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Exhaustion                                                                                           #283                                       

By Hank Silverberg


Each week as Friday approaches, I start thinking "what am I going to write about in my blog on Sunday?" I have usually put aside some interesting news stories like the two below that I don't think most people have heard about, so I can include them here. But the main theme for the lead-in  just escapes me sometimes. I won't call it writer's block, because it's not. Maybe I should just call it "Exhaustion."

I'm tired of writing about Donald Trump and all his nonsense, especially when we are going to hear more about it everyday for the next six months, and maybe beyond besides his current trial is just more sleaze, and I am really sick of that. 

I could write you about the injury jinx that has hit my favorite team, the Red Sox, but if you are not a baseball fan, you don't care. 

I could be morbid and write about the war in Gaza and the cost in human life. Or I could write about the continued double standard by which the world judges Israel that doesn't seem to apply to anyone else. That includes the murderous terror group known as Hamas and its sponsor, Iran. But then I would also have to talk about misled college students, bias journalists, and the massive spread of disinformation. 

I could plead once again to those who think the war in Ukraine is not our business, because they have no knowledge of European history and Vladimir Putin's expansionist goals. 

I could write about voting rights and urge you to vote again in upcoming primaries and the general election, but how many times can I write about how important your vote is?

I could detail just what Artificial Intelligence is and why it is a threat to our way of life, and specifically your job. At least you would know an A-I didn't write this blog. (You should know now  because it's not overburdened with too many adjectives and long sentences.) 

Maybe I can write about garbage polluting our ocean's again, or melting ice in the Antarctic, but that would bring more nasty email telling me it's all a hoax.    

Or maybe I could just vent all this on social media and be subject to insults, bad language, conspiracy theorists and MAGA nuts. 

But after enjoying the company of my children and grandchildren for a Passover Seder, I'd rather not. Instead, read the interesting articles below.  I'll vent again next week.  


Toll Road Scam

The rapid growth of electronic toll roads across the

country has produced a new scam. Since early March there have been more than 2,000 reports to the FBI about text messages attempting to collect unpaid tolls on various state toll roads. The texts appear to come from an official toll road agency like the Virginia Department of Transportation. They ask the recipient to click on a link to pay their back tolls before a late fee is applied to the balance. 

Of course, if you click on the link it will ask for some sensitive information like your credit card number and address, and that will leave you open to identify theft. 

If you fell for it, contact your bank to dispute the charges. If you think you do owe some toll money, you can go to official web sites to check it out. (see below) and if you are scammed, you can report it to the FBI at  Internet Crime Complaint Center(IC3) | Home Page    Be sure to include the phone number the text message came from. 

Each state will have their own link to check on what you might owe. Here are just two of the legitimate links:  

https://wwwotollroadsinvirginia.com

https://ezpassva.com


Get There Fast!

Here's some good news for the folks in traffic- congested California. Construction has finally begun on that new fully-electric bullet train that will link Las Vegas to Los Angeles. It's called Brightline West, will cost $12 billion, and is supposed to be finished before L-A hosts the 2028 Olympics. 

(Courtesy Brightline)  
The train will travel as fast as 186 miles per hour along the 218 miles, and will make the trip in just over two hours. That's  about half the time it would take to drive between the two cities. The main traffic route between the sin city and L.A, I-15, can be a parking lot at times. 

Taxpayers are putting up to $3 billion into the rail line that will connect to the L.A. Metro. Some of the money was included in the big Build Back America Infrastructure project pushed through Congress by the Biden Administration. The rest of the cost will be private funding through the sale of bonds that are backed by the Department of Transportation.  

Ground breaking took place in Las Vegas last week. But there is some concern about the project which took some time to get going after an earlier public-private plan fell through. 

There are other high-speed trains in the country, most notably the Acela train in the northeast corridor. Brightline, when completed, may be the fastest ever constructed in the United States.  

https://lamag.com/transportation/ground-broken-on-fast-train-to-sin-city-from-the-city-of-angels


Dumbest Quote of The Week!

This week's dumb quote belongs to South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Donald Trump. 

Some excerpts from her new book came out, and in it she describes how she killed the family dog and a goat by shooting them in a gravel pit on the same day. Noem says the 14-month-old dog was "untrainable" and aggressive, and the goat was "nasty and mean" to her children.  

She got an immediate response from Democrats all over the country posting pictures of themselves with their beloved pets. She got criticism from PETA and other groups because there were alternatives to death that could have been used on the animals. 

But Noem gets nominated for dumb quote because of her response to the criticism. 

She wrote on X:

"We love animals but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years."

She apparently sees no difference between old horses who's time had come and a 14-month-old dog.   

To make things worse, she topped the quote with a blatant plug to buy her book.  

"if you want more real. honest. and politically INcorrect stories that'll have the media gasping."

 (I'm not naming the book.)

Sorry Governor, its NOT on my reading list.  


 (Your suggestions and comments are welcome)   

My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com  for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796


My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes. 


                                                 
You can purchase Communications and Public Speaking Trends in the 21st Century at these two links: 


or straight from the Publisher at:  

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