“If you are eating in a fast-food restaurant or in a fast-food way, not only are you malnourishing yourself, but you are also unwittingly digesting the values of this fast-food culture. Those values are becoming part of you–just like the food. And once those values are part of you, they change you. You begin to …
We should all be participating in the 350.org “Fossil Free” initiative. It has the potential to become one of the most important movements of our time. Bill McKibben and others associated with 350.org make a very compelling case that we and our institutions must divest from fossil fuel investments. I believe that the initiative would …
This is an idea for a television series. The setting would be a post-catharsis world, perhaps about 2050. A generation prior, humankind came to the realization that for our species to persist, required would be a vast reduction in our numbers. After a long international debate it was decided that among other measures, one-half the …
It doesn’t seem sustainable to have our present one out of 100 American adults in jails and prisons. Neither is it sustainable to continue to spend $74 billion a year on corrections and employ nearly 800,000 people in the industry. Our reliance on mass incarceration has created a thriving prison economy, but neither the loss …
Doing Time would mean a Brain-Shackle Chip Implant? Read More »
I propose the elimination of all elements of human society that train children into consumerism, belief in limitless resources, something-for-nothing, and the entitlement mindset. The most obvious of these is the Santa Claus concept. Shedding all the aspects of Christmas that are supposed to be “for the children” would be perhaps our greatest gift to …
This week marks the 153rd anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Each year, thousands gather at the former battlefield. Three years ago, on the 150th anniversary, hundreds of thousands visited for ceremonies, speeches and reenactments. “Lincoln’s timeless words embodied and galvanized us as a nation,” Then Congressman Scott Perry said at a commemorative event, summarizing the …
Most Americans likely agree on these two points: the U.S. healthcare system is broken and its costs are not sustainable. Also, as a country, it seems there are two primary decisions ahead: How much of the national GNP can we afford to spend on healthcare and how do we ration those healthcare dollars once limited? …
Should Healthcare Eligibility Determinations be FICO-Like? Read More »
“Those who are inspired by a model other than nature, a mistress above all masters, are laboring in vain,” an axiom first penned about 500 years ago by Leonardo Da Vinci, is often quoted today. Might this notion be the appropriate guide for all our activities–even healthcare? Here are several corollary questions: Whether overall or …
My proposal is to first pour research funding into making reversible vasectomies (such as the intravasal polymer injection or “SMA”) safe, painless and feasible to be performed on all boys at puberty. Once this is achieved, funding would be directed to a drive to make this procedure mandatory on boys worldwide. The desired consequence of …
I propose that we have no more garbage by 2050. Is it feasible? Everything manufactured would need to be recyclable and then recycled. Could our architectural materials evolve to where there would be no construction debris? Could all yard waste be composted? Could packaging materials be modified to be either recycled or composted? What other measures would …