Unlike Obama, Trump nailed it on GDP growth

Monica Showalter  "While most of the mainstream media attention has been focused on turmoil in Washington, or else President Trump's State of the Union address, if not tabloidy speculation on the state of Trump's marriage, out in the real America, what matters is very different: We have an economy again. This stands in stark contrast to the constantly overpromising and underdelivering record of the Obama administration. During the eight years of Obama's administration, Obama constantly promised that prosperity was just around the corner as the mainstream media said nothing.

"But here's the reality, according to John Merline at Investor's Business Daily:

Trump Just Did Something Obama Never Could — Deliver On Promised GDP Growth

"It's a breath of fresh air and real news, even if the swamp things of the Washington Post do their miserable best to pooh-pooh it.

"Let's scroll back to the Obama era for perspective. " . . .

Spot the stupidest MSM SOTU television commentary

Facts First? CNN Speculates Melania Wearing White to Protest Her Husband

"To demonstrate just how far down the drain their standards for news and analysis were, CNN spent a couple minutes before the State of the Union Tuesday wondering if First Lady Melania Trump’s outfit was designed to protest the President, her own husband.

"Just before the 9 p.m. hour, CNN White House Reporter Kate Bennett was trying to read the tea leaves to understand why Melania didn’t ride with Donald to the Capitol:" . . .

Thomas Lifson

. . .  "All that, despite the fact that Bennett did admit that Melania was accompanying her guests to the event.

"And after being teed up by CNN host Jake Tapper, Bennett tried to read into the secret message the First Lady was trying to send, with her dress. “You know, she's wearing a cream-colored suit there, which I find interesting. Remember last year the female Democratic Senators all wore white,” she recalled while claiming it was to protests Trump’s anti-woman policies.

“ 'Listen, it could be a total coincidence, but I just find a lot of the stuff she does these days, to look at it twice,” Bennett continued.

“ 'I think Maureen Dowd called her the “Slovenian Sphinx,” everybody looking at her and trying to decipher the mysteries,” Tapper quipped, apparently buying into the ridiculousness." . . .

. . . Chuck Todd’s entry in the contest for stupidest commentary was strong, inadvertently reminding us of President Obama’s inability to deliver a coherent speech without reading a script off a teleprompter. Todd discounted what President Trump said because:

“… we know it's not him. It's him reading off a teleprompter.”

(Emphases in the original)

More CNN:  Rep Clyburn: Trump’s America Like Hitler’s 1934 Germany

"President Trump’s State of the Union was a “home run” speech in many ways, but contrasted with the expectations of many, especially Democrat Representative John Clyburn of South Carolina who compared Trump’s America to Germany in 1934 under Adolf Hitler, Monday night on CNN. " . . .

"Well, film clips of Hitler speeches at rallies from that era simply do not resemble Trump rallies. The congressman is an especially silly man, for the history teacher he purports to have been. Clyburn notes that all the churches in Germany had swastika banners in 1934, but none have yet appeared in the church I attend in northern Virginia or the Hill country of Texas."

After Obama-Farrakhan Photo Bombshell, New Footage Emerges Of Democrats Hugging Nation Of Islam Leade

Daily Caller 

 "Images of multiple congressional Democrats hugging, embracing and coordinating with Louis Farrakhan have surfaced, just shortly after a never-before-seen, 2005 photo of Barack Obama and Louis Farrakhan was released to the public.

"The Obama picture was kept a secret by the photographer who took it because he believed it would hurt the future president’s “political career.

"The new images and videos show Congressional Democrats, some of whom are still serving, warmly embracing Farrakhan in 2006 at a church in New Orleans. The footage was brought to light by columnist Jeryl Bier. Bier has been tweeting the following images and video of the encounter. 

"Here’s regular critic of President Trump, Maxine Waters, hugging Farrakhan warmly."

Here Are the Members of Congress Skipping Trump’s First State of the Union Address

Western Journalism  "A number of Democrat lawmakers have announced they are boycotting President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.

"The Democrats’ decision to protest Trump’s first State of the Union address comes after Trump’s alleged “s—hole” comments in early January. The following members of Congress have said they will not show up to the State of the Union address:

Democrats Skipping State of the Union for Separate Women’s Event "At least 11 Democratic lawmakers will skip President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address Tuesday.

"Instead, at least two of those absentees plan to take part in a separate event in Washington, the “State of OUR Union,” put on by leading women activists to “offer an alternative view and vision for the country” from Trump’s.

"Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Barbara Lee are slated to speak at the forum Tuesday.

"Rep. Judy Chu had been on the speakers list but is attending Trump’s State of the Union address, a spokesman confirmed.

"The event planners hope to “address the persistent gender inequality and ‘crisis of leadership’” they believe is harming America, they said in a statement on Monday.

"Jayapal and the 10 other lawmakers who have announced they will boycott Trump’s speech Tuesday night cited the president’s caustic and often controversial rhetoric — especially with regard to race — as the primary reason for their no-show.

3 Things to Watch for at Trump's First State of the Union Address

Five things to watch for in President Trump’s State of the Union Address

6 things to watch at Trump's speech, including the elephant in the room

Total, fourteen if you're keeping track.

Hillary at the Grammys, rhe Star of Hollywood...but not the White House

If Hillary gave a presidential address, could you believe a word she said?

She'd rather be on TV Tuesday night   

. . . "In the end, it probably turned people off. After all, am I the only who finds it disgusting to watch U.S. performers talk about repression? They should read The Gulag Archipelago or talk to people who live under serious repression and get the real story.

"It seems that the ratings were another disaster, with the lowest viewership since the awards first aired. Furthermore, I'm sure that Mrs. Clinton would have rather be delivering the State of the Union on Tuesday night.

"She is silly, this woman named  Hillary Clinton!"

Hillary Embarrasses Herself at the Grammys

It’s merely unbecoming for a winner to taunt his vanquished foe. It’s pathetic for a loser to poke fun at the man who beat her.

. . . "Leave aside the indignity of Hillary Clinton, a former first lady, secretary of state, and presidential candidate, appearing in a cheap throwaway gag at the Grammys during which she reads a bit from the book Fire and Fury about President Trump’s love of junk food. Leave aside the fact that her husband was also once notorious for his love of McDonald’s. Leave aside the fact that she and her husband have, like Trump, been the subject of scurrilous, vicious, largely made-up junk-journalism that doesn’t even pass the laugh test, much less a rigorous fact-checking process. She lost; she has no standing to make fun of the man who beat her.

"I say this with no emotional stake in the matter, because I didn’t vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump: Clinton can’t dunk on Trump after the game is over and he has won. He’s the president; she’s not and she never will be. Losers don’t get to taunt winners. This isn’t a matter of sportsmanship, but a matter of dignity: A loser humiliates herself by poking fun at the guy who beat her. Half a day later, Trump, the most irritable man on earth, hadn’t deigned to respond to Clinton’s taunt. He didn’t have to. It was too pathetic to merit a response." . . .  Full article.

"The woman who would be president embarrassed herself at the Grammys Sunday night."

His son, Donald Trump Jr., gave a powerful response. "Getting to read a #fakenews book excerpt at the Grammys seems like a great consolation prize for losing the presidency," Trump Jr. tweeted.

"The only female advancement/empowerment Mrs. Clinton has ever been interested in is her own."  . . . "While most of her supporters can't think of anyone who's a bigger and better champion for women than Clinton, here comes the bucket of salt to pour in that 2016 wound that never really healed.  According to the New York Times, Clinton  shielded one of her advisers, Burns Strider, from being fired for repeatedly sexually harassing a younger staffer during her 2008 presidential campaign." . . . 

From Legal Insurrection: Hillary Clinton joined in the ‘Fire and Fury’ fun, taking the already bad sketch to a new level of annoying.  . . . "Sunday’s Grammy Awards proved once again that the American entertainment industry is increasingly disconnected from the people they’re meant to entertain.

"As part of the show, artists read excerpts from Michael Wolff’s ‘Fire and Fury’, an anti-Trump book. ‘Fire and Fury’, a problematic work (the veracity of which Wolff himself is unsure) blew up the news cycle prior to its release several weeks ago." . . .

Democrats And Leftists Will Be Giving At Least Six Separate Responses To Trump’s State Of The Union Address

Weasel Zippers

"Gee, they really are desperate, aren’t they?

