Innovative Immigrants
Depending on who you listen to, we are either making slow steady progress at creating jobs in this country, or we are stuck where we were four years ago. One thing is for certain; both parties love to talk about jobs, and both will recklessly sling around words like education, entrepreneurship and innovation. Neither says […]
Student Debt
We Americans are totally at home with the concept of borrowing our way to prosperity. Our government does it, so why shouldn’t we? Total U.S. credit card debt is around $604 Trillion, and contrary to popular opinion, we are not paying it down. When it comes to owing money, the number that should concern us […]
The Football Debates
The college football season is now officially underway. Mainstream TV coverage begins early on Saturdays, and the first game is generally preceded by hours of pre-game programming to fuel the hype. Typically, a panel of a half-dozen sports journalists, former coaches and players will debate the pros and cons of every player, churn […]
Answers, Now and Later
You are a professional big game hunter in the remote grasslands of South Africa. You are widely known and respected for a reason; you are very, very good at what you do. On this particular day, a young trainee who has shown great promise accompanies you. It is a warm afternoon, and […]
Obama Beer
President Obama has been a bit reluctant to say much about his accomplishments after six years in office. He has cherry-picked a few good ones, but seems always on the defensive, afraid to open the door too wide to GOP criticism. He’s talked a bit about foreign policy achievements (traditionally a Republican strength) and occasionally […]
Generational Drugs
There are a number of drugs that are taken on a large scale by people who are fundamentally fine. Alcohol and marijuana come to mind. There is a rich history of others. Valium, which was introduced in 1963, had become the best-selling prescription drug in America by 1979. Fifty years ago, Big Pharma saw a […]
Auto Safety History
The biggest cause of death is not war, cancer or domestic violence. Traffic accidents are the biggest killer of Americans between the ages of 5 and 34. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently published a year-by-year chart of auto fatalities per 100,000 people in this country. It is interesting, and I’m almost certain coincidental, […]
Password Protected
When I was a graduate student at Caltech, my computer password was “password”. In those days, I had so many things to remember that something more complicated was simply out of the question. I rationalized that there were lots of very smart people running around who could easily hack my account if they wanted. […]
The Paleo Question
“Biggie Sizing” our fast food was a brilliant marketing ploy. The profit margins on that extra dollar are huge. Whether or not this BS is also responsible for biggie sizing our waistlines is another question. It definitely was part of the argument against the excessive amount of fat in our diets, an argument […]
Marijuana Cures Cancer
A couple of San Francisco scientists announced what may prove to be a breakthrough in cancer research. It turns out that marijuana, which molecular biologists refer to as “cannabis” to improve their odds of getting funded, contains a promising substance called Cannabidiol. CBD, for short, is non-toxic, non-psychoactive, and capable of turning off the genetic […]
