Author: Jeff Berger

History, Sports

Curt Flood: The Pioneering “Well-Paid Slave”

Jeff Berger — In 2016, Colin Kapernick began a protest against social injustices experienced by African Americans when he “took a knee” during the playing of the national anthem before a National Football League (NFL) game. Public reaction was highly polarized. After the season ended, Kapernick was blacklisted by the NFL. (The NFL denied this.) Roll forward to 2020: This year athletes in all major … Continue reading Curt Flood: The Pioneering “Well-Paid Slave”

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Books, Culture and Society, Politics and Economics

The California Housing Crisis

Jeff Berger — Conor Dougherty’s new book, Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America, is an important contribution to understanding the housing crisis in the United States. Dougherty is a New York Times journalist who grew up in San Francisco and who returned to his home city in 2013. While the book focuses on California, and especially the Bay Area, the housing crisis is by … Continue reading The California Housing Crisis

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History, Politics and Economics

Madeline Albright’s Contribution to U.S. Foreign Policy

Jeff Berger — I recently read Madeline Albright’s latest book, Fascism: A Warning, published in 2018, which she completed while Donald Trump was still engaged in a war of words with Kim Jung-un of North Korea—before the two of them began their love affair. The book seems to have been prompted by her concerns about Trump, whose behavior is very similar to many 20th century … Continue reading Madeline Albright’s Contribution to U.S. Foreign Policy

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Books, History

Living on the Edge of the World: Viking Settlement in the North Atlantic

Jeff Berger — Previously I published an article in Wise Guys entitled “Celebrating the Viking Past” that focused on the way Europeans and North Americans have remembered the Viking past. In this follow-up piece, I explain more fully how the Vikings explored the North Atlantic Ocean and settled in this region of the world. Their discovery of North America was only one short episode in the history … Continue reading Living on the Edge of the World: Viking Settlement in the North Atlantic

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Culture and Society, Film and Television, History

Celebrating the Viking Past

Jeff Berger — Two popular television series have recently appeared to reignite the public’s interest in the history of the Vikings. One is the History Channel’s Vikings, which just completed its fifth season. The other is The Last Kingdom, with the first season produced by the BBC, the second season co-produced with Netflix, and the third season by Netflix alone. These two shows have several … Continue reading Celebrating the Viking Past

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History, Politics and Economics

Russia and Ukraine: Ongoing Tensions

Jeff Berger — In August of 2017, I published an article in Wise Guys about Ukraine entitled “Understanding Ukraine: The Historical Context of Current Events.” Ukraine is in the news again as it struggles against Russia, once again exacerbating the tensions between Russia and the United States. On November 30, 2018, Vice News spent 12 minutes on the current situation in Crimea. (I have not seen … Continue reading Russia and Ukraine: Ongoing Tensions

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Culture and Society, Politics and Economics

California Dreamin’: Too Many Jobs, Not Enough Houses

Jeff Berger — Why do people choose to remain in California in spite of its problems? Some people do it because they don’t want to leave their friends and family. Others love the climate, the environment, and the culture. Nature is readily accessible to everyone 365 days out of the year, even to those living in the heart of a big city. But, Californians pay … Continue reading California Dreamin’: Too Many Jobs, Not Enough Houses

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Books, Politics and Economics

Let’s All Move to Norway

Jeff Berger — Last January Donald Trump tweeted that immigrants to America should not be allowed to come from “shithole countries” like Haiti and nations in Africa. Instead, he said, he preferred people from countries like Norway. People on Twitter, including some who are actually from Norway, were quick to remark that, for many Norwegians, America may seem to be the shithole. Of course, Donald … Continue reading Let’s All Move to Norway

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Politics and Economics

Reflections on Wall Street and Donald Trump

Jeff Berger — Last month, when members of Donald Trump’s business advisory councils—the Strategy & Policy Forum and the Manufacturing Council—started leaving the councils and he finally abandoned them altogether, it reminded me of a theme in my life and in the lives of most Americans. For most of my adult life I have had a love-hate relationship with corporate America and Wall Street. I … Continue reading Reflections on Wall Street and Donald Trump

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History

Understanding Ukraine: The Historical Context of Contemporary Events

Jeff Berger — Ukraine is largely an unknown country to most Americans, one that they never travel to. Most Americans couldn’t even place Ukraine on a map or identify the countries that border it. And yet, Ukraine is suddenly at the center of the political conflict between the United States and Russia. The United States first began applying sanctions against Russia in 2014, but few … Continue reading Understanding Ukraine: The Historical Context of Contemporary Events

