1/28/2024

JRB,

            What did you learn from your visit to Regal Lounge Men’s Barber & Spa in Columbia yesterday? Did owner, Landry Phillips, offer you the full treatment with a pedi, mani & facial?

            LA was great! The teachers were attentive, receptive & eager to help their kiddos to develop positive math identities. We’ll see what aspects of our activities they implement in their classrooms.

            Please help me understand what you mean by getting the “the emergency authority to shut down the border until it could get back under control?” Does that mean shutting things so no one can come in? Wasn’t the Lukeville, AZ gate of entry closed in Dec? What other powers does the bipartisan border bill give you? I worry that other POTUSes could abuse Presidential authority so let’s not get carried away!

            Speaking of the effects of immigration, I learned more about the situation in Whitewater, WI & am less alarmed. The influx of new neighbors occurred because student rentals went empty during the pandemic & was repurposed for folks who work at the dairy farms in the area. According to Miguel Aranda, a local school board member, “the majority (of WhiteH2O residents) is very welcoming of the immigrant community.” Federal $$ for a translator would still be welcome 

            Did you see Peggy Noonan’s advice to Nikki Haley in the WSJ? My favorite observation was, “you are the Asian girl in the front of the class with her hand up. You’re smart, you did the work. Trump is the blond jock in the back, cracking jokes & popping gum. Gently smack that gum out of his mouth.” Which kid were you?

            I invite you to join the Yangon Friends Meeting on Feb 4, 9:00 EST, for a Zoom worship sharing on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the junta’s coup in Burma. We will be discussing the query, “How may we better understand the forces of injustice in Myanmar, & how they relate to injustice that manifests in our lives?” We’d love to hear your thoughts.

            BYBS,