Dear President Trump, It was years (and years) ago when some news outlet, probably the NYT since that’s what I was reading back in the early days of your reign of terror, reported on your habit of insisting that you be served two scoops of vanilla ice cream with your gorgeous, most beautiful-ever chocolate cake, … Continue reading The tell of two scoops
Divisiveness
We’re in trouble when our enemies have more substance than our loves
Dear President Trump, OMG has time gotten wonky. I thought I had opened the tab holding W. B. Yeats’s poem “The Stare’s Nest By My Window” days and days ago, but it was just yesterday morning that it was the featured ‘poem-a-day’ poem (an interesting choice for Mother’s Day). It was a very long, very … Continue reading We’re in trouble when our enemies have more substance than our loves
Different sorts of mothers and warriors
Dear President Trump, In her WP editorial, Margaret Sullivan warns the media not to buy into your propaganda aimed at normalizing the covid-19 death toll, first outlining the false dichotomy between a closed economy being bad and an open economy being good before she goes on to say: “Then there’s Trump’s latest trope: “We have … Continue reading Different sorts of mothers and warriors
State-sanctioned killings
Dear President Trump, Last night I took a walk to “The Rock,” the ginormous glacial anomaly about a mile East of us. It was my destination because it allowed me to head somewhere familiar while walking pretty much exactly 2.23 miles for Ahmaud in honor of his birthday, this one that he didn’t get to … Continue reading State-sanctioned killings
Hope and a big gamble
Dear President Trump, There’s nothing like starting off a letter to you still teary and feeling verklempt after reading a sweet article about President Obama. Guess what he did yesterday – he called three Chicago schoolteachers and had video chats with them to express his appreciation for them and their work. They were so beyond … Continue reading Hope and a big gamble
Covid charades and “The Betrayals”
Dear President Trump, I know you have (and take) plenty of opportunity to look in the mirror, whether directly at yourself or at one of your surrogates, but I thought we’d start the day with yet another (from the WP’s coronavirus updates): “Although the rate of infection shows no sign of slowing, Vice President Pence … Continue reading Covid charades and “The Betrayals”
An especially long, hard letter
Dear President Trump, I read the following three WP articles today in this order (and please note, I’m almost certain that earlier today the first one actually had the word “Government” in place of “Draft” in the headline). “Draft Report Predicts Covid-19 Cases Will Reach 200,000 A Day By June 1” “The Coronavirus Pandemic is … Continue reading An especially long, hard letter
Gaping gaps
Dear President Trump, This next phase of the covid-19 crisis is clearly high stakes and fraught – on lots of levels. People are antsy and frustrated and many of us are still very scared while many of us not scared enough. The odds of getting the basics needed to safely reopen the country (massively scaled-up … Continue reading Gaping gaps
Executing the Office of the President of the United States
Dear President Trump, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Does this ring a bell somewhere in that lizard brain of yours? I know you were very … Continue reading Executing the Office of the President of the United States
Transitory trust
Dear President Trump, I don’t watch broadcast evening news and honestly can’t tell you when the last time was that I did, but if I were going to, I’d probably want to tune into ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir after reading the WP article about it and him (by Margaret Sullivan). Yes, I’m … Continue reading Transitory trust