Barack Obama Says He Will Criticize Trump If He Thinks It Is “Necessary” … Also Made Excuses Why Democrats Lost in 2016

SO MUCH FOR OBAMA ACTING THE WAY OF PAST PRESIDENTS AND NOT CRITICIZING HIS SUCCESSOR …

At a press conference Sunday in Lima, Peru, Barack Obama said he does not believe he will be the last Democratic president, for a while, and also made no promise to not speak up and criticize President-elect Trump’s proposals,  if he feels it to be “helpful” and “necessary” for him to comment. Obama was also asked whether he thought he might be the last Democrat president, playing off the comments that GWB made earlier this year. Obama stated no and then gave some of the most ridiculous reasons for losing the 2016 elections, including geography and that terrible concept that Wyoming gets the same number of Senators as California. What the hell is he talking about? Note to Obama, this same geography occurred when you won two elections. Why wasn’t that an issue then? Make no mistake about it, Obama was is and always will be a community agitator. Many of his policies are about to be wiped away like a bad dream. Who honestly thinks he is going to sit quietly by and watch his 8 years be eliminated for the good of the American people?

And though Obama said he wouldn’t get involved in every fight—including some fights likely to be about Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress ripping out his legacy—he very deliberately refused to say he’d hold to the tradition of presidents avoiding public comment or political attacks on their successors.“I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off in every instance …”

RCP – Transcript:

RICH EDSON, FOX NEWS: Thank you, Mr. President. Earlier this year President George W. Bush reportedly said he warned he would be the last Republican president and now Republicans have won the White House, controlled the House and Senate, two-thirds of state legislatures, 34 governorship’s and there are charges of a shallow Democratic bench behind you.

Are you worried you could be the last Democrat president for a while? And secondly, sir, speaking of your predecessor he made sure to offer essentially no public criticism of you during your time in office. Will you equally withhold public criticism for President Trump even if he attempts to dismantle much of what you have accomplished? Thank you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, no, I am not worried about being the last Democratic president. I think — not even for a while. And I say that not being cute, the Democratic nominee won the popular vote [what a joke that Obama still thinks this means anything. You don't win a football game by the number of yards you run and pass for, it's the scoreboard] and obviously this is an extremely competitive race and I would expect that future races will be competitive.

I certainly think it’s true that politics in America right now are a little bit up for grabs. [Up for grabs? Republicans control The presidency, House, Senate, governorship's and State legislatures in the USA] That some of the old alignments in both parties, Democrat and Republican, are being reshaped. And although the results of this election involved some of the specifics of the candidates and aren’t going to be duplicated in every subsequent election, Democrats do have to do some thinking about how do we make sure that the message we have is received effectively and results in winning elections. This is something that I have been wrestling throughout my presidency…

There was a poll this week subsequent to the election that showed that the general public has a more favorable view of Democrats than Republicans. [Obama is going to quote a poll when the ultimate poll of the American people is an election, Seriously?] As I noted, my approval ratings are quite high yet what has been true during the course of my eight years is that does not always translate. In fact, too often it hasn’t translated into working majorities at the state level or the federal level.

Now, some of that is the nature of our system. And geography. As long as Wyoming gets the same number of Senators as California there is going to be some tilt towards Republicans when it comes to Congressional races [WHAT? So states should not have the same number of US Senators?]. The fact that a lot of Democratic voters are bunched up in big cities and a lot of Republican voters are spread out across geography gives them an advantage when it comes to Congressional races. Some of it is just political bad luck.

For example, I came in as the economy was in flow fall and although I took the right steps to save the economy, in my midterm election of 2010 people couldn’t yet see the recovery and not surprisingly the president’s party got punished. We lost control of a lot of not just Congressional seats but also governorships and state legislative seats and that happened to be the year that the census was done and you start doing redistricting. And so those Republicans took advantage of political gerrymandering to lock in majorities even though in a numerous subsequent elections Democrats have actually cast more votes or more votes have been cast for Democratic Congressional candidates than Republicans and yet you end up having large Republican majorities. So there are just structural problems we have to deal with. But, look, you can’t make excuses about the rules. That’s the deal and we have to do better…

One message I do have for Democrats, that a strategy that’s micro-targeting particular discreet groups in a Democratic coalition sometimes wins the election but it does not when you the birthday mandate — the broad map date you need. And the more we can talk about what we have in common as a nation and speak to a broad set of values, a vision that speaks to everybody, and not just one group at a time, the better off we will be. That is part of the reason I was able to get elected twice that I try to make sure not only in the proposals but in message that I was speaking to everybody…

Look, I said before, President Bush could not have been more gracious to me when I came in and my intention is to certainly for the next two months, finish my job and after that to take Michelle on vacation, get some rest, spend time with my girls and do some writing, some thinking.

