Time to Think

Government? What government?           #322 By Hank Silverberg  "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice , insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." The words above are the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. When James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay crafted the document in 1787, they believed it was the responsibility of the FEDERAL government to provide for the common defense--which is the basis of the U.S. military. They also believed it was the federal government's job to " promote the general Welfare"  of the nation's citizens.   That is why the Congress, over the last 250 years, has created agencies like the FDA, which protects our food supply and makes sure the medicines we take are...

Information Control                                #321 By Hank Silverberg I am not one of those people who has panicked over the first two weeks of the Trump administration. He has been doing exactly what he said he would do, so as annoying as it is, no one should be surprised.  But there are a few things that are making me very nervous. At the top of the list, something many Americans may have missed, is the administration's efforts to control ALL news and information coming out of Washington, not just from the White House, but from the entire federal government.    For example: since 1996, the Centers for Disease Control has been publishing the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). It keeps the state health departments, doctors, and the public up to date with  things like flu outbreaks, Measles, West Nile Virus, Covid-19, and other respiratory viruses and illnesses. It allows ...

A First Report Card                                    #320 By Hank Silverberg  I started teaching a new semester the day after Donald J Trump became president again. I don't have any graded assignments for my students for the first two weeks so they can get accustomed to my class. So I needed someone to evaluate.  The new President seemed ripe for that. Donald J   Trump gets an F for his first week in the big oval office.  A list of his subjects: International Relations: F He has alienated our allies in Europe by withdrawing from the Paris Climate Change treaty (again). and basically saying climate change is not important to the planet.  He tried to intimidate the Prime Minister of Denmark into selling Greenland to the United States in what has been described as a fiery 45 minute phone call. The Premier, Mette Frederiksen, perhaps conjuring up his Viking ancestors, ...

A Whole New World                                                  #319 By Hank Silverberg                               So here we are in the world according to Trump. Take everything you know about political compromise and common sense rational government and throw it out the window. For the next two years at least we are in for a roller coaster of Executive Orders, rubber stamps from a Republican controlled congress and loud futility from the Democrats. Mr. Trump can't brag about crowd size at his inauguration this time because it was moved  indoors. Bad weather changed the plans, but outdoor inaugurations were held in colder temperatures. John Kennedy, in 1961, not wearing a hat in freezing temperatures, (22 degrees) comes to mind. So does 2009, when Obama drew 1.8 milli...