TYSON HAS LONG BEEN IDENTIFED WITH THE DEMOCRAT PARTY FOR OBVIOUS REASONS.
Tyson Foods Faces Boycott After Firing 1,200 Americans, ‘Would Like to Employ’ 42,000 Migrants - AND BIDEN - MAYORKAS - SCHUMER HAVE USHERED OVER THE BORDER 15 MILLION TO PICK FROM.
Former FBI Director James Comey, an outspoken opponent of outgoing President Donald Trump, believes the Republican Party “needs to be burned down or changed” moving forward.
While Comey long identified as a Republican, he endorsed Joe Biden last year and now believes the Republican Party needs a complete revamp.
“The Republican party needs to be burned down or changed,” Comey said, according to the Guardian, expressing hope “something is shifting” with a “fault breaking apart, a break between the Trumpists and those people who want to try and build a responsible conservative party.”
“Who would want to be part of an organization that at its core is built on lies and racism and know-nothingism? It’s just not a healthy political organization,” he said, continuing to criticize Trump and those who work with and support him.
“They tell themselves stories like: ‘I’ve got to deal with this to protect the country; because I’m so important to the nation, I’ll make these compromises,'” Comey said.
“And then he’s eaten your soul, it’s too late, and then you’re the attorney general of the United States marching across Lafayette Square thick with choking pepper smoke after protesters have been cleared so the man can hold the Bible up. That’s where you end up,” he continued:
What Donald Trump has done for the last five years is attack the building from the outside to weaken its foundation. He’s withdrawn the control rods, and that’s a recipe for a nuclear disaster, a radioactive release. That’s what you saw on Capitol Hill, our own Chernobyl, when the ugly radioactive violence and racism of America explodes in public view.
Despite his clear contempt for Trump, Comey reiterated he does not believe it is in the “best interests” of the country for lawmakers to create “daily drama in our nation’s capital for three years as part of the United States versus Trump.”
That, Comey warned, would “give him the oxygen and the attention that he so craves and make it so much harder for a new president to heal the country both spiritually and physically, and to get some people out of the fog of lies that they’re trapped in.”
Rather, the Senate should convict him and allow “prosecutors in New York pursue him for the fraudster he was before he took office,” Comey concluded.
“That mixture accommodates the important public interest of the rule of law being asserted, but doesn’t do it in a way that makes it impossible for a new president to move the country on,” he added, noting his optimism for the future and describing America as a “wonderful, complicated, screwed-up country,” that is “always getting better.”
During an appearance on BBC Newsnight last week, Comey said he “obviously believes” Trump should be in jail but added Biden should “consider” pardoning him so the country can move forward:
“Donald Trump belongs in jail.”
Ex-FBI Director @Comey says while he “obviously believes” the president should be in jail, he doesn’t think “pursuing that is in the best interests of the American people”, adding Joe Biden should "consider" pardoning Donald Trump#Newsnightpic.twitter.com/RUghKyq5nW
“Now I don’t know whether Donald Trump, he’s not a genius, but he might figure out that [if] he accepts a pardon, that’s an omission of guilt, the United States Supreme Court has said,” Comey said.
“But as part of healing the country and getting us to a place where we can focus on things that are going to matter over the next four years, I think Joe Biden is going to have to at least think about that,” he added.
The direction of the GOP in the post-Trump presidency remains a looming question among lawmakers, many of whom remain staunch allies of Trump and his Make America Great Agenda.
It remains unclear what role Trump will play in leading the Republican Party moving forward, but a Washington Post/ABC poll released last week showed that the majority of U.S. adults, or 69 percent, believe GOP leadership should take the party in a different direction.
However, a majority among Republican leaners, 57 percent, believe GOP leadership should continue to follow Trump’s leadership.
President Donald Trump Delivers Farewell Address: ‘I Took On the Toughest Battles’
President Donald Trump delivered his farewell address on Tuesday, urging Americans to carry on the principles he fought for during his presidency.
“I did not seek the easiest course. By far, it was actually the most difficult,” Trump said as he reflected on his presidency.
The president spoke for nearly 20 minutes in a pre-recorded video released on YouTube Tuesday afternoon prior to his departure from the White House on Wednesday morning.
“I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism,” he continued. “I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that’s what you elected me to do.”
Trump spoke about the nature of his presidency, describing himself as the first “true outsider” to get elected that believed that the United States government should work for its citizens first.
“I fought for you. I fought for your family. I fought for your country,” he said.
The president did not use President-elect Joe Biden’s name in his statement, referring to him only as part of an incoming “new administration.”
He said he would pray for the administration’s success to keep America “safe and prosperous.”
“And we also want them to have luck, a very important word,” he continued.
The president condemned the riots on Capitol Hill after he urged supporters to protest the 2020 presidential election, which was later certified for Biden.
“All Americans were horrified by the assault on our capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.”
Trump said that Americans should rise above the “partisan rancor” in the ongoing debate over ideas and unite for the sake of the country.
