Hillary’s Defeat Spawns a Thousand Conclusions – Where did it all go wrong?  And why were the polling by so-called “experts” and the similar numbers within the Clinton campaign so sure of victory on Nov.?  Why are American voters calling Donald Trump’s win “the biggest upset since the 1940s?”

I have been talking with, and receiving assessments from, a number of seasoned observers since the election about what contributed to the collapse of what was seen as the Hillary Clinton juggernaut. Some reasoning is straight forward, as this well-connected political onlooker opined a few days after the fall: “Hillary’s negatives were too high. Can’t change it. On the other hand, there’s something called the Bill Clinton syndrome: When people like you they will ignore just about anything negative. A lot of people liked Trump despite what he said and did, and would defend him. Trump is remarkably unqualified to be president. He seems to have lived his whole life in a spoiled rich boy’s bubble and learned nothing along the way.

“Also, he’s a total fraud as a businessman. When the sharpies on Wall Street had a dog to sell, they could always sell it to Trump. He’s surrounded by awful people, people you thought were long gone and now they are back and in charge. When they are not hating you, they hate each other. Note that Christie has already been knifed. Got that for saying something good about Obama after Hurricane Sandy. They never forgave him.”

Another keen politics-watcher, and former elected official for many years, had this to say just before the vote totals came in: “Aging blue collar workers, residents of rural areas, remnants of what Leon Hadar refers to as ‘the shrinking white English tribe –patriotic, god-fearing and hard-working’ – have lost their jobs in the declining manufacturing industries that never recovered from the great recession. These are the people who will be the deciding voters in non-metropolitan Michigan and central Pennsylvania, reliably blue states for a generation, as well as in Wisconsin and Ohio. We do not know how many angry people will vote for Donald Trump to send a message, just as they did in the UK.”

Wrapping up this brief roundtable is a veteran Irish journalist who has closely watched American elections for many years.  His take: “Assuming that stats are correct, the conclusion is undeniable: Donald Trump did not win, Hillary lost. The results show that Trump did not perform any better, in fact he did slightly worse, than his two most recent Republican predecessors. But Hillary Clinton’s vote dropped dramatically from the levels reached by Obama in the past two elections.”

Add to that the blistering reality that voters, especially in troubled areas, were desperate for change, and given the historic difficulty for a party to win a third straight national election, you had a melange of misery that would likely have defeated any Democratic candidate running for president this year.”

Vandalized: Home of Respected Priest of the Troubles – A well-respected and widely beloved Catholic priest came home to his house in Fermanagh to find his home vandalized with considerable damage by person or persons unknown. Father Joe McVeigh, 70, a champion of human rights and social justice for decades, was a powerful force during the Troubles. He has many friends across Ireland and in the United States who may read this and reach out to him. He can be reached by friends who know of his good works over the years at Tattgar House, Lisbellaw, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland.

Boston Comes Together to Honor Ray Flynn – It was a reunion of happy faces, a splendid day and a perfect reason for a large number of friends and former City Hall faithful to join with joy and memories to honor former Boston mayor and Vatican Ambassador Raymond Flynn at the Marine Park dedication to this son of Southie, a lifetime neighbor of the park to which his grandparents came from Ireland in search of the American dream. The naming is a lasting memorial to this mayor of the people who worked on the docks there when he was a young man. (Disclosure: I worked for Mayor Flynn during his administration).

Co-chairs for the dedication were Rosemarie Sansone and Frank Doyle, both close aides to the mayor during the Flynn years. Also attending and speaking were Mayor Martin Walsh, City Councillor Bill Linehan, Congressman Stephen Lynch, state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, Rep. Nick Collins, 1983 mayoral candidate Mel King, and Thomas Glynn, CEO of the Mass. Port Authority. Also on hand were former Senate President Bill Bulger, former state Sen. Joe Timilty, James O’Donnell, former executive officer of the Boston Retirement Board, labor leader Tom McIntyre, and many former City Hall department heads during the Flynn years.

Fletcher ‘Flash” Wiley, former longtime leader of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, caught the flavor of the day, saying: “The Ray Flynn legacy has yet to be written. But a lot of people are forgetting what a difference he made in his time. On the racial harmony side, on the economic development side, on the spreading of wealth side, Ray Flynn made a difference in transforming the city of Boston.

An apt description of the Flynn contribution to the city he loves to this day. And isn’t it right that Ray could be there and not have far at all to travel.

Will Trump Kill the J-1 Visa? – Back in August 2015, Donald Trump said if he were elected president the J-1 visa would be terminated. At the time, he described the valuable, hands-across-the-water relationship as a jobs program for “foreign youths” and wanted it replaced with a program that created jobs for young people in America’s inner cities.

Would someone who has Trump’s ear tell him that the J-1s are essentially temporary and are not in conflict with existing urban youth programs. The J-1 Visa is a boon to both Ireland and the US.

Having worked with young people from Dublin, Belfast, Derry, and other communities in Ireland, north and south, I know how helpful this visa program is to both countries.

If the end of the program is envisioned, maybe someone like the outgoing vice president Joe Biden could become active as an advocate for J-1, and bring a hint of reality to the incoming Republican administration in an advisory way. At the moment it is doubtful that people now on J-1 visas would not be allowed to complete their time here.

First Minister Charges Republic With “Poaching” – Relations between political leaders in the North and their counterparts in the south are not always smooth, but lately they are getting a bit more edgy with charges of poaching from Stormont. Short on specifics, Arlene Foster has charged that the Irish government is going around the world “to talk down our economy and to attempt to poach our investors.”

The Dublin government has vigorously defended its actions while denying Foster’s charges as “untrue,” adding that the Republic is working alongside the North to attract investment to the island. The IDA claims that the charges of poaching “have no justification,” pointing to the large number of trade missions that the North and the Republic share together in support of an All Ireland approach.

Since Brexit, there has been a degree of aggressive marketing by the Republic, but that has been mostly all directed to London, which is actively seeking post-Brexit business sites outside the mainland.  And these type of inquiries are obviously encouraged. A SDLP Assembly member in the North, Patsy McGlone, said that figures show “just how petty and foolish” the first minister’s comments really are.”

Paddy Power Makes Rare Bad Move – Irish bookmaker Paddy Power is one of the more successful gambling chains in Ireland. It sets the bettor’s line on everything from horse racing to political contests, such as the American presidential race. They usually get it done smartly and their finances are in top shape. Paddy Power also has an early payoff system that is activated when the odds are not volatile, or are too long or unrealistic to attract customers. In the recent betting on who —Clinton or Trump –would be elected, the Irish punters, not unlike American gamblers, assumed that Hillary Clinton would romp home a winner.

The odds three weeks before the US election favored Hillary by very short odds, she was a strong favorite, and Clinton bettors faced a low payout if she won, on the order of 2-11, versus Trump’s long odds of 4 and 5-1.  In short, Clinton backers had to put up 11 euros to win 2 euro.

Well, as you may have heard, Hillary was defeated and Trump supporters a big payday at the Paddy Power Win windows.
Initially, Trump was on the board at 100 to 1 and he later advanced to 13-8. The long odds meant that the bookmaker had to pay out hundreds of thousands of pounds and euros to those punters who bet on the long shot.

Maze Site Looked At for NI’s First Air Ambulance Base – The Maze Prison site has had a stormy recent history as Irish republicans and loyalists clashed over the meaning of a museum about the Troubles in the North and the implications of how to exhibit the artifacts and philosophy of two hostile political viewpoints. While they were failing to arrive at a compromise, the site has lain fallow.

The latest answer to the impasse is to build not a museum but the North’s first air ambulance base. Ten years ago, a master plan for the Maze site was unveiled, including a 45,000-seat national multi-sport stadium for football, rugby, and Gaelic games. There has been a stalemate over conflicting views of the facility where specially designed medical helicopters would be permanently based in Northern Ireland.

Unsurprisingly, it is uncertain how and when this new proposal will become a reality.

A Late November Glance at Trump’s Early Choices – Donald Trump’s first choice for his White House inner circle tells you just about all you need to know about his strange obsession with white nationalist ardor in the West Wing. He has chosen
Stephen Bannon, an apparent anti-semite and formerly Breitbart News head, as chief strategist and counsellor to the president. In so many words, Trump’s chief aide is a white supremacist. 

