I'm just going to leave this right here. ❤️ 
Cindy, thank you for posting. In case anyone has trouble enlarging the letter on their device, here it is spelled out:
On January 3rd, it was my privilege as Speaker to invite you to deliver the State of the Union address on January 29th. The Constitution calls for the President to “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” During the 19th Century and up until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, these annual State of the Union messages were delivered to Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown.
In September 2018, Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special Security Events (NSSEs), recognizing the need for “the full resources of the Federal Government to be brought to bear” to ensure the security of these events. The extraordinary demands presented by NSSEs require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare for the safety of all participants.
The U.S. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating, planning, exercising, and implementing security for National Special Security Events by Public Law 106-544, December 19, 2000. However, both the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now — with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs.
Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
NANCY PELOSI
Speaker of the House
LOL Written Homework ?!?!?! Good luck with that, Nancy!
Jokes aside, I'm on the fence on this one. I don't know that it's a good idea to NOT have the SoU message given that he won't do the writing assignment. I feel like not having it is another nail in the coffin of democracy.
Thanks so much, Cindy, for posting Pelosi's letter--and thank you, too, Jeanne for enlarging/re-sharing it. I'm reassured, even enthused, by Pelosi's eloquent forthrightness, and I get a super-positive take on her signature.
Wow!
I don't think I could play " Patriarchy Chicken" but I sure appreciate the point being made. I never really thought of walking through crowds in this way before but I believe there is truth here. It certainly has me thinking.
WOW!
This goes way beyond body language or power plays. This is about cultural, subconscious perhaps even genetically passed down behaviors.
Next time I'm in an aisle, a walkway, a sidewalk, or walking in a human flow of traffic of any kind, I am going to bring this into my immediate awareness and practice.
I will see it, feel it, and politely with a caring smile on my face hold my space and walk my own path instead of another's choice for me and perhaps (in the beginning at least) carrying a soft big bag for a potential padded bumper.
If males truly don't "see" us as this implies and appear shocked that they have to "pull over " out of aisle space instead of the walking in the same direct space as the female, it will speak to far more than social conditioning!
Thanks so much Lovendures for sharing the link to "Patriarchy Chicken" concept and article!!
"Men who would never express these thoughts out loud have nevertheless been brought up to believe that their right to occupy space takes precedent over anyone else’s right to be there. They spread their legs on tubes and trains, they bellow across coffee shops and guffaw in pubs, and they never, ever give way."
"Women have not been socialised to take up space. Women have been socialised to give way, to alleviate, to conciliate, and to step to the side."
Hmm ... this idea of boldly claiming your physical space is really intriguing. Along those same lines, what about women who are preoccupied with weight and becoming thin? I've certainly been there. Look at the fashion models and actresses, who become rail thin in order to be employed in their fields. Aren’t they taking up less space, and in some sense, making themselves invisible? Who came up with this standard of beauty? That standard is slowly changing, but we still have a long way to go.
Years ago I was at a birthday luncheon with a bunch of friends. Most of those friends happened to be extroverts, something I am not. I remember how exhausted I felt when so many people were talking, so I decided to be a quiet observer. The next day one of those friends commented “I noticed that during yesterday’s luncheon, you made yourself small.” I remember feeling defensive when she said it, but later realized that having control over your space is a powerful thing. I can make myself big, I can make myself small – as long as I have the control and feel comfortable with the space I am occupying. I know that we are physical beings, but there is something about working with your own energy in space that can be quite powerful. Something for me to further think about.
This is a must watch video.
Moderator Karine Jean-Pierre was just incredible and courageous this past weekend during a Democratic presidential candidates forum in San Fransisco. Karine who was moderating the event saw a man rushing the stage and immediately put herself between the man and Kamala Harris as he tired and successfully grabbed the mic from Harris. . Karine's story is just amazing. A true example of a burning woman. ( I have no idea what was going on with security. They took forever to intervene.)
Karine was thinking about what happened in Virginia Beach the day before as the man rushed the stage.
“It was a trigger for many, many, many women. When you see three women standing on stage and women of color, including a woman who is running for the president, the only woman of color in this race, and we’re talking about the gender gap. Race and the gender gap. That was her big idea. And a white man with all of his privilege comes on stage and steps into our personal space, in particular Senator Harris. And it was scary. And the only thing I could think of was to act and this was not going to happen today. And it is something that women in general have to deal with every day, and it’s a conversation that we need to be having.”
Women continuing to rise to places of power raising awareness and uplifting collective consciousness of our world.
Slovakia’s First Female President, Zuzana Caputova, Takes Office in a Divided Country - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/world/europe/zuzana-caputova-slovakia-president.html