Tom Keane

The Week That Was: A Good Week For NASA, A Bad Week For Milo Yiannopoulos, 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 February 24, 2017.

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NASA discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a nearby star, raising speculation that humanity might not be the only intelligent creature in the galaxy. Given the week’s events, however, any aliens that are out there might well object to the comparison.

• Try, try again. To avoid further court review of his widely-criticized immigration ban, Donald Trump made plans to issue a revision. So when last week he all-cap tweeted “SEE YOU IN COURT” after the 9th Circuit put the kibosh on his original ban, the president actually didn’t mean, “See you in court.” He meant, Okay, I get it. I’m gonna lose. On the other hand, the new version is apparently much like the old, meaning there will be fresh lawsuits from the aggrieved telling Trump that they will, indeed, see him in court.
• The Sunday show we all hate and all watch. Americans spent the week looking forward with high anticipation to Sunday’s Oscar broadcast, feverishly wondering whether the Best Picture winner would be that movie with the dancing or the really sad one or the film about spaceships or perhaps some other show none of them had ever seen either.
• Hatfields and McCoys. U.S. officials appeared surprised when Mexican leaders angrily rebuffed a visit by the secretary of state and head of Homeland Security, which is akin to being surprised when Taylor Swift rebuffs Katy Perry. Or Demi Lovato. Or Lorde. Or…
• Festival of Rights. The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) kicked off on Wednesday. The last 12 months saw conservatives denouncing Trumpism as a renegade movement more akin to white nationalism than principled conservatism. This year’s conference featured conservatives swallowing hard as they realize that, with Trump now firmly in charge, they need to sacrifice those same principles if they want a share of their newly-won power.
• Still, there are limits. CPAC disinvited firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos, not because he’s a rabid bigot, an inveterate sexist and a white nationalist – all of which he is – but because a video was released where the Y-man seemed to approve of pedophilia. The message from the right? Everyone is fair game except for little kids. We like them – at least, that is, until they turn 16.
• Going backwards. Trump rescinded Obama-era rules designed to protect transgendered youth from mockery, torment and harassment. Hmm. When Theodore Roosevelt spoke of the “bully pulpit,” he didn’t mean that the president should actually be, you know, a bully.
• All jacked and nowhere to go. A new study suggests men who exercise strenuously have a lower libido than those who don’t. Maybe. But at least those men will have more opportunities to deploy that lowered libido than will their coach-potato counterparts.
• Does it just not pay enough? After Gen. Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser, the president asked several others to take the job, including Vice Adm. Robert Harward and Gen. David Petraeus. All said no. Finally, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster accepted the offer. Good thing, too. The supply of old, white, senior military men is quite limited. And apparently those are the only kind Trump wants.
• Flat Earth Society. A new Gallup poll found that 44 percent of Americans believe that Trump “can manage the government effectively.” Of course, roughly the same percentage believes in creationism and thinks the government is hiding evidence of alien encounters. Here’s betting they’re all the same folks.
• A Kentuckyan and a Swede walk into a bar… Close on the heels of its revelation of the Bowling Green Massacre, the administration brought to light several major terrorist incidents in Sweden. Swedes joined Kentuckyans in being absolutely mystified with what the White House was talking about, while late night talk show hosts proclaimed they already had enough good material for the rest of the year.
• Charlatans, swindlers and mountebanks. Families accused Hyland’s, a homeopathic “drug” maker, of selling teething products that killed children. Homeopathy is a bunk science that believes highly diluted poisons can somehow cure an illness. In the teething case, it appears the company didn’t dilute the poison enough. But the real tragedy is all of the other people who needlessly suffer and die because of the hokum that companies like Hyland’s peddle.
• Gut course. City officials released the results of its inspections of about 1,100 Boston restaurants. On the first round of inspections, nearly 94 percent got an “A.” After re-testing, almost every single restaurant received an “A” – just 10 still had “Bs” and only one had a “C.” These are the same folks who oversee city schools, by the way, so next time your kid brings home a good report card, try to tamp down the excitement.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on February 24, 2017.

The Week That Was: Trump's Russia Ties, Flynn Out, Playboy Nudes In 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 February 17, 2017.

