Well, the time has come…time for Afghanistan. This is one of those subjects that I have a lot of passion for and some real strong opinions about. So buckle-up buttercup!

First off, let’s talk about why were where in Afghanistan to begin with. The US government’s publicly stated mission in Afghanistan was to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny it a safe base of operations. Further, to do so the US would remove the Taliban government from power, according to the US State Department.

Objectively speaking, in other words…attack a sovereign country, violently topple their government, kill members of a religious/political party within that country, and destroy a sufficient amount of that country’s infrastructure and society to deny that same religious/political party from any activities we (the USA) deems inappropriate.

Now that we have the US “mission” from the US government itself, let’s grade that mission:

1. According to a long list of credible sources al-Qaeda still operates in Afghanistan and does so openly.
2. According to the US government the Taliban operates with impunity within Afghanistan as of December 2021. While the Taliban doesn’t officially hold the Presidency of Afghanistan, according to many credible sources the Taliban controls at least 85% of the country’s landmass and every major city…including its capital.

^{Note: As a bonus against US success it must be recognized that ISIS now also operates in Afghanistan.}

That makes is pretty clear that we utterly and completely failed in our Afghanistan “mission”…without any doubt about it. And since the US government referred to it as a “war” then it is also just as correctly to state the US lost the Afghanistan War. Period! There is no debating that when viewed in objective terms…we lost.

What did it cost us?

1. Approximately $3,000,000,000,000 (yup, $3trillion).
2. Reportedly 2,100 US military personnel deaths, and at least another 21,000 wounded.

So we spent precious lives and significant treasure for what? A loss!

What did is cost Afghanistan?

1. At least 66,000 Afghan government troops and police killed.
2. Nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians died during the war, unknown number wounded. Some estimates are in the hundreds of thousands wounded.
3. Approximately 52,000 Taliban & al-Qaeda fighters died.

But most of all…Afghanistan prior to the US invasion lived with one foot in the Stone Age. After the US left Afghanistan in August 2021…Afghanistan still lives with at least one foot in the Stone Age.

^{Note: As of December 2021 credible estimates state that in Afghanistan there are 30,000 – 55,000 Taliban fighters, 5,000 ISIS fighters, and 1,000 al-Qaeda fighters.}

Was it worth it? If you answered “yes” in any form…you are a complete and utter idiot…or you buy the government propaganda hook, line, and sinker…or you work for the CIA…or you work for the US military-industrial complex.

The US went in there like a bully, brutalized a country, and then lost that war. And in terms of terrorists…we probably created more than we killed. Which is easy to understand…you start killing innocent family members at family events in their homes, well, that tends to upset surviving family members…and make them very prone to hate America.

And then there is the long list of war crimes that the US military and CIA committed while there. And yes, those war crimes are well documented and most have been widely published on the Internet, listed in international court documents, some admitted to by US personnel, video is widely available, and crimes witnessed by third-party observers.

Chew on this, at the hands of just US drone strikes in Afghanistan there were:

1. 5,000 – 12,000 total innocent civilian casualties.
2. As many as 1,000 innocent civilians killed.
3. Approximately 100 children killed.

And those numbers are very low estimates that have been documented and verified. Additional third-party estimates go far higher than that. And thousands of drone deaths (men, women, & children) that are classified as “military” are actually civilians that the US military and the CIA labeled as such to cover up much larger civilian causality numbers. And as of this date…not a single person in the US military or the CIA has been so much as reprimanded, let alone tried and convicted, of a single one of those war crimes regarding innocent civilians.

Oddly enough, in response to the ISIS attack at the Abby Gate during the US August retreat from Afghanistan in which 13 US troops were killed along with at least 160 Afghanistan civilians, the US conducted a drone strike. Post-strike the US proudly claimed they had killed 2 high-level ISIS leaders responsible for the Abby Gate bombing.

Then the truth happened! Turns out that the US drone strike killed 10 Afghan civilians, including 7 children…no fighters, no ISIS, no Taliban, no one was killed other than innocents. That is a war crime by any definition. And yet, the US government is only proposing to pay the families a minimal amount of $’s for the murder of their family members. So why isn’t it classified as a war crime? Oh yeah, it’s because the US government did it.

Yeah, real pretty picture isn’t it.

But, to really understand this ugly picture we have to go back to 1978 – 1979…when the US government first began meddling in Afghanistan. The US government provided; arms, money, and CIA operatives to the mujahedeen (early Taliban). And in response to US activities, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in late 1979.

How important is that? Well as an example, let’s say Russia began fostering and supporting a communist revolution in Canada…and the Russians were winning. Would we invade Canada to stop the Russians and protect ourselves from the Russians spreading that revolution to the USA? Of course we would, especially if the Russians started winning.

See, Afghanistan borders Russia (former Soviet Union/USSR) and saw our fomenting a revolution in one of their neighbors as a problem. As would any rational human or country would.

Okay, recapping…1) the US begins interfering with Afghanistan and starting a revolution against Soviet interests, 2) the USSR responds by coming to the aid of Afghanistan to protect Soviet interests. Got it so far?

Once the Soviet Union got involved the CIA sent hundreds of their personnel and organized thousands of paid mercenaries in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. In addition to that, through the US State Department and various other government agencies, the US poured several billion dollars into the fight against the Soviets. Additionally, the US military provide large numbers of “advisors” in the US war against Afghanistan and the Soviets.

Of very important note…in 1986 the US began sending large numbers of US made Stinger missiles. These deadly missiles were used against Soviet aircraft, mostly their helicopters.

