Tom Keane

The Week That Was: Brexit Triggered, Browsing Tracked, Trump Galore, Blocked Porn — And More

The country was riven by storms over health care, Russia and immigration while Massachusetts braced for -- really? -- a spring nor'easter.

• Scrambling. The collapse of the GOP’s health care plan had Democrats doing victory dances and political commentators writing the still-young administration’s epitaph. Embarrassing? Yes. Fatal? No. For a White House in trouble, there still seems to be a lot going on. This week, for example, President Trump signed an executive order rolling back Obama-era climate change policy. Moreover, Republicans are restarting discussions over “repeal and replace.” We may find that last week’s tumult was less failure than learning experience. Don’t count Trump out yet.
• Make America safe again. That said, it’s now been three months without an immigration ban -- the one that was so pressing it was rushed out just seven days after Trump’s inauguration. And there seems to be a curious lack of urgency from the administration about changing that. Indeed, a court-ordered injunction was just extended Wednesday. Could it be possible that the ban really wasn’t needed? Could it just have been red meat thrown to xenophobic, anti-Muslim supporters of the president? And having done that, there’s now no real need to actually do anything more?
• The Joe Arpaio of the Northeast. Meanwhile, Tom Hodgson, sheriff of Bristol County, testified before Congress that the mayors of Boston, Somerville and other cities should be arrested for presiding over immigrant-friendly “sanctuary cities.” There you have it: proof positive that Massachusetts isn’t home only to the loony left.
• Great no more. Great Britain on Wednesday gave formal notice to the European Union that it would soon leave, which, in turn, likely triggers the exit of Scotland and Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, which means pretty soon we’ll just be calling the country “Britain.”
• There’s one born every minute. Massachusetts is contemplating legalizing online gambling and the state’s casino operators -- who paid $195 million to open four of them -- are crying foul. “The state can’t now make a fundamental change in the deal we made,” says one casino rep. Oh yes, it can. Just ask the taxicab industry. Expensive medallions supposedly gave cabbies a monopoly on rides-for-hire. That was upended by the likes of Uber and Lyft. The same will happen to casinos — even if the Bay State doesn’t legalize online betting, other states will. That $195 million? Bad bet, guys.
• The anti-Brady. Daily coverage of the Aaron Hernandez murder trial continued as this week we learned that… oh, who am I kidding? The guy’s already in prison for life; this latest case is just (well-deserved) piling on, and the verdict is a foregone conclusion. So why is the trial front-page news? Are ex-NFL players really that fascinating? Or is it because Trump 24/7 is just sensory overload and we need something – anything – to distract us?
• Mom and Dad take over. Has anyone noticed that the House and Senate are like kids and grownups? The House’s probe into Trump’s Russia ties has been amateurish, with Chair Devin Nunes almost comically in the tank to the president. So now the Senate comes to the rescue, with Sens. Richard Burr and Mark Warner -- a Republican and a Democrat — standing together at a press conference, patiently explaining how a real investigation should be conducted. Thank God for bicameralism.
• The good news is there are no lines. Speaking of the Senate, it turns out that not a lot of folks are going to the Edward Moore Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. It was supposed to have 150,000 visitors annually; the last two years averaged only 62,000. A couple of thoughts. First, it needs a better name -- nine words is just way too many. Second, the place plays more as an homage to the late senator himself than to the Senate. An exact reproduction of Kennedy’s office may appeal to the Kennedy fanatics that still abound in the Bay State, but to others, the institute seems more like a personality cult.
• Xfinity is like my brother…my Big Brother. The president this week signed legislation allowing internet providers to track every site their customers visit. This latest assault on privacy probably won’t bother hardcore Facebook users. But the rest of us? If you don’t know about VPNs, you may want to learn.
• The real reason for the Internet. And finally, proposed legislation in Alabama would require all mobile devices and computers to be sold with porn blockers. Owners could only unblock them by paying the state a $20 fee. Brilliant move! With 4.9 million residents, Alabama has just figured out how to instantly raise a cool $98 million in new taxes!

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on March 31, 2017.

