According to the latest information from the National Hurricane Center Sally has weakened slightly and has a loosely defined eye wall. This a very slowly moving storm at only 2mph which unfortunately means a longer storm surge event.

Coastal communities in SE Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama should pay close attention. A long duration storm surge and a great deal of rain is anticipated.

Hurricane Center – At 1000 AM CDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Sally was located near latitude 29.1 North, longitude 88.2 West. Sally is moving toward the northwest near 2 mph (4 km/h). A slow north-northwestward to northward motion is expected this afternoon,followed by a slow northward to north-northeastward motion tonight through Wednesday night.

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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

Kayleigh McEnany Twitter @PressSec

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 †

Hurricane Sally is now holding with 100mph winds and slowly moving (5mph) toward the West Northwest near the coastal region of the western Florida Panhandle.

The outer bands of Sally are moving onshore in the Florida Panhandle. Life-Threatening Storm Surge, Hurricane-Force Winds, and Flash Flooding Likely Along Portions of the Northern Gulf Coast Starting Later Tonight and Tuesday.

Residents in Western Florida, Alabama coastal area, Mississippi coastal area and Eastern Louisiana should pay close attention.  All hurricane preparations should be rushed to completion. The storm is expected to turn north, but the timing is uncertain.  The wind field is small; however, due to the slow movement the storm surge is a great concern.

Hurricane Center – Sally is moving toward the west-northwest near 5 mph (8 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Tuesday morning. A northward turn is likely by Tuesday afternoon, and a slow north-northeastward to northeastward motion is expected Tuesday night through Wednesday night.

On the forecast track, the center of Sally will move near the coast of southeastern Louisiana tonight and Tuesday, and make landfall in the hurricane warning area Tuesday night or Wednesday.

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Those who have followed the Trump administration’s decoupling strategy will note the potential conflict from within this approach is a ‘nothing to lose’ proposition from Donald Trump’s perspective.

The Trump administration announced today the Department of Homeland Security, via U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, are about to start blocking the import of products from five specific entities in western China’s Xinjiang region.  The objective is to block products that come from forced Uighur labor in Xinjiang, China.

The authority comes from U.S. “Withhold Release Orders” (WRO’s) that allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection to detain shipments based on suspicion of forced-labor involvement under long-standing U.S. laws to combat human trafficking, child labor and other human rights abuses.  Ken Cuccinelli explains to Lou Dobbs.

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At first blush this might seem detrimental to the objectives of the U.S-China Phase-One trade deal. However, if you have followed the decoupling process closely; including the warnings given by Trump to U.S. multinationals; you will note there is no specific downside to this confrontation.

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Earlier today President Trump traveled to McClellan California for a briefing on the current status of current efforts to battle California wildfires.  The briefing was held in a Cal Fire hangar.  [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Great to be here. Great to be with the Governor. We’ve been speaking a lot about the problem, and it’s a big problem, and it’ll get solved. We want to pay our love and respect, and we say “God bless you” to those that were killed in this horrible fire, because it’s a series of fire. You put them together, and it’s a big monster, Gavin. Right?

GOVERNOR NEWSOM: A big monster.

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A federal judge in the Western District of Pennsylvania had ruled that Governor Tom Wolfe’s dictates, decrees and rules were/are unconstitutional restrictions on liberty.

U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV concluded the governor’s stay at home orders, limits on gatherings and closure of “non life-sustaining” businesses violated citizens’ Constitutional rights. The judge was responding to a lawsuit brought by a group of Pennsylvania businesses.

“The Constitution cannot accept the concept of a ‘new normal’ where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures. Rather, the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency.” ~ Judge Stickman [full pdf below]

The well-thought ruling, while accepting and appreciating the challenges presented to government, finds the arbitrary and capricious definitions/applications of rules amount to ever-changing dictates that infringed on basic constitutional rights without any due process in place.  Full ruling below.

One win for freedom.

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Earlier today President Trump shared an incredible story of heroism by the Air National Guard during California wildfires.  Their incredible act of heroism during the Sept 5th  Creek Fire saved 242 adults and children.  [Video Below – Transcript Will Follow]

UPDATE: Transcript Added

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much. This is a great honor. And this is a beautiful aircraft we’re looking at. Look at that beautiful, very expensive plane — for good reason.

Today it’s my profound honor to award seven extraordinary soldiers with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their remarkable courage to rescue their fellow citizens. I want to very much thank Major General Matthew Beevers for being with us today. Thank you, General. Thank you very much. Thank you, General, very much. It’s a great honor to see you.

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Former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard “Ric” Grenell explained last night why DC hates President Donald Trump and the stakes in the 2020 election.  WATCH: 

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Of all the *tells* that have surfaced in the past four years, this is the biggest.  This is the one that reveals just how corrupt and duplicitous the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence really is.   Do not pass over this information without pausing and evaluating just how explosive this refusal is amid the largest, most corrupt scheme in political history.

The republican led Senate Intelligence Committee (SSCI) is refusing to provide documents to republican senators from their Russia investigation.  Citing archaic justification within senate parliamentary rules current Chairman Marco Rubio (R) and Vice-Chairman Mark Warner are refusing to allow Senator Johnson and Senator Grassley to review the evidence the SSCI assembled to create their report on Russian election interference.

The reason and motives for the denial are simple, yet the majority of Americans have no idea…. The SSCI was the legislative entity, both republicans and democrats, who participated in the unlawful effort to remove President Trump from office.  The risk of exposure is exactly why Mitch McConnell put Senator Marco Rubio on the committee as chairman to replace Richard Burr.  The Senate was participating in the soft-coup.

WASHINGTON DC –  The Republican and Democratic leaders on the Senate Intelligence Committee rejected a broad request from two Republican Senate leaders seeking access to the panel’s records to assist in their investigation into the Trump-Russia investigators.

Acting Chairman Marco Rubio of Florida and Vice Chairman Mark Warner of Virginia rejected a late August letter from Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who said that they “respect the authority” of the Senate Intelligence Committee to protect its interests, adding that “ultimately, we have the right as United States Senators” to access the records.

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