11/8/2024

My dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

Sorry to miss our letter yesterday. I had to get the 7:33 to be on time for my 9:00 walk with my dean. It was 20 minutes late. I avoid taking the 7:33 because it consistently gets hung up somewhere between Auburn & SAC. It’s full of commuters, so that train should get priority. See what you can do about that.

I’m not feeling great today – mild congestion & headache. I’m sure my ailments are related to my dashed hopes to avoid 4 more years of vigilance.

I wonder what my vigil will look like this time around. Will I end up going to the WH periodically to demonstrate my watchfulness? Will I publicize my letters better, so others become more aware of the effort? Will I be able to keep it up? Do you want to join me?

How are you handling the post-mortems? Did you see the piece in the G about Richard Reeve (RR)’s explanation? He says that the young men in America are suffering & KDH didn’t talk about how she’d help. I am not a fan of RR’s logic, but it does explain the leanings of a few of the males in my seminar.

One of the explanatory factoids that struck me today appeared in the CSM’s article about Dems “soul-searching.” Specifically, “the $3,600 child tax credits that were included in the 2021 pandemic relief package helped pull millions of children out of poverty, but expired after one year – which left families feeling, rightly, like they suddenly had less money now.” It helped me understand how folks in this group would feel like the economy had gotten worse, when national indicators suggested otherwise.

Attributing blame for the election outcome won’t change the situation. As you said in your remarks in the Rose Garden yesterday, we can’t give up & we will honor the will of the people & somehow deal with 45 now to be 47.

In your last weeks of office please do more to help Burma. The UN’s Kanni Wignaraja, told the Guardian the situation there is unprecedented & in Rakhine State things are particularly dire.

BYBS,