Dear President Trump, The other day Laura texted our daughter to check in with her on the last day of their respective quarters to congratulate her on being almost finished with her first year of college and to see how she was feeling about finals. She texted back saying she’s feeling ok about how things … Continue reading Prejudice and Pride
Human Rights
“Natural Laws” and “Natural Rights”
Dear President Trump, It’s after 9pm and I’m just getting started with today’s letter so not sure how this is going to go, but I’m not incapacitated so tonight’s not the night I’m going to miss writing to you. Early in the day I saw the HP piece about Obama’s Ethics Chief, Walter Shaub’s many-Tweet … Continue reading “Natural Laws” and “Natural Rights”
Frighteningly unhinged POTUS
Dear President Trump, Before I get to the business end of today’s letter, I want to let you know that your contact page and the universe conspired in a pretty funny way. Yesterday’s letter was all about raising an alarm regarding the number of copyediting errors I’ve seen in the WP lately and at the … Continue reading Frighteningly unhinged POTUS
Housing for goodness’ sake
Dear President Trump, Recently I was on the periphery of a conversation that kept dipping in and out of tense territory. It never quite landed squarely in the squirmy zone, but it still had me wishing it would end much sooner than it did. The first person involved made a compassionate, yet practical, argument for … Continue reading Housing for goodness’ sake
Marginalized voices
Dear President Trump, I told you yesterday that Laura and I took the dogs on a walking tour of the University campus to see the heron rookery. We tagged on visiting a couple of the newer buildings on campus that Laura wanted to show me with the idea that I could go in and check … Continue reading Marginalized voices
Enlightening bolts and Mx.
Dear President Trump, I can always tell when you and your administration are stressed because your contact page “autoreplies” are delayed such that notes back to me come in odd clumps days later rather than arriving within a few minutes of submission. This latest round has been going on since the Mueller report was finalized. … Continue reading Enlightening bolts and Mx.
Yemen, votes, and a veto
Dear President Trump, Veto #2 is behind you and again it seems unlikely that there’s any chance this side of hell that either the House or the Senate (let alone both) can muster enough votes to override you so our involvement in the Saudi-backed war in Yemen will continue. Indefinitely. Using the words “veto” and … Continue reading Yemen, votes, and a veto
We are not now and never will be an autocracy despite some people’s best efforts
Dear President Trump, In past letters I’ve covered how the Declaration of Independence promised only some life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness, but Roger Kagan’s recent WP essay on the rise of autocracies has led me to revisit the topic. Kagan lays out how the predictability of contained communities and circumscribed kin-groups is … Continue reading We are not now and never will be an autocracy despite some people’s best efforts
Because God said….. Excuse me?!
Dear President Trump, Yesterday our pastor focused her sermon on the book of Numbers, chapter 27, verses 1-8, which tells the story of five sisters whose father just died. They get Moses to have a chat with God because they want to be able to share their father’s wealth with his brothers – at least … Continue reading Because God said….. Excuse me?!
Sick of sticking to the script
Dear President Trump, This morning on the way to church I was thinking about the HP article by Felicia Harris where she describes how Michelle Obama “crashed” her book club meeting. Really, the book club members won tickets to Obama’s book tour and it happened that Obama had read the love letter they sent her … Continue reading Sick of sticking to the script
Daily Trump Letters 