Chinese elementary school math quiz.  Can you figure it out?

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TWO HINTS:

• 1) Each element has an individual value.
• 2) Chinese are sneaky.

ANSWER BELOW.
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It is being reported by ‘some’ media outlets that Democrat John Conyers has stepped down from the House Judiciary Committee, that is false.  Conyers is staying on the committee and just removing himself from the seniority position of “ranking member”.
As CTH shared when the sexual harassment charges and financial settlements surrounding John Conyers were first revealed, the institution of the Democrat apparatus will never stop supporting Conyers.  It is a cornerstone of the institutions created by progressives (Democrats) to operate their leadership hierarchy from positions of seniority.  Cue the audio visual demonstration by Nancy Pelosi:

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 †

This is a pecan pie.  This is Mrs. Sarah Huckabee Sanders pecan pie. There is no other pecan pie quite like it.  But it is only a pecan pie.

What follows next is a peanut brain. This is Mrs. April Ryan’s peanut brain.  There is no other peanut brain quite like it.  But it is only a narrative engineer’s peanut brain:
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There’s an extensive back story to this issue: Part I, and Part II, and Part III

(President Trump Tweet Link)

The Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, has resigned. Senator Elizabeth Warren does not want President Trump to appoint an interim replacement.  President Trump has announced OMB Director Mick Mulvaney will be the “acting” head of the agency until he nominates a permanent replacement for senate confirmation. Senator Warren wants to take President Trump to court to stop him filling the interim position.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), has provided legal guidance (full pdf outline of opinion below), and decided that President Trump clearly has the authority to appoint the acting Director.  Senator Elizabeth Warren is going bananas.
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Oh boy,  there’s a particular joy when all the lead-up economic data, that naysayer’s claim is simply outliers, leads to predictions that become reality.  Remember when we shared:

…”Hold on to your economic britches peeps – throw dem ju-ju bones out the windows – grab hold of the young-un’s, squeeze em tight and introduce them to their first opportunity to see capitalism unchained; we are in uncharted MAGA territory now. Q4 will be well beyond 3.2% 3.8%… Well Beyond.”…

Allow me the indulgence of setting the stage.  Last week the New York Fed increased the fourth quarter GDP growth estimates to 3.8%. This followed a prior week when they raised that same estimate to 3.2%.   Obviously, much to their chagrin, the underlying economic data was far surpassing the earlier forecasts of the doom club.  {{{CTH snickered}}}
Now, wait for it,… as we review the preliminary results it is important to remember that Consumer Spending represents two-thirds of U.S. GDP.
OK, you ready?….  You sure?….  Well:
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This image from Sweden speaks so loudly:

Concrete K-Rail Barriers, positioned to stop terrorist attacks by vehicles, dressed up like Christmas decorations around the local holiday markets.  What a ridiculously sad and pathetic visual of everything wrong in Europe.
Amid the anxiety of anticipating the next Jihadist attack, which everyone knows is not if – but rather ‘when’, it would appear joy is somewhat lowered on the scale of relativity.

EUROPE – The Islamic State has issued chilling threat to attack Christmas markets in the Britain, France and Germany in pictures circulated among supporters.

The jihadis have circulated images on messaging apps including one in which a black-clad hooded figure is seen standing over a kneeling Santa Claus with an image of Regent Street in the background.

A message in English, French, and German says ‘Soon on your holidays’ with the clear implication that London can expect a terrorist attack over the holiday season.  (read more)

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There was a great deal of speculation that a big time Florida law majority partner and founder Democrat John Morgan was going to run for Florida Governor.  Morgan has been growing in political influence within Florida for years and was a massive donor to Democrats.  Well, he just quit the Democrat Party.
Morgan was a bundler for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, Morgan even held a $30,000 per plate fundraiser for Obama.  Though he seemed to butt-heads with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, often publicly.
Morgan also provided the landing place for Charlie Crist when his Senatorial political aspirations collapsed in 2010 under the weight of his evolution from Republican, to independent, to Democrat.

TALLAHASSEE — John Morgan tossed a bomb Friday into the 2018 political landscape, saying in a post-Thanksgiving message he is leaving the Democratic Party, and that Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson should not run for re-election, but rather seek the governor’s mansion so he can leave a “legacy.”
“I can’t muster enthusiasm for any of today’s politicians,” the prominent trial lawyer and Democratic fundraiser wrote on Twitter. “They are all the same. Both parties. I plan to register as an independent and when I vote, vote for the lesser of two evils.”

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren as an outcome of the Dodd-Frank legislation. With the CFPB Pocahontas tried to set up the head of the agency, the Director, in a manner that that he/she would operate without oversight. Unfortunately, her dictatorial-fiat-design collapsed when challenged in court.  Backstory #1 – Backstory #2
A federal court found the CFPB Director position held too much power and deemed it unconstitutional. The court decision noted that giving the President power to fire the Director would fix the constitutional problem.
However, with the prior court ruling as a backdrop, a second issue for Warren surfaces as an outcome of the current CFPB Director, Richard Cordray, resigning and President Trump appointing an ‘interim’ head for the agency.
Senator Warren, apoplectic at the thought of CFPB critic Mick Mulvaney acting as head of the agency, wants the Deputy Director,  Leandra English, to become Acting Director and points to Warren’s legislative outline as evidence to support her demand. Except it doesn’t…. not even a little bit.

(WARREN LINK)

The language Pocahontas points to in the CFPB construct, points to the Deputy Director filling in during the “absence” or “unavailability” of the Director. The statute clearly does not provide a mechanism when the Director position is “Vacant”.
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