Policy Not Politics

In light of what's going on in the world these days, it's easy to overlook problems that still plague our own community. Standing apart from the crowd, former Boise City Councilman TJ Thomson has dedicated years of his career to fighting animal cruelty, revamping and updating animal codes both in Boise and around the area, and fighting for the voiceless animals that suffer daily. All while promoting common sense reforms that consider all perspectives, rather than just playing party politics.

When it comes to healthcare it might seem like the whole industry is out to get you but there’s one doctor stepping away from the conventional mold, Dr. Bill Brandenburg.

Whether it’s working in his clinic, Wander Medicine, and providing compassionate, cost-effective, transparent care to his patients or just working to inform members of the community about health in general through his Full Scope podcast, Dr. Brandenburg is setting a standard for what healthcare should look like.

In this episode, we’ll talk about everything ranging from your mental and physical health to the pandemic and clinic-to-hospital funnel that ends up costing patients tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dr. Brandenburg takes me step by step into some of the ways American medicine has gone completely off the rails and how you as an individual can make an impact.

This week we have the show’s first interview with our guest, Dom Gelsomino. As an independent consultant and Meridian Parks and Rec commissioner, Dom has worked with both sides of the political aisle to find solutions to issues that face all of us and is here to share his thoughts on issues like the pandemic, education, and the environment.

If you’d like to learn more about Dom’s work both on and off the P&R Commission, you can check out his website, Dom4Idaho.com, or visit the Meridian Parks and Rec site directly at https://meridiancity.org/parks/.

Millions of deaths later and a trillion dollars spent, America’s War on Drugs has still not achieved what it set out to accomplish back in 1971. With so much controversy and bloodshed surrounding the War, it’s important to understand the history behind it so that you know exactly how we got to where we are today.

“Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

Truer words have rarely been spoken but does that mean we should allow that man to starve while he learns? For 1 in 10 Americans, that seems to be the case. As we give thanks at dinner this week, it's easy to be grateful for what we have while overlooking what others do not.

We've all heard the same lines used again and again and again.

Have you ever found yourself wrestling with questions about the world, feeling hopeless and unsure what you can do to make an impact? I know I have. For many years I worked in different capacities in order to make my mark on the world, help those less fortunate, and make sense of it all.