Deleted
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Jun 22, 2024 10:56:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 16:21:01 GMT
"My past statements made over five years ago about abolishing the Department of Energy do not reflect my current thinking," Perry plans to say. "In fact, after being briefed on so many of the vital functions of the Department of Energy, I regret recommending its elimination." www.politico.com/story/2017/01/rick-perry-energy-cabinet-233821"It’s not as sexy as the State Department, not as badass as the Department of Defense, and not visible as the Treasury Department, but the Department of Energy is quietly among the most important agencies in government. The name, admittedly, gives the impression that the Department of Energy has to do with, well, where the country gets its energy. This is true to some degree, as the DOE sponsors a vast array of research in the physical sciences. Under the Obama administration, that work has largely been geared toward clean energy initiatives. It was perhaps for this reason, and because of this misconception, that Rick Perry, now Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of energy, wanted to get rid of the department back when he ran for president — only he had some trouble actually remembering its name. But the primary function of the Department of Energy has nothing to do with green energy technologies. It’s one that, as Perry would have known if he’d fully understood it years ago, makes the DOE all but indispensable: maintaining America’s nuclear weapons stockpile. That’s where the vast majority of its money goes. During the Cold War as the United States entered its arms race against the Soviet Union, the DOE’s primary function was weapons research. It was the organization responsible for finding new technologies to get a leg up on the Russians. Its lineage can be traced back to the Manhattan Project and the creation of the very first nuclear bomb." www.inverse.com/article/25403-what-does-the-department-of-energyOnly an idiot and his equally unthinking followers would call for the abolishing of an entire DEPARTMENT of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT while having no idea that it secures the NUCLEAR ARSENAL of the United States. |
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,672 
Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Jan 19, 2017 16:29:24 GMT
Well, idiocy seems to be en vogue right now. I will at least give him a tiny bit of credit that he publicly admitted he was wrong.
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Deleted
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Jun 22, 2024 10:56:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 16:37:23 GMT
PS - The current head of DOE - a NUCLEAR PHYSICIST from Stanford (cuz that's how Obama rolls) had to come out and protect members of the DOE from politicking of science. They say it's unrelated to the incoming Trump admin witch hunt on Climate Change: Moniz approves new protections for Department of Energy scientistsIn December, Trump's transition team requested that the DOE provide the names of scientists who had worked on climate change issues, evoking an outcry from the scientific community and many political observers, The team later dropped the question.According to the science journal Nature, Moniz said this week that the new policy is unrelated to the incident with Trump's transition team. |
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 19, 2017 17:42:13 GMT
I wonder how long I can take hearing this kind of stuff... I really do feel like hiding in bed under the covers with my pillow over my head for the next 4 years.
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Post by ahiller on Jan 19, 2017 17:44:01 GMT
This is one of those areas where I truly do not get why you wouldn't want the most qualified person to be in charge. I get that in politics many Cabinet positions are often paybacks for donations/support, etc. I also get that by default I am unlikely to like or support many of Trump's picks.
But the person in charge of securing our nuclear arsenal? Yeah, that should be the brightest and best. We should all want a choice who has expertise in this area.
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RosieKat
Drama Llama
PeaJect #12
Posts: 5,442
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Post by RosieKat on Jan 19, 2017 18:27:24 GMT
I still torture my husband with the reminder that he voted for him in the last gubernatorial election he ran in, and call him Slick Rick just to annoy DH. (DH basically regretted the vote immediately, which is why it's fun to torment him about it.) He's a prize, all right. As someone upthread said, I will give him a half a point for admitting he was wrong. That ability seems to be more than most of the other Trump folks are capable of.
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Dalai Mama
Drama Llama
La Pea Boheme
Posts: 6,985
Jun 26, 2014 0:31:31 GMT
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Post by Dalai Mama on Jan 19, 2017 18:39:55 GMT
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 19, 2017 18:53:20 GMT
This is one of those areas where I truly do not get why you wouldn't want the most qualified person to be in charge. I get that in politics many Cabinet positions are often paybacks for donations/support, etc. I also get that by default I am unlikely to like or support many of Trump's picks. But the person in charge of securing our nuclear arsenal? Yeah, that should be the brightest and best. We should all want a choice who has expertise in this area. I think this is another appointment where Trump based his decision on looks. Like he is casting actors to play roles.  SaveSave |
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casii
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,475
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Post by casii on Jan 19, 2017 19:02:32 GMT
God help us all. And yes, bc2a, he probably chose as though he were casting The Apprentice.
