There are moments in life to just savor. This is one of them.

Apparently, Colombia has refused repatriation flights of illegal aliens.  President Trump responds forcefully, in what can only be described as epic, in part due to the timing of this.  Colombia is the #1 exporter of long stem roses (and other flowers) to the USA.  Valentines Day is about two weeks away.  I love Trump!

President Trump (via Truth Social) – I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States, with a large number of Illegal Criminals, were not allowed to land in Colombia. This order was given by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular amongst his people. Petro’s denial of these flights has jeopardized the National Security and Public Safety of the United States, so I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures:

-Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.

-A Travel Ban and immediate Visa Revocations on the Colombian Government Officials, and all Allies and Supporters.

-Visa Sanctions on all Party Members, Family Members, and Supporters of the Colombian Government.

-Enhanced Customs and Border Protection Inspections of all Colombian Nationals and Cargo on national security grounds.

-IEEPA Treasury, Banking and Financial Sanctions to be fully imposed.

These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States! (Source)

Seriously folks, there could not be better timing.

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CBS’s Margaret Brennan is desperate to secure her role as an established leader of the media resistance; in part, due to her peers losing their jobs, positions and relevance in the aftermath of President Trump’s reelection and the collapse of the business model for multiple media outlets.

Vice President JD Vance is interviewed by Brennan in part due to her intent going in.  Vance was very well prepared in substance and structure to confront the insufferable media narrative represented in the tone, content and construct of Brennan’s activist and contrarian position.

The majority of Americans hate the media; Margaret Brennan showcases why.  However, the interview (or transcript – below) is well worth reviewing, because JD Vance took her narrative talking points, wound them into a tight intellectual cloth and slapped her across the face for almost 20 solid minutes. WATCH: 

The part about Tulsi Gabbard is really good.

…”She recognizes the bureaucrats have gotten out of control, and we need somebody there who’s going to rein them in and return those services to their core mission of identifying information that’s going to keep us safe.“

Not identifying or outlining “action.” Not “actionable priorities.” Not articulating targeted “stakeholder” interests. Not creating action. Simply “identifying information“… Yes. Yes. Yes. Let the executive, the commander in chief, determine outcome. Just provide clear, raw, factual, intelligence information. Full stop. Core mission. Nothing more. He knows.

[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Vice President, if you’re ready, we’ll dive right in.

VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: Ready to go.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, both defense secretaries from President Trump’s last term were confirmed overwhelmingly, 90 percent of the vote. Pete Hegseth, it was a tie, bipartisan opposition, smallest margin since the job was created. You had to break that tie. If the nominee can’t unite your party, how is he going to lead three million people?

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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.

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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 †

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Today at 3:30pm EST, President Trump will be holding a post-inauguration celebration rally in Las Vegas, Nevada.  RSBN is broadcasting live from the venue, with livestream links below.

RSBN YouTube Livestream – RSBN Rumble Livestream

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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.

(more…)

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 †

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For 20-years we have called out the Machievellian nature of Mitch McConnell and his duplicitous agenda to support the UniParty apparatus in Washington DC.  Heck, even the name of this site, “The Last Refuge” came from our non-pretending association as to the nature of the root cause of our problems within the Republican apparatus.  Mitch McConnell has always been working for the other side.

Last night in the confirmation vote for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Mitch McConnell voted no.  In an almost identical way to former Senator John McCain refusing to repeal Obamacare, Mitch McConnell ends his time in the senate with a very planned, purposeful and public rebuke of President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the military.

Do not overlook that Senator McConnell intentionally waited, just like McCain, to cast his ‘nay’ vote until the end of the vote call.  McConnell did this with purpose and public intent, just like McCain.  Vice-President JD Vance then steps-in to a 50/50 vote to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Mitch McConnell now exits the chamber as Pete Hegseth is now confirmed despite him.

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President Trump was asked about Mitch McConnell’s vote as he departed California for the return to DC.  Video Below:

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Chopper pressers are the best pressers, AND THEY’RE BACK!

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump depart the White House en route to severely impacted North Carolina and later to Los Angeles. As they depart the White House the press pool asks questions.  WATCH:

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A few interested sites are noting a recently published decision in the U.S. v. Hasbajrami case in Brooklyn, New York, where Eastern District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall identified the misuse of FISA-702 “backdoor searches” regarding defendant, Agron Hasbajrami.

Hasbajrami plead guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, alleging that he intended to travel to the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan, where he expected to join a terrorist organization, receive training, and ultimately fight against U.S. forces and others in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, after his guilty plea, while he is serving time in prison, prosecutors admitted some of the evidence against him came as a result of privacy violations, unlawful FISA-702 searches.

Hasbajrami sought to have the evidence against him thrown out on 4th amendment grounds (fruit of the poisoned tree) and withdraw his guilty plea. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied Hasbarjami’s blanket evidence suppression motion for the exclusion of all FISA Section 702 collection in his case but did not weigh in on whether the warrantless Section 702 database queries were constitutional, instead remanding the case back to Judge Hall for a review of that question.

Judge DeArchy Hall received the case again and reviewed all of the government motions against the request to suppress the evidence.  What results is a very well-constructed explanation and opinion of how FISA-702 was misused in the case [SEE 60-pg Opinion HERE].

The judge determined that U.S. government officials did factually violate the technical rules and procedures for the use of FISA-702 searches, and the DOJ should have gone to court to obtain a warrant to look at Hasbajrami’s private communication. In essence, yes, the 4th amendment protections of Hasbajrami were violated.  However, the issue of overturning the resulting evidence becomes a matter of legal distinction.

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