Column: Just Wondering
Having never attended medical school (and not really having had the grades or commitment to do so), and having only completed 10th grade biology and freshman year astronomy, and rarely even driven by a medical school growing up, my understanding and/or instincts regarding how a medical professional plans and/or prepares for his day is as foreign to me as sugar-free chocolate (if I’m going down, I’m going down swinging; in truth however, considering the anti-cancer, alkaline diet I’m following, I do need to swing a little less frequently).
Letter to the Editor: Advocating for Cleaner Air
What can we do to clean our air? Arlington has unhealthy levels of soot and smog, and we’re already experiencing consequences of climate change. This harms not only our natural environment, but also human health. The good news is, our communities are working for solutions.
Column: Writing What Four
As far as anniversaries go–and I hope this one “goes” a lot further; acknowledging, dare I say celebrating my four-year survival anniversary from “terminal” stage IV (inoperable, metastasized) non-small cell lung cancer, a diagnosis I initially received on Feb. 27, 2009, along with a “13-month to two-year prognosis” from my oncologist, is certainly column-worthy.
Editorial: Hybrid Hijinks
Discouraging innovation in high-tech Virginia.
Consider this as a possible scenario (although perhaps we should have saved this for April 1): Fewer people are smoking, and many of those who do are smoking less. Virginia’s cigarette tax, the lowest of any state at 30 cents a pack, is a declining revenue source. Higher cigarette taxes are proven to reduce smoking. Under current logic in the commonwealth, there would be two courses of action to raise revenue: a) cut the cigarette tax, and b) charge non-smokers a fee to make up the difference and to compensate for the fact that they don’t pay cigarette taxes.
Column: E-male
My oncologist is a man. He has e-mail. He works for an HMO that encourages/advertises its connectivity and responsiveness – electronically, to its members. If I want to get medical answers in a reasonable amount of time – save for an emergency, typing, “mousing” and clicking is the recommended methodology. No more phone calls, preferably. Though pressing keys on a keyboard rather than pressing buttons on a phone might have felt counter-intuitive at first as a means of receiving prompt replies, it has proven over these past few years to be a fairly reliable and predictable information loop. Not in minutes necessarily, but more often than not during the same day – and almost always by the very next day. In fact, I’ve received e-mails from my oncologist as late as 9:18 p.m. (time-stamped) after a sometime-during-the-day e-mail had been sent.
Column: Before Adopting a Pet …
How to determine and find the perfect pet for one’s lifestyle.
Before you answer that online or classified ad for an adorable, floppy-eared puppy or ask to see that frisky kitten in the pet store window there are a few things you should consider before purchasing a pet.
Column: Definition of “Slippery Slope”
Figuratively speaking, of course. That definition being: a late stage cancer patient/survivor previously characterized as “terminal” awaiting the results of their most recent diagnostic scan. A scan that will indicate whether the tumors have grown, moved or God forbid, appeared somewhere new. If your life hung in the balance before the scan, waiting for results of this however-many-months-interval-scan will most assuredly loosen your figurative grip on your equilibrium and your most literal grip on your sanity. This is a domain, unlike the one referred to in one of the more infamous Seinfeld episodes, that one cannot master. To invoke and slightly rework Dan Patrick’s “catch” phrase: You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.
Column: State’s Limiting of Free Market
The Virginia General Assembly will soon enact legislation that directs the State Corporation Commission to perform plan management functions for participation in a federal health benefits exchange (HBE) program.
Column: Moving Parts
Thanks to all of you who attended one of the town meetings in Mount Vernon or Old Town on Saturday. It’s always good to hear what’s on your mind, and your input helps me represent you better.
Editorial: On Transportation
Compromise, in the works, should include indexing the gas tax to inflation.
Virginia needs more options, not fewer, in developing revenue to pay for roads and transportation. Compromise on a plan to increase transportation revenue should not include making Virginia the only state in the nation without a gas tax. The current, ridiculously low gas tax should be indexed to inflation. The last thing the commonwealth needs is to do away with an existing, major source of money for roads.
Column: Bishop Reflects On Pope’s Decision
The Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington, released the following statement on Feb. 11 in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he will resign the papacy:
Column: Good News on Medicaid and Redistricting
While I unfortunately usually alert you about troubling developments, I am happy to share some good news from the last week. Two promising developments— redistricting and the Medicaid expansion — give me optimism about the prospects for the remainder of the legislative session.
Column: A Complicated Answer
And a further explanation and corollary to last week’s column: “A Simple Question,” which attempted to sort through my reactions to being asked an extremely innocent, appropriate, well-intended and always appreciated courtesy: “How are you?” and the problem that it sometimes causes me. That problem being: a question which had it not been asked would then not require an answer. An answer that I’ll always give, but not before I’ve given it some thought, which if I hadn’t thought about, wouldn’t have bothered me in the least
Letter to the Editor: Hunger's Impact
To the Editor: As Congress returns to Washington and gets back to the important work of balancing our budget, they are going to have to make some difficult decisions.
Column: Medicaid Expansion, Transportation and Uranium
This week’s General Assembly session included “Crossover” on Tuesday — after which the House and Senate may only work on bills approved by the other body.