Arizona Senator Jon Kyl retired in 2013.  Today he was appointed by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey to fill-in the absent Arizona Senate Seat formerly occupied by John McCain. Kyl has accepted the interim Senate seat only through this congressional session ending in January 2019.
Due to party political considerations; due to the overall corrupt ideology of the Arizona GOPe political apparatus; and due the customary illusion of choice; Arizona is not holding an election for a permanent replacement until 2020. Without Kyl agreeing to an extension, that means Arizona will have another interim Senator appointed for the next congressional year, beginning January 2019.
Now things make sense. This plan has obviously been in place for a while. Senator Jon Kyl was the Republican whip for a number of years in the senate, and also served as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s guide taking Kavanaugh through the confirmation meetings with current senators.
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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 †

Louisiana Governor declares state of emergency. Coastal Mississippi and Alabama should be on alert and prepared to finalize storm preparations by noon Tuesday.
[National Hurricane Center] At 1100 PM EDT (0300 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Gordon was located near latitude 26.9 North, longitude 84.3 West. Gordon is moving toward the west-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h). A west-northwestward to northwestward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected over the next few days.

On the forecast track, the center of Gordon will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Tuesday, and will approach the north-central Gulf Coast within the warning area late Tuesday afternoon or evening, and move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
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Today is Labor Day 2018.

♦ This Labor Day more Americans are working than ever before in the history of our country.   ♦ This Labor Day our economy is growing more than all the pontificating pundits expected.  ♦ This Labor Day our unemployment rate is the lowest in our lifetime.  ♦This Labor Day there are more jobs available for American workers than ever before.  ♦This Labor Day wages are increasing at a faster rate than at any time in the past three decades.  ♦ This Labor Day inflation is growing at a lower rate than wages are increasing. ♦This Labor Day productivity is growing faster than any time in the past decade.  ♦This Labor Day 323 metropolitan areas have the lowest unemployment ever. ♦This Labor Day consumer optimism is higher than anyone has ever recorded. ♦This Labor Day high-paying manufacturing jobs are growing at the highest rate in five decades.

This Labor Day is our first MAGA labor day.

…And we’ve only just begun!
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In the latest example of a corporation making a ridiculous decision to brand itself based on politics, Nike apparel has decided that Colin Kaepernick is the modern face of the brand:

“We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward.”

~ Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of brand for North America

Apparently Nike has been paying Colin Kaepernick since 2011, and made the decision to go full social justice as part of their 30-year anniversary.   As with prior endeavors for corporations who engage in political advocacy, this will likely not end well financially.

Tropical Storm Gordon is anticipated to move into the warm Gulf of Mexico this afternoon and then strengthen while taking a West-northwest path toward the Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana coast.  High probability will make landfall as a hurricane.
This storm will move fast while simultaneously strengthening. Residents in coastal west-FL Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana would be well advised to be proactive, watch closely and begin initial hurricane preparation.

[Hurricane Advisory] At 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Gordon was located near latitude 25.8 North, longitude 81.9 West. Gordon is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 km/h) and a west-northwestward to northwestward motion is expected over the next 72 hours. On the forecast track, the center of Gordon will move farther away from the southwestern coast of Florida this afternoon and move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico tonight and Tuesday.
The center of Gordon will approach the coast within the warning area along the central Gulf Coast by late Tuesday or Tuesday night, and move inland over the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday.
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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 †

On Friday we shared the press release from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lightizer about his trade notification to congress. [HERE]  Here is the text of the letter from President Trump via The White House:

Dear Mr. Speaker:   (Dear Mr. President:)
On May 18, 2017, my Administration notified the Congress that I intended to initiate trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico.  Negotiations began on August 16, 2017.  Since that time, my Administration has worked hard with Mexico and Canada to reach a modern trade agreement that sets high standards for free, fair, and reciprocal trade.
I am pleased to report that in only 1 year, we have made dramatic progress toward such an agreement:
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