The Shitshow Macro Weekly Wrapup Podcast for Friday, February 14, 2025 is out:
-Both the post and podcast for Cutting the Deep State’s Tentacles are out from behind the paywall and free for all to read, listen to, and share now:
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
-If you have not read or listened to its predecessor, Defining the Deep State (and its component parts), I highly suggest you start there (also free for all to read, listen, and share):
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
Domestic:
-After the confirmations this week, we have a new head of HHS (RFK Jr, happy dance), ODNI (Tulsi, also happy dance), and Energy (Wright, also happy dance).
--I will include a 1-pager infographic that DOE put out with Wright’s 9 goals for US energy dominance in the show notes.
--Between Bessent’s (Treasury) 3-3-3 strategy and Wright’s focus on making energy procurement/distribution more efficient and cost-effective, I really do think we’re heading in the right direction for the American Golden Age.
--Note: Mitch “Glitch” McConnell was the only Republican to vote against RFK Jr and Tulsi.
--Kentucky, do better.
-RFK Jr gave a short speech after he was officially confirmed:
x.com/AutismCapital/…
-VP JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference this week.
--The speech was incredibly uplifting to hear for those of us who have paid attention to just how far NATO and the EU have gone down a dark path.
--As I’ve said before, I’m certainly not anti-European; I’ve lived in Germany & France, et j’ai parlais française.
--My first Afghanistan trip was spent working alongside SOF units from across Europe, and many of them were great to work with.
--I love the European people - but the leaders seem to have been using 1984 as an instruction manual rather than a tale of warning for the past decade or so.
--His speech hit on some of the big ones we’ve covered here in the past year: the canceling of Romanian & Ukrainian elections, the mass migration that nobody voted for (and the UK populace voted against, based on polling, in their BREXIT votes), and of course the mass domestic surveillance, censorship, and arrests for “wrongthink.”
--Here’s a wrapup from Sundance at CTH that has the video embedded into it as well as the transcript and Sundance’s take:
theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/02/1…
--And the 20-minute speech itself. Please watch, it’s well worth the 20 minutes:
youtube.com/live/pCOsgfINd…
-@MikeBenzCyber was on Rogan again this week, and it’s a banger.
--This is longer than others, goes deeper than previous BenzPills, and should be required listening for all:
open.spotify.com/episode/2rXdCT…
-Recent Oval Office photos seem to show that President Trump framed & hung his mugshot in his office.
--Gangster AF.
--Picture in the show notes.
-A reveal this week was that Medicare & Medicaid sent $2.7 trillion overseas to people who were not even eligible to receive those funds.
--That’s 8% of the national debt.
x.com/realdogeusa/st…
-Another $1.9 billion of HUD money was found by DOGE that had been “misplaced” under the Biden administration.
x.com/DOGE/status/18…
-@ParkerThayer found one that would be funny if it wasn’t a total burning of taxpayer cash.
--According to his post linked below, AbilityOne is a $4 billion per year Federal jobs program for the disabled that is so wasteful that even the National Council on Disability recommended eliminating it:
x.com/ParkerThayer/s…
-And of course, we have new reporting alleging that USAID funneled $1.7 billion to the Taliban.
--From @Sultanknish:
x.com/Sultanknish/st…
-And another from @Gekaminsky alleging that in the final days of the Biden admin (see: looting the treasury), $50mm was sent to an obscure non-profit whose leader has a history of self-dealing and financial mismanagement:
x.com/gekaminsky/sta…
-Both the post and podcast for Cutting the Deep State’s Tentacles are out from behind the paywall and free for all to read, listen to, and share now:
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
-If you have not read or listened to its predecessor, Defining the Deep State (and its component parts), I highly suggest you start there (also free for all to read, listen, and share):
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
Domestic:
-After the confirmations this week, we have a new head of HHS (RFK Jr, happy dance), ODNI (Tulsi, also happy dance), and Energy (Wright, also happy dance).
--I will include a 1-pager infographic that DOE put out with Wright’s 9 goals for US energy dominance in the show notes.
--Between Bessent’s (Treasury) 3-3-3 strategy and Wright’s focus on making energy procurement/distribution more efficient and cost-effective, I really do think we’re heading in the right direction for the American Golden Age.
