Blog Archives
TARIFFS AND PARDONS
May 29, 2025
The Chief and John discuss the tariffs being block by the courts and the recent presidential pardons. Wayne, Andrew and the Chief talk about pets and again about the pardon for Larry Hoover the infamous Chicago gang leader and follow the money trail for pardons. the court of international trade over turning the Trump’s tariffs.
GUEST
JOHN FLANNIGAN
John Flannigan is a retired English professor from Prairie State College out of Chicago Heights, IL. He is an expert on local politics, housing and property rates. He is a long time friend of Tom “The Chief” Haugh and graduate of Notre Dame University.
ANDREW KREIG
The Washington, DC-based author is an investigative reporter, non-profit executive, attorney and broadcast commentator.
After an early career in journalism and law he led the Wireless Communication Association as president/CEO from 1996 to 2008 in its worldwide advocacy to create a wireless broadband industry. Later, he became a university fellow, co-hosted a weekly public affairs raid show, and founded the non-partisan Justice Integrity Project (www.justice-integrity.org) to uncover unreported and underreported stories via a new citizen action Truth Patrol.
WAYNE MADSEN
Starting in 1997, after his military service as a U.S. Navy lieutenant assigned to Anti-Submarine Warfare duties and to the National Security Agency as a COMSEC analyst, he applied his military intelligence training to investigative journalism.
He has since written for many daily, weekly, and monthly publications including The Progressive, the Village Voice, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Allentown Morning Call, Juneau Empire, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Real Clear Politics, Danbury Newstimes, Newsday and many others.
Throughout his journalistic career, he has been a television commentator on many programs, including 60 Minutes, Russia Today, Press TV, and many others.
You Can’t Be Half a Gangster
December 5, 2011
Good morning. It was a huge week for the market last week, with the SPY up 8.52 (7.3%) to close at 124.86. That number represents a gain of 2.3% over the last two weeks, and a decline of 1.4% from the close three weeks ago on 11/11. The VIX last week dropped a full 20% to 27.52, indicating strongly that the market perception of risk, at least in the short term, has dropped significantly. Why the sudden change in market attitude?
In The Dark
September 12, 2011
Good morning. Last week, in a holiday-shortened week, the market experienced heightened volatility on both an inter-day and intra-day basis and closed lower on the week. The SPY was down 1.93 to close at 115.92 (1.6%), and had a low of 114.38 on Tuesday and a high of 120.94 (5.7% spread) on Thursday, before selling off solidly on Friday. The weakness was due to several factors, mainly news from Europe suggesting (due to local election results) that the party of Angela Merkel (strong supporters of European unity and help for struggling countries) was losing support.
Escalating Fear
August 22, 2011
Good morning. It was yet another week of selling in the market, with the SPY finishing at its lowest level since Sep. 17, 2010 at 112.64, down 4% on the week. That number also represents a yearly decline of 10.4%, and at this point (based on Friday’s closing action) the market is not showing much sign of an impending bottom.
A Smörgåsbord of Issues
July 11, 2011
Good morning. Despite Friday’s surprise poor numbers from the Labor Department the SPY still managed a positive week, closing up .49 at 134.40 (.4%). That small move up maintained the very strong 5.6% move up from the week before, when really the market could have had some serious losses on Friday. The Thursday ADP numbers (private sector jobs) showed a very strong 157,000 advance, causing many to revise estimates of the governmental numbers on Friday to well over 100,000, and had many thinking the surprisingly bad number of May would be revised upward.