03/7/17

Allo and the 4th Amendment

By: T F Stern | T F Stern’s Rantings

There’s a new program available from Google for Messaging, it’s called Alloand the download is free according to their promotion.

“Google will use that data to improve parts of the app, such as its smart replies feature. That will allow the app to read through conversations and try and work out how people talk – it can then use that data to suggest what they might want to say to their friends.”

Wonderful, now your smart phone can figure out what you might say before you’ve come up with the words on your own…But that’s not nearly as important as Google storing everything you’ve said so they can plan a marketing strategy based on your interests.

Unlike other messaging programs, Google will save everything you say… Forever.

“… By keeping track of all messages, Allo conversations will be accessible by law enforcement with warrants…”

The courts have ignored the intent of our Founders when they wrote down the Bill of Rights to be added to our Constitution. These black robed jurists somehow think that electronic conversations aren’t covered the same way as other forms of communication. After all, Thomas Jefferson didn’t have a Smart Phone so those aren’t the same as letters mailed or hand delivered during correspondence.

4th Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Government agencies have been ignoring the 4^th Amendment for so long now as to make it obsolete.

Go to any airport and watch as passengers awaiting boarding are randomly pulled out of line for invasive body searches. There is no probable cause for searches, no warrant from a judge…but it’s for the safety of everyone… so we ‘voluntarily’ abandon the 4^th Amendment because it might stop an Islamic Terrorist from taking out the Empire State Building while murdering hundreds of innocent citizens.

Under the same pretense of protecting us from Islamic Terrorists, substitute ‘other dangers’ if that term makes you uncomfortable, the NSA listens in on just about every conversation that hits the air. Supposedly they only listen in on folks considered terrorists; but… that opens the door to listening in on just about anyone for just about any reason.

According to Edward Snowden, famous for leaking more information than was thought possible, government agencies listen in, with or without warrants and keep everything they come across, doesn’t matter what it is, it gets filed away. Someday they might use that information to embarrass or humiliate someone running for high office… Nah, that would never happen.

Then there’s the idea that the 4^th Amendment isn’t in play if you are within a hundred miles of the border or point of entry into the country. That must have been part of the digital recording that Thomas Jefferson had deleted when he and the other Founders were formulating the best ways to protect individual God given inalienable rights.

As a police officer it was part of my job to inform you that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, it’s part of the Miranda Warning given to suspects upon their arrest.

In our day you had better understand that anything you say can and will be used…for what ever Google, its advertisers or the government wants to do with it. You have no rights in a totalitarian state.

This article has been cross posted to The Self Educated American, a publication whose banner reads, “Standing Fast By the Judeo-Christian Heritage, Limited Government and the U.S. Constitution”.

03/7/17

TRUMP VERSUS MONETARY POLICY…WHAT IS THE MARKET CATALYST?

By: Kent Engelke | Capitol Securities

To date, the Trump administration has positively influenced equity markets. Will the opinion soon change? Typically, “Presidential Issues” are equity negative.

Like most, I do not know what is true and what is not true.

With the above written, from firsthand experience whenever a power base is threatened, the environment becomes extremely toxic with intense vitriol.

Several weeks ago, I opined the President is the “Master of diversionary politics,” utilizing meaningless events (size of inauguration, Ivanka’s clothing line, etc.) to deflect attention from his real intentions. This is nothing new as every national leader has utilized such tactics.

I also opined President Trump has utilized social media more efficiently and effectively than President Obama. To remind all, according to both the WAPO and the NYT, President Obama’s “adroit” use of social media utilizing dubious ads was a major reason for his reelection in 2012.

Several weeks ago I wrote it is going to get uglier before it will get better.

Personally, I do not think the President is trying to create some authoritative police state for one simplistic reason. Trump is trying to reduce the size of government and government regulations/interference. What the President is attempting directly contradicts what some are suggesting.

At this juncture, the markets are focused upon Trump’s tax and regulatory reform agenda, not the vitriol, perhaps transitioning to monetary policy as a March increase is now largely anticipated.

As asked above, will attention change to “issues” surrounding the Administrative branch? Only history can answer this question.

Returning back to monetary policy, the current market catalyst, the Fed’s inaction next week will now be a surprise. I believe if there is no change in policy, all markets will respond negatively for many will interpret Yellen as extremely dovish, which then raises inflationary expectations. If inflationary expectations become unanchored, yields can rise considerably more than most expect.

Last night the foreign markets were mixed. London was up 0.07%, Paris down 0.32% and Frankfurt up 00.5%. China was up 0.26%, Japan down 01.8% and Hang Sang up 0.36%.

