Time to Think

Okay, MAGA. Why?                  #349 By Hank Silverberg                              Commentary I am flummoxed. I just don't get it, and I probably never will. But I would like to sit down with a MAGA and have a rational conversation on what's going on in America and why they like it.  There have been times in the past where our government has turned on immigrants, even though immigrants helped build this country. Anti-Semitism crops up its ugly head time and again even as American Jews succeed and are notable participants in the American way of life. And even as Israel, the only functioning democracy and our ally in the Middle East, continues to be attacked by the hostile countries in the region.   Racism has always been under the surface in many places in America since before there was a United States, even as people of color, from Powhattan to Barac...

History                                                    #348 By Hank Silverberg   Commentary This blog is a day late this week because I spent the weekend in the past. After living in Virginia for 30 years, my wife and I finally decided it was time to take a trip to Yorktown and Jamestown, two Virginia communities that played key roles in our country's history.  I was inspired to do so when I read that the Smithsonian had changed the display on the presidency to remove references to the two impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump.  The President has been trying to reinterpret history, to remove anything negative about the United States, in the best tradition of authoritarians like Hitler and Stalin. So I wanted to get to Yorktown and Jamestown before he had a chance to force some revisions.            ...

Aging                                                          #347 By Hank Silverberg  Commentary I'm 70 years old. Every now and then I have trouble coming up with the right word, or I forget the name of something. It's called a "senior moment," and everyone will have a few eventually. Most of us get nervous that it might be the beginning of something else, like dementia, but most of the time it's not. I joke often with young people that "I have forgotten more than you know." Yesterday I forgot the name of the company we use to protect our property from termites every summer.  But I am not the president of the United States or a United States senator. When one of them freezes up or forgets something basic, it can become an        embarrassment or an international incident. You may remember Senator Mitch McConnell...

The Complex  Middle East                                                            #346 By Hank Silverberg   Commentary  Israel Helps The Druze Israel has been vilified in parts of the media and in parts of Europe for the continued war in Gaza, which remains a disaster for those who live in that enclave. It is still controlled by Hamas, a political and military group that continues to hold Israelis hostage and has never really cared for its own people and has in fact killed many of them. But Israel has been a force for stability in that region for decades and has continued to seek peace with its neighbors. That has been met with hostility both political and violent.   In the Middle East, right and wrong are not simple.  This week for example, came another twist in the region's complex reality.    ...

  Freedom of the Press                                                                                     #345 By Hank Silverberg  Commentary   They show up on the street, faces covered, wearing bullet proof vests, uniforms that say "police," but have no visible badges. Who are they?  Chances are, it's an attempt by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants. As a reporter or a bystander,  you may hear about it and go investigate. But don't expect to get much cooperation. In fact, they will tell you to go away and threaten you with arrest if you don't comply. That's not the way it's supposed to w ork.  The Press is the public's watch dog. We are there to witness and report what our leaders and their minions are doing ...