# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/341 "2016-12-07T18:03:22Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Oh joy, another military dude. We’ve gone from civilian control of the military to military control of everything. I prefer military people be in charge. They have lived a more disciplined life, probably seen or learned a lot about the world, etc. And when it comes to the military itself, I want a military or former-military guy at top - just like I want the Surgeon General to be someone with a medical background and the Attorney General to be someone with a legal background. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/342 "2016-12-07T18:05:00Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > 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. Kelly (Homeland Security), Flynn (National Security Advisor), Mattis (Defense)…plus Petraeus (rumored). That’s a lot more ex-brass than usual. ---
**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, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/343 "2016-12-07T18:09:27Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > That’s a lot more ex-brass than usual. Agreed, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/344 "2016-12-07T18:09:41Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Kelly (Homeland Security), Flynn (National Security Advisor), Mattis (Defense)…plus Petraeus (rumored). That’s a lot more ex-brass than usual. Sure, but given how unusually inexperienced a POTUS Trump would be, having lots of ex-brass is a great thing. He needs that expertise and steering/focus. ---
**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, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/345 "2016-12-07T18:13:50Z")
If JFK had listened to his brass, the US would have launched a pre-emptive strike on the USSR in 1962. Military people have their place. It’s the military. ---
**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 7, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/346 "2016-12-07T20:06:51Z")
And now he has picked [OK AG Scott Pruitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt) to head the EPA…probably chosen after he found out that the Eco-Villains from _Captain Planet_ didn’t really exist. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/347 "2016-12-07T20:37:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And now he has picked [OK AG Scott Pruitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt) to head the EPA…probably chosen after he found out that the Eco-Villains from _Captain Planet_ didn’t really exist. Great; he wants to hire a guy who has a pending lawsuit against the EPA regarding climate change issues to run said agency. No conflict of interest there, I’m sure. ---
**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, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/348 "2016-12-07T20:47:56Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Great; he wants to hire a guy who has a pending lawsuit against the EPA regarding climate change issues to run said agency. No conflict of interest there, I’m sure. Not much different than Trump appointing members of the National Labor Relations Board. The same NLRB that ruled against a Trump hotel in a unionization dispute. No conflict of interest there, either. Nosiree, nothing to see, just avert your eyes as you walk by… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/349 "2016-12-07T21:22:48Z")
Hey, he’s the Great Negotiator, who has learned his lesson from the Master: > [@](#): > > Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. > > And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” “Do my bidding, and I’ll be able to make your problems go away.” Sounds familiar. ---
**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 7, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/350 "2016-12-07T21:32:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And now he has picked [OK AG Scott Pruitt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pruitt) to head the EPA…probably chosen after he found out that the Eco-Villains from _Captain Planet_ didn’t really exist. Right, Pruitt has a long history of being allied with the fossil fuel industry and [fighting the EPA, especially on climate change mitigation](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/us/politics/scott-pruitt-epa-trump.html). Earlier I mistakenly described climate change denier Myron Ebell as being the EPA appointee. In fact, Ebell was appointed to head the EPA transition team, not to the agency itself, although many believed that he’d end up as the administrator (Dick Cheney ran Dubya’s VP search team, and guess who Dick discovered would make the best VP ever?). It’s a moot point whether Ebell or Pruitt is worse, since they’re both clearly anti-science, and if Pruitt was brought in on Ebell’s endorsement, that says a lot about him and the policies he’s likely to follow. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/351 "2016-12-07T21:57:56Z")
Maybe we need a law that says the person in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency should be someone who actually believes that the environment should be protected. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/352 "2016-12-07T22:01:49Z")
Sort of “protected”. Packaged, sold, used up and disposed of. ---
**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 7, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/353 "2016-12-07T22:06:25Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Sort of “protected”. Packaged, sold, used up and disposed of. Bagged and tagged? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/354 "2016-12-07T22:27:58Z")
Rode hard and put away dead. ---
**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 7, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/355 "2016-12-07T22:29:58Z")
It’s pining for the fjords…it’s an ex-agency. ---
**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 7, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/356 "2016-12-07T22:42:57Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Maybe we need a law that says the person in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency should be someone who actually believes that the environment should be protected. If you’re going to propose silly laws like that, you may as well propose one that says that the person in charge of the Department of Education should be someone who actually believes that kids should be educated. You could try, I suppose, but remember that you’re dealing with a Republican-dominated Congress. If you piss them off they’ll just abolish those departments altogether – and they’ll also abolish HHS while you weren’t paying attention – and use the savings to give tax relief to needy coal and oil companies. ---
**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, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/357 "2016-12-07T23:04:59Z")
I’m curious who Trump will pick for the Department of the Interior. I’m hoping it’ll be someone from one of the states that are dominated by huge federal land-holdings. Somewhere like NV or UT. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/358 "2016-12-07T23:24:06Z")
Knowing how willing to sabotage the very agency that the EPA appointee will oversee, I expect that for the Department of the Interior one of the Bundys is a contender. 🙂 ---
**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, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/359 "2016-12-07T23:25:58Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Knowing how willing to sabotage the very agency that the EPA appointee will oversee, I expect that for the Department of the Interior one of the Bundys is a contender. 🙂 Sounds delightful. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367/360 "2016-12-07T23:30:37Z")
> [@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. Do you have a cite for the contention that vouchers will get us closer to a decent education for all? Because my admittedly quick-and-dirty review shows the jury is still out – the organizations that are pushing private schools find voucher programs very effective while the organizations that support public schools find vouchers in some cases show worse results than public education. [This cite](http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2016/02/louisiana_voucher_fall_behind.html) from earlier this year indicates that the voucher program in Louisiana may have done more harm than good: > [@](#): > > The initial results were devastating. Already behind academically, the students did even worse after one year at their new schools. Their state mathematics test scores fell 24 percentile points below those of their peers who were not awarded a voucher. Their English scores fell 8 percentile points below. > > After the second year, the scholarship students hadn’t recovered even to where they began in mathematics. The researchers can’t rule out the possibility that they returned to baseline in English, but they think those scores remained lower as well. Meanwhile, their peers who stayed at public school did slightly better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-cabinet-of-curiosities/771367.md?page=19)