“Each one….”

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The new regime took power January 20, 2025, about two weeks ago.  There has been a blitzkrieg, intended chaos.  It’s now up to you and me and the other 75,000,000 of us who voted for a different future on November 5.  All previous posts can be accessed at the archive for January 2025.

“Each One”.  My hope is to use this space frequently for short personal opinion pieces that may provide one or two or three of you with some useful personal insight for your own participation in our country’s destiny.

Back in 2007 I got to thinking about the potential of multiplying influence.  The philosophy was very simple: if one could influence two; and they could influence two more, and so on, ultimately there would be an immense impact.

In 2008, I tried out the idea…and it failed.  I wrote about it in Uncomfortable Essays, which are easily accessible, pages 3-7 for some detail.  The concept was easier than succeeding.

In more recent years, particularly as I get into elder times, I’ve rethought the concept.

The first step was to move from Each One Reach Two, to Each One Reach One…theoretically much easier, but slower and practically speaking almost as difficult.  We all have our favorite thing, and reaching consensus with even one other person can be difficult, as we all know.

So I’ve evolved again: the one I want to reach, including when I publish this blog, is myself.  In the simplest sense, convincing myself that is worth taking the time to do these musings which have now had a long shelf life.  My ‘eye on the prize’ remains ‘each one reach two’…I don’t call it a failure to not reach that goal….

Per graphic below: There were over 75,000,000 Americans who generally agreed with me in the political decision on Nov. 5 – the people who voted for Harris/Walz, and most likely Democratic candidates.  Of course, our side didn’t win.

I calculated yesterday that in the same election about 168,000,000 (167,588,214) Americans did NOT vote for the regime now in power.  It is not whether we have power; the only question is whether we will exercise it as individuals.  If we join together and work, the status quo will change, even though it will be a difficult year or two or three.,

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“Woke”.   About the most overused word in American English is “woke”.  Recently I came across a very brief definition from an excellent book gifted to me by a friend in Oregon.  The brief segment is accessible here: Woke from Barbara Holmes.  The brief segment is from her book, Crisis Contemplation.  Healing the Wounded Village.  Note also the footnoted reference to an article by Tomi Adeyemi in Oprah magazine.

There is a frontal assault occurring on what is called “DEI” (diversity, equity and inclusion).  Woke and DEI and other words have  pejorative connotations by the current regime in Washington.  It is worthy of discussion.  For instance, is the whole concept of “white male privilege” or “wealthy entitlement” as “woke” themselves.  The saying, “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander” comes to mind.

Conversations:  The day after the catastrophic airline/helicopter crash at Reagan Airport in Washington, I overheard two guys in the next booth at McDonalds talking about the crash.  The one said that no information on identity of pilots, etc., had been released yet.  The other one brought up how the Biden administration covered up details of the East Palestine PA train wreck in 2023 – where a derailment threatened a community with toxic spill of train cargo.  The trajectory of the conversation was downhill, and ended quickly.  One had reached a conclusion before there was even the most tentative definitive information.

The conversation brought to mind an on-line conversation three of us had in early December after the Dec. 4 murder of a Minnesota Health Care Executive in New York City.

Our  conversation one week after that murder, was such that I asked if I could share it with others, which permission was given.  There is nothing dramatic about this three-way conversation, which you can read here Harbinger(2).  It is simply independent and spontaneous written impressions of three people, and not intended to represent conclusions.  Hopefully this thread might help in your own thinking about the issues raised while the legal processes continue, and about conversations generally.  Again, the comments are shared with the writers permission.

 

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Postnote: I started this post on January 27.  For the moment I’ll continue linking to a few of my favorite sources of informed comment.  All of these are available to anyone, and if Substack, you’ll be advised of others available.  I support by subscribing.  Most of these are also available free, but encourage subscription, which is support for their work.  Beginning with January 27 e-mails, here are some well worth your time: I find Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from and American, and Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse to be always factual, constructive and very informative.  Here are some from the last few days:

(1) Letters from An American 1/26; (2) Civil Discourse 1/26; (3) Paul Krugman 1/27;  (4) Weekly Sift 1/27: (5) Letters From An American 1/27;  (6) Civil Discourse 1/28;  (7) Letters from an American 1/28; (8) Jeffrey Frantz Sep 26, 2024; (9) Civil Discourse 1/29; (10) Letters from An American 1/29; (11) Letters from An American 1/30: (12) Civil Discourse 1/30; (13) Letters from an American 1/31; (14) Civil Discourse 1/31; (15) Letters from An American 2/1; (16) Civil Discourse  Discourse 2/2,.

