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Thanksgiving 2019
With all the bad news in recent weeks—the impeachment hearings exposing such high-level graft throughout this administration, Hong Kong and Iran protests, and more—there have also been more glimmers of hope. Here are some of the people I am thankful for. Scott Warren, the humanitarian who faced 20 years in prison for offering food, water, and brief shelter to migrants crossing the arid desert, where thousands have died. Read more
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Will A Medicine Work For You? A Simple Test Might Tell – Pharmacogenetics
A simple test using a swab of cells from the inside of your cheek can dramatically improve your medical treatment. The test can predict whether a drug will help, if you need a different dosage, or if you are at risk of severe side effects. This testing is called pharmacogenetics or pharmacogenomics. Read more
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Kristallnacht
November 9-10 is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when violence broke out against Jews throughout Germany. While designed to appear spontaneous, the demonstrations had been carefully orchestrated by the Nazis. In response to an assassination, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, orchestrated a “spontaneous” reaction, and sent a teletype with explicit instructions to police and secret service. Read more
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Another Bad Week for People of Color
In Minneapolis on October 11, Trump again escalated his anti-immigrant rhetoric. He deliberately chose to go on an ugly offensive, holding his rally in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s backyard. In a city with a large Somali population, he chose to call Omar “a disgrace to our country.” At his rally just now, Trump called me an “America-hating socialist” and a “disgrace.” Read more
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Trade War With China Threatens To Make Problems With Generic Medicine Worse
Earlier in September, Reps. Eshoo and Adam Schiff had an op-ed in the Washington Post, “Opinion | China’s grip on pharmaceutical drugs is a national security issue.” I couldn’t have agreed more. I wrote a letter to the editor, “How a trade war could turn deadly,” published September 19. Read more
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It’s Tick Season—Know Your Enemy
This post first appeared in Forbes last year. While we are thinking of fall and that we can relax our guard, this is your friendly reminder that ticks are still quite active–and will be any time there is not a freeze. It’s time to worry and ramp up your protective moves; tick season is getting more active. Read more
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A Key to Remaining Compassionate
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the people who need help? We’ve been deluged with one disaster after another—from hurricanes to mass shootings to the crisis of migrants seeking asylum. How can we remain compassionate and helpful? Researchers are discovering clues. Northwestern University’s David DeSteno, a psychology professor, uses the example of the Cajun Navy. Read more
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Round-up of Customs and Border Patrol Abuses and Protests
Human rights abuses continue on our Southern border, but there has been some good pushback. First, the bad news. The worst parts have been the abuses reported from CBP “detention” camps, what most people would call concentration camps, as I noted here. Members of Congress visited the camps earlier this month, but little has changed. Read more
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Swimming Pools, Hot Tubs, and Other Summer Recreational Water Hazards
Is nothing safe anymore? Just in time for summer fun, the CDC announced an increase in infections from swimming pools and hot tubs. In their new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC announced that cases of a parasite, cryptosporidium, had increased approximately 13 percent each year between 2009–2017, with 444 outbreaks reported in total. Read more
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A Tale of Two Principals
This week, two principals made the front page of the news for widely different reasons. Their stories raise thought-provoking questions about how the Holocaust should be taught. The first, shocking story was that of Principal William Latson, head of Spanish River High School in Palm Beach, Florida. In 2018, a mother (who preferred to remain unnamed) wrote asking how the Holocaust was being taught. Read more