Law-abiding, freedom-loving Americans are finally catching on. The chaos spreading across the nation’s colleges and universities is a direct result of failed woke ideologies pushed by radical Marxist teachers, school groups, and school administrators. These schools have brainwashed an entire generation of ‘useful idiot’ youngsters in classrooms, otherwise called ‘indoctrination camps.’ 

Let’s begin with one Marxist extremist preaching the quiet part out loud to hundreds of youngsters this week: 

“There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

The X user who posted the footage wrote, “This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become indoctrination camps.” 

An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

— A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

Following the overnight clashes between Marxist extremists masquerading as pro-Palestinian protesters across a dozen or more schools, partly funded by you know who… Soros, there was a glimmer of hope as NYPD officers restored law and order at City University and raised Old Glory from the ashes once again. 

#HAPPENINGNOW: An incredible scene and proud moment as we have assisted @CityCollegeNY in restoring order on campus, culminating in raising Old Glory once again on their campus flagpole. 🇺🇸@NYPDPC @NYPD1stDep @NYPDChiefOfDept @NYPDChiefPatrol @NYPDnews pic.twitter.com/XZWFmvXcUs

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) May 1, 2024

There were more signs of hope, this time from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where a band of fraternity students protected Old Glory from Commies who tried to burn and trample the flag. 

MY BEAUTIFUL PI KAPPA PHI CHAD SQUAD AT UNC CHAPEL HILL HOLDING THE LINE!!!😎🇺🇸 ABSOLUTE LEGENDS!!! pic.twitter.com/VBCSkggy9m

— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) May 1, 2024

Now, the boys of Pi Kappa Phi at UNC are being celebrated as heroes on the internet – and someone started them a GoFundMe page titled “Pi Kappa Phi Men Defended their Flag. Throw ’em a Rager.” 

As of late afternoon, more than 2,200 donations have been seen, raising $61,557, nearing the goal of $65,000. 

Here’s what the organizer of the fundraiser wrote: 

Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators.

But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes. Armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde — laughing at their shrieks and wails and shielding the Stars & Stripes from Soviet missiles.

These boys… no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best.

Help us raise funds to throw this frat the party they deserve, a party worth of the boat-shoed Broleteriat who did their country proud.

Hayman Capital Management founder and CIO Kyle Bass wrote on X that he donated to the cause:

“I just sent a donation to these principled defenders of our flag, our country, and our values. It’s time we fight back against the spineless ‘victims’ who represent the rot that has infected our universities.” 

I just sent a donation to these principled defenders of our flag, our country, and our values. It’s time we fight back against the spineless ‘victims’ who represent the rot that has infected our universities. 🇺🇸 #UNC #ColumbiaUniversity @squirrelburger https://t.co/6P3sgRfw9F

— 🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 (@Jkylebass) May 1, 2024

Another X user pointed out:

Democrats: Set up fundraisers to bail out rioters and looters.
Republicans: Set up fundraisers to celebrate patriotism with kegs of Natty Light.

Democrats: Set up fundraisers to bail out rioters and looters.

Republicans: Set up fundraisers to celebrate patriotism with kegs of Natty Light. https://t.co/QE7BqOypht

— Harrison Fields (@HarrisonWFields) May 1, 2024

Here’s what others are saying… 

Did I just toss in my support for these guys? You better believe I did! They are the ray of light and sign of hope that we all needed to remind of us that we have a generation of great kids and fearless leaders that still believe in doing what’s right.https://t.co/7ragrRsQUU

— Dennis Bonnen (@RepDennisBonnen) May 1, 2024

There are many good activities to support on America’s colleges and universities.

Today I’m going to contribute towards the Pi Kappa Phi brothers who raised the American flag at UNC!https://t.co/qLi2ZU4Owj

— Michael J. Hicks (@HicksCBER) May 1, 2024

The internet is raising money for the fraternity men who saved the USA flag to throw an epic rager. 🇺🇸

Chip in:https://t.co/bRFzIqw6Rv

— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) May 1, 2024

Buy these gentlemen a beer
“Armored in Vineyard Vines & Patagonia, fueled by Zyn & White Claws, these triumphant Brohemians protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde”https://t.co/Rv3wACfz6y

— Merav Ceren (@MeravCeren) May 1, 2024

 Perhaps Bass is correct.  

Authored by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner via Wirepoints.org,

Nearly one year ago, Chicagoans cheered Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s removal from office.

Gone was her toxic attitude. Her flippant dismissal of the city’s many crises. Her abrasive politics.

In her place was Brandon Johnson, who promised a more inclusive approach to building a “better, stronger, safer Chicago.” 

It hasn’t turned out that way.

Today, there’s little disagreement that Mayor Johnson has disappointed on most key issues. On crime. On policing. On migrants. On education. On governance. Even on foreign affairs. 

Two recent polls show Chicagoans have a low opinion of Johnson and his performance so far.

A January poll by Tulchin Research found just 21% of registered Chicago voters approved of Johnson. And a new Harris poll shows just 9% of city residents rated Johnson’s performance as above average while 50% rated his performance as below average. 

It’s reached the point where some Chicagoans are pursuing a recall initiative to remove the mayor.

As we approach Johnson’s one-year anniversary, let’s review how he’s mishandled the city’s key issues.

On crime 

Even before taking office, Mayor Johnson fully embraced soft-on-crime policies. Johnson said in 2020 that defunding the police is not “a slogan, it’s an actual real political goal.” He later defended looting as “an outbreak of incredible frustration and anguish” tied to “a failed racist system.” And at a panel for a police-free future, Johnson said “part of it is removing ourselves away from this state-sponsored policing…”

Johnson has continued to openly excuse crime and violence since becoming Mayor. He declared the youth of last summer’s teen takeovers as just kids being “silly.”  He later pushed back against those who complained of youth mobs taking over city streets: “We’re not talking about mob actions…to refer to children as baby Al Capones is not appropriate.”

All that rhetoric has helped fuel Chicago’s crime problem. 2023 ended up with a five-year high in major crimes committed, while Chicago led the country again in homicides for the 12th year in a row. And while murders are down 10% this year, robberies and violent crimes overall are currently running at a six-year high.

Despite that rise in violence, Johnson earlier this year canceled ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology, to appease soft-on-crime advocates who declared the program “racist.” He was later pressured to extend the contract through November to ensure ShotSpotter would be in place during the Democratic National Convention. 

The saga is not over, however, as now there’s a concerted effort by several aldermen to override Johnson’s decision to get rid of the program. They call ShotSpotter an ‘invaluable tool’ for fighting crime in their homicide-ridden wards.

On illegal immigrants

Mayor Johnson never had a plan – and still doesn’t – for how to handle the inflow of illegal migrants to Chicago. That’s led to a series of walkbacks, unforced errors and costly mistakes by him and his administration. The mayor continues to blame Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for the inflow, but it’s Johnson’s continued support of Chicago’s failed sanctuary status and his increased handouts that keep the migrants coming in. 

The Johnson administration has committed nearly $400 million to migrant health and welfare so far and that’s created outrage across the city’s black and brown communities, many of whom protest that the city’s resources are being diverted away from their own struggling neighborhoods. They feel they’ve become second class citizens in their own city. 

And then there was the Mayor’s flip-flop on his traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border. Johnson originally said he would travel there to see the impact of the migrant crisis first-hand, but walked that back a few weeks later, with the excuse that he had too much to do and that “I’m doing all of that with a Black wife raising three Black children on the west side of the city of Chicago. I am going to the border as soon as possible.” Mayor Johnson has yet to visit the border.

There’s also the tent city debacle, where the Brighton Park site Johnson chose to host a migrant encampment turned out to be an environmental health hazard. Gov. J.B. Pritzker had to step in and block Johnson and the city from proceeding with the 2,000-bed encampment.

On schools

Johnson staked out his vision for K-12 education long before he ran for mayor, declaring he was “against the structure” of education and decrying homework, standardized tests and selective enrollment schools. 

His first step in enacting that vision, a CPS school board resolution calling for a “transition” away from selective enrollment schools and “school choice,” sparked a major backlash from both parents and the state’s political class. Chicago’s selective enrollment and magnet schools are actually among the best, most diverse schools in the state, where black and Hispanic students achieve the same high marks as white students.

A bill protecting those schools from closure recently passed overwhelmingly in the House, serving as a direct repudiation of the Mayor’s efforts.

On Gaza

The mayor recently took the tie-breaking vote in support of a city resolution that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

That, from the city that leads the country in murders and just hit a five-year high for major crimes.

Even Saturday Night Light Live mocked Johnson and the city council, joking that Gaza had in return called for a ceasefire in Chicago.

On tax hikes

Johnson’s failure to pass his signature “Bring Chicago Home” initiative, a real-estate transfer tax hike to address homelessness, highlighted how little support the mayor has.

Passage of the tax should have been a slam dunk. It was structured to deliver small tax cuts to the overwhelming majority of Chicagoans, while hiking taxes on the wealthy few.

The tax hike, effectively a referendum on Johnson’s performance, failed 52 to 48, dealing a significant blow to the mayor’s authority.

On a new Bears stadium

Johnson is looking for any win to lift his flagging popularity. Cue his support for the Chicago Bears’ plan for a new multi-billion dollar stadium with more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies.

Never mind that Johnson originally rejected the idea of public subsidies for a stadium during his candidacy, saying that such money would be better spent on new housing, removing lead pipes or “dozens of other urgent needs.” 

What makes Johnson’s desperation for a “win” so obvious is that no prominent Democrat stood with him in support, certainly not the ones that matter most: Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Chris Welch all expressed skepticism of the deal.

*  *  *

Perhaps nothing better captures the depth of the mayor’s struggles more than this: Johnson was asked not to attend Monday’s funeral of slain police officer Luis Huesca.

His mother said, “Tell the mayor not to come.  We do not want him there. Tomorrow is about my son and my family’s grief. We do not want him to disrespect his memory. The mayor does not support the police.”

A Chicago mayor, not attending the funeral of a fallen officer. Nothing more needs to be said.

Read more from Wirepoints:

Death to Facts: Northwestern journalism prof Steven Thrasher tells pro-Palestinian demonstrators to reject objective reporting

Floundering Illinois wind energy program blamed partly on (you guessed it) climate change

Traumatizing Chicago robberies, violent crimes at six-year high

Even more evidence Illinois can thank the federal government’s covid bailouts for its budget bonanza

Two days after the yen soared after crashing to a 34 year low of 160 against the US, when the Japanese Ministry of Finance reportedly spent around 5 trillion yen, or just over $30 billion, to push the imploding Japanese currency to levels not seen in … about 48 hours, moments ago with much of the impact from the first intervention having fizzled, the Japanese Ministry of Finance appeared to step in again when moments after the US cash market close, USDJPY cratered in seconds in the second Japanese intervention in as many days.

Of course, one can’t help but be amused by the sheer amateur hour at the BOJ where the second consecutive intervention, one which will cost the MOF another $30 billion or so, has managed to push the yen to levels not seen since… last week.

And speaking of the intervention cost, while we won’t know how much they officially cost Japan until the end of the month, what is notable is that the first intervention – which took place amid super thin liquidity due to a holiday in Japan which typically exacerbates market moves – cost nearly as much as one of the interventions in 2022, when they bought a record amount of yen, according to a Bloomberg analysis of central bank accounts.

