In its biggest military operation since last August, Israel launched major airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing at least 15 Palestinians, among them eight civilians and three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders, according to statements of Palestinian officials. 

Last week witnessed over 100 rockets fired on southern Israel by Islamic militant factions in the strip following the news of the death of prominent Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan, who did last Tuesday after an 87-day hunger strike in Israeli prison. Israeli officials are calling this new operation ‘retaliation’ for last week’s rocket launches.

Adnan is being treated as a martyr, and widespread protests began throughout the West Bank and Gaza. 

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted 10 different PIJ military facilities in Gaza, especially those used for producing rockets or weapons storage.

The IDF additionally stated that Khalil Bahatini, the PIJ commander in the northern Gaza Strip, is a prime target given his role in last week’s rocket bombardment. The operation has been dubbed ‘Shield and Arrow’. 

Interestingly, it appears Israel is specifically conveying to Palestinian officials that it doesn’t wish for a wider war, and is seeking to avoid targeting Hamas, instead taking aim only at PIJ: 

A senior Israeli official said Israel conveyed messages to Hamas via private channels through mediators that Tuesday’s operation was only against the Islamic Jihad group and Israel wouldn’t target Hamas if it doesn’t get involved in the fighting.

However, the Israeli military is warning that it’s prepared for a protracted conflict if need be, but that this is the choice of the militant factions.

VIDEO: Israel launches deadly pre-dawn air strikes on Gaz.

The Israeli army says it launched pre-dawn air strikes Tuesday against the militant group Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The strikes killed 12 people according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian… pic.twitter.com/IwMLgLdhAd

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 9, 2023

Israeli schools in the south of the country have been closed ahead of Wednesday, with the education ministry announcing, “Schools within a 25 mile (ca. 40 km) radius from the Gaza Strip will not open tomorrow, meaning some 300,000 children will not be in school.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned Tuesday that more rocket fire could come, “to areas near the Gaza border and far from it, and with significant intensity.”

WATCH: @IDF strikes #Palestinian Islamic Jihad targets throughout the #Gaza Strip as part of Operation Shield and Arrow.

👉More here: https://t.co/d2vSALkpTO pic.twitter.com/36dsQjwezP

— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) May 9, 2023

He emphasized: “The defense establishment is prepared for any scenario, including a prolonged campaign.”

Authored by Bryan Jung via The Epoch Times,

Many Americans say they are suffering sharply from higher levels of financial anxiety as the economy takes a downturn.

Money is now the prime cause of stress for most Americans, according to May 8 survey by Bankrate.

At least 52 percent of respondents reported that personal finances have had a negative impact on their mental health, a significant increase from 42 percent a year ago.

Fears over high inflation, rising interest rates, and a pending recession have filtered down into the everyday lives of millions of Americans still recovering from the disruptions caused by the pandemic lockdowns.

The American economy has been taking a hit over the past year, with many economists predicting that the situation will decline by the end of 2023.

“There are several sobering statistics in this report … with inflation at the center of many of these money worries. Despite a strong job market, wage growth has not kept pace with the rising cost of living. Debt has been rising and savings have been dwindling,” said Ted Rossman, a Bankrate Senior Industry Analyst.

Twenty dollar bills are being counted. (Elise Amendola/AP Photo)

Economic Stress Worsens Early 2023

As financial worries take hold of American taxpayers, about 82 percent said that feelings of stress, anxiety, worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep, depression, etc., have been caused by economic factors.

The greatest cause of concern was inflation at 68 percent, followed by rising interest rates at 31 percent, and unstable finances or job security at 29 percent.

Inflation remains the greatest source of financial anxiety since last year, with analysts expecting a long-term negative impact on American consumers well after it reaches its peak, said Bankrate.

Meanwhile, respondents who said that their money fears have worsened over the past year was at 57 percent, while 47 percent admitted that paying for everyday expenses was the greater concern.

At the same time, 41 percent of those surveyed claimed they lacked enough emergency savings.

Almost all those who said that money occasionally impacted their mental health told surveyors that at least one of those three concerns has worsened over the past year.

Those Most Affected by Inflation

The survey noted that older Americans, women, and lower earners were more likely to point to rising prices as a cause for their money-related stress.

Seventy-nine percent of baby boomers and 68 percent of Gen Xers were more likely to cite inflation as a crisis.

This is compared to the 64 percent of millennials and 52 percent of Gen Zers who blame inflation for taking a toll on their mental health.

The fact that most Gen Xers are 10 to 20 years away from retirement is the main reason for concerns, Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a financial therapist and author, told Bankrate.

She said that many in that age cohort are more than likely to be caring for their elderly parents and their families simultaneously.

“They’re at this double whammy disadvantage of not just caring for themselves, but also often caring for children and their aging parents, and getting toward the later half of their earning years,” said Bryan-Podvin.

“So of course, they’re experiencing higher rates of financial anxiety,” she explained.

Women are also more likely than men to have issues with rising prices, at 72 and 63 percent, respectively.

Lower-earning households, those with an annual household income below $50,000, are more likely than the higher-earning households with income above $100,000 to raise concerns, at 72 and 60 percent, respectively.

“Often lower income earners are working hourly wage jobs, which means that if they get sick or can’t work, they’re not getting paid. They might be putting expenses on a high-interest credit card,” said Bryan-Podvin.

“The stakes are just literally so much higher because they don’t have the financial cushion,” she added.

[ZH: If only these miserable Americans just followed President Biden’s tweets… they’d know just how lucky they were…]

This is what happens when you invest in America.

We have more work to do – but this is real progress. pic.twitter.com/Pur91mu3Pf

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 5, 2023

Futures are limping lower after overnight China reported that export growth moderated from 14.8% in March to 8.5% in April, slightly better than market expectations, and unchanged from the 1Q23 average, while Imports unexpectedly collapsed, badly missing expectations.

Both export and import value declined sharply in April in sequential terms (exports: -5.4% sa non-annualized, imports: -5.1%, USD-denominated). The sequential decline in exports is in line with historical patterns for this year’s earlier-than-normal Lunar New Year. 

