Tag Archives: Politics

Salut Emmanuel Macron who secured 23% of the vote in the French national elections today – just barely beating Marine Le Pen. Onward and upward and best of luck to France and M. Macron in the May 7th runoff election.

Say what you will about President Obama, but the man loved his wife, always seemed to keep his cool and his administration rarely had anything remotely related to a scandal. Fast forward to today and approximately two months into a four year term and President Trump’s administration seems to be the antithesis.

Without even broaching scandals that predate his presidency (e.g. multiple bankruptcies, racial profiling and intimidation of tenants of color and Trump University – just to name a few), his office has been marked by so many scandals it sets my head spinning. However the truly unbelievable part of this story is every scandal is self-inflicted. I’ve tried to tally all the bizarre scandals over the past eight weeks. Due to the fact there have been so many, I may have missed a few but this is what I’ve come up with thus far.

–  Following Trump’s inauguration, President Trump lies about the number of attendees and insists his were among the largest crowds to attend an inauguration despite photos showing that not to be the case.

– His conversations with foreign leaders have proven to be both embarrassing and compromise longstanding geopolitical policies. Such as his conversation with the President of Taiwan, when called into question our One China policy or a few weeks later when Trump verbalized a one state option for Israel or his terrible call to the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, in which by his own words he described as “the worst call so far.”– Based on some bizarre report from Breitbart News that President Trump heard, he insists that there was rampant voter fraud and 3-4 million illegal immigrants voted for Hillary to make him lose the popular vote.

– The botched night raid in Yemen that resulted in the death of civilians and Navy SEAL, Ray Owens, injuries to three other Navy SEALs and the Yemeni government banning the US from any future raids blitzing Al Qaeda bases.

– A poorly written and executed Executive Order that restricted people from 7-Muslim majority nations from entering the U.S. was found unconstitutional. Although no terrorist attacks from nationals from those countries has ever happened in the US it is interesting to note they do represent nearly every country in the Middle East where Trump’s business doesn’t operate. The rewritten executive order has since been found unconstitutional by Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland.

– A revolving door of scandals tied to Trump cabinet members regarding possible improper communications with senior Russian officials continues to shine a light on a surprisingly cozy relationship between the US and Trump’s closest confidants. Thus far scandals have resulted in the forced resignation of Gen. Michael Flynn and the recusal of A.G. Sessions after it was found he may have lied to Congress during his hearings about his meeting the Russian ambassador.

– Perhaps the most bizarre of all was Trumps accusation that President Obama and the U.K. government of wiretapping him in outrageous Tweets, which was only made worse when his surrogates (namely Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway) doubled down before then suggesting this was all a misunderstanding or possibly even a joke.

– And as recently as this past weekend Trump’s cold body language with German Chancellor Angela Merkel surprised most when he gave her the cold shoulder and appeared to ignore her while they posed for the media after a private meeting, leaving the media to publish headlines like The Guardian’s “Merkel and Trump can’t hide fundamental differences in first visit”.

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I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted, disgusted and more than a little embarrassed. I’ve never thought to look to the leaders of other nations for stability, direction and leadership, but in the absence of meaningful leadership here in the U.S. I am starting to look to leaders in France, Germany and elsewhere to help fill the vacuum that resulted after President Obama left office.

I was talking to my brother last week and we both agreed that one good thing that has resulted from a Trump presidency is a political activism that neither of us have seen or felt before. A great example of this is Grab Your Wallet, which got a nice shout out from last week’s Sunday New York Times.

Grab Your Wallet has organized like-minded individuals to reach out to specific contacts at key retailers where the Trump brand is sold. Last month Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus removed Ivanka Trump’s name from their websites and employees at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls were instructed not to display her products and remove signage with her name on it. Grab Your Wallet was not cited by these retailers by name when they indicated sales had dropped, but it is hard to imagine all those letters and calls didn’t rattle retailers.

Grab Your Wallet website now includes a list of places to consider boycotting as well as a short script if you want to voice your concerns. With as many as 32,000 people visiting the website an hour, Grab Your Wallet is one of many grassroots organizations affecting change and it has the attention of the White House as Kellyanne Conway proved when she tried to prop up Ivanka’s brand by illegally hawking Ivanka Trump’s products after it was dropped by Nordstrom.

Sample letter or call you can make from Grab Your Wallet
“Hi I am a customer of [Insert Retailer’s Name]. Unfortunately, I can no longer do business with your company because it does business with the Trump family. If your company were to no longer do business with the Trump family I would enthusiastically return as a customer. Please communicate my feedback to management. “

If you’d like to see what organizations are recommended to boycott and get personal email addresses or phone numbers of key contacts at those organizations to let your voice be heard, visit: grabyourwallet.org

If you’d like to read the full article, which inspired me to write this post visit, The Anti-Trump Activist Taking on Trump. 

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UPDATE: I would encourage everyone to reach out to retailers, because they are taking note (see my correspondence with LL Bean below). I’m convinced that Donald Trump cares more about his brand than anything else. Boycotting those who do business with the Trump family sends a very direct and personal message to the president.

My friend Robert writes the blog Etiquetteer, and although I know he is no supporter of Donald Trump and his administration, I sorely wish he would be hired by them to offer some basic lessons in civility and manners.

Last week President Trump made disparaging remarks about Federal Justices who ruled against his temporary immigration ban and proceeded to attack them via social media, knowing that by law judges cannot respond. These actions are now becoming business as usual, and it makes me wonder how long it will take before this becomes how everyone in Washington, D.C. deals with each other. Common decency is no longer all that common, but we seem to have entered a new phase in American politics where the rude are championed – even admired – as long as you agree with their politics.

I do realize that some of my blog posts are guilty of the same rude behavior I’m decrying, but it is extremely disheartening to think that this is being encouraged by our President. I naively thought once sworn into office that President Trump might actually start to act presidential, but that hasn’t been the case. Quite the opposite seems to have happened in my opinion. It seems as if rude behavior is rewarded and this makes me wonder how this will influence society?  To quote the snooty maitre d’ from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “I weep for the future.”

Lest people think I’m being overly partisan, the son of U.S. Senator and one-time Republican nominee for president of the United States, John McCain (R-AZ) Tweet from Sunday, February 5, 2016 provides interesting insight into how many Republicans feel about President Donald Trump.

I wish all the tough talk I use to hear from Independents, Republicans and clergy about “values” and “morals” wasn’t so easily discarded. In the future when those tired old complaints are leveled against <Insert Democrat Here>, I think I’ll ask for some specifics on what they did to speak out about such character flaws about Humpty Trumpty.

Trump’s continued success depends on keeping Americans divided. Are we reaching out to those who supported him or may have abstained from the process entirely?

Since Trump was sworn in as President of the United States last month virtually every week there has been an outpouring of demonstrations around the country showing how divided we are as a nation. I take great comfort in seeing these demonstrations, but it is not enough.

Are we building bridges by reaching out to those individuals who voted for Trump or maybe abstained from the process entirely?

According to a recent Quinnipiac University Poll conducted just before Trump was sworn into office 48% of Americans said they support “suspending immigration from terror prone regions, even if it means turning away refugees.”  Only 42% of Americans said they opposed such a measure.  So while we may be quite vocal and hopefully the protests and rallies may be making some people rethink their views – if we only take to the streets, only talk to people with our same views and unfriend / unfollow people whom we disagree with on Social Media then are we really making any progress?

2016 Presidential election Electoral College results (apologies for cutting off AK)

Make it a point to seek out those who are not part of your social circle, who share different political views and listen to them.  After you’ve done that ask them to listen to you. Have a dialog. That means you’re not conversing with them to change their mind but to open it to other points of view. You can agree to disagree; politically speaking that is nearly every conversation I have with my parents and several family members.

We should still take to the streets and call our representatives in Washington D.C., but if we never reach out beyond our circle of friends and those who think like us then our chances of changing the hearts of those who supported Trump become increasingly slim.

After you’ve talked to your neighbors and family members pick up the phone and give your elected representatives in Washington D.C. a call. Never underestimate the impact your voice will have.
Click here to contact your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives
Click here to contact your Senator in the U.S. Senate

Did you participate in last Saturday’s Women’s march? An estimated 3.3 million to 4.2 million people marched and protested from coast to coast. I was unable to participate but I was inspired by the collective message. However, for that historic march to make an impact continued action is required.

Organizers have published 10 Actions for the First 100 Days on their website, pledging that every 10 days organizers and their supporters will take action on an issue we all care about. I hope this post helps nudge some of you to channel the excitement from this past weekend into ongoing political engagement.

Women’s March Boston on the Boston Common || Photo Credit: Stephen Naso

OUR FIRST ACTION

Write a postcard to your U.S. Senators about what matters most to you – and how you’re going to continue to fight for it in the days, weeks and months ahead. We’re offering printable postcards for you to download. Consider inviting some friends, neighbors over for a drink or dinner sometime in the next ten days to talk about your experience and fill out your postcards.

Link to the Women’s March website to print official Women’s March postcards and to find out the mailing address of your elected officials.