The U.S. Conference Board is an economic think tank in partnership with Nielsen surveys which provides predictive economic analysis based on consumer and economic surveys within the larger U.S. economy.  The latest monthly report from the board shows a stratospheric level of consumer confidence, 125.9 the highest level since 2000.
Accordingly, “consumers were even more optimistic in October than economists polled by Reuters expected.”  The media and economic teams who thrill at the possibility of being able to talk-down the U.S. economy are apoplectic…

(Reuters) U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a near 17-year high in October, with households upbeat about the labor market and business conditions, which could underpin consumer spending and boost the economy in the final three months of the year.
The economy’s prospects were further bolstered by other reports on Tuesday showing an acceleration in wage growth in the third quarter and sustained increases in house prices in August.  (read more)

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Against the backdrop of the Paul Manafort indictment, Fox News host Tucker Carlson expanded on his exclusive source insight (from a former employee) into the Podesta Group and the lobbying activity on behalf of Russian interests.
Additionally, Mr. Carlson shares the legal threats he and his broadcast have recently received from lawyers representing Tony and John Podesta and the DC Lobbying Group they founded.

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Tucker Carlson and Jonathan Turley (George Washington University Law School) discuss Special Counsel Robert Mueller, his ongoing investigation, the indictments from earlier today, and both ultimately come to the same conclusion CTH shared earlier,
Being intellectually honest it appears that Mueller is focused on the bigger, and more dangerous, dynamic surrounding foreign lobbying efforts and payments to DC politicians therein to shape U.S. policy.  Toward eliminating those lobbyist payments, the legal cases against Paul Manafort and Tony Podesta are tools to send the Swamp a message to stop.
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As the Special Counsel Robert Mueller indictment documents show with increasing clarity, the entire enterprise surrounding the Washington DC Russian Investigation is not about law, it’s about creating and controlling leverage.
If you review anything within the ongoing political fiasco from the perspective of laws broken or unbroken and the application of the judiciary toward the endeavor of stopping such activity we will remain oblivious to the bigger picture. EXPLAINED HERE
It’s not about the law; it’s not about the judiciary; it’s not about what’s legal, or the illegality of behavior; only politics. These are not legal issues; the entities involved are not connected to legal or illegal application of laws as they relate to the rest of American society.

You cannot view the current action through the transactional prism of modern judicial proceedings as they relate to you and me. These are political struggles taking place inside the venue of the legal system. The players use the legal system to game out the optics and narrative of political battles for ideological wins and losses.
In essence, this is about leverage for political use.
The 2016 election caused the balance of power to shift favorably toward political forces that are external to the DC machine, ie. President Trump and the deplorables.
The subsequent action by Robert Mueller, Democrats, the Media (writ large), and President Trump is a confrontation over political goals and objectives. The DC machine, the “swamp” per se’, is attempting to frame leverage against actions adverse to their political interest.
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Well, well, well…. Long-time Clinton insider and the epicenter of all Clinton connected power in Washington DC, Tony Podesta, is stepping down from the super-lobbying group that bears his name.
According to a report in politico, Tony Podesta has discovered he is also in the cross hairs of the Special Prosecutor investigation by Robert Mueller.  Additionally, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort worked for the Podesta lobbying group to advance the interests of Ukraine and Russia in Washington DC.

There is some strong DC speculation that Manafort’s earlier indictment may lead to, or have been intended to, leverage cooperation with special counsel Mueller regarding the Podesta firm investigation.
Federal records show two firms doing work on behalf of Paul Manafort’s Ukraine front group beginning in April of 2012: The Podesta Group and Mercury Group.
Despite the lobbying activity neither group was disclosed as legally required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) until April of 2017. Documents: SEE HERE and SEE HERE

(Via Politico) Democratic power lobbyist Tony Podesta, founder of the Podesta Group, is stepping down from the firm that bears his name after coming under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Podesta announced his decision during a firm-wide meeting Monday morning and is alerting clients of his impending departure.

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Speaking on behalf of a goal for continued funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this opening statement by Frank Stephens might very well be the best testimonial made to a congressional committee since the incredible Catherine Engelbrecht speech.
“Happiness is worth something”…  Yes, Mr. Stephens, yes it is.   Please WATCH:

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A few media reports are all confirming the initial funding for the Fusion GPS opposition research against candidate Donald Trump came from The Washington Free Beacon and the previously undisclosed underwriter for the WFB, billionaire Paul Singer.

