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Friday April 24th – 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 †

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Canada Pushes Closer to the FAFO Threshold as Prime Minister Carney Says USA Will Not Dictate Terms of USMCA Renegotiations

Following direct remarks from both Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, a triggered Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the U.S. will not be permitted to dictate terms of the USMCA renegotiation, now scheduled for formal talks with Mexico only beginning May 25th.

According to the Canadian leadership they do not need the United States in order to maintain their economy.  The unfortunate people of Canada are very close to finding out exactly what that level of arrogance delivers.

USTR Jamieson Greer was just in Mexico meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Mexican trade delegation. “Mexico’s economy minister Marcelo Ebrard ​said on Monday that ‌formal negotiations to review the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, known ​as the USMCA, ​are due to begin the ⁠week of May ​25.”

“Tomorrow and this afternoon we ​will hear the U.S. side’s views. Once that is done, ​we will move ​on to the next phase, which ‌is ⁠formal negotiations. We expect formal negotiations to begin the week of May ​25,” ​Ebrard ⁠said following a meeting with U.S. Trade ​Representative Jamieson Greer.” {source}

Meanwhile Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney continues talking to his domestic audience about fighting Donald Trump and refusing to accept any terms that do not meet his current pontifications: “It’s not a case that the United States dictates the terms. We have a negotiation, we can come to a mutually successful outcome – it will take some time,” he continued.

In Washington, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said unless Canada engaged in talks about broadening the so-called rules of origin that allow goods to enter the United States tariff-free, Washington might have to impose other border controls. {source}

As the rhetoric continues increasing, the possibility of a full block against the import of Canadian goods increases.

It is worth remembering, the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned the IEEPA tariffs also reinforced the unilateral power of the U.S. President to regulate any/all trade with any foreign country including a full block of trade if designated.  Canada is positioned to be the first nation to discover the expressed power of the U.S. President as affirmed by the United States Supreme Court.

One of the reasons why Canadians are oblivious to the potential collapse of their economy is because U.S. media reports are blocked from Canadian social media sites.  One of the infringements within the USMCA is the Canadian Law Bill [C-18, the Online News Act] that blocks information to Canadian citizens that is not supported by the Canadian government.

The people of Canada are stuck inside an Orwellian government constructed echo-chamber unable to hear opposing viewpoints.  They simply have no idea what is heading in their direction.  Which is incredibly ironic considering how much Mark Carney rails against Russian President Vladimir Putin, yet Canada has more restrictions on information than Russia.  Think about it. The need for control is a reaction to fear.

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The Global Trade and Economic Restructuring That Centers Around Energy Use

Anyone can tell those nations who are at greatest risk from the current oil/gas shortage are those nations who either: (a) do not have the infrastructure or capability to derive their own oil/gas, or (b) those nations who intentionally chased the “net-zero” climate change nonsense and thereby created the same problem as group (a).

The middle east oil/gas disruption is clearly showing which nations intentionally put themselves into the worst possible position.  The U.K and Europe are at the top of that list.  In this 20-minute recap, Mike Steger expands on his former outline about a new global reset and points out how the crisis in Iran is only a symptom of a more structural geopolitical shift that is underway and irreversible.

Steger’s analysis explores how the United States is mobilizing its industrial base, securing global energy flows, and positioning itself for a new century of economic and strategic dominance. From emergency energy directives and nuclear expansion… to the rebuilding of the American grid and supply chains… to the unraveling of Europe’s political order — this is a turning point moment. The question is not whether the world is changing, but rather who will shape what comes next. WATCH (prompted):

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 A new American century begins
2:30 The global energy crisis explained
5:15 Trump’s industrial strategy
8:20 Ending the climate agenda
10:50 Defense Production Act mobilization
13:50 Rebuilding America’s energy system
16:25 The global order shifts
19:10 Final message

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During Healthcare Event President Trump Answers Media Questions in the Oval Office

During a healthcare event in the Oval Office (full video below fold), President Trump took questions from the assembled press pool on current events of interest.  The Q&A session lasted just short of 20 minutes.

The primary questioning focused on the ongoing Iran conflict.  WATCH:

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Full event video below:

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President Trump Remarks on Cleaning Up Washington DC Ahead of the 250th USA Anniversary

President Donald Trump continues to repair and replace the worn-out DC infrastructure ahead of our 250th Independence Day anniversary.

In this video President Trump walks through the repair to the DC Mall Reflection Pool.  WATCH:

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April 23rd – 2026 Presidential Politics – Trump Administration Day 459

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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Thursday April 23rd – 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 †

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The Declassified Impeachment Material Was Stunning, but What Came Before It Is Worse

Prior to 2018 any public mention of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) would be cause for you to immediately lose your security clearance in government. However, by mid-2018 DC officials were not only openly discussing FISA in public settings, but the DOJ released a Top-Secret Compartmented Intelligence Title-1 FISA warrant.

Why was a TSCI Title-1 FISA warrant made public in 2018?

