Mike Magee We awakened this morning to learn that there is a new word we Americans must learn if we wish our children and grandchildren to breathe healthy air in their near future. It is haboob. According to the National Weather Service, haboob is “an intense, fast-moving wall of dust kicked up by thunderstorm winds.” […] The post What does “Ha Boob” think of the haboob? appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee If there were a contest for longest titles for a small piece of art, surely Belgian artist Rene’ Magritte’s “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man. would be a contender. Despite the 26 word label, […] The post Measles Vaccine – Misremembering, Forgetting, and Deceiving. appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee When the Depression struck, he was 5 years old. Simultaneously, the great dust storms arrived. John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” immortalized the travails of the Joad family from Oklahoma, tenant farmers trapped in the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck could have easily substituted the family with this boy, who remembered years later, “The dust killed […] The post “Lead Us To The Saving Of Our Country.” – FDR appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee What are the chances that citizens of New York, the largest city in the nation, would vote in a majority to oppose a formerly corrupt politician with a party machine behind him, and instead favor a little known candidate – the son of immigrant parents with “swarthy skin and belligerent independence,” from […] The post Zohran Mumdani Triggers NYC Memories of Fiorello La Guardia appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee “The Monetarization of Medical Care.” It had appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine 13 years earlier, on May 3, 1984, and was written by a Columbia University economics professor named Eli Ginzberg. At the time I first read it, doctors were in an upheaval in Massachusetts. Managed Care and Health Maintenance […] The post What Would Eli Ginzberg Think of MAGAnomics? appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee In the wake of last week’s human tragedy in Texas, it would be easy (and appropriate) to focus on the role played by Trump’s reckless recent dismantling of FEMA and related federal agencies. But to do so would be to accept that the event was an anomaly, or as Trump labeled it on […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee Last week, following a visit to the White House, Jensen Huang instigated a wholesale reversal of policy from Trump who was blocking Nvidia sales of its H20 chip to China. What did Jensen say? We can only guess of course. But he likely shared the results of a proprietary report from noted AI […] The post “China Shock 2.0”: China Goes “Democratic” on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee In a speech to the American Philosophical Society in January, 1946, J. Robert Oppenheimer said, “We have made a thing …that has altered abruptly and profoundly the nature of the world…We have raised again the question of whether science is good for man, of whether it is good to learn about the world, […] The post “Everybody’s Job Will Be Different Going Forward.” appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee On March 9, 1967, the Star Trek classic episode, “The Devil in the Dark” first aired. The Enterprise had received an urgent distress call from miners on the planet Janus VI. They are literally melting after, Horta, a wounded inhabitant has targeted them with liquifying acid rays. A sympathetic Spock hears the call, […] The post “The Devils in The Dark” – The Continuing Evolution of the Medical Tricoder appeared first on HealthCommentary.| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee More than once in the lead up to the launch of 2025 I have heard friends and colleagues express a range of sentiments that circled around the general notion that “This is too much to take.” But throughout history, and into the current period, there are more than a few examples of human […]| HealthCommentary
As the New Year approaches, Hcom offers this piece for your quiet consideration and contemplation. Mike Magee Hanukkah, the Jewish communities 8-day Festival of Lights begins this Wednesday on December 25, 2024. This is a rather rare calendar coincidence, one that will not repeat again until 2052. Those who witnessed the conspicuous Trump and Musk-induced […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee As the new year, 2025, fast approaches, it’s wise to pause, and gather our thoughts as a nation. Few would argue that we’ve been through a lot over the past decade. And quite naturally, we humans are prone to blame individuals rather than circumstances (some of which have been beyond our control) for […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee As my wife often reminds me, “Comparisons are toxic.” And, in general, I agree and try to respect this cardinal rule. But these are extraordinary times. So grant me this exception. On December 9, 2024, in my early morning survey of the news, two articles demanded my attention. The first was an editorial […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee The incoming Trump Administration nominees for positions in Health and Human Services (like RFK Jr. to direct the department and Mehmet Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid Services) are names you know and apparently many trust? In this week’s New York Times, Dr. Ashish Jha, President Biden’s Covid lead, thinks he knows why. […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee The image of William Westmoreland, speaking direct to the camera in the 1974 documentary “Hearts and Minds”, is stark and unapologetic. He addresses the interviewer’s question about extensive loss of civilian lives during the Vietnam War this way: “Well, the Oriental doesn’t put the same high price on life as the Westerner. And […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee This has been a challenging week for me, but not for the reasons you might think. Compartmentalization skills have allowed me to push the 2024 Presidential election into the back reaches of my mind as I worked to complete teaching a course on “AI and Medicine” at the Presidents College at the University […]| HealthCommentary
Access Online Hard Copy We are in the grip of change and our American Democracy is at risk. Change is one of the few human experiences that supports two dramatically opposed human emotions. On the one hand, change is fear, and on the other, change is exploration. And while you can support both emotions simultaneously, […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee It has been a collision of past, present and future this week in the wake of Trump’s victory on November 5, 2024. The country, both for and against, has been unusually quiet. It is unclear whether this is in recognition of political exhaustion, or the desire of victors to be “good winners” and […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee Two years ago, prior to the 2022 election, mental health experts alerted the medical world to their version of an assessment scale for yet another new condition – “doomscrolling.” As defined in the article, “Constant exposure to negative news on social media and news feeds could take the form of ‘doomscrolling’ which is commonly […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee Over the past week, voters have been reintroduced to JD Vance, and have found the experience disquieting. In a FOX 2021 interview, he tied women’s worth to birthing, stating that “We should give miserable, childless lefties less control over our country and its kids…” and claimed that their choice of cats over babies […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee Without hyperbole, Project 2025 feels similar to Germany in the early 1930’s. Their website introduction reads: “It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee I have always felt a kinship with EJ Dionne. We are both Boomers, though I am 4 years his senior. We share similar politics, religious origins, early Catholic school educations, fathers in health care and mothers who were teachers, deep New England roots, addiction to the written word, blessings with long marriages and […]| HealthCommentary
Mike Magee Last year the New York Times Editorial Board asked the rhetorical question, “Can America Age Gracefully?” After last week’s Presidential Debate, the answer to the query seems pretty clear. “Apparently not?” This is not simply a function of the graying of America (and her two Presidential candidates), but also a result of our […]| HealthCommentary
