Politico

The industry’s power players had started to take White House access for granted. Now they find themselves on the wrong end of the president's tweetstorms—and shaken that they might not understand America at all.

. . . "It was not supposed to be like this, a defeated army sitting on the floor of an empty sound stage grasping for a chance at political impact. This was the class of people who were supposed to have a reserved seat at the table at Hillary Clinton’s first White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Now, like the deep-pocketed celebrities and industry titans who by one reliable estimate had raised some $60 million for her candidacy here, they were suddenly out in the cold. On the floor.

"The new relationship between Hollywood and the incoming White House was on stark display this month when Meryl Streep took to the stage at the Golden Globes to say—without naming the incoming president—that Trump’s mocking of a disabled reporter “broke my heart,” and Trump fired back in the New York Times and on Twitter, calling the three-time Oscar winner “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood,” and just another of the “liberal movie people” he’d expect to attack him." . . .

Obama defends late-game foreign policy decisions

Stephen F. Hayes: Obama's Shameful Legacy  "There was a time, early in Barack Obama’s presidency, when it was considered outrageous to worry out loud that the new president might treat enemies better than allies, run down friends and elevate foes, show solidarity with anti-American leaders, maybe even release dangerous terrorists or sympathize with traitors. 

"And here we are. Obama has accommodated leaders hostile to America, like Vladimir Putin in Russia and Bashar al-Assad in Syria. He strengthened a rogue regime in Iran and boosted despotic leaders in Cuba. At the same time, he chastised and isolated Israel and abandoned friendly governments in places like Afghanistan and Ukraine. 

"He's freed from Guantanamo dozens of jihadists and high-ranking al Qaeda terrorists, including some who have promised to kill Americans upon their release, and he's done this even as U.S. men and women in uniform and in the intelligence community fight and die to protect us from the threat that these enemies represent. 

. . . "When Obama sought the return of Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who had abandoned his unit in Afghanistan and had been taken captive by jihadists in Pakistan, he released five senior Taliban operatives, all deemed high-risk for a return to terror. Bergdahl's platoon-mates considered him a traitor; Obama's national security adviser portrayed him as a hero, "an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield" who had served his country with "honor and distinction." 

"And on Tuesday, of course, Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who leaked hundreds of thousands of sensitive U.S. intelligence and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, causing irreparable harm to U.S. interests. The damage wasn't theoretical. According to an Associated Press article from the prosecution of Manning, the U.S. government argued in court, "al Qaeda leaders reveled in WikiLeaks' publication of reams of classified U.S. documents" and "al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden asked for and received from an associate the Afghanistan battlefield reports that WikiLeaks published." . . .

UK Daily Mail . . . "Obama upset the nation of Israel, and the president-elect, who accused him of putting up 'roadblocks' intended to hamper his administration, when he ordered his United Nation's ambassador to abstain from a vote on settlement building in Israel at a security council at the end of December." . . .

Well, he was mentored by a Communist as a youth, by his America-and-white-hating pastor Jeremiah Wright and was close to Bill Ayers, anti-war bomber.

Barry Takes a Knee

Appointing Ben Rhodes to Holocaust Memorial Council is massive Obama middle finger of triumph

Legal Insurrection

"Rhodes engineered the public communications deception in support of the Iran nuke deal"

. . . "Who is Ben Rhodes?

"He’s the Obama communications operative who admitted to deceiving the American public and manipulating the media in support of the Iran Nuclear Deal. (He also ran the Benghazi disinformation campaign.)

David Gerstman wrote a devastating takedown of the deal and Rhode’s deception last May, Grand Deception: How Obama and Ben Rhodes Lied Us Into the Iran nuke deal. Read the whole thing.

"Part of Rhodes deception was to create the media narrative, and a media echo chamber, pushing the claim that negotiations were a byproduct of the rise of a moderate faction in Iran. It was a lie meant to suggest that the Iranians were moving away from their genocidal desire to destroy Israel and thus an agreement which legitimized and legalized Iran’s nuclear program was not a worry.