These and many others are informative.  If I send them along, I’ve read them myself.  Most of these I initially learned about from Joyce – Thanks very much –  networking is extremely important.  Information needs to be combined with action, wherever you are, what you can do (is most likely more than you think you can do).

Eggs (A bit about wealth)

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The daily cup – note the handle – it has seen a lot of use over many years.

Most every day, my extravagance is a cup of coffee at the Woodbury City Centre Caribou Coffee.

The most recent cup set me back $2.81, plus the usual $1.00 tip or $3.81.  Caribou is where I start my day at 6 a.m.  It is a part of my daily ritual, ever more simple as I age.

For most of us, “wealth” is not a familiar condition.  Talk of Millions, Billions and Trillions is all but incomprehensable .   Monetary “Wealth” is out of our league; what we earn is petty cash for the approximately 1,000 billionaires in the United States; but their wealth seems to dominate the official conversation.  My opinion: too much is never enough for them: acquisition of power is the primary, almost sole, value.  “Money” is one of the primary exhibitions of “Power” (a false criteria in my opinion).

In the interest of education, I offer the illustration below, which might help flesh out the abstract.

Illustration in pdf form: Wealth

Why start this post with Coffee, then later title it “Eggs”….

The recent campaign political narrative seemed to focus on kitchen table issues, like the price of eggs.  The price of eggs seems to be mostly a matter of bird flu, not the fault of anyone.  It would be the fault if remedial action were not taken to control the spread of the disease, which in turn decreases production and inevitably raises prices.

I don’t often look at the price of eggs, but recently made a specific point to look at our supermarket.  Depending on the size of the egg, the cost was 50 to 60 cents.

The cost for the single egg hardly seemed confiscatory for by far the largest percentage of Americans.

A few days later I was at a local restaurant, and noted the menu Ala carte items:  one egg was $3.50, coffee $4.50 and so on.  Of course, at a restaurant no one orders just one egg.  A bowl of oatmeal, a coffee a order of toast, plus tip set me back $20 – just for myself.

A few times in my life I’ve been to countries where eggs would be luxuries.  One that comes to mind is rural Haiti, where I recall seeing eggs only one time: hard boiled.  They didn’t look safe.  Refrigeration is something not taken for granted in Haiti.  If a chicken lays an egg, best used on delivery.

Another time, in the Philippines, we visited what I remember as a large commercial poultry operation, with the chickens in a restricted environment, more likely for safety from predators than egg factory.  The chickens were certainly not raised for pets; the farm was not on a heavily populated island.  The utility of the chickens is not known to me.

Of course, in my rural upbringing farm chickens were ubiquitous, and “egg money” was the housewives allowance sometimes.  Chickens were utilitarian animals.  Not only did they produce eggs, but they were ideal meal size – no waste.  Perfect for family dinners or when company came.

There is a moral to the story: regardless of how we cry poor, the United States is an extraordinarily wealthy country measured against the rest of the world; and the disequity in wealth, already great, is getting greater still.  One of the first priorities seems to give the already wealthy even more tax breaks, which, in turn, will increase the deficit, with cries to take money out of appropriations for the least among us to pay for it.

Be vigilant.

POSTNOTE ON WEALTH, GENERALLY.

Increasingly the internal gap in our own country between the ultra rich and the rest of us is more and more absurd.

At the inauguration January 20, the obvious guests of honor were the ultra wealthy, including Elon Musk and several others.  It appeared there was no room in the inn for even one of the MAGA base, the very people the wealthy depend on to vote them into office.

