#98 - Yogi Berra in Trump World

Former New York Yankee great, Yogi Berra, was famous for his memorable expressions and phrases. They all contained a degree of truth, even though they really didn't make the least bit of sense, such as this familiar one:

“You can observe a lot by just watching."

I think Yogi actually might have been on to something here, for those of us who were watching over the past Memorial Day week, the observations were there for all to see.

1) ABC shut down their number one rated television show and fired Roseanne Barr for her sick and racist tweet about former Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and for proving once and for all that ‘hilariously funny’ and ‘profoundly stupid’ are not mutually exclusive terms.  ABC’s actions were notable because of their swift and decisive nature (they are even pulling the re-runs), but more importantly because of the large economic hit they were willing to accept by taking a stand.

2) Republican Representative Trey Gowdy (S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, whose name is synonymous with Hilary Clinton and Benghazi, forcefully rebuked Trump’s baseless claim that the Obama administration improperly implanted a “spy” into his Presidential campaign.  Gowdy received a classified Justice Department briefing on the matter last week, so he was one of a few people in the know on this and concluded that “I am even more convinced that the FBI did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do when they got the information they got”, and he did so…on Fox News no less.  

3) Lifelong New York Yankee fan and the Mayor of America, who desperately sought to be relevant again by supporting Donald Trump in his campaign and was now defending him against Robert Mueller and against a little thing called the truth, was back in the Bronx celebrating his 74^th birthday, but instead of birthday wishes from Yankee Stadium fans, he was greeted by loud and sustained boos throughout the crowd,  As a Red Sox fan, I must confess I have new found respect for the fans of the Evil Empire,

4) The New York Times reported that despite pressure from President Trump to "un-recuse" himself from Mueller's Russian investigation, Attorney General Jeff Sessions held firm and refuse to fold, simply because…it was the right thing to do. 

5) That same article reported that several Senate Republicans told the President not to fire Sessions, for if he did, they would not support his next nomination, drawing yet another line in the sand against our President. 

Each one of these events taken by themselves might just look like another day in the Presidency of Donald J Trump, where outrageous wrongs occur routinely and the Teflon Don just keeps chugging along with no apparent personal consequence, or as Yogi would have said… “It’s deja vu, all over again”.

But taken together, the observation was that some people with some moral and ethical values were finding their voice despite the personal, political, economic and social risks they were taking, providing a little bit of hope that the Bizarro world of Donald Trump, which has sucked our country into a sink hole of lies, falsehoods and misrepresentations, was beginning to fray at the edges. 

We still have a long way to go until we rid ourselves of Donald J. Trump, perhaps through impeachment for collusion, obstruction of justice, hateful and vile rhetoric or gross incompetence (take your pick) or perhaps through our constitutional right to vote.  In the meantime, I will keep pushing forward with this very goal in sight and I hope you will too.  For we should all remember the wisdom and guidance offered by that beloved Yankee great: 

“It ain’t over till it’s over”

#97 - The Politics of Protest and Hatred

Standing for the national anthem, removing your hat, putting your hand over your heart, and even singing (if you can hit the high notes) seems like a sacred moment to me, and I’d like to think is it for all of us. It is a reminder that we are a country where free speech is embraced, despite the difficulties which often surface as a result of its exercise.

And so when Colin Kaepernick and others NFL players began to kneel during the anthem, almost two years ago now, as a sign of protest against police brutality, to me it felt both counter-intuitive and counterproductive to the cause they wished to discuss. They consciously or unconsciously had concluded that their cause was so special that they could protest a solemn moment for others in the stadium. They chose to protest an aspect of our less than perfect democracy, they chose to protest the county which grants them free speech as an indisputable right, but they wanted more than free speech, they wanted a podium, and a large one at that.

I didn’t agree with their approach and if I had a cause I wanted to promote (say the impeachment of our President for hateful rhetoric and gross incompetence), I wouldn’t choose to do it by kneeling for the national anthem. I would simply look for other ways to express my opinion

However, their actions didn’t bother me, I didn’t lose any sleep over it and quite frankly,  I just didn’t give it a lot of thought. We are after all a diverse nation, and we all come to the table with unique personalities, with unique backgrounds and more often than not, in the history of our country, it has made us all better over time.

As long as no one was being harmed in this process or personally insulted, then my own outlook might be best described as (pick one)

 “No harm, no foul”
- “To each, his own”,
- “Different strokes for different folks”
- “Live and let be”
Or, all of the above

But none of these old sayings would hold any meaning for our selfish and demented President.

Back on September 22 of last year at a campaign rally in Huntsville, AL ostensibly to support the senatorial bid of fellow Republican Luther Strange. (just one of Donnie’s many political failures ) Trump veered off topic, because, well, it was in his own self interest to do so, and he eventually landed on the Colin Kaepernick inspired protests.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,” sad the president, “when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’ ”

And his adoring crowd went wild...

And so it began, in a moment’s time, this little story that was reserved for page six of the sports section was now prime time on the nightly news. Trump had weighed in and thrown a slab of rich, red meat to his adoring fans. And in the process, he took out his machete and made the divide in our country that much greater.

The NFL has been under fire for the better part of nine months since Trump iterated his divisive comment and this past week announced their new rules in the subject. Players who choose to be on the field during the anthem will be required to stand. But If a player or team employee is on the field during the anthem and chooses not to stand, that player’s franchise will be fined by the NFL. The new policy does give players the option to remain in the locker room during the playing of the anthem if they do not wish to comply.

In an interview on Fox News Thursday morning, while acknowledging the improvement (in his eyes anyway) of the change in the NFL’s stance on the topic, Trump just couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to serve seconds on his personally seasoned piece of rich, red meat, and said:

“You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem or you shouldn't be playing. You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country,"

Maybe you shouldn’t be in the the country…

So now in addition to deporting the 11 million illegal immigrants, apparently we are going to do the same for anyone who disagrees with him on anything. Somebody shoot me now, please . So I don’t have to listen to his idiotic musings any more.

The real story here is not that the President of the United States is a vile and despicable human being. No, the real story is that he has made this behavior acceptable for others in the Republican Party.

New York Republican Rep. Peter King on Saturday expressed his disdain for National Anthem protesters, suggesting their actions were on par with spouting racial insults or giving the Nazi salute.

"Disgraceful that @nyjets owner will pay fines for players who kneel for National Anthem," he tweeted. "Encouraging a movement premised on lies vs. police. Would he support all player protests? Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism?

So there you have it, another Republican dissing the act of peaceful protest, where no one was hurt, no one was attacked, and no one was insulted. Republicans were dissing a right that all free nations uphold, and comparing this act to the actions of the most hate filled group of the 20th century.

The specific details varied, but the central theme of the story was the same as many of the other stories that have played out over the last sixteen months. Donald Trump had legitimized the art of hate for all to witness. And Republicans hadn’t even blinked. Instead, they were all clamoring to get a seat at the front of the bus.

#96 - Barbara Bush: A New England Perspective

For those of us who have been life-long Patriot fans, we take great pride in our quarterback.  And we do so, not because of his Super Bowl victories or his statistics or his consistency over his many years in the league.  No, those accomplishments are the just the end result of his unique ability to make the players around him that much better, to help all of his teammates perform at a higher level and to get them to step up and improve their game when it mattered most.  This is his critical value add.  This is why we respect him so.  This is why New England loves our favored son.

When I heard the news earlier in the week, that Barbara Bush had chosen to cease her medical treatment and chose instead to gracefully accept the end of her life, I was deeply saddened, but I was not surprised. So, despite this sadness, I had to smile.  This was how she lived her wonderful life - head on.

The wife of a US Navy pilot, congressman, ambassador, CIA director, vice president and president, married for 73 years, the mother six children, including two governors and a president and a parent who had buried a three year old child, the hardest ordeal any person could possibly endure, she bore witness to a world that very few of us have even glimpsed.  And with the even more important legacy of 17 grand-children and seven great-grandchildren, her experience of a life well lived only taught her to be more grounded, more giving, more thoughtful, 

Listening to a wide array of family members, historians, lifelong friends and associates over the last few days, she was described as genuinely kind and loving, but one that would always offer up tough love whenever the moment arrived.  She was plain spoken, comfortable In any surrounding, as honest as the day is long, caring, funny, and most of all she was authentic.

Listening to her sons describe her as the disciplinarian, teaching them to be humble and to treat others with respect, all with the purpose of taking them to higher levels and making them better men, it was apparent that Barbara Bush was the parent we all wanted, the parent we all needed.

She was many things to many people.  The Enforcer to her family, Tranquility to the Secret Service, America’s Grandmother to the country, she could subtly morph herself to fill the apparent need in her line of sight.   At a time when our politics have become so bitter, most noteworthy were the stories and accolades that poured out from around the country from those who only met her once, retelling the value of the moment, extolling her kindness, her sincerity, and her authenticity.  It was a welcomed breath of fresh air.  And it seemed that even in her death, she was guiding us, teaching us that there is a better way.

We can only hope that the memory of Barbara Bush will linger for many generations to come, for the people she touched over her consistent 92 years were all better off for it.  But the question remains, will they continue to grow? Did they grasp enough from her in her lifetime that they will continue to move the ball forward on their own or will they get pushed back? Will they lose ground with her absence?  Only time will tell, Barbara Bush, a straight talking woman of action, would be the first to tell you that.  

Over the last several years, many offensive players have left the Patriots to go on to play for other teams, but few have achieved the same personal or team success they did when they played with Brady.  With the passing of Barbara Bush and the loss of her aura in American politics, sadly I worry that the prospect of our collective successes to come and of our collective efforts to move our country forward will be diminished.  While I hope and pray that others will step in to fill the quiet void she leaves behind, it’s not lost on me that her value-add was so great, that doing so will take a village. 

In New England, and specifically along the coastline of Maine, we understand this implicitly.