Turning the Tide: 9/11 25 Years Later, join in the observation, in New York City or online, from September 10 – 13, 2026 for “four days of presentations, discussions, networking, and action dedicated to advancing truth, justice, peace, and accountability 25 years after 9/11.” Link: TurningtheTide911.org/turning-the-tide/
In Frederick Aicken’s book, The Nature of Science, page 36, in a section on Greek medicine and chapter on “Fancies,” Aicken begins, “In medicine, too, modern ideas are different only in degree from those of the Greeks. When people are sick, they do not waste time in argument about the nature of sickness, they want immediate remedies. In making a choice, they do not want to hear theoretical discourses about the possible efficiency of a recommended cure, they look for one which has been found to work.” Aicken begins each chapter with notable quotes and thoughtful questions.
In making a choice, where does the primary responsibility lie? With the buyer or with the seller? With the skeptic or with the promoter? In finding the meaning of informed consent – an informed choice – in healing practices, in governance, in business, what are the topics and questions to consider? How critical is it to ask the right question? Below are some of the questions I’m asking. Are there lessons to be learned by asking the right questions? Any inherent principles that can guide informed consent? What questions remain? How does informed consent relate to the stories people share from their personal 9/11 experience, and the broad range of speakers represented at the 25th Anniversary Turning the Tide conference?
Some of my questions…
Dr. Paul Thomas’ medical license suspension by the Oregon Medical Board
- How did, or could have, Dr. Thomas conducted his practice to protect himself from claims by the Oregon Medical Board?
- How does, or doesn’t, a simple online search for news on the topic present Dr. Thomas’ position?
- Pediatrician’s license suspended in Oregon over vaccines, apnews.com/general-news-48d917259b7985e6e335c67773507c62
- Vaccine-Doubting Oregon Doctor Loses Medicaid Funding, wweek.com/news/2019/08/07/vaccine-doubting-oregon-doctor-loses-medicaid-funding
- The Oregon Medical Board suspends the medical license of antivax pediatrician Dr. Paul Thomas, sciencebasedmedicine.org/oregon-medical-board-suspends-license-dr-paul-thomas
- Prominent Anti-Vaccine Pediatrician Dr. Paul Thomas Has License Suspended by the Oregon Medical Board, centerforhealthjournalism.org/our-work/reporting/prominent-anti-vaccine-pediatrician-dr-paul-thomas-has-license-suspended-oregon
- Anti-vaccine Portland pediatrician’s license suspended; cases include boy hospitalized with tetanus, oregonlive.com/portland/2020/12/anti-vaccine-portland-pediatricians-license-suspended-cases-include-boy-hospitalized-with-tetanus.html
- What are the search results for a specific request, “citations of news reporting of Dr. Paul Thomas’ position on Oregon medical board suspension?”
- How a Respected Pediatrician Lost His Medical License — Because He Supported Informed Consent, childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/state-medical-board-shut-down-dr-paul-thomas-pediatrician/
- Dr. Paul updates you on his newly filed civil case against the Oregon Medical Board, doctorsandscience.com/p/members-only-dr-paul-updates-you-on-his-newly-filed-civil-case-against-the-oregon-medical-board
- Holding the Oregon Medical Board Accountable, paulthomasmd.com/p/holding-the-oregon-medical-board-accountable
Presentation of the film Join or Die sponsored by the Lincoln Community Foundation, Aug. 25, 2026, Sheldon Art Gallery
- What was the purpose of the film? How were Robert Putnam’s ideas critically reviewed in the film? What are some items of critique?
- JOIN OR DIE, the film – Review by Rachel West, https://awfj.org/blog/2024/07/12/join-or-die-review-by-rachel-west/
- Review of the Documentary, “Join or Die,” by Pete Davis and Rebecca Davis (2024), Delevan Street Films, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41978-025-00179-3
- How does a documentary either promote curiosity and independent thinking, or perpetuate stereotypes and social engineering, or something else?
