Read also “Riding the Rails with my Dad” www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/DadRR.htm. “Blue Bellies and Personality Plus: A Tribute to My Mom” www.tomandrodna.com/nick_gier/mothertribute.pdf. Take care of your actions because they will become habits. Take care of your habits because they will form…
Asia’s Virus Champs Don’t Blame China: They Simply Get the Job Done
Countries that took early, aggressive action, using proven methods, have severely limited the virus. —Todd Pollack, infectious disease expert I have a special affection for the people of Kerala, one of India’s 36 states on its southwest coast. During my…
Cupboards were Not Bare; Tests were Not Broken; and Obama Did leave Pandemic Plans
“It’s hard to overstate the contrast between Trump and Obama. You had a president who actually accepted and cultivated scientific advice.” — Obama official Bina Venkataraman “We had a plan and a team. The Trump White House ignored the first…
Coronavirus Deaths Undercounted by 60 percent Sweden Embraces Fatalities, while Florida Hides Them
“No country counts virus deaths like the others. We just have the most detailed method.” —Belgium’s Public Health Minister Maggie De Block Axios reports that “a senior administration official said he expects Trump to begin publicly questioning the COVID-19 death…
Singapore or Sweden: Which Way to Beat COVID-19? The East Asians got it right, but Sweden’s Mortality Rate is Rising
Learn about the contradictions of Christian libertarianism at www.webpages.uidaho.edu/ngier/christlibertarian.htm Note: since the writing of this article, there has been a surge of new cases among Singapore’s foreign workers, but the situation is now under control. “Loving your neighbors is protecting…
Buddhism, Mother Earth, and the Environment
“Heaven is under our feet as well as above our heads.” —Henry David Thoreau Buddhists in Asia celebrate their savior’s birthday on different days, and this year the date ranges from April 8 in Japan to April 30 in China…
Public Health: Essential Services of the “Deep State” Are We All Socialists Now? Definitely Not Libertarians
“I don’t like having thousands of people around when you don’t need them.” -Donald J. Trump on public health employees “It will soon be down to zero. . .it’s under control. . . the flu kills more. . . “…
I’m a Delinquent St. Patrick’s Day Boy
“What Patrick gave the Irish was a faith that took the best of traditional pagan beliefs and redefined those in Christian terms.” -Steve Rabey, In the House of Memory My birthday is St. Patrick’s Day, but I’ve never made much…
Making the Case for Tuition-Free Higher Education European Institutions Graduate 11% More Than U.S.
“High college cost is a threat to Idaho’s economy at a time when employers are demanding a more educated workforce.” —Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy Denmark’s Higher Education Reforms In 1966 I traveled to Denmark as a Rotary Foundation Fellow…
Struck v. Defense Department: A Better Case than Roe v. Wade?
When Susan Struck was 23, she volunteered as an Air Force nurse in Vietnam. Before she signed on, she was warned that if she became pregnant she would be automatically discharged. When she arrived in Vietnam, she started dating an…