It has long seemed to me to be a very odd paradox: to become wealthier, the wealthy depend on the poor to spend more money on things they cannot afford or don’t need.  There are ultra-wealthy in all countries.  I remember seeing at least one of their houses in Haiti, one of the poorest countries on earth.

At the same time, the energy is to depress wages and workers, making it more difficult for the working class to have disposable income to spend on the goods which bring more wealth to the already wealthy.

Paradoxical to me: our economy depends on people spending money, which grows wealth for some.  Storing unused money away – excessive savings such as billionaires control – does nothing for the common good.

The wealthy must know this is absurd, but craving more is an addiction like any other.

Here is a piece of data very carefully developed by a friend of mine, Dr. Joseph Schwartzberg, for his book on transforming the United Nations system. The chart summarizes the Wealth of UN Countries.  Note especially column 2 (% of world population) and 4 (% of Gross National Income). The U.S. had 4.4% of the World’s population, and 22.8% of the world’s gross national income.  The data is now several years old, but doubtless remains true today.

The solution is up to each and every one of us, where we live.

Mariann Edgar Budde – human beings

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PRENOTE: January 18, “A House Divided“, one week ago, I wrote: “Two days from now will be the inauguration of the U.S. President.  It feels, today, much like being in the eye of a hurricane.  All seems calm.  But no one knows for sure exactly when the chaos of the hurricane will resume and who it will damage worst or how.  The prudent persons have prepared for the worst, but if they’re unlucky the preparation will be in vain.  The hurricane is all of us.  We will determine it’s strength or weakness.  We’re all in the path of the storm.”

Add to the above, a tsunami, intended to demoralize and defeat – call it “shock and awe”.  Thus far, it has been worse than expectations.  This is a madman with a wrecking ball and the building permit to destroy.

Well, here we are.  There are at least 75,000,000 of us, and it’s time for us to get to work in small ways and large.  The bal is in our court.

There are those who think they’ll be unscathed and can sit this out.  How about their neighbor?  Their own children, people they know.  Everybody but the highly privileged are going to be punished, while being exhorted to accept the dream, never to be realized.  Trickle-down on sterooids.

I did four posts between Jan. 18 and today.  One is a family history piece.  Take a glance at them if you care to, and rest assured, there are more on the way.  Jan. 19; Jan. 20 “Inauguration Day”; Normand Collette (family history) Jan 24.

Here’s a place to start:  Mariann Edgar Budde 

Mariann Edgar Budde is Bishop of the American Episcopal Church and Pastor of the National Cathedral.  January 22, she addressed some very specific comments to the newly inaugurated President, and Cathy’s comments below, including the link to Bishop Budde’s thoughts, set the stage eloquently for the work ahead.

Bishop Budde spoke from the pulpit from the heart.  She is an example for all of us.    Cathy’s suggestion is right on.

from Cathy H January 23, 2025:

Beloved community,
Perhaps you have heard or seen the incredible prophetic and brave sermon that Mariann Budde gave yesterday at the National Cathedral.  It is in its entirety here but if you have limited time I encourage you to watch at least the last 4 minutes.
Back when St. Stephen’s [Minneapolis] was involved with ISAIAH, Mariann was the pastor of St. John’s Episcopal in Linden Hills [Minneapolis] and was already a force for justice.
This is the bravest thing I’ve seen in our country in a long time. To be on a national stage, literally facing the President and to call him out.  I think she was actually calling him in to the message of the Gospel.  I encourage you to watch it as a sign of hope and bravery. May we all be so brave.
President Trump has denounced her and the message and is demanding an apology which she has stated she will not give.
Because of her words, she is receiving death threats.  I am going to write a note of support and encouragement to her and I encourage you to do the same. Perhaps indicate on the back of the envelope a sign of encouragement so that she/the church knows it is not hate mail.
The address is: Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal Church House
Mount St. Alban
Washington, DC  20016

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A real note with a genuine stamp to the Bishop is most appropriate.  It took courage for the Bishop to make the very public statement that she did.  The least we can do is to acknowledge that courage.  It can be very brief.  It will be appreciated.
Jeff shared a very interesting data-based column from the Washington Post.  It is here.  If you can open it, you’ll find it very interesting.

We are a nation of immigrants.  In my own case, one grandfather and all four great grandparents came to the United States as immigrants.  Being an immigrant, regardless of legal status, is not an abstract issue is not a foreign concept to Americans.

UPCOMING: I will do mostly brief posts on assorted related topics in coming weeks, and would suggest simply checking this space from time to time if interested.

COMMENTS. (more at end)


from Carol: I love that Bishop.  She was pitch perfect – and Trump just had to sit there and take it.  I did not know she once pastored a church in the Cities.  Death threats against a gentle, older lady channeling Jesus’ message – what have we come to.

I also contacted her by e-mail at: mebudde@edow.org

from Brian: Thanks so much for posting–right on!

from Dick 1 p.m. Jan 26: As it happens, I went to Mass at Basilica of St. Mary this morning (Jan. 26), and following is the second reading for today.

Grandma Josephine (Collette) Bernards very well worn 1911 Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible

pdf of above: Corinthians I Ch 12 12-30

There could be no more appropriate reading for the current circumstance than the above.  Where I stand, of course, is what I published above, yesterday (Jan 25).  I had no idea what today’s church reading would be, and my guess is that this reading has long been scheduled, perhaps years in advance.  Fr. Joe was pitch perfect in his commentary.

The first two comments are at the end of the post.  I saw them when I got home from church.  I know both writers, and I respect them both.

I have often mused about our divided society.  To use the body analogy, can the left side of the body survive without the right, or vice versa.  We go a step further: can a society survive where the rules depend on whether the farthest right or the farthest left absolutely dominates.  What if a extremely strong head survives, but tries to function with only half of the body – that’s the present United States of America.  We shall see.  2017-21 was for practice; 2025 for an indeterminate time is the new reality.

We are facing a time period where the President seems to consider himself a king in many ways.  To carry the above body analogy a step further, Can a head function with only half a body; similarly, can a bird with only one functioning wing fly?  These are not abstract musings.

At the U.S. Congress, we’ve already had the first decision, a vote by the new Vice-President, to break a deadlock in the U.S. Senate.  In my own state, at this moment, the House of Representatives is stalemated in that it cannot reach a quorum, and this is because of a Supreme Court ruling.

We can figure out how to figure things out, including at the Presidential level, or the road ahead is not pleasant for anyone.

Norman Collette, and Jean Nicolet

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My cousin, Norman Collette of Winnipeg, passed away recently, and his funeral Mass is on January 24, 2025.  Here is more information.

Norman and I share a root family at Oakwood-Grafton ND; going back to Minnesota, and Quebec.  His grandfather, Arcidas Collette (aka Alcidas) and my Grandmother Josephine (Collette) Bernard were two of the children of Octave and Clotilde Blondeau of Oakwood.  Norman grew up in the area of Ste. Elisabeth and Morris MB.  He and I have met in person more than once, but distance and being in different countries made more collaboration impractical.

Norman and I shared an interest in family history, and while Norman has now passed on, I think it is an appropriate time to pass along a new revelation about his and my first French-Canadian root, Jean Nicolet, who arrived in what is now Quebec in 1618.  The story is in outline and text form here: Jean Nicolet.  The information was provided by another cousin, Remi Roy, whose great-grandfather, Philippe, was our Octave’s younger brother; and whose grandmother and grandfather, Lottie Collette and Joseph Roy, married in 1913 at Ste. Elisabeth MB, the same community where Norman grew up.  The basic genealogy information is in outline form, but I think makes sense.  Remi also includes some narrative about Nicolet and LeBlanc (our connection),

An additional article about Nicolet from the Door County WI Historical Society is here.

The setting for the story:

The Collette family history is available on-line here, click on library, click books and scroll down to Bernard-Collette and Roy-Collette for the histories.

An earlier post, directly related, about Francois Collet, is here.  This post was updated Jan. 24, to include some information not previously shared.

The Collette’s in St. Anthony (later Minneapolis) MN is here.

