Dear President Trump, LOL – I almost wrote “Dear President Tramp.” It actually works pretty well if we consider the verb form; “ to walk heavily or stomp about.” You don’t do anything cautiously, let alone thoughtfully – you’re a stomper, for sure. Then there’s the noun form, which refers to someone who “travels from … Continue reading Canaries in snowy coalmines
Reality
Looks like Vladimir is working it from both sides
Dear President Trump, I wish I could feel good about how likely it is that both the House and the Senate will pass a resolution to nullify your bogus emergency declaration (update: the House did pass it earlier today). Yes, it’s necessary that we go through these motions in response to your reckless, asinine actions, … Continue reading Looks like Vladimir is working it from both sides
Radical empathy and more lack thereofs (Part 3)
Dear President Trump, Even though I’d rather fuss at you about any number of things, it feels important to instead tell you about a couple of concrete examples where I’ve caught myself behaving in ways that lacked empathy for black people since there’s little point in just focusing on these issues in the abstract. The … Continue reading Radical empathy and more lack thereofs (Part 3)
Radical empathy (Part 1)
Dear President Trump, I suppose it doesn’t matter too, too much where I start, no matter what angle one approaches it from, it’s sad, infuriating, and overwhelming. But it does feel important to get the story straight and to tell it reasonably well since it’s one that so many of us white people have a … Continue reading Radical empathy (Part 1)
Super unfair stuff
Dear President Trump, I’m not finished with the Quadlin study yet so you aren’t either. Yesterday’s letter was already on the long side so I didn’t get into the finding that among men there wasn’t a significant effect of grade point average on likelihood of being called in for an interview. Well, it’s still bugging … Continue reading Super unfair stuff
The awesome power of a free mind
Dear President Trump, In Soul Choir this morning we practiced the anthem we’ll sing next week – “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley. It’s not an easy song from a musical standpoint so I was really grateful when the musicians among us asked that we go over certain parts (repeatedly) since it was tough for them … Continue reading The awesome power of a free mind
Cynically malevolent
Dear President Trump, Yesterday I had my first squirrel siting in over two weeks. The poor thing seemed kind of addled as it hopped in a sketchy zigzag line up the icy strip in the middle of the street. It’s still unusually cold here, but now it’s raining instead of snowing and we’re down to … Continue reading Cynically malevolent
Fundamentally hosed
Dear President Trump, Here are some (valid) definitions of the word e·mer·gen·cy: noun: emergency; plural noun: emergencies a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action an urgent need for assistance or relief I took the liberty of underlining the … Continue reading Fundamentally hosed
Burnt toast and hogwash
Dear President Trump, This morning….. Happy Valentine’s Day. I’m guessing you aren’t exactly feeling the love from your loudest peeps as they attempt to raise the freak-out level over the compromise budget bill that most certainly will not buy you or them a wall. In fact, I bet you’re getting many a nasty-gram as you … Continue reading Burnt toast and hogwash
Changing conditions
Dear President Trump, I know you’ve got your hands full (of remotes) keeping tabs on the world, but if you can tear yourself away from F & F you should look at some pictures of Seattle – we got 10.6” of snow overnight and it’s really beautiful here. We’re supposed to get down to 16 … Continue reading Changing conditions