President Trump, Keep the Line Item for Libraries

_{1110 E. 168th Place}

_{South Holland, Il 60473} 

_{President Trump}

_{The White House}

_{1600 Pennsylvania Ave}

 

_{Washington DC 20500}

_{8 April 2017} 

_{Dear President Trump,}  

_{I don't know if you personally read any of the mail you've been getting (it would be foolish to presume you read all of it, because there are simply not enough minutes in the day to read the volume of mail I assume you receive), but I am hopeful that perhaps some tally makes its way to you every day, or week, or month. Something along the lines of "540 letters about healthcare" or "4,000 letters about Syria." In that case, I would like you to mark down this letter as a "Please don't propose to cut IMLS funding" letter.} 

_{I've said it all before, but libraries play an important role in our society. You do not have to have money to enjoy the benefits of a library. You do not have to be a certain race or have a certain job to enjoy the joy of reading that a library can bring. The free and comprehensive education of America is one of the things that distinguishes us as a world leader, and libraries are an important part of that. Please don't cut their funding. I realize I have written about this before, but as a businessman I know you care deeply about numbers, so please add another tally to the list of letters protesting the elimination of IMLS as a line in the US budget.} 

_Sincerely, 

_K.

Tragedy in Syria (Our 60th letter to President Trump)

Update:  This is the sixtieth letter we have printed, mailed, sent, and posted to President Trump. 
(We are still awaiting a reply to any of them)

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC, 20500

6 April 2017 

Dear President Trump: 

The Syrian Regime dropped chemical bombs on innocent civilians Tuesday.  86 people were killed.  26 of the dead were children.  The pictures are horrific.  That action was nothing less than evil.

Last night the United States bombed back. I have not heard the results of our air strike, but I am glad that you have changed your mind and are no longer supporting President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.  I am sure that you are meeting with your advisors to determine the next courses of action to take.  I am not a diplomat nor a military expert and would not preserve to advise you as to strategy or which action to take.  I am, however, a teacher and a father and would like to give you two cautions. 

First, although the pictures of the damage caused by the al-Assad regime's chemical warfare make me angry and probably make you angry too, as you consider further military action, please remember that there are still tens of thousands of innocent people trapped between the government and the rebels.  In our anger toward the people who perpetrated this crime, let us be careful not to hurt the very people we wish to avenge, or perpetrate similar crimes with mis-aimed airstrikes.

Second, those people that we engaged in an air strike to avenge, those children whose bodies have been horribly torn and destroyed by this action, they are the same children that your legislation wants to bar from entering the United States.  Clearly they need help.  Do we really want them to face a life stuck in war-torn Syria or stuck in a refugee camp for decades?   

I know you have said “America First.”  You have shown that you are willing to change your mind when you recognize injustice.  Perhaps you might consider a new slogan: “People First.” 

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

Vague threats are a bad idea, Mr. President.

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC, 20500

5 April 2017 

Dear President Trump: 

According to CNN, today you met with Jordan’s King Abdullah and spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  While CNN didn’t report on what you discussed, I am assuming that you spoke about some of the trouble spots in the world.  Also today, North Korea test-fired another missile.  CNN quoted you as saying “Well, if China is not going to solve North Korea, we will.” 

I think that may have been a dangerous thing to say.  I an imagine that there may be times in international relations when it is necessary to issue a threat, and that North Korea's nuclear program may be present such an occasion, But when a threat is vague and unclear, it can come across as far more belligerent than you perhaps intend it to.  When you make a vague threat you allow a lot of room for interpretation.  Since North Korea is ruled by a paranoid, egotistical madman his interpretation will likely be that you intend an attack on his country or his person in whatever way his imagination can think of.  If he were the only person in that country, this might make sense.  In fact, however, North Korea is populated with innocent people.  Regardless of what measures you intend, there is a huge risk of those innocent people being endangered.   

I wanted to write to remind you that not only do our actions, no matter how well intentioned, put people at risk, but your words, as the leader of our country, put people at risk as well.   I encourage you to seek wise counsel and think careful before you act or speak on matters of world conflict.

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

President Trump, Reinstate Workplace Protections for Women

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C.  20500

5 April 2017 

Dear President Trump: 

On March 27 you signed an executive order which didn’t make much of a splash in the news, but should have.  That executive order revoked the 2014 Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Order.  That order ensured that companies with federal contracts had to comply with 14 existing labor and civil rights laws.   

President Obama signed that order after a 2010 Government Accountability Office investigation showed that companies with rampant violations of these laws were being awarded millions of dollars worth of federal contracts.  In part the order includes a ban on forced arbitration clauses that permit companies to force female employees to sign away their constitutional right to a day in court and also their right to discuss what happened with the press. You have now eliminated that protection. 

Sir, I have two daughters.  One of them is in college now and will be joining the workplace in three years.  Have you honestly just changed the law to make her less safe?  Are you protecting companies at the expense of my daughters’ safety?  Have you really just signed an order that allows companies to pay women less than men to do the same job?  How can you justify such an action, Mr. President?  Such an action is enabling inequity and injustice.  Such an action is unworthy of anyone occupying the office of president.  Sir, your job is to protect the American people.  All of them.  Making it easier for women to be sexually assaulted in the workplace is despicable. 

You have two daughters.  Do the right thing.  Reinstate the protections for women and people protected by civil rights laws.   

Regards, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

A 100,000 dollar donation by President Trump does not offset a 1.5 billion dollar cut to the National Parks

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington D.C.  20500

4 April 2017

Dear President Trump: 

I am genuinely pleased that you have chosen to donate your first quarter salary for being president to the National Parks Service.  You have made a good choice as the National Parks are a wonderful gift to all Americans.  Last summer my family and I travelled to Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park.  We were deeply impressed with the dedication and competence of the workers there and the care they take to protect the land and the people visiting it.  The National Parks are truly an amazing treasure for all Americans. 

However, in spite of this personal way of supporting the parks, your proposed budget would cut funding to the Interior Department (which includes the National Parks) by 1.5 billion.  My understanding is that one fourth of your presidential salary comes to about 100,000 dollars.  So while I do not mean to minimize your gift, it hardly makes up for the cuts you are proposing.  Even if you would donate to the Parks Service for each quarter of your four year term, the cuts you propose would still leave the agency crippled.   

I wanted to let you know that for me and my family, funding the National Parks is of far more importance than spending billions of dollars on a wall along the US - Mexican border – particularly since that wall is something we don’t need, that won’t work, and that sends the wrong message to the world about how we feel about our neighbors.   

Sincerely, 

Bill Boerman-Cornell

 

Immigrants...We Get the Job Done,

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC 20500 

Dear President Donald Trump,  

My family is obsessed with the musical "Hamilton". I am sure that you are familiar with the musical. It is absolutely spectacular; the songs teach a lot of history, there are many meaningful lines, and all of the actors are incredibly talented. We actually got the opportunity to go to Broadway in Chicago and see it live a few days ago!   

Anyways, there is a line in “The Battle of Yorktown” when Lafayette says, “Immigrants...we get the job done!” That is perhaps my favorite line in the entire musical. (And that’s saying a lot!) Immigrants...we get the job done. Immigrants...we get the job done.   

And in a song on the Hamilton mixtape, “Immigrants, we get the job done,” it says, “...it’s really astonishing that in a country founded by immigrants, ‘immigrant’ has somehow become a bad word.” 

That really struck me. After all, President Trump, everyone who isn’t a Native American is either an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant.  Your very own wife is an immigrant.  Without immigration, the US wouldn’t be the nation that it is currently.    

The way you are talking about people from other countries in the news, though, makes me think that they will not feel welcomed here.  And that would be a shame.  President Trump, please remember that immigrants are what makes our nation full of variety. Immigrants are what bring different religions, cultures, art, music, stories, food, and so much more to America.    

Immigrants...we get the job done. Immigrants get the job done. They are what makes America great.

Sincerely,

 

F.

Cut funding to libraries? What the heck?

President Trump

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C.  20500
1 April 2017

Dear President Trump:
 

I recently read of an action you have taken that has tested to the limits my ability to engage in a polite level of civil discourse. Let me explain.
 

I work in my college campus's library. As someone who has grown up around and has loved being part of the welcoming community that is a public library, I absolutely love my job. Recently my supervisor forwarded an email from a Michigan librarian to all of the student workers at my college. This message informed us that your administration has decided that the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and within that, the Library Services and Technology Act which the IMLS administers, are non essential. They are on your list of things to be eliminated, and thus, they do not receive any funding in the new budget you have proposed.
 

This is appalling. This is absurd. Libraries serve as places of equality and learning in communities across America. They are not only places for books to be shared with everyone, although that alone should be reason enough to spare some funding. They are places for communities to join together and have clubs, do activities, and get to know one another. Many children across the country have fond memories of "story hour" as children. Libraries are available to everyone. They do not discriminate based on gender, race, or economic status. Federal dollars are an essential part of this. When the federal dollars are joined with state ones to fund the library (and, I may add, the state is incentivized to set aside this money for libraries because if they not set aside a certain amount, they do not receive the federal dollars for funding the same thing), they can accomplish amazing things together. 

 

Frankly, sir, I see absolutely no need or reason to eliminate funding for libraries. I do not know how much you have used them in your life, but they have been a source of comfort and freedom for many people in many diverse situations. From a farmer looking to do research on taxes to an aspiring fashion designer looking for some advice from those who have gone before her to someone looking advice on how to start a business to someone who is looking for a way to escape their life for an hour or two, libraries are there. I hope and pray that you will not cut their funding. Please acknowledge the great contribution that Libraries supply to America. 

Sincerely,

K.