12/8/2022

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            How was the Congressional Ball on Mon? All I know is that “attendees left ‘ravenous.’ Noting the bar served only beer and wine, they described ‘a clear sense of austerity’ with this year’s event.” I’m all for limiting alcohol at parties, but limiting the food is not a good idea. You don’t want hangry politicians going home grousing about inadequate snacks. Since Jill is into cheese, you should ask the Dairy Farmers of WI to compete with the CA Artisan Cheese Guild. They could send some samples of their best stuff & guests could vote on their favorites. It would be a win-win.

            Thanks for getting Brittney Griner out of Russia! I heard the news as I was waking up & it made my day.

            I hope you will continue to lift my spirits by putting in a word about the UC strike when you deliver your remarks on building a stronger economy for union workers and retirees. You & Marty Walsh have lost some cred with this latest rail workers debacle. From my naïve perspective the railroad execs need to do some simple math. If on any day 10% of your workers are sick, you need to hire 110% of the number of workers needed. I understand it’s more complicated than that because trains move around, but everyone should be able to call in sick. Don’t you think?

            Please call some of the UC picketers to see how they’re doing. I worry that the old guard at the UAW isn’t representing them as well as they’d like. An article on WSWS.org suggests that a group calling themselves, “UC Rank-and-File Strike Committee” is calling for a no vote for the Post-Docs to avoid a divide & conquer situation among the 4 striking unions. Please share your wisdom regarding compromise with all involved.

            Finally, did you see the Reuters article about the Buddhist monk, Wathawa who is leading a militia? It’s a reminder of how knotty conflicts can be. Violence never untangles complication, it just exacerbates it. That’s why WINTA!!!!

            BYBS,