Norman and I were from the same generation – I’m about a year older.  I’ve observed for a number of years that when our generation is gone, so will be most of the memories of the old days.  If you are reading this, and haven’t got around to recording memories for the future, now is a good time to start.  Years from now somebody will want to know what was life like back then.

Week One

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Best advice I can muster at the end of this first week is to not give up.  Find a few reliable sources, read enough to be informed, especially on your most important issues, then, most important, take some action every day, slightly beyond your normal horizon, and share….

Two of my most reliable continuing sources are Professors Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance.  Under their names are a link to a post-inauguration post of theirs which as usual is informative.  I subscribe to them, and will recommend some others as well.  Support your media.  Some others this first week: Jay Kuo and Big Picture, Garrison Keillor,  Substack is a good platform to become acquainted with….

In the mailbox Jan 23: Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance.  I urge you to subscribe to these and others.

UPDATES

In the mailbox Jan 24: Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Paul Krugman; The Big Picture; Joyce Vance

In the mailbox Jan 25: Heather Cox Richardson; Dismantling Healthcare

In the mailbox Jan 26: Heather Cox Richardson; Robert Reich

There will be additional posts the next few days.  Check back.

Inauguration Jan. 20, 2025

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The inauguration dominated January 20, Martin Luther King Day.  See a brief post on Jan. 19.

Jennifer Rubin says it as well about the inauguration as anyone, here.

Heather Cox Richardson January 20 column, here.

POSTNOTE: Heather Cox Richardson’s January 19 column,  is especially relevant to Martin Luther King Day.

 

January 19, 2025

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Tomorrow is the annual observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday.  His actual birthdate was January 15, 1929.  I’m always aware of how young he was when he was making a name for himself: in his 20s in Birmingham days; 34 at the “I have a dream” day in D.C. in 1963; 39 when he was assassinated in Memphis April 4, 1968.

Today is President Joseph Biden’s last day on the job.  A fellow blogger with much more of a reputation than myself, and a person I greatly respect, was unfairly critical of him (I felt) in their most recent commentary, and I did offer a comment as follows: “Sorry, I’m about three years older than Joe Biden, and I’ve watched this evolve over the years since your uncle walked down the escalator [2015].  Joe Biden did what needed to be done.  It wasn’t perfect – in the job he has there is never perfection – but I think of the alternative.  Keep, keeping on. Thank you for your witness.”

As is true with another hero of mine, Jimmy Carter, the light of history will be kind to the memory of Joe Biden’s service to this nation.

Other comments at this moment are superfluous.

Sat Jaan 18 2025 5 p.m. Washington DC photo from Carole A.  It was a chilly day in DC and there were few organized events at the mall.  Inauguration was two days later.  U.S. Capitol in background.

POSTNOTE: Heather Cox Richardson’s January 19 column, received overnight, is relevant to January 20.

A House Divided

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PRENOTE: In early December I sent a brief query to a good friend who’s long-time on the e-list for this blog.  I didn’t hear from him, which caused me no concern.  A few days ago, I decided to follow up, and in fairly short order came a reply from him – it appeared.  It was from his son: Rich and his wife, Jeanette, had died in an automobile accident in mid-October.  Obituary here.  It was a shock.

Two items worth your reading time: Heather Cox Richardson Jan. 17, 2025 and Laurence Tribe and Kathleen Sullivan.

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The January 16 Minnesota Star tribune front page photo was of a divided Minnesota House of Representatives.

You’ll note one side of the House chamber is empty; the other filled.  It is a power dispute between the Democrats and Republicans, equally split.  The rest of that story is not relevant here.  The picture displays the insanity of divided government, and ironically it is happening in my own state; and playing out in the United States government as we speak.

Two days from now will be the inauguration of the U.S. President.  It feels, today, much like being in the eye of a hurricane.  All seems calm.  But no one knows for sure exactly when the chaos of the hurricane will resume and who it will damage worst or how.  The prudent persons have prepared for the worst, but if they’re unlucky the preparation will be in vain.  The hurricane is all of us.  We will determine it’s strength or weakness.  We’re all in the path of the storm.

I will not predict what the incoming President will say, though the temptation is strong.

