Welcome to the Trump Era, or what is known as ‘Liar’s Politics in the White House,” and the advent of WWFN, the Wide World of Fake News. The battle lines are set for four years of confrontation pitting some 65 million Americans and many journalists, except for Fox, which doesn’t hire any, against Trump International and its lineup of spin doctors led by its chief caped crusader, President Donald Trump.  Good luck & caveat emptor.

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 McGuinness Resigns, New Election Set – When former IRA commander and Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness stepped down from his Stormont leadership role, he unleashed a political thunderstorm that threatens to pull down power-sharing in the North. An Assembly election has been called in the six counties for March 2 (it has been just eight months since the last Assembly election). After the results are in, negotiations will begin between the NI parties to see if power-sharing can be restored.

The background: Prior to the suspension of the Assembly, Arlene Foster was the First Minister who governed with the First Deputy Minister, McGuinness, until his resignation. There were lingering differences between Foster’s party, the DUP, and McGuinness’s party, Sinn Fein, on local issues.

However, the breaking point came when Sinn Fein’s strong opposition to a flawed plan for energy saving in the North became public. Advocated by Foster and the DUP when she was Minister, the plan’s cost had been set at a stunning half a billion British pounds. McGuinness called for Foster to step aside temporarily so the parties could sort out the shocking cost of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). She refused. McGuinness resigned, and the election was called.

Further complicating the current political standoff is the fact that reports have surfaced in the media about the poor health of Martin McGuinness. As this is being written, those questions remain unresolved but are of great concern to many.

The situation in the North before the breakdown and the call for the Assembly election was near toxic relating to local issues such as “the principles of power-sharing, parity of esteem,” and the use of Irish in the courts, among other things. There is a fear that this red-hot controversy could devolve into an impasse and if that lingers unresolved, it could bring down the currently fragile structure that underlined in real and symbolic terms the end of the conflict in Northern Ireland and the peace process we know today.

US Hibernians OK McGuinness Resignation, Fault UK and US – The Ancient Order of Hibernians has endorsed the McGuinness resignation. The AOH points to the Democratic Unionist Party, once Paisley’s party and leading election vote-getter, for the “churlish behavior of DUP members to anyone who expresses an Irish identity, specifically those who wish to embrace the Irish language.”

The slashing of funding for programs designed for Irish students while at the same time greatly increasing funding for a unionist flute band has been the most recent complaint by the AOH.

Also coming in for criticism are the British for missteps with regard to the policies that negatively impact the local Irish community, including the Brexit vote and the “deteriorating political landscape” in the North. The Hibernians also said that the US government “has been premature to declare ‘mission accomplished’ and disengage from the Northern Ireland peace process while implementation is still a work in progress.”

The Hibernians are a great organization filled with sincere and dedicated members around the world, but I wouldn’t agree with them on every issue. I was a longtime friend and enthusiastic supporter of the late great Dave Burke in Lawrence, and miss his smile, good humor, and gutty support of issues that helped Ireland and its people for many years. A great man.

Refugees, Immigrants Are Targets, But No Criminal Offenses – At numerous campaign rallies, Donald Trump pledged to immediately “deport the  people that are criminal and have criminal records, probably 2 million, it could even be 3 million. We are getting them out of our country.” That pledge, harsh but straightforward (and probably inaccurate) underlines the way Trump panders to his voters, many of whom believe that their troubles can be traced to immigration.

Deportation is the quick hustle by federal authorities regardless of whether or not an immigrant is a criminal or has a record. These folks are being shipped home for minor crimes or for no crimes at all. This is manifestly against the law as written.

Another Trump call to action lands on the cumulative Trumpian seed dump that falls on fallow ground when he wants to sound tough or manufacture a new class of scapegoat. And while the new administration and his (fresh face, old racism) nominee for attorney general agree to be tough, the candidate-turned-president will never build his wall; and he never can refuse entry to the US based solely on religious grounds or untested, hollow claims of terrorist by race. 

