Weekly News Wrap-Up 2/15/13
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
The big story this week was the State of the Union address by the President and the rebuttals. Please note “rebuttals” plural. Everyone knows Senator Marco Rubio, but not much coverage was given to Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky. I thought President Obama and Senator Rubio did a fine job of presenting their points and vision. (I do not care about the stupid controversy over Rubio picking up a bottle of water.) I thought the most important points made in the State of the Union address were given by Senator Paul, but most people didn’t hear or see what he had to say because of the near blackout by the mainstream media (MSM.) Senator Paul called for a balanced budget amendment to get the U.S. fiscal house in order. He noted we are borrowing $50,000 per second.
The Republicans are blocking Chuck Hagel’s confirmation for Secretary of Defense. They want more information on Benghazi where four citizens were murdered by terrorists. In the end, the Secretary of Defense will do what the President says no matter who is in charge over there, but before there is a confirmation, there will likely be more information disclosed about that terror attack.
The automatic cuts in social programs and defense spending called “sequestration” are edging closer to the March 1st date. Some say this will be a disaster, but others say the cuts are a drop in the bucket of government spending. Democrats want more taxes. Republicans want the spending cuts now because they already caved in on $600 billion in new taxes. This is setting up to be a one-two punch on the economy. First the sequestration, then the debt ceiling will expire in mid-May. I see both sides digging in their heels and not solving the problem. This could really upset the financial markets.
A senior Iranian commander was assassinated in Syria. This is yet another escalation in the two year old Syrian civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 60,000.
North Korea has test fired another nuclear weapon. Some liken them to a four year old wanting attention and assistance from the world. I say a four year old with a nuclear weapon is a very dangerous situation. Lots of folks are worried about this wild card state.
You want to know why the car industry is making a big comeback. Sub-prime car loans are back with a vengeance. Two local car dealers were advertising 0% down car loans and were touting that you could get a car loan even if you had a bankruptcy or other money problems. 45% of new car loans are sub-prime. I hear another bubble blowing.
Join Greg Hunter as he gives his analysis of the news in the Weekly News Wrap-Up.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
Greg,
Fake the Union Address, and the Republicans ARE NO BETTER!
Rand Paul is not his Dad, and is a sell out! Although he did make the most sense, agreed. lets cut to the the root http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8 The only time the US has been out of debt, is when Andrew Jackson killed the bank. If the thesis is Liberty, the Anti-thesis is enslavement; Debt enslavement, and all wars are banker wars!
You got hacked because your reporting far too close the the root of the problem. Keep up the good work!
Let me know if your coming to Honolulu, Lunch is on me.
Aloha,
Troy
Thank you Troy,
My slip-up Rand is the SON of Ron Paul. I have no teleprompter. Everything is adlib with notes, still, my bad I missed it.
Greg
Greg,
I in no way intended to be critical of your report, and I’m sorry if it seemed that way. I value what you do Sir. Rand is just a bid of a let down for me. More of a team red supporter for political gain than, team We the people IMO.
While Left And Right Fight, Power Wins
Paul Craig Roberts
http://www.infowars.com/while-left-and-right-fight-power-wins/
“The majority of Americans remain trapped in their unawareness, which implies a bleak future. The insouciance of the American population is its downfall”
The solution resides in a new party, the No Confidence Party. (Peaceful) Civil Disobedience as Neither federal authority, nor state authority, supplants the legal barriers of the Constitution itself, meaning, no federal or local authority has the right or power to remove our freedom of speech, our freedom of assembly, our freedom of privacy, OR our freedom to own firearms (including firearms of military utility). The Constitution and the Bill of Rights supersede all other legal and political entities (including treaties, as ruled by the Supreme Court). At least, that’s what the Founding Fathers intended when they established this nation. The point is, a state is well within its rights to defy the Federal Government if it is enacting unconstitutional abuses, and the people are well within their rights to defy a state when it does the same.
God Bless all Oath keepers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb2Ggo4QhBs&feature=player_embedded
Troy,
No No No Troy. I did not take it that way at all. I just wanted to acknowledge my slip-up. I am happy you told me this. I can’t change it now but I’ll be more careful in the future. Really, I am happy you pointed it out. I am not offended man!!! Please always point out a mistake. If I can change it, I will. This one with Senator Paul has already hit YouTube and changing it now would not work.
