Dear Mr. President

President Biden signed a historic $1.9 trillion economic relief package into law Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than the White House had planned, ushering in new federal aid across the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic.CreditCredit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

Dear Mr. President,

Well, ...one bill passed in the Congress, several of your nominees promoted to their new government positions, and it looks like the Republican party is doing its best to implode.  Two of those seem pretty good to me.  The last seems a worrying sign that there are still people in the world willing to believe anything if it means they're seen and heard.  I wish I knew a way to change that last, but I feel like they need to want to change first.  And here in America we're a pretty stubborn bunch--not always a bad thing, but not always a great thing, either.

I was happy to see that you were continuing to reach out to NASA, and I'm excited to see where our work in space exploration will take us; but I am worried about China and Russia's newfound friendship and enthusiasm about the Moon.  It feels like there's this new (not so new, really, but very, very old) war brewing between authoritarian regimes and proponents of democracy.  I find myself wondering why there are governments that want to halt criticism and promote a culture of fear.  Is it just that they want to hold on to power?  Do they only care about themselves?  Does the power they have attained make them less interested in the welfare of other people, or does it make them foolishly believe that their way is the only right way?  I worry that those who serve in such regimes are hurting people--likely many of them minorities and women, and I am afraid of the growing power they are having in the world.  Unfortunately, I'm also not certain how useful sanctions have been of late.  I feel like we need to try something new, because the old way of doing things (sanctions) aren't cutting it any more--like the bad guys have figured us out and have made plans and ways around those pesky monetary stops we've imposed.  I can't say I'm an advocate for war, but how else do you fight against such governments?  And more importantly, how do you un-brainwash generations of people who have grown up believing in a world without personal freedoms and liberties?  I often ask myself this about my own biases having grown up here in the United States.  Is it really all about those who want freedom and accountability and allowing people to have a say in how things are done versus those who do not?  I want to believe that our way is a good and right way to do things in the world, but the pandemic has taught me that capitalism can often be an evil in the world--where profits matter more than people.

I know you have some great people on your team--diplomats who are interested in promoting America while acknowledging the good things about the people and countries with whom they're working.  And I feel like it's important to have that dialogue open.  I'm just not sure what to do about the countries that don't want that.  Without communication, (and I mean actual communication, not the song and dance that mimics it that is sometimes offered in its stead,) we can't really resolve these differences in a way that benefits people.  And since we have a global economy now, without that communication we are just waiting for the shoe to drop when someone eventually decides they no longer want to care about the conventions and norms that have been agreed upon.  Hell, we don't even abide by many international agreements; so, why should anyone else be expected to?  We can't continue to pretend that having a world cake is meant for us if we're not willing to contribute to the making of it.  And I get it; governments are flawed--ours included.  But we can't work at fixing that if we refuse to even be a part of the discussion.

Sir, I think it's time we started looking at our international obligations and doing more than just offering contributions.  I feel like we need to be a part of them.  Let's join with our allies; let's be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  We've returned to giving aid and money to the WHO, and your administration has rejoined the Paris Accords, but we need more than momentary commitments.  Because if we aren't willing to sign on to international agreements and our enemies are--guess who is setting the agendas there?  Not us.  And to me, that's not great.

Okay...what else?  Oh!  During the pandemic, a lot of mutual aid societies cropped up all over the country.  I think it would do your administration and the country good to actually acknowledge their work and their efforts.  I also think maybe it's time we considered listening to what their leaders have to say in order to see if they can't help us make our own government agencies better and work more "for the people" than against.  They've been thinking about these things for a while, I'd bet, and if they can help keep the people of this country fed and safe during a pandemic, maybe they have some ideas to offer on how our government can be doing that better so that those groups aren't needed as much as they were.  Just something to consider.

I love how much you're trying to reach people via the internet, though I do think your own White House page could offer more of that instead of just your Facebook page.  And, well...if you want to wean people away from big companies that are using their platforms and our information in ways that are harmful to us, moving away from Facebook and Twitter, or making your Facebook and Twitter posts available from the government's own pages might be one way to do that.  I'd much rather be directed to the White House page from those places to get the latest videos and press conferences than watching them there--especially considering the comments sections.  I get that people should be allowed to have their say, but the amount of vitriol and outright meanness I've read there is just...awful.