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A week of chaos bred a week of questioning clichés. How much did the president know and when did he know it? How far down the rabbit hole does this go? Is this the beginning of the end? And is Nordstrom offering discounts on Ivanka merchandise?

• Plan B. It was not a good week at 1600 Pennsylvania. With White House staff in disarray, new intrigues involving Russia, adverse court rulings, Michael Flynn’s resignation, Andrew Puzder’s withdrawal and mounting demands for investigations, almost everyone connected to the administration looked bad. The exception? The incredibly well-coiffed Mike Pence, who stood imperturbably above the fray, making clear that, should the need arise, he’s ready to take the reins.
• Not so fast (local edition). State Republicans rejoiced at WBUR’s poll showing only 44 percent of Massachusetts voters think Sen. Elizabeth Warren “deserves re-election.” Don’t pop the champagne too soon, guys. A generic poll doesn’t tell you much — campaigns are about one real person versus another. And the GOP’s list of potential real candidates doesn’t thrill. Curt Schilling has the name recognition, but he also has a bad case of Trumpian derangement (which won't play well in the Bay State). Others, such as state Rep. Geoff Diehl or businessman Rick Green, don’t have the incumbent’s star power. Bottom line: Warren may not be liked, but she’ll likely win.
• Not so fast (national edition). On the other hand, national Democrats celebrating a new Politico poll showing Trump loses to a generic opponent face the same problem. When it comes to real candidates, the incumbent fares better. Witness a Trump-Warren matchup in the same poll: Trump wins, 42-36.
• Celibate no more. After a one-year abstinence, Playboy said it was bringing back nudity to the magazine’s pages. Great. Umm, what’s a magazine? And where are they sold? Certainly not in Harvard Square, where the last two remaining newsstands look set to close.
• Come on down! Everyone’s jumping on Kellyanne Conway for hawking Ivanka’s wares on Fox & Friends. Enough already. Yes, Conway was wrong, but it was obviously a ham-handed joke — a stab at pushing back against the political boycotts aimed at all things Trump. She shouldn’t lose her job for a rookie mistake.
• Better places to be. A growing number of Patriots players are saying they won’t make the traditional Super-Bowl-victor’s visit to the White House. This isn’t a first. In 2015, for instance, Tom Brady refused to go in what was a thinly-disguised snub of President Obama. But Brady was wrong then, and this year’s dissidents are wrong now. The reason is simple. The president wears two hats. He’s a political leader but he’s also head of state. By all means, feel free to reject his politics. But it’s in the latter capacity that the invitation was extended. By refusing to attend, the players are not dissing the president. They’re dissing the nation.
• Stop it. Really, I mean it. In a deliberately confrontational move, North Korea launched a ballistic missile towards Japan. Back when he was president, the right trashed Barack Obama for responding to such displays with “all talk, no action.” And Trump? He issued a mild statement urging “North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and not to take any further provocative actions.” Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
• Fratricide. Speaking of North Korea: Two of the hermit kingdom’s secret agents apparently assassinated the estranged half-brother of dictator Kim Jong Un, poisoning him while at an airport in Malaysia. No question, family can be tough. But wouldn’t it have been easier to just un-friend him?
• A little help for my friends. Boston housing advocates are trying to gain control over funds generated by the Community Preservation Act. The newly passed property tax increase earmarks roughly $20 million for housing and other community improvements. Earmarks are always a mistake. Suppose that the extra money could have been better spent on public safety or education? Too bad. Even worse, the funds are largely outside of conventional political control, with spending decisions to be made by a supposedly “independent” committee. Allies will be rewarded. Enemies will be shafted. Scandals will ensue.
• It’s mine, my own, my precious. Every winter sees fresh controversy over space savers — the household miscellanea shovelers place in streets to save a recently cleared parking spot. This year’s battles have a new rule added by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh: “Respect each other,” he urged residents staking out their claims. Threatening notes, he says, are no longer allowed. So when you find your tires slashed, know that it was done with a little bit of love.
• Man bites dog. If news is supposed to be about the exceptions — no one sees, “Sun rises today” — why do we have stories during snowstorms about “Commuter rail delays.” Of course there are delays. There are always commuter rail delays when it snows. When the system actually runs smoothly during a weather event? Now that’ll be a story!