There have been worse hires in White House history, but you would have to go back to Richard Nixon’s “anything goes” era to find comparable available talent. Ask the klansman David Duke, who is smitten with the Bannon selection. One small consolation: Trump hasn’t named former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to anything yet and it’s late November. Of Bannon, Boston and national truth-telling bloggist Charles Pierce said “Let us be clear. The hiring of Steve Bannon as a WH policy advisor is exactly the same as hiring David Duke. Please do not normalize this.”

Another familiar name and face, Rudy Giuliani, has made millions since 9/11 advising terrorist organizations, one of them a cult-like arm of the Marxist Iranian opposition group, and others that attacked and killed US citizens in 1970 and 1992, according to Media Matters. Giuliani has moved up in the big time in style and Mideast revenue sources since his days as the Mayor of the World.

Rudy, who ran a one-state primary race for president a while back, has been trailing Trump as if he were in training for an opening on the Secret Service WH detail. And maybe he is, but it seems at this writing that Rudy may have schmoozed Trump into considering his as the next US secretary of state. God forbid!

And finally, and deplorably, we come to Jeff Sessions, rejected years ago by Congress for a federal judgeship, current US senator, and racist. For the past 30 years Sessions has made a name for himself as one of the Senate’s most extreme anti-immigrant voices by attacking the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.

In the US Senate, he has voted for torture programs and opposed hate crime protection for LGBT individuals.

The people of Alabama may deserve him but his selection by Trump as attorney general is a horrendous nomination, just a step behind or aside of the disgraceful naming of Bannon to a seat in the White House.

UK PM  Urged to Allow Brits To Retain EU Citizenship – British Prime Minister Theresa May is considering allowing UK nationals to retain their European Union citizenship after the Brexit departure is complete. Proponents argue that it would be unprecedented for Britons to be stripped of their EU citizenship against their will. The right to retain official links to the EU by Brits would be optional. The original effort to wrangle continuing links to the EU for disenfranchised Brits involved something called European Associate citizenship. A Luxembourg MEP suggested that option.

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The word around town and in the Irish Times is that Sinn Fein supporters in America were rooting for Hillary because labor was unhappy with what they knew about Donald Trump’s bad treatment of his contractors. Normally, they would have voted Republican. … An appeal against the operation of a ferry on Carlingford Lough has been rejected. Does that mean planning permission will be granted. … The cost to the Irish government for the women who spent time in children’s homes and laundries is estimated to be $340 million, with final recommendations due this coming January. … Charlie Haughey and Margaret Thatcher had a vicious feud over the Falkland Islands and Charlie withdrew support for sanctions against Argentina. Thatcher never forgave him. … The new director and visiting professor of Irish Studies at BC is James Murphy of DePaul. … The actor Domhnall Gleeson is the latest Irish personality to be claimed as British for his star role in a Burberry Christmas ad. … Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys doesn’t speak Irish and Gaeltacht groups are upset she doesn’t meet with them. She was guest of St. Patrick’ Day in Boston. … Martin McGuinness refuses to rule out Sinn Fein taking seats in Westminster. … There’s a short railroad in Tipp with 70 passengers a day at a cost of $600 per person. … Belfast-born Michael George is being touted as our next ambassador to Ireland. He’s managing director of Fortress investments in New York.

The reports are out saying London’s property market is “tanking by the day.” … Another good finish: BC ranked fifth nationally in the NCAA graduation rate for college sports. … Terry Francona (Indians) and Dave Roberts (Dodgers), both with Red Sox links, have been named the top managers in baseball. … Belfast police officers have begun wearing body cameras. A good move but how about juicing up training for incoming police recruits? … The latest numbers show that half the Irish people favor decriminalization of drugs for personal use. … US Sen. Elizabeth Warren is gathering together opponents of the Bannon appointment to speak against him in hearings. … FBI Director James Comey is a good man with a solid reputation but he blew it with his actions on Clinon’s emails issue near the end of the election. His moves cost Hillary her solid momentum, and maybe the election, but it looks like it would have been ultra close if Comey had taken a walk.