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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Briefly Noted: Something's Going On--But What?

I was emailing with friends last night, speculating just what is up in DC. Two articles at American Thinker this morning present, in a sense, opposing perspectives.

On the one hand, Thomas Lifson starts from President Trump's recent statement that ‘… you’ll see a lot of big things happening over the next couple of days’‘.

He quotes Clarice Feldman, speculating about the types of things we've been talking about in the comments here. The revelations within the last week of bombshell matters that weren't news during the election campaign is, well, puzzling. Has Durham's time not been wasted after all?


Clarice Feldman points out that aside from the election fraud:

Strange stuff this week:

Swalwell unmasked

We learn that for 2 years Hunter's been under criminal investigation

We learn that for 4 years the FBI has been sitting on Seth Rich's computer and thousands of papers and lying about it

She asks:

Who blew open the FBI vaults and why now?

I've been hinting lately that we could finally be seeing a closing of GOP ranks in the face of the Election Hoax--represented by DC Establishment figure Ted Cruz taking the lead before the SCOTUS, at the head of virtually half the states and counting.

On the other hand, Monica Showalter is speculating that some of this may represent something quite different. The Left, emboldened by their Election Hoax, may be looking to take out their "president elect" before the projected inauguration! Shades of Donald Trump--can they get it right this time, against one of their own?


Circling Vultures: The far left is at war with Biden and it's getting out into the open


The Left is openly upset with Biden's putative administration picks, and threatening to hold up or even stop confirmation. Showalter speculates that the leaking of highly derogatory Hunter Biden information at this juncture--and in reliable liberal outlets--could be coming from the Left. She quotes Breitbart's Joel Pollak to that effect:


The odds that @KamalaHarris takes the oath of office on January 20 just went up. You can’t have a president whose son faces a grand jury for selling access to his father. Taxes are the tip of the iceberg. Media may try to bury their complicity in censorship by moving on to Kamala.


Two things: 1) I'm not counting Trump out, and 2) if Biden's Obama/Clintonite handlers had been more accommodating to the hard Left then, yes, they would try to foist that type of president on the nation.

Showalter concludes:

It all adds up to one thing: The crazy left is turning on Biden. Seems that stealing an election first from Bernie Standards, and then President Trump has a way of leaving a leader like a spindled tree of no support, tossing and turning based nobody loyal, nobody in support. We all know that Joe Biden had no coattails, all the gains that came in the House, the statehouses, and beyond on election night, were on the Republican side, not new allies for Joe. And the rabid left is now showing its loathing for the candidate it voted for, zero coattails, leaving Biden twisting in the wind.

After eight years of Obama, America's Left lost its mind and decided to throw America up for grabs. After the Resistance nothing seems impossible. Which scenario is it? Trump with something big up his sleeve, a civil war on the Left?

Bonus Link--from CNN no less (h/t Don Surber). Recall, just last night we linked to an article about the East Asian demographic crisis, and its probable economic fallout. With China front and center with Trump's global strategy and now with the Swalwell/Biden revelations, it's all grist for the mill. Recall, too, the lengthy post regarding professor Di bragging about China's influence over America's elite--and China's plans to become a world banking center. Perspective?


Chinese state-owned companies are in trouble. That could hurt the global recovery.


"Chinese state-owned companies are starting to default on their debts. It's a problem that could ripple through the country's financial system, threatening to slam the brakes on the nation's economy and hobble the global recovery from the pandemic.

"State firms defaulted on a record 40 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) worth of bonds between January and October, according to Fitch Ratings. That's about as much as the last two years combined.

"The problem has only gotten worse in recent weeks. A slew of major companies — including BMW's Chinese partner Brilliance Auto Group, top smartphone chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup, and Yongcheng Coal and Electricity — declared bankruptcy or defaulted on their loans last month, sending shock waves through the nation's debt market. Bond prices have plummeted and interest rates have spiked, and the turmoil has even spilled over into the stock market, where shares of state-owned firms have been sinking.

"It's alarming on a couple of fronts. First of all, the close relationships between these companies and local Chinese governments typically make them safe bets in times of trouble. If investors are worried that the state is no longer willing to support them, they suddenly become much riskier propositions."

...

Still, allowing for too many defaults could jeopardize the financial stability and near-term recovery. Analysts at Goldman Sachs recently pointed out that widespread failures in the sector could spill over into the banking system, causing banks to cut back on lending more broadly, or increase interest rates — the latter of which is already starting to happen.