I gotta tell you--a lot of times I don't have the time to sit and watch those videos and conferences and such.  It's troubling to me that there's so much business of the government going on, but that is why we have a press in this country.  Nine times out of ten, I'm getting news from them, and it's important to me that they have access to the workings of our government in more ways than just press conferences and the like.  I hope you'll do more to ensure the freedom of the press, Mr. President.  I hope you'll do what you can to ensure that our news--the good and the bad, are equally kept safe.  But I also hope you'll do what you can to keep Americans safe from foreign propaganda--because it's out there; it's prevalent, and it is creating some real problems.

A short aside, and then I'll end for today.  Talking to my step-dad this weekend, and then John's dad in Russia, I got some similar vibes.  For instance, both of them seemed to feel that COVID wasn't as big of a deal as we here in America have made it out to be--as in, the loss of life was just something to take in stride--something normal and natural and not something we should have been alarmist about.  It made me think a lot about our health care culture that we have here in America that maybe the rest of the world doesn't understand.  Let me see if I can put this into words: while we have great health care here in America, there are a lot of places that don't have that.  Likewise, most of the people in this country can't afford the benefits of the great health care we have in this country.  So the idea that we can and should prevent such deadly viruses, for them, isn't something that seems important.  After all, if we're saying that only some people are important and worthy of care (because they have money or because they hold office or positions of power,) why should we suddenly start caring about everyone's health and welfare when a pandemic happens?  I hated seeing that Russian-mindset in John's dad and his wife, and I hated hearing my own dad's reluctance to believe that COVID was a big deal.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is: are we lying to ourselves when we say that life is important if we're not actually making laws that assert those things?  And I understand there's a religious component to this that is going to skew a lot of Christians when it comes to abortion for instance (though I think abortions are something only a woman and her doctor should get to have a say in and pretty much no one else should get to make decisions for them--) but when we see stuff like George Floyd or the unequal treatment of protestors, there's a message being sent there about who and what matters.  And maybe it's time we started looking at that more.  Maybe it would help to change the way people act about things like COVID and global pandemics.

All right.  I've said my peace for today, Sir.  Time to get going so that I can actually get some things done before the day is over.  Oh!  One last thing--please get rid of the time change!  Help make that legislation happen.  While the reasoning behind it was good in its day, those reasons are no longer really viable.  And the problems caused by Daylight Savings Time are real and apparent.  It's time to be done with it.  So please help get that done.

Until next week, then!  Stay safe!

~~ Jenni

Dear Mr. President

 Dear Mr. President,

I noticed you've been pretty busy again this past week, and now that you've gotten at least something through the Senate for pandemic relief you can start looking forward to future, likely non-bipartisan, fights that are already underway.  Like, for instance, the fight over voting rights, which from everything I've heard has to do with Republicans wanting to curtail the ability for minorities and normal people to vote.  I especially enjoyed the message you sent to Congress by way of your Executive Order.  I don't expect the Order will stand for long, but hopefully by the time it wends its way through the courts, our lawmakers will have decided whether voting rights are important enough to get rid of the filibuster.  That said, I think it's probably about time, since the way current filibusters work is a load of crap anyway.  Maybe they can figure out how to actually make the filibuster be what it was intended to be rather than a simple impediment to actually getting any legislating done.

That said, I do hope you'll turn your attention toward infrastructure in our country and consider a Green New Deal Works Program.  It's something I really think we need.

This coming week I'll be making use of my blog to highlight some voices that I've found that have helped me to make sense of the climate debate over the years.  I'm excited to talk about them in no small part because as our climate has begun to change, it's important that we consider those changes as we put forward new laws and new ideas for building and transportation, and a host of other issues.  I expect it's something the Department of Defense has been doing for a while now, and if they haven't, then I think we're are pretty likely screwed until they do.

There was something that caught my attention this past week, though--something that the Republicans decided to harp on, but is something that interested me more for what I learned from it than anything else.  It has to do with the fact that your administration, like many administrations before it, has decided not to release the White House call logs.

Now, at first, I had no idea if this was something new or just business as usual, and when I found out that this really isn't anything new, I was almost content to let it slide.  But hear me out here: I don't know if there was a debate around this very issue when phones were installed in the White House, though I have to imagine there were.  All that aside, things have changed since the first days of those early telephone calls.  In a lot of ways, during the pandemic, phones and video chats and the like were some of the only ways we had to communicate with one another safely.  So this prompted me to consider that perhaps we should reconsider these ages-old precedents regarding phone logs.  I don't think every call should be noted, but when someone from outside of the White House calls to discuss business that is related to the running of the country, I do think it's important that we, the people, get to know about that business--maybe not all of the specifics, of course.  But it doesn't seem fair to hide business behind a smoke-screen any longer, Mr. President.  I don't know what sharing those phone logs would entail, or how much work it would be, but I do hope that you and your staff will revisit this stance and consider setting a new precedent for future generations.  If you do manage it, I will happily await the next thing that makes Republicans irate.

I wasn't able to find your wife's appearances in full on the internet, and while I have cable, rummaging through the cable mess in order to watch the programs she's been on has been...more time consuming than it was worth in all honesty.  I hope you'll consider letting her do her own little bit on the White House Facebook page--as I've really been enjoying those little snippets from various members of your WH staff.

The call you made to an essential worker on Friday was pretty touching, though I have to wonder what her son's expression meant.  I feel as though, having watched that, that her son, like many other black Americans, probably doesn't have a very good opinion of you right now.  I can't say I know what to do about that, but it's something to consider.  I know you can't be everything to everyone, but Black America seems unwilling to trust the government in a lot of ways these days, and if we want this country to succeed, I think that's something that needs to be addressed.

I don't think we'll talk about the Cuomo stuff tonight, Sir, but I think your party really needs to sit down and have a talk with itself.  The days of the "good old boys" club is over; things are changing, and either the Democrats change with the times, or they're going to get left behind.  People make mistakes; they're not always great at their jobs.  But that doesn't mean they get to abuse their power; that's part of what causes distrust in the government--no matter what party you're in.  Maybe remind your fellow democrats that they are meant to serve as examples of what is best in our country.  Maybe if they start doing that, they'll get more respect.

I have lots of other idea floating around in my head right now, but I think I'll leave it here for this week, Mr. President.  I know you're doing the best you can, and I hope these letters are finding their way to you in some small fashion.  But even if they're not, I feel a lot better for having written them.  It helps me to focus on the things that I believe are important to me and for the country, and that, in my mind, can't be anything but good.

I'll catch you next Sunday, Sir.  Until then, I'll be looking forward to seeing your roadmap going forward--COVID-19 plans and all.

~~ Jenni

P. S.  I watched a press conference by your COVID team this last Thursday (was it?)  Anyway, it had been a while since I'd watched one of those.  And while I thought your team did a good job, I found it troubling that your team lead, Acting Administrator Slavitt felt like he wasn't willing to be honest with the reporters asking questions of him.  In some cases, it felt like he was skirting issues, and it just didn't feel good watching that.  I was impressed with Dr. Walensky, even though she sadly didn't have much of a speaking role at the conference.

All in all, I feel like many of your staffers aren't doing a good enough job of actually listening to the questions being asked of them, and often they don't actually give answers to questions that were asked.  This can lead to a lot of frustration and spark conspiracies where there likely aren't any.  So, remind them to listen, take notes of the question if they need to in order to be sure they answer it, and not to be in such a hurry to give "an" answer instead of a good, thoughtful one.

Dear Mr. President

 Dear Mr. President:

I can't say I really wanted to write this tonight--not because I didn't want to write to you, but more because I didn't want to have to go mucking about to see what all you've been up to this week.  As per usual, you've been pretty busy--from foreign policy to national emergencies in Oklahoma and Texas, (and Portland as well, I hear;) and then there were the little things, like congratulating NASA and posting some videos of you and Jen answering some twitter questions.  I must admit, the latter was my favorite when it came to catching up this week.  These things humanize you.  They help us get to know you, and it is greatly appreciated.

I see we officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, and I heard you were interested in working with Iran on the nuclear deal again.  I also saw you were flexing some military might down in the China Sea.  These are all good things, I think, but I do think we need to be looking into those SolarWinds hacks--figuring out just how bad they were and working to ensure that national security information and infrastructure is, if not impervious to hacking, at least strengthened to better ensure our safety.