The Dow should open quietly lower. The 10-year is unchanged at 2.50%.

03/7/17

Observations of a Black Guy at the Orlando for Trump Rally

By: Lloyd Marcus

I performed my original song, “We Are Americans” http://bit.ly/2lOjJll at the Orlando March 4 Trump Rally. It felt like a family reunion seeing patriots from the early days of the Tea Party movement; lots of hugs. The mood of the rally was electric. Everyone was happy, excited and fired-up about President Trump.

To the fake news media and Obama http://bit.ly/2lEpjrp who think their orchestrated lying campaign to destroy Trump is working, I say, “Forget about it! It ain’t workin’!” Trump-mania is alive and well, stronger than ever!

Vendors were selling Trump caps, t-shirts and everything in between including Trump welcome mats. One elderly patriot adorned head-to-toe in red, white and blue Trump paraphernalia told me she feared putting a Trump welcome mat outside her front door. She said it is unfair that we cannot freely support our president without fear of attacks.

The emcee instructed all us speakers to stay close to the stage. However, I knew there were a few speakers ahead of me on the program so I wandered away into the crowd to chat with people.

A white gentleman shared with me his frustration trying to legally bring his foreign wife to the United States. He said after battling incompetence, submitting a mountain of documents and spending $18,000 thus far, his wife still has not been granted entry into the U.S. We talked about the unfairness. He is respecting and adhering to our immigration laws. And yet, Obama opened the flood gates to illegals totally un-vetted, gifting them government freebies unavailable to Americans. I told the brother to hang in there. Trump is cutting bureaucracy. http://bit.ly/2lSDI2P

I met a white woman who is chair of a Republican Club. She said they have been reaching out to blacks in a sincere attempt to add more diversity to their club. She asked my advise. I chuckled and said, “Good luck with that.” I have been trying to get blacks to break their mindless loyalty to the democrats for over a decade. Still, I told the patriot sister to keep trying. With God’s help, suddenly mindsets can change.

I asked a young white kid around 14 years old about the unique flag he was waving; blue with a crescent moon and the word, liberty. The kid was an encyclopedia regarding American flags, giving me the full history. Blown away, I said, “You are way too smart for public school. You have got to be home schooled.” He replied, “Yes sir.” I knew it. In my years of touring the country on 14 Tea Party national bus tours, home schooled kids were strikingly different; calmer, smarter, behaved and well educated. Leftists are at war with parents trying to outlaw homeschooling. http://bit.ly/2lSPaM7

Everyone was excitedly buzzing about Trump tweeting about Obama bugging Trump Tower before the election. http://fxn.ws/2mRJdjm Enraged fake news, democrats and other leftists bash Trump for tweeting declaring it un-presidential. Clearly, Trump supporters, over 60 million Americans love it. They love Trump speaking directly to them, bypassing Leftist operatives disguised as mainstream media.

An Asian female speaker addressing the crowd said it took her 35 years to become a legal US citizen with the right to vote. She expressed how proud she was to be an American. The audience went nuts. They loved her.

Representatives from Hispanics, women and blacks for Trump spoke from the stage. They were warmly and enthusiastically embraced by the crowd. We were family, united in our love for our country, excited about President Trump and his agenda; putting America first and making her great again. Such was the theme of the day.

I chatted with blacks at the rally to support Trump. Interestingly, they were entrepreneurs. It is funny how when you’re a business person trying to achieve your American Dream, you are well aware of the road blocks placed in your path by high taxes and the government’s tyrannical, absurd regulations.

The biggest thing I noticed at the Orlando for Trump rally was the obvious political growth and political sophistication of the participants. Back in the early days of the Tea Party movement we were naive patriots. We thought we were fighting only against the socialist policies of a left-leaning president and the democrats.

Today, we know our enemies: radical Leftist Obama and his army of thugs; the fake news media; the corrupt Washington DC political establishment (Republicans and Democrats); and NeverTrumps – united in their mission to destroy Trump’s presidency.

We the People are politically well educated and well-organized. We are spiritually, emotionally and intellectually locked and loaded, really for battle – really to support and defend our new president.

Please continue moving forward, Mr President. We the People have your back!

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American
Lloyd Marcus.com
[email protected]

03/7/17

Media Collusion with the “Espionage Establishment”

By: Cliff Kincaid | Accuracy in Media

Host Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday” spent most of his Sunday show on the subject of whether there is any evidence of Trump officials colluding with Russia to affect the 2016 presidential election. “On the Russian collusion, there’s a lot of smoke, no evidence,” said panelist Bob Woodward of Washington Post Watergate fame.

