4/8/2023

My dear Friend, JRB,

Thanks for tolerating my clunky writing. I tend to think in pictures rather than words, so I am challenged to express myself through text.

Today’s topic, freedom of association (FOA). As a lawyer you know there are 2 kinds of association: expressive & intimate. While not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, the rights of people to get together to express themselves or love each other come from the 1st Amendment’s freedoms of religion, speech, etc.      

FOA comes to mind as I read about Hkalam Samson former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar who has been sentenced to 6 years in jail for hanging out with the wrong people. In 2019, he almost landed in jail after going to the WH to talk to POTUS 45 about religious freedom, but the State Dept intervened & Min Aung Hlaing backed off. Now the junta is on his case again for a trip he took to Laiza where he talked with a NUG guy & a KIA general. Please do what you can to bring attention to his plight.

FOA also comes to mind in reading about Clarence Thomas (CT) & his buddy who has been wining & dining him for the past 20 years. Is it ok to visit your BFF’s yacht in the Bali Sea without telling the world? CT seems to think so.

Speaking of CT, do you ever regret your role in helping him get seated in the SCOTUS? Did you imagine he’d become the longest-serving sitting member? Some call him the “dominant ideological leader of the conservatives,” who is now at the “zenith of his influence.” He’s been biding his time staying consistent on the fringe, but now has Gorsuch, Kavanaugh & Barrett on his side. I find it concerning!

The suspension of mifepristone may be the best thing that ever happened to the Dems. It’s going to rile up most of the women in the country. We were impressed with the Women’s March of 2017. I expect something bigger will emerge soon as we demand the right to control our bodies.

            May your Easter Vigil fuel your soul,

            BYBS,