--Note: Mitch “Glitch” McConnell was the only Republican to vote against RFK Jr and Tulsi.
--Kentucky, do better.
-RFK Jr gave a short speech after he was officially confirmed:
x.com/AutismCapital/…
-VP JD Vance spoke at the Munich Security Conference this week.
--The speech was incredibly uplifting to hear for those of us who have paid attention to just how far NATO and the EU have gone down a dark path.
--As I’ve said before, I’m certainly not anti-European; I’ve lived in Germany & France, et j’ai parlais française.
--My first Afghanistan trip was spent working alongside SOF units from across Europe, and many of them were great to work with.
--I love the European people - but the leaders seem to have been using 1984 as an instruction manual rather than a tale of warning for the past decade or so.
--His speech hit on some of the big ones we’ve covered here in the past year: the canceling of Romanian & Ukrainian elections, the mass migration that nobody voted for (and the UK populace voted against, based on polling, in their BREXIT votes), and of course the mass domestic surveillance, censorship, and arrests for “wrongthink.”
--Here’s a wrapup from Sundance at CTH that has the video embedded into it as well as the transcript and Sundance’s take:
theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/02/1…
--And the 20-minute speech itself. Please watch, it’s well worth the 20 minutes:
youtube.com/live/pCOsgfINd…
-@MikeBenzCyber was on Rogan again this week, and it’s a banger.
--This is longer than others, goes deeper than previous BenzPills, and should be required listening for all:
open.spotify.com/episode/2rXdCT…
-Recent Oval Office photos seem to show that President Trump framed & hung his mugshot in his office.
--Gangster AF.
--Picture in the show notes.
-A reveal this week was that Medicare & Medicaid sent $2.7 trillion overseas to people who were not even eligible to receive those funds.
--That’s 8% of the national debt.
x.com/realdogeusa/st…
-Another $1.9 billion of HUD money was found by DOGE that had been “misplaced” under the Biden administration.
x.com/DOGE/status/18…
-@ParkerThayer found one that would be funny if it wasn’t a total burning of taxpayer cash.
--According to his post linked below, AbilityOne is a $4 billion per year Federal jobs program for the disabled that is so wasteful that even the National Council on Disability recommended eliminating it:
x.com/ParkerThayer/s…
-And of course, we have new reporting alleging that USAID funneled $1.7 billion to the Taliban.
--From @Sultanknish:
x.com/Sultanknish/st…
-And another from @Gekaminsky alleging that in the final days of the Biden admin (see: looting the treasury), $50mm was sent to an obscure non-profit whose leader has a history of self-dealing and financial mismanagement:
x.com/gekaminsky/sta…
-Rep Anna Paulina Luna is a part of a new Task Force (TF) under President Trump to provide transparency to the American people (and the world).
--She released a list of the files they are going after; notably, she also has said very publicly that as soon as they have them, the public will see them.
--The list is a humdinger:
--JFK assassination
--RFK assassination
--Martin Luther King assassination
--USPs
--USOs
--Epstein client list
--The origins of covid
9-11
armstrongeconomics.com/international-…
-Wanna be upset? Wanna know why so many people are calling for the FBI to be totally disbanded?
--According to Ken Silva (@JD_cashless ) and Headline USA, a group of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims is suing the FBI for allowing his operation to continue with impunity.
The FBI filed a motion to dismiss, based on the argument that it had the discretion to do so:
headlineusa.com/fbi-argues-in-…
-It is slightly humorous (but not ha ha) that the FBI “just happened to find” 2,400 “previously undiscovered/undisclosed” JFK files shortly before this announcement was made.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
-American teacher Marc Fogel was returned to US soil from Russian captivity this week.
--Fogel kissed the American soil the moment he descended the stairs of the airplane.
sofx.com/us-special-env…
-The first that I saw tracking this was @Mark_R_Mitchell but @zerohedge seems to have cataloged all of the “panic in DC” Google trends for searches that have erupted this week for things like:
--Criminal defense attorneys and RICO laws
--Swiss bank, Offshore banks, and wire money
--Bleachbit and wipe hard drive
--Treason
zerohedge.com/political/erup…
-@shellenberger testified to Congress this week about the USAID-funded OCCRP, which may have been the conduit through which US taxpayers funded the Russian Collusion Hoax and Ukraine Impeachment Hoax (as well as media hit pieces against Guilianni and others):
x.com/shellenberger/…
-This is likely related to several things we’ve discussed above, but the DC area has seen such a rapid and large increase in home listings (for sale) that calling it a mere “spike” wouldn’t be accurate.
