Earlier in March, a physicist won a congressional seat. This, one has to hope, will be good for science, and particularly for the embarrassing funding shortfalls at FermiLab.
With any luck, the state of Washington will turn this anecdote into a trend by sending Mark Mays to the capital to represent its 5th district. Mark Mays studied with Guy Manaster at the University of Texas, and is the type of psychologist who treats patients. He has been active in Spokane for many years, particularly in the field of mental health — especially veterans’ mental health. With an increasing number of war-weary veterans returning to the US, it would be great to have a professional who has actually treated veterans part of the decision-making process.
Oh, and he’s also a great guy (full disclosure: Mays is a family friend). If you are in the 5th district, I suggest checking out his newly minted web site.