According to SocGen, the decline in exports was to be expected as the March exports received a strong boost from a backlog of orders, thanks to easing supply disruptions. But the pace of expansion was still healthy and better than other major Asian economies, such as South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam, with exports in contraction of over 10% in April.

By product, electronics and machinery equipment (EME) products eased from 12.3% to 10.4%. The moderation was driven by products outside high-tech products (e.g. machinery). There were some improvement in consumer electronics: smartphones improved from -32% to -13%, and PC and parts recovered from -26% to -17%. But the contraction in integrated circuits intensified from -3% to -7%. Meanwhile, autos remained a bright spot and accelerated strongly from 59% to 83%, thanks to growing demand for NEVs. Traditional consumer goods slowed, with apparel down from 32% to 14%, furniture down from 14% to 0% and footwear down from 32% to 13%, though they still maintained pretty solid expansion.

While exports chugged along, the big surprise in today’s release was imports, which plunged from -1.4% to -7.9%, against expectations for a small improvement.

The weakness was mainly attributed to commodities (also because of price effects of nearly -2%). In volume terms, oil imports slowed from +22% to -1%; iron ore dropped from +15% to +5%; and coal normalised from +151% to +73%. Copper was the only key product that improved, from -19% to -13%. EME products held up better but still saw a contraction of 16%. Within that, IC imports remained in contraction of c.20%; PC parts recovered from -25% to -12%, consistent with the trend in exports; autos weakened notably from -15% to -41% due partly to base effects.

Overall, while exports remained resilient, the weak commodity import data, also with the latest below-50 manufacturing PMI, highlights that contrary to Beijing’s publicly stated strategy, China is experiencing a two-speed recovery, with strong consumption (especially services), also evident in the Labor Day holiday data, but not-so-robust industrial activity, which still faces headwinds from external demand and a slow recovery in property investment. With upstream price pressures still subdued, policymakers will keep policy accommodative, although few expect fresh easing measures.

Authored by Ted Snider via AntiWar.com,

On March 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. In his article in the Russian media preceding the meeting, XI enthused that “China-Russia trade exceeded 190 billion U.S. dollars last year, up by 116 percent from ten years ago.” Though it has reached 190 billion US dollars, it is no longer all being traded in US dollars. In his article in the Chinese media, Putin said that “the share of settlements in national currencies” of all that trade “is growing.” 65% of that massive China-Russia trade is now being conducting in their Russian and Chinese currencies.

Though the US sees Russia and China as the largest threats to its position in the world, it is not just America’s enemies that are fleeing the dollar. Its closest friends have hinted at it too. Following his meetings with XI in China, French President Emmanuel Macron likely stunned and angered the US by calling for Europe to reduce its dependency on the “extraterritoriality of the US dollar.”

These calls for a flight from the US dollar are not merely economic, they are geopolitical. They are calls to reshape the world order by challenging US hegemony and advocating multipolarity. The monopoly of the dollar has not just assured US wealth: it has assured US power. Most international trade is conducted in dollars, and most foreign exchange reserves are held in dollars. That dollar dominance has often allowed the US to dictate ideological alignment or to impose economic and political structural adjustments on other countries. It has also allowed the US to become the only country in the world that can effectively sanction its opponents. Emancipation from the hegemony of the dollar is emancipation from US hegemony. The flight from the US dollar is a mechanism for replacing the US led unipolar world with a multipolar world.

As the US has recently demonstrated in Cuba, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Iran and Russia, the monopoly of the dollar allows it to be very powerfully and quickly weaponized. Countries’ funds can be held hostage, and countries can be coerced and starved into falling in line by sanctions. Recent demonstrations of that power have awoken many countries to their own vulnerability.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said that “There is a risk when we use financial sanctions that are linked to the role of the dollar that over time it could undermine the hegemony of the dollar.” She explained that “Of course, it does create a desire on the part of China, of Russia, of Iran to find an alternative.”

And that’s just what it’s done. But Yellen is still missing the larger effect of US dollar warfare. It is not just China, Russia and Iran that are now seeking to escape the pressure. America’s enemies, but also its friends and everything in between, are considering taking flight from the dollar.

China and Russia are doing it. NATO ally France is calling for it for Europe. Nonaligned countries are also either talking about it or already doing it.

India is a growing economic power. And, like China, India has massively increased its trade with Russia. India and Russia have now begun discussions on a free trade agreement between India and the Russian led Eurasian Economic Commission. The two countries are now engaged in “advanced negotiations” for a new bilateral investment treaty. Russia has expressed interest in using “national currencies and currencies of friendly countries” for trade. India, too, “has been keen on” moving toward leaving the dollar behind by “increasing the use of its rupee currency for trade with Russia.” And India has recently begun purchasing some Russian oil in Russian rubles.

US dollar hegemony has also been threatened right in America’s backyard. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proposed escaping dollar control by “creat[ing] a Latin American currency.” While in China for meetings with XI, Lula asked, “Who decided the dollar would be the [world’s] currency?” He then answered his own question. In March, Brazil and China escaped the US dollar by each assigning one of its banks to conduct their bilateral trade in the Brazilian real and the Chinese yuan.

Pakistan is now also trading with China in its own currency. Iran and Russia have taken flight from the dollar and are now settling trade in rials and rubles. They recently announced that they have circumvented the US financial system by linking their banking systems as an alternative to SWIFT for trading with each other. Saudi Arabia has said that it sees “no issues” in trading oil in currencies other than the US dollar. Robert Rabil, Professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University, says that the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel have all made some movement away from the US dollar.

The Eurasian Economic Union has agreed on “a phased transition” from settling trade in “foreign currency” to “settlements in rubles.” 

Perhaps more surprisingly for the US was the decision at the March 30-31 meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reduce reliance on the US dollar. ASEAN is made up of Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Brunei. The meeting produced a joint statement to “reinforce financial resilience . . . through the use of local currency.” But what must have been most unsettling for the US was the explanation given for the decision by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Widodo said that the move is necessary to protect from “possible geopolitical repercussions.” What did he mean by that? “Be very careful,” he explained. “We must remember the sanctions imposed by the US on Russia.”

Yellen was right. Widodo said that US sanctions on Russia exposed just how vulnerable countries are if they rely on US dollars and US foreign payment systems. He said that using ASEAN’s Local Currency Transaction system to trade in local currencies would help address the need for Indonesia to prepare itself for the possibility that the US could similarly sanction it.

The EEU and ASEAN are not the only organizations mapping their flight from the US dollar. BRICS is a massive international organization whose primary purpose is to balance US hegemony in a new multipolar world. Comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, it represents 41% of the world’s population. BRICS, too, is talking about conducting trade in the currencies of its members or even in a new BRICS’ currency.

Lula recently suggested that “the BRICS bank have a currency to finance trade between Brazil and China, between Brazil and other BRICS countries” so that countries are not compelled “to chase after dollars to export, when they could be exporting in their own currencies.” Russian State Duma Deputy Chairman Alexander Babakov also recently said that BRICS is working on creating its own currency.

A BRICS currency could challenge the dollar beyond the borders of BRICS. “Because each member of the BRICS grouping is an economic heavyweight in its own region, countries around the world would likely be willing to do business” in the currency, suggested a report in the Financial Post.

One such region is Africa. In July, the Russia-Africa summit will be held in St. Petersburg. Olayinka Ajala, senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Leeds Beckett University and the author of “The Case for Neutrality: Understanding African Stances on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict,” told me in a recent correspondence that a “main focus of Russia and China at the moment is to get African countries to support the proposed BRICS currency.” He says that “this will be a major topic in the upcoming conference.” Ajala explains that “Africa is a consuming continent, meaning they import lots of goods and services.” He says that “with a population of over 1.2 billion, if Russia and China are able to convince African countries on the need to ditch the dollar, it will be a huge blow to the US.”

From Africa to Southeast Asia and Latin America, from Russia and China to India, Iran and Saudi Arabia, countries are mapping their course for a flight from the US dollar. As a mechanism for transition from US hegemony to a multipolar world, the economic effects would be great, but the geopolitical effects could be even greater.

Oil prices had a volatile day but ended higher after falling over 2% earlier in the day (as Chinese crude imports reportedly declined in April). The surge was driven by comments from US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm confirming that the administration may start buying back crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve late this year (despite having actually continued to draw it down this year).

“The price is right for the US to begin refilling their strategic oil reserve, providing a much needed bid for oil bulls as recessionary headwinds grow,” said Daniel Ghali, a commodity strategist at TD Securities.

However, none of this was new news but in a thin market it was enough to spark a bounce in WTI.

“Everyone knew the White House needed to refill the SPR sooner than later given reserves are at a four-decade low,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, wrote in a market update, adding that the Biden administration was initially planning on filling up the reserve when prices were around the $70 region.

We will see if actual inventory data can shift sentiment.

API

• Crude +3.618mm (-800k exp) – biggest build since Feb

• Cushing

• Gasoline (-800k exp)

• Distillates (-400k exp)

Expectations were for a 4th straight week of crude draws but API reported a 3.618mm build – the largest since Feb…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI was hovering around $73.50 ahead of the API print and did not budge on the unexpected crude build.

The rebound (of last week’s flash-crash) came after oil prices dropped by just over 7%, driven by worries over the economic outlook.

Still, considering that central bank officials appear “far more comfortable providing a narrative that there is hope recessions can be avoided, the widespread selling that commodities like oil suffered last week was very much over the top,” said Jameel Ahmad, chief analyst at CompareBroker.io, in emailed commentary.

Tomorrow’s CPI print (and official inventory/supply data) will likely be the catalyst for extending gains or reversion back to last week’s lows.

Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation.” – John Adams

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” – John Adams

I have bookshelves filled with books I haven’t read yet. I’m a collector of books who doesn’t have much time to read but plans to spend my waning years catching up on all the reading I’ve been unable to do while working, blogging, and raising a family. Still, I always have one or two books on my nightstand being read in fits and starts. After finishing a Grisham novel, I sought another book to occupy my time from my living room bookshelf. I grabbed Rise to Rebellion, a Jeff Shaara historical novel I had purchased at a used bookstore in Wildwood, NJ many years ago.

I don’t know why I chose that book from the dozens of options on the bookshelf, but it seems to have been a wise choice given the current state of affairs in the world. I always find the wisdom and courage of our founding fathers to be a beacon of light in the darkness slowly engulfing the world as we approach the denouement of this Fourth Turning, the fourth, and hopefully not last, in U.S. history. Probably without knowing it, most of Shaara’s historical novels revolved around events during the first three Fourth Turnings.

It started with his father Michael Shaara’s brilliant 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Killer Angels, and Jeff’s bookend novels Gods and Generals (1996) and The Last Full Measure (1998) to complete the trilogy. They captured the essence of the Civil War Fourth Turning. Then he captured the spirit of the American Revolution Fourth Turning with Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause. And then he attacked the World War II Fourth Turning with his four-part series: The Rising Tide, The Steel Wave, No Less Than Victory, and The Final Storm. The novels documenting the glorious victories, tragic losses, heroes, and villains of this Fourth Turning are yet to be written. What will be written depends upon the actions we take or don’t take during the remaining five or so years of this period of Crisis.

You never know how or when your words or actions will have an impact, but if you remain resolute and true to yourself, maybe even after death your words can provide inspiration for future generations. Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels was rejected by 15 publishers, received mixed reviews, and even after winning a Pulitzer Prize was still a commercial failure. He died in 1988, a broken man, dismayed his novel never received the notice it deserved.

Five years after his death his book was adapted into the epic film Gettysburg, and his novel was propelled to number one on the NYT bestsellers list, 19 years after its publication. Jeff had been a coin dealer, but after the success of the movie and novel he was approached to continue the story, his father had started, despite no background in writing. He took up the challenge and has had a prodigious career bringing history to life for millions of readers. You never know when life will offer opportunity or thrust you into a cataclysm.

What struck me as I read Rise to Rebellion, capturing the time period from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, told through the eyes of John Adams, Ben Franklin, George Washington, and British General Thomas Gage, was the extremely long odds of farmers, merchants, shop owners and tradesmen successfully defeating the greatest empire in history and their professional army. The chances of these undisciplined, underfunded, under armed militiamen, led by George Washington and a few professional officers, of winning their independence from an imperial empire and an army and navy unmatched on earth was virtually nil.