Greg
I have known you for 40 years and you are the only person that I have ever known that had worse hand writing than me!
Keep up the good work!
MCP
Thank you Mike. You are a good friend.
Greg
Greg,
I wanted you to read this must read article about HSBC and in short Libor:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/gangster-bankers-too-big-to-jail-20130214?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&page=1
What do you think we can do about these huge bankster crimes? People should at least be made aware. But then what? I feel completely useless and so unraged when reading what these criminals can do every day. All that while i get taxed into oblivion (belgium).
Nathan,
I looks to be that our politicians know very well what’s gone on. There are no criminal prosecutions because the politicians on both sides of the pond have been bought off. The more people know what’s going on the better they can prepare for the next very big downturn. Thank you for your comment. I feel your frustration.
Greg
Greg,I had to chime in this morning about those sub-prime,zero money down on new and used cars and trucks being sold here in Cleveland….the real deal is if you can prove $350.00 dollars a week “take home pay”- you drive! Trading dollars for chunks of metal is on again….what makes this so amazing is that shut off switch thats installed in those sub prime vehicles!!! If your in the repo business here in Cleveland,its easy to spot those deadbeats driving around the streets in Cleveland- hunkered over their steering wheels with a death grip,trying to figure what the hell just happened! Ya gotta love the new way of doing business in America today- I can just imagine what WILL happen if that minny wage scale kicks in!
Norm,
Thank you for adding your perspective from Ohio!!
Greg
The MSM Pravda blackout of Rand Paul was easy to predict. The republicans are placing their future on the “great brown hope”, Rubio. But Rubio is just a one issue senator (immigration) and doesn’t believe in ACTUALLY CLOSING THE BORDER BEFORE another another round of AMNESTY; basically, just more of a younger old guard republican hopping to pander for the Mexican vote and get ahead. Mr. Paul on the other hand is a threat to the MSM, the democrats & the elite. He represents real fundamental change, especially economic change to a sound dollar & FED curtailment which is way overdue.
Greg, frankly this week was just more of the usual, photos ops for all at the State of the Confusion address, $50,000 per second debt is continued policy as well as 2nd & 4th Amendment erosion & economy in real recovery spinning. Make no mistake about it, housing & cars are on a bubble course again LED BY THE FED. When are we going to wake up and stop playing these investment games of musical chairs, I for one have stopped!
Last rant, the Carnival Cruise story is indicative of a middle class that has become complacent and is not able bodied any longer to handle a real crisis if one was given to them. This certainly is not my grandfathers country.
Thank you Art for weighing in.
Greg
Greg: Extend and Pretend, smoke and mirrors, kabuki theatre, kick the can, mark to myth, disinformation and propaganda have, in the last decade, displaced individual responsibility and consequences, morality and of course, common sense. We have also lost the Rule of Law, separation of powers, and checks and balances as well as the majority of the Bill of Rights. The America of my parent’s generation has disappeared; in its place is a criminal and psychopathic enterprise seeking absolute power and wealth by whatever means necessary. We are all to blame; we let it happen.
Andyb,
I can’t argue a single point. “We let it happen.”
Greg
The whole world knows 9-11 was some kind of inside job. The whole world knows the western bankers can’t be trusted.
So all the lawless bankers and DC insiders will fix the problems they cause, ha,ha
When you live in a lawless land, no money system can stand.
They now want your guns because the truth is the only path out of this man made hole. With the truth comes judgment day. PEACE ha.ha
Greg, we have a lot more than a economic mess, we have the 7th fleet that was used in “Operation Tomodachi” after the 2011 quake. Japan is a waste land & the rest of the world also! http://www.youtube.com/watch?=kjuWYA4nQko&list=UUq_6BYkwVLNiVnZjzaaPbsA. We have seen how burtal our own gov has became, but this is just a taste of what they are willing to do & cover up for greed! If the link does work try ,Dutchsince @ youtube.
We have more than a few melt downs, we have world FUBAR!!!
GOD Bless You & all, thanks for the great work & I hope you will find the work of these folks imporatant also!
