By: Duane Ballard

Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

The absolute best thing about November 6, 2024 is that normal TV is back, without political commercials. In my opinion, it is the only thing good about it.

I totally believe in democracy and that the people spoke, but no one will ever convince me that the correct candidate for this country won the election. Waaaaay too many people live their lives off Facebook and other social media platforms. Look around. Anywhere you go and watch people, their phones are in their face getting their information off a social media group that is conditioned to what they believe already.

No one wants to seek the truth, or they refuse to believe the truth that is right in front of their face. It is pretty easy to delete the truth off your Instagram page when it is something you dislike or don’t agree with.

As a UAW Local 659 member, don’t think this election won’t have an impact on your Union rights and job security. With the UAW endorsement not going to Trump, and with his bragging on vengeance against people who do not support him, don’t think for one minute that he will not come for retribution against the UAW. He has already bragged, along with Elon Musk, on how striking workers should be fired.

It amazes me how so many of our members supported someone who is against what we strive for every day inside our work sites.

To all the veterans out there, I want to thank you for your service! We celebrate Veteran’s Day to thank all veterans for the time they spent serving our country; unlike our President-elect, who doesn’t like veterans who get caught (i.e. Senator John McCain), or him thinking the Presidential Medal of Freedom is better deserved than The Medal of Honor.

With his quote, “It’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor,” Trump said this of the civilian Medal of Freedom. “But the civilian version, it’s actually much better because everyone that gets the Congressional Metal of Honor, they’re soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets or they’re dead.” Thank you for your service, each and every one of you.

Recently, Vice President Anthony Davis and I had the privilege of presenting a check to the Genesee County IGNITE Program. The Local raised over $7,000 by doing a European Pheasant Hunt. A great time was had by all and a lot of smack talk was going on.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson participated also. As luck would have had it, he shot the first bird that came out of the tower. Beginners Luck. He also, in his eyes, shot the money bird, but county forensics still have not concluded whether it was a 20ga or 12ga that shot it. Stay tuned.

This time change absolutely sucks. With the days getting shorter and the time change, it is dark by 5:30 pm. Getting time to get outside and do a little deer hunting after work is almost impossible. So, pick a time on the weekend to set up a pop-up blind, grab a kid and go sit a while. I will guarantee you two things: They will eat all the snacks, and they will get a nap in. I’m sure some good conversation will come out of it, too. You can find out how school, sports, and the WWE are going. Yes, I’m speaking from experience. Get a child outdoors.