ALL POSTS
PEPTIDES
PEPTIDES It has become trendy, particularly among the internetistas, to advocate for the availability of “peptides”, as important new health items that are being unfairly withheld from the public by government bureaucracy. I thought it might be useful to take a look…
US IRAN, A PROPOSAL
THE EIGTH AMENDMENT
THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT “The sword of the law should never fall on but those whose guilt is so apparent as to be pronounced by their friends as well as foes.” Thomas Jefferson, 1801. In my previous essay I charged everyone with examining their core beliefs. One of those…
TRANSGENDER WOMEN AND SPORTS
SOME QUESTIONS ON TRANSGENDER WOMEN IN SPORTS Today, the Supreme Court issued their ruling on the rights of states to institute bans on allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports. The decision did not decide whether transgender women are allowed or…
THE POWER OF WORDS
THE POWER OF WORDSThis week we have seen how words matter when trying to interpret the meaning of agreements. Mr. Trump claimed that when Iran attacked a tanker with a drone this week: “”Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement.” Iran claimed…
WHAT’S YOUR PERSPECTIVE
How you see the world, what motivates your policy decisions, and which party you support, depends deeply on your personal perspective on the basic assumptions of society’s mores and responsibilities. I wanted to take some time to address these assumptions and to…
THE MOU THAT ROARED
“It’s no use of talking unless people understand what you say.” Zora Neale Hurston One reason it takes so long to negotiate any agreement, particularly one between two very different cultures, is that each word means so much to each side. Careless wordsmithing can…
IN DEFENSE OF CALIFORNIA’S VOTING
IN DEFENSE OF CALIFORNIA’S VOTING Little raises my hackles more quickly than politicians misstating reality for partisan expediency. And so it is with respect to the California voting system. I am not talking about the “jungle” primaries. This is an interesting…
REVERSIBLE OR PERMANENT (PART 2)
In Part I of this essay, I tried to make the point that every President does things that are each citizen must assess as either good for the country or not. Policy positions can be debated and revised by subsequent administrations. Lawns on the White House grounds…
REVERSIBLE OR PERMANENT (PART 1)
There are things that any President does that should be applauded, and others that should be condemned. I have been troubled by the sense today that some, on both sides of the political divide, would choose to condemn everything from a President they don’t like and…
THE JCPOA AND ITS SUNSET PROVISIONS
I have heard from some people that the JCPOA was a bad agreement that needed to be cancelled because it created a pathway for Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Therefore, it becomes important to understand exactly what sunset provisions were in the JCPOA, and their…
WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO “WIN” IN IRAN?
Many have asked me, “So, what would you do in Iran?” My focus has not been on that issue. My focus has been on how the US can successfully negotiate a peace with Iran, and how either side can trust the other to hold up its end of the deal. That being said, here are…