Donald Trump fires Rex Tillerson, replaces him with Mike Pompeo. Update!

Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Rex Tillerson is out as secretary of State, ending a tumultuous tenure as America's top diplomat that was marked by a series of public disagreements with his boss — President Donald Trump. 

Trump plans to appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace the former Exxon Mobil chief executive. The president picked deputy CIA Director Gina Haspel to run the spy agency.

That tweet up above was how the world learned that Trump was kicking Tillerson off the island, no press conference, no official statement, just a tweet. Because apparently that is how these things are done now.

There has of course been talk that Trump was displeased with Tillerson going way back to when he called Trump a "moron" back in October.

Though of course Trump responded to talk that Tillerson may be on his way out with this tweet:

The media has been speculating that I fired Rex Tillerson or that he would be leaving soon - FAKE NEWS! He’s not leaving and while we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots) we work well together and America is highly respected again!https://t.co/FrqiPLFJ1E

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 1, 2017

I cannot say that I was ever a fan of Tillerson, but at least he comported himself like a grown up most of the time.

Mike Pompeo is just a Trump ass kisser and a rubber stamp on anything and everything that Trump will want to do going forward.

Clearly this administration is in free fall right now, and when it finally makes impact it is going to leave a hell of a crater.

Update: Apparently Tillerson learned he was fired in the same tweet where everybody else learned about it. 

Donald Trump would like his personal pilot to head the FAA. Why? Because he's his personal pilot, that's why.

Courtesy of Axios: 

The president’s personal pilot is on the administration's short list to head the Federal Aviation Administration. Trump has told a host of administration officials and associates that he wants John Dunkin — his longtime personal pilot, who flew him around the country on Trump Force One during the campaign — to helm the agency, which has a budget in the billions and which oversees all civil aviation in the United States. 

What I'm hearing: One industry insider equated this to the Seinfeld episode when Cosmo Kramer used his golf caddy as a jury consultant. A senior administration official told me that comparison is completely unfair. The source confirmed Trump recommended Dunkin and that he’s sat for an interview for the post. That source said he was impressive. 

“He’s on the list because he's the president’s pilot, but if he gets the job it won't be because he's the president's pilot,” the source said. 

In response to my questions for this story, another administration source stressed that while no decision has been made, Dunkin has the appropriate experience to get the job. 

“John Dunkin isn’t just a pilot," the administration official told me. "He’s managed airline and corporate flight departments, certified airlines from start-up under FAA regulations, and oversaw the Trump presidential campaign’s air fleet, which included managing all aviation transportation for travel to 203 cities in 43 states over the course of 21 months.”

You know it is typical for presidents to hand out some cushy jobs to their friends and supporters.

But typically these are relegated to ambassadorships in some faraway land that nobody really cares about.

They are NOT given jobs that are as vitally important as heading up the FAA.

Next up expect Trump to appoint his landscaper to head the Parks and Recreation Department.

Trump's terribly unqualified Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, may be ready to jump ship

Courtesy of Salon:

Thomas Toch, director of independent education think tank FutureEd, told Politico that DeVos was ignorant of the job's constraints when she accepted it and insiders are already preparing for her to vacate the position. 

"She can’t fill her senior staff slots," he said. "Morale is terrible at the department." 

DeVos was roundly criticized for her lack of basic knowledge about education policy during the confirmation hearing process. She blames President Donald Trump's transition team, claiming she was "undercoached." 

One doubts most nominees for education secretary need to be coached not to cite grizzly bears as a reason for guns in schools. 

"I’ll tell you, in Washington education circles, the conversation is already about the post-DeVos landscape, because the assumption is she won’t stay long," Toch told Politico. "I think she’s been probably one of the most ineffective people to ever hold the job.”

There have been other murmurings about Devos being frustrated and wanting out of her job, but at least one MSNBC contributor thinks that there may be another reason for her desire to up and quit. 

I’ve received reports today saying DeVos, Huntsman, Ross, Sessions, Tillerson & Zinke are resigning for ties to Russia &/or for corruption.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) November 6, 2017

Now I don't really care why Betsy DeVos quits necessarily so long as she quits.

But if I have to choose a reason, I like the one that Dworkin offered the best. Especially since it likely means that DeVos will be followed out of the door by a number of other Trump enablers. 

CNN's Jake Tapper asks Rex Tillerson point blank if he called Trump a moron, Tillerson refuses to answer. "I'm not gonna deal with that petty stuff."

.@jaketapper: Did you call Trump a moron?

Rex Tillerson: “I’m not gonna deal with that petty stuff” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/mQxyzmjzBa

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 15, 2017

Well, THAT'S a confirmation if ever I heard one.

By the way "unconventional" is code for "dysfunctional."

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson almost quit this summer after calling Trump a "moron." Mike Pence convinced him to stay.

Courtesy of NBC News:  

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on the verge of resigning this past summer amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House, according to multiple senior administration officials who were aware of the situation at the time. 

The tensions came to a head around the time President Donald Trump delivered a politicized speech in late July to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization Tillerson once led, the officials said. 

Just days earlier, Tillerson had openly disparaged the president, referring to him as a “moron,” after a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials, according to three officials familiar with the incident. 

While it's unclear if he was aware of the incident, Vice President Mike Pence counseled Tillerson, who is fourth in line to the presidency, on ways to ease tensions with Trump, and other top administration officials urged him to remain in the job at least until the end of the year, officials said. 

Officials said that the administration, beset then by a series of high-level firings and resignations, would have struggled to manage the fallout from a Cabinet secretary of his stature departing within the first year of Trump’s presidency.

Actually I am not at all convinced that managed the fallout from the large number that have already resigned or been fired.

However losing Tillerson would have only amplified the fact that Trump is in way over his head.

Donald Trump's Defense Minister General James Mattis also seems to engaging in a little mutiny.

Courtesy of the New York Times: 

Days before President Trump has to make a critical decision on whether to hold up the Iran nuclear deal, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis openly split with him on abandoning the agreement, the second senior member of the president’s national security team to recently contradict him. 

Mr. Mattis told senators on Tuesday that it was in America’s interest to stick with the deal, which Mr. Trump has often dismissed as a “disaster.” 

“Absent indications to the contrary, it is something that the president should consider staying with,” Mr. Mattis told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee after being repeatedly pressed on the issue. 

The comments were the latest example of how Mr. Trump’s instincts on national security — to threaten North Korea with destruction and tear up an Iran accord that most experts and allies say is working — are running headlong into opposition from his own National Security Council.

I would bet my house that there are a whole lot of folks in this Administration, and on the White House staff, calling Trump a moron and much worse behind his back.

Right now he is likely seen as no more than a performing monkey working to keep the public distracted, while aides and cabinet members try to get as many things as possible accomplished before this presidency implodes.

Which, let's face it, could be any day now.

So what about that bizarre televised cabinet meeting today where each member took time to kiss Trump's ass publicly?

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Typically, a president's initial comments mark the end of on-camera coverage of White House Cabinet meetings, with administration aides then escorting members of the small press "pool" out of the room. But Trump invited reporters to remain as he called on his senior-most advisers to "go around, name your position" and say a few words about the administration's work. 

"Start with Mike," Trump said, referring to his vice president. Mike Pence, whom Trump kept in the dark for two weeks after learning that then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had given the vice president false information earlier this year, responded by saying that serving as Trump's number two is "the greatest privilege of my life." 

"An honor to be here," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recently offered his resignation amid strains over the Russia investigation. 

"My hat is off to you," said Energy Secretary Rick Perry, referring to the president's explanation of his decision to abandon a global climate change agreement. 

"We thank you for the opportunity and blessing you've given us to serve your agenda and the American people," said Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, the subject of recent reports that Trump may fire him.

Okay seriously, WTF?

It's like Trump has gathered together a cabinet of Stepford wives who have been programmed to only deliver up compliments to their dear leader.

That creeped me out so bad it gave me chills.

Senator Chuck Schumer decided to find the humor in the event.

GREAT meeting today with the best staff in the history of the world!!! pic.twitter.com/ocE1xhEAac

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 12, 2017

Yeah would be a lot funnier if this were not the fucking reality in the White House.

