For nearly 18 months now, I have been inspired to write on a very regular basis. My passions were inflamed. There was so much to think about, the ponder, to challenge. There was so much to be angry about, to be inspired by, and to write about.

The past two weeks have been challenging to put pen to paper. It isn’t that there aren’t crazy things going on in the world. It isn’t that my passions haven’t been inflamed. I have started writing many different pieces and left them unfinished. I think in part that it has felt like talking to a brick wall. The same issues keep happening over and over again. Railing against the same people telling the same lies. The same news agencies buying into the same lies. Politicians on both sides of the aisle continuing to push an agenda based on hatred.

Take for example Kilmar Abrego Garcia who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison by the US Government. Abrego Garcia, living in the United States, is a citizen of El Salvador. At the age of 16, Abrego Garcia fled El Salvador and illegally entered the United States in 2011. In October, 2019, Abrego Garcia applied for asylum and withholding of removal. His request for asylum was denied, however he was granted “withholding of removal” status, preventing deportation to El Salvador due to the likelihood that of him being harmed if he was returned to El Salvador. He was approved to be deported from the United States to any other country in the world. The court also found that he was a member of the terrorist organization MS-13. He was then released from custody, ICE did not appeal, and the Department of Homeland Security granted him a work permit. He appealed and the appeals court upheld the original findings. These are the facts. No matter how the media spins things, the facts don’t change.

So let’s start with the truth. He should not have been deported to El Salvador. The courts ruled on this. The administration was wrong to do this and should be held accountable for it. The Supreme Court recently ruled that they must facilitate his return. They did not agree with the finding that they must effectuate his return. That means that should he be released by El Salvador, a sovereign nation, the administration is required to do whatever is required to return him to the United States.

To say that he shouldn’t have been deported at all is simply a lie. He had due process. The courts ruled that he could be deported, just not to El Salvador. The Free Press had a great article about this issue and the claim that the Executive Branch is defying the Supreme Court. I encourage you to read it and learn a bit more.

Some members of the U.S. Congress are outraged that he was deported and are now going there to lobby for his release and return to the United States. Should this happen, the government could detain him immediately and legally deport him anywhere else in the world. We are spending time, money, and effort on an issue that is really all about the government not following the court’s specific ruling where they should be held accountable rather than returning him to the US so he can be deported to another country.

I find myself wondering where these elected officials that are going to visit him have been since October 7, 2023, when Americans were kidnapped by Hamas and taken hostage. None of the hostages were given any due process. None of these politicians attempted to visit the hostages. None of them advocated or pressured the Red Cross to visit these American hostages or to ensure they were getting medicine or humanity. None of them attempted to pressure the leadership of Hamas to release the hostages. They currently use the term ‘disappeared’ when green card holders are detained for a deportation hearing yet fail to acknowledge that the hostages in Gaza have truly been disappeared – so much so that Hamas isn’t even sure where they are.

Edan Alexander, now 21 years old and the sole remaining living American hostage in Gaza, has been used in a propoganda video. Hamas has lost contact with whatever faction currently has him. We know from the reports of recently released hostages that Hamas is starving and torturing the hostages. Unlike Abrego Garcia, who we know where he is and people have seen him in the past week, we don’t know where Edan is. We don’t know his condition. At this point, we don’t know if he is even still alive today. Yet there is no outrage. There are no demands to the Hamas leaders who lived in luxury in Qatar without being held accountable until November, 2024, are now living in luxury in Turkey, a US ally and member of NATO. Without consequence. Without demands.

The difference between Abrego Garcia and Edan Alexander? One is a Jew. Citizenship doesn’t matter. Legal status doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that one is a Jew and one isn’t. I’m tired of having to write this and point it out, time after time after time. Too many of our leaders fail to do their duty to protect American citizens who are Jewish.

In Pennsylvania, the Governor’s mansion was lit on fire by a domestic terrorist because Governor Josh Shapiro is Jewish. While the Governor and his family slept after holding a Passover Seder, their home, the people of Pennsylvania’s home, was lit on fire in an attempt to murder them. There was minimal outrage and it quickly fell off the radar. An actual attempt on the life of the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania was minimized. Social justice warriors like Bernie Sanders, AOC, and the rest stayed silent.

My childhood friend, Rabbi Neil Zuckerman of Park Avenue Synagogue wrote a powerful piece about this. Neil and I went to Hebrew School together and hung out at the JCC. We went to different schools – his school was where the children of Governor Richard (Dick) Thornburgh attended so he spent time at the mansion playing with those friends. How far have we fallen as a society when more than 4 years later we remain fixated on the events of January 6th and yet the burning of the Governor of Pennsylvania’s house isn’t an issue a week after it happens. Once again, the difference is that one instance involved a Jew so it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t count.

We have lost the ability to talk with each other. To treat people as human beings even if they have different opinions or beliefs from our own. The nastiness that exists not just in politics but between individuals is horrifying. Families divided. Friendships ended. There is an old saying that “I would rather be happy than right. In today’s world that is no longer true. Too many people would rather be right than happy.

Almost every Friday, I join a group of 80+ year old men for lunch. At 57, I am the baby of the group. These are incredibly intelligent men who were titans of their professional lives. Doctors, lawyers, judges, money managers, journalists, and leaders of major businesses. It is a diverse group politically. I love our discussions and the topics we cover. I learn new things every single week. The perspectives they have are fascinating and the deep, respectful conversations inspire me. I find myself wondering where these conversations have gone in our public discourse. How has the old Dan Akroyd-Jane Curtain Point/Counterpoint skit on Saturday Night Live in the 1970s, designed to mock intelligent debate and discourse, actually become reality? I remember watching these and laughing because they were so absurd and rude. How did this become our reality in 2025?

I have become a bigger fan of Bill Maher in the past year. He remains one of the few comedians who actually makes fun of what is happening in the world regardless of who needs to be made fun of. He criticizes all those who should be criticized, regardless of if they are a Democrat or a Republican. He has interesting guests on his show and talks about topics that should be discussed. He isn’t afraid to hold people accountable for what they say. Recently, he was invited to dinner at the White House with President Trump and rather than reject it immediately, he chose to go have dinner and talk with him. To engage and to learn. He shared what he learned on his April 11, 2025 show. Maher is a liberal. He publicly states that without pause. He is also more moderate and believes in conversation and discourse. Watch his report on his dinner at the White House with President Trump. It is an interesting insight into what can happen when you engage rather than withdraw.

Some people think Bill Maher drank the Kool-Aid. Some people think President Trump put on an act for him. Both may be true. I think Maher discovered that there is a deeper truth to what goes on than the media reports. I think he realized that perhaps he can disagree with the policies without burning down America. It is another lesson for us all to learn about the power of conversation and listening. It is a reminder that we really should be working to understand rather than to be understood.

So instead of writing, what have I been doing the past two weeks to deal with all that is going on in the world? I chose to infuse my life with joy. I have spent most of my time with my almost 4 month old chocolate lab puppy, Charlie (full name Charlotte). She is pure joy. She is happiness. In a world filled with so much trauma, so many challenges, and so much to worry about, time with Charlie is simple love and joy. Spending so much time with her, I get to focus on being happy with her unconditional love. I thought I’d finish this by sharing a few pictures and two videos to bring some light and joy to you.

The past two weeks have reminded me that while I must continue to fight, I don’t have to be consumed by the negativity. I can find those who care and want to work together to find solutions. I can spend time making sure the information I am consuming is factual. Most importantly, I can find joy in daily life and make sure to invest in that joy.