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Former President Barack Obama wasnt kidding when he said he and wife Michelle Obama would get back to work soon after their post-White House vacation in the British Virgin Islands.

Less than one month after leaving office, the Obamas have signed Washington, D.C., attorneys Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell to manage contract negotiations with potential publishers for the former president and Mrs. Obamas respective books, Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for the former president, says in a statement to PEOPLE.

With an eye on the equally lucrative speakers circuit, the Obamas also announced on Friday that they have selected the Harry Walker Agency to coordinate speaking engagements. The heavyweight agency also manages Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Al Gore and Barbara Walters.

There are not yet any dates set for the speaking opportunities or the book releases, says a source close to the Obamas. As another person involved in the process put it, We are just launching on the adventure.

These two new ventures come on top of the work the former First Couple are expected to pursue at the Obama Foundation. As the former president put it at the end of last year: With respect to my priorities when I leave, it is to build that next generation of leadership; organizers, journalists, politicians. I see them in America, I see them around the world, 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds who are just full of talent, full of idealism. And the question is how do we link them up? How do we give them the tools for them to bring about progressive change? And I want to use my presidential center as a mechanism for developing that next generation of talent.

In Barnett the Obamas are getting a super-lawyer with a long record of landing big book deals for the biggest authors, especially in politics. Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy are just a few of the names in Barnetts portfolio.

Both of the Obamas books are expected to be very successful.While this will be Mrs. Obamas first time writing a memoir, former President Obama already has two bestselling books under his belt: 1995sDreams from My Father and2006sThe Audacity of Hope.

The news comes just one week after the Obamasreturned home from vacation to settle in to their new rental mansionin Washington, D.C. They had spent 10 days atVirgin Group founderSir Richard Bransons private island retreat, where Obama reveled in kitesurfing and beach time.

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Barack and Michelle Obama Take First Steps Toward Next Chapter: Memoirs and Speeches - PEOPLE.com

White House press secretary Sean Spicer in his daily media briefing on Thursday falsely accused journalists of holding President Trump to a different standard than they applied toformer president Barack Obama, when it comes to criticizing the judiciary.

Responding to questions about the propriety of Trump's recent tweets about a federal judge who ruled against a travel ban on refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, Spicer drew an imperfect comparison to Obama's public opposition to the Supreme Court's decision in the 2010 Citizens United case and said inaccurately that there was no concern from reporters at the time.

The idea of one branch talking about or commenting on another branch is as old as our republic, Spicer said. So, I don't know why and I, I find it interesting [that] when President Obama criticized the Supreme Court for its Citizens United comments in the State of the Union, there wasn't a similar concern about that. It seems like there's clearly a double standard when it's how this is applied. When President Obama did it, there was no concern from this briefing room. When [Trump] does it, it's a ton of outrage.

Just in case you don't remember exactly what Obama said about the Supreme Court in his State of the Union address seven years ago, here it is:

Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections. Well, I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.

And here is what Trump has tweeted about U.S. District Judge James L. Robart:

Trump's rebuke was far more intense than Obama's.

Obama, a lawyer, merely labeled the Supreme Court's decision wrong and called on Congress to pass a bill that would reverse it. Trump cast aspersions on Robart's qualifications by referring to him as a so-called judge and blamed him for a hypothetical, future terrorist attack.

It is one thing for a president to disagree with a ruling, on the merits; it is another to suggest that a so-called judge could have blood on his hands.

Still, Obama's critique of the Citizens United decision was a big deal especially because Justice Samuel Alito could be seen on camera shaking his head as Obama spoke. The episode was dissected at length on cable news:

It was covered on the front page:

And at the first White House press briefing after the State of the Union, it, of course, came up:

Q: Would the president support requiring shareholder approval before a company could spend money on ads, like in reference to the Supreme Court decision?

DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY BILLBURTON: There are a series of reforms that the president is looking at and talking to members of Congress about. I don't want to get into the specifics of the negotiations and what those are, but campaign finance reform has become a lot more important in the course of the last couple of weeks and the president and his team are focused on it.

Q: What's the president's reaction to Justice Alito's reaction to his speech?

BURTON: Well, this issue is something that many have serious concerns about. It's something that Justice Ginsburg brought up in her oral arguments. It's something that Justice Stevens wrote about in his dissent. It's an issue that the court could have specifically addressed in its findings, but they didn't. And the American people deserve the right to know that foreign corporations cannot interfere with American elections.

So this is another one of the issues that the president is looking at in terms of campaign finance reform. In terms of the specific reaction to Justice Alito, one of the great things about our democracy is that powerful members of the government at high levels can disagree in public and in private. This is one of those cases. But the president is no less committed to seeing this reform.

Once again, Spicer stood before a roomful of journalists and made an assertion that is totally at odds with the facts.

Originally posted here:
Sean Spicer falsely claims 'there was no concern' from the media when Obama criticized the Supreme Court - Washington Post

Forbes

This Ritz-Carlton KL Manager Shares What It Was Like To Host Obama Forbes Former U.S. President Barack Obama travelled a lot during his two terms in office. Twice, he found himself in Kuala Lumpur and on both occasions, he stayed at one hotel The Ritz-Carlton. The 19-year-old establishment was the country's first truly ...

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This Ritz-Carlton KL Manager Shares What It Was Like To Host Obama - Forbes

House Republicans will vote next week to liberate states from an Obama rule requiring them to subsidize Planned Parenthood.

In one of his last actions, Obama effectively forced states to fund Planned Parenthood. Many states have policies barring state funds for the abortion giant, and Obama's 11th-hour executive order prohibited such policies.

Next week, the House plans to use the Congressional Review Act to repeal that Obama regulation a first salvo in their fight to roll back Obama's legacy on abortion.

According to congressional aides, the vote is scheduled for late next week and will specifically axe Obama's Title X rule. During his final weeks in office, Obama finalized the regulation, explicitly barring states from pulling federal grant money from clinics that provide abortion.

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told The Washington Examiner that the effort is about "protecting life and stopping the federal government from forcing states to support abortion."

"The federal government should not be sending taxpayer dollars to abortion providers, and it shouldn't force states to do so either," McCarthy said in a statement. "Overturning this regulation from the Obama Administration not only allows states to freely choose pro-life policies, but will protect the lives of the weakest and least powerful among us."

Before the Obama rule went into effect, 15 states had defunded Planned Parenthood on their own. Should the bill make it to President Trump's desk and receive his signature, it would put Planned Parenthood's taxpayer funding at risk. Currently, Republicans enjoy complete control of half the states.

Echoing Speaker Paul Ryan, McCarthy insisted the legislation wouldn't keep women from receiving reproductive care. Instead it would allow states to use Title X money for "other community health centers and hospitals that offer more comprehensive service."

Altogether, the effort will serve as a dress rehearsal for the coming fight over Planned Parenthood. Since Obama left office, Republicans have eagerly set about demolishing his legacy using the Congressional Review Act. This is the first time it's been applied to the abortion issue.

Also from the Washington Examiner

The British-Nigerian actor who portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 movie gave his sons a talk about Trump.

02/10/17 4:46 PM

Chances are good that the CRA will pass the House. Last July, a similar defund bill by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., passed 241-187. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could use a fast track process to neutralize a Democrat filibuster and pass the CRA.

Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

Top Story

The former first lady will be a judge on "MasterChef Junior."

02/10/17 3:22 PM

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Hill Republicans plan to kill Obama's order on taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood - Washington Examiner

President Donald J. Trump simultaneously can advance his policy agenda, fortify the rule of law, and paint vulnerable Democrats into a corner. How? Rather than kill Obamas legacy projects unilaterally, Trump should invite Congress to help him scrap the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris agreement on so-called global warming, and the related Clean Power Plan (CPP). This will force vulnerable Democrats on Capitol Hill to vote on these calamitous measures.