“We must never forget that while Americans will always have our disagreements, we are a nation of incredible, decent, faithful, and peace-loving citizens who all want our country to thrive and flourish,” he said.
That debate, he noted, should not be censored, as he alluded to social media companies deplatforming his accounts.
“At the center of this heritage is also a robust belief in free expression, free speech, and open debate,” he said.
He continued, “Only if we forget who we are and how we got here could we ever allow political censorship and blacklisting to take place in America. It’s not even thinkable.”
Trump spoke about his many accomplishments before the country was “hit with the China virus” including unprecedented domestic achievements on trade, economic growth, and energy production.
“The American dream was restored and millions were lifted from poverty in just a few short years,” Trump said. “It was a miracle.”
He also spoke about fixing broken trade deals, withdrawing from the Paris climate accords, the Iran nuclear deal, and putting tariffs on China which resulted in the first stages of a trade deal.
Trump also celebrated his achievements on border security.
“For years, the American people pleaded with Washington to finally secure the nation’s borders. I’m pleased to say we answered that plea and achieved the most secure border in US history.”
He also spoke about his efforts to bring the troops home from foreign wars and his achievements in improving medical care for military veterans.
“I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars,” he said.
The president did not speak about his political future but said the America First movement that he started was “only just beginning.”
“There’s never been anything like it,” he said.
Trump said that he did everything that he came to Washington to do and “so much more.”
“I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart and optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that, for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come,” he concluded. “Thank you and farewell.”
The ‘black box’ of trading that drives profits at Goldman Sachs hit a 10-year high, boosting earnings in the final months of 2020 and pushing full-year revenue to its highest since 2009.
The Wall Street firm said Tuesday that its profits more than doubled from a year earlier thanks to a surge in both trading and advising revenue.
The New York-based investment bank said it earned a profit of $4.36 billion, up from a profit of $1.72 billion in the same period a year earlier. That works out to earnings of $12.08 per share, a 157 percent increase. Revenue of $11.74 billion was 18 percent above 2019’s fourth-quarter level.
The earnings and re revenue easily topped forecasts and shares rose in early trading Tuesday. Analysts had forecast $7.45-per-share profit on revenue of $9.99 billion.
Full-year revenue rose to $44.56 billion, the best since 2009 and up nearly 22 percent from 2019’s level. Annual trading revenue reached a 10-year high.
Goldman’s results reflect that Wall Street had a strong year even while the pandemic churned chaotically across the U.S. economy and businesses big and small laid off millions of Americans. After plunging sharply in March and April, the stock market went basically straight up for seven months as investors tried to look beyond the near-term death and pain and focus on where the U.S. economy will be in a year or two years’ time.
Goldman notoriously did well in the quarters leading up to the financial crisis in 2008 thanks to positions it took betting against the housing market and assisting clients who took out credit default swaps on mortgage-backed securities. This helped give rise to its nickname of “Vampire Squid,” a description that originated in a Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi.
Goldman’s profits in the first quarter were driven higher by its investment bank and trading desks, the cornerstone to the bank’s business models.
Investment banking revenue was up 29 percent from a year earlier to $2.73 billion. Goldman’s investment bankers garnered $1.64 billion in underwriting fees, produced from work arranging corporate stock and bond offerings, a 68 percent jump from a year ago. The firm received $1.1 billion in merger fees.
Trading revenue rose 23 percent from a year earlier to $4.27 billion. Investors typically hesitate to assign much value to the company based on trading revenue because it is hard to predict and there is very little transparency around how the revenue is generated. Despite not working to benefit shareholders, trading revenues generate enormous bonuses for Goldman Sachs executives.
The stellar quarter will result in stellar bonuses for Goldman’s well-compensated employees. The bank set aside $13.31 billion to pay out bonuses and payroll this year, up 8 percent from a year earlier. Most of Goldman’s top employees make most of their money in year-end bonuses.
It’s wealth management arm as well is nascent consumer banking business—which focuses on consumer loans, savings accounts, and handling the underwriting for Apple’s credit card—also so gains.
Goldman shares are up 22 percent from a year ago. That performance beats the S&P 500’s 13.93 percent gain but is lower than the Nasdaq Composite’s 39.85 percent gain and the small-cap Russell 2000’s 26.51 percent rise.
Morgan Stanley, which is similar in size to Goldman Sachs and reports its quarterly results on Wednesday, saw its stock rise 31.66 percent over the past 12-months. Shares of Morgan Stanley, whose earnings are less dependent on trading and whose capital structure includes a smaller amount of debt compared to equity, have a higher price to forward earnings multiple than Goldman’s.
On Friday, JPMorgan Chase said fourth-quarter profit rose 42 percent to a record $12.14 billion, boosted by the release of $2.9 billion from reserves to cover unpaid loans. Compared with a year ago, J.P. Morgan shares are nearly flat. Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday that profit fell 22 percent after it released $828 million from its loan-loss reserves.
Like its competitors, Goldman also moved some of the money it had set aside to cover credit losses out of its reserves. However Goldman’s exposure through consumer and business loans is significantly smaller than commercial banks like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo so it wasn’t a significant part of its overall results.
Washington, D.C. (January 19, 2020) - The second Honduran caravan since Joe Biden won the presidential election will not reach Mexico on any significant number despite swelling into an angry, police-assaulting freight train of some 9,000 people. Guatemalan resolve, planning, and tailored crowd-control tactics implemented by more than 5,000 soldiers successfully subdued the aggressive mob.
By the end of Monday, at least 1,600 migrants had been deported to Honduras with deportations continuing into the night. A bus home was a far more sure thing than reaching the new Joe Biden administration and its promises of unobstructed, permanent lives in the United States, and now possible amnesty.
View the full article at: https://cis.org/Bensman/Final-Word-Latest-Honduras-Migrant-Caravan-Probably
The Trump administration had threatened to cut off foreign assistance to these governments unless they worked harder to break up caravans, and they did. But is there growing recriminations of the sort that suggest a gradual erosion of political resolve to halt the next caravan?
Honduras, which just last month used force to break up the previous U.S.-bound caravan, on Monday issued calls "to the national and international community" to investigate "the actions carried out by the Guatemalan security forces." With Trump exiting the White House, Honduras obviously felt emboldened to add its official voice to a growing cacophony of human rights advocacy groups angry that Guatemala had used force to stop this caravan. It seems unlikely that Honduras will do anything to break up the next caravan and would return to the old familiarity as an unobstructed transit nation.
On behalf of Guatemala, Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo Vila called out Honduras for a failure of will and tactics that put the hot potato in his country. He said that instead of Honduran promises to deploy a large contingent of security forces, the Honduran police who were deployed ended up accompanying the migrants "to our borders, where unfortunately we saw how violently they entered, violating Guatemalan territorial sovereignty."
Will a domino effect knock over Guatemalan and Mexican resolve next?
Joe Biden: Amnesty for Everyone Who Was Here on January 1
Joe Biden’s DHS Nominee Alejandro Mayorkas Will Not Commit to Not Tearing Down Border Wall
During his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, would not commit to not tearing down existing border wall built by President Trump’s administration.
Mayorkas, when questioned by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), said he had not yet “looked at” the specific issue when asked whether he would take a sledgehammer to “physical barriers along our southern border.”
Citing the former Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Mayorkas suggested that a wall across the entire United States-Mexico border was not necessary, to which Lankford agreed. Biden has vowed to stop all construction of border wall.
The exchange went as follows:
LANKFORD: Would you recommend any of the physical barriers along our southern border be dismantled or removed? [Emphasis added]
MAYORKAS: Senator, I haven’t looked at that specific question, I will share with you the fact that I agree with the approach that Sen. McCain, an American hero … took to the border which is it’s not a monolithic challenge, the border. The border is varied depending on the geography and depending on the specific venue and depending on the conduct of individuals around it. We don’t need, nor should we have, a monolithic answer to that varied and diverse challenge. [Emphasis added]
On the question of expanding the border wall, Mayorkas likewise said he would “look forward to studying that.” Trump helped build about 450 miles of new wall at the nearly 2,000-mile-long southern border, much of which is 18 to 30-feet bollard fencing that replaced dilapidated barriers from more than a decade ago.
Trump administration officials said that border wall helps cut illegal immigration by almost 90 percent.
Mayorkas also refused to commit to continuing Trump’s Title 42 order, which was implemented in May 2020 to drastically reduce illegal immigration to slow the spread of the Chinese coronavirus crisis. The order allows federal immigration officials to immediately return border crossers to their native countries.
The exchange went as follows:
LANKFORD: Do you anticipate changing the Title 42 authorities that currently exist to be able to protect our agents and individuals in the United States from individuals traveling from very high-profile COVID areas? Do you anticipate changing that? [Emphasis added]
MAYORKAS: … I look forward to studying Title 42 authorities and what they provide and I can say this, unequivocally, that our highest priority is to protect the health and well-being of the American public. [Emphasis added]
The Title 42 order, as well as Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy and the administration’s order to close the northern and southern borders to unessential travel are hugely popular with Americans across the board.
Exit polling from the November 3 presidential election found that 5-in-6 U.S. voters said they agree that “limiting cross-border traffic and restricting the admission of international travelers is important to help slow the spread” of the coronavirus. Only 13 percent of voters said they disagree that the policies do not help.
Even with the border controls in place, though many are expected to be ended by Biden, illegal immigration has started ticking up to its pre-virus levels.
As Breitbart News reported, border apprehensions at the southern border have jumped to the highest level for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 since the year 2000.
Between October and December 2020, nearly 208,000 border crossers were apprehended at the border, the highest number since the Clinton administration. Officials have previously said that about half of all border crossers successfully illegally enter the U.S. undetected by Border Patrol.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.