President Trump White House Announcement – 3:30pm EST Livestream…

The White House has announced President Trump will be delivering remarks today from the White House at 3:30pm EST following his 12 day visit to Asia.  Media outlets are rushing to prepare for the broadcast. [4 live-streams] Topics: Trade, North Korea and overall results from trip to Asia.
UPDATE: Video Added


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Rebranding Kim Jong-un Will Likely Be a Key Part of The Strategy…

Almost everyone understands the term “re branding”. Don’t laugh when you consider the possibility of re-branding Kim Jong-un; and more importantly, as an outcome, the entire geopolitical architecture of North Korea.  Rebranding takes time. This type of re branding takes silent and subtle persuasion.

It’s not a short term process, but look for indicators like this to ever-so-slowly morph. China’s Xi Jinping seeding ploughshares over missiles needs careful and controlled fertilization.
Business suits replacing General’s uniforms would be very good for the people of North Korea. Ultimately that’s an honorable goal.
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Breaking: Chairman Xi Jinping Special Envoy to Visit DPRK Friday…

Chairman Xi is sending his CPC special envoy, Song Tao, to North Korea.

Song Tao, special envoy of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, will leave for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday.  (Story Here)

This is President/Chairman Xi Jinping, now fully empowered by the communist party in Beijing, sending the party apparatus to talk to Kim Jong-un.  Previously these instructions would have come from Beijing’s old guard.  However, Chairman Xi now commands all power over the communist government; he doesn’t need their approval any longer.
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Rush Limbaugh is Wrong – Alabama is Not McConnell -vs- Bannon, It's Bigger…

CTH has attempted to stay away from talking about the Alabama ‘clown show‘, all of it, since we made our position clear long before the primary run-off race.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes etc.
My concern with the Alabama mess was a very simple MAGA issue: riding horses to polling stations does not establish a connection to the man or woman who hit the necessary alarm clock at 5:15am to pay the bills.  Those are MAGA people. That’s the essence of the Trump coalition.
The MAGA coalition I know has never been predisposed to racism, sexism, nativism, or any other kind of “ism” or “ist”, because we’ve never been not busy. It takes time to give a rats-ass about bathroom police, social justice etc. Time and energy for that, who has it?

The current position of the epic fiasco was/is entirely predictable…. warnings, deaf ears, blah-blah-blah; water under the bridge.  That said, the current race to the exits by all of the fly-by-nights (populist wallflowers) is embarrassing to see play out.
Factually, I feel sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Roy Moore… However, I don’t have a smidgen of sympathy for the noob-right financial opportunists: Steve Bannon, Laura Ingraham, Sebastian Gorka et al, or the political Roberts-The-Bruce: Ted Cruz, Mike Lee etc. Heck, I’m still waiting for the ‘Use El Chappo Money to Build The Wall‘ bill…  I digress.
So why engage now?  Well, today Rush Limbaugh weighs in in using the customary (passive aggressive/mamet principle) approach to frame the argument as: “The Roy Moore Soap Opera is Really About McConnell -vs- Bannon”.   No, no it’s not.
I understand the frame of reference, why Limbaugh views it that way, but that’s not an accurate assessment.
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AG Jeff Sessions: "'Looks Like' is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel"…

Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) frustratingly questions his good friend Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the standard for the DOJ to appoint a special counsel and/or investigate the brutally obvious legal issues/implications surrounding the “Steele Dossier”, the Clinton campaign and the weaponization of the intelligence community (FBI) to undermine political opposition (Trump).


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As you can see above, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reluctant to investigate based on appearances. The end result of Sessions’ position is to extend the investigative responsibility to congress. The end result of congress conducting investigations is the road to nowhere, See: Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, VA Scandal etc….
Sessions is advocating for the familiar; for the swamp retainment system, or as I prefer to call it: Flak and Countermeasures.
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President Trump Secures Release of Three Thieving UCLA Student Athletes Arrested in China…

LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalem Hill have embarrassed our country, our president, their school and their families.  A day prior to President Trump’s arrival in China the three UCLA Bruin freshman basketball players were arrested in Shanghai, China for stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store near the team hotel.
In addition to being a national embarrassment, they were facing harsh legal consequences in China that would forever destroy their lives.  However, during President Trump’s meeting with Communist Chinese President Xi Jinping, he asked for leniency.

While President Trump is en route back to the U.S. from the 12 day Asia trip, Chairman Xi Jinping has released the three thieves:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three UCLA basketball players detained in China on suspicion of shoplifting are on a plane back to Los Angeles.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said Tuesday the matter “has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Chinese authorities.”

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Wheels Up and Headed Home…

President Trump left the Philippines a little early Tuesday after the East Asia Summit schedule was running late.  According to Reuters President Trump left Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to attend the plenary session.

[Pool Report] POTUS, wearing a blue tie, exited Marine One, walked to Air Force One, shook a few people’s hands and scaled the stairs. He entered Air Force One at 3:12 pm and waved.
Trump did not stay for family photo with the 18 members of the East Asia Summit. The event was running behind schedule and he opted to leave.
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Arabella's Gift…

The most notable aspect amid President Trump’s granddaughter Arabella delivering a folk song in native Mandarin wasn’t the song itself, it was the response from Madame Peng Liyaun, the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping. If you haven’t watched the video, you should.
The song was shared moments after President Trump delivered these remarks during a state dinner presented by President Xi and Madame Peng to honor the visit of President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump:

[…] “This moment in history presents both our nations with an incredible opportunity to advance peace and prosperity alongside other nations all around the world. In the words of a Chinese proverb, “We must carry forward the cause and forge ahead into the future.” I am confident that we can realize this wonderful vision.
[…] It is my hope that the proud spirits of the American and Chinese people will inspire our efforts to achieve a more just, secure, and peaceful world, a future worthy of the sacrifices of our ancestors, and the dreams of our children.
In a moment, we will view a video of my granddaughter, Arabella, reciting traditional Chinese songs and poetry about your country’s serene beauty and treasured customs. Our children so often remind us of our shared humanity and true dignity.” (link)

Arabella began her video by saying: “Hello, Grandpa Xi. Hello, Grandma Peng”, and then began to sing a story in Mandarin very familiar to the Chinese people. Exceptionally familiar to Madame Peng Liyaun who, along with being the wife of President Xi, was a folk singer and popular cultural icon herself.
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