# Trump's Cabinet of Curiosities **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 10, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367 "2016-11-10T16:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/321 "2016-12-06T00:49:08Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > We should STRIVE for equal access to education. Why are you opposed to this? I’m not opposed to it. I think a voucher program will get us closer to it than our current public-teachers-union-dominated system that has utterly failed students in so many places. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/322 "2016-12-06T00:50:09Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Educational outcomes vary dramatically with the parents. What it is reasonable to have is have roughly equal educational spending per student in poor rural areas, central cities and rich suburbs. The situation today is much better than several decades ago. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/323 "2016-12-06T00:50:57Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Is that what you think Obama and Arne Duncan have been doing? “_maintaining_ equal access to education”? You think any fair reading of our current education outcomes would suggest that today, before Trump takes over, we have something roughly approximating “equal access to education”? And you propose we should fix this leaky boat by poking holes in the bottom to let the water out? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/324 "2016-12-06T00:59:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And you propose we should fix this leaky boat by poking holes in the bottom to let the water out? It’s like saying that Obama has not eliminated crime, so it would be a sensible idea for Trump to put someone in charge who proposes getting rid of the police, and simply praying for things to get better. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/325 "2016-12-06T01:15:22Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s like saying that Obama has not eliminated crime, so it would be a sensible idea for Trump to put someone in charge who proposes getting rid of the police, and simply praying for things to get better. I don’t imagine that Donald “Two Corinthians” Trump does a lot of praying. It’s more like getting rid of the police, _ **knowing** _ that things will get worse, and considering that to be a feature. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/326 "2016-12-06T01:15:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And you propose we should fix this leaky boat by poking holes in the bottom to let the water out? I think of it more like transferring people over to the nearby speedboat that doesn’t have a leaky hull. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/327 "2016-12-06T02:15:34Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I think of it more like transferring people over to the nearby speedboat that doesn’t have a leaky hull. The trouble is that the vessel you’re trying to rescue the passengers _ **from** _ is a large national vessel that is transporting most of the nation’s schoolchildren, and those fine speedboats are unknown random quantities, many of which are Somalian pirates, and moreover, the Somalian pirates who torpedoed the ship in the first place. So if it’s actually feasible to repair the main national vessel, as most other major democracies seem capable of doing, then that would seem to be a good plan. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/328 "2016-12-06T02:15:46Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > …public-teachers-union-dominated system… The Evil Influence of Teacher’s Unions is an article of faith for the Orthodox Republican. I’m guessing that’s the reason you needed to include it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/329 "2016-12-06T02:34:31Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > > > I’m not opposed to it. I think a voucher program will get us closer to it than our current public-teachers-union-dominated system that has utterly failed students in so many places. > > The Evil Influence of Teacher’s Unions is an article of faith for the Orthodox Republican. I’m guessing that’s the reason you needed to include it. My province of Ontario has quite a powerful teachers’ union – I am not one of them, though I envy their pension plan … Ontario Teachers’ is one of Canada’s largest institutional investors having reported $171.4 billion in net assets on December 31, 2015. It has an excellent track record for investment performance with an average annual return of 10.3% since inception. > **[Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontario_Teachers%27_Pension_Plan)** > > The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (French: Régime de retraite des enseignantes et des enseignants de l'Ontario) is an independent organization responsible for administering defined-benefit pensions for school teachers of the Canadian province of Ontario. Ontario Teachers' also invests the plan's pension fund and it is one of the world's largest institutional investors, acting as a partner organization of the World Economic Forum. The plan is a multi-employer pension plan, jointly spo Ontar... … yet despite the evil influence of unions, we have the following: [Ontario school system ranks among best in world, report says](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-school-system-ranks-among-best-in-world-report-says/article567927/). So it seems that your broad-brush prejudging and attempt to blame “teacher’s unions” for everything leads to some quite erroneous conclusions. And, just like universal health care, a quality public school system is not really all that expensive when everyone participates. (It’s not that private schools don’t exist here, it’s just that they’re a rather exclusive and expensive affair – basically, exotic junior millionaires’ clubs. They’re not really relevant in the overall public education dialog.