It’s the kind of perspective valuable at this juncture of a Fourth Turning, rapidly accelerating towards conflict against a seemingly invincible arrogant Deep State imperial empire. The odds are heavily against those who have refused to knuckle under during the covid scam and continue to oppose the government’s efforts to disarm us and destroy the moral fabric of the nation.

From their writings and correspondence at the time, utilized by Shaara in his novel, you realize Adams, Franklin, and Washington were all reluctant revolutionaries. Firebrands like Sam Adams and Patrick Henry had no doubts about going to war. Adams and Franklin did everything in their power to defuse the brewing conflict over many years. Adams even defended the British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre and got them acquitted by an American jury. Franklin spent years in London trying to negotiate on behalf of the colonies, while constantly being ridiculed, scorned, and humiliated by arrogant parliamentarians and an ego-maniacal king.

When chosen to lead the Continental Army, Washington was hesitant to accept the position. He didn’t believe the martial skills he gained during the French & Indian War were sufficient to lead a ragtag army of militia misfits against the greatest military on earth. These men did not conclude a military revolution was necessary to end the British tyranny lightly. After much soul searching and angst, they realized there was no choice. They had been pushed far enough and it was time to push back. They also knew if they failed, they would hang.

In 1770, Franklin was 64 years old, suffering from gout and bladder stones. With life expectancies of less than 40 years in those days, he had far outlived most, while accomplishing more as a scientist, writer, publisher, and statesman than almost anyone in history. He had every right to just live out his remaining years in peace and tranquility. But instead, he risked it all on helping birth a new nation, using all his wisdom, guile, and political acumen to help guide the younger revolutionaries Adams, Jefferson, Washington, among others.

He was 70 in 1776 when he signed the Declaration of Independence and died in 1790, shortly after the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789. He spent his twilight years working tirelessly to birth this Republic. As I and many others enter our 60s, it feels like it is too late for us to make a difference in helping change the course of our troubled nation. But Franklin should be an inspiration to all real patriots fighting impossible odds to try and defeat an arrogant brutal regime bent on crushing those who believe in freedom, liberty, personal responsibility, and a Constitution written in the blood of patriots 250 years ago.

When narrow minded linear thinkers scoff at the notion of the common people rising up and taking down a corrupt, evil, traitorous government, which no longer works in the best interest of the people, but for their own enrichment, I must anchor my thinking in the cyclical nature of history and inevitability of the existing social order being swept away in a river of blood during Fourth Turnings. The acolytes of the regime in political offices, government bureaucracy blood suckers, the media propaganda outlets, the woke military, and corporate boardrooms scoff at the thought of losing their wealth and power.

They control the narrative. They control the technology. They control the government. They control the media. They have superior firepower in the hands of their police and military mercenaries. Their hubris knows no bounds. Their comprehension of history and human nature is non-existent as their sociopath desires overwhelm their ability to think critically and see what lies ahead.

No matter how far advanced the world has become technologically over the last 250 years, one thing never changes – human nature. Technological progress has certainly made it easier to kill each other today than during the American Revolution. “Smart” phones, the internet, and 70-inch HDTVs have made it far easier to amuse and distract ourselves, and effortless for Bernays’ invisible government to control and manipulate the masses through propaganda and psychological exploitation, as proven by the last three years of this fake covid crisis. As Huxley pointed out, technology is just making us go backwards more efficiently.

“Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards.” ― Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means

Technology hasn’t made us smarter. Technology hasn’t made us kinder. Technology hasn’t made us less violent. Technology hasn’t made us less likely to kill or wage war. Technology hasn’t made us safer. Mankind is just as prideful, greedy, wrathful, envious, lustful, gluttonous, and slothful as they were in centuries past. Human nature never changes; therefore, we can analyze the actions of King George, Lord Dartmouth, General Gage, and other key characters of the American Revolution Fourth Turning to assess how Biden, Schumer, and Miley will react and over-react to events unfolding during this Fourth Turning.

There are numerous parallels between the political, societal, and military dynamics of the American Revolution Fourth Turning and our present day Fourth Turning, which is accelerating towards its bloody climax, yet to be labeled by future historians – if there are any historians left to write the history.

“Once vigorous measures appear to be the only means left of bringing the Americans to a due submission to the mother country, the colonies will submit.” – King George III

“A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me.” – King George III

The attitude and actions of King George III and his parliamentary aristocracy leading up to and during the rebellion are consistent with the attitudes and actions of our current day monarch – Joe Biden – and the Deep State ruling elite who lord dominion over us lowly peasants. It was duly noted King George battled bouts of mental illness from 1765 until his death in 1820. He lorded over an empire constantly at war in Europe and North America.

His empire was deeply indebted and sought to fill the treasury through taxing its far-flung colonies across the globe, without allowing those colonies representation in Parliament. When faced with resistance and dissension from America, his response was dismissive and threatening. In 1775, after the initial hostilities around Boston, the Continental Congress was still split between war and reconciliation. John Dickinson, the Loyalist delegate from Pennsylvania, wrote the Olive Branch Petition seeking reconciliation with the Crown.

King George’s unequivocal Proclamation For Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition  declared war upon the colonists and proclaimed the members of the Continental Congress to be traitors and conspiracists. He left no room for negotiation or compromise. Were these words written by King George, or the arrogant war-mongering toadies in his court who didn’t have to do the marching and dying on battlefields on another continent. The derision and threatening language are eerily reminiscent of another dictator’s speech 247 years later, ironically given bathed in blood red in front of Independence Hall, where the founding fathers had held their rebellious proceedings.

WHEREAS Many of Our Subjects in divers Parts of Our Colonies and Plantations in North America, misled by dangerous and ill-designing Men, and forgetting the Allegiance which they owe to the Power that has protected and sustained them, after various disorderly Acts committed in Disturbance of the Public Peace, to the Obstruction of lawful Commerce, and to the Oppression of Our loyal Subjects carrying on the same, have at length proceeded to an open and avowed Rebellion, by arraying themselves in hostile Manner to withstand the Execution of the Law, and traitoroursly preparing, ordering, and levying War against Us.

