Setting New Standards

I remember when a presidential candidate was forced out of the race when it was revealed that he was having an affair. Bill Clinton was impeached. Neither of these men were accused of sexual assault. Neither of these men broke the law. This is not true of a number of Trump nominees, and of Trump himself.

Given the number of Trump nominees with assaults in their background, criminality is no longer a badge of shame, but one of honor. Welcome to the Bad Boys Club!

What bothers me even more are the nominees who are national security risks. By bypassing all the safeguards, Trump’s appointees aren’t vetted. He plans to offer blanket security clearances. Our only hope is that there are other legislators with whose policies we might disagree but who still believe in the Constitutional safeguards.

We have a lot to lose in the next four years.

Remember when Trump said he loved the uneducated? It’s not so much the uneducated he loves but voters who let emotions crowd out their critical thinking skills. Do you have a kid on an IEP? Does that kid have a certified special ed instructor? This is just one of the things that dismantling the Department of Education will cost you.

Now, parents have the final say in their children’s education choices. They can choose which books their child can or cannot read. They can choose whether to have their child tested. They can choose. Without the federal funding, when your school can no longer afford special education programs, there will be no choices. When your school can no longer afford to support a healthy school library, there will be fewer choices.

The cow pies are about to hit the fan, and I fear that what a majority of Oklahomans thought they were voting for is not what they’re going to get.

Meanwhile, in the nation’s capital, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace is trying to keep a duly-elected representative, Delaware’s Sarah McBride, from being able to use the women’s restroom. Trump and his sidekicks are plotting with Putin, if they can be believed, to give Ukrainian territory to the man who started the conflict.

Back home, parents will have to worry about the spread of preventable, and dangerous, childhood diseases.

I said it in 2021, and I’ll say it again: Trump’s election isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It’s much, much worse.