I am loving the idea of the first “second gentleman” of the United States.  And I think Doug Emhoff is the perfect man to fill that role. Here’s why. 

Emhoff, a 56-year-old Jewish lawyer, appears to be totally comfortable in his own skin.  Unthreatened by Kamala Harris’s success, he supports her 100 percent. It’s the most refreshing attitude ever. It’s also refreshing that he is only two weeks older than she is—no 24-year difference here! (Emhoff also will be the first second spouse to have a surname differing from the Vice President.)

When Harris was running for president, Emhoff became good friends with the other spouses of fellow candidates, especially Pete Buttigieg’s spouse Chasten.  He came off as a genuinely nice guy with a great sense of humor. When Harris gave up her race for president, Emhoff’s tweet, “I’ve got you.  As always” went viral.  He has been there for her in defeat and success. 

When Harris was nominated for Vice President, Emhoff was thrilled.  He campaigned sometimes with her, sometimes without her, and sometimes with Jill Biden.  He seemed to enjoy all roles—extolling her virtues and explaining why she was the right woman for the job.  His campaign stops included LGBT venues and Jewish venues, and his rising popularity earned him more than 600,000 Twitter followers.

Emhoff took a leave of absence from his job when Biden appointed Harris as his running mate and plans to resign formally from DLA Piper where he has worked since 2017 to take the second gentleman role full-time. Obviously, women have been quitting their jobs to follow their men for ages, so there is a certain irony in his doing so receiving such fanfare. Still he seems excited about the opportunity and jazzed about being able to make a difference.  

One of Emhoff’s roles will be to convene lunches for the senators’ spouses. That should prove to be interesting material.  I can’t help but recall the brouhaha regarding Hillary when she was asked about her high-powered career when Clinton was running in the Democratic primary.  Hillary responded, “You know I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession which I entered before my husband was in public life.”  The uproar was immediate. Her comments were considered derogatory towards stay-at-home moms and catapulted her into controversy.

Emhoff has announced that since he is a lawyer and familiar with the judicial system, he will make one of his major initiatives criminal justice reform, ensuring access to justice and legal representation for all.  

Kamala is friends with Emhoff’s first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, a filmmaker and head of Prettybird, a production company which she co-founded. Harris also claims to have great relationships with Emhoff’s two children, Cole and Ella, named after jazz legends John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald. Such camaraderie needs to be commended in today’s world of vitriol-spreading banter among exes.  Harris has described their modern family as “almost a little too functional.”

When asked by a nine-year- old boy in an online “Ask a Grown-up” session what he plans to do, Emhoff replied, “I’m going to support her because it’s really important for men and even young boys to support the strong and wonderful women in their lives, and I’m going to do that, and I hope you do that too.” 

My case rests. Having an evolved non-threatened man as second gentleman is a gift indeed.  Let’s hear it for the evolved male. God knows, the world needs more of them.    

Maria Grant was Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, piano, travel, gardening, and nature. 

 

In the movie Wall Street, Michael Douglas said, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”  He went on to make the point that greed “captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”  

Donald Trump has been quoted as saying, “The point is that you can’t be too greedy.”  And, he has said, “My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States. I want to grab all that money. I’m going to be greedy for the United States. “

 After an election such as the one we just experienced, it’s important to reflect on just what kind of country we’ve become. The fact is that 48 percent of the US population voted for Donald Trump. Despite what we know about Trump’s character, his aversion to truth, his crude and base statements about others, his lack of empathy for those who have fallen ill or died from the pandemic, many of us held our noses and voted for him. Why?

I contend that greed is a big reason—not the only reason—but a big reason. When I ask my Republican friends how they can overlook this man’s character, his lies, his crude behavior and vote for him, they say things like. “I don’t like to pay one cent more in taxes.”  “I don’t believe in open borders.”  “Foreigners are taking our jobs.” 

Many of these comments have an element of greed in them. It’s the, “I worked hard for my money, and I don’t want the government or other intruders into my space to take it away” mentality.  Perhaps I’m oversensitive to this thinking, but this is depressing. We are so afraid that if someone else wins, we will lose. 

Trump convinced many of us that if we voted for him, we too could share in the “greed” that has worked for him. We too could “gild the lily” and wallow in conspicuous consumption. Even his promise to save the suburbs was in essence about greed.  Basically, he was saying if you vote for me, you won’t have to share your suburbs—your nice parks, your good schools. Your property values won’t go down. I will put my arms around you and keep them from harm. No need to share.  

And then there was the “America First” theme. Is that really the focus America should have? Yes, we must establish fair trade agreements so that America gets her fair share. But it’s also important that we, as the leader of the free world, set a good example by promoting peaceful solutions and encouraging environmentally sound and helpful policies that lift all nations. 

In Trump’s glory days as a businessman, he leveraged himself to the hilt and kept buying more and more properties, each one glitzier and more ostentatious than the next. Many of us see that as the sign of a successful businessperson. Ironically, he built those buildings on the backs of immigrants—many of them illegal. 

