Downtown Portland Oregon is like an open-air drug store.

In the City, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl abuse are rampant. Portland officers often drive by homeless addicts buying and using drugs.

Sources close to law enforcement say that signs and symptoms of drug dependence are increasing in Oregon. Nearly one-fifth of Oregon’s residents are dependent on drugs.

Voters approved Measure 110 in November 2020. With 58% of the votes, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act passed. It makes meth, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in small quantities legal.

The new law makes possession of these substances a Class E offense, which is the same severity as a traffic ticket. The maximum fine is $100. Instead of drug addicts being put behind bars, the idea is to connect them with treatment services.

Sixteen months into this first-in-the-nation experiment, the numbers paint a bleak picture. Drug overdose deaths hit an all-time high in 2021 with 1069, a 41% increase from 2020. And very few people are getting into treatment. According to The Lund Report, after one year, just 136 people had entered treatment, less than 1% of those helped by Measure 110. But the actual number may be even lower.

David Murray, a Hudson Institute senior fellow, advised two drug czars during two presidential administrations.

Murray said, “It was not predictable, but it was anticipated, now, unfortunately… is coming into our sight.”

According to the Oregon Judicial Department, 2,576 tickets were issued for drug possession in Oregon by police since Measure 110 was passed. Most of these tickets were not presented in court and the majority were convicted.

Fox News reported that Lines for Life has been called on by only 116 people.

Holton said that about 20% of people involved in (addiction services) were newcomers and needed resources.

Mike Marshall is the co-founder and director at Oregon Recovers. He was not surprised by the poor outcomes of Measure 110 implementation.

Marshall stated that “It wasn’t designed to lower addictive rates, so it wasn’t intended to address our dependence crisis.”

While Oregon may have won the war on drugs, crime continues rising which keeps police busy.

“What we are seeing is that drug possession has been made illegal and that property crimes have increased.” Violent crime has also increased. Fox News reports that rural Oregon police are seeing more thefts by people who steal in order to feed their addictions.

Portland, which is the largest city in the state, set a new murder record of 90 in 2021. They claim that there has been an increase in homicides because of drug turf wars among gangs.

Tera Hurst is the executive director of Health Justice Recovery Alliance. Only 10% of the $300,000,000 available for Measure 110 funding has been used.

This money cannot be used for treatment, and it comes from the cannabis tax revenues. Measure 110 covers services that aid in harm reduction and recovery.

Initial $30,000,000 in grants was used for needle exchange programs, peer counseling, and support housing.

Hurst stated, “I don’t believe it’s about getting people into treatment. It’s about getting people out on the streets, doing outreach, and then getting them lifesaving medication.

Oregon Health Authority oversees Measure110 and protects patients’ inability to get treatment.

Timothy Heider, spokesperson for OHA stated that patients should only be admitted to treatment when they are ready.

And, in the it-can’t-get-any-worse department, it just got worse. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales declined by 0.3 percent seasonally in May compared to the previous month. This was the same day as the Federal Reserve raised its interest rates by .75 percentage points, its largest increase since 1994.

According to Wall Street Journal, this was the first drop in retail sales month-over-month. The Federal Reserve is moving to lower the interest rate, which will slow down raging inflation that is at an alarming 40-year high. Joe, you did it!

Don’t worry, the stock market is still available. That’s only 16 percent off for the year.

We previously reported on the Biden Administration’s belief that they have everything under control.

Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden’s $2 trillion stimulus “has put us in a place where we can actually, uh, put us in a place where the American people feel, can, can — can actually — we can take on inflation.”

Then she says we’re in “a good historic economic place.” pic.twitter.com/37rL39LjwD

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 14, 2022

The Fed will raise the benchmark federal-funds rates from 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent with its rate hike. Jerome Powell, the Fed chairman, stated at a press conference that “We are not trying to incite a recession now.” That’s quite reassuring.

From the Journal:

He said that it was becoming harder to achieve what is called a soft landing. This is when the economy slows enough for inflation to be controlled while still avoiding a downturn. This implicitly acknowledged that there could be a downturn as the economy adjusts to tighter monetary policies.

