Following the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas President Trump delivers somber remarks:

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At least 58 people were killed and more than 500 injured hurt when a 64-year-old gunman, Stephen Craig Paddock, armed with more than 10 rifles opened fire on a Las Vegas country music festival on Sunday night, raining down bullets from a 32nd-floor window for several minutes before killing himself.

The death toll, which police emphasized was preliminary, would make the mass shooting the deadliest in U.S. history, eclipsing last year’s massacre of 49 people at an Orlando night club by a gunman who pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants.
About 22,000 people were in the crowd when a man police identified as Stephen Paddock opened fire from a room in the Mandalay Bay hotel, causing concertgoers to panic, some trampling on others as law enforcement officers scrambled to find the gunman.
The shooting broke out on the final night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest festival, a sold-out event attended by 22,000 and featuring top acts such as Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Jason Aldean.
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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

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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 †

President Donald Trump spent much of the weekend working from his New Jersey golf club in Bedminister and then attended the international golf competition, The President’s Cup, at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City.
President Trump presented the winning trophy to Team U.S.A., and with compliments to the international competition dedicated the trophy to the people of Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas who are dealing with the aftermath of three devastating hurricanes.

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“I’m really tired of Puerto Rican government officials blaming the federal government for their woes and for not acting fast enough to help people on the island. Last week I had three federal agents in my office and I was so embarrassed; I went out of my way to apologize to them for the attitude of my government and what they have been saying about the U.S. response.”
~Jorge Rodriguez, CEO of PACIV, Puerto Rico-based engineering firm

PUERTO RICO – The head of an international engineering firm in Puerto Rico said in an editorial Saturday that when the time came to send 50 of his engineers to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, he bypassed local officials and went straight to FEMA.

The reason, said Jorge Rodriguez, the CEO of PACIV, in an editorial in the New York Post, is that “for the last 30 years, the Puerto Rican government has been completely inept at handling regular societal needs, so I just don’t see it functioning in a crisis like this one.”

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Not the Amish… 
EDMONTON, Canada (Reuters) – Canadian police on Sunday arrested a man whom authorities said they believe acted alone to carry out violent “attacks of terror” in the western city of Edmonton, injuring a police officer and four pedestrians with two vehicles and a knife.
A graphic surveillance video shows a Chevy Malibu hitting a police officer standing in front of a football stadium at about 8:15 p.m. on Saturday, sending him flying into the air. The driver gets out of the car and appears to stab the officer multiple times before fleeing.
A flag of the Islamic State militant group was found inside the Malibu, after the suspect ran off, said Rod Knecht, police chief of Edmonton, Alberta’s provincial capital.
The suspect, who authorities have not identified, was arrested several hours later following a car chase across a busy downtown street during which he intentionally sought to hit pedestrians, police said.
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President Trump tweeted this morning while Secretary Rex Tillerson is in China meeting with Xi Jinping about what to do with North Korea. ….or put another way: Tillerson chats about Rocket-boy consequences with big Panda while the sound of a lion roaring is heard over the background of the bamboo forest.
If you’ve been following along, Trump/Tillerson creating the need for ‘Magnanimous Panda’ is actually quite fun to watch unfold.

President Trump will never use the U.S. military to solve this regional issue.  The national security strategy is based entirely on economics (leverage) and diplomacy (ownership).  President Trump’s words and rhetoric against Kim Jong-un, and the response from Jong-un in kind toward President Trump, creates the foundation of a need for magnanimous panda to step in.
Remember, Beijing doesn’t want to take ownership of DPRK.  China prefers to retain influence over behavior, they are the enablers, but not be directly responsible for the enforcement of any agreement which comes with attached consequences (economic punishment) for DPRK violations.
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There were about a dozen moments within this interview when FEMA Director Brock Long could have easily broken out with: “I ain’t got no time for that“, as the insufferable Chris Wallace demands Long talk about the politics of disaster relief.
Mr. Brock Long and the entire organization of FEMA workers have been doing outstanding work with a ‘no quit’ attitude for months.  Great interview:

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A rather disturbing revelation from former congressman Jason Chaffetz during an interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro.  About half-way through the interview Judge Pirro asks Chaffetz about ongoing examples of DC corruption.
Mr. Chaffetz shares a personal conversation he had with Attorney General Jeff Sessions where the attorney general informed Chaffetz there would be no investigation or prosecution of any prior DC corrupt and illegal behavior from Obama-era administration officials.  According to Chaffetz none of the unlawful activities of former DC officials will be investigated, prosecuted or pursued.

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While it’s not necessarily surprising to hear, if true, this is still a very disappointing development.  Washington DC operating above the law only worsens problems. Destabilizing the country with disparate rules for the professional political class increases anxiety and makes cohesion impossible.
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