In 1989 the Soviets retreated, gave up their war, and Afghanistan was declared an Islamic state. An Islamic state run by the mujahedeen thanks to support from the United States of America.

From 1989 – 1992 mujahedeen fought amongst itself finally forming a coalition and establishing a government. However, it was a very weak national government and mostly local radical Islamic military commanders enforcing despotism in their regional areas.

Out of the mujahedeen came a group called the Taliban. By 1996 the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and controlled the government.

Why is that important? The Taliban came from the mujahedeen. The mujahedeen was trained, funded, armed, and supported by the US government (specifically the CIA). Thus, the Taliban is a US government creation. But there is more, much more.

All the while, the war in Afghanistan against the Soviets that the CIA and Defense Department started and supported, was the ugly fact that the CIA was supporting and abetting their allies, the mujahedeen, in trafficking both opium and heroin. And yes, much of that came straight to the USA and into the veins of US citizens. Yes, that means the CIA was helping the group from whence the Taliban came from in the drug trade that was killing US citizens.

Historical fact proves that there is a clear and direct link between the US government and the Taliban. Without the US involvement all those years ago, the Taliban may not even exist today. And the primary liaison between the US government and the Taliban was, from the very beginning, the CIA. Remember that single most important fact.

While most of the funding, training, and arming of the early Taliban against the Soviets came directly from the CIA, both the US State Department and the US Department of Defense funneled huge amounts of money as well. And additionally the US Department of Defense provided massive amounts of arms (including advance missile systems) and advisors. Remember these facts…they are VERY important.

So now let’s move to early 2021…the Taliban began taking over Afghanistan once again…while the US military was still there. Now, let’s move to August 2021…the Taliban is in control of Afghanistan as the US military retreats from Afghanistan.  The US military is boxed in at the Kabul Airport

* Note: American M-16’s, web gear, tactical light, and an ACOG on the M-16 in the background. All American military gear.

surrounded by the Taliban army. And somehow the Taliban is now in-charge of the gate security in cooperation with the US military.

Sounds weird…almost like some Tom Clancy novel. Almost like some conspiracy nut made it all up. But, could it get any weirder? Oh yeah!

During the chaos there was a private charity with a plane load of folks boarding a jet to fly out. They were all Christians, some Americans, also green card holders, and folks who had helped America while we occupied Afghanistan. They were ordered off the plane and out of the airport by the US military. They were forced out of the airport through the Abby Gate. Less than two hours later…an ISIS suicide bomber, let in by the Taliban, set off his bomb at the Abby Gate. Out of all of the people forced off the plane by the US military, through that specific gate, there are no known survivors. So why those people, why the US military, why that gate, and why just before the suicide bomber blew everyone up?

Gets weirder? Yup ‘er!

Do you remember at the end of August when Pentagon officials announced the last U.S. military plane had left Afghanistan marking the end of America’s longest war? Remember the 21 times Biden said “no one will be left behind”…remember!?! The most notable, and first, Biden statement was on 8/19.

Then on 8/30 Biden admits that the US left hundreds of US citizens behind in Afghanistan.

Well, multiple credible reports/sightings were made that there were 3 – 5 plane loads of Americans, green card holders, vetted Afghans, and others who had assisted America were stranded at the airport…stranded by the US military and abandoned by the US State Department…as the US military General stepped aboard the last US military plane out of Kabul. The US military had intentionally left Americans behind to their own fate.

Almost immediately after the last US military plane left those left behind were taken away by the Taliban.

Later one of the planes, run by a private charity (The Nazarene Fund), was allowed to leave after the Pakistan Prime Minister intervened and called a senior Taliban commander. The Pakistan Prime Minister was asked for help because the US State Department had refused over and over again to get involved in the matter. The US State Department simply didn’t care.

On 8/26 there was a report that a local US military officer ordered vetted civilians off the tarmac and away from a private charter flight that was preparing to load the passengers and leave. The plane had been contracted by a civilian charity and all the passengers had been fully vetted. The US military commander said they were “in his way” and had to leave. They were ushered out of the airport by US military forces. Their whereabouts and whatever happened to them are still unknown, but none of them have been seen since as of 12/12.

On 9/3 it was revealed and documented that a charity with 280 Afghan “at risk” girls were at an airport gate with their charity escort, all guarded by the Taliban. This was on 8/28, but they needed clearance to get through the gate into the airport to board their waiting plane. They repeatedly contacted the Biden Administration pleading for urgent help to clear them through the gate. The Biden Administration repeatedly refused to help. None of the girls have been seen since.

Based on facts that are widely known, the retreat from the Kabul Airport was a complete and utter disaster by any objective rational measure. Both the US State Department and the US military committed egregious errors, if not outright crimes. And both entities were under direct control of Biden.

Then there are these questions about the last days in Afghanistan:

• Why didn’t the retreat take place from the US Bagram Airbase which was far more secure, logistically more suited, and located in a less congested area with far easier access?
• Why did the US leave over a million small arms behind that were perfectly serviceable?
• Why did the US leave hundreds of millions of rounds of small arms ammunition behind?
• Why did the US leave body armor, uniforms, helmets, and a wide range of other personal gear behind…to the tune of over a hundred million dollars?
• Why did the US leave behind artillery, mortars, and the ammo for both?
• Why did the US leave behind advanced electronic communication and positioning equipment?
• Why did the US leave a notable number of fully operational Blackhawk helicopters behind?
• Why did the US leave large numbers of up-armored Humvees and other armored vehicles behind?
• Why did the US leave behind many extensive fully operational hospital units?
• Why did the US leave significant numbers of Stinger, anti-tank, and other missiles behind?
• Why did the US leave behind fully operational A-29 Super Tucano attack aircraft, transport aircraft, intelligence/surveillance aircraft, and armed drones behind?
• Why did the US leave behind tens of BILLIONS of dollars’ worth of equipment for the Taliban to use?

