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
Immigration
The good old, less bad days
Dear President Trump, It struck me the other day that I was missing times past when we were all focused on whether we could invoke Article 25 or we could watch and see whether this or that egregious abuse of power was going to be the thing that finally brought you down. How is it … Continue reading The good old, less bad days
Letters and hot coals
Dear President Trump, The other day Laura read me a letter that was addressed to you that was credited to Tommy Lee of Motley Crue but that Sarah Silverman revealed was really written by Aldous J. Pennyfarthing (who seems to be a kindred spirit to Julius Goat in the adoption of pseudonyms and generation of … Continue reading Letters and hot coals
I beg your pardon, but inequality is not a mere distraction
Dear President Trump, I have a hyper-local vignette and a bigger picture take for you for today. I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before, but pre-you, Laura and I played Scrabble most weeknights. However, once you were installed as POTUS, it wasn’t until covid-19 slowed everything down and eliminated my commute time that it … Continue reading I beg your pardon, but inequality is not a mere distraction
Bad politics kill
Dear President Trump, Throughout this primary season our daughter has been texting with Laura about the candidates, about how the process is going, how the issues are (and are not) being covered, and who we are voting for and why (I get the texts about recipes and airline schedules). A couple of weeks ago she … Continue reading Bad politics kill
Apologies and amends
Dear President Trump, As you know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about historical corrections and it occurs to me that I should clarify that there are at least two different types of historical corrections: 1) corrections to the historical record itself (e.g., telling the story more completely and accurately by bringing in points of … Continue reading Apologies and amends
History and privilege
Dear President Trump, Yesterday morning I read poet Lisel Mueller’s WP obituary first because it was at the top of the stack (Katherine Johnson had just died and so hers hadn’t yet made it to the main page) and about midway through there was an interesting quote in reference to her poem “Happy and Unhappy … Continue reading History and privilege
“VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Dear President Trump, I’m sure you missed it so I’ll tell you that not only can Natalie Portman embroider, but she’s up for embroidering for a cause. She used gold thread to embroider the names of eight women directors who didn’t receive Oscar nominations this year down the left edge of her black Dior cape. … Continue reading “VOTE” and “LOVE” are so, so close
Testing, testing…..
Dear President Trump, Laura laughed last night when I told her I’d finally gotten to chapter 7 in the Abramson’s Proof of Conspiracy (the Kindle says I’m about 52% of the way through it). I’ve already been reading it for months now and it will probably take another few months to steadily plod through the … Continue reading Testing, testing…..
Behold the babies
Dear President Trump, This year for Christmas our pastor chose to focus on the word “behold” – it’s on the front of the church Christmas card and it was the title of her Christmas Eve sermon two days ago. The dictionary definition of “behold” is to “see or observe (a thing or person, especially a … Continue reading Behold the babies