I want to be respectful of the office and give the president-elect an opportunity to put forward his platform and his arguments without somebody popping off in every instance.

As an American citizen who cares deeply about our country, if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal but go to core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it is necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals [Exactly what ideals is Obama referring to, socialism? Redistribution of wealth?], I’ll examine it when it comes. But what I do know is that I have to take Michelle on vacation.

San Antonio, TX Police Detective Benjamin Marconi Ambushed & Fatally Shot While He Was Sitting in his Patrol Car, Writing Out a Ticket

BLUE LIVES MATTER!!!

San Antonio police detective Benjamin Marconi was fatally shot in his vehicle while writing a ticket. The 50 year old, 20-year veteran Marconi was sitting in his patrol car when a black vehicle pulled up behind him and the driver got out, walked up to the detective’s window and shot him in the head. The suspect reached into the window and shot Marconi a second time. Police said Marconi was pronounced dead at San Antonio Military Medical Center around 12:30 p.m. CT Sunday.

This nonsense has got to stop. Why shouldn’t this be deemed a hate crime?

Police Detective Benjamin Marconi, RIP

A Texas detective was shot and killed while writing a traffic ticket outside of police headquarters late Sunday morning. Later Sunday, two other officers were wounded in incidents in Florida and Missouri.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus identified the slain officer as 20-year veteran Detective Benjamin Marconi, 50. He said the suspect has not yet been apprehended, and a motive is not known.

McManus said Marconi had pulled over a car for a traffic violation outside Public Safety Headquarters in downtown. While Marconi was inside his squad car writing a ticket, a black vehicle pulled up behind him and the driver got out, walked up to the detective’s window and shot him in the head, McManus said. Then the suspect reached into the window and shot Marconi a second time, he said.

UPDATE I: Police release description of suspect and vehicle.

“This type of crime cannot and will not be tolerated. I ask for the community’s thoughtfulness and patience as the investigation continues and SAPD searches for the suspect,” she said.

McManus said the suspect is a black male around 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall in height, wearing a gray sweatshirt and black baggy pants. The suspect also has a beard, KENS reported.

San Antonio police released an image of the vehicle that was seen leaving the scene, as well as a person of interest who they said may have information in the shooting.

Crime Stoppers in San Antonio is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest of the suspect.

UPDATE II: Four police officers shot in US cities.

How did we get to a point in the United States where such a thing could happen. There was a time in this country where randomly shooting a police officer would be considered unheard of, and it was not all that long ago.

One policeman was shot dead and three others shot and wounded in four US cities on Sunday, coinciding with an epidemic of racially-tinged gun violence involving law enforcement.

Police were shot in San Antonio, Texas, Sanibel, Florida, and in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and Gladstone, local police departments said.

There was no known connection between the shootings.

In San Antonio, authorities were hunting for a suspect who fatally shot 20-year service veteran Detective Benjamin Marconi twice in the head after being pulled over in traffic in front of police department headquarters.

A police officer in Sanibel, on the picturesque island of the same name off the Florida coast, was shot and wounded during a “routine” traffic stop, officials said.

The suspect, who has been arrested, drove by and shot the officer after he had stopped another driver, Sanibel Police Chief Bill Tomlinson was quoted as saying.

In St. Louis, a suspect shot a police sergeant through his rolled up window as he sat in a marked police car in slow traffic.

In western Missouri, another police officer was shot in Gladstone but was expected to live, the Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police said on Twitter. The condition of the suspect was unknown.

Donald Trump Chooses Sen. Jeff Sessions for Attorney General & Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA Director

TWO MORE ADDED TO DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET …

Today, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he planed to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as attorney general and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) as CIA Director. Sessions was an obvious choice as he was probably Trump’s first loyal supporter during the GOP primaries.  In a statement, Trump called Sessions one of his most trusted campaign advisers and cited his “world-class legal mind.” Previously in the week, Trump tapped Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn to be his National security advisor.

Jeff Sessions

President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that he plans to nominate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as attorney general and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) as CIA director, a pair of hard-line conservatives who offer early signs of the shape of Trump’s Cabinet.

Trump also confirmed the news reported a day earlier that he has selected retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn as his national security adviser, a position that, unlike the other two, does not need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Rep. Mike Pompeo

“The president-elect is a man of action, and we’ve got a great number of men and women with great qualifications who look forward to serving in this administration,” Vice President-elect Mike Pence told reporters in New York. “Our agency teams arrived in Washington D.C. this morning, and I am very confident it will be a smooth transition that will serve to lead this country forward.”

The announcements were greeted with widespread applause from Republicans, but Democrats and civil rights groups denounced Sessions and Flynn for their hard-line views on Muslims and immigrants that have put them in close alignment with Trump. The criticism could portend a messy Senate confirmation process for Sessions, though several of his GOP colleagues, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), lavished praise on him.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers’ Son, 21 Year Old Carl Conyers Missing in Houston, TX (Update: Found Safe)

Carl Conyers, the son of US Rep. John Conyers (MI-D), has been missing since Tuesday, November 15, in Houston, Texas. Conyers was last seen by his roommate Tuesday afternoon on the 3700 block of Southmore in Houston.  The apartment is not far from the university campus where he is a student. Anyone with information is asked to contact Houston police at 713-884-3131 or 832-394-1840.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers on Thursday said he is “very worried” after his 21-year-old son was reported missing Tuesday from his apartment near the University of Houston.

“We’ve notified the FBI,” Conyers told The Detroit News about his missing son, Carl Conyers, who is a students at the university. “I’m very worried. It’s very unlike him. He’s a very stable young guy.”

At the U.S. Capitol Thursday, Conyers said his wife Monica is in Texas.

Carl Conyers was last seen by his roommate Tuesday afternoon on the 3700 block of Southmore in Houston, said Kese Smith, public information officer for the Houston Police Department. The apartment is not far from the university campus.

“We are working with the FBI and the Secret Service, and there is also an outside, private organization called Equusearch,” Smith said. “They’ve been contacted and they’ll be lending their assistance to help canvas the area.”

UPDATE I: Carl Conyers Found Safe and Unharmed.

The missing 21-year-old UH student and son of a Michigan congressman has been found safe.

The mother of Carl Conyers has confirmed that her son is alive and safe and back with her Friday morning.

Conyers’ mother, Monica, got the call from UH Police overnight. She says the details of how he was found are still unclear to her. She says her son needed a shower and hadn’t eaten. He’s now resting.

Conyers is the son of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, of Michigan, and his Monica.

Tom Hanks Hopes Donald Trump “Does Such a Great Job That I Vote for His Re-Election

MAYBE HOLLYWOOD AND THE LEFT CAN TAKE A QUEUE FROM TOM HANKS … ’We are going to be all right’

While being awarded at the Museum of Modern Art 9th annual film benefit actor Tom Hanks said the following, “This is the United States of America. We’ll go on. There’s great like-minded people out there who are Americans first and Republicans or Democrats second. I hope the president-elect does such a great job that I vote for his reelection in four years.” What a novel concept, rooting for America and place it over party. The Oscar-award winning actor was also recently selected among 21 key figures to be awarded the highest civilian honor in the United States, the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A week after the election, with many New Yorkers still feeling uneasy about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency, a number of entertainment industry luminaries gathered at the Museum of Modern Art to honor Tom Hanks with the organization’s ninth annual Film Benefit, presented by Chanel.

The election results, a surprising outcome for many who opposed Trump, led MoMA’s chief film curator Rajendra Roy to scrap many of his planned jokes, he said, and just proclaim, “Thank God for Tom Hanks.”

[...]

Prior to the presidential election, Hanks spoke out against Trump’s lewd Access Hollywood comments, saying he was “offended as a man” and criticizing the then-Republican nominee for his lack of government experience. But speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on the black carpet leading into the gala, he reiterated what he’d said in April on CBS This Morning, and what he would later say in his speech, that the country and its people would be OK.

“This is the United States of America. We’ll go on. There’s great like-minded people out there who are Americans first and Republicans or Democrats second,” Hanks told THR. “I hope the president-elect does such a great job that I vote for his reelection in four years.”

The actor also made it clear that he’d heard Michael Moore’s suggestion that Hanks run for president and he wasn’t too happy about it, indicating he felt he was unfit for the position.

“Not to be completely, over and over coming back to the same thing that I would like to strangle Michael Moore on in offering my name in order to be something other than a CPA, which I’m not qualified to be either,” Hanks said onstage. “We will take everything that has been handed to us as Americans, and we will turn our nation and we will turn the future and we turn all the work that we have before us into some brand of a thing of beauty.”