MT @rhodes44 helped Obama defraud Americans on #IranDeal and he's loving it https://t.co/G1upVPu7zt pic.twitter.com/k0SIZGDbZO

— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) May 6, 2016

"In fact, we know that the nuke deal puts Iran on a certain path to be in a position to produce and deliver a nuclear weapon down the road, and that’s assuming Iran honors the deal. And that supposed rising moderate Iranian government is nowhere to be found. Flush with cash and renewed international business connections, the Mullahs are as violent as ever and increasingly throwing their military weight around in the region.

For Obama to appoint the man who deceived us into putting 6 million Israeli Jews in danger on the Holocaust Memorial Council is a big FU by Obama to critics of the Iran nuke deal." . . .

"Rhodes also coordinated Obama messaging to support the decision to abstain on UN Security Council Resolution 2334, VIDEO: Obama advisor Ben Rhodes says Israel wasn’t ambushed and brought UN Resolution on itself."

Is there a hidden logic behind Obama’s freeing of Chelsea Manning?

Mr. Lifson thinks this appears to be just one more act of spite from Obama toward President Trump.

Thomas Lifson  "A lot of people are puzzled over the motives behind President Obama freeing Chelsea Manning soon by commuting his sentence. Some posit that he is ingratiating himself with the sexual left. Others darkly suspect that he intends to hobble the ability of the United States to conduct espionage, signaling to other potential traitors that they can be pardoned by a future progressive president.

"But almost everyone agrees that this act will influence his legacy, as the Marc Rich pardon has helped define the Clinton legacy.

"But what if there is a plan that is not immediately obvious to most observers?

"Jack Armstrong just made a brilliant observation supporting the notion that something is up: Donald Trump has not yet tweeted about the subject. He adds:

"Don’t forget that Julian Assange has agreed to come back to the US and face trial if Manning were freed.

"Perhaps the Trump team has determined that Assange is sincere, and wants to come back and face a public trial, making transparency a cause for the jury to weigh.  Assange may be willing to face a prison term for the opportunity to make his trial a showcase, a historic case that ignites passion around the world. Especially if the precedent exists of progressive presidents pardoning leakers.

"This would hobble the intelligence-gathering and security operations of the Trump administration. 

"And irony of ironies, Obama gets the image of Mr. Transparency for his role in freeing Manning despite his broken promise to have the “most transparent administration in the history of America.”

If Obama had a son, would he look like Chelsea Manning?  "By now it is well known that Obama has commuted the sentence of "Chelsea" Manning, the transvestite traitor who released many classified military secrets and was sentenced to a long term in jail.  Obama seems to take a casual attitude toward the release of military information to our enemies.

"But Obama has shown much greater alarm regarding the released emails from the Democratic National Committee files, allegedly by Russian hackers, even though no national security secrets were revealed.  Why is that?  I think because Obama decides everything based on identity politics.  He doesn't look at the nature of the crime; he looks at who he thinks committed it and how virtuous that person's group is." . . .

What Kind of Snowflake Are You?

"Under the guise of protecting them, these whores of diversity earn a living turning impressionable students into ideological weapons." . . . 

Mike Adams

"Campuses all across America are being overrun by hordes of snowflakes that are simply emotionally incapable of functioning in a free and open marketplace of ideas. Some people blame the public school system or even the parents who raised the little snowflakes. I disagree and have decided it is best to blame the universities themselves. I arrived at this conclusion last fall after speaking with one of the skinny blonde chicks that had just gone through freshman orientation here at UNC-We Are Constantly Offended. Please go grab a beer unless you are below the age of 21 (or if you are a Baptist currently in the presence of other Baptists). I have a story I would like to share." 

"The aforementioned skinny blonde chick enrolled at UNCW after being urged to do so by her father who is an avid reader of my column. When she attended freshman orientation, she encountered three very interesting events that go a long way toward explaining why chronically offended adolescents overrun our campuses. The events follow in no particular order of absurdity:" . . .

The way things are today

Toby Keith Refuses to Apologize for Inauguration Performance

     "Hollywood A-listers and auto-tuned pop stars are hunkered down in their safe spaces this week fearful of offending the LGBT community and liberals -- but not Toby Keith.

     "The patriotic country music star says he plans to sing at President-elect Trump's "Make America Great Again Welcome Celebration" on Jan. 19th. 

     "His decision is sure to offend social justice warriors -- but Toby Keith does not care.

     " 'I don't apologize for performing for our country or military," Keith said in a statement provided to Fox News. "I performed at events for previous presidents Bush and Obama and over 200 shows in Iraq and Afghanistan for the USO."

     "His comments came one day after Tony-award winner Jennifer Holliday backed out of the inauguration event.

     "Holliday was bullied by a mean-spirited bunch of intolerant lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, asexual, gender neutral, non-binary, gender fluid fans. 

     "She begged her homosexual fans to have mercy on her in a letter she penned." . . .

Church Won't Mention Trump's Name in Prayers, Fearing Microaggressions  "Parishioners at a California Episcopal church will no longer pray by name for the president of the United States over fears the name "Donald Trump" might trigger microaggressions among sanctified snowflakes." . . .

Kinman went on to say the safety of the congregation could be jeopardized by the mere nation of the president-elect's name.

The legal borders of Israel under International law

Pamela Geller  "Here's a video of the conference that took place in San Remo last year marking the 90th anniversary of the San Remo Conference, when the world powers transferred exclusive legal rights to the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. (thanks to Caroline Glick)*"

*. . . "SINCE THAT speech, Obama has taken a series of steps that only reinforce the sense that he is the most hostile US president Israel has ever faced. Indeed, when taken together, these steps raise concern that Obama may actually constitute a grave threat to Israel." . . .

Hat tip to Pro-Israel

One small victory against Obama's scorched-earth policy

Kerry’s Latest Peace Making Effort Ends with a Pffft

. . . "The Paris peace conference was intended to advance the international assault on Israel’s legitimacy, playing up the Palestinian narrative that settlements, not Palestinian intransigence, were mostly responsible for the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.". . .

"However British Prime Minister Theresa May stepped up and sent a low level delegation to the conference, which refused to sign on to the final communique. (A spokesman for the government had blasted Kerry’s post resolution speech, in which he tried to justify the abstention, saying that it was wrong to be “focusing on only one issue,” namely the settlements, in seeking peace, when “the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is so deeply complex.” The statement also took Kerry to task for criticizing “the composition of the democratically-elected government of an ally.” The statement criticizing Kerry also reiterated that bilateral negotiations were the only way to achieve peace.)" . . .

Rally At UN Thurs.1/12: Tell UN To Target Islamic Terror-NOT ISRAEL

 Jonathan S. Tobin: Who Derailed Middle East Peace? Ross and Obama Should Look in the Mirror . . . "But in discussing the Europeans’ foolish insistence on backing a Palestinian diplomatic gambit whose only purpose is to avoid peace negotiations rather than jumpstart them, Ross ought to mention the sorry history of U.S. diplomatic efforts that were based on the same wrongheaded premise." . . .

Obama Appoints Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Ben Rhodes, Other Faves To Cushy Posts…

Weasel Zippers

"Paying off all those who COA (covered Obama’s a**). Unbelievable…

""Via Washington Examiner:

President Obama might be done in the White House in three days, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to make sure some his top administration officials and favorite athletes don’t get plum assignments first.

The White House released a list of new appointments Tuesday morning and some top Obama administration names were included. Among them were Valerie Jarrett, his White House senior adviser, and Susan Rice, the national security adviser, who will both become general trustees to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Keep reading…

Al Sharpton Confronted by Activists in Baltimore

Washington Free Beacon

"Rev. Al Sharpton got an earful from activists when he arrived in Baltimore to preach on Sunday.

"A group of men peppered the preacher with questions about his activism in the black community in a Facebook Live video posted by Duane G. Davis.

“ 'They come to exploit tragedies and collect money,” Davis said about Sharpton and other high-profile liberal activists. “How much money is he going to get to speak here?”

"One activist repeatedly asked Sharpton what he was doing to help young black men, telling Sharpton that his past activism wasn’t good enough.

“ 'You are talking about 19—I am talking about today,” the man said.

"When asked about Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man killed by the police in 2015, Sharpton said, “What did I do with Freddie Gray? What are you talking about? I didn’t deal with that, y’all did.”

“ 'Exactly, that’s the problem, Al,” the man retorted.

