On the day America pauses to celebrate its independence from Great Britain I find myself wondering if there is another struggle for independence underway for many Americans. It may be a silent struggle but nevertheless restricts freedoms and enslaves its victims. For the 49 million Americans living in poverty[1] this is not a hypothetical struggle … More What is Independence in America?
Some vocal critics of government regulations contend that regulations are a disincentive to business profitability and that the fewer regulations the better. There are multiple fallacies to that argument that are beyond the scope of this posting. Instead, this posting focuses on one controversial regulation that has recently been receiving attention – the financial impact … More When Federal regulations are good: Requiring motorcycle helmets would save lives and conserve healthcare resources.
On June 4, 2012 the Pew Research Center released the results of a poll titled: “Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years.[1] “ Not surprisingly ,the poll indicated a widening partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats. There may be many causes for the divergent opinions on value issues such as growth of media-enabled information cocoons … More The partisan public and Senate filibusters.
On May 23, 2012, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate released a white paper titled “A Chance for Every Child, Mitt Romney’s Plan for Restoring the Promise of American Education.” One theme in the paper was to extend a voucher program to students that would allow them to select what school they thought best fits their … More Missing the big picture: Romney’s Business Approach to Improving Education
The inevitable Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, has an impressive record as a venture capitalist and is running neck and neck with President Obama in most polls. With Mr. Romney having a credible chance of becoming the next president of the United States it might be interesting to consider how experience as a successful venture … More If a venture capitalist ran America
Generally speaking, I hate generalizations. I usually prefer to attempt to distill concepts down to their irrefutable, fundamental truths. But, sometimes there are concepts or perceptions that resist the boiling process and must remain generalizations. Such is the case with trying to characterize Republicans and Democrats. There are no fundamental truths with either population so … More The party of “We” versus the party of “Me”
Information cocoons are a real phenomenon, spun by the positive feedback loop of only considering opinions consistent with one’s own currently held opinion. Cocoons can also be created by our inability to assimilate and process the sheer volume of information available[1] to us. I was reminded of the latter when I was made aware of … More Mexican American Studies in Tucson – Victory or An Ouroboros Moment?
And some information is more equal than other but in today’s connected world the difference is becoming increasingly opaque. Advances in technology have eroded information filters that had historically allowed the consumption of information in a manner consistent with our ability to process it. Failure to differentiate meaningful information from informational background noise facilitates the … More Not all information is equal
I used to believe that the Mayo Clinic was a venerable institution adhering to the scientific principles and practices that resulted in superior patient care and above average clinical outcomes. I’m not sure I had any real basis for that perception and recently I’ve come to recognize that such a perception is ill founded. What … More Mayo Clinic Mysticism
Unfortunately there seems to be nothing more powerful than the personal anecdote. “Let me tell you, I had back pain for years and it worked for me.” Substituting any condition for “back pain” and any intervention for “it” will create a compelling endorsement for “it” that is often more powerful than reason or compelling scientific … More The power of the anecdote vis-à-vis VAX-D
Confronting Mediocrity 