9/17/2026

My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,

Did Natalie (NH) share with you the news that Annie Dillard (AD) passed on? If NH is a reader than she probably knows “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (PaTC).” If she’s not, she has undoubtedly heard  the "crash helmets" passage from Teaching a Stone to Talk. At least that’s what the Anthropic program told me when I asked it if Evangelical Christians read AD’s work.

Please express your condolences to AD’s many fans. Her writing helped us see the world in a new way. For me it was reading about in PaTC where she wrote about the ways in which “bloodied & scarred creatures” are her “dearest companions.” This idea helped me to embrace my flaws. 

You might want to read a bit of AD today. It will soothe your soul which must be rather perturbed by the news that interest rates are going up. 

If you are bent out of shape, do not consult with Anthropic or OpenAI’s programs to feel better about your situation! They tend to employ sycophantic techniques to validate you which can lead to extremely bad decisions. If you want to see some of the misguided things people have done based on their conversations with chatbots, read Open Ethics piece, “When machines feel too real: the dangers of anthropomorphizing AI.” 

I’m afraid NH may be acting like a chatbot in her interactions with you so it might be time to cut back on your interactions with her.

Did you have a hand in getting Adam Castillo (AC) out of the Insein Prison in Burma? According to the AP, he was jailed when he flew back to Burma from a trip to Malaysia where he was promoting his memoir. The whole situation is complicated & involves $300,000. My guess is MAH did not like what AC wrote about the junta in his book & incarcerated him as an example to others. In any case, AC’s family is grateful for his release  & so am I. 

BYBS,