The election is behind us, and if you thought the last two years were chaotic and stressful, I don’t think you’ve seen anything yet. Take a couple of breaths, get done what you need to get done, and keep plugging ahead. Here is what the Watchmen are seeing this Wednesday.

The Election, as I Read It

From the results I’m seeing, Democrats have taken the House and the Senate, with Hakeem Jeffries in line to lead the House and Chuck Schumer the Senate. By my count that includes a Democratic senator in Texas, Democratic governors in Ohio and Texas, and Democratic senators from Kansas and South Carolina. These are calls as I see them on the morning after, and the races haven’t been certified yet.

My read on South Carolina is that Republicans felt betrayed when Lindsey Graham’s sister was put in as a placeholder and then made the candidate without a real vote, and many didn’t turn out for her. That’s my take on why the seat flipped.

I also think Iran was the deal-breaker. Republicans were told no more endless wars in the Middle East, and that’s what we got, along with high energy costs from the war. I’m all for a coalition of other countries, with US support like training, command and control, radar aircraft, refueling tankers and the use of our bases. But I don’t think the US should have gone in alone with Israel, and I think yesterday showed that.

Here is a question I’m still asking, and it is only a question. These numbers look too good for the Democrats to me. I wonder whether there was cheating done openly enough to challenge President Trump to call it out, so there could be riots and claims he’s taking away democracy. I have no proof of that. We haven’t seen these elections certified or rechecked, and we haven’t seen analysis from the poll watchers. There may be litigation in the coming days.

What I Expect From Here

You have about 60 days to prepare, a little longer since the new Congress isn’t sworn in until mid-January. My expectation is impeachment hearings, gotcha investigations and pressure on President Trump, and him snapping back, knowing he has a year and a half left. I fear that once he’s out of office they’ll try to jail him, the way I see Bolsonaro was treated in Brazil. Those are my predictions and fears, not facts.

I’m also worried about the bigger picture. I fear they’ll go after the Republican Party itself, the way I see European governments going after parties like the AfD in Germany. The AfD hasn’t been banned, but that is the direction I’m worried about. I know a lot of you are upset with Republicans right now, and so am I. But I don’t want to be ruled by the Democrats, because I believe they’ll do worse than we think.

Israel Prepares for War

Now that the election’s behind us, no new war has begun just yet, but there’s a lot of evidence Israel is getting ready. According to Sky News Arabia, Israeli hospitals have been clearing underground parking lots and converting them into emergency departments, and several municipalities in the north are opening shelters in anticipation of war with Iran. The last large-scale hospital conversion exercise in Israel was on February 28, the day the war began. The US military has prepared plans to resume major combat operations as early as tomorrow.

My read is that Israel knows a Democratic House would stop any conflict with Iran, so it has a short window to get these attacks in with US help, and it probably won’t waste time. That’s my analysis.

Strikes on Qeshm Island and Talk of Pickaxe Mountain

US officials told CBS that the US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, apparently in response to Iran possibly shooting down US drones south of the island from a missile battery there. Iran says it shot down three US drones over the Strait of Hormuz, even as people stay optimistic about peace. President Trump said he’s in no rush to ramp up strikes, and told Fox News the US might need to go after Pickaxe Mountain, the underground site linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Some people are speculating that he’s examining dropping a nuclear weapon on Pickaxe Mountain. That is speculation, and nobody has said so officially.

Hackers Reach the UK Food Chain

Hackers who raised temperatures on supermarket fridges and freezers across Europe on Monday have now reached food businesses in the UK. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre says it knows of a couple of instances where vulnerable technology was exploited in the UK, which I think is an understatement. Fridges began to defrost for members of the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers.

Forty Delhaize supermarkets in Belgium and Luxembourg were hit, plus stores in Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Finland, and many had to throw out spoiled food. Sabcobel, the Belgian company that makes the affected units, says the evaporators were switched into defrost mode, which made the units warm up. That seems to be what happened at the French supermarkets too. There’s no word on who did it. My guess is it very well could be the Russians, but that’s a guess.

Joe Bob pointed out that freezers build up ice on the coils, and the unit goes into defrost mode to heat the coils and melt it. He suspects the hackers put units into defrost mode permanently, and that’s what the news articles are saying now.

Black Sea Attacks Threaten Grain

Attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea tied to the war in Eastern Europe are threatening the world’s grain supply. On October 28th, drones hit the freighter Contship Jet off the coast of Bulgaria. It sank, and 18 crew were rescued. There’s a track record of ships getting hit there, especially grain carriers. Ukraine’s agriculture ministry says up to 60 million tons are available for export this year, but only about half can be shipped out because of the blockade. The European Union says Europe’s own food security isn’t at stake yet, so they can’t step in to help.

A CDC Ebola Pledge for Flyers

New CDC rules took effect Tuesday. Anyone boarding an international flight to the United States must sign a statement that they haven’t been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 21 days before travel. The CDC calls it a public health measure to reduce the risk of Ebola arriving by air. The outbreak has killed more than 5,300 people, most in Congo, and it’s spreading to nearby countries.

What the Watchmen Are Seeing

The panic buying we’ve heard about in pockets is, I expect, going to get a lot worse now.

West Virginia: Melissa says water was wiped out at her Sam’s Club in northeast West Virginia. Toilet paper is almost out, fresh veggies are almost gone, and canned foods are low.

Texas: Prepper Tams was at a Sam’s Club near Houston and says they’re definitely panic buying. “It’s exactly like what you’d see when we’re told a hurricane is coming toward us.”

California: CN Prep found no bottled water on the floor at a Fresno Costco. The manager said there was some in the back, but it’s bought up as fast as they put it out.

A Walmart cashier: Pastor of Reality says customers are telling them they’re stocking up, with comments like “we’re stocking up” for things hitting the fan and “we’re buying now while we can get it due to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.”

New York: Liberty Coin, a produce manager for a grocery chain in Albany, has been out of strawberries for well over a week because of excessive rain and bug infestation. They ordered 50 cases for one truck and got six, then 50 for the next and got zero. If you find strawberries, check the quality, because low supply means poor berries are getting out there.

Oregon: Ring Rabbit ran around Portland looking for lamp oil and camp fuel and found one jug of lamp fuel and one crunched can of camp fuel. There were no shortages of water, toilet paper or canned tuna. Just fuel was hard to find.

Butane: Spock’s local Walmart was out of butane cans for countertop stoves, with only three one-pound cylinders left.

Payday or panic? The Kangaroo asks whether it’s just a new month and everyone just got paid. Tracy heard from a cashier that it’s the first of the month, food stamp time. Food stamps and Social Security are spread across the month nowadays, though, and I don’t get reports like these every month. I think people saw how the election was going and got worried.

The Bottom Line

A changed Congress, as I read the results, Israel preparing for war, hacked freezers reaching the UK, grain stuck behind a blockade and shelves thinning out as people stock up. You have roughly 60 days before the new Congress takes over.

Use them. Fill the gaps in your water, food and fuel for light and heat. Keep an eye on the courts and the certifications. And keep a bit of a smile on your face. We’ll get through this together.

Watch the video: 🚨🚨Something HUGE Is Now INEVITABLE – Watchmen Updates

Steve Poplar is the publisher of The Poplar Report.