About Those Ron Klain "Memos"...

And other questions from the WWoN mailbag....

It’s been a long time since we checked what has come into Ye Olde Wide World of News mailbox, containing your inquiries, comments, attaboys, and suggestions from all 50 states, DC, various territories, and nations around the planet.

So let’s see how many of your missives we can get to before the Internet runs out of space.

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Mark,

Who speaks for the Gang of 500 and the Brussels elites these days when it comes to the war and Putin’s aggression?

Sincerely,

R. Hohlt

Nantucket, MA

Dear R.,

Great to hear from you. The answer, as you well know, is David Ignatius, whose well-sourced column reflects the current conventional wisdom, with the emphasis on “wisdom”: the West must better arm Ukraine because a Putin win is not acceptable (with more weapons secretly on the way, in fact); the Russian despot is bloodied and surprised but not deterred.

There’s even a mini Bob Gates interview, to make it super Gangy.

And, then, this:

Given these dire prospects, averting a protracted war with a peace settlement that preserves Ukraine’s infrastructure, people and independence would be worth the price of neutrality that Zelensky has offered. But Pentagon officials tell me that Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t ready for peace yet. He’s preparing a new assault to achieve an outcome he can claim as a victory.

David will be at the Gang brunch on Sunday. I hope you can join.

Mark

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Mr. Halperin,

Do I need to become a paying subscriber or contributor to read Wide World of News?

I love your newsletter, but it seems awfully expensive?

And why do you ask for folks to become paying subscribers or contributors EVERY DAY??

Just some questions,

Willard

Dear Willard,

Paying for Wide World of News is voluntary; there is currently no special content just for those who kick in.

Here is what I have found without exception: when I make a request for those who read and enjoy WWoN to become voluntary paying subscribers or contributors, people in fact on a daily basis generously support my work.

When I DON’T make the request high up in a given edition, people do no sign up to pay.

As much fun as it is to write this thing every morning, seven days a week, I prefer to be compensated for my efforts.

So, a good time to remind everyone:

You can become a voluntary paying subscriber here:

If you want to kick in ANY lower amount than the formal subscription rates by check, send a simple email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com and ask how you can do that.

You can also leave a tip in the amount of your choice via:

• PayPal. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com

• Venmo. Mark-Halperin-4 (telephone number ends in x3226)

• Zelle. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com

* Buy me a cocktail (at Gotham City prices….), tax and server tip included, by clicking here.

* Buy me a cup of coffee (or a week’s worth) by clicking here.

Thanks so much,

Mark

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Mark Halperin,

What do you think of the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a Supreme Court Justice?

Wondering,

JLJ

Chicago

Dear JLJ,

Historic, symbolic, and both an incredible sign of progress and change in America and a reflection of the polarized, divisive mess our politics has become.

Mark

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To: Mark Halperin,

What are your thoughts these days on the pandemic? You have stopped writing about it very much.

Just wondering….

DD,

Detroit, MI

Dear DD,

Two main thoughts right now:

1. It never occurred to me that if the Speaker of the House kissed the President of the United States without a mask that they would not be considered “close” contacts.

2. Essential reading today is Leana Wen’s column, in which she lays out brilliant rules for the road in holding all sorts of events during this phase of the pandemic, with an emphasis on personal responsibility, which is where Red America has always been and Blue America has ended up.

And this news-you-can-use paragraph should be shared with everyone:

If you are older or have medical problems that make you more susceptible to hospitalization from the coronavirus, have a plan for what happens if you get covid-19. Are you eligible for monoclonal antibodies and antiviral pills such as Paxlovid? Where can you access these treatments, including after hours and on weekends?

All my best,

Mark

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Mark,

I love the Ron Klain “memos.” Why don’t you write one every day – or at least every week? They are pretty much the reason I am thinking about becoming a paying subscriber to Wide World of News.

All my best,

R. I. E.

Tokyo, Japan

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have to ball up a lot of reporting string to land those “memos” just right, and collecting the string to ball up takes time.

Also, Herr Klain is secretly very litigious.

Mark

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Mark,

What is up with the Biden domestic agenda?

