Take A Look For Yourself

We've said in times like these it's hard to know who your friends are. This interview is a matter of public record. It took place 16 years ago.

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/flashback-trump-defends-gays-clintons-20

Are you serious about running?
Yes, I’m quite serious. Washington is in gridlock, and nothing is getting done. No health care reform, no tax relief, no campaign finance reform. The special interests run the country. I think it will take a nonpolitician to break the logjam. Somebody with a big-picture outlook. I’m someone who has built a billion-dollar business enterprise and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. I have made the tough decisions, always with an eye toward the bottom line. Perhaps it’s time America was run like a business.

Why should gays and lesbians be interested in you as a presidential candidate?
I grew up in New York City, a town with different races, religions, and peoples. It breeds tolerance. In all truth, I don’t care whether or not a person is gay. I judge people based on their capability, honesty, and merit. Being in the entertainment business — that is, owning casinos and … several large beauty pageants — I’ve worked with many gay people. I have met some tough, talented, capable, terrific people. Their lifestyle is of no interest to me.

Would we see gay people in a Trump administration?
I would want the best and brightest. Sexual orientation would be meaningless. I’m looking for brains and experience. If the best person for the job happens to be gay, I would certainly appoint them. One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace, good people don’t go into government. I’d want to change that.

What would you do to combat antigay prejudice?
I like the idea of amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include a ban of discrimination based on sexual orientation. It would be simple. It would be straightforward. We don’t need to rewrite the laws currently on the books, although I do think we need to address hate-crimes legislation. But amending the Civil Rights Act would grant the same protection to gay people that we give to other Americans — it’s only fair. I actually suggested this first, and now I see [Democratic presidential candidate] Bill Bradley has jumped on the bandwagon and is claiming the idea as his own. [A bill to amend the Civil Rights Act that would have included protections on the basis of sexual orientation was first introduced in the 1970s. — Ed.] Let me tell you something. Bradley is as phony as a $20 Rolex. He says the president ought to have big ideas. His last big idea — the 1986 [Tax Reform Act] — caused a recession and cost thousands of people their jobs. This guy destroyed the real estate industry, and he tanked the S&Ls. It was a disaster. Bradley walked out of the Senate like he was some kind of statesman declaring that “politics is broken.” The truth is, the voters were going to dump him in New Jersey. He walked away. Now he poses as some kind of outsider. What a joke. Bradley was a member of the Senate Finance Committee and a longtime part of Washington establishment. When I was $900 million and my companies were $9 billion in debt, I didn’t walk away. While others were declaring bankruptcy, I clawed my way back. My businesses are now bigger and better than ever.

Are your gay employees allowed to be out?
 Everyone makes a personal choice. Look, it just doesn’t matter to me. I try to treat everybody equal and fairly. Maybe that’s why I can count men like Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Sammy Sosa as my friends. When you hang with people who are different from you, you get an appreciation for other cultures.

Level Playing Fields

 So what will be the result if leave Brexit passes?

Some say huge. Maybe. Maybe not. At this point that's all perception, not yet fact. Perception, to be sure, is important but not infallible. If the worse happens, however, or something approximating it, part of the blame must rest with all those entrenched elitists who amped up their scaremongering, prophesying the worst.

In a sense it would've failed, in another exceed far beyond that intended. Some think Brexit if it wins will simply be another Y2K event, much ballyhooed, but like a one night stand, a brief flash of excitement.

One of the problems with globalization is contagion. Once the stone drops into the water the ripples go out and can't be recalled. So the worse the fallout if it happens, the worse it is for those globalists bureaucrats who want so much to control things. The nastier it gets, the further globalization gets pushed into the backwaters of history. If you're one of those who value your culture, your currency and your liberty, this is a good thing.

Despite all the QE and such banks have never fully recovered from the financial meltdown. Banks hate many things, stress tests (Whoever other than a central banker could've thought that gem up!) but one of their worst nightmares is a flat yield curve. No spreads, no profits. No risk, no reward. These are level playing fields by another name, the hallmark of interventionist dreamers.

