10/03/2024

My dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

                  Are you exhausted? I know I would be. Absorbing the grieving vibes of people who have lost so much must use up your reserves. While you have more than most, we each have only so much good juju to spare.  Please take care of yourself as you visit Perry, FL & Valdosta, GA.

                  Did you get through the piece in the WP today about how you lost your grip on Israel’s war for ‘total victory’ in Gaza? Since I’ve been following the situation, I only skimmed the 2nd ½ of the article, because it was just a rehash of every time Bibi ignored your advice & suggestions. Unfortunately, his relationship with you affects us all, because “many Americans have taken sides & the ugliness of antisemitism & Islamophobia has spread.” I don’t know what to tell you beyond WINTA!

                  I find myself thinking about Bob Dylan’s lyric, “how many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?” I wonder if this question has ever occurred to VVP or Bibi or Min Aung Hlaing (MAH). Will they just keep ordering their soldiers to fight until they decimate their armies? According to Pais, “the Israeli army is now ‘weaker’ than when the war in Gaza began a year ago… (due to) the number of dead soldiers, the wounded, some permanently out of combat, & the psychological damage…. Israel is overly dependent on its weapons & technology, which does not translate into effective soldiers on the ground.”  That sounds just like the situation in Burma where, according to the US Institute of Peace, MAH “relies on coercion to maintain allegiance, undermining combat capability.” I like to imagine the day armies disappear because no one is willing to join.

                  In happier news did you know that poor kids in the burbs of Paris are learning to ride bikes? The French government is investing $270 million in cycling infrastructure & education each year between 2023 & 2027. Please tell Sec Buttigieg to look into it.

                  BYBS,