More Than An Olive Branch July 22, 2023 But before we get to that, some reading suggestions . . . Sweat is a prize-winning play so powerful that reading it as I just did — with my eyes, not my ears — may actually beat seeing it on stage. More time to stop and reflect on what these characters are going through. I can’t begin to do it justice. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, by contrast, is Bill Bryson’s memoir about growing up in the 50’s, and how amazing America was back then, even without the polio vaccine, Novocaine, widespread air conditioning, the Internet, frequent flier miles, index funds, or iPhones. (What am I leaving out?) Like everything Bryson writes (most recently plugged: One Summer: America, 1927): fascinating and fun. If you’re looking for a short page-turner before Jack Smith’s “January 6” indictment is released, try his current indictment — a 10-minute read about Trump’s theft of documents, refusal to return them, and lying about having them. And for something heartening and even shorter: Morgan Stanley credits Biden’s leadership with “much stronger” than expected GDP growth. Inflation has fallen for 12 straight months, real wages are rising, predictions of an almost certain recession are being walked back — you knew all that — but did you know this? In the four years of Donald Trump’s administration, total spending on manufacturing facilities grew by five percent. During the first two years of Biden’s administration, manufacturing investment more than doubled, and about 800,000 manufacturing jobs were created. These remarkable results are the outcome of Biden policies, including the Inflation Reduction Act and its green technology provisions, the infrastructure bill, and the CHIPS Act. — Robert Reich And now the olive branch. I am strongly pro Israel . . . anti Netanyahu‘s attempt to destroy Israeli democracy . . . pro the Palestinian people. Read Israel: A Simple Guide to The Most Misunderstood Country on Earth to see how one can be all three — and why many superbly well-meaning American college kids (and others) have it wrong. In any event, here is a new, non-political, peaceful, productive way to help: Treedom For Palestine. Not just “an olive branch” — a whole olive tree grove, if you’re wealthy enough to sponsor a whole farm, or else what works out to $24 a tree. Have a great week.