#151) You're Making a Huge Mistake

July 29, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

I think you know me well enough by now to know that I am no fan of Reince Priebus, BUT, firing him is a huge mistake.  You clearly (very clearly) haven't found your groove yet as president and you're feeling overwhelmed.  You're thinking that a "shake up" will make things settle.  But it won't. And this is definitely NOT the time to listen to someone like Anthony Scaramucci.  He is a maniac hell bent on sewing disorder and chaos. 

Believe me Mr. Trump…you will regret making these changes to your White House staff.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#150) What A Week

July 28, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

You've certainly had a hell of a week and here's my two cent's worth about it…

John McCain's Cancer Diagnosis:

I wish him a speedy recovery.  Thank goodness he gets high quality, free health care through his work…that's certainly not true for most Americans (hint, hint).

New White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci:

I guess Sean Spicer 's concerns about this guy were legit.  Bringing him on board was a bad decision. Is this really the match you want to drop into that powder keg of a White House, because it looks to me like a disaster just waiting to happen. Not only can a house divided against its self not stand, but he is also totally crazy and unqualified.  Over and over again you are drawn toward using shock and chaos as tools but that's really not working very well for you (I don't know why you haven't realized this yet).  Maybe it’s time for some class, tact, diplomacy and skill in your communications department.  Just a thought.

Transgender People Banned from Military Service:

Umm, I hate to tell you this, but a tweet is just a statement of opinion.  It is not a law, a policy, a piece of legislation, or an executive order (even when it comes from the president).  I love that you released it when Defense Secretary Mattis was on vacation – super smooth move.  Gen. Mattis obviously didn't know you were going to do this.  Nobody at the Pentagon knew you were going to do this. Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, didn't know you were going to do this.  So when you said, "After consultation with my Generals and military experts…"who, exactly, were you referring to? Because these tweets blindsided everyone who should have been in the know.

One of your arguments for a transgender ban was the cost of their medical care which is about $8 million per year (for an estimated 6,000 soldiers).  Just to keep things in perspective for you, the US military spends about $42 million per year on Viagra alone. The military also spent $300 million last year on advertising and recruitment of about 6,000 soldiers.  So any cost savings you may generate from dropping transgender medical care will be overshadowed by the cost of replacing them.  (This doesn't even account for the cost of training, educating, housing and outfitting 6,000 new soldiers.) Duh.  Also, it's just the wrong thing to do. 

Gen. Martin Dempsey, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said it best when he said, "The service of men and women who volunteer and who meet our standards of service is a blessing, not a burden."

Escalation of Violence in Jerusalem:

Since two Israeli policemen were killed at the Al Aqsa mosque two weeks ago there has been a steady and deadly escalation of violence there.  Thousands of Palestinian Muslims are heading to Al Aqsa for Friday prayers and to send a message to the Israeli government.  I thought you had a grand plan for peace in Jerusalem?  What happened to that?  And where is Jason Greenblatt, your long time lawyer and personal friend who you put in charge of negotiating peace in that area?  I haven’t heard anything from him in quite a while.  Maybe it's because he has no diplomatic training or education and is completely over his head.

Russian Sanctions:

In a near unanimous vote (98-2 in the Senate and 419-3 in the House) Congress agreed to a bill with multiple sanctions against Russia.  But the most important thing about this bill isn't the sanctions, it's that it limits your ability to veto, override, or generally meddle with it.  So this was basically a vote of no confidence in your judgment and leadership.  This was Congress all agreeing to cut you out of any big decisions related to Russia.  Ouch.  And they did it so quickly and quietly…that's got to tell you something.  It certainly tells me something.

Boy Scout Jamboree:

Your speech to the Boy Scouts was a national embarrassment and absolutely disgraceful.  I was happy and grateful to read the apology from Michael Surbaugh, Chief Executive for the Boy Scouts but you should be ashamed that he had to apologize on your behalf.

Senate Health Care Bill:

I think Mitch McConnell summed it up best when he said, "It's time to move on."  (Finally, something he and I both agree on!)  Also, I wrote Sen. John McCain this morning to thank him for voting against the repeal bill last night and praised his call to return to a more standard committee process.  I like that guy.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  Why, exactly, does the military spend so much on Viagra?

#149) Where's the Beef?

July 26, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

I hope you're not feeling too neglected because I haven't written to you in two days.  I had planned to write about the Senate health care debate but there's really nothing there to write about. Seriously, they keep spinning their wheels and giving speeches but nothing is getting done.  There isn't even a bill yet that I can give my opinion on.  It's dysfunction junction over there.  And you're not helping matters with all of your tweets.

Most of your tweets simply disparage Obamacare without offering any alternatives.  Remember the old Wendy's commercials where the sweet, elderly woman looks at her skimpy burger and says, "Where's the beef?"  Well I feel like yelling, "Where's the policy?" because as near as I can tell there's nothing...no substance at all.

June 27: "I just finished a great meeting with the Republican Senators concerning Healthcare.  They really want to get it right unlike Ocare!"

March 25: "Obamacare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE.  Do not worry!"

July 18:  "We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans.  Most Republicans were loyal, terrific and worked really hard.  We will return!"

July 25:  "This will be a very interesting day for Healthcare.  The Dems are obstructionists but the Republicans can have a great victory for the people!"

But where's the legislation?  Where's the bill?  Show me the ideas.  What are our options?  Where's the flippin' beef?!  You're tweets aren't making a case for anything.  They're just kind of ranting and cajoling.

Until there's some actual legislation on the table that I can give feedback on, you probably won't be hearing too much from me.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S. Lay off Jeff Sessions.  It makes you look desperate and a little pathetic.  He was your choice to be AG after all.

#148) Veto-Proof Majority

July 23, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

So here's something amazing - the House and Senate agree about something!  They negotiated the Russian Review Act which is an agreement that puts new sanctions on Russia and they did it despite your objections.  Or maybe they did it because of your objections…it really just depends on your perspective.  (They also threw in a few sanctions against North Korea and Iran for good measure, but the bulk of the deal focuses on Russia.)

The really remarkable thing about this bill is that it passed with a veto-proof majority.  That means that only Congress can have the final say over possible easing of Russian sanctions so they are, essentially, cutting you out of the equation.

What this move says to me is that Congress is concerned about your judgment and your willingness to flex to Russia. It also shows how little confidence they have in you as a leader.  This should make you very worried sir.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#147) You're In Deep Now

July 22, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Normally when I write my daily letter to you I like to give you insight or feedback that will help make you a better president (because you suck).  But today we're going to do things a little differently.  Today I'm going to make some predictions about how the next 6 months are going to unfold.  Ready?  Here goes:

- Robert Mueller is a smart guy.  He will follow the money and eventually demand to see  your tax returns as well Jared Kushner's and/or Ivanka's tax returns.  This will either A) reveal your entanglements and possible profits from foreign nations OR B) piss you off so much that you fire him. 

- If you fire him (which is technically legal) there will be massive political repercussions.  Do a quick Google search for "Richard Nixon Saturday Night Massacre" and see how that worked out for him.  (Spoiler alert:  it didn't work out well).

- Another shoe will drop regarding Jeff Sessions and his "forgotten" meetings with Russian officials. (For such a brilliant man he does seem remarkably forgetful...so weird.)  Anyway, he testified to Congress under oath that he had no contact with Russia about your campaign and now that seems to be demonstrably untrue.  Recusing himself from the investigation does not exempt him from perjury laws. I predict that although we will never know the full and true story of who said what to whom on the night of April 26, 2016 at the Mayflower Hotel, we will learn more in the next 6 months and it will lead to either the firing or resignation of Jeff Sessions.

-If you fire Attorney General Sessions (which is completely legal) there will be massive political ramifications (See Saturday Night massacre above.)  It would probably be best if he voluntarily resigned although he is a huge liability and his resignation would make your campaign look guilty as hell of collusion with Russia (which is technically illegal, just so you know).  I guess there's no neat or clean way out for him.  Oh well.

- There will come a tipping point when people in your administration will read the writing on the wall and begin to abandon ship.  That's how the public will know that either you have reached the end of your excuses or Robert Mueller has reached the end of the money trail and your days are numbered.

In the past 6 months this story about Russia has gone from "fake news" to "witch hunt" to "anyone would have done it" to "can I pardon myself or my family members?"  I can't wait to see what the next 6 months holds.  Well, only time will tell.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#146) Made In The USA, er, I mean China, Mexico, Taiwan and Bangladesh

July 21, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Despite what Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones told me, time is NOT on my side.  I'm rushing out the door and don't have the time to thoroughly address the ridiculous hypocrisy of your "Made in America" theme for the week.

You built a multi-billion dollar empire by using the cheapest labor possible (China, Bangaldesh, Taiwan, Mexico).   By outsourcing the production of your Trump merchandise you have reaped tremendous profits and now have the gall to stand up in front of the country and talk about how important the plight of the US worker is?!?  That's just silly.

But really when one thinks about it for more than a second, that's kind of your MO -- that stands for Modus Operandi; have someone look it up for you.  You say one thing and then do the EXACT OPPOSITE.  You saying you're "pro-Made-In-The-USA" while spending your money on things that undermine this exact notion is just like you have a Rose Garden ceremony calling the Republican Health Care bill "a great plan" and then 1 month and 8 days later calling the exact same legislation "mean".

How can anyone take you seriously? 

Amy "The People" Beaton

p.s. Looking forward running through the whole Sean-Spicer-turning-tail-and-running thing tomorrow!

#145) What A Coincidence

July 20, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Yup.  It's only been 24 hours and I already regret my letter yesterday saying that your private conversation with Mr. Putin at that state dinner was no big deal.   That's because I just read that you cancelled the CIA program to train and equip Syrian rebels.  It's a mighty big coincidence that you decided to end this program a week after meeting with Mr. Putin.  There are really only two people in the entire world who would be happy about this:  Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin.  So it all seems pretty fishy to me.  Of course there is absolutely no way to prove that you cancelled the program at the request of Mr. Putin because nobody (not even a translator!) was privy to your conversation with him.  So we will have to just scratch our heads and wonder about this one.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  I'm still waiting for a presidential tweet acknowledging the California wild fires and the incredibly hard work of all those fire fighters and support personnel.

#144) More Stupidity

July 19, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

I can't believe I'm going to say this, and I will probably regret it, but I don't see your one-to-one chat with Vladimir Putin during a state dinner as that big of a deal.  The media is definitely portraying it as an "undisclosed meeting" and that would be a big deal because meetings between heads of state should be public and announced and more formalized.  The only thing I can see that you are guilty of is bad manners (because the others at the dinner felt uncomfortable) and political stupidity (because you did not have your own translator to cover your butt).  But what else is new? Bad manners and political stupidity are how you roll.

Unless and until there is more to this story, I just don't care.  I still think you are a fool and way out of your depth. Let's just hope you didn't say, do, or promise anything to Mr. Putin that could put our country in jeopardy.  (Of course you wouldn't really know if you did because you didn't have an American translator.  Just saying.)

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  I told you the Senate health care plan would not pass.  Rhetoric met reality and reality won.  Hurrah.

#143) Your Stress is Showing

July 18, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Honestly, you just say the most bizarre and inappropriate things.  Here's your Tweet from July 16 regarding media coverage of Don Jr.'s revelation that he had a meeting with a Russian lawyer offering damaging information about Hilary Clinton:

            "With all of it's phony unnamed sources and highly slanted and

            even fraudulent reporting, #fakenews is DISTORTING

            DEMOCRACY in our country!"

Ok, let's take this one step at a time.

"phony source":  The source was actually Don Jr. himself.  How can he be phony?  I don't even get it.  Nobody made this information up.  He admitted to the meeting.

"highly slanted":  But it is a fact that he agreed to a meeting where he believed the Russian government would give him information that would help your campaign.  There's no slant there.  That's just the fact.  Agreeing to take that meeting shows that your campaign was at least open to colluding with a foreign government.

"fraudulent reporting":  Well, fraudulent reporting would put a newspaper out of business.  This is what separates the NY Times (for example) from the National Enquirer (for example).  One is an actual newspaper which relies on it's reputation for factual reporting to sell papers and pay the bills.  The other is a tabloid with such sensational headlines as, "Bigfoot Kept Lumberjack As Love Slave" and doesn't even pretend to be factual.  Making sh*t up (and the weirder the better) is their bread and butter.  Fraudulent reporting from an actual newspaper leads to libel suits and I don't see you lawyering up to take on the NY Times.

"DISTORTING DEMOCRACY":  A free press is actually the cornerstone of a free society.  When asked about some extremely negative press coverage after the Bay of Pigs in 1962, Pres. John F. Kennedy said, "There isn't any doubt that we couldn't do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press."  The media isn't distorting democracy by reporting on your presidency…it's participating in democracy. 

You're tweets have always been fairly off-base but I think the pressure of this Russia investigation must be getting to you because this one was just plain weird.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#142) Net Neutrality, Anyone?

July 16, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Since you don't know me very well you are most likely unaware that I am a complete idiot when it comes to technology.  I don't know a megabyte from a megalodon.  I have never used a flash drive. Abbreviations like USB, WYSIWYG, FTP, and TCP/IP mean absolutely nothing to me.  But I do know this: the Internet, much like a public library, is a portal to an entire world of knowledge and it's not just important…it is essential.

I understand that you have appointed Ajit Pai to head the FCC and he is proposing an end to Net Neutrality.  Net Neutrality is the radical concept that all data on the Internet should be treated equally no matter who created it.  Right now the Internet is a level playing field because it is the LAW that all data be treated equally no matter who created it.  This level playing field is what allowed companies like Netflix and Facebook to flourish and grow.  The FCC, however, is proposing a "fast lane" for such giant cable companies as Comcast and Verizon.  So for more money one could get faster service, and conversely, if you aren't willing to pay, then they would have the power to slow your service.

We live at a time when the gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting bigger and bigger; do you really want to be responsible for furthering that divide by letting the people and companies with the most money get better, faster service?  A neutral Internet (like a public library) is one of the few things in our society that bridges that gap.  In case you missed the Occupy Wall Street protest, the 99% of us who don't make a million dollars a year are getting kind of angry…dangerously angry in fact. And something tells me that you're not the man to calm an angry populace.

Communities are changing. You know this.  Gone are the town centers and general stores where people once congregated for news and socialization.  Even newspapers, those stalwarts of a civil society, are fading away.  Now we have the Internet. This wonderful, imaginary place where people can meet and talk, share information and get help.  My town has an on-line group called Front Porch Forum.  It's where you go if your dog is lost, you need a recommendation for a good house painter, or you have an old bike to give away to someone who can use it.  In a place like Vermont where everything is so spread out and thousands of people are house-bound (especially during the long winter months) Front Porch Forum is an invaluable resource.  In other words, it's essential.

As much as I hate to admit it, computers in general and the Internet in particular are here to stay.  People are dependent on them for everything from jobs to grocery shopping to banking to education.  The Internet touches people of all ages and socioeconomic levels and MUST remain equally accessible to ALL.  I can't say it any clearer than that.

Sincerely,

Amy "The People" Beaton

#141) "Trump's Russian Laundromat"

July 15, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Well, Net neutrality is going to have to take a backseat again because I just read the most amazing and in-depth article about you and Russian money and I just have to write about it.  First off, everyone should read it; it's called "Trump's Russian Laundromat" by Craig Unger and it's published in The New Republic.  It reads like a David Baldacci or John Le Carré novel.  Stop what you're doing and Google this one now.  It's a doozy.

While the rest of the media world was trying to answer the question, "How much does Donald Trump have invested in Russia?" journalist Craig Unger decided to answer the question, "How much does Russia have invested in Donald Trump?" and the answer is mind-blowing.  Everyone knows that you have long and deep financial ties to Russia as you even said yourself at a real estate conference in 2008:

            "Russians makes up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets. 

            We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

Bur Mr. Unger looked all the way back to the 1980s, the very start of your development career, and followed the money through every twist and turn.  What he uncovered is staggering (and far too much information for me to relate in this letter).  But here's what bothered me the most:

            "sifted through mountains of real estate records, tax filings, civil lawsuits, criminal cases, and 

            FBI and Interpol reports, unearthing ties between Trump and Russian mobsters like 

            Mogilevich.   To date, no one has documented that Trump was even aware of any suspicious 

            entanglements in  his far-flung businesses, let alone that he was directly compromised by the 

            Russian mafia or the corrupt oligarchs who are closely allied with the Kremlin. So far, when

            it comes to Trump's ties to Russia, there is no smoking gun."

Let me ask you this sir, do you know what a "pawn" is?  A pawn is something or someone (you, for instance) who gets manipulated in an expendable manner.  A pawn, (also known as a patsy, stooge or mark) gets taken advantage of for someone else's gain.  The good news is that when Robert Mueller's investigation eventually leads him to all this criminal activity you will be able to honestly say, "I didn't know."  Although that is pretty sad and pathetic. 

The other bit of good news (for you anyway) is that you won't get impeached or arrested…because being an idiot and a patsy isn't a criminal offense.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  It would really save everybody a lot of time and money if you would just make your tax returns public.

#140) C'est Tres Charmant

July 14, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

I see that you are in Paris for the 100^th anniversary of Bastille Day.  It seems like you are enjoying yourself and have a lot of parties to attend to so I will keep my letter short today.

I have just two words for you – Charm Offensive.

If you don't know what this term means (and you probably don't) look it up.  Right now.  Put down the champagne and look it up.

Au Revoir,

Amy Beaton

#139) Smooth Move Don Jr.

July 13, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Well, you've got me all in a tangle here sir because I had planned on writing about Net Neutrality today...but then Don Jr. goes and drops that bombshell tweet about his meeting with the Russian lawyer who promised him dirt about Hilary Clinton.  I guess that beats Net Neutrality so here I go...wading into the muck.

Firstly, nobody, and I mean nobody is buying Don's "Aw shucks silly ole' me didn't know this was a problem.  Heck, I just want to do the right thing."  Paul Manafort, your then-campaign manager and Jared Kushner, a savvy and seasoned lawyer were also present for the meeting so don't try to sell us that babe in the woods story that Don didn't know he was doing something inappropriate. 

Secondly, you really shouldn't try to convince us  that you knew nothing about this meeting.  Lucky for us nothing on the Internet ever really goes away, so we have this lovely press conference from you announcing more dirt on Hilary Clinton just four days after Don got the email from the Russian lawyer.  Coincidence?  I think not.

June 7, 2016:  "I am going to give a major speech probably Monday of next week.  And we're going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons.  I think you're going to find it very informative and very, very interesting."  (insert maniacal grin here)

Of course that "major speech" was never delivered.  Now we know that that's because Don's meeting with the Russian lawyer was kind of a bait and switch and he didn't get any damaging information about Mrs. Clinton.  Personally I think Natalia Veselnitskay was just feeling the campaign out to see how open you and your staffers would be to Russian "help" (or manipulation depending on your perspective).  I think you guys probably passed the test by agreeing to take the meeting.  Congratulations.  Welcome to the world of international intrigue.

I can't wait to see what else will unfold this week.  That poor Robert Mueller certainly has his work cut out for him.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  You're not off the hook about Net neutrality by the way.  We'll get back to that tomorrow.

#138) Good Idea

July 11, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Two days ago you tweeted:

            "Putin and I discussed forming an impenetrable cyber security unit

            so that election hacking, and many other negative things will be guarded…"

And I haven't responded yet because it has taken me two days to stop laughing (fox in the hen house and all that). You don't need CNN or Stephen Colbert to embarrass you or point out your shortcomings.  You are doing a pretty good job of that all by yourself.

Lindsey Graham said that your plan was "not the dumbest idea I've ever heard, but it's pretty close."  (Reminder:  he is a senior member of your own party.)  With friends like that, who needs enemies?

You may recall from my letter on June 9 that I believe you are stupid enough to be manipulated by Russia.  I stand by that assertion and if Mr. Putin asks for your social security number or email password or your first pet's name…just say NO.  This man is not your friend.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  I'm scared that it took you and your staff 12hrs. to realize your faux pas and back-track on this one.  Seriously, did no one on that crackerjack team think that this was a bad idea?!

#137) Take Some Responsibility

July 10, 2017

Dear Asshole,

Remember that scene in Spiderman where Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker that "with great power comes great responsibility"?  Well, as near as I can tell you have about 50 million people following you on Twitter and that represents great power. So how about, for just one day, you think about the responsibility that comes along with that power.  Twitter is the perfect platform to create connections and communicate policies/ideas rather than having a stupid, childish war of words with CNN (and many other news sources as well). 

How about some words of support and encouragement for the 2,000 fire fighters risking their lives to save people and property in California right now.  With the Alamo fire (~19,000 acres) Wall fire (~2,700 acres) and Whittier fire (~5,000 acres) burning out of control those brave and dedicated fire fighters are on the front line working hard under the most dangerous circumstances.  Would it kill you to say "thank you" or "good job"?  It would be a very presidential thing to do, you know. You've got the platform.  You've got the followers.  Put something positive into the world for once and acknowledge the wildfire crisis, the thousands of people who have been evacuated and the thousands of people working to put the fires out.

I am sick to death of your rants and childish complaints, your name calling and bullying.  With great power does come great responsibility and if you aren't able to think of what those responsibilities are I will be happy to remind you of them every single day.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#136) G20 Summit: Nationalism vs. Internationalsim

July 9, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations, you were met by an angry mob of 100,000 protesters in Hamburg, Germany.  Do you want to know why?  The short answer is nationalism (that line is really only funny if you read yesterday's letter).

Ok, that's a terrible oversimplification.  The real problem is nationalism vs. internationalism.  You see, a large contingent of the world (like Canada, the European Union, Japan and parts of Asia) wants free trade and international cooperation but you don't.  You are promoting more nationalistic, isolationist, me-first policies (Reverse globalization maybe?  I don't know. I'm not an economist.)

You're not the only one though.  Writer Jason Karaian over at Quartz summed it up well when he said that your "'America first' policies are cheered by fellow populists, like Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan (among others), who are emboldened to promote their own varieties of muscular, identity-based nationalism."  But that is the polar opposite of what the rest of the G20 members are promoting.  The EU and Japan just signed a major trade deal and the EU also signed a similar deal with Canada not too long ago leaving the US standing all alone.  Which is, I guess, what you wanted.  So…congratulations?  Sort of?

Global summits like the G20 always attract some protesters because there are always people advocating to change policies (environmental, economic, etc…) but this G20 meeting seems to have attracted more protesters than usual.  It seems like people really don't like the direction that our world is going in and wanted to make sure that their leaders know it.  From what I've read there was a major anti-capitalist vein running through the demonstrations too.  That's not too surprising.  The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and the economic decisions that will affect all of those people (rich and poor) are being made behind closed doors. That doesn't really instill confidence in the process for all of those poor people fighting for their slice of the pie.

After the G20 meeting Breitbart news ran the headline: "Trump Versus the Rest" and several articles that hailed your trip as a nationalist triumph.  I guess in your insulated, myopic little world that is an accomplishment.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S. That ridiculous Senate health care bill will not pass…you heard it here first!

#135) Nationalism is Dangerous

July 8, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

Congratulations, you were warmly welcomed by Poland.  Do you want to know why?

The short answer is nationalism (there's a much longer answer but the White House website limits me to 2,500 characters so let's just stick with that).

Much like yourself, Polish MP Jaroslaw Kaczynski is gaining power by riding a wave of populism and putting Polish national interests first.  For example, he has refused to take international refugees into his country citing the "fact" that they carry diseases (much the way you cite the "fact" that they are all terrorists).

Now, nationalism has its place in the world and is fine to a point.  I mean, every nation wants to promote their strength and unity.  Everyone wants to take pride in their own national identity.  I certainly do and I'm sure millions of Polish people do too.  But when a nation promotes its own greatness to the exclusion of others…well, then we have a problem.  A big, fat, Nazi-sized problem.

I know how this story goes and I don't like the ending.  That's why I will be doing everything in my power to change the story, confirm the facts, speak the truth and build a community where no one is left behind or left out.  I may not have as much power as you or Mr. Kaczynski, but I'm not exactly powerless either.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#134) Ethics

July 7, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

I'd like to give a big shout out to Walter Shaub, departing director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).  He has very ably led the OGE for several years but has finally decided that it is time to leave.  I'm sure that you don't care...he is nothing but a thorn in your side and his departure means that you can nominate your own toady.  Kellyanne Conway perhaps? She seems to have a lot of extra time on her hands these days.

He is resigning, he said, because "OGE's recent experiences have made it clear that the ethics program needs to be strengthened."  By "recent experiences" he means sparring with your administration over compliance with basic ethics rules.  Like, for instance, putting your business assets into a blind trust run by a third party (as every president since the 1970s has done).   I mean that is what the OGE recommended you do.  What you actually did was simply move your business interests into a trust that you are the SOLE BENEFICIARY of run by your two sons and a business associate that you are in communication with all the time.  Anyway, Mr. Shaub is going to work for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group for tougher campaign finance laws.  It sounds like a group where Mr. Shaub's skills and experience will be put to good use.

But enough about Walter Shaub - here's what's got me boiling today:  Why the hell doesn't the Office of Government Ethics have any power??!  Apparently the OGE can only "advise" on ethics and not actually enforce any rules.  Enforcement is what the House Oversight Committee is supposed to do but right now that committee is chaired by a Republican who is not too motivated to do much of anything (especially investigate or enforce your ethical violations).  His name is Jason Chaffetz and shame on him for putting party loyalty before loyalty to the Constitution.  He epitomizes what's going wrong with our government and will be receiving a strongly worded letter (or 2 or 3 or 5) from me.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  That's right...I'm coming for you Jason Chaffetz!