Right now you're paying banks to hold your money and banks are paying central banks to hold theirs. There is a reason why the higher-ups are grossly worried and it doesn't have anything to do with them guarding your best interests. People like ECB President Mario Draghi should be scared. If this whole thing implodes he might be joining one of his fellow countrymen visiting a local lamp post.

A huge crash will effect millions and the finger pointing has to start somewhere.Wikipedia states:
Draghi previously worked at Goldman Sachs from 2002 until 2005 before becoming the governor of the Bank of Italy in December 2005, where he served until October 2011. In 2014 Draghi was listed as the 8th most powerful person in the world by Forbes.

The site also points out Draghi is a member of the Group of Thirty founded by the Rockerfeller Foundation. The Group of Thirty is a private group of lobbyists in the finance sector. For this reason he is accused of having a conflict of interest as president of the ECB. Some parties also see Draghi's former work at Goldman Sachs as a conflict of interest. (40,41,42,43).

Conflicts of interest in bad times don't go over well. None of this is meant to be inflammatory nor should it be interpreted as such. These are hardly good times, a fact. Draghi is ECB President and his former associations are fact. He is on the record for promising whatever it takes, a fact. He is also on the record, rather indirectly or otherwise, for giving the public the impression that he has an idea of what he's doing, a fact. Should it turnout otherwise, and  millions of peoples' lives and futures are tossed to the wind in the process, that too could turn out to be a fact.

In an age when nearly everyone wants to hold other peoples' feet to the flame, central bankers should not be exempt. Isn't that what level playing fields are all about?

You Read: You Decide

You have most likely in your life seen many things that were before they happened unexpected or even unbelievable. One could say welcome to the club.

Government censorship is one thing, private another. We place the following story in our "Your Decision: You Read It  And Decide" category. We already have heard about Facebook's bias and that brooks another question: Facebook, why not other social media?

Immediately after the Orlando tragedy, we said it would favor Trump more than Hilary. This past week in West Hollywood, an area well-know for its concentration of gays, signs popped up.
 


It's hard to tell exactly what the true meaning of these signs are. For some it might be literal, for others something else. Obviously, fear and frustration and uncertainty play into it. It's difficult in times like these to know who your friends are. That's why censorship irrespective of its intentions cannot be allowed. So we post this story in that Facebook vein. If Facebook can be censoring why not other social media?

Do gays who may--as unbelievable as it might sound--support Trump deserve to be censored for simply expressing their choice or views on a public social media? That's a question you're going to have to answer for yourself if you truly believe in gay rights?

We're not gay. That's not our lifestyle choice. But we believe in your right to have that choice. As we said: In times like these it's difficult to know who your friends are.

Here's another example. People lament black on black crime. This appears to be gay on gay crime. It's is ironic that groups of people who have been discriminated and intimidated against for years, possibly centuries, is now intimidating, discriminating and physically hurting their own.

nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/lgbtrump-gay-men-voting-donald-trump.

You Decide: Real or Fiction?

Here's an interesting post. Read it and decide for yourself whether it has any credibility. It's from today, 6-18-16. Do reports ever get altered? Sounds like a good question for Wall Street accountants and, now, maybe some others.

There might be some hyperbole here, but there's just as likely some truth, too.
blacklistednews.com/This_story_could_be_the_smoking_gun_for_false-flag_operations

Santa Monica; Two police officers who wish to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation say that James Wesley Howell, an Indiana man who was found with a car full of explosives and weapons on Sunday morning, told police he was part of a team that planned shooting attacks on gay communities in Florida and California.

