Dear President Trump, Good morning on this 29th day of your government shutdown. I’m waiting at the Amtrak station for a train to Portland to visit my family. Unfortunately this means I’m going to miss the Womxn’s March here in Seattle, but this was the weekend closest to the holidays I could get away. I’ve … Continue reading Two things
Misogyny
Gillette and identity politics
Dear President Trump, When we watched the new Gillette ad last night, Laura pointed out that there were about 220k likes and 530k dislikes and now this evening the numbers are 343k and 724k, respectively. The likes are gaining a bit, but that’s still proportionately and numerically an awful lot of dislikes. Seems Gillette struck … Continue reading Gillette and identity politics
“Rise and shine”
Dear President Trump, The overarching theme of yesterday’s church service was “Rise and Shine.” There was a lot of great rise-and-shine music and the guest minister’s sermon along these lines was pretty terrific, but it wasn’t until much later in the day yesterday that I paused and really thought about what it could mean to … Continue reading “Rise and shine”
When the epithet fits….
Dear President Trump, Along with much of the rest of the country (apparently), I’ve been thinking a lot about Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s assertion the other day that she and the other Democrats in Congress are going to impeach you and specifically about her choice term for you: “mother*cker.” Of course it would have been a … Continue reading When the epithet fits….
UN draft resolution to curb gender-based violence; guess who’s opposing it?
Dear President Trump, Today our son would have been 22 had he lived. Really though, for him to have lived we would have needed to wait two or three more months so he could be born fully formed. In another version of life, he’d likely be gearing up to graduate from college this spring and … Continue reading UN draft resolution to curb gender-based violence; guess who’s opposing it?
Three positive bits
Dear President Trump, I’m not sure whether it’s the time of the year (December is a tough month for crappy trauma anniversaries) or because I’ve not been sleeping well (which could be related to the first possibility), but I had another close-to-tears episode today. It was the end of a long day and my boss … Continue reading Three positive bits
Painfully obvious stuff
Dear President Trump, Robby Mook has a strong Op Ed in the WP this morning. He lays out how it’s been clear from the get go that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. As Clinton’s campaign manager he appeared on numerous news shows right after the first DNC email dump and told the nation that … Continue reading Painfully obvious stuff
Tarana Burke is bending the moral arc towards justice
Dear President Trump, I just watched Tarana Burke’s TED talk. Ms. Burke started the Me Too movement 10 years ago and she offered a sobering analysis of where the movement is now and how incredibly far it is from its original intent, which was to foster empathy between survivors. She described being numb and exhausted, … Continue reading Tarana Burke is bending the moral arc towards justice
Birthpangs
Dear President Trump, This morning in church the lectionary (Mark 13:1-8) was about Jesus foretelling the fall of an idolized and idealized 1,000 year-old temple. He warned that there would be much additional disruption and chaos, but told his disciples not to worry because this is just the beginning of the birthpangs. It wasn’t Revelations … Continue reading Birthpangs
Far less safe because of you
Dear President Trump, I’ve noticed the last few days that your White House contact page’s reply system is malfunctioning. Typically there’s a confirmation notice for each submission so I usually get two a day since I’m still using up the original 2500 characters allowed in the first instantiation of the page while your current one … Continue reading Far less safe because of you