^{Note: Not all equipment left behind in August was serviceable. There was some equipment that was partially damaged by US troops prior to the retreat. But the vast majority of the military equipment that was left was fully operational.}

Based on what happened during the overall retreat and a long list of unanswered questions seems to leave a person only two conclusions; 1) the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

Seriously, what other answer could there logically be?

But then you have the debacle at the Kabul Airport during the final month of the retreat. How is that explained? The same two choices? 1) Biden, the US government, the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

But then there is the whole Taliban guarding the Kabul Airport gates in cooperation with the US military. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the 280 girls that are intentionally stranded at the gate and refused help by the Biden Administration. And not a single one of those girls has been seen or heard from since. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the planeload of refugees that are kicked out of the airport through the Abby Gate just before the suicide bomber hits…and there are no more of those refuges to be found. How do you explain that one?

Then there is the retaliatory drone strike against ISIS for the Abby Gate suicide bombing that allegedly killed the two top ISIS leaders. But, in reality the drone strike killed 10 innocent civilians, 7 of which were children. How do you explain that one?

Well, let’s apply a reliable way to problem solve…Occam’s Razor. To do so let’s review:

1. The Taliban originated from a joint CIA & US State Department operation (supported by the US Defense Department) dating back to the 1970’s.
2. The mujahedeen (early Taliban) was funded and armed by the CIA, and trained by the CIA and US military.
3. The mujahedeen (early Taliban) was provided with US military “advisors” during the Afghan/Soviet War.
4. Throughout the 20-year Afghanistan War the CIA cooperated with Afghan warlords, many of whom were known Taliban, providing assistance with their drug trafficking.
5. Throughout the 20-year Afghanistan War the CIA cooperated with Afghan warlords, many of whom were known Taliban, providing huge sums of cash for mercenaries to carry out covert military operations and other “cooperation”.

So fast-forward, we have the Taliban guarding the airport gates. The Taliban dictated who could enter the airport for evacuation. The Taliban kept it 100% secure with one exception…the Abby Gate suicide bombing. It was the US military that forced a single planeload of vetted Afghan civilians out of the airport through the Abby Gate right before the bomber hit.

Now add into that the billions, upon billions of dollars of US military equipment left behind in August 2021 that the Taliban now has use of.

Going back to Occam’s Razor…this philosophy advocates that when presented with competing hypotheses, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions. In other words, commonly stated as the simplest explanation is usually the right one.

So we go back to the two most obvious explanations of what happened that I stated earlier; 1) the US government, the US military, the US State Department, the CIA and all the other involved agencies are collectively completely 100% incompetent and derelict in their duty, or, 2) it was intentional.

But, when you add in…August 23rd, 2021.

Why is that day important? Well, on that day CIA Director William J. Burns met face-to-face with the top Taliban leader in Kabul. Yup, the very top CIA leader meets with the very top Taliban leader…in Afghanistan.

Now why do you think that would happen…and in that location? And what about all the meetings between the Taliban and lower level CIA personnel that took place in the couple of months prior to August 2021?

Important Note: The Abby Gate bombing occurred 3 days after the Taliban and CIA leadership met.

So now…there is only one logical conclusion. But, let’s test it further…

If it was actually “incompetency” and/or “dereliction” by all agencies involved, that means it would have to be virtually all personnel in every agency being incompetent and/or derelict as well…every single one of them. But Biden himself stated that the Kabul Airport operation was an “extraordinary success”! So that eliminates the incompetency/dereliction argument to a great degree. And to my knowledge no government employee has made any hint otherwise. So that pretty much tells you that everything that happened was planned and executed successfully…exactly how they wanted it to go…as planned.

Then there is Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, Jr.  After the Abby Gate bombing and the death of 13 US service members he released a video questioning the operation, and demanding answers and accountability. So here is a military leader, combat veteran, and who served in Afghanistan not understanding why the operation was being conducted the way it was.

So the military did what the military does best…relieved him of command, arrested him, placed him in the brig (military jail), loaded him up with numerous charges far beyond what was reasonable/required, and forced him to take a plea deal where he pled guilty to a specific set of charges.The US military loves to cover up problems vs solving them…or being accountable for their actions.

He is now awaiting discharge. Fortunately for him the public outcry of support for him and his outstanding military record forced the military to go light on him during sentencing. However, the “type” of discharge he receives is yet to be determined…and that means everything.

How does Scheller play into this? He is further proof that something was very, very wrong with the way things were handled during the retreat from Afghanistan, wrong beyond simple incompetency and/or dereliction.

The overwhelming evidence, facts, historical accounts…simply everything points to only one conclusion…this was a planned event…intentional. So much so that Biden called it extraordinarily successful.

That is sad to say the least…and disturbing to the very core of the Constitution in my opinion.

All that being said one has to ask the most important question of all. But, to put that question into context you have to back up nearly 40 years (four decades) to the last time we became an ally of, funded, and armed the early Taliban. What did we ask them then? We asked them to be our ally and fight against the Soviet Union, then they were take over control of the Afghan government. Then they became Islamic terrorists.

So now the most important question is, now that we have the context…

Once again we see that the CIA has armed the Taliban with some of the best weaponry the world can offer and did so in huge quantities. What comes next?

