11/28/2023

JRB,

            I hope your trip to GA goes smoothly & that Rosalynn’s ceremony brings comfort to her family. 

            Why aren’t you going to Cop28? It starts on Th & you are scheduled to light the WH tree & on Fr you don’t have anything on your schedule. So, I am inclined to assume climate change is NOT a priority for you since you don’t have pressing matters keeping you in DC. Young voters will make that assumption, too.

            Have you heard Garrett Graff talking about UFO book? He is extremely credible, backing up every assertion with facts & says alarming things in a deadpan manner. When asked by Terry Gross to speculate on what would happen if DJT were elected, he evoked the Drake equation used by SETI scientists & the variable, l, which stands for the time a civilization lasts, & says “there’s no guarantee that human civilization is around much longer.” I’m afraid that’s the existential angst you are up against with younger voters & your going to COP28 might help assuage it a bit.

            Thanks for taking the time to express your horror about the Palestinian-American young men shot in VT on Sunday. Apparently, they are graduates of Ramallah Friends School, which Quakers started 134-years ago to educate Palestinians girls. It was so successful that in 1901 a boys school was added. The school “advocates non-violence as a viable option for resolving conflict in every aspect of life” so it’s doubtful the victims of the VT shooting followed Hamas.

            I’m grateful Israel & Hamas agreed to extend the truce for 2 more days. Fingers crossed that taking a break from the conflict will help Bibi see that WINTA!

Along those lines, the G has an editorial today that the Burmese generals are in trouble. They even speculate that the military might replace Min Aung Hlaing. They note that our “priority should be the desperate need for cross-border humanitarian support & help for those who have fled abroad, as fighting intensifies.” Please get on that.

BYBS,