But we do have substantial evidence of media collusion with the U.S. intelligence community.

“Few understand the CIA and espionage culture as well as [David] Ignatius,” Woodward once said of his colleague, a foreign affairs columnist for the paper. These comments are significant. Ignatius is the Post journalist who received an illegal leak of classified information regarding Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn’s conversations with the Russian ambassador. The disclosure led to Flynn’s resignation as Trump’s national security adviser.

The leak and its publication on January 12 were both illegal actions under the law.

Attorney Larry Klayman of Freedom Watch tells Accuracy in Media that Ignatius is not alone. “What you see in these leaks—David Ignatius of The Washington Post and others—are the intelligence agencies being manipulated by the left to destroy the Trump presidency and everybody around him.” Ignatius openly boasts of his contacts in the intelligence community, especially the CIA.

Woodward was a guest on the Sunday edition of “Fox News Sunday,” but was never asked about his colleague receiving illegal leaks of communications intelligence information.

Instead, the major issue on the show was whether President Trump has made charges about wire-tapping his administration without proof. “NO EVIDENCE CITED FOR ‘WATERGATE’ PLOT” was one of the front-page headlines in the Post over President Trump’s charges that former President Obama was behind the wiretapping.

The media were unanimous. “Trump’s baseless wiretap claim” was the headline over a CNN story.

While Trump’s tweet alleging Obama’s personal role seemed like a stretch, some reported “facts” already in the media put some substance behind what the President was trying to convey in a few words and phrases. For example, the British Guardian reported on January 11:

“The Guardian has learned that the FBI applied for a warrant from the foreign intelligence surveillance (FISA) court over the summer in order to monitor four members of the Trump team suspected of irregular contacts with Russian officials. The FISA court turned down the application asking FBI counter-intelligence investigators to narrow its focus. According to one report, the FBI was finally granted a warrant in October, but that has not been confirmed, and it is not clear whether any warrant led to a full investigation.”

Regarding the alleged personal involvement of former President Obama, the left-wing publication The Intercept reported on January 13:

“With only days until Donald Trump takes office, the Obama administration on Thursday announced new rules that will let the NSA share vast amounts of private data gathered without warrant, court orders or congressional authorization with 16 other agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security.”

The conservative Wall Street Journal reported:

“Only days before the inauguration, President Obama also signed an executive order that allows the National Security Agency to share raw intercepts and data with the 16 other agencies in the intelligence community. NSA analysts used to filter out irrelevant information and minimize references to Americans. Now such material is being leaked anonymously.”

The new rules and procedures, which were promulgated pursuant to a presidential executive order, were signed by Obama Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on January 3 and reported under the innocuous New York Times headline, “N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications.”

As the Journal suggests, what Obama’s administration did was to set the stage for the leaks through David Ignatius of the Post and others. You don’t have to be Bob Woodward to suspect something is going on here.

“The people that report on national intelligence at all the networks, including Fox—and I love Fox News—are scared of taking on the intelligence agencies because their sources will be cut off and they won’t have a profession anymore,” Larry Klayman tells Accuracy in Media.

Interestingly, the personal website of David Ignatius features a laudatory review of one of his books, The Director, about a fictional director of the CIA. This is the context in which Bob Woodward said of Ignatius, “Few understand the CIA and espionage culture as well as Ignatius.” Another reviewer, Philip Kerr, also of The Washington Post, says “I strongly suggest you read The Director. It makes Tom Clancy look like an episode of Get Smart.”

“Get Smart” was the comedy show about a bumbling secret agent who had a phone in his shoe. Ignatius clearly understands the nature of the intelligence business and doesn’t joke around.

But most of the media won’t raise the obvious question: who is Ignatius collaborating with and why? The answers suggest actual collusion and even criminal conduct.

Woodward said on “Fox News Sunday” that “you’ve got to understand that as President Trump has this vast espionage establishment as his disposal, $50 billion a year plus, even in the CIA they call him the First Customer. So he can get the information he wants. He’s the only one in the government.”

But is he really a customer? Or is he in this case a victim?

If the intelligence community is trying to bring down a duly elected government of the United States, it is a story that must be told. Will the media tell this side of the story, or will they protect their anonymous sources and a $50 billion espionage establishment they collude with to make a living?

Cliff Kincaid

Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at [email protected]. View the complete archives from Cliff Kincaid.