“Despite spending ¥5 trillion in a market where there should have been little trading activity, the yen was pushed up by only a little over ¥5 and quickly recovered more than half its value,” said Takuya Kanda, the head of research at Gaitame.com Research Institute. “That doesn’t seem very cost effective” compared to intervention two years ago, he said.

What is notable about this particular intervention is that it took place just 2 hours after the latest Fed decision – which was viewed as moderately dovish due to the greater than expected QT taper. And indeed, it would be pointless to intervene had the Fed come out as hawkish and sent the dollar soaring.

In fact, one can argue that the BOJ and MOF – having had discussions with Powell  and Yellen about this intervention ahead of time  – received some  assurance that as far the Fed and Treasury are concerned, the US dollar isn’t going to spike in the near-future. In fact, one can probably go so far as  speculating that Yellen actually leaked to the BOJ what the next NFP and CPI prints will be so that Japan doesn’t waste tens of billions in yentervention firepower only to watch the JPY plunge again in two days  when a red hot jobs print send the USD soaring.

If so, we’ve seen the dollar highs for the year.

Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

“As I look at America today, I am not afraid to say that I am afraid.”

– Former presidential advisor Bertram Gross

The American governmental scheme is sliding ever closer towards a pervasive authoritarianism.

The American people, the permanent underclass in America, have allowed themselves to be so distracted and divided that they have failed to notice the building blocks of tyranny being laid down right under their noses by the architects of the Deep State.

This steady slide towards tyranny, meted out by militarized local and federal police and legalistic bureaucrats, has been carried forward by each successive president over the past fifty years regardless of their political affiliation.

Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton: they have all been complicit in carrying out the Deep State’s agenda.

Frankly, it really doesn’t matter who occupies the White House, because it is a profit-driven, unelected bureaucracy—call it whatever you will: the Deep State, the Controllers, the masterminds, the shadow government, the corporate elite, the police state, the surveillance state, the military industrial complex—that is actually calling the shots.

In the interest of liberty and truth, here’s an A-to-Z primer that spells out the grim realities of life in the American Police State that no one seems to be talking about anymore.

A is for the AMERICAN POLICE STATE. A police state “is characterized by bureaucracy, secrecy, perpetual wars, a nation of suspects, militarization, surveillance, widespread police presence, and a citizenry with little recourse against police actions.”

B is for our battered BILL OF RIGHTS. In the militarized police culture that is America today, where you can be kicked, punched, tasered, shot, intimidated, harassed, stripped, searched, brutalized, terrorized, wrongfully arrested, and even killed by a police officer, and that officer is rarely held accountable for violating your rights, the Bill of Rights doesn’t amount to much.

C is for CIVIL ASSET FORFEITURE. This governmental scheme to deprive Americans of their liberties—namely, the right to property—is being carried out under the guise of civil asset forfeiture, a government practice wherein government agents (usually the police and now TSA agents) seize private property they “suspect” may be connected to criminal activity. Then, whether or not any crime is actually proven to have taken place, the government keeps the citizen’s property and it’s virtually impossible to get it back.

D is for DRONES. Nearly 1500 police departments across the U.S. include drones as part of their technological arsenal, and that number is growing. Although drones may be used for benevolent purposes, they have increasingly become extensions of the surveillance state, carrying out warrantless and constant mass aerial surveillance in violation of the Fourth Amendment. New autonomous police drones can “read a license plate from 800 feet away and follow a vehicle from a distance of 3 miles.”

E is for EMERGENCY STATE. From 9/11 to COVID-19 and beyond, we have been the subjected to an “emergency state” that justifies all manner of government tyranny and power grabs in the so-called name of national security. The government’s ongoing attempts to declare so-called national emergencies in order to circumvent the Constitution’s system of checks and balances constitutes yet another expansion of presidential power that exposes the nation to further constitutional peril.

F is for FASCISM. A study conducted by Princeton and Northwestern University concluded that the U.S. government does not represent the majority of American citizens. Instead, the study found that the government is ruled by the rich and powerful, or the so-called “economic elite.” Moreover, the researchers concluded that policies enacted by this governmental elite nearly always favor special interests and lobbying groups. In other words, we are being ruled by an oligarchy disguised as a democracy, and arguably on our way towards fascism—a form of government where private corporate interests rule, money calls the shots, and the people are seen as mere economic units or databits.

G is for GLOBAL POLICE. The federal government has distributed more than $18 billion worth of battlefield-appropriate military weapons, vehicles and equipment such as drones, tanks, and grenade launchers to domestic police departments across the country. As a result, most small-town police forces now have enough firepower to render any citizen resistance futile. By the time you take those small-town police forces, train them to look and act like the military, and then enlist them to be part of the United Nations’ Strong Cities Network program, you not only have a standing army that operates beyond the reach of the Constitution but one that is part of a global police force.

H is for HOLLOW-POINT BULLETS. The government’s efforts to militarize and weaponize its agencies and employees is reaching epic proportions, with federal agencies as varied as the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration stockpiling millions of lethal hollow-point bullets, which violate international law. Ironically, while the government continues to push for stricter gun laws for the general populace, the U.S. military’s arsenal of weapons makes the average American’s handgun look like a Tinker Toy.

I is for the INTERNET OF THINGS, in which internet-connected “things” monitor your home, your health and your habits in order to keep your pantry stocked, your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free. The key word here, however, is control. This “connected” industry propels us closer to a future where police agencies apprehend virtually anyone if the government “thinks” they may commit a crime, driverless cars populate the highways, and a person’s biometrics are constantly scanned and used to track their movements, target them for advertising, and keep them under perpetual surveillance.

J is for JAILING FOR PROFIT. Having outsourced their inmate population to private prisons run by private corporations, this profit-driven form of mass punishment has given rise to a $70 billion private prison industry that relies on the complicity of state governments to keep their privately run prisons full by jailing large numbers of Americans for petty crimes.

