2/13/19

My dear Friend and President, DJT,

 Well, you are back in the news. According to my computer's find function, your name appears 9 times on the WSJ front page, 10 times on NYT's and a whopping 17 times on WP's. You are mentioned in all kinds of stories, but none about your visit with Colombia's President Ivan Duque today. I had to go to the Spanish news for that. El Tiempo says you, two, will be talking about using diplomatic pressure to get a free election in Venezuela. I hope you all don't make some kind of agreement to send troops down there. Ivan is making the rounds in DC and I hope he's not asking for military assistance. Colombia has suffered from enough violence. They'd don't need another conflict. 

 The WSJ indicates that you will sign the bill that Sen Richard Shelby and Rep Nita Lowey have negotiated to keep the government opened. We all know that you aren't thrilled with it, but as I've suggested in the past, negotiation is about compromise. Go ahead and sign the bill, and please be a good sport about it. I think you can do some creative stuff with $1.375 billion. How about a combination of prickly pear cactus and bollards? The prickly pear would discourage those on foot and the bollards would discourage vehicles. It would be aesthetically pleasing and weary travelers could eat the pears. A win-win! You could call it a "natural wall," superior to concrete because it will grow rather than crumble.

 It's rainy again and I have to make that tough decision about whether or not to ride my bike to campus. Right this minute, there's quite a downpour which makes me think I'll wimp out and drive. The only problem with that is finding a parking place.

 Send good vibes my way, please!