Ages ago, with journals, we got credible research information.
That day has passed.
Open sourcing can provide an improved alternative, if curated.
Curation can be accomplished by establishing review boards.
Each review board would consist of members elected by qualified peers.
The various boards would belong to a global umbrella organization.
That top organization would consist of elected administrators with organizational skills.
These boards are NOT like corporate boards furnished with plush perks.
They would be âworkingâ(TM) boards with responsible members dedicated to their specialty.
The entire endeavor would be of, by, and for research organizations.
Start financing the open source venture with funds currently spent on dead tree journals.
Almost all correspondence, submissions, review, and publication would be digital.
Much of the physical/digital foundation already exists, but in scattered, disordered pieces.
The system should be able mesh with existing research/education bodies fairly easily.
Participating organizations would mutually gain improved reliability and respectability.
Various existing open source ventures have developed the techniques needed to succeed.
Begin with dedication, cooperation, and persistence.

Citation:
Wikipedia, "pharmaceutical lobbying" - do the math.
Open Secrets, same topic for year 2017.

However, the logic of why drugs are so expensive in the USA is easy to follow from this post.
Just write off $15M/year as the "research costs" that big pharma uses to justify overpriced meds.
That, and the $279.5M pharma spent in 2017 lobbying to "access" our lawmakers.

It's a little early, but the rooskies might be prepping their attack vectors for when the electoral season gