Day 361- You've been randomly selected for additional screening at the back of the bus.

Dear Mr. President,

A few months ago, in the rapid decline of my optimism about internet dating, I agreed to go on one last date with a man from the dating site I'd been using. One last chance, I told myself, and then I could safely give up this endless series of awkward, uncomfortable encounters and sulk, self-satisfied, assured of the hopelessness of dating and single men in general. When I arrived at the coffee shop at the appointed time I was already convinced that this encounter would be no different than the last, preparing already the excuses I would make after an hour or, if I could manage, even less. Ten minutes later, I might have been laughing at the irony of this, had I not been too busy attempting to scrape my jaw off of the floor and work the dumbstruck expression off of my face. My date was not only black americano-drinking, charming and easy to talk to, he was clearly intelligent, compassionate, adventurous and funny. (It didn't hurt that he was heart-breakingly, out-of-my-league-by-miles good-looking either.) We talked for hours. Nothing romantic may have come from this date, but we stayed friends, passing e-mails and brief comments on the latest news. He suggested a number of topics for my letters to you, and helped me better understand a few stories I didn't fully grasp. Our friendship since has been casual, but it certainly helped convince me not to completely give up on the idea of meeting men online.

Today my friend, returning from a trip abroad to visit family, was unreasonably held up in an American airport by security. I don't know the details of this, what it entailed or how he finally managed to get on a connection to come back home. Unfortunately, because my friend is also Arab, I know that this would not have happened to him if he had a different last name or a different skin color. The whole situation makes me sickeningly, blindingly angry. When I expressed this to others I heard more stories of friends or relatives or coworkers or friends of friends being held up in the absurd, racist so-called security system in American airports. I remembered walking through Israeli checkpoints, the separate lines for me and for my Palestinian friends and being so naively grateful that such a thing would never happen in MY country. All day I've been thinking about airports, how standing in line to get through security with my white face, American passport and generically WASP-y name while my Arab and Muslim (or, really just sufficiently brown-skinned) friends will be "randomly" given additional screening and I keep thinking of the same metaphor. I'm sitting on a bus in Alabama watching silently as they are made to file past me to the back.

You've experienced first-hand what it is to be thought of as Muslim and/or Arab in this country. Even as President you've seen the ugly, racist way some in this country still view some one with your skin color, your name, or the religion falsely ascribed to be your own. You've heard the crazy woman screeching at John McCain "he's an Arab!", the state representatives demanding to see your birth certificate, the 20% of Americans who think you practice Islam. If any privileged outsider is able to understand the treatment Arab-Americans and American Muslims have experienced in airports since 9/11 I would think that you might be. And while the TSA monopoly on air travel and the necessity of covering great distances quickly may prevent a Montgomery bus-style boycott of airplanes, I suspect that eventually the American people will not stand to see our friends and neighbors and loved ones treated this way in the name of our own safety.

Life isn't safe. I don't feel safer knowing that my friend is being profiled, harassed, or even inconvenienced solely because of his race. I feel sick about it. My patriotism is not a brittle, small thing, but it is based on the principles this country is supposed to stand for even in the face of fear. How am I supposed to love my country, to feel pride in it, knowing that these principles can be so easily betrayed by those sworn to defend them?

My friend, who has, in the course of our political conversations, proven himself to be calmer and more even-tempered than me on many issues, said to me today that "being Arabic and in a US airport may as well be a crime." I don't know what he's feeling or how he'll respond to this incident but I am outraged that he has to feel it, respond to it at all. And it isn't just my friend, it isn't just this airport or this incident. This is happening right now, it has been happening for too long and it will continue to happen until enough people with enough power are brave enough to stand up and say it isn't right, it isn't American and it isn't keeping us safe.

Until we stop boarding the bus and say we'll be walking to work for the foreseeable future, thank you very much.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 360- Betsie Gallardo

Dear Mr. President,

When I read about a woman dying in a Florida prison, refused release on humanitarian grounds and facing a slow death by starvation, I wanted to navigate away from the page, to forget the story and to write about something else tonight. But I can't. Betsie Gallardo, born HIV+ and impoverished in Haiti, was sentenced in 2008 to 5 years in prison for assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon, a charge based on the fallacious premise that she could spread HIV to a police officer by spitting on him. Gallardo had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by a police officer in Haiti and had an intense, emotional reaction to the arrival of an officer at the scene of a car accident. She had no previous criminal record. She has since been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is no longer able to digest food. The state has refused requests from her family for release on humanitarian grounds and also refused to allow them to be with her when she dies.

Mr. President there are rapists and drug dealers and no shortage of white-collar criminals who serve far less than 5 years in prison for far worse crimes. The outrageous nature of this charge, which was certainly exacerbated by Gallardo's HIV status, is compounded with the truly cruel treatment of a dying woman and her family. How is this justice? How is a system that can look so dispassionately at the suffering of a human being the best that we can do in America? I don't approve of what she did, but this sentence (especially in light of her cancer) is stark evidence of the racism and irrationality that infect our criminal justice system. How am I supposed to feel good about sending the shoplifters I catch to a system so obviously broken? How are we supposed to criticize Iran or China for human rights abuses when we allow things like this?

You might throw up your hands and say it's a state issue, but you probably have a more direct means of reaching Governor Crist than Gallardo's family. Pick up the phone and ask him to pardon her, allow her to die at home with her family and her freedom. No reasonable human being believes she deserved a death sentence, but that is exactly what her punishment has become. The entire system needs reform, and that will take time, but right now one woman deserves a different fate. Please do the right thing.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

If I have readers in Florida, I urge you to contact Governor Crist and the rest of the Executive Clemency Board:

Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida
(850) 488-4441
E-mail: charlie.crist@myflorida.com
http://www.flgov.com/contact_governor

Bill McCollum, Attorney General
(850) 414-3300
Click here to e-mail Mr. McCollum
www.myfloridalegal.com/contact

Charles Bronson, Commissioner Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
(850) 488-3022
commissioner@doacs.state.fl.us
http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/

Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer Florida Department of Financial Services
(850) 413-3100
Alex.Sink@myfloridacfo.com
http://www.myfloridacfo.com/

Day 292- Superheroes and soup

Dear Mr. President,

Growing up I often wished I could be Catwoman. The fact that she's kind of a villain never bothered me. She was a cat. That was cool enough. I'm still mad that my mother wouldn't let me go see Bat,am Returns. (Never mind that I was 6 at the time and probably would have had nightmares. Totally irrelevant. That's right, mom, I know you're reading this.) I certainly can't claim the same level of childhood fascination with superhero mythology that most of my friends can, but I have a healthy enough appreciation for the world of superheroes that I was pleased to see the Islamic world is sending us 99 more. I was even happier to see you recognize this effort to present an alternative face of Islam to youth of this country and, perhaps just as importantly, to Islamic youth.