Signed,

D. Hammill

Washington, DC

Dear Mr. Hammill,

The China competitiveness bill could still pass this year, there could be some executive orders, and the Supreme Court could rule on abortion in a way that could close the enthusiasm gap in a hurry for the midterms.  At some point soon, perhaps the president will begin barnstorming the nation, as has been previewed so often, revolutionizing public opinion by putting Republicans on the defensive and giving the American people a deep appreciation for what Team Biden-Harris-Klain-Pelosi-Schumer has already accomplished. But: inflation. But: immigration.

Mark

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Mark,

Why can’t anyone figure out how to regulate social media?

Asking for my friend, who is also, coincidently, named Mark.

Sincerely,

J. Kaplan

Metaverse USA

Dear Mr. Kaplan,

Peggy Noonan, after attending a conference and taking great notes, makes the point I’ve been making for a while, but she makes it more brilliantly than I ever have, in her essential reading column:

No one among the ex­perts or par­tic­i­pants had faith in Con­gress’s abil­ity to un­der­stand ad­e­quately or to move in a know­ing and con­struc­tive way to curb Big Tech. The pre­vi­ous hear­ings have shown how out of their depth they are. The heads of Big Tech had been hauled in a few years ago and were sup­posed to break out in a sweat un­der heavy grilling, but they were pressed on petty ir­rel­e­van­cies and sucked up to, along the lines of: You started your busi­ness in a garage—only in Amer­ica! Does Face­book charge for mem­ber­ship? No, Sen­a­tor, we’re to­tally free! Why doesn’t my page load? The hear­ings were a sig­nal mo­ment—the stakes were high and the in­ven­tors of Big Tech walked out more ar­ro­gant than ever. Be­cause now they knew their op­po­si­tion, their sup­posed reg­u­la­tors—the peo­ple’s rep­re­sen­ta­tives!—were un­in­formed, al­most de­ter­minedly so, and shal­low. Big Tech had hired every lob­by­ing shop in Wash­ing­ton, made gen­er­ous con­tri­bu­tions to or­ga­ni­za­tions and can­di­dates.

Read the column and imagine a presidential candidate in 2024 figuring out what a huge issue this is across the political spectrum — and how to address it.

Mark

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To Whom It May Concern:

Why so many of those fake Ron Klain “memos”? They are confusing, too long, and I don’t get the jokes.

PLEASE NO MORE RON KLAIN “MEMOS”!!!

Stick to aggregation of the news and telling me what to say on Zoom.

Yours,

M. Whouley

Red Sox Nation

Mr. Whouley,

Day game today against the Yankees!! Break a leg.

The Klain “memos” strike a chord with many of my readers, including those, like you, from the provinces, who appreciate the window into the high human drama of Washington politics.

I suggest you just read Politico on the days I drop a Klain “memo.”

All my best,

Mark

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If this is really Mark Halperin:

Why do you write so much about Donald Trump?

Sincerely,

Tex Roberts

Austin, TX

Dear Tex,

Because he does stuff that cannot be ignored, such as this wiiiiide-ranging interview with Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post, which gives new meaning to the “shocking but not surprising” Trump paradigm.

I can’t excerpt the piece, because it is “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” from top to bottom.

Wow.

Mark

PS: He is also the frontrunner for a major party presidential nomination.

****

Mark,

What is Lauriol Plaza?

Sincerely,

Mona “Lucky” Jones

Las Vegas, NV

Dear Ms. Jones,

It is a state of mind.

Mark

*****

Dear Mark,

Why do you write so little about Donald Trump?

Dave

Dear Dave,

Because others do it at such high volume and I rely on product differentiation.

Mark

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Dear Mark Halperin,

Do you really have millionaire and billionaire readers of your newsletter who don’t pay a dime for it?

Respectfully,

R. Hanning

Pacific Palisades, CA

Dear Mr. Hanning,

Yes, that part is not a joke. I haven’t written directly to these folks yet, but I can see in the Big Data how often they read the newsletter (pretty much daily) and I know from Google how rich they are.

It would be great if they would start being paying customers. Maybe I will begin to write them directly to ask.

Hmmmmm.

Mark