President Obama: Michelle, for the past twenty-five years, you’ve been not only my wife and mother of my children, but my best friend. ….you made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. You have made me proud, and you have made the country proud.
I dare say that there would be no Barack Obama without Michelle Obama.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hold hands as they step from Air Force One, Friday, April 11, 2014, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, as they travel to the Al Sharpton’s National Action Networks 16th Annual Convention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Dear Mrs. Obama,
As I sit here writing this, I don’t even know what to say. In 2007, I saw a reply in a post on a blog about you and your importance, and I never forgot it:
I joke a lot about these two, but something sticks out at me about the whole campaign. especially after seeing this interview:
I like her. And not because of any strong this and that, she just seems genuine.
Is America ready for a First Lady who looks like her? A regular black woman? Not a passable biracial curly girl that they call black, but a regular black woman from the south side of Chicago? With dark skin?
Is she going to be the face of The Woman on the largest pedestal in the country? A self-confessed “loud-mouth” black woman?
If they succeed, it turns white supremacy upside down. And not, in my opinion, because a black man is in the White House, it’s because a black woman is in there. And she didn’t have to come in the back door to lie in bed with the president.
May 24, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I admit this, without hesitation..
As much as I wanted to see your husband elected President…
I wanted to see you as First Lady that much more.
From the first time I read an article about you, any doubts that I had about your husband…
About Hawaii and Indonesia….they were gone.
They were gone because I knew you.
I knew that brick bungalow on the South Side…yours was in South Shore..mine was in Chatham.
I knew that apartment above the bungalow…
I knew the daily journey of buses and the ‘ El’ to get to Whitney Young…
I knew why you passed up all those other high schools just to go to Whitney Young…
I knew the journey to Princeton and then to Harvard. ..
And, for you to wind up doing what you did professionally, and to know it was your choice, and that you understood how fabulous it was, that, as a Black woman, you had that choice…You understood, that your ability to have that CHOICE was built upon the shoulders of those before you.
I knew you. And, I was in awe of you, because of this from that reply in the blog post:
And not because of any strong this and that, she just seems genuine.
That’s what hit me too-your genuineness. Your realness.
Others contort themselves to live in the world where you stood your ground and fought. You have been YOU.
It has been a pleasure to watch you in the role of First Lady. As the representative of this country to the rest of the world. We couldn’t have had a better representative than you.
Your caring for your own children – calling yourself the ‘ Mom-In-Chief’, was the ultimate in Black feminism. running counter to a long and sordid history of Black women in this country that told us that our children came LAST after we took care of everyone else’s. You stating, without equivocation, that your first job was to rear your children and make sure that they came through this experience sane and whole…it put a smile on Black women’s faces from coast to coast.
Your “Let’s Move” initiative was sneered at by the haters…..yet, you had the last laugh, as you helped inspire a generation of children to get active. You took on the Food Industry, and won. You got a new food pyramid. You got standard lifted, from coast to coast, in lunchroom after lunchroom, offering children throughout this country healthier choices while in school. Your garden inspired people from coast to coast to not only do gardens in their homes, but you, through your travels as First Lady, highlighted community farms all over this country. You didn’t just set an example for kids; there were plenty of adults who were challenged also to improve their lives.
The taking on of issues faces by Military Families by you and Dr. Jill Biden, is also a service to this country that didn’t nearly the exposure that it should. You took on veteran’s homelessness; veteran’s unemployment; the problem of unemployment for spouses, and other problems specifically faced by our Military Families. Veteran’s homelessness is down. Veteran’s unemployment down. Unemployment for veteran spouses – down. Bit by bit, you listened to our Military Families when they told you their issues, and then went to work to find solutions. We have so many people in Congress who wrap themselves in the flag, and cliche slogans of ‘ support the troops’, all the while their voting record shows just the opposite. You, though, walked the walk.
Those were just domestic programs. I should have known better than to underestimate you. To limit myself in seeing all that you could do, because I have to admit that Let Girls Learn took me by surprise. My First Lady went global with her desire to help others. By bringing forth the issue of girl’s education and what it means worldwide, you lead by example. There are girls all over the world who now have opportunities because of your fight for Let Girls Learn. Your trips abroad, and bringing that powerful moral voice to countries all around the world, has been invaluable.
As your time ends in the White House, there is so much more that I could say.
