Dear President Trump, Yesterday we went to the UW/University of Colorado homecoming game with our football fan friend from Texas. It was actually the first football game I’ve ever watched from beginning to end. We made it through half of the UW/Oregon game last year before the snow and cold temperature got to be too … Continue reading Poisoning the body politic
Month: October 2018
Moral abyss
Dear President Trump, Lately I’ve been worrying that I’m saying the same things over and over to you and that your correspondence vetting team is getting bored with me. You are doing such a good job of sticking with what works for you (and what troubles, saddens, frightens, and disgusts me) that I’ve needed to … Continue reading Moral abyss
“Your VOTE Matters”
Dear President Trump, I’m in the other room typing to you listening to Laura and our friend who’s visiting from Houston talking about who Laura follows on Twitter. It kind of feels like when I was a kid and my parents would have parties and I’d stay up listening to everyone talking and laughing. It’s … Continue reading “Your VOTE Matters”
Surreal disconnect
Dear President Trump, It’s been two months today since our brother-in-law (BIL) died but it feels like we were just in the ICU with him a few days ago, hoping he could go quickly because he was in so much pain. I still feel unsettled and generally exhausted, though I’m not sure how much causal … Continue reading Surreal disconnect
Not a wise move
Dear President Trump, I used to work for someone who studied different types of intelligence and depending on the website, the “real” number of types is apparently seven, eight, or nine. I thought looking at his model might help me understand how Elizabeth Warren could have created such an incredibly smart and well-developed nationwide political … Continue reading Not a wise move
Compassion is hard
Dear President Trump, Recently I was talking with one of my colleagues about how the terms loving-kindness and compassion are often used interchangeably. He was making a strong argument for greater precision and I was trying to follow, but not really understanding the big deal so I finally said as much. He explained that loving-kindness … Continue reading Compassion is hard
News flash: The ends don’t justify the means
Dear President Trump, I wonder if Leslie Stahl needed to take a shower after her ‘60 Minutes’ interview with you. My bet is she needed some a way to get your ick off her; if she couldn’t take a shower, maybe she managed a sage smudge. I generally avoid exposing myself to tape of you … Continue reading News flash: The ends don’t justify the means
May we not allow you to divide us into enemy factions
Dear President Trump, Our little dog Buddy routinely gets confused when confronted with his own reflection, whether in a mirror or in a window at night. He’ll catch sight of himself and the image will startle him, he’ll do a double take and start kicking his back feet and barking. No amount of reassurance that … Continue reading May we not allow you to divide us into enemy factions
An earnest listen now and again is not enough
Dear President Trump, Victoria Bissell Brown. Dr. Victoria Bissell Brown, actually. Not a name you’ve probably ever heard before. Not a name I’d ever heard before yesterday, but I’m going to do my best to remember it. Dr. Brown is a retired history professor from Grinnell College and she wrote the mother of all op-eds … Continue reading An earnest listen now and again is not enough
Still getting snagged
Dear President Trump, The other day I saw a woman with blond ringlets riding on the back of a motorcycle a little ahead in the next lane over. When I glanced back, I saw I’d been mistaken and the woman I’d assumed was riding behind someone was actually riding alone. It was pretty disconcerting both … Continue reading Still getting snagged
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