- Standing on it’s own, what does the name “Join or Die” convey?
The purpose behind data center expansion
- Recent opposition to data center expansion is generally focused on environmental impacts, like resource use, cost and noise. Are there other concerns in the headlines?
- Why are communities pushing back against data centers? Tech, data policy expert says concerns legitimate over rising power rates, water use, environmental issues amid mushrooming growth, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2026/04/why-are-communities-pushing-back-against-data-centers/
- What is the main purpose driving data center expansion? And, who is providing critical review?
- Larry Ellison wants to put all America’s data, including DNA, in one big Oracle system for AI to study, theregister.com/software/2025/02/12/larry-ellison-wants-to-put-all-us-data-in-one-big-ai-system/446826
- Larry Ellison wants the U.S. to ‘unify all the national data’ and then feed it to AI, fortune.com/2025/02/14/larry-ellison-ai-centralized-database-citizen-data/
- Larry Ellison’s 2026 Target: Largest and Fastest-Growing Markets in History, cloudwars.com/innovation-leadership/larry-ellisons-2026-target-largest-and-fastest-growing-markets-in-history/
- Oracle’s Larry Ellison Wants To ‘Unify’ All Of America’s Data And DNA Into AI Datacenters To Be Studied And Mitigate People’s Lives In A Dystopian Nightmare, thewinepress.substack.com/p/oracles-larry-ellison-wants-to-unify
- Reports claim a 2026 shortage in personal data storage that is increasing cost. What is the future of personal data storage? No change, a positive unity in the “cloud,” or a “dystopian nightmare?”
- The 2026 storage crisis: Why AI data centers are hoarding every hard drive on the market, howtogeek.com/dont-count-on-hdds-to-save-you-from-rising-storage-costs/
- Data Storage Becomes The New Darling Of AI In 2026, forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2026/03/13/data-storage-becomes-the-new-darling-of-ai-in-2026/
- “Hard drives are gone for 2026”, Western Digital sells out all production to AI data centers, thebackdash.com/tech/hard-drives-are-gone-for-2026-western-digital-sells-out-all-production-to-ai-data-centers/
- Beyond personal convenience, why would individuals want to store their personal data on the “cloud”, otherwise known as a physical storage location owned by someone else? What are the benefits and risks? If personal storage was no longer available, what would keep data access costs affordable?
- Larry Ellison Keynote on Oracle’s Vision and Strategy: Oracle AI World 2025, youtube.com/live/4eCFmbX5rAQ
- Preparing for the future of data privacy, ibm.com/think/insights/preparing-for-the-future-of-data-privacy
- Data privacy in 2026: What to expect, trustcloud.ai/privacy/data-privacy-navigating-the-evolving-digital-frontier/
Humanizing machines
- How does news reporting clarify or obscure information about artificial intelligence and robotics? What is the purpose behind humanizing machines? What are the risks, such as over-trust or deception?
- PBS Newshour, Artificial intelligence agents going rogue fuel calls for regulation, com/watch?v=fDDch9r1gXk
- Neil deGrasse Tyson And Jaron Lanier on the AI Illusion (there is no AI), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_ZKYH8v_do
- Chinese robot beats Usain Bolt’s 100-meter sprint world record in humanoid bot games, cbsnews.com/news/china-robot-usain-bolt-sprint-run-record-faster/
- The importance of humanizing AI: using a behavioral lens to bridge the gaps between humans and machines, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44163-022-00030-8
- Systematic Review on Humanizing Machine Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/10084967
- Cognitive Technologies – Are We in Danger of Humanizing Machines and Dehumanizing Humans?, semanticscholar.org/paper/Cognitive-Technologies-%E2%80%93-Are-We-in-Danger-of-and-Marsza%C5%82ek-Kotzur/96b89f71cd79ed376d8642de042c1146ff725728
Seek truth, justice, accountability and peace.
Tracy Aksamit, admin@lincolnsopensource.com
Your respectful comments are welcome.