Repeal This AUMFul Law

Oatmeal-brained President can trot into any warzone without Congressional approval. [The Rude Awakening] January 30, 2024 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Repeal This AUMFul Law [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Americans must be wondering how their government can quickly get them tangled in one war after another. After all, for the USA’s nearly 248 years on this planet, it’s been at war for almost 230 of them. [Rude awakening] Credit: [@DefiantLs]( In fact, [Joy Reid was just caught off camera talking about how Biden just started “another f*cking war.”]( Now, we’ve got a few going on simultaneously. Let’s not pretend the US isn’t involved in Russia-Ukraine. Then there’s the Israel-Palestine war. Now, we’ve got more trouble in the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border area. Soon, it’ll be Taiwan and China. The Neocons haven’t been this excited since that intellectual amoeba Dubya was elected. And they’ve got good reason to be. With all this war going on, the military-industrial complex will siphon off a ton of American taxpayers’ funds. Nikki Haley picked the wrong time to run for President. Even if she didn’t stay at Boeing, she could’ve got another boardroom position for Lockheed Martin or Raytheon. There will be a bunch of arms manufactured over the next few years. But I thought I’d take today to explain why it’s so easy for America to get into wars. The War Powers Act The War Powers Act, officially known as the War Powers Resolution of 1973, is a significant piece of U.S. legislation that seeks to limit the president's power to engage the United States in an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. [Rude awakening] Credit: [@runews]( The Act was passed in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. It was a period marked by deep concerns over the executive branch's increasing sway in military decision-making, especially in the absence of a formal war declaration by Congress. The War Powers Act requires the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action. It forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without Congressional authorization to use military force or a declaration of war by the United States. The Act has been controversial since its inception. Many presidents have viewed it as an unconstitutional infringement of their commander-in-chief powers. Richard Nixon initially vetoed the legislation; Congress overrode him with a two-thirds vote. Its effectiveness has also been questioned, as subsequent presidents largely ignored or circumvented it during various military engagements. Despite these challenges, many in DC circles believe that the War Powers Act remains an essential tool for maintaining a balance of power between the US president and Congress in matters of military intervention. It reflects the ongoing struggle in U.S. politics to find the right balance between necessary, swift executive action in military matters and the democratic need for congressional oversight and consent that happens in a trigger-happy country. But what has, in many ways, obviated the War Powers Act is the AUMF. [External Advertisement] [Jeff Bezos Backs "Drug Smuggler" to Fight Alzheimer's]( A small, publicly traded biotech is racing to the discovery of a lifetime: Using a Drug Smuggler to Fight Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Dementia. This radical treatment is so promising, Biogen, Sanofi and Genentech paid $1 billion to license it. [Click here to learn more]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is closely related to the War Powers Act, but it serves a different purpose within the context of U.S. military actions. [Rude awakening] Credit: [@amuse]( Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is a congressional authorization that allows the President to use military force. It's not a formal declaration of war but grants the President the power to engage in military actions. The most notable AUMFs were passed after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. They were used to justify U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other operations in the global war on terror. It’s different from The War Powers Act, as it aims to limit the President's ability to engage in military action without Congressional oversight. In contrast, an AUMF provides explicit Congressional authorization for such action. Here’s the onion: when an AUMF is in place, it effectively supersedes the War Powers Act because it represents the Congressional approval that the War Powers Act seeks to ensure. AUMFs, particularly the ones post-9/11, have been criticized for being too broad and enabling extended military engagements without sufficient Congressional review or renewal. They have been used to justify various military actions across different administrations, raising concerns about their scope and the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches in the U.S. So, while the War Powers Act is a legislative tool designed to check the President's power to commit the U.S. to armed conflict, the AUMF is a tool that grants the President the authority to use military force, potentially bypassing some of the checks intended by the War Powers Act. In effect, the AUMF cancels out the War Powers Act. And this is just the kind of gridlock the warmongers thrive on. So how can we profit from this? Aerospace and Defense Stocks The obvious place to look is aerospace and defense stocks. Why? Because of the Cantillon Effect. The Cantillon Effect is the concept of relative inflation or a disproportionate price rise among different goods in an economy. In short, when the government is about to spend boatloads of your tax dollars on an industry, invest in that industry to get your tax dollars back. [Rude awakening] We have Raytheon (RTX) and General Dynamics (GD) on the left side. Both stocks are in sustained, healthy uptrends. On the right side, we have Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT), which suffered recent setbacks. These aren’t recommendations. They’re starting points for your investigation. But if we’re right about the Cantillon Effect, aerospace and defense stocks should rise over the coming years. (If, of course, Boeing can keep the doors on its planes.) Wrap Up The US has been at war for over 90% of its history. Despite Congress’s efforts to corral the President’s ability to make war, Congress, in effect, has given any sitting President all he needs to conduct war. As currently written, the AUMF supersedes the War Powers Act. Until this tomfoolery is corrected, America will forever be at war. In the meantime, look to profit from Congress’s mistake. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… Bomb, Bomb, Bomb… Bomb, Bomb Iran! [Sean Ring] SEAN RING I can't confirm if Lindsay Graham got his X and PornHub accounts confused, but here's what he vomited on social media yesterday: [SJN] I also printed the Community Note for your edification and to let you know not everyone’s asleep at the wheel. The upshot is a bunch of deranged lunatics run the USG. That much is plain to see. But why the constant warmongering? Is it just to give Raytheon and Lockheed Martin new orders? Is it to keep up appearances as the world’s sole superpower? Or is there another, much more nefarious reason? Let’s explore. You’re Right, The Economy is Awful [Zero Hedge]( up a great piece]( on why the GDP number was genuinely dreadful. Sure, it came in at 3.3% for Q4 2023, and we’re supposed to gasp and rejoice. Except that debt drove GDP growth. Gross Domestic Product, or Grossly Deceptive Product, as we like to call it here at the Rude, is based on spending, not output. GDP is, ostensibly, consumption spending plus private investment spending plus government spending plus what we net spend on trade (what we take in from exports minus what we spend on imports). From [Zero Hedge]( The result, for better or worse, speaks for themselves: while Q4 GDP rose by $329 billion to $27.939 trillion, a respectable if made-up number, what is much more disturbing is that over the same time period, the US budget deficit rose by more than 50%, or $510 billion. And the cherry on top: the increase in public US debt in the same three-month period was a stunning $834 billion, or 154% more than the increase in GDP. In other words, it now takes $1.55 in budget deficit to generate $1 of growth... and it takes over $2.50 in new debt to generate $1 of GDP growth! In short, US GDP is now almost completely dependent on the “G” or government spending. [SJN] Credit: [Zero Hedge]( Another stunning statistic is that all jobs created since October 2019 have gone to foreign-born workers. [SJN] Credit: [Zero Hedge]( It’s little wonder the natives are getting restless and the politicians need a distraction. [URGENT: Your $588.88 Credit Is Expiring at Midnight]( I am pleased to announce that you've got an immediate $588.88 credit for our research you can take advantage of… [Click here immediately to learn how to claim this credit before midnight TONIGHT]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Trust Us, We Started This War Another theory of mine is that the Dems know Biden is a dead duck, or at least, a lame one. If they’re able to start a war before November, the American public will be more inclined to vote for the incumbent - or the incumbent’s party - [if Michelle Obama does indeed usurp Biden’s nomination](. After all, changing governments during a war is tricky for the Military-Industrial Complex. The new President may not like the current war policy and could seek to change it. Heck, that’s why Zelensky won’t hold elections in Ukraine. The Ukrainian presidential election should be held this coming March. But they’re not happening. Dems: Let’s Start a Middle East “Vietnam” and Hand It to Trump My condolences go to the families of the three US military personnel killed and the twenty-five injured in the drone attack this weekend. It’s incredible how these countries put their borders so close to US airbases! [SJN] Credit: [@visegrad24]( Of course, I’m being facetious. But it really does beg the question: why are US troops stationed in Jordan on the Syrian and Iraqi borders? If they weren’t there in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. Of course, many Congressional chickenhawks are calling for all-out war now: "The only answer to these attacks must be a devastating military retaliation against Iran's terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East. Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander-in-chief.'" —Republican Senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas "The Biden Administration can take out all the Iranian proxies they like, but it will not deter Iranian aggression. I am calling on the Biden Administration to strike targets of significance inside Iran, not only as reprisal for the killing of our forces, but as deterrence against future aggression... Hit Iran hard, hit them now." —South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham "Target Tehran" —Republican Senator from Texas John Cornyn Do you know who’s not calling for war? One Donald J. Trump. [SJN] [SJN] [SJN] Biden voters may be the biggest mugs on Planet Earth. Give me mean tweets and world peace any day! So what does this mean for the markets? Ironically, Stay Long Gold is maintaining its ground above $2,000: [SJN] There’s no reason to get short the SPX: [SJN] Bitcoin looks like it's in consolidation mode: [SJN] Same for the IWM (Russell 2000 ETF): [SJN] With the Federal Government spending so much money, it’s not hard to see asset prices increasing in the immediate future. But now it takes much more printing to goose the markets. Wrap Up The Usual Suspects in the Deep State want a war immediately. There are some wholly self-interested reasons why they should want it. - The economic numbers are much worse than they appear. - War would favor an incumbent government far behind in the polls. - Handing Trump a sloppy “Vietnam” style war would cripple his administration for the next four years. And yet, there’s no reason to sell your assets right now. The increase in debt requires more dollars. And more dollars equals higher prices. So stay the course. For now. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2024 Paradigm Press, LLC. 1001 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. 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