As we continue the gun debate, I want to make one clarification in terminology. It’s one of those things that can quickly derail a debate because of semantics: a lot of people confuse the term “semiautomatic” with “automatic.” A SEMIAUTOMATIC firearm is one that, when you pull the trigger, uses the recoil from the bullet …
Category: Politics
Nobody wins when a family fights itself
A house divided against itself cannot stand. - Abraham Lincoln A curious phenomenon has emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation, which is that both sides of the political spectrum have finally agreed on something: They've agreed that the process was absolutely bruising and may have left lasting wounds that will take a …
Inhumane, un-American, and unacceptable
Let me summarize the arguments we've heard defending the Trump administration practice of separating children from their families at the border: We’re not taking children away from their parents and putting them in cages. But if we are then it’s Obama’s fault. And if it’s a new policy it’s because the Democrats aren’t letting Republicans …
How Medicaid made the American dream possible for me
Last year, during the height of the debate over the Affordable Care Act and the future of Medicaid, I published an op-ed in STAT News, telling my story and the story of one of my patients. You can read it here: https://www.statnews.com/2017/08/08/medicaid-health-care-public-assistance/
Strangers on the Street Corner
On my way into work one evening, I was waiting to cross the street over towards my hospital and I was standing next to a tan-skinned middle-aged stranger with a beard. He looked to me and apparently noticed I was also a tan-skinned bearded man. "As-salaam alaikum," he said to me with some hesitation in …
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