Time to Think

Legacy                                                   #329 By Hank Silverberg This summer there will be events around the country commemorating the 250th birthday of the United States. They won't be as big as the bicentennial celebration in 1976 with tall ships and fireworks and parades and much more, which a large portion of our population can still remember. But we will hear a lot again this summer about our Founding Fathers, the Constitution and history.  As I spent some time this weekend with my grand- children, it made me wonder with all that's going on in the world and in Washington, D.C. right now, what things might be like in the United States for the Tricentennial, 50 years from now.  I won't be here, but my grandchildren will be. In 1976 there were speeches and events to highlight the progress we had made since the Revolution. We weren't per...

 History Distorted                                    #328 By Hank Silverberg Many of us have been focusing these last few weeks on government layoffs, the battle over funding in the Congress, tariffs against our allies and foes alike, or the faux peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine.  But we may have missed something even more sinister than what is out in the open.  The Trump administration, taking a page right out of a totalitarian handbook, has slowly been distorting or rewriting American history.  Last week the Pentagon started removing any picture or plaque in the building or at military bases around the world that recognized women or minorities for their past service and achievements. It was so bad that someone took down the picture of the "Enola Gay," the B-29 which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The removal seemed to be triggered by nothing other than...

Emotionally Exhausted                                      #327 By Hank Silverberg I finally figured out just what Donald J. Trump's basic strategy is. The whirlwind of Executive Orders, DOGE activity, and on-and-off tariffs are exhausting us all, confusing our allies, driving investors crazy and in general, convincing us all to just turn off the news,  confine our on-line scrolling to cat videos, and avoid any political exchanges on the job, on social media, or in social settings.   In other words, tune out. Then slowly, while we are not watching, or paying attention or diverted by the outrageous ideas like buying Greenland, Mr. Trump and his lemmings in Congress will erode our rights, restrict our way of life, and destroy any semblance of the United States as we know it.  What? I exaggerate, right? Not really. Look at what has happened in just his first seven weeks in office....

No Respect                                                  # 326 By Hank Silverberg Much has already been written on the disastrous   public and live broadcast argument between President Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. But what strikes me most is a general lack of understanding in the American public of what is at stake in Ukraine.  Yes, there was a general lack of respect between the two leaders, and in normal times differences of opinion and disrespectful comments like those would be played out behind closed doors.  But Trump doesn't play by the rules, and in Zelensky we have seen someone who has tired of Trump's nonsense and won't let it go unanswered. He really has no choice. The life of his country is at stake.    It is important for the public to ignore minutia like what Zelensky was wearing or who disrespected whom,...

The Flu                                                #325 By Hank Silverberg  After hearing some reports last week that the flu season across the country was getting a bit nasty, I pitched a local angle of that story to my editors at the new non- profit newspaper,  The Fredericksburg Advance , where I am  now reporting part time. What were the number of cases in my region and how bad were they? And what can you do to prevent it? It would be a good story, and maybe prevent someone from getting the illness. I started checking (Flu virus, public domain)    preliminary numbers a week ago Friday, but realized it would be better to wait until Monday when a new week's statistics were published. Then came the federal holiday--Presidents Day-- when state workers all had the day off, and I could not get anyone to talk about my region of Virginia in p...