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    Articles by Richard Elfers
    For-profit medical industry bleeding patients dry | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    For-profit medical industry bleeding patients dry | Rich...
    By Richard Elfers • March 5, 2013 3:56 pm

    Time Magazine’s March 4 cover notes that a 1.5 cent acetaminophen tablet costs 10,000 times that much in a hospital. This introduces the reader into the featured story of the issue: “Why Medical Bills are Killing Us,” by Steven Brill.

    Read Story

    Placing blame for health costs | Rich Elfers
    Placing blame for health costs | Rich Elfers
    By Richard Elfers • March 4, 2013 9:36 pm

    Time Magazine’s March 4 cover notes that a 1.5 cent acetaminophen tablet costs 10,000 times that much in a hospital. This introduces the reader into the featured story of the issue: “Why Medical Bills are Killing Us,” by Steven Brill.

    Read Story

    Do fairy tale beginnings do harm in the long run of a relationship? | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    Do fairy tale beginnings do harm in the...
    By Richard Elfers • February 21, 2013 4:56 pm

    Why do couples so often dress better, bring flowers, hold the chair, open the door for the love of their lives, go out to dinner and attempt to keep themselves slim only until the “quarry” has been safely bagged?

    Read Story

    Quality candidates a good sign | Rich Elfers
    Quality candidates a good sign | Rich Elfers
    By Richard Elfers • February 18, 2013 5:54 pm

    I watched with avid interest and some surprise as seven candidates vied for the Enumclaw City Council seat vacated due to the death of Kevin Mahelona.

    Read Story

    Good government comes from caring and competence | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    Good government comes from caring and competence |...
    By Richard Elfers • February 14, 2013 12:59 pm

    I watched with avid interest and some surprise as seven candidates vied for the Enumclaw City Council seat vacated due to the death of Kevin Mahelona.

    Read Story

    Lack of Wall Street prosecutions are a travesty | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    Lack of Wall Street prosecutions are a travesty...
    By Richard Elfers • February 8, 2013 2:49 pm

    Approximately 4.5 years have passed since the 2008 economic meltdown. It is estimated that $12 trillion were lost and millions of jobs ended in what has been considered the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. How can it be that this group of people has escaped criminal prosecution?

    Read Story

    McCleary decision put state lawmakers on notice | Richard Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    McCleary decision put state lawmakers on notice |...
    By Richard Elfers • January 31, 2013 7:26 pm

    The McCleary versus the state of Washington decision of Jan. 5, 2012, set the stage. According to the state constitution, “It is the paramount duty of the State to make ample provision for the education of all students residing within its borders.”

    Read Story

    Different tactics expanded U.S. | Rich Elfers
    Different tactics expanded U.S. | Rich Elfers
    By Richard Elfers • January 25, 2013 6:02 pm

    When I teach American history to international students, I want to make sure they learn how the United States spread out across this continent and expanded overseas. Understanding this tells them a lot about America’s national character and personality. There are definite patterns to our expansion westward.

    Read Story

    The many faces of American expansion | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    The many faces of American expansion | Rich...
    By Richard Elfers • January 25, 2013 4:23 pm

    When I teach American history to international students, I want to make sure they learn how the United States spread out across this continent and expanded overseas. Understanding this tells them a lot about America’s national character and personality. There are definite patterns to our expansion westward.

    Read Story

    Interesting to view from the Chinese perspective | Rich Elfers
    Interesting to view from the Chinese perspective |...
    By Richard Elfers • January 22, 2013 12:50 pm

    A Chinese venture capitalist and political scientist in the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs presents an intriguing perspective on the current state of U.S. democracy. The author, Eric X. Li, trumpets the advantages of the one-party rule by the Chinese Communist Party. Democracy is not the only form of successful government, according to Li.

    Read Story

    Venture capitalist challenges notions about democracy | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    Venture capitalist challenges notions about democracy | Rich...
    By Richard Elfers • January 18, 2013 2:13 pm

    A Chinese venture capitalist and political scientist in the January/February edition of Foreign Affairs presents an intriguing perspective on the current state of U.S. democracy. The author, Eric X. Li, trumpets the advantages of the one-party rule by the Chinese Communist Party. Democracy is not the only form of successful government, according to Li.

    Read Story

    Binary thought has a time and place | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    Binary thought has a time and place |...
    By Richard Elfers • January 11, 2013 2:32 pm

    Do you know what black-and-white thinking is? It’s a way of seeing situations and events as moral choices between good and evil, right and wrong, either/or, with nothing in between.

    This type of thinking is absolutely essential in life-or-death situations. The choices are stark where dramatic decisive action is required. Most of the time, though, black-and-white thinking limits our options and causes us to see the world with too narrow a focus.

    Read Story

    U.S. political parties have a rich and storied history | Rich Elfers’ Politics in Focus
    U.S. political parties have a rich and storied...
    By Richard Elfers • January 7, 2013 6:43 pm

    Do you know the history of our current major American political parties? Understanding their history will help you appreciate how they change with the times and often switch roles.

    Read Story

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