2/12/2024

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Did you watch the big game last night? I embraced the moment & made a Keto 7-layer dip. We had confidence that our guy Patrick would come through in the end & of course, he did. I missed TS & TK’s kiss which according to the guy on CBS showed “true love.”

            It’s back to the grind today. I hope your remarks at the NACo Legislative Conference go smoothly. Unfortunately, stereotype threat (ST), in your case, ageism, adversely affects performance because it requires use of the prefrontal cortex to inhibit negative self-talk. According to Yung-Tsen Chen of Univ. of Chicago, fMRIs show ST operates on old folks’ brains differently than younger people’s. We slow down to prevent errors. That’s a good strategy for you.

            Please use it during today’s conversation with Jordan's King Abdullah II (A2bAH). He’s my age so he may be slowing down, too. Please ask him about how far you should take your efforts to sanction the Israeli settlers who are attacking Palestinians. I was on board until reading Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man’s piece in the G today. He wrote, “ Sanctions are so brutal and extraordinary because they are so antithetical to due process — the government can seize assets without anyone ever being charged with a crime.” He noted that “ the Department of Treasury’s financial crimes unit sent an alert to 16,000 financial institutions designed to ensnare the flow of funds to the entire settler ecosystem… (which would) force a reckoning for which Israelis are entirely unprepared.” Please help me understand your plan.

            As you talk about sanctions, please consider their efficacy in Burma. The junta is going to need more $$ to pay the forced conscripts that they say they are going to “recruit” as they enforce the mandatory military service law passed in 2010. That move is going to lead to more upheaval.

Please ask A2bAH to add Burma to his list of places to drop humanitarian aid.

BYBS,