Dear Mr. President,
As you know, on April 24, Armenians and their friends all over the world will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide organized and executed by Ottoman Turkey.
About 20 countries acknowledge this tragic chapter in history, yet the majority of countries turn a blind eye on facts and tiptoe around the topic of the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in order to not irritate the Turkish government.
What is particularly disappointing to me is that Israel (because of its history) and my two adopted home countries – the United States and Germany – are among those countries that choose perceived political convenience over standing for the truth and for justice.
Mr. President, as you know, about a week before Nazi Germany started...
Politics
Dear Gov. Mary Fallin,
I hope that this letter finds you well, and that your day is off to a great start. You may not remember me, so allow me to reintroduce myself to you. I'm Dillon Peña, a former friend and acquaintance of your daughter Christina. I've been to your house in northwest Oklahoma City. I've been to a festival at the Oklahoma River with you. I've broken bread and had dinner with you at Red Rock, and you have even been to church with me. Although I am currently a New York City resident, Oklahoma remains the home of my heart.
I am an Oklahoma fan through and through. I cheer for the Thunder as well as OU and OSU. You see, Governor, I would love to move back to Oklahoma someday. However, today, Governor, in the eyes of the great state of Oklahoma, my two brothers and I...
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Dear Hillary Clinton,
So it’s official. You’re making a play for the second not-white-male US president in history.
But if you win, you’ll be the second consecutive half-white-male US president in history.
Don’t look so confused. Barack Obama is a man, and he’s half-white. You’re all white, and not technically a man, but by the time one gets to your level of international politics — and to your age — you’re pretty much a white man anyway.
We don’t mean to be insulting, Hills, don’t go all hyper-lefty trigger-warning on us. We’re just saying it doesn’t matter if it’s you, a black lady or a crippled Taiwanese dwarf with cerebral palsy: You don’t get to where you are by playing nice and being fair. Instead, you must embody the essential aggression, entitlement and selfishness that...
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Dear Senator Rand Paul,
Congratulations on your ongoing effort to earn the GOP nomination for President.
I read with interest this week of your judgment that the Islamic State was at least partially the creation of the national security wing of our party. As an ardent Republican, I pay close attention to what you do and say, as there is no question that your candidacy is formidable. Your leadership on the subject of limited government, your championing of civil liberties, and your charismatic, youthful demeanor all add up to someone who could ably represent the GOP on the national stage and who could potentially be an excellent president.
However, I must admit to misgivings, and so I offer my thoughts in the hopes that you to continue to think deeply about America’s role in the...
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Dear Elizabeth,
I know that you have repeatedly declined to run for President, and I'm very disappointed that you have failed to understand the enormity of the consequences of that refusal.
You, and you alone have shown the courage, the intelligence, and the will to fight the interests of the 1%. Having those attributes, and the understanding of the foe we face, the one which threatens the very core of democracy by flooding the political process with money, corrupting the politicians with promises of wealth and power unanswerable to the people, it is your duty to run, whether you like it or not, whether you win or not, because your presence in the primaries will force all other candidates to move in your direction, and that will be a very good thing.
If you run, I'm absolutely...
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For the uninitiated, if there are any, when you download Uber's app and get into a car summoned on-demand via a smart phone reservation system, by default you agree to a litany of terms and conditions.
The moment you tick the "agree" button to these very stringent terms, you basically sign your life away. So then, what happens when your driver abuses or assaults you, or fatally knocks down a six-year-old girl, as was the case in California?
Uber is a so-called ride-sharing service that puts potential drivers through their own customised background check so that they can become an impromptu "taxi driver" using their own car and Uber's tech and taximeter. The truth is, most people, including myself never bother to read the terms and conditions, and in this case, people don't know...
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Dear Mr. Neel Kashkari,
As a real homeless person I find your little homeless man publicity stunt to be a slap in the face of real homeless people. For one thing, I don't know any homeless people who worked for Goldman Sachs nor do I know anyone who headed the bank bailouts of 2008 but I do know that for all the homeless people that exist in this country, homelessness is not a publicity stunt or a temporary adventure. What exactly have the bank bailouts done for those living in poverty and entering into poverty daily as we speak?
Anyone who can read has probably already seen the myriad of news articles and television documentaries on American poverty so your claim to me out on Twitter that you will use any tactic to bring forward the issue is misleading. I strongly suspect you'll do...
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Dear Fellow Voters:
I've been watching all the presidential candidates with great interest--and deep concern. Concern for us. Concern for the fate of our country. Concern for our world.
As a narcissism expert, I'm not especially worried that narcissists might make it to the White House. According to research, they've always been there. And that shouldn't scare us anyway, because just to be clear: narcissist is not a diagnosis. It never has been. Narcissists are people higher in narcissistic traits than the average person, and while they may or may not be disordered, they all share one thing in common: they feel special. Some feel special enough to lead a nation, in fact.
So what we should be far more concerned about is not whether or not politicians are narcissists--most are--but...
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Dear Governor Snyder,
As the father of someone who struggled with addiction for seven years before getting clean, I think people who distribute and sell illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine are the scum of the earth. Making your living by ruining people's lives -- and destroying entire families -- is about as low as you can get.
That said, I also believe in second chances, especially when it comes to young people making mistakes. And I believe in fair and just punishment for young people who commit crimes, especially when those crimes are non-violent.
This is why the case of Richard Wershe Jr. troubles me so much.
As a lifelong Detroiter, I remember hearing about the "notorious" drug dealer with the nickname "White Boy Rick" back in the 1980s. In the spring of 1987, at the...
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Dear Senator Sanders,
We are educators and supporters of yours, from across the country. Many of your positions on the issues that are the most significant facing the American populace resonate with us, inclusive of but not limited to economic inequality and the plutocratic maldistribution of political power.
In addition to being supporters and organizers for your campaign and the issues above, we are also some of the educators who are fighting against the privatization of public education and the test and punish philosophy that has become pervasive with far too many politicians. We champion this fight because our students, our profession, and the future of this country depend upon our changing the conditions that exist today under the failed No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top...
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