3/3/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            So glad to see that you are not taking a plane trip today! Next time you go to VA Beach, please think about taking the train.

            I hope that Paris Davis enjoys his moment in the spotlight when you award him with the Medal of Honor today. Please thank him for his grace in forgiving the Army for losing his paperwork. He couldn’t help but suspect that was due to race. I greatly appreciated his observation, "America can heal you, if you allow America and give it the time to do so, it will do it in spades."

            As you celebrate his courage, please don’t forget WINTA. Please keep that in mind during your “quiet working visit” with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (OS) & figure out how to give VVP a way out of the mess he’s gotten himself into.

            The G reported that a recent Uprising for Peace, at the Brandenburg Gate attracted 13,000 Berliners questioning the wisdom of sending weapons to Ukraine. The Germans know better than any others in the EU that WINTA. Since OS is known for being a good man to have in a crisis, I am hopeful you, two, will figure something out.

            You might consider a trick I used with 6th grade boys who got themselves in trouble in my classroom. I would say, “you have a choice. You can choose to leave the room to go to the office OR you can remain here & make the principal come up here & get you.” This made it clear to everyone listening that if the culprit left the room, he was NOT “obeying,” rather was being prudent when he followed my suggestion to vacate the premises. I’m not sure what that would look like with VVP.

            Please take a minute to discuss the situation in Burma, too. Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim is saber rattling telling his ASEAN friends, “"If necessary, engage with the armed forces of this country because sometimes the military junta do not understand the civilian narrative." Dang!

            BYBS,