Predictably, the racist, bigoted radical right has problems with this. Lots of problems. Hilarious amounts of problems. So many problems that Muslim superheroes are now a bigger threat than Campbell's soup. Can Pam Geller, Robert Spencer and all of their ilk just give up the charade and admit that they don't like Islam in any form? Because superheroes and soup are pretty harmless things to start with, and making them halal isn't going to lead to the Islamic Republic of America. My favorite quote of all this hysteria is from Carol A Taber, president of Family Security Matters who says

It was Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Bolshevik party, who said, "Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted." The election of our dhimmi president guaranteed the forces of radical Islam at least four years to sow their seeds

Hilarious. The level of backlash to these 99 superheroes (each named for one of the 99 attributes of God,) and the dogged insistance by the right that you are advancing a radical Islamic agenda would be funnier if it wasn't so catching among voters of a certain political persuasion. Because people who believe that you're helping the terrorists or that you're a secret Muslim or that Campbell's soup supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood unfortunately are just as good (and sometimes better) at making it to the polls on election day as those of us who know this is all absurd, and that is frightening. I don't know how to change their minds, I don't know how to talk to them, I don't know what the answer is for dealing with people like that. I like to think charitably, that every one is generally reasonable and good and trying to do the right thing. And then I read the news.

How do you maintain your faith in the American people when faced with the overwhelming influence of people like Taber and Geller and Spencer and Beck? Have you kept that faith intact these last two years?

If you have, I think the only rational explanation is that you must have some kind of superpower yourself.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 290- Monsters

Dear Mr. President:

This is Maurice Clemmons:



This is the flukeman monster from the x-files:



This is what any one picking up a copy of the Sunday Seattle Times saw today:



I've written to you about Clemmons before. He committed robbery and assault, raped children and eventually murdered four police officers as they drank coffee. Clemmons is exactly the kind of monster I used to worry about as a small child when my father would get called in the middle of the night to a homicide, or when my mother was out on patrol. He's the kind of man whose madness and brutality and desire to dominate made him violent, erratic and dangerous. But now that I'm grown up and dealing with dangerous people in my own job, I don't believe in monsters. I couldn't grow up in the law enforcement community the way I did and not have an intense, emotional reaction to a cop killer and his disturbing history. But he's no creature, no phantom, he is just a man.

The illustration on the front page of today's Times left me feeling strangely all day. I don't feel sympathy or sadness for Clemmons, I don't want to make excuses for his life or his crimes, I don't want to defend or apologize for him. But I don't like the visual implication that he was sub-human. For one thing, I don't think that the Times would have chosen to illustrate him in such a disturbing way if Clemmons had been white. Mostly, I don't like the editorial decision by the Times to use an illustration rather than his photo. Clemmons wasn't a villain out of a comic book or horror story. He was a man. A terrible, frightening, disturbed man who needs no additional hype to haunt my nightmares. I think the media's inclination toward sensationalism creates the false sense that these dangerous people can be identified on sight. That we will know monsters by their look, or that that they cannot walk among us unnoticed.

This is not, of course, limited to the Seattle Times or to Maurice Clemmons. We make monsters out of our enemies every day, and we've done it throughout history. We comfort ourselves with the idea that you can't understand why some one would become a suicide bomber, that terrorists and killers are just mindless monsters. Maybe this helps some people distance themselves from the terrifying truth that each of us has something in common with those people that we fear. Helps people believe that good people look one way and bad people look another. I don't think that this is a useful lie to tell ourselves. I don't believe that we are safer this way.

Maurice Clemmons is dead. He met his end trying to kill another police officer, and I am not sorry for it. And the Times may well sell more papers (and, apparently, books) attempting to frighten people with this image of Clemmons as a monster, but I will not buy in to the notion that he or any killer is somehow a different creature than me, or than any one of us. The truth is, humans are far more frightening than any monster we can imagine and we will never be able to keep ourselves completely safe from the darkness that lurks where we can never see it coming.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 251- Leadership

Dear Mr. President,

I generally do not hold you accountable for the actions and beliefs of those who support you. Martin Peretz, for example, may be a prominent member of the media and a self-described democratic loyalist, but when he expresses his view that Muslims have no claim to first Amendment rights, I don't blame you for that. I do, however, expect you to speak out. I do expect you to show the rest of the world that America cannot accurately be represented by cult leaders in Florida or racists in The New Republic. I expect you to speak out because the world is watching these people and it is watching you.

I don't expect that you act alone. I think that you should get every prominent and influential politician in this country, Republican and Democrat, to collectively issue a condemnation for these hateful acts and words. To challenge Americans to rise above this, to be better than these small-minded men and women would represent us to be. I can imagine the power of you, both former Presidents Bush, President and Secretary Clinton standing together to make this request. I may not have agreed with President Bush, but he has an obligation to speak to the parts of the country still irrationally enraged at Muslims over 9/11. A tangible demonstration from current and former GOP leaders might go a long way toward calming down the violent Islamophobia on the right, just as you, Bill and Hillary Clinton might do for the left. I believe that silence in the face of these dangerous swells of anger is tantamount to complicity.

