MD Whistleblower

As I begin this post, the federal government has been shut down for several days..  Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were able to reach the 60 vote threshold in the U.S. Senate to advance their respective legislative plans.  The GOP insisted that a ‘clean’ continuing resolution (CR) be passed without conditions. Democrats demanded that the government extend expiring Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies enacted during the pandemic, and restore Medicaid cuts contained in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed months ago as the price of their CR support.  The GOP expressed willingness to discuss these health issues, but only if a clean CR is passed first.  The Democrats countered that tying their legislative priorities to the CR gives them leverage to achieve their desired health policy objectives.  Interestingly, this past March, many Democrats supported a clean CR without adding on their legislative preferences.  Hmm… By the time this is p...

Kids are smart.  We know this because many of us have kids and all of us were kids.  I’m not suggesting that every kid is an Einstein who regards the laws of physics to be... ‘child’s play’.  But in many circumstances, they punch above their juvenile weights to get stuff done.  At times, they are master negotiators.  Here’s a vignette illustrating one of their master techniques.  Act I, Scene 1 “Mom, can I have ice cream now?” “Johnny, of course not!   You haven’t even had breakfast yet!” Act I, Scene II “Dad, can I have ice cream now?   Mom said it was ok.” “Sure, son.   Go ahead.” Sound familiar?   We parents know that we do better when we speak in one voice to our youngsters.   When we don’t, our wily progeny can exploit this with great skill.   Kid vs parents - n ot a fair fight!   The value of speaking with one voice applies to us adults as well.   Let’s look briefly at some rather conflicting mes...

This is the final posting in a 3-part series on the COVID-19 vaccine and related issues.  The first two installments dealt with the public’s waning interest in the virus and the vaccines, the triumph of Operation Warp Speed and the politicization of the pandemic. If you have not read them, I invite you to review them. The spirited opposition expressed by commenters illustrates the continued polarization of the nation on public health,   I expressed astonishment that a public health scourge that was killing us and filling up intensive care units and hospital beds would divide us rather than unite us against our common foe. These days, there simply is no sanctuary against politics.  Mother’s Day, professional sports, the American flag and the plague of a pandemic, to name a few examples, are prey for controversy. personal attacks, demonization, and political exploitation.  What a sad reality. We know that the government and public health leaders did not hit the bu...

Here is the 2 nd of a 3-part series on the COVID-19 vaccine and related issues.  Last week, I opined that COVID-19 is now greeted with a collective yawn by Americans.  We have moved on but the virus is still here.  COVID-19 vaccine interest has also certainly waned.  Another yawn. Commenters who read last week’s Whistleblower post on my Substack platform vehemently disagreed with me. Indeed, I have received more reaction to that post than to any other in recent memory, and the comments are still coming in.  I will offer them, as well as all readers, some directed comments at the conclusion of this post  How do I regard the COVID-19 vaccine?   Over my long medical career, I have witnessed true miraculous medical milestones.   Operation Warp Speed in Trump’s first administration was one of them, which he himself readily acknowledges.  Trump announced proudly during the pandemic that Warp Speed was “one of the greatest miracles of the ages” a...

Two days ago, I received the 2025-2026 COVID-19 jab.  While many of us regard this updated injection to be a booster shot, this one is an actually full vaccine.  I received the Pfizer version which uses mRNA technology which – like so many other public health issues – has generated controversy, confusion and even anger.  There have been unfounded claims that mRNA vaccine technology is responsible for serious and enduring complications including death and new or worsening serious disease states.  There is also a belief that mRNA vaccines could induce the COVID-19 virus to mutate to a more virulent strain and could also alter the recipient’s DNA, which has no factual basis.  Keep in mind that this virus, like all germs, mutates regularly. This does not  mean that the vaccine is responsible for this.  If I do a crossword puzzle and catch a cold shortly thereafter, it’s more likely a coincidence than the puzzle causing my illness.  The list of alleged...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is riding over the countryside and the globe on a tidal wave.  It will gather strength and will become a tsunami sooner than we think.  Like any tool, its use depends upon the intent of the user.   A hammer can be used to build but can also be used to break.  It can serve as a weapon.  The tool bears no culpability. We have no reliable way to prevent tools from being used for nefarious activities. I don’t think the solution is to eliminate hammers from society to reduce hammer violence.   The overall idealized strategy is to stifle dark intent lurking within people so that they might not consider taking evil actions. Sadly, we have all seen that this worthy task is far out of reach.   We simply don’t have a tool to accomplish this. A tool with many uses. AI will be a tool like no other.   It will deliver preternatural benefits in every sphere of society. I predict that it will make the internet seem quaint by ...