There was also the national emergency situation with the cold weather in Oklahoma and Texas this past week, and just hearing from my parents about their own difficulties, I can assure you that any help the government can give is a good thing there.  But it brings to light some of the problems in our current infrastructure--things that we really need to address.  With the climate changing, this kind of weather isn't going to be as strange as it seems to us now.  Colder winters.  Hotter summers.  Wetter Springs, and drier autumns.  We need to look at our roads, our buildings, and our green technology and ensure that it is climate-proofed for the future.  For far too long we've taken shortcuts and looked only at the short-term gains rather than considering the long-term efficacy, reliability, and sustainability of the things we build.  That needs to change.

As an aside, my parents are on well water, and their well froze over.  Most of the small towns near the big cities (like where my parents live,) ended up being raided for water, and my parents were lucky my dad's a volunteer firefighter.  They were able to get some water from one of the stations where he works, but otherwise, they might well have had to do without it.  They managed some water from HEB (local grocery store) on Friday, and they're hopeful that their well will unfreeze soon, but...that's certainly not a given.

A lot of people who aren't your most ardent supporters have been talking about your immigration plans, and a lot of them are pretty upset about the fact that we've closed our borders due to COVID but see that we're still accepting people into the country seeking refuge and help.  It's frustrating to see their words and feel a twinge of understanding.  But I also know that there are problems at our borders, and maybe it's time that people saw that.  Maybe help them understand what's going on at our borders and then try to explain better our policies in that regard.  I didn't catch anything about it during your Town Hall; so, I'm mentioning it here, because as I said, I've been seeing a lot of that coming from your opposition.

So much has happened this past week that I don't know if I mentioned my disappointment with the whole impeachment last weekend.  I expect I might have said a thing or two, but I think a lot of us were disappointed at how glib, smug, or downright derisive some of our public officials acted.  A lot of people are still angry, sir--on both sides obviously.  But from where I'm standing, the House and the Senate look like giant piles of crap right now.  Not only were there no repercussions for elected officials for their conduct (while regular people are standing trial for their actions,) but COVID relief feels like it's stalled.  And sure, we get that things don't move fast in Washington D. C., but our lives don't just stop while we wait for laws to get made.  We've got bills to pay, and mouths to feed; and frankly, most of us just want to see some parity.  What are we paying taxes for if the people who are taking that money as payment for their service aren't actually doing anything to serve us?  It gets ..old, Mr. President--really old.

And I get that you've been working to salvage things as you can--especially with mortgages, foreclosures, and student debt.  You're doing what you can, but Congress needs to get their heads out of their behinds and start doing the work that's going to help the people.  Also, I wanted to congratulate you on getting more work done on vaccines and getting them to the states.  I know there's still more work to be done, but on this count, at least we are seeing that progress is coming--if not necessarily here yet.

I want to touch on something I read the other day though regarding student loans.  You mentioned during your town hall that you weren't willing to go beyond forgiving $10,000, and I really think that's a mistake.  Check with your Treasury Secretary; look at the figures.  The people hardest hit by debt are lower and middle income families, and they can't afford it.  And if that's holding together something in our economy, then there's something wrong with the way we're running our economy.  I'm not saying you have to do more than the 10K now, but don't discount doing more, please.  There are a lot of people struggling right now, and words like never and not possible aren't things we should be saying.  Not to mention that the more educated we are, the better prepared we'll be to deal with hardships and setbacks, Mr. President, and that's a worthy investment, but it's not worth a lifetime of debt.  It just shouldn't be.

I'm pretty sure I had a lot more to say to you than this, but I guess there'll be more in the weeks and months to come, hopefully.  One thing I did want to highlight was the call you made to NASA about the Perseverance Rover landing on Mars.  It sounded a little stilted on both ends, by the way--the video that was released of it.  But nonetheless, I am grateful that you did it.  The men and women of our space programs deserve a lot of respect, and the fact that their hard work merited your attention, respect, and congratulations was important to me.  So thank you for honoring their work and achievements as you did.

