Oh dear.  U.S. President Donald J Trump just posted a graphic on his Instagram account that will likely make his political opposition go bananas.  Epic:

(Link)

From all appearances President Trump is not backing down from his demand for border security that includes a border wall physical barrier.  And while Democrats thought they had him painted into a zero-sum corner, well, there’s every indication the White House is prepared to let the partial government shutdown go on for months if needed.
This position now puts all the pressure on Nancy Pelosi.
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Tomorrow, Friday January 4th, the U.S. Labor Department will release the December jobs report which will offer an in-depth look at the labor market including: job additions, the unemployment rate, the labor participation rate and actual wage growth.
In the interim, the ADP National Employment Report provides a monthly snapshot of U.S. nonfarm private sector employment based on actual transactional payroll data. Their review of national payroll ledgers shows a stunning; 271,000 jobs added in December.

(link to ADP data – link to pdf)

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers a press briefing on the day the new 116th congressional session begins.  There is somewhat of a scramble as the press briefing was only recently announced.  Anticipated start time around 4:30pm EST.
UPDATE:   SURPRISE !!!  President Trump delivered the briefing:

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Today the official first day of the 116th congressional session begins with Speaker of The House Nancy Pelosi taking control over the House of Representatives. Speaker Pelosi delivers the first of many speeches to her audience.

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Former British Prime Minister Winston S Churchill famously said: “It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”  Perhaps, in an ironic way, that is exactly what the British Army are doing as they reveal an ad campaign to recruit the finest young men and women the U.K. has for military service:

This is not a parody; these recruitment posters are very real. The stereotypical traits of British Millennials are accepted as the standard and re-branded as strengths.
The indulgent trait of self-centeredness becomes “self-belief;” the generational obsession with phones and gadgets becomes “focus”; and those with a propensity for compulsive selfie-taking are now cast with internal “confidence.”
Yes, the British Army have officially accepted that a generation where everyone deserves a trophy is now the first line of national defense; and thus recruitment efforts need to be modified accordingly.
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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 †

Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Dick Durbin discuss their democrat plan to re-open government while simultaneously keeping the open-border priorities in place.
The basic political position of the professional Democrats is to use the framework supported by their House and Senate UniParty colleagues to undermine the resolve of President Trump. In essence Pelosi and Schumer are weaponizing their alliance with McConnell and Ryan against the U.S. President:

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A leak from inside the White House stated Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer and Durbin refused to enter the WH situation room for a classified briefing -by DHS Secretary Nielsen- on the current border security status. The Democrats refused to accept any information that was adverse to their current political interests. Media?…. crickets.
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Remember when we warned [November 8th, 2018] that a convergence of left-wing groups, activists, DNC donors and specifically the Lawfare team, would align with (and meet) incoming Democrat leadership to construct a road-map for the “resistance” priorities?
Well, exactly that planned and coordinated outcome is visible as incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi presents her new rules for the 116th congress.

[IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that Speaker Pelosi has selected former insider DOJ official Douglas Letter to be the Chief Legal Counsel for the House.  That becomes important when we get to the part about new powers granted to the House Counsel.]
The Pelosi House rules clearly present the outline for an impeachment calendar as directed by changes to the oversight committees.  Additionally, there is a myriad of new processes which appear to have been developed through the Lawfare alliance.  Here’s some of the overview (full pdf below):
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Decepticon caucus senator-elect Mitt Romney (U-DC) appears on CNN to outline why he stands in opposition to President Donald Trump.  Understanding the unspoken background color here is important.
The Decepticon Caucus in the senate is comprised of senators who represent the interests of Wall Street; and every principle of finance and commerce that intersects with Wall Street’s multinational interests.  In essence the Decepticon Caucus is the defensive force protecting the global financial elite; ie. “The Big Club”.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue is the mechanism used by Wall Street multinational banks, corporations and billionaire influence agents to pay the Decepticons to protect their interests.   Mitt Romney is the newest member of the Decepticon Caucus and thus he has a role to play:

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It’s about money… and power… but mostly money. It’s not necessarily personal opposition to President Trump – though they do despise him.  It’s really us they hate.
It’s business, big business; massive multinational business. There are trillions at stake, and U.S. President Donald J Trump is the existential threat to the global financial system. That’s the cornerstone of this opposition.
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