Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. –Dylan Thomas, 1914-1953 By now, we’ve had some time to lick our wounds and digest the political events of the last seven days. To some, it came as a


EpiFail: Gov’t Knew EpiPen Was Misclassified in 2009

As previously reported, Mylan Inc., the pharmaceutical manufacturer of the life-saving EpiPen, misclassified their brand name drug as generic for years, thus deceiving and effectively defrauding governmentally-funded insurance providers Medicare and Medicaid, resulting in millions of dollars in overpayments by taxpayers, all in an effort to save themselves money prior to hiking the price of


Dental Dilemma: O.C. Clinic Facing Lawsuit Over Infections

After countless children experienced severe, life-threatening bacterial and bone infections upon being exposed to dirty water during pulpotomy procedures at the Children’s Dental Group in Anaheim, California, their families are beginning to fight back by filing a civil lawsuit against the clinic. Among other charges, the initial lawsuit alleges the clinic engaged in fraudulent behavior


Dodd-Frank: A Fence that Should Stay Up

As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.” I hope President-Elect Trump’s transition team has considered Chesterton’s advice as they plan their attack on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”). A bit of history. There are a few different


Agency Proposes Increase to Physicians’ Hours

Resident physicians may once again be working shifts of over 24 hours, putting patients’ lives at risk. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) proposed last week to raise the limit on first-year residents’ shifts, allowing the new doctors to work up to 28 hours without sleep. The proposal would remove the five-year-old 16-hour


E-Cigs Linked to Heavier Tobacco Use in Teens

A new study conducted by The University of Southern California has revealed teens who regularly “vape” e-cigarettes are more likely to become heavier, more frequent tobacco users in the future. “Vaping” is the term for puffing on electronic cigarettes, which though devoid of tobacco, still contain highly addictive nicotine. As e-cigs have continued to rise


Trump’s World: Make America Hate Again

President-elect Donald Trump has not even taken office yet, but if the first few days following the unexpected outcome of the election are any indication of what America will look like once he does, we’re in very serious trouble. While Trump supporters continue to lament on social media that now is the time to “get


What Falling International Trade Means

Recently, the New York Times reported that international trade is down. Global trade was flat in the first quarter of 2016 and fell slightly in the second quarter, with the value of American imports and exports falling by more than $200 billion in 2015. While this may merely be a temporary lack of demand for


 To Understand Election, Look Beyond Race

The outcry over the election of the demagogue Donald Trump is righteous and necessary. The wealthy shyster fouled the already farcical 2016 election campaign with racist and misogynistic language and proposed few policies beyond those that would target Mexican and Muslim immigrants in unconstitutional and inhumane ways. Whatever his actual initiatives once he takes the


Judge Rules Nursing Home Arbitration Clause Can Stay

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created a new rule in September of this year that prevented most nursing homes and long-term care facilities from adding a forced arbitration clause to the contracts of new residents that effectively strip them of their right to sue in court in the event of neglect,