There is a twofold dynamic behind all this that could come into play. First, China needs its economy to continue growing at a phenomenal (many analysts believe unsustainable) rate to maintain social unrest within manageable limits. Second, the demographic crisis, the birth dearth and rapidly aging population as well as the lack of virtually any social security safety net, means that financial turmoil is something China simply can't afford. it's a ticking time bomb.


52 comments:

  1. I know I've beat this drum to death with my circle, so I'll say it here again: Marxists always - ALWAYS - eat their own, first. The Democrats were dead the instant they started pandering to violent Leftists, and nothing would surprise us less than to see them accelerate their self immolation.

    Dave

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  2. The "deep state" is not crazy far left. Showalter doesn't explain how the radical left would produce these leaks and revelations. Hoping Feldman is reading things better.

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  3. @ Mark

    LMAO... I am sure "Bernie Standards" is a typo but it fits so leave it!!!

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  4. Both Showalter and Lifson wrote what I was thinking. Lifson seems cautiously optimistic but unsure of his hunch that something big could be in the offing as Trump signaled a few days ago. The China tidbits now being revealed, in particular the Swalwell escapade with the Chinese spy; the Seth Rich documents mysteriously being released by the FBI; the national news media just now discovering Hunter Biden is being investigated, and apparently Biden's brother as well. What else could be ready to spill out?

    Showalter's radar has picked up on something that seems to be very real- that now that the democrats have seemingly won the presidency through fraud with Biden as the token leader, they are now ready to toss him aside in favor of a true leftist in Harris now that the senile Biden is of no more use to them; only an embarrassment with his non-stop gaffs and memory lapses; and now the 'new' revelations of the Biden family investigations by the media.

    Something is churning. What a moment in our history we are witnessing.

    DJL

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    1. I would not even put it past them to oust Biden under the guise of indirectly admitting the fraud, but it was his fault, so lets move on....

      Revolutions kick off over much less.

      what a moment indeed.

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  5. We are approaching the point of maximum danger of a war with red China. David Goldman has pointed out the historical tendency for rising powers to start wars before demographic decline sets in. China needs to grow or die. In this case, I think it means military expansion because they’ve reached the limit of domestic mail investment and have stripped their resources dry. Too much pollution and not enough food. Trump’s denial of computer chips, etc. could very well provoke them to react the same way the Japanese did in the late 1930s. Finally, the Chinese can count on the Biden administration to sit by while the invade Taiwan.

    A covert info war might morph into boots on the ground.

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    1. Agree, Galen.

      I wonder if this entire covert war by China to subvert our election is primarily designed to keep us tied down while the CCP invades Taiwan. Capturing Taiwan would be a huge strategic win for CCP.

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    2. Respectfully, the CCP would not be able to cross the straight of Formosa without being chopped into small pieces; they simply don't have the capabilities to do that, even against a country the size of Taiwan. And they certainly aren't going to put boots on the ground on US soil. They have literally zero chance of that.
      None.

      Even IF they could move troops to within manageable distances of boundaries by ship, that would be it.

      Australia? That's another story. India? Highly unlikely...but maybe.

      They are subversive and built for 'cold' wars.

      Why in the world would the CCP NOT continue their covert war considering they essentially own the US media? That's the strongest weapon they have.

      Dave

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    3. Dave, good points. I didn't mean to imply that China would invade the US. Other places, yes. I will defer to you and other more knowledgeable people about the defensibility of the Strait of Formosa. I totally agree with you about the effectiveness of the ongoing covert war. If I recall correctly, during the Obama admin, the CCP hacked the complete records of US' Office of Personnel Management and also executed several CIA agents in China.

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    4. "Why in the world would the CCP NOT continue their covert war considering they essentially own the US media? That's the strongest weapon they have."

      Bingo. Sun Tzu and all that.

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    5. McCoy I've been wondering that too re: Taiwan, or a more overt/explicit crackdown/takedown of Hong Kong. At the moment, we would be in position to do very very little while we grapple with the potential of going to war with ourselves. Europe, no way. A few paltry efforts by Korea and Japan, maybe, but not worth much.

      Tenuous moments.

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    6. I understand that the Chinese PLA has been invited to engage in winter training in Canada by Mr. Trudeau. Canada is tolerably near to the USA.
      Henry C.

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    7. I believe I read that the US talked him out of that.

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    8. Respectfully, Dave, we can never say the chances of this with the CCP are zero. That is exactly the thinking that blinded us to the Chinese intervention in Korea. I agree with you that the crossing of the Strait is a formidable challenge, particularly given the nees to resupply if they did manage to land a force. But the CCP has been studying this literally since 1949 and they may be tempted. Some analysts say it's possible that China could use missiles and air power to so damage Taiwanese command and control, infrastructure, etc.. that airborne forces could secure an aiport that could assist in bringing in larger forces even as marine elements are ferried across. Would it work? Probably not. Probably. But since when has the CCP ever cared how many soldiers are sacrificed if the objective is considered important? And CCP has wanted to extinguish Taiwan since 1949.

