***OFFICIAL TRUMP CABINET THREAD***

[boutons_deux]

That swamp is SO DRAINED!

The Koch Brothers Are Smiling: The White House Will Be Packed With Some of Their Most Loyal Servants

One-third of the Trump team has ties to the Koch brothers.



From the time Trump picked his vice presidential running mate, Koch favorite Mike Pence, the brothers’ influence on Trump World has grown ever stronger.

From transition team staffers to his Cabinet, Trump has brought numerous Koch lieutenants and allies into his inner circle.

It’s very likely that Trump is eager to work with Charles and David Koch, who represent exactly what Trump values most—wealth and power—which is also reflected in his potential Cabinet of billionaire executives. And though the Kochs may object to Trump’s Islamophobia or other select viewpoints,

they stand to add to their combined $88 billion through Trump’s

planned environmental deregulation,

privatization,

corporate tax cuts and

other policies favoring the wealthy to be carried out by his Environmental Protection Agency pick, who recently sued that agency;

his secretary of state choice, the CEO of ExxonMobil;

his labor pick, a fast-food CEO who doesn’t believe in the minimum wage; and others.

The Koch Brothers’ Darling
The Kochs must have popped champagne when Trump announced that Mike Pence, the conservative governor of Indiana, would be his running mate. Pence is adored by the Kochs and their vast political donor network; Ken Vogel and Maggie Haberman described him in Politico as “among the best … messengers for this new Koch brand


A Grim Future for the Environment
Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who recently sued the Environmental Protection Agency over its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is, incredibly, Trump’s pick to head that very agency. Pruitt has called the climate change debate “far from settled.”

Rick Perry is also in a curious position: He’s nominated to lead the Department of Energy, a department that he said he wanted to eliminate during the 2012 presidential campaign (and couldn’t name in his famous “whoops” moment at a debate). Perry may not have been a Koch favorite for president, but Koch Industries has directly given $111,000 to his campaigns over the years, and David Koch has contributed $75,000.


Intelligence
A Koch favorite has been tapped to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. Mike Pompeo, a U.S. representative from the Kochs’ home state of Kansas, was involved with the brothers long before his days as a politician; his private aerospace company used seed money from Koch Venture Capital, and Pompeo was president of a company that worked with Koch Industries’ Brazilian distributor.


Education
Betsy DeVos, a billionaire and recent chair of the pro-“school choice” and politically active American Federation for Children, is Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education. Aside from donating $265,000 to sitting senators who will vote on her confirmation, her foundation has contributed millions to Americans for Prosperity and to other conservative political groups backed by the Kochs.


Corrupt Counsel to Defend Corrupt President
Donald McGahn, a lawyer who has worked for Freedom Partners and its affiliated super PAC, will be chief White House counsel. As a member of the Federal Election Commission from 2009 to 2013, he was known for hobbling the enforcement of campaign finance laws in favor of letting big money flood politics and transforming the commission into the ineffective, gridlocked body that it is today

Trump’s transition team has even reached outside of the team itself for additional advice from people deeply embedded in the Koch political operation. One of the Department of Veterans Affairs' harshest critics, Florida GOP Rep. Jeff Miller, may become head of that department. Trump is considering Miller for the job, and members of a closely Koch-linked “social welfare” nonprofit are advising his transition team on the matter;

the only person Trump spoke to on the record about a big anti-regulatory act that’s been on the Kochs’ agenda for years was Phil Kerpen, former vice president of policy for Americans for Prosperity.

Another Koch ally, Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Bill Shuster, is hoping to privatize air traffic control under a corporate president who, despite winning several states with the help of union voters, is no fan of unions. ... . The congressman, who’s received $30,000 from the Koch Industries PAC since 2012, fought a federal wind energy tax credit, in line with the Kochs’ campaign targeting the program. In 2016, a Koch-funded outside political spending group, American Action Network, put $208,000 toward ads benefiting Shuster.

Shuster’s 2016 campaign manager was Andy Post, who previously worked in media relations for the Charles Koch Ins ute and was grassroots coordinator for Americans for Prosperity during the 2012 election cycle.

http://www.alternet.org/election-201...loyal-servants

So, there you have it, govt by the Kock oligarchs. America will be Kocked up for decades, ed and un able.

=======================

The Koch/Stalin connection: Where their wealth started….

Interesting story behind how the Koch Brothers ac ulated their wealth. It was from the helping hand of Josef Stalin.

