Time to Think

     A Nation of Immigrants                                 By Hank Silverberg       Once again, the ugliness of racism, bigotry and ignorance has found its way into the ongoing debate over immigration laws. The catalyst this time was a comment from President Trump that was widely quoted out of context.   Answering a question about MS -13, the violent street gang that has infested Latin America and many American cities large and small, the President called them “animals.”           R eaction to that comment brought out the ugliness. It was mis-interpreted by many as a reference to Hispanic immigrants in general, and for once the President had a legitimate beef.   That’s not what he said.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aib5Ts2cDI8&feature=youtu.be      A few news organ...

Gee I’m glad I WAS a Boy Scout By Hank Silverberg       A boy scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent, and now sometimes -- a GIRL. I’m not sure about obedient and reverent anymore, but I retain a lot of the things I learned in four years of Boy Scouts. It was a good experience. I have never used semaphore, but I have tied an occasional slip knot over the last 50 years. I still love canoeing and though I have never had the occasion to do so, I still remember how to turn my pants into a floatation device if need be.  (My Order of the Arrow Sash)                         I never made Eagle Scout. I quit after reaching the rank of Star Scout and right after being sworn into the “Order of the Arrow.” (I won’t tell you the Order’s cool initiation ritual; I took an oath ...

Sleeping Watchdogs By Hank Silverberg             (Stakeout at the  Richmond, VA courthouse)         Journalists are supposed to be watchdogs, protecting the general public from government excess, corporate greed, and individual scallywags. That’s what our founding fathers had in mind, but these days the watchdogs seem to be lost in the deep woods. So, there’s a message I want to send to all those men and women who practice journalism: stop whining! The American public really doesn’t care about your comfort level, your ego or your Q score from your employer’s latest focus group.      It is time for reporters, producers and editors to return their attention to getting stories right, and producing stories that really matter. They should pay less attention to the minute details inside politics that drive cable pundits wild and drive TV viewers to Netflix, cat videos on YouTube or the latest so-...

               Comedy & The First Amendment                By Hank Silverberg       It was painful to laugh this week.      A few hundred journalists, politicians, White House staffers and friends got together this past weekend at the Washington Hilton for what is jokingly called the “nerd prom,” and formally called the White House Correspondents Association Dinner. It’s an annual event that raises money for scholarships for aspiring journalists, and hands out awards for some great work by reporters. It began in 1914 as a celebration of the First Amendment.      I have been to a few of these during my years as a Washington reporter, and I can tell you they are sometimes fun, sometimes boring.   It’s a good chance to network if you are job hunting, or socialize with people you normally compete against. You could tell which news o...

A Special Preview  by Hank Silverberg       Over the past 11 weeks I have written about all kinds of real issues facing the country or the world. Today's edition of "Time to Think" is something different. Below you will find the Prologue and part of Chapter 1 of my book, "The Campaign," which was published late last year. It's a novel. It's not #fakenews. It's fiction. It's been said, write about what you know, so my novel is about politicians, reporters and political and international intrigue.          Please read the excerpt, enjoy it and at the bottom, there will be instructions on how to order the book if you wish. It's available in hard cover, soft cover and E-book.                                                                        ...