      As to why they would risk it when their covert ops seem so successful, I suggest that they know more than we do about their window of opportunity. If the guys analyzing this current covert war are at all credible, then things are going to get hot here and the covert part will be stopped. Trump will take office, by force if necessary, and China's opportunity to act while we deal with the domestic violence is short lived. Now or never, basically.

      Do i think China will risk Taiwan invasion? Probably not but the chances ain't zero, that's for sure.

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    9. Timely...

      https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2020/12/10/china_seems_ready_for_a_fight_over_taiwan_652691.html

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  6. Hopefully, whatever DJT is getting ready to pull out of his hat...is substantially (as in an order of magnitude) larger than a Kraken.

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  7. The President and others have been saying Joe Biden will never be President. They never said Harris won't either.

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  8. So, Seth Rich's CPU in FBI custody, is just speculation? I haven't seen anything other than AT article.

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  9. China Hawks Outraged About Biden's Defense Nominee

    I like to read the Moon of Alabama blog, because I have suspected for a long time that its author is well informed by Russian Intelligence.

    The article begins:

    Will the president-elect Joe Biden increase the hostility with China or will he stick to the usual U.S. policy of messing up the Middle East?

    His selection of the new Defense Secretary provides an answer.

    It confirms the worst fears of the China hawks who have already worked behind the scene to sabotage Biden.

    Michèle Flournoy was predicted to become Secretary of Defense in a Joe Biden administration. Flournoy is a China hawk ....

    Luckily Biden decided against Flournoy and nominated retired general Lloyd Austin for the job ....

    As Secretary of Defense Flournoy would have been quite independent. She is known for countering White House policies she does not like ....

    Austin is in contrast a team player ....

    Flournoy's fans are angry ....

    There will be more push back against Austin from the China hawks and [will be] Congress hearings during which Austin will have to fight for his new position. ...

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  10. If its IC / Deep State leaks to off biden then thwt would mean they are VERY certain of the outcome at SCOTUS, as smearing Biden now would seem to jeopardize the case. Behold the rottenness, behold the corruption. Hey Justice Roberts, please explain to me how we're supposed to clean this up without free and fair elections and the rule of law?

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  11. I still believe these are distractions.
    Suddenly news about Seth Rich, Hunter Biden, Swallwell... has started filling the airwaves. Is there an effort to distract from the real issue: Texas lawsuit against election fraud ?

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  12. Sounds to me like Kamala is pretty confident of the Dems winning the Senate and is ready to move on pushing Joe out earlier than planned.

    Dem Party media like Politico and Daily Beast would not all of a sudden be pushing stories about serious money laundering and foreign influence peddling investigations into Hunter Biden without getting the go ahead from some powerful officials within the Party.

    You know Kamala must already be telling Joe "I can make this all go away if you just resign, and your family will be safe." Having had no role in the Obama Administration (serving as AG of CA during his second term), she can also easily fire Durham without personally being accused of obstruction of justice...

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  13. Yes. the corruption of the Biden family has been suppressed and downplayed, but it has been reported on even by the New Times ...

    https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/business/cefc-biden-china-washington-ye-jianming.html

    “ Ye Jianming courted the Biden family and networked with former United States security officials. Today, his empire is crashing down in court.”

    “ Ye Jianming, a fast-rising Chinese oil tycoon, ventured to places only the most politically connected Chinese companies dared to go. But what he wanted was access to the corridors of power in Washington — and he set out to get it.

    Soon, he was meeting with the family of Joseph R. Biden Jr., who was then the vice president. He dined with R. James Woolsey Jr., a former Central Intelligence Agency director and later a senior adviser to President Trump. He bestowed lavish funding on universities and think tanks with direct access to top Washington leaders, looking for the benefits access can bring. He asked one former American security official: If he bought oil fields in Syria, could the former official persuade the American military not to bomb them?”

    “ China’s rise in political power and wealth has created a new generation of business tycoons whose clout and cash can open doors. Former Washington officials, many with access to the White House and to American military and intelligence institutions, have proven to be eager to help.”

    Who did Ye tried to reach when he got into US trouble? Joe Biden’s brother, James, who publicly threw his nephew, Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, under the bus.