Powell stated that “it is not going to be easy.” There’s a greater chance that it will depend on external factors we can’t control. We may lose that option due to fluctuations and spikes in commodity prices.

Hoo boy. This sure does sound like a possible recession.

Investors hoped that the rate announcement would reduce inflation and stock markets rose slightly. But, such a big increase in rates will make it more difficult for consumers to get credit cards, raise their mortgage rates, increase their adjustable-rate loan payments, and increase the cost of car loans.

Retail sales have dropped in the meantime, which indicates that there is a slowing economy. This is because consumers are reluctant to buy as inflation has impacted their budgets. Bloomberg

These figures indicate that Americans are less inclined to purchase merchandise. This could be due to the effects of the highest inflation rate in 40 years, or a greater preference for services such as travel and entertainment. Higher interest rates or higher prices will cause spending to drop as price pressures become more ingrained in the economy.

My opinion: The gas prices are so high, that people are in shock. By the time they finish filling up their tank, they aren’t in the mood to stop by the Banana Republic to grab a few shirts. People are afraid and will hold on to their cash whenever they can.

The biggest drop was in car sales which dropped 3.5 percent in May. It’s not surprising, it’s true. I don’t know if you’re surprised, but as long my car works, I don’t think I’d feel the need to replace it right now with all this uncertainty.

Although some people may view the Federal Reserve raising interest rates as a positive thing, it will still shock consumers. Anyone who carries a credit card balance or needs a loan at adjustable rates is in for a shock. The drop in retail sales is an indicator of what’s to come, namely that consumers will keep their hands in their pockets.

Although the Biden administration has many spokespersons who can tell us how optimistic this economy is, the numbers don’t lie.

The post Retail Sales Fall, Fed Raises Interest Rate by Historic .75 Percentage Point appeared first on Conservative Research Group.

The baby formula crisis in the United States was centered at the Abbott Laboratories plant located in Michigan.

After severe storms in southwest Michigan caused flooding of areas at the Sturgis, Michigan facility, EleCare specialty formulation was stopped.

This is the same plant that forced Abbott to recall some formulas in February because of contamination issues.

The industry-wide shortage of baby formula was exacerbated by the closure of Sturgis, which was the largest U.S. facility and source of top brands like Similac. Parents and caregivers have struggled for months to find baby formula as the shelves became more empty. To reduce stockpiling, retailers had to place purchasing limits on the product.

The company notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the incident would likely cause delays in the production and distribution of infant formula for a few more weeks.

According to a statement, “Abbott has an ample supply of EleCare as well as most of its metabolic formulas and specialty products to meet these needs until new products are available.”

“Once production has resumed and the plant is cleaned up, EleCare will be restarted. Then, specialty and metabolic formulas will be added. The statement added that Similac production will be restarted at the plant in parallel.

Today, we were made aware of the weather-related situation at Abbott’s Sturgis, Mich. facility. I personally spoke to the CEO tonight and we discussed our shared desire to get the facility up and running again as quickly as possible.

— Dr. Robert M. Califf (@DrCaliff_FDA) June 16, 2022

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf addressed the issue via Twitter Wednesday night, writing: “Today we were made aware about the weather-related condition at Abbott’s Sturgis (Mich.) facility. Tonight, I spoke directly to the CEO and we discussed our common desire to get the facility back up and running as soon as possible.

Califf called the situation “unfortunate” and assured consumers that there would be more products to satisfy current demand.

“Abbott has exceeded the monthly formula production it made in 2021, all the while the Sturgis facility was out of production. Califf said that formula is still being produced by other producers at higher than average rates. We continue to have the flexibility to import additional formulas. “This means that even though the Sturgis plant has resumed production, the total formula stock available is greater than the demand prior to the recall.”

Califf stated that Abbott would report to the FDA its progress in repairing the plant within the next few days. To ensure that the plant can resume production safely, the FDA will return to it.

Califf stated that “Making sure parents and caregivers have safe and readily available infant formula is a top priority for FDA,” and that the FDA’s teams are working tirelessly to make it happen.”

Abbott is one of only four companies (Gerber, Perrigo, and Reckitt) that make an estimated 90% U.S. formula.

