Judge TS Ellis sentenced former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to 47 months in prison for tax evasion and bank fraud.  The sentence is considerably less than federal prosecutors had sought. The judge said he believed the recommended sentence of 19-24 years would be “excessive”.
(Via Associated Press) 6:59pm EST –  Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been sentenced to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud related to his work advising Ukrainian politicians.

Judge T.S. Ellis III imposed the sentence Thursday, capping the only jury trial following indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
A jury last year convicted Manafort on eight counts, concluding that he hid from the Internal Revenue Service millions of dollars he earned from his work in Ukraine. (link)

You just can’t make this stuff up.
At almost the exact same time Speaker Nancy Pelosi brings an anti-bigotry resolution to the floor for a vote, representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sends out a campaign email proclaiming the Jews are out to get her.

Too funny…  Here’s both stories.  First the vote:

(Via AP) – 5:35 p.m. -The House has passed a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, discrimination against Muslims and other bigotry against minorities.
The 407-23 vote Thursday was a bid to end dissension among Democrats over congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s latest remarks on Israel. Omar said the Jewish state’s allies pressure lawmakers to pledge “allegiance” to a foreign country. (more)

Now, here’s the corresponding campaign email from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
(more…)

Apparently Canadian media are taking their hatred for U.S. President Donald Trump to new levels of opposition.  The taxpayer funded CBC news media is purchasing billboards and transit advertisement throughout Canada to promote a campaign against the sitting U.S. President.

SOURCE: “”TRUMP BAD!” ads are appearing throughout Canada attacking him for wanting to secure the border with Mexico using a historically illiterate comparison to the Berlin Wall. I’ve seen these on Vancouver transit also” (link)

Even for the ultra-leftists within Canada, this antagonistic approach toward the United States is quite remarkable. [Former President Barack Obama was in Canada yesterday.]
D’oh Canada, this will not end well for the Canadian government…  Additionally, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is up for reelection this year.
(more…)

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Madame Monika Babisova to the White House in advance of a bilateral meeting between the two leaders. [Video and Transcript]

.
[Transcript] Oval Office – 1:55 P.M. EST – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Prime Minister Babiš and Mrs. Babiš, thank you very much for being here. It’s a great honor. Great country.
(more…)

Economic analysis can get weedy…. so a simple way to look at productivity is to think about baking bread in your kitchen.
If you were going to bake 4 loaves of bread it might take you 2 hrs start to finish. However, if you were going to bake 8 loaves of bread it would not take you twice as long because most of the tasks can be accomplished with simple increases in batch size, and only minor increases in labor time. Your productivity measured in the last four loaves is higher.
Economic Productivity is measured much the same way, within what’s called a production probability equation. Additionally, if two hours of your time are worth $40, each of four loaves of bread costs $10; but if you make 8 loaves in the same amount of time the labor cost is only $5/per loaf.
From 2007 through 2017 the average rate of productivity increase was 1.3%. In the fourth quarter of 2018 productivity was 1.9%.  That means total business output increased as more product was demanded from within the business operation. Throughout the economy people just wanted more stuff.  However, the most important numbers for MAGAnomics (Main Street USA) center around manufacturing and durable goods.
(more…)

Justin from Canada holds a heavily controlled and practiced press conference to discuss the SNC-Lavalin scandal.  The amount of time was limited by plan and schedule; The media audience was limited; the media questioners were carefully pre-selected; the answers were well rehearsed in advance; the statement script was written for maximum use of english and french to navigate details that might later be damaging.
The result:  Justin from Canada delivers a master class in smug condescension, political obfuscation and ridiculous denial of wrongdoing under the pretense of misunderstanding.  Justin from Canada is guilty as heck, and it is obvious he’s using all the familiar catch phrases to keep his far-left coalition defending him. That’s his primary goal.
The Q&A begins at 11:30 of video below.  The central issue comes from the question answered at 19:00 of the video where Trudeau admits his office was attempting to influence the prosecutorial decision of the Attorney General, on behalf of his friends at SNC-Lavalin, and was planning on continuing to do so.

(more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

It does not appear accidental that each time Justin from Canada starts finding himself in trouble, serious trouble; the same person happens to show up.   In June 2017, Justin was being challenged with a new NAFTA trade agreement… and former President Obama showed up while delivering a speech to the Board of Trade in Montreal.
Fast forward to today…  March 2019 – the Canadian economy has halted; Justin from Canada is embroiled in a growing bribery, corruption and obstruction of justice scandal around SNC-Lavalin; and immediately after he loses two cabinet ministers… former President Obama shows up to deliver a speech to the Board of Trade in Vancouver:

During a question and answer session with Vancouver Board of Trade President Iain Black at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Canada, Obama went into a diatribe about the dangers of rising populism amid national politics. [LINK]
Serendipitous domestic timing for an Obama visit, as the ideological political-wagons are circling to defend Justin from Canada.
Coincidentally, nudge-nudge/wink-wink/say-no-more… say no more… after a coaching/not-coaching session, Justin from Canada has agreed to a heavily controlled press conference on the obstruction scandal tomorrow at 8:00am.
(more…)

Earlier today President Donald Trump participated in a meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board at the White House.  [Video and Transcript below]

.
[Transcript] – State Dining Room – 4:17 P.M. EST – MS. TRUMP: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, on behalf of my co-chair, Secretary Ross, and the entire American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, it’s an honor to have here for today’s inaugural board meeting. We have spent the last several hours in excellent discussion with the objective of advancing a national workforce strategy.
(more…)