    “ Those high hopes led to full Rolodexes. Last year, as American authorities closed in on Mr. Ye’s company, the first call made by one of his emissaries in custody was to Mr. Biden’s brother.”

    “ By 2015, Mr. Ye had begun working on perhaps his most politically connected quarry yet: the family of Mr. Biden, the vice president.”

    “ An aide to Mr. Ye met the vice president’s second son, Hunter Biden, in Washington. Mr. Ye then met privately with Hunter Biden at a hotel in Miami in May 2017, according to people with direct knowledge of the meetings who were not authorized to speak publicly because the meetings were private. Mr. Ye proposed a partnership to invest in American infrastructure and energy deals, the people said.
    During this period, the vice president’s son was managing Rosemont Seneca Partners, an investment firm he formed with Chris Heinz, the stepson of John Kerry, the former secretary of state. Mr. Heinz said he has no knowledge of CEFC and ended his relationship with Rosemont Seneca in 2015.”

    “ James Biden, a financier and brother of the former vice president, was in a hotel lobby in November 2017 when he got a surprise call on his cellphone. The call was from Patrick Ho, Mr. Ye’s lieutenant. Mr. Ho, 69, was in trouble.

    Federal agents who had monitored CEFC’s rise since at least the summer of 2016 had sprung into action, arresting Mr. Ho in New York on allegations that he had bribed African officials in Chad and Uganda. Days later, federal agents showed up at Mr. Ye’s luxury apartment building across from Central Park with a subpoena to interview Mr. Ye, said people familiar with the matter.”

    Thing is, while this was not given much attention by the general media, most folks, especially Democrats, just do not care.

    People just do not give a rat’s patooey about Democrat corruption.

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  14. After sleeping on it, I am now less optimistic about the outcome from SCOTUS. I will play devil's advocate to explain. Here is why.


    Justices, like everyone else, know that violance from left is a given, if they reject PAGAWIMI results. Roberts probably, as the chief justice, will remind everyone. On the other hand, if SCOTUS just goes along to get along, there is a great chance Republicans will roll over. The right will huff and puff and threaten with 2nd amendment, but as always will move on, because they have much more to lose, as majority of them are middle class families with children and mortgages.


    Also, even if SCOTUS throws the ball back to states, or to the US Congress, there is no guarantee Trump gets the votes, because of RINOs. Then why would SCOTUS put fingers under the stone, and make a fool of itself, if Biden will win at the end anyway?


    Finally, Pelosi already declared Barett as illegitimate, after her confirmation. It's on record. The threat of getting impeached, if this low likelyhood intervention fails, might sound too high for the associate justices. Put aside the immediate media attacks and doxxing that are waiting around the corner, to start.


    I wish someone can prove me wrong.


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    1. It would mean civil war not peace.


      Rob S

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    2. @Kirk

      Where I might differ is that I tend to believe the Five will start their analysis with and on the merits. I expect them to make the right decision.

      If they don't, well then...

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  15. It's been documented since just before the South Carolina primary election that the one's pulling the strings are Clyburn and Obama. These two are the one's who got the others to drop out after this primary.

    They put KH in the Vice chair role too. If my dubious thoughts serve, they're the one's making the cabinet (strong) recommendations now too. Pretty sure of this.

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    1. That sounds about right. And we know that the hard Left is no longer sold on Obama.

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  16. I have written several times in plenty of places- the Hunter laptop stuff was never going away even if Biden won- he enemies in the Democratic Party will use it if the Republicans can't or won't. Harris is an enemy of Biden, and I quite sure most of the Democrat caucus in D.C. would prefer Harris- there are almost no moderate Democrats left.

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    1. Nope, it sure looks like it's not gonna go away.

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  17. If the coup succeeds and the presidential election is stolen via voter fraud, it will be because all of the normal checks and balances of government have failed utterly. The complicit will include DOJ/FBI for shirking it's duty to protect and implement the rule of law. The Supreme Court will have abandoned it's role as the defender of the Constitution. The integrity of our system of elections will have been corrupted beyond redemption. Both houses of Congress will be controlled by the Democrats, so no real investigation or remedy will be forthcoming via legislation. Biden will step aside for putative health reasons and Harris will ascend to the throne by being selected rather than voted into office. She will pardon the Bidens (and claim cover by virtue of Trump's pardon of Flynn), she will fire any and all Special Counsels investigating their corruption (owning the House and Senate ensures no real push-back will occur). The chimera of electoral repair in 2022 or 2024 is belied by codification of election fraud as the new sheriff in DC politics. Republicans will be allowed token victories, but no real control over anything. We will slowly devolve into a soft tyranny disguised as psuedo Liberal Democracy.