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on February 17, 2017.

 

The Week That Was: A Big Win, A Big Storm, A Big To Do In The Senate 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 February 10, 2017.

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It was a week when New England rejoiced, the rest of the country mourned, and suddenly, governing was about more than just issuing executive orders.

• Tripped up. Donald Trump discovered the difference between CEOs and presidents. CEOs can fire those who aren’t with the program. Presidents, on the other hand, can’t fire the courts and Congress. The framers of the Constitution, once near demi-gods but more recently portrayed as just ordinary men, are starting to look like geniuses once again.
• Off the reservation. Speaking of fired, what does Trump do with Neil Gorsuch? The nominee for the Supreme Court just called the president’s attacks on the judiciary “demoralizing and disheartening.” Does Trump just roll with this punch, or does he fight back, picking someone new? For those anticipating the eventual collapse of the Trump White House, Gorsuch’s seeming disloyalty makes for an intriguing crack. Or -- as conspiratorial Democrats wonder -- perhaps Gorsuch’s comment was just a clever way to assert his independence and thereby smooth the path to Senate approval.
• Off his game. The White House spent the week battling litigation over the immigration ban and the de-funding of “sanctuary” cities, sniping at retailers dropping Ivanka’s fashion line, and making absurd declarations that any negative polls are “fake news.” Meanwhile, legislation on major issues such as Obamacare and taxes languishes. One basic rule in politics is that focus matters: You can’t do everything at once. Trump’s attention is on the margins.

• Yech. With the Patriots' Super Bowl win, the alt-right decided to make the team their own – witness white nationalist Richard Spencer tweeting during overtime, “Brady and Belichick are about to win bigly for Trump, the #AltRight, and White America!” I get it. Everything that now happens is political. But as Sigmund Freud might have said, sometimes a game is just a game.
• Roar. Ah, the irony: By silencing her during the debate over the nomination of Jeff Sessions to be attorney general, Senate Republicans made Elizabeth Warren’s voice louder than ever. Campaign 2020, here she comes!
• Exceptions. In truth, the requirement that senators can’t insult one another (Rule 19) makes a great deal of sense. But it shouldn’t have applied when the discussion was whether someone should be confirmed as a cabinet appointee. Sitting senators or not, those nominees need to be subjected to robust debate.
• Choosing sides. Net neutrality — the Obama-era policy much beloved by companies such as Netflix and hated by providers such as Comcast — is heading for the graveyard, if Ajit Pai, the new head of the FCC, has his way. There are complicated arguments by both sides as to how being pro- or anti-neutrality is a matter of principle. But in reality, it’s just a battle of moneyed special interests.
• Blown opportunity. Someday, Bostonians are going to look back and wonder how it was possible that, in a city stuffed with brilliant architects, designers and urban planners, we managed to end up with the Seaport District. Ten years ago, it was a large swath of land ripe for development into a beautiful urban centerpiece. Now we are saddled with clunky high-rises, rich-only housing, unwalkable streets and far too little open space. As our president might say: SAD!
• But it can’t buy you love. Politicians often are critiqued for kowtowing to special interests and doing too little to promote the fortunes of ordinary people. It was thus gratifying to see the Massachusetts Legislature lead by example, overriding Baker’s veto of pay increases for judges, court officials and…oh yeah…themselves. With their compensation rising by up to 45 percent, state pols made sure they are now firmly in the middle class — perhaps even upper-middle. Bully for them. Now, how about legislation granting the same pay increases to the rest of us?

• Look in the mirror. Trump defended Putin by saying, “You think our country's so innocent?” — a remark that prompted pious objections from left and right and nods of agreement from Native Americans, victims of black ops such as COINTELPRO, much of Latin America, and many others. Maybe, in fact, the president had a point.
• It happens every year, folks. The winter that almost wasn’t finally relented on Thursday, coughing up a nor’easter that dumped over a foot of snow across much of the Bay State. Everyone, from forecasters to government officials, thrilled to the prospect of finally being able to show off their weather chops. Politicians donned sweaters, emergency personnel manned crisis bunkers, TV news activated Storm Centrals, and anti-Trump demonstrators finally got a well-deserved one-day rest.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on February 10, 2017.

 

A SCOTUS Nominee, A Big-Mac Dispenser, Executive Orders Galore 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 February 3, 2017.

It was the week leading up to the Superbowl, when all eyes and ears should have been on the happenings in Houston – after all, what else could possibly be going on late-January and early-February? Oh, yeah.

• Whew. Everyone thought that Donald Trump’s first week as president was the most amazing, head-spinning seven days of any newly inaugurated president ever – that is, until the second week’s events. Those included the immigration ban, a Supreme Court nomination, the two-gone for every one-new mandate on regulations, firing acting attorney general Sally Yates, putting Steve Bannon on the National Security Council and crabby conversations with world leaders. The question on everyone’s mind: What happens in week three?
• Gang that couldn’t shoot straight. The President and his team completely bungled the roll-out of the immigration ban, a hastily-drawn, poorly-vetted and badly-written policy that brought thousands of protesters to the streets (and, for that matter, to airports), caused dismay worldwide and smacked of pure incompetence. If this week’s White House were an episode of “The Apprentice,” Trump would have had to fire himself.
• The poison hits home. With a 72 percent approval rating, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is the most popular governor in the country. It would seem, therefore, that a challenge against him would be a fool’s errand, with the promised candidacies of former Deval Patrick appointee Jay Gonzalez and Newton mayor Setti Warren doomed to failure. But maybe not. Baker is a Republican. And even though Baker has made clear he’s no fan of Trump, the current occupant of the White House threatens to make toxic the Republican brand itself – at least for the Bay State. In 2018, either Gonzalez or Warren could ride that toxicity all the way to the State House.
• Give me a break today. On Tuesday, throngs lined up at the Kenmore Square McDonald’s to try the chain’s latest innovation – a Big Mac dispenser. Here’s how the machine works: burgers are grilled by McDonald’s workers, who then toast the buns, add condiments, put the sandwich together, package it in the appropriate box and then load it in the newfangled “customized digital Big Mac ATM.” In essence, the difference is that instead of a human being handing you your burger, the human being now hands it to the machine which then gives it to you. Really? Are we so anthrophobic that we would rather press buttons on a vending machine than say “thank you” to a counter clerk presenting us lunch?
• Fortune teller. Yesterday was Groundhog Day. In some parts of the U.S., the groundhog saw its shadow, meaning there will be six more weeks of winter, more or less. In other areas, the groundhog didn’t see its shadow, meaning there will be… six more weeks of winter, more or less. Despite the zero-predictive ability of the rodent, television stations everywhere breathlessly covered the day’s festivities.
• Crumbling. Two Republican senators – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – say they won’t support Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. One wonders if these cracks in GOP unity are just a one-off or if they mark a more permanent skepticism by some members of the Party over the man so few of them really wanted in the first place.
• Scalia, Jr. In 2006, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was unanimously approved by the Senate for the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. This time around, it won’t be so easy. Partly, that’s because the Supreme Court job is higher profile and more impactful. But more importantly, Democrats are furious over the fate of Obama pick Merrick Garland and the spate of confrontational moves from the still-nascent Trump administration. Still, Gorsuch is widely admired, meaning there shouldn’t be any Republican defectors, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Democrats allow an up-or down vote. Yes, he’s a conservative. But even in the eyes of liberals, he’s a smart and talented jurist.
• Redux? It’s not too early to start thinking about Trump’s second term, and demonstrations and DeVos notwithstanding, his prospects look reasonable. Here’s what makes for re-election: incumbency (check); a strong economy (a likely check, especially if Trump pushes through his promised trillion-dollar infrastructure plan); assiduous attention to one’s base (check, given his first two weeks); and, most critically, a tired and weak opposition. Consider the Democratic names being bandied about. Some are yesterday’s news: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and – gulp – Hillary Clinton. Others are just — who knew? New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, and New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. None excite. Personally, I like Michelle Obama, but it’s fair to note that’s a show – presidential spouse runs for president – we’ve seen before. As I recall, it didn’t turn out well.

his column was first published by Cognoscenti on February 3, 2017.