Dear President Trump, Maybe they are related, but in addition to being tired much of the time, I’m also in that cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat space much of the time. Can you relate? At all? No? I thought not. You’re more of a rage-at-the-drop-of-a-hat sort of person, aren’t you? My newly rekindled tearfulness is usually not in response … Continue reading Tender responses to tenderness
Feminism
Thank goodness for true leaders
Dear President Trump, So hey, I’m pretty sure being caught “back on your heels” is worse than being caught “flat footed” but neither one is good and both would be generous descriptions of your administration’s inept response to the covid-19 crisis. You see, both these idioms reference situations where someone is surprised by something or … Continue reading Thank goodness for true leaders
Getting really real
Dear President Trump, Friday the 13th came a day early for Robert Redfield, didn’t it? Seriously, did you watch the tape of Katie Porter relentlessly aiming her logical questioning super powers at him yesterday, finally extracting a begrudging “yes” from him that all Americans, regardless of their ability to pay, can be tested and treated … Continue reading Getting really real
Imagine…. if there were no International Women’s Day
Dear President Trump, Well, where to start on this 110th anniversary of International Women’s Day (111th if we count its initial instantiation in 1909 in NYC as National Women’s Day)? There are so many relevant directions one could go, but I think I’ll start by telling you that Friday night when we went to the … Continue reading Imagine…. if there were no International Women’s Day
What’s with all this positive Warren media coverage now?
Dear President Trump, I think you’re just going to have to bear with me for a bit here since I’m still mostly focused on Elizabeth Warren and the fact that her campaign couldn’t get the traction it needed when it comes to votes cast. We are coming up on Washington State’s mail-in ballot deadline this … Continue reading What’s with all this positive Warren media coverage now?
Heartbroken and resolute
Dear President Trump, So it appears that the US white male patriarchy has a reprieve for (at least) another four years as far as the presidency goes. I know there hasn’t been any real doubt about this for the last month or so, and really, it was probably just a relatively small handful of us … Continue reading Heartbroken and resolute
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
In death as in life
Dear President Trump, A few months ago I told you about having devoured all of the biographies in my K-8 library about women generally and men of color as a kid, but I don’t think I’ve told you how much I enjoy reading the WP obituaries about people from these demographic groups (along with a … Continue reading In death as in life
A very special “hi”
Dear President Trump, I pretty much left it all on the field today and don’t have a lot of time or energy for letter writing tonight. Still, though, I have something cool to tell you about. Guess who said “hi” to us tonight? Stumped? Well actually, quite a few people said “hi” to us tonight. … Continue reading A very special “hi”
Part of the way there, but leagues (and leagues) to go
Dear President Trump, I was confused when I saw Michael Gerson’s byline attached to the WP editorial entitled “By Any Measure, Buttigieg is Trump’s Proven Superior” since I was pretty sure that Gerson is one of the WP’s little posse of conservative editorialists. Well, he is in that camp – his party affiliation is still … Continue reading Part of the way there, but leagues (and leagues) to go