10/22/2021

My Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Do you think the press is out to get KLS? Yesterday the NYT reported about the vets who have turned against her. Today the G has an article about the frustration of conservation groups like Chispa AZ with KLS’s positions. Last night, Anderson Cooper asked you for your “read on her.” I think it was prudent to dodge that question & to butter her up by acknowledging her concern for the relationship between hearing loss & dementia while you discussed the proposed plan for Medicaid recipients to buy hearing aids at the drug store rather than go to the doctor. NYT op-ed guy, Paul Klugman, writes that KLS “should be ashamed of herself.” By the way, what do you think of his idea that we should embrace current mainstream economic thinking & borrow the $$ to BBB. Given how low interest rates are these days, why not?

            I noticed in last night’s Town Hall that you cited Hart & Risely’s “word gap” research. You should be aware that work is critiqued by BIPOC scholars because a focus on the frequency of words heard by young children obscures a larger understanding of the relation between poverty, language and education. I encourage you to find a different rationale for universal pre-school.

            I noticed that Neera Tanden will be the new WH secretary whose job it is to control the documents that make it to your desk. So, if one of my letters is to get in your hands, it will go through hers. She is a bit more extreme than I & her “in your face” style is the opposite of my approach. Perhaps my persistence will convince her that you need to read what I have to say. Do you think Twitter would be a good way to get her attention?

            Thanks for sending Deputy Chief of Mission Deb Lynn to Burma to help Ambassador Thomas Vajda. He made a nice video to honor Thadingyut Festival wishing the people of Myanmar the peace and prosperity they demand and deserve. Please do all you can to make that wish come true.

            BYBS,