Donald Trump

• Oil moves nearer six-year low on Japan data, oversupply (Reuters)
• Commodity Slide Spurs Treasuries as Emerging Markets Extend Drop (BBG)
• Because 7 years is "just right" - BOE Official Says Don’t Wait Too Long on Rates (WSJ)
• How Medicare Rewards Copious Nursing-Home Therapy (WSJ)
• Millennials Are Developing Parents’ Taste for Jaguars, Cadillacs (BBG) ... and even more debt
• Mexican Billionaire’s Firms Swept Up in U.S. Probe of Citigroup (BBG)

"We're going to keep the families together, but they have to go. We will work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we either have a country, or we don't have a country."

For reasons that will forever remain a mystery to us, mercantilism and protectionism actually hold enormous popular appeal. The best explanation we can come up with for this phenomenon is that the support for such policies is based on a mixture of economic ignorance and relentless propaganda by vested interests over the past, say, four centuries. Still, it is almost comical that people are so vociferously clamoring for policies that can actually cost them a fortune and will definitely lower their standard of living.

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.

Just a few weeks ago, US talk show host Stephen Colbert was asked if he thought that Donald Trump had a chance of becoming President of the United States. Colbert responded sincerely. “Honestly, he could. And that’s not an opinion of Trump. That’s my opinion of our nation.” He’s right. The Land of the Free may very well be ready for something completely different. And Trump certainly seems able to deliver.

"This is exactly what fairgoers want, to meet Donald Trump. That is what they’ll get."

Republican kingmakers are nothing if not pragmatic, they want results for their money. They aren’t getting it. They are unhappy. They are angry. But like a chameleon changing colors, they want to be on the winning side. They all know Trump, they also know they can deal with Trump, so they will. The Blitzkrieg is over. Trump survived. The establishment sacrificed many of their finest media plants this past weekend. Every one of them ended up looking like exactly what they are, cheap desperate prostitutes, willing to say whatever was required of them, as long as their paychecks kept coming .

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."

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.

When a central bank tells you it’s a “one-off” event you may as well take that as a green light!

It’s very important to call out people like Trump for the man he is, so we don’t simply fawn and fall for a narcissist, strongman-type as a way to deal with our societal pain and frustration... "I was there at the first Tea Party in 2007 and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand passively by and watch the movement destroyed by a fake conservative."

Being a citizen in the American corporate state is much like playing against a stacked deck: you’re always going to lose. The game is rigged, and “we the people” keep getting dealt the same losing hand. Even so, most stay in the game, against all odds, trusting that their luck will change. The problem, of course, is that luck will not save us.

Normally, candidates that are not part of the “establishment” do not pose much of a threat. In order to win elections in this country, especially on a national level, you need name recognition and you need lots and lots of money. Donald Trump has both, and no matter what you may think of him you have to admit that he has star power. And he was never supposed to run for president. You see, the truth is that only members of “the club” are allowed to play. The elite very carefully groom their candidates, and they are usually able to maintain a very tight grip on both major political parties. This two-headed abomination that we call a “two party system” is in reality just a one party system.

Ever aware of the potential for change, GOP Presidential candidates face a tough balance currently. As The Washington Post explains, should Trump's 'burn-it-down' aggression ever cross one too many lines, around 20% of Republicans will be looking for someone else to support - someone who didn't think they were a total idiot for supporting Trump in the first place. Based on their responses and statements, WaPo has quantified the "Trumpness Factor" for each of the GOP candidates...

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.