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John Livingston

The Politics of Medicaid

Ten years ago, we were told “you can keep your doctor you can keep your plan” and Medicaid expansion will improve “access—quality-and cost” for everyone including those businesses that insure their employees and those individuals and families who insure themselves. Just ask patients in the Treasure Valley about how hard it is to keep your […]

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John Livingston

Product Placement

I remember when I was a young boy the old guard that ruled professional golf criticized the new up and coming golfer Jack Nicklaus because he wore a logo—a “Golden Bear” on his golf shirt. He also signed a contract that year with Hart Schaffner and Marks and started his own clothing line. The old […]

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John Livingston

Upon Further Review

As we get into the last part of the month of March, and our legislators in Boise start getting cabin fever, I thought it would be a good time to see how the agenda that leadership put before us at the beginning of the session is working out. It really seems to me that many […]

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John Livingston

This Ship is Badass!

It oftentimes becomes the job of the poet or great writer to encapsulate a feeling or idea in a few words, so that we can all remember and feel not only the emotion of the thought, but the veracity of what follows: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” — […]

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John Livingston

Idaho Loves Our Military

On Saturday, March 16th the fifth ship carrying the name USS Idaho will be commissioned at Electric Boat in Groton Connecticut. The newest member of the Virginia Class of fast attack subs is SSN 799 USS Idaho. Former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne will lead the Commissioning Committee made up of distinguished Idaho citizens, several who […]

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John Livingston

Always Life First

I believe the progressive wings of the Democratic and Republican parties are going to make women’s rights and specifically access to abortion, a central part of their campaign this year. The issue is not complicated but has become nuanced and conflated with issues of claimed human rights, not necessarily individual rights and responsibilities. G. K. […]

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John Livingston

Facility Parking and Mission Creep

It is becoming more complicated for me to understand what certain people in elite organizations actually do. The mission creep that has occurred in academia with the titles President of University or Provost is making the matter even more difficult. In the military there are charts showing the Chain of Command” which can always be […]

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John Livingston

Healthcare through the eyes of a Physician turned Patient

I am convalescing at home this evening after having undergone my second and hopefully my last total hip surgery. I related in an article 2 months ago how grateful I was to the entire OR crew at St. Luke’s in an article in The Gem State Patriot. My surgeon and friend Dr. Ron Kristenson led […]

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John Livingston

We are all Americans

We are now in Black History Month. How is a white person who was raised in a time of social and cultural segregation—in both the north and the south, and who has now raised a family and has grandchildren, supposed to feel and talk about our great American Sin—slavery? Lance Morro in The Wall Street […]

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John Livingston

Idaho’s Romper Room

Down at the capital this morning I heard a new term to describe the more progressive branch of the Republican Party in Idaho—formerly referred to as RINOs. The term was “Romper Room Republicans” I am sure the term was used in a pejorative fashion, but there were some very positive things about the TV show […]

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John Livingston

Do We Know Who We Are?

I watched the Tucker Carlson—Vladimir Putin interview twice last night. Before I give my impressions of the interview, I want to note that there has been very little notice given to it by any in the mainstream media—including Breitbart and Fox. Could you imagine the “noise” if Bret Baier or Rachel Maddow had been able […]

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John Livingston

Priority Inversion and Thrashing

Today’s article was inspired by my Pastor who knows far more about computers and IT than I could ever hope to learn. He told a story in a sermon about the algorithms that were deployed on The Mars Rover in 1997 that resulted in the delayed execution of a priority task that resulted in a […]

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