Statement by The President –  I have directed that United States Cyber Command be elevated to the status of a Unified Combatant Command focused on cyberspace operations.
This new Unified Combatant Command will strengthen our cyberspace operations and create more opportunities to improve our Nation’s defense. The elevation of United States Cyber Command demonstrates our increased resolve against cyberspace threats and will help reassure our allies and partners and deter our adversaries.
United States Cyber Command’s elevation will also help streamline command and control of time-sensitive cyberspace operations by consolidating them under a single commander with authorities commensurate with the importance of such operations. Elevation will also ensure that critical cyberspace operations are adequately funded.
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More excellent advice from Stella as we get ready for the eclipse. Be prepared, be safe. Please take time to read her post for some excellent tips .

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

Day two of Round One NAFTA negotiations continued today.
Round one is scheduled to run through Sunday August 20th.   Generally speaking the key negotiators are not presenting too much public information as the larger objectives of the first round are structured around the bigger issues of the agreement itself, and not the individual economic sectors which follow.
The potential for an agreement still appears around a level “3” on a ten point scale.
On the positive side for those who follow the U.S. Trade Team, you might enjoy hearing that the crony-capitalistic lobbying group, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has been significantly reduced.  U.S. CoC President Tom Donohue attempts to put his best face forward amid his diminished ability to influence actual policy:
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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 †

You can call this.. well, wait,… first we need the context….

President Trump, DHS and ICE have been cracking down on illegal aliens. As a consequence, in June of this year 884 illegal aliens fled the U.S. for asylum in Canada.  A month later, in July, that number skyrocketed over four hundred percent to more than 3,100. And now in the first two weeks of August it has doubled again to more than 3,800 flooding into Canada through August 15th. At this rate August will see over 7,000 illegal aliens fleeing the U.S. for safe-harbor in Canada.

Yes, we can officially call this supermagawonder-winning.   Heck, if we wait a little longer, pretty soon Canada might be paying us to build the Southern Border Wall.

TORONTO/MONTREAL (Reuters) – The number of asylum seekers who illegally crossed the U.S. border into Canada more than tripled last month, according to Canadian government data released on Thursday, as migrants worried about the U.S. administration’s immigration crackdown head north.

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Breaking and Ongoing – In a second related terrorist incident approximately 70 miles south of Barcelona, another terrorist cell -or additional members from the originating cell- in the coastal town of Cambrils Spain has been confronted by police.

According to most recent reporting (See Reuters) at least six civillians have been injured and up to four jihadists shot and killed.  Catalan police believe attackers killed in Spain’s Cambrils are linked to the earlier attack in Barcelona and an explosion in Alcanar Spain the prior evening.

(Via Daily Mail) […] The terrorists, who police say were attempting to carry out a fresh attack, were reported to have explosives strapped around their waists when they were gunned down. One of them has been arrested.

Reports suggested the group had attempted to carry out a similar attack to that in Barcelona by driving a van at pedestrians but their vehicle overturned and they were shot by officers.

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(Via Fox News) Imran Awan, a former IT aide for Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was indicted Thursday on four counts including bank fraud and making false statements. The indictment also includes his wife Hina Alvi.

The grand jury decision in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia comes roughly a month after Awan was arrested at Dulles airport in Virginia trying to board a plane to Pakistan, where his family is from.
Awan and other IT aides for House Democrats have been on investigators’ radar for months over concerns of possible double-billing, alleged equipment theft, and access to sensitive computer systems. Most lawmakers fired Awan in February, but Schultz had kept him on until his arrest in July.
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The ‘big ugly’ is inevitable. We all know it.  The only thing yet to be determined is the timing.  My spidey hunch tells me there are multiple possible detonation moments depending on sequencing.
Today, President Trump violates Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer’s golden rule regarding incumbent Senators.  President Trump tweeted support for a challenger:

Think about it.  President Trump has quietly placed triggering policy around the base of several UniParty issues:

♦China Trade Imbalance and North Korea Denuclearization; ♦the ongoing NAFTA renegotiations and future trade deals; ♦the fiscal year 2018 budget and associated MAGAnomic policy; ♦the southern border wall and immigration enforcement; ♦infrastructure and prioritization of spending; ♦no more stupid wars; ♦the repeal of ObamaCare and tax reform to benefit the middle-class workforce. 

These are not Bannonisms, these are core and central issues important to President Trump on an inherently personal and intrinsic level.
With some nuanced adjustments to reflect the current international challenges (ie. adding DPRK to the China objectives), these are essentially the fundamental reasons why candidate Trump came down the escalator in 2015.
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Jihadists have used vehicles to mow down their victims in numerous terrorist attacks in Europe.  The London Bridge Attack in the U.K, and the attack in Nice, France as well as the Berlin, Germany Christmas Market attack are three high-profile recent examples.
However, after today’s terrorist attack in Barcelona Spain using the same approach of vehicles as weapons, CNN has discovered the real source of inspiration for using cars and trucks for Islamic terrorism.
According to CNN reporter Jim Scuitto and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, the terrorist attack today in Barcelona was the result of a copy-cat from,… wait for it,… yep, Charlottesville Virginia.  No, seriously; I’m.Not.Kidding.  WATCH: