8/26/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            How was mass at the Mission Santa Ines on Sat night? Did Pastor Fr. Michael Ronayne give some sort of sermon? Was the mass in Spanish & English? Did you hear about their federal grant for $500,000 to do an earthquake retrofit? They’ve lost their bell tower several times, so they are thrilled to get some help preventing damage when the next temblor comes.

            Are you back in DC or in DE? It’s hard to tell from your public calendar. According to the WP you are still on “vacation” this week. I put that in quotes because they say you are still closely monitoring things in Gaza, talking to VOZ & staying on top of developments in this country.

            It seems that the most exciting event of the weekend was snow in the Sierra. It was just a dusting at the highest elevations which melted within a day, but it’s still a once-in-20-years kind of event so worth a headline in the G.

            Speaking of headlines, you appeared in very few today. You didn’t have any in the NYT or G and just 2 in the WP, but one was about how you haven’t spoken with the press since last Mon. It must be a relief to be able to keep a low profile compared to KDH, who had 17 mentions in the WP today, & DJT, who had 20.

            In Burma news, the Irrawaddy asks, “Is the Myanmar junta turning to the infamous Russian Wagner Group of state-sponsored mercenaries for help in its wars against a multitude of armed groups opposing its February 2021 seizure of power?” It gets harder & harder to imagine how the situation in Burma will be resolved. None the less, we know that God is Change, so eventually it will. In the meantime, let’s minimize the suffering as much as possible by finding a way to send humanitarian aid.

            BYBS,

            RCA