K is for KENTUCKY V. KING. In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that police officers can break into homes, without a warrant, even if it’s the wrong home as long as they think they may have a reason to do so. Despite the fact that the police in question ended up pursuing the wrong suspect, invaded the wrong apartment and violated just about every tenet that stands between the citizenry and a police state, the Court sanctioned the warrantless raid, leaving Americans with little real protection in the face of all manner of abuses by law enforcement officials.

L is for LICENSE PLATE READERS, which enable law enforcement and private agencies to track the whereabouts of vehicles, and their occupants, all across the country. This data collected on tens of thousands of innocent people is also being shared between police agencies, as well as with government fusion centers and private companies. This puts Big Brother in the driver’s seat.

M is for MAIN CORE. Since the 1980s, the U.S. government has acquired and maintained, without warrant or court order, a database of names and information on Americans considered to be threats to the nation. As Salon reports, this database, reportedly dubbed “Main Core,” is to be used by the Army and FEMA in times of national emergency or under martial law to locate and round up Americans seen as threats to national security. There are at least 8 million Americans in the Main Core database.

N is for NO-KNOCK RAIDS. Owing to the militarization of the nation’s police forces, SWAT teams are now increasingly being deployed for routine police matters. In fact, more than 80,000 of these paramilitary raids are carried out every year. That translates to more than 200 SWAT team raids every day in which police crash through doors, damage private property, terrorize adults and children alike, kill family pets, assault or shoot anyone that is perceived as threatening—and all in the pursuit of someone merely suspected of a crime, usually possession of some small amount of drugs.

O is for OVERCRIMINALIZATION and OVERREGULATION. Thanks to an overabundance of 4500-plus federal crimes and 400,000 plus rules and regulations, it’s estimated that the average American actually commits three felonies a day without knowing it. As a result of this overcriminalization, we’re seeing an uptick in Americans being arrested and jailed for such absurd “violations” as letting their kids play at a park unsupervised, collecting rainwater and snow runoff on their own property, growing vegetables in their yard, and holding Bible studies in their living room.

P is for PATHOCRACY and PRECRIME. When our own government treats us as things to be manipulated, maneuvered, mined for data, manhandled by police and other government agents, mistreated, and then jailed in profit-driven private prisons if we dare step out of line, we are no longer operating under a constitutional republic. Instead, what we are experiencing is a pathocracy: tyranny at the hands of a psychopathic government, which “operates against the interests of its own people except for favoring certain groups.” Couple that with the government’s burgeoning precrime programs, which will use fusion centers, data collection agencies, behavioral scientists, corporations, social media, and community organizers and by relying on cutting-edge technology for surveillance, facial recognition, predictive policing, biometrics, and behavioral epigenetics in order to identify and deter so-called potential “extremists,” dissidents or rabble-rousers. Bear in mind that anyone seen as opposing the government—whether they’re Left, Right or somewhere in between—is now viewed as an extremist.

Q is for QUALIFIED IMMUNITY. Qualified immunity allows police officers to walk away without paying a dime for their wrongdoing. Conveniently, those deciding whether a cop should be immune from having to personally pay for misbehavior on the job all belong to the same system, all cronies with a vested interest in protecting the police and their infamous code of silence: city and county attorneys, police commissioners, city councils and judges.

R is for ROADSIDE STRIP SEARCHES and BLOOD DRAWS. The courts have increasingly erred on the side of giving government officials—especially the police—vast discretion in carrying out strip searches, blood draws and even anal and vaginal probes for a broad range of violations, no matter how minor the offense. In the past, strip searches were resorted to only in exceptional circumstances where police were confident that a serious crime was in progress. In recent years, however, strip searches have become routine operating procedures in which everyone is rendered a suspect and, as such, is subjected to treatment once reserved for only the most serious of criminals.

S is for the SURVEILLANCE STATE. On any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears. A byproduct of the electronic concentration camp in which we live, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency, whether the NSA or some other entity, is listening in and tracking your behavior. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the corporate trackers that monitor your purchases, web browsing, Facebook posts and other activities taking place in the cyber sphere.

T is for TASERS. Nonlethal weapons such as tasers, stun guns, rubber pellets and the like have been used by police as weapons of compliance more often and with less restraint—even against women and children—and in some instances, even causing death. These “nonlethal” weapons also enable police to aggress with the push of a button, making the potential for overblown confrontations over minor incidents that much more likely. A Taser Shockwave, for instance, can electrocute a crowd of people at the touch of a button.

U is for UNARMED CITIZENS SHOT BY POLICE. No longer is it unusual to hear about incidents in which police shoot unarmed individuals first and ask questions later, often attributed to a fear for their safety. Yet the fatality rate of on-duty patrol officers is reportedly far lower than many other professions, including construction, logging, fishing, truck driving, and even trash collection.

V is for OPERATION VIGILANT EAGLE. One of several government initiatives dating back to 2009 that call for heightened scrutiny of those who challenge the government’s authority, this particular program calls for surveillance of military veterans, characterizing them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.” Coupled with a report that defines extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics bode ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.

W is for WHOLE-BODY SCANNERS. Using either x-ray radiation or radio waves, scanning devices and government mobile units are being used not only to “see” through your clothes but to spy on you within the privacy of your home. While these mobile scanners are being sold to the American public as necessary security and safety measures, we can ill afford to forget that such systems are rife with the potential for abuse, not only by government bureaucrats but by the technicians employed to operate them.

X is for X-KEYSCORE, one of the many spying programs carried out by the National Security Agency that targets every person in the United States who uses a computer or phone. This top-secret program “allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals.”

Y is for YOU-NESS. Using your face, mannerisms, social media and “you-ness” against you, you are now be tracked based on what you buy, where you go, what you do in public, and how you do what you do. Facial recognition software promises to create a society in which every individual who steps out into public is tracked and recorded as they go about their daily business. The goal is for government agents to be able to scan a crowd of people and instantaneously identify all of the individuals present. Facial recognition programs are being rolled out in states all across the country.