White House attempts to block disclosure of Trump Administration ethics waivers, gets rejected.

Uh oh.

Courtesy of NPR: 

The Office of Government Ethics has rejected a White House attempt to block the agency's compilation of federal ethics rules waivers granted to officials hired into the Trump administration from corporations and lobbying firms. 

The White House action, a letter to OGE Director Walter M. Shaub Jr. from Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, was first reported by The New York Times. The newspaper had earlier published a detailed account of lobbyists turned appointees who were granted waivers and now oversee regulations they previously had lobbied against. 

With an ethics waiver, a federal official is free to act on matters that normally would trigger concerns about conflicts of interest or other ethical problems. Federal regulations say the waivers generally should be made public on request. The Obama administration routinely posted waivers online. The Trump administration has issued an unknown number and released none. 

Shaub notified the White House and federal agencies in April that OGE wanted to see all ethics waivers issued by President Trump's administration. He set June 1 as the deadline. The broad request is known as a data call.

Oh I think we see another Trump White House scandal looming over the horizon.

Fighting this only goes to prove that the Trump Administration is terrified of ANY disclosures of  what they have been doing behind the scenes.

I would be willing to bet that there are some very interesting ethics waivers that have to do with, not just with members of the cabinet, but members of the Trump family as well.

Donald Trump blames the Democrats for the fact that everybody in his administration seems to be a Russian double agent. Update!

Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

...intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

...to win. The Democrats are overplaying their hand. They lost the election, and now they have lost their grip on reality. The real story...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

...is all of the illegal leaks of classified and other information. It is a total "witch hunt!"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

Let's all just take a moment to savor the fact that the new leader of the Republican party is referring to ANYTHING as a "witch hunt."

Oh yes, that is delightful isn't it?

And then let's keep in mind that just about every time that we learn something new from this so-called "witch hunt" that it eventually leads to a member of the Trump administration having to admit wrong doing and either resigning, getting fired, or recusing themselves.

Trump followed up this series of tweets with this one.

It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

Geez, imagine that.

Personally I think that the Democrats would be more than happy to confirm some of Trump's cabinet picks if they can find one who does not have the Russian flag tattooed on their ass.

Update: Interesting to note that the Russian foreign minister used essentially Trump's exact words to describe the media pressure on Jeff Sessions right now.:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the pressure on Mr Sessions "strongly resembles a witch hunt or the times of McCarthyism, which we thought were long over in the United States as a civilised country." 

Wow looky there, yet another amazing coincidence!

Update 2: Check out this pathetic attempt to obfuscate.

We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russia and Putin. A total hypocrite! pic.twitter.com/Ik3yqjHzsA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 3, 2017

Senator Schumer is having none of it.

Happily talk re: my contact w Mr. Putin & his associates, took place in '03 in full view of press & public under oath. Would you &your team? https://t.co/yXgw3U8tmQ

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 3, 2017

Okay at this point Trump is just starting to look ridiculous.

Trump's two day Twitter tirade.

I don't know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2017

"I don't know Putin." Really?
Remember, the internet knows all.

It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

Yeah, perhaps if Trump did not pick unqualified, crazy, or racist people for his cabinet things might go a little quicker. Just saying.

If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

This pertains to the legal challenge to his Muslim ban.

And as you can see Trump is preparing to blame the courts for the next terrorist attack, despite the fact that the ban itself has given the terrorists plenty of incentive to attack the United States again.

My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

"Always pushing me to do the right thing!" Did anybody else pick up on a thinly veiled threat there?

Using the power of the presidency to pressure a business to continue working with your daughter. I guess that's the new normal. #JustTrumpThings.

Such a shame that first his wife can't make money off being the First Lady due to reports on her seedy past as an alleged escort, and now his stand in First Lady cannot make money on her now infamous name because Nordstrom wants to make a profit. 

So unfair.

Big increase in traffic into our country from certain areas, while our people are far more vulnerable, as we wait for what should be EASY D!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017

I don't speak Trumpian but apparently "Easy D" stands for "easy decision." Just more complaining about the courts not letting him discriminate at will.

