Wednesday March 20th – Open Thread

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 †

CNN Interviews Brad Parscale, Then Accidentally Notes the DNC 2020 Strategy…

This is a little funny.  CNN’s Dana Bash interviews President Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale.  The discussion is about the election, but on a granular level is really about data use in the 2020 election.  Parscale has given these interviews before, the one with PBS [SEE HERE] is much better.
However, the more interesting aspect to the interview actually comes after the segment when CNN’s Jake Tapper happens to note what the DNC is attempting to do.  Within Tapper’s remarks he happens to outline why the DNC is running the crew currently enlisted as candidates.  Watch specifically at the 04:00 point.


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What Tapper notes as the urgent data collection priority of the DNC is specifically the reason why the club has enlisted Beto to draw-in the community they need to harvest.  The Democrats, specifically young democrats, have no idea how the ‘club’ plans to use them.
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Decepticon Paul Ryan Joins Fox News Board of Directors…

A week after saying any Democrat who made the 2020 presidential race about “Trump’s personality” will beat him, Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch hires Paul Ryan to serve as a board member for the news organization.  This announcement follows on the heels of Fox News hiring the former head of the DNC, Donna “Debate-Gate” Brazile, as a contributor.
Yes, it is clear to see the direction and intent of Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.
It must also be remembered that in 2013 Fox News worked behind the scenes to facilitate the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform platform.  Additionally, a year later, Murdoch himself advocated for Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as the preferred candidates in 2016, using Megyn Kelly to achieve their objective.  Yes, it is all one unfortunate, political and ideological continuum.

(NBC News) Fox Corporation debuted as a public company on Tuesday with a new board member — former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

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REPORT: Rosenstein Departure from DOJ Delayed….

A report from earlier today notes the anticipated departure of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, initially scheduled for mid-March, has been delayed… There’s a brutally obvious reason.

WASHINGTON DC – Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has reached an agreement with Attorney General William Barr to stay on at the Justice Department “a little while longer,” a source familiar with their conversation told Fox News – despite initial plans to step down by now.
Fox News and other outlets previously reported that Rosenstein had planned to step down in mid-March. However, sources close to the deputy attorney general say Rosenstein has not yet given his two weeks notice.

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Duplicitous Merkel – German Chancellor Reneges on Wales NATO Agreement – Reduces Military Spending…

Oh dear, this doesn’t bode well for those who are concerned about U.S. imposed 20% auto tariffs on EU, mostly German, automobiles.  [NOTE: Pay attention to the timing here as it relates to Nord Stream 2] Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will no longer uphold her prior agreement for NATO military spending.

At the 2014 NATO meeting in Wales, all NATO members agreed they would immediately begin a process to increase their military spending to two percent of GDP.  However, over time, and in direct contravention to the purpose of the effort, Germany (Merkel) began secretly working behind the scenes with Russia (Putin) on the Nord Stream II gas pipeline.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline delivers natural gas from Russia to Germany.  That pipeline is expected to go on-line this November, 2019.  Today, Angela Merkel announces she will no longer uphold Germany’s financial commitments to NATO. These two issues are directly related.  It now looks like Merkel made a back-door agreement with Russia on NATO.

(Via Daily Mail) Germany’s military spending is set to fall below its NATO targets, in the latest flashpoint in Berlin’s long-running row with Washington.
The latest German budget plans, revealed on Monday, will see defence spending drop well below the two per cent of GDP expected from NATO members.
U.S. ambassador Richard Grenell said the cuts were a ‘worrisome signal’, while President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Germany of freeloading on U.S. military might.

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President Trump Wins SCOTUS Decision on Detainment and Deportation of Criminal Aliens…

The Supreme Court reversed a prior 9th Circuit Court ruling restricting when illegal aliens could be detained and deported.
The SCOTUS ruling (full pdf below) was in favor the Trump administration, allowing federal officials to detain and deport illegal aliens after they have served their time in the U.S. for other crimes regardless of whether they were picked up immediately or later, after criminal release.
The 9th Circuit Court previously stated ICE would have to detain illegal aliens immediately after release or they would be exempt from later detainment.  SCOTUS eliminated that restriction and affirmed detainment and deportation at any time after criminal release.  The ruling was 5-4 with Justice Alito announcing the majority judgement of the court below:
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President Trump and President Bolsonaro Joint Press Conference – 1:45pm EST Livestream…

President Donald Trump and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro will be holding a joint press conference at approximately 1:45pm EST.
UPDATE: Video and Transcript Added:


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[Transcript] – Rose Garden – 1:54 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much everyone. Thank you. Today, I’m very thrilled to welcome President Bolsonaro of Brazil for his first visit to the White House. President Bolsonaro, I want to congratulate you again on your tremendous election victory last October. It was an incredible feat and, really, a truly incredible challenge. And the end result was something the whole world was talking about.
I also know that we’re going to have a fantastic working relationship. We have many views that are similar. And we certainly feel very, very true to each other on trade. I think Brazil’s relationship with the United States, because of our friendship, is probably better than it’s ever been by far.
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President Trump and Brazil's President Bolsonaro Oval Office Meeting (Video and Transcript)…

Earlier today President Donald Trump and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro held an open media event in the Oval Office prior to their bilateral discussions.  (Video and Transcript Below):


[Transcript] – 12:10 P.M. EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have President Bolsonaro with us from Brazil. He has done a very outstanding job; ran one of the incredible campaigns. Somebody said it, a little bit, reminded people of our campaign, which I’m honored by. But it was a tough, well-fought-out campaign.
And we are going to be discussing, today, Venezuela. We’ll be discussing trade. We’ll be discussing many subjects. And Brazil is a great friend. I think probably because of the relationship that we have, Brazil and the United States have never been closer than they are right now.
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March 19th – 2019 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day #789

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.

trump-president-3

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

Tuesday March 19th – Open Thread

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 †