Z is for ZERO TOLERANCE. We have moved into a new paradigm in which young people are increasingly viewed as suspects and treated as criminals by school officials and law enforcement alike, often for engaging in little more than childish behavior or for saying the “wrong” word. In some jurisdictions, students have also been penalized under school zero tolerance policies for such inane “crimes” as carrying cough drops, wearing black lipstick, bringing nail clippers to school, using Listerine or Scope, and carrying fold-out combs that resemble switchblades. The lesson being taught to our youngest—and most impressionable—citizens is this: in the American police state, you’re either a prisoner (shackled, controlled, monitored, ordered about, limited in what you can do and say, your life not your own) or a prison bureaucrat (politician, police officer, judge, jailer, spy, profiteer, etc.).

None of these dangers have dissipated in any way, and yet suddenly, no one seems to be talking about any of the egregious governmental abuses that are still wreaking havoc on our freedoms: police shootings of unarmed individuals, invasive surveillance, roadside blood draws, roadside strip searches, SWAT team raids gone awry, the military industrial complex’s costly wars, pork barrel spending, pre-crime laws, civil asset forfeiture, fusion centers, militarization, armed drones, smart policing carried out by AI robots, courts that march in lockstep with the police state, schools that function as indoctrination centers, bureaucrats that keep the Deep State in power.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, this is how freedom dies.

If there is any means left to us for thwarting the government in its relentless march towards outright dictatorship, it may rest with the Tenth Amendment, which affirms that “we the people” (in the form of juries and local governments) have the power to invalidate governmental laws, tactics and policies that are illegitimate, egregious or blatantly unconstitutional.

Nullify everything.

Nullify the court cases. Nullify the laws. Nullify everything the government does that flies in the face of the Constitution.

It’s time to rein in our runaway government, reclaim our freedoms, and restore justice in America.

Having adversely intervened in virtually every other M&A deal in the past 3 years, the Biden FTC will reportedly allow Exxon’s $60 billion purchase of Pioneer to go through after the companies agreed to minor concessions, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. The announcement of the deal will likely come any moment, and the resulting deal will make Exxon – a company which Biden once said makes money money than god – far and away the biggest oil and natural gas producer in the Permian Basin, North America’s largest US oil field, and also the biggest energy company in the US.

Pioneer shares that had been down more than 2% on the day reversed those losses and were trading up as much as 0.9% on the news. Hess Corp, the target of a takeover bid by Chevron, also climbed 0.9% although the probability of that deal passing is far lower especially in light of the ongoing arbitration with Exxon over Guyana.  Chevron, Occidental and Chesapeake are among companies with large pending takeovers that are undergoing in-depth reviews before the FTC.

The Pioneer deal will combine two fast-growing Permian operations, lifting Exxon’s production in the basin to the equivalent of about 2 million barrels a day by 2027, up from about 600,000 last year.

More than 50 lawmakers – obviously mostly communists, pardon, democrats – urged the FTC in March to increase scrutiny on concerns a $230 billion wave of consolidation in would increase energy prices for consumers, squeeze suppliers and suppress wages. In short: enforce more Soviet-style central planning and crush conventional capitalism. As a result, investors had feared the agency, which has become more a ruthless enforcer of authoritarian anti-capitalism under Democrat admin puppet Lina Khan, would stand in the way of several large deals, especially in an election year when the Biden administration is seeking to prove its climate credentials and contain gasoline prices at all cost.

In response to the ruling communists, oil executives have claimed the deals will benefit shareholders, consumers and the environment. Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the Pioneer deal would lower its cost of production, making US barrels more competitive in the global market, and provide a strong platform for growth, which would ultimately benefit consumers. Exxon also pledged to reduce climate-warming emissions from Pioneer operations to net zero by 2035, accelerating the prior target by 15 years.

The Biden administration has constantly been at odds with the oil industry, but easing through what many executives see as necessary consolidation is likely to improve relations. With domestic crude prices up roughly 14% this year and tensions rising the Middle East, the administration is vulnerable to Republican attacks on measures that hurt the oil industry and raise fuel prices.

Powell to traders today…

h/t @ForexLive

The bigger than expected QT taper announcement juiced markets (stocks and bond prices up, dollar down) into Powell’s press conference, then got spooked lower as he admitted “inflation has shown a lack of further progress… and gaining confidence to cut will take longer than thought.”

But that dip didn’t last long and yields puked, stocks soared, gold rallied and the dollar puked…

Source: Bloomberg

The market shrugged off Powell’s comments about “whether rates are at their peak will depend on data” which opened up the path of possible rate-hikes, but he dd add that “he doubts next move will be a hike.”

CNBC’s Steve Liesman asked the big question that everyone should be asking: you are ‘sort of easing’ by reducing QT while holding rates flat because you’re not confident that inflation is under control – wassup with dat?

Powell replied with some words that meant nothing, stating that they have long planned on tapering QT and claimed that ‘reduction in balance sheet run-off is not policy-easing’.