So as you can see for the last two days Trump has been a little pissy at the courts for not letting him discriminate against those dirty Mooslims, at allegations that he is Putin's puppet (He totally is!), and  at the fact that his daughter cannot prostitute her name to sell Chinese made clothing.

Gee, I wonder what will happen when he sees this?

 Yep, I predict another late night Twitter tantrum.

So today Donald Trump got just that much closer to destroying public education in America.

This will teach liberals to stay home on election day.

Courtesy of the New York Times:

The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. 

The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos — a wealthy donor from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system — to be steward of the nation’s schools. 

Two Republicans voted against Ms. DeVos’s confirmation, a sign that some members of President Trump’s party are willing to go against him, possibly foreshadowing difficulty on some of the president’s more contentious legislative priorities. 

It was the first time that a vice president has been summoned to the Capitol to break a tie on a cabinet nomination, according to the Senate historian. Taking the gavel as the vote deadlocked at 50-50, Mr. Pence, a former member of the House, declared his vote for Ms. DeVos before announcing that Mr. Trump’s nominee for education secretary had been confirmed.

This, by the way, was an appointment that DaVos and her family essentially paid for with donations.

Donations from Betsy DaVos and her family.

I think we are supposed to take some solace in the fact that the vote was this close, but in the end DeVos was confirmed and that is all that counts.

I am also hearing some voices suggesting that we should stay calm because the Federal Government can only have so much of an impact on public education, but those people must not have been paying attention to what Bush's NCLB did to our schools and to our teachers.

I lived through all of that and saw first hand the devastating effects that NCLB had on our ability to adequately prepare children for college, their future career path, and for life in general.

In fact we are still recovering.

So yes Betsy DeVos can have an incredibly negative impact on education in this country.

And I imagine that is exactly the kind of impact that she WILL have.

Hey remember when Mitch McConnell was a real stickler for cabinet appointees to have their paperwork finished before any hearings? Yeah neither does he apparently.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate plans to rush forward this week with confirmation hearings for many of Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet and other key executive positions. Though many of the picks have not yet completed the customarily required ethics clearances and background checks, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has shown no willingness to delay.

But back in 2009, McConnell took the exact opposite view. A letter to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), posted on Twitter by Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington co-founder and former Obama administration ethics adviser Norm Eisen on Sunday, shows he demanded that “financial disclosures must be complete” before any confirmation hearings be scheduled.

In his letter, McConnell wrote that his party’s duty to “conduct the appropriate review” of presidential nominations, “consistent with the long standing and best practices of committees, regardless of which party is in the majority,” was one it took seriously. “These best practices serve the Senate well,” he added, “and we will insist on their fair and consistent application.” The then-Senate Minority Leader called the financial disclosure process and other ethical steps essential “to fairly review a nominee’s record and to make an informed decision prior to a vote.”

Yep, that ole Mitch McConnell is a by the book kind of guy.

Right up until it inconveniences a president from his party that is.

Government Ethics Office upset that Trump cabinet picks scheduled for hearing next week have not submitted paperwork. Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo: 

The head of the Office of Government Ethics expressed alarm Saturday that the Senate would begin considering President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions before they’ve been fully vetted for conflicts of interests. 

“As OGE’s Director, the announced hearing schedule for several nominees who have not completed the ethics review process is of great concern to me,” wrote OGE director Walter Shaub Jr. in a letter to Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). 

“This schedule has created undue pressure on OGE’s staff and agency ethics officials to rush through these important reviews,” he added. “More significantly, it has left some of the nominees with potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues shortly before their scheduled hearings.” 

The letter comes ahead of a week in which there will be a flurry of hearings for Trump’s cabinet picks. There will be hearings on six nominees on Wednesday alone.

By the way this is no mere formality,  without this paperwork there is simply no way that these men can be considered for any position of responsibility in a presidential administration.

In fact it is the OGE's job to help these folks avoid any conflict of interest laws, something they simply cannot do without knowing what those conflicts might be.

MSNBC received access to correspondence which shows the OGE desperately trying to do their jobs, and being completely ignored by Trump and his transition team.

