A happy British oncologist says that expensive cancer drugs should be withheld from the elderly and given to the young. Dr. Karol Sikora (pronounced “sick aura”) is worried about the costs. Well, count me out of the you-live, you-die lottery. If it comes down to “justifying expenses,” as the doctor says, then I’ll cheerfully give…
New rules of engagement
May 10, 2014
What made the suicides of my parents so painful was that Mom and Dad kept assuring us that they wanted to live. They said one thing and did the opposite. I’ve dealt with people like that my whole life, but I was nearly killed by my mother and father reaching out to us and pushing…
Junk science to make you hate yourself
May 9, 2014
Mother Jones is out with an article titled “The Science of Your Racist Brain,” by Indre Viskontas (not Indrid Cold) and Chris Mooney. It’s absolutely hilarious. More junk science to make you hate yourself for being irredeemably evil. The article initially differentiates between “explicit racists” like Donald Sterling and “implicit racists”—all white people. According to…
Dad’s deathmobile
May 9, 2014
When my nephew Hunter James Gonzales turned three, my father gave him the most dangerous birthday present I’ve ever seen. Dad’s deathmobile was used only once, almost twenty years ago, but I remember it as though it were yesterday. A hot needle would would burn out the memory. Free e-books to anyone who does the…
The arrival of the man intended
May 5, 2014
Mom always told me that I was the happiest baby and toddler she’d ever seen. To be frank, I have no memory of being happy. Today, however, I announce the arrival of the man intended. He showed up after fifty-one years. You might find it hard to accept why I’m now truly, permanently happy; the…
Would you want to know?
May 2, 2014
I grappled with this question a long time ago: If people in your life had terrible secrets, would you want to know? For me it depends on the secrets. I can overlook some things, while others are deal breakers. The first time the question really came up was when I met the Cardinal Ghost. Within…