Everett Jenkins Birthday Blog

This week, the nation shall celebrate a national day of Thanksgiving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States) The original Thanksgiving has been portrayed as the peaceful coming together of two cultures -- the Pilgrims from England and the Wampanoag of Native America -- some 400 years ago.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims_(Plymouth_Colony) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampanoag However, like much of the history taught in schools, the portrayal of Native Americans has seldom been accurate and, indeed, the history of the Wampanoag before and since that inaugural Thanksgiving has been and is largely tragic.  As noted in Wikipedia, The Wampanoag  ...  are a  Native American people  and an  Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands  based in southeastern  Massachusetts  and historically parts of eastern  Rhode Island , [3]  Their territory included the islands of  Martha's Vineyard ...

I recently attended a conference named Techonomy 22 which was held in nearby Sonoma, California, from November 13 to November 15.  Techonomy 22 is the successor event to the Techonomy events sponsored by Techonomy Media https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techonomy_Media It is my understanding that Techonomy 22 was the first Techonomy conference to be held in the last three years due to COVID. The principal moderator of Techonomy 22 was David Kirkpatrick, a classmate of mine from Amherst College.  David did a masterful job of interviewing some of the most prominent individuals in not only the fields of technology but also in the fields of medicine and climate change.  The wonders and marvels discussed at the conference were at times overwhelming, especially for a person, like me, who is technology averse.  Nevertheless, even as a Luddite, I came away with a deeper appreciation of the Tech Universe with all of its potential, and its peril.  Over the next few months, I ...

  Today is Veterans Day and this month is Native American Heritage Month.  Accordingly, it seems very appropriate that on this day the National Native American Veterans Memorial will be dedicated in Washington, D.C.  https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/national-museum-american-indian-dedicate-national-native-american-veterans-0 On this day, it would be nice to remember some of the contributions made by Native American soldiers, most notably the Native American Code Talkers whose languages proved to be "unbreakable" during World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/navajo-code-talkers-and-the-unbreakable-code/ And, as always, I conclude a memorial remembrance with this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwh5QsOi6xI Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins Fairfield, California November 11, 2022

  On pages 50-51 of  Trouble in the Tribe,  Dov Waxman writes: "In this chapter, I challenged a popular myth that all American Jews are diehard supporters of Israel by arguing that American Jewish support for Israel is neither universal nor automatic.  American Jewish attitudes toward Israel are not monolithic -- while some American Jews are indeed passionate supporters, others are ambivalent, some quite apathetic about Israel, and some quite critical of the state.  Not only are these significant differences among American Jews in their attitudes toward Israel, but also these attitudes have changed considerably over time.  Israel has not always been as important to the American Jewish community as it is today.  In its first two decades, Israel was actually of marginal interest to American Jewry, and it was only after the 1967 war that it became central to American Jewish life and politics.  Since then, although Israel has dominated American Jewish...

  A fellow Amherst College Black Alumni recently sent this stunning post: 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 The first Top Guns were Black 'Finally': Tuskegee Airmen honored 73 years after competition win was 'swept under the rug' https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/02/11/tuskegee-airmen-honored-73-years-after-winning-air-force-contest/6718483001/ 888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 For me, reading this story was both exhilarating and troubling.  It was exhilarating because it was a remarkable achievement by the four black aviators who established this bit of aviation history.  It was troubling because an achievement that could have served to inspire not just one, but two generations, of young people, -- black, white, or otherwise -- was seemingly buried in some vault for racial reasons which have been all too prevalent in the telling of this nation's history. It does cause one to wonder if this story will be ...

  November is Native American Indian Heritage Month.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_Indian_Heritage_Month However, in today's United States, I suppose even that can be the subject of dispute. https://www.theroot.com/trump-gives-national-american-indian-heritage-month-an-1839635926 Nevertheless, I will be observing the month and I shall begin by sharing below some of the Native News stories that caught my eye this past year. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/sports/olympics/jim-thorpe-olympics-medal-restored.html https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/03/mary-peltola-alaska-congress-interview-democrats https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-63147956 https://www.npr.org/2020/07/09/889562040/supreme-court-rules-that-about-half-of-oklahoma-is-indian-land https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGirt_v._Oklahoma https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/us/politics/supreme-court-tribes-oklahoma.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_v._Castro-Huerta Finally,...

  On page 4 of  Trouble in the Tribe , Dov Waxman writes: "..., the era of uncritical American Jewish support for Israel -- of "Israel, right or wrong" -- is now long past.  For the past two decades, a fundamental shift has occurred in the American Jewish relationship with Israel, as growing numbers of American Jews have become less willing to unquestioningly support Israel and more willing to publicly criticize its governments.  Today, amid a widespread sense of disillusionment with Israel, many American Jews have a more critical and contentious relationship with the country.  Although the vast majority of them still care about Israel, there is now much more ambivalence toward it and much less agreement about its policies.  Many American Jews, especially younger ones, are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Israel's policies in its conflict with the Palestinians and skeptical of its governments' proclaimed desire for peace."  Trouble in the Tribe...

  News reports are indicating that Benjamin Netanyahu will soon return to power in Israel https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/02/benjamin-netanyahu-thanks-voters-as-exit-poll-puts-him-ahead-in-israel-election and that the government that will be formed by Netanyahu will perhaps be the most right wing Israeli government ever.  Given these developments, it is probably more timely than ever that we become more informed about what is occurring in Israel and, perhaps, that we begin to better understand why Netanyahu's return to power is likely to exacerbate the Trouble in the Tribe. Peace, Everett "Skip" Jenkins Fairfield, California November 2, 2022   -----Original Message----- From:  skipjen2865@aol.com To:  Sent: Wed, Oct 19, 2022  Subject: Book of the Month for November 2022: Trouble in the Tribe On the Tuesday, October 18, 2022, PBS Newshour, Dov Waxman was interviewed concerning the perceived rise in anti-semitism in American discourse.   ...