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
Ukraine
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
Breathing out and breathing in
Dear President Trump, I’m afraid I don’t have much for you tonight, but I’ll give you what I’ve got. It’s raining again (we’re at 131% of normal thus far for 2020) and the forecast is for more and more and more rain this week. Lately it’s been sounding like there’s a creek under our house … Continue reading Breathing out and breathing in
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
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
“Lordy, Lordy, Lordy”
Dear President Trump, He’s been gone for 26 years now, but I can almost hear Laura’s dad saying “Lordy, Lordy, Lordy” like he’s right here sitting in the living room with us. He’d always say it when he was incredulous about something someone had done; he’d shake his head slowly back and forth as he … Continue reading “Lordy, Lordy, Lordy”
Eyes wide with fear
Dear President Trump, Much has already been said about your strange, even-for-you, speech about Iran yesterday. I’d seen some of the assessments noting how stilted and incoherent you were and heard about how widely dilated your pupils were. I even looked up which drugs of abuse tend to dilate mammalian pupils (cocaine, amphetamine, meth, and … Continue reading Eyes wide with fear
Thank goodness for heroes
Dear President Trump, Look how easily we’ve slid into full-on war-mode and how easily we’ve let impeachment slip down the priority list. I know you don’t drink, but have you all been doing a lot of self-congratulatory glass-clinking lately? Have you been getting hearty slaps on the back from old pals who can get away … Continue reading Thank goodness for heroes
Fixes
Dear President Trump, Happy Solstice! Did you and the fam do anything to celebrate the shortest day of the year or did you studiously avoid it because you don’t acknowledge things that are the shortest, smallest, briefest? You generally are only in it for the biggest, hugest, longest whatevers so you probably let this day … Continue reading Fixes
“defiance of something”
Dear President Trump, Before I settle down and tell you about my biggest learn of the morning I’m going to throw some popcorn thoughts at you. Here goes: I so, so wish that the WP (and other outlets) would stop saying what you “believe” as though they know what you believe. In this morning’s long … Continue reading “defiance of something”