“We are the world’s greatest market, and we are prepared to order a large amount of goods and pay for them,” – Josef Stalin, 1932

Fred Koch answered the call, and signed a $5 million deal in 1929 to build 15 refineries in the Soviet Socialistic Republic, thus providing a substantial wet kiss to the cause of worldwide socialism everywhere. Koch and his partner provided equipment and oversaw construction and installation, and quickly became Comrade Stalin’s number one go-to refinery contractor.

Koch’s Josef Stalin connection was the deal that got the Koch family fortune rolling downhill fast. Seemingly,

Fred Koch came to the conclusion that ethics were optional when it came to the chase for the almighty dollar,

and a few short years later, the Bush family apparently made a similar calculation when they signed a business compact with Adolph Hitler

http://investmen chblog.com/the-kochstalin-connection-where-their-wealth-started/

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GOP (Ala ing bama) Rep. Says 'War On Whites' In Part To Blame For Sessions Criticism

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) said Tuesday that the close scrutiny of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general was in part due to a “war on whites.”

The Alabama congressman argued that the VRA treated certain areas "differently" by requiring federal pre-clearance of changes to voting laws in states where there had been a history of voter suppression, until that provision was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013.

"That's only a tool that the Democrats are using," he said of VRA pre-clearance.

"It's really about political power and racial division and what I've referred to on occasion as the 'war on whites,’” he added.

“They are trying to motivate the African-American vote to vote-bloc for Democrats by using every

'Republican is a racist' tool that they can envision, even if they have to lie about it." lie about it?
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...+%28TPMNews%29

War on Whites is racist fabrication just like the KKK's racist "white working class"

[boutons_deux]

In Rocky Hearing, Rex Tillerson Tries to Separate From Trump

Mr. Tillerson also found himself on the defensive when it came to Exxon Mobil’s lobbying activities and his reluctance to declare that some dictators were violators of human rights.

On issue after issue — the dangers of letting Japan and South Korea obtain nuclear weapons, his opposition to a ban on Muslim immigration, the need to push back hard against Mr. Putin’s efforts to expand Russian influence — Mr. Tillerson showed considerable independence from Mr. Trump, separating himself from many of the president-elect’s campaign pronouncements. While Mr. Trump described an America that would defend allies only if they paid their fair share, Mr. Tillerson repeatedly emphasized fulfilling alliance commitments.

Mr. Tillerson dodged a series of questions about whether Exxon Mobil, under his leadership, had lobbied against the sanctions imposed on Russia, which prevented the company from fulfilling huge contracts for oil exploration on Russian territory.

Mr. Tillerson said he did not view it as the imminent national security threat that some others did.

he said that much of the literature on the issue remained “inconclusive,” despite the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community about the role of humans.

He told the committee repeatedly that he would not act on human rights abuses, such as the summary executions underway in the Philippines, until he received corroboration, presumably from American intelligence agencies. That inflamed Mr. Rubio, who charged that Mr. Tillerson was ignoring easily verifiable news reports. It also angered Human Rights Watch, the nongovernmental organization that monitors such violations.

“Rex Tillerson’s reluctance to acknowledge human rights abuses by Russia, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines raises serious questions about whether he can effectively serve as secretary of state,”

Mr. Tillerson tried to weave a fairly conventional, hard-power view of American influence into a tapestry that clearly rejected some of Mr. Trump’s views.Mr. Tillerson said he could not say whether Exxon had lobbied against Russia sanctions after the annexation of Crimea, even though the company had submitted filings saying that it was lobbying on the topic.

“Let’s be clear,” the company said on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. “We engage with lawmakers to discuss sanction impacts, not whether or not sanctions should be imposed.”

Pressed on Mr. Trump’s calls for a national registry of Muslims, Mr. Tillerson said he “would need to have a lot more information around how such an approach would even be constructed.” WOW

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/1...-hearings.html

Tillerson is all about getting Repugs to kill sanctions on Russia so Exxon can close that $500B deal with Pootin, dropping sanctions is of course Pootin's prime objective in getting Trash elected.

[boutons_deux]

Is Rex Tillerson—Friend of Putin, Uninformed on the Issues—the Best We’ve Got?

he seemed poorly briefed on several key foreign policy issues and surprisingly shallow in his view of power.

And he failed to allay several senators’ doubts that, after 45 years at Exxon Mobil Corp., including 10 as its chairman and CEO, he’ll be able to separate the nation’s interests from those of the world’s largest, most aggressive oil company, which has ties to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. $500B for Exxon!

