December 2015

2016: Prepare To Or Plan For? By Leonard Zwelling          There is an old Yiddish proverb that goes something like this: “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Yet, we humans constantly emphasize the importance of planning. I am going to be an early advisor that planning for next year, 2016, […]

The NEXT “Big Short”: American Health Care By Leonard Zwelling          It is great when Hollywood takes one of your favorite books and makes it into a great movie. It happens so rarely. Coma, Rosemary’s Baby, Sophie’s Choice, The Godfather, Moneyball, Silence of the Lambs, and a few others come to mind. A very few

Fanfare for the Common Rule By Leonard Zwelling          There is relief in sight for the clinical investigators of America struggling with the duel curse of over-regulation and underfunding. Changes to the Common Rule that governs all clinical investigation have been proposed and are likely to go into effect next year. Caution and vigilance are

The Death of Cancer By Vincent T. DeVita Jr, MD and Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn By Leonard Zwelling On page 248 of this extraordinary memoir-battle story, Dr. DeVita lists the eight attributes of cancer cells as first delineated by Weinberg and Hanahan: 1. Sustained proliferative signaling 2. Evasion of growth suppressors 3. Resistance to cell death 4.

Dr. Laurence Cooper: Corporate Centerfold By Leonard Zwelling          You really have got to be kidding.          I am fully aware of Dr. Cooper’s research and its potential benefit to patients. I am also aware that he has decided to take a formerly unusual, but now all too common, route to success–moving to the private

Trumbo, Trump, and Moon Shots By Leonard Zwelling          Nothing is more uplifting and nothing more dangerous than an idea.          Trumbo, a film by Jay Roach starring Bryan Cranston, is the true story of Dalton Trumbo, a famous Hollywood screenwriter and author, a winner of the National Book Award, and the most famous victim

What The Debate Really Meant By Leonard Zwelling          The Tuesday Night Fight from Vegas was actually surprisingly informative.          We learned that Dr. Paul wouldn’t shoot down a Russian plane in an American-declared no-fly zone, but Governor Christie would. We learned that Carly Fiorina is a scold and wants the boys she has to

The Trouble With Trump’s Tribalism: It’s the Perfect ISIS Recruiting Tool By Leonard Zwelling          The United States that I know and love is not a tribal nation. The only tribes ensconced by law in the American fabric are the Indian tribes and even they are called “nations” in statute. America is a melting pot.

Guns, Grief and Gonifs By Leonard Zwelling          As I watched the parade of politicians and talking heads march across my TV screen this Sunday morning, I only got angrier.          The Republican insistence that the US does not have a regulatable gun problem is simply delusional. Regardless of the fact that the guns used

“Killing a King”: Why This Book Is So Crucial Now By Leonard Zwelling          Dan Ephron’s book of this title describes the two lines of thinking that crossed when Yigal Amir murdered Yitzhak Rabin in November of 1995 and for all intents and purposes ended any chance that Israel could strike a peace deal with