The post Baby Formula Production Halted at Abbott’s Michigan Plant Due to Flooding After Severe Storms appeared first on Conservative Research Group.

It is hard to pinpoint the reason for the United States’ current state of affairs in the year of Our Lord 2022. America has lost its way. Fingers are being pointed in so many directions, playing the blame game, so there is no way to pinpoint the root of our present national malaise.

While I’m not an expert on the subject, I can tell you that many of the country’s problems are due to the misinterpretation and abandonment of God and moral absolutes in favor of the false comfort of secular relativism.

It’s not something I think about every day when I wake up. However, this is something I share with friends and colleagues all the time.

It is important to be clear that I don’t believe all Christians are good, or that all non-believers can be evil.

Although I don’t like to quote Bible verses to support a point, there is one verse that I can use to illustrate my point. The last few chapters of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament are filled with tales of wholesale slaughter and cruelty. It’s truly gruesome stuff, even by OT standards. The final verse of Judges says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

At least we know that moral relativism does not exist.

You can see the dangers of throwing morality out of the window by looking at the abortion issue.

It is then simple to accept violence against people who disagree with you.

To decide whether individuals or institutions led secular relativism is “chicken or eggs”. I believe the former had too much influence on the latter.

Like Academia.

A fringe group of ivory-tower commies has polluted American institutions for the past 50 years with their godless, secular lunacy. There is no turning back. A fringe group of ivory-tower commies has polluted many American institutions with their godless secular lunacy.

Left-leaning people have made their own rules and can live happily without being offended.

This is where society really hits the toilet.

It’s dangerous to think that progressive, fragile idiots can conform the world to their subjective kumbaya standards.

This is not a way to live that is based on reality. It is the exact opposite.

People who believe the world should be just the way they want it to be aren’t afraid to use all means to achieve that goal, even if that means destroying careers and ending lives.

Let’s wrap it up by briefly discussing what I shot.

J. Christian Adams wrote a column several years ago that addressed something that isn’t discussed often enough.

The surprise of the millennial generation is that their school was the first to have guns. High school students were able to ride a bus with rifles 30+ years ago and fire at the high school rifle ranges.

We need to ask ourselves the question: What have we learned from another school shooting?

Cross guns have been removed from the list. Semiautomatic rifles were still available in 1985. Semi-automatic weapons were also available in Florida. Guns don’t have the ability to make decisions.

The Second Amendment may be removed from this list. This Constitution has not been amended.

There are still many unsettling possibilities. There might be some hard truths today that are different from thirty years ago when children were allowed to bring guns to school.

While this may not be part of the ongoing gun debate here in America, it’s something Second Amendment supporters frequently bring up.

Since I was a kid, Arizona has had some of the most liberal gun laws in America.

I spent my formative years in a small mountain community with an arsenal at every home.

No one was going to shoot anyone.

While this may be dismissed as anecdotal evidence, it is still evidenced if there is overwhelming evidence.

The guns aren’t AI monsters that became sentient beings in the last thirty years.

America’s large population has lost faith in God, truth, and evil.

Emotional fragility and entitlement combined (Participation trophy!) It is a poisonous cocktail in society that is literally killing us.

Although this topic could have been covered for several weeks, I wouldn’t have begun to investigate it fully. It will be reviewed again later.

I’ll pray one or two times.

Federal Reserve increase in benchmark interest rates by 75 basis points was a sign that policymakers are stepping up their efforts to combat red-hot inflation. This move will slow U.S. growth and increase financial pressure on Americans.

After a series of alarming economic reports, the Fed’s 75-basis point increase, the first since 1994 shows just how serious Fed officials are about addressing the inflation crisis.

This move places the benchmark federal funds rate at 1.50% to 1.755%, which is the highest level since the pandemic started two years ago.

Officials also outlined a path for rate increases in the second half of the year. After the meeting, new economic projections showed that policymakers expected interest rates to reach 3.4% by 2022. This would be the highest level since 2008.

Comparatively, the March estimate revealed that officials had estimated rates reaching 2.5% by the year’s end.

