Time to Think

Striving For A  More Perfect Union By Hank Silverberg Did you see a fireworks display this 4th of July? Many were cancelled because of the pandemic. The traditional one on the National Mall in D.C. took place, but the 100 thousand people who usually show up were NOT there this year, advised by the city's government not to come because of the the Coronavirus. It was broadcast as usual on national television. I was going to watch that until the explosions started in my Virginia neighborhood. Two of my neighbors, a bit too close for comfort, where having a fireworks competition. There were several more around the corner.                                          It was fun to watch, though I spent part of Sunday picking up pieces of spent fireworks from my driveway where they had landed after flying over my neighbor's s house. But it is clear we all missed the official celebratory f...

100 days by Hank Silverberg M ost presidents are judged by how much they can get done in their first 100 days before the honeymoon with the electorate is over. A lot can happen in a hundred days--just over three months.  And I note this week that we are just a bit over 100 days until the November 3rd presidential election.  There is a lot at stake. It's not just the White House but also the U.S. Senate where all good progressive bills have gone to die since Mitch McConnell became Majority Leader.  If you are a Democrat or a progressive-leaning voter in general, you are probably thrilled by the latest polls which show Joe Biden with some big leads across the country. There are also some Republican senators who are in danger of losing their seats. But there is a danger in those polls which we all must watch out for.  _________________________________________________________ Summaries of all the latest polls:        https://www.realclearpolitics.com/...

Masked Man  By Hank Silverberg I had to fill my gas tank the other day. It was only the second time in three months, since I have not been going anywhere but the supermarket. W hen I walked into the convenience  store to pay,  wearing a mask and a hooded black sweatshirt (it was drizzling), I looked like a bank robber.   I confess I don't like wearing a mask. I have three of them now, all different colors and different materials, and not one of them is very comfortable.  There's a homemade mask with superheros on it, passed on from a friend of my daughter. There's a funny colored green one sent for each of us by my wife's health insurer. And there's a black one I ordered from a Nevada-based company which to my dismay, turned out to be made in China!  But I  wear them.  Why? BECAUSE THAT, along with washing your hands often, IS WHAT THE MEDICAL EXPERTS SAY IS THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE CORONA VIRUS.   I am not just protecti...

A Never Ending Pandemic, Systemic Racism by Hank Silverberg   August 19, 1967 was a hot day. As evening came, the heat and humidity lingered and the windows were wide open in my parent's home in West Haven, Connecticut. We had no air conditioning.  At age 13, I was watching TV, wearing nothing but cut-off jeans when I decided to take a few minutes away from summer repeats and get myself some milk and cookies.   That one decision influenced the way I have viewed the world ever since.  (The bottle looked like this)  I opened the refrigerator and the   glass milk bottle, soaked with       condensation, fell out of my hands  and shattered into dozens of sharp  pieces on the floor. The price for  trying to satisfy my sweet tooth   included one very big puncture wound on my right foot.   My parents helped me to the car with my foot wrapped in an old towel and off we went to Yale New Haven ...

Silence Is Complicity By Hank Silverberg Millions of Americans were on on the streets of our nation's cities and towns protesting over the last week.  (from Mayor Bowser's twitter feed) Despite the continuing threat of Covid-19,  the police killing of  George Floyd in Minneapolis has become the catalyst for the new protests over the long running epidemic of institutional racism.  There were some scattered incidents of vandalism and violence, but despite what the right wing is pushing, millions of people were peacefully executing their Constitutional right to petition the government with their grievances.   The week opened up wounds that have existed since the founding of our country, and highlighted what has come to be categorized as "white privilege." It's as old as the Republic, but not often recognized by the privileged. There is some debate over the meaning of that term, but my understanding is this: A person of color is simply not treated equally in th...