“This is not the easing you’re looking for…”

By the close, all of Powell’s pig-kissing lipstick had been wiped off (see below for the coordinated crypto/nasdaq take-down) as stocks saw solid gains erased in the hour after Powell stopped speaking… Small Caps and The Dow managed to hold on to the gains but Nasdaq and S&P closed nearer the day’s lows…

‘Most Shorted’ stocks saw a massive squeeze (+5%) on the FOMC headlines, before the late day selling pressure hit…

Source: Bloomberg

MAG7 stocks ended the day unchanged after giving back their post-Powell gains…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields plunged 6-8bps across the curve on the day, with the short-end outperforming, dragging all yields lower on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

The 2Y Yield snapped back below 5.00% once again…

Source: Bloomberg

The yield curve (2s30s) jerked flatter initially, then steepened dramatically back to flat on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar tumbled on the non-easing ‘easing’ (but bounced back a bit after Powell finished speaking)…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold surged back above $2300 on the non-easing…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin bounced back on the FOMC statement, recovering some of last night’s bloodbathery, but somebody did not want it back to $60,000 and that smackdown dragged stocks down with it…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices ignored all the fuss around The Fed and fell for the third day in a row (its biggest daily drop since early Jan) with WTI back below $80 at six-week lows…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, rate-cut expectations (hawkishly) rose on the day with one-or-two cuts in 2024 now 50-50 and two-or-three cuts more in 2025 around 50-50 also…

Source: Bloomberg

And, also Powell explained that he “doesn’t see the stag or the ‘flation” in markets… well this should help Jay…

Source: Bloomberg

We can’t help but feel like Powell is awfully eager to ‘loosen’ policy… but he made it clear that the 2024 election “just isn’t a part of the Fed’s thinking.”

So, that’s that then!

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

It’s ridiculous to have red lines if you are not going to do anything when they are crossed. So what should Biden do?

China Has Crossed Biden’s Red Line on Ukraine

A Wall Street Journal Op-Ed moans China Has Crossed Biden’s Red Line on Ukraine.

President Biden warned China two years ago not to provide “material support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine. On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken conceded that Xi Jinping ignored that warning. China, Mr. Blinken said, was “overwhelmingly the No. 1 supplier” of Russia’s military industrial base, with the “material effect” of having fundamentally changed the course of the war. Whatever Mr. Biden chooses to do next will be momentous for global security and stability.

Mr. Biden can either enforce his red line through sanctions or other means, or he can signal a collapse of American resolve by applying merely symbolic penalties. Beijing and its strategic partners in Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang and Caracas would surely interpret half-hearted enforcement as a green light to deepen their campaign of global chaos. Mr. Xi sees a historic opportunity here to undermine the West.

What sanctions? On Who? On What? For How Long?

Op-ed writer Matt Pottinger provided no details, he just wants action. He needs to explain what sanctions make any sense at all, and how they would work.

Numerous US sanctions on Russia, China, Iran, all failed. Hell some of them on Russia and China not only failed they backfired.

So funny. Adding to my post on red lines and sanction failures.

— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) May 1, 2024

How China Gets Around US Sanctions on Semiconductors

On February 18, 2024, I explained How China Gets Around US Sanctions on Semiconductors

How Russia Makes a Mockery of US Sanctions in One Picture

Unprecedented US and EU sanctions against Russia have had no impact on Russia’s oil exports or revenue. Who’s the beneficiary?

On December 29, 2023 I noted How Russia Makes a Mockery of US Sanctions in One Picture

On September 19, 2023, I commented Lesson of the Day: Sanctions Don’t Work Because They Create New Markets

Why Sanctions Fail

Someone always has an incentive to break sanctions.

Sanctions create new markets.

This is how Russia sells oil and how China gets access to equipment and parts.

In the case of chips, the US has forced China into a path to self-sufficiency. Hooray?!

Matt Pottinger wants sanctions. He should name some. Nah, what he really wants is to promote his book “The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan.”

What Color Are Biden’s Red Lines?

On March 10, I asked Are Biden’s Red Lines to Netanyahu Really Yellow or Green?

Presumably you know the answer now, but if not, please consider this idle threat: Biden Threatens Sanctions on Israeli Soldiers Yet Wants More Money for Israel

If you are going to have red lines, I suggest they should be red.

Israel vs China Red Lines

In the case of Israel, there was an easy remedy. Biden could have withheld aid. Instead, when Israel repeatedly crossed lines, Biden stepped up the aid further emboldening Netanyahu.

In the case of China, there are no sanctions or policy actions that make any sense, so there should not be any red lines.

Attempting to set foreign policy for the world is a huge mistake. And setting red lines you cannot or will not do anything about makes one look silly.

Starbucks shares plummeted by 16% during the early cash session, approaching the -16.2% level last seen during the Covid crash. If intraday losses surpass 16.2% and remain above this level at closing, it would mark the company’s worst single-day loss since the Dot Com crash in early 2000.

“Starbucks reported what’s perhaps the worst set of results of any large company so far” this quarter, analyst Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote in a note. William Blair downgraded the coffee chain, citing last quarter’s “stunning across-the-board miss on all key metrics.”

Starbucks reported a 4% drop in same-store sales in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, while analysts tracked by Bloomberg were expecting growth. In China, same-store sales plunged 11%. The company’s top geographic segments are showing a pullback in consumer spending. 

On Tuesday evening, CEO Laxman Narasimhan started the earnings call with investors by clarifying his unhappiness with last quarter’s results. 

“Let me be clear from the beginning. Our performance this quarter was disappointing and did not meet our expectations,” Narasimhan said. 

He said major headwinds originate from a “cautious consumer,” adding, “A deteriorating economic outlook has weighed on customer traffic and impact felt broadly across the industry.” 

Here’s a snapshot of the second quarter’s earnings results (list courtesy of Bloomberg):

Comparable sales -4%, estimate +1.46% (Bloomberg Consensus)

North America comparable sales -3%, estimate +2.05%

US comparable sales -3%, estimate +2.31%

International comparable sales -6%, estimate +1.36%

China comparable sales -11%, estimate -1.62% 

Adjusted EPS 68c, estimate 80c 

Net revenue $8.56 billion, estimate $9.13 billion

Operating income $1.10 billion, -17% y/y, estimate $1.35 billion

Adjusted operating margin 12.8%, estimate 14.5%

Operating margin 12.8%, estimate 14.4%

North America operating margin +18%, estimate +19.5%

International operating margin 13.3%, estimate 15.2% 

Channel development operating margin 51.7%, estimate 43.6%

Average ticket +2%, estimate +2.41% 

North American average ticket price +4%, estimate +4.15%

International avg. ticket -3%, estimate +0.1%

North America net new stores 134, estimate 144.33

International net new store openings 230, estimate 429.23

Comparable transactions -6%, estimate -0.27% 

North America comparable transactions -7%, estimate -1.86%

International comparable transactions -3%, estimate +1.37%

Goldman analysts Eric Mihelc and Scott Feiler told clients, “Expectations were for a clear sales miss and a modest EPS miss, but both came worse than the lowered bar.” 

