Author Archive

Neighbor, glider pilot, bringer of perspective

Austin American-Statesman, April 11, 2012

From 1981 to 2004, I had the incredibly good fortune of living on Scott Crescent, a crescent-shaped street about a quarter-mile long. Most of my […]

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We could use a Barbara Jordan in America today

Austin American-Statesman, February 21, 2012

Barbara Jordan — attorney, former congresswoman and professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs — would have turned 76 today. At the age of […]

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Our Missed Health Care Opportunity

Austin American-Statesman, December 1, 2011

For the past 17 months I’ve watched through my fingers as Congress has slowly eviscerated a gentle, brilliant, apolitical pediatrician and Harvard professor — Don […]

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West Texas doctor done in by his own bizarre choices

Austin American-Statesman, November 9, 2011

In this country, a person has a right to legal representation. If you choose instead to represent yourself in court, you must sign a waiver […]

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Final of four Winkler County ‘good ol’ boys’ faces charges in court

Austin American-Statesman, October 13, 2011

The last man standing in the unfolding saga of small-town retaliation against two nurses who tried to protect hospital patients from dangerous medical care is […]

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Steve Jobs taught us to ‘Stay hungry. Stay foolish.’

Austin American-Statesman, October 7, 2011

When Steve Jobs announced in August, at age 56, that he was stepping down as CEO of Apple and Pixar, you knew his candle was […]

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Help health care: Let nurses in Texas do more

Austin American-Statesman, August 29, 2011

Campaigning for the presidency, Gov. Rick Perry touts his record of job creation. What he’s not talking about is his record on health care, which […]

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West Texas Story has Sleaze, Drama — Sadly, It’s Real

Austin American-Statesman, June 7, 2011

We’ve seen the beginning of the 
Winkler County whistle-blowing nurses movie so many times, but it still doesn’t have an ending. It has an all-star […]

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Efficiency can make health care better and cheaper

Austin American-Statesman, May 11, 2011

There’s a little history leading up to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ visit to Austin last week. It began in 1999, the year […]

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Lawmakers, Doctors Holding Nurses Back

Austin American-Statesman, April 22, 2011

Here’s an idea that wouldn’t cost Texas a dime but would save millions of dollars every year: Remove all barriers restraining nurses from practicing to […]

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