I'm actually a lot more excited to hear that you want to visit them and see the work they're doing.  If you do, you can rest assured I'll be following all the news about it.

I have to say, that's one thing I am really glad to see you doing--listening to scientists and inviting experts in their fields to offer you their thoughts and opinions.  I hope I get to see a lot more of it in the coming weeks.  I am also looking forward to hearing about your wife's media appearance on Thursday.  I hope she does a lot to lift up marginalized voices and highlight the work and accomplishments of not only great people, but also great people of color--and also women.  I know there are a lot of girls and women who were excited by your choice of Kamala Harris as your running mate, and I really hope that Jill Biden will continue to build on that rapport that your Presidency has built with the women of this country and abroad.  Your wife has a chance to advocate for us, and I really hope that she'll speak about the inequalities and injustices in this country (and also the world.)  If we can't talk about the problem, there will never be a way to solve it.  When you name a thing, when you point it out--when you see it for what it is--only then can you truly understand it.  So I will wish her luck and look forward to seeing what she has to say.

Also, congratulations to you and your staff on your first full month in office, Sir.

And with that, Mr. President, I believe it is time to go and feed the cat his treats.  He's been very patient since about the third paragraph of this letter to you, but I don't know how much longer he can be patient.  Also, I don't want to incur his wrath. He has claws.

I look forward to writing to you next week and seeing what you've got on the agenda.  Stay strong, don't forget your coffee, and keep the pineapple off Jen's pizza.  Until next time, Mr. President!

~~ Jenni

Dear Mr. President

 Dear Mr. President,

I think tonight's letter to you will be somewhat short.  I have drunk a bit tonight while watching the Super Bowl, and I can't vouch for my ability to write anything cogent.  But, I will try.

I was hoping for the old man to win tonight, thinking about you, in turn.  I don't know if bad referee calls made the game for Tom Brady tonight, but I still like to think he and his team would have won regardless.  I hope that for you, too.

I was also thinking that the reason your predecessor had so much success was because he was able to explain things in a simple way--something that was easily understood by people.  I really think that's something you should remember and perhaps consider working to explain things bit by bit as you go.  Big plans seem really complicated, but when you break things down in bite size pieces, somehow it all seems a lot easier to digest.  I'm not saying you shouldn't have big plans and ideas, but try to remember that not everyone out here has gone to law school.  If you want your plans and ideas to succeed, make sure you can make the case for them simply, in a way that most people can understand.

Last, but not least, I read a great quote this week from Greta Thunberg, and I wanted to share it with you.  That idea of simplicity came to me because of this quote, but also because I was looking at the kind of poetry that really seems to resonate with me as I explore my favorite poems this month.  They tend to be simple things--things that people can hold onto.  And this quote of hers was something that seemed right to me--something that even in all its simplicity still rang true.

Science and democracy are strongly interlinked - as they are both built on freedom of speech, independence, facts and transparency.
If you don’t respect democracy then you probably won’t respect science. And if you don’t respect science then you probably won’t respect democracy.

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 6, 2021

 So I'll leave that with you for now along with these final thoughts:

I know you spent a lot of this week trying to get things straightened out.  It's been two and a half weeks since you took office, and you've definitely been working hard.  I wonder if any of them realize that your term as president is going to be one where you get to express who you really are--that all the games of politics and the past are behind you, and that you are going to try to truly serve the people of this country.

There are a lot of people who are going to look at what you've done in the past and think they can manipulate you or hinder your hopes by bringing up that past, and while we cannot escape what we've done, we can become better for having lived through it.  I hope you will be that better version of yourself, and I hope you will inspire in others that better version of themselves, too.

You've got a hard road ahead of you, Mr. President, but I believe that we will come out stronger in the end.

Sometimes even the old guy can win the Super Bowl, after all.  And that's something to inspire hope in all of us.

I remain a loyal and hopeful citizen.

