Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The future of AI in medicine

From a friend who has worked at the NIH for many years: “Can AI help doctors make better decisions? At NIH, we brought together scientists and clinicians from across the country to explore exactly that. Their consensus was that with continued research, ethical and responsible guardrails, and strong collaboration, AI could become a helpful and […]

Medigap Coverage by Race, Income, Health Status, and Age

This commentary is a breakdown of Figure 1 detailing each of the results and purposes of Medicap. I favor graphs as it is far easier to understand than reading a few pages. The charts do show issues such as income to afford Medigap and restrictions. I have Plan N which covers most of what I […]

Fall asleep in public areas? Go to Jail in Louisiana

Louisiana Court proposed Homeless Program, “Streets to Success Act“ AB: I do not believe this is a “failure to communicate” law as much as a failure to provide a place for people to go, sleep, and make a living. What do you do at that point? The state and county put you to work in […]

population is growing at the rate of almost 1 percent per year

The following statement appeared in the Smithsonian in 2006. “The United States’ population is growing at the rate of almost 1 percent per year, thanks in part to immigration and its secondary effects. Not only does the United States accept more legal immigrants as permanent residents than the rest of the world combined, but these […]

Long-Term Care Costs Drain the Middle Class

Grabbed one section out of a longer piece by the Roosevelt Institute on Long Term Care. I am betting many Baby Boomers lack such. I also suspect they have no other resource either. Not a difficult read. III. Long-Term Care Depletes Assets for Middle-Class Americans and Contributes to Widening Wealth Inequality, Roosevelt Institute For millions […]

Healthcare Costs a Partial Discussion

This is a much longer report than the three charts I am showing below. Charts 3, 5, and 8 get to the issues at hand. At least, I believe so. To me, I do not believe there is any politics involved in deciding whether healthcare is important. It is important and should be readily available […]

Red meat isn’t the only source of dietary protein

As a professor of biochemistry, I’ve always been puzzled by the equation of red meat with dietary protein. Setting aside the fact that fish, crab, shrimp and lobster are as rich in protein as red meat and poultry, what do people think plants are made of? There’s protein in nuts, fruits and vegetables, too. “Meat […]

Rearranging the Chairs in the US Economy

A rewrite of a much shorter story about state and local funding and what Trump’s Beautiful Bill (or piece of garbage) does to states. Much of Trump’s cuts are meant to fund a new tax break for the upper 10% and 1% in income. Over ten years, The Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) will cut taxes for the […]