The Carter Page FISA application and subsequent warrant would have been the easiest document to keep hidden from the public. You cannot FOIA classified documents. However, someone in the DOJ released their exclusive national security equity. I am certain it was Andrew Weissmann who made the call.

Additionally, when the DOJ FISA application was made public, few people noticed the date stamp on the application itself [copy from FISC 3/17/17].

Why was the DOJ releasing the warrant to the public, and why did they use that specific copy that came from the FISC on March 17, 2017. Why not release their own copies from their own DOJ-NSD files? What was it about the FISC copy that made it the option of their choice?

Just as the Atkinson transcript, whistleblower report and IC IG investigative material showed a fraudulent and corrupt impeachment effort, the background details of the FISA application being made public shows the fraudulent and corrupt intent of the Robert Mueller investigation that preceded it.

You will remember the massive media debate in early 2018 about the FISA application deployed against former short-time Trump campaign aide Carter Page.  The DOJ, at the time under the control of the Mueller special counsel for all things Trump-Russia related, wouldn’t let congress see the FISA application. Devin Nunes complained to House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Eventually a deal was struck and two members from the House Intelligence committee (democrats and republicans) and two members from the House Judiciary Committee, were allowed to go to Main Justice and read the FISA application, but not copy it.  Four congressmen were allowed to go read and take notes. Trey Gowdy and John Ratcliffe represented the two republicans, and their notes formed the basis for what later was called “The Nunes Memo.

The Democrats were not happy with the claims in the Nunes memo, and subsequently HPSCI ranking member Adam Schiff wrote the democrat version.

Both of those sets of memos then needed to be declassified, more delays, before they could be made public.  For weeks and weeks, the Nunes -vs- Schiff memos were debated by both sides, with each saying their version was the truth and the other party’s version was spin and/or false.   All of this was happening in January, February and March 2018.

Then, later in the summer, something really weird happened.  On July 21, 2018, Main Justice completely reversed position on keeping the FISA application secret, and for the first time in U.S. history a top secret classified Title-1 FISA application was released to the public (with redactions).

People were so filled with curiosity about the Carter Page FISA application that few, heck, almost no one, stopped to ask why it was released?

Why the sudden secrecy reversal by the DOJ?

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Promethean PAC Outlines Why Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Must Battle President Trump

A generally good big-picture overview here from the folks at Promethean PAC.

“In this midweek update, Susan Kokinda argues that Kevin Warsh’s Senate Banking Committee testimony—calling for “regime change” at the Federal Reserve and blaming inflation on excessive money creation—signals a broader shift aligned with the Trump administration against what she describes as an Imperial, British-led free-trade order.

Kokinda highlights Warsh’s criticism of post-2008 quantitative easing as benefiting financial asset holders while many Americans own no assets, and contrasts this with Democrats’ focus on divestment issues. Kokinda ties Warsh’s stance to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s emphasis on raising living standards over bailing out markets and to Trump’s comments on Fed independence. She then points to Trump’s April 20 Defense Production Act action citing market failures in energy infrastructure, including transformer shortages, as national-security threats, linking this to energy independence and Iran, and contrasts it with Mark Carney’s globalist posture and references to the War of 1812.”

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Canada Does NOT Want to Open USMCA (CUSMA) for Renegotiations

Consider the amount of money involved in the trilateral USMCA trade agreement.  It’s not just about trade and commerce between the USA, Canada and Mexico; the totality of the equation is derived from all of the third-party nations who trade into the North American trade bloc.  There are tens-of-trillions at stake.

As we have outlined for several years the trilateral trade agreement has several material flaws.  With the U.S. economy as the primary consumption economy, both Mexico and Canada derive significant benefits within the USMCA.  Additionally, both Canada and Mexico leverage their unique positions to gain economic benefit from third parties who want to use either country as a backdoor into the U.S. market.

President Trump has long wanted to eliminate the trilateral trade deal in favor of two more controllable bilateral deals, one with Mexico and one with Canada.  In large measure this approach is specifically to end the exploitation by third parties.  President Trump also noted in his discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that the primary function of the USMCA was to eliminate NAFTA.

Keep this in mind.  The purpose of the USMCA was to eliminate NAFTA.

Now we enter the phase of the USMCA where President Trump can exit the agreement or modify the core foundation of the agreement.

For the past fourteen months Mexico has been modifying their trade and economic policy in anticipation of a USMCA change. However, for the past fourteen months Canada has been combative against President Trump, stoking anger toward Trump, and the government of Canada has been openly proclaiming their intention to economically and politically fight and defeat President Trump.

Again, remember the scale of the money involved here.  Additionally, Canada doesn’t have an organic economy if they cannot exploit their market access.  If Trump restricts third party exploitation, Canada loses massive amounts of money.  This is the baseline for Canada’s reluctance to open up the USMCA for renegotiation; they cannot lose their third-party loophole or else they are really in a bad place.

This sets the stage for trillion-dollar interests to frame opposition not only toward President Trump, but also toward any of his economic team who are in alignment with the renegotiation of the USMCA.  Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is chief among those targets along with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlines the issue in the first part of this recent discussion. WATCH:

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