AND whereas there is Reason to apprehend that such Rebellion hath been much promoted and encouraged by the traitorous Correspondence, Counsels, and Comfort of divers wicked and desperate Persons within this Realm: To the End therefore, that none of Our Subjects may neglect or violate their Duty through Ignorance thereof, or through any Doubt of the Protection which the Law will afford to their Loyalty and Zeal; We have thought fit, by and with the Advice of Our Privy Council, to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, hereby declaring that not only all Our Officers, Civil and Military, are obliged to exert their utmost Endeavours to suppress such Rebellion, and to bring the Traitors to Justice; but that all Our Subjects of this Realm and the Dominions thereunto belonging are bound by Law to be aiding and assisting in the Suppression of such Rebellion, and to disclose and make known all traitorous Conspiracies and Attempts against Us, Our Crown and Dignity.

AND We do accordingly strictly Charge and Command all Our Officers, as well Civil as Military, and all other Our obedient and loyal Subjects, to use their utmost Endeavours to withstand and suppress such Rebellion, and to disclose and make known all Treasons and traitorous Conspiracies which they shall know to be against Us, Our Crown and Dignity: and for that Purpose, that they transmit to one of Our Principal Secretaries of State, or other proper Officer, due and full Information of all Persons who shall be found carrying on Correspondence wit, or in any Manner or Degree aiding or abetting, the Persons now in open Arms and Rebellion against Our Government within any of Our Colonies and Plantations in North America, in order to bring to condign Punishment the Authors, Perpetrators, and Abettors of such traitorous Designs.

Given at Our Court at St. James‘s, the 23d Day of August, 1775, in the Fifteenth Year of Our Reign.

God Save the King.

The symbolism of Biden making the most divisive presidential speech in history at the most important location in the founding of the United States, Independence Hall, with blood red lighting and soldiers in the background was as clear a declaration of war against half the country as King George’s proclamation in 1775. Biden spewed hatred and vitriol towards the 74 million Trump voters, essentially proclaiming them traitors and insurrectionists. Biden and his handlers, who wrote the satanic verses demagoguery delivered by Biden, clearly were threatening to use the military against their opponents and use any means at their disposal to retain their power.

Their illegal incarceration and persecution of average Americans who sauntered around the Capital taking selfies, instigated by dozens of undercover FBI agents trying to provoke violence, is proof they have declared war. The barrage of frivolous lawsuits and criminal charges against Trump by the Biden regime and their Deep State acolytes is a blatant attempt to use the power of the State against a political opponent.

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.” – King Joe I – September 1, 2022 – Independence Hall bathed in blood

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not recognize the will of the people. MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair.  They spread fear and lies – lies told for profit and power.” – King Joe I – September 1, 2022 – Independence Hall bathed in blood

Another quote from Dementia Joe (aka Pedo Pete per Hunter) references Thomas Jefferson saying the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants. It seems Joe knows he is the tyrant in this scenario, as he threatens to use F-15s against his political opponents. Whether we are talking 250 years ago or today, it always comes down to guns.

“I love my right-wing friends who talk about the tree of liberty is water of the blood of patriots. If you need to work on taking on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don’t need an AR-15.” – King Joe I – January 17, 2023

Animosity between the Crown and the colonists had been brewing for a decade. The Boston Massacre didn’t start the revolution. The Boston Tea Party didn’t start the revolution. The Intolerable Acts of 1774, which were designed to punish Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, was the trigger for all that followed. When you treat human beings like dogs, beating them, starving them, and caging them, you better be prepared for them to bite back. John Adams realized the time to act was upon them.

“So instead, you will punish us by reducing us to non-citizens. If there was an argument before about which rights, which privileges we expect to be granted, there is no argument now, no discussion about vague principles. We will have soldiers in our homes; our town, cut off from her source of survival, is plainly under siege.” – John Adams – Rise to Rebellion

It wasn’t until Gage sent his men on a mission to Lexington and Concord to confiscate the guns and ammunition of the colonial militias, the revolution began in earnest. Gun confiscation is always the final straw, which pushes peaceful non-confrontational common men to justified violence, aggressive defense of their liberties, and unrestrained retribution against their enemies. The farmers, merchants and tradesmen, warned of the coming attack by Dawes and Revere, rallied and stood their ground at Concord, and then using guerilla tactics picked off dozens of British regulars during their retreat, inflicting three times as many casualties as incurred. In retaliation the panicked British soldiers burned the homes of non-combatants and killed innocent women and children.

The arrogance of General Gage was again borne out at the Battle of Bunker Hill (most fighting occurring on Breed’s Hill) where his frontal assault resulted in over 1,000 casualties to 450 for the militiamen. If the rebels had not run out of gunpowder, the slaughter would have been worse. The cruel and inhumane burning of Charlestown and Falmouth by the British Navy terminated any possible reconciliation and set in motion a domino effect of events leading to great bloodshed and eventually a humiliating defeat for the British Empire.

Biden and his ruling regime relentlessly threaten and use un-Constitutional means to overturn and render the 2nd Amendment null and void. Every “mass shooting” event is utilized as a means to enact restrictions on the ownership of guns. This despite 90% of mass shootings being committed by young black men against young black men in Democrat run urban shitholes with the strictest gun control laws.

Up until now, those running the show and fearful of the “deplorables” legally owning approximately 400 million firearms, have tried to use regulation, registration, restrictions, and sanctions to restrict the Second Amendment. They have essentially declared half the country rebels, inflaming emotions on both sides with their rhetoric, purposeful non-enforcement of the law, witch hunts against opposition leaders, censorship and cancelling of those on the right, illegal executive orders designed to ignite rebellion, and to treat them like sub-humans.

What they have not dared to do yet, is forcefully attempt to confiscate our guns. That would be the bridge too far, just as the British expedition to Lexington and Concord proved to be the action which generated the violent reaction and subsequent Revolutionary War. When Biden and his cohort of authoritarian governors and mayors attempt to use their police state to confiscate guns door to door, the unanticipated violent response will be heard round the world. The confiscators have names, addresses and families, so they may realize treating their neighbors like criminals may lead to dreadful consequences for them and their loved ones.

