In its 72 years of existence, the socialist paradise of the Soviet Union produced not a single new medicine or treatment. But one thing it did produce: conformity. No doctor dared to tell a patient anything the government disapproved. A new California law threatens doctor’s licenses if they do exactly that.

This is like imitating the coach of a losing team. What kind of idiots would do that? What kind of would-be tyrants would intrude between a doctor and a patient? The kind who value being in control more than they value progress against terrible diseases – that’s who. The Russians called them Communists. We call them Democrats. But the difference is getting harder and harder to distinguish.