#bordercrisis #asylum #concentrationcamp Most of us think of a concentration camp as a place where Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Serbs, and general undesirables, were sent during World War II. We picture (or try not to) the horrendous conditions in which these humans were placed during these trying times. We also tend to think of them as a holding point for what the Nazis referred as the "final solution". However, few of us realize those were not the first camps of human concentration mankind created. That award would go to...

#judges #election2020 #courtsystem Back in May, I wrote about how we're so focused on the immediate news and are completely missing out on the long-lasting changes the Republicans and the Trump administration are perpetrating in the background. The most impactful and least talked about is how our Federal Court system is being shaped for decades to come. The most recent episode from NPR's Embedded show is taking a look at the very real implications of our missing the forest for the trees. Though the show is focusing on...

Mr. Mueller was a busy man today. He spent 3 hours testifying at the House Judiciary committee in the morning, and another couple of hours testifying at the House Intelligence committee. And like in the first testimony, most of the outcome came as expected, though there were some surprises. Devin Nunes, the ranking Republican, played the role of the party's puppet. His immediate focus was on bringing up, what seemed like, conspiracy theories about the FBI's biases towards the Trump campaign and its advisors. The Republican members of...

#muellerreport #trump #election2020 Today, Robert Mueller finally testified in front of the US Congress. This is one of the only times I have ever heard him speak. The first time was when he held a press conference to talk about his non-appearance of this very appearance. The testimony progressed both, as I had expected, and with a few surprises. First, the democrats and the republicans both played their game. The game of the democrats was to point out each one of the facts in the report Mueller provided...

#fda #drugs #elderly One of the most important jobs our various Federal agencies provide is public safety. For example, the EPA is charged with making sure we have clean air and drinking water. The FAA with providing safe air travel. And the FDA is charged with providing Americans with safe food and drugs. When a new drug is created (not a generic), it goes through a lengthy approval process at the FDA. There are many phases to bring a new drug to market, from the initial viability of...

#evangelicals #trump #2020Election I've written a few articles here on religion, one about its possible genesis and another on the power it has over our decisions and choices. Today I was listening to a new episode from Throughline (below) where their focus was on the birth of what we have come to know as religious evangelicals in the US. To be fair, the word refers to anyone that preaches and follows a Christian faith (there are various denominations), and seeks to convert others in the process. Which means...

#illusion #certainty #reality Certainty, order and control are something we strive for. We want to know what will happen next. We want to know there is some order or method to the madness that is our life. And if we can figure out this order/method, we may be able to control it. For us, certainty, order and control are very important. So important in fact, that they are only less important than water and food according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The reality, however, is that we live...

One of the aspects of life that has fascinated me most in the recent years, is how people deal with rules and laws. And how these rules and laws are embedded in us since childhood. In the next few posts I want to examine why some of us are able to get away with murder, while others do not. And I want to explore how effective they are at maintaining order and if there is a better way. At the risk of pointing out the obvious, our principles...

Few can argue that Trump has made something that used to be boring into something that is fun; politics. These days, most late night talk show hosts are talking about politics. Either about the President himself, his party, or to some politician running for office. And while I long for the day when politics were boring, as they should be, I understand the need for entertainers to... well, entertain. However, because of all the shenanigans going on, we, the citizens of the US, have placed our gaze on...

Everyone knows the cost of prescription medications it the US is very high. In fact, there is a whole industry that caters to people that need large or constant quantities of said medication, either due to a person's age or for health reasons, in order to make them affordable. But why? Why is prescription medication so expensive in the US? And is there something we can do about it? There are many reasons that explain why the costs of medications are higher in the US than elsewhere, however,...