Thank you as always for checking in with WisdomWordsPPF! Here is a guide to the past year of blog posts (note that some posts appear in several categories). If you want a guide to the first year (October 2015-October 2016), you can find it here. Posts on Social Justice, Politics and Our Peer Nations The […]
health care system
A Physician’s Support for “Medicare for All”
We are fortunate in southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire to have access to the free Business Journal, published monthly and full of interesting and helpful articles about many business topics, especially small local businesses. In the July/August 2017 issue, the first page as one opened the magazine prominently featured a Letter to the Editor […]
Beware of Seductive Ads
You may have seen some recent ads on TV with a focus on tax reform, jobs, and supporting the so-called American Health Care Act (AHCA) of the Republicans. These ads promote middle-class growth, support companies being “unfettered” from government regulation, and laud supposed “choice” and freedom when it comes to health care. These stated goals […]
Doublespeak and American “Greatness”
Supporters of President Trump may not agree with this, but many Americans (and presumably others around the globe) would maintain that much of what Trump, other administration officials and many conservative lawmakers consistently use is doublespeak – “language used to deceive usually through concealment or misrepresentation of truth.” The term was originally associated with George […]
Barnicle, Sanders, Insurance and Health Care
On March 29, 2017, on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was being interviewed on a range of current topics. When it came to veteran columnist Mike Barnicle’s turn, his question earned Sanders’ praise. The Senator remarked that this was one of the first times this question had been raised on TV. The question? […]
MSNBC Bashing Health Care Myths
Finally, a mainstream news source that is reporting on how the US compares with other developed nations vis-à-vis health care! Ali Velshi, relatively new to NBC News, has begun bashing long-time American myths about health care, and he promises to continue doing so. This is vitally important: we Americans need to know not only the problems […]
Stress, Social Justice and Our American Psyche
How many articles have you read over the years giving advice to help you deal with your daily stress? Five? Ten? Thirty? How much of this advice has actually worked over the long term? What if the daily stress that millions of Americans experience does not result so much from individual decisions and lifestyles but […]
Observations on Old TV Shows
Being unemployed for long stretches of time, then being laid up at home following a knee replacement, I’ve been submerged in television. I keep up with the news daily, but there has also been a proliferation of cable stations specializing in familiar shows from days gone by. I’ve been entertained by MeTV (Memorable Entertainment), COZI, […]
The Problem of Hyperindividualism and its Impact on American Life
“Hyper” – from the Greek “huper,” meaning over, beyond. “Individualism” – the stance or philosophy that values the moral worth of the individual as well as independence and self-reliance. In the US, individualism generally has a positive meaning and often (or at least should) lead to the development of each person’s fullest potential. Hyperindividualism, on the […]
Making Millions Off Others’ Suffering 2: The Way Things Could Be
In our previous Making Millions post, we examined a number of areas of American life that are negatively impacted by large corporations and their leaders. These entities and individuals have successfully pressured Congress for decades to pass legislation that favors them; whatever their individual psychological make-up or motives, many very wealthy Americans frequently make exponentially more money […]