Pat Taub
Adam Toledo’s Killing
Police killings of unarmed Blacks reached a new low this week when 13 year-old Adam Toledo of Chicago was shot in the chest by police. He was unarmed and holding his hands in the air when he was shot. As a 7thgrader, Toledo is the youngest person to be killed by Chicago police. Will police reform ever happen? Will we ever see laws restricting gun sales? Biden has promised a government review, which is the same old way of stalling and doing nothing.
Hunger Ward
Recently I watched the Academy Award nominated documentary, “Hunger Ward.” The film is an unsparing look at child starvation in Yemen, a result of a brutal blockade, creating a food shortage, and the incessant bombing by Saudi Arabia. According to a February UN report more than 2 million children in Yemen under the age of five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. Of those, 400,000 young children could die from starvation. Last week Biden approved $23 billion in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates including F-35 fighter jets and armed Reaper drones. As one of the doctors treating the severely malnourished children said, “If malnutrition doesn’t kill them, the bombs will.”
A Yemen hospital’s children’s ward, showing a very thin baby being weighed.
Key West Vacation Ending
In a week I return to Maine from my Key West spring break. A highlight was separate visits from my two sons. Covid had kept us apart for over a year. Last week my youngest son, Jonathan flew in from LA. Jonathan has a very playful nature, which is captured in this photo of him with life-like poker players.
Family History
During my vacation I started recording my family history based on stories I heard from relatives. I realize there could be a lot of fiction among the facts, but maybe this is true of all family stories that are passed down. My primary motivation is to leave a record for my kids and grands, whose eyes glaze over when I recount family stories. My hope is that a print version will hold their interest and they will be motivated to read my left-behind memoir. But who knows?
When My Time Comes
This week I watched the PBS documentary, “When My Time Comes,” featuring Diane Rehm. It’s about physician assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Diane speaks to people on both sides of the issue, uncovering the pros and cons, the facts and misinformation surrounding this controversial practice that is now legal in nine states (including mine of Maine) and the District of Columbia.
