Reconsidering Medicine

This is an original book on the philosophy of medicine. It considers philosophy of medicine as a subdiscipline of philosophy of science. This volume is grounded on an epistemological bottom-up account that arises from the clinical situation, the epidemiologic, and the resulting public health account. It is not a review of the literature, and it is not intended to frame the debates, or to analyze and compare the various number of viewpoints.

Medicine is the human activity, which begins by a linguistic act that identifies the negative norms of health: it begins with a first distinction that splits biological processes into three conventional parts, normal, abnormal and pathologic. Neither of them is a natural kind. Being abnormal is intrinsically bad and admits of degrees, while being pathologic is dichotomous. Being normal is factitious and counterfactual much the same as frictionless planes in physics. Leaving apart the ethical aspects, this book endeavors to uncover the implicit conceptual network, the chief junctures of medicine, should they be found, and their articulations with clinical and community medicine. It results that medicine is pervaded with dichotomous concepts such as scientific vs pragmatic discourse, function and malfunction, abnormal and pathologic, needs and wants, causation and explanation, clinical vs community-oriented care, physical vs psychiatric diseases, mental illness vs deviancy, and so on. Medical thinking has two dimensions intrinsically interweaved, namely a constant amalgam and admixture of biological and normative aspects, so that this essential hybrid nature of the grammar of medicine endorses opposite approaches, naturalistic or normativist, biological or value-laden, realist or instrumental, reductionist or holistic, phenomenological or analytic.

Reflections Before the Blessed Sacrament

Kneeling before Jesus in the tabernacle or being exposed on the altar is a magnificent gift of God. Aware of our sinfulness and the need to draw ever closer to Jesus, who did so much for us, we hope to show Him during these few minutes of prayer how much we love Him. However, being human, and despite our intent to focus on Him and nothing else, we often find our minds wandering or distracted only to suddenly realize we forgot where we were and what we wanted to do.

One way of trying to maintain our attention solely on Jesus is to use a reflection prepared ahead of time in a devotional book. In this humble book you will find a series of reflections, homilies given by the author over the years, to help you to offer yourself more fully every day, and especially when you are in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist.

Refrigerator Door

Refrigerator Door!

How one household item became the epicenter for cherished memories.

The refrigerator door – that communal billboard found in every home. Covered in photos, mementos, report cards, and takeout menus, this humble appliance takes on far greater meaning. It becomes a tapestry of everything important to a family.

In Refrigerator Door, author and father Thom reminisces on the refrigerator door of his childhood. This mosaic of fading photos and fridge magnets shaped his upbringing and brought his family together. Now Thom passes along the tradition to his own children, reminding them that even an ordinary door can be transformed into something extraordinary with the memories we choose to display.

Join Thom on this heartwarming journey that reveals how a refrigerator door quietly yet profoundly chronicles the story of a family. More than just a surface for sticking homework assignments and takeout menus, it is a celebration of all that gives our fast-paced lives meaning.

Remembering John Noel Dempsey: A Man Who Did Good

At a time when governors have been sent to jail, presidents have been impeached, and legislatures seem dedicated to gridlock, and adherence to blind partisanship trumps all else, it’s not hard to fathom why American people have become skeptical about politicians and cynical about the entire political process and downright disgusted at what is seen to be governmental shenanigans. It may come, then, as comfort to some and dubious to others to read about a politician who has been dubbed “the genuine article,” a man who personified the adage “what you see is what you get,” a person who believed that life was about giving and not about getting. That's the kind of man I grew up knowing, the kind of politician, who would no longer fit the current mold, the person I am honored to call “my father.”

Retiremental!

Retiremental! is a lighthearted and heartfelt book of advice to assist you throughout the retirement realm. Retiremental! is filled with informative, entertaining, inspirational, and thought-provoking advice in easy to digest bite-sized quotes and quips conveniently organized into alphabetically arranged categories. Give yourself or a retiree you care about Retiremental!

Retiremental! will:

- Help you transition into and throughout retirement.

- Help you define and redefine your new identity as a retiree.

- Help you reduce challenges in retirement.

- Help you build a solid retirement foundation.

Retiremental! will not:

- Help you maximize your Social Security.

- Help you navigate Medicare.

- Help you select your healthcare provider.

- Help you understand your retirement financial accounts.

Revelations

From 1846 to the present day, the Vatican has maintained quite the same message brought forth from Heaven by different messengers across time and across vast distances and continents. This message echoes the gravest of admonitions and calls mankind to convert and find refuge through the knowledge of the truth, which today threatens the very basis of world peace...