That is a question that will keep many up at night…rightfully so.

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While everyone, at least the talking heads, are gushing over the economy and claiming it is the best and fastest recovery in history…I have a different take.

First off…inflation! It is virtually now out of control and getting worse, and will get worse. And there is an interesting phenomenon occurring…credit card debt is increasing at the same time. Yup, most Americans are using credit cards to keep up with inflation price increases. And another interesting tidbit…while personal income is rising slightly, it is being entirely eaten up by inflation. And lastly, something you already know…the price of essentials is far outpacing stated inflation figures. And the price on essentials will get worse…unless the government gets involved.

Jobs…ouch! While recent job numbers look promising, a person only needs to look below the surface. One of the main reasons that new unemployment claim numbers are down is the large number of folks leaving the workforce…permanently. And existing claim numbers being down due to folks who have stopped looking for work. Yes, there are a large number of job openings, so ask yourself this…Why aren’t people taking those jobs? The US “quit rate” as of September is 3%! Some job sectors are experiencing nearly a 7% quite rate. That translates into over 20,000,000 people left their jobs between May and September of this year…20 million!!! And FYI…that 3% quit rate is a historic record number. While true that most of those folks who quit their jobs find new ones, there is a “cost” to that movement. As the previous employer now works to back-fill the vacant position they incur employee acquisition cost, training costs, etc. And those costs go to the bottom line of the employer…which gets passed on to the consumer. Yup, higher prices of everything!

Supply Chain…not getting better. Movement of shipping containers (TEUs) is actually down since last month. Meaning, it is taking even longer to move TEUs off the ships and out of the ports. Talking with my contacts along the supply chain…things are actually getting worse moving products from China to the US shelves. And there is no definitive time-frame for that to change.

Federal Reserve…damn them! The Fed chair is talking that they will more quickly taper their propping up of the stock markets, interest rates, and the economy in jeopardy. As Powell was making those hints, then statement, the markets took a hit…a pretty good hit…about 5-6% as of today. Fortunately the market (S&P500) is up about 24% for the year.

National debt…sucks! I won’t plow that row again since I have gone into significant detail over the last few years on this subject. What I want to touch on…the concept that inflation is good for the national debt. The theory is that the more inflation we have means the smaller the national debt is because those debt dollars are worth less. Forget it!!! There is no common sense to that theory. The debt is the debt is the debt. It is not going away…ever! There is no intention on anyone’s part to ever pay off that debt. At some point they will simply stop tracking it, or at least greatly diminish any mention of it. In the old days the “market” would drive/set interest rates which in turn would control the interest rate that the federal government would pay on US Treasury Notes. The higher the rate would go, the more the US government would pay, in the form of interest, on those notes. Now the Federal Reserve essentially completely controls interest rates on those same notes, and the market in general. This period of inflation will have little effect, positive or negative, on the national debt.

Government spending…out of control! The US government spending is completely out of control, no bounds, no controls, no hope. It is clear that the US government is committed to destroying the US dollar…and in the process, destroying the US economy. It is no longer a conspiracy theory, it is a clear intentional path, easily seen by anyone who wishes to look. The current US government debt stands at nearly $30,000,000,000,000 (30 trillion)!!! That is 130% of US GDP (2020)! That is extremely dangerous territory.

Personal debt…exploding. I mentioned earlier how most families are dealing with runaway inflation…acquiring more and more credit card debt. In August alone US consumer debt went up $29,000,000,000! And increase of more than double that from the month before. The trend is now a monthly increase that is DOUBLE that of the historic average! And every $ of personal debt increase destabilizes the US economy more and more. The next number is a staggering, almost unbelievable, number…and that should scare the hell out of you. The total US consumer debt now stands at over $25,000,000,000,000 (25 trillion)!!! That is 120% of US GDP (2020)!  That is exceptionally dangerous territory.

Corporate debt…nightmare! Last year US companies took on historic record of debt, now over 130% of GDP. As revenues rebounded in 2021 that % fell slightly. However, latest reports show a reverse of that trend, increased corporate debt with the onset of Omicron and inflation fears. And there is a very disturbing trend…investors are jumping out of corporate bond debt at an alarming rate.

Debt Summary…Personal, corporate, and us government debt now stands at 345% of GDP!! If three things don’t exist that means BIG trouble; 1) good economic growth numbers, 2) strong institutions and independent central bank & policies, 3) level interest rates on debt. And looking at those numbers…we have falling economic growth rate numbers in 2021 Q3, stagnant numbers for 2020 Q4 – 2021 Q2. While the US is perceived as having strong institutions, there is growing skepticism in that perception. And the US central bank (Federal Reserve) is not independent and is working solely at the behest of, and the benefit of, the US federal government. The most worrisome indicator…the 10-year US note interest rate has risen 60% (50 basis points) in 2021! So we have the two factual numbers, economic growth rate & interest rate, looking very, very bad. And the third, more subjective, indicator up for grabs…well, it doesn’t bode well at all for the US debt outlook. And as goes the debt, so goes the economy.

Bottom line…The US economic is more fragile than it has ever been…EVER! In practical terms that means the economy will keep functioning as it is now…until it doesn’t. In plain terms…the economy could crash at any time…it simply needs a single very minor push in that direction.

Do what? Do the same things I’ve been telling you about for years:

1. Have your preps ready.
2. Hedge your bet and have a nice IRA, 401k, etc. tucked away to take advantage of any stock market gains. We enjoy an S&P500 index mutual fund that has been amazing for us over the last 10 years and up 24% this year.
3. A little precious metals is never a bad idea, and never more that 10% of total portfolio.
4. Little to no consumer debt.
5. Mortgage free if at all possible.
6. Ability to grow at least some of your food.
7. Ability to be at least somewhat independent of utility companies (new item)
8. Etc, etc, etc…

I want to state again in perfectly clear terms:

1. The economy’s appearance is good.
2. The numbers below the surface show the economy is fragile…very, VERY fragile.
3. The chance of a sudden crash has never been higher.
4. I have no idea when the crash might occur. No one does.
5. I am not sure of what will cause the crash when it does occur.

I will tell you these two things with absolute certainty:

1. If you don’t prepare for the crash…it will crush you and your family.
2. You still have time to prepare…if you don’t delay.

Finally, some personal advice from me…STOP listening to the extremists!!! There all kinds of folks out there shouting this and that trying to sound like they have it all figured out. Some predict “when”, others predict “how”…and some just spew some of the craziest crap you can imagine. Stop listening to the crazies!!! Chad & Lori Daybell are sad examples of the crazies out there. They tapped into the prepper market and the religious market and the dreams/vision market…and more. Stop listening to and getting caught up in that “crazy” group! You will not benefit from the lunatics and their weirdness or their predictions of this or that. Stick with reality, stick with common sense, stick with your righteous religious leaders, stick with sanity…leave the crazy crap for the crazies.

Do what you know is right! Serve your family and others!

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Why am I writing about something you already know about? Cuz I got something to say.

You already know he was acquitted of all charges. Not that he was innocent, he was just found not guilty and the charges cleared. But, what is the real point here?

First off, Kyle was a very stupid and irresponsible young man…child actually, at the time.

His mother…well, she obviously skipped every single parenting class offered to her. She should never have made the choice let him go…period! He should have never made the choice to go armed and ready for a confrontation. He played “dress up” like a militia member and found what he was looking for…a confrontation. Now he has to live with the fact that he killed two people. And his mother has to live with the fact that she enabled those killings occur.

Justified or not, the kid killed two people…it will screw with his head for the rest of his life. God help him!

That being said…there is a bigger and far more fatal issue involved…tribalism.

The country once again finds itself deeply, gravely, fatally divided into two basic tribes on this issue.

On one hand you have the Constitutionalists who clearly see Kyle met the standard of “self-defense” and on the other side…the radical left Communists, Socialists, and Marxists (i.e. Democrats) plus other idiots and the ignorant. The latter group cares nothing about the Constitution, legal rights, or common sense actually. They care only for their agenda. And that agenda is as anti-America as it gets.

And once again America will pay a steep price for stupidity of people like Kyle and his mother…and the millions of extraordinarily stupid people who wanted him sent to prison.

The divide gets deeper, war gets closer…

The results of tribalism in America at first…

Then eventually, soon thereafter…

Then finally…

Tribalism never ends well…and it will destroy America…as it already is doing.

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Shipping has ground to a snail’s pace and shipping prices are exploding…and oddly enough, companies that own the ships are making record profits. I find it almost bizarre to hear all the explanations for this…none of them comprehensive in nature, some outright lies, and most are simply agenda driven. Well, today I throw myself into the matter.

Well, actually I have been doing research for the last 3 months on this issue…but today I share a bunch of facts and my thoughts with you.

The entire shipping chain (notice I didn’t say “supply chain”) is flawed…almost by design strangely enough.

The US economy is fatally tied to the world economy; commonly referred to as globalization. So when you are talking about a global-wide economy you have to remember a key concept…economies of scale.

Economies of scale simply stated…the more units of something you handle the lower the costs per unit can become. But, there are inherent flaws in that concept…vulnerability to disruption due to concentration of the units, becoming more advanced in unit handling than other members of the supply chain, and worst of all…the power of control.

Container ships are much, much larger than a decade or two ago…as much as 10 – 15 times larger. The largest of which can carry 24,000 20’ containers! So that should make each container cheaper to handle/move across the ocean for the ship owner according to economies of scale. However, we find the costs for the shipper going through the roof. Notice that the container ship owner is NOT the same as the shipper. The shipper is the company who arranges every aspect of moving goods from manufacturing plant to the retailer or a wholesale distributor. The ship owner only owns one leg of the chain…the ship.

Because ships can now handle many more times the containers it means:

1. More time finding a full ship-load of full containers which means more port of calls in Asia and more time at docks being loaded.
2. Then when they get to the US ports it takes them more time to unload the containers from the ship because of the significantly larger number of containers.
3. Since there are more containers being unloaded than the ports were designed for originally there are not enough cranes, not enough workers, not enough trucks, not enough trains, and space to store containers at the port is scarce.
4. There are two basic types of transportation methodologies of out of ports; 1) containers that get shipped as a single unit out of the area, 2) containers that get shipped to local warehouses to be sorted and then shipped out to other distribution points.Both are accomplished via trucks and trains.
5. And since there are not enough trucks or train locomotives to move the containers out of the port, the containers have to be stored at the port till trucks & locomotives are available, which takes up valuable and limited space.
6. And since more containers are now leaving the port full, more are coming back empty to be sent back to Asia. Those returning containers are also being stored at the ports waiting on the large, now empty, ships to take the containers back to Asia. And since the ports were originally designed for far fewer containers, the containers are taking up valuable space that would normally be used for off-loaded containers, awaiting transport. FYI – it is estimated that there are more than 80,000 – 100,000 containers sitting in US ports waiting for transport. Some estimates are double and triple that number.
7. And since more containers are needed for these much larger ships there are fewer existing containers available for use at any given time. And production of new containers is way behind keeping up with demand.

