Bernie Sanders

The rise of populism is not just a U.S. issue. Globalization and deregulation, especially with regard to the open adoption of new technology and work structures, is increasingly being called into question. As we have discussed previously, there is increasing potential that major political and economic changes will emerge from this vote. The emergence of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders is a reflection that the populists want a change in the direction of American policy. We will be watching closely to see whether any serious changes result.

When we see guys like Bernie Sanders get visibly angry at guys like Alan Greenspan it behooves all of us to go beyond the entertainment of it or some prima facie agreement and to truly understand why the anger is justified. If we were to all take the responsibility to understand the lifeblood of our American existence i.e. the economy, we will most certainly be moved to remove not only the policymakers but the system that together serve only those at the top of the economic food chain and at a cost to the rest of us. When we do we will be asking why in the hell is no one yelling at Janet Yellen??

Americans, both the destitute and the destitute-in-waiting middle class do need a champion to forever improve their lives, or at least one to light up their torch of hope.  But the senator from Vermont isn’t likely to become that champion, becoming instead the prophet heralding the advent of a savior for America’s democracy, national dignity and pride; in Christian-speak, Bernie is not a Jesus but a John the Baptist.

Government officials with a security clearance are expected to exercise good judgement when it comes to their handling of potentially sensitive material irrespective of whether it’s officially marked as classified. Clinton apparently did not do so and now, it appears that some of the information contained in two flagged e-mails might have been related to "top secret" drone activity. Meanwhile, the server the Democratic frontrunner turned over to the FBI turns out be "blank."

You can't make this stuff up!!!

As Bernie Sanders moves ahead of Hillary in one poll, we thought it ironic that the wave of socialism is showing up in American consumer confidence data...

For a few days, Fox News didn't know how to handle Donald Trump's "blood" comments about one of the network's favorite anchors. Then someone woke up and realized that if you're Fox, being boycotted by the GOP frontrunner simply isn't tenable.

Hillary Clinton, bowing to pressure from GOP lawmakers, has turned over her private e-mail server to the FBI. Meanwhile, Democratic voters look to be turning on the former First Lady as a new poll has Bernie Sanders surging ahead in New Hampshire.

The rise and persistence of Trump raises a more pertinent question: why are all the other candidates such obvious shills for the implacable engine of grift that is destroying the Republic? Why has nobody with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders, called bullshit on the basic operations of the machine? Why have no other persons of real stature stepped forward to challenge the suicidal dynamic of the age? I’m with those who think that the 2016 election campaign is going to be a wild spectacle beyond the current imaginings of news media. I’m serenely convinced that, among other things, the banking system is going to implode so hard and fast well before the nominating conventions that the nation will be in a state of near chaos. What’s out there now is just a tired dumb-show replaying the shopworn themes of an era that is about to slam to a close.

Four days after we showed a video in which Nation of Islam leader urged black Americans to "rise up and kill those who kill us", two days after we reported that "Black-White Race Relations Under Obama are the Worst In The 21st Century", shots were fired, according to Reuters, on Sunday during a march in Ferguson, Missouri to mark the one year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown. More troubling is that none other than the potential future president of the US was adding gasoline to the fire yesterday, when in an interview with Al Sharpton Hillary Clinton discussed "criminal justice reform" and said the following: "in convicting of crimes, in sentencing of crimes, you compare African-American men to white men: it is unfortunately clear as it could be that there is a bias in favor of white men."

"It isn’t for nothing that again and again, countries abandoned the gold standard when they went to war. We rarely pause to consider what that tells us. If they needed to abandon the gold standard to go to war, that means the gold standard was a barrier against war. Of course, the ease with which governments could abandon the gold standard serves to remind us of the need to separate money and state altogether, and that the state cannot be trusted to maintain a sound money standard."

At 1000-to-1, Kim Kardashian is an outsider in the race to be the next US President but perhaps most notable in the odds that bookies are willing to offer is the 7th place that Donald Trump ranks (at 18-to-1 or just a 5% probability of winning), below GOP rivals such as Jeb Bush (23% probabiity) and Marco Rubio (11% probability). Trump even ranks below Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden according to where the money is being bet! Of course, Hillary remains the odds-on favorite at 10/11 (or 52% probability).

In this moment of history there is an astounding lack of seriousness among people who pretend to be political heavyweights. No one so far has nailed a proper bill of grievances to the White House gate. A broad roster of dire issues facing this society ought to be self-evident. But since they are absent so far in the public discussion, here is our list of matters that serious candidates should dare to talk about (all things that a sitting president could take action on)...

Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders recently raised the ire of both progressives and libertarians with his remarks concerning immigration. In just a few sentences, Sanders manages to demonstrate a hodgepodge of nativist, nationalist, protectionist, and socialist sentiments. But for anyone wondering why he wandered off the progressive narrative on immigration, it’s because protectionist labor unions pay him better than, say, La Raza.

The American political class has failed the country, and should be fired. That is the clearest message from the summer surge of Bernie Sanders and the remarkable rise of Donald Trump. But can Trump win?