REPORT: Hard for Trump to Surpass Obama Record of Chilling Press Freedom...

Grabien

. . . "The Obama Administration began with lofty promises of being "the most transparent administration in history." Instead it ended up setting a record, by the Associated Press's count, for denying the most Freedom of Information Act requests.

"As the administration's popularity began tumbling early into its first year, the Obama White House declared war on Fox News. The White House director of communications, Anita Dunn, warned they would henceforth treat Fox News "like an opponent," insisting, "we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave."

"The Obama administration made good on that threat. Soon thereafter, the administration sought to deny Fox News' participation in executive branch news-making events -- which only failed after other networks admirably refused to participate if Fox News were excluded.

"As you'll see in the montage above, President Obama blamed Fox News and talk radio for virtually every problem his administration encountered, warning in his waning days that these "domestic propagandists" were far more damaging to America than any interference from hostile powers like Russia. 

"When Fox News's State Department correspondent, James Rosen, reported accurate information about North Korea leaked by a member of the Obama State Department, Eric Holder ordered his movements to be tracked, his phone records seized, and went "judge shopping" until he found one willing to grant such a warrant without telling Rosen himself. Holder even told Google to not notify Rosen that the government was monitoring his email. " . . .

Trump argument bolstered: Clinton could have received 800,000 votes from noncitizens, study finds

The UK Daily Mail reports here.  . . . "If 6.4 percent of the estimated 20.3 million non-citizens voted and 81.8 percent chose Clinton as their candidate, that would mean 835,000 of her votes could be from non-citizens, Richman claimed. 

"Meaning, she still would have won the popular vote by more than 2 million."

Washington Times  "Hillary Clinton garnered more than 800,000 votes from noncitizens on Nov. 8, an approximation far short of President Trump’s estimate of up to 5 million illegal voters but supportive of his charges of fraud.

"Political scientist Jesse Richman of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, has worked with colleagues to produce groundbreaking research on noncitizen voting, and this week he posted a blog in response to Mr. Trump’s assertion.

"Based on national polling by a consortium of universities, a report by Mr. Richman said 6.4 percent of the estimated 20 million adult noncitizens in the U.S. voted in November. He extrapolated that that percentage would have added 834,381 net votes for Mrs. Clinton, who received about 2.8 million more votes than Mr. Trump.

"Mr. Richman calculated that Mrs. Clinton would have collected 81 percent of noncitizen votes.

“ 'Is it plausible that non-citizen votes added to Clinton’s margin? Yes,” Mr. Richman wrote. “Is it plausible that non-citizen votes account for the entire nation-wide popular vote margin held by Clinton? Not at all.”

Mainstream Media Loves "Nasty"Girls, But Not Unborn Girls

Todd Starnes

"Today hundreds of thousands of pro-life Americans are expected to rally in Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life.

"And if previous years are any indication -- the Mainstream Media will turn a blind eye.

"Networks like CNN and MSNBC are more than happy to provide wall-to-wall coverage and above-the-fold headlines for so-called “nasty’ women. But they have no interest in giving equal access to hundreds of thousands of pro-life women – the defenders of the unborn.

"The three broadcast networks covered the women’s march 129 times more than they did the 2016 March For Life, Newsbusters reports. Shameful.  

"The Mainstream Media would have you believe that pro-lifers are religious fanatics - fringe lunatics. But in fact - most of those marching in the streets today are young millennials - college educated. 

"They wear skinny jeans and knit caps and drink chai tea. They are computer engineers and attorneys -- young men and women who have seen firsthand the scourge of the abortionists. 

"They have seen the cruel atrocities committed by Planned Parenthood – funded by our tax dollars. Blood money.

"They went to the polls on Election Day to cast their vote for a man who promised to defend the unborn. " . . .

Smug libs getting plumb 'Tuckered'

Russ Vaughn  . . . "One of the most frequent criticisms conservatives voice regarding liberals is the dripping condescension with which they deign to engage their opponents in political discourse.  It's like a directional speech defect – liberals don't talk to, but rather talk down when speaking to conservatives, and if you possibly miss the scornful contempt in their word and tone, it's usually accompanied by a visible backup cue, a knowing little smile of superiority that's there to make it perfectly clear, bubba, that you are one dumb, misinformed, knuckle-dragging primitive.  That derisive smile is always there when they are listening, usually moving from side-to-side as the head is being shaken slightly to convey the sneering certainty that you're just simply never going to get this, bumpkin.  It's beyond your flag-worshiping, gun-loving, Bible-thumping flyover yokel comprehension.

