXN24csB1— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 3, 2020
More images of the blockade
“25+ Nat’ l Guard soldiers met the blockade line with riot shields & helmets. Demonstrators trying to prevent Guard from pushing through. One shield was taken from Guard,” Unicorn Riot tweeted.
25+ Nat’l Guard soldiers met the blockade line with riot shields & helmets. Demonstrators trying to prevent Guard from pushing through. One shield was taken from Guard.#live where #Indigenous activists are asserting their rights to unceded treaty landhttps://t.co/8qMWHihZmU
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 3, 2020
“A second arrest warning has been given. Police claim that demonstrators will be allowed to return to their original protest location. National guard soldiers are approaching the blockade,” Unicorn Riot said.
A second arrest warning has been given. Police claim that demonstrators will be allowed to return to their original protest location.
National guard soldiers are approaching the blockade. We are #live https://t.co/iVEoebuZa1
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 3, 2020
Soldiers fired pepper balls at demonstrators’ feet to push them off the highway.
Land where demo is happening is unceded treaty territory.
Soldiers firing pepper balls at ppls’ feet & lower limbs in attempts to force them back from the state highway, which leads to “Mount Rushmore” where Trump & Pence are scheduled to speak tonight.https://t.co/cAWF3TWW9L
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) July 3, 2020
Rapid City Journal reports Trump supporters are “unable to get through the protests.” This has led to “many empty seats” at the Mount Rushmore complex – where the president is expected to attend a firework show.
“The lower level of the amphitheater is filled but there are many empty seats in the upper level. Many of the ticket holders are not wearing masks, but they are wearing Trump and MAGA hats and shirts with political messages,” Rapid City Journal said.
Rapid City Journal said the president will be arriving at Mount Rushmore around 6:45 PM via Marine One.
* * *
With the leftist cancel mob now looking to erase Mount Rushmore, President Trump is heading to the South Dakota landmark to kick off his 4th of July weekend.
The president will enjoy a fireworks display with some 7,500 people – who won’t be required to wear masks or socially distance. The monument, featuring the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, hasn’t had fireworks since 2009 due to environmental concerns, according to Reuters.
In addition to fireworks, the event will feature Lakota storytellers, a military flyover, hoop dancers, and of course – President Trump will entertain the crowd.
Soon pic.twitter.com/oAmRSU6nxU
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 3, 2020
Governor Kristi Noem (R) told Fox News on Monday night that attendees at Trump’s Friday night event at the monument said that people who have health concerns over COVID-19 can “stay home,” but that face masks will be distributed so people can “choose to wear one.”
“We’re asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties that we have in this country,” said Noem. “But we won’t be social distancing.“
And of course, wherever Trump goes, triggerings follow.
Native Americans, who reportedly plan to protest during the trip, have criticized Trump’s visit for increasing the risk of spreading the virus and for celebrating U.S. independence in an area that is sacred to them.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) tweeted at one point that Trump had disrespected Native Americans and that the event was “glorifying white supremacy.” It later deleted the tweet.
Both Washington and Jefferson, revered for their roles in the founding of the nation, were slave owners. –Reuters
“It’s an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people’s land then carve the white faces of the conquerors who committed genocide,” says Oglala Lakota Noation activist Nick Tilsen.
Cheyanne River Sioux Tribe chairman Harold Frazier has called for the removal of Mount Rushmore, saying in a statement “Nothing stands as a greater reminder to the Great Sioux Nation of a country that cannot keep a promise of treaty then the faces carved into our sacred land on what the United States calls Mount Rushmore.”
“The United States of America wishes for all of us to be citizens and a family of their republic yet when they get bored of looking at those faces we are left looking at our molesters,” he added in the June 29 comments.
— CRSTChairman (@CRSTChairman) June 30, 2020
That said, as Fox News‘ Rebecca Grant pointed out on Friday in an Op-Ed (which quoted Tilsen), nobody seemed to have a problem with the ‘racist’ monument ‘built on indigenous land’ when former President Obama and Hillary Clinton visited during their 2008 campaigns.
Candidate Obama and a bus of campaign reporters visited Mount Rushmore late on a Friday evening in May 2008. The New York Times covered it as an adorable moment with Obama’s “tie not a half-inch ajar” and Obama joking with park rangers that his ears were too big to carve on the mountain.
Candidate Hillary Clinton had already been there. On her photo op a few days earlier, a reporter asked her if she could envision herself carved on the mountain. According to CBS, this prompted a visibly annoyed Clinton to say: “Why don’t you learn something about the monument?” Good point.
But a dozen years on, it may be too late for history. –Fox News
Meanwhile, Grant points out that while the left seems to be intent on erasing America’s past, they’ve conveniently overlooked that “every square inch of the United States, plus the rest of North America and Latin America, once “had been Indigenous land.”” – and that “Even the headquarters of oh-so politically correct New York Times sits on land in Manhattan that once belonged to indigenous people before it was purchased for almost nothing by the Dutch and later taken by the British.”
This is all irrelevant. If anyone tries to destroy Mount Rushmore, there will be a civil war. https://t.co/Mb5J8PwaWW
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 3, 2020
Moreover, three of the four presidents on Mount Rushmore – Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, were all deceased when the US took control of the Black Hills in 1877, while Roosevelt was just 19 years old.
Trump will hold another 4th of July celebration on Saturday in Washington DC.
“Conflict Will Continue To Intensify” – Billionaire Dalio Warns “We Are Beginning To See Democracy Slip Into Anarchy”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 06/04/2020 – 15:38
Authored by Ray Dalio via LinkedIn.com,
With racial prejudice, protests and riots arising from the murder of George Floyd, and attempts to maintain law and order grabbing headlines, I was asked, and feel a compelling need, to share my thoughts about what’s going on. So I will do that. However, at this time there are too many thoughts running through my mind for me to express adequately, so I beg your indulgence as I share them with you in a stream of consciousness way.
As for the issues of racial prejudices, protests, riots, and attempts to maintain law and order, while I can empathize, I haven’t walked in the shoes of those who are most deeply affected by what’s going on—e.g., I can’t know and feel what it’s like to be Black in America today, to be a policeman on the front lines, to be a leader determining what should be done to deal with this situation, etc., so I encourage you to seek out those who have those perspectives. All I can tell you is what I think from the perspective I have.
To me, the big questions are:
1) does our system provide justice and respect to all people, and
2) do we live in a country that treats all people fairly and protects their basic rights?
I think that the honest answer is no, and that it doesn’t seem to be trying very hard to solve the problem. Let’s look at the history and the circumstances at hand to see whether that is right.
To me this confluence of events—i.e., racial prejudice, protests, riots, and attempts to maintain law and order—is “another one of those” in that it has come and gone many times so we can see what these are typically like. I am old enough to remember vividly the ‘65 race riots in Watts, those in Newark in 1967, those all around the country in 1968 when Dr. King was shot, those in Los Angeles in 1992 due to Rodney King’s beaters being acquitted, and those in Baltimore in 2015 when Freddie Gray sustained fatal neck injuries while in a police vehicle. So, this is an issue that flares up, passes, and then slips from national focus without resolution. Typically lots of important people make politically correct statements expressing outrage and expressing sympathy and, when the moment passes, go back to their usual ways. You are hearing a lot of these statements now. One might ask “where were all these passionately concerned people a week ago and where will they be a month from now?” Will this moment be sustained to produce real change? Probably not. History suggests to me that the problem only gets attention when it’s raised in this terrible way and then it gets neglected.
I believe the racism problem is intertwined with the cycle of the poverty problem in which poverty, crime, and inadequate education leads to systemic disadvantages including children becoming jobless adults that face few opportunities, feelings of uselessness, and prejudice, which combine to create conflicts with police and costly crime and incarceration rates in a justice system that fails to provide equal justice for all. This situation has been chronic and is also worsening. I think we should ask ourselves how it is possible that a civilized or intelligent society allows such chronically terrible, unfair, and uneconomic conditions to happen so extensively? Do we expect this not to spread to become a broader societal problem?
Consider for example that in Connecticut, one of the richest states in the country and where Bridgewater is headquartered, 22 percent of high school students are disengaged (i.e., have an absentee rate of greater than 25 percent and are failing classes) or disconnected (i.e., they dropped out of school so the schools don’t know where they are). This leads to crime and incarceration costs that add up to nearly a billion dollars a year and are growing. Consider that in this rich state there are 60,000 poor students without computers and connectivity who wouldn’t have these tools to get an education during school closures because the state couldn’t have afforded to pay for them. In Connecticut and in many places like Connecticut these problems are more likely to grow than subside, especially during economically depressed times. They are there every day of the week to see yet they remain unresolved and not widely complained about outside of the communities impacted by them. What are those who are now making those noble sounding public statements doing about these things? What is our government doing about these things? Will anyone do anything about those things—and if so, when? If not, what are the likely consequences? Should people who aren’t getting needed help be expected to continue to quietly and politely live with the status quo—or would they be better off to scream louder?
Conflict over racial prejudice is only one of many forms of conflict that the current economic circumstances will intensify. As has been true throughout history, and as we can see now, conflicts increase when economically stressful times bring to the surface both longstanding injustices and the ugly impulse to demonize and dehumanize others. It now seems that most people have three or four types of people that they are “against”—whether the Republicans, the Democrats, the capitalists, the socialists, the rich, the poor, the Chinese, the elites, the LGBTQ community, Jews, Muslims, etc. This drive to vilify others will intensify if economic conditions get worse, which is increasingly likely in a world in which monetary policies don’t work well so central governments and central banks will have to continue to make handouts of money and credit that distort the markets in order to save the society. It is tough to keep a society, especially a democratic society, operating in an orderly way under such conditions.
As you know I can’t help but think about times in history when conditions were analogous—especially when there were large wealth and values gaps, economic conditions worsened, and monetary policies were ineffective at the same time. This drew me to the 1930-45 period and later to other analogous periods in history (see my write up of these in “The Changing World Order” series).
In these examinations, I saw how this confluence of conditions led to fighting within some countries becoming so destructive that they chose to abandon their democracies to become autocracies so that strong leaders could bring back order and prosperity. In the 1930s, four major democracies—Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain—all went down that path. I am watching for signs of that happening today.
It is easy for democracies to slip into anarchies and lead to autocracies when trust in the system’s ability to provide what people need breaks down. We are beginning to see this. Do we see our leaders working together, disagreeing while following the rules of how to disagree well or are they engaging in power struggles in which they punish dissenters? How will the president, governors, and mayors resolve their disagreements over who has what power to direct the use of the military in the domains that they have in common? When power struggles replace mutual respect for law and for each other as a way of resolving disputes, we can find ourselves on a slippery slope that leads toward autocracy.
Generally speaking, the media doesn’t help because it sensationalizes, distorts the truth, and picks sides in the fights (e.g. between left and right) and screams supporting opinions at their audiences to demonize the other side. There is little thoughtful disagreement to get at what’s true and what to do about it.
I see different versions of these things happening around the world and being indirectly connected. For example, I see the riots in Hong Kong as “another one of those” cases of protests, riots, and attempts to maintain law and order, and the sparks of each of these tinder boxes can ignite other boxes. The Hong Kong tinder box can ignite the Taiwan tinder box which can ignite the sparks between the US and China which can add to the flames in the US and so on.
Though we can’t equate the sufferings of all of those affected by what’s happening, I empathize with both those who face injustice and are driven to protest and those who have to come up with the policies to make things go well. I imagine that it is very challenging for those who are responsible for determining how to handle these demonstrations to achieve the right balances and resolutions. At the same time, while I think about the need for laws and abiding by them, I also think of the purposes of revolutions—to bring about changes that wouldn’t happen within existing systems.
I personally think it’s essential for leaders to have good principles for dealing for these things well and that these principles should be practical ways of bringing us together around shared values and sensible actions to make us as a society more united, peaceful, and prosperous. And they must make those principles clear to the American people so they can pull together behind these. Otherwise we won’t know where we are going and how we will get there.
To me the most important choice people have is between:
a) a path of thoughtful disagreement in which disparate views can be thoughtfully examined to reach an intelligent agreement about what should be done so that the key stakeholders can support and rally broad support (ideally of the majority) behind them, so that the country with all of its diversity, is brought together, and
b) a path in which each person fights for what he/she thinks is best, gathering allies for their cause who together fight against the other side even if the fighting will be terribly harmful to both sides (like in a war).
I believe that we are at serious risk of going down the second path. As a principle, “when the cause is more important than the system, the system is in jeopardy.” I think we are approaching the point where our passionate pursuits of individual causes and our doubts about the system’s fairness and its ability to take care of us are threatening the system, and that’s scary.
I watch closely which way these events are tilting—toward order or toward disorder. I don’t take for granted that there won’t be revolutionary changes that could have a broader disruptive effect. In fact I expect them, though I can’t tell you what forms they will take—whether they will be peaceful and productive or violent and counter-productive.
I’m not a policy maker. I’m just a citizen and an investor so it’s not my responsibility or my area of expertise to tell those who are policy makers what they should do. My responsibility is simply to help others be successful in the areas I know something about. However, having taken my stream of consciousness rambling this far, I feel compelled to touch on what I think a peaceful and productive revolution would look like.
It would look like a collaborative democracy in which we start by agreeing that the American Dream depends on equal opportunity that we are failing to provide. That is an intolerable problem that has become a national emergency. Once we agree that it is a problem that must be solved, we can establish clear and agreed-upon metrics for measuring our progress in solving it that we could work together on instead of fighting over. We would pursue the best path to achieving this goal through thoughtful disagreement and compromise rather than a desire for one side to force its solutions on the other side.
The president or other leaders like governors or mayors would make clear that fighting each other is killing us and that their goal, above all else, is to bring disparate factions together to have thoughtful disagreement to achieve these goals of equal opportunity and justice for all in ways that are intelligent and work well for most people, though they won’t be exactly what anyone wants.
Then they would attempt to bring together those leaders of the various constituencies who can be reasonable with each other to try to reach an agreement of what should be done to deal with the problem and then take responsibility for getting their constituents together behind this agreed upon plan. They would create a respected way of operating in which screaming, hate and not pursuing the best solution for the whole would become intolerable behavior, exercise the art of thoughtful disagreement and follow protocols to get past disagreements to move to actions that are best for the whole would be the only acceptable behavior. I recognize that this path is more difficult than the alternative path of just fighting for what one wants, but I also know that just fighting for what one wants is far more dangerous and far less rewarding than solving problems together. I believe that “United we stand and divided we fall.”
Thank you for your patience in letting me ramble about subjects that matter to me even though they extend beyond the narrower scope of my responsibilities.