And what of the concept of sanctuary cities and Trump’s gross ignorance of where the line is drawn between the powers of cities and the federal government. The White House policy would have local police officers enforcing national immigration policy, but under the current law immigration is exclusively a federal responsibility. Those divisions of labor go all the way back to the US Supreme Court ruling in Prigg v. Pennsylvania in 1842 that clearly supports local police in refusing to act as unwilling agents of the federals. This and follow-up decisions mean that Trump’s plan for so-called sanctuary cities to be punished or otherwise sanctioned is as invalid as the slavery that prompted the Prigg decision. If in doubt, look it up.

Anglo Names Dominate Irish Baby Lis>t – For several years now, Irish new parents have opted to name their arrivals with traditional Irish names such Aoife, Owen, Donal, Rory, and Conor. Some of that fondness may be attributable to readers of Irish traditions and to social historians who cling to the Ireland of yesteryear. However, that trending to homegrown Irish names for Irish babies may be softening up, with the appearance this past year of more names out of an urban British enclave than a Sligo hamlet. I love the Irish names despite the poet friend who called my wife’s expected first-born “Sean,” but who turned out to be our daughter Erin.

A report from the Irish passport section lists the names James and Emily as the two top new baby names in 2016 out of the 17,752 issued to newborns last year. Attesting to the multi-cultural aspect of the new Ireland are the names Freya and Mohammad on the list.

Giving A Good Man A Final Salute – Once upon a time John Kerry had a reputation among some of his peers as a candidate with a strong affinity for always getting close to a camera in advancing his career. True or not, over the past four years as President Barack Obama’s global ambassador, our Secretary of State, his agenda has meant thousands of air miles, some glitches and some stunning successes.

A longtime US senator from Massachusetts, and the losing Democratic candidate for president in 2004, Kerry had a win with the Iranian nuclear agreement, which calmed the waters and  provided clarity and a lessening of a dangerous nuclear threat from a major Mideast player. That calm interlude was followed by Kerry’s speech in December when he severely criticized settlement-building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem after the UN had abstained from voting on an anti-Israel vote in the UN Security Council. This did not go down well with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other supporters of Israel.

Israel is one of America’s staunchest allies, but the headlong rush to populate certain areas under Netanyahu has consistently been opposed by the US which sees it as a direct obstacle to a two-state solution to the lingering stalemate. In his speech, Kerry spoke of a choice factor: “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic; it cannot be both. And it won’t ever really be at peace.”

I recall how on a visit to Israel Joe Biden was greeted by the dedication of a new Israeli settlement ordered for that specific day and time by Netanyahu as an intentional embarrassment to the US vice president. What a strange way for a host prime minister to disagree with US policy. After decades of goodwill and support, he insults an American leader as he lands on at the country’s doorstep.

Many of us know well our home town office-holders and high visibility politicians. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry stood tall in defense of American values and initiatives. But less well known are the stories of Kerry’s off-stage travels as a personal envoy for several sitting American presidents. This muted, camera-less diplomacy was a wise call for those in the White House who knew they could rely on Kerry to fulfill a sensitive, secret mission without fanfare or press releases.  A good man and a patriot in war and in peace!

Irish Banks: Dangerous, Costly Sport for Customers – The Irish banking industry took a hard left jab from columnist Fintan O’Toole and the Irish Times newspaper in the new year.  O’Toole, the seeming custodian of Irish values and honest business practices, explored in print the recent shenanigans of over a dozen banks in Ireland and found them appallingly short of good faith and honesty. What apparently triggered criticism from two regulators of Irish banks on two scandalous occasions was the revelation that at least 15,000 of the banks’ customers were deceived into moving from lower cost mortgages to “considerably higher interest rates, often at stinging personal as well as financial cost.”  Shades of Wells Fargo on this side of the water.

The presence of a cadre of regulators that have looked to be bunking in with troubled banks is the legacy of the financial debacle that shook banking to its core seven years ago. The hired guns of honest banking are still kept busy, but the search for scoundrel times goes on. “Follow the money” is still a reliable heads-up for both regulators and greedy opportunists alike.

The regulators speak: “We must be wary of suffering amnesia when it comes to the financial crisis. The deterrent value of taking actions against [suspect] firms is good, but the deterrent value of taking actions against individuals is much better.”

In another meeting about questionable banking practices, the governor of the Central Bank warned his colleagues: “It is clear that this defrauding of customers was systematic and deliberate. It operated in 15 banks - essentially the entire Irish system - and so far as we know there is not one case of a mistake favoring the customer.”

It shouldn’t be necessary to remind bank customers in Ireland to look closely at their contracts, all bank mailings, and the small print. As Boston radio talk show host Gerry Williams was famous for warning listeners: “They’re out there.”  And they certainly are.
Why Did This Poll Not Surprise – In addition to the Russian side of the presidential election follow-up coverage, it still seems that the Republican Party is in a mild form of denial, or maybe they only watch Fox News.

A poll published a month after Trump’s election asked respondents “Who won the popular vote? That poll showed 52 percent of Republicans think Trump won the popular vote. Democratic polling results among the political parties differed dramatically: 93 percent of Democrats got it right. Only 7 percent of them thought Trump had taken the popular vote.

North Facing General Practice MD Shortage – Northern Ireland doesn’t have so many problems with the Brexit impact, tepid leadership, and questions about parity of esteem, that it couldn’t shoulder one more. The latest concern —some call it an impending collapse —is the growing shortage of general practice doctors in the North.

Highlighting the problem for many was a recent practice closure in Portadown. As a result of the closing, some 5,000 former patients have had to scramble to find a new doctor and a practice that isn’t too busy to take them. These MD practices in N.I. are formed as legal partnerships. Today 25 percent of GPs are over 55 and they are starting to retire, which further strains an already overcrowded system.

 Most of the GPs are financially comfortable and trying to avoid the stress and the change they face in a an overloaded work place. This results in early retirement and a setting off for Australia or Canada or going locum (doing temporary replacements for other doctors who need rest or a holiday).

If you know any doctors who would like a quick opening in an established practice, contact the Belfast or County Down Medical Service in Northern Ireland for more information.

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
The Central Bank of Ireland is ramping up its Financial Service Centre outreach in Dublin in an effort to attract London-based financial service firms to move their operations to Ireland. … Chuck Feeney, who made billions running the Duty Free shops network and then gave the billions away, has called it a day in the office. He wrote his last check and officially turned the key on the door to his Atlantic Philanthropies. Good luck to a unique man. … Irish water charges were all the rage, but exit polls in last Irish election show only 8 percent thought it was a main issue. … Unless I have been watching too much Fox News, it looks like Brian Burns is DT’s choice for ambassador to Ireland. … Latest gossip about Brexit impact on Ireland is not good and looking nervous in Eire & NI.

There’s a new 12-sided one-pound coin that will ultimately mean the old “round pound” will cease to be legal tender after Oct. 15 of this yeart. So spend them or bank them. … Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson has told Trump that he will help furnish the wall labor with his inmates. Is there something in the water with wackos like Hodgson and the now-deposed thug sheriff in Phoenix? … Do you need to know more than that the new president plans to continue as the executive producer of the Celebrity Apprentice on NBC? … The University of South Wales is looking for a “Professor of Storytelling” at an annual salary of $75,000. … Bloomberg News says new Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has a net worth of $655 million.

Obama visited Ireland in 2011 and told Prime Minister Enda Kenny that he planned to go back after his stint in the White House. … Pilgrimages to Ireland’s West Airport, known as Knock Airport, must be good for business. 2016 was a record year as the airport handled 750,000 passengers its 30th anniversary year. …The little man with beady eyes and a calculator, Martin Shkreli, is still raising drug prices. This time around, his huge hikes will affect HIV sufferers. All the bad guys aren’t in jail. … The Run for Dana Farber 5K race is set for April 15, just two days before the Marathon. Contact dan a-farber.org. … Not enough progress in the strike threat by the Northern Police PSNI. Severe punishments if the police go forward on a job action. … As late as last month, retired Gen. Michael Flynn was still helping promulgate more insane tweets about Hillary Clinton. And yes, he remains DT’s national security advisor. You can’t make this up. Will someone with a pass to Trump Tower tell silly man Flynn that Hillary lost the election and is no longer a threat. …

Finally, a note to USMC members about the data-base being assembled of all Marines who served at Camp Lejeune any time between 1953 and 1987. They had bad water at during that period at the North Carolina camp. The Marines would like to hear from you at marines.mil/clwater or at 877-261-9782 (M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST).