-

The Goldwater Rule and The Golden Rule
I read Dr. Moffic’s column today about the challenge in finding a rational solution to the objections many psychiatrists have to diagnosing President Donald Trump with a psychiatric disorder, despite the Goldwater Rule against doing that in any public forum. Dr. Moffic points out that the high emotions aroused on both sides of the political…
-

Thoughts on the X-Files Episode “Humbug”
So, I was watching the X-Files episode, “Humbug” last night and it got me wondering about the meaning of the word “nature.” The character, Dr. Blockhead says “Nature abhors normality.” Of course that reminded me of a similar quote attributed to Aristotle, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” You can read the short Wikipedia summary of “Humbug”…
-

The Red Green Show “Twinning” Episode A Model of Cooperation
I just read Dr. H. Steven Moffic’s post on Psychiatric Times, “The Space Station as a Model for Intercultural Cooperation.” I also read the blog of another psychiatric I consider a colleague and friend, Dr. George Dawson, MD, and it’s sort of in the oppositive vein, being about the recent snafu of some Republican Minnesota…
-

Politics on the Brain
I just discovered the news item about 5 Minnesota Senate Republicans who introduced a bill this month seeking to classify “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) as a mental illness. This is not a new idea, I think, and it targets Democrats as having the syndrome. There’s a big Wikipedia article about the history of the origin…
-

The Zamboni Effect
I was walking around the mall today doing ordinary old guy things: watching the Zamboni machine resurface the ice rink, which I’ve never seen before, by the way. The surface was pretty dull before the Zamboni team started. There were two kids in the seat, one young lady driving and the other young man pointing…
-

Noteworthy Black Psychiatrists on the Last Day of Black History Month
I wanted to give a shout-out to Dr. H. Steven Moffic, MD for his article highlighting the career of a notable black psychiatrist, Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, who sadly died on February 24, 2025. I’m mortified that I hadn’t heard of him before now. It reminded me of the time I mentioned another black…
-

Bluebirds Fly on the Terry Trueblood Trail
We got out today on the Terry Trueblood Trail because it was sunny and 60 degrees. It felt like early spring, although Punxsutawney Phil put the kibosh on that. The ice was giving way on Sand Lake. The birds were waking up and hungry. And I can’t remember the last time we saw bluebirds at…
-

Old School
We were reminiscing about our elementary school days following a discussion of news article about what some educators want to do with the school day schedule. Apparently, kids are pretty sleepy in class and teachers think it’s because they’re sleep deprived. Apparently, they’re not getting enough sleep at night and the proposal is that the…
-

Rife vs Ripe: Which is Right?
I noticed a couple of things about one of the President’s many new Executive Orders, which was “ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT’S MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN COMMISSION,” or MAHA for short. It was posted on February 13, 2025. One thing it reminded me of is the tax filing season, which is upon us (everything reminds me of…