Now here is why costs are going up:

1. These container ships used to travel at about 22knots (25+MPH), the shipping companies found they can save significant fuel by slowing the ships to 12knots (14MPH). So those goods now take a month or more to arrive in the USA vs. two weeks when you add their slower speed and additional loading time. So the shipping company makes out by saving fuel costs, but the US importer now waits 2x – 3x longer for their goods, which in turn drives their costs up.
2. Now, because it takes so much longer to unload those huge ships, ships now wait an average of 14 – 17 days to get a berth and be unloaded, some waiting as long as 4 weeks. And the shipping companies pass that “wait-time” cost on to the company who is waiting for the goods. FYI – the largest of the container ships wait the longest for a off-loading berth.
3. Then once the ship is unloaded, the wait time for transportation of the container out of the port can run 1 – 3 weeks. And the ports charge the shipper for storage. And the shipping companies pass that “storage” cost on to the company who is waiting for the goods.
4. Trucks are much harder to find because there are fewer truck drivers. There are fewer truck drivers for a number of reasons; 1) economy was locked down for over a year and many drivers didn’t come back to work, 2) drivers can make almost as much money on government handouts as driving, 3) more government restrictions on drivers and trucking companies.
5. A container is finally loaded onto a national company truck and the costs go up again because there are fewer truckers overall so they cost more…and the cost of fuel has skyrocketed since Biden/Harris became president.
6. If a container, or its goods, have to go through a regional/local trucking company from a national hauler then the prices go up again for the same reasons.

To verify my research, back in September I went to a local company whose owner I know personally and consider him a friend, he owns a propane sales company. And, I was also considering the purchase of a spare 100# propane tank to give us a little more depth to our heating, cooking, and clothes drying capability. The resulting conversation was enlightening to say the least.

He explained to me the retail cost of the #100 tank was currently $159.00 (same as lat year when I checked). I told him I would be buying one in the next few weeks. He told me, “Buy it now!” I was startled and asked him to explain. He told me they had a couple of pallets of tanks in-stock but had ordered more tanks the previous month based on expected weather this winter…but there were now “issues” involved …and he expected to run out of new tanks before the recently ordered tanks would arrive…LONG before they would arrive. So here are the basics of the conversation:

1. In previous years they normally paid a wholesale price per tank from a manufacturer in China. They then paid a fixed shipping cost per pallet of tanks purchased. The tanks would show up 2 – 4 weeks later. Then they marked up the tank to a fair retail price…$159. All is well, business as usual.
2. This year the wholesale cost per tank was now more than their current retail price for the same tank. Wow…bad! But that newer much higher price was before shipping cost was going to be added in.
3. Then he explained the new shipping issues. The shipping cost was now per tank not per pallet, normally 18 tanks per pallet. And there was now no fixed shipping cost. The shipping company would charge them the actual shipping costs when the tanks were dropped off at the business. Yes, you read that right…they had no idea what the shipping cost would be until the tanks actually arrived! And finally…instead of 2 – 4 weeks…it would now be at least 3 – 4 months, potentially longer, to receive the tanks. Yes, that means missing a lot of the winter without the tanks being available to customers.

I was fairly stunned to hear the shipping chain issues brought to real life. It was as bad or worse than my research had shown. But he wasn’t done with me yet. He changed the subject…the cost of propane.

In the past year I paid $2.05 – $2.15 per gallon of propane. When compared with the energy value of gasoline it is not equivalent…the energy in 1.38gals of propane = 1gal of gasoline. So propane is normally cheaper than gasoline per gallon. And FYI (if you don’t already know), propane is a by-product of refining natural gas. And in recent years past the US was a net exporter of propane.

I glanced at his sign out front and propane was now $2.89 per gallon…roughly 40% higher than last year. Ouch! But he went on to explain that it would go higher…no doubt about it…and maybe get far worse. He explained that since Biden/Harris went on their fossil fuel wrecking campaign less propane was being made and the US was barely now able to produce what it needed/used…if the weather wasn’t worse than normal. And, if any other country tried to buy US propane the price would skyrocket. And, if the weather was even slightly worse than a normal year the price would go up. And that was in addition to any increase in the price of natural gas and gasoline…which would mean a corresponding increase in the cost of propane.

So far there are two areas of concern contained in this post: 1) the price of propane, 2) shipping chain issues. The propane issue is easy to understand and easy to see…if you didn’t look below the surface…even more so with the shipping issues. But, there is more…

Why is Biden/Harris trying to wreck the fossil fuel industries? It would be easy to state the obvious…they hate anything that is contributing to climate change. And you would be right…but there is more. That’s another conversation for another post.

Let’s talk more about the shipping chain…and some would refer to it as the supply chain. But the shipping chain is a subset of the supply chain…and essential beyond what many would think.

So why is there a shipping problem at all?

Cause:

1. Ship owners wanted to take advantage of “economies of scale” of trade between Asia (mostly China) and the USA so they built new very large ships. And since the price of steel was high they could help offset that building cost by selling their smaller and older ships for scrap metal prices. With the larger capacity ships the corresponding handling costs of each container went down…but so did the number of available container carrying ships.
2. As fuel costs began to rise, thanks to environmental extremists, the ship owners could save money by reducing the speed of ships. Thus drastically increasing the time it takes goods to reach us retailers and distributors.
3. Fewer ships, and newer more automated ships, meant fewer employees saving even money for the ship owners.

Effect:

1. There are not enough shipping containers to meet the demand for the larger ships so they are now having to buy new containers…cost to the shippers goes up. Used containers normally used for storage in the US have skyrocketed in price. So new and used container prices go through the roof.
2. It takes more time for the ships to go to more ports to find more goods-packed containers to load onto the ships. The added time, delay in delivery, adds to wholesale and retail costs increasing.
3. It takes more time to travel to the US ports so the retailers have a much longer, and unpredictable, wait time for products. The added time, delay and unpredictability in delivery, adds to wholesale and retail costs increasing.
4. US ports are not designed to unload these new massive ships efficiently so it takes more time to unload ships in US ports. The added time, delay in delivery, adds to wholesale and retail costs increasing.
5. Also, since US ports are not designed to handle the larger ships efficiently, it takes more time for the ships to be given berth space (room at the docks) in the ports. The added time, delay in delivery, adds to wholesale and retail costs increasing.
6. Since US ports are not up to modern standards to handle the exponential increase in in-coming containers they don’t have the train and truck capacity to meet the incoming demand. Since the containers now have to sit in the port waiting for trucks and trains they incur storage fees charged by the ports…which is passed on to US retailers and distributors.
7. Since fuel prices are going up substantially the ports are incurring more operational expenses. Those increased expenses are passed on wholesalers and retailers.
8. Trains and trucks incur significantly more expenses for fuel as well. And drivers are being paid substantially more. Those increased expenses are passed on wholesalers and retailers.

So there you have it…now you know one of the reasons why everything is costing more and taking longer. But, that is the easy surface stuff still. What are the real issues taking place…the ones deep in the shadows…the ones to be most concerned about?

Here is my take on the real issues:

1. Governments for a long time, especially China, embarked on very large-scale infrastructure projects running up the cost of steel due to “demand”. That dramatically increased the price of steel causing ship owners to sell smaller/older ships to offset the cost of the newer massive ships.
2. Governments, with the exception of the US, embarked on radical anti-fossil fuel policies running up the cost of oil and gas production. Then in 2020 with the election of Biden/Harris the US embarked on similar radical policies (i.e. stopping oil & gas leasing, shutting down pipelines, and increasing other anti-fossil fuel policies & regulations). Example: Gasoline here locally is up 85% since the election of Biden/Harris.
3. Ship owning companies, seeking more profit, reacted to rapidly increasing fuel costs by building massive new ships. This added to the steel shortage driving up those prices. But, they also knowingly added to drastic increase in time of delivery of goods between Asia and the US.
4. Who controls the US ports that are limited in number and efficiency? Local & state governments. Who controls construction of new ports? Local, federal and state governments. And since ports have a notable impact on the environment during construction, who controls that? Radical environmentalists and their extremist politicians…and many different local, state, and federal government agencies.

Now a couple very important key things to think about:

1. Was there a solution suggested when the large number of ships waiting to enter port became noticed? Yes, Biden/Harris got the federal government involved to force a solution on the ship owners, port owners, trucking company owners, rail line owners, etc. And there began quiet talk regarding a concept of federalizing US ports…meaning the US federal government would take control of all ports.
2. When it then became popular to rage against the “supply chain” problems was a solution suggested? Yes, Biden/Harris are now forming a task force to study the issue. And it is already being talked about the federal government taking a stronger role in, if not outright control of, the entire US supply chain.

Do you see any patterns here…any dots begin to come more clear…connections being made?

Now, let’s back up to another issue…COVID-19.

Who was the only entity capable of fixing the COVID crisis? Well, according to the US government…the US government was the only entity that could deal with COVID. States couldn’t. Companies couldn’t. And certainly not individuals. And so we saw the country locked down, the economy ruined, massive big-pharma government subsidies, and a complete mess.

Would this be the appropriate time to talk about the FACT that the USA had contracted with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (a.k.a.Wuhan Lab) in China to do secret work developing strains of different viruses? Yup, it has been proven that the USA was working with the Wuhan Lab to develop viruses!

Yeah, maybe another day we talk about that.

So who was the only entity that could fix the entire mess? Well, according to the US government…the US government was the only entity that could fix it all. So they pumped printed/borrowed money into the economy by the trillions. They poured hundreds of billions more into stratospheric unemployment and related benefits. Then they went on to pour tens of billions of more dollars into stimulus checks for individuals. And notably unnoticed was the hundreds and hundreds of billions into corporate and market bailouts. And now we see inflation at historic levels and a job situation that is killing our workforce, personal income, and the entire economy.

And so who was the only entity that could fix the economy and employment situations?  Well, according to the US government…the US government was the only entity that could fix it. So they passed a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill (yeah, claiming it was only a trillion$) with more printed/borrowed money. Oh, and only $100billion essentially goes into actual infrastructure…about 5% of the total amount.

But that doesn’t fix the horrific rise in prices for gasoline for our cars, diesel for our trucks and ships, and propane, natural gas and heating oil for our homes. And so who was the only entity that could fix situation? Well, according to the US government…the US government is the only entity that could fix it. So now they are proposing yet another multi-trillion dollar bunch of projects that contribute virtually nothing to the real economy but pours money by the truck load into radical leftist projects…and their big corporation campaign donors’ pockets. Oh, and to help the rising costs of driving, home heating, and goods transportation…the Congressional proposal includes a substantial new tax on oil & gas companies and their activities…which will drive the oil & gas prices even higher making everything cost even more at the cash register.

Note: There is a plan, led by the Democrats, to hit $6.00 a gallon gasoline. Their intention is to drive the price up to $6.00 to force the public to buy more electric cars and drastically reduce the consumption of gasoline and diesel.

Oh, and as if the new infrastructure bill of printed/borrowed money and new taxes at the gas pump isn’t enough…the US federal government via BLM is hitting the oil & gas industry again by stopping new oil & gas leasing on federal lands.

So the way I see it…the US government creates massive problems that especially hurt the average middle and lower income folks and the country in general. But that “hurt” is initially short-term but could be absorbed to a degree. The larger “hurt” is long-term, fatal, and irreversible. And in my opinion…INTENTIONAL!

Please take note that these massive problems are caused by who? And then who proposes the solution? And then who provides the solution? And how is the solution is provided?

Could it be the federal government is making it essential for people to turn to the federal government to fix ALL problems? And in the process people become totally dependent on the federal government in virtually all aspects of their lives?

But to explain myself I have to go a little off subject…

The last President to have a balanced budget was Clinton. And, no US president since 1930 has lowered the national debt…that’s nearly 100 years of increasing national debt!!  And that debt now sits just shy of $30,000,000,000,000…30 TRILLION DOLLARS!!

Clinton had the smallest increase in the US national debt in recent presidential history…then Bush #2 basically doubled the national debt over his 8 years. Then Obama in his 8 years basically doubled it again over Bush #2. And had Trump served 8 years he would have doubled it again. As it was, Trump had the highest annual increase in the history of the United States. But never fear…Biden/Harris are on track to quadruple the US national debt over Trump!!!

The US cannot survive that. And you read that right…I didn’t say the US economy can’t survive that. I said the US cannot survive that. Well, truth be told…the US won’t survive what they have already done to us.

Every president since 1930 has intentionally increased the United States National Debt. Most of that debt increase came through our large numbers of wars, also through massive socialist welfare programs and corporate bailouts. Yes, that is 16 presidents intentionally increasing US debt…8 Democrats presidents and 8 Republican presidents. Ironically the largest annual increase of US debt over their presidential terms came from a so-called conservative president that millions of people idolized and worshipped…Trump. He was racking up national debt at $2trillion per year…60% more than his nearest competition…Barack Obama (Marxist/Socialist).

Now, please pay close attention because I am about to be plain and blunt…

The government of the United States of America and all of her presidential administrations and virtually all of the US politicians, past and present, are intentionally running the US economy into the ground for the last 130 years. Yes…INTENTIONALLY destroying the US economy!!!

And yes, they are fully aware that the United States of America as we know it cannot survive the kind of economic collapse/crash/transition that we are looking at. That is their plan…and has been since the 1890’s when the Progressive movement started and with the rise of Communism in the United States (i.e. the modern Democrat Party). But, make no mistake about it…the Republicans are just as guilty as documented historic fact proves.

Everything that is happening now, our current events, supports those two goals, destroy the US economy and strengthening the power of the US federal government.

Now I want to ask “Why?” but before I do, you may ask how I can prove the “intentional” claim.

That is simple…if it was not intentional then it means every single president, every single presidential administration, every single Congressional session, and every single member of the Federal Reserve was not aware of what they were doing for 130 years!

Meaning they were ALL stupid, ignorant, or just plain incompetent. And would that make sense, that they were all just incompetent people?

Answer that…please…answer that!

Yes, I know that popular humor would direct you to “Yes!” But, being realistic here they couldn’t all be stupid, ignorant, or incompetent.

If even one president or one Congressional session was aware of what was happening, intentional or not, wouldn’t they have attempted to stop it? Would they not have taken comprehensive and meaningful steps to stop it and turn it around? Or, at the very least exposed what was happening to rally the public behind them?

Nope, nada, zero, not a single one of any of them did anything, exposed anything…they all participated…they are ALL complicit!!

Is there any other possible viable explanation?

Now…back to the question “Why?”

Really simple when looked at in total…because the plan is to transition the United States of America into an authoritarian state. Once that is accomplished then the wealth and power in this country is concentrated even more. And the individual citizen, with their Constitutional rights, will exist no more.

And they are almost there…they have one foot across the finish line.

Now, for those of you who think there is saving the US by our politicians, the Supreme Court, or anyone else in Washington DC, which to me means restoring the US Constitution, it ain’t gonna happen. Proof? Because it has been just the opposite for over 120 years…every US president and Congress has chipped away at Constitutional rights. Even the Supreme Court sure hasn’t put a stop to the plan…actually, they’ve been enabling it. Even the president who had millions of people idolize and worship him, and most still do, Trump. Trump hurt gun rights, chipped away at property rights, ran up record budget deficits, added record amounts to the national debt, etc. right along with all the others.

NO US PRESIDENT IN RECENT HISTORY HAS WORKED TO MEANINGFULLY RESTORE A SINGLE LOST CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT!!!

So what do you do?

I have been saying it for years:

1. Forget politics!!!!!!!!
2. Define your personal correct principles, then live by them. (I suggest based on God’s eternal principles and principles found in the Constitutional and Declaration of Independence.)
3. Share/teach the Constitutional, Declaration of Independence, and other correct principles to your family, your neighbors, your congregation, and your community.
4. Prepare
5. Serve
6. Endure

Folks…please ponder what I have said…see how it fits into your life…act accordingly. Please listen to your instincts and that still small voice inside of you.

Related Articles:

• SitRep – 3/1/2021
• SitRep – 5/3/2021 (part #2)
• Modern Monetary Policy
• USA In Endless Wars
• 4th of July – Independence Day 2021
• “Government is the problem!”
• Power, Politicians, Crushing People…and “Prepping” – Part 1

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