12/10/2023

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            How was the shivah at Norman Lear’s (NML) house? Did you know he approved of writing letters to the POTUS & appropriated a story from a friend whose grandfather regularly wrote to the POTUS & embellished it by claiming that the salutation was, ““My dearest darling Mr. President?”

            NML’s “All in the Family” was a constant presence in my childhood. My dad identified with Archie’s conservatism & brashness. I didn’t like the show & hated the way Archie called Edith, “dingbat,” & Michael, “knucklehead.” I was too young to see that like all of us, Archie had his angels & his demons & was struggling to make friends with himself.

            Have you made friends with yourself? I imagine that you are conflicted right now about selling tank shells to Bibi which could be used to kill civilians. Please remember that WINTA!

            Speaking of personal demons, did you see the NYT piece about how Bibi made a deal with Qatar to pacify Hamas? Ample detailed evidence shows that Bibi considered Hamas a “political asset.”

I worry that Bibi suffers from a high degree of self-loathing which explains why he is so violent. Given his tormented state of mind, I don’t think we should be “selling” him tank shells. As I have warned you before, weapons tend to be used to cause self-inflicted harm. We don’t want to see that happen in Israel when Bibi loses the next election.

            Did you see the latest from Zachary Abuza in Radio Free Asia that the conflict in Burma is heading to the cities where “there will be more assassinations, more drone attacks, & more bombings that target security forces & symbols of military rule?”  If we want to prevent human suffering & civilian casualties, we need to do more support a resolution there.

            I am moved by the following line from the Mourner’s Kaddish which you may have heard at NML’s house,

            “May the rule of peace be established speedily in our time,”

            BYBS,