Tom Keane

The Week That Was: State Of The State, Executive Orders, Oscar Nominations And More

Editor's Note: Every Friday, Tom Keane offers up assorted observations, conundra and miscellanea about the week that was. Here's his round-up for the week ending January 27, 2017.

It was the first week of the apocalypse, yet the sun still rose, the earth spun on its axis and most lived their lives as they had before. There were exceptions, however.

• No apologies. Stunned by a massive turnout of demonstrators in Washington, Boston and other major cities across the country and the globe, a chastened Donald Trump reached out to women’s groups, immigration advocates and environmentalists, vowing to find common ground and … no, of course not. The president dismissed the protests -- I “was under the impression that we just had an election!” he tweeted -- and the Trump agenda proceeded apace.
• Hooray for us. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s State of the Commonwealth speech was optimistic. “We worked to fix state government, passed groundbreaking legislation and focused on growing our economy,” he said. “(T)he state of our Commonwealth is strong.” Pleased members of the House and Senate, certain they deserved most of the credit for this wondrous state of affairs, promptly moved to increase their compensation by up to 40 percent. Baker, obviously disagreeing with the legislators’ assessment, said he’d veto the raises.
• Booze beats bongs. A few weeks ago, state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg successfully pushed for a delay in the voter-passed legalization of pot, arguing she just didn’t have the staff and resources to implement the new law. Just recently, however, Goldberg announced that she did, in fact, have the staff and resources to conduct a wholesale reassessment of state alcohol rules. Take that, potheads!
• Hackney hell. MassPort just cut a deal with Lyft (and soon, Uber) to allow the so-called network transportation companies to pick up customers at the airport. Price to take Lyft from my Fenway home to Logan: just under $20 – including tip. Price to take a cab from Logan to home: $34 – also including tip. It’s that $14 difference that will make for yet another nail in the almost-finished coffin of the traditional taxicab industry.

• Diversionary tactic. In his first few days on the job, President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reinstated the “global gag rule” on abortion, pushed forward the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and did a host of other important things, all of which were ignored because Trump also complained about media estimates of inauguration crowds which really are far, far more interesting to talk about.
• Popularity contest. Anti-Trumpers took great solace in the president's historically low approval numbers and stories of infighting among White House staff. When else have we seen Trump performing so poorly in national polls and disarray throughout his organization? Oh yeah, during the general election. And we know how that turned out.
• Us versus him. As part of his crackdown on immigration, Trump vowed to punish cities that set themselves up as “sanctuaries.” Democratic mayors around the country pretended to be frightened, but in truth were delighted with the opportunity to take a big, bold stand on an issue of consequence. “We will not be intimidated by a threat to federal funding. We will not retreat one inch,” proclaimed Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, using soaring rhetoric hearkening back to abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison (“I will not retreat a single inch”). Such high-minded clarion calls sure beat the normal humdrum of filling potholes and negotiating zoning appeals.
• Forgiveness. Even though they were helmed by Trump-loving Tom Brady, coached by Trump-loving Bill Belichick, and owned by Trump-loving Robert Kraft, the heavily Democratic, true-blue Bay Stater nonetheless cheered on the Patriots AFC win, reasoning that some things are more important than the imminent upending of the U.S. Constitution.
• Traitors in his midst. This week Trump put in place a government-wide hiring freeze. If you’re wondering why he’s so hard on the folks he ostensibly now supervises, check out an interesting poll from Government Executive: Just 29 percent of civil servants voted for the new president. Seen in this light, Trump’s motivation may be less the traditional conservative attitude that big-government per se is a problem, and more a fear that federal workers – or at least 71 percent of them – are his problem.
• Kiss Flix Best Pix. California gave us the upbeat and romantic “La-La Land” and Massachusetts offered up the brooding and sad “Manchester by the Sea.” Both snagged multiple Oscar nominations. Who wins Best Picture? Sorry, Beantown boosters. In these grim times, my bet’s on frivolous fun over frowny faces. Hollywood’s just not in the mood for another downer. Nor is the rest of America.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on January 27, 2017.

The Notable, The Quotable And The Otherwise Irresistible From The Week That Was

Editor's Note: Starting today, Cognoscenti contributor Tom Keane will round up the week in local and national news and offer assorted observations, conundra and miscellanea about all of it. 

