11/24/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            Wow – I am so impressed you took the polar bear plunge yesterday! I refused to do that Lake Superior in Late Sept, I can’t imagine doing it in the Atlantic in mid-Nov. You are one tough cookie!

            What did you talk about over turkey yesterday? My neighbor led us in thanks & acknowledged those in our world who do not have the security we enjoy. As we chowed down, we talked about whipped coconut milk in a can, Twilight Zone, Mock Apple Pie & learning the ukulele.

Frank Bruni hopes Naomi had a heart-to-heart with you about whether you are ready for the campaign. He suggested she make sure you have “a clearheaded, ego-purged understanding of the odds against (you.)” He suggested that if you decide to go for it, we all root for you harder than ever. I am on board with that.

I am happy to see that the hostage release has begun. Please help me understand how half of the folks released were Thai & none were American? Does PM Srettha Thavisin (AKA Nid) have some magic you don’t have?

Speaking of Nid, have you spoken with him about the Karen National Liberation (KNL) Army that operates on his border with Burma? The KNL got some press in the WP today which claimed they are the biggest threat to the junta & aim to “cut off key trade routes to Thailand & to sever the military’s main link between the capital Naypyidaw and the country’s largest city, Yangon.”

The KNU is running a hospital somewhere in the jungle, but I worry it will be bombed now that the world knows about it. The G reported that displaced Karenni on the Thai border are facing starvation because aid cannot get to them. Please see if Nid can do more to help them.

            I’ve gotta go. My buddy from grad school is coming for a visit today. She’s one of the most cheerful & least judgmental people I know, so it’ll be great to see her.

            BYBS,