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Some words are so commonly misunderstood that they are probably worthless for communication, for example “biweekly”. A recent experience makes me wonder if “disinterested” has met the same sad fate. A young colleague came to me with a difficult decision about what type of scientific projects to pursue, and I said in the course of [...]
Archive for June, 2011
June 23rd, 2011
Category: Israel, Religion and Politics
Sometimes it’s easy to overthink things. Sullivan asks: My own view is that the interests of the US require pressuring Israel to agree to a reasonable two-state solution soon. Maybe I’m wrong. But could a Jewish person convinced of the same argument remain a Jew in good standing? Yes. Next question? Is a commitment to [...]
June 22nd, 2011
Category: Intellectual disability, Medicaid
During the current fiscal crisis, red states are cutting services to intellectually disabled Americans and their families.
June 21st, 2011
Category: Health Care
The recent study of denial of care to Medicaid recipients has generated a great deal of commentary, including by the esteemed Professor Pollack. In reaction to the study, the idea of federalizing Medicaid, for example by rolling it into Medicare, is again gaining currency. This idea has long appealed to some on the right, such [...]
June 21st, 2011
Category: Uncategorized
Marco Visscher serves up a thoughtful piece about climate change adaptation. I didn’t know that my book is reviled by climate activists. I am a “climate activist”. I’m working with the California Air Resources Board to help implement AB32 to be cost effective. I support gas taxes of $5 a gallon. I’m on record as [...]
June 21st, 2011
Category: Blogging, Policy Analysis
I recently wrote a New Republic column about cell phones and brain tumors. I was gratified to see my column get some attention. Yet when I started to see it pop up on websites such as verizoncustomer.net, and when I started getting emails from other public health researchers, I realized that some clarification and correction [...]
June 21st, 2011
As Jon Huntsman prepares to declare his candidacy for President, I wonder whether what he will have to do to become viable will pose a threat to GOP Mormon political figures outside Utah. Given the collective insanity that now characterizes the GOP, Huntsman is going to have to flip-flop on a variety of issues. Climate [...]
June 20th, 2011
Category: Drug Policy, Spirituality and Religion
Mark is no doubt right that taking magic mushrooms under controlled conditions makes people less depressed, in the extreme case beatific. The question is whether that state is worth having at the cost of false beliefs.
June 20th, 2011
Category: Affordable Care Act, Management
McKinsey survey doesn’t seem great. It raises an interesting question: What are consultants telling employers, hospitals, device makers, medical practices, others about health reform?
June 20th, 2011
Category: John McCain, moderate
In Medieval Europe, it was Jews and poisoned wells. In contemporary Arizona, it’s immigrants and wildfires.