Insist that biomedical research is balanced, innovative, free of corrupting influence by corporate interests. Insist that the focus is on chronic disease, our aging population, chronic conditions, and early onset of medical and emotional disorders of American children and teenagers. A new era of institutional reform offers a generational opportunity to confront the interconnected causes of modern illness — both physical and mental.
Where Did They All Go?
February 9, 2026
When I was a kid, each summer, in our neighborhood, the ‘”bug truck” would slowly spray clouds of DDT to “protect” us from mosquitoes. It used to be that whenever you hit the road one travel ritual was to clean the bugs off your windshield. There’s even a name for this concern: the windshield phenomenon. We were a bug-hating nation. Now, entomologists have documented the dra...
moreWhy Words Matter
December 30, 2025
Not that long ago, “animal husbandry” was the name of a branch of agriculture concerned with the day-to-day care of animals raised for meat, fiber, milk, and other products. Husbandry has a long history, starting with the Neolithic Revolution when animals were first domesticated, from around 13,000 BC onwards. Now the very same branch is called “animal science.” According to Will H...
moreFood & Farming
December 8, 2025
I’ve wanted to write about my website’s Food & Farming Domain for some time, but where to begin? It’s such a complicated and vast topic. Now, however, I’ve found a way in by identifying some of the current issues and in the next post highlighting possible answers. Industrialization began just 80 years ago, after World War II when the factories were still humming when man...
moreDéjà vu – All Over Again
August 26, 2025
I haven’t thought about Yogi Berra in years and then I read Celia Farber’s reissued book Serious Adverse Events: An Uncensored History of AIDS andYogi’s famous saying came to mind. Why the famous saying? I briefly worked as a contracted Marketing Director for my former boss who was running an HMO. Since I was in a financial dilemma, I took the job and told myself that maybe I could make a...
moreThank You
August 6, 2025
It’s been awhile since I wanted to thank a member of Congress. I imagine that I’m like many Americans, tired of this “august body” ignoring what Americans say they want or need. I haven’t seen a poll that says Americans want forever wars and government corruption. But recently, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a significant...
moreIdeas for Change
February 17, 2025
As Americans, we love our country, want the best for our families, a voice in deciding our future, and for elected officials to honor our needs and interests. After several stressful years, this is a bright moment when new Ideas could create the energy needed for important changes in our healthcare system. Following is the first in a series of Ideas gathered from a variety of sources. I’m...
moreHold That Pill
November 15, 2024
“If you think your doctors prescribe medications for you on the basis of their unbiased judgment and objective medical research, Carl Elliott’s book, White Coat – Black Hat, will disabuse you of that old-fashioned notion. In his superb exposé, Elliott shows how the big drug companies have bribed and corrupted the medical establishment so that we no longer know which drugs are effective or w...
moreWhat Is a Whistleblower?
August 15, 2024
While the term whistleblower didn’t really make it into popular use until the 1970s, brave individuals have been reporting corruption and abuse for centuries. A current definition of a whistleblower is “An employee of an organization who reports abuse, fraud, corruption, and/or dangers to public health and safety. These individuals often have to turn to public reporting when internal reporting...
moreMind Changing Events
May 1, 2024
1956 I was a sixth grader at Thomas Jefferson elementary school when our two sixth-grade teachers decided to hold a “presidential election” just like the grownups. The week before November 6th, we made patriotic themed art and learned about the role of voting in a democracy. At home, politics was a frequent topic. My father was an ardent Democrat; my Grandma Rosie said that “If Stevenson c...
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