You have been a sterling example of grace under pressure. Of moral authority used correctly. I, and others, watched in awe, at how you handled the fundamental disrespect and hatred flung towards you and your family over the course of the past 8 years. We don’t know how you did it, because we realize that we simply could not have done it. But, handle it, you did. And, brilliantly. And genuinely. While the President has gained a head full of gray hair, you seem to have de-aged during the time in the White House. Considering the crucible that you’ve been through, it could only be righteous living and bathing in haters’ tears, that could have you look as beautiful as you do.
If you do nothing else with public service, it’s ok. It’s fine.
You served this country honorably.
You went above and beyond in your service.
As a Black woman, I could not ask for more than what I got in these past 8 years. You exceeded every dream I thought I could have about watching a Black woman as First Lady of the United States.
I am so happy that I lived during this time. That, I will be able to tell future generations of the time of the first Black First Lady of the United States.
And, her name was Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama.
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) addresses a primary night rally in the gymnasium at the Nashua South High School on January 8, 2008 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Obama finished a projected 2nd place behind Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) in the nations first democratic primary
Michelle Obama would be so proud reading this!!!!!! Thank you so much for your voice. We will never see another First Lady like her!
Beautifully written! After the women’s march this past January, I went to the Smithsonian for some inspiration. Amongst the beautiful art and fascinating historical, and pop culture, artifacts, I saw one of Michelle Obama’s gowns. I just stared at it for a good 10 minutes. She still has great things to do but I will truly miss knowing that she is in the White House. Great blog, just “followed” you! Thanks for this great post. – Marie aka http://www.goldisfromaliens.com
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPeIPVKgJ3I/
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Some of the young designers our historic FLOTUS has worn have published handwritten thank you notes to her…this one will give some – including some Democrats and more than a few of the ‘we need a woman president’ 2016 brigade, serious heartburn…
And I frankly, love it…LOL..
“…Tomorrow marks the end of an era — and the beginning of another. She may be leaving the White House, but First Lady Michelle Obama has already left a mark on American fashion that will forever be a part of her legacy.
Prabal Gurung:
Dear Mrs. Obama,
Thank you for your grace, poise, intellect & integrity. You leave us inspired. Thank you for letting us be part of your history. See you in 4 years as our first female president…”
https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/prabal-gurung-michelle-obama1.jpg
http://wwd.com/eye/people/designers-write-thank-you-notes-to-michelle-obama-10754978/
Christian Siriano:
Dear Michelle,
It’s been an honor to design for you, a woman I have so greatly admired these last eight years, and someone I will admire for the rest of my life. Your legacy as First Lady is a beautiful one of care, compassion and charity.
Your support has meant so much to me. As a young designer from Maryland, I’d always remained optimistic that my career would blossom when the right moment came along. For me, you were that moment. As our First Lady, the choices you’ve made in attire have shone spotlights on many growing American businesses. Your support has stimulated our industry and fostered artistic creativity.
I look forward to following your next steps, and to creating for you for many years to come.
Thank you.
https://pmcwwd.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/christian-siriano-michelle-obama.jpg?w=1280&h=1656&crop=1
LOL
Luvvie is burning a pair of Ivanka Trump red pumps on Facebook..
Hilarious!
Good for her..
Thwart every attempt to normalize and ‘pretty’ up evil..
Can’t be fronting the phony, contrived persona of dubious, 2-faced, manipulative daughter, while brazenly and vindictively putting evil people and plans in place to not only perpetrate evil on a cross-section of this country, but to consciously and focusedly and irreparably damage this country and our union…and only to assuage a petty, vindictive megalomaniac and his overblown ego…while doing the bidding of a foreign entity..
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I love this picture of them….harkens back to those first pictures in Ebony.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPeHi-bFpFJ/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPeJyMaAdGi/?hl=en
Congresswoman Maxine Waters Will Read You Now
By R. Eric Thomas
Jan 18, 2017
Hello, come in, sit down. United States Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California will read you now.
Honey, Maxine Waters is not the one. You may have been told that she is the one but you were lied to. She would like to cordially invite you to not come for her unless she sends for you.
The Representative from California’s 43rd District has been on a grand reading tour of D.C. and I am living for it. She doesn’t care who you are—member of the press, president-elect, young pope, Alexander Hamilton—she’s going to let you have it. She is going to take you down a peg. There are no pegs left in Washington. The town is peg deficient.