Trump isn’t alone in the “greed” grab. Think about the many businesses that seek to line their pockets by pandering to accomplish whatever administration’s “hot buttons” are so that they too can benefit from them. There is a good reason that Fairfax and Montgomery counties are some of the wealthiest in the country.  There is nothing wrong with trying to make an honest buck by providing solutions to government priorities. But consider businesses and lobbyists who criticize reasonable regulations that keep people and the environment safe simply because it costs them money and eats away at a percentage of their profits.  Thomas Jefferson once said, “Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”   

And the US isn’t alone in the big grab. Clearly Great Britain’s Brexit movement illustrated that same attitude. Many Brits didn’t want immigrants invading their country and sucking up all the government healthcare and other services and insisting “legitimate” Brits pay the tab.  

Most countries in the world are guilty of bad behavior at one time or another. Many of them have owned up to it and taken steps forward to improve.  Many of them also have taken a few steps backward before going forward again in their journeys. Other countries are well aware of past bad behavior in the US.  Still they admired much about our democracy, our ingenuity, our moral compass, and our willingness to help other countries that suffer in some way. 

That respect for America has steadily dwindled over the last four years. This administration has shown the ugly underbelly of the US time and time again. According to Pew Research, other countries’ favorable view of the US is the lowest it has been in the 20 years since the Center began its polling. Favorable ratings in the United Kingdom are at 41 percent; in France, we’re at 31 percent and 26 percent in Germany. We are seen as shallow, selfish, racist and greedy. Clearly, we have taken more than one step backward in our quest for a “better union.”

We all know JFK’s familiar inspirational quote that challenged Americans to commit to a larger vision, “Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” That concept of what can each of us do to make the US a better place is on the back burner. It’s my hope that it once again becomes front and center.     

And let’s be honest. You don’t need to become a socialist to be willing to share. There is such a thing as responsible capitalism that governs with decency, compassion, fairness and heart. 

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting.  Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, the piano, reading, travel, gardening and nature.

 

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Political pundits claimed that Hillary Clinton lost the election because of her comments about “deplorables.” Specifically, Hillary said that half of Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” characterized by “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic” views. Trump capitalized on that theme during the final month before the 2016 election. He made it clear that Hillary didn’t care about a huge segment of America. Instead she found them “deplorable.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about that word. The fact is many “deplorable” things are going on in America right now. Perhaps some would call these occurrences by another name. But if we are honest, we would own up to this reality. Let’s just review some items on that list of deplorable actions. 

First, make no mistake about it. It is deplorable to separate children from their parents at the border and put them in cages. It just is. The fact that 545 children cannot be rejoined with their parents is an unconscionable dereliction of duty on the part of the United States. Some of these children were babies when they were separated and have been without their parents for more than two years.

Second, it is deplorable to speak about women in misogynistic terms. Comments made recently about Kamala Harris are beyond the pale. Disagreeing with her political views is one thing. Personal comments about her are quite something else. Recently, posts have questioned whether she’s really an American citizen and qualified to run for President. Some question whether a Jamaican and an Indian qualifies as being Black. Others claim that she slept her way to the top. Still others question her competence, including the President of the United States, who also has called Harris a monster. He seems to have a major problem with powerful women whom he does not control. 

Third, the hate groups on both sides—Antifa, the Proud Boys and others– are deplorable. Inciting violence and stoking hatred is never a good idea. In fact, it is a deplorable way to act. It is the opposite of what John Lewis would call “good trouble.” Rather it is bad trouble that should have no place in our society.  

Fourth, Trump jumped all over Biden’s comments about curtailing the oil industry during the last debate. He attempted to stoke the “Biden will tank the economy” fires, claiming that Biden would cause mass unemployment in states like Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas. To my way of thinking, it’s deplorable if we don’t make efforts as a nation to reduce pollution and create new ways to get the job done using renewable energy. It’s deplorable that we worry only about short-term optics and not the future of our environment. Why is the United States government continuing to subsidize fossil fuels at all? Already oil companies see the writing on the wall, and the smart ones are taking steps to migrate in that direction. To not do so, is short-sighted and demonstrates a clear lack of concern for future generations. 

Fifth, it’s deplorable to care about no one—not even yourself–during a pandemic and refuse to comply with recommended CDC guidelines. It’s been proven, without a doubt, that motorcycle rallies, political rallies, campus bar hopping, and massive beach parties are super-spreader events. Shortly after each of these activities major COVID spikes have occurred.  By being cavalier about your own behavior, you can spread the virus to others who may be much more vulnerable than you.     

Sixth, it’s deplorable that we have not progressed further in implementing reasonable gun control legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of criminals and those suffering with mental illnesses. It is possible to do so and still protect second amendment rights. Because of the lack of vision and leadership on this issue, thousands of innocent people have died.  

Finally, it’s “deplorable” for politicians to capitalize on the prejudices or lack of understanding of some voters by playing on these deficiencies to their own benefit. Examples of this strategy include such statements as; Mexicans are taking your jobs. They are rapists. Democrats want to turn America into a Socialist country.  It will be like Venezuela, etc.   

Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” 

We know that separating children from their parents is wrong. We know that making sexist, racist, and homophobic comments is wrong. We know that continuing to pollute our environment and not taking proper remediation efforts is wrong. We know that putting other people’s health in jeopardy is wrong. We know that allowing dangerous people to own firearms is wrong. And we know that feeding on people’s prejudices solely for our own benefit is wrong.

As a nation, we know better and we should do better. We can set an example. We can be a beacon of hope. We can push reset and try again.

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening and nature.  

Think role model. Think dignity and respect. Think kindness and empathy. Think grace under pressure. Now think brazen disregard for others. Petulance, cruelty and downright meanness. Think disrespect and selfishness. Because, as a country, that’s where we are right now.

Let’s just briefly review a few activities that occurred over the last week or so. First, there was the super-spreader event on the White House lawn to introduce Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in which almost no one wore masks or were socially distanced. 

Then we witnessed what was probably the worst debate in human history. It contained little or no deep policy discussions. Instead, we saw Trump interrupt incessantly, act like a belligerent child, show no appreciation or empathy for Beau Biden—either his service to the country or his struggle with the most deadly form of brain cancer–or empathy for Hunter Biden who struggled with addiction—a malady that affects almost every extended American family in some way—including Trump’s own brother.    

Then we learned that Trump and at least 14 members of the White House staff, as well as three Republican senators and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie contracted COVID allegedly at the White House Amy Coney Barrett event. Trump then headed to a fundraiser in New Jersey, even knowing that he had been exposed to COVID. 

Then we saw the President whisked away from the White House in a dramatic nine-minute helicopter ride to Walter Reed. Upon his arrival, he was whisked away to his own private floor. We are not talking private room here.  We are talking private floor with nine rooms known as Ward 71 with paneled office and conference rooms, a kitchen, dining room, bedrooms and more. 

Two days later we saw Trump take a joy ride with Secret Service men who risked their own lives driving him around Walter Reed so that he could wave to his ardent fans standing near the hospital. Before he left the hospital, he tweeted, “Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate your life.” 

Then we saw him once again whisked away by yet another dramatic helicopter ride back to the White House where he walked up to a White House balcony for his Eva Peron moment, waving good-bye to the helicopter after removing his mask and putting it in his pocket. Then maskless, an infected Trump re-entered the White House, now an infected building given that two housekeeping staff were tested positive who were not in close proximity to the President. That means that the White House itself is a petri dish for COVID. Several White House workers greeted the returning president.

Now think taxpayer dollars spent on this little foray.  Helicopter rides, dozens of armored cars, a cadre of doctors, all because Trump refused to follow the science and take appropriate precautions.

Then think about Trump’s tweet, “Don’t be afraid of COVID. Don’t let it dominate you.” Tell that to the literally thousands of families who have had a loved one die alone in a hospital bed—maybe a ward.  They were unable to visit their family members. They were unable to say goodbye. Tell them not to let it dominate their lives. 

Let’s be clear. If we don’t let COVID dominate our lives right now, we as a country will never get better.  If we take appropriate actions, if we give this virus the respect it deserves, and take the recommended cautions, we can beat this. To act otherwise is irresponsible. End of story.

In Henry V, Shakespeare said, “I never heard so loud a voice issue from such an empty heart. It’s true what they say, “the empty vessel makes the greatest sound.”  This country may soon become that empty vessel unless we restore in quick order the virtues of kindness, empathy, grace, humility, and knowledge.  

To quote T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men, “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.”  

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement from Deloitte, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening and nature. 

 

What to do when you want to make a point but don’t have accurate information to backup your hypothesis? You spin the facts so that your point of view has credibility and others will get on whatever bandwagon you’re driving. Lately I’ve been amazed and disheartened by the amount and level of deception promoted in the media. Here are just a few cases in point from recent days.

Articles and newscasts abound suggesting subscribers ban, boycott or cancel subscriptions to Netflix because of its promotion of sex trafficking of young girls in its recent release called Cuties. A deeper look into Cuties shows that it is a cautionary tale for parents, urging them to understand how young girls grapple with issues of identity and power. In essence, the program seeks to explain how girls can be led astray and to understand the psychology involved therein. Certainly, one may question whether some more graphic scenes are appropriate or too explicit, but the underlying premise of the film has been completely skewed and misrepresented. It’s akin to banning or censoring Lolita or To Kill a Mockingbird because of discomfort with the subject manner. The irony here is that many who are encouraging the banning of Netflix are the same ones fighting for free speech and insisting that regulations requiring masks are taking away their rights. 

The next spin of the month involves articles claiming that COVID numbers have been enhanced to make the virus look as bad as possible to benefit Democrats. These articles claim that COVID numbers are exaggerated because people with heart conditions or cancer or some other condition would have died anyway, but their deaths have wrongly been assigned to the COVID bucket. Trump has retweeted QAnon articles that minimize the severity and extent of the virus. Doctors and scientists have refuted those claims, explaining that many citizens with comorbidity issues—say a heart condition, cancer, etc.—could have lived much longer lives even with that pre-existing condition had they not contracted the virus.  