The truth is the nation has been in a state of rebellion since the election of Trump in 2016. The divisions within the country haven’t been this deep since the Civil War. Biden’s divisive rhetoric and threats to use the military against his opponents clearly reveals his desire for confrontation. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. believes the country is in rebellion against both parties, while Trump’s words on January 6, 2021, revealed his belief we were already warring tribes.

“I think there’s a rebellion happening in our country now — there’s a populist rebellion — and if we don’t capture that rebellion, for the forces of idealism and the forces of generosity and kindness, somebody else is going to hijack that rebellion for much darker purposes. I don’t think it’s a good idea to say we’re not going to talk to American populists because they’re deplorable. Americans are our brothers and sisters, and we need to listen to them. And their backs are against the wall because of policies that have come from both Republican and Democratic parties.” – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.– May 6, 2023

“Today we will see whether Republicans stand strong for integrity of our elections, but whether or not they stand strong for our country. Our country has been under siege for a long time, far longer than this four-year period.” – Donald Trump – January 6, 2021

The assault on the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution have been persistent and more strident over the last three years. We have entered the more volatile phase of this Fourth Turning where any spark can ignite the powder-keg of animosities, grudges, and disputes opposing forces have been seething over for years. The unbridled censorship unleashed by government conspiring with social media companies (aka corporate fascism) was the initial step in the regime’s plan to control, monitor, and suppress any truth which contradicts the approved narrative.

The founding fathers knew 232 years ago the dangers of a tyrannical government subduing the people’s right to freedom of expression, leading us down a path to destruction. That’s why they insisted on the Second Amendment as redress in case a tyrannical regime needed to nourish the tree of liberty with their blood.

“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” ― Benjamin Franklin

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ― George Washington

Once they silence you, they believe they can then disarm you, imprison you in their 15-minute cities, control you by using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to restrict your purchases and punish you for social credit score violations, turn off your mandated EV at their whim, monitor your every communication, and essentially treat you like a prisoner in their electronic gulag. Jeff Shaara captured the gist of how all tyrannical governments act throughout history, and today is no different.

“a dangerous thing for any state to maintain its power by plugging up the vent of complaints, stifling the voices of the people. When complaining becomes a crime, hope becomes despair. He finished” ― Jeff Shaara, Rise to Rebellion

Frankly, the odds of defeating such a goliath regime, backed by the Deep State, the largest military on earth, local militarized police thugs, billionaire oligarchs, compliant media corporations, the Wall Street cabal and their central banker puppets, and millions of sheep-like government indoctrinated drones, seem impossibly long. But the truth is, the uni-party inhabiting the swamp in Washington D.C. is desperately attempting to retain control as their last act is looting the treasury, foretold by George Washington over 200 years ago.

The true support of the regime is a mile wide and an inch deep. When the current “non-banking crisis” detonates into a full-fledged panic and vaporizes the 401ks of millions of angry citizens who have already been supremely screwed by the massive Federal Reserve/Wall Street created inflation, the simmering pot will be brought to a boil and all hell will break loose.

The repressed anger created by the totalitarian lockdowns and vaccine mandates, which destroyed small businesses and the lives of millions of good middle-class people, is on the verge of exploding in the faces of the regime. A recent comment on my blog perfectly encapsulates the vengeance which will be doled out:

“I did get fired. Specifically for non-compliance with Biden’s XO mandating the vax for all federal workers/contractors. 6 figure salary gone. Employer matched 401k contributions gone. Had to live most of 2022 off of what I had in savings, $80,000 gone. And now every fucking one of their “mandates” has been rescinded and the WHO has declared the pandemic over. White hot seething vengeance fueled rage doesn’t even begin to describe what I (and millions of others) have boiling deep inside us that we for now are somehow still able to conceal behind a smiling face. When the collapse comes, and it will, hanging is not good enough. I want these people and their families fed to packs of wild dogs.” – Anonymous Commenter on TBP blog

“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.” – Josey Wales

We are now in the fifteenth year of this Fourth Turning, with a resolution likely within the next five or six years – good, bad, or disastrous. The Great Depression/WWII Fourth Turning lasted 17 years, while the American Revolution Fourth Turning took 21 years. It is a certainty violent conflict will drive this Fourth Turning to its gripping unknown climax, with both civil and global conflict playing a major role. The men who were pushed too far by the British in 1775 and pushed back had virtually no chance of victory and they won. Will those of us constituting Hillary’s deplorables, who face equivocally long odds, summon the inner-strength, resolve, fortitude, and courage to support and sustain our fellow modern-day patriots in the coming battles for the heart of the nation?

We certainly aren’t going to vote our way out of this, as both parties are captured and corrupt. We’ve been pushed as far into a corner as we can be pushed. And the time for pushing back approaches. The futures of our children and grandchildren will depend on how we respond during the coming trials and tribulations. It will require tremendous sacrifice and cooperation between all generations to accomplish the task of saving this country from the forces of evil currently in control. Once the sword is drawn there will be no turning back or compromise. An elderly Ben Franklin knew what would happen if they failed. The same would apply today – ask the men kept in a D.C. dungeon for the last two years.

 “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” ― Benjamin Franklin

Strauss and Howe provided four possible outcomes to the current Crisis, each more dire than the next. I now believe this outcome is the most likely, unless Biden accidentally pushes the nuclear button, thinking he was just ordering chocolate ice cream with jimmies.

“The Fourth Turning could mark the end of modernity. The Western saecular rhythm – which began in the mid-fifteenth century with the Renaissance – could come to an abrupt terminus. The seventh modern saeculum would be the last. This too could come from total war, terrible but not final. There could be a complete collapse of science, culture, politics, and society. Such a dire result would probably happen only when a dominant nation (like today’s America) lets a Fourth Turning ekpyrosis engulf the planet. But this outcome is well within the reach of foreseeable technology and malevolence.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

Many have already given up their liberties and freedoms for the promise of government safety and welfare payments, but will ultimately realize they aren’t safe, and the promises were hollow and false. The nation is financially and morally bankrupt, and the fall of the American Empire will be the most spectacular in world history. Thomas Paine never fired a shot during the American Revolution, but his Common Sense became the inspiration for others to stand up to tyranny. We all have a part to play in this historic episode in our nation’s history. If not us, then who? As darkness descends upon our land of liberty, it’s time to light a candle and make a stand against evil and tyranny.

*  *  *

It is Jim’s sincere desire to provide readers of his site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, he asks that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part.

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A quiet day with no notable macro was just what the doctor ordered ahead of tomorrow’s CPI-inspired likely chaos.

However, no progress at all on the debt ceiling debacle, the growing risk of civil war in nuclear-armed Pakistan, Italy pulling out of China’s BRI, no signals at all that the US banking crisis is over in any way, and hawkish comments from Fed’s Williams:

“What we’re signaling is we’re going to make sure that we achieve our goals and going to assess what’s happening in the economy and make the decision based on that data,” he said. “And if additional policy firming is appropriate, then we’ll do that.”

“I do not see in my baseline forecast any reason to cut interest rates this year,” he said, adding that the economy began the year on a solid footing and he saw two-sided risks to the outlook. “In my forecast we need to keep restrictive stance of policy in place for quite some time.”

Debt Ceiling anxiety remains extreme to say the least with the T-Bill curve insanely kinked… 5/23 3.97 to 6/6 5.34!!

The Dow managed to ramp up to gains on the day (helped by BA) but faded in the last few minutes. The S&P and the Nasdaq ended worst with most of the majors at their lows of the day…

Regional banks ended lower (rejecting an odd buying panic that hit around 1330ET)…

PACW had another chaotic squeezy day…

Shorts were squeezed once again after an ugly open…

Source: Bloomberg

0-DTE traders dragged 1-Day VIX up in line with VIX as they anticipate tomorrow’s CPI…

Source: Bloomberg

Notably, 0-DTE traders dumped calls aggressively into tomorrow’s CPI…

Source: SpotGamma

Despite a very strong 3Y auction, yields ended higher on the day – though the belly outperformed (2Y +2.5bps, 5Y unch, 30Y +2.5bps)…

Source: Bloomberg

The 2Y Yield pushed back above 4.00%…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar extended yesterday afternoon’s rally, back up to one-week highs (resistance)…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin was flat, hovering around $27500, as Ordinals volume surged…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI spiked (around the time of headline about refilling SPR – nothing new), extending gains to two-week-highs (after some weakness intraday)…

Gold also extended its rebound from $2000 (spot)

Finally, bear in mind that the market is pricing in notably less volatility tomorrow (across CPI) than it has for last few months…

As SpotGamma notes, NDX straddle was pricing a ~1.1% move – quite a decline from the +2%’s of the last 6 months.

And after that, vol is expected to drop even more after that…

Source: Bloomberg

… as the stock market remains fearless into the X-Date.

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

The Chicago Police Department recently advised businesses in its 14th District to install special shatter-proof glass window protectors to keep their stores safe after a recent series of break-ins.

“This alert gives notice to businesses in the 14th District of recent burglaries in the overnight hours,” the April 30 police alert states.

“The Offender breaks the front/side glass windows of said businesses by means of rock/brick/crowbar to gain entry. Once inside they steal money from cash register, the cash register itself, safe, and liquor.”

The CPD’s community alert said that one storefront was targeted in this smash-and-grab fashion on four different occasions between March 17 and April 15.

This same suspect also targeted two other storefronts, with police describing him as “wearing dark clothing, green gloves, and a dark jacket with fur around the [hood]”.

The police added that there was an “unknown black male getaway driver with a red Nissan Murano.”

The CPD community alert advises local businesses to be aware and watch out for one another, quickly call police if they see a possible break-in, check that security cameras are functioning properly, and “if possible, use ArmorPlast, an unbreakable shield that fits over existing glass.”

ArmorPlast is a series of products made from polycarbonate plastic that can be installed over windows and glass doors to prevent break-ins. ArmorPlast was developed by a company called Riot Glass. The company describes its products as a means of protecting against storm damage, smash-and-grab theft, rioting and looting, and active shooter situations.

“We want to keep the bad guys outside the building—and that’s what the product does,” Riot Glass founder Brad Campbell told CBS.

It was not immediately clear if Chicago police have advised installing Riot Glass products in other city areas. NTD News reached out to CPD for comment, but they did not respond by the time this article was published.

Crime in Chicago

The recent break-ins at stores in Chicago’s 14th District are part of a larger trend in crime in the city.

Instances of robbery, theft, and burglary are on the rise throughout the city, according to CPD crime statistics.

By the end of 2022, Chicago had recorded 14 percent more robberies, 14 percent more burglaries, and 56 percent more theft’s than it had the year prior.

Instances of robbery, theft, and burglary in Chicago in 2023 are already outpacing 2022 crime rates.

According to the most recent CPD crime figures, the number of robberies recorded in the city is 17 percent higher so far this year than it was at the same point last year, while burglary is eight percent higher and theft is 22 percent higher.

In Chicago’s 14th Police District, robbery is 16 percent higher so far this year than it was by the same point last year. Burglary is up 31 percent, and theft is up 36 percent compared to this point in time last year.

Tamer Jaradat, an employee at Western Food & Grocery—one of the businesses targeted in the recent string of smash-and-grabs in the 14th District—told CBS that police are becoming less responsive when the store reports some crimes.

“Now, if you call the cops like too much, every day, for stealing a bag of chips or pop, they’re not going to show up in 10 or 20 minutes like before. It takes time,” Jaradat said.

(Update 1605ET): Trump’s attorney, Joseph Tacopina, told the Epoch Times that the former president is planning to appeal the verdict which found him liable for battery and defamation charges in the E. Jean Carroll trial.

During the closing argument on Monday, Tacopina doubled down on his statement that Carroll’s case was motivated by political reasons, a claim that Carroll’s attorneys denied.

“What E. Jean Carroll has done here is an affront to justice. She has abused this system by bringing a false claim for amongst other things money, status, political reasons,” Tacopina said.

Carroll was awarded approximately $5 million in damages, including $3 million for the defamation charge and $2 million for the civil battery charge.