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/330 "2016-12-06T03:18:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I don’t imagine that Donald “Two Corinthians” Trump does a lot of praying. It’s more like getting rid of the police, _ **knowing** _ that things will get worse, and considering that to be a feature. and then hiring a crony company to do Security only for rich folks. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/331 "2016-12-06T03:40:33Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > and then hiring a crony company to do Security only for rich folks. …while giving a $5 voucher to everyone else, so they can purchase a cheapie security chain for their front door… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/332 "2016-12-06T04:56:51Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > …while giving a $5 voucher to everyone else, so they can purchase a cheapie security chain for their front door… But you can only buy that from some Trump crony owned company. And it’s required. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/333 "2016-12-06T13:37:10Z")
Perhaps Carson was given HUD so he could oversee the construction of pyramids in urban areas to store grain for the cities. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/334 "2016-12-06T17:49:03Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Apparently, he grew up in an “urban” area. Looks like this isn’t even true: [Ben Carson did not live in public housing](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/06/politics/carson-public-housing/) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/335 "2016-12-07T10:42:13Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Given the large number of private schools that are religiously affiliated, I wonder how such vouchers would work. 64% of those private schools in WY are religiously affiliated; many of them Catholic. Would a Catholic school be required to accept students of other faiths as a condition of accepting the vouchers? Or would non-Catholic students be SOL if the only local private school was Catholic? Do those Catholic schools currently accept non-Catholic students? Do they require all students, or those who are Catholic, to attend religious acts? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/336 "2016-12-07T12:46:19Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > Looks like this isn’t even true: > > [Ben Carson did not live in public housing](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/06/politics/carson-public-housing/) [Politifact says it’s unclear.](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/may/11/occupy-democrats/does-ben-carson-want-eliminate-dependency-governme/) > [@](#): > > **‘Got public housing’** > > The details here are a little thin. > > When Carson’s mother divorced his father, she received their “modest house” in the settlement. Carson described it as the size of most modern garages, less than 1,000 square feet. But as the family’s financial situation deteriorated, they were forced to “move into the Boston tenements” with his aunt and uncle. > > It seems likely from his words that the tenements were for very poor families likely receiving government assistance, perhaps even for the homes. Carson describes “armies of roaches,” “hordes of rats” and omnipresent “winos and drunks.” > > When Sonya Carson saved enough to move back to Detroit, the family moved into a multifamily dwelling in Detroit in an “upper lower-class neighborhood,” he wrote. Carson doesn’t outright describe the houses as Section 8 or federally funded projects. Other examinations of his life have, such as a [Success.com article](http://www.success.com/article/never-give-up) that described this second Detroit home as in “Detroit’s downtown housing projects” and “the ghetto.” > > Eventually his mother saved enough to return to the Carsons’ original home in a better neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/337 "2016-12-07T12:52:44Z")
Hey, give Carson some slack. He pulled a knife on a guy and gets pissed off if you tell him it isn’t true. Plus he probably listened to Nat King Cole. And he’d take offense at use of the word “niggardly”. If that doesn’t qualify him as urban, what does? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/338 "2016-12-07T17:46:30Z")
[Trump has named John Kelly for Department of Homeland Security](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-gen-john-kelly-dhs-secretary-department-homeland-security/). ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/339 "2016-12-07T17:50:59Z")
Oh joy, another military dude. We’ve gone from civilian control of the military to military control of everything. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/340 "2016-12-07T17:58:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Oh joy, another military dude. We’ve gone from civilian control of the military to military control of everything. I don’t know if I’d call 2 out of 9 (named so far) Cabinet positions “military control of everything”. The man at the top, Trump, is a civilian’s civilian. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=18)