Time to Think

At Last, Some Progress                                                                      #162  By Hank Silverberg          The news over the last year has been depressing. The pandemic, the nasty election, the insurrection combined with continued unemployment for millions and hunger for thousands was enough to sour the mood, even for people with a positive view on life.  This past week may have finally turned that trend around for many of us.  The vaccination is finally getting into the arms of millions of people, and hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 have leveled off at best, and may be going down a bit.  But there are warning signs on the horizon. The decision by many states, including a big one, Texas, to ease mask mandates and other pandemic restrictions h...

The Continuing Threat of Trumpism                      #161 by Hank Silverberg  Donald Trump is no longer president, and frankly, despite all the talk that he will run again in 2024, I doubt he will ever be president again. But his presence on the political stage will most likely haunt us for a decade or more.  That was clear this past weekend when Trump was the featured speaker at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee.  I won't go into all the rhetoric and nonsense that the committee focused on or what Trump said.  Much of it was fiction, some of it was nasty politics, and some of it just plain nonsense. But I will cite just one as an example: at CPAC they said there were 1,311cases of voter fraud and 1,130 criminal convictions to back up their claim of a fraudulent election. That figure, from the Conservative  Heritage Foundation, is correct. But what CPAC didn't say and the Heritage Found...

First 30 Days                                        #160                                       by Hank Silverberg                                                     Most presidents are evaluated by what they can get accomplished in the first 100 days of their administration.  We are now a month into Mr. Biden's term and so far much of the American public, including me, like what they have seen.  A Quinnipiac University poll done this past week finds Biden at a 52% approval rating overall a month into the job with only 38% disapproving. (The rest are apparently neutral.)  And among registered voters that rate is higher at 59% approval....