This makes sense because WFB was the primary conservative media advocate for candidate Marco Rubio who was also backed by billionaire Paul Singer. The primary editor of WFB Matthew Continetti is married to the daughter of notorious NeverTrumper Bill Kristol:

WASHINGTON – Lawyers for the conservative publication Washington Free Beacon informed the House Intelligence Committee Friday that the organization was the original funder for the anti-Trump opposition research project with Fusion GPS. (link)

The Washington Free Beacon did not reveal their ownership, however both Breitbart and Daily Caller are confirming the financial underwriting for WFB comes from Paul Singer. The WFB is now attempting to explain their opposition research HERE.
It’s a rather odd dynamic to discover that a media outlet would be purchasing a contract for opposition research, no?  Then again, the majority of the electorate have no idea how the right-side of the political continuum is engaged in pushing an ideological agenda – they are not just reporting facts.  WFB should lose all journalistic credibility; they won’t, but they should.
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President Donald Trump holds an impromptu press conference with the WH pool as he departs the White House for Joint Base Andrews, en route to Dallas, TX. President Trump addresses the fake Russia dossier created by Hillary and the Democrats, Jeff Flake & more.  WATCH:
UPDATE VIDEO with better audio:

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After the President arrives in Dallas, TX, (3:10pm) he will receive a briefing on hurricane recovery efforts 3:30pm). The President will then participate in a roundtable with Republican National Committee (RNC) supporters (4:30pm). In the evening, the President will give remarks at a Dallas Trump victory reception (5:20pm). The President will then depart Dallas (6:25pm), TX for Washington D.C., en route to the White House (10pm).
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Well this is sketchy.  A disturbed individual named Ryan Clayton came within inches of the President of the U.S. and Majority Leader of the Senate today while, inside the Capitol Building and embedded with the press pool.
How this unbalanced person was capable of hiding within a credentialed and security processed press pool is a little unnerving.   He’s within a few feet of the president when he launches his confrontation:

Did members of the press pool facilitate the attack? It would seem likely.
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If you thought paying for four simultaneous committee investigations into the vast 2016 ‘muh Russia’ conspiracy was enough effort for your money; well hold on… they’re not done…
Not only did DC throw in a special counsel investigation, just because your worth it; but they’re not done yet…  For a limited time, if you act fast, you too can own another brand new set of joint committee investigations tailored only for this special Flak and Countermeasures offer. Act know, because this offering will surely last forever.
That’s right, House Republicans have opened a joint investigation into the Justice Department’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, the lawmakers announced Tuesday. Brilliant. Congress, via the House, will now be investigating the investigators; and if we’re lucky, and if Bob Corker can double the value prior to departure, the Senate will soon follow and investigate the investigation of the investigators.

How lucky are we? Six, that’s right, SIX launched congressional investigations, with the possibility of two more coming soon. Allow yourself to relax and forget you don’t have healthcare coverage; forget “Repeal and Replace”. Enjoy the freedom from focusing on those pesky “budgety things”; sip slowly… ah yes, the joyful life of willful ambivalence where worries of tax reform simply melt away into the obsequity of the swamp.
The just announced probes will be conducted by two congressional panels responsible for overseeing the Justice Department and government operations in general. The investigators will review then-FBI Director James Comey’s various decisions pertaining to the Clinton investigation, such as his unusual announcement that she should not face indictment. But they will also review whether the Justice Department erred in its handling of investigations pertinent to President Trump’s campaign.
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Sometimes there’s a level of irony that goes beyond the normal boundaries of ordinary irony and simultaneously creates a tear in the space-time continuum of DC hypocrisy; this is one such example.
Representative Frederica Wilson, a devoted member of the professional grievance club, has been at the epicenter of a story surrounding the death of Sergeant La David Johnson in Niger ever since Wilson politicized the bereavement call of President Trump, and the bereavement of Sgt. Johnson’s widow, her constituent, Myeshia Johnson.
Representative Wilson has also claimed she was unaware of why we are carrying out military engagements in Niger, and has called the mission “President Trump’s Benghazi“.

Given that level of expressed outrage it might surprise people to know that it was Representative Frederica Wilson who personally constructed H.R. 3383 / S.1632, joint House and Senate legislation that directs the State Department and Dept of Defense to execute military missions in Niger.  Yes, in 2016 Wilson demanded military campaigns in the same place Wilson claims not to know about in 2017.

From her own 2016 press release:Washington, D.C.– In a long-awaited victory, the U.S. House of Representatives today by a voice vote passed  H.R. 3833/S. 1632, legislation introduced by Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (D-Florida) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to help combat Boko Haram.

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