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It was the week before everything changed.

• Short-fingered. All hail the Vulgarian-in-Chief! The term was invented by the late, lamented Spy Magazine, the 1980s humor publication that, three decades ago, so aptly described the real estate mogul (the full moniker was “short-fingered vulgarian,” an observation GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio seized upon with little success). What was true then – the crass and sexist behavior, the obsession with wealth and its trappings, the unparalleled egotism – is even more true now. So too, Trump back then was endlessly fascinating and newsworthy. Same today.
• Flush. Washington, DC, was on edge this week, awaiting the inauguration and the massive demonstrations promised as its accompaniment. Everywhere one could see the two sure signs of any large-scale event: rows of temporary security fencing and lots and lots of porta- potties. Amusingly enough, the supplier of one,  Don’s Johns, found its name being taped over, ostensibly by event organizers. One Don Trump, apparently, is wary of the association and, more importantly, the inevitable wordplay. Dump Trump, anyone?

• BFFs. City councilor Tito Jackson says he’s running for mayor of Boston, but I’m wondering if he really means it. At an MLK Day breakfast, he appeared with incumbent Marty Walsh, and the two were grinning and hugging. Tito, Walsh averred, is a friend: “We’re friends in the beginning. We’re friends in the end.” Hmm. Real friends don’t try to take other friends’ jobs, which leads to the suspicion that Jackson may be the political equivalent of a false flag, a ruse that gives the illusion of a fight while sparing the incumbent any risk of loss. We’ll see. If a year from now a victorious Walsh rewards the newly unemployed Jackson with a job at City Hall, it won’t be because he’s magnanimous. It’ll be payback.
• Mayor for life. One reason for Walsh’s confidence is the economic wind at his back. His “State of the City” speech was chock full of wonderful ideas, all of which cost money. No problem. The city’s in the midst of a building boom; every new tower means more taxes in city coffers. And when you’re in a position to hand out money, people – read, voters — like you back.
• All wet. I’m pretty sure this week was the first time ever that the term “golden showers” has ever been used in the national political discourse. May it be the last.
• Working 9 to 5. The inauguration may be Friday, but Trump has said “day one” of his administration “is gonna be Monday.”  He just got the job and already the guy is taking off weekends? Didn’t anyone tell him it’s 24/7/365?
• Fake medicine. The Massachusetts legislature just passed legislation licensing the quackery known as naturopathy, and despite pleas from the real medical community – which feared a license was tantamount to an imprimatur — the normally rational Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill. And why not? After all we already license fortunetellers. Indeed, why not license astrologists and exorcists as well? It’s easy to mock the anti-science views of Trump and conservative Republicans but, as Massachusetts just proved, et tu.
• Manchurian candidate. On one matter, Trump is right. BuzzFeed’s decision to release the unexpurgated 35-page dossier of Russian kompromat on the president-elect was shameful, a “total political witch hunt.” The report was almost certainly false, seemingly a blatant smear by the intelligence community jabbing back at a tormenter. I was as outraged as any that the document was posted verbatim. So of course I immediately went to the website and read it in its entirety.
• Desperate gestures. It once was the case that companies were boycotted for supporting apartheid. Now it’s for supporting Donald Trump. Such was the plight of LL Bean after Bean heiress and board member Linda Bean donated $60,000 to a Trump political action committee. The outdoor clothing maker is in good company, however. GrabYourWallet.org  — the organizer of the action against LL Bean — is also urging  boycotts against a host of businesses, including Amazon, Macy’s and TJ Maxx (they sell Ivanka’s accessories!), Kawasaki and Welch’s (they advertise on Celebrity Apprentice!), and People Magazine (reporting on Trump “normalized” him!). Good news, though. GrabYourWallet says it’s still okay to shop at bookstores that sell pro-Trump books – as long as they also sell anti-Trump books. It’s stuff like this that makes the left so easy to mock – and, ahem, vote against.
• In with the….  As the new year dawned, many professed to be happily rid of 2016. As 2017 wears on, that may be worth a rethink. Just compare Trump’s first press conference to Barack Obama’s last. Perhaps 2016 was less annus horribilis and more the last of a string of golden years, our new president's taste for gilt notwithstanding.

 This column was first published by Cognoscenti on January 20, 2017.