Trump's March to an American Oligarchy

 We are beginning to understand Trump's admiration for Putin as he seeks to establish a Russian type oligarchy in the United States.
  Let's start with his cabinet:
   1.  Department of Labor--a man who wishes to replace as many workers as possible with robots.  Those that remain he would deny a living wage.
   2.  Housing and Urban Development--a man who does not believe in fair housing.
   3.  The Environmental Protection Agency--a man who doesn't believe in climate change nor does he believe that the EPA has a mandate to protect the environment except in very limited circumstances.  He has sued the EPA from his position of Attorney General of Oklahoma.
   4.  Health and Human Services--a man who will not only eliminate the Affordable Care act but radically alter Medicare and Social Security.
   5.  Treasury--a man who wants to eliminate not only the regulations intended to keep banks solvent but deposit insurance as well.
   6.  Secretary of State--a man who is good buddies with Vladimir Putin.

 Then there is the troubling questionnaire Trump's transition team sent to the Department of Energy.  The questions suggest a witch hunt against those in the department who are working to limit the effects of climate change.

 We already have seen how Trump will threaten and intimidate those who criticize him.  He will make up "facts", repeat false news.  Trump likes to schmooze with the rich and the powerful and those are the people he has chosen for his cabinet.   It's not the "Bully Pulpit"  he's just a bully.

 He admires Putin's ability to manipulate his public and surround himself with wealthy oligarchs and it seems that is the way he will rule the United States.  He has put in place a team devoted to relieving the American people of all the protections they have enjoyed and replacing those protections with a system in which there are a few very rich and the rest struggle to survive.

Something Good Came From This Election

As I listened to some of my sixties folk music I wondered where the idealism of our youth had gone, the hope for a better world?  Back then our primary concern was for an end to war and for civil rights for all.  Environmental issues were in the mix, remember "Diet for a small Planet" and zero population growth? These were largely fringe issues, though, important to some, including myself, but not most.

Now war has dropped in the concern of the idealists and the environment has risen to the top, shoulder to shoulder with civil rights and our youth are again on the march.  They rallied with Bernie Sanders, they marched on the Dakota Access pipeline.  They decry the killing of black men for the crime of driving or walking while black. They support the LGBTQ community.  Some may find their activism naive but I applaud their passion.

I give Trump credit along with Bernie for stirring them up, they give me hope for the future.