War/Military:
-President Trump publicly floated the idea this week about getting the US, Russia, and China to agree to a phased military spending drawdown.
--Obviously this is a “swing for the fences” goal…but boy, if this were to happen…it really is like Trump is picking up where JFK left off in many respects.
-He also spoke with Zelensky and has stated publicly that he demanded $500 billion worth of the rare earth minerals from UKR in order to secure continued US support for the country.
-A new scandal is emerging from the USMIL under Biden, Austin, and Milley that makes this former enlisted puke pretty upset.
--Per these allegations, over $151 million was taken from the Basic Allowance & Substance (BAS) money taken out of soldiers’ paychecks that is supposed to pay for on-base food (DFACs) and other subsistence needs but was diverted to the Army general fund instead:
--From @StevenBeynon for Military.com:
military.com/daily-news/inv…
-US President Trump and RUS President Putin had discussions this week to begin negotiations for an end to the UKR war.
-A US Navy aircraft carrier (Truman) collided with a civilian vessel in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt on February 12.
theepochtimes.com/us/us-navy-air…
-In today’s “WTAF” news…
--Over 170 WWII-era bombs were discovered underneath a UK playground:
sofx.com/more-than-170-…
-M23 rebels continue their campaign of rampage across DRC, killing 50 more on Monday.
--If you want to know why many of us Former Action Guys with Africa experience see the UN as worthless - there were “UN peacekeepers” and Congolese military just a few kilometers away who did nothing.
sofx.com/militant-attac…
-The Sudanese military retook key parts of Khartoum from the RSF rebels in a major offensive this week:
sofx.com/sudanese-army-…
--She released a list of the files they are going after; notably, she also has said very publicly that as soon as they have them, the public will see them.
--The list is a humdinger:
--JFK assassination
--RFK assassination
--Martin Luther King assassination
--USPs
--USOs
--Epstein client list
--The origins of covid
9-11
armstrongeconomics.com/international-…
-Wanna be upset? Wanna know why so many people are calling for the FBI to be totally disbanded?
--According to Ken Silva (@JD_cashless ) and Headline USA, a group of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims is suing the FBI for allowing his operation to continue with impunity.
The FBI filed a motion to dismiss, based on the argument that it had the discretion to do so:
headlineusa.com/fbi-argues-in-…
-It is slightly humorous (but not ha ha) that the FBI “just happened to find” 2,400 “previously undiscovered/undisclosed” JFK files shortly before this announcement was made.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
-American teacher Marc Fogel was returned to US soil from Russian captivity this week.
--Fogel kissed the American soil the moment he descended the stairs of the airplane.
sofx.com/us-special-env…
-The first that I saw tracking this was @Mark_R_Mitchell but @zerohedge seems to have cataloged all of the “panic in DC” Google trends for searches that have erupted this week for things like:
--Criminal defense attorneys and RICO laws
--Swiss bank, Offshore banks, and wire money
--Bleachbit and wipe hard drive
--Treason
zerohedge.com/political/erup…
-@shellenberger testified to Congress this week about the USAID-funded OCCRP, which may have been the conduit through which US taxpayers funded the Russian Collusion Hoax and Ukraine Impeachment Hoax (as well as media hit pieces against Guilianni and others):
x.com/shellenberger/…
-This is likely related to several things we’ve discussed above, but the DC area has seen such a rapid and large increase in home listings (for sale) that calling it a mere “spike” wouldn’t be accurate.
War/Military:
-President Trump publicly floated the idea this week about getting the US, Russia, and China to agree to a phased military spending drawdown.
--Obviously this is a “swing for the fences” goal…but boy, if this were to happen…it really is like Trump is picking up where JFK left off in many respects.
-He also spoke with Zelensky and has stated publicly that he demanded $500 billion worth of the rare earth minerals from UKR in order to secure continued US support for the country.
-A new scandal is emerging from the USMIL under Biden, Austin, and Milley that makes this former enlisted puke pretty upset.