I’m tempted to elect Congresswoman Waters as this week’s Shade Bae, but shade is subtle. Waters doesn’t have time for subtlety. Waters knows that desperate times call for shadier measures. She is reading this town for filth.
Dr. Carla Hayden may be the Librarian of Congress, but Congresswoman Maxine Waters has read everything in that building, honey.
………….
Waters’ reading tour began last week at the world’s quickest and sassiest press conference.
Y’all it is 21 seconds long and yet it will give you your entire and complete life.
Here’s the whole transcript:
Rep. Waters: [already over it] Yes?… Can I help you? What do you want?
Okay, we have to pause here for a praise break. She walks into a press conference, stands in front of a set of microphones, and then has the nerve to get salty. I live. She’s treating the press like they’re a bunch of vacuum cleaner salespeople who barged into her living room in the middle of Days of Our Lives. Like sands through the hourglass, this is a read of your life
Reporter: How did it go today?
Rep. Waters: It went fine.
Y’all. How are you going to lead with “How did it go today?” like Rep. Waters is a sullen teenager who tried out for the soccer team this afternoon? How did it go today? You need to play her in better than that. How did it go today? I don’t know. Fine. We’re three minutes to doomsday but there was soft serve in the cafeteria so I’d give it a B+. How are you? How’s your cholesterol level?
Waters is pleasant but she ain’t here for pleasantries. This reporter, y’all, God rest his soul because with three words she just shaded him into the afterlife.
Okay, next question:
Reporter: Can you tell us anything about the discussion in the—
Rep. Waters: No, it’s classified and we can’t tell you anything. All I can tell you is the FBI director has no credibility.
AND THEN SHE THROWS THE WHOLE PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE GARBAGE AND WALKS AWAY.
She didn’t even need to drop the mic. She dropped the whole room. She shows up to a press conference, acts like it’s the biggest inconvenience she’s ever had to endure, and then says that she can’t say anything…except that the director of the FBI has no credibility.
…………………….
I have never seen anything like this outside of a family reunion. Rep. Waters is definitely that auntie who got rich selling Avon and doesn’t really like your father. Or any of these low-rent people. But you sit by her so that she can stage-whisper critiques with a mouth full of potato salad.
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
……………………………………..
Rep. Maxine Waters shows up for an interview with Tamron Hall, which, I presume, began with Waters saying, “Yes? Can I help you? What do you want?” She then goes all the way in for 60 whole seconds. If this was a movie it would be called Journey to the Center of the Read and Meryl Streep would play Waters.
The whole thing reaches its peak when she says of the president-elect, “I don’t honor him. I don’t respect him. And I don’t want to be involved with him.”
I don’t want to be involved with him!
…………………..
You can’t out-read this woman. She is 78 years old (y’all when I tell you it don’t crack…) and she’s over it. All of it.
When Maxine Waters has a word for you, you need to just bow down. And then get back up and get out because she’s already left the room.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPcCM0Agudv/
FYI:
Maddow did a segment outlining everything that President Obama accomplished tonight.
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“…Others contort themselves to live in the world where you stood your ground and fought. You have been YOU…”
Thanks Rikyrah..
I was waiting for you to read it. I hope that I did justice for the First Lady.
Thank you so, so much for this…it was a real labor of love…it brought tears to my eyes…
I wrote a much longer response, but decided that your beautiful post didn’t need any addendum…that it deserved to stand in its own…
And all I wanted to do was scour and find pictures and messages that support and reflect your beautiful and powerful sentiments, on this the eve of their last day in the White House..
Team Trump touts the ‘diversity’ of his mostly white, male cabinet
01/19/17 12:58 PM
By Steve Benen
In 1992, then-Gov. Bill Clinton came up with a memorable phrase: the Democrat promised voters he’d create a cabinet that “looked like America.” The point, of course, was to assure the public that when it came to policymaking, the Clinton administration would place a high priority on diversity.
It’s a goal Donald Trump doesn’t appear to share.
The Republican president-elect finally wrapped up his cabinet selections yesterday, tapping former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) to lead the Department of Agriculture – and like most other members of the Trump cabinet, Perdue is a wealthy, older, white man. This post was Trump’s last choice to pick a Hispanic American for his team, which means the new presidential cabinet will be the first without a Hispanic member in three decades.
During the campaign, Trump was asked if his cabinet will include women, blacks, and Hispanics. “Oh absolutely,” he replied. “It’s so important.”
Evidently, however, Trump doesn’t believe it’s that important. His cabinet will have zero Hispanics, one African-American man, one white woman, and one Asian-American woman. (The number of women grows from two to four if you include Nikki Haley and Linda McMahon, who were chosen for positions that may be considered cabinet-level.)
The funny part, however, was listening to Sean Spicer, the incoming White House press secretary, defend the diversity of Trump’s team. Yahoo News reported this morning:
First, no, we’ve had a chance to look at the folks Trump has chosen, and they’re not actually the best and the brightest. Second, “the best and the brightest” is a phrase that was intended to be an ironic reference to those responsible for the war in Vietnam.
Before His HHS Nom, Price Had Employer Health Insurance In His Sights
By TIERNEY SNEED
Published JANUARY 19, 2017, 6:00 AM EST 13733 Views
For years Republican critiques of the Affordable Care Act have zeroed in on the effect it has had on the individual heath insurance market. But the GOP lawmaker who will likely lead the Department of Health and Human Services has long championed a major overhaul to the much bigger employer-based insurance system in order to push consumers to buy their own plans.
The legislation HHS nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has offered over the years include mainstays of GOP plans that would usher in a drastic change in how most people receive their health care coverage. The employer-based insurance market covers seven times more people than the individual market.
“What he’s getting at here, and a lot of Republicans feel pretty strongly about this, to get a functioning insurance market, you have to get away from businesses buying the insurance,” explained Joe Antos, a health policy scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “The philosophy is, ultimately, you want to transition, in some orderly way, to where everybody is buying their own insurance.”
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/822127687187759105
https://twitter.com/pittgriffin/status/821898645079552002
From our President:
https://twitter.com/Fusion/status/822049738321055744
This is how I feel. Found it at another blog:
As ACA fight intensifies, GOP hears from ‘freaked out’ constituents
01/19/17 11:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) tried to deliver a speech at a rally this week, but she was interrupted by Affordable Care Act proponents. The Republican lawmaker, a member of the House GOP leadership, is part of the crusade to repeal “Obamacare,” so ACA proponents chanted “save our health care” during her remarks.
Two days later, Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) faced a similar reaction during a town-hall event in Grand Rapids – which attracted a full crowd, with dozens more who tried to attend but couldn’t get in.
It’s like 2009 all over again, only flipped: instead of conservatives showing up to demand Congress reject the Affordable Care Act, now it’s progressives showing up to demand Congress protect the reform law.
Of course, congressional Republicans could avoid confrontations like these by ending their effort to take away Americans’ health security, but the Washington Post reports that GOP lawmakers are more inclined to start avoiding forums where ACA supporters might bother them.
Trump preparing budget with most extreme cut in government spending yet
Trump’s team is crafting a budget that would double the spending cuts put forward by House Republicans.
Incoming President Donald Trump’s administration is already working on preparing his budget. And it looks like it will be far more extreme than anything the Republican Party has proposed so far.
The blueprint Trump’s team is working with as it crafts the plan would cut federal government spending by $10.5 trillion over a decade, according to The Hill’s sources.
By contrast, the budget proposal put forward by House Republicans last year promised to cut spending by $5.5 trillion over 10 years. Even that number at the time was significant: the budget document itself noted that it was “higher than any previous House Budget Committee proposal.” The Republican Study Committee put forward a different proposal that would cut $8.6 trillion over a decade, although it failed a 2015 vote 132 to 294 despite Republican control.
To get such deep cuts, the Trump budget contemplates completely eliminating a number of programs, particularly at the Departments of Energy, Justice, State, Commerce, and Transportation.
On the chopping block, according to The Hill, would be the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the Department of Justice’s Legal Services Corporation and Violence Against Women Grants; funding for the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity, and Office of Fossil Energy, among others.
…………………….
But if the House Republican budget is any guide, programs that serve the most needy are likely to be in danger. That proposal derived 62 percent of its cuts from low-income programs, such as food stamps and Pell grants, even though those programs account for just 28 percent of non-defense spending.
Rikyrah, check your email
https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/822092216386678785
this is who they are.
Good morning 3Chics,
Rikyrah! This post right here!!! I know you post all over the blogosphere. I hope in time you share this far and wide. Even your haters need to know what’s what about our First Lady. Have a good day all.
Good Morning, Everyone!
Thank you, Rikyrah for the beautiful, profound post on our FLOTUS.
Co-sign.
