Letters to the POTUS

Nov 10

Nov 10 11/10/2023

…Did your heart swell when you heard AUW Local 1268 Pres Matt Frantzen gushing about how grateful he was for the phone calls you made on behalf of his “brothers & sisters?” I loved hearing his Chicago accent, especially when he said, “honor.”…

Nov 9

Nov 9 11/9/2023

…When you talk with Shawn Fain today, please ask him to work with the teacher’s unions to bring his magic to their efforts. He amazed me with his success with the big 3!…

Nov 8

Nov 8 11/8/2023

…you need to campaign more on environmental issues. … our kids are “crafting a new ethos about consumption, ‘progress,’ & what it means to have a good life.” They reject the idea of never-ending expansion….Please encourage them!

Nov 7

Nov 7 11/7/2023

…Photos of the Amtrak event yesterday show you grinning from ear to ear. As “train-rider-in-chief” you must have been thrilled…

Nov 6

Nov 6 11/6/2023

…If you want to see a nice example of that, check out today’s NYT’s story about a Jewish San Franciscan whose ice cream store was vandalized by an antisemite….

Nov 6

Nov 6 11/5/2023

…My visit to the new Gorman Museum of Native American (NA) Art on the UCD campus illustrated that vanquished people survive. The collection of contemporary works included many expressions of the idea that despite efforts to eradicate them, NAs have survived & adapted….

Nov 4

Nov 4 11/4/2023

…What’s up with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou? He looks like some of the boys I went to high school with in 1978, too cool for school & hoping to get high. Was he on board with the plan to avoid China’s “debt-trap diplomacy” & embrace our “high-quality transparent approaches to infrastructure and inter-development” investment?…

Nov 2

Nov 2 11/2/2023

…I am concerned that we are all ensnared in binaries & it’s tearing us apart…

Nov 1

Nov 1 11/1/2023

…You could launch your “Investing in Rural America” program anywhere, why pick Northfield, MN? ….You could have gone to Callaway, MN, instead, where Native Harvest works to maintain the ag practices of the Chippewa….

Oct 31

Oct 31 10/31/2023

…How was your trick-or-treating event yesterday? I love that the theme was “Hallo-READ!” …Why didn’t you don a costume? Since Jill was a cat, you could have been a dog….

Oct 30

Oct 30 10/30/23

…Our recent obsession with AI has me scratching my head. It was NOT invented yesterday. In fact, I just found a fascinating article “An AI experiment in college math education” written at Harvard in 2003….

Oct 29

Oct 29 10/29/2023

…Do you worry about a black swan event with China? Today’s news of a Chinese fighter jet flying within 10 feet of an American B-52 bomber caught my attention. Best to open lines of communication ASAP….

Oct 28

Oct 28 10/28/2023

…Did you see the compelling demonstration at the Lincoln Memorial yesterday of the shabbat table with empty chairs? The families of the hostages do not want us to forget that their loved ones are in Gaza in tunnels vulnerable to whatever attack Bibi may order….

Oct 27

Oct 27 10/27/2023

…Ned Temko, has hope for the Mid-East. He emphasizes that the situation is complex with “both sides feel(ing) immensely vulnerable, immensely uncertain, & immensely angry.”…

Oct 26

Oct 26 10/26/2023

…Did you have fun with the Aussies at the WH last night? According to the G, you had quite the group including a rap star, an Indigenous voice process co-designer & a body positivity activist. WOW! …