US Press Corps writes open letter to Donald Trump.

Courtesy of the Columbia Journalism Review:

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT ELECT: 

In these final days before your inauguration, we thought it might be helpful to clarify how we see the relationship between your administration and the American press corps. 

It will come as no surprise to you that we see the relationship as strained. Reports over the last few days that your press secretary is considering pulling news media offices out of the White House are the latest in a pattern of behavior that has persisted throughout the campaign: You’ve banned news organizations from covering you. You’ve taken to Twitter to taunt and threaten individual reporters and encouraged your supporters to do the same. You’ve advocated for looser libel laws and threatened numerous lawsuits of your own, none of which has materialized. You’ve avoided the press when you could and flouted the norms of pool reporting and regular press conferences. You’ve ridiculed a reporter who wrote something you didn’t like because he has a disability. 

All of this, of course, is your choice and, in a way, your right. While the Constitution protects the freedom of the press, it doesn’t dictate how the president must honor that; regular press conferences aren’t enshrined in the document. 

But while you have every right to decide your ground rules for engaging with the press, we have some, too. It is, after all, our airtime and column inches that you are seeking to influence. We, not you, decide how best to serve our readers, listeners, and viewers. So think of what follows as a backgrounder on what to expect from us over the next four years. 

There is more but that is the main gist. 

I think it's great that the press lays this out right at the beginning, even though I have every confidence that Trump will try to split and work different news agencies against each other.

In the end I think that Trump will be facing the most hostile and aggressive group of reporters to ever cover an American presidency.

And that will be very good news for the American people and bad news indeed for the Liar-in-Chief.

Stephen King and other American writers post open letter expressing their concern over Donald Trump.

Courtesy of the Literary Hub:

 AN OPEN LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 

Because, as writers, we are particularly aware of the many ways that language can be abused in the name of power; 

Because we believe that any democracy worthy of the name rests on pluralism, welcomes principled disagreement, and achieves consensus through reasoned debate; 

Because American history, despite periods of nativism and bigotry, has from the first been a grand experiment in bringing people of different backgrounds together, not pitting them against one another; 

Because the history of dictatorship is the history of manipulation and division, demagoguery and lies; Because the search for justice is predicated on a respect for the truth; 

Because we believe that knowledge, experience, flexibility, and historical awareness are indispensable in a leader; 

Because neither wealth nor celebrity qualifies anyone to speak for the United States, to lead its military, to maintain its alliances, or to represent its people; 

Because the rise of a political candidate who deliberately appeals to the basest and most violent elements in society, who encourages aggression among his followers, shouts down opponents, intimidates dissenters, and denigrates women and minorities, demands, from each of us, an immediate and forceful response; 

For all these reasons, we, the undersigned, as a matter of conscience, oppose, unequivocally, the candidacy of Donald J. Trump for the Presidency of the United States.

If you click the link at the top you can see a vast number of writers who have signed this open letter, including Stephen King,  Cheryl Strayed, Dave Eggers, Junot Diaz, Amy Tan, Mary Roach, Tobias Wolff, Richard Russo, Michael Chabon and Roy Blount, Jr.to name a few.

King of course has been quite vocal in expressing his opinion of Trump.

Say, here's an idea! Let's turn America's nukes over to a bad-tempered asshole with no knowledge of foreign policy. What could go wrong?

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 23, 2016

Which is just one more reason to admire him.

The next letter from Congressional Republicans revealed.

Actually that is essentially the message they have been sending us for the last six years.

Perhaps the greatest letter ever written to Sarah Palin. And it was written by a 12 year old girl.

Madison Kimrey

Courtesy of Liberals Unite:  

Dear Sarah Palin, 

Usually, I’ll read about some things you said and laugh. I’m not laughing today. The reason I’m not laughing today, Sarah, is that I’m a young woman who actually cares about my country. I care about the next generation of leaders, and I want them to have more role models in the political arena that inspire them, not more clowns for them to laugh at. I want them to have advocates who will fight for them, not more attention-seeking snake oil salespeople. 

You tweeted on Monday, “Look who fired the 1st shot in the real ‘war on women. Hint: it wasn’t the GOP. See this excerpt from Hillary’s book.” The excerpt from Hilary Clinton’s book describes a situation in which she felt uncomfortable making a statement questioning the legitimacy of your selection as John McCain’s running mate as an attempt to use a woman to appeal to women voters. Really? You think this was the “first shot” in the war on women? You don’t think women have had to fight for every right we currently have, every opportunity we have? You don’t think women must continue to fight for these rights and opportunities which are constantly under attack? Well, let me tell you what I see from my house, Sarah. You’re the one who is fighting a war here, not just on women but on justice, enlightenment, and freedom. 

When you spoke at CPAC, you declared that a culture war had been won against “perpetual panties-in-a-wad people” because a homophobe marketing himself as a redneck didn’t lose his job on a reality TV show. Well, let’s talk about our panties, shall we? There was a time not too long ago when women only had one choice when it came to their panties. Now, opening the underwear drawer can provide an endless array of colors and styles. I think it’s past time that you choose to put your big girl panties on and stop defending the ridiculous, perpetuating false attacks on our president and appearing at Tea Party rallies holding your hand over your heart. That’s not politics, it’s pandering. You, Sarah, are pandering to the lowest common denominator instead of trying to promote reasonable discourse and the across-the-aisle approach to policy that the majority of Americans want. 

You seem to think women like me are “cheap dates” who are going let anyone in their panties who says what they want to hear. That would be the people you’re pandering to, Sarah. That would be the people who think the 2nd Amendment means carrying an assault rifle into Target. That would be the extremists who cover the bodies of their victims with “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. That would be the people who threaten women with rape for speaking out on the issues. 

The future of this country deserves better. I deserve leadership who, regardless of whether or not I agree with their policy positions, is capable of conducting themselves with dignity. I deserve leaders who, when attacking the positions of their opponents, attack them with the truth. This nation deserves leaders who work to expand the opportunities and rights of all Americans and who don’t contribute to tragic outcomes for our fellow citizens. 

I’ve tried very hard to find something to admire about you. The struggle was real. I do admire that our country has come so far that you and I as women have the opportunity to speak out and engage in the political sphere. Even though I disagree with your positions and methods, I admire you for using the opportunity so many women who came before us have fought for us to have. I don’t know how far I will choose to pursue my career in the political sphere, but it would be pretty cool to come out the way you did at CPAC with some music playing before my speech. You chose, “She’s Country.” This is my choice, and I hope the youth of this nation will continue to join their voices and sing so loudly we eventually drown out the voices of ignorance, greed, and intolerance. 

Sincerely, 

Madison Kimrey

Damn! I feel like I have found my long lost daughter. 

This is not Kimrey's first time writing an open letter to a Right Wing lunatic, in April she did the same for Phyllis Schlafly.

She also has a blog called Functional Human Being.

Sort of comforting to know that one day when I hang up my keyboard that there are gifted writers like this ready to take on corrupt politicians, Right Wing wingnuts, and homophobes in my absence.