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Books, History

Uncle Ho: A Man of Peace

Jeff Berger — On November 11, 1944, a U.S. reconnaissance plane piloted by Lieutenant Rudolph Shaw encountered engine trouble while flying over the rough mountainous terrain along the Sino-Vietnamese frontier. When Shaw landed his parachute, members of a local Viet Minh unit were the first to reach him. For the next several days they escorted him over mountains and jungle trails toward Pac Bo, walking … Continue reading Uncle Ho: A Man of Peace

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Philosophy and Religion, Politics and Economics

Should the U.S. Constitution Be Changed? — A Wise Guys Conversation

Jeff Berger, Charles Cottle, Dave Gillespie, John Kozlowicz, and Ron Berger — During the past year contributors to Wise Guys engaged in an impromptu discussion of the limitations of U.S. Constitution. Simultaneously, the political atmosphere across the country stimulated a number of calls for a constitutional convention. The possibility of such an event inched closer to reality in the second week of June 2017 when … Continue reading Should the U.S. Constitution Be Changed? — A Wise Guys Conversation

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Culture and Society, Politics and Economics

Reflections on Fake News

Jeff Berger — Recently I read an article by Sharon Noguchi in my local newspaper, the San Jose Mercury, about teachers helping students to distinguish between fake news and real news. The article focused on teenagers who naively get their news from the internet. The key paragraph in the article reads: “Lessons on fake news fit right into the state’s Common Core State Standards, which encourage … Continue reading Reflections on Fake News

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Culture and Society

My Day on Jury Duty for a Death Penalty Case

Jeff Berger — Last October I was called to jury duty. When the judge announced what the case was about, I felt a chill go down my spine. It was a well-known kidnapping/murder case, and the prosecution was going for the death penalty. Coincidentally, there was a California state proposition on the ballot of the November 2016 election that was to occur 3 weeks later. … Continue reading My Day on Jury Duty for a Death Penalty Case

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Books, History, Philosophy and Religion

David’s Secret Demons

Jeff Berger — Recently I read Baruch Halpern’s biography about King David of ancient Israel/Judah called David’s Secret Demons:  Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King (2001). It was a difficult book to read, as are most books about the Old Testament, but I recommend it to anyone who is interested in biblical history. One reason why it’s so difficult to read these books is because of the … Continue reading David’s Secret Demons

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Creative Nonfiction

Saphire is Not a Dog

Jeff Berger — Saphire is my collie. For 33 years I have owned collies. Or to be more precise, collies have owned me. My collies have owned a house with a large backyard, hardwood floors and leather furniture. My collies have owned Subarus with leather seats in which I chauffeur them around. Saphire forces me to walk around the neighborhood at least twice a day. … Continue reading Saphire is Not a Dog

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Books, Politics and Economics

Austerity is a Greek Tragedy

Jeff Berger — In his most recent book Welcome to the Poisoned Chalice: The Destruction of Greece and the Future of Europe (Yale University Press, 2016), James K. Galbraith explains the modern Greek tragedy, which is really the tragedy of Europe that seems to be on a downward slide. Galbraith is a professor of economics at the University of Texas where he became friends with … Continue reading Austerity is a Greek Tragedy

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Culture and Society, Politics and Economics

Mexican Immigrant Rights in California

Jeff Berger — Outside of California, I don’t think people are aware of the progress the state is making on immigration reform. Recently the Santa Cruz Sentinel published an article by Pauline Bartalone about illegal immigrants in California that was also reprinted in the San Jose Mercury. The article featured the fact that illegal immigrants can now drive legally in California. There are roughly 700,000 … Continue reading Mexican Immigrant Rights in California

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Politics and Economics

Contextualizing Brexit: A Conversation about Nationalism and Globalization

Jeff Berger, Charles Cottle, J. David Gillespie, and Ellin Jimmerson — The recent June 24, 2016 referendum in Great Britain called Brexit, which marks its upcoming departure from the European Union, was the context for this conversation. The participants are all Wise Guys contributors. We encourage readers to continue the discussion in the comments section. Jeff I’m still trying to make sense of the latest … Continue reading Contextualizing Brexit: A Conversation about Nationalism and Globalization

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