The Week That Was: Heartburn At St. Paddy's Breakfast, Terror In London, Stalled Health Care Bill in D.C. And More

It was a week of humor, terror, scandal, substance -- and (whew!) a Tom Brady mystery, solved.

• Green eggs and ham. The week kicked off with jokes aplenty at the annual St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast in South Boston. Luckily for the neighborhood, by day’s end, most of the jokes had left town and returned to the State House or Washington.
• I do not like them, Sam-I-am. Seriously, it’s time to get rid of the breakfast. It’s not merely the fake conviviality or lame humor that offend; it’s the clubbishness of the event, a members-only attitude that politicians are a group of folk somehow different from those who elected them. In a world where the gulf between the governing and the governed is so wide as to have given us Donald Trump, perhaps the pols could have better spent their day talking to constituents rather than hobnobbing with other members of the ruling class.
• Separated at birth? The soap opera that is Uber faced new controversy this week with the abrupt departure of a senior executive. The company’s core problem, of course, is founder and CEO Travis Kalanick. Has anyone noticed the parallels between him and President Trump? Sexist behavior? Check. Snappish and unfiltered? Check. Toxic us-versus-them management style? Check. Inability to keep himself in control? Check. Of course, at worst Kalanick blows up the taxi industry. With Trump -- the world.
• Right to bear arms. As tragic as the terrorist attack around the London Parliament on Wednesday was, it’s worth considering how much worse it might have been. The only guns fired were by the police. That’s because — with no Second Amendment — firearms in England are rare and hard to get. Thus, the London attacker was armed only with knives. Here in the U.S., on the other hand, an attacker might have emerged from his car with semi-automatics blazing.
• Mall memories. Sears -- the place mom used to drag you to -- looks set to go bust. Where will moms take their children now? Oh yeah. Target. Prediction: Ten years from now, we’ll be mourning its loss, too.
• The real reason she lost. Monday, FBI Director James Comey gave measured and thoughtful testimony to Congress. He revealed an investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, but appropriately did not go into specifics, draw premature conclusions or make unwarranted accusations. Too bad for Hillary, but I guess better late than never.
• The unraveling. Democrats rejoiced as some conservative Republicans vowed to oppose Ryancare, threatening to scuttle the GOP’s long-promised repeal of Obamacare. Think again. The renegades are not some secret cabal supporting the status quo. Rather, they want to go even further, rolling back things as much as possible. Ryan’s original proposal really was ObamacareLite. If the hold-outs have their way, what we end up with will likely be far worse.
• He’s a nut, yes, but he’s our nut. A favorite lefty parlor game is, How long until Donald Trump is gone? The usual guesses are weeks, perhaps a few months. The likely correct answer: four years – and maybe eight. Why? Consider this week. Obamacare eventually goes away (the only issue: just how bad is its replacement). Meanwhile Neil Gorsuch successfully made it through three days of hearings and looks set to win confirmation to the Supreme Court. Regulations and agencies hated by business and the right are being gutted. Tax reduction plans proceed apace. The left may see Trump as a daily disaster. Not conservatives. Sure, the tweets are annoying. But he’s getting the job done.
• Sdelayte Ameriku Velikoy Snova. Russiagate, of course, is the one hazard on the horizon that could undo the above prediction. The Watergate comparisons are flying fast and furious. Paul Manafort as the next E. Howard Hunt? Mike Pence as Deep Throat? But since no one does dictation anymore, what about loyal secretary Rose Mary Woods?
• Bad government 101. General Motors somehow persuaded Bay State Sen. Eric Lesser to file legislation that only companies that “manufactured and distributed motor vehicles in the United States” can make available self-driving technologies to the public. You have to admire GM’s chutzpah: How great would it be to have the government ban your competitors? As for Lesser: Seriously?
• Silver lining. Three years ago, state Rep. Carlos Henriquez was convicted of sexual assault and battery, sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, and -- because he refused to resign — expelled from the House of Representatives. Now -- incredibly -- he’s running for the Boston City Council. Or maybe not incredibly. In a crowded field and with strong name recognition, Henriquez could win. And the new job not only pays more but, even better, it only meets once a week! Who says rehabilitation doesn’t work?
• Jerseygate. And finally, after an investigation that involved identifying 20,000 possible perpetrators, screening 1,400 suspects, and reviewing hours of videotape, police were able to recover Tom Brady’s lost Super Bowl game shirt. Great job, guys! Maybe you can now help me find that sock missing since I last did laundry.

