MD Whistleblower

There is no person unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic.   It does seem that the public and the government are responding belatedly in a manner commensurate with the threat.   I write this knowing that less than a week ago from the time I am composing this, Florida beaches were teeming with vacationers.   A memorable quote from one of these selfless and enlightened partiers was: “If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let it stop me from partying.” This individual, from my own state of Ohio, did apologize for his remarks.   I would suggest that his mouth be mandated to take a 14 day quarantine from all speech.   Look, we’ve all said dumb stuff.   I know I have.   My advice?   If you sense some dumb words about to erupt, and there are cameras rolling, sprint in the opposite direction as if the coronavirus is on your tail and gaining ground. Right now, Ohio and many other states are in a ‘shelte...

A worker was told of corona. Who's boss said, "You're on your own-a." "Leave the arena" "Begone! Quarantina!" "You mean I'm gonna be all alone-a?" Coronavirus - An Invisible Foe We will get to the other side.   Clearly, the path to a safe and secure future has not been a straight shot.  Both the government and the public have fallen short. The initial coronavirus testing launched here was a debacle, in contrast to other countries that knew how to aim straight.  We have seen price gouging for hand sanitizer and face masks.  As recently as this past Thursday, Florida beaches were teaming with folks who brazenly and selfishly risked contracting the virus and transmitting it to others. But, most of us have fallen into line.  And, so have our leaders. I feel more sanguine that we will prevail in the medical arena than we will on the economic front. Epidemics and pandemics will join the array of natural disasters ...

In 1770, in Boston, British soldiers fired into a crowd of colonists who were taunting the soldiers.  Several colonists died and several soldiers were arrested and charged with murder.  This event known as the Boston Massacre was a seminal historical episode that contributed to the colonists’ growing desire to separate from the British Crown. Boston was a cauldron of the independence movement.   Hatred against the British was prevalent.  Who would be willing to defend the accused soldiers at trial risking opprobrium or worse?  John Adams, our future second president, defended the soldiers believing that every accused deserves adequate representation.  To this day, America distinguishes itself with our belief and practice that an accused man is presumed innocent and is entitled to a competent legal defense.  As we all know, lawyers are often assigned or volunteer to defend unsavory individuals to protect their clients’ constitutional rights, e...

Have you heard enough about Coronavirus yet?    If not, feel free to tune in to the Coronavirus News Network, also known as CNN. I have zero medical experience in virology and public health, so read no further if you are looking for a Whistleblower travel advisory or if it’s safe to pet Scruffy if he develops a fever. I’m also not here to gripe about our nation’s response to this incipient pandemic.     Although we have a first class team in place now, even they admit that they stumbled initially.  I'm more interested in making progress than in racking up debate points. My observation is that there is no issue or event that is immune to politicization, a reality that depresses me.   We all agree that prior to the virus’s emergence from China, we were already rabidly hyper-polarized and hyper-partisan in the zero sum game that now defines our political landscape.   I won’t add to this sentence so as not to waste readers’ time in reading wh...

To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman.    Thus begins Conan Doyle’s, A Scandal in Bohemia published in 1891.   In this gripping tale, Holmes is bested by a woman who proves to be the detective’s equal in intelligence and deception.   For reasons I cannot explain, I restrict my exposure to Holmes and Dr. Watson to podcast listening when I am airborne.  Years ago, I did love watching the classic movies starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce who defined the roles for me.  Conan Doyle, a physician, was a superb story teller, who wove his tales with texture, plot and humanity.  I think he wields words with surgical precision.   I admire his skill. I wonder to what extent Conan Doyle’s medical training influenced his writing?  Certainly, the stories often discuss arcane medical conditions that provide the detective with important clues.  In The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, Holmes suspects that the prota...