Time to Think

Terminology                                              #307        By Hank Silverberg Communist, Fascist, Socialist--you have heard those words bandied about in this election cycle much more often than in the past. But it's clear listening to the rhetoric and the public's reaction to it that most people really don't know much about those political ideologies of any of those labels. Anyone who has taken an introductory political science course understands the traditional political spectrum.  You can't be a Fascist and a Communist at the same time. Fascism is on the extereme right of the poltical spectrum. Communism is on the extreme left, and Socialism is just to the right of Communism.  Yes, you can have authoritarian leaders in all three of these systems, but the ideology is far from the same.  So let's take a close look at each one. Fascism was invented in 1921 by Bonito Mussolini. General Francisco Franco in Spain perfected Faschism--a strong-man type of gover

Scenarios                                                                                       #306 By Hank Silverberg The election is just a bit more than two weeks away. While much of the media has been focusing on the presidential race, it could be the race for Congress and the U.S. Senate that could set the real agenda for the next four years, and possibly beyond.  Here are some scenarios which make me focus on the House and Senate.  Scenario 1: Kamala Harris is elected President, but she enters office next year with a Republican-controlled House and Democrats in control of the Senate.  Her problems will be similar to those that have faced President Biden since 2020. Republicans have shown little interest in compromising on anything, and have basically held up most legislation in Congress. As of now, the 118th Congress has been the least effective Congress in history, placing just 78 public laws on the books, with the GOP leadership notably killing the only real chance for immigra

A New Pandemic                                                                                    #305           By Hank Silverberg There is a new pandemic gripping the United States, and this time no vaccine or mask will help. No, I am not talking about Covid-19. The virus is still out there, and some more people have died from it, but the vaccines and some new medication have made it less of a menace. The pandemic I am talking about was created in the United States and has spread to epic proportions over the last decade.  It's called "disinformation," and it may kill our  democracy faster than any known disease.  Disinformation is defined as material, written or broadcast,  that is fake and is spread INTENTIONALLY by people of all kinds who  wish to gain from it for political or financial reasons.  They know it's false, but they spread it anyway, usually with malicious intent.    This political season is ripe with disinformation just about everywhere, from the race

 Jury Duty                                               #304 by Hank Silverberg                                              I am on jury duty standby for the entire month of October.  Serving on a jury is an important thing. Trial by jury is a basic right of all Americans, and getting a fair trial with judgement by your peers is one of the basic foundations of our Republic. It's in the U.S. Constitution. If you are registered to vote, then they have you on a list. They call a huge pool when they need a jury to make sure they get enough people. If you are called you have to check in every Friday for a month to see if there is a trial the next week, and whether they need jurors.    The last time it happened for me was more than ten years ago when I was still a full-time working reporter. I had to go to the courthouse, sit for several hours while they picked a jury of six people for a civil case, and then got dismissed.  I do beleive it's my civil duty to serve. But--reporters d