Dear President Trump, Just giving you a head’s up; this is going to be a longer than usual letter. I found out from Laura yesterday that our brother-in-law’s oncologist told him that people with his type of cancer (i.e., bone metastases from an organ tumor) have a median life expectancy of 20 months. This is … Continue reading Systemic consequences
Human Rights
It’s so tempting to dehumanize dehumanizers
Dear President Trump, Laura flew to Atlanta last night to be with her brother and our brother-in-law (BIL) for several days. We now know that the bone cancer came from a tumor in one of BIL’s kidneys, but we don’t know yet whether it’s spread elsewhere. He started palliative radiation treatment yesterday for pain and … Continue reading It’s so tempting to dehumanize dehumanizers
Mental gymnastics are bad for the soul
Dear President Trump, Due to character count limits yesterday I trimmed out my prediction that we’d be showered with multiple Trump Twitter bombs today as you scramble to keep your supporters looking at the shiny object that is you rather than paying attention to Chris Wallace (Fox News) questioning Rudy G about his massive flip-flopping … Continue reading Mental gymnastics are bad for the soul
We don’t have time for this
Dear President Trump, It’s kind of silly and it probably means I need a break, but I came up with some more “F” words to describe how you’ve been dealing with the threats to your presidency: Fuss. Fume. Fabricate. Falter. Fake. Foment. Falsify. Filch. Fleece. Flounce. Flout. I still think “Flail” is the best single … Continue reading We don’t have time for this
Self-appointed arbiters of personhood
Dear President Trump, This is not an original thought, but it hit me yesterday in a clearer way than ever before that religion is frequently used as a cudgel to deny certain people full personhood. The core messages of the central religious tracts we say are foundational to our country focus on treating others as … Continue reading Self-appointed arbiters of personhood
Sacrificial lambs on the altar of your ambition
Dear President Trump, I’m distracted and not sure I’ll be able to write you a proper letter today. Our daughter has been in England for three weeks with her crew team and they are set to come home tomorrow, but we heard from her a couple of hours ago that her passport is missing. She … Continue reading Sacrificial lambs on the altar of your ambition
Relentlessly cruel
Dear President Trump, Last night the illegal fireworks were relentless. They started around 7pm and went until at least 1am. Once they really got going there were long bursts of ten or fifteen rounds every five minutes and there were more different types of scary, percussive sounds than any of us can remember ever hearing … Continue reading Relentlessly cruel
“Dangers of nostalgia….”
Dear President Trump, Yesterday we peeked in the window of a gallery downtown that was closed. The bleached, white-washed American flag with plastic stripes and star background full of shredded money hanging in the front window is a strong, pointed piece as are cutout iron strips that say “Freedom is Slavery,” “Ignorance is Strength,” and … Continue reading “Dangers of nostalgia….”
“Why are you lying about it, sir?”
Dear President Trump, What happens now? Are you going to start detaining entire families in cages? Although that would be marginally better than sending parents and children to separate cages hundreds of miles away from each other, it is still a sick, cowardly approach to the humanitarian crises asylum seekers and immigrants from Mexico and … Continue reading “Why are you lying about it, sir?”
Nothing better happen to Feinberg
Dear President Trump, You have some messed up ideas about strength. Your statement that strength necessarily means one doesn’t have a heart is absolutely nuts. It’s like you’re living inside a primitive comic book where strength is expressed only within a “might is right” framework. I realize you have to keep saying how strong you … Continue reading Nothing better happen to Feinberg