“ 'That is your problem,” Sharpton said, angering the activists.

"Davis pressed Sharpton to disclose how much he was being paid to preach in Baltimore. Sharpton denied receiving any money for the sermon.

"Davis is no stranger to controversy. He was jailed in 2011 for a protest stunt involving a toilet, which police thought was a possible bomb. In the 2012 Republican primary, he ran as a protest candidate for lieutenant governor of Maryland, according to RedState."

Obama's long, long goodbye with dirty looks over his shoulder

Ever notice Obama has a "tell" when he is irritated by an interviewer's question? His reply begins with "Look. . .  "

J. Marsolo: Obama: Limbaugh and Fox News ruined my presidency
. . . "Thus, Hillary would have won but for Putin, and Obama would have been successful but for Limbaugh and Hannity.  It is never the fault of Obama.

"In addition to lying, Obama believes that his way is the only correct way.  If you disagree with him, then you must have been influenced by Limbaugh and Hannity, who should not have criticized Obama.  This view is an implicit attack on the First Amendment, which protects our right to disagree and criticize the government and the right of a free press to criticize the president.

"Obama is essentially saying that Limbaugh and Hannity should not criticize him because he knows what is best for our country.  This is the mentality of a totalitarian."

Obama's cheap shot against Cubans  . . . "President Trump needs to take a hard look at this Cuba deal and demand change on the island.  We are not calling for another round of "sí se puede" speeches or "hope and change." We are talking about the kind of change that recognizes that the Castro regime is the reason these Cubans want to get out."

Barack Obama’s Deplorable Race Relations Legacy  . . . "The time has also come for rest of the nation to stop being cowed by the likes of Obama, the race hustlers and social justice warriors out to foment discontent and upheaval.  That they need to ostracize and publicly denigrate those who would use their fellow citizens as hostages in their cynical games.  And, that the white population must join with African-Americans of good will to stamp out the last remaining vestiges of institutionalized racism and discrimination."

Obama Must Have His Applause — Please (Don’t) Clap  . . . "President Obama must have his applause. He got plenty during his recent speech in Chicago, clearly basking in it even as he joked about his lame-duck inability to command an end to the public adulation of his semi-divine person. . . .  a group of self-abasing would-be subjects — there may end up being thousands of them — plan to gather down the street from the White House and applaud. Obama will not be there, but mere mention of his name, even in his absence, will trigger fanatical applause.

Newsweek’s Thomas: ‘Slightly Creepy Cult of Personality’ Around Obama  From 2008: . . . "[H]ave you ever seen a victory speech where there was no one else on stage? No adoring wife, no cute kid. . . "There is a slightly creepy cult of personality about all of this." Rose confronted him on his use of this phrase, and he explained that it made him "a little uneasy that he's so singular. He's clearly managing his own spectacle. He knows how to do it. He's a -- I think, a deeply manipulative guy..." Later, all three marveled about how it was "amazing" that Obama "watches us watching him."

How the left's tactic of mass hysteria against Trump is playing out with the general public

How is the left's campaign to convince large numbers of people that their freedoms, even their lives are in danger going?  Not bad at all.

Rick Moran  "Donald Trump has yet to be inaugurated, he has yet to make any specific proposals for legislation, has yet to issue any executive orders, and has yet to even comment on many of the cultural issues that divide America.

"But that lack of specificity has played directly into the hands of his opponents on the left. Into the void, the left has substituted mass hysteria about what Trumpmight do rather than reasoned argument against the positions he took during the campaign.

" 'As a political tactic, generating mass hysteria against an opponent has been wildly successful in history. The two largest purveyors of mass hysteria - Nazi Germany and Communist Russia - used the ploy to convince large majorities of their populations of a clear and present danger in society, be it the Jews or "counterrevolutionaries." In this, they were ably aided by a captive media, where the state controlled all information disseminated to the public.

"The left in America doesn't have that luxury - at least, not officially. But there is little doubt that their attempts to massively exaggerate the danger of a Trump presidency to certain minority groups has found a mainstream media compliant, even eager in their efforts to conciously aid in spreading propaganda, hyperbole, even lies in the cause of opposing Trump." . . .