So, I have a different take on Charlottesville: I’m disappointed but not disturbed. By way of background, it was really weird to arrive home from Germany, where Nazi symbols and slogans are banned, and read about Charlottesville. It was really weird to see the above video, particularly the interviews at minutes 2:43 and 19:42. And,
Category: Politics
Health Care Reform: My Two Cents
The FDA may limit how much nicotine can be in cigarettes (here). My reaction? Finally! You see, I’ve been thinking a lot about health care. I think it’s a tricky topic as it involves four items that can be mutually-exclusive of each other in a policy debate. Here are the “Big Four” in my book:
Coverage
As I’ve written before, health care to me is a public good and not a strictly private one. I also have a strong opinion of what a just medical system looks like, based on John Rawls’ Theory of Justice, about which I’ll blog in the future. I’m writing this because of something I just read.
The Whigs
The Whigs used to be a powerful party in the U.S. They fielded presidential candidates and were a major force. Then, they broke up over slavery and splintered into two groups: the Republican Party in the North and the anti-Catholic and anti-immigration Know-Nothing Party in the South. As I read about the GOP’s back-and-forth about
Defense
With all the debate going on regarding the proposed budget, I thought I’d do some on-line searching to look at defense. The President is proposing to shift spending away from some domestic programs and towards defense. The view is that the U.S. military has become weak. I’m no expert, but I was struck by this
Climate Change
On Saturday morning, I went to a discussion forum. It was at the HQ of MassWildlife, the agency responsible for caring for our trout waters. They had a series of presentations, all of which were fascinating. One speaker focused on climate change. She reported that 30% of coldwater fisheries already have been lost, and, by