6/23/2023

JRB,

            Food not bombs!

Did you enjoy chef Nina Curtis’ marinated millet? Did you get a chance to hear her press conference where she spoke to “food as an equalizer” where a “diversity of flavors” fused in just the right way can “transcend difference”? I am so happy she showed that a vegetarian meal can be a feast. I hope you’ll eat more of her cuisine.

REFRAIN FROM SELLING WEAPONS TO INDIA! WINTA

            When I noticed NDM alone in his photo with you & Jill at the WH door, I wondered where his spouse was. Then I learned from the NYT that he doesn’t have one. Apparently, being a single politician is a thing in India & some claim no other commitment should come between them & their nation. When elected in 2019 NDM said, “every moment of my time, every pore of my body, is only for my countrymen.” Another benefit of single PMs is that without a family, they are less likely to steal.

            NDM’s proud bachelor status is the opposite of your self-proclaimed identity as “Jill’s husband” & your favorite quip that she is your “better half” a phrase also used in relation to William Rufus DeVane King & the only bachelor POTUS, James Buchanan. Some speculated they were gay. T. Balcerski wrote a book to explore that possibility & concluded they had an intimate friendship that enhanced their political careers, but found no evidence of it having an erotic component. Do you think we’ll see a queer POTUS anytime soon?

            The news of Burma continues to discourage me. According to the NYT, “more than 130 people, most of them women, have been arrested for participating in a “flower strike” marking the b-day of Aung San Suu Kyi… who turned 78 on Monday.” One kid was arrested for a FB posting. I find it amazing that despite the junta’s fear mongering, citizens continue to express their desire for democracy in creative ways, like putting blossoms in their hair.

            The human desire for freedom is fierce! Tell NDM to keep that in mind.

            BYBS,