Similar to other people's reflections on Dr. Brawley's talk, I was just surprised at how kitchen-level the discussion was. Thank goodness for the Stanford surgeon to our right that started what I thought of as the real-issues investigation. I'm sure Dr. Brawley is more than qualified and has addressed very difficult issues, but when he stated that reform will come, either now or when the system implodes on us, I was personally frustrated. The entire country knows the system is due to crash, this isn't news, so why reiterate the scare tactics to a well-educated Stanford audience. Shouldn't talks like these at Stanford be where solutions are investigated, scrutinized, and proposed? In addition, it was just plain annoying when he refused to answer a question just because the answer might be too politically charged. That's what people in Washington do, but politics should never restrain doctors from speaking the blatant truth, nor should it ever intimidate them. I must say that we are just students and perhaps naive regarding such things, but ideals must be preserved despite the political climate. I think it would be more beneficial both academically and socially if such talks were in the future specifically directed at providing solutions.