…Sorry to miss our letter yesterday. Our dear friends from our SF days were here. They energized us & absorbed every ounce of our attention. Their visit was one of those magical moments, making the presence of a higher power palpable….

… I do hope that our youth recognize that our military-industrial system needs major reform. I see a glimmer of that at Brown University where a proposal to drop Boeing, Airbus, Raytheon, & 8 other companies with ties to Israel’s defense establishment from the university portfolio….

… On this day in 1957, my sis was born at the US Naval Hospital in Quantico. She turned out great! She’s spreading love & faith throughout her neighborhood. Please join me in wishing her a happy birthday….

… I’m not sure how I missed the news that we had a new national holiday based on the expression, “May the 4th (force) be with you.” ….

…I hope the Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards ceremonies goes well today. I was thrilled to see Opal Lee among the 19 who will be honored. Did you send her a private jet so traveling from TX won’t be such an ordeal for her?…

…I understand that Sec Blinken is talking with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani & Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi as he tries to arrange a deal with Hamas….

…You’re fortunate to have Ro Khanna on your team! According to USA Today, he “sends an important signal to people that you can be opposed to Biden's policy, with respect to Israel and Palestine, & still support his reelection ….

…Was Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Portland, OR, there? He’s the bow tie guy & got written up today in the NYT because he’s retiring after 28 years in Congress….

… Did you share my pleasure in seeing Sec. Blinken buying albums in Beijing? It’s great that he is modeling the power of people-to-people relations….

Yesterday, I made sure my students were aware that at campuses around the country students are getting arrested for interrupting business as usual. I showed them photos of Kent State, 1970, Dartmouth College, 1980 & UC-Davis, 2011, so they’d know that student protest is nothing new….

… I’m thrilled to see that our dysfunctional Congress was finally able to pass some major legislation. Even more so to see that Mike Johnson (JMJ) had the courage to defy Marjorie Green….

…Did you have a good chat with AOC yesterday? Did she help you figure out how to calm the passions of the protesting students who are upset about Gaza?…

…we celebrate the Earth & my brother, CTA. A boy scout, fisherman, gardener, CTA loves to be outside, getting dirty & communing with nature….

…Then I remember my grandfather & how he was living a comfortable life in Russia, when all hell broke loose. Violence can erupt at any time, in any place, at any scale….

…Hannah Beech of the NYT writes about the East side of Burma, warning of “a shattering of a nation, its vast periphery breaking permanently away from central control.”…