GOP ‘unmoved’ by controversies surrounding Trump’s cabinet picks
01/19/17 09:20 AM
By Steve Benen
Last month, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) celebrating Donald Trump for having assembled a “dream team” cabinet. It was a curious choice of words – because one would have to be asleep to be impressed with the motley crew the president-elect has assembled.
Some of Trump’s choices appear to have no idea what their job entails. Others have no relevant experience or skills. Some are burdened by damaging controversies. Others are overtly hostile towards the work done by the departments they’ll soon lead. Senate Democrats set out to prove that many of Trump’s nominees had no business being chosen in the first place, and by and large, the senators succeeded.
But nearly all – if not literally all – of Trump’s choices will be confirmed anyway, because as Politico noted yesterday, the Senate Republican majority doesn’t appear to care.
Though filibusters are no longer an option for cabinet nominees, the GOP majority is fairly narrow in a 52-48 Senate. If only a handful of Republican senators balk at an unqualified choice, the Trump White House will have to scramble to find someone else.
But that handful doesn’t appear to exist. Politico’s piece added, “[T]here’s no sign that those GOP defections are coming.”
There’s no great mystery here – partisan loyalties and tribal instincts dominate in Washington to a degree unseen in generations – but Republicans aren’t actually doing anyone, including their allies, any favors.
The Trump Agenda Poses A Major Threat to America’s Children
Here’s a road map to fight back.
by Olivia Golden
January 19, 2017
In his farewell speech last week, President Barack Obama declared that supporting young people of color is not only a matter of justice but a common-sense investment in our future: “If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce.” That’s not just rhetoric. By 2020, children and youth of color will represent half of all people under age 18 If not for these children of color, the American workforce would shrink as baby boomers continue to retire.
Unfortunately, our national future is in jeopardy.
Outside of President Obama’s remarks, there has been far too little attention to the damage that President-elect Trump’s policy proposals and nominees would wreak on America’s children – and America’s future. The policies proposed by the incoming administration and Republicans in Congress would undercut families and take away the core building blocks that now help them succeed.
Let’s start with Trump’s proposal to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Health and nutrition are the cornerstones of children’s lifelong success. Growing evidence shows that children who get help from Medicaid (health insurance) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) in their early years not only do better in childhood but also have better health, educational, and employment outcomes many years later, into adulthood.
Children also do better when their parents get health and mental health treatment – something that’s far more likely today under the ACA than in the past. For example, a mother’s untreated depression can place at risk her children’s safety, development, and learning. So it is good news that, by opting to expand Medicaid under the ACA, 32 states have made mental health care, including treatment for depression, accessible to far more people, most recently demonstrated by a new report from Ohio.
During the Obama years, children’s health insurance coverage soared to the highest levels ever — 94.7 percent — and SNAP lifted 4.6 million children out of poverty in 2015. But the nation now risks a sharp slide backwards. Researchers estimate that even without additional cuts to Medicaid, President-elect Trump’s and congressional Republicans’ plans to repeal the ACA would take health insurance away from 4 million children, and many million more parents.
On health care, Republicans consider the meaning of ‘everybody’
01/18/17 09:20 AM—UPDATED 01/18/17 10:41 AM
By Steve Benen
Congressional Republicans recently conceded among themselves that they’ll “never” be able to craft a health-care reform plan that covers “as many people as Obamacare does.” No one, however, told Donald Trump.
The president-elect boasted to the Washington Post this week, “We’re going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” Trump added that Americans “can expect to have great health care…. Much less expensive and much better.”
The benchmarks, which Trump has no idea how to meet, were fairly specific: his administration is committing to universal coverage, “much lower deductibles,” and a simpler and less expensive system in which all Americans are “beautifully covered.”
Was Trump over-promising? Yes. Will he fail to meet his own goals? Definitely.
The funny part, however, is watching Republicans deal with the consequences of the incoming president’s rhetoric. BuzzFeed had this report late yesterday:
Ah yes, the misstatement. The incoming president assured the American public that the Affordable Care Act will be repealed and replaced with a system in which “everybody” has insurance, to which GOP lawmakers are effectively responding, “Let’s assume he didn’t actually mean ‘everybody.’”
The ‘most successful’ Dem president since FDR ends on a high note
01/18/17 10:55 AM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump is entering the White House with the weakest public support of any new president since the dawn of modern polling. The Republican may prefer to see a giant media conspiracy against him – Trump yesterday dismissed survey results as “rigged” – but if so, the scheme incorporates a plethora of national news organizations and polling outfits, each of which show the president-elect with surprisingly awful backing.