In its post-meeting statement, the Fed stated that inflation remains high, reflecting supply/demand imbalances due to the pandemic, higher oil prices, and wider price pressures.

Stocks rose following the approval of the statement by all FOMC members, except Kansas City President Esther George who requested a smaller half point increase.

Economists expected that the central bank would increase its point rate by 50 basis points at its June meeting. This is twice the usual size, according to economists. In May, policymakers approved a 50-basis rate hike and set out a roadmap to achieve similar increases at their next meetings.

A dismal Labor Department report showed that the consumer price index rose 8.6% last May compared to a year earlier. This was the fastest rate of inflation since December 1981. It shattered economists’ hopes that the inflation spike was beginning to recede. A different survey on Monday revealed that households expect much faster price increases. This is a worrying sign, as Fed officials believe such expectations are possible to be fulfilled.

Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman, stated that policymakers were seeking evidence that monthly inflation is flattening or beginning to fall during a press conference after the meeting. Officials decided that “strong action was necessary” after consumer prices unexpectedly rose and inflation expectations rising.

Powell indicated that Powell expects a three-quarter-point to half-point increase in July. However, he stressed that officials will take their decisions meeting by meeting.

Now the question is whether the Fed can achieve the soft landing, the sweet spot between tamping demand and cooling inflation without causing a slowdown in the economy. Hiking interest rates can lead to higher rates for consumer and business loans. This slows down the economy and forces employers to reduce spending.

The “dot plot” economic projections show that although policymakers anticipate rate hikes ending in 2023 at a peak 3.8%, they also predict several modest interest rate reductions in 2024. This suggests that the Fed may be anticipating a slowdown in the coming years.

Officials painted a positive picture of the economy, citing “robust job gains” and low unemployment. However, projections show that policymakers have lowered their outlook for gross domestic products in 2022 from 2.8% in March to 1.7%. Officials expect that unemployment will rise slightly to 3.7% in 2018 and 4.1% in 2024, as they increase borrowing costs and crush economic demand.

The Fed chief refuted the idea that central bankers were trying to instigate a recession by arguing that there is no sign of a wider slowdown. He tried to assure Americans that higher interest rates won’t cause a recession, and that tightening policies are necessary to control prices. This was a concern that weighed heavily on the national households.

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Mayra Flowers, Republican Rep.-Elect says Democrats should take her win in the special Texas congressional elections as a warning to Hispanic voters not to be taken for granted.

Flores won Tuesday’s race for a seat at the House near the nation’s southern Rio Grande Valley border. This makes her the first Mexican-born congresswoman since its inception a decade ago.
This district runs from San Antonio eastward to the southern border in Texas. The previous incumbent, Barack Obama, carried it by 22 points a decade ago. However, President Biden won it with only 4.2 points in 2020.

Flores was asked by Hidalgo and Cameron why they were so strongly in favor of Flores. Flores responded, “because I am one among them and I’m standing for our values.” Flores replied, “because I am one of them and I’m standing up for our values.”

Flores was at 50% and avoided a raceoff in a race that had four candidates. Flores was just eight points ahead of Dan Sanchez to finish the six-month term of former Democratic Rep. Filemon Vela. Vela resigned in March after accepting a job at a lobbying firm.

Flores’ win not only narrows the House Democrats’ already slim majority in the chamber by one seat, but it also gives Republicans more momentum going into November’s midterm election, when they seek to flip other Democratic-controlled Hispanic majority areas.

Flores is a respiratory therapist. She spoke about her experiences as the wife and mother to a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

Wednesday’s memo was released by the National Republican Congressional Committee. It’s the re-election arm of the House GOP.

This was one the three Texas border districts that NRCC wanted to make red. They also intend to make majority Hispanic Arizona, California districts in November.

According to the NRCC, Mayra’s victory proved that we have the blueprint for success in South Texas and will set Republicans up for greater success this November. ”

Flores and her Republican allies spent more than $1 million to run TV ads during this special election. This was a huge outlay for Sanchez.

Monica Robinson (spokesman for the DCCC) stated that the NRCC had shown that MAGA Republican candidates could barely make it to the finish line when they outspent the Democrat by 20:1. If only 7% turn out.

