February 11, 2020

We all know that there are thousands of apps available for download to our phones, tablets, computers, and watches. Many of them are extremely useful, and just as many are totally useless. I think our medical insurance companies should have apps that allow them to track our physical activity. Clearly, the technology is already available. Why is this a good idea? Physical activity leads to healthier lives, and, presumably, fewer claims.

Exercise has been proven to be an antidote to the aging process. Exercise improves heart health, respiratory health, mental health, and cognition. People who exercise are less prone to accidents and disease. Their rates of obesity and diabetes decline, and their need for prescription drugs goes down. The benefits go on and on. Then why should an active person pay the same rates for insurance as an overweight, sedentary, chain-smoker?

People react to financial incentives. That is where the app comes in. Insurance companies could monitor your activity via the app, and make periodic adjustments to your insurance premiums accordingly. It is the same way that auto insurers reward safe drivers. Factors including Body Mass Index and smoking could be included as well. An annual physical could corroborate the results. If people saw major reductions in their premiums, it just might get them to move more, eat better, and generally take better care of themselves. Exercise and feeling better should be their own rewards, but sometimes it takes cold, hard cash.

February 11, 2020

As we await the results of the New Hampshire primary, I wonder if we will ever have our first female President, or even our first gay President. Will we have our oldest President? John Kennedy was our first Catholic President, and Barack Obama was our first black President. Mitt Romney was our first Mormon presidential candidate. Personally, I am still waiting for our first Italian President. The question I have not seen posed yet, however, is are we ready for our first Jewish President? Either Bernie Sanders or Michael Bloomberg are capable of breaking this barrier.

I am ready to jump on the Bloomberg bandwagon, and not just because he is from Medford, MA and a closet Red Sox fan. I like his positions on climate change, Planned Parenthood, income inequality, taxes, healthcare, and gun safety. I appreciate his ability to get under Trump’s orange skin. But I do wonder how a Jewish candidate will play outside of New York, and the other major metropolitan areas. Could he do well in the Midwest and the South? Would we hear things like “there is just something about him I don’t like” as we heard about Hillary?

A Jewish President would certainly take white nationalism and neo-Naziism head on. There would be no tolerance for the rise in domestic terrorism we have seen against synagogues and Jewish people. Benjamin Netanyahu may have a Jew in the White House, but he may not be a friend. Sheldon Adelson would have to put his money elsewhere.

I think it’s time.

February 10, 2020

As a part time spinning instructor, I think a lot about exercise and health. During class, I talk a lot about food intake and calories expended. I am currently reading a book titled “Exercise is Medicine” by Jane Foreman, which is a good read for anyone interested in the health benefits of exercise. One thing I am keenly aware of is the epidemic rise of adult and childhood obesity. You only have to look around to know it is true, and it is getting worse. Projections are that one in two adults will be obese by 2030.

Jane Brody discussed the problem of obesity in her health column in this Sunday’s New York Times. She discusses the causes of obesity such as processed foods, eating out, indiscriminate snacking, lack of exercise, lack of food education, the power and influence of the food industry, portion sizes, and, enemy number one, sugary drinks.

This is a long of way of saying that Michael Bloomberg’s proposed tax on large-sized, sugary drinks when he was Mayor of New York City, while politically controversial, was correct in terms of the problem it was designed to ameliorate. John Kennedy challenged us to walk 50 miles. Jimmy Carter jogged, and is still building homes in his 90’s. George W. Bush rode his bike, and played golf in an hour and a half. Michelle Obama encouraged us to eat healthy, go to spin class. Now we have Trump, who champions fast food, rides in a golf cart, and lies about his obesity. As with climate change, we don’t need a diet denier in the White House.

February 6, 2020

The great film actor, Kirk Douglas, just passed away. He may be best remembered for his “I am Spartacus” moment in the movie of the same name. Per Wikipedia, after the army of former Roman slaves led by Spartacus is defeated in battle by legions of the Roman army, a Roman general stands before the captured surviving members of the slave army and demands that they turn over Spartacus, or else all of the former slaves will be executed. Upon hearing this and not wanting his friends to be executed, Spartacus stands up and says “I am Spartacus.” However, the loyalty of his friends is so great that each of them stands forward in succession, shouting “I am Spartacus!” until the shouts dissolve into a cacophony of thousands of former slaves each insisting “I am Spartacus!” Bewildered and still not knowing which of them is Spartacus, but impressed by the loyalty he inspires in his army, the Roman general has all of the slaves crucified in a miles-long display alongside the Appian Way leading back to Rome.