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

The Week That Was: Sleep Deprivation, Storm Aggravation, Political Enervation And More

Bostonians looked forward to St. Patrick’s Day -- on a Friday, no less! -- but getting there meant wading through sleep deprivation, storm aggravation and political enervation.

• Zzzzzz. The week kicked off with the return of daylight saving time, meaning we all lost an hour of sleep, which is as good an explanation as any for our perennial debates about why do we change our clocks at all, our conclusion that it makes no sense, and then our doing nothing about it.
• Fake science. The National Weather Service warned that the entire Northeast would be hit with an epic storm Monday and Tuesday. As it turned out, it was more snorestorm, leaving Boston with less than seven inches. Indeed, as the storm loomed, government meteorologists got in new data showing that accumulations would be far less than expected. But they didn’t tell anyone. Why? Because they feared downgrading the storm would mean cities and towns wouldn’t take proper emergency measures. Really guys? Lying about the numbers so people will do what you think they should? Is it any wonder so many doubt manmade global climate change?
• Fake news. Rachel Maddow and MSNBC trumpeted a big exclusive: “We’ve got Trump tax returns.” As it turned out, they had two pages from one year -- 2005 -- and all it showed was that Trump paid over $38 million in taxes on $153 million in income. Moreover, the on-air unveiling was rife with speculation and innuendo. Thus, the most anti-Trump TV personality of all simultaneously proved that (1) Trump really does make a lot of money, (2) he really does pay taxes, and (3) the media really are out to get him.
• There are Muslims in these countries? I had no idea. In round two of the immigration wars, two federal district courts struck down the administration’s latest effort to ban travel from Muslim-majority countries. At issue: Even though the executive order doesn’t explicitly target Muslims, can courts look at the president’s own words -- “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” — and impute religious discrimination? You'd think so. But in truth, maybe Trump doesn't care. Most observers argue the ban would do nothing to make us safer. So its real reason for being, it seems, is just to play to the president's base.
• Ruh-roh. Introduced with fanfare a week ago and rushed through two congressional committees, a report from the Congressional Budget Office now threatens to derail the GOP’s new health care plan. Yeah, it saves money. But it also means about 24 million Americans would lose health coverage. Looks like it’s time for a do-over.

• Oh, Canada. Republicans are finding that, when it comes to health care, there are no good answers. We can keep some version of Obamacare and ensure people are covered. Or we can do something radical: a Canadian-style single-payer system. Advocates call it “Medicare for All.” It’s not nationalized health care – doctors, hospitals and other providers remain private. But the government pays all the bills. It's simple. It's sane. It works. And for those reasons, it'll probably never happen.
• The Trump effect. The worldwide tsunami of anti-immigrant, ultra-nationalist politics typified by Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and the rise of France’s Marine Le Pen was interrupted this week when Dutch voters rejected the hard-right Geert Wilders’s bid for power. The bad news? Wilders only lost because Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered up his own anti-immigrant message – one that was admittedly less harsh, but still populist in tone. The tsunami continues.
• Drink more sugar. The beverage industry just reported that Americans now drink more bottled water than soda. This marks a major public health triumph – sugar consumption has been linked to all manner of ills, including diabetes and obesity. Rather than being thrilled with the development, however, activists around the country – including local towns such as Concord and Brookline – are trying to ban bottled water, arguing that it is already available from the tap. Thus, the bizarre result: It’s okay to sell water with sugar added, but take the sugar out and it’s prohibited.
• We’re gonna’ make you stay home. And finally, it’s well-known that Americans work too much. Saturdays and Sundays, once days of respite, are now just part of the work-week. That’s why I think we should all applaud the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s effort to restore our leisure time by eliminating commuter rail service on the weekend. Who would have thought that the “T” would be the natural heir of the Eight Hour Leagues?

