Time to Think

A   House Divided                                    #257 By Hank Silverberg Commentary Our government is running out of money and could shut down in mid-November. The war in Ukraine rages on as supplies diminish, and now Israel has been attacked by a terrorist army and is fighting once again for its very life.  Our President has responded by pledging once again that the United States will help its friends and send a strong message to Iran, Russia and China about our commitment to defend the free world.  But there's one big problem. THE CONGRESS IS MISSING IN ACTION.  No aide can be approved for Israel and Ukraine, no help can be sent to our southern border to better manage immigration, and millions of Americans could face really hard times if the government closes. It's all because a small group of selfish, right-wing egotists in the Republican party can't do something as easy ...

War and Peace                              #256 By Hank Silverberg I write this week with a heavy heart.  I am an American, but as a Jew, part of me is always with Israel even though I have never been there.  Over a thousand Jews living in southern Israel near Gaza were brutally murdered for no reason other than being Jewish.   More than a hundred people, notably from 36 different countries, were taken hostage.  So far, Israel's response has been restrained. And much of the world is probably on their side. But it may not stay that way.  (Courtesy Library of Congress) Palestinians, as they call themselves, are among the most abused people in the world. They are abused mostly by their own leadership, they are abused often by the Arab and Persian governments of the region and on occasion, they are abused by the Israelis.  For the past 75 years, the Palestinians were kept poor ...

Indigenous People                                  #255 By Hank Silverberg This Monday we celebrate Indigenous People's day here in the United States. It's a commemoration of the culture and lives of 50 to 100 million or so people who occupied North and South America before Columbus began the exploitation of them starting in 1492. The holiday in October used to be called Columbus Day, but his star faded as the real story of the famed explorer started creeping into history books just a few decades ago.    When Columbus landed on Hispaniola in the Caribbean, he was seeking fame and fortune. He got the fame, but the fortune eluded him. But not before he enslaved many of the local population and destroyed their political and social structure. (Zuni Adobe, in American Southwest, Courtesy National Achieves ) Columbus was soon followed by t he Conquistadors on the mainland who did even more damage. ...

Virginia Voters Could Change The World By Hank Silverberg If you want a good clue how the 2024 presidential race is going, then all you have to do is look to the Old Dominion.  Virginia, which many people still look at as the old south, is actually a blue state these days, though many people don't realize it.   The change came slowly. The election of Barak Obama in 2008 that included a win for him in Virginia, turned the state towards progressive politics.      We have had Republican governors since then, but both U.S. senators have been Democrats since 2006, and Democrats have held an edge in the congressional delegation since 2008.  We have had a split government on the state level since 2014, with Democrats holding either the governorship or a majority in one of the two General Assembly Chambers.  The election of Glenn Youngkin in 2021 caught many Democratic leaders off guard. As I wrote last week, voter turnout may have been the...

                                                                                                              High Stakes In Your Vote                    #253 By Hank Silverberg                                                                                                     The vote for president is more than a year off, but people began voting in Virginia this week with next year's race for the White House in min...