Recent Dr. Joel Smithers Commentaries

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500,000
That’s how many doses of oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl and other opioids Virginia Dr. Joel Smithers illegally dispensed to patients over a two year period. In a press release from the Department of Justice in the Western State of Virginia (May 9), “…Smithers, a Martinsville-based doctor, was found guilty today of 861 federal drug charges at the conclusion of a nine-day...
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October 4, 2019
Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
The Death of Shame
Over the past several months, I’ve written commentaries revisiting moments in our history when individuals confronted serious challenges and rose to meet them — to...
Because We Need It
From the man who invented The Tonight Show. What Steve Allen understood—long before humor became sharper and more performative—is that laughter can be light and...
Why George Marshall Still Matters
There are moments in history when power reveals its true character. During World War II, no American general was more central to victory than George...
The Most Sacred Thing
We toss the word “sacred” around as if it were a mood, something reserved for private faith. But in public life, “sacred” has a harder...
THIS Cannot Be Ignored
New information has now confirmed what many feared from the start: Alex Pretti was disarmed before he was shot—multiple times—by federal agents in Minneapolis. Whatever...
Year One
Not long ago, I stopped watching the national news. I told myself I was stepping away from the noise and the churn for some peace...