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The sore losers of the Left, after refusing to attend Trump’s inauguration, have apparently decided to double down on their childish behavior by plotting a number of protests at Trump’s upcoming address to Congress.  According to The Hill, House Democrats are rallying behind a plan to make the newly-elected President’s first address to Congress as uncomfortable as possible by inviting guests they say will be harmed by his policies, including ethnic minorities, LGBT people, undocumented immigrants and the disabled.

“It is our hope that their presence in the House Gallery will remind President Trump that he is not the arbiter of patriotism,” reads the letter. “This country belongs to all of us, and his rhetoric of intolerance will not stand.”

 

“We want to send a strong message to the [president] that he cannot push these communities aside, and he cannot change the fabric of this country,” they wrote.

 

“Instead of celebrating the very diversity that makes our country a beacon of inclusion and equality, he has chosen to vilify, bully and alienate women, immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, and people of differing faiths,” the Democrats wrote in their letter.

 

“His rhetoric emboldens those who seek a scapegoat for the challenges this country faces.”

Amazing that Trump was able to launch a full assault on such an
overwhelming percentage of the population yet still win a national
election. 

The protests were organized by a group of liberal representatives who drafted a letter urging other House members to invite defiant guests to the speech scheduled for February 28th.  The authors of the letter include Reps. Jim Langevin (R.I.), who was shot accidentally as a teen and became the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Michelle Lujan Grisham (N.M.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Cedric Richmond (La.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; Judy Chu (Calif.), head of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus; and David Cicilline (R.I.) and Jared Polis (Colo.), the co-chairman of the
LGBT Equality Caucus.

Unfortunately, the childish behavior doesn’t end there as other Representatives are encouraging Democrats to avoid shaking hands with Trump as he walks down the aisle to take the podium.  

Some liberals are also eyeing another form of protest during the speech: When Trump walks down the center aisle of the House chamber on the way to the dais, they’re hoping no Democrats scramble to get in the picture for the traditional handshake.

 

“We have to have a higher standard,” Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said.

 

“For sure I will not be nearby,” Rep. Filemon Vela (D-Texas) echoed.

Of course, the sore losers of the left argue that their protests are justified because Trump’s campaign rhetoric has been combative from the very start, and he’s brought that approach with him to the White House. 

That said, we wonder whether those same sore losers would admit that Obama telling Republicans they would have to “sit in the back of the bus” was also “combative?”  Also, who was it that said, “elections have consequences and I won?”

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As the dollar continues to tumble (and amid China’s quite period during Golden Week), Bitcoin has gently begun to shake off China ‘probe’ weakness and extend its gains once again. For the first time since January 5th, Bitcoin is trading above $1000…

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The reaction to The House of Commons vote on Article 50 yesterday was overwhelmed by Fed-driven dollar-flows but, despite a relatively hawkish Bank of England this morning, Cable finally caught up to the implications of the vote and that Brits are one step closer to Brexit…

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One of the more troubling geopolitical stories in the past week has been the renewed flaring of fighting in Eastern Ukraine, which culminated yesterday with Kiev accusing Moscow of shooting at its military transport airplane while flying over the Black Sea, an allegation Moscow denied. To some, this has been a test by Putin to gauge US resolve in condemning what the western media is quick to dub Russian provocations; to others this is merely the sad continuation of events unleashed with the violent presidential coup in Ukraine two years ago.

Whatever the ultimate strategy, on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin preempted the first argument, and accused Kiev of provoking this week’s flare up in fighting in eastern Ukraine, saying it was a ploy to win the support of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Putin said that the Kiev government provoked the latest escalation of violence in east Ukraine as it needs money from its Western partners, which is easier to achieve when a nation pretends to be a victim and facing aggression.

“The Ukrainian leadership today needs money, and the best way to extort money is [to do that] from the European Union, from certain countries in Europe, from the United States and international institutions, presenting itself as a victim of aggression,” Putin said.

The Russian leader made the comments during a joint press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.

Putin also noted that after supporting a particular candidate in the US presidential elections – hinting at Hillary Clinton – the Ukrainian government is now seeking to establish closer ties with the new administration under Donald Trump.

“The Ukrainian opposition has been more active amid clear [government] failures in the economic area and social policy,” Putin said. He noted that the ruling elite in Kiev is now seeking to silence the opposition and “mobilize” people around the government, which is easier to achieve “against the background of a renewal of some conflict.”

For now, the biggest question remains unanswered: what side of the Ukraine-Russian conflict will the new US State Department under Rex Tillerson side with, and will Trump slam the alleged Russian violence as his predecessor was so quick to do on virtually every single occasion.

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Submitted by Shaun Bradley via TheAntiMedia.org,

The Department of Education recently released a memo admitting that repayment rates on student loans have been grossly exaggerated. Data from 99.8% of schools across the country has been manipulated to cover up growing problems with the $1.3 trillion in outstanding student loans. New calculations show that more than half of all borrowers from 1,000 different institutions have defaulted on or not paid back a single dollar of their loans over the last seven years.

This comes in stark contrast to previous claims and should call into question any statistics provided by government agencies. The American people haven’t fully grasped the long-term implications of loaning a trillion dollars to young people who have no credit or assets.

Increases in tuition seen over the past two decades have become a point of controversy and angst for those who don’t fully understand the contributing factors. Between 1995 and 2015, the average cost of a public, four-year university skyrocketed by well over 200%. Although federal student aid programs are often championed as a necessity, they have been instrumental in making higher education unaffordable. The opportunity to pay for college by working a part-time job evaporated as soon as huge sums of money were handed out to anyone with a pulse. Since students no longer pay their tuition upfront, colleges are able to raise prices in perpetuity, knowing the government will step in and make credit easier and easier to obtain. As an added bonus, outstanding student loans account for 45% of the government’s financial assets.