In the exchanges that might raise Trump’s eyebrows, Tillerson said that

he would come to the aid of any NATO member nation under attack, regardless of how much the nation had been spending on defense (Trump has said he might not commit U.S. troops if the nation hadn’t spent as much as it should have);

that he wouldn’t

pull out of the Paris talks on climate change

or tear up the Iran nuclear deal;

that Muslims should not be kept out of the United States because of their religion;

that, in fact, moderate Muslims are among “our greatest allies” in the war on terror;

that Mexico is “a long-standing neighbor and friend of this country;”

that, contrary to Trump’s statement in a New York Times interview, it would be bad for U.S. security if Japan, South Korea, or Saudi Arabia built nuclear weapons;

and that, contrary to what Trump has said many times, he is opposed to the use of torture.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2017/01/tillerson_delivers_mixed_performance_in_confirmati on_hearing.html

[boutons_deux]

Jeff Sessions would be a disaster for the LGBT community: Trump’s attorney general pick has spent his career opposing equality at every level

Name the minority group and Sessions has spent his long, varied career in public life fighting rights of its members

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker testified today against the confirmation of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General in a speech as impassioned as it was unprecedented.

A sitting U.S. Senator had never testified against the Cabinet appointment of a colleague,

and he was joined in that effort by Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

Each of these men highlighted Sessions’ noted history as a virulent opponent of civil rights — especially when it comes to people of color, women and the LGBT community.

“The arc of the moral universe does not just naturally curve toward justice, we must bend it,” Booker said. “America needs an attorney general who is resolute and determined to bend the arc. Sen. Sessions record does not speak to that desire, intention or will.”

The Cabinet nominee, who has alternatively served as a legislator, district attorney and the attorney general of Alabama, is known for his antipathy toward the black community.

The problem with Sessions’ pledge is twofold:

First, there are extremely few federal laws that ensure equal rights for the LGBT community.

Second, Sessions voted against the introduction of the handful of nationwide protections that do exist. For instance, he came out against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act in 2013, a bill that prevents shelters for victims of domestic violence from shutting their doors to LGBT abuse survivors. He wanted a watered-down version of the legislation without provisions about gender iden y and sexual orientation.

Sessions doesn’t believe that LGBT people experience discrimination. When voting against the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, Sessions claimed that the legislation simply wasn’t necessary.

These protections do not exist largely due to the work of people like Sessions. The Alabama senator has voted against a federal law, known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, that would prohibit LGBT workers from being fired just because of who they are.

In fact, Sessions has often acted to undermine proposed protections. In addition to refusing to sign a pledge saying that his office wouldn’t fire staffers for being LGBT, he is a co-sponsor of the First Amendment Defense Act. FADA is a “religious liberty” bill that would allow businesses to openly discriminate against LGBT people based on the belief that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. The bill, which President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to sign in office, would hypothetically let an employer terminate a gay man for keeping a photo of his husband on his desk.

Sessions has been a leading critic of same-sex marriage rights during his two decades in the Senate, a stance that has earned him a zero rating on equality from the Human Rights Campaign.

Sessions has supported adding an amendment to the Cons ution that would limit the definition of marriage to heterosexual couples. The right-winger has said he would continue to push Congress to block same-sex marriage “again and again,”

In 1996 he attempted to prevent the yearly Southeastern Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual College Conference from being held at the University of Alabama. Sessions, then the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, claimed that the conference was prohibited from meeting because of a 1992 law making it unlawful for state-funded universities to support any organization that promotes “actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws.”

Sessions stated during his confirmation hearing that he would “consider” bringing back the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, a disbanded office in the Department of Justice that was shuttered by President Barack Obama. While that office is charged with prosecuting cases of child pornography, obscenity laws have frequently been used to target the freedom of expression of LGBT people.

This is the same man who once threatened to pull funding for the National Endowment for the Arts due to its financing of “Watermelon Woman,” a 1996 film that was the first full-length feature to be directed by a black lesbian filmmaker. A pivotal scene in the movie features graphic sex between its interracial romantic leads.

http://www.salon.com/2017/01/11/jeff...t-every-level/

ing slave state racist Christian Taliban, as US AG.

[CosmicCowboy]

Corey Booker was just grandstanding for 2020.

He didn't offer in his "testimony" other than proving he was an egotistical blowhard sucking up to the far left idiots like Boo.

It's hilarious that the Democratic Party has fallen so far Booker could be a leading candidate in 2020.

[Thread]

Corey Booker was just grandstanding for 2020.

He didn't offer in his "testimony" other than proving he was an egotistical blowhard sucking up to the far left idiots like Boo.

Yep, if he were so outraged he'd a refused to stand with Sessions a year ago. But, he didn't. He stood next to the WASP and proudly so.

[boutons_deux]

Corey Booker was just grandstanding for 2020.