~~ Jenni

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Dear Mr. President

 Dear Mr. President:

It's been almost two whole weeks now since you've taken office, and while I still haven't read many of your plans, I've done a little bit of homework to see where your priorities have been over the past week and a half or so of your presidency.  You've obviously been working on dealing with COVID-19, and most of your focus seems to be taken up with that and the bill you sent to congress.  There has been a lot of focus, too, on the climate, though that seems more talk than present action.  That said, I get that the pandemic needs to be your main focus right now, but it is nice to see that there are other important things moving forward, too.  Obviously getting your teams in will eventually make this better overall, and hopefully Jen will be able to start giving more answers during the press briefings rather than relegating many questions to their respective agencies--which is nice for reporters, I suppose, as they likely know where and how to get answers from them, but for us lay people it is rather frustrating.  I mean, sure...I could go look up whatever statements those agencies have made, but it would be nice to see Jen just able to offer a summation of some of those from time to time.

I've seen that you're committed to reuniting families, too--the ones that were separated at the border.  I imagine that's going to take a lot of work, and time, and effort.  I hope you have some successes there.  I like that you've been working to make our processes for immigrating to this country better, and I look forward to your efforts in that regard--knowing that it's going to be a slog to get it through the congressional process more than likely.

That is something that I want to learn more about, though--what the Executive branch can and can't do--just so that I'm not looking in the wrong place for the wrong kinds of leadership and change.  Your predecessor blurred those lines quite a bit, and I confess I hadn't paid much attention until then.  So, I've got some catching up to do.

It was nice to see the statement on Burma, even if other people want to criticize us for not dealing with our own democratic issues.  Mostly I'm glad to see that criticism doesn't seem to stop you from doing what you believe to be the right thing; I could wish there were more politicians that did such rather than pandering to their constituents for re-election.  And though we are not perfect, I am glad to see us committed to fair, free, and open democratic elections, and to taking steps to seek redress when countries' leaders try to stop that from moving forward when things don't go their way.

We are celebrating today, Mr. President--the end of January.  We decided to do dry January this year, and we ended it a day early because we were able to go out to eat with some friends today whom we haven't seen in a while.  Here in Orange County, I do sometimes feel like we're living in the Wild West still, with people not wearing masks, eating inside, and seemingly not caring about the health and well-being of others.  It's frustrating to see that, sir, but when we can do things safely, like my friends and I did today, it really is something worth celebrating.  Maybe we should consider having a national celebration of some sort when our health leaders feel like we've gotten this thing licked.  It would be nice to be able to get together on a national day of celebration to commemorate our successes, mourn our losses, and provide a remembrance moving forward of the dangers we still face.  I think, too, it might help with those grieving the loss of loved ones to know that their President hasn't forgotten about them.  Maybe we could create some kind of national database where people can send information about their deceased loved ones so that we'd always have a way to view it--to grieve and remember together this tragedy we faced as a nation.  For example, the site of the 9/11 attacks--the memorial that was built there--is such a beautiful testament to our grief and to our hopes moving forward.  I got a chance to visit there when I was in New York a while back, and emotions that I hadn't realized were there, sharing those recollections with those with whom I'd traveled there--my loved ones, was important.  And no, COVID isn't some great war we engaged in for a grand purpose, but we lost so many more people to it.  So having a place to share our common grief would be nice, Mr. President.  But also a day of celebration when we can finally say we've made it through.

We haven't heard much from you with regard to foreign policy, though part of that is dealing with starting things up with your new teams and the reviews that you're doing.  I was glad to see your choices with regard to the lack of installing your family into government positions, and also that you decided not to reward large donors to your campaign by doing that for them, too.  I hope you keep with that, Mr. President.  It would be good to see some people serving in the government again who are doing it out of a commitment to service, rather than as a reward.

I see we're still talking about Iran and Afghanistan.  Also China.  Hopefully you've been able to get in some good time with other world leaders, as well.  But again, it's very obvious you're interested in making sure we beat this COVID thing.

I'm glad to see that you're looking to get schools back in session, too.  I think that's the one thing I've heard most of late is that parents really want their kids back in school.  Being the sole provider(s) for everything for their kids right now probably isn't healthy for them or their kids.  Still, I hope you'll look at the fall as the reopening date for schools.  I know that seems like forever from now, but I feel like if we want to make sure it's done right, waiting until the fall seems better than trying to shoehorn something in within the next couple of months.  Taking that time to make sure we get it right seems far better to me.  But, ...I also don't have kids; so, I can't speak from that perspective on things.  The few teachers I know, though, would prefer to make sure everyone is vaccinated, and that seems like a wise idea to me, too.

