I'm sorry to say, it gets worse and more frightening every day. Last Tuesday I wrote about some of the members of the Trump team and what a threat they pose. Here we are, just a few days later, and there's even more bad news, even more scary possibilities.
I've got to tell you, I was positively thunderstruck when I read that Donald Trump had decided to appoint the multi-millionaire dealmaker Rex Tillerson (the CEO of Exxon Mobil) as his Secretary of State. Are you kidding me?
Not only does he lack the qualifications for this critically important position, he has close ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia. In fact, he received Russia's Order of Friendship in 2013.
While I am a political junkie, I certainly don't claim to know everything (or even close to it) about all the workings of the U.S. government, their political system, constitution and laws. So before I became too critical of Tillerson I decided to do my homework and find out what the Secretary of State job entails. Read all about it here, but let me give you just a couple of highlights:
The secretary of state is the highest-ranking member of the cabinet and the third-highest official in the executive branch of the federal government after the president and vice president. The office is fourth in line to succeed the presidency.
The secretary of state -- according to John Adams, the second president of the United States -- "ought to be a man of universal reading in laws, governments, history."
Here's that link to the secretary's job description again. You really do owe it to yourself to give it the once over. Then I'd love to have a conversation about whether or not you think Rex Tillerson fits the bill. I can tell you right now that I certainly don't.
And then there's Rick Perry. Remember him?
Let me refresh your memory: Back in 2011, in yet another presidential race, and in yet another presidential debate, he was the candidate who couldn't remember that it was the energy department he wanted to dismantle. And now Donald Trump has picked him for energy secretary. He will head the department he wants to get rid of.
His other claim to fame is his less-than-successful appearance on Dancing With The Stars. No doubt he'll be putting the quickstep moves he learned to good use in his new job.
Andrew Puzder's yet another wealthy CEO, and he's also Trump's pick for labour secretary. You should know he's been an outspoken critic of Barack Obama's worker protections and also opposes increases to the minimum wage. That should bode really well for all those Trump fans who are struggling to make ends meet.
Trump's choice for CIA director is Mike Pompeo -- who thinks it's more than OK to collect Americans' domestic calling records. Yes, if it's up to him, Big Brother will be watching -- and listening and taking notes.
But one of the more perplexing appointments is that of retired neurosurgeon and failed 2016 GOP presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson.
If approved, he'll be the new secretary for housing and urban development.
"What experience does he bring to this position?" you ask. Hmmm. Don't suppose it helps that he thinks the Fair Housing Act should be scaled back?"
And so it goes. Believe it or not, there's still a lot more examples I could give you. But to be honest, I can only deal with this in small increments, otherwise it's just too depressing.
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