5/22/2023

My Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            I Googled “Biden Cyclone Mocha.” The hits were all about the storm & your name didn’t appear once. What’s up with that?

DS Mathieson writes in Asia Times, “It was as if the path of Mocha was plotted to exacerbate already desperate civilian suffering from years of war in Rakhine & two years of savage military attacks in the northwest,” adding, “dangers include landmines dislodged by flooding & multitudes of poisonous snakes on the high waters.” While getting aid to those in need is tricky business, we need to do something!

            I know you are busy trying to deal with this debt limit & am glad that you will be talking with KMM today. As you do so, be careful that the poorest folks don’t end up worse off as a result. E.J. Dionne Jr. suggests that “Americans with the lowest incomes are political pawns in this exercise” because “House Republicans decided to hold the economy hostage to slash assistance for low-income Americans while protecting tax cuts for the wealthy.”

            I’m not sure the 14th Amendment is the way to go. Ezra Klien writes, “if the administration declares the debt ceiling unconstitutional, only to have the Supreme Court declare the maneuver unconstitutional, then (you) own the market chaos that would follow.”

            My news sources believe we need to get rid of the debt ceiling & are baffled that the Dems didn’t take care of that when they could.

            Am I the only one suggesting that you cut defense spending & call it good?

            Please expedite this whole thing so you can get back to working on eradicating climate change. The mental health of our children depends on that!

            BYBS,