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NYT: Rick Perry Thought as Energy Secretary He Would Be Global Ambassador for US Oil Industry

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Embarrassing Profile of Former Texas Governor Published Hours Before Confirmation Hearing

Rick Perry will sit before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Thursday to answer questions about his ability to lead the $30 billion U.S. Dept. of Energy. Many questioned Perry’s fitness for the job when Donald Trump announced the nomination last month, given Perry has nearly zero experience dealing with nuclear materials. But many believed Perry, having served as governor of oil-rich Texas was perfect for the job, wrongly understanding what the department does.

As a New York Times profile of Gov. Perry notes, among them was Gov. Perry.

“When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry that he had long championed in his home state,” the Times article, published hours before Perry’s confirmation hearing, begins.

“In the days after, Mr. Perry, the former Texas governor, discovered that he would be no such thing — that in fact, if confirmed by the Senate, he would become the steward of a vast national security complex he knew almost nothing about, caring for the most fearsome weapons on the planet, the United States’ nuclear arsenal,” the Times reveals.

Two-thirds of the agency’s annual $30 billion budget is devoted to maintaining, refurbishing and keeping safe the nation’s nuclear stockpile; thwarting nuclear proliferation; cleaning up and rebuilding an aging constellation of nuclear production facilities; and overseeing national laboratories that are considered the crown jewels of government science.

Perry, of course, has zero experience in “keeping safe the nation’s nuclear stockpile,” or in “thwarting nuclear proliferation,” or anything else nuclear to any great degree, as the Times, almost mockingly makes clear.

“If approved by the Senate, he will take over from a secretary, Ernest J. Moniz, who was chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics department and directed the linear accelerator at M.I.T.’s Laboratory for Nuclear Science. Before Mr. Moniz, the job belonged to Steven Chu, a physicist who won a Nobel Prize,” the Times explains.

“For Mr. Moniz, the future of nuclear science has been a lifelong obsession; he spent his early years working at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Mr. Perry studied animal husbandry and led cheers at Texas A&M University,” the Times embarrassingly reports.

Mr. Moniz had such deep experience with nuclear weapons that in 2015, President Obama made him a co-negotiator, along with Secretary of State John Kerry, of the Iran nuclear deal.

Gov. Perry, who Donald Trump beat handily in the GOP primaries, sat down with the president-elect in Trump Tower to interview for the job. It took him weeks after he was officially nominated to learn that the job he accepted was not even close to the job he thought he had interviewed for. The question is, what did Donald Trump think the Secretary of Energy does?

On Twitter, many responded in shock or anger: 

You can respond directly to Rick Perry by sending your comments to him on Twitter: @GovernorPerry.
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‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics

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May 15, 2025

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Walmart has issued a stark warning about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, cautioning that their “magnitude” will directly lead to higher prices for consumers. The nation’s largest retailer made clear it will have no choice but to pass on the increased costs. President Trump, by contrast, recently claimed that Chinese manufacturers—key suppliers for Walmart and many other retailers—would probably “eat” the tariffs.

“We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a press release, according to Yahoo Finance.

Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC, “we’re wired to keep prices low for customers, but the level of tariffs that have been proposed is pretty challenging for all retailers, for suppliers, and certainly our concern is that consumers are going to feel some of that.”

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

“We’ve not seen a period where you’ve had prices go up this high, this quickly,” he continued (video below). “We’re well equipped and experienced in dealing with elasticities or price increases that are going up 2 or 3 percent, but not 30 percent.”

Critics took the opportunity to blast President Trump’s tariffs.

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Walmart’s warning a “canary in the coal mine for the devastation Trump’s tariffs will have on Main Street,” according to The Washington Post.

“If a retailer as big as Walmart can’t escape the pain of tariffs, what chance [do] small businesses have?” he asked.

Leader Schumer called on retailers to post how much tariffs increase the cost of each product.

READ MORE: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing

“Walmart’s announcement is a glaring reminder that even after supposedly backtracking on some of his tariffs, significant damage will not go away,” he added in a floor speech. “The chaos unleashed is eating away at retail, restaurants, small businesses, and middle class families wallets. It is still estimated these tariffs will cost thousands of dollars for each family each year.”

Cato Institute Vice President of General Economics Scott Lincicome served up this warning: “Buckle up.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Bootlicking’: Johnson Ripped for Shrugging Off Trump Ethics Oversight

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

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5 hours ago

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May 15, 2025

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A massive banner of President Donald Trump is now hanging from the outside of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s building in Washington, D.C., opposite a banner of President Abraham Lincoln. Several critics are suggesting the hanging is fascist or authoritarian, with some saying it is giving off North Korea vibes.

