Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #6

11/21/16

Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

I had literal nightmares about your appointment of Senator Jeff Sessions as Attorney General last night.  They still qualify as nightmares even though honestly, they were merely full of a low-key fog of dystopic horror indistinguishable from reality. 

In the dream I had a samurai tattooed on my belly, and my parents were alive.  I wanted to go listen to music.  My father said I needed to make a large black cat first.  I said I wasn't sure how.  My mother didn't want me hanging around in bars, but I told my father I had a friend meeting me there and he said that was smart.  He seemed to think I would be ok.

I understand the message of my dream.  It's time to be a warrior, and an artist, to listen to each other's songs.  There isn't actually a way for you to turn back the clock, no matter how hard you try.  I have friends meeting me there.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Amis
Citizen of these United States of America


From Dorine Jennette:

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF
Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on!
You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact
Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . .
As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Dorine's posts can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/dorine.jennette

PS from Sara:  I've taken to just tweeting these at him.  He's not going to read them anyway, but I might as well use the platform that he actually responds to.  *snort*

Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #5

11/20/16

Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

So, I hear you settled your Trump University fraud case for $25 million.  You immediately tried to spin it as being "smart" (because you would have spent more money if it had gone to court...Doesn't that amount to an admission of guilt?) and because you're too busy with the important business of preparing to destroy American democracy more than you already have.  That's not how you put it, but I read between the lines.

I mentioned before that I teach college.  I am from a family of educators; five generations of my family at least, maybe more.  I have a distant cousin who calls it the family business.  Not a very profitable one, most of the time. But my family has a record of public service and idealism going back to the American Revolution and beyond.

I have a teaching philosophy statement that says things like "Teaching is the art of cultivating epiphany" and muses on the balance of challenge and encouragement necessary for teaching complex skills. Running underneath, unstated, is my belief that every human being who walks into my classroom has unique skills and gifts worthy of development. I teach all of my students with equal attention to their potential.  I see all of them, their presence in my classroom, as a kind of grace.

You see students as rubes to be manipulated with promises of success and separated from their money.  Education for profit is not education; it is a cynical poisoning of people's dreams.  Trump University isn't just the latest in your string of bad business and chicanery.  It is an insult to every teacher in America, every person who believes education is a means to uplift those who struggle, every American who understands that education is a cornerstone of our democracy. I note that what landed you in court is not the fraud itself, but the fact that people eventually figured it out, got the backbone to admit they'd been conned, and rebelled.  Your campaign for President has been exactly the same as your other cons:  big empty promises, manipulation of people's desires for a better life, a cynical poisoning of the the American Dream for your own advantage.  Those who have tasted your poison may yet recover, once they realize that there's nothing there. May it be so.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Amis
Citizen of these United States of America


From Dorine Jennette:

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF
Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on!
You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact
Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . .
As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Dorine's posts can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/dorine.jennette

PS from Sara:  I've taken to just tweeting these at him.  He's not going to read them anyway, but I might as well use the platform that he actually responds to.  *snort*

Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #4

11/19/16

Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

I went to yet another doctor's appointment this morning.  I am fortunate in that I now have a job that provides insurance, one of those flexible spending accounts, and all of that.  There have been periods of time in my life when I didn't have those things.  There have been periods of time when I was dependent on Medicaid, notably when I was fired when I got pregnant.  (They, too, viewed pregnancy as "inconvenient").  I had eclampsia when my son was born and nearly died; if I hadn't been getting weekly checkups, I would certainly be dead now and probably my son along with me.

There was also a period of time a couple of years ago when the legislature was playing politics with my job and my insurance was dropped; I had to get it through the ACA exchanges. As I am diabetic, this was not a trivial matter and even though I was able to get the care I needed, the instability of it caused me some problems.  Nerve damage from high blood sugar levels is not reversible, by the way.  I am here to say that any attempt to undermine or repeal the ACA, or to dismantle Medicare/Medicaid, means people will die. I know this for a fact.  You know this, or you should.  Paul Ryan and Mike Pence certainly know this. 

Just between you and me, I know you aren't trying to make health care better for average Americans.  You are trying to make it better for insurance companies.  That means you are putting a price on American lives, and because insurance is all about math, it's actually possible to determine what that price is.  There is an actual answer to this question:  How much profit is each person's death worth?  (As a side question, how much profit does needless suffering due to lack of preventative care translate into?  I suspect that is the real bonanza here; I'm not worth much dead, but as a potential diabetes patient on dialysis I'm probably worth hundreds of thousands). And how much of it redounds to you personally, or to Paul Ryan, or Mike Pence?  Are you benefiting directly, or are you just doing it as a favor for a friend?

Yours sincerely,

Sara Amis
Citizen of these United States of America


From Dorine Jennette:

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF
Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on!
You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact
Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . .
As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Dorine's posts can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/dorine.jennette

Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #3

11/18/16

Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

I skipped a day.  Did you miss me?  Did you think I gave up already?  I drive an hour and a half each way to teach college.  I teach writing, critical thinking, and such things as supporting claims with evidence.  After working all day I went to a political meeting. So while I wasn't composing specific words aimed at you, you could say that my whole day was a repudiation of every damage you have already visited upon our Republic. 

Today I made some phone calls.  I expressed my distaste for your white supremacist appointees where it would do the most good.  I figured I would exercise all of my glorious First Amendment rights while I still have them.  Expect a lot more of that.

By the way, it is in no way President Obama or Hillary Clinton's job to tell the protesters to stand down.  It's now YOUR job to quell their fears by acting like a President should, and reassuring them that you aren't about to set the Constitution and our whole way of life on fire.  So far you aren't doing a very good job. My advice:  Kick Bannon to the curb.  Send your children home; if they are going to run your business interests, they should be nowhere near the White House.  Stop acting like a fascist in waiting, and maybe people would freak out a little less.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Amis
Citizen of these United States of America


From Dorine Jennette:

PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF
Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on!
You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact
Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . .
As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Dorine's posts can be found here:  https://www.facebook.com/dorine.jennette

Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #2

11/16/16


Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

I just wanted to mention a couple of things about that interview you gave for 60 Minutes.

First off...a "couple" of incidents?  The Southern Poverty Law Center has logged over 400 instances of hate-filled intimidation and harassment since your election.  437 as of this writing.  And counting.  I am aware of a few here in Georgia, either as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution or in my own social circles.

Secondly...Paid protesters is not a thing.  It's a common right-wing myth, but it's bullshit.  During Occupy some of us would sarcastically greet one another with "Got your check from Soros yet?" "Nope" "Me neither. Bastard quit taking my calls."  (Next time you see him, let him know I'm still waiting).


I've never encountered anyone actually being paid to protest, ever. The closest is organizers sometimes get a salary from the organization they are part of, and union members may get a supplement to make up for the loss of pay when they are on a strike, but as far as mass numbers of people being paid to go out into the streets? How do you think that would even work?

I don't think you have thought that through.  There seem to be a lot of things you didn't think through. And I'm wondering why the right accuses the left of astroturf grassroots and insincerity so often.  Are you projecting?

Of course, I'm writing from the assumption that you didn't know you were wrong when you said those things.  That is me being charitable.  Either you were deliberately lying, or you are inexcusably ignorant.  Which is it?

Or...more charitable...you are trusting the wrong people to inform you. That is a problem you can solve, right now. It would have been better if you'd done so before, but...better late than never.  Bear in mind that there will be a point where it is actually too late, and I'm worried about that. You ran on telling everyone how dangerous the world is.  You volunteered to protect us.

I don't trust you to be able to do that. Prove me wrong.

Yours sincerely,

Sara Amis
Citizen of these United States


PS for those following my Twitter back to my blog, or who otherwise find it, who think you are going to make me another statistic:  First, you'll be proving my point and second, Georgia has pretty good cyber harassment laws, and third...don't think I would do this without a plan.  Civil disagreement is fine.  Anything else will be dealt with summarily.  Don't try me.


From Dorine Jennette: PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on! You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . . As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Dear Assailant-in-Chief, Letter #1

Dear Assailant-in-Chief,

In the week after the election, I was texting back and forth with a friend. He is a Gulf War veteran, was wounded and has PTSD. He is also, like over a million people in the US, HIV+

He is absolutely, utterly, completely terrified that the Ryan Smith funding that keeps people like him alive is going to be cut...if not immediately, then soon. Paul Ryan has said he wants to cut it. Mike Pence has said he wants to cut it. Even if you don’t personally, your callous attitude about the consequences of some of your other policy items suggests that you won’t protect it. You may see it as a bargaining chip, something to trade for something you do care about. You may trade my friend’s life away for a stupid wall that should never be built, or something equally pointless. Equally dead.

You need to understand that he views every vote for you as a vote to murder him. He views it as a personal betrayal by the country he risked his life for. You are, in your choice of running-mate, responsible for that.
Unfair? Maybe. Did you think that being President was going to be fair? You should ask the guy who is still sitting in the office you are about to step into. He will no doubt be gracious, because that is who he is. He may not even mention the words “birth certificate.”

Being President means being responsible. For all of it. Everything that you do or don’t do, every consequence of every choice you or your staff or your administration makes, intended or unintended. Every. Single. One.

I hope you find that terrifying. Not because I am cruel, but because it would show that you at long last comprehend what you’ve done. I am certainly terrified, along with many other people, along with my friend.
I haven’t heard from him in a couple of days. I hope he’s ok. I’ll keep asking.

Citizen of these United States,

Sara Amis

From Dorine Jennette: PLEASE JOIN ME IN WRITING THE ASSAILANT-IN-CHIEF Please join me in bombarding the Assailant-in-Chief with letters: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact. I will write to him every day through his first 100 days in office, maybe longer if momentum holds. I am asking others to write just ONE letter. Let's not just vent our grief to each other--let's speak truth to power together. Please WRITE and please SHARE this plan with your friends. Pass it on! You do not need to be a woman or an assault survivor to address the Assailant-in-Chief as such. If you are a man who has a daughter, a sister, a wife, a woman colleague or friend you respect, or a mother (hint: that last one is all of you!), then you have something to say to the Assailant-in-Chief. Your letter might be a brief one-liner. That's great! Please send it! Women need our allies now. Here's the link to DJT's contact page--this might take you one minute or less! https://www.donaldjtrump.com/contact Or, maybe you will start a related project addressing any one of the many groups Trump has already harmed . . . As we talk with each other, let's break the bubble and also send our complaints straight to the source. He won't read them and won't care if he does, so probably this is a placeholder action while we figure out what we're really going to do . . . but it's something.

Four Hundred Miles of Bad Road, aka What's Wrong With South DeKalb?

My partner, George Chidi, is running for the DeKalb County Commission, to represent the "super-district" 7 which comprises the eastern half of the county and runs all the way from Doraville down through Tucker, Stone Mountain, Lithonia, and to the area of south DeKalb between Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area and Panola Mountain State Park, which is where we were today.  It's beautiful there, with a hiking/biking trail that stretches from the south end of Arabia Mountain and passes Stonecrest Mall on its way to Lithonia proper, the kind of woodsy suburbia typical of Atlanta, built up with comfortable subdivisions interspersed with older homes. It's an easy 25 minute commute to downtown via I-20. I had work to do for my teaching job, so I left him to it and went in search of a coffee shop where I could set up my laptop and put in some caffeine-fueled productivity. I've done this several times on other days in other parts of the county.

I couldn't find one.

Eventually, I located a Panera, which was almost but not quite...they have coffee and wifi, but they are really a volume restaurant business, so they do not encourage people to linger that long.  Translated into practical terms, they don't have wall outlets so the limit of your battery is the limit of your stay.  Mine, alas, was dead, so I didn't get much done.

I thought to myself, "How does this place not have a Starbucks?"  Apparently that's a common question.  It may seem like a trivial one, but...having an "office with coffee" is both a marker of and an impetus to economic as well as social activity.  People have meetings.  They work.  They have random encounters and conversations.  There was plenty of that going on in Panera, to be sure, but...that's it?

Understand, the area around Stonecrest and Lithonia is pretty resolutely middle class, both in appearance and demographics, and also typical of similar areas in the county; imagine the small-town vibe and easy highway access of Tucker, with the greenway and park placement of Stone Mountain.  It's a little more spread out...but for many of us, that's a feature not a bug.

It's also weirdly economically depressed.  Boarded up houses, abandoned commercial buildings.  What ought to be prime real estate along the greenway doesn't seem to be as valued as it would be elsewhere in the area.  Real estate values have bounced back from the crash in 2008 and then some elsewhere...in south DeKalb, not so much.   What's going on here?

The residents have noticed, and complained, and mostly been ignored. The prevailing theory in some quarters is that Those People In North DeKalb (ie, white people) are keeping all the goodies to themselves.  This idea has driven much of the animus between the north and south ends of the county, and the political deadlock, for some time now.  It is a fact that the most significant difference between Tucker and Lithonia, which are otherwise pretty much mirror images of each other, is racial makeup.  People can be excused for being suspicious.  I'm pretty much on board with the idea that if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a racist duck.  I just don't think the residents of north DeKalb are the source of the problem. It doesn't make logical sense from a sheer, bloody-minded, self-interested perspective:  more economic development in south DeKalb means higher property values which means more tax revenue which means everyone's taxes go down.  Everybody wins!  There may indeed be someone who is profiting off of limiting opportunities for south DeKalb, but it's not the average resident in the rest of the county.  They are also getting screwed, if more indirectly.

Well, and what to do?  I don't know; but driving around I also noticed that the roads were (like the rest of the county, and perhaps more so) not in good shape.  I have heard two things from my ringside seat at many a wonktastic discussion of local politics:  that businesses base placement decisions partially on traffic counts, and that DeKalb County has 400 miles of roads that need re-paving.  The condition of the roads isn't the only thing that affects traffic counts, of course, but...surely that's a place to start?  Blight, artificially depressed property values, infrastructure...the shape of the problem seems to be the same in many parts of the county.  I'm surely biased, but I haven't heard a lot of concrete ideas about how to solve it except from one person. Ask him.

Meanwhile, if you live elsewhere in the Atlanta area, check out Arabia Mountain.  It's pretty there.