Friday, January 13, 2017

Senator Gardner - Democratic decency requires NO VOTE on Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State

Since Colorado’s own Senator Gardner is on the Committee of Foreign Relations and is hearing Rex Tillerson’s nomination I decided to send his staff this open letter that I hope they’ll pass along.  I've sent it to our Durango Telegraph as 'letter to the editor' and I want to share it over here.  It might help some gather their own thoughts for sending messages to their own senators.  It's all we have right now, so everyone that cares needs to make an effort. http://civilrights.org/action_center/resources/calling-congress.html 
{Sorry about that early posting screw up}    It's been noted that mine is not the most diplomatic of opening paragraphs.  So be it.  It's not like Republicans have been anything but ruthlessly hostile to anyone on the other side of their world outlook divide.  Maybe, it's time they stop being so absolutist and progressive types stop being so accommodating !

Honorable Senator Gardner and staff,

Please take the time to think about the many objections to Rex Tillerson becoming our country’s Secretary of State. 

You’ll note right away that I can be categorized (and discarded) as a “tree hugger” type.  Indeed, I have hugged a few in my day.  I know too well how my kind is easily vilified and dismissed by Republicans.  Still I would beg you to consider the reality that we very much depend on a healthy climate and biosphere for everything we have and love.  

No matter what your personal religion tells you about your God, the basic inescapable reality is that we were born of this Earth and shall die back into it.  It is a beautiful reality, once you grow to appreciate evolution and understand what a fantastical pageant you are part of.

But, I digress.  What I really want to beg of you and your staff to consider is all the reasons Rex Tillerson, great oil-businessman though he may be, he should never be allowed to become USA’s Secretary of State.  A position demanding respect for our Constitution and a much broader understanding than a dedicated oil man(42+years), someone who knows nothing but drilling for profits is capable of acquiring.  No insult, fundamental reality.  Secretary of State requires immensely broad and deep understanding of governmental matters and a different sphere of relevant matter than a pure cold blooded businessman like Rex can acquire.

No matter now many big shot deals he may have closed, he’s unfit for the State Department!  Why can’t America at least get an experienced individual?  As for ‘outsider’ that just means he doesn’t know what’s going on.  That may work in the movies, but this is real life and there’s no going back.
Another issue, why are supposedly patriotic Republicans so accepting of Tillerson’s oh so cozy, nay intimate, ties to Russia’s Putin, which Rex is disingenuously back peddling?  More importantly, lets get real, Tillerson is a corporate guy who despises our government for interfering with his business dreams.  Given the powers of the Secretary of State we can be sure that his objective will not be to uphold his oath and USA's constitution but to rearrange USA from a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, into the Corporation of Amerika, a government fully owned and dedicated to the interests of today’s corporate oligarchs.  What are your priorities Senator Gardner?

Also consider, Tillerson still deludes himself about the scientific understanding regarding manmade global warming.  Yet another issue that should have disqualified him outright. Tragically what can we expect when most Republican politicians are so beholden to corporate money that they themselves remain steadfastly willfully ignorant on an issue that is already inflicting substantial damages to our global economy, infrastructure and its vulnerable citizens.  With worse on the way, while shills such as Tillerson tell us little is happening.  Wake up!  You just need to catch up on global weather reports, it tells you all you need to know about how destructive this climate change thing is getting to be.  Guaranteed to get worse!

Below is a list important background information to help better explain why it’s so important that you reject Rex Tillerson’s nomination, for all his talents and skills the man is unfit to run our State Department.  ( I provided Senator Gardner a list of further information which you can find at: whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2017/01/rex-tillerson-backstory)

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For a collection of evidence that supports citizen fears visit: 
http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2017/01/rex-tillerson-backstory.html



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Members, 115th Congress

Majority (Republicans)
Bob CorkerTennessee Chairman

Minority (Democrats)
Ben CardinMarylandRanking Member
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Do Exxon's Climate Denial & "Trail of Carnage" on Human Rights Make Tillerson Unfit for State Dept?



Published on Jan 12, 2017
http://democracynow.org - At the Senate confirmation hearing for secretary of state nominee and former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, he refused to answer questions about the oil giant’s long history of denying the science of climate change, telling Senators that scientific literature on climate change is "inconclusive."During the hearing, human rights concerns were also raised repeatedly. Tillerson refused to label Saudi Arabia a human rights violator, and avoided condemning Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte over thousands of extrajudicial killings carried out under Duterte’s so-called "war on drugs." We are joined from San Francisco by oil and energy journalist Antonia Juhasz.
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Rex Tillerson: What Trump's top diplomat really believes - BBC News

Published on Jan 12, 2017
Rex Tillerson, Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of State, endured nine hours of questioning from senators on day one of his confirmation hearing. The former CEO of Exxon Mobile said it was fair assumption that Vladimir Putin was behind the US election hack, but he was also challenged on his views about sanctions against Russia.

The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan assesses what we learned about the oilman hoping to be America's top diplomat.

Video by Franz Strasser.

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