Time to Think

Diversion or Danger By Hank Silverberg The fog of peace. The assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and several of his minions   (and that’s what it was –an assassination)   in Baghdad this past week has heightened tensions around the world to a level we have not seen since 9-11. The big difference is, in 2001 the world was on our side. The United States had been attacked. More than three thousand innocent people had been murdered. Our right to find and punish those who did it was just. Our allies were certainly with us. But now as 2020 starts, it is America, and basic American values, that are being questioned worldwide.                                       Don’t get me wrong. Soleimani was no innocent victim. As leader of Iran’s Quds force, an elite wing of Iran’s military apparatus, he was no angel. He was directly responsible for the killing of hundreds of ...

The 100 th  Thought By Hank Silverberg I began writing “A Time to Think” 100 weeks ago. The idea behind this blog was to focus on things that mattered, with some logical, well thought out comments using   facts, not political bias or slants. I would take some time to think about the issues of the week before I posted.    It didn’t turn out that way.   All my instinct as a journalist with 40 years’ experience was to play it straight. I wanted to write about real issues that mattered to people like family, jobs and health care, and avoid the tainted rhetoric of politicians on both the left and the right.    I ended blog #1 back on February 5 th , 2018 with this advice to my former colleagues still working as journalists:  “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 t...

The Meaning of Chanukah (and why it’s important even if you aren’t Jewish)   By Hank Silverberg   (Chanukah Menorah  lit for first night , downtown Fredericksburg, VA Photo courtesy ,Anna Loftis) The Jewish Festival of Lights—Chanukah (or Hanukkah)   is this week. It is an eight-day festival, considered a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar.   The celebration has grown over the last century among 6.9 million Jews in America, because most years Chanukah falls about the same time as Christmas. But despite people’s misconception, the two holidays have no connection.     Some facts about Chanukah: *Chanukah is NOT the Jewish Christmas. It has nothing to do with Jesus. *When it is celebrated is based on the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the Lunar calendar. It has ten months   of varying lengths. So, the eight-day holiday can occur anywhere between Halloween and New Year’s Day, depending on the lunar cycle. ...

Anti-Semitism and Free Speech By Hank Silverberg I am an American. I was born in the USA. My parents are/were Americans. They too were born in the USA.   My grandparents came from Poland, Ukraine and Russia where, as Jews,   they were not allowed to be citizens. They became naturalized Americans as soon as they were eligible.     If you ask the more than 6.9 million people who identify as Jews in America, they will say they are American. They have no other nationality. There are more Jews in America than any other country in the world. Israel has 6.7 million Jews, and if you ask them their nationality, they will tell you they are Israeli.    There are 2.3 million Israelis who are NOT Jewish. Judaism is a religion. Yes, there is a distinct Jewish culture, but culture is not a nationality.   So, I was distressed this past week when President Trump decided, with the urging of son-in-law Jared Kushner (an Orthodox Jew) to i...