Trump should transmit to the Senate the Iran nuke accord and the Paris climate pact. He should ask the upper body to vote on these international measures as treaties, requiring 67 votes for passage. Neither will reach that threshold, and both will fail but not before senators vote on each proposal.

This is how these international items should have been handled. Instead, Obama dubbed the Iran deal an executive agreement, which automatically went into effect, unless Congress killed it, subject to his veto. This cockeyed procedure which Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell and former speaker John Boehner inexplicably allowed made the Iran deal impossible to kill.

Even worse, the Paris treaty became binding upon America on November 4, after 55 foreign CO2-producing nations adopted it. Rather than seek the Senates consent, Obama outsourced its authorization to parliaments overseas.

These assaults on the rule of law aside, the deals are dreadful on the merits.

Rather than tame Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has unleashed an even more aggressive power. Under Obamas blessed deal, Iran has tested missiles (including one on Wednesday), harassed U.S. Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and even held American sailors hostage at gunpoint and on their knees. In the closing days of his reign of error, Obama approved Russias delivery of 130 tons of natural uranium to Tehran enough to fuel ten atomic bombs. This atop some $1.7 billio in cash that the U.S. jetted to the Iranians, plus at least $50 billion of unfrozen assets. None of this has tamed Tehran.

Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton explained in Mondays Wall Street Journalhow this deal is all gums and no teeth. As Annex B states, Iran is called upon not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons for eight years.

Called upon?

I hereby call upon Warren Buffett to send me $1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock. I await my shares.

The Paris Treaty sets non-binding CO2 limits. America most likely would abide by these restrictions and pay the price in economic stagnation. Brazil, China, India, Russia, and other nations probably would regard the deal as a list of suggestions, leaving America at a disadvantage.

Dumb.

The CPP is not a treaty. Therefore, both the Senate and the House would have to vote on it. GOP lawmakers will see that it dies a well-deserved death, and Democrats will have to decide whether to join Republicans in this merciful deed, or stand with the kite-sailor-in-chief and his nearly $1 trillion anti-warming symbol.

Obamas Department of Energy determined that, between 2015 and 2040, the CPP would cost the U.S. economy $993 billion in foregone real GDP and $382 billion in squandered disposable income. In exchange, CPP would do virtually nothing about so-called global warming. CPP would reduce expected warming by 0.02 degrees Fahrenheit in 2050. This is like cranking a thermostat from 72 degrees all the way down to 71.98 degrees. No wonder former EPA chief Gina McCarthy called CPP a strong domestic action which can actually trigger global action in other words, a trillion dollars worth of window dressing.

All of this should spread anxiety among Senate Democrats from states that Trump won, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Deeper worry should infuse Democrats from Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia states that Trump and Mitt Romney both secured.

Senate Democrats such as Joe Donnelly, Claire McCaskill, Jon Tester, Heidi Heitkamp, and Joe Manchin should join Trump as bipartisan pallbearers at the funerals of these unpopular, foolish, and destructive policies. It will be tough for Trumps seething critics to call him an environment-hating warmonger if at least some Democrats help him and the GOP bury these horrid measures. This would boost Trumps political capital and please conservatives. But it will enrage the already volcanic Democratic base.

If, conversely, these non-rabid Democrats take a jump to the left and vote to hand billions to the worlds biggest state sponsor of terrorism and to cremate the U.S. economy on the altar of so-called global warming, George Soros will be thrilled. And moderate Democrats and independent voters will be appalled.

Either way, Trump wins, and already endangered Democrats will find themselves on ice as thin as contact lenses.

Rarely have good policy and good politics walked so tightly hand in hand. President Trump can trigger all of this simply by sending these three measures to Capitol Hill and calling for the yeas and nays.

Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor and a contributing editor with National Review Online.

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Kill Obama's Legacy Projects - National Review