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

 

The Week That Was: Wiretaps, WikiLeaks, 'An Insane Amount Of Drinking' 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 March 10, 2017.

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It was a week of shocking, provocative statements from Donald Trump, which meant that everyone ignored the shocking, provocative things he actually did.

• Here we go again. Trump signed a new version of his travel ban, bringing joy to the hearts of lawyers rushing to courthouses to stop this one too. 
• Second time’s a charm. The new travel ban -- like the original -- was issued in fulfillment of candidate Trump’s demand for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” So is anyone fooled that this ban is really anything other than an unconstitutional attack on religion? Prediction: Yes, the federal courts. They’ll let this one slide.
• The doctor will not see you now. The GOP’s newly released American Health Care Act is just like Obamacare, except it’s more expensive and not as good. So what makes it acceptable to Republicans? Many an office drone could tell you: It’s the NIH — not-invented-here — phenomenon. If it’s someone else’s idea, it’s bad. If it’s mine, it’s good. The key virtue of TrumpCare is that it wasn’t of Obama’s making.
• Deep state. Trump’s accusation that Barack Obama tapped his phones was met with strenuous but carefully worded denials by the former president’s team. Obama’s reps said he didn’t order the tapping, but they didn’t say it didn't happen or that the former president didn’t know. And coming amidst WikiLeaks’ revelations that intelligence agencies can hack into almost anything -- a capability developed under the Obama administration, mind you -- Trump’s claims don’t seem too far-fetched. Where there’s a way, sometimes, there’s a will.
• Not tonight, dear. A new report says that Americans have far less sex today than they once did. And, given the WikiLeaks documents, no wonder. The specter of the CIA listening in kind of destroys the mood.
• And this is me microwaving lunch… Seriously, I get why ordinary Americans are a little paranoid about the government potentially monitoring everything they do. But there’s a big dose of narcissism here, too, the same kind of narcissism that drives folks to recount the minutiae of their daily lives on Facebook. Really, people, you’re not that interesting. Yeah, the CIA might be able to eavesdrop. But why would it want to?
• It’s alright when our guy says it. HUD Secretary Ben Carson ignited a firestorm of anger when he appeared to compare immigrants to slaves, saying, “There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships…but they too had a dream that one day their [children] might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.” It then emerged that Barack Obama had himself many times described slaves as immigrants, as he did in 2015, when he said, “It wasn't easy for those of African heritage who had not come here voluntarily and yet in their own way were immigrants themselves. …And they were able to muster faith that, here in America, they might...give their children something more.” OK, so maybe you can make the case Carson is a plagiarist. But those of us outraged by Carson's remarks are looking like a bunch of hypocrites.
• Back to the future. As happens every year, the organizers of the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade refused to allow gay groups to march, thereby causing city and state politicians to boycott… oh, wait. As used to happen. Didn’t we get over this years ago? OUTVETS, which has marched for two years now, is being denied permission. Why the backsliding? Why the change of heart? What on the political scene could possibly have prompted a reversal...? Oh, yeah.
• We’re number 1! (world edition). Last week, US News & World Report declared Massachusetts the best state. This week, it declared Switzerland the best country. A lot of that is due to the small nation’s famed neutrality, which means it spends little on defense and has friends all around. Indeed, the Swiss famously remained nonaligned even during World War II. Hmmm. When it comes to taking a position on matters of freedom and oppression, maybe it’s worth a drop in one’s standings to have chosen one side over the other.
• Drop-out. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will be giving Harvard’s commencement address this year where, I hope, he won’t tell the graduates how proud he is that they made it through four years.
• Hammered in the House. And finally, a Rhode Island state rep has revealed there’s an “insane amount of drinking’’ at the State House, meaning pols aren’t doing their jobs. This is a bad thing? “No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session,” Mark Twain observed. Perhaps booze in the capitol should be viewed as not a problem but a solution.