Subsidizing the lives of an entire generation has turned personal growth and advancement into a choice instead of a necessity. After all, why take risks or work your way up from the bottom when with just a signature, the life you’ve always wanted could be laid at your feet? It’s not hard to figure out why so many people are tempted to take advantage of the instant gratification that comes from student loans, but like everything else in life, they have a price. The same safety net that delays the anxiety of the future also ensures that monthly payments will be owed for decades to come. Procrastinating when faced with pivotal life decisions is an instinct that used to be overcome as a teenager, but today it is worn like a badge of honor well into adulthood.

The policies of intervention haven’t stopped at federal aid, and loan forgiveness is now being offered to those willing to work in the public sector or at a non-profit for ten years. This perverse incentive only serves to drive those desperately in debt further towards government dependence. Productive jobs are created when the needs of others are met in the free market, not by joining the ranks of the state for self-preservation.

The idea that success comes exclusively through attending a university has created a stigma against some of the most valuable occupations. The lack of real skill sets has lead to a shortage of welders, electricians, carpenters, and other trade workers. Instead of learning through experience with apprenticeships, many students have embraced four years of sleeping in, drinking heavily, and getting an increasingly useless degree. While there are many fields that require specialized training, the surge in popularity of degrees like sociology, anthropology, and communications clearly illustrate a disconnect between the needs of the economy and the skills of the incoming workforce.

The normalization of this system has blinded individuals to their own potential. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs and thinkers are those who have bypassed traditional education. Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and hundreds of other innovators achieved greatness by breaking from predictable paths to knowledge. Instead, passion and experience were the foundations that gave them the confidence needed to make groundbreaking strides. What it means to learn and be educated is changing rapidly as technology develops, and it will eventually force the State to adapt with it.

Albert Einstein was able to spot the innate flaws in the education system even back in 1936, but it’s doubtful he could have fathomed how far things would go:

“I want to oppose the idea that the school has to teach directly that special knowledge and those accomplishments which one has to use later directly in life. The demands of life are much too manifold to let such a specialized training in school appear possible…The development of general ability for independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost.”

Those who do achieve their degrees often do so without developing important skills like critical thinking and individual discernment. The scariest part about this revelation is that almost 90% of outstanding private loans are co-signed by parents, making this an intergenerational problem. As the instability of pension funds, social security, and economic conditions continue, any additional burdens passed onto the baby boomers could have far-reaching ramifications. The vast distortions in information that this report exposes should motivate everyone to become an independent fact checker. The only way to reform this broken system is to shift the pursuit of knowledge towards the direction of each individual’s passion instead of creating more cogs for the machine.

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With the US officially warning Iran twice over the past 24 hours in the harshest possible terms yet, when first national security advisor Michael Flynn, and then this morning Trump himself, said Iran has been “put on notice” for “destabilizing activity” after it fired a ballistic missile in defiance of UN resolutions, on Thursday a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted by Reuters as saying the country would not yield to “useless” U.S. threats from “an inexperienced person” over its ballistic missile program.

As a reminder, Iran said on Wednesday confirmed it had tested a new ballistic missile but said it did not breach a nuclear deal reached with six major powers in 2015 or a U.N. Security Council resolution that endorsed the accord. A U.S. official had said earlier that Iran test-launched the medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday and it exploded after traveling 630 miles (1,010 km). Iran said it was a successful launch. 

The IRGC maintains an arsenal of dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles – the largest in the Middle East, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran … the American government will understand that threatening Iran is useless,” Ali Akbar Velayati said, without identifying any U.S. official specifically in his comments.

Ali Akbar Velayati

“Iran does not need permission from any country to defend itself,” he was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency. Khamenei is the country’s most powerful figure.

Finally, Iran promised to “vigorously” continue its missile activity and that it will conduct more ballistic missile tests in the future.

A series of tests conducted by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in 2016 caused international concern, with some powers saying any launch of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles would violate U.N. Security Council resolution 2231.

Under the nuclear agreement, seen by many as Obama’s landmark foreign policy deal, most U.N. sanctions were lifted a year ago. But Iran is still subject to an U.N. arms embargo and other restrictions, which are not technically part of the deal. Trump has frequently criticized the Iran nuclear deal, which restricts Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of the sanctions, calling the agreement weak and ineffective. He tweeted on Thursday that Iran “should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them”.

Iran’s Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan told the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday: “The missile test on Sunday was successful … the test was not a violation of a nuclear deal with world powers or any U.N. resolution.”

Additionally, on Thursday German newspaper Die Welt reported that Iran had tested a home-made cruise missile called “Sumar” that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Tasnim news agency two years ago published pictures of the Sumar missile, reporting that it was successfully test-fired. While Iran says its missile program is aimed at displaying the country’s “deterrent power and its ability to confront any threat”, some IRGC commanders have said that Iran’s medium-range ballistic missiles were designed to be able to hit Israel.

Meanwhile, as the drums of embargo (and/or war) beat louder again, global crude prices rose on Thursday following the repeat US warnings to Iran. Major crude benchmarks gained over a dollar, with Brent blend trading at $57.18 per barrel, showing the best performance since January 6. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was seen at $54.13 per barrel, which is also the highest price since the first week of the year. “As soon as those comments hit the wires, you saw a bit of a rally in crude oil,” John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital told CNBC.

Of course, it is possible that oil merely responded to the latest weakness in the dollar, however should Trump indeed escalate and terminate Obama’s nuclear deal, the threat of some 1 million barrels of Iran oil getting pulled from the market will likely have a dramatic impact on oil, not to mention gasoline at the pump, and thus consumer inflation.

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