12/22/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            What is going on at the Office of Presidential Correspondence? Why have they shut down the “Contact the President” option on the website? I assume Director Geraldine de Puy has sound reasons for doing so, but I want to know what they are. Most importantly, I want to know if this is a temporary change. If so, I’ll just ride it out. If it’s permanent, I need to develop a new plan for sending these letters. Do you know what they are doing with the snail mail they get? Are they just throwing it out?

            In any case, I will write this letter & worry about how it will get to you later.

            How do you feel about signing off on the budget? Did you see Rep Joyce Beatty talking to MSNBC about the Democratic strategy & how it was “a big victory for us.?” Do you know what the $10 billion in farmer assistance is about?

            Thanks for setting an ambitious climate goal. I am hopeful that John Podesta is correct when he says, “Climate leadership happens on the ground in our cities & states, from Phoenix to Pittsburgh, from Boise to Baltimore.’'

            Have you checked in with your buddies at the ASEAN gathering to see if they’ve been able to come up with something regarding Burma. Do you think Patrick Phongsathorn, human rights advocate, is correct when he says “Rather than ‘two-track’ diplomacy, Thailand is engaging in two-faced diplomacy - signing up to ASEAN statements seeking to condemn & isolate the junta, while at the same time quietly attempting to usher the junta back into the regional fold?”

            I am running late so I’ll just give you a quick summary of my takeaway from today’s Hexagram 44, Temptation. We need to be mindful of shiny objects that may seem attractive & might satiate some base desire for the short term. They will not bring us closer to our quests to be our best selves. I must add today’s translations made it clear that the I Ching was written by men for men. Dang!

            BYBS,