The science and research fields are alarmed by President Donald Trump's anti-science policies.  The White House would argue that it is pushing for  gold-standard science . What is that? The administration released their  MAHA Report , injecting politics into science. And in a “Gold Standard Science” executive order last week, President Donald Trump outlined a new level of oversight over what counts as quality evidence and what does not, putting “a senior appointee designated by the agency head” in charge of overseeing “alleged violations.” Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a briefing that the goal of the executive order is to “rebuild the American people’s confidence in the national science enterprise … the status quo of our research enterprise has brought diminishing returns, wasted resources and public distrust.” A petition led by the advocacy group Stand Up for Science with more than 5,000 signatories says th...

Today, I focus on something spiritual.  However, I first introduce you to the latest newcomer, the BA2.75 subvariant, called Centaurus, and will this week analyze how this strain could affect the future of our Pandemic. One more newsworthy piece, for, on the heels of Speaker Nancy Pelosi,  Senator Ed Markey and four other members of the U.S. Congress , visited Taiwan to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and industrialists to discuss tensions in the Taiwan Strait and follow-up on semiconductor investments.  The delegation had previously met with new South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol.  Clearly, the Ukraine War has solidified the White House position for maintaining Taiwan independence.  Next, you will see U.S, warships in that strait, plus a few high profile trade talks. Any anthropologist would recognize that religion played a key roll in the development of early human societies.  What has long surprised me is how all the major religions have not only ...

I've long debated addressing the matter of social welfare in the United States.  Well, Senator Joe Manchin's NO to the White House about the Build Back Better Act could well be a wake up call for the nation. First, Manchin left the  door wide open for some compromise next month.  He blamed the White House staff and not the President.  So something less than $2 trillion will get through by reconciliation. But the larger point that I'll address today is:  can we build a society to motivate people?  We need to get to the root cause of what ails America.  Homelessness, poverty, racial strife...things seem to be getting worse rather than better. Starting with  homelessness , here are some numbers that will surprise, if not shock, you.  In terms of homeless/100,000 population: Syria  3753 Nigeria  1658 Somalia  1867 Central African Republic  1421 South Sudan  1378 Grenada  1300 Yemen  1294 Honduras  1235 Egyp...