2/27/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Gotta go get bagels & coffee for our faculty meeting so I will make this short. I am stretching myself & the group by doing a “bonding activity” in which we will recognize colleagues for the things that they do that go above & beyond their job requirements to make the SOE a healthy department AND get folks talking to each other.

            The top news story about you today is from Fox, whose headline reads, “Biden 2024 Announcement Delay Sparks Speculation.” They quote you as saying that concerns over your age are 'totally legitimate.' In the fine print, they provide the entirety of your statement, “But it’s legitimate for people to raise issues about my age. It’s totally legitimate to do that. And the only thing I can say is watch me." So, that’s what I am doing, I am watching you – VERY CAREFULLY & giving you feedback which I hope you find useful.

            If I had more time I would read the top story in the WP about your student loan forgiveness program coming before the Supreme Court. I hope your executive order goes through. Borrowers can use all the help they can get.

            Please thank the folks at the USCIRF for including Kachin Christian leader Reverend Hkalam Samson on their list of folks being detained for their religious beliefs. As I hope you know, he is a Baptist preacher from the northern part of Burma. In Oct, 2022, he arranged the funerals of 60 victims of the junta’s airstrike on a Kachin Independence Army concert. He also attempted to get medical care for those seriously injured in the strike. A month later, he also took part in a prayer meeting commemorating those who died. Your guy, Ned Price, told reporters that the US denounced Dr. Samson’s arrest and detention & had asked its allies to push the regime to release him. I hope you’ll keep an eye on this situation.

            I gotta go.

            BYBS,