Howell told police he was turning himself in because he wanted protection. His story was that he had been assured by his recruiters that he would not be harmed in the shooting but, when he heard on the news that Omar Mateen, the lead gunman in the Orlando group, had been killed by sniper fire, he realized he was being set up as a patsy and would be killed.
Soon after that, the FBI took over the investigation, and information to the public was filtered to remove any facts that might show the Orlando shooting as a planned event involving others. GetOffTheBS 2016 Jun 15 (Story) (Cached)
It is important to remember that the police officers who are the source of this story choose to remain anonymous, so it cannot be independently verified at this time, but circumstantial evidence supports it. For example:
(1) After the FBI took charge of the investigation, Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks changed her original report that Howell was part of a group of five people who intended to do harm at the gay-pride event in West Hollywood. Her altered report made no mention of anyone other than Howell.
(2) The web site that reported this story is still carrying the article without triggering legal action against it. That is significant because, if the story is false, immediate legal action would be expected. If it is true, Howell will be killed or ‘disappeared’ to prevent him from talking, but the last thing the perpetrators would want is a public trial where witnesses can be called to testify.
This news story could be one of the most important reports ever published in the annals of journalism.
That’s quite a statement but, when you consider the nature of its content, it is no exaggeration to say that it has the potential to fundamentally change the relationship between the United States government and the American people, and that could lead to a profound change, not only in America, but the entire world.
The story still is still unfolding, and it is likely that officialdom either will pull it off the Internet or do everything possible to discredit it but, unlike most false-flag scenarios, there are many people on the outside of the plot who can verify the accuracy of this one. In fact, there may even be an entire police department to do that. If so, the sheer number of witnesses could outweigh the threats against job security or physical safety. We shall see.

Stop At Nothing

Carlyle said that every man's death diminished him.

And we certainly decry the loss of life. That of the UK MP recently is no exception. But politics is politics and it's always been down and dirty. So call us sinister or whatever you want. But it remains to be seen and would hardly surprise from what we now know what the threatened will do to keep their power. In their world, one life or reputation is a small price to sacrifice. A young, attractive woman on the rise politically, a mother of two young children. That's the stuff of Hollywood dramas. The only real difference in this power struggle is real people get hurt, like those at Orlando, San Bernardino and now the UK. It's been done before and it will be done again.
T
Much like the  FBI here in the States is speculated as doing. Recruiting homeless people, often with a mental medical history. Befriending them, getting into their heads and giving them funds to buy guns only to arrest them as they're leaving the gun shop and announcing the capture of another would be terrorist. It's called good pub. It helps settle ruffled feathers.

Too bizarre you claim to be believable? Then you don't know how often the police plant incriminating evidence in the automobiles they pull over and search. It's been done before and it will be done again. Even the king of greens for the last two decades, Ralph Nader, a nerd by all accounts, was smart enough to know that the smiling, sexy tall blonde with all the exposed cleavage approaching him in the market had other interests than just bedding  him down.

Who is going to defend or believe the accused? The fear of being a victim of a terrorist attack is so globally widespread now everyone is a suspect. The stay crowd markets the EU as a symbol of unity and strength. Buried there in is an implied guarantee of security and safety. But trusting your future and your safety to a group of distant, cold, insensitive Brussels bureaucrats is akin to leaving a four-year old unattended at a backyard swimming pool with no fence around it, no gate and no lock.

You ought never be surprised when the people you know who will stop at nothing stop at nothing.

Good Luck

In the English language there is still as far as we know the comparative case as in dumb, dumber and dumbest. If you really want to know how pathetically out of touch with reality in their warped Keynesian madness central bankers are, here's a recent quote from European Central Bank President Mario "Whatever It Takes" Draghi.

ECB President Mario Draghi said that negative rates are "not the problem, but a symptom of an underlying problem" caused by a "global excess of savings." If central banks did not do this, investing would be unattractive," added Draghi.



The second part of the quote tells you everything about their narrow thinking and what their real focus is. Rescuing the economy, putting people back to work is all about making investing attractive. These are some sick bureaucrats that we allow to control our lives without any public input. After nearly a decade of pitiful economic growth the best they can come up with is blaming already tapped out consumers for trying to pay down their debt and put some funds away after a decade of global government binging at the public trough.

It also tells you what these elitists think of you. You're just another faceless chunk of human protoplasm squirming around out there struggling to survive in an environment that you had no part in creating. It is not enough that they have debased your economy and your future, now they want to debase your character.

If you live in the UK and you have a vote next week this is what your Prime Minster and the stay people want you to vote to perpetuate. Good luck.

.businessinsider.com/the-us-economy-about-to-hit-a-brick-wall-2016-6?

Overnight

The Nikkei jumped 1.6% in early trading Friday rebounding from the day before losses as the Bank of Japan continued to hold fast on its no new stimulus packages. Hitting 15, 677. 78 it was a big day coming Thursday's 3.1% losses in the index. The index is set to have its largest weekly drop, 5.6%, in 16 weeks.

 Part of the upswing in Asian stock some say owed to the U.S. market breaking its five-day losing streak. Besides the Nikkei, the ASX 200 was up 0.2%, the Kospi edged 0.52% higher and the Hang Send posted a 1.0% gain. In China the two composites, Shanghai, 0.81%, and the Shenzhen, 1.39%, were both higher. Brexit remains where much of the attention is going and the tragic news today that a UK Brexit stay PM died after being shot and stabbed by what was announced by the media as a Brexit supporter will have to play out before the vote next week. Though the man was reported to be a former psych patient, this is not what anyone wanted or needed irrespective how strong people feel about their positions. Two young children are now without a mother.

In currencies the dollar/yen traded as low as 103.58 and the yen appreciated against the euro at euro/yen 117.75, up from 115.46 the day earlier. Currency moves seem to more in focus among investors than before, particularly in Asia as they look to the U.S. and any signs of a real recovery there. 

Looking For Some Inflation

Donald Trump continues to say all the right things.

Despite what MSM lackeys and a few political hacks from both parties are saying, Trump continues to nail it. Yesterday, for example, he said "....no more State dinners. We should be eating hamburgers." They should serve drive-in fast food at those State dinners. It's good enough for the poor and the undeserved of this country. It's what they have to subsist on everyday. It ought to be good enough for a bunch of flatulent-laden, double-chinned dignitaries, freeloading on the taxpayer dollar, once in their lives.

Here are some more things Trump got correct. He said that the President seems to be madder at him (Trump) than he is at the Orlando shooter. That little gem resonates with a whole lot of Americans, gay or otherwise.

And then there's Trump's recent beauty to his fellow Republicans, "Stop Talking!" Some took potshots at him over his response about the tragic Orlando affair. One such platitude-filled Republican is Tennessee Senator Bob Coker. Now here's an interesting fellow. He came to the Senate a multi-millionaire real estate investor. A real smart guy, you'd think, since real estate involves a bunch of numbers. And no doubt some complicated tax filings every year.

Yet for three years after being elected in a row he apparently had difficulty filing his income taxes correctly to the tune of millions of unreported dollars. This is not hearsay; it's a matter of public record even the neocons at the Wall Street Journal editorial staff wrote about. More recently, again a matter of public record, there's been some questions about possibly trading on insider information back in his home state. It was only after some of this earlier came to light that the good Senator was obliged to correct his seemingly large tax filing oversight.

But there was still a discrepancy between what he thought that he owed and what the IRS thought that he owed. If that sounds familiar the only difference is elected officials get a pass on late fee penalties and interest charges. You and I don't.

We are not implying anything here. People can infer, as they will, what they want. There's most likely enough dirt to go around. The MSM with these stories, holding up high ranking Republicans as if they are some sort of paragon  of measurement, is trying to drive a wedge between Trump and his supporters. It hasn't worked before and it's highly unlikely to work come this November.

Right or wrong, like it or lump it--and that's where the real rub is--he apparently is saying things people want to hear. We heard about a fellow, poor guy, who apparently set some sort of medical record. He was vomiting everyday for a year. Yep, 365 days straight. All the medical experts were stumped until one of them decided to finally take a decent history. Most of you might vaguely recall what that is, when the physician asks questions, takes notes, listens and doesn't attempt to put words or narratives in your mouth for longer than 20 seconds.

That was nearly 30 injections and almost 100 expensive prescriptions later. It's turns out the fellow was feeling so guilty for throwing out a plastic bottle while driving home late one night several years ago from an Al Gore speech, as penance he was forcing himself to read something about climate change every morning. But that's not the saddest part. He recently received his new Obamacare notice. His annual premium is up 1,000 percent.

We've heard, but again can't confirm, he's thinking about making a copy of the bill and sending it to Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Rumor has it she apparently is looking for some inflation.

Politics Is All

 
Hoaxes are like theories. there are two kinds--those that have been disproved and those waiting to be disproved. In some cases the waiting can get rather long in the truth.

There's no shortage of hoaxes making the rounds today. climate change, the lone wolf theory. One of the most prominent and longer standing ones is the Federal Reserve (aka central bankers) know what they're doing. Buried within that is a subset one, that the Fed doesn't have a political agenda. It does.

In the eyes of many, Americans now face two evils running for the White House. Another recently was forced out. One represents the unknown, the uncertainty that change brings. The other is a known quantity yet no less disturbing, more of the same with the possibility, like a huge out-of-control blob, expanding evil even further.

The Yellen-led Fed disdains uncertainty. Volatility is Fed speak for the same. Proof positive is its now exposed, well-documented fence straddling posture. Like her predecessor both are card carrying members. Neither ever met a decision that didn't deserve a good straddle. It's right up there on page two of the How To Be A Good Bureaucrat For Dummies manual.

There's a principle that the closer you observe something the more it changes. Another paradox. In  his new book, The Great Invention, Ehsan Masood, seems to argue, and this is our interpretation, the Fed tries by focusing on GDP growth, to micromanage what can't be micromanaged. Controlling what you measure then often distorts your outcome.

One of the Darth Vaders is a well-known business person. To many that's in itself scary enough. The other is a well known cattle trader. The path of least resistance for the Fed is the cattle trader. It's the easiest fence to straddle. So don't expect any interest rate hikes until after Inauguration Day, if even then. Politics is all and all is politics.

Overnight

Well, the Fed spoke Wednesday, dialing back talk about raising interest rates, as one commentator reported, just how quickly they will be hiking rates in the future. The new normal although it's hardly new and it isn't very normal is the Yellen-led Fed is searching for some inflation as it appears inflation of the only thing that's going to get this Fed off the dime.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan made few friends among investors, something it now is in dire need of, after sitting tight on any new monetary stimulus. With the U.S. dollar softening on the Yellen news and the yen pushing higher ever so slightly against the dollar, it was not a recipe to make make investors in Japan jump for joy. Couple that with the upcoming Brexit vote in the UK and you have a wait-and-see play going on.

Asian shares broadly turned south after digesting the news with the Nikkei down -3%, the Hang Send for over -2%, the Korean Kospi faded -1.07% , the Shanghai Composite edged lower- 0.21%. the Australian ASX 200 was among the few bucking the down draft by edging slightly higher 0.06%.

For Japan's Nikkei it hit a four-month low overnight taking out its April low and at one point trading at 15,436.61. The yen helped itself to trade near a 22-month high, Reuters reported. Again, as previously noted, the strong yen won't make the export sector happy.

Here in the U.S. Thursday brings the consumer price index, expected at 8:30 a.m. EDT  in what some are labeling is "the first fresh inflation report after the Fed forecasts Wednesday revealed that one rate hike is probably more likely than two this year. Fed forecasts also show at least four fewer hikes than previously forecast through 2018."