Ford Mexico Cartoons

Obama to anti-Trump protesters: March on

President Obama, speaking at a press conference in Germany, passed up the opportunity Thursday to tamp down the anti-Donald Trump protests back home -- urging those taking part not to remain "silent."
The president fielded a question on the protests during a joint news conference in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"I suspect that there’s not a president in our history that hasn’t been subject to these protests," he answered. "So, I would not advise people who feel strongly or who are concerned about some of the issues that have been raised during the course of the campaign, I wouldn’t advise them to be silent."
He added: “Voting matters, organizing matters and being informed on the issues matter.”
Protests have broken out in cities across the country since Trump's upset victory last Tuesday. Some have been peaceful, but there have been incidents of violence -- and a demonstration last Thursday in Portland escalated into a destructive riot.
Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway repeatedly has called for Obama to speak out on the unrest.
“I am calling for responsibility and decency. I hope President Obama says, ‘Cut it out,'" she told "Fox News Sunday."
Obama, though, so far has not done so, speaking mostly in generalities.
"Whenever you have got an incoming president of the other side, particularly after a bitter election like this, it takes a while for people to reconcile themselves with that new reality. Hopefully, it's a reminder that elections matter and voting counts," he told reporters on Monday.
Asked about the president’s reaction to those carrying “He’s Not My President” signs, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the freedom to protest should be “exercised without violence” but that “it's not surprising that people are disappointed in the outcome, but it's important for us to remember, a day or two after the election, that we're Democrats and Republicans, but we're Americans and patriots first.”
While he expressed cautious optimism Thursday that Trump would be an ally to Europe, Obama advised the president-elect to avoid simply taking “a realpolitik approach” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Obama also suggested Trump not “cut deals when convenient,” and he urged him to stand up to Putin when Russia’s values "differ from international norms."
Obama also argued social media can erode a democracy, after a campaign in which the candidates' Twitter accounts -- especially Trump's -- acted as their own broadcasting outlets.
“If we are not serious about facts and what is true and what is not. Particularly in an age of social media when people are getting their information in soundbites and snippets ... if we cannot discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems,” he said.

Ford chairman tells Trump Lincoln SUV production to remain at Kentucky plant

The Ford Motor Company said late Thursday that it would continue producing its Lincoln MKC SUV at a plant in Kentucky after President-elect Donald Trump incorrectly implied in a tweet that the plant had been close to moving to Mexico.
Trump said that Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford had called him with the news "that he will be keeping the Lincoln plant in Kentucky - no Mexico."
In a second tweet, Trump said that he had "worked hard with Bill Ford to keep the Lincoln plant in Kentucky. I owed it to the great state of Kentucky for their confidence in me!"
Ford had planned to move the Lincoln MKC out of an assembly factory in Louisville so it could make more Ford Escapes there. Despite the implication of Trump's tweet, Reuters reported that Ford cannot close any U.S. plant until 2019 at the earliest under the terms of its collective bargaining agreement with the United Automobile Workers union (UAW).
In a statement, Ford said the company "confirmed with the President-elect" that it would continue producing Lincoln MKCs at the Louisville plant and added that it was "encouraged that President-elect Trump and the new Congress will pursue policies that will improve U.S. competitiveness and make it possible to keep production of this vehicle here in the United States."
Trump has been feuding with Ford over plans to move small-car production from suburban Detroit to Mexico. On the campaign trail, the real estate mogul promised that he would he would not let the company open a new plant in Mexico and would levy 35 percent tariffs on any Ford vehicles made there.
In response, Bill Ford called Trump's plan "infuriating" and "frustrating."

Trump offers Flynn post of national security adviser

President-elect Donald Trump has offered retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn the post of national security adviser, a transition official told Fox News Thursday night.
The official said that Flynn had not yet officially accepted Trump's offer.
Flynn, who served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) between 2012 and 2014, has advised Trump on national security issues for months. As national security adviser, he would work in the White House and have frequent access to the president.
The position does not require confirmation by the Senate. Whoever holds it is typically shielded from congressional requests to testify or produce documents.
GENERAL VS. GENERAL: POWELL, FLYNN FEUD OVER HACKED EMAIL SLAMS
After leaving the DIA, Flynn became a virulent critic of the Obama administration and the Pentagon. He took issue with a wide range of national security policies, including the administration's approach to fighting ISIS and, more generally, its handling of global affairs.
Flynn asserted that he had been forced out of the DIA because he disagreed with the administration's approach to combating extremism. His critics, however, claimed he had mismanaged the agency and that his efforts to force change had met with internal resistance.

