Sam Rayburn on Trump’s Disruptive Debate.

Mike Magee When it comes to policy and politics, it can be a struggle to maintain perspective and provide context. And as Trump’s performance in last night’s presidential debate well illustrated, Sam Rayburn was right when he said, “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” In […]

The Future of the ACA Four Years Later – and The Perils of Being A Futurist.

Mike Magee Tonight we witness the first Presidential debate of 2020, and the future of the ACA (in the middle of a pandemic) is once again on the line. If past is prologue, make predictions of the outcome at your own risk. Four years ago, 1 month before the election, the New England Journal of […]

The Science Community Has Had Enough of Trump and Is Finding Their Voice.

Mike Magee In its 175-year history, Scientific American has never endorsed a US presidential candidate – until now. This week they endorsed Joe Biden for president. One week earlier, H. Holden Thorp, the spicy new editor of Science, penned an editorial titled “Trump Lied About Science.” Scientists have historically looked the other way and allowed […]

Structural Racism Within The Medicaid Program – Still Present a Half-Century Later.

Mike Magee If you would like to visit the meeting place of America’s two great contemporary pandemics –COVID-19 and structural racism – you need only walk down the historic Medicaid path and enter the dangling door of its weakest health care link, the Nursing Home. The current pandemic is disproportionately killing and maiming Black Americans. […]

Trump “Compstockery” – Militarizing Our Post Office!

Mike Magee As we witnessed in last month’s Republication convention, when in doubt, go with the golden oldies. Australian songwriter Peter Allen said as much in the fourth stanza of his classic song, “Everything Old Is New Again”, which reads: “Don’t throw the past away You might need it some rainy day Dreams can come […]