​As a tumultuous year winds down, it’s an occasion to say both good riddance to 2023 and let’s hope for a better 2024.  A new year is always an opportunity to get things right—or at least marginally better—prompted by the lessons the outgoing year should have taught us.
 
To some extent, what follows is an aspirational wish-list, perhaps yet another hope-over-experience exercise:
 
That since he is unfortunately not inclined to step aside and allow the unusually strong Democratic bench to emerge, President Biden will surface from his 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue redoubt and demonstrate to the public that he has some vigor; that he will raise his voice from time-to-time and let people know he is pissed off about the incessant barrage of vile venom and blatant lies disgorged daily by Donald Trump and the Putin Caucus, formerly known as the Republican Party. 
 
That Biden’s proxies, pretty much a capable crew, will get off their duffs and get out and shout more. There is much to shout about.
 
That In the absence of Biden seeing the light and emulating LBJ, Democrats might consider temporarily morphing into Republicans long enough during primary season to boost Nikki Haley (her Civil War views notwithstanding) in her otherwise Quixotic attempt to take down Donald Trump. While I disagree with most of what Haley espouses (sometimes hard to pin down because she is often on both sides of an issue), she may be democracy’s only (albeit dim) hope given Biden’s plummeting poll numbers. Half the states (largely “red” ones) allow such cross-over participation.
 
That Chris Christie will drop out of the presidential sweepstakes soon and endorse Haley.
 
That the Supreme Court gets on the stick and will quickly issue rulings that (1) put paid to Trump’s desperate and ridiculous claim of presidential immunity excusing his traitorous behavior following the 2020 election, so that the D.C. court can get on with the trial that will hopefully put him in leg irons and an orange jump suit; and (2) uphold the Colorado Supreme Court decree denying him a spot on the ballot because he participated in an insurrection per Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The latter is probably asking too much, but getting rid of this malevolent metastatic malignancy is the highest priority.
 
That Democrats will put forward exceptional candidates in every competitive district in order to turn the House of Ill Repute into a respectable legislative body committed to governing rather than play-acting.
 
That the public will understand why it is critical that the U.S. continue to support Ukraine in its existential battle against Putin and his fever dream of reconstituting the old Soviet Union. The Putin Caucus’s appeasement posture is not a good look. Perhaps issuing them umbrellas autographed by Neville Chamberlain would get the message across.
 
That U.S. support for Israel needs to be close to unequivocal if the only Middle Eastern democracy is to survive. That does not mean, however, that it must eschew all conditions. Behind-the-scenes prodding of our ally to retire Benjamin Netanyahu and his reactionary cronies and replace him with a more moderate—and vigilant—governing crew—should be one of them.
 
That anti-Semitism in the U.S. will subside so that Jews who finally found a safe haven here will not have to pull up stakes and find a new place of refuge in the 5,000-year diaspora.
 
That pandering to polluters and climate change deniers needs to stop. The entire structure of COP29 was a bad joke, what with an oil magnate in charge of the climate conference. We can and must do better.
 
That anti-vaxxers and science-deniers like RFK, Jr. and oh so many Putin Caucus adherents need to be exposed for the charlatans they are. Spewing this nonsense is incredibly harmful to society. Sane politicians, celebrities, influencers and scientists with a national reputation need to use their megaphones and step up to debunk this baloney.
 
That, hope against hope, the Supreme Court wrong-wingers’ adoption of Clarence Thomas’s and Samuel Alito’s preposterous, cherry-picked “originalism” as the standard by which they will judge constitutional cases will be moderated as the justices age and become more forgetful.
 
That both parties get serious about our out-of-control federal debt. High interest rates mean that we are now paying interest on our $34 trillion debt equal to the exorbitant amount we allocate to the defense budget, which could be cut by at least a third without losing any military capability.
 
That taxing all earnings instead of capping Social Security pay-ins at a lower amount would bring in enough to fund the retirement program through the rest of the 21st century. Also, that it’s long past time to increase the retirement age at which Social Security payments begin. It has not changed in 88 years, despite a huge increase in life expectancy.
 
That it’s also time to revise the federal budget process. It makes no sense to begin planning the next fiscal year’s budget the day after the current FY budget goes into effect. It takes some time to assess budget outcomes. In addition to a saner, two-year budget, the federal budget needs to be divided in two—an expense budget and a capital budget. The way it is and has been makes no sense.
 
That Congress will finally see the light and get rid of the debt ceiling so that we can avoid periodic government shutdowns.
 
That the National Rifle Association and the Putin Caucus members who comfortably reside in its deep pockets will disappear so that we can enact sane gun laws.
 