In recent public comments, including his fiery address at July's Republican National Convention, Flynn has emphasized his view that the threat posed by ISIS requires a more aggressive U.S. military, as well as his belief that Washington should work more closely with Moscow.
Flynn is also a champion of renegotiating the Iran nuclear deal, another foreign policy theme Trump pushed during the campaign.
But Flynn's warmth toward Russia has worried some national security experts. Flynn traveled last year to Moscow, where he joined Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials in a celebration of the RT network, Russia's government-controlled television channel. Flynn later explained that he had been paid for taking part in the event, but brushed aside concerns that he was aiding a Russian propaganda effort.

Flynn has also been outspoken in his alarms about the dangers of Islamist groups, complaining on CNN in June that the U.S. needs to "discredit" radical Islam, but that "we're not allowed to do that right now." He blamed the Obama administration in a New York Post op-ed in July for failing to design a coherent strategy for opposing ISIS. And in August, he spoke at an event in Dallas for the anti-Islamist group Act for America, saying that Islam "is a political ideology" and that it "definitely hides behind being a religion."

Flynn's dark warnings about Islam have not extended to the Islamist-leaning authoritarian Turkish government headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In an op-ed for the Washington newspaper The Hill just before the election, Flynn wrote that "our ally Turkey" needs support and echoed Erdogan's warnings that a "shady" Turkish leader now exiled in Pennsylvania should not be given safe harbor in the U.S. Erdogan has called for the extradition of the exile, Fethullah Gullen, but the Obama administration has made no move to comply.

Flynn's military experience might have made him seem like a natural choice to lead the Pentagon. But without a waiver from Congress, he is not eligible to be secretary of defense because federal law says "a person may not be appointed as secretary of defense within seven years after relief from active duty as a commissioned officer."
Two sources told Fox News earlier this week that Flynn's potential appointment is seen by Trump's team as a way to tap into his national security expertise, without subjecting him to intensive questioning.
During the campaign, Flynn was thought of as a potential running mate for Trump. However, he appeared to fall out of favor after implying that he was pro-choice in a television interview.
FLYNN CLARIFIES HIS ABORTION STANCE, SAYS HE'S 'PRO-LIFE'
Flynn told ABC's "This Week" in July that women "have to make the decision [on abortion] because they are the ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not." The day after the interview aired, he told Fox News that he was a "pro-life Democrat."
With his public and fervent support for Trump, highlighted by his July convention appearance, Flynn challenged the military's apolitical traditions. He was not alone in that role. John Allen, a retired Marine general, spoke at the Democratic National Convention as a Hillary Clinton supporter. Their former colleague, retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, wrote in The Washington Post that Flynn and Allen were wrong to have participated as they did.

"The military is not a political prize," Dempsey wrote. "The American people should not wonder where their military leaders draw the line between military advice and political preference."

Flynn would not be the first retired general to be asked to serve as part of a president's national security team. Obama appointed retired Army Gen. David Petraeus as CIA director in 2011.

Colin Powell, who had served as chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff at the pinnacle of his Army career, became secretary of state during President George W. Bush's first term. He also served as national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989 while retaining his Army commission as a lieutenant general.

Retired Marine Gen. James Jones, a former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, served as Obama's first national security adviser.