Are there any of Trump's appointments who are opposed to what they have been appointed to or at least partially qualified?
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 19, 2017 19:37:24 GMT
the only one I can think of is Ben Carson, who first said he didn't think he was qualified for any Cabinet position, right? but then he changed his mind after he realized he grew up in a house, right?? so that means he's qualified to be HUD Secretary?
<snark>
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Post by lucyg on Jan 19, 2017 19:40:52 GMT
This is one of those areas where I truly do not get why you wouldn't want the most qualified person to be in charge. I get that in politics many Cabinet positions are often paybacks for donations/support, etc. I also get that by default I am unlikely to like or support many of Trump's picks. But the person in charge of securing our nuclear arsenal? Yeah, that should be the brightest and best. We should all want a choice who has expertise in this area. I think this is another appointment where Trump based his decision on looks. Like he is casting actors to play roles. SaveSave and I'm thinking DJT may also (like Perry) have had no idea what the DOE actually does.  |
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jan 19, 2017 20:41:23 GMT
I read an article that those staffers doing the jobs now haven't heard anything from Trump team.
"People running major offices in the White House currently have had no contact with their successors," said one person who attended the function. "It is stunning. And we always kept thinking they're going to have a plan, they're going to come through at the last minute. We're less than 48 hours away. This should be concerning to anyone."
I'm wondering---will they come in and just let everyone go?
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cycworker
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,378
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Post by cycworker on Jan 19, 2017 20:52:53 GMT
Stupid question: in fairness, why WOULD the Dept of Energy be responsible for managing the nuclear arsenal? Shouldn't that be a Dept of Defense job?
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Post by annabella on Jan 19, 2017 20:57:12 GMT
It's unbelievable that two men - Ben Carson and Rick Perry can have significant, high level government jobs they publicly said they didn't want.
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used2scrap
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,036
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Post by used2scrap on Jan 19, 2017 20:57:38 GMT
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Deleted
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Jun 22, 2024 10:56:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 21:33:08 GMT
Stupid question: in fairness, why WOULD the Dept of Energy be responsible for managing the nuclear arsenal? Shouldn't that be a Dept of Defense job? Only if the DOD has expertise in Nuclear development. Hint - they don't. The DOE was literally built around the national labs which were in turn built around the development of atomic (now known as nuclear) weapons. There are really good history books about this stuff. ps - we get about 19% of our energy from nukes. So rather than split the expertise into two depts, the nuke expertise formed the basis of DOE. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jan 19, 2017 21:34:27 GMT
I think this is another appointment where Trump based his decision on looks. Like he is casting actors to play roles. SaveSave and I'm thinking DJT may also (like Perry) have had no idea what the DOE actually does. He probably just remembered rick perry mentioning the department of energy in the past (or one of his advisors remembered that) but didn't go back to see what it was that perry said about it. I also wouldn't doubt that none of them know what the dept of energy does. |
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,725
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on Jan 19, 2017 21:38:15 GMT
O nly an idiot and his equally unthinking followers would call for the abolishing of an entire DEPARTMENT of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT while having no idea that it secures the NUCLEAR ARSENAL of the United States. Especially when the primary nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility that maintains the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile is in THE STATE OF TEXAS!!!!! I still don't understand how he didn't know this! |
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Deleted
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Jun 22, 2024 10:56:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2017 21:45:18 GMT
You silly. It's obvious people only need to know the memes repeated on Fox News and Breitbart to run (or abolish) ANY agency in the government - cuz, you know, government doesn't really DO anything. |
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RosieKat
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PeaJect #12
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Post by RosieKat on Jan 19, 2017 22:00:18 GMT
And yes, bc2a, he probably chose as though he were casting The Apprentice. I actually read (heard?) somewhere (here?) that Trump is very concerned with appearance, and looks at it rather like casting. There was a discussion about someone (maybe one of the folks bandied about for Secy of State?) who was possibly capable of doing the job but had facial hair, and a "Trump insider" said that guy would never get the job because Trump loathes facial hair. I wish I could remember more of the specifics. |
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Post by librarylady on Jan 19, 2017 22:05:44 GMT
We Texans kept telling the world, "Don't vote for him!! He is ignorant!" but nooooooooo Others would not listen.
