Like all of you, we are wondering when we can go to a restaurant, when we will feel safe going to the essential businesses that remain open. A friend is in danger of bankruptcy because his business in the desert is required to be closed but his landlord still wants rent. How will people survive…
at I am a long-time member of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), a national nonprofit pushing for the adoption of a single-payer health care system. As a nonprofit, they cannot and do not endorse any political candidate but rather promote the idea that our population would be better and more cheaply served by…
With all the hullabaloo about healthcare from politicians recently, I thought it was time to dust off my typewriter. I claim some knowledge and experience in this area, having practiced medicine for 40 years. I am also board-certified in two medical specialties and have two master’s degrees. None of that implies that my beliefs are…
I have been intending to write to explain some of the nuances of a single-payer healthcare system, commonly referred as “Medicare for All.” Confusion and attempts at distortion abound, but a short essay can, unfortunately, only serve to lay the groundwork for more homework on the part of every voter. There have been various proposals,…
It is difficult to adequately express my gratitude to the firefighters and other first responders who saved our home from the Cranston Fire. Since we live close to the transfer station, the fire was very close and, were it not for the hard work of many, our home would be toast. I believe, however, that…
We had a friend in Kansas whose daughter became engaged to a Jewish man, whom we knew predominantly because he relayed a story of his interaction with a famous, retired athlete. Noticing a Star of David hanging around our friend’s neck, the athlete asked if he was a Jew. Responding that he was Jewish, he…
I never liked studying history in school, which, at the time, seemed to be confined to memorizing dates and names and places. I think schools do better than that now and so do I, having developed more of an appreciation of the past and how it affects us now. Two books I have read recently…
I have strong beliefs, as many of you do. My goal in writing this column was to encourage cogitation, not create controversy, but, of course, they often go hand in hand. Therefore, when a few readers have responded negatively, I read their responses but could find no value in continued arguments in print. Everyone is…
I have learned a lot about electric bicycles lately since I have been wrestling with my insurance company, trying to convince them that my ebike is not a motor vehicle. It seems that insurance companies can do whatever they want, despite California state law, but that doesn’t subtract from my life-changing mountain bike that, even…
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.” -Richard P. Feynman The recent severe storms once again brought the question of climate change to the fore. Climate is not the same as weather so it is not possible to blame a particular storm on man-made…