Trump dispatching 'landing teams' to Obama agencies, as Cabinet vetting heats up

A wave of Donald Trump “landing teams” will be storming the beaches of the federal government in the coming days and weeks in preparation for the transition, as the president-elect’s vetting of potential Cabinet picks moves into full swing.
The Republican president-elect was holding another packed day of meetings with potential prospects Thursday at New York City’s Trump Tower, the de facto center of the political universe in the wake of last week’s upset election.
While Trump prepares to announce his selections, the transition team is assembling what aides describe as “landing teams” that will visit and interact with federal agencies during the transition period.
The first “wave” will be assigned to national security matters, dealing with the departments of State, Justice and Defense and the National Security Council. This is expected to be followed by subsequent teams dealing with economic issues (covering the Treasury and other departments), domestic policy (covering Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services and other agencies) and independent agencies.
TRUMP ON PAR WITH PAST PRESIDENTS IN CABINET PICK TIMELINE
Together, officials said Thursday, the teams will help facilitate the transition with the outgoing Obama administration and establish the new Trump administration.
“We feel way ahead of schedule and never in a rush to do the wrong thing,” Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said.
As the “landing teams” make contact, Trump is meeting and vetting potential candidates for his inner circle at a steady clip.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani visited Trump Tower again Thursday morning.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also met with Trump Thursday. While Haley supported Trump’s 2016 GOP rival Marco Rubio, she is being considered for a Cabinet post, Fox News is told.
Haley campaigned against Trump during the GOP primaries, even speaking out against him during her GOP response to State of the Union address nearly a year ago, referring to him indirectly as "the siren call of the angriest voices.” After Rubio dropped out, she supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. It remains unclear which post she may be considered for; one Trump source suggested it was unlikely Haley would be picked for secretary of state as has been reported elsewhere.
Other figures to meet with Trump Thursday included: former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Rep. Jeb Hensarling and Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
He was also set to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of a series of meetings or phone calls with foreign leaders – as the Trump team pushes back on earlier reports that some foreign leaders were having trouble getting in touch with him since the election.
While Trump was meeting with world leaders and administration prospects, transition chairman and Vice President-elect Mike Pence was in Washington Thursday for meetings with congressional leaders. He met first with House Republicans and Speaker Paul Ryan, to be followed by meetings with top Democrats.
In another transition development, Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer announced on a conference call Wednesday that Trump appointees will be asked to sign a form barring them from being registered lobbyists within five years of leaving the government. This would also include a lifetime ban on representing a foreign government.

College Safe Space Cartoons

'Suck it up': Lawmaker wants to cut funding for schools coddling students over Trump

Lawmaker wants to cut funding for schools with safe spaces

An Iowa lawmaker is looking to slash funding for public colleges spending money on grief counseling and other kid-glove treatment for students upset over last week’s presidential election results -- telling snowflakes everywhere: “Suck it up, buttercup.”
Since Donald Trump’s upset victory last Tuesday, colleges across the country have brought in therapy dogs, canceled exams and held “cry-ins” on campus.
But Republican state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann says he will introduce a “suck it up, buttercup” bill in January when the Iowa State Legislature resumes, in a bid to fight back against campus coddling.
The bill would hit taxpayer-funded state universities with a budget cut for double the amount they spend on such election-related activities. Kaufmann emphasized that existing therapy and mental health services are not being targeted.
“I saw schools with rising, skyrocketing tuition costs where they are also finding money and expenditures for things such as cry rooms. I heard reports of rooms where you can play with Play-Doh, where you can color on books and talk about your feelings, and I was hearing reports of some schools that were bringing in ponies to be able get students through the election,” he told "Fox & Friends" on Wednesday.
After receiving hundreds of emails of support from across the country, Kaufmann also has set up a website where supporters can "Adopt a Trump protester" and get a "suck it up, buttercup" hat for $17.76. He says he hopes other states pursue similar legislation.
"I believe I'm the first," he told FoxNews.com, when asked if other lawmakers were following his example. "I wanted to fire a political warning shot."
The kind of creative counseling that concerns him extends well beyond Iowa campuses. Kaufmann isn't the only one worried about the post-election feel-gooderies either.
The University of Michigan law school canceled a “Post-Election Self-Care with Food and Play” event this week after inevitable Internet ridicule. The event offered students the chance to work out their Trump anxiety with “stress-busting self-care activities” including coloring, blowing bubbles, sculpting with Play-Doh and “positive card making.”
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN CANCELS PLAN TO HELP STUDENTS 'COPE' WITH TRUMP
But Kaufmann says that’s a waste of money, and can actually hurt students as it doesn't prepare them for the real world.
“And in life, when your car breaks down, your kids get sick or you have to take a second job to pay your mortgage, you don’t get to go to a cry zone, you don’t get to pet a pony, you have to deal with it,” he said.
However, at least one state university has pushed back against the bill, saying it’s important for students to be able to express themselves about election results
“I think universities are the perfect place to have these types of conversations,” Scott Ketelsen, director of university relations at the University of Northern Iowa, told the Des Moines Register. “It’s where people learn. It’s where they share ideas. I don’t consider it coddling.”
The bill also establishes new criminal penalties for protesters who shut down highways. Kaufmann cited a recent anti-Trump protest that shut down a highway in Iowa City.
“I encourage protest, I encourage dissent. But you don’t have a constitutional right to block the constitutional rights of others,” he told "Fox & Friends."
Some lawmakers in other states have taken the opposite approach. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on Monday for more disruption in the city, which has seen some of the highest-profile protests since Trump was elected.
“We have to recognize that all over this country, the more disruption that’s caused peacefully … the more it will change the trajectory of things,” he said in a radio interview on Monday.

Report: Medicaid enrollment, costs swell under ObamaCare expansion

To many apples on the tree..

Adult enrollment in ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion has more than doubled expectations in states across the country -- pointing to ballooning costs that threaten budget dollars for priorities like education and infrastructure, according to a report released Wednesday by The Foundation for Government Accountability.
Newly obtained data from 24 of the 29 states with Medicaid expansions show at least 11.5 million able-bodied adults have enrolled. The FGA says adult enrollment for all these states exceeds projections, by an average of 110 percent. Some states have signed up more than four times as many adults as they expected would enroll.
“A lot of folks on the left will say that this is a huge sign of success -- look at all of these people who need coverage and help,” Nicholas Horton, senior research fellow at FGA and co-author of the report, told FoxNews.com. “My response is that it is not success when you have able-bodied adults who are being trapped in welfare and reducing their incentive to work.”
The swelling enrollment also points to potential budget problems for the states.
TRUMP WILLING TO KEEP PARTS OF OBAMACARE
Starting in January 2017, states’ share of Medicaid expansion costs will increase to 5 percent and, as noted in the FGA’s report, those costs gradually will rise to 10 percent by 2020. With costs rising more quickly than ObamaCare advocates projected, the FGA expects state budgets to take a hit.
“We’ve used deficit spending to pay for these people in federal dollars, and come January, states are going to have to use state dollars to pay for the program,” FGA senior fellow Josh Archambault said. “The one caveat in this is that every state dollar spent on able-bodied adults in a Medicaid program is one less dollar that can be spent on other programs. This is essentially eating up tons of funds at the state level.”
The FGA report also claims that Medicaid expansion makes welfare for able-bodied adults a higher priority than services for the nearly 600,000 seniors and children with developmental disabilities, individuals with brain injuries and others on waiting lists for additional Medicaid services.
But according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division under the federal Department of Health and Human Services, these waiting lists are unrelated to the Medicaid expansion and pre-date ObamaCare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
Before ObamaCare, Medicaid eligibility extended mostly to low-income, disabled adults and some pregnant women and children. Under the Affordable Care Act, the program now allows coverage for most low-income Americans under age 65 in states that OK’d the expansion -- while other families not qualifying for Medicaid can still receive premium subsidies on the ObamaCare exchanges.
House Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, told Fox News that ObamaCare as a whole “is a welfare program masquerading as health care reform.”
“Enrollment projections were nothing but fantasy, cost estimates little more than wishful thinking, and positive health outcomes were grossly overstated,” he said.
But according to CMS, the Medicaid expansion has had major positive health and economic benefits for citizens and states.
“Medicaid expansion does not trade off against coverage for people with disabilities,” CMS spokesman Aaron Albright told Fox News. “In fact, Medicaid expansion has allowed many eligible individuals with disabilities to get coverage.”
The future of ObamaCare – including the Medicaid expansion and other myriad elements of the sprawling program – remains in doubt now that Donald Trump has been elected president. He has vowed to “repeal and replace” the law, and has the support of congressional Republicans who kept their majority in last week’s election.
“Our path forward is clear: we must repeal this unsustainable burden and replace it with real reforms that improve access to quality health care at lower prices,” Flores said.