Weekly News Wrap-Up 5.24.13
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
The IRS scandal of targeting conservative groups is messy, and the Obama Administration is going to look like it was drug through a hog lot before it’s through. Lois Lerner, who was in charge of overseeing tax exempt groups, was put on administrative leave (with pay) after she pled the 5th. Funny thing though, before she pled, she made a statement that said she basically did nothing wrong. Then she answered a question and used her Constitutional right to not self-incriminate. Republican lawmakers say because she testified and made statements, she can’t have it both ways. Some say she waived her 5th Amendment right. This screams for a special prosecutor, and Democrats are not going to stand in the way. They are not going to cover for the White House. It is amazing to me how little the President claims to know about the IRS scandal, Benghazi and Department of Justice investigating journalists doing their jobs. I don’t know which is worse, a clueless President or a President knowing and doing nothing.
The President does know something about the drone program that some say is nothing more than a drone murder program. President Obama says he is going to “narrow” the parameters. That’s cold comfort to the already more than 3,000 people who have been killed by drones in the Middle East. Many were suspected terrorists, but many have been civilians hit by collateral damage. This includes more than 100 children! Could someone please tell me how we can go after al-Qaeda in places like Pakistan and Yemen and then turn around and arm al-Qaeda rebels in Libya and Syria? Could someone please tell me how this murder program is compatible with the due process clauses in the Constitution? Being “careful” or “narrowing” the scope does not take the place of charges, a public trial and being judged by a jury of your peers. This should be the standard, at least, for U.S. citizens. The government has finally admitted the U.S. has killed four Americans with drone strikes.
Bernanke talked to Congress this week, and he blamed them for the economy not doing so well. Boy, that’s rich. The Fed is the reason for the 2008 financial meltdown in the first place. They certainly didn’t oversee all these mortgage-backed securities that are now toxic. The Fed has more than $3 trillion of this toxic debt on its balance sheet. That’s, in part, what all the QE or money printing is all about. Currently, the Fed is buying $40 billion a month of this junk to cover the fraud and gross mistakes of bankers. Outrageous! Why doesn’t Congress, either Democrat or Republican, ask Mr. Bernanke which banks are getting $40 billion each and every month? This is nearly a half trillion dollars a year. This is too stupid to be stupid. They fight tooth and nail over $85 billion in cuts, and nobody wants to know who’s getting nearly a half trillion a year?
Gold and silver were on a roller-coaster ride this week during Bernanke’s speech. Gold was up $50 an ounce, then down $20! Bernanke he’s says he’s going to taper QE, and then he says he might increase it. Bernanke gave a little something to everybody, but the truth is the minute he stops the money printing, the economy crashes.
The Middle East is still inching towards a wider war. The Syrian civil war is spilling over to Turkey, Lebanon and, now possibly, Northern Israel and the Golan Heights. The two countries are reportedly exchanging fire. Al-Qaeda wants a wider war. That way, the U.S. will be compelled to jump in. Meanwhile, Iran is going ahead with a new nuclear plant. The West is worried about Iran getting nuclear arms. Iran says it has no intention of building a bomb.
My heart goes out to the folks of Oklahoma City who suffered through a deadly storm. Take a look at the before and after picture on the website. It looks like an entire suburb was wiped clean off the face of the earth.
Join Greg Hunter as he gives his analysis of these stories 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.
Funny Greg. I never thought anyone could out rant, and rave Alex Jones. Your in the run today. For sanity sake we should all place our head in the sand repeating its not real, its not real.
Why are incompetent workers fired, yet year after year our leaders keep there jobs ?
Keep in mind when Obama tells America his plans…Look for the opposite to happen. Anyway my last 3 twigs of hair is falling out gotta go.
Greg,
You wrote, “I don’t know which is worse, a clueless President or a President knowing and doing nothing.” What is worse is an evil Dictator like Pres. that actively was involved in the planning and directing of these operations
George,
So sad we are even having to talk about our President or out country’s foreign policy. Thanks for weighing in here!
Greg
Greg,
I don’t know who came up with our middle east strategy but they should be tried and executed. We withdrew our support of Mubarak (Bush and Obama). Why would you be our ally when you know that we are a poor excuse for a friend?
Now we are giving arms and aid to the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization, and Al-Qaeda. Can any American delude themselves enough to believe this is anything positive for the world and for America?
And now Obama is saying the war on terror is over (surrendering to Al-Qaeda). This is willful ignorance of a threat not only to the lives of innocent Americans but to the American way of life.
Thanks for the wrap up. I enjoy reading your perspective and watching your videos. And I am afraid of what is coming…very, very afraid
This is one of the best places for real news I have seen. You are concise and honest, and I direct as many people interested in current affairs to your website as I can–hopefully they then do the same.
Thank you Brian for the viral promotion!
Greg
President Washington warned us about “foreign entanglements” and President Eisenhower warned us about the power of the “military establishment” and it is obvious that they were both right. We have allowed the war hawks to dictate foreign policy and we will reap the whirlwind for our actions.
Keep up the good work Greg. I enjoy your site very much and find it quite informative.
TJ,
More war is coming in the ME. Of that there is no doubt. Thank you for your comment.
Greg great week of reporting. I realize with your journalist background you think the IRS scandal has legs, because of the history of Watergate, but I just don’t see it. This is not the same country it was during Watergate. We have moved from a Constitutional Republic to a full blown Socialist Police state, and the vast majority of people seem to be happy with that as long as they can keep getting their government checks. The IRS scandal will die in the press with the next big story to advert the publics attention away from it. George Orwell was right. Newspeak is alive and well.
What I find fascinating is how history seems to go in cycles. People are running to invest their money in the Stock Market, looking forward to the next wave of prosperity to come, and ride the wealth train as it leaves the station. This was also the prevailing thought just before the crash in 1929. I guess you can’t say you didn’t try to warn people. There will always be people who make things happen, and people who will wonder “what the hell happened”. Greg you are definitely the former. Thanks for the Real News.
Jerry,
If we have a wider war in the ME all bets are off. Obama may feel pushed into going to war to stop the stories and scandals. Who knows? Thank you for your analysis and perspective.
Greg
Maybe the story scandals are coming fast because Obama has not widen the worthless wars. I just don’t believe anything that Congress has to say. Congress fail the Americans citizens at ever turn. Congress makes the laws(NDAA act.) Congress spends the money. Congress has the last word if we go to war.
Obama is just the new kid in town,the old boys and girls in Congress been the true forces behind this lawless nation.
Who knows, maybe the blackswan in this mess are the men and women over at the Pentagon. What do they know as the truth and are they tired of killing innocents yet.
It,s all very insane . peace
Hi Greg,
It’s too late for American because there are no enough people who care enough to take action. Impeachment will take to long to be effective and by then this country will be totally bankrupt. The private army of Obama is being formed and funded right now which will make it easy form him to declare martial law and continue in office in 2016.
Total civil war is what may have happen, but I am not sure there are enough Americans with the guts to take up arms and get the country back. The first place to start is congress, followed by the executive and then a cleaning of the judicial including the Supreme Court.
I hope not, but talking will not change anything and our country will continue to slip under the edge of corruption and tyranny.
Sorry to be so negative but I cannot see the light at the end of this very dark tunnel.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Chuck
IRS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbMAd4rPQPc
“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.” — Ernest Hemingway
Great wrap up, Greg! I always look forward to your take on what’s going on! As far as the IRS goes though, they’ll just throw Lerner under the bus for a while until she either retires, or is fired, and then in a couple of years (or less) she’ll get a better paying job somewhere else with the WH’s help. Also, thanks for remembering the tornado victims; we are with them in spirit if not in body!
Anne,
Lerner may be pressured to turn on the Obama Administration. I guarantee you she has never faced anything like she is facing now. This is going to be a very rough game for her to play.