We expect our leaders to stand up in moments like these. I'm not asking that you outlaw the perfectly legal actions of these groups (no matter how reprehensible or dangerous they might be.) This isn't a legal issue but a moral one and you still wield enough influence over any audience you speak to that a few words from you might yet summon the humanity in these people to make them reconsider their actions. At the very least, it will demonstrate clearly that they do not act in the name of all Americans. This morning all I could think about were the young boys and old men in Palestine who asked me over and over again to tell my country they were not terrorists. Their own helplessness in the face of a media narrative that could not be stopped was deeply moving. I think I finally understand what they felt like. I want to write a letter to the world and say, please, believe me, American's aren't racists, we're not bigots, we're not violent and hateful and irrational. Please don't judge us by the actions of a few crazy people who act in our name.

So I hope that before Saturday you and every other influential American with access to a microphone has taken to the airwaves or written in the papers or published on the internet an unequivocal denunciation of the Qur'an burning and the rallying cries against Islam as a religion and Muslims as people. We must show the world that this is not who we are, and that has to start with our leaders. I think that few days in recent memory have as much power to transform as this year's eleventh of September has; I don't want to wake up Sunday morning and wonder what country I'm living in.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 239- Comfort reading and baiting Glenn Beck fans

Dear Mr. President,

My friend and coworker wrote a short piece on the reliable pleasure of reading Kurt Vonnegut for our bookstore's blog. Comfort reading, returning to a familiar author for the needed reminder of why I read, is something I often find myself in need of. His post recalled my own affection for Vonnegut, and my sadness at his passing. Vonnegut's writing shaped the way that many of my generation approached the world; his humanism and his compassion are certainly things that I strive to emulate in my own life. As Jon Stewart told him once, he made adolescence bearable. Thinking about him today I couldn't help but wonder how he would feel about our country as it is now. How disappointed he might be with us, and how much easier and more absurd the horrible things would all seem if he were still here to comment on them.

If comfort reading is how I escape temporary frustrations with the written word, than I certainly spent my morning occupied with its political equivalent. Sometimes, when the political world gets too frustrating, too disgusting or too bleak, I turn to the familiar comfort and reliable entertainment of baiting Glenn Beck fans. It isn't a nice thing to do, I suppose, and probably not enough of an intellectual exercise to even make it good practice for real debate, but I feel like I'm allowed a certain amount of pleasure on what is definitely one of the toughest days I've had in a while. And so, when confronted with the question "how is Glenn Beck a racist?" by one of his groupies, I felt compelled to answer.

I think what comforts me about arguing with Beck's ilk is that it offers a clear opportunity to articulate my opinions and positions to a clear opponent. Beck's divisive, bigoted and ignorant rants are exactly the sort of thing I stand in opposition to. They are an affront to my values, a poison to our political discourse and one of the last havens for the idea that Real America is the birthright of the white, english-speaking, Judeo-Christian middle class. And, despite all of this, I still believe Beck has every right to say the hateful and stupid things that he says (even, unfortunately, in the historical shadow of much better men.) This feeling is a comforting reminder that I have not lost all perspective for the sake of my partisan beliefs. That I still see the struggle between Right and Left in ideological and not apocalyptic terms. In short, as petty as it may seem, I am merely reassuring myself that for all the comfort of a clearly identified opponent, I have not yet sunk to his level. That Mr. Vonnegut taught me well, and his lessons have not been drown out by my impassioned, emotional reactions.

So much of my time discussing politics feels like war. Two (or more) sides stubbornly entrenched and unwilling to even consider their opposition to be human. Willfully entering a fight like this, just to remind myself that it can be fun, keeps me from sinking into the combative mentality too deeply. Maybe that's unforgivably smug and self-satisfied. I think, so long as Mr. Beck enjoys the right to keep spewing his nonsense, I will enjoy my right to challenge those who are buying into it.

I hope that tomorrow doesn't devolve into something really awful, that Mr. Beck and his supporters remember the great men who stood in that place before them and act accordingly. If not, well, as Mr. Vonnegut said, so it goes.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 237- Hate crimes

Dear Mr. President,

The stabbing of a New York taxi driver because he was Muslim is all I can think about tonight. Every article I've read about it so far is suggesting that the recent increase in tensions over Park 51 contributed to the suspect's anger at Muslims. I don't know if that is true, I don't claim to know what was in this man's head or what motivated his ugly act of violence. I suspect, based on the statements and the charges filed, that this crime may not have occurred if this controversy had not been stirred up. I believe that there are a number of people reacting honestly to false information. For one thing, people believe that Park 51 is a mosque. For another, they believe it is at Ground Zero. Finally, the slanderous way many have discussed Imam Faisal Rauf has many people convinced that the group behind Park 51 is extremist in nature. All of these are outright lies, but I understand how those who believe them might feel strongly opposed to Park 51.

Tonight I am not angry at the people believing these lies. Tonight I am angry at the people who brought out this issue. It will likely never be admitted, but out there now are those who, in their heart of hearts, know that the only reason they have pushed this issue and upset so many people about something so harmless is to win an election. Why else would this be a non-story in 2009 and a front-page issue in 2010? If I am right about these two beliefs, that the attack on the driver was motivated by the anti-Muslim sentiments stirred up intentionally by those on the right who would benefit from it, than Mr. Sharif's blood is on the hands of the people who pushed the false narrative about this group and the community center they plan to build.

The entire country has been a victim of a hate crime lately. I don't want to try to minimize the horror of the specific crime committed against Ahmed Sharif (and not just because I have particularly strong feelings about neck violence,) so I don't intend to trivialize it, at all by saying this. The crime committed against Americans is psychological. We've all been affected by this ploy, this attempt to divide us and to manipulate us. This blatant stoking of fear and hate and violence. I don't know who to blame and I don't want to blame any one. Unlike the crime against Mr. Sharif, this crime has no recourse in a court of law. I just want it to stop. I want some one with a loud enough voice (or a big enough podium, or enough cameras in their press room) to stand up and say that attacking Americans like this is not acceptable. That we will not abide the lies and the violence caused by those lies, or let them be called by any other name.

