Dear President Trump, Whether you care at all, I’m sure you’ve heard that Cokie Roberts died yesterday from complications of breast cancer. She was only 75. I heard clips of some of her interviews on NPR driving home last night and when they aired the one where she interrupted the other broadcaster and told him … Continue reading Not afraid
Intimidation
Safety and equality, equality and safety
Dear President Trump, There’s a line in Melinda Gates’ new book, The Moment of Lift, which I keep coming back to (pg. 163): “There is no equality without safety.” There are hundreds of insightful, gasp-in-recognition lines in the book, lines that evoke reverential nods and copious underlining for their elegant statement of fact, but this … Continue reading Safety and equality, equality and safety
Dysfunctional family dynamics R US
Dear President Trump, Looks like you’re keeping it light today with just three things on your schedule so far. Probably good for a Friday that falls on the 13th day of the month since I bet you can’t help but worry about such things. I just looked up why people are superstitious about Friday the … Continue reading Dysfunctional family dynamics R US
Real f*cking snowflakes
Dear President Trump, Two things this morning got me muttering “f*cking babies” over and over, but before I tell you what they are I want to say that I decided it would be better to go with “f*cking snowflakes” instead since I don’t want to denigrate babies. Babies are supposed to get fussy and cry. … Continue reading Real f*cking snowflakes
“Thoughts and prayers” = morally corrupt shields
Dear President Trump, Last night I finally got to see the Big Dipper. I managed to block the incredibly bright streetlight in front of our house with my right hand and after letting my eyes adjust for a few seconds, the Big Dipper appeared in the Northwestern sky in all its sparkly glory. And this … Continue reading “Thoughts and prayers” = morally corrupt shields
Beginner’s mind revisited and scary things in the woods
Dear President Trump, So I realized this morning that it’s rather a paradox or a conundrum or something (not even sure what it is) to say anything the least bit authoritative about the concept of beginner’s mind, like I did yesterday. I certainly don’t, and didn’t, pretend to be an expert on it (which would … Continue reading Beginner’s mind revisited and scary things in the woods
Handy targets
Dear President Trump, Dude, why don’t you just introduce a new Amendment to the Constitution allowing bigoted people to discriminate against anyone they want for whatever reason they choose to pull out of their asses? If you did it that way we could be done with this cynical, piecemeal game you all are playing with … Continue reading Handy targets
Addiction to racism
Dear President Trump, Even though I can’t find explicit reference to it in my notes from the People’s Institute’s Undoing Racism workshop*, I’m 99% certain that at some point during those two days the idea that America is addicted to racism was introduced. I do see in my notes reference to the high degree of … Continue reading Addiction to racism
Caring is risky and hard
Dear President Trump, It’s one of those Sunday evenings when it feels like I’ve been up for two days straight. I slept in until 8 this morning and got plenty of sleep so it’s really not an exhaustion that makes logical sense, but it’s real. My feet hurt and that “please don’t look at me … Continue reading Caring is risky and hard
God’s boundless love hasn’t exactly reconciled race and clan
Dear President Trump, Yesterday in church the opening hymn was Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You (the real title is The Hymn of Joy). With an opening line of “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You, God of glory, God of love” it’s quite an awkward one to sub out the word “God” with “love” like I’ve been … Continue reading God’s boundless love hasn’t exactly reconciled race and clan
Daily Trump Letters 