The Federal Reserve has lost its rose-colored glasses. The Federal Reserve is increasing interest rates faster than anticipated, but not as quickly as inflation. Do not expect the “soft landing” promise of the government. Inflation scares even the most sleepy politicians.

Janet Yellen is the U.S. Treasury’s inflation denier-in-chief. She admits that she was wrong to claim that inflation would soon pass. Since Inauguration Day 2021, the stock market has lost all its gains. Savers and retirees are being beaten down on the economic battlefield. They retreat to their bunker with any remaining savings. Young people are being hit in the face by rising rents in desirable markets. The 40-year-old high of inflation is alarming. Both the bond and stock markets are in serious trouble simultaneously, which is a rare occurrence. We can only hope that we don’t face a Black Swan. This is what economists refer to as calamities that don’t ever seem likely until they do.

Ludwig von Mises (the late Austrian School economist) summed it up well. There is no way to avoid the collapse of credit expansion’s boom. There are two options: the crisis can be triggered sooner by the voluntary ending of credit expansion or later as a result of the total collapse of the currency system.

Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is the new euphemism to describe irresponsible credit expansion, and all its evils. This is the favorite program of the Left and its legion egghead economists. They claim that neither spending nor tax revenue (income) from the government matters. How you manage your money supply can help you manage to spend. It works like a charm!

If you can spend as much as you want and taxes don’t really matter, then why tax anyone? What purpose does taxes serve if revenues and expenses are not required to match? Are taxes there to penalize savers and workers? Perhaps they are there to punish workers and savers? Today’s Washington spendocrats are slowly destroying the bipartisan workfare philosophy that was pioneered decades ago by President Bill Clinton, and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Joe Biden was a great economist. He claimed that a) employment has increased since the CDC geniuses made everyone stay home. And spending is down from last year! Maybe because of the Democrat Senators. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin helped defeat the new Build Back Better stimulus spending of $3 to $5 trillion. The White House stated that the cost of the Build Back Better Agenda was $0 and added that it wouldn’t increase our national debt. Just think about the inflation rate if President Obama had allowed himself to spend more than he did in 2021. This proves that Joe Biden will take credit for anything positive, including the defeat of his own cockamamie scheme!

Biden’s argument sounds like saying that students are more likely to go to school after summer vacation, or that after purchasing two new cars last year, you’re an economic wizard for not buying another car this year.

Everybody knows someone who thinks this way. They lie to themselves. They’re like the hapless man who wonders why everything doesn’t work out for him. Instead of trying to solve the problem, Team Biden asks why the country isn’t succeeding. They know the answer so don’t be fooled by them.

Anyone who has been an adult for some time can easily predict the disastrous consequences of the Democrats’ spend-apalooza. They clamped down upon healthy productivity due to COVID-19 panic. We can also see what will happen over the next year. It’s going to be a long time.

It is important to note that I am not a credentialed expert. I just pay attention and have a basic knowledge of history. I can pick up on some patterns. I also read the words of actual experts. Take all of this together and you will see some of the direst conditions that are likely to be ours:

High prices aren’t going anywhere

No one should be surprised if the government puts 20% more GDP into the economy. Dollars don’t seem to buy as much. The currency flood doesn’t end overnight. Although the Federal Reserve has started the slow process of raising interest rates to tighten the market, the first two installments have not had an effect on slowing down the worst inflation rate since 1980. To bring down this inflation, the Fed will have to pump a lot more gas out of this balloon. The new base cost for food and fuel will remain until inflation is reduced to 2 or 3.

Oh, and the independent factors that make fuel so expensive aren’t going away as long as Democrats control anything. This means that everything else will continue to cost more to produce or deliver.

Increased Interest Rates

As we have discussed, the Fed will continue to raise interest rates in the future. This is to keep inflation under control. We saw a 0.25% rise in March and a 0.5% rise in May, so far this year. The Fed will announce the June hike Wednesday afternoon. It is widely expected that it will rise by a staggering 0.75%. Some even suggest a worst-case scenario where it goes up to a full point. I hope that you didn’t have any revolving credit.

Property Values

One immediate effect of higher rates is to lower the value of high-ticket properties that are usually purchased using a loan. This won’t affect anyone who has made large purchases. Unfortunately, people’s net worth is going to drop as their equity decreases. Anyone who plans on selling or renting out a property will see a 5%-10% decrease in the prices compared to last year.

The COVID-inspiring changes in work habits have left a lot of office space vacant, which has caused the commercial market to slump as well. Real estate is a huge sector, so its collapse will have ripple effects in other areas.

Global Recession

My inbox is flooded with the latest news from CEOs, banks, and investors about a global recession. You don’t have to be an economist to understand that recessions often follow periods of inflation. In April, I asked: How bad will the Biden Recession be? Since then, the conditions and opinions have only strengthened, landing in the recession column. In the first quarter of this year, the U.S. GDP fell by 1.5%. Companies have less money to spend on everything due to inflation, fuel prices, and interest rates. So strong growth is not likely to bring us back to positive territory.

Bear Market

No one likes to hear about inflation, interest rate rises, falling real estate values, or recession. The S&P 500 plunged nearly 4% Monday and continued to slide into Tuesday. Officially, the index is currently at 22.2% below its record-setting high earlier in the year.

Sinking markets are not just bad for Wall Street’s wealthy, but they also affect retirees, employees at devalued companies, and the government’s ability to collect taxes — as well as anyone who depends on income streams from any one of these sources.

Scarcity and Hunger

There isn’t enough baby formula or construction supplies. There are many reasons why this is happening. However, the above problems, along with the war in Eastern Europe, and the sanctions that right-thinking countries have piled on top of it, will only make matters worse.

Summary: I’m sorry to be such an optimist, but I don’t see much reason or optimism anywhere. Competent leadership and common sense are even rarer. As long as everyone wants green fantasies, ESG scores, and social Marxism, then we’ll all be in the pot. Make sure to stock up on the essentials.

Anyone who is objective will see that the Democrats use the Capitol Riot to distract from America’s economic problems.

This isn’t a subjective interpretation — they’ve admitted to this.

“When these hearings are over, voters will see just how irresponsibly coopted Republicans were in trying out to get the vote and just what lengths Republicans are willing to go to take to gain power,” stated Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D.N.Y.). Chairman of the DCCC.

The New York Times did not pretend that they had any selfish motive. They reported that Democrats were planning to use “made-for-television” moments and a carefully choreographed rolling out of revelations over six hearings…to convince voters that the upcoming midterm elections offer a chance for them to hold Republicans responsible.

Despite Democrats forming a clearly partisan committee against Trump, hearings have not been as scheduled

Some people even make fun of them.

Jonathan Turley, a liberal professor of law, tweeted that Pelosi’s decision “to destroy the long tradition balanced committees was an emblematic muscle play.”  “The Jan.6 Committee was stripped of all pretense.”

Turley wasn’t the only liberal to praise the Democrats for their sham J6 Commission. Professor Alan Dershowitz was a liberal professor who used an analogy during a Sean Spicer Newsmax appearance to explain how unethical the committee was.

He said, “I’m wearing my Boston Celtics jersey today.” ” “Not only to prepare for tonight’s great matchup but also because it was an analogy. The Celtics were kept off the court, so all we could see was one team scoring after another, missing a few jump-shots, and with no defense or rebounding.

It was a spot-on analogy of how Democrats have conducted these hearings. The committee was hand-picked by Pelosi, with the only Republicans being the anti-Trump Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).

Dershowitz stated that it was not fair. “And even if you say it was one-sided, it was unethical. Why was it unethical? Take for example President Trump’s speech on January 6th. I opposed that speech. I didn’t think it was done well. I didn’t think he should have done it. But he said at the end of the speech he wanted people to show their voices patriotically and peacefully. They doctored the tape! They edited those words out.”

The Democrats have attempted to stop Trump since his first announcement of his candidacy. There have been two bogus impeachments and the J6 Committee. They hate Trump and will not stop.

At least some decent liberals are willing to call them out.

The post Honest Liberals Know Trump Is Innocent and the J6 Hearings Are a Sham appeared first on Conservative Research Group.