    And all of this will happen as clockwork unless 1776 redux becomes an unstoppable grassroots response. We are the new Minutemen, and the fate of the nation hangs in the balance.

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    1. I was about to respond that another check and balance that would have failed if the coup succeeds is the american public failing to forcibly retrieve it. But you sorta covered that in your last paragraph. It is an absolute last resort, but it has to be taken seriously, right now.

      The alternative is we consent to allow those failures. Simply saying "well get you next time in 2022" or dropping by the park to sing YMCAS in red hats every so often is not resistance to what has occurred. It is consent.

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  18. Replies
    1. Where are the rest of the red states? Weren’t there supposed to be 17?

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  19. Ohio has filed a brief in support of neither party. It sounds like they agree with Texas that non-legislative actors in the swing states changed the rules illegally, but seem to argue that any relief should only be prospective for future elections.

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    1. Yeah, but it also sounds like they suggest this time let Biden get away with it, and fix the issue for 2024.

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  20. More filings. Pennsylvania legislature filed a brief:

    "Members of the General Assembly respectfully request leave to file this amicus brief to articulate to the Court the importance, to lawmakers and legislative bodies across the country, of granting Plaintiff’s MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BILL OF COMPLAINT and granting the requested stay or injunctive relief pending a hearing by the Court on the merits of the case. Granting the motion will help to clarify to all branches of state government the important boundaries of judicial, legislative and executive authority when making election related policy."

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    1. And another brief by select Pennsylvania senators:

      "Amici further assert that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, aided by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, usurped the authority of the Pennsylvania General Assembly when ignoring or rewriting Pennsylvania’s duly enacted election regulations. Therefore, this Court should affirm the grant of authority to state legislatures under the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause and disclaim state supreme courts and executive branch officials, from usurping that authority for themselves. Amici Curiae request that their motion to file the attached amicus brief be granted."

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    2. This is without doubt a "phony" civil war. All the filings for briefs illuminate the issue for the SC. The stakes are clear.

      It also seems to me that with so many states invested in the outcome, the SC should feel emboldened to go where no man has gone before (so to speak).

      Courage, mi amigos.

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    3. So democrat states support crocked elections. How nice.

      Rob S

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  21. From the amici in opposition to Texas et al ...

    “ A fundamental principle of our representative democracy is . . . that the people
    should choose whom they please to govern them.” Powell v. McCormack, 395 U.S. 486, 547 (1969) (internal quotation marks omitted). The people have chosen.

    Thing is, how do we know that the people have chosen? How are we sure that’s correct?

    Worse, this uses covid to justify everything. Covid trumps all laws, even the US constitution. It is used to justify mail-in voting and the loosening of voting laws in general.

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  22. I'm not a lawyer, but I just read the first page of PA's response to Texas, and I'd be embarrassed to write something like that.

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  23. Sounds like all the dirty laundry is being dumped.

    Aswan brothers got a $850,000 settlement, unbelievable!

    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/12/democrats-pay-intrusive-it-man-imran-awan-lloyd-billingsley/?fbclid=IwAR3x8j9gA6ggr5NO84Zq8yVtzfm8-SJ_CPLWlJY4XO-MEyLkX8bCM_TAmDU#.X9JC0tp7LL4.facebook

    And The Seth Rich laptop appearing...

    Very strange times.

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    1. Boy, wouldn't you like to get the real story on that one?

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    2. Xavier Becerra. Probably one of the most dangerous persons in our country. I didn’t realize he was neck-deep with the Aswan brothers. Even without that, he’s an evil guy who has no business in any part of our government - state or federal.

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    3. The Aswan brothers is another one of those cases where you just have to sit back and ask Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!?!?

      Data and graymail (state secret blackmail) has become so powerful you can't even prosecute blatant hacking thugs anymore!

      People talk about the prosecution of Hunter Biden? Ha!!! It will never ever happen!

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  24. https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/12/texas-unleashes-an-absurd-kraken/

    In the opinion of the editors of the National Review, because Texas has no standing, there is no legal remedy for unconstitutional elections.

    Do these guys understand what the next alternative is?

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  25. ...and at the same time National Review shows (once again) its true NeverTrumper colors...presumably driving what's left of its conservative readership away forever...google and YouTube announce that they will block content disputing election result and Bongino tries to taunt YouTube into banning him...foxnews joins the MSM and CTH says its leaving wordpress...and today zerohedge announces that it will become a payperview site...at $1 a day...

    perhaps meaninginhistory will be the last man standing? -:)

    and, yes, something's going on.

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