A New Year has Begun
As they say, a new year has begun, and with it comes all the challenges, joys, and sorrows of the past year. Many of us wake up this morning with new year's resolutions to do better than we did last year, to challenge ourselves in new ways, and to make this year a better one that the last, but we face a new and unpredictable future on the horizon. Well, every new year is new and unpredictable you say, but this year holds many changes that I think are going to surprise a great many of us.
On January 20, 2017, we stand to bring a new leader into the office of President of the United States. This new leader, a thin-skinned and volatile man with no experience in government, has already proven himself to be wildly unpredictable. His cabinet picks have more net wealth than one-third of the American population. He has selected people to fill these positions that also have no experience in government and many have, in the past, taken completely opposing stances to the jobs they have been selected for. For example:
Secretary of State pick: Rex Tillerson - CEO of Exxon Mobile- known ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and a stands to benefit directly from any decisions made regarding oil policy. Conflict of interest? Most Assuredly.
Special Advisor on Regulatory Reform: Carl Icahn- a billionaire and "corporate raider" who buys large stakes in companies and then forces policy changes to benefit shareholders. What kind of regulatory reform can we expect from someone like this? I would wager we'll see those same types of policies and regulations that will directly benefit shareholders while the average worker will suffer. This does not bode well for the average American in my opinion because Regulation Reform should be balanced and designed to protect all Americans, not just the wealthy shareholders. I expect WallStreet will become an even more corrupt wasteland than it already is in the coming years.
Energy Secretary: Rick Perry--A man who sought the Republican Nomination on a ticket of completely scrapping the Energy Department is picked to run the Energy Department. What could possibly go wrong with this? Let's contrast this with Obama's Energy Secretary-- a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Rick Perry has a Bachelors degree in Animal Science and is a career politician. Again, what could possibly go wrong with this plan?
Labor Secretary - Andrew Puzder- A strong critic of raising federal minimum wage who doesn't support paid sick leave? Humm? do we think this man is going to look out for the best interests of the average American worker? Hahaha I think not.
Small Business Administration - Linda McMahon - She donated over 6 million dollars to Trump's campaign- What does she know about small business, about what the small business owner with one or two employees faces? Absolutely NOTHING! But she is LOYAL to Trump and contributed over 6 million dollars..so she's got to have some kind of payback right?
Defense Secretary - Marine General (ret) James Mattis - Having worked with the Marines as a Navy Corpsman, I have the utmost respect for my Marine brothers and sisters, but I have to question the leadership capabilities of a man known for saying things like: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet," and "We've backed off in good faith to try to give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years."
Is this really a man we want to entrust the the might of the American Military to? Nevermind the fact that he may, and probably will, roll back any progress we've made toward gender and LGBT equality within the military.
Chief Strategist - Steve Bannon - Alt-right- white-supremacist, xenophobic, homophobic, rascist, misogynist, need I say more?
I could go on, but the bottom line is we have some interesting times ahead of us. We are watching, experiencing things happening in our government that are unprecedented. In moves resembling dictatorial leaders from around the world, we are seeing LOYALISM and the involvement of his children in government affairs over qualified persons who are better fit for the job. This concerns me.. frightens me.. and leads me to fear for America's well-being.
It's a new year, and I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
On January 20, 2017, we stand to bring a new leader into the office of President of the United States. This new leader, a thin-skinned and volatile man with no experience in government, has already proven himself to be wildly unpredictable. His cabinet picks have more net wealth than one-third of the American population. He has selected people to fill these positions that also have no experience in government and many have, in the past, taken completely opposing stances to the jobs they have been selected for. For example:
Secretary of State pick: Rex Tillerson - CEO of Exxon Mobile- known ties to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and a stands to benefit directly from any decisions made regarding oil policy. Conflict of interest? Most Assuredly.
Special Advisor on Regulatory Reform: Carl Icahn- a billionaire and "corporate raider" who buys large stakes in companies and then forces policy changes to benefit shareholders. What kind of regulatory reform can we expect from someone like this? I would wager we'll see those same types of policies and regulations that will directly benefit shareholders while the average worker will suffer. This does not bode well for the average American in my opinion because Regulation Reform should be balanced and designed to protect all Americans, not just the wealthy shareholders. I expect WallStreet will become an even more corrupt wasteland than it already is in the coming years.
Energy Secretary: Rick Perry--A man who sought the Republican Nomination on a ticket of completely scrapping the Energy Department is picked to run the Energy Department. What could possibly go wrong with this? Let's contrast this with Obama's Energy Secretary-- a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Rick Perry has a Bachelors degree in Animal Science and is a career politician. Again, what could possibly go wrong with this plan?
Labor Secretary - Andrew Puzder- A strong critic of raising federal minimum wage who doesn't support paid sick leave? Humm? do we think this man is going to look out for the best interests of the average American worker? Hahaha I think not.
Small Business Administration - Linda McMahon - She donated over 6 million dollars to Trump's campaign- What does she know about small business, about what the small business owner with one or two employees faces? Absolutely NOTHING! But she is LOYAL to Trump and contributed over 6 million dollars..so she's got to have some kind of payback right?
Defense Secretary - Marine General (ret) James Mattis - Having worked with the Marines as a Navy Corpsman, I have the utmost respect for my Marine brothers and sisters, but I have to question the leadership capabilities of a man known for saying things like: "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet," and "We've backed off in good faith to try to give you a chance to straighten this problem out. But I am going to beg with you for a minute. I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years."
Is this really a man we want to entrust the the might of the American Military to? Nevermind the fact that he may, and probably will, roll back any progress we've made toward gender and LGBT equality within the military.
Chief Strategist - Steve Bannon - Alt-right- white-supremacist, xenophobic, homophobic, rascist, misogynist, need I say more?
I could go on, but the bottom line is we have some interesting times ahead of us. We are watching, experiencing things happening in our government that are unprecedented. In moves resembling dictatorial leaders from around the world, we are seeing LOYALISM and the involvement of his children in government affairs over qualified persons who are better fit for the job. This concerns me.. frightens me.. and leads me to fear for America's well-being.
It's a new year, and I guess we'll just have to see what happens.
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