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 19, 2017 22:52:49 GMT
And yes, bc2a, he probably chose as though he were casting The Apprentice. I actually read (heard?) somewhere (here?) that Trump is very concerned with appearance, and looks at it rather like casting. There was a discussion about someone (maybe one of the folks bandied about for Secy of State?) who was possibly capable of doing the job but had facial hair, and a "Trump insider" said that guy would never get the job because Trump loathes facial hair. I wish I could remember more of the specifics. Yes, it was widely discussed that John Bolton would never get SoS because of his moustache and Trump was so keen on Romney because, more than anything, he looked the part. Too many of his advisors objected to Romney because he was very vocally opposed to Trump as the nominee, so they had to keep looking for a guy that looked the role. SaveSave |
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RosieKat
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PeaJect #12
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Post by RosieKat on Jan 20, 2017 0:49:34 GMT
We Texans kept telling the world, "Don't vote for him!! He is ignorant!" but nooooooooo Others would not listen. But, but, he looks good! He must be right to lead us! (yes, very firmly tongue in cheek!) |
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Post by hop2 on Jan 20, 2017 0:58:10 GMT
Stupid question: in fairness, why WOULD the Dept of Energy be responsible for managing the nuclear arsenal? Shouldn't that be a Dept of Defense job? Because for once the government was being logical, prudent and fiscally responsible and decided they didn't need duplicate nuclear scientists in 2 departments.  |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jan 20, 2017 1:02:09 GMT
I wonder how long I can take hearing this kind of stuff... I really do feel like hiding in bed under the covers with my pillow over my head for the next 4 years. I feel more like hiding in a bomb shelter with a pillow over my head.  |
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Post by Merge on Jan 20, 2017 1:23:56 GMT
We Texans kept telling the world, "Don't vote for him!! He is ignorant!" but nooooooooo Others would not listen. But they did listen! Except Trump, apparently. But if Trump thinks DeVos is a great choice for Education, then why not Perry for Energy? *facepalm* Once again, I apologize on behalf of the state of Texas for the harm about to be inflicted ... I also heard an interview with Perry on NPR today and I would like the world to know that we do NOT all talk like that. Good lord, the man talks like a caricature of a Texan from an old western movie. His accent makes George Bush's sound quite moderate. |
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Post by lucyg on Jan 20, 2017 1:35:46 GMT
and I'm thinking DJT may also (like Perry) have had no idea what the DOE actually does. He probably just remembered rick perry mentioning the department of energy in the past (or one of his advisors remembered that) but didn't go back to see what it was that perry said about it. I also wouldn't doubt that none of them know what the dept of energy does. I would honestly not be surprised if Trump chose him just to spit in the face of Hillary voters. |
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 20, 2017 4:13:32 GMT
Ok, I saw the tiniest bit of Perry's confirmation hearing where he got all giddy & giggly when it was Senator Franken's turn to question him. What was that about?  |
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Post by Merge on Jan 20, 2017 13:00:27 GMT
Ok, I saw the tiniest bit of Perry's confirmation hearing where he got all giddy & giggly when it was Senator Franken's turn to question him. What was that about? Franken jokingly asked if Perry had enjoyed meeting him previously. I guess this is something all nominees say during their confirmation hearings. Perry tried to joke back that he hoped Franken was as much fun up on the dais as he had been on his couch. There was a beat of awkwardness, and then laughter, and Perry laughingly asked if he could rephrase that. I don't like Perry at all, but it was actually pretty funny. |
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mimima
Drama Llama
Stay Gold, Ponyboy
Posts: 5,036
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Post by mimima on Jan 20, 2017 15:54:02 GMT
Ok, I saw the tiniest bit of Perry's confirmation hearing where he got all giddy & giggly when it was Senator Franken's turn to question him. What was that about? Franken jokingly asked if Perry had enjoyed meeting him previously. I guess this is something all nominees say during their confirmation hearings. Perry tried to joke back that he hoped Franken was as much fun up on the dais as he had been on his couch. There was a beat of awkwardness, and then laughter, and Perry laughingly asked if he could rephrase that. I don't like Perry at all, but it was actually pretty funny. I agree, giggle |
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and I'm thinking DJT may also (like Perry) have had no idea what the DOE actually does. 
