#171) Wake Up & Smell The Ethics Violations

Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House

H-232 The Capital

Washington, DC  20515

January 16, 2018

Dear Mr. Speaker,

Well, God bless National Public Radio for bringing together Richard Painter and Norman Eisen (ethics advisors from both ends of the political spectrum) this morning on Morning Edition.  They so perfectly summed up what has been on my mind for a year now; they both agree that Donald Trump's first year as president is the most unethical in modern history and something needs to be done about it.

Donald Trump is under the false impression that he is exempt from ethics laws because he is the President.  He actually tweeted, "The president can't have a conflict of interest."  He seems to think that if the president does it then it's not illegal, like being the president gives him a free pass somehow.  I'm not sure where this magical thinking comes from, but it is wrong and Painter and Eisen (along with Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington or CREW) have clearly outlined why.

This morning Richard Painter said,

            "The most serious, most dangerous problem with President Trump is he ignores

            the Constitution.  And with respect to financial conflicts of interest, the

            Constitution has a provision that prohibits any person holding a position of

            trust in the United States government from receiving profits and benefits

            from foreign governments.  It's called the emoluments clause but it is very clear.      

           The founders did not want anyone, including the president, receiving profits and benefits 

            from dealings with foreign governments.  He has ignored that.  He has refused to divest of

            businesses that are borrowing money from foreign governments and foreign government 

            owned banks that are doing business with foreign governments.  And that is one of many 

            serious violations of the Constitution."

The good news here is that we have a clear constitutional framework with guidelines and prohibitions that the President and his advisors can use to navigate his time in office.  The bad news is that it is the responsibility of the Congress to hold him and his advisors responsible - to ensure that the guidelines and prohibitions of the Constitution are being upheld!   So although we find ourselves in the novel situation of having a president with extensive global business interests, we aren't exactly running blind.  We have the Constitution and over 200 years of ethics protocol to guide us.  You just have to man up and enforce the Constitution!

I believe that Congress' failure to hold Donald Trump accountable for his ethics violations is eroding the public trust.  Faith in our government is at an all time low.  It is, in fact, why so many people voted for Donald Trump in the first place; he was the "outsider" who was going to "drain the swamp" that is Washington, DC.  He wasn't going to do "business as usual".   Well his contempt for ethics is now spreading like a contagion and reinforcing the popular belief that not only is our government  broken, but anything goes as long as you can get away with it in the court of public opinion. It's not survival of the fittest so much as survival of the brashest.

I fear what will become of our society if you don't do something to stop the ethical violations of Donald Trump.  There are many legal movements underway across this country to do just that.  You should check them out.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#170) Take A Stand For Honesty

Senator Mitch McConnell

317 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC  20510

January 12, 2018

Dear Senator McConnell,

This morning I told myself that I wasn't going to write anything about Donald Trump's sh*thole statement because A) his racist and bigoted sentiments are not a surprise (he's been quite vocal about this for years) and B) heads of state and media outlets world wide (and I mean, literally, world wide) are doing a fantastic job of lambasting him and there's really nothing that I could or should add to the deluge. 

But then, I saw Mr. Trump's tweet this morning denying that he actually said it.  And that's when I got angry...really angry...because he lies and lies and lies and you in the GOP leadership just stand by doing nothing, pretending that the President of the United States telling absurd lies is normal. When the most powerful leader in the world just makes stuff up like he did this morning by saying he never made the sh*thole comment, you have an obligation to STOP HIM!  It's your job to protect the reputation of the United States and by allowing this man to lie so obviously, so publicly, and so often you are undermining our position in the world. 

Dick Durbin, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, David Perdue, Kevin McCarthy, Bob Goodlatte and Mario Diaz-Balart were all in the room when he said it.  Both Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham are ON RECORD as saying that he said it.  But this morning we have the President himself tweeting, 'Nope, that didn't happen', contradicting those public statements.  Donald Trump is living in a fantasy world where he thinks that he can just make up what he wishes were true and by repeating himself often and energetically enough, can make it so.  Just so you know, when people question his fitness for office this is what they are talking about.  And the whole point of having a Congress in the first place is to keep the President in check.  That's why it's called a system of checks and balances.  You are supposed to CHECK and BALANCE him.  But instead you are silent.  Your silence is complicity and your complicity is immoral.  In an effort to serve only the interests of your party you are doing a massive disservice to the rest of us!

Donald Trump has a deeply flawed moral character and is losing touch with reality.  This is obvious to most of the world.  But it's your job is to reign him in, to see that he does not damage the reputation or legitimacy of the United States with our global partners.  So get to it already!  I mean, if you can't even stand up for honesty and integrity, what can you stand up for?

Sincerely Disgusted In Vermont,

Amy Beaton

#169) Sorry About The Size Of Your Button

January 9, 2018

Dear Donald,

Margaret Thatcher famously said, "Being powerful is like being a lady.  If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

Luckily she never fell so low as to have to tell people that she was, "like, really smart" or "a very stable genius."  And she definitely never had to boast about the size of her "button".   While your twitter feud with Kim Jong-un is mildly entertaining, it is also quite sad and pathetic (and your boasts aren't exactly having the effect you wanted.)

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#168 Let's Get Real

Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House

H-232 The Capital

Washington, DC  20515

January 8, 2018

Dear Mr. Speaker,

Imagine my surprise and excitement when I opened my email this morning to see that I had received a letter from you.  That excitement evaporated pretty quickly, however, once I read it.

You said, "Thank you for contacting me.  The first responsibility of the federal government is to keep the American people safe.  That is why we are working every day to secure our borders, rebuild our military, and defeat the threat of radical Islamist terrorism." 

Well, I also believe that "the first responsibility of the federal government is to keep the American people safe."  But unfortunately, I do NOT see securing our borders, building up our military and defeating radical Islamist terrorism as ways to deal with the biggest threat facing the American people.  In case you have been living under a rock for the past 18 months, Donald Trump (and by extension his family) is the biggest threat that we face.

You can't turn on a radio or television, pick up a newspaper or magazine without being bombarded by the fact that most of this country questions his psychological and cognitive abilities.  And also, just in case you actually have been living under a rock, these aren't fringe groups that are calling him unfit.  These are major, mainstream, reputable news outlets, journalists, professionals, historians and even doctors. This isn't just Democrats crying sour grapes hell bent on revenge because of their loss in the 2016 election.  Politicians (both active and retired) of both parties have called Donald Trump's judgment, intelligence and temperament into question.  In short, this country is very publicly coming to terms with the reality that our leader is unfit.  And this, sir, is your responsibility.

As an intelligent and reasonable person surely you can see the threat that Donald Trump poses to the American people.  Anyone who has a television has seen his off the wall speeches - monosyllabic, repetitive and sometimes incoherent.  Anyone with a computer or cell phone can read his bizarre tweets.  One doesn't necessarily need to be a PhD. level psychiatrist to see his fragile emotional and mental state.  Donald Trump's inability to safely and effectively lead this country is glaringly obvious to EVERYONE and people are beginning to talk openly about it.

As Speaker of the House and a representative of the federal government you have a responsibility (as you said yourself) to "keep the American people safe."  So instead of hiding behind the very minor threats of illegal immigration and terrorism why don't you man up and face the REAL threat...the presidency of Donald Trump.  Remove him from office now.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

#167) Gun Control/Common Sense

January 6, 2018

Dear Mr. President,

Like most adults, I own a car.  I own a car because I need a car – it is an essential tool designed to transport me, my family, and my stuff from point A to point B.

In order to own and operate this car I first had to wait until I was 16 and a half years old and then take a 10 week driver's education class incorporating both 30 hours of classroom instruction and 12 hours of behind the wheel instruction with a certified instructor (as well as 40 hours of practice/supervised driving with my parents).  Upon completion of that certified driver education program, I then had to take a written test and a driving test plus a vision test with the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Passing those tests allowed me to get my driver's license.  This license carries my current picture and address and must be on my person or in my vehicle whenever I am behind the wheel.

In Massachusetts where I grew up parents or legal guardians are also required to take 2 hour of driver's education designed to teach them how to properly supervise their teen during the additional 40 hours of supervised driving required to get a junior operator's licensed.

Once I was legal to drive (a process that took a full year) I bought a car.  All cars come with a VIN number, a unique alpha-numeric identifier allowing the car to be tracked, identified and registered.  But before my car could even be registered it had to be inspected by a licensed mechanic who looked it over from top to bottom to make sure it was structurally and mechanically sound enough to be safe on the road.  This inspection must be repeated every single year regardless of the age of the vehicle or how little it is driven.

So, with inspection sticker in hand and a clean VIN number (meaning the car hadn't been stolen or used for any nefarious purposes), I registered the car with the Department of Motor Vehicles.  They issued my car a license plate (2 plates actually) which must be properly displayed and easily visible at all times.  So now my car has two unique identifiers:  the VIN number and the license plate on top of being officially registered with the Dept. of Motor Vehicles.  This registration must be renewed every single year. 

Believe it or not, despite all of this training, education and oversight, I still can't legally drive my car.  I must also have an insurance policy for the car because even though it is designed as a tool for transportation, it could potentially hurt or even kill someone.  Remember, it's not designed to hurt or kill someone.  It just has the potential to do so, and because of this potential I must pay for an insurance policy that would protect and reimburse anyone who may be injured by my car, even if only accidentally.  Also, I can be pulled over by any police officer in any state at any time and must be able to produce proof of license, registration, and insurance or else my car could be impounded, locked up and removed from the road. 

Now consider this:  to own a semi-automatic gun, a tool actually designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible, all I have to do is have enough money to purchase it. That's it.  Heck, I can buy a pistol for my 5 year old and give it to him for Christmas!  God Bless America!  Let freedom ring.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  If you don't see the obvious problem here than you are an even bigger idiot than I thought.