I believe that this is a moment that will live on in our history as a test of the values we aspire to- the named by our founders as the purpose of the American endeavor. This is a moment in which, more than ever, we need Presidential leadership. Even if you can't make it all right by saying the right thing, the right thing needs to be said; this is America, damn it. Either we stand for what we've always claimed to stand for or we don't. This decision has to be made by every one of us, we have to commit to it and live by it and call out those who would turn us against it. Or there will be more incidents like this stabbing. There will be more innocent blood spilt by the disturbed, misguided and easily manipulated. I do not believe that the people seeking to spread this controversy for political gain intended to cause violence, but I also don't think they will ever be forced to answer for it in the same way that Imam Rauf and those of his faith are forced to answer for every crime committed in the name of Islam. It isn't about naming a villain or calling out those who have had an emotional reaction to this issue. It isn't about calling them racists or seeking to divide us further. This isn't a partisan issue and you should not have to tread so lightly around it. Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann should not be the most eloquent or the most courageous voices of reason in this debate, sir- you should. The right words from a President can unite the divided and calm the outraged. Tonight, as I hope that Mr. Sharif heals quickly and completely, I will hope also that you find those words and help the country to do the same.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 231- الشهادة

Dear Mr. President,

At today's press gaggle three numbers were mentioned by the press. 500,000- the number of unemployment claims filed last week, the worst in 2010. 50,000- the number of US troops still in Iraq. And 18- the percentage of Americans who believe that you are Muslim, according to a new Pew poll. Worsening unemployment, the nuance of ending a war, and an poll illustrating that a significant number of Americans (and 31% of Republicans) are not only ill-informed, they're stubborn about it. You weren't at the Press Gaggle, Mr. President, but I'll bet I don't have to tell you which got the most discussion and interest from the press. Why is it that this story just won't quit? That members of Congress can feed it and still be taken seriously? I think it's probably because every time the White House is confronted with this rumor, instead of saying "next question", the press secretary (or, in this case, his deputy) sputter for 5 minutes about your devout Christianity. The President prays, every day. The President speaks to religious advisors, every day. The President speaks with Christian leaders for advice.

I didn't vote for you because I think you're Christian. Your job isn't to be correctly perceived by every yahoo who thinks you were born in Kenya and here to bring about the End Times. No one is going to stop believing that you're a Muslim if they are already convinced it is so. You can't prove faith. Gibbs and Burton can profess your faith before God and the Press Corps every day and it isn't going to change the minds of those 18%. Anderson Cooper got on TV and showed the world proof that your birth certificate is your birth certificate and I am confident that it made exactly no difference with those who still doubt your citizenship. (Though, to be fair, it may have changed their opinion of Anderson Cooper.)

The media is perhaps to blame for devoting so much energy and discussion to this topic. One reporter seemed to imply that the perception was the White House's fault- that somehow the American people weren't able to know their President. I think this, and other suggestions from the press that you ought to talk about your faith more in public, are absurd. The amount of information about you available to Americans is unprecedented. As far as I know, polls didn't indicate a significant number of people suspected President Bush or Clinton or Reagan to be Muslim. This perception is allowed to continue because of xenophobia and racism. People are afraid of the unfamiliar and your political opponents have been trying to paint you as unfamiliar since you started in politics. It isn't something that people need to be persuaded to change their minds about because it isn't rational. It isn't the White House's responsibility to combat this. The perception of you as a Muslim goes up as your poll numbers go down. I don't think people are having new doubts about your Christianity, I think your declining popularity has made it more socially acceptable to suggest their crazy theories out loud. Call a spade a spade (and a racist a racist) and move on.

But this isn't entirely the media's fault, or entirely their responsibility to correct. The discussion about the Pew poll was some of the least guarded interaction between the Deputy Press Secretary and the Press corps. Robert Gibbs and Bill Burton are constantly spinning, obfuscating, splitting hairs, and spewing talking points. Try having a frank conversation with the press about something that actually matters- like the economic outlook or the state of our foreign relations. Instead of coming up with the right sound byte to reassure people that you've got this under control, be honest. Be honest about what challenges we face and how much of the responsibility to overcome them is up to us and the important changes we need to make in our own lives. The White House needs to find a way to connect with people honestly, and the swatting wildly at ridiculous rumors while spinning the latest unemployment numbers (while trying to help half of the Senate run for re-election) just isn't going to cut it.

People do need honesty and access, but not because they doubt your religion. Please, don't let your administration get caught up in this nonsense when we have so many graver concerns ahead.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 215- Birthright

“We all feel and understand the hearts of children, but on the other hand, there are Zionist considerations and ensuring the Jewish character of the state of Israel. The problem is that these two components clash.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu


Dear Mr. President,

I agree with Lou Dobbs. That's actually too weird for me to feel comfortable saying out loud, so let me say instead, Lou Dobbs agrees with me about the growing number of GOP senators who want to repeal the 14th amendement, in that we both think they're ridiculous. It reminded me of an article I'd read recently about the Israeli decision to deport 400 children born in Israel to foreign laborers. While the decision made could have been much worse, the idea that it was done, as PM Netanyahu stated, to ensure "the Jewish character of the state of Israel" did not sit well with me. In general, I'm opposed to systems of government where a person's religion determines their rights. The idea that several of my friends born in America have a birthright to Israeli citizenship that these children (not to mention the millions of Palestinians forced out in 1948 and 1967) born in Israel do not have, it just doesn't seem right. It's not a debate I'm likely to win, and I do understand the need for Jews to have a protected place and the means to defend themselves against another holocaust. I just don't think that denying the rights of non-Jews born in Israel is an acceptable cost.

I wonder, what character of our nation would we be trying to preserve in repealing 14th amendment rights? Our white, English-speaking character? Or, perhaps, the illusion that white Americans who took this land from the native people have a superior right to its resources than the descendants of non-white populations that have lived on this continent for generations before Europeans knew its name? I, for one, do not think that character, or that illusion, is worth protecting at all, but especially not if it means devaluing our constitution. I think that the rights guaranteed in our constitution, the spirit of freedom and equality enshrined in its words, that lofty and yet to be perfected ideal is the only character we ought to fight to ensure. Denying these basic values to persecute immigrants and minorities for the sake of keeping our white, English-speaking, Christian majority is simply not what this country stands for.