Another spin involves rationalizing why or why not put forth a nomination for the Supreme Court only 40 some days before a presidential election. Republicans wouldn’t even hold hearings on Merrick Garland let alone vote when Obama had 11 months of his second term remaining. Now the very Republicans who said that pushing through a nominee in the final year before an election was an unconscionable practice—namely Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz– say it’s different now because there is a Republican president and a Republican senate. So, of course, we should ram through the next Justice appointment. Basically, the maxim is do whatever maximizes your power even if it is inconsistent with your previous statements said with the utmost conviction. 

Both Republicans and Democrats have been guilty of hypocrisy and inconsistency on this front, but the spin in the last 24 hours has been incredible. Apparently, the days when judicial appointments were apolitical are over. Confirmation is all but determined exclusively by whatever party is in power in the Senate. Yet another travesty of a sacred democratic process being destroyed by partisan politics. 

My next case in point is the various spins on the reasons for the increasing intensity and numbers of forest fires in California. Trump says it is because there is such poor forest management in California and, of course, blames liberal blue-state management (even though 58 percent of the forest land in California is federally owned which amounts to 33 million acres of forest). Here are the scientific facts as I understand them. Yes, it is true that most fires in California are started by human error. But it is also true that the reason fires are so intense and last so long is because of climate change. In recent years, California’s climate has gotten hotter and drier. That means there is less snowpack in the Sierras and less moisture in the vegetation. Such conditions make it easy for massive fires to ignite and quickly spread. The New York Times has reported that nine of the 10 largest fires in the state’s history have occurred in the past 10 years—also the 10 hottest years on record in California. According to National Geographic, the amount of land burned in fires across California is eight times higher than it was in the 1970’s. There are also extremely complicated studies of wind patterns that cause these fires to be more intense, also in part, related to climate change.

The speed on which Americans get on a particular bandwagon using false information to fortify their arguments is distressing and dangerous. Many articles have been published on the willingness of readers to believe whatever they read or hear by a source that tends to agree with their points of view. Most of us believe that others are being misled, but we know the truth. We all must be more self-aware and diligent in using reliable sources to gain accurate information.  

There is an old African proverb that goes “Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter.” Bending facts to support your point of view is nothing new. But the amount and speed which false information hits the airways these days is. Each of us is responsible for seeking truth and nipping false information in the bud. Without such a commitment, we are doomed. 

Maria Grant served as Principal- in-charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement from Deloitte, she has focused on writing, reading, gardening, travel, and nature. 

Let’s be honest. Anyone whose eyes are open will acknowledge that there is enormous and increasing income disparity in this country. Some people are buying multiple homes, planes, boats, jewels, taking exotic trips, dining nightly at exclusive restaurants (maybe not recently) and buying super-expensive clothes. Others are homeless, searching for food, scraping together all their cash to make ends meet at the end of the month so they can pay their rent or mortgage and feed their children. 

Most of us are against socialism. But many of us who have been in denial about the “haves” and “have nots” have had a rude awakening during this pandemic. Among many other realizations, the plight of a huge segment of America has come into sharper focus.  

Just a few facts to make my case. According to Pew Research, income inequality in the US is the highest of all G7 nations (US, UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, Germany and France). The wealth gap between America’s richest and poorest has more than doubled in the last 20 years. The highest earning 20 percent of Americans made more than half the US income in 2018. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimated that for the 2018 tax year, 20 percent of the tax benefits would go to the top one percent and by 2027, 82 percent of the benefits would go to the top one percent. 

And the gap keeps growing. I read the Mansion section of the WSJ every Friday. It’s not uncommon to see houses (mansions) selling for $285 million. Often you read about billionaires having five or six homes, each worth several million, who use one of their multiple yachts or private planes to access their private getaways. These same wealthy citizens are renting houses in the Hamptons, Cape Cod and even the Eastern Shore for unheard of sums. (Some Hamptons houses are renting for $100,000 a month.)

I just finished reading  Melania and Me where the prices of Melania’s dresses and ball gowns were staggering, not to mention the millions of dollars spent on flowers, decorations and mementos for inaugural parties—let’s just say an obscene amount of money. Her purchases include a $51,000 Dolce & Gabbana jacket to meet with spouses of world leaders at the G-7 summit in Italy, a Hermes Birkin bag with an estimated cost of $13,000, a Michael Kors jacket and skirt at an estimated cost of $9,590, and the list goes on.

In contrast, recent statistics show that 37 million Americans are food insecure—that means that one in eight Americans is experiencing some kind of food shortage. If you still have a job and can work from home, you may be doing quite well right now. Your salary may be at the same level as before the pandemic and your expenses may be lower if you have no commuting expenses, parking, gas, etc., plus it’s possible that your childcare expenses may be reduced.