--Per these allegations, over $151 million was taken from the Basic Allowance & Substance (BAS) money taken out of soldiers’ paychecks that is supposed to pay for on-base food (DFACs) and other subsistence needs but was diverted to the Army general fund instead:
--From @StevenBeynon for Military.com:
military.com/daily-news/inv…
-US President Trump and RUS President Putin had discussions this week to begin negotiations for an end to the UKR war.
-A US Navy aircraft carrier (Truman) collided with a civilian vessel in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt on February 12.
theepochtimes.com/us/us-navy-air…
-In today’s “WTAF” news…
--Over 170 WWII-era bombs were discovered underneath a UK playground:
sofx.com/more-than-170-…
-M23 rebels continue their campaign of rampage across DRC, killing 50 more on Monday.
--If you want to know why many of us Former Action Guys with Africa experience see the UN as worthless - there were “UN peacekeepers” and Congolese military just a few kilometers away who did nothing.
sofx.com/militant-attac…
-The Sudanese military retook key parts of Khartoum from the RSF rebels in a major offensive this week:
sofx.com/sudanese-army-…
-“Fort Liberty” was officially renamed (back) to Fort Bragg this week.
--Spoiler: It was always and forever Fort Bragg to those of us who went through there.
-India’s military killed 31 Maoist rebels in a central region of the country on Sunday:
sofx.com/indian-securit…
Markets/economics:
-Trump announced reciprocal tariffs this week, and the usual suspects lost their minds.
--I will include an infographic from @zerohedge in the show notes of global tariffs against the US, and you will understand why it’s ok to point and laugh at those people losing their minds.
-The major US markets had a mixed week, but the NASDAQ had a pretty good one:
--S&P 500 closed red on Friday, but was up 1.47% on the week
--The Dow also closed red on Friday, but was up 0.55% on the week
--NASDAQ closed green on Friday, and was up 2.58% on the week
--Russell 2000 had a topsy-turvy week, but ended up 0.01% on the week
-Crude oil is down to $70.57 as of Friday evening
-Gold ended Friday at $2,893.70, and the flight of gold & silver from abroad to the US continues
-Currencies are getting a little interesting again:
--EUR/USD: 1.0495 (up)
--USD/JPY: 152.254 (up but still below the 155-160 danger range)
--USD/GBP: 0.7945 (down)
--USD/AUD: 1.5738 (down)
--USD/CAD: 1.4179 (down)
--USD/MXN: 20.2880 (down)
-BTC is back up to $97,380.06
Business:
-Intel stock had its best week since 2000 after VP Vance made comments about domestic chip production during his talk at the AI summit in Paris.
finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-sto…
-Today (Friday) marked 20 days of gains for Meta stock.
-Dell Technologies is reportedly nearing a deal worth $5 billion to provide the servers for xAI (Musk).
-The board of Open AI has unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover offer.
-Joann Fabrics is planning to close hundreds of stores across 40 states.
-Porsche says it will slash 1,900 jobs after sales slump in China and their electric car fiasco, according to @MacroEdgeRes
Health:
-The @MAHAalliance had a press conference after RFK Jr’s confirmation was made official. It is well worth the watch:
x.com/MAHAalliance/s…
-As transparency via DOGE is all the rage these days, there is a health/USAID/UN/Mengele-style question that isn’t being asked - is the UN Population Fund simply eugenics rebranded?
--Internal Kissinger national security memos and other docs seem to point to yes:
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cor…
-The Louisiana Surgeon General has announced the state will no longer promote mass vaccinations:
theepochtimes.com/article/louisi…
Religion:
-Many of the secular folks laugh and brush off Biblical writings because they see them as impossible when viewed through the secular lens.
--A modern-day Jonah and the Whale happened this week in Chile and was caught on camera.
--A great line from a show that I’ve become quite fond of (Evil) explains this type of secular thinking quite well: “The world is weird.”
x.com/AP/status/1890…
Science
-This is wild, and cool, and seems to only fit in this section.
--Mt. Etna, the volcano on Sicily, is currently erupting while there is snow on the ground.
--I’m not sure whether to call this video of skiers with lava in the background dystopian, or majestic, or scary…but let’s just say I’d be strapping on skis if I were there because I’m not really all that smart when it comes to personal safety versus cool stories to have:
x.com/mamboitaliano_…
Geopolitics:
-Only 10 of the 195 nations that signed up for the Paris Climate Accord have met the February 10, 2025 deadline to release their “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”
--Marxists sure do love their “5-year plans.”
--They are also generally not bright people, and they only know how to destroy, not build. This makes sense, as the number above shows that 95% of the nations signed up for the Paris Accord literally couldn’t come up with their required plans.
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cli…
--Spoiler: It was always and forever Fort Bragg to those of us who went through there.
-India’s military killed 31 Maoist rebels in a central region of the country on Sunday:
sofx.com/indian-securit…
Markets/economics:
-Trump announced reciprocal tariffs this week, and the usual suspects lost their minds.
--I will include an infographic from @zerohedge in the show notes of global tariffs against the US, and you will understand why it’s ok to point and laugh at those people losing their minds.
-The major US markets had a mixed week, but the NASDAQ had a pretty good one:
--S&P 500 closed red on Friday, but was up 1.47% on the week
--The Dow also closed red on Friday, but was up 0.55% on the week
--NASDAQ closed green on Friday, and was up 2.58% on the week
--Russell 2000 had a topsy-turvy week, but ended up 0.01% on the week
-Crude oil is down to $70.57 as of Friday evening
-Gold ended Friday at $2,893.70, and the flight of gold & silver from abroad to the US continues
-Currencies are getting a little interesting again:
--EUR/USD: 1.0495 (up)
--USD/JPY: 152.254 (up but still below the 155-160 danger range)
--USD/GBP: 0.7945 (down)
--USD/AUD: 1.5738 (down)
--USD/CAD: 1.4179 (down)
--USD/MXN: 20.2880 (down)
-BTC is back up to $97,380.06
Business:
-Intel stock had its best week since 2000 after VP Vance made comments about domestic chip production during his talk at the AI summit in Paris.
finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-sto…
-Today (Friday) marked 20 days of gains for Meta stock.
-Dell Technologies is reportedly nearing a deal worth $5 billion to provide the servers for xAI (Musk).
-The board of Open AI has unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover offer.
-Joann Fabrics is planning to close hundreds of stores across 40 states.
-Porsche says it will slash 1,900 jobs after sales slump in China and their electric car fiasco, according to @MacroEdgeRes
Health:
-The @MAHAalliance had a press conference after RFK Jr’s confirmation was made official. It is well worth the watch:
x.com/MAHAalliance/s…
-As transparency via DOGE is all the rage these days, there is a health/USAID/UN/Mengele-style question that isn’t being asked - is the UN Population Fund simply eugenics rebranded?
--Internal Kissinger national security memos and other docs seem to point to yes:
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cor…
-The Louisiana Surgeon General has announced the state will no longer promote mass vaccinations:
theepochtimes.com/article/louisi…
Religion:
-Many of the secular folks laugh and brush off Biblical writings because they see them as impossible when viewed through the secular lens.
--A modern-day Jonah and the Whale happened this week in Chile and was caught on camera.
--A great line from a show that I’ve become quite fond of (Evil) explains this type of secular thinking quite well: “The world is weird.”
x.com/AP/status/1890…
Science
-This is wild, and cool, and seems to only fit in this section.
--Mt. Etna, the volcano on Sicily, is currently erupting while there is snow on the ground.
--I’m not sure whether to call this video of skiers with lava in the background dystopian, or majestic, or scary…but let’s just say I’d be strapping on skis if I were there because I’m not really all that smart when it comes to personal safety versus cool stories to have:
x.com/mamboitaliano_…
Geopolitics:
-Only 10 of the 195 nations that signed up for the Paris Climate Accord have met the February 10, 2025 deadline to release their “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”
--Marxists sure do love their “5-year plans.”
--They are also generally not bright people, and they only know how to destroy, not build. This makes sense, as the number above shows that 95% of the nations signed up for the Paris Accord literally couldn’t come up with their required plans.
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cli…
SOFX
Indian Security Forces Kill 31 Maoist Rebels in Chhattisgarh Operation
Indian security forces killed at least 31 Maoist insurgents in a major operation in central India’s Chhattisgarh state on Sunday,