That the U.S. needs to up its support for centrist parties in other nations. The threat of a 1930s wave of right-wing fascist parties portends very poorly for our collective future. Democracy is worth nurturing both at home and abroad.
 
That we need some bargaining chips if we are to get back our citizens wrongfully detained in Russia and Iran. Let’s detain some Russians and Iranians.
 
That some border sanity will emerge. The Putin Caucus yells a lot about the border problem, but for 20 years has refused to vote for immigration reform, even when advanced by a Republican president (see, e.g., George W. Bush) because it is politically advantageous to keep the issue alive without tackling it. Democrats need to wake up, admit this is a problem, and propose rational fixes for it.
 
That our broken healthcare system will get some necessary overhaul from Congress or, if the political class is incapable of addressing it, from artificial intelligence.
 
That PEPFAR, the program that provides AIDS cocktails to African nations, one of the two good things George W. Bush did (the Prescription Drug Program being the other), will continue to be funded. To date, it has saved an estimated 25 million African lives
 
That Harvard, Penn, MIT and the rest of the so-called elite schools will get their act back together in 2024. Harvard fears backlash should it fire its Black woman president who believes “context” determines whether advocating genocide against Jews merits condemnation, or that a new Harvard course on “Taylor Swift and Her World” is where parents want to spend their education dollars.
 
That K-12 will bring back the humanities, especially history (warts and all), English, literature (contrary to what the extreme left believes, dead white men have much to impart), art and philosophy (we have much to learn from the likes of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietsche, Wittgenstein et al.). A stable democratic society desperately needs this intellectual underpinning.
 
That unhappy red state teachers intimidated by know-nothing restrictions on what can be taught, imposed by crass vulgarians like Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis, will take their talents to blue states where academic honesty still exists, and where they can expect much better pay.
 
That people who provide essential services will be paid what their services are worth. This includes EMTs and caregivers, especially those who care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities, many of whom earn only the minimum wage.
 
If any of these wishes come to pass, we might be able to look back in a year with at least a  smidgen of fondness for auld lang syne.
 
Happy New Year.
 
Dick Hermann
December 29, 2023

There are 20 million U.S. veterans. They are the Rodney Dangerfields of American society. They get no respect from the vast majority of Americans who never served and have no idea of what it’s like or means to be in the military. Non-veterans treat Veterans Day as just another holiday when they don’t have to report to work and can go shopping.
 
Every veteran is affected for life by his or her service. They serve their country at a price. While true that some vets parlay their military experience into a decent civilian existence, many need more support to get there. Many face housing crises, physical and mental health problems, employment issues, relationship challenges and struggles when attempting to access their benefits—immediately after service but also in the years to come.
 
It’s not a pretty picture:
 
Homelessness
 
On any given night, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that 76,000 veterans are sleeping on American streets. Veterans are 50 percent more likely to become homeless than other Americans. Currently, about 1.5 million veterans are at-risk of homelessness. Most are single males from poor communities. However, homelessness among female veterans is also on the rise. In fact, the Department of Housing and Urban Development says that female veterans are four times more likely to become homeless than male veterans, and the VA reports that veteran women comprise the fastest-growing segment of the population of veterans experiencing homelessness.
 
Most homeless veterans are ages 18-30. More than 50 percent are African-American or Hispanic, and more than 50 percent are disabled. Half suffer from mental illness; two-thirds from substance abuse; and many from “dual diagnosis,” struggling with both mental illness and substance abuse. In addition, homeless vets experience homelessness longer than non-veterans: an average of nearly six years compared to four years for non-veterans.
 
Veterans become homeless due to poverty, lack of support networks, social isolation and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.
 
Veterans have low marriage rates and high divorce rates. Currently, 1 in 5 veterans lives alone. Nearly half a million vets are severely rent burdened, paying more than 50 percent of their income for rent. More than half of veterans burdened by such housing costs fall below the poverty level; 43 percent receive food stamps.
 
The VA is the U.S. government’s Dutch boy with his finger in the dike when it comes to tackling the homeless issue. With an estimated 500,000 veterans homeless at some time during the year, the VA reaches only 20 percent of those in need, leaving 400,000 veterans without supportive services. Because Congress skimps on funds for veterans, the agency’s homeless vets program emphasizes collaboration with community service providers who themselves are woefully short of adequate resources.
 
Mental Illness and Suicide
 
In 2021, research revealed that 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans who served in the military after 9/11 had died by suicide. Military and veteran suicide rates are four times higher than deaths from military operations. Veterans constitute 6 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 16 percent of suicides.
 
While substance abuse is the highest suicide risk, mental health disorders among veterans are a close second, particularly Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), clinical and bipolar depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Dual diagnosis (see above) is common. It is estimated that up to half of returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets have a mental health diagnosis.
 
The MISSION Act of 2018 doubled the VA’s ability to address these issues, but even these enhanced resources fall far short of the need.
 
The history of the Veterans Crisis Line (988) demonstrates the demand for suicide prevention services. It was launched in 2007 in Canandaigua, New York (my home town) staffed by 14 trained responders. Today more than 500 responders work out of the VA Medical Center in Canandaigua and two other call center locations. The 7.5 million calls and texts they have handled to date underscores the size of the problem.
 
The Benefits Maze
 
Almost half of the 1.6 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are seeking disability compensation. The average wait to get a disability claim processed is now eight months. Payments range from $127/month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full disability.
 
Despite its generally good intentions, the VA is a bureaucracy with all of the negatives that portends for veterans seeking to navigate its monumentally complex labyrinth of benefit procedures. Moreover, veterans’ benefits and policies constantly change and become more complex from year to year—identifying what’s available, how to file the right claims, how to manage appeals and how to see the process through to a conclusion.
 
Navigating the VA Healthcare System
 
The VA healthcare system is difficult to navigate. Many veterans need help wending their way through it. Moreover, many, especially those living in rural areas, don’t have a VA facility nearby. Regardless of location, vets experience long wait times at VA facilities. While organizations like the Disabled American Veterans and other veterans groups can help, there is no way they have enough expert advocates to help everyone. Moreover, when vets appeal to their congressional representatives for assistance, the results are often lacking. Congressional staffers assigned this task are usually early 20-somethings who lack both the life experience and knowledge of the military and VA policies and procedures essential to effective advocacy and resolution of these matters.
                _________________________________________________________
 
Civilian society is clueless about the sacrifices veterans have made on its behalf and cares even less. it is no surprise that veterans are disrespected. And when a former president disparages the military (“suckers and losers”) and has nothing but contempt for millions of disabled vets, small wonder that his disdain trickles down to his followers.
 
Congress is essential to providing solutions. However, since only 82 members (18.9 percent) of the current Congress have served in the military, it naturally follows that Congress does nothing to correct a dire situation that is also a moral imperative. This must be rectified.
 
Dick Hermann
December 15, 2023

​The presidents of Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania testified before a congressional committee this week looking into anti-Semitism on their campuses. They acquitted themselves poorly. In response to a simple “Yes” or “No” question about whether student groups or professors on their campuses who called for genocide of Jews violates their respective school’s code of conduct on bullying or harassment, they were unable to give a straight answer. Instead, they resorted to what to me was a shocking response: “It depends on the context.”
 
In essence, these university presidents are saying: “We don’t condone anti-Semitism or genocide, but we also don’t oppose it because it depends on the context.” In what context is it OK to call for genocide against Jews or anyone else?
 
That the question was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), one of the MAGAverse’s chief toadies, whose commitment to political expediency prompted her to abandon her principles and firmly attach herself to Trump’s vast rump, is beside the point. Even a broken clock is accurate twice a day.
 
To say that I was gobsmacked by their morally bankrupt response is an understatement. The complete absence of a moral center contained therein is unworthy of the leaders of these elite academic institutions.
 
During the entire congressional hearing, it was apparent that these three university presidents don’t have a clue about the First Amendment’s Free Speech clause. So let me reproduce it here:
 
Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech,….
 
The Supreme Court has extended the prohibition to government at all levels. Harvard, MIT and Penn are private entities. They have plenary authority to do whatever they want when it comes to abridging speech. A university has every right—and in cases like this I would say a duty—to punish people for inflammatory speech. As disgraced former President Trump and his followers demonstrate so often, it is a short distance from speech to action.
 
Caviling about “context” is no different than encouraging campus anti-Semites to turn hateful diatribes against Jews into action. By tolerating such comments, these university presidents are licensing their charges to go after Jews on campus and elsewhere.
 
Elise Stefanik’s “Yes” or “No” question to them was only a small snippet of what turned out to be a lengthy travail for the presidents, who did themselves no favors by their overall conduct during the hearing. Not only did they elevate freedom of speech above any other value; their facial and body language also spoke volumes. Discomfort and periodic smiles and smirks were evident, infused with sufficient intellectual arrogance.
 
The principal attribute for which University presidents are selected these days is their ability to raise money from wealthy alumni and both U.S. and foreign donors. Leadership qualities are secondary, if they are considered at all. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Harvard, MIT and Penn have received substantial gifts from Arab countries. Is it possible that, in the interest of keeping the pipeline flowing, these presidents hesitate to condemn anti-Semitism on their campuses?
 
