Dear President Trump, As you know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about historical corrections and it occurs to me that I should clarify that there are at least two different types of historical corrections: 1) corrections to the historical record itself (e.g., telling the story more completely and accurately by bringing in points of … Continue reading Apologies and amends
Propaganda
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
Sport and social control
Dear President Trump, This morning on my walk I was thinking about a comment I read or heard sometime in the last several months about how the Chinese government was confident that mainland Chinese citizens would grow weary of coverage of the protests in Hong Kong and would soon be entranced again by their TV … Continue reading Sport and social control
Calling out problematic headlines and getting results
Dear President Trump, I never know whether the thing that occurs to me at 10pm to write to you about the next day will be compelling enough to hang in through the night and the next morning’s adventures (ha!). Of course it helps when the news cycle is stale and things are quiet around here, … Continue reading Calling out problematic headlines and getting results
Associative learning and Joe Biden
Dear President Trump, This morning Laura and I took a not-rainy walk (finally!) with the dogs in the part of town we call “Swale-land.” It’s on the way to the grocery store and it feels kind of exotic because every other street is lined with richly planted swales instead of the usual plain grass nature … Continue reading Associative learning and Joe Biden
Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Dear President Trump, Just a few minutes ago out the back window to the East, the light on the huge fir trees (and one birch) in the distance was doing this incredible glow/shadow thing where some of the faces of the trees were bathed in golden light and other faces were charcoal-looking, like they couldn’t … Continue reading Sunshine and shadow, shadow and sunshine
Time to whistle in the dark
Dear President Trump, Can you whistle? Probably not, but surely you can hum. I bet people within earshot of you are hearing an off-key hummed version of “Oh Happy Day” or something like that now that you’ve locked down the impeachment trial and avoided the disaster of involving witnesses and document discovery. You are getting … Continue reading Time to whistle in the dark
Professed beliefs are perhaps not real beliefs
Dear President Trump, Recent events have me going back to Barbara Kruger’s installation at the Hirshorn Museum. I told you about it when I visited there in 2017 and since I’m sure you don’t remember, I’ll remind you that it involves the entire central open space of the museum’s bottom floor as well as the … Continue reading Professed beliefs are perhaps not real beliefs
Truth telling POTUS ~ A thought experiment
Dear President Trump, We haven’t done this in a while and since we seem to be stuck replaying the same old scenes, saying (or yelling) the same old lines at each other, I think it’s time for another thought experiment. Are you ready? No, of course not, but since this whole daily letter writing to … Continue reading Truth telling POTUS ~ A thought experiment
Wrapped toadies and snowed peeps
Dear President Trump, This afternoon’s WP article about Dershowitz joining your legal team (Sonmez & DeBonis) is something else. The authors quote Dershowitz extensively and make clear that he’s no fan of yours, and that in fact, he thinks you’re a menace. In another piece, your buddy George Conway wonders very out loud what Dershowitz … Continue reading Wrapped toadies and snowed peeps
Daily Trump Letters 