11/24/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            What are you up to today? Was your Thank you event on Fri night a success? I didn’t watch your speech, but I infer from Fox News’ silence about the event that you did not make any gaffes.

            It’s too bad you have the fear of misspeaking hanging over you. Given your history of stuttering, you must be used to it. I know that when I worry about finding my words, it becomes even harder to do so. For us older folks it’s a case of stereotype threat  where we get preoccupied with fear of confirming people’s biases. Research shows it impedes performance. Dang!

            I hope you aren’t beating yourself up too much these days. Have you had a heart-to-heart with your econ guy, Jared Bernstein? He’s processing his cognitive dissonance & wondering how you could have helped voters make sense of “disinflation.” He says “20-20 hindsight is an analytical luxury” & he’s especially proud that you “finally won a decades-long fight with Big Pharma.” A chat would do you both a world of good!

            Today I went down a rabbit hole of learning about KYRIARCHY! Here’s a description from the G: “Patriarchy, literally, rule of the father, explains how traditional male authority dictates to, & subjugates women, kyriarchy (from the Greek: kyrios, lord/master; archion, dominion/rule) relates how each of us, whatever our gender, is a bundle of privileges we can all too readily abuse by invoking the "master power", whether that's as a black female barrister, a mixed-race trans male teacher, or a white immigrant male labourer.” Stay tuned as I read Harvard theologian Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza’s books on the topic.

            As usual, I ask that you keep an eye on Burma. Today’s AJ has a story about junta defectors in Thailand who are learning to fix phones & bikes. The former soldiers wonder how justice will come to their peers who committed war crimes. Perhaps you can come up with a plan for that.

            BYBS,