With Trump’s cabinet picks the swamp grows bigger

A losing score to drain the swamp

Re “Mnuchin maps out Trump’s plans for tax code, trade, jobs” (Page 1A, Dec. 1): So how is President-elect Donald Trump doing so far on his administration’s picks to fulfill his campaign promise to drain the Washington swamp of the rich and political insiders?

Billionaire Wall Street insider Steven Mnuchin as secretary of treasury. Wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell and former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao for secretary of transportation. Billionaire Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. Billionaire and Wall Street insider Wilbur Ross for secretary of commerce. Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley for U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Alabama U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general. Former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Army Gen. Mike Flynn for national security adviser. Kansas U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo for CIA director.

The score so far: Political insiders and the rich, 8; Draining the swamp, 0.

Electoral College: Vote for Clinton

President-elect Donald Trump and his minions like to grumble and bark about their movement and mandate. The real mandate in this election was for Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote by more than 2 million votes. There is a movement in this nation to push the Electoral College to do its moral duty and vote for the winner of the popular vote.

The electors have the constitutional right to vote for Clinton and to reject a man who presents a true threat to our nation. If the electors fail in this task, we must make every effort to rid ourselves of the Electoral College and ensure that presidential elections will be decided by popular vote.

Millions of Americans have signed a petition to the Electoral College to support Clinton. I urge you to sign the petition to the Electoral College and get involved supporting the National Popular Vote Compact.

Denying care is unacceptable

Re “Survivors of San Bernardino attack seek help” (Capitol & California, Nov. 29): I was shocked and saddened to read that survivors of the 2015 San Bernardino terror attack are facing difficulties in receiving aid in regards to the horrific event they went through last year.

These people are having their workers’ compensation claims denied and are having trouble obtaining drugs, counseling and other treatments to help them with both the emotional and physical aftermath of their experience. This is barbaric. How can we possibly deny these people, who were shot at and watched friends and co-workers die, the aid they need and deserve?

I hope the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors pays more attention to these victims and helps them; that should have happened a long time ago. In watching the victims recount their stories, it’s clear to see the trauma in their eyes. They need medical attention and counseling, and by no means should this be denied to them.

Healthy forests can be sustained

Re “A new, better way to deal with dead trees in Sierra” (Viewpoints, Nov 30): I’m thrilled someone addressed the huge problem of millions of dead trees in the Sierra and other California forests, waiting to feed a wildfire. The op-ed by Amy Horne and Jim Branham explained it was a win-win for all concerned, “Loggers got wood. Environmentalists got improved wildlife habitat” by copying the successful Sagehen Experimental Forest in Truckee.

However, they missed another positive component to this strategy: employment for hundreds of people. They could be trained to assist the Forest Service to get rid of all the dead and tiny trees. People on assistance or convicts could also be considered.

We can have healthy forests for many years if we just take a little time to nurture it.

This story was originally published December 1, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "With Trump’s cabinet picks the swamp grows bigger."