Tag Archives: trump

Charlie Baker and Donald Trump meet to talk in DC this morning

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This morning Charlie Baker joins other governors around the country to meet with Trump. I called Baker’s office to ask what he plans to discuss with the president during his meeting in DC. Naturally, an aid told me that he cannot speak on behalf of the governor and that his office has no idea which issues Baker plans to address while he’s in Washington.

Since the Governor’s Office for some reason cannot speak for the governor and doesn’t ever seem to know what the governor is doing or thinking, I asked when I ask Baker what his plans are myself. Again, no one in his office knew. You see, the Governor’s Office of Constituent Affairs doesn’t have access to the governor’s calendar. But as constituent services aides, they can find that information out for me and report back. So that’s exactly what I requested. I hope you do the same—and if they get back to you, please let me know what they say.

Here’s a short script that you can use when you call Baker’s office at (617) 725-4005.

Hi, who am I speaking with? [Wait for response.] Hello, [name of aid], how are you today?

I read that Governor Baker is meeting with the President this morning. Can you tell me which issues he’s going to talk about during that meeting? [Wait for refusal.]

Since the Governor’s Office cannot speak on the governor’s behalf, can you tell me when the next opportunity for the public to speak with Governor Baker is so that I can ask him what he spoke about myself? [Wait for the aid to say that this office does not have access to Baker’s calendar.]

I understand that your office does not have direct access to the Governor’s calendar. Can you find out when his next public question-and-answer event is and send me that information? [Give the aid your contact information.]

Thank you for your help and have a nice day.

I just want Charlie Baker to do his job as a leader in our representative democracy. Please, Governor Baker, tell me how you’re representing me.

Listen to Trump’s appeal to keep the ban in place

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Listen to the argument here before the Ninth Circuit of Appeals. Everyone should hear what Trump’s government is saying.

Via RealClear Politics:

At 3:00 PM Pacific (6:00 PM Eastern) on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court in San Fransisco will hear oral arguments about the Justice Department’s case to reinstate President Trump’s travel ban: State of Washington v. Trump.

The issue at stake is not whether Trump’s travel ban is constitutional, but whether it will remain suspended. “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” President Trump said in a tweet about the originating decision from Seattle’s Federal District Court judge James Robart.

Happy birthday to me!

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Today is my birthday. And I want gifts! Lots of them. But first, a little about me, as I reflect on another year.

At 34, I still believe in the power of American democracy—that our government is of the people, by the people, and for the people. And for my birthday I have rededicated myself so that under my watch it shall not perish from the earth.

So what do I want for my birthday? I want you to participate in this great experiment we call American democracy. Specifically, please call your congressional representative and two senators to ask them to investigate Trump’s conflicts of interest between his businesses and foreign governments.

Here’s a script for you to use when you call:

Hi, how are you today?

My name is Joshua Reyes and I live in Cambridge, MA. I’m calling because I’m worried that Trump’s conflicts of interest between his businesses with foreign governments puts the American people in danger.

As the head of the Trump Organization, the incoming president has financial interests in hundreds of companies, spread over at least 20 countries. He also has many outstanding debts. His exact assets and debts are not known because he has refused to release tax records.1

I want Trump to make the best deals for America, but I am afraid he will make the best deals for himself. Will Senator Markey hold a Congressional investigation into Trump’s conflicts of interests?

Thank you and have a good day!

Question: Who can settle questions about Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest?
Answer: Congress.

Question: And who can get Congress to do it?
Answer: You! You are the boss of Congress!

So for my birthday, I want you to call Congress. I want you to make America great again with me! And let me know if you do!

For my family, here’s a list of numbers to make it easy for you to call:

State Member of Congress Number
AZ Rep. Trent Franks (623) 776-7911
AZ Sen. Jeff Flake (602) 840-1891
AZ Sen. John McCain (602) 952-2410
CA Rep. Jared Huffman (707) 981-8967
CA Sen. Barbara Boxer (510) 286-8537
CA Sen. Diane Feinstein (415) 393-0707
MA Rep. Katherine Clark (617) 354-0292
MA Rep. Mike Capuano (617) 621-6208
MA Sen. Ed Markey (617) 565-8519
MA Sen. Elizabeth Warren (617) 565-3170
MO Rep. Billy Long (417) 889-1800
MO Sen. Roy Blunt (417) 877-7814
MO Sen. Claire McCaskill (417) 868-8745
NH Rep. Ann Custer (603) 595-2006
NH Sen. Kelly Ayotte (603) 622-7979
NH Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (603) 750-3004

What does Charlie Baker like about Jeff Sessions?

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To celebrate Rosa Parks Day this year, I called the Governor’s office to follow-up on his thoughts about Trump’s appointees. A few weeks ago, Baker told the press that he didn’t want to “pre-judge” the appointments. Instead he said:

Trump “has made clear he wants to unify the country post-election, and I said that, based on some of Bannon’s previous remarks and activities, that was a concern to me,” Baker said of the pick. “But I’m going to take a page from President Obama’s book on this one, who said the other day that he thinks the Trump administration’s team should be judged on the totality of his appointments. Let’s see what else happens.”

Time has passed and Trump has named more people to his cabinet. In fact, so far Trump has selected individuals who control a combined eleven billion dollars in personal wealth. So much for draining the swamp.

Because the office of the Governor represents me and my interests, I want to know what Charlie Baker thinks about Trump’s appointments. So yesterday I called again, for the third time, to ask. And once again, his aide Shauna greeted me on the other end of the line. We’re starting to get familiar with one another. And I like her a lot. Our conversation went something like this:

Hi, Shauna! Good morning. How are you? First of all, I’d like to wish you a very happy Rosa Parks Day!

Shauna seemed very happy to have been wished a happy Rosa Parks Day. I continued.

I know I’ve called before to ask this. Governor Baker said that he didn’t want to pre-judge Trump’s appointments until we had a clearer view of his whole administration. Now that a few weeks have passed and we know more of his appointments, can you tell me which of Trump’s appointments the Governor likes and supports?

Regrettably, Shauna told me that she is not authorized to make statements on the subject other than what has already been released to the public. So I asked the only natural next question.

Can I speak with someone who is authorized to tell me what the Governor thinks on the matter?

Even though she wasn’t sure whether her supervisor had the proper authorization to tell me my governor’s opinion on matters of public governance, she forwarded my call to her supervisor John anyway. Once John picked up the phone, I started over.

Hi, John. Good morning. How are you today? First of all, I’d like to wish you a very happy Rosa Parks Day!

I paused for his response and half-heartedly hoped that he’d wish me a happy Rosa Parks Day in return. Instead, the line fell silent. So I pressed on.

I’ve called a few times before to find out what Charlie Baker thinks of Trump’s appointments to the cabinet. A few weeks ago he told the Globe that he wanted to wait to judge the administration on the totality of Trump’s appointments. Now that he has appointed more people to his cabinet, can you tell me which of Trump’s appointments does Governor Baker support and why?

John reminded me that Baker has already said that he is concerned by Bannon’s appointment. But that was not my question.

I appreciate that he is concerned about Bannon. But there have been several over appointments. For instance, Trump has named Jeff Sessions to run the Department of Justice. Jeff Sessions is a man who was too racist to be confirmed as a federal judge. I do not support racism in my government officials. I’d like to know does Charlie Baker support racism in his government officials? I’d like to know which of Trump’s appointments the Governor agrees with and supports and why.

John then told me that he’d pass my request onto the Governor.

Charlie Baker, please have the dignity and the courage to continue the public conversation you began a few weeks ago. Please tell me which of Trump’s cabinet appointments you support. I ask you as one of your constituents and as a voter.

Please call Baker’s office and ask him the same. The number is (617) 725-4005. #makeAmericaGreatAgain #drainTheSwamp

Ask the Globe to investigate Trump’s appointees

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I love the Boston Globe newspaper. I’m a subscriber. They do really good work, like this very readable informational piece on assault riffles.

So I thought, I don’t know much about Trumps appointees. And I can imagine a Thanksgiving conversation with my family going like this:

Do you know anything about this Harold Hamm guy Trump wants on his cabinet? —No? Me, neither.

And that’s no good. I don’t know anything about billionaire, oil-tychoon Harold Hamm. Instead, I’d like the conversation to go more like this:

Do you know anythign about this Harold Hamm guy Trump wants on his cabinet? No, let’s pull up his biography on the Boston Globe.

What! Hamm tried to get university scientists fired because he didn’t want them to report on earthquake activity associated with gas and oil extraction in his state?

Investigating Trump’s appointees and communicating their history is exactly what a good functioning, independent, free press can do. It’s a role critical to democracy because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth. And an good informed citizenry makes for a stronger republic. So I called the Boston Globe news room to pitch my idea. Here’s what I said:

Good morning! My name is Joshua Reyes and I’m a subscriber to the Boston Globe. First, I’d like to that you for the good work the Globe does.

I have something that I like the Globe to do. I’d like you to write biographies of Trump’s appointees. I don’t know much about them. So when I talk with my family about politics, I’d like to say, “Let’s just look up their biography on the Globe.”

Can the Boston Globe investigate the appointees and publish individual bios of them?

The person who answered was really friendly and seemed to like the idea. She said she’d pass it on to their political editor.

You can call, too! The news room number is (617) 929-3100.

The press needs help your help. Investigations take time and money to do well. Reporters need a livelihood, too. In this society, you get the news you pay for. So you should buy a subscription to your favorite local paper. If you need a suggestion, though, go for the Globe.

What does Charlie Baker like about Steve Bannon?

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Charlie Baker has once again proven he is a weak coward. He failed the Bannon test.

Bannon has a history of domestic violence, intimidation of victims, and the promotion of hate speech against gays, Jews, and blacks. Charlie Baker has said that he is concerned with Trump’s appointment of Bannon, but that he’s going to wait-and-see before pre-judging.

Baker, what more information would you like before making an assessment? I called yesterday to find out.

Here’s roughly what I said:

Hi, good morning. How are you?

My name is Joshua Reyes. I live in Cambridge, MA. And I have a few questions about some of the governor’s recent comments.

I’d like to know what he likes about Bannon’s past? Baker said we should not pre-judge his appointment. So please tell me what about Bannon does Baker approve of?

Baker’s aide told me that he had not commented on Bannon, but rather on the entire Trump administration—which is simply not true, Baker did comment on Bannon explicitly. After the aide told me she cannot speak on behalf of Charlie Baker, I asked:

How can I find out more about what he thinks? Will you tell him I’d like him to clarify his position?

Then I politely ended the conversation:

Thank you for your time. Have a good day.

You can call, too. It takes two minutes! You will feel big and strong and powerful! (617) 725-4005

Charlie Baker, what more do you need to learn about Bannon to judge him?