And I'm glad to know that Lou Dobbs agrees with me.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 209- Activist judges

Dear Mr. President,

I am so grateful for activist judges. Judge Susan R. Bolton, in particular. What strikes me as particularly reasonable is that she has put a hold on any implementation of the Arizona law while she fully considers the case. I don't think that she is particularly activist in this decision, but I'm sure that's what they'll be calling her on FOX tonight, and I'm just glad she's willing to take on the criticism for the sake of justice.

This decision gives me a deep gratitude for our legal system, especially in contrast with news from al-Araqib, where an entire Bedouin village was razed, despite a pending court case to determine the land rights of the villagers. I think it is a terrible reminder of what irreversible damage can be done in the wait for justice delayed. I wonder, how all of those made homeless by this destruction would have felt if an activist judge had stepped in to prevent the demolition, even if it was only until their case could have a fair hearing. Sure, the Israeli right would have decried it as judicial overreach, but families would not be sleeping in tents, cut off from access to water, shelter and basic services.

It is a small comfort to know that, at least for now, the civil liberties of Arizonans have been protected by the intervention of one individual. That, before any one's rights have been violated, she said, let's give this another look. It seems reasonable, wise, and just. I hope that the the law is eventually overturned, as I do not believe it will be effective or fair. For now, as my heart goes out to those made homeless by the haste of the forces that would see them run out of their land entirely, I am reminded how rare and remarkable our own system can sometimes prove itself to be. I hope that you condemn the destruction of al-Araqib, and the injustice suffered by the people who called it home. The people of Palestine, and the Arabs of Israeli citizenship deserve equal treatment by Israeli courts, and, as Israel's ally, it seems only right that we work to ensure this kind of gross oppression does not continue in a country you call our friend.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 203- When "yes" means "assuming you're not Arab, of course"

If any one out there reading this is wondering why I am not commenting on the Shirley Sherrod story, it isn't because I'm such a loyal Hope Koolaid drinker. I have three reasons:

1. I have nothing to add that every other blogger and their mother haven't already said
2. I do think the administration screwed up, I don't think there's anything they can do but apologize and try to reinstate her, and they have done that already.
3. I'm so sick of reading transcripts of press conferences full of Sherrod questions and NOTHING else. I'm sorry she was unfairly fired, but SERIOUSLY guys, people go through a lot worse without getting a single member of the press corps to ask Robert Gibbs about it.

Dear Mr. President,

One in six American women will be the victim of rape in her lifetime. With that kind of statistical frequency, it is a safe bet that we all have women in our lives affected by this. I certainly do, and I say this only to emphasize that I do not take the issue lightly, nor to I mean to belittle or minimize the damaging affects of this crime. I don't know that there are statistics available for the number of people, male or female, who are lied to for sex, but I'm guessing, based on personal experience, that it's much, much higher. People lie. People lie all the time, about important things and stupid things, and people lie even more when they think they can get what they want. I don't think that lying to some one in order to have sex with them, in general, is a criminal act. Israeli courts, who have convicted an Arab man of rape for allegedly claiming to be Jewish, disagree.

The idea that consent can be contingent on a partner's racial identity or religion is absurd. While withholding or misleading a partner about some information, such as knowledge of HIV or other infection, can and should be grounds for criminal complaint, there are obvious differences between the harm done by a person's religion and their HIV status. This verdict is based primarily upon an accepted racism, an antipathy that is now given the force of legal precedent. Absent any hard evidence to substantiate the woman's claim that he lied about his identity, the most damning evidence this man could have faced is the inescapable reality of his own race and the judge's belief that a jewish woman would need to be deceived in order to consent. This kind of institutionalized racism ought to be condemned by Israel's allies.

Beyond the racist implications of this decision, the language of the decision declares the court responsible for the protection of women from "smooth-tongued criminals," surprisingly paternalistic language from a female judge. I wonder, had this been the case of a Jewish man being deceived by an Arab woman, would she have been charged with rape, as well? As a woman, I find this idea that women lack the judgement to protect themselves from men who lie insulting.

We all have to take responsibility for the way we treat one another and for the decisions we make. Deception in pursuit of casual sex, while morally questionable, is hardly on par with the trauma of actual rape, and this disturbing decision should not pass without the strong condemnation of all who would see racism and sexism divided from the laws of any nation.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 194- Bad Art Museum of Bad Art

Dear Mr. President,

The French government is another step closer to a full public ban on the burqa. I suppose this makes me grateful to live where I do. Not because I wear a veil, but because I could. Because, more than wear what we want, we can say what we want. We can open bars with "Obama rooms" celebrating bad art. Art can be subversive, offensive, contrary to the values or beliefs or faiths of so many people, and it is no threat to our society. It can hang on the wall, or be inked on some one's skin, or stitched into their clothing and it doesn't make them less American.



Tonight I was in a bar, drowning my AL sorrows, with an "Obama Room". I didn't find out what it meant, or why it was named after you, but the sign said it was a room of bad art. I think it meant that the room is safe for bad art, for art that not every one likes or understands. Art that no one wants to pay for, that no one would remember, otherwise. Art that doesn't have to justify its own existence.

I couldn't help but think of the women in France being targeted by this law. There aren't enough of them to defend themselves democratically. They are outsiders, isolated, kept apart from the rest of French society- not by their own beliefs or culture, but by a government that, by overwhelming majority, has declared their manner of dress to be out of step with what it means to be French.

I'm still pretty upset about the American League breaking a 14-year streak of domination at today's all-star game, so forgive me a baseball metaphor. Baseball has always been described as quintessentially American, but I could, with little fear of harassment, walk outside with a shirt saying "I hate baseball" or "Babe Ruth is stupid" and not worry that it made me any less American. I might be in an extreme minority, too few to ever have my opinion represented in the legislature or to count on it being defended by voters, but the constitution protects me, all the same. It is this bedrock principle that represents true "Americanism", this document which defends us all from the whims of the majority. I hope that, when the law in France must face up to their own constitution, that it is struck down. that the noble principles enshrined in that document are stronger than a passing fear of those who do not dress the right way.