Greg
Hi Greg;
We (wife & I) are avid followers of your program where we have gained lots of insight and knowledge as a result of your very impressive interviews. Keep up the good work !
However I am curious about your lack of insight or reluctance to even mention the influence of the ELITE bankers, Kabal, Illuminati, etc. in your interviews or on your program. I don’t see how someone who is so knowlegeable and insightful about so many things could be completely ignorant of their influence on so many things like their incessant push toward the New World Order.
On today’s program you did finally hit the nail right on the head. Both political parties are indeed very corrupt. The main reason for that lies in the influence of thse corrupt (ELITE) people influencing things behind the scenes. I was completely ignorant of these people and their influence until recently myself. Anyway, if you haven’t already please read the book, “The Creature From Jeckyll Island” by G. Edward Griffin about the Federal Reserve System and how it was set up back in 1913. This book is essential to understanding this country it’s politics and where we are headed in very short order. It’s 500+ pages is a bit daunting but if a sixteen year old (Elijah Johnson = FinanceandLiberty.com) can handle it then so can you buddy. This book blows the lid off of the FED and what it is all about. My wife and I took Chris Duane’s (TheGreatestTruthNeverTold.com) The Son’s of Liberty Academy online video course and will never be the same afterwards. It’s a 36 hour program broken up into modules where he pulls no punches and tells it like it is. He talks about the ELITE, our governments false flag attacks and on and on, the real unvarnished truth. You tell it like it is as well but you are missing that one element of depth. Please forgive me if you are just to afraid to mention them. Afterall they are the ones behind the killing of JFK, etc. If you stand directly in their way they will take you out! But you can get away with quite a bit apparently as Pastor Lindsely Williams goes pretty far as does Alex Jones (PrisonPlanet.com, InfoWars.com). I know that your pressed for time with a busy schedule but these guys are sharp and informed.
Ron
R.L. Trickel,
It is very hard to conclusively prove what these folks allege. Do smart rich people get together and plan things. You bet they do. Is the New World Order real. Without a doubt. Are there conspiracies? The short answer is yes. Proving the details is what is hard to do. Johnson and Duane are great folks and I have no problem with them at all. I like them both a lot. My style is that I try to put on the site the things I can source and prove. Just doing that is strange enough for me. Thank you for your comment and continued support.
Greg
Facts are the inconvenient truth. 😉
Greg, you ask some very reasonable and important questions in this weekly wrap up. And I think you know the answer to most of them – the people running the show are greed and power obsessed sociopaths. They have the means, power, motive, and intelligence to pursue their goals by whatever means necessary.
Gitmo is in the news, too. Remember what Obama said when he was asked about prosecuting key members of the Bush regime for torture and war crimes? He essentially acknowledged that war crimes were committed, and then added that he would rather “look forward than backward”. Can you imagine being caught red handed kidnapping and torturing someone, and your lawyer’s defense is basically, yes mistakes were made, but lets not focus on the past – let’s look forward and move on? You and your lawyer would be considered insane. Yet the ruling elite can do exactly that and get away with it thanks to their control of the media and their thorough knowledge of public manipulation. The kidnap and torture victims in Gitmo, most of whom are guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the same time, “live” under such brutal conditions that their strongest instinct, that of self preservation, has been set aside and they’re trying to kill themselves through starvation. So the Obama regime force feeds them with tubes shoved down their throats. How sick is that? The sociopathic ruling elite can get away with this sort of barbarism though their control of the media and their knowledge of the human psyche.
Do you know what Philip Zeliko, the executive director of the Bush regime’s hand picked 9-11 commission, was known for? Not his knowledge of terrorism or national security, but his expertise in the creation and maintenance of public myths. Once one realizes that 9-11 was an inside job, one also realizes that these people are capable of just about anything. There are two realities – the one portrayed by the government and its media, and the one in which we live.
By the way, I sent you an email a few weeks ago asking you if you would consider doing an interview with Sibel Edmonds, but I didn’t hear back from you. I’d still like see it. She is a very credible, knowledgable, intelligent, and beautiful woman.