 On the other hand, if you are an essential worker and must be on site every day, chances are you are making a fairly low wage, still may have childcare, still have commuting expenses, and you probably are putting your health at risk each day. Or even worse, you may have lost your job, are unable to procure another one, and still have daily expenses of food, rent, etc. 

Statistics tell us that during this pandemic, layoffs have topped more than 40 million, 20 million have tapped into unemployment benefits, and nearly a quarter of all jobs have been affected in some way.    

So, what steps should we take to bridge our current economic gap?  For starters, let’s raise the minimum wage, invest in education and training programs, increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans (tax rates on the very wealthy have been steadily declining), reduce racial segregation, improve access to quality healthcare, create financial regulations that prevent too-big-to fail banks without restricting responsible lending, and improve access to affordable and high-quality childcare.

 Another solution that many recommend is instituting a mandatory year of service for young adults which would improve our failing infrastructure, as well as give youth marketable skills to procure better jobs in the future. An impressive bipartisan group support such an effort, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, our democratic senator from Maryland, Chris Coons, a democratic senator from Delaware, Kamala Harris, a democratic senator from California and VP candidate, Jack Reed, a democratic senator from Rhode Island, Amy Klobuchar, a democratic senator from Minnesota, Marsha Blackburn, a republican senator from Tennessee, and John Cornyn, a republican senator from Texas. These changes are not easy, but we need to start—and the sooner the better.

Dave Matthews has a song called Funny the Way It Is. The lyrics go something like “Funny the way it is if you think about it, somebody’s going hungry and someone else is eating out….one kid walks ten miles to school and another’s dropping out.” Such words remind us of the stark economic differences in this country. It makes good sense to take immediate and significant efforts to bridge that gap.  

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting.  Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, reading, travel, gardening, and nature.

Trump bills himself as the law and order president. Really? If so, why were major parts of this week’s Republican Convention held or filmed at the White House?  Isn’t that in violation of the Hatch Act?  Enacted in 1939 and amended in 2012, the Hatch Act’s purpose is to prevent “pernicious political activities.” It prohibits Federal employees from taking part in partisan political activities and ensures that the Federal workforce is free from partisan political influence or coercion. Violations of the Hatch Act can result in the loss of a job, a fine, or a combination of both.

The Act specifies that some Federal employees are “more restricted” and some are “less restricted” than others. With some exceptions, “further restricted” employees are intelligence and enforcement type agencies such as the FBI, the CIA, and the Federal Election Commission and includes senior executives and political appointees in the executive branch (SES) wherever they are located. The President and Vice President are technically exempt from these restrictions apart from intimidating, threatening or coercing Federal employees. However, the law does apply to executive branch employees. These employees are prohibited from spending official time planning or executing political events held in Federal office buildings including the White House.

The Office of Special Counsel has the task of determining whether the Hatch Act has been violated. The Merit Systems Protection Board is responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, as well as enforcing civil service protections for Federal workers, including whistleblowing safeguards—a Board that currently has no Members. Trump is responsible for appointing these members. 

Potential violations over the last week include the following: Trump’s naturalization ceremony at the White House which was filmed during business hours. Press were not informed of the event (meaning it was not an official event), DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf officiated, and Marines opened the door for the President to enter the room for this photo opportunity. The taping of this ceremony was strictly for use at the Republican Convention. (It was later disclosed that two of the participants in the White House naturalization ceremony were not aware that the taping would be shown at the Republican convention.)

Mike Pompeo’s prerecorded speech was taped during a  “taxpayer paid” official trip to Jerusalem. State Department employees and diplomats must follow stringent requirements to avoid violating the Hatch Act. (Pompeo also has been accused of violating laws by using the Secretary’s dining room at the State Department building for political dinners.)   

Melania Trump’s convention speech from the White House Rose Garden had an audience of several White House employees. While arguably not a clear violation of the Hatch Act, it was completely inconsistent with the intention of the law. Many refer to the White House as the “people’s house” which again implies that it should not be used for political campaigning. 

Mike Pence gave his speech at Fort McHenry, a national monument in Baltimore Harbor, which is managed by the National Park Service. Once again Federal employees were being asked to facilitate a violation of the Hatch Act because the Convention speech is considered a political activity.

Trump’s closing speech for the Republican Convention was held on the White House lawn with more than 1,000 non-socially-distanced attendees. His daughter Ivanka introduced him. Kathleen Clark, an ethics lawyer and professor at Washington University Law School in St. Louis, said in an interview with ABC News that the convention amounts to a “four-day extravaganza of unethical conduct in exploiting the backdrop of the White House for partisan purposes.”         

Over the last four years, many Trump officials have been accused of violating the Hatch Act–Nikki Haley, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kellyanne Conway among them. In fact, Conway has been accused of violating the Hatch Act more than 60 times. Most of these violations involve making disparaging remarks about Democrats while speaking in an official capacity. Conway’s response: “If you are trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it is not going to work. Let me know when the jail sentence starts.” The Office of Special Counsel has recommended Conway’s removal. Conway’s response: “Sue me.”  

