“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”.

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRE THREAD – and the full context of any discussion thread you wish to participate in. Skipping to the comments to express an opinion without reading the content of the discussion is not helpful.
Often, unfortunately very often, we find many of the points injected into comments are already outlined in the construct of the thread itself. -or- Questions asked while the answers are in the primary post.
2.) STAY ON TOPIC – please do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is a ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein.
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Someone mentioned the paczki post from last year. Stella always does a great job bringing us into the Detroit area (via our internet connection) for this special treat.

This post is not here for the same old religious arguments that have taken place for years. It isn’t a forum for you to expound upon your scorn for Catholicism or formal religion. Pass on by if this post is not to your taste.

Debauchery. Bacchanalia. Floats, costumes, beads and masks, and lots of drinking and partying. That’s what we think of when we hear the term Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday.
There is a lot more behind it. Also called Shrove Tuesday, it marks the last day of the liturgical calendar before Lent begins.
After Catholicism spread throughout Europe, many cultures celebrated the final day before Lent began in ways unique to that individual  culture. Eggs, and milk were finished off in one day, giving rise to the term Fat Tuesday. In Poland, such things as lard, sugar, eggs, and fruit were forbidden during Lent, and the beloved  pączki became a special treat for Fat Tuesday, and in Detroit they still sell many thousands of them to long lines of 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.

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 †

U.S. Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer’s work on the U.S-China trade negotiations is easily the most technically challenging and legally complex trade deal in the history of U.S. Commerce.
Lighthizer is not focused on selling more U.S. product, he is focused on bigger issues and enforcement therein.
Think about it.  This is a deal between a U.S. open market economy and a communist controlled closed market economy in China.  No nation has a comprehensive trade deal with China on anything except individual business sectors.
Despite China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, no nation has ever achieved anything close to an aggregate FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with China.  This deal would be the first comprehensive deal, and as such Lighthizer is essentially mapping out an agreement that all other nations could follow….  This is big-league.
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And now….  for something, completely different. Enjoy:

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Former Canadian Attorney General Wilson-Raybould shocked the systems of government last week when she gave detailed testimony outlining how Justin Trudeau’s government conducted a sustained campaign to influence her decision in a bribery and corruption case surrounding a company called SNC-Lavalin. [More Here]
Today the scandal deepened as another Cabinet Minister, Ms. Jane Philpott, resigned her Treasury position citing the political corruption within the SNC-Lavalin case and her inability to support the Prime Minister’s Office.

CANADA […] “In Canada, the constitutional convention of Cabinet solidarity means, among other things, that ministers are expected to defend all Cabinet decisions. A minister must always be prepared to defend other ministers publicly, and must speak in support of the government and its policies,” Philpott said in a resignation letter posted to her website on Monday afternoon. “Given this convention and the current circumstances, it is untenable for me to continue to serve as a Cabinet minister.”

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Earlier today President Donald Trump hosted an annual gathering for the National Association of Attorneys General.  Video and Transcript)

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[Transcript] – State Dining Room, 4:30 P.M. EST – THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Please. Thank you very much. I’m very honored to welcome our State Attorneys General back to the White House.
We were together last year, and I said, “I’m inviting you back.” And a lot things have been done, a lot of progress has been made. And, Vice President, thank you very much for being here. You were here last year and we’re here again, Mike.
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Shocked, S.H.O.C.K.E.D,.. well, not really….. actually ‘predictable‘; I digress.
Mr. Saikat Chakrabarti, the chief-of-staff for Ms. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been caught using sketchy financial PAC constructs to construct dark money schemes.
Oh dear.

WASHINGTON DC – Two political action committees founded by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s top aide funneled over $1 million in political donations into two of his own private companies, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
The cash transfers from the PACs — overseen by Saikat Chakrabarti, the freshman socialist Democrat’s chief of staff — run counter to her pledges to increase transparency and reduce the influence of “dark money” in politics.

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