They added, “The miss was across geography and was as bad, if not worse, than worst fears.” 

Other Wall Street analysts shared the same gloom and doom about the coffee chain (list courtesy of Bloomberg): 

Deutsche Bank analyst Lauren Silberman cuts Starbucks to hold from buy 

Says the “challenging” results was a sign “headwinds are more pervasive and persistent than we expected, and we have limited visibility into the pace and magnitude of a recovery”

Had thought comparable sales deceleration in the US was more transitory and isolated to a specific cohort

 However, with the decline in 2Q traffic and what seems to be limited improvement from Lavender and Spicy Refreshers, Silberman sees it being difficult to “underwrite a meaningful reacceleration,” which is key to the bull case

William Blair, Sharon Zackfia (cuts to market perform from outperform)

After healthy demand over the past three years, Zackfia says the “tide has turned quickly,” with Starbucks posting the weakest traffic performance outside the pandemic or Great Recession

China now “looks more fragile,” with comparable sales down 11%, and even Starbucks Rewards members “took a rare dip,” she adds

Jefferies, Andy Barish (hold)

There was a “notable” miss on US and international comparable sales as well as EPS, and Barish says there is “no easy fix in sight to reaccelerate SSS near-term”

Notes that international comparable sales was “similarly weak,” with traffic and comparable transactions both declining; China’s comparable sales miss and Middle East volatility more than offset positive comps seen in Japan, APAC and Latin America

PT cut to $84 from $94

Citi, Jon Tower (neutral) 

Starbucks is “putting a lot of oars in the water to try and paddle” its way back to a stable comparable sales outlook that investors would be willing to underwrite

However, Tower expresses concern that there is not enough “coxswain keeping oarsmen working in unison/with accountability”; adds that it ignores the “true leak in the bottom of the boat,” flagging broad consumer pushback to cumulative transaction growth and the value equation

 Notes China store margins are still in the double digits and the segment is profitable despite top-line declines

 PT cut to $85 from $95

Cowen, Andrew Charles (hold)

 “We believe 2024 guidance has been derisked as we model 0% NA comps & 3% EPS growth, the high end of the range”

Expects shares to be in a “holding pattern” as Starbucks restores credibility while competition and tough macroeconomic conditions present headwinds

PT cut to $85 from $100

Bloomberg Intelligence, Michael Halen and Jennifer Bartashus

“Starbucks slashed fiscal 2024 same-store sales, revenue and EPS guidance and lacks a cogent plan to boost demand”

“We believe several initiatives, including targeting overnight sales, dozens of new products and a four-week mobile- app upgrade cycle are overkill — a distraction unlikely to boost traffic”

On Tuesday, a similar story occurred at McDonald’s when the burger chain reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales growth. 

Notably, working-poor consumers are pulling back spending in a period of stagflation (read here & here). 

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Northwestern University has agreed to a controversial settlement with pro-Palestinian protesters encamped on its campus this week, including a commitment for scholarships for Palestinians, Palestinian faculty appointments, and special housing for Muslim students.

The protesters will also be allowed to continue their protests while agreeing to stay in a particular area of campus.  It will also put the students and supporting faculty on bodies to review any university investments and purchases, a major demand from supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Previously, protesters had reportedly prevented some students and faculty from entering buildings and engaged in property damage.

The Daily Northwestern reported the details of the deal and noted

“the University has committed to provide a conduit for students to engage with the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees. It will also re-establish an Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility this fall, which will include students, faculty and staff.

…

In addition, the University committed to some support for Palestinian students and faculty in the agreement. NU will ‘support visiting Palestinian faculty and students at risk,’ and will provide the cost of attendance for five Palestinian undergraduates to attend Northwestern.

…

The University also committed to providing an ‘immediate temporary space for MENA/Muslim students’ — a longtime demand from students on campus — and will provide and renovate a house for MENA/Muslims students as soon as possible. The final house is expected to come in 2026.”

It also includes a commitment of the university to intervene with employers to guarantee that students suffer no consequences for participating in protests in their jobs and internships.

Northwestern (my alma mater) has always chosen the path of least resistance when it comes to protesters, including at times surrendering core academic functions. I have been particularly critical of the loss of freedom of speech and academic integrity on campus.

Students previously succeeded in cancelling a speech by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Student Zachery Novicoff embodied the rising intolerance to free speech on campus. He is quoted as saying “There’s a limitation to free speech. That ends at overtly racist old white dudes.”

I criticized former Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro for his lack of support for free speech on campus. Schapiro denounced what he called “absolute” free speech positions and endorsed speech sanctions, including treating speech as a form of assault.

During his tenure, the university often seemed a mere pedestrian to mob action taken against dissenting voices. For example, we previously discussed a Sociology 201 class by Professor Beth Redbird that examined “inequality in American society with an emphasis on race, class and gender.”  To that end, Redbird invited both an undocumented person and a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  It is the type of balance that is now considered verboten on campuses.

Members of MEChA de Northwestern, Black Lives Matter NU, the Immigrant Justice Project, the Asian Pacific American Coalition, NU Queer Trans Intersex People of Color and Rainbow Alliance organized to stop other students from hearing from the ICE representative.  However, they could not have succeeded without the help of Northwestern administrators (including  Dean of Students Todd Adams).  The protesters were screaming “F**k ICE” outside of the hall.  Adams and the other administrators then said that the protesters screaming profanities would be allowed into the class if they promised not to disrupt the class.  Really?  They were screaming profanities and seeking to stop the class but would just sit nicely as the speaker answered questions?

