Dear President Trump, The Olympic Mountains looked stunning today. They’re covered with snow and there was both thick fog skirting their bases and low cloud cover hovering along their tops. Late in the afternoon when the sun was in the West it was illuminating the mountains and they shone like a ribbon between the gray … Continue reading New normals
Science
Caring that we get things right
Dear President Trump, All sorts of things are going on in the news this morning. First, it looks like your trade deal with Mexico and Canada is getting a nice boost from Speaker Pelosi (fortunately after stronger supports for unions and workers’ rights were added). Second, despite your bogus complaints about the “do-nothing Democrats,” Pelosi … Continue reading Caring that we get things right
Layers of existential threat
Dear President Trump, This morning as I headed home near the end of my walk I saw a coyote loping down the street. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about previous coyotes sightings so the fact of coyotes roaming the streets around here isn’t brand new news. What is new is that this one was … Continue reading Layers of existential threat
Tough table topics
Dear President Trump, I’m guessing you and yours aren’t exactly looking forward to the big day tomorrow with all its focus on what one is thankful for. I bet most people at the table will drink too much and will laugh too loudly in their efforts to offset grumpy you (or really, freaked out you). … Continue reading Tough table topics
Visual environments that erase us
Dear President Trump, Since I wasn’t officially on the work clock Friday, having taken a sick day, I was relatively free to do more or less what I wanted, even if it did have to do with work. One of the work-y things I did that was repeatedly hard to get to during regular workdays … Continue reading Visual environments that erase us
May we put the data we have gathered to beneficial use
Dear President Trump, My talk earlier today went well and the symposium I was a part of was pretty much a hit. It was kind of amazing since we ranged from an overview of animal models of trauma and alcohol consumption to the epidemiology of trauma, PTSD, and alcohol use disorders among Mexican Americans and … Continue reading May we put the data we have gathered to beneficial use
When are microaggressions really macro-aggressions?
Dear President Trump, Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I thought it was kind of funny that in a recent picture of you with three other men, one of whom was Sondland, all of you were wearing solid color ties but only yours was red. Sondland’s was kind of pinky-orange and the other two … Continue reading When are microaggressions really macro-aggressions?
Susurrations and shrinking baselines
Dear President Trump, Susurration is such a wonderful word. If you don’t know what it means, you stable genius you, you might be able to figure it out if you say it aloud because it’s an onomatopoeia. And in case you also don’t know what an onomatopoeia is, it’s a word that was formed from … Continue reading Susurrations and shrinking baselines
The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Dear President Trump, This is another one of my absurd “if only” thoughts, but here goes: how about all the world leaders who have either refused to sign the Paris Climate Agreement or who have pulled their countries out of the Agreement spent at least two days in Dorian’s path? I think it’s a terrific … Continue reading The climate change reality show for select world leaders
Sometimes less really is more
Dear President Trump, So here’s another huge topic that I don’t really want to tackle but won’t leave me alone – how the hell do we not consign millions more people to poverty when we finally come around to the reality that we can’t keep generating stuff at a break-neck pace if we are going … Continue reading Sometimes less really is more
Daily Trump Letters 