Thoughts of a retired physician

  “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” -  John Adams, 2nd President of the United States Critical race theory (CRT) is the hot topic on Fox News these days. As The Washington Post notes, Fox News has mentioned it almost 2000 times this year. It has become the latest right-wing bugbear, with Republicans saying it will destroy democracy by indoctrinating students who are exposed to it with racism and hatred for our country. The Wikipedia  entry notes that it has been around since the 1970s, primarily in academic circles, as a framework to “ critically examine U.S, law as it intersects with issues of race in the U.S. and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice .” I seriously doubt there are any Republican politicians who can truly articulate what CRT is all about, except as a new way to whip up ideological fervor in their MAGA f

  There is a lot to comment on and think about today -- but I just wish to say Happy Father’s Day! to all the dads I know and have known over my lifetime. We may at times look like the guy above -- but our hearts are in the right place.

  A good walk is useful in so many ways, according to Shane O’Mara in his recent book In Praise of Walking . Because the first heat wave of the year is starting, we went out for a walk early this morning. O’Mara was correct, for we were only a minute or two into the walk when we saw a car parked on Alameda Street with a man sleeping in it. The car was crammed with stuff. The man was clearly homeless but still had a vehicle for shelter. This was on the sidewalk of the beautiful retired living community we have lived in since 2019. We talked as we walked and compared notes on the condition of the United States in 2021. We are not what could be called wealthy but having worked, saved, and invested wisely, the American dream in many ways has come through for my wife and I. We are both senior Baby Boomers and the happenstance that the first 30 years of our lives were in an America that emerged from the Second World War relatively unscathed certainly were to our benefit. Please note I said

  It is a pleasant day in Southern California. It is currently 70 degrees, sunny, with a light south wind and 52% humidity. I have a nice cup of green tea as I sit here writing. The primary component of green tea is water, of course. Water is increasingly precious because the West is in the midst of a historic drought . That’s my topic today. What is drought? The common definition is a long period when there is little or no rain . There are several categories of drought: meteorological drought, agricultural drought, hydrological drought. Socioeconomic drought wraps the types of drought into effects on products to show the ramifications on human society. California has endured drought for most of the 21st century . As of today, over 37 million Californians are affected by drought and May 2021 was the 5th driest May in the past 127 years. The pleasant weather I am experiencing has to be put into that context. The emerging consensus is that we are in another megadrought in the American