"Via Daily Caller:

In case you have an insatiable desire for liberal hand wringing, Democrats and leftists have scheduled at least six individual responses to President Donald Trump’s state of the union address Tuesday night.

Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy (yes, those Kennedys) will be giving the Democratic Party’s official response immediately following the conclusion of the president’s speech, right from the heartland in Kennedy’s home state of Massachusetts.

¿No habla inglés? No problemo. Virginia Del. Elizabeth Guzman will give the Democrats’ official Spanish-language response, although it’s not clear how her message will differ from Kennedy’s.

Keep reading…

The rock star declares:

Millionaires plan People's State of the Union speech  "Fox News reported, "A group of Hollywood elites, progressive groups and social activists are planning a People’s State of the Union as a public alternative on the eve of President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address.' "

"The news channel listed the celebrities as Michael Moore (net worth $50 million), Mark Ruffalo (net worth $20 million), Alyssa Milano (net worth $10 million), Rosie Perez (net worth $8 million), and Whoopi Goldberg (net worth $45 million).

"Now granted, we have a billionaire president, but the people elected him to speak for them.

"No one elected Michael Moore dog catcher." . . .

FAKE NEWS: Reporters, Obama Alumni Spread False Story That Ivanka Trump Kicked Spanish Chef Out of Restaurant

But Cafe Milano later clarified that the story was a "misunderstanding." The restaurant was rented out for a private event, and Ivanka Trump had nothing to do with the guest list.

 Free Beacon  "Several reporters and former Obama White House staffers over the weekend spread a false story claiming Ivanka Trump requested a Spanish-American chef be kicked out of a restaurant because his presence made her "uncomfortable."

"Former Mexican Ambassador to China Jorge Guajardo claimed on Twitter on Sunday that celebrity chef José Andrés was kicked out of Cafe Milano, the tony Washington, D.C. restaurant, at the request of Trump. Andrés soon tweeted the accusation himself."
. . . 
"Guajardo’s claim quickly went viral, racking up more than 16,000 retweets. Former Obama administration officials Jon Favreau, Ronald Klain, and David Axelrord; Washington Post reporter Phillip Rucker; CNN host Chris Cuomo; and chef Anthony Bourdain also racked up thousands of retweets spreading the story and noting Andrés’ charitable work in Puerto Rico." . . .

"But Cafe Milano later clarified that the story was a "misunderstanding." The restaurant was rented out for a private event, and Ivanka Trump had nothing to do with the guest list."

All emphases added by TD

The troubles of Andrew McCabe

Thomas Lifson: McCabe at the precipice: 'Removal' from FBI may be the least of his troubles  "Instead of planning how to spend his federal pension, now-former Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe must be figuring out how to pay the lawyers he is going to need.  Until his boss Christopher Wray, President Trump’s appointee to head the FBI, read the four-page FISA memo on Sunday (an extraordinary act in itself), he enjoyed protected job status. According to reports, Wray previously had threatened to resign if McCabe was forced out.

"Officially, McCabe “stepped down,” but administration officials informed the media that he was “removed,” which suggests he was forced to resign. Using accumulated vacation time, he will be able to fill out a full twenty years of service and qualify for a federal pension. According to some reports, his accumulated vacation time was sufficient to allow him to have left office late last year, but he preferred to stay on for reasons we can only speculate on, but which might include running interference int he face of criticism." . , ,

Analysis: Why Was Andrew McCabe Abruptly Removed From His Post? [UPDATE: 'Concerning' Revelation from IG's Clinton Probe]  "As you already know, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe -- against whom President Trump has fulminated in tweets -- no longer occupies his position.  CNN's Jim Acosta initially reported that the departure was 'mutual' and done on McCabe's terms, but multiple other networks confirmed that McCabe had be ousted.  Why did this occur?  We don't know yet, and the White House has referred all questions about the decision to the FBI, averring that the president was not involved in it.  A few possibilities come to mind (see update):" . . .

Looking ahead to the State Of The Union address Tuesday

Politico's SOTU coverage  "Everything you need to know: Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address"

President Donald Trump will deliver his first formal State of the Union address at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, Jan. 30, before a joint session of Congress. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) presides in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol, with Vice President Mike Pence beside him in his constitutional role as president of the Senate. Congress, Supreme Court justices, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and all but one of the president’s Cabinet members — the so-called designated survivor — will attend. . .