If these are the values elite schools are imparting to their students, then parents everywhere should think twice about subjecting their children to them. It should take a long time for these institutions to recover from the reputational damage these leaders have inflicted on them. Ridding themselves of presidents without a moral compass should be step one on the road to recovery. They are an embarrassment to students, alumni and the nation.
 
Unfortunately, congressional hearings are not Socratic dialogues. Thus, the question was not asked: “Would a student or professor’s call for the reintroduction of slavery or genocide against African-Americans violate your institution’s code of conduct?” Substitute “women” or “Latinos” or some other group and one wonders if this too would depend on “context.” I think not. Jews have been singled out for special attention by racists for thousands of years. The undercurrent of anti-Semitism that appears to be a universal constant needs only a slight nudge to surface. Bigots everywhere should thank these university führers for providing it.
 
HAPPY HANUKKAH!
 
Dick Hermann
December 9, 2023

​The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (a.k.a., COP28) is now going on in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). DUBAI!!!??? More than 70,000 people are expected to attend the two-week conference. The president of the summit, Sultan Al Jaber, is also the head of the UAE’s state oil company. He and his oil-sodden accomplices will shape COP28’s direction and results.
 
Who, I wonder, thought it was a great idea to hold a climate conference in an oil sheikdom? Maybe the same folks who opted to hold soccer’s World Cup tournament in nearby Qatar last summer (average daily temperature, 110°F), another autocracy drowning in fossil fuels. This time, they got a big boost from the United States in the person of Biden administration climate advisor, John Kerry. Kerry naively believes that the perpetrators of the problem are the best people to solve it.
 
The cynic in me opines that COP28 is destined to be little more than performance art on a scale rivaling what congressional Republicans do every day in lieu of governing. That’s virtually a guarantee if the prior 27 climate change conferences are any indication. A generation after the first COP, the world is no closer to engaging with the biggest threat facing humanity in this century.
 
You can expect a barrage of communiqués from conferees about the gravity of global warming and the usual empty pledges from attending nations about what they intend to do about it (very little) followed up by inaction on a grand scale. Their real strategy is to kick the climate can down the road to the next generations: Let them worry about it. We’ll all be gone, so what does it matter?
 
Except that it does matter. Warming temperatures, as we have so tragically experienced, already wreak havoc with the weather and with our lives. Monster storms, unprecedented droughts, long-lasting heat waves, melting sea ice that causes rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities, declining snow packs that lead to drinking water shortages, etc. And all of these annually recurring climate calamities are getting worse as the nations of the world just keep on keeping on.
 
If COP28 signifies anything, it is that the nations of the world that have contributed the most to climate change have little or no interest in (1) changing their ways, or (2) committing the resources necessary to combat an existential threat. A partial exception to this otherwise universal condemnation is the United States under the Biden administration. Its Inflation Reduction Act, opposed by every congressional Republican, goes a small way toward tackling global warming.  Conversely, the other major carbon polluters—China, Russia, India, Japan, Germany and Iran—talk a good game, but do little or nothing to stop the now inexorable rise in temperatures of the air and water that threaten all of us.
 
You can expect a climate summit run by the oil industry to focus most of its attention on carbon capture. The oil sheiks and their fossil fuel company colleagues are all gung-ho about carbon capture, and have poured billions of dollars into this technology. It is the darling of the fossil fuel sector because it allows them to keep on doing business as they always have, without any consideration for adverse climate effects or consideration of renewable alternatives to oil, gas and coal.
 
The problem is that carbon capture to date doesn’t work. Projects have consistently failed, and the few that have promise are nowhere near the scale needed to combat climate change. Relying on carbon capture as the global warming panacea is a fool’s errand. Nevertheless, expect COP28 to endorse it as the way forward.
 
If anything good comes out of COP28, it could be a set of rules to implement the Loss and Damage Fund, established at COP27 and designed to compensate poor countries, the people most vulnerable, impacted by climate change. Some countries have pledged significant funds for this purpose; others have promised much less—the U.S. pledged a “whopping” $17 million, about the cost of a rivet on an F35 Strikefighter plane. Why such a piddling sum? Because this money must receive congressional approval and Republicans, besotted with Trump’s climate hoax BS and fearing retribution from MAGA voters if they vote to alleviate climate change, will never approve substantial aid.
 
Another possibility is an agreement to triple global renewable electricity capacity by 2030, chiefly via solar. Solar is now the cheapest form of electricity to install in many places around the world. Good.
 
Overall however, color me skeptical. A climate conference run by people committed to a fossil fuel future is not likely to do much to confront a problem they are largely responsible for creating.
 
Dick Hermann
December 2, 2023