4/9/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s Eid al-Fitr when the new moon emerges & the sacred month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar concludes. It’s party time for our Muslim friends. I hope those in Gaza can find a moment of joy.

            Speaking of celestial joy, according to the WP, the folks in Eagle Pass, TX, put aside their border problems yesterday & experienced the wonder of the moon shadow cast on the Earth. A few minutes later, the citizens of Uvalde were mesmerized. Both cities had “a moment of unity & awe.”

It’s too bad that Gov. Abbott’s troops were occupying the best spot in Eagle Pass to experience the event & what could have been an economic bonanza for the town turned into a bust.

I’m curious about why you eschewed the eclipse. NASA was all in. They had events throughout the zone of totality which you could have joined. You had your choice of red states or blue ones. You could have gone to the Whitworth Planetarium at Buffalo State to speak with the science geeks or joined the throngs at Niagara Falls. My sisters’ group would have welcomed you in the backyard of her brother-in-law in Dayton. Her daughters love you. StormTeam 5 meteorologist Kelly Ann Cicalese, who watched from Waterfront Park in Burlington, VT, would have loved to share her enthusiasm with you. I’m afraid that your team made a major blunder by going to Madison instead. Couldn’t you have waited a week to make your big announcement of debt relief for student borrowers?

            When you meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida today, please ask him how the people of Noto are doing. You’ll recall that they had a big earthquake on New Year’s Day. That part of Japan is full of elderly folks, many of whom have been displaced. My heart goes out to them.

            Please be sure to discuss Burma & how you can use your influence to persuade the junta to change course.

            BYBS,