4/19/2021

Dear JRB,

            Congratulations on Hunter, Jr’s confirmation yesterday. What exactly is involved in a Catholic confirmation? We don’t do that kind of thing in the Religious Society of Friends. People who want to join the Meeting have to write a letter, meet with a “clearness committee,” get discussed at Meeting for Business & then they get their names in all caps in the roster. That’s really the only difference between someone who has “joined” the meeting and someone who hasn’t. Anyone is welcome to join Meeting for Worship. You should come check it out.

What does it mean to be a confirmed Catholic? According to dummies.com, it’s when “God the Holy Spirit comes upon the person” making them a “soldier of Christ” ready to participate in the “war between the human race and the powers of hell.” Did Hunter Jr. see it that way?

Your schedule indicates that you are having a meeting to talk about the Jobs Bill. I am having trouble keeping track of all of these Bills you are working on. Are they all part of the “infrastructure bill?” or do you have several in the works? I think it’s better to separate out these efforts so we can see some bipartisanship & no one Congressperson can stand in the way. Otherwise, folks like Rep. Cindy Axne (CLA) will keep popping up, demanding that their special interest be included. She says she won’t vote for anything unless it includes $$ for biofuels because they account for $4 billion of Iowa’s GDP & underpin over 37,000 jobs in the state. I don’t want to see $$ for bridges being hung up by CLA’s need to please her voters.

            It seems that S.914, the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021,is ready to go. I hope you’ll let it go through with a bipartisan vote so the world can see that we are moving toward unity even though people like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene & her America First Caucus are trying to keep divisive politics alive.

            Please do something to help refugees, especially those from Burma.

            BYBS,