Time to Think

  Are Republicans Afraid of Voters?             #165         by Hank Silverberg This question has crossed my mind a lot over the past few months. Are Republicans actually scared of the average voter?   Georgia Republicans apparently are. They have passed changes in voting rules that, without any doubt, are designed to keep people from casting a ballot.   Much has been written about this in the past week. It's like Jim Crow has been resurrected from hell.  One of the changes, making it illegal to distribute food or water to people waiting on line to vote, seems a bit ridiculous. That happened at some sites in 2020 where turnout was high and some people waited hours to vote. The warped theory behind this is that people will simply give up and go home if they get thirsty or hungry on line, and there's no one there to give them comfort.   While this provision has attracted all the media attention, the other changes will be worse.  For example, the Georgia state legislature, curren

  I nformation Consumer, Beware              #164         By Hank Silverberg There's a good chance that you have, at some point in your life, been the victim of propaganda. It could be something unimportant like a commercial for potato chips, or something more ominous like the outcome of a presidential election.   In the old days, say 30 years ago, it may have been a poster, a sign, or a well written letter to the editor that showed up in 40 newspapers at the same time. There were leaflets handed out on the street corner or secretly put in your mailbox.   Today it's right there in front of you on your computer or smart phone. Most people are pretty good at detecting fake offers, even when our spam detection program doesn't always work.  You don't have to dig too deeply to know that a Nigerian prince is not really going to send you money. But there's much more deception than you think.  These days propaganda is coming almost daily from the halls of Congress.  Here is