This is a good time to remind myself and all of us that the population which he has chosen to lead is all of us, in all of our infinite varieties.  We are not two tribes in two distinct camps.  We are everywhere, friends, neighbors, relatives….  Here’s my illustration from years ago which I think remains as relevant today as it was in the 1980s when I sketched it.  All of us are each the tiniest of dots on this casual sketch I drew near 40 years ago.  I arbitrarily decided where I was on the illustration.  For your own information, where are you?  And what does that mean, going forward.  You and I and everyone else are the United States of America.

Today is the 25th anniversary of my retirement from 27 years representing public school teachers.  If you wish, here is my reflection on competition and cooperation as I witnessed it in my years in public education: Dick B Reflections

Probable next post on Jan 20 Martin Luther King Jr. day

Previous post here, which will a ‘file cabinet’ post about the upcoming administration.

Starting Monday night on MSNBC Rachel Maddow will host her show  for the next 100 days, emphasizing happenings at the White House and environs.  Her show is at 8 p.m. CST.

I listened to President Biden’s final address to the nation and to the entirety of his full hour interview with Laurence O’Donnell.  Both are well worth your time.

Forward

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As of Jan. 2025, here is the final vote for President.  I highlight the Kamala Harris vote as Harris and Walz were my preference.   I am only a single voter, but over 75,000,000 others voted as I did.  Individually we lack strength; working together in various ways we are strong.

January 20 is inauguration day.  I am not sure of my writing schedule, but at this moment, I want to offer access to a review of the recent past, and some simple suggestions for the future.  Most likely my inauguration post will be January 18.  It will be a recollection about trading conflict for cooperation.

In the days remaining in January I hope to offer some brief data points which may be useful to you as a citizen.  Just check in once in awhile to see if there is something new.  There is a “weather forecast” of how the incoming administration will act, but until it actually hits we won’t know what the “weather” will actually be.

In the interim, know, especially, who your local Congressperson is and his or her contact information.  Ditto for your U.S. Senators, state Senator and  Governor.

Get to know those who represent you, and communicate respectfully – as you would like to be treated.  Remember, you are not their only constituent.  For example, your congressperson represents about 700,000 citizens including you.  For good or ill, the U.S. Congress is, and state legislatures are, “we, the people”. They are “us”, not “them”.

Know who all of the other elected representatives represent you and their contact information.  Voters are the boss, and also ultimately accountable for their choice.

Attend at least one local meeting, such as City Council, of school board, if for no other reason to see who your representatives are, and how government works.

Be extremely vigilant about mis- and dis-information and be very cautious about what information you pass along to others.  Disinformation is a major crisis in our country, and we have good reason to  expect it will get worse.  If something is too good (or bad) to be true, it probably isn’t true.  If the reporter is known to be dishonest, the safest course is to believe nothing at face value.  This is a matter of common sense.  [The January 13, 2024, Weekly Sift is well worth your time.  I recommend subscribing to this.]

So long as I am able, I plan to continue these blogs, which are frequent and on assorted topics.  Regular visitors know me, some from long experience.  If you’re new, check me out.  I’ll add you to a subscriber list if you request.

Here are links to my last two months posts, most recent first, including if applicable the number of comments (in parens).  I find the comments very interesting and informative and look forward to them:  Jan. 11, The Felon; Jan. 9, Farewell, Jimmy Carter (8); Jan. 8, Pacific Palisades (9); Jan. 6 Politics (8); Jan 4 Larry Long; Jan. 3 Politics (3); Dec. 29 Jimmy Carter (7); Dec. 30 Bob Dylan “A Complete Unknown” (15); Dec 25 “Away in the Manger” (9); Dec 12, A House Divided (7); Dec. 9 Syria and the rest (5)

Next planned post: January 18, 2025.

COMMENTS (more at end of post):

The Felon

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Yesterday, a man with residences in New York, Florida and other places, was convicted of 34 felonies in New York State, subject to appeal later.  He apparently will be the first President inaugurated in this country as a convicted felon.

I’ll leave to Joyce Vance and the man’s niece to comment.  Joyce’s commentary is here; Mary’s here.