He didn't offer in his "testimony" other than proving he was an egotistical blowhard sucking up to the far left idiots like Boo.

It's hilarious that the Democratic Party has fallen so far Booker could be a leading candidate in 2020.

As a knitter, he's got plenty of legit gripes, complaints on behalf of minorities, against racist Sessions and his long history of anti-minority votes, policies.

[boutons_deux]

Rex Tillerson Denies Oil & Gas Subsidies Exist, While Company Profits From Them

Rex Tillerson on Wednesday, under oath, denied the existence of fossil fuel subsidies. This is dangerously incorrect. In fact, the Oil & Gas Industry receives more than $17 Billion in Subsidies per year, and according to our new analysis ExxonMobil likely gets as much as $1 billion of that.

The industry’s long-time argument is that liability loopholes and sweetheart tax breaks like the Intangible Drilling Costs are not a form of special treatment for the oil and gas industry. In reality,he IDC is specifically designed to make drilling, survey work, clearing ground, workers’ wages, drilling supplies — basically anything you need to produce oil and gas (aka ExxonMobil’s products) — less expensive for oil and gas companies.

It’s also been around for more than a century, and even though Congress has already agreed to phase out tax credits for wind and solar by 2020, they have not agreed on any plans to sunset oil and gas handouts. That sure seems like special treatment.

ExxonMobil’s subsidies

So how has ExxonMobil benefitted from the subsidies its ex-CEO says don’t exist? At Oil Change International, we’ve calculated that ExxonMobil may get as much as $700 million to $1 billion in US government giveaways each year.

We looked at it two ways.1 According to our analyses, the US oil and gas industry receives an annual average of approximately $17 billion in federal and state government subsidies. If we assume that ExxonMobil receives subsidies in proportion to its share of US oil and gas production, then ExxonMobil may receive nearly $1 billion dollars in subsidies from federal and state governments each year.2

Many subsidies to oil and gas companies are handed out based on capital expenditure. So If we instead assume that ExxonMobil receives subsidies in proportion to its share of capital expenditure in the US upstream oil and gas sector, then ExxonMobil may receive nearly $700 million in subsidies from federal and state governments each year.3

Oil and gas subsidies are designed to incentivize fossil fuel production, and the more oil is produced, the cheaper it is, and the more of it we burn. That means greater greenhouse gas pollution and worse climate disruption.

If fact, a recent study by SEI and EarthTrack found that oil production subsidies will be responsible for almost half of the remaining oil production in the United States. Burning the oil that subsidies make possible will release more than 8 billion tonnes of climate pollution, equivalent to building 100 coal-fired power plants and running them for 23 years.

And when government giveaways don’t drive new extraction, subsidies simply become extra profits that companies like ExxonMobil can use to fund even more climate denial through lobbying, misinformation, and campaign contributions.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/20...y-profits-them

[Mitch]

I can tell why Mattis is such a respected guy, tbh. Ben was impressive as well

[boutons_deux]

[Thread]

GO---BOUTS---GO!!!

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Sessions disclosure forms were almost completely blank, taking a corruption/ -you cue from Trash

just got this in an email

"BREAKING: The Washington Post has reported that Jeff Sessions failed to include critical details about his ownership stake in an oil company in the financial disclosure forms submitted to the Judiciary Committee.¹

This comes after ethics watchdogs flagged enormous gaps in his Judiciary Committee questionnaire regarding his years as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama and as attorney general of Alabama.

This is yet ANOTHER reason why we can't let Senate Republicans get away with fast-tracking Sessions' confirmation and putting a racist, sexual assault-denying, civil rights-hater in charge of the Justice Department."

==================
The corruption will be "unpresidented"

[spurraider21]

your email subscriptions must be ty

[boutons_deux]

Betsy DeVos and her family have given nearly $1 million to 21 senators who will vote on her confirmation.

Will they recuse themselves?

[boutons_deux]

your email subscriptions must be ty

If you can stand the bags you've elected, tough .

[SnakeBoy]

Corey Booker was just grandstanding for 2020.

They were criticizing him on Morning Joe for doing exactly that. You know you've over played your hand when even your liberal friends on msnbc are saying wrong place and 2 years early Corey.

[boutons_deux]

Chinese Media Threatens ‘Large-Scale War’ Over Islands

Secretary of state nominee Rex Tillerson said during confirmation hearings that Beijing shouldn’t be allowed access to man-made islands in the South China Sea.

Two state-run papers in the People’s Republic responded with harsh editorials condemning his words and threatening military conflict should the U.S. attempt such an incursion.

China’s territorial claims are contested by five other nations and by Taiwan. Though the Obama administration stayed relatively neutral, many wonder if the Trump White House will be more hawkish and inflammatory.

http://www.ozy.com/presidential-daily-brief/pdb-75084?utm_source=pdb&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign =01132017&variable=992d608214b505003aa04bf10a59503 1#article75114

With Trash cementing his oligarchic/kleptocratic/authoritarian coup with many generals, including one running DoD, nobody should be surprised if Trash (who wanted a Purple heart without getting hurt) starts a war, or a few. Repugs certainly won't scale back USA's Global War on Terror and USA's militaristic planetary hegemony.

Trash's regime is starting horribly and will only get worse.

[spurraider21]

If you can stand the bags you've elected, tough .

you elected trump. my state went blue.

thanks, boutons

[boutons_deux]

Rudy Giuliani’s Cybersecurity Role Reflects Diminished Place in Trash World

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-cyber-security-trump.html

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Security experts say Trump cybersecurity advisor Rudy Giuliani's website is incredibly insecure

http://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/01/13/security-experts-say-trump-cybersecurity-advisor-rudy-giulianis/21654749/

[Thread]

Rudy Giuliani’s Cybersecurity Role Reflects Diminished Place in Trash World

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/12/us/politics/rudy-giuliani-cyber-security-trump.html

==================

Security experts say Trump cybersecurity advisor Rudy Giuliani's website is incredibly insecure

http://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/01/13/security-experts-say-trump-cybersecurity-advisor-rudy-giulianis/21654749/

Obviously not as incredibly insecure as the DNC's was.

But, c'mon, people, there was no "hack." Even Trump won't capitulate on the point..."I think." That was enough on the day of the presser. Now 72 hours+ later Media knows he was placating those who need it. Me? I never needed it. It's all a crock of , a feeding frenzy at boundless loss. It happens. Just keep the race card pulled, you'll be fine. You're better like this. You can piss, moan, riot, pilfer. That's you. You had no business winning this. You know you didn't.

[boutons_deux]

Trump's Team Is a Major Threat to Public Schools

A new report finds online charters are “gearing up for a boom" under the watchful eye of Betsy DeVos.

If you want to get an idea of what kind of education policies to expect from a Donald Trump administration, Wall St. has a clue for you.

A report from BuzzFeed explains, online charter schools are “gearing up for a boom during the Trump administration,

judging by where investors are placing their bets.”

K12 Inc., which is the country’s largest operator of online charters, whose stock price has risen in value by more than 50 percent since Election Day – hitting a 2-year high at one point.

The article quotes K12 executives who’ve “told investors the company was one of the ‘best positioned under Trump,” especially due to the “‘personal’ experiences that high-level Trump administration members have with the company.”

Among Trump personnel who’ve had these “experiences” with K12 is his pick for US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos.

As the article notes, Betsy DeVos’ husband is “an early investor in K12.”

Another in the Trump entourage who is close to online charters is his Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. As governor of Indiana, Pence advocated for more “school choice” in the state, including online charters.

Online charter schools operated by K12 have a particularly poor track record for academic achievement

http://www.alternet.org/education/tr...public-schools

DeVos, Repugs, for-profit "school choice" assholes don't GAF about education, only about investors and administrators pocketing taxpayers $Ts.

More destruction by the Repugs/VRWC/capitalists, America is ed and un able.

[Thread]

^They've had their bite at that apple for decades and pissed it all away.

I've no sympathy for them.

[baseline bum]

Does anyone take Buzzfeed seriously after the golden shower story? They should stick to making videos about eating $500 burritos.

[Thread]

Does anyone take Buzzfeed seriously after the golden shower story? They should stick to making videos about eating $500 burritos.

Like it's owner said:::[[[it had been out there for months. Everybody had seen it cept (((us.)))]]]

It's no more true than what MSM puts out there daily. We had at least 5 modes of transfer of this materiel to Trump by Intel. At least 4 of those modes were fake news. Still, Media got return on the dollar on at least all of 5 of 'em.

Where it hits is it gave Trump the opportunity to bust Intel's hole again. And they need that hole expanded. The CIA Chief, a little over 72 hours from leaving his post comes on Sunday morning talk show and blasts Trump. If he weren't quitting I'd fire his in' ass come 12:01 EST Friday if I were Trump. But, that's why he sat there yesterday, he was resigning. The in' hump.

No free shots. NONE. Whether you're some left over '60's marcher with a sore head, or, a leaker on his way to his pension you're not swinging and run. He'll chase your ass down, black or white.