Thoughts of a retired physician

  I have again spent a great deal of time reading and thinking about gun violence. The recent mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder added to the pile of such events that have become too common in the past three decades. Even during the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. during 2020, mass shootings continued and in fact increased . Although mass shootings account for only 1 to 2% of all firearm-related deaths, they garner media and political attention out of proportion because they illustrate that everyday acts such as going to the supermarket to buy a loaf of bread or going to school to be educated or going to the movies to relax can turn into violence, bloodshed, and death. We see the political dimensions, especially in the Senate, where the free flow of millions of NRA $$$ (almost all to Republicans) has long blocked useful efforts to address the gun problem in this country. Thus we have a nation of 330 million people with 393 million guns in civilian hands. Please do not t

  This is cheating (a little). I wrote an article for our local League of Women Voters Pasadena Area about the filibuster and it seemed reasonable to share it here. In Republican hands over the past 12 years, the filibuster has become simply an obstructionist tactic that prevents legislation from being enacted and delays or preempts presidential appointments from occurring. I firmly believe this anachronism must be euthanized now. Here is the article: The Filibuster -- Good or Bad? Filibuster - an action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures.  Cloture - the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to place a time limit on consideration of a bill or other matter, and therefore end a filibuster. The word filibuster does not appear in the Constitution. The word was originally from the Dutch vrijbueter (freebooter), with contributions from Spanish and French. The genesis of the filibuster

  At the end of an active life, I find two things that most shaped me as an adult. The first and most obvious was a choice of medicine as a career. Sometimes frustrating but always fulfilling and intellectually stimulating, it was always an anchor point for me. The second is also obvious to anyone who knows me. Becoming a Naval officer and spending a career in the United States Navy had the same dimensions as medicine. The fact that the two were fused for me was simply a plus. I have deep feelings for the Navy and the military and they are a part of my being -- and always will be. The military is far from a perfect place. As with all organizations, it may be described as a consensual hallucination; its members bring themselves to it, add something, and leave it either more or less enriched than they found it. What I am concerned about of late is the growing evidence of white supremacist ideas and culture in the military. Military leaders recognize this, especially after the failed insu

  The big lie of voting fraud and a stolen election (the Presidential election of 2021 was NOT stolen) prompted the second storming of the U.S. Capitol on 6 January. We are going to deal with the repercussions of that lie and that event for a long time to come. The #FormerGuy and his minions filed dozens of lawsuits in an attempt to have courts reverse the election results. #FormerGuy hoped that at least one of these would be heard by the Supreme Court where his three conservative appointees would (of course, in his addled thinking) side with him (loyalty to the brand) and put him back in office. That did not happen.  The GOP does see the handwriting on the wall. They were beaten at the polls because voters who were tired of #FormerGuy turned out in greater numbers than the current personality cult that is the Republican Party. At the federal level, Congress is attempting to pass voting rights expansion to counteract the reversion in many states to laws that inhibited voting, espec