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The GND: Glitter, Nonsense, and Devitalization
Its acronym could also stand for Garbage, Now Discard

February 13, 2019  •  American Greatness

The latest public policy bandwagon is the "Green New Deal," or GND, whose acronym could well stand for Glitter, Nonsense, and Devitalization. Some of its proposals are so outlandish that they would be more appropriate coming from enthusiastic (but not very smart) second-graders than from members of Congress. It is astonishing that a blueprint for so many ways to impoverish the nation and disrupt our lives could garner so much attention.

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Here's an idea for controlling drug prices: Restore market forces
We need patent reform and reciprocity of approvals between FDA and foreign counterparts

February 7, 2019  •  Washington Examiner

Trump administration officials keep searching for solutions to rising prescription drug prices, which are increasing faster than inflation. "Drug makers and companies are not living up to their commitments on pricing. Not being fair to the consumer, or to our Country!" President Trump tweeted on Jan. 5.

Most of the administration's suggested remedies have been threats or the imposition of various types of price controls. On Thursday, Jan. 31, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the department would propose a rule effectively ending the widespread practice of rebates, which the administration calls "hidden kickbacks," to middlemen, or pharmacy benefit managers.

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Do organic farms really produce 'chemical-free, healthier food'?
Spoiler alert: Of course not

February 7, 2019  •  Genetic Literacy Project

In"The Wealth of Nations," the 18th century economist and philosopher Adam Smith observed about the chicanery of some businessmen, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Nowhere is that truer than in today's organic agriculture and food industries.

In an August Wall Street Journal op-ed entitled "The Organic Industry Is Lying to You," I described the ways those industries misrepresent the benefits of their products and broadcast spurious concerns about modern genetic engineering of crop plants – in other words, mendaciously trashing the competition.

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Why we must be wary of grandiose claims about a low-cost, universal cancer cure
Genuine medical 'breakthroughs' are not announced in press releases

February 6, 2019  •  Genetic Literacy Project

We are constantly bombarded with media announcements of miraculous breakthroughs in cancer treatment, giving the false impression that the disease is well on the way to being eliminated as a serious threat. But non-experts — including most reporters — often fail to understand that the improvements in prevention, detection, and treatment are not like the Salk polio vaccine virtually wiping out a dread disease almost overnight. Rather, with cancer — a term that encompasses many different diseases — what we see are modest, incremental, statistical improvements in outcomes.

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'Immoral' Wall Talk is Just Code for Open Borders
Does Pelosi want open borders, or is she just being oppositional?

February 5, 2019  •  American Greatness

Benjamin Franklin, one of the great intellects of America's Federal Period, observed, "Love your neighbor; yet don't pull down your hedge." In other words, barriers to delineate borders are important—not "immoral," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would have us believe.

In spite of the inanity and incorrectness of Pelosi's characterization, apparently it has been adopted as a talking point among more radical congressional Democrats, who dutifully repeat it whenever they're within 30 feet of a microphone.

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