Today, in 2022, the message of La Salette, La Fraudais, Tilly, Fatima, Garabandal, Akita and Medjugorje, and their secrets take a meaning of the greatest importance, as the admonitions brought forth by the Blessed Virgin Mary warn of a cataclysmic global disaster which has now become imminent. The Church’s apprehension of frightening the masses, inspired inaction and Rome’s decision to silence – founded more on fear than on caution – led millions of faithful to the darkness of ignorance and, therefore, to a lack of necessary conversion, prayers and intercession for peace. This book proposes unveiling the light and, thus, asking humanity to respond to the call of a warm and loving mother who merely seeks the salvation of her children.

Roads to COVID-19 Containment and Spread

Eight democratic countries traversed the road to remarkable containment of COVID-19 in 2020-2021, five without economically damaging shutdowns. During the first two years of the pandemic, the United States and the United Kingdom each had COVID-19 death rates per population 6 times higher than any one of these eight countries and more than 135 times the best. Why?  This book reveals successes and mistakes in science, governmental policies, and politics that vastly altered the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in different parts of the world. The author explains his research in a near conversational, human-focused approach understandable to nonscientists. The topics range from the nature of coronaviruses to the economic consequences of the pandemic. The movement toward a “new normal” of living with the virus is dangerous, he writes. Without recognition of governmental policy failures and implementation of new science-based policies, periodic surges in infections will continue and more lethal mutations cannot be ruled out.

Roma in Canada (1997-2020)

If you’ve ever been curious about the mystique of the Roma, pejoratively called Gypsies, this book is an excellent guide to their culture and customs as well as explaining the difference between the various Romani groups, their fascinating origins and their precarious place in society.

Focusing on the Roma’s experiences with the Canadian immigration and refugee process, the author, an immigration counsellor, tells a riveting story, using many of their personal anecdotes of why they came and how they were treated. Despite being one of the most welcoming countries for refugees in the world, this book explores a somewhat secretive system of determining who deserves Canada’s protection that puts into question the system’s reputation for equality. Canada’s fairness and compassion has let the Roma down, leading to many failed claims and deportations that were later found to be unjustified and in some cases, illegal. Facing a life of brutal prejudice and even violence, if returned to Europe, the Roma’s heartbreaking story is a glimpse into the complex world of refugees.

Rooting Out Violence

Life and death are merged in the terror of unrelenting global violence. Rooting Out Violence describes a model, ‘Healthy Sensory-Emotional Integration,’ with the scope to help adults assess the human capacity for violence in themselves, in members of their communities, as well as, in leaders of their countries. The book provides a violence prevention model to mitigate trauma and human rights violations throughout our lifespans and throughout the world. Healthy Sensory-Emotional Integration is a public health model that is understandable and achievable globally.

The manuscript identifies how blind-sighted we have been historically by not emphasizing the number one variable in the capacity to commit a violent crime; for funding violence prevention in institutional siloes, such as, corrections and child protection programs, when the inner nature of each of us counts; and excluding comprehensive research on preventing trauma, not just funding treatment strategies.

Rune Elements

Sometimes, the best way to learn something is to do it. This book will take you by the hand and show how to actually make, finish, care for, and use the ancient runes in a way that is more "How to" than most books on the subject. This is specifically meant for the individuals who want to learn the uses of the Elder Futhark, not just the esoteric meanings and history of them. You'll learn about the various ways of making runes, bind-runes, talisman, and charms, as well as the many uses for them, both traditional and modern. Everything from the tools and techniques to the materials and accessories you might employ...all is explained in detail from a runemaster with over 30 years of practical experience.

Saving Eric

Mary's nightmare began when her seven-year-old adopted son inexplicably screamed before dinner one night. From that point on, her son's struggle became her struggle. Mental and physical illness, along with drug addiction, turned her life upside down. The love Mary had for her son, though, never waned as she desperately tried to save him from his demons. "Wonderfully written and moving. I can't recommend this book enough to any family who shares the experience of adoption or a struggle with a child's unpredictable, often violent mental health, along with the journey alongside an addiction." * -- Annie Highwater, "Unhooked" "A meaningful exploration of mental illness and addiction - two present-day tragedies." * -- Charles Rubin, "Don't Let Your Kids Kill You"

Scientism: A New World Dream

In Scientism: A New World Dream, the author delves into the rise of left-brain dominance in Western culture and its impact on our understanding of the world. The author argues that this shift has led to a more distanced and factual approach, akin to the denatured view of science and the emergence of scientism. Through examination of cultural movements throughout history, the author suggests that this mindset has resulted in a disregard for actual fact-checking and a reliance on ideas over reality, leading to the prevalence of fake news and opinions. This book provides a thought-provoking examination of the impact of scientism on our society and raises important questions about the nature of truth and reality.