White House sets the tone for Trump's 'bipartisan' State of the Union address: Democrats 'have yet to come to the table with anything except wearing black tonight, saying "Me Too" '. . . "More than two dozen Democratic lawmakers will be bringing Dreamers with them to Trump's address to highlight their desire to provide illegal youth with amnesty.

"The White House said Friday during a briefing on Trump's remarks that the president would emphasize 'bipartisanship' in his progress report, delivering remarks that are 'optimistic' and 'unifying' this evening.  

" 'Trump's speech will touch on immigration, infrastructure and national security, the White House says, in addition to traditional topics like jobs and the economy and will center on 'Building a safe, strong and proud America.'

" 'You can expect the President will be speaking from the heart. It will be a speech that resonates with our American values, and unites us with patriotism, and also unites us with the greatly expanded opportunities that is lifting up all Americans,' a senior official said.

" 'It’s a big speech, an important speech, we covered immigration...We’re going to get something done, we hope,' President Trump said Monday.  'It’s got to be bipartisan because the Republicans really don’t have the votes to get it done in any other way.' " . . .

Monica Showalter: Democrats acting as if Maxine Waters will embarass them in SOTU response  . . . "So it's weird stuff to see the noisy, flamboyant Waters being shunted off to the Black Entertainment Television network representing the Democrats in their response to President Trump's State of the Union address, while the bland, pedigreed Kennedy is being given the prime time slot for the wider-audience mainstream media response. It certainly looks like ghettoization. So much for the face of the Democratic Party.

"A case could be made for racism, given that the Democratic Party has a rather notable history of racism from Woodrow Wilson on down to the Podesta emails.

. . .  "But to admit this is to also admit that Maxine Waters has been making a fool of herself with her wild statements and only black voters won't be turned off." . . .

The California Democrat will, well ...speak. Or something.


"Waters makes some of the craziest members of her party look sane, so her response should be very entertaining."  . . . "Yes, I’m sure a Kennedy who went to the Buckingham Browne & Nichols school in Cambridge before attending Stanford and Harvard Law has a deep understanding of hard working men and women in America." . . . Just speak in liberal platitudes; you'll be fine.

State of the Union to emphasize economy, military strength  . . . "It will focus on five broad topics: the economy, a $1-trillion-plus plan to rebuild infrastructure, Mr. Trump’s new immigration proposal that includes a pathway to citizenship 1.8 million young illegal immigrants, trade policy and a plan to rebuild the military.

“ 'To Congress, the tone will be one of bipartisanship and very forward-looking,” a senior administration official said. “The economic upswing is helping everybody — all groups are benefiting.”

"Mr. Trump is facing an increasingly hostile Democratic minority in Congress — several black lawmakers plan to boycott his speech. The White House’s proposal to rebuild crumbling bridges and roads offers perhaps the most realistic opportunity to work with Democrats in this election year." . . .

Frederica Wilson: Trump Doesn’t Deserve To Be Honored With My Presence At SOTU  . . . “ 'I’m not going because to go would be to honor the President and I don’t think he deserves to be honored at this time, after being so hateful towards black people and then black countries, Haiti and the whole continent of Africa. It hurts. And then he’s brought the White House to the lowest. And I don’t think he needs to be honored with my presence,” Wilson said." . . .

The Grammys, a President Trump hatefest

Grammy Ratings Fall From 2017 As Politics Dominate Music’s Biggest Night
. . . "With a 12.7/21 in metered market ratings, the Recording Academy’s big hootenanny was also way down from the early numbers from the LA-based February 13, 2017 59th annual show. By way down, I mean a just over 20% decline from last year to what looks to be an all-time low for the ceremony." . . .

Hillary Clinton Reads 'Fire and Fury' at the Grammys

Donald Trump Jr.

✔@DonaldJTrumpJr

Getting to read a #fakenews book excerpt at the Grammys seems like a great consolation prize for losing the presidency. #GrammyAwards

. . . "Haley has ample reason to dislike Fire and Fury. Many of the book's accounts have been disproven, and recently Wolff himself suggested Trump was having an affair — with Haley! The UN ambassador powerfully shot down this baseless attack. This "disgusting" rumor only further damaged the book's credibility.

