I remember in a very famous campaign speech in 2012 President Obama repeating the famous words of Dr. Martin Luther King about a man should be judged “by the content of his character and not the color of his skin.” This week my wife and I will be traveling to Hampton Virginia where Booker T. […]
Author: Dr. John Livingston
In 1977-1978, I was the medical officer on the USS Virginia (CGN-38). She was an awesome ship that was powered by two Nuclear Reactors. The prototype is still at the INEEL and the two reactors from the ship are now “mothballed” at Hannaford on the Columbia River. We had 500 men on the ship and […]
I have lived in Boise for 34 years. During that time, I have had many patients who either were or later entered into politics. Legislators, Mayors, three Governors. Several in that group shared a goose blind together years ago. Many of us attended daily Mass at St. Alphonsus on the 4th floor at 1200 noon […]
Where Is Gil Gilbertson
When I left active duty in the Navy in 1988 and came to Boise one of the first people I met was “Gil” Gilbertson who was the CEO of St. Luke’s. Gil was a great man. Unfortunately, he has passed. We could certainly use his wisdom today. At a very difficult time in our community […]
In 1633, Pope Urban VIII ordered the house arrest of Galileo Galilei for continuing his postings of the theory first put forth by Copernicus that the earth was not the center of the solar system but rather the sun was the center and the earth revolved around the sun. This was the second time Galileo […]
How to Make a Liberal
I have spent some time this week while on Whidbey Island in Washington State watching people. Everybody in Washington State is now wearing masks indoors and outdoors on our beach! I think of my grandparents who fought in WWII and my parents who both served in the Korean War. How do a people allow themselves […]
Patriotism
Last week Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives refused to read the names of the brave Marines and Navy Corpsmen who died in Afghanistan on the first day of the American chaotic retreat. Several members of Congress who themselves were veterans asked that after the opening prayer and The Pledge […]
Preparation—Position and Planning—Execution—(adjust and repeat): Every great military leader from the Great Chinese Dynasties, the Romans, and Spartans, The Patriarchs of The Old Testament—in the story of David and Goliath— David followed these rules meticulously, up through modern times with MacArthur, Patton, Eisenhower, and Rommel, when these rules are followed there will also follow success […]
It’s All Connected
Has anyone noticed the connection between “Wokeness” and corporate cronyism”? What about between “stakeholder capitalism” and “economic Fascism” like we saw in Mussolini’s Italy or Hitler’s Third Reich, or in any totalitarian Marxist State? Our own country was founded on Judeo Christian Enlightenment ideals of individual liberty and the belief that we are united as […]
Patient Outcomes
There are many variables that contribute to patient outcomes and an accurate reckoning and weighting of those variables can be difficult and challenging. For the past 18 months we have been listening to “experts” tell us what we should do about wearing masks, social distancing, and vaccinations. A very critical and almost always overlooked factor […]
Moral Certitude
“I can forgive you for killing my children, but I can never forgive you for making me kill yours” Golda Meir I have spent over 26 years in the military on active duty, in the reserves, and as an instructor of surgeons and physicians around the world. I was never at “the tip of the spear” […]
Just a Dream
The rumor mill is running full steam ahead in anticipation of the many deals that will be made at the Governor’s Cup in Sun Valley. Allegedly overheard in my dream by a colleague of mine in the steam room at the Downtown “Y” was a conversation about how naive the “Trumpers” are in our State […]