Of course, that did not happen. As soon as the protesters were allowed into the classroom, they prevented the ICE representative from speaking.  The ICE official eventually left and Redbird canceled the class to discuss the issue with the protesters that just prevented her students from hearing an opposing view.

The comments of the Northwestern students were predictable after being told by people like Schapiro that some offensive speech should be treated as a form of assault.  SESP sophomore April Navarro rejected that faculty should be allowed to invite such speakers to their classrooms for a “good, nice conversation with ICE.” She insisted such speakers needed to be silenced because they “terrorize communities” and profit from detainee labor. Here is the face of the new generation of censors being shaped by speech-intolerant academics like Schapiro:

“We’re not interested in having those types of conversations that would be like, ‘Oh, let’s listen to their side of it’ because that’s making them passive rule-followers rather than active proponents of violence. We’re not engaging in those kinds of things; it legitimizes ICE’s violence, it makes Northwestern complicit in this. There’s an unequal power balance that happens when you deal with state apparatuses.”

Last year, the Northwestern student body banned press from meetings to protect students from the harm of media coverage. The students also have previously frozen funds of conservative groups.

The Northwestern journalism faculty is little better.  Steven Thrasher, the Daniel H. Renberg Chair of social justice in reporting at Northwestern, who trashed a reporter who waited for the facts before reporting on a police shooting.

Of course, it is not just conservative speakers that the students want to ban. In 2021, they called for the removal of the President of the Board of Trustees. Despite being a major donor and supporter of the school, J. Landis Martin was denounced as a Republican who donated money to former President Donald Trump.

The university issued a statement that “This path forward requires the immediate removal of tents on Deering Meadow, cessation of non-approved use of amplified sound and a commitment that all conduct on Deering and across campus will comply with all University rules and policies. Compliant demonstration can continue at Deering Meadow through June 1.”

The university has long lacked the fortitude to stand up to students engaging in disruptive protests.

The danger of such passivity is evident on our campuses. As Henry David Thoreau warned, “all rivers and most corrupt men follow the path of least resistance.”

Here is the Northwestern agreement.

Ahead of today’s FOMC statement and Powell presser, we said that the bogey for a dovish interpretation today will come not from the Fed’s rate decision, which we knew would be unchanged, but the QT tapering decision…

The big question for today: how much will Fed taper QT by?

If Taper goes to $30BN (from $60BN/month), that means less funding needed in Q3 (most likely from Bills), and means less pressure on issuance. Yields should slide

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2024

… and sure enough, the fact that the Fed announced an accelerated QT tapering and it was bigger than expected ($35BN vs $30BN) is why the market is viewing the Fed announcement as dovish and futures are now soaring.

And while we wait for Powell’s presser to conclude, here are some other hot takes from Wall Street strategists and thinkers:

David Russell, head of market strategy at TradeStation

“The Fed is still in wait-and-see mode before they get dovish. But the data hasn’t been cooperating. This statement keeps investors data dependent and focused on April numbers like CPI two weeks from now.”  

Audrey Childe-Freeman, chief G-10 FX strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence

“A first glance at the statement brings dollar bears some breathing space as the language adjustment is not as hawkish as may have been feared, though the reference about underwhelming inflation progress entertains a potential new layer of hawkishness at a later stage that could contain dollar downside ahead of the press conference. Muted dollar reaction so far captures this well.

“The language embraced thus far does not signal that the narrative has shifted back to new rate-hike debates, but rather to pushing back the timing on a rate cut. This is probably good enough for near-term euro-dollar relief given the feared hawkish pivot.”

Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings

“With unemployment still low and the labor market still tight, there is only a limited risk to the Fed’s employment mandate from waiting longer before embarking on rate cuts. On the other hand the risk of failing to get inflation down on a sustained basis seems to be rising as each week goes by. Patience is the watchword now for the Fed and the risk of fewer or no rate cuts this year is growing.”

Erica Adelberg, Bloomberg Intelligence’s mortgage-backed securities strategist:

“Making it explicit that any surplus MBS paydowns will be reinvested into Treasuries could adversely affect the MBS/Treasury basis, but at this point MBS paydowns are projected to be about half of the $35 monthly cap on average for the foreseeable future. The average loan rate backing the Fed’s MBS holdings is more than 300 bps below current mortgage rates, so it would take a significant interest rate rally to hit the MBS cap.”

Kathy Bostjancic, Chief Economist at Nationwide:

“We expect Chairman Powell will underscore this hawkish pivot in his press conference and emphasize that the timing of pace of rate cuts will depend highly on the future path of inflation. He likely will indicate the Fed is on an extended pause until inflation resumes its disinflationary trend.”

Ira Jersey, Bloomberg rates strategist:

“His lack of comment about the possibility of a hike is interesting, and I’d be surprised if he’s not asked about the potential for hikes in the press conference. But it seems that ‘on hold’ is his base case for now.”

Bloomberg Economics’ Anna Wong and Stuart Paul:

“For anyone wondering if this year’s hot inflation readings were just a blip, the May 1 FOMC meeting offered a clear answer: Hawkish tweaks to the statement show policymakers have lost confidence that inflation is moving in the right direction. At the same time, the Fed announced it would start tapering its balance-sheet run off in June – a month earlier than we expected — and will reduce the runoff cap by a bit more than we foresaw. That initially comes across as dovish, but the motivation here is key. If it turns out the Fed wants the run-off process to last longer — ultimately boosting the chance that its balance sheet will return to pre-pandemic size – that actually would be hawkish.”

Developing