Time to Think

The Heat Is On                                                                                           #260 By Hank Silverberg Are You Going To San Francisco? No flowers in their hair and no free love-in there. But 20,000 world leaders and business leaders from two dozen countries are gathering in the City By The Bay this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Those attending will include President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will meet for a summit of their own on Wednesday.  (Courtesy City of San Francisco) The focus of the meeting will be international trade at a time when the global economy is shaky, climate change is in contention, and war rages in Ukraine and Gaza.  Thousands of protestors are also expected, thou...

A Message From The Old Dominion                          #259 By Hank Silverberg Virginians go to the polls on Tuesday. On the ballot is the entire General Assembly, along with many local offices like county sheriffs and school board members.  (Virginia Capitol Building)   So why does this matter to those outside Virginia? Answer: the state is a microcosm of the USA, with the  urban centers and D.C. suburbs up north predominately Democratic, and the rural Shenandoah Valley and southeast predominately Republican.   There has been more than a month of early voting, and my sources indicate about 59% of those who cast their vote early were Democrats (based on voter registration). Early voters have usually made up their minds way before they get to the voting booth, so logic would assume Democratic candidates have an advantage going into Election Day. So as usual, which ever party gets the remainder of...

Never Again?                                      #258 By Hank Silverberg Commentary You have seen the video on TV. Thousands of people protesting the war in Gaza that Israel is now fighting against Hamas.  The death toll on both sides is terrible and yes, innocent civilians are the victims. History proves they usually are.   War protests are not new. Peace is something we all want--I think.  But you should be very troubled by a group of people who I believe don't really know what they are saying.  I have written before that a two-state solution in the middle east, one where the Palestinians can have their own state and live side by side with Israel, is the best solution. But it has been rejected several times by Hamas and attacked by other countries in the region. Iran, which cares more about its own efforts to spread authoritarian theocracy than it does about the ave...

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 ...