Here is what Elizabeth Warren had to say on the topic:

Confirmation hearings historically aren’t conducted until the @OfficeGovEthics certifies that each nominee has no unresolved conflicts.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 7, 2017

This is ridiculous. @realDonaldTrump’s noms can’t drag their feet on ethics paperwork while their Senate friends try to run out the clock.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 7, 2017

Cabinet officials must put our country's interests before their own. No conf hearings should be held until we’re certain that’s the case.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 7, 2017

Personally I don't think that Donald Trump wants anybody in his administration that could pass an ethics investigation.

After all ethics never meant anything to him as a businessman, why should they matter now?

The only question remaining is do they matter to the American people?

Update: Reince "twice and" Priebus says that there is "no reason" for Trump's appointees to fill out government ethics paperwork. 

Let me remind you that until very recently this guy was the head of the RNC. 

Donald Trump is apparently choosing cabinet members based on their appearance. No, I am not kidding.

Ooh, she looks qualified.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:  

Donald Trump believes that those who aspire to the most visible spots in his administration should not just be able to do the job, but also look the part.

“Presentation is very important because you’re representing America not only on the national stage but also the international stage, depending on the position,” said Trump transition spokesman Jason Miller. 

To lead the Pentagon, Trump chose a rugged combat general, whom he compares to a historic one. At the United Nations, his ambassador will be a poised and elegant Indian American with a compelling immigrant backstory. As secretary of state, Trump tapped a neophyte to international diplomacy, but one whose silvery hair and boardroom bearing project authority.

The parade of potential job-seekers passing a bank of media cameras to board the elevators at Trump Tower has the feel of a casting call. It is no coincidence that a disproportionate share of the names most mentioned for jobs at the upper echelon of the Trump administration are familiar faces to obsessive viewers of cable news — of whom the president-elect is one. 

“He likes people who present themselves very well, and he’s very impressed when somebody has a background of being good on television because he thinks it’s a very important medium for public policy,” said Chris Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a longtime friend of Trump. “Don’t forget, he’s a showbiz guy. He was at the pinnacle of showbiz, and he thinks about showbiz. He sees this as a business that relates to the public.” 

“The look might not necessarily be somebody who should be on the cover of GQ magazine or Vanity Fair,” Ruddy said. “It’s more about the look and the demeanor and the swagger.”

It may seem hard to believe that a guy who looks like an orangesicle melting in the sun would choose these important positions based on appearance, but considering the fact that this guy once owned the Miss Universe pageant and chooses his wives from a modeling catalogue that really does not seem that far fetched.

Especially if you remember that Trump also hired and fired female employees at his golf resort if they were "not pretty enough."

Even among his own children he clearly likes the pretty one the best.

Of course knowing this only makes the apparent passing over of Sarah Palin for a position in his administration even more humiliating for a woman who came out early in support of the pussy grabber, and whose entire persona is built around her now fading looks.

Even crazy old Pat Robertson knows that Donald Trump putting Sarah Palin on his cabinet would be a "terrible thing."

Courtesy of Right Wing Watch: 

Even Pat Robertson was baffled by reports that President-elect Donald Trump is considering Sarah Palin to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, telling his “The 700 Club” co-host Wendy Griffith today that Palin should absolutely not be nominated to the Cabinet post.

“Heaven help us from that,” Robertson said. “That would be a terrible thing. Terrible. Terrible.” 

When Griffith said Palin has “a lot on her plate,” Robertson responded, “Too much on her plate, that’s a nice way of putting it.”

As RWW points out Robertson used to be a big fan of Bible Thumping Barbie, but even he has seen way too much of her lunacy and family scandals to support her these days.

My new answer to people asking me how crazy this election cycle is, is to tell them it's so crazy that I am actually in agreement with Pat "Jesus is coming tomorrow" Robertson.

Donald Trump to name Rick Perry as the Secretary of Energy, an agency he once forgot he wanted to eliminate completely.

I knew if I started wearing these that somebody would think I was smart enough for a job.

Courtesy of USA Today: 

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve as secretary of Energy, according to reports by CBS News and NBC News. 

The former GOP presidential hopeful beat out two contenders for the Cabinet post: Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat representing West Virginia, and Ray Washburne, a Dallas investor working in oil and gas operations, CBS News reported. 

