The Puppy and The President #400
By Hank Silverberg
Commentary:
You will notice a number at the top right hand corner of this blog today. This edition marks a milestone, 400 weeks of writing "Time To Think".
Some weeks have been easy, others have been hard. But whatever I write, I hope it has been relevant.
This week my household is in the midst of disruption. Two months ago we adopted a puppy. He is cute, but lively and he has produced a radical change in our lifestyle. I thought about documenting it all in this blog, or I could have written about the near miraculous rise of my team the Boston Red Sox, who seemed dead right around the same time we adopted the puppy, but have since moved into playoff contention.
But with all that is going on in the world, those topics seem a bit frivolous.
We are, afterall, in a war with Iran where the current administration does not seem to have any exit strategy--like a way to win the war or a way to get out of it with "something accomplished".
Instead, the man in the White House worries about what gold trim to put on his oversized, not-needed ballroom that a judge has now ruled needs congressional approval. And our "dear leader" seems more centered on who is to blame for the botched job to fix up the tidal basin near the Lincoln Memorial, and his dislike of Taylor Swift.
Terms like "defund the police" are used with no concept of what that really means, or how it is being used against them by the other side.
The Republicans, though, don't seem to have any strategy for holding on to their control of Congress except to rubber stamp their "dear leader" and throw around words like socialism and communism without any real knowledge of what either of those systems of government really are.
The media isn't any better. When was the last time your heard any journalist challenge either side to define what they really mean?
I noted one so-called journalist actually used the term "Islamic Communists" in an X feed this week (see below) clearly not understanding that Communists repress religion of any kind and work hard to wipe out religious doctrine, and therefore cannot be"Islamicwi".
And the public? The internet is awash with fraud, scams and misinformation. Many people have just zoned out, but even those of us who pay attention are constantly trying to figure out what's real, what's fake, or what's AI. And that includes the mainstream media, which faces the same distortion of reality.
I frankly don't know where we are going.
I wrote my first edition of this blog on Feb 4, 2018, way before I started numbering them.
It was a plea to mainstream journalist, a plea that has gone unanswered ever since.
I went back and found it and will make the plea once again, or we could quickly lose our democracy. If you work in the media, no matter what your political persuasion, please heed my call.
"They need to return to good solid conservative (with a small c) journalism, using verified sources, mostly on the record with facts that can be confirmed. They need to get it right. And if that means asking some politician or spokesman to explain some absurd comment he made based on untrue information, and repeating that question to that politician or spokesman over and over until he does explain it, then do it. And yes, if that means proving him wrong with factual information and calling him or her out—so be it. That’s not bias, it's holding our leaders responsible for their words and actions. That’s journalism, and that is what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they protected the free press."
Eight years later, with media mergers and government pressure on journalists, it's much worse.
News You May Have Missed
Weapons Shortage?
Here's a story that many people haven't talked about. A report released by the conservative Heritage Foundation this past week says the U.S. could run out of air defense millses in the first few days of any conflict if China targeted U.S. bases.
The exact numbers are classified of course, but five types of offensive and defensive missiles have been running low because of the U.S. strikes on Iran and defense of U.S. bases in the Mideast. Reuters has reported that the Army has pretty much used up all of its Army Tactical Missile Systems and Precision Strike Missiles. Without such missiles an increased use of manned aircraft would be necessary for both offensive and defensive purposes. That increases the risk of more pilots getting killed.
The U.S. has also used up just under half of its Tomahawk Missile stockpile. More than a thousand have been used, mostly by the Navy, since the start of the war.
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| (Tomahawk Missile Courtesy U.S. Navy) |
The reaction from the White House? They called media reports of the shortages "treasonous".
But a Pentagon spokesman said on Saturday that they are pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate production of the weapons to replenish diminished stockpiles and speed up the delivery schedule.
https://www.newsweek.com/5-major-weapons-us-reportedly-low-on-what-shortages-would-mean-12291797
Nagasaki!
There was a noteworthy event this week in Japan. Sunday was the 81st Anniversary of the U.S. atomic bomb attack during World War Two, the second of two nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
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| (courtesy science source) |
Those bombs ended World War Two, and Japan has prohibited nuclear weapons on its soil ever since.
The current government has remained ambiguous about future development or possession of nuclear weapons, but the debate has been heated.
Dumbest Quote Of The Week
I alluded to this above. This week's dumbest quote goes to internet hack and pseudo-journalist, Laura Loomer, who posted on X:
"The thing is, the Islamic communists and their supporters love dishing out insults and attacks ..."
The rest of the post is irrelevant because this individual who claims to be a reporter does not understand that an Islamic cannot be a communist, and a communist cannot be Islamic.
An Islamic practices a sometimes radical and strict version of Islam.
Communists reject religion and religious doctrine of any kind.
They are on opposite ends of the political realm. I really get annoyed with people who have no knowledge of the actual political spectrum and then tosses around terms without knowing what they mean.
(You 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.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.
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