Personally, I feel Judge Merchan dealt with an impossible situation in the most appropriate way possible.  The debate will be incessant.  The convictions, of course, are only the tiny tip of the iceberg of the legal residue of his time.  There will be plenty of time to remember those.  The fog will lift….

I am a fan of the Rule of Law.  I’m not a lawyer, but much of my work was, as I often describe, “with, around and against lawyers”.  Without differences of opinion about what laws mean, there would be no need for lawyers.  Without lawyers, arguably, there would be no laws.  The matter of living in community is difficult even in the smallest context – the family.  The larger the circle, the greater the potential for problems relating to justice.

The man convicted yesterday was not a victim; rather he was a recipient of the consequences of his own deeds.  No question, he has some unlikely magnetic pull: 77 million of our fellow citizens voted for him and his pick for vice-president; only 75 million for my preferred candidates, Harris/Walz.  Don’t forget that four years earlier, 81 million had voted for Biden/Harris, to 74 million for him/Pence.  Don’t ever forget the very real and very positive legacy Biden/Harris leave behind as accomplishments the last four years.

Remember as we go forward, there are 1.3 million practicing lawyers in the United States; and over 30,000 Federal and state judges.  Judge Merchan, yesterday, said that during the trial there were 33 other trials in various stages in the same courts building.  Behind the spotlight are infinite numbers of very good  lawyers and judges (one of who is Merchan).  You probably know some lawyer, or maybe even some judge, in person.  They are people too.

In a nation of nearing 340,000,000 people with a near 240 year history, the potential for differences of opinion are infinite.

I have frequently made reference to a booklet published in 1959 by the American Bar Association for Law Day.  I offer it again, here, for your education.  It is in four parts only because my scanner was not behaving itself at the time.  It totals 50 pages.

(1) Law Day Am Bar Assoc 1959 (cover to 17); (2) Law Day (2) Am Bar Assoc 1959(18-24); (3) Law Day (3) Am Bar Assoc 1959 (25-43); (4) Law Day (4) Am Bar Assoc 1959 (44-52).  My favorite is “Law in a Treehouse World” found on page 49.

POSTNOTE:

As noted above, my career was “with, around and against lawyers”, dealing with issues related to employee relations and negotiated contracts.  What I learned, I largely learned on the job.  One of the abiding insights was an awareness that the only criteria about the ruling of a judge or an arbitrator or similar was “does the ruling make sense?”  Anytime I heard a lawyer utter the word “clearly”, I was pretty sure things were not all that “clear”.  On and on.  The word “evidence” early on came to have meaning; it was much more than a complaint.  It is easy to get irritated with rulings and procedures and appeals, but all of these are well grounded in Law and legal tradition.  And there are mistakes made.  The members of the fraternity of the law are the ones who have the interesting conversations, I’m certain.

In my memory, my most coveted award was something the Oppenheimer law firm legal eagles called the “Greek Grappler Award”, which they granted for a few years to a most deserving (said with tongue firmly in cheek) recipient.

One year it was me, and it was a few pages of a legal transcript from a hearing in Federal Court in St. Paul that earned the “accolades”.  I don’t recall the exact year, but probably somewhere around 1980.  The right-to-work people were attempting to skewer part of Minnesota’s bargaining statute, and I was one of those subpoenaed to produce every piece of paper and other record in my possession for examination in Federal Court.

I was not practiced at archiving memos, etc., but in the end I had a pretty good collection, I think, thanks to a couple of great secretaries.

That was the easy part.

My qualification for the “Greek Grappler” was the time of my testimony, in which I was doing my best to be truthful, but apparently flummoxed the Big City Lawyer attempting to skewer me.  His mistake was thinking that I actually knew something that I really didn’t.  I was working day to day, doing the best I could.

In the end, the case ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Union prevailed and the ruling stayed basically intact for about 40 years.  I’d like to think it was me who made the difference, but the Greek Grappler award brings me down to human level….

The Law is a search for truth, and even those who thing they’ve got a winning strategy to escape and evade it are not always correct.