On Monday, Perry attended a meeting at Trump Towers but didn't take questions from reporters. 

The Energy Department is the same federal agency Perry wanted to eliminate — and then forgot to name when asked which departments he would shut down. 

"I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone: Commerce, Education, and — what's the third one there? Let's see," Perry said during a Republican presidential primary debate in November 2011.

Perry followed that last part up with an "Oops."

Which is exactly what every idiot who voted for Donald Trump should also be saying about now.

By the way Rick Perry is on the board of the company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline, which means those native American protesters better not get used to sleeping in their own beds anytime soon.

You know when I first suggested that Donald Trump was putting people in his cabinet to destroy the agencies they were responsible for I was half kidding.

This is no longer a joking matter.

George Takei on Trump's cabinet choices.

Unprecedented. pic.twitter.com/wB4Qh2nRdZ

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) December 11, 2016

"Basket of Deplorables" meet the "Cabinet of Deplorables."

SNL takes on Donald Trump's crazy cabinet picks.

My favorite line: 

“Kellyanne, it’s almost like Mr. Trump appoints these people specifically to undermine the very agencies they head.” 

So the writers on SNL noticed that too. 

I will give old George W. credit for one thing at least.

He waited to take office BEFORE he started working to destroy the country.

Move aside Sarah Palin it looks like at least one prominent Democrat is pushing for former Senator Scott Brown to get the VA cabinet position.

Courtesy of HuffPo:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Thursday praised her onetime opponent Scott Brown, who President-elect Donald Trump is considering nominating to be secretary of veteran affairs. 

In an interview with Boston’s WGBH, Warren offered enthusiastic support for Brown, whom she unseated in the often-contentious 2012 Massachusetts Senate race. 

“If Scott Brown is the nominee for Veterans Affairs, I have no doubt that he would put his heart and soul into trying to help veterans,” she said. “And I would put my heart and soul into trying to help him do that. You bet I’d support that.” 

Warren has a personal stake in the Department of Veteran Affairs ― all three of her brothers served in the military.

Apparently Brown HAS met with Trump about the job and publicly thanked Warren for her endorsement.

My thanks to @SenWarren for her kind words. If nom. for SecVA, I will welcome her support, passion and help to serve our Vets. #truce

— Scott P. Brown (@SenScottBrown) December 1, 2016

While it would seem odd that Warren would endorse the man who she beat out for the job as Massachusetts Senator for a cabinet position, perhaps considering her families connection to the military she is just desperate to keep the VA out of the hands of Sarah Palin.

 I don't know much about Brown's qualifications, but at least he himself did serve in the military, and is not simply trying to get credit for raising a kid who joined the Guard to avoid jail time, or for marrying off one his daughters to a Medal of Honor winner.

A little reminder for those who think that Sarah Palin is fit to run the VA. This is how badly she screwed up health programs here in Alaska.

(I had almost forgotten this so thank you to all of you who reminded me.)

Right after Palin quit as Governor, a story broke over at ADN (Now removed) which revealed that she had seriously neglected a program to help elderly Alaskans so badly that it had to be taken over by the Federal Government.

Here is the post I wrote about it back in July 2009: 

State programs intended to help disabled and elderly Alaskans with daily life -- taking a bath, eating dinner, getting to the bathroom -- are so poorly managed, the state cannot assure the health and well-being of the people they are supposed to serve, a new federal review found. 

The situation is so bad the federal government has forbidden the state to sign up new people until the state makes necessary improvements. 

No other state in the nation is under such a moratorium, according to a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

In the meantime, frail and vulnerable Alaskans who desperately need the help are struggling. One elderly woman is stuck in a nursing home, for lack of care at home. Another woman, suffering from chronic pain and fatigue, said she's so weak, she often can't even pop dinner into the microwave. 

A particularly alarming finding concerns deaths of adults in the programs. In one 2 1/2 year stretch, 227 adults already getting services died while waiting for a nurse to reassess their needs. Another 27 died waiting for their initial assessment, to see if they qualified for help.

When the Feds took it over they managed to fix it right away, but of course not in time to save those 200+ lives.

So if Sarah Palin cannot even manage to run a small program to help the elderly in a sparsely populated state like Alaska, how could she possibly be able to run the whole VA?

