Diary Entry - 01/15/1982

Key Facts
President Reagan attends National Security Council Meeting.
Spain announces successors to four top military commanders who retired the day before.
An N.S.C. meeting re Cuba. My own thought is that we should create a plan to urge Cuba & yes Castro to come back into the orbit of the Western Hemisphere. Castro is in trouble—his popularity is fading, the ec. is sinking and Soviets are in no position to help. We could start a campaign to persuade him & the disenchanted Cubans to send the Russians home & once again become a member of the Latin Am. community. Met with Repub. Sen. leadership. They are uptight about budget, taxes etc. Wm. Raspberry & J. J. Kilpatrick both took me on in their columns re the I.R.S. tax exemption decision. But they came at me from opposite sides. I called each of them & think I defanged them. The most famous & best loved entertainer in the Black community—name of Brown came to see me. To my surprise he is a devoted follower & pledges his all out support. Wash. is beautiful today—everything covered with several inches of fresh snow & a bright sun & blue sky.
