2/12/2025
My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,
Would you please ban leaf blowers? They disturb the peace. They waste fuel. They ruin the hearing of the people who use them. If you want the details, go to Mark Nevitt’s 2023 piece in the Regulatory Review. Promoting this ban would show everyone that you are not averse to regulation. Such a gesture might set some minds at ease. At least, it would surprise folks & I know you thrive on that.
I’m afraid your penchant for unpredictability could harm your efforts to bring peace to the Mid-East. Your announcement, yesterday, that Hamas has to release prisoners by Saturday was quite unexpected! The CSM concluded that move “has left a region reeling from war, reeling from diplomatic whiplash…& could harm the ceasefire (you) helped achieve.” Remember WINTA & get creative so Bibi does not start bombing Gaza again.
Other than potentially impairing your peacemaking, how did your meeting with the King go? Did he help you understand that taking in the 2000 Palestinian children with life-threatening diseases is the best Jordan can do regarding accepting refugees. According to the CSM, taking more displaced Palestinians would “threaten the delicate demographic balance of his own country, stir popular outrage, & undermine national security.” It’s a reminder that even Kings have to placate their subjects.
Did you see the piece in AJ about how “East Timor has a historic opportunity to break ASEAN deadlock on Myanmar?” It says we are in “a moment of transformative leadership, one in which a small nation with a history of profound struggle (can) use its newfound position to push for meaningful change.” I hope it’s true that the moral clarity of the leaders of East Timor will convince the other ASEAN nations to pursue a case against the junta in the ICC.
Are you taking care of yourself? As I watched your press conference with the King, I noticed that your coloring was off. Slowing down, getting some rest & eating some healthy food might be in order.
BYBS,