Liberals in the #Resistance may think the sketch inspiring, but most Americans will recognize it for what it is — a desperate plea for attention from a sore loser." . . .

Hillary Clinton Trashes Donald Trump In Grammys Cameo  . . . "The irony of Hillary’s stunt lies in the fact that on the very same night, at the very same gathering, stars came together to protest sexual harassment by wearing white roses to accessorize their designer outfits. Hillary, of course, is married to one of the most notorious rapists of our time." . . .

Oddly enough, none of the women abused by Bill Clinton were invited to attend the Grammys on Sunday. Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, and Paula Jones were all noticeably absent. But, if Hillary were really concerned with the plight of women — if she were a real feminist — she would have been reading from Broaddrick’s book “You’d Better Put Some Ice On That: How I Survived Being Raped By Bill Clinton.” It’s a fantastic read. You can order it here.

 More politics than music at the Grammys - and Nikki Haley smacks it down
. . . "President Trump wasn’t the only one smeared by this disgusting book being read out loud. Wolff used his television time to claim that Trump’s United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, was having an affair with President Trump, a claim that flunks just based on the little facetime Haley has had with Trump, and which also fails based on the timeline of events, as I noted here." . . .

Nikki Haley

✔@nikkihaley

I have always loved the Grammys but to have artists read the Fire and Fury book killed it. Don’t ruin great music with trash. Some of us love music without the politics thrown in it.

9:12 PM - Jan 28, 2018

. . . As Deadline Hollywood headline noted: “Grammy Ratings Fall From 2017 As Politics Dominate Music’s Biggest Night”

"The trade paper explained the problem:" . . .

Has Joy Villa been black-listed by Hollywood yet? Or at least trashed on The View?

I do respect some of this lady's opinions, but edited out one dress of hers that belonged in this post instead.  TD

Welcome to America; now VOTE!

Rich Terrell

"Did Barack Obama just encourage illegal aliens to vote on Election Day, promising no repercussions if they do?

"A videotaped interview with the president has some saying yes, sparking outrage among at least one major media figure and commenters on Twitter.

"In an interview with the Latin-oriented YouTube channel mitu, millennial actress Gina Rodriguez asked Obama:

“ 'Many of the millennials, Dreamers, undocumented citizens – and I call them citizens because they contribute to this country – are fearful of voting. So if I vote, will Immigration know where I live? Will they come for my family and deport us?”

"Obama responded: “Not true, and the reason is, first of all, when you vote, you are a citizen yourself. And there is not a situation where the voting rolls somehow are transferred over and people start investigating, etc. The sanctity of the vote is strictly confidential.”

"The president’s answer left Neil Cavuto of the Fox Business Network completely stunned.

“I can’t believe that I heard what I heard,” Cavuto said on his broadcast.“The president isn’t even questioning whether the person who is an illegal is voting, outside of reminding people that if you’re a citizen, you vote. But it’s very clear that the question that is being asked was about illegals voting and afraid that they might be reported to Border Security. You’re illegal. You cannot vote.”“The President of the United States is saying, ‘Don’t worry, no one will be spying on you, catching you,'” Cavuto added. 

Read more at the link. 

How Donald Trump, America's Salesman-In-Chief, Won Over CEOs At Davos

Investor's Business Daily  "Davos: Think Donald Trump doesn't know how to sell? Take a look at how he did in Davos, Switzerland, with the world's wealthy, left-leaning elites. As anyone in business will tell you, a great salesman needs a great product. Trump has that: America.

"As The Daily Caller reported, "In a stunning moment, one by one, European titans of industry from companies like Adidas, Siemens and Bayer went around the table to thank Trump for the passage of tax cuts and the easing of corporate tax burdens. Almost every CEO had a new U.S.-based investment or strategic business to announce."

"The president of Siemens, Joe Kaeser, said, 'since you have been so successful in tax reform we have decided to develop the next generation gas turbines in the United States.' "

"Not surprisingly, Trump has been harshly criticized by the left for failing to embrace "globalism." That criticism seemed a bit misplaced in Davos, however, simply with Trump's appearance there. He was the first president in 18 years to go to Davos, a gathering that President Obama gave short shrift." . . . 

Gino Gambino at Moretti Underground