Meanwhile, Trump has responded in all caps:

*  *  *

A New York City jury has found former President Trump liable for sexual assault, but not rape, in a New York defamation case brought by accuser E. Jean Carroll.

The jury awarded Carroll $20,000 in punitive damages for a battery claim, and around $5 million in compensatory damages for defamation by Trump. The verdict came after less than three hours of deliberation by jurors in US District Court in lower Manhattan. The jury did not find Trump liable for rape, as Carroll alleged.

Trump, who has long-denied her allegation dating back to the mid-90s, accused Carroll of using false claims as a way to promote her book. “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened,” the-then president told The Hill in an interview at the White House in June 2019.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan read instructions on the law to the nine-person jury before the panel began discussing Carroll’s allegations of battery and defamation shortly before noon.

If they believe Carroll, jurors can award compensatory and punitive damages. Trump, who did not attend the trial, has insisted he never sexually assaulted Carroll or even knew her.

Kaplan told jurors that the first question on the verdict form will be to decide whether they think there is more than a 50% chance that Trump raped Carroll inside a store dressing room. If they answer yes, they will then decide whether compensatory and punitive damages should be awarded.

If they answer no on the rape question, they can then decide if Trump subjected her to lesser forms of assault involving sexual contact without her consent or forcible touching to degrade her or gratify his sexual desire. If they answer yes on either of those questions, they will decide if damages are appropriate. -AP

The nine-member panel began discussing verdicts at 11:50 a.m. ET after Judge Lewis Kaplan gave his final instructions and a 10-question verdict form.

Carroll, 78, sued Trump in 2019, claiming the Republican sexually assaulted her in 1995 or 1996 in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. Because the alleged attack happened decades ago, Carroll was originally barred from suing over sexual battery, pushing her to sue for defamation over allegedly disparaging comments Trump made about the rape allegation.

Trump denied her allegation at the time and accused her of using false claims as a way to promote her book. “I’ll say it with great respect: Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened,” the-then president told The Hill in an interview at the White House in June 2019.

The D.C. Court of Appeals was then asked to weigh in on whether Trump was acting within the scope of his presidential duties when he denied raping Carroll and dismissed her during the interview.

Trump last October called her claims “a hoax” and “a lie.”

Authored by French Hill via RealClearPolitics.com,

Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets with President Joe Biden on Tuesday to advance discussions on terms for increasing the federal government’s debt limit.

After the last meeting to discuss the debt limit on Feb. 1, the White House stated that “the President and the Speaker agreed to continue the conversation.” Now, nearly 100 days later and less than four weeks before the most recently forecasted D (for default) Day, the President will finally keep his word.

Unfortunately, the only word he appears ready to keep repeating is “NO!” No plan. Not a penny in spending cuts, not even to excess COVID-19 relief funds. No negotiations, until this week – maybe.

With Democrats on tilt and a President stuck on “No,” how can President Biden avoid bumbling into default? By working with Speaker McCarthy.

Consider that in just over four months as speaker, with 38 legislative days in Washington, the House has passed 71 bills, including the Limit, Save, Grow Act which increases the debt limit, reduces future debt needs, slows inflation, and spurs economic growth.

On the other hand, the Senate, under Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer’s leadership, has passed only 22 bills in 44 legislative days, excluding commemorative resolutions, and has shown as little interest as President Biden in passing a debt ceiling bill that commits to responsible spending.

The Republican-led House is proving to be the adult in D.C. It is the only chamber in the 118th Congress that is getting things done, thanks to its 55th speaker, California Republican Kevin McCarthy, and his leadership team.

Talking heads in Washington underestimate Speaker McCarthy at their own peril. He is no stranger to pulling off what many thought was impossible, after going 15 rounds and enduring hours of cable news skepticism before being elected speaker. What are the secrets to his success?

Speaker McCarthy is a resilient, relentless, and resourceful man. He is comfortable managing risk and works respectfully and reasonably with members on both sides of the aisle in a relaxed, friendly manner.  

I have personally understood this about Speaker McCarthy for years, having seen his effective leadership transformed into action here in Congress. But most of America first learned about his leadership qualities in January when Speaker McCarthy’s resolve and resilience were tested publicly, and his ability to deal respectfully with opponents played out live on national TV before he secured the speakership.

What viewers at home didn’t see was the way he worked off the floor and away from the cameras, explaining House rules and pragmatically focusing on what actually mattered under the circumstances.

Nor does the public see the respectful manner in which he works with colleagues, listening and addressing concerns with a focus on getting something done.

In a House narrowly divided between Republicans and Democrats, Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team smartly operate under the golden rule: treat others the way you wish to be treated.

Listen – respect different perspectives and personalities. Make points with reason, not hyperbole or ridicule.

The White House seems to believe it can make the speaker blink, divide Republicans, and continue to govern unilaterally. President Biden seems to believe he can avoid dealing with a unified House majority simply by labeling their bill “Extreme MAGA!”

Federal spending increased 40% from $4.45 trillion in 2019 to $6.21 trillion in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Voters spoke loudly and clearly with their thoughts on rampant spending in 2022 when they elected a House Republican majority, putting an end to Democrats’ reckless one-party rule in Washington.

So now it’s time for President Biden and Democrats to listen to the message voters sent them and come to the table ready to work with Speaker McCarthy to solve our nation’s spending addiction.

After Tuesday’s meeting that caps weeks of Democrat threats and chest beating, we are likely to see Speaker McCarthy’s calm resolve at the microphones outside the White House. He will point out that President Biden led successful debt limit negotiations in 2011, stating that “you can’t govern” without negotiating. He will seek to coax the President out of his “NO!” bunker by highlighting the practical benefits of the Limit, Save, Grow Act. He will also likely express respect for the President, despite frustration with Democrats’ inflexibility, personal attacks, and scare tactics.

What happens next?

In a few weeks (or months, if the President foolishly believes he will benefit politically from unsettling the economy further), the debt ceiling will be increased, spending will be moderated, inflation will start to be addressed, and President Biden’s extreme anti-growth policies will be curtailed.

In a world gone crazy, I would bet on the resilient, calm guy from California relentlessly pursuing popular goals in a reasonable, responsible manner.

* * *

French Hill represents Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.