Dear President Trump, Since the Parkland “March for Our Lives” students unveiled their A Peace Plan for a Safer America, NPR has run a bunch of stories about gun control They’ve provided dutifully “balanced” coverage with pretty much equal airtime afforded gun control advocates and opponents, which personally, feels about as sensible as giving climate … Continue reading Something of a treatise on guns
Gun Control
The most obvious proximal cause
Dear President Trump, Some days I can type the standard greeting to you pretty much on autopilot; today is not one of those days. I am not, however, seriously tempted to replace it with something nasty or accusatory since I’m doing my best to channel my inner Michelle Obama and thus working at going high … Continue reading The most obvious proximal cause
Thoughts, prayers, and our collective failure of imagination and will
Dear President Trump, Thoughts and prayers. Prayers and thoughts. And thoughts prayers. And prayers thoughts. Thoughts prayers and. Prayers thoughts and. It really doesn’t matter how the words are arranged, does it? The words can even be heartfelt and as sincere as humanly possible and that doesn’t matter either, does it? The people who are … Continue reading Thoughts, prayers, and our collective failure of imagination and will
Whether the Democrats step up is now the most pressing question
Dear President Trump, All day I’ve been asking myself if I can really stand by my position that the biggest, most consequential question of our lifetimes is whether the Democrats will step up and stop waffling on impeachment. It’s a bold claim since it spans the lifetimes of the youngest newborn baby and that of … Continue reading Whether the Democrats step up is now the most pressing question
What’s real and needs attention
Dear President Trump, I’m well past the years when hormones regularly amped up my emotional tenderness. And before pressing on, no, such cycling is not a sign of female weakness or irrationality. Rather, it’s a built-in course-corrector or truth serum that puts us back in touch with what’s real and needs attention. I would go … Continue reading What’s real and needs attention
May it not be too much to ask that we simply be safe
Dear President Trump, Why, pray tell, are you feeling so bat-shit crazy anxious on this fine May Day morn that you fired off 60+ Tweets in an hour? It wouldn’t have anything to do with Barr testifying before Congress, would it? Did your panties get in a twist over the release of Mueller’s late-March letter … Continue reading May it not be too much to ask that we simply be safe
We failed them
Dear President Trump, Behind all of the drama about what Barr said Mueller said has been another devastatingly sad story; the deaths by suicide of two Parkland, FL teens who survived the mass shooting at MSD high school last year and the death by suicide of a Newton, CT father of one of the first … Continue reading We failed them
Standing in the gap (2)
Dear President Trump, The second HP piece in what I’m calling their “standing in the gap” series, is about a program developed by Dr. Joseph Richardson Jr., at the University of Maryland. It’s designed for young black men who’ve been hospitalized two or more times because of gunshot or stabbing wounds. The idea is to … Continue reading Standing in the gap (2)
‘dued, as in subdued
Dear President Trump, It’s only Saturday, but the day has the melancholy feel of a Sunday (tomorrow should be loads of fun). We had some sun and bits of blue sky earlier that have since given way to clouds and flat light. Laura and I sometimes joke with each other on days like this that … Continue reading ‘dued, as in subdued
We shouldn’t have to work twice as hard
Dear President Trump, Thirteen more people (including the shooter) are dead from yet another mass shooting. Apparently if you target a very crowded dark place and use smoke bombs, you can kill and wound scores of people with a handgun, which indicates it’s really not enough to just ban assault rifles let alone simply send … Continue reading We shouldn’t have to work twice as hard
Daily Trump Letters 