Tom Keane

The Week That Was: Health Care Dance In Washington, Boston Teens Make Good Lawyers And More

It was a week of promises broken and loyalty betrayed.

• Repeal, replace, repeat. If health care were a carnival game, the Senate seems on course to get the cheapest prize on the shelf — or perhaps no prize at all. The week began with drama aplenty as ailing Sen. John McCain returned from his sickbed to begin debate on Obamacare. Excited Republicans on Tuesday brought forth their version of repeal and replace. It failed, 43-57. Next up: straight repeal. That too failed, 45-55. What next? In the early hours of Friday morning, Senate Republicans rejected a so-called “skinny bill,” a lowest common denominator effort to change something, anything.
• He said he would be “much better for the gays.” President Trump announced he was banning transgender folks from the military, claiming their medical expenses were exorbitant. The result of a thoughtful analysis, perhaps? Nope. A Defense Department review of the issue was not due for another six months. The announcement was spur-of-the-moment, part of an early-morning presidential tweetstorm. Moreover, it turns out that health care costs for trans service members — one estimate is that there are currently 15,500 — are insignificant. So, what other explanation is possible? Oh, yeah: flat-out bigotry.
• Thank you, sir, I’ll have another. Is Jeff Sessions a masochist? The president has unleashed a campaign of attacks on his own attorney general — the first senator to support him. It began with last week’s New York Times interview where he described Sessions’ recusal on Russia as “extremely unfair.” It was followed this week by a near-daily series of denigrating tweets — “VERY weak,” “disappointed,” “where is the investigation A.G.” Anyone else would have quit long ago. For Sessions, desperate to keep the job he always dreamed of, no humiliation seems too much.
• Who are we? National Democrats decided to re-brand themselves, saying that they would now offer Americans “A Better Deal.” Not a “great deal,” or even a “good deal.” Just “better.” Meh. If you want to sell me peanut butter, don’t tell me it tastes not quite as bad as the other guy’s. Tell me I’ll like it. Otherwise, I’m not switching.
• Next up. Who else jumps the ship Trump-tanic? Sessions should go. Sean Spicer already has — and new communications director Anthony Scaramucci is promising a possible sweep of his whole department. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus seems doomed. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is signaling that he too is headed for the lifeboats; a spokesperson refused this week to say he was “happy” in his job. Others — such as Defense Secretary James Mattis -- are also bothered by Trump’s interference in their jobs. And once they’re gone, an even bigger question arises: What self-respecting person would ever want to replace them?
• Total war. Total Wine & More may be the Uber of alcohol. The national firm has been battling state regulators left and right, and this week won a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. The ABCC had fined and suspended Total Wine for selling booze too cheaply — supposedly below its cost. (And by the way, what the heck is the government doing trying to keep consumer prices high?) A Boston judge struck that down, saying volume discounts justified the chain’s pricing. Total Wine’s not going to stop there, however. The state’s regulations, and particularly its protection of the oligopolistic distributors, are ripe for challenge. Like the taxicab industry before it, the status quo faces extinction.
• Mind-blowing. It’s hard to imagine any sane parent now letting their child play football. A Boston University study of the brains of 111 NFL players found nearly all — 110 — with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the disease vividly documented in the 2015 film “Concussion.” Moreover, rates of CTE were also high among college and high school players. Yeah, the NFL, Pop Warner and coaches everywhere will tell us they can make the sport safe. But this sounds awful lot like the tobacco industry promising us a safe cigarette. Never happened.
• Memory loss. A bunch of local teens figured out TD Garden had been ignoring an agreement to raise funds for Boston’s recreation centers — to the tune of $13.8 million. They figured this out because they, umm, actually read the law. Maybe the kids might want to read some more laws. Who knows what other treasures adults have conveniently forgotten?
• Crazy on you. And finally, psychiatrists who wish they were political commentators were thrilled this week when the American Psychoanalytic Association said that they can now discuss Trump’s mental health. Ever since the mid-1960s, the profession had banned diagnoses from afar. But Trump is such an easy target that the docs can’t resist — and now at least one organization is giving them leave. Count me a skeptic. Psychiatrists are only human. Those who lean left will dub Trump nuts (although they’ll use more medically correct terminology such as narcissistic, impulsive, delusional and paranoid) while those who lean right will call him a paragon of sanity.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on July 28, 2017.

 

The Week That Was: Senate Health Distress, Harvard Square's Pizza Problems And More

It was the week when the U.S. Senate managed to look more inept than the Trump White House.

• Health care follies. The president was all excited for “Made in America” week, but that messaging got crushed by Senate dramatics over health care. The two “Rs” of repeal and replace fell apart. Republicans couldn’t agree on what should replace Obamacare, so they then decided to repeal it anyway. That plan came undone when the Congressional Budget Office estimated repeal would leave more than 32 million uninsured. But the real catastrophe for the Senate? Probably the possibility that the summer recess -- already shortened by two weeks — might be canceled altogether.
• How come I wasn’t invited? When Donald Trump Jr. finally admitted he met in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer who might have dirt on Hillary Clinton, he made it sound like a casual encounter. But it now appears the meeting was a big deal with eight people attending, including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Yeah, it’s all still smoke. But as The Wall Street Journal wrote in a scathing editorial this week, the constant lying and obfuscation threaten to “destroy Mr. Trump, his family and their business reputation.” The old saying is true. It’s not the crime. It’s the cover up.
• Wishful thinking. Democrats are doubtless thrilled with a new survey from Public Policy Polling showing Trump losing in hypothetical matchups with the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The results aren’t surprising, given Trump’s unpopularity, Russiagate and the GOP’s legislative paralysis. Still, I’d take the poll with a grain of salt. Last November, PPP also said Clinton’s lead in her key firewall states was rock solid.
• A scandal that shouldn’t be a scandal. News emerged that Trump had a second — undisclosed! — conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin while at the G20 conference. So what? This smacks of anti-Trump hyperventilation. All presidents — even this one — should be able to talk with world leaders without making a big deal about it.
• The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Trump blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions this week for recusing himself from the Russian investigation. “It’s extremely unfair — and that’s a mild word — to the president,” Trump said in an interview. Hmm. I’ve never liked Jeff Sessions, and loathed the idea of him becoming attorney general. But now that Trump is angry with him? I’m starting to warm up to the guy.
• For pizzake! Constantine Alexander, chair of Cambridge’s Board of Zoning Appeal, was the target of much mockery when he voted against allowing a new pizza shop in Harvard Square. “A pizza is a pizza is a pizza,” he said. Zounds! What an ignoramus! Hasn’t the man ever heard of artisan pizzas?! But Alexander’s point was that Harvard Square already has 11 other pizza places. Yes, pizzas do differ from each other, in the same way that a Big Mac differs from a Whopper. But, for such a prominent location — once the site of the Crimson Corner newsstand — maybe something unique is warranted. Kudos to Alexander for demanding better.
• Good news for drug dealers! The Massachusetts House and Senate approved legislation legalizing recreational pot but added several twists to last November’s voter-approved measure. One boosts the tax on weed from 12 percent to 20 percent. The second gives municipalities more control over whether a pot shop can open. Since politicians are notoriously more anti-marijuana than their constituents (for example, last year’s referendum was opposed by many heavyweights in the state’s political establishment), it’s now a good question whether many pot shops will actually ever open. With consumers facing high taxes and few places to shop, the black market will continue to thrive.
• I’ll have another. In other mind-altering news, controversy erupted over a provision in the new state budget that allows casinos to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. — two hours later than everywhere else. Conventional bars and restaurants are upset, and they have a point. Everyone should be on an even playing field. But rather than stopping at 2 a.m., why not make 4 a.m. the new norm? I know. The anti-alcohol crowd will squawk about a parade of horribles sure to erupt with later closing times. But New York City (with a 4 a.m. close) manages to survive — indeed, thrive. So, too, can Boston.
• Circling about. And finally, a transportation research firm called INRIX claimed the average Bostonian driver spends 53 hours a year searching for a parking space. That seems bad, but it’s only half of the 107 hours spent by New Yorkers. On the other hand, since New Yorkers can drink until 4 a.m., it probably bothers them less.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on July 21, 2017.

 

The Week That Was: Trump Fils Breaks The Internet (And The Law?), Trump Père Flees To France And More

It was the week when President Donald Trump returned from Europe, immediately got engulfed by more of the Russia scandal and so, went back to Europe.

• Smoking gun? It’s no crime to seek dirt on an opponent. Indeed, doing so is (sadly) integral to modern-day campaigns — it’s euphemistically called “opposition research.” So while Donald Trump Jr.’s enthusiastic “I love it” has become the meme of the week, his desire for damaging information about Hillary Clinton is hardly problematic. The fact that it was offered as “part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump” is a problem, however. An indictable problem. But for those hoping for the downfall of the president, remember: It’s the son, not the father.
• Forced smiles. French leader Emmanuel Macron doesn’t like Donald Trump and Trump doesn’t like Macron. Still, the president will find his visit to Paris much more fun than Washington, just as was the German trip last week. Home for Trump means harsh media questions, staff squabbling and leaks, policy paralysis, a recalcitrant Congress and unending investigations. Overseas at least there is a veneer of politeness — not for Trump but still for the nation he represents.
• Hot time in the city. Senate leader Mitch McConnell delayed the start of the traditional August getaway by at least two weeks, largely as a cudgel against senators who have refused to join the bandwagon for Obamacare’s repeal. A badly-behaved classroom at school is sometimes deprived of recess as a punishment. So too, apparently, is a badly-behaved Senate.
• Our heroes. When the saga of the Trump White House is someday being written, perhaps no event will loom larger than this week’s bold vote by the Newton City Council to urge a congressional investigation into the president’s business dealings. Thank you, Newton! Just kidding, of course. The council’s vote is meaningless posturing; no one cares what it has to say. Granted, the Garden City isn’t alone in this foolishness; Amherst and Cambridge (surprise, surprise) have passed similar measures. But it is sad to see yet another bunch of local pols forgetting that they were elected to deal with more practical — and I guess, more boring — matters such as schools, streets and housing.
• Food for thought, 1. A new study claims that expectant moms who consume sugary drinks end up having heavier children. Interesting correlation, but does it prove causation? People who consume sodas and the like probably care less about nutrition. The meals they later serve their kids are thus probably more calorie-laden than those served by the health-conscious. Pregnant women already face enough finger-wagging: Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t even sunbathe. Can’t we just let them drink a Coke in peace?
• Food for thought, 2. Meanwhile, two other new studies say that coffee drinkers have a reduced risk of an early death. Still unanswered: If I’m pregnant and drink my coffee with sugar, do my fat kids lead longer lives?
• Basic ethics. Christopher Wray, Trump’s pick to head the FBI, testified at his Senate confirmation hearings that “there’s only one right way to do this job, and that is with strict independence, by the book, playing it straight ... without fear, without favoritism and, certainly, without regard to any partisan political influence.” Those high-minded sentiments won him praise from both sides of the aisle and yes, they are nice-sounding. But they’re also blindingly obvious. What did folks think he would say? That he wouldn’t play it straight, that he’d play favorites and that he’d be a creature of partisan politics? Only Jeff Sessions would do that.
• Boys and girls together. A faculty committee at Harvard proposed this week to prohibit all students from joining any clubs, frats, sororities or any other single-sex organizations. The edict grew out of anger over the boorish behavior of the all-male, elitist finals clubs. But because the university cannot enact a rule that says, “Don't be a jerk,” it instead wants to sweep broadly, banning even the most innocuous activity. Will Harvard undergrads also be forbidden from visiting friends at the all-female Seven (actually, now Five) Sisters?
• Shakedown. And finally, it sounds like a bad gangster movie. “I’ll smash your pretty little face,” snarls a thug. Except that this happened in real life — three years ago on the set of a local production of “Top Chef.” The scheme was extortion. The victim was TV host Padma Lakshmi. The heavy, prosecutors alleged this week, was Teamster John Fidler. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts legislature just decided to keep in place the state’s lucrative film and TV tax credit. The message from the Bay State to Hollywood: We’ll help you make a lot of money, but you might get hurt along the way.

The Week That Was: Trump Warns North Korea, Volvo's Electric Ambition And More

It was the week when President Trump headed off to Europe, giving staff at home hope that the jet lag would leave him too exhausted for social media.

• Who needs a military when we’ve got a president that tweets? Before he left town, though, Trump responded to North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with several scathing tweets aimed at the country’s dictator. “Does he have anything better to do with his life?” mocked Trump. “Perhaps China will … end this nonsense once and for all!” he threatened. The president then warned of even more "pretty severe things" if North Korea kept up its misbehavior. And what might those “things” be? Pyongyang will know it’s really in trouble when Trump tweets a video of himself body-slamming a man labeled “Kim Jong Un.”
• Can we start making plans for 2020? Trump was set to meet Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 meeting in Germany. Transcripts of the U.S. president’s conversation with the man who hacked America’s election likely won’t be released, but I imagine Trump’s first words will be, “Thank you, thank, you, thank you.”
• Soon to be known as the G19. That G20 meeting may feature nice words from Putin, but “Make America Great” isolationism on everything from climate change to defense to trade means, as the Washington Post writes, it’s increasingly “Trump against the world.” Ronald Reagan once remarked that an alien invasion from outer space might serve to unite all the countries on Earth. Trump may be that alien.
• The status quo looks better and better. Meanwhile, Republican members of Congress on their summer recesses caught heat from voters over health care. The latest wrinkle: The GOP plan would increase premiums in January by 20 percent. Talk about a job-killer — mainly, for any pol who votes yes.
• Bad vacation. Summertime sales-tax “holidays” have been an on-again, off-again thing in Massachusetts. In past years, retailers argued a holiday would boost sales. Studies show that’s not true; tax holidays merely shift the timing of consumer purchases. So, this year there’s a new argument: Brick-and-mortar retailers need the two-day holiday to help them compete against internet retailers collecting no sales tax. But in fact Amazon, the biggest e-tailer of all, has for several years been collecting sales taxes from Bay State residents. And more to the point, a tax holiday is just a short respite. How about reducing or eliminating the sales tax altogether, so consumers would benefit every day in the year — not just two?
• Cooties. Harvard’s Fox Club, one of the university’s traditional all-male final clubs, had over the last few years tested a plan to admit women as members. This week it announced it was reversing course, going back to its old single-sex ways. That potentially puts it at odds with the school’s administration, which is pushing to essentially prohibit all single-sex groups on campus — a plan that would affect all-female finals clubs as well. The administration is wrong on that score. Students should be free to associate with whomever they want. On the other hand, it’s disheartening that some of the nation’s best and brightest are still caught in a throwback mindset from over 50 years ago.
• The end is nigh. Volvo announced that beginning in 2019, all its cars would be electric or hybrid. Volvo is actually owned by the Chinese meaning that a communist dictatorship now is environmentally more progressive than the United States.
• Pot’s not addictive, but taxes are. Public health advocates seized on a plan by Bay State pols to boost taxes on pot, arguing for new taxes on booze as well. What!? A bunch of stoners persuade voters to make weed legal and now I have to pay more for my beer and wine? Can I get my “yes” vote back?
• Explosions in Boston. Everyone’s happy. These days, our first reaction to any mass tragedy is to assume it’s terrorism. A cab at Logan airport jumped a curb, injuring 10, and authorities rushed to assure the public it wasn’t intentional. Some might call this the new normal. Yet the next day, 400,000 people gathered on the Esplanade to watch a concert and fireworks. Merely the fact that so many people showed up in one spot brings hope: Terrorism may be on our minds, but it hasn’t made us hermits.
• Men of the cloth. And finally, True Religion, a maker of way-too-expensive jeans, this week sought bankruptcy protection. Apparently, its investors lost faith.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on July 7, 2017.