There’s a school of thought that suggests this isn’t entirely Trump’s fault. Maybe the public is just in a sour mood. Perhaps Americans, after a long and ugly campaign, are inclined to hold every political figure in low regard, and Trump is simply caught up in a wave of broad public revulsion.
Of course, if that were true, President Obama wouldn’t be leaving office with rising popularity.
Democratic pollster Fred Yang put it this way: “If Donald Trump enters office on a down note, the current occupant is enjoying a second honeymoon of sorts.”
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll, meanwhile, puts Obama’s final approval rating at 60% – one of only four presidents since World War II to leave the White House with so much public support.
Trump prepares preemptive falsehoods about his inauguration
01/18/17 11:23 AM—UPDATED 01/18/17 01:59 PM
By Steve Benen
Donald Trump declared weeks ago that he intends to “set the all-time record” for attendance at a presidential inaugural. By all appearances, that’s extremely unlikely to happen.
But the president-elect spoke at a pre-inauguration event last night, where Trump made this interesting claim:
As a rule, whenever Donald Trump uses the word “they,” look out. In this case “they’ve” announced “record crowds” are coming to the Republican’s inauguration, but there’s been no such announcement. “They” don’t appear to exist outside of Trump’s imagination.
But relying on “them” will enable Trump to claim a record without regard for actual attendance data. What we’re witnessing is a preemptive falsehood: the president-elect is laying the groundwork for an untrue claim about his inauguration that Trump seems very likely to make soon after he takes the oath of office.
Indeed, he’s already told related falsehoods, such as, ”All the dress shops are sold out in Washington. It’s hard to find a great dress for this inauguration.” This wasn’t remotely true, but Trump made the claim anyway.
And speaking of false claims, CNN reported that two senior Trump transition officials said yesterday that the president-elect wrote his own draft of his inaugural address.
These are NATIONAL SECURITY BRIEFINGS. You should NOT be getting the CliffNotes version.
In intelligence briefings, Trump prefers ‘as little as possible’
01/18/17 12:50 PM—UPDATED 01/18/17 01:06 PM
By Steve Benen
One of the unexpected developments of the transition period has been Donald Trump’s disinterest in daily intelligence briefings. President Obama, immediately after the election, ordered the relevant agencies to make available to the president-elect the same information that’s delivered to the Oval Office, but in a bit of a surprise, Trump largely blew off the information.
Last month, Fox News’ Chris Wallace noted reports that the Republican was only receiving one briefing a week, instead of seven. Trump didn’t deny the accounts, but said it didn’t matter because he’s “like, a smart person.” He added, “I get it when I need it.”
A month later, with his inauguration drawing closer, Trump sat down with Axios yesterday, and referring to the intelligence he’s seen, the president-elect said, “I’ve had a lot of briefings that are very … I don’t want to say ‘scary,’ because I’ll solve the problems.” The exceedingly confident Republican added this in reference to the PDB:
Hmm. President Obama likes to read daily intelligence briefings and pose follow-up questions in writing. Bill Clinton had a similar approach. George W. Bush, during his two terms, changed the briefing process, preferring oral reports from intelligence professionals.
Trump, apparently, has in mind something akin to Powerpoint slides.
The point here is not to chuckle at the obviously unprepared amateur, who, in 47 hours, will be the Leader of the Free World. There’s a substantive angle to this that’s worth appreciating.
This level of incompetence is endangering this country. …LITERALLY
Trump to enter office with gaping holes in major agencies
Rachel Maddow reports on the many director-level positions Donald Trump has yet to fill on the National Security Council with one day left of Obama’s term, and more openings still at the Pentagon and State Department.
Da Phuq?
Trump EPA nominee would oversee own lawsuit against the EPA
Senator Ed Markey talks with Rachel Maddow about why he opposes Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA when, even in public office, Pruitt has worked on behalf of fossil fuel companies to undermine the EPA.
Trump offered Rick Perry a job neither one of them understood
01/19/17 08:00 AM
By Steve Benen
An official at the Department of Energy recently found it necessary to “carefully explain” to a Trump transition aide what the agency actually does. The official did so after the Trump staffer “aide asked a series of questions that indicated he wasn’t quite sure about the department’s portfolio.”