“Looming down from the pillared front of the neo-classical facade is an enormous, brooding picture of President Donald Trump, adapted from his official presidential portrait,” The Independent reported. “The picture of Trump is reminiscent of portraits of leaders hanging from public buildings, often seen in dictatorships, monarchies, and in descriptions in George Orwell’s 1984 of ‘Big Brother.'”

Progressive nonprofit People For the American Way posted a photo of the USDA building with the Trump banner, also saying it is “echoing authoritarian dictatorships.”

“This is deeply fascist,” observed Democracy advocate, Army combat vet, and podcaster Fred Wellman.

READ MORE: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing

“Trump is spending $92 million on a birthday military parade and plastering his face on the sides of government buildings. Washington, DC is becoming Pyongyang, North Korea,” podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen noted.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted photos of the banners being installed, while suggesting that President Trump’s policies have been good for farmers — a controversial opinion given his tariff and trade wars, and program cuts.

The Bulwark’s Tim Miller wrote: “Its interesting that these freedom loving MAGA alpha males want to institute this deeply creepy 3rd world culture where we have a national daddy that must be obeyed.”

Political analyst Rachel Bitecofer warned Trump is “going to go full Putin.”

“Welcome to North America’s North Korea!” exclaimed Russell Drew, a self-described amateur historian and political junkie.

See the social media posts above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Bootlicking’: Johnson Ripped for Shrugging Off Trump Ethics Oversight

 

Image: Public Domain photo via Wikimedia

 

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‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing

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21 hours ago

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May 14, 2025

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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lashed out as he was repeatedly corrected by U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), who accused him of breaking his confirmation hearing promises to the committee, during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

Secretary Kennedy repeatedly interrupted Senator Murphy, forcing the Connecticut Democrat to declare that “none” of what RFK Jr. had said was true.

“You … promised Chairman Cassidy that the FDA would not change vaccine standards from ‘historical norms,’ but what happened as soon as you were sworn in?” Senator Murphy declared. “You announced new standards for vaccine approvals that you proudly referred to in your own press release as a radical departure from current practice, and experts say that that departure will delay approvals. You also said specific to the measles vaccine that you support the measles vaccine, but you have consistently been undermining the measles vaccine. You told the public that the vaccine wanes very quickly, you went on the Dr. Phil’s show, and said that the measles vaccine was never fully tested for safety. You said there’s fetal debris in the measles vaccine.”

Kennedy interjected: “All true. All true,” he insisted. “You want me to lie to the public?”

READ MORE: ‘Bootlicking’: Johnson Ripped for Shrugging Off Trump Ethics Oversight

“None of that is true,” Murphy replied.

“Of course it’s true,” Kennedy said.

After more back and forth and an interjection from the Republican Chair, Murphy continued:

“Just this morning in front of the House of Representatives, you also said that you, in fact, would not recommend that kids get vaccinated for measles, you said you would just lay out the pros and cons. So this is the summation of everything that you have said to compromise people’s faith in the measles vaccine, in particular, is contrary to what you said before this committee.”

“You said you support the measles vaccine,” Murphy added, “but then you have laid out a set of facts that are contested, and I will submit information for the record from experts who contest what you have said about the vaccine, and the result is to undermine faith in the vaccine. It’s kind of like saying, ‘Listen, I think you should swim in that lake, but, you know, the lake is probably toxic, and there’s probably a ton of snakes and alligators in that lake, but I think you should swim in it.'”

Senator Murphy went on to challenge Secretary Kennedy, asking him point-blank, “Are you recommending the measles vaccine or not?”

Kennedy replied that during his confirmation he would “tell the truth,” and have “radical transparency.”

“Are you recommending the measles vaccine?” Murphy again asked.

“I am not going to just tell people that everything is safe and effective. If I know that there’s issues, I need to respect people’s intelligence,” Kennedy replied.

READ MORE: Trump to Middle East: ‘You’re the Envy of the World’

“You’re answering the question. I think you’re answering the question,” Murphy concluded, calling Kennedy’s remarks “really dangerous for the American public and for families in this country.”

Professor of Medicine and Surgery Dr. Jonathan Reiner, weighed in, saying: “The measles vaccine has 60 years of safety and efficacy data and was tested in a placebo controlled trial. There are no fetal parts in the vaccine. It doesn’t wane quickly. Sec Kennedy consistently misstates the facts about this vaccine. No amount of scientific data will convince him otherwise. It’s an obsession.”

Watch the video below or at this link:

READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples

 

 

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