Thank you for the comment and for the link!!!
Greg
M Smith: Will you repost this link please. I keep going to youtube front page. thanks.
got it this time.
From what I see, the Japan-China square off could put everything else into obscurity. /// Paul Craig Roberts’ newest essay is maybe the most concise paper I have read. /// Greg’s USA Watchdog site has integrity – hard to find.
Thank you Justin King. I am traveling but I will read it when I get home.
Greg
Hi Greg
Geeez I must say someone(with authority) really needs to speak out.All week has just been 1 big CON job.The SOTU was a joke.Most vehicle’s get 54 mpg????We need to repair the infrastructure?What a shovel ready joke!!!!!!!Lets create jobs with green energy.WHATS GOING ON???????
OBUM is the biggest liar ever and no one is saying nothing..Here’s another joke as the G20 gets started they issue a draft as to what is to be talk about
A draft of the G20 statement ahead of this week’s meeting in Moscow has apparently been obtained by Bloomberg. Here’s the deal:
G20 members recognise growth is still weak
Members recognise important risks remain
G20 committed to avoiding FX rate misalignment
Policy uncertainty and deleveraging hurt growth
Important risks remain
Stronger economic and monetary union needed
another CON job
Things are truly getting bad
Dave
Greg,
Just an anecdotal observation. I live in a very red part of Florida. They vote overwhelmingly Republican every election. A lot of retired military.
I was talking to a group of retired military yesterday. They are livid over the filibuster of Chuck Hagel. He served with distinction (their words). They are claiming it was an Israeli/AIPAC lobby of bought and paid for senators (their words) to smear Hagel because he said in 2005 that he took an oath to defend the US Constitution, not Israel. (Don’t know if that is true.)
The retired military are a very close knit community. They are into group think, and yesterday, the group think was very pro Chuck Hagel, very anti establishment GOP.
It was a stupid move by the GOP. There were others that they could have filibustered.
tsuki
Thank you for adding this perspective.
Greg
Well all the big news is out at the summit.There will be no currency war.Wow ,what a surprise .I thought for sure they would say there is gonna be a knock down drag out battle.IM SHOCKED!!!!!
Dave,
They too are in a place where reality is suspended.
Greg
I just wish we all take a chill pill everyone and get massage and learn to eat healthier. With that said, we so many external factors on the rise and we all know what going to happen. Either we are going to have WW III or economic collapse and one or both is coming. Rand Paul has to do what he has been told and basically, nobody has mind of it owned the man owns them.
It all been said and done. Solutions, Americans have to wake up and really see what really happening. Until, the shit hits the fan and they realize the people they have been putting in office are the same people that were really hurting them and everything they thought was true. Reality hurts and the consequences of reality hurts even more. Overall, I feel it big lessons that we all have to go through and yes, it very sad because we could really all been living very well in this country.
Theis Liberty anti thesis is enslavement and the synthesis is New world order and control.
The only way, people have to wake up and unity has to form and then it might be too late. All this control is all for us and hey, if people really watch the movies and it all right in front of you. Control. As far as the two party system it is the biggest joke on us and also we are becoming more like bag of hammers.
When the government control money and interest and corporations and government merged together it is call corportism or know as Fascism. Benito Mussolini. Trouble is people do not know American history or the fore father what they all said. That why everything is out the window and thinking we are all going to have this diversity but more a class society.
Greg,
Great wrap up. Soros has made a cool billion since Nov 201218 on the currency wars. Anyone who thinks their 401k is going to be there forthem in 5 years had better have a plan b
Thanks Greg
After living in Germany, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Kosovo for more than 2 years each (Germany 18 years), I must say that in all of these nations there is a desire among the “ordinary people” to be left alone to live their lives. In North Koreas case, maybe they don’t want to have a Federal Reserve Bank controlling them, same as Iran and all other “rouge” nations. As if our leaders really give a crap about human rights, or one nuke. What seems to be most important looking back over the last 30 years are keeping drug routes clear and controlling the worlds resources mainly to profit the few. Let’s not forget a barrel of oil is worth around $90 and a barrel of uncut cocaine or heroine about $19.6 million per barrel.
I was going somewhere with this but my wife said American Idol is on
Later