I am sorry Henry, I didn’t mean to ignore your suggestion. It is a good one. I have just been too busy with other bookings to get her. Please keep reminding me. Thank you for the comment.
Greg
Oh really?? Do you mean Philip D. Zelikow? The conspiracy wing-nuts perpetuate the notion that a large portion of small, government conservatives wear tin-foil hats. There is nothing that the government could not have spirited away instead of destroying the towers. I have read many theories as to why that they would have done this but none hold up to a review of facts.
Here is a little information on. You say he has no National Security expertise. It appears you didn’t research Dr. Zelikow before you bought into the “myth” of government conspiracy.
“After practicing law in the early 1980s, Zelikow turned toward the field of national security. He was adjunct professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California in 1984-1985.
He joined the United States Department of State through the standard examination process for the foreign service as a career civil servant. As a Foreign Service Officer, he served overseas at the U.S. Mission to the conventional arms control talks in Vienna, at the State Department’s 24-hour crisis center, and on the secretariat staff for Secretary of State George P. Shultz, during the second Reagan administration (1985–1989).
In 1989, in the George H. W. Bush administration, Zelikow was detailed to join the National Security Council, where he was involved as a senior White House staffer in the diplomacy surrounding the German reunification and the diplomatic settlements accompanying the end of the Cold War in Europe. During the first Gulf War, he aided President Bush, National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and Secretary of State James Baker in diplomatic affairs related to the coalition. He co-authored, with Condoleezza Rice, the book Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft (1995), an academic study of the politics of reunification.”
Hi Greg
This week I listened to your interview with Jim Willie among others. I must say that it is a while since I have heard such an uncoordinated rant from anyone here. This guy needs to get his act together if he really wants people to seriously listen to him other than his band of dedicated followers. It was quite obvious you were having some trouble following him. (I have read some of this person’s material in the past and frequently it leaves much to be desired and many more questions hanging in the air).
I would really like him to substantiate many of the claims he makes. He also refers to his many inside contacts/sources but of course never says who these people are or even at what level they are. Are we supposed to believe him when these so called sources may be suspect or poorly informed or not really in a postion to know what they are supposedly telling him or not in possession of all of the facts and thus do not have the complete picture.
There was another well known site that used to re-publish some of his writings but no longer. Interestingly they stopped doing so some years ago.
Sorry to be a devils advocate here but I do not simply blindly accept whatever I am told because it comes from X or Y with no proper substantiation. There is a big difference between opinion and fact and between “I think this or that is happening/happened” and fact.
As usual your site is an excellent read. Keep up the good work.
Cheers S
I really enjoyed Jim’s latest commentary. Yes he is out there, but at the same time he explores areas that others won’t touch, which is what we need. Plus, some of his wildest claims are proven true months (or even years) later. Keep him going Greg!
Uncertainty is gaining momentum as the Truths perpetuated are appearing less so with an increasingly frequency.
Japan’s experiment may well be demonstrating the marginal impact on individual’s lives trumps Monetary Policy. The FED is indicating a possibility of monetary easing reversing – are they to be believed is the matter of contention in most discussions – which is valid in many respects. TARP, TALF & QE1 – 3 have demonstrated massive liquidity injections – repeatedly.
The results have been to enrich some, impoverish many and preserve the Financial System at extraordinary costs and despite massive monetary stimulus since 2008 – results indicate little positive effect on the broader Economy. The FED’s balance sheet spiked from $0.897 trillion in January 2008 to $3.3 trillion in early May 2013. The Federal Funds Rate target remains 0.25% in early May versus 3% in January 2008. The clear preference to hold cash to a debt that yields so low a rate of interest remains a very clear sign of abject failure. At best, Velocity can ONLY be achieved with a massive increase in Prices of the things we must have within our arrangement. The Crack Up Boom’s final stage… Many are expecting, projecting and suggesting this is our fate. History is replete with examples – the path will be interesting. Is a period of contraction ahead – it will depend on the handoff at the FED in my humble opinion – which may be here well ahead of what has been presented. Money will make the rules well ahead of the broader Economy, expect the unexpected, Money is simply a medium of exchange and nothing more than that. The Inflation/Deflation debate remains an enormous distraction – people do not pay for goods and services with money, but rather with the goods and services that they have produced. Money is merely a medium of exchange. Our heavily abused privilege of Seniorage is approaching its demise. 42 years of abuse and miss-use is being circumvented around the Globe – the signs are literally – everywhere.
Efforts have failed – And by any metric will continue to fail. Bernanke’s exit is possibly well timed – his exit could be as early as Mid-June and not August. Helicopter Ben will fly off into the Swiss sunset – Cry of the Valkyries will not be broadcast on his iPod. Whoever succeeds him will have their hands full, the transition will most certainly unsettle the perceived Status Quo.
Linearity assumes today is yesterday as is tomorrow. That what is in motion will remain in motion. What is in motion presently is self-evident to even the most casual of observers – failure of our Financial System(s) to resolve crisis after crisis. The elemental Facts support this, regardless of the unending spin broadcast in all Media channels. The tip of the spear is now dull; there will need to be a monumental distraction. There is no need to venture a guess, as there is clear step and repeat pattern throughout humanity’s path – it is our Anthropology.
Our cultural anthropology or way of life in our “Social Group” has been in secular decay for decades. These very divisions present opportunity to ingrain the “New Normal” deeply within the collective mindset – broadcast 24/7.
Linguistics’ shape the message track – “Fossil Fuels” is an excellent example, as is “China did” – The Russians proved long ago if you cap and Oil Field below a certain pressure, in time it does recharge it and return to productive output. An amazing feat for Humates & Dinosaurs… Our Oil companies have now adopted this approach over the past five years. “China” is not the Chinese people as America is not the United States – it remains a Plutocratic Hegemony masking itself as the collective. Left, Right, Conservative, Liberal… words which define a person – a shallow approach to a deep pool.
We scurry from rock to rock within our arrangement nowadays, looking for shade, peace, comfort and quiet from the approaching storms. Money does this; it makes it own rules and nowhere is this more apparent than within our system. The rule of law applies itself to gain; Goldman Sachs cheats itself into enormous, multi-billion dollar gains and pays 10% in fines. Banks launder money, pay the fines, and keep the gains, which exceed 95%.
I never wanted children for the longest of time, I assumed it would be unfair to bring them into this world at a very young age – but it became clear to me the hope for the future was another generation who challenged the arrangement. Distractions abound and are fed out in an amazing array of subterfuge – our modern “Bread and Circus” – in high definition. The participants are angry – XBox One gamers are now in an uproar over their apparent lack of choice. Their overlords have over-reached.
A short time ago, savings were rewarded. For some time they have been punished, the allegiance to Money is far too strong, it knows no bounds and it will possibly not change until we do. And this is a very tall order for our arrangement, at its core, depends upon participation to exist. We have been used, abused and presently appear to be in throes of being discarded as human fodder. What Swan awaits – there are many.
With age and experience, observation and intuition we see the folly of our circumstance – hopefully, and I do remain hopeful we can correct what has ailed our arrangement. It is without reservation – the greatest undertaking within our lives.
May we rise to the occasion – begin to think critically about what ails us or perish in the blink of an eye.
JRMFL. Great post.
Could someone explain where the Fed Reserve got $2+ trillion? Was it by the magic of the printing press (OK, I do understand that they can put extra Zero’s on the ledgers). How can this not be inflationary and damaging to the USA and the U$D in general?
Hi Greg, great wrap up, thanks for getting some truth out. Here’s a link to an interview you must watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWBogcrFGx4&list=PLGZZr-Jg3fWhkcwyZMhrubXHQDe0x6inX
This whistle blower’s info needs to go viral, she as some amazing stuff to get out. Karen Hudes, appears to be the real deal!
http://kahudes.net/
This is seriously worth the time to listen and review, this must get out.