As it turns out, the ignorance is widespread in Trump World, as evidenced by this New York Times article on the man the president-elect chose to lead the agency.
Revelations like these aren’t just scary for the public; they’re also deeply embarrassing for the amateurs who’ll tomorrow take over the executive branch of the world’s largest superpower.
For Perry, whose confirmation hearing begins today, this is obviously cringe-worthy. Four years ago, the then-governor was determined to eliminate the Department of Energy, despite not knowing what the agency does. The DOE has a major research laboratory in Texas, but Perry, who led the state for 14 years, still never learned anything about the department’s work.
If the Times’ reporting is correct, the Republican then accepted a cabinet post without having any idea what his responsibilities would be.
But as bad as Perry looks, let’s not overlook his future boss.
The Maddow Segment last night about the poor vetting. The level of incompetence is staggering.
Trump weak vetting of nominees a symptom of poor preparation
Rachel Maddow lists some of the embarrassing details being learned about Donald Trump cabinet nominees while they are in the confirmation process because they were not well vetted beforehand.
Tom Price withdraws almost $42,000 from petty cash??
Da hail?
https://mobile.twitter.com/funder/status/821853849115828224
Malia Obama’s secret trip to Bolivia and Peru
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/19/opinion/malia-obamas-secret-trip-to-bolivia-and-peru.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&referer=https://t.co/zyIvP8MJsC
Malia Obama’s Secret Trip to Bolivia and Peru
By ERNESTO LONDOÑO
JANUARY 19, 2017
The Bolivian guides were convinced it was the blonde. It had to be the blonde. American Embassy officials in November had told three brothers who led guided hikes across Bolivia’s majestic Cordillera Real mountain range that they would soon be hosting an important American dignitary. When a group of teenagers and a small band of American bodyguards showed up on Nov. 24, it wasn’t apparent to the guides that it was the president’s eldest daughter, Malia Obama, and not a blond companion, who warranted the extraordinary security measures.
“There was a blond girl and we assumed she was the important one,” Gregorio Mamani, one of the guides, said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
Only in recent days, after Bolivian journalists broke the story of Ms. Obama’s trip to Bolivia and Peru late last year, did the guides realize who had been in their care during a five-day trek. “She was very humble, chatty, spoke Spanish very well,” Mr. Mamani said. “She was mesmerized by the Bolivian landscape.”
Ms. Obama was afforded no special treatment during the arduous trek, and performed chores, including cooking, along with her fellow travelers, Mr. Mamani said.
The Bolivian news media reported that Ms. Obama, 18, who delayed starting at Harvard for a year, lived with a family in Tiquipaya, a tiny town in central Bolivia. Her trip was organized by Where There Be Dragons, a Colorado company that runs educational trips, a representative confirmed. The 83-day journey is advertised as a means for students to “examine current political trends, social movements and environmental conservation efforts in the mountains and jungles of Bolivia and Peru.”
The Bolivian media reported that President Obama called President Evo Morales to request his government’s cooperation in ensuring discretion and security for his daughter’s trip. White House officials declined to comment and would not confirm that the two leaders had spoken. Mr. Morales often rails about what he calls American conspiracies to undermine leftist governments, including his own. The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2008.
“There was a blond girl and we assumed she was the important one,” Gregorio Mamani, one of the guides, said in a phone interview on Wednesday…”
For anyone who never understood my fury and my fight, this is just one more reason..
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fd0af820d7679d9bc1f8355984e27ae537629a3b5701db23efe4e696c440c894.jpg
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/821872910373715969/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/heatherscope/status/821846477878296576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“We can hit him between the eyes with a 2-by-4 and treat him like Mitch McConnell treated Barack Obama,” Perez told the audience at The Huffington Post’s live Democratic National Committee debate on Wednesday.
Ha ha. Now that’s a man who thinks like I do. Paybacks are a b!!ch, as they say, and there’s never been a time when paybacks were more necessary, appropriate, and deserved.
https://twitter.com/RollingStone/status/821892454412677120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/TomPerez/status/821890535707344902?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/821770812231335936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/morningmoneyben/status/821737266078949377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ThePlumLineGS/status/821689831529082880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ASFried/status/821707502974861313/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Fusion/status/821787646787731457/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Good Morning,Everyone😄😄😄
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rikyrah, for your wonderful article about First Lady Michelle Obama. You have beautifully articulated all that I believe about her.
May your article find its way into the history books!