"...until they get Tuckered, in the new meaning of that word.  Armed with the knowledge of what his liberal guests have publicly pronounced most recently, as well as in their pasts, Tucker Carlson proceeds to hold them to task for their words, hitting them with cogent questions, demanding, repeatedly if necessary, that they answer the questions he asks, not the ones they want to answer with their smug liberal talking points." . . .

Donald Trump’s foreign policy revolution

Charles Krauthammer

Etiquette specifies the first words of a column be the excerpt used to introduce it. I felt this portion was the prime message in this article so have used it instead. TD

. . .  "No more, declared Trump: “From this day forward, it’s going to be only America First.”

"Imagine how this resonates abroad. “America First” was the name of the organization led by Charles Lindbergh that bitterly fought FDR before U.S. entry into World War II — right through the Battle of Britain — to keep America neutral between Churchill’s Britain and Hitler’s Reich.

"Not that Trump was consciously imitating Lindbergh. I doubt he was even aware of the reference. He just liked the phrase. But I can assure you that in London and in every world capital they are aware of the antecedent and the intimations of a new American isolationism. Trump gave them good reason to think so, going on to note “the right of all nations to put their own interests first.” America included.

"Some claim that putting America first is a reassertion of American exceptionalism. On the contrary, it is the antithesis. It makes America no different from all the other countries that define themselves by a particularist blood-and-soil nationalism. What made America exceptional, unique in the world, was defining its own national interest beyond its narrow economic and security needs to encompass the safety and prosperity of a vast array of allies. " . . .

Obama deserted our allies and I felt he was just as much a problem for them as Mr. Trump is regarded to be here. TD

You can't say "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" presented a new kind of woman without dealing with the earlier show, "That Girl"

Ann Althouse  . . . "That Girl is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster, New York, to try to make it big in New York City. Ann has to take a number of offbeat "temp" jobs to support herself in between her various auditions and bit parts. Ted Bessell played her boyfriend Donald Hollinger, a writer for Newsview Magazine...

"That Girl was one of the first sitcoms to focus on a single woman who was not a domestic or living with her parents. Some consider this show the forerunner of the highly successful The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and an early indication of the changing roles of American women in feminist-era America..."

Beware of what the left has planned for this nation

Things will not be pretty the next few years, but not because of President Trump; beware of those who call themselves "Democrats". TD

Lloyd Marcus:They're Back-k-k! Leftist Crazies   . . . "One protest sign read, “Black Trans Queer Lives Matter.” I thought, how many of them are there in the world? Ten?

"Call me crazy, but what are these women so upset about?" . . .

In These Times

"To Defeat Trump, We Must Make Ourselves Ungovernable"

“ 'We cannot and should not legitimize the transfer of authority to a right-wing populist who has neo-fascist orientations,” Kali Akuno told AlterNet over the phone. “We shouldn’t legitimize that rule in any form or fashion. We need to build a program of being ungovernable.”

"As the co-director of the Mississippi-based group Cooperation Jackson and an organizer with the nationwide Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Akuno is one of countless people across the country working diligently to build a platform sturdy enough to confront Trump’s America.

"Movimiento Cosecha, led by undocumented people and immigrants, is planning to go on the offensive to organize a migrant boycott and general strike demanding “permanent protection, dignity, and respect of immigrants.” Groups including Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) are already striking preemptive blows against a potential Muslim registry under Trump by successfully demanding that the Obama administration eliminate the regulatory framework for a Bush-era registry. The New Sanctuary Movement, meanwhile, is getting ready to mobilize large numbers of people to intervene against a potential escalation of raids targeting immigrants." . . .
This was first published on January 9, 2017. Obama did as they wished:    Obama Moves to Eliminate Bush-era Tracking Program.

Hat tip to Bob Bennett in The Trump Movement

How HB2 Can Help Flush Out Bad Recruits

. . . "If you are an “educator” who actually made the life altering decision of avoiding a job and an entire state based upon HB2, you probably possess most if not all of these ten characteristics: " . . . Listed in this article.

Mike Adams

"In a recent Associated Press article, UNC President Margaret Spellings was quoted as saying that North Carolina’s controversial HB2 “bathroom bill” is causing academics to avoid taking jobs in the UNC system. She went on to conclude that this was hurting our efforts to recruit competent faculty. President Spellings is probably correct in her premise that HB2 is causing some academics to avoid teaching in the UNC system. But she’s wrong to conclude that this is hurting our efforts to recruit competent faculty. In fact, it might be helping us by weeding out emotionally unfit applicants. 

"As a preliminary matter, let’s all agree that most who would claim that they would never take a teaching job in North Carolina due to HB2 are simply lying. In my twenty­plus years of serving on faculty hiring committees (all prior to the bathroom bill controversy) the subject never came up. No male job applicant ever asked whether he could use the little girls room while on campus. Nor did any female job applicant ever ask whether she could use the little boys room while on campus. It was and should have remained a non­issue. Lawless city council members in Charlotte never should have made bathroom access for the deeply confused a political issue in need of a response by the already busy state legislature. 

"But alas it has happened. Now . . ."

Democrats oppose Jeff Sessions

www.michaelpramirez

Palestinians say Obama’s last-minute $221 million payout frozen by Trump

Times of Israel

. . . "On Tuesday, the State Department said it was reviewing the last-minute decision by former secretary of state John Kerry to send the funds to the Palestinians despite objections to the transfer by congressional Republicans." . . .

. . . "Kerry formally notified Congress that State would release the extra $221 million money Friday morning, just hours before President Donald Trump took the oath of office.

"Granger released a statement Tuesday saying, “I am deeply disappointed that President Obama defied congressional oversight and released $221 million to the Palestinian territories.”

"She added: “I worked to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars would fund the Palestinian Authority unless very strict conditions were met. While none of these funds will go to the Palestinian Authority because of those conditions, they will go to programs in the Palestinian territories that were still under review by Congress. The Obama Administration’s decision to release these funds was inappropriate.' ” . . .

The Failures of ObamaCare Grace-Marie Turner presented testimony to the House Budget Committee on Jan 24, 2017.

Galen Institute  . . . "While millions of people have received health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, many millions more have felt the personal harm it has imposed on them and their families.  I know that you and many other members of this body, including Speaker Ryan, have provided assurances that repeal and replace measures will protect the people who are receiving coverage now under the health law while building a bridge to new coverage that will protect others from the damage that it has done and is doing to their pocketbooks and their access to medical care.

"The costs of health insurance are crippling many families’ finances, including forcing them to work extra jobs.  An Uber driver who lives in Maryland told me last week that he is working this second job so he can pay for health insurance. The premium for the policy for himself, his wife, and one child is $1,200 a month.  He must spend hours away from them every week to meet his obligation to provide coverage. I hear similar stories repeatedly from people across the country.  While many millions are covered, millions more are pleading for relief." . . .

• Again, The Daily Signal offers an example of a veterinarian whose premiums doubled over three years while the quality of his coverage eroded:[18]
• For the past 15 years, Warren Jones has had the same health insurance plan with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
• But over the years, Jones, of Kansas City, Missouri, has watched the coverage offered in his policy “erode” over time.
• First, the company got rid of the dental and vision coverage he had.
• Then, Jones’ deductible increased—to $2,500—for his plan alone.
• But perhaps the most significant change for Jones, a veterinarian, has been the rising cost of his monthly premiums.
• In 2014, the year Obamacare took effect, Jones paid $318 in monthly premiums. In 2015, the price went up to $394 per month, then to $491 for 2016.
• For 2017, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas estimates that Jones will pay $716 each month for his premiums—a 45.8 percent increase—according to a letter the insurer sent him.
• “You can’t keep doing this because people’s wages don’t increase by that amount,” Jones told The Daily Signal. “Nobody’s wages are increasing, so it’s taking a bigger chunk of the budget.”

Exodus from State Dept. Who doesn't want whom?

Resignees included Undersecretary for Management Patrick Kennedy, assistant Secretary of State for Administration Joyce Anne Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Michele Bond and Ambassador Gentry O. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Missions.

Senior State Department officials resign after Rex Tillerson visit

"At least four senior officials at the State Department resigned Wednesday, leaving the critical agency devoid of most of its management-level personnel ahead of the expected confirmation of Secretary of State-designate Rex Tillerson, according to reports.

"The departures are just the latest wave in an ongoing mass exit from the State Department following President Trump’s electoral victory in November, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

"CNN reported that the foursome was fired — and didn’t resign — by the Trump administration as part of an effort, officials said, meant to “clean house.” . . .

The American Foreign Service Association, the labor union for the U.S. Foreign Service, however, said in a statement Thursday that while news of the personnel moves "appears to be a large turnover in a short period of time, a change of administration always bring personnel changes, and there is nothing unusual about rotations or retirements."

Bloomberg Politics: House cleaning at State
"A wave of top U.S. State Department officials have resigned as President Donald Trump’s administration exerts control over the agency with an eye toward purging an old guard seen as representing the establishment he railed against during the campaign." . . .

"While those who are leaving are mostly career foreign service officers, they were in posts that require a presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said a Trump administration request that politically appointed officers submit letters of resignation is “standard with every transition,” suggesting the changes weren’t unusual.

"That view isn’t shared by other current and former officials." . . .

At the same time, the Trump administration is eager to shake up the department’s bureaucracy and make a break with what the president sees as decades of failed foreign policy, according to a transition official who asked not to be identified.
That push has created tension between Trump’s team and the State Department.