Mitt Romney just had his “I am Spartacus” moment as he stood in the well of the US Senate and justified his decision to defy his party and President and vote to convict Donald Trump of abuse of power. However, unlike in the movies, Trump’s Republican slaves did not have the courage to stand up and say “I am Spartacus” also. They left Romney out there all by himself to be “executed” by the President. I won’t pay to see this movie.

February 6, 2020

They say that we are all six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. I actually saw Kevin Bacon and his wife, actor Kyra Sedgwick, years ago in a dance club in New York City. In the age of Google, that number has decreased to 5.5. Regardless, we are all probably six degrees of separation from the coronavirus, and I just realized that I am only three degrees, which makes everyone I come into contact with only four degrees.

Recently, I attended a World Affairs Council lecture in Springfield, MA given by Dr. Sara Newland of Smith College. Dr. Newland is a China expert. It was just reported in the Springfield Republican that two students at Smith College, who had been to China, were being evaluated for coronavirus. I have to assume that the students have been in contact with Dr. Newland. It’s getting closer.

For the record, I feel fine.

February 5, 2020

Can we please stop with this nonsense of a great American comeback? There never was American carnage despite what Trump blared at his inauguration. There was nothing to come back from. The only carnage is this presidency.

The Obama recovery continues for its tenth year. GDP growth today is either consistent with or slightly below what Trump inherited. He ripped up Obama’s TPP, and replaced it with nothing. With the help of Democrats, he tweaked Clinton’s NAFTA, and declared that it was the greatest deal of all time. Manufacturing has declined. The stock market is overvalued thanks to trillion dollar deficits. Unemployment and interest rates were already low.

We are not respected around the world. We are not even feared. Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and North Korea know he is an empty suit. He created incredibly dangerous situations in Iran and Syria. We do have carnage in the environment. We have a climate change denier in the White House. Trump walked away from the Paris Accords. EPA regulations are being rolled back. Nothing has been done about gun safety. And watch your healthcare. Democrats are at least discussing how to get more people covered. Trump still wants to repeal with no replacement.

Great American comeback? We were already great. Trump is not a developer. He is a wrecker.

January 31, 2020

It is a matter of fact that the United States has the most gun-related deaths per capita than any other country in the world by orders of magnitude. And it is also a fact that we do not suffer from mental illness more than any other countries. We love our guns. We also love our cars and trucks. So why can’t we regulate guns the same way we regulate motor vehicles? After all, we obviously consider cars and trucks lethal weapons when in the wrong hands. Here is how we should regulate firearms, which is analogous to the way we regulate cars and trucks.

• Must be sixteen years of age to operate

• Must take and pass a course in gun safety

• Must pass a shooting proficiency test in the presence of a police officer

• Must take an eye exam

• Must have a gun owner’s license with photo ID

• The license should be subject to renewal

• Guns must be registered

• Guns must be insured

• Must have established procedures for transferring ownership of a firearm

• Gun owners must go through a criminal background check

• Gun owners must store their firearms in a secure location.

• Gun owners must report stolen firearms

• Gun owners must not carry a firearm while intoxicated

• The size, characteristics, and capacity of firearms must be regulated

• Guns should be taxed

• Guns should have inspection stickers

• Guns must not be concealed

• Gun owners must be subject to “red flag” laws

January 31, 2020

“You are only old once.”

January 31, 2020

The entire country, and the world, is trying to figure out how to inoculate itself from a a deadly disease. No, I am not talking about the coronavirus, which is a very serious public health issue. I am talking about the disease that is being unleashed when Trump is acquitted without witnesses and documents. The disease is already eating away at our democratic norms. It is already affecting our ability to process information, and make sense of it. Our cognitive skills are being eroded. The disease is a cancer on the Senate, which is led by a small man in a big job. The disease has already affected the complicit Justice Department and the spineless State Department. The disease in the enabling Defense Department is mestaticizing. The White House should be in hospice care.

There is a shortage of face masks for Republicans to hide behind. We don’t need an election. We need a doctor.