(For those who are interested here is Mudflats take on that story, and Shannyn Moore talking to Keith Olbermann about it.)

While we are on the topic of veteran soldiers it should also be noted that when Palin was governor a soldier named Jeremy Morlock wrote her a letter, which she ignored completely: 

Web mail from: Mr. Jeremy Morlock 
address: 2 bn 1st inf reg bct Ft. Lewis WA 98433 
706-662-7266 

MESSAGE: Mrs. Sarah Palin rnrnSarah I wish I knew of a better way of getting in contact with you and I know your busy having a whole state to run but, I was writing because I had a question to ask. I guess I'll start off by letting you know where im at with things, being in the Army as an lower enslisted man its hard to get things done, I've been looking in to a regulation we have called a 'compassionate reassignment (AR 614-100).' It stipulates under certian circumstances a soldier can request to move duty stations to help care for family in need . I know you have known my family for some time and I think of you all as friends and you know my mother is now taking care of all the girls by herself while trying to keep a job. I'm not asking for pity for my family or myself, I'm just asking if there is anything you could do to help me with my process of getting home to Alaska to help. My direct chain of comand (team, squad leader) have been trying there best to help with out causeing! problems for them selves but, the fact is that my Unit is not really supporting me and trying to coax me to stay. I appreciate your time in reading this and any help you can offer.rnrn sincerely,rnPFC Morlock, Jeremyrn2/1 INF 5 SBCT

Later Morlock would plead guilty to killing innocent Afghan citizens for sport and posing next to their dead bodies.

They even made a documentary about it.

Could Sarah Palin have prevented this tragedy by personally responding to that letter? A letter that came to her from one of her children's friends?

We'll never know, because she did nothing.

The same nothing that she did to protect those 200+ elderly Alaskans.

And the same nothing she will do if she is appointed Secretary of the VA. 

Donald Trump appoints an ardent anti-Obamacare Congressman as his Secretary of Health, and seems determined to adopt an anti-climate change platform. And so it begins.

Courtesy of Yahoo News:

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Georgia Rep. Tom Price, a leading critic of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care law, to head the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a person familiar with the decision. 

If confirmed by the Senate, Price will play a central role in Republican efforts to repeal and replace the current health care law. Trump has pledged to move quickly on overhauling the landmark measure, but has been vague about what he hopes to see in a replacement bill. 

The president-elect has said he favors keeping provisions that allow young people to stay on their parents' health insurance and that prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

That last part will of course be impossible if Trump does away with the insurance mandate, but hey that's the kind of attention to detail that he and his followers simply cannot be bothered with.

Really all you need to know about Congressman Price is that this guy is over he moon at his appointment.

.@RepTomPrice has made health care his life's work. He is the absolute perfect choice for HHS Secretary.

My full statement ↓ pic.twitter.com/CBMmN2EvIT

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 29, 2016

Yeah if Paul "Let's kill Medicare" Ryan is for putting this guy in charge of HHS, then you know he should NEVER be put in charge of HHS.

But hey, that is not even the worst news coming out of the Trump transition team.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

Trump is appointing countless climate science deniers to key positions, which tells you vastly more about what he believes and what he’ll do than his latest semi-coherent ramblings. As I wrote last week, Trump’s repetition of the phrase “open mind” during his Times interview was meant to distract from his constant repetition of long-debunked denier talking points. 

Priebus confirmed Trump wasn’t being forthright with the Times, telling Wallace, “As far as this issue on climate change — the only thing he [Trump] was saying after being asked a few questions about it is, look, he’ll have an open mind about it but he has his default position, which most of it is a bunch of bunk, but he’ll have an open mind and listen to people.”

You know having an "open mind"  and a "default position" are two mutually exclusive ideas.

Climate change is no longer something that somebody should have to maintain an "open mind" about. It is clearly here, and it is clearly already causing devastation all around he planet.

The fact that Donald Trump is still clumsily finding his way around these topics is just another indication that he is chronically unfit for this job, and a signal to the rest of the world that America is no longer a country on which they can rely for guidance and assistance in dealing with the vast number of problems facing us all.