What do you think of this law, Mr. President? Will you speak out against it, demonstrating that the friendship between the US and France is once characterized first by its frankness and honesty? I hope that you will, I hope that the Council of the State acts to protect the rights of these French women. Because, be we immigrants or baseball haters or bad artists or just believers in a faith different from that of the majority, we deserve our own corner of safety, the respect of our governments and of our fellow citizens. Speak to President Sarkozy, Mr. President, and tell him this law is not worthy of a modern democracy.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 161-Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca

Dear Mr. President,

Usually when I'm reading about murdered teenagers suspected of stone-throwing activity, it's a news story out of Palestine. The disgust that grips me is no different, when it happens here at home. I am heartbroken over the death of 15-year old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, and there are no excuses for his murder that will make the action pardonable. His family is owed an apology by the American government and the agent involved. This boy was gunned down in cold blood. Mistakes, even tragic, fatal mistakes, happen, but we must be forthright and sincere in our apologies for this unforgivable incident or all Americans will bear the responsibility for the boys death.

I hesitated to tell my roommate about this. I saw how she took the news of the Arizona immigration legislation, or of the mural in Prescott and she herself has been the target of anti-hispanic racism; my sisterly affection for her inclines me to protect her from hearing about these stories. She has young brothers, and I don't know if she saw their faces when she heard of this boy's death, but I cannot fathom the fear that must follow such clear evidence that people who look like her brothers are now fair game for her own country's border patrol. They're treating Mexicans like vermin these days, she said. I didn't know what to say, to try and make it better.

I understand the need for a secure border, or at least the illusion of one, but Mr. President, this is too high a price for me to pay for a false sense of safety. There is nothing I value enough to think worth the murder of unarmed children, of any nationality, in any place, for any reason. Please, do not allow this tragedy to be spun in order to justify the unpardonable actions of the agent. Do not try to sell us on the necessity of this action. It would be nothing short of a betrayal of the trust I and millions of others have in your administration to protect our values. Please, Mr. President, apologize for this mistake, condemn this as a crime and make it clear that this kind of conduct will never be acceptable in the name of the American people.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 138- On beauty

Dear Mr. President,

Our new Miss USA is sparking some unfortunate (if completely unsurprising) ignorance from the far right fringe. I generally (and equally unsurprisingly) don't like beauty pageants. I think they're absurd rituals focusing far too much on a person's physical characteristics and encouraging unrealistic images of the perfect female. I say this, of course, because I will never win any beauty pageants (not even for bloggers) and because that is out of my control, entirely. Also, because many of the most beautiful women I know have a difficult time being taken seriously as the intellectuals and professionals that they are. I think when we glorify the kind of superficial qualities that it takes to win a pageant we perpetuate the idea that those qualities are all that women who look that way have. Still, I find the grounds on which these right-wing bloggers (and the FOX senior beauty pageant analyst who takes them seriously) object to Miss Fakih offensive. To cite her race and her religion as the "PC" or "affirmative action" rationale for her winning is both stupid (even I can concede that, whatever else she may be, Miss Fakih is obviously an exceedingly beautiful woman,) and degrading. It implies that she is less "qualified" for this (exceedingly subjective) honor than her white, Christian, runners-up.

I don't know very much about Miss Fakih, aside from her being beautiful and from Michigan. She may be very bright, she may be rather stupid. I don't think her being Miss America tells us anything conclusive about her personal merit or intelligence. Gretchen Carlson, herself a former Miss America, certainly isn't a stupid woman, even if she does a convincing job playing one on TV. If I have to be represented by a pageant winner, I think that Rima Fakih is just as representative of me and the rest of America as any previous winners; that the history of Miss USA winners is growing more diverse reflects our own growing diversity, well. There will likely be many, many white, Christian winners in years to come, just as there will likely be Miss Americas representing other racial, religious and ethnic minorities. If people are really going to get upset every time the winner's background doesn't match up with their idea of what "American" looks or sounds or acts like, I suppose that's their prerogative.

For me, this debate recalls the sentiments of people who thought you weren't "American" enough to represent us as President. Be these the crazy people who think you were born in Kenya, the crazy people who think you're a Muslim usurper, or the crazy people who think you're against the flag and/or pledge of allegiance and/or Christianity, they all seem to imply that there's an American class of citizens who are more American than others, and that you (and Miss Fakih, and Elena Kagan,) don't belong in it. I'm all for free speech, so I absolutely believe they have a right to say all of this, and whatever other crazy, offensive stuff they can think of, but I don't think that organizations aiming to be taken seriously a news sources ought to cover it as anything other than what it is; racism, plain and simple. There's some strange contradiction in a kind of hatred based largely on physical appearances being directed at the winner of a competition based on the same thing, but I'm not sure it's enough to make either the people or the pageant consider changing their ways.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 113- Ghosts of 2008

Dear Mr. President,

I'm glad that you've publicly addressed the injustice of the racist immigration law recently passed by the state of Arizona. I'm at a complete loss; I can't fathom how in this day and age such legislation could be seriously discussed, let alone signed into law. We need comprehensive national reform, and in the meantime the Arizona legislation ought to be fought by the courts and by the voters. My roommate, a member of the Hidatsa-Mandan tribe, joined in our outrage at this legislation, despite having, better than any of us, a historical claim to this land. We're a nation of immigrants, outside of the reservations. Where are the small-government conservatives now? Where's the libertarian outrage at this massive infringement on individual liberty? How does John McCain, who supports this bill, even look at himself in the mirror?

You've already spoken forcefully about your objections to this legislation, so I'll waste no further time preaching to the choir. As I read through the day's news, another story raised my blood pressure. Try as I might, I cannot seem to effectively ignore Sarah Palin. Pretending she doesn't exist in the hopes that she'll stop talking and go back to Alaska doesn't seem to be effective, so I thought I'd point out yet another example of her glaring hypocrisy. Today, in response to the news that Franklin Graham was uninvited from the national day of prayer ceremony, Palin said, "Are we really so hyper-politically correct that we can’t abide a Christian minister who expresses his views on matters of faith? What a shame. " This, from the same woman who thought that the controversial views of Rev. Jeremiah Wright should have been reason for voters to mistrust you in 2008. While I may not have been as offended by Reverend Wright's remarks as I was by Graham's, I'm sure that I many were. Mrs. Palin needs to decide; either political correctness extends past the church doors or it doesn't. I think the real disconnect between the two situations in Palin's mind is that one condemnation was of America (actually, the American government, but I'm not sure that she makes that distinction unless there's a Democrat in the White House), the other was the entire Islamic faith. Palin believes that one of these is acceptable to criticize, condemn and even insult; the other is not. I think that a certain level of respect in public discourse, especially from religious leaders who claim to be men of God, is not too much to ask. However, I think that expressing the outrage of centuries of racial oppression and government abuse in melodramatic anti-American rhetoric is far less troublesome than calling an entire religion "wicked" or "evil."

I think if Arizona has taught us anything today it is that hatred, bigotry, and hypocrisy may never go out of style in this country, they don't look good on any one.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 101- Immigration reform

Dear Mr. President,

Yesterday, in Seattle, more than five thousand people rallied for immigration reform. I was just getting off of work, when I passed through a crowd in Pioneer Square. Congressman Jim McDermott was among those in attendance, and, at first impression, the crowd seemed more like a jovial gathering than a political protest- I saw people of all ages and races, some angrily chanting, some silently holding up signs, more than a few children running around laughing and waving flags. I think it was uplifting to see so many Seattlites come together and stand up for the rights of illegal immigrants across the country.

Once, while sitting on a plane from Boise to Seattle, I was telling the woman next to me that I studied Arabic in school, and wanted to travel to the Middle East. She warned me not to expect "people over there" to accommodate me, the way we accommodate people over here. She went on to explain that, in America, we make it so easy that people don't even have to speak English, while the rest of the world insists on making people speak the native language. I've heard this mind-boggling rhetoric many times since; from old acquaintances on facebook who post things like "Welcome to America, press 1 for English, press 2 to hang up and learn English," as well as from coworkers who grow frustrated at customers who don't communicate easily in English. In DC one morning, I watched as an old woman yelled at a Hispanic McDonald's employee for denying a homeless white man free coffee, insisting that the employee, as a "non-American" was the reason the man was homeless in the first place. I try to imagine the logic behind a worldview that affords basic dignity and respect only on the basis of a shared language and place of birth, but I just can't do it. It's an ugly sense of entitlement that I just can't empathize with.

Unfortunately, I don't have to understand this kind of racism to be complicit in it. Things like this rally give me hope, even as they deepen my disappointment in myself for not being more actively involved. Just the other day, an old woman on my bus stormed off in protest after the driver angrily berated an elderly Chinese couple for not following his request to make more room quickly enough. I kept my seat; I was late for work, and I didn't want to walk in the rain, but the shame of staying silent while the woman stood up for two strangers, alone, stayed with me all day. It's up to all of us to stand up against discrimination, whenever we can, and I am too often content to look the other way if it is inconvenient for me to act.

Our government needs to do its part, as well. Immigration reform that offers a clear path to citizenship for those living in this country illegally cannot wait another year. We must make a clear demonstration that we value and respect the contributions immigrants make to our society, how essential they are to the character of America. We do not gain anything by forcing millions of people to live outside of the law; they suffer because of it, and our country suffers because of it. While comprehensive immigration reform will likely be even more difficult to pass than health care reform, it is long past time and well worth the fight. I hope that your administration begins an aggressive campaign to see that this becomes a reality.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 98

Dear Mr. President,

This month in Virginia is, apparently, Confederate History Month. I've spent my entire life in a state that didn't exist during the civil war, but, being about as far North as you can get in the lower 48, I grew up naively assuming that Washington and Washingtonians would generally have supported the Union, if only for geographic reasons. This is why I was surprised when, as a sophomore, I discovered that enough students had been wearing the Confederate flag, on jackets and T-shirts and hats, that my high school had to ban it. I often saw it still on cars in the parking lot, and wondered, frequently, where this fascination with the old Confederacy came from. The controversy over the South Carolina statehouse in 2000 seemed equally troubling, but at least I understood the historical relevance of the Old South to that state. That it continues in Virginia indicates that, even today, many Americans still cling to the era and its culture.

Maybe it is insensitive of me, but simply I do not understand this continued hold that the Confederacy seems to have over the hearts of many Americans. Can't we put that chapter of our history to rest? The war may not have been entirely about slavery, but it is impossible to credibly separate the legacy of the Confederacy from the bloody and brutal enslavement of Africans; the single greatest shame of our Nation's history aside from the annihilation of Native Americans. Why the fondness, reverence, even, for this history and those crimes? The Virginia Governor's decision to devote an entire month to Confederate history must be truly an affront to much of his state's citizens, and especially to the African American community. It also speaks toward an unsettling resurgence of pro-secessionist rhetoric, which seems to be increasingly acceptable in modern political discourse.

I think that the history and culture of the old south can be preserved and respected without celebrating the secession, slavery and war that tore apart our country and wasted or ruined hundreds of thousands, if not millions of lives. A rejection of the racism, divisiveness and destruction that defined the Civil War should be something that all Americans can agree on.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 88

This is for all of you. Also, for those of you following it, Barbra Boxer's re-election race is heating up, she's polling within the margin of error against both republican front runners, and Carly Fiorina (of demon sheep/ giant blimp ad fame) is leading in the republican primary. If you know California voters, encourage them to get out the vote. The Senate might be funnier with Carly Fiorina in it, but I don't think congress needs any more of her particular brand of crazy.

Dear Mr. President,

The arrests in Michigan of militia members plotting to kill police officers reveals a deeply unsettling movement that seems to be growing. The recent rise in violent anti-government sentiments is frightening, the rhetoric of hate groups across the country, groups who often use religion or nationalism as a disguise echoed in the hysteria of the Tea Party movement and even by some members of the Republican party. This is not to say conservatives are to blame. I grew up in a part of Washington State (a blue state if ever there were) where survivalist militias, cults, and truly horrifying acts of hatred occurred under national leadership from Republicans or Democrats; I recognize that this kind of extremism co-opts the conservative opposition to government and subverts it into violence much in the same way the suicide bombers in Moscow twist their Islamic faith into justification for their crimes.

I don't know what the solution is. My fear-based reaction would be to call for stricter federal regulation of these groups, but I understand that it would only fuel their rhetoric and make all Americans less safe and less free. We cannot protect ourselves by infringing upon the rights of others. The arrest of these extremists in Michigan proves that the current system works; their plans were disrupted by the authorities and lives were saved.

I'm glad that the police were successful in preventing this group from carrying out their plans. My heart is heavy at the loss of life in Russia, as well. I'm sure there are many struggling to make sense of the anger that leads people to this kind of violence, and I have faith that your administration will not take advantage of this struggle to increase its power, as President Bush's did. I sincerely hope that politicians across the political spectrum recognize the power their words have over people, and tone down the rhetoric that is fueling these violent sentiments.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 66- Oh no, I'm writing about the Oscars

Dear Mr. President,

I started watching the Academy Awards tonight, but had made other plans in the evening, and decided not to watch the second half. I hear that Hurt Locker beat out Avatar for best picture. I doubt you've seen either movie, but if you have, I hope you'd agree that this was a good call. One movie suggests the audience contemplate, even question their emotional response to the story, the other manipulates and demands certain emotions from its views.

I think what upset me most about Avatar was the false sense of sympathy it would generate in many fans. Of course, the way the story is told, the Innocent Blue Natives must be the sympathetic characters. The audience would see them, like them, and cheer for them in the Epic Battle scene at the end. But then, as the credits rolled and the lights came on, the audience files out, goes about their daily lives, living, as too many of us do, without concern for the consumptive, greedy, materialistic existences we unconsciously lead, or how they affect the rest of the world. I'll admit the ignorant American stereotype is not a fair one, but every year there seems to be one blockbuster extolling the damages of our lifestyles to the rest of the world and to ourselves, and every year we seem happy to pay $8 to ignore the message being spelled out for us.

I do think Americans live in a way that is damaging to the developing world. We ignore the struggles of our own dwindling native population, minimize the crimes committed against them in the early days of our nation, and continue to ignore, condone or even support the oppression and extermination of other native populations by imperial projects around the world. And then we watch multi-million dollar movies about how wrong this is. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

What frustrates me more is that I don't know the answer. I don't know how we could make up for our past crimes, or how we can live better now, or how we can avoid them in the future. It isn't enough to be angry about it, it isn't enough to feel guilty about it, it isn't even enough to write a letter to the President about it. We've got to have a plan.

Tonight I had drinks with a friend, who told me that all white Americans suffer from the same combination of power and privilege. She contends that it makes all of us, to varying degrees, racist, and that the only thing we can do is make a conscious effort to work against the programming. I agree with this, but how responsible are we as individuals to convince others to fight this programming, as well? I suppose this struggle is the same one that religious people go through all the time. I think I know the right way to live, and I can try to do that every day, try to make the right choices and think the right thoughts and work to ensure that my life doesn't come at the expense of others. But I'm only one person. Should I then be attempting to convert others to my way of thinking? I think this is why I'm so bad at religion. I have beliefs, and I'm pretty confident in them, but I'll never be sure enough that I'd want to proselytize others.

This is why cultural phenomena like Avatar are so frustrating; even if this particular film's anti-imperialist message is close to my own political views, its simplification of things, its forcing this nuanced and complex idea into a palatable and didactic doctrine, does not ask its audience to think. We're losing our critical thinking skills, and accepting what we are told, what is forced upon us, because it is simpler and easier and more convenient. I'd like to think, at the end of the day, that is is more important to engage with an issue, to try and understand it from as many perspectives as possible, than to come up with an answer or a conclusion about it.

Anyway, I'm not entirely comfortable pontificating quite this much about an award show. What role, if any, does pop culture play in your own life? You have a healthy appreciation for Harry Potter and Jay-Z, so you can't be completely insulated from these trends, but I'd imagine your job prevents you from being exposed to much of it these days. Do you think that we place too much value on the entertainments that distract us from issues? Or do you think that some degree of escapism is necessary, even healthy?

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey

Day 26

Dear Mr. President,

Today a French commission offered its report on the full-face veil worn by some Muslim women. This report is an appalling demonstration of the ignorant, islamophobic hate-mongering that passes as political discourse in much of Europe these days. I hope that your administration strongly denounces the report, and any move to ban the wearing of the veil. How does a ban on the veil in public places liberate women who wear it? Doesn't this just prevent them from equal access to education, government services, medical care and transportation- necessary aspects of living independent lives as full citizens?

I feel this is particularly heinous because it discriminates against women, while claiming to be for their own good. This is the kind of paternalistic legislative overreach that begs a comparison to the regimes like Iran and Afghanistan under the Taliban, which require the veil for almost exactly the same reason, to "protect" women. I once read that high-heels are damaging to a woman's leg muscles. One could argue that they also impede a woman's ability to move quickly, and can be hazardous during emergency evacuations. Where's the French commission recommending a ban on stilettos?

Behind all the posturing, the legislative language and the outright lies from the French government, the simple truth is that this is nothing more than a manifestation of anti-Islamic feelings, of blatant racism. Muslims, be they immigrants or converts, make the French government nervous. The same way Jews made the German government nervous. Are yellow crescents next? Jim Crow-style legislation to segregate Muslims from public life? Where is the line drawn? How much of a woman's face needs to be visible before she can qualify for an education or medical care? Before she can take a bus to work, or shop, or visit family? How much of herself must she cede to the government's idea of what a liberated woman looks or dresses like?

The report says that all of France says "no" to the veil. What does that say to the women who wear it? You are not French. France says "no", to you. What a progressive, egalitarian thing to say. Mr. President, I beg you, do not ignore or condone this offensive behavior.

Respectfully yours,

Kelsey