I feel like there is a lot less news coverage regarding you and your administration than that of the past administration, which I honestly think sucks.  Sure, there were reasons for the news to be constantly speaking about your predecessor, but wouldn't it be nice if the news were covering all the little goings-on in your own administration with as much interest and zeal?  I feel like the previous administration's agenda got far more air time than your own, and to me that's really frustrating.

As always, I'd like to see more talk about infrastructure and inequality, and I understand you're trying to address many of the root causes of the latter.  But again, it would be nice to see more coverage about the groups you're meeting with and what kind of projects you have in store that they're going to be helping with.  I understand we still have a major problem with white supremacy, neo-nazism, and anti-semitism, but there are also concerns regarding women's rights to abortions, too.

I was glad to see that you rolled back the exclusion for trans people to serve in the military.  If only we could get rid of bigotry and hate, but I guess people are people; so, the best we can do is work to restrain its power in the world.  The only thing that should matter about serving in the military is whether or not you're capable of doing so.  So I'm glad to see that we're finally getting back to that.  Still, if the attempted coup taught us anything, it's that our institutions need to be monitored, too.  There were so many stories I read last year about the murders of service members by their fellows.  And I think that bears looking into.  You are the Commander in Chief; so, I hope you'll do your best to ensure that those who look to you for leadership aren't being harmed by those who serve you and the American people.

How do you even begin to address all the troubles that are facing this world?  I know you have your cabinet and advisors, but I can't imagine what it would be like to have to juggle all the necessities of a country--to weigh in your heart the choices that must be made to ensure its peoples' safety and contentment.  And then to contend with those who simply are greedy or power-hungry.  And the worry that would fill me that I wasn't humble enough in the face of the enormous power and responsibility I had--the temptation to look down on others like many other foreign leaders seem to do.

I think some people were disappointed that you didn't offer more regarding nuclear policy for our country, and again, I suspect that has more to do with getting your cabinet set up and the like, but I hope we'll hear more about it soon-- even if you're only going to keep things as they are, though I feel that's probably a mistake.  We need to tell the world that we're not going to ever use nuclear weapons first--that they are only going to be used as a defensive measure.  And maybe the President shouldn't be the only one holding the keys?  I don't know much about that last, but I feel like making the burden rest on the shoulders of one person probably isn't in the best interests of anyone--including that one person.

Also, ...we really need prison reform, sir.  I want to say so much more on that, but I think I'll leave it there for now.

I feel like you've been really clear about what's important to you, and I'm glad that we're going to get this pandemic under control.  More messaging would help, and asking corporations and businesses to contribute to your own message--much as I hate a corporate-government partnership idea, I think it's still a good one.  With the Super Bowl coming up, that's a great opportunity to reach a lot of people across both aisles.  I hope that happens.

I also keep thinking that peoples' attitudes toward wearing masks is getting better, but I suppose it might well be my own relief at work there--that someone leading our country believes in science and is willing to listen to experts, even when they start talking about double-masking, which sounds silly at first, but really can save lives.  I know it isn't easy, but hopefully the time for wearing masks and social distancing will come to end sooner because of you and your team(s).

One last thing on that.  I noticed that you have a LOT of different teams to tackle different things, and I have to say trying to follow it all is a little dizzying.  Please do your best to ensure there's an easy way to get information--that your people aren't always referring people somewhere else, or if they are, get them out there talking during press briefings too.  The only way for people to know who to talk to is by seeing them and getting to know them better, and as much as I hate to say it, your predecessor, in that regard, knew how to make sure we knew who his people were.  It is one of the few pages from his book I might actually bother taking a look at.

With that, I will simply thank you for your good work this past week.  I look forward to speaking with you again next Sunday, and I hope your ideas and especially your relief bill gain some traction next week.  I hear you're going to talk with some Republican senators next week, and I urge you to hear them out.  Even if you can only find one point of common ground with them, it's far better that than nothing at all.  But also, don't give up on your own ideas.  The legislative process is going to play out either way, and better the fights are there than in your White House.

Until next time, then, I remain a devoted citizen and a hopeful American.

~~ Jennifer 

Betsy Ross 1777 --  Painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris