If physicians don’t want one set of cuts in health care spending they should help Maine and other states find different cuts that matter less. more

I have worked nights in lonely ERs as the only doc on duty for miles, resuscitated babies, stared down homicidal drunks, drained pus from abscesses hidden where the sun does not shine and worse. But that all seems pretty tame by comparison to being a hospital CEO. more

Sometimes the best thing a woman ever does for a man is to administer kicks in his pants until he smartens up. This man had been suffering from chest pain all evening but was too stubborn to go to … more

Drunken sailors cannot hold a candle to physicians when it comes to spending money. Come to my office, get a few blood tests and a gallbladder ultrasound ordered, have an EKG, and the total bill could be $500. A new titanium hip courtesy of your orthopedic surgeon could cost $25,000 or more. more

When Maine’s Legislature convenes in January, its members will face lots of bills about health care, but they should focus like lasers on those initiatives that will reduce health care costs in the … more

Dear Girls, We are now getting more calls for you at our home than when you were both living here and dating. That’s because, for the first time, both of you will be voting for a president of the United States, and every pollster and campaign worker in the darn world seems to have your names on their call lists. more

The current state of our political arguments suggests that for all the time we spend arguing, most of us are lousy at it. We drive arguments as though they are pickup trucks, and think we have won if the opposition is left behind prone on the road with a tire track tattoo. We forget that if your argument sounded great to you but convinced no one, you actually lost the argument. more

You may cross me off your Christmas list for saying this, but most of us have not been a whole lot more responsible about the future of our country’s economic health than the idiots on Wall … more

I often talk to my patients in the ER a little more than I need to, mostly because I like them. Sometimes I ask them what they do for work, or if they have kids. Sometimes I ask them how they are doing in school or at home. And sometimes it is a mistake to ask, and perhaps it was recently when I asked the third-generation Mainer in Room 2 if he was worried about paying for home heating oil and keeping warm this winter. more

As the father of daughters, I agree we should keep our public mitts off Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter. more

I had wanted to spend my last moments on earth surrounded by my loving family in the drive-up at the local Dunkin’ Donuts, but have changed my mind; when death is reeling me in and about to net me, take me to a yard sale. more

In the good old days, women were women, men were men, and it was OK for a physician to be a total jerk in the hospital as long as he or she was very talented. More than one physician got away with … more

To those of you who think text-messaging (e-mailing between cell phones) is the hottest thing since Liberace rhinestoned his piano, I say "Plz! Don' t make me LOL" (laugh out loud). more