Monday, January 9, 2017

Ponders for Second Week January

Recently, during a conversation with my Dad, he said, "I believe this will be the last election in our country." I thought surely not. But, now...yeah now, I suspect he might be right. I never thought to see it all roll out like this. I never thought to see my fellow citizens so concerned with their one or two issues that they would throw out the entire country's future, but there ya are. It's happened. Here's the roundup for this week of our fabulous congress...

The federal week in review:
1. Trump fires all Obama-appointed Ambassadors and Special Envoys, ordering them out by inauguration day.
2. House brings back the Holman rule allowing them to reduce an individual civil service, SES positions, or political appointee's salary to $1, effectively firing them by amendment to any piece of legislation. We now know why they wanted names and positions of people in Energy and State.
3. Senate schedules 6 simultaneous hearings on cabinet nominees and triple-books those hearings with Trump's first press conference in months and an ACA budget vote, effectively preventing any concentrated coverage or protest.
4. House GOP expressly forbids the Congressional Budget Office from reporting or tracking ANY costs related to the repeal of the ACA.
5. Trump continues to throw the intelligence community under the bus to protect Putin, despite the growing mountain of evidence that the Russians deliberately interfered in our election.
6. Trump breaks a central campaign promise to make Mexico pay for the wall by asking Congress (in other words, us, the taxpayers) to pay for it.
7. Trump threatens Toyota over a new plant that was never coming to the US nor will take jobs out of the US.
8. House passes the REINS act, giving them veto power over any rules enacted by any federal agency or department--for example, FDA or EPA bans a drug or pesticide, Congress can overrule based on lobbyists not science. Don't like that endangered species designation, Congress kills it.

So. Y'all keep on being entertained and distracted and amused by Mr. Trump's tweets. Keep ignoring the steps the congress is taking to remove your rights and liberties. Keep posting your tweets about celebrities and unimportant movies/tv shows/etc. while our country dies. Maybe I'll be back next week. Or...maybe not. In the meantime, I suggest y'all re-read 1984. Or watch Running Man. Maybe you'll pick up a hint or two.

No comments:

Post a Comment