1) Some cynics are wondering why Ted Kennedy, a proponent for Medicare-for-all, would choose have surgery in the United States.

The answer is that specialist care in the United States is unsurpassed, and truly the best in the world.

Primary care, not so much. This translates to the poor showing the United States has in various international health rankings, which are mostly based on primary care measures.

2) Jay Parkinson recently appeared on ABC News, and commented on the interview: “I definitely urge everyone to do TV appearances to experience how difficult it is without being a professional TV personality.”

I appeared on the CBS Evening News last year in an edited piece, and have done various live radio interviews.

A live, unedited appearance, especially on television, is not easy. Every little tic, “uhs” and “ums” are magnified.

My advice is to come with prepared talking points, where the answer to any question can be shaped to fit your pre-determined points.

I also would practice in front of a mirror to eliminate any extraneous mannerisms that you may not be aware of.

3) A reader writes: “I look forward to your take about the news that a prominent UCLA transplant surgeon performed liver transplants on Japanese Yakuza gangsters plus made housecalls to them all the way to Japan.”

Foreign nationals should not be barred from receiving organ transplants in the US. Hospitals also do not have the resources to do exhaustive background checks on every potential recipient.

Although the majority are morally outraged (see comments), I agree with bioethicist Mark Fox:

For some people, there are misgivings for transplanting foreign nationals at all. For some people, there are misgivings about transplanting criminals at all . . . When you put those two together, it is certainly reasonable to expect that a certain portion of the population would say, “This is not what I expected when I signed my donor card.”