This post was originally published on June 28, 2018 in the Daily Beast. The bandwagon of child care and health professionals who have characterized the federal government’s forced separation of migrant children from their parents as “child abuse by government” is overflowing. It would indeed be difficult to concoct a more traumatizing experience for already vulnerable infants and children then what these kids have gone through. The fact is that, as a pediatrician, if I saw a child being subject to the terror these kids are experiencing I would be ethically and legally obliged to contact the authorities. But wait: The authorities are the perpetrators! And it’s not just psychological trauma these kids are experiencing. There’s rampant child neglect, too, in the detention facilities. Terrified young children desperately need emotional support from parents and some semblance of a “normal” environment. That’s not happening in the government’s detention centers, or what some call “baby jails.” And to further compound the unabashed cruelty of what the government has done to thousands of
July 26, 2018
This post was originally published on May 30, 2018 in Fortune. The 2018 hurricane season is upon us, and it looks like we are in for a very bad year. This is right on the on the heels of 2017, which was the most expensivehurricane season on record, requiring multiple emergency supplemental appropriations from Congress. Going forward, we need to accept the fact that the degree to which we rely on the federal government to underwrite our preparedness and response is no longer viable. We need
July 26, 2018
This post was originally published on March 15, 2018 in The Hill. I just returned from Texas, where I was
July 26, 2018
This post was originally published on March 7, 2018 in the Washington Post. In many ways my trip last month
July 26, 2018
This post was originally published on March 5, 2018 in CNN. Cape Town, South Africa, is set to run out of fresh water for its 4 million citizens on July 15. On that day
July 26, 2018
This post was originally published on December 13, 2017 in The Hill. Recent acts of terrorism at home and abroad remind us that our first responders are on the front lines, and that our national policies and programs should continue to support them. Unfortunately, the administration’s proposed budget threatens to undermine programs that our responders rely on. The clock is ticking for Congress to act. The president and the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal 2018 budget call for the closure of the National Urban Security Technology laboratory along with the Chemical Security Analysis Center and the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center. This will save a mere $41.7 million out of an agency budget of $44.1 billion, or less than one tenth of one percent of the agency’s budget. Yet the impact is far greater. The National Urban Security Technology Laboratory in New York City supports first responders in many ways. Including servicing first responder radiation
March 27, 2018
This post was originally published on December 12, 2017 in The Hill. Monday’s explosion in the underground corridor at 42nd St., much like the horrific attack in downtown Manhattan in October, reminds us that New
March 27, 2018