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

The Week That Was: Best Picture Fiasco, Run-Around On Russia, Book Deal For The Obamas 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 March 3, 2017.

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The burning question of the week: If Oscars’ accounting firm PwC had been responsible for counting the votes on Election Night, would Hillary Clinton now be president?

• Let’s try that one again. Donald Trump tried to reboot his presidency with a decently delivered, optimistic speech before Congress, one that made him sound inclusive, engaged and forward thinking. He hasn’t really changed, of course. But with favorabilities at historic lows, a do-over was needed. The flurry of executive orders notwithstanding, presidents aren’t dictators; they need a majority to get things done. 
• Where does it end? It once seemed theories about a Russian take-down of the U.S. elections were just conspiratorial ravings. Now, they’re starting to look more credible. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is history. Jeff Sessions – thanks to his undisclosed contacts with the Russians – likely soon will be. And questionable intelligence alleging all sorts of bizarre dealings by Trump himself is getting a second look.
• Really wicked hard. Trump told a meeting of the nation’s governors that, “Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.” Um, actually, everybody knew. That’s why policy wonks spend their lives on the subject. That’s why the Affordable Care Act was 1,990 pages long, and its regulations numbered in the tens of thousands. And that’s why whatever the GOP proposes to replace Obamacare with will be equally complex and controversial.
• It’s the economy, stupid. For all of the caterwauling about the bumbling Trump administration, the surge in the stockmarket speaks louder. Business loves the president because his economic policies are expected to deliver more revenues and more profits. If so, GDP growth will surge — maybe not the 3.5 percent Trump expects, but more than the anemic 2 percent average of the last eight years. That should mean more people employed and more money in people’s pockets. And really, that’s all the folks who voted for Trump are looking for.
• Oh, say can you see? Why do people so love the Citgo sign? The new owner of the Kenmore Square building on which it sits is trying to boost its rent, and the gasoline retailer objects. In response, some Bostonians are trying to designate the sign a landmark, compelling it to remain in place. This is nonsense. It’s a billboard, for Pete’s sake – and a billboard for an oil company owned by the repressive government of Venezuela. I understand. You have misty memories of your days at Fenway Park with the Neon blazing over the Green Monster. Some of us had the same affection for the erstwhile Coke bottles on the left field light tower. I got over the demise of my sentimentality; you’ll get over yours.
• We’re #1! US News & World Report ranked Massachusetts the “Best State” in the nation. It’s a feel-good honor that Gov. Charlie Baker undoubtedly appreciates – especially for the political benefits it brings – but the factors that went into the ranking (such as education or economic performance) were decades in the making. Perhaps our reputation as the “bluest state” is less epithet than something others might want to emulate.
• Four more years. Marty Walsh should also be happy. S&P Global Ratings just graded Boston’s bond AAA, high school graduation hit a record high of 72.4 percent, the city agreed to a four-year contract with the patrolmen’s union, and the mayor has cut an enviable national profile thanks to his ardent defense of immigrants. The only loser out of this? What’s-his-name – you know, the guy who’s running against him.
• Wordsmiths. Barack and Michelle Obama both signed up to write their own books, with advances as much as $60 million. Unlike most of his predecessors, the 44th president is a good writer, meaning that his memoirs might truly be worth reading. And hers? Perhaps a platform for a future run.
• Booze in Beantown. Liquor licenses are just like taxi medallions. Both keep supply low, prices high and their owners enriched. In the case of taxis, the gravy train ended when companies such as Uber and Lyft did an end-run. No such end-run seems possible for bars and restaurants, but Boston, to its credit, is now pushing the state to allow it more licenses. In truth, the number of liquor licenses should be unlimited. And the criterion for a getting a license should not be Can you afford it? but Are you a good operator?
• Hot and heavy. And finally, the Swedish town of Overtornea is debating a proposal to grant town workers a new benefit: a weekly one-hour sex break. This is an idea the Boston city council might want to explore, although annually for 15 minutes should be sufficient for us.

 This column was first published by Cognoscenti on March 3, 2017.