Recently Ivanka Trump touted Goya Beans because the CEO of Goya endorsed the President. The President himself, hawked Goya Beans in the Oval Office.  Last week, Trump tweeted that Americans should boycott Goodyear Tire since the company banned its employees from wearing MAGA hats and other political apparel. To some, these violations may seem like nitpicking, but it is not. Once again, the violators show a flagrant disregard for the law.  

Most government employees, including those working for the House of Representatives and Senate, follow these regulations to the letter. They go overboard to avoid showing favoritism or capitalizing on their positions. It is not uncommon for a Senator or Congressperson to leave the Capitol building to take a call related to campaigning or fundraising. They consciously track all activities to ensure they are not in violation of the law. They don’t accept free lunches or dinners—even books from Federal contractors.   

As Thomas Edison once said, “There are rules here. We are trying to accomplish something.” One of the things that is supposed to be different about the United States is that our rules—our laws–apply to everyone. Our democracy only works if that is the case. One of the many reasons there has been so much racial unrest in recent months, is that laws are not being enforced equally for everyone. If the President and his administration blatantly violate the law of the land with no consequences, I fear our democracy is indeed in peril. 

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement from Deloitte, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening and nature.  

While Rome is burning our Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, has spent the summer moving into her renovated 22,000 square foot mansion in Holland, Michigan. In your lifetime, have you ever known a time when it’s more important for the Secretary of Education to do her job? We’re in the middle of a major pandemic. Kids are in danger for their lives as they return to their classrooms. Teachers are struggling with fulfilling their responsibilities and protecting their health. States and school districts are navigating this dire educational crisis without the benefit of strong national leadership. While the circumstances of every school district and sometimes every individual school are unique, national guidance—not mandates—but resources, information and empathy would have gone a long way to helping school districts now desperately confronting spike outbursts of the virus or other circumstances that are disrupting the school year even as it just begins.  

Amid this crisis, the nation’s national education leader is AWOL. Apparently, a higher priority has been placed on measuring curtains for her palatial home more than 10 times as large as that of the average American’s. Having a big home is not a crime. But abandoning your responsibilities during this crisis should be. (In addition to the 22,000 square foot mansion—check out the blog  McMansion Hell for more information on the mansion-, the DeVos family also has been known to be in the possession of more than 10 yachts, the Orlando Magic basketball team, a Florida sports complex, a baseball stadium in Michigan, and a resort in the Bahamas.)  

So, who exactly is Betsy Devos? I’m from Michigan. I have known about Betsy DeVos for a long time.   Many of my friends are teachers in Michigan. All of them—bar none—were aghast at this appointment. Why?  Because she has spent a lifetime demonizing public schools in favor of vouchers and charter schools. Don’t get me wrong. There are many good things about charter schools. In the right circumstances, charter schools can provide educational opportunities to students who otherwise may be deprived of an education due to failing or mismanaged public schools. But the problem with blanket endorsements for charter schools is that it undermines our system of public schools, potentially depriving them of funds, the best teachers, and contributing to racial segregation.  Unfortunately, DeVos has been unambiguous in her disdain for public education, a curious and troubling position when taken by the nation’s top education administrator, and in conflict with the unambiguous directives of Congress reflected in education spending legislation. This month, a mobile billboard funded by the Michigan-based nonprofit Protect Our Public Schools (POPS) which reads “No Plan. No Funding. No Experience. Secretary DeVos is gambling with our kids’ lives” is traveling to many cities in Michigan, including Holland, the home of her Mcmansion.

DeVos’ failures are not limited to the areas of elementary and secondary education. Since becoming Secretary of Education, she has radically reversed Obama administration policies intended to protect or assist students. She has cozied up to for-profit schools, removed borrower protections against fraud impacting student-loan borrowers, and  worked against the interests of Dreamers, effectively depriving some of them of educational opportunities. 

DeVos’ policies are not based on experience or facts. Rather she brought to the Department an ideology reflecting the belief that the  Federal government should have no role in education. Pursuant to her ideology, she consistently has worked to undermine public schools, interfere in the independence of post-secondary institutions, weakened Civil Rights protections, and ignored her conflicts of interest which include financial interests in student loan debt collectors, contractors to colleges and universities and, special education providers.  

How did DeVos come to be appointed Secretary of Education?  Among Trump’s many wealthy cabinet appointees, DeVos is the richest. Members of the Devos family have given more than  $17 million to political candidates and committees since 1989. Contributions include giving to more than 20 Republican U.S. senators and various right-wing political organizations, such as the Koch Brothers-backed Freedom Partners Action Fund and American Crossroads, Karl Rove’s SuperPAC. DeVos has served on the Board of Alliance for School Choice. She is married to the former CEO of Amway, Dick Devos. In 2016, the family had an estimated net worth of $5.4 billion. Her brother, Erik Prince, is the founder of the private military company Blackwater which basically supplied mercenaries for hire. Recently he has been accused of recruiting ex-spies to infiltrate liberal groups, including campaigns and unions.  

Have you ever seen Betsy DeVos interviewed?  First during her confirmation hearings, she suggested that guns may have a place in schools in Western states because of the ever-present threat of grizzly bears. During her disastrous train wreck 60 Minutes interview, she admitted that many public schools in Michigan are not doing well. She also admitted that she has not visited or examined reasons for underperforming schools. She said, “Maybe I should.” In recent months, she has refused to testify before the House Education committee.

The National Education Association (NEA) has issued press release after press release about her damaging stands on education that hurt rather than help the state of our public education. Her stands are so controversial that she requires constant security protection—a protection that is estimated will cost taxpayers close to $26 million by the time Trump’s term is finished.  

Never has there been a more pivotal time to have a dedicated Secretary of Education who is committed to ensuring the safety and progress of our children in schools. She should be giving remote/virtual learning the full-court press, establishing standards and ensuring that such learning recognizes and accommodates children’s different learning styles. Other countries are following best practices with great success. Once again under this administration, America comes up short. Who suffers? America’s children. It’s a sorry state of affairs, and yet another example of this administration’s “let them eat cake” mentality.    

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement from Deloitte, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening and nature.  

Get ready. The tirade against Biden’s woman vice presidential nominee—whoever she is—is about to begin. Just wait. Already we’ve heard, “Kamala Harris is too ambitious.” “She’s also too tough,” “not feminine enough,” “too big for her britches,” “disrespectful to men.” Stacey Abrams “is overtly campaigning for the job.” “It’s singularly unattractive.” Susan Rice “has no warmth,” “no charisma.” “She’s never run for office.” Val Demmings “is too short.” “She doesn’t look presidential.” Elizabeth Warren “looks like a school marm.” Amy Klobuchar, although no longer in the running, “is mean to her staff.”  “She’s too demanding.” 

When Hillary was running, such comments ran rampant. I heard things like, “I can’t stand her laugh.” “She cackles.” “She has chompers.” “What’s with her hair today?” “She’d be nowhere without Bill.” “She doesn’t seem sincere.” “I don’t respect her because she didn’t dump Bill.” We all remember Obama’s famous quote during one debate when he said, “You’re likeable enough, Hillary.”  (That was before the New Hampshire primary which she proceeded to win—perhaps because of that remark.)

When Michelle Obama was first lady, there were comments like, “She wears too many sleeveless dresses.” “Her hair’s too big.”  “She’s taller than he is.” “She doesn’t defer enough to her husband.” 

This is depressing.  It’s 2020 and still the most sexist, misogynistic rhetoric is in play. I could go on for pages—as long as War and Peace—about the crazy looking, weird voices, bad dressers, bizarre hair of many male politicians—but it just doesn’t seem to make a difference for men. Somehow for men those things aren’t that important. What’s important, are their policy positions, their grasps of the bigger picture, their ability to make appropriate decisions on the spot. Somehow no one seems to question that they will step up to the plate when necessary and rise to the occasion.

The irony is that so many of those men have made so many bad decisions. So many of them were not right for the job. So many of them left havoc in their wake. Yet still, we Americans, keep electing men and are reluctant to elect a woman president. Many are shaking in their boots at the thought of a female vice president. 

Electing a woman leader seems to have worked out pretty well for Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, India, Israel, the Philippines, China, Iceland, Norway, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, the list goes on. Sure, many of those women leaders have made their share of mistakes, but I would argue, far fewer than their male counterparts for the most part.  

How long will it take until we truly judge a woman on her ability to get the job done? Studies have shown that most women “make it about the work.” They are collaborative, do their homework, come prepared—perhaps overprepared, meet deadlines, are great listeners, handle crises well, are empathetic, check their egos, lead by example, have high emotional intelligence, are flexible, defer to experts (there’s a concept),  hire the most qualified applicants, multi-task effectively, and are superior to men at achieving work-life balance.  

We elected a corrupt real estate magnate reality star who had no political experience and said the most outrageous misogynistic things about women. We elected him even though we knew, before the election, how he felt about women. Think Megan Kelly, Rosie O’Donnell, Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Heidi Cruz, Elizabeth Warren, Mika Brzezinski, Katy Tur, Maureen Dowd, the list goes on. “ Horse face, lowlife, fat, ugly, no longer a 10, a dog, fat pig, slob, bimbo, Pocahontas, highly overrated, Miss Piggy,” are only a few of his names for these women. What kind of example is that?  How far are we from judging women on their ability and experience when the President of the United States speaks in those terms?

I often say to my male friends and colleagues, “Many of you have wives, daughters, granddaughters, nieces, friends whom you have helped along the way. You want these women to rise to their potential. To make a difference. To be given every opportunity to succeed. You root for them. You would be appalled if any male spoke in those terms to the females in your life.” 

And then there’s this. Still, close to 40 percent of the American populous support such degrading and humiliating rhetoric from the leader of the free world. Some of those same 40 percent profess to be extremely religious and continue to support a man who says cruel, hurtful, crude, comments daily. I’ve also seen those same religious supporters post cruel and mocking pictures of female candidates with bodies of animals and worse. The hypocrisy of those supporters continues to stun me. 

I, for one, am rooting for Kamala Harris. Studies have shown that the traits that most people associate with politicians are competence, ambition, aggressiveness, confidence and toughness.  Harris has all those qualities. She’s been in the arena and she’s a survivor. She’s resilient. She can hold her own against Mike Pence any day. I would relish that debate.  

I also relish the day when we truly focus on the individual—their experience and “rightness” for the job—not their gender or the color of their skin or whom they choose to love. Maya Angelou said, “…in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” 

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting.  Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening, and nature.

I’ve been thinking about the many facets of loyalty. It all started several months ago when I had lunch with a friend. We have much different political views, but we appreciate and enjoy each other’s company and, for the most part, we avoid discussing politics. But one afternoon during the impeachment hearings, we had a leisurely lunch. The impeachment hearings were on the news 24/7 and it was difficult to ignore them completely. I made the error of saying, “I can’t believe that Trump fired Alexander Vindman, a lieutenant colonel and purple-hearted war hero who was serving on the National Security Council. He saw something he thought was wrong and reported it. His reward:  He’s escorted out of the White House.” My friend’s response: “Oh Maria, he had to go. He was insubordinate and disloyal.”

That conversation haunts me. I have concluded that loyalty is an extremely complex concept. Is it loyal to stand by someone when you know he or she has done something wrong? Often too much loyalty can be deadly. Blind loyalty, where you are willing to do anything for a cause, can result in the atrocities of Nazism. Blind loyalty to get a person re-elected to office, can result in Watergate-type coverups which can harm a nation, mean jail time for offenders, and cause general disillusionment and alienation for the populous.   

Think about the Boeing 737 MAX. Coverups of major engineering mistakes, prompted in part by loyalty, led to hundreds of people dying. Blind loyalty can cause drug companies to hide deadly side effects of drugs they manufacture. Blind loyalty can cause bank employees to create unauthorized accounts to maximize profits. I read the other day that Melania wanted Trump to select Pence as a running mate because she knew he would be loyal, not because he had the best experience or skills complementary to Trump’s. (He was destined to lose his next Indiana gubernatorial election in part because of his obsession with the social conservative agenda such as the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” at the expense of state and economic issues.)  So, did Americans get the best possible vice-presidential candidate? I think not. 

I understand that if you are leading troops into battle, you must have faith that your troops will be loyal and follow orders. Otherwise, your mission could prove disastrous. But that’s different. Once a course is charted, an army must accept, adopt, and execute the plan. 

Motivation may be the crux of the loyalty issue. We all have been in work environments where managers, executives, people in power fear hiring someone smarter than themselves. They feel threatened. It might make them look bad. It may mean that they no longer are “top dog.” For that reason, they hire “lap dogs” or resort to some sort of nepotism, hiring friends and relatives whom they assume will be loyal. In contrast, we have been in work environments, where the people in charge hire the best and brightest. They hunger for people with deep expertise to question, to challenge, to come up with better ideas. Their goal is to develop the best possible solution, product, etc., whatever the mission may be. Without that” what if we did…” conversation, that best solution may not surface. If all you care about is loyalty, you may not get the benefit of the “best and brightest.”

I understand there is another side to this coin. Disloyal employees who share trade secrets, who divulge information only for self-promotion or self-advantage or to harm someone else can cause tremendous damage to an organization. In my career, I have been astounded at the extensive repercussions such devious employees can cause.  

Themes around the ramifications of misplaced loyalty abound in literature and philosophy. Practically every Shakespeare play deals with breaches of loyalty—Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth. In Hamlet, Polonius, both a trusted advisor and a villain, says the following to his son Laertes before he goes to France:

“This above all, to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man
Farewell, my blessed season this in thee!”  

So, after much reflection, here’s where I come down on the issue of loyalty. When you run an entity—say a department, a company, a country– if you are truly loyal to that entity, you seek to hire the best and brightest to work in your organization. You make it clear that you run a tight ship—that integrity and honesty are important. You let employees know that you want them to question you, to bring up “what if’s,” to step up if they have a better solution in mind. You tell them that you want to know if anything illegal or unethical is going on because you will not permit that kind of activity in your organization. There will be consequences to unlawful actions. If they see something, they should say something. After a decision has been made, you expect them to support and stand behind that decision. And if they see illegal or unethical issues or misinformation being promulgated, they should address them through proper channels. You do not subscribe to the “let sleeping dogs lie” school of thought.  

In my mind, true loyalty to yourself and country means striving for excellence—never settling for less. It means doing your job to the best of your ability and asking questions when you think the letter of the law has not been followed. Vindman did just that. I still say he is a bonafide hero. When Vindman testified at the impeachment hearings, he was asked why he chose to speak. His reply: “This is America. Here right matters.” Let’s hope that’s still the case. 

Maria Grant served as Principal-in-Charge of the Federal Human Capital practice of Deloitte Consulting. Since her retirement, she has focused on writing, music, reading, travel, gardening, and nature.