Dear President Biden, We’re starting Day 3 of our weather-related, housebound holiday vacation and as grateful as I am that we have a house in which to be bound and that the power has somehow stayed on throughout, this is not exactly the winter break we’d envisioned. Fortunately we got two hikes in on Christmas …
The embrace of anti-truth
Dear President Biden, The other day I registered my dismay at your American exceptionalism rhetoric and the toxic masculinity that’s laced through such posturing and today I will register my dismay at what’s happening several notches up the toxic masculinity continuum. As you may have guessed, I’ve been reading about the House vote to censure …
A walk in the woods
Dear President Biden, I was hoping to keep this letter on the positive side of the scale and maybe in the end it’ll have tilted that way, but reading yesterday about the woman who was raped on a train in Philadelphia while onlookers snapped pics and recorded video but did nothing to help her, has …
The violence of nooses
Dear President Biden, It’s been a minute since I’ve had a moment to write to you. I don’t usually go this long between downloads, but a combination of being more tired than usual, having more work than usual, and playing more Scrabble than usual (as in playing Scrabble at all) have led to low letter …
“The lives we are all entitled to.”
Dear President Biden, This morning on our dog-walk-in-the-rain we took a lap around the Sandpoint Country Club to the east of us, an old haunt that we used to frequent almost once a week pre-COVID for it’s lush landscaping, sweeping views of Lake Washington, and sedate drivers. About halfway around the loop I pondered aloud …
The brilliance of “Tired” by Langston Hughes
Dear President Biden, I didn’t think the Chauvin verdict would come so quickly and rather than pivot now, I’m going to go with what I drafted this morning before work. But please know, I am relieved and grateful for Chauvin’s conviction on all three counts. At the same time, please know, I grieve for young …
Continue reading "The brilliance of “Tired” by Langston Hughes"
We are a despicable lot
Dear President Biden, Last night my brother texted and then called to tell me that Wednesday night when he was walking his roommate’s dog a police car rolled up alongside him. He said the officer was friendly but that he conveyed the message that someone had called the police reporting that a Black man was …
Deep pockets and shallow ethics
Dear President Biden, Most everything coming out of your White House has been much more palatable than anything that ever came out of DLT’s White House. This includes your recent Executive Order targeting ghost guns and stabilizing braces for pistols, and putting more money towards community-based violence prevention programs. At least it looks like you’re …
Safety haiku
Dear President Biden, This morning our Senior Minister, the Reverend Dr. Kelle Brown, preached on “Entrances and Exits” for Palm Sunday, juxtaposing Jesus’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem with his horrifying exit from this life via crucifixion. In unpacking her understanding of what happened to Jesus at this crucial juncture she lifted up the idea that …
Equality and equity and EO #13985
Dear President Biden, We just watched a short clip that Julius Goat posted on Twitter of you talking about the stimulus package and your desire to get ‘er done even without the Republicans. He tagged it with something like “I know what I hate and I don’t hate this,” which, from JG, is high praise …