As of this posting Donald Trump LOST the popular vote of the 2016 presidential election by over 1,400,000 votes. So if you hear anyone try to claim that Trump has a mandate, feel free to laugh in their face.
The latest news of the Donald’s cabinet picks should make any conservation minded person very nervous. According to National Public Radio (NPR)
There are some 4,000 political appointments for the incoming administration to fill. Every Cabinet agency needs a secretary and top staff. Each federal agency, an administrator. And of the 4,000 top jobs, one-quarter of them require Senate confirmation.
According to the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition, “best practice generally dictates having White House positions filled by Thanksgiving, and the most important Cabinet positions ready to announce between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” to give time for the nominees to prepare for their confirmation hearings.
Of course one of the first things the Republican Congress will do is fill the empty Supreme Court seat vacated by Antonin Scalia who died on February 13, 2016. Less than two weeks before the election Ted Cruz erroneously suggested that “there is certainly long historical precedent for a Supreme Court with fewer justices,” even though the court has been fixed at nine justices since 1869. Ted went on to say “I would note, just recently, that Justice (Stephen) Breyer observed that the vacancy is not impacting the ability of the court to do its job. That’s a debate that we are going to have.” Really? Supreme court ties are OK then?
Now South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is floating Ted Cruz to fill the SCOTUS vacancy.
Putting the Supreme Court aside for a moment, let’s get back to Sarah Palin.
Sarah on the Department of Energy. She is obviously part of the “alt right” movement to give OUR federal public lands back to the states.
Sarah is not the most likely candidate for Energy Secretary. According to Politico “Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm has long been seen as a leading candidate for energy secretary. Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire who has been a friend of Trump’s for years, has been the leading influence on Trump’s energy policy during the campaign. If Hamm passes, venture capitalist Robert Grady is also seen as a top candidate, though he could also be in line for Interior.”
The Secretary of the Interior is in charge of overseeing the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as overseeing all federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and presiding over the U.S. Geological Survey, a massive scientific research agency which studies America’s natural resources and anything that threatens them, like climate change.
Now consider Sarah Palin as Interior Secretary after viewing this ad aired during her vice presidential run. Putting her in charge of protecting our wildlife on public lands would be catastrophic.
Part of Donald Trump’s energy plan is to “open onshore and offshore leasing on federal lands, eliminate the moratorium on coal leasing, and open shale energy deposits.” This would have huge consequences for our public lands. Remember, those public lands include our National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges as well as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is one of the largest intact ecosystems in the world. With its unique wildlife, unspoiled wilderness, cultural heritage that bespeaks its importance to Alaska Natives and diverse habitats for hundreds of species, it is the crown jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System and one of the most important protected areas on Earth.
The fight to protect ANWR has been an uphill fight. Though comprising only 10 percent of the Arctic Refuge, the coastal plain has been at the center of an ongoing debate over oil and natural gas drilling for more than 30 years. Many have strongly opposed oil and gas drilling because of the impacts to wildlife, land and subsistence hunters while some have pushed for expanded drilling. I think we know which side of the debate this administration will support.
Does the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge look to you like something that needs to be protected in perpetuity?
I leave you with this video. (I suggest turning up your audio and watching this in full screen mode).
The only thing wrong with this post is that I have to see Sarah Palin’s face on the 10,000 Birds site. And, a feeling of helplessness. We need to organize, but short-term, it’s going to be a tough four years.
We’re doomed.
Thank you for your comment Donna and I do apologize for having to look at her face and listen to her nonsensical gibberish but I didn’t know how else to represent how truly whacky she is. If you have been following any of the news on Trump’s appointments you may feel some relief that we are not alone in our dismay.
There appear to be legal questions regarding many of his picks, especially his choice of white supremacist Steve Bannon as Senior Councilor to the President.
I’m absolutely with Donna’s first sentence. And can you imagine, I even voluntarily clicked on the videos. Ugh!!
I feel we need some balance here. Now sure, Trump may be appointing nazis, and people who hate nature to positions that protect nature, and supporting bills to marginalise gays, Muslims, Latinos and strip rights from women, but Hillary was paid to talk to some banks, so isn’t she just as bad?
No?
You may be right Meredith but even Trump can negate most of the progress we have made over the last eight years. Here is one of the lists out on Obama’s accomplishments.
I know having to look at her face is disgusting. Thank God it will only be in the header for a short time 😉
I hope everyone watches the last video on ANWR
Of course you’re right Duncan. Who ever heard of politicians getting paid for speeches? Outrageous!
You’re bashing seeing Governor Palin’s face?!? You should talk. You look like an ass with teeth.
First class video, lets hope the Refuge stays fully protected forever. I also have a strong sense of foreboding on some of Mr Trump’s appointments, though I suspect no matter who won, the environment was always going to lose. When was the last time any party, president, political figure allowed the EPA to exercise their powers. It’s as if the EPA was created as a figurehead to apportion blame to when preventable catastrophes occur but to make them toothless enough to ensure that catastrophes occur. You have to feel sorry for their morally principled employee trying to make a difference in a politically driven system that is totally apathetic at best and morally corrupt and only motivated by avarice at worse.