This article appears on the front page of the hard-copy of The Washington Post today.
Three decades ago, it was AIDS. Now, it's a myriad of illnesses. And once again, individuals, and their families, are fighting off deadly diseases. And once again, the bureaucracy is on the other side.
And curiously, the Post seems to be on the side of the bureaucrats. That is, the side of "regular order," the side of trusting the system to do the right thing. Very curious.
What we really need is a wide-open system of compassionate use, plus maximum experimentation. That's how problems get solved the fastest.
And while it would be nice if our leaders, including within the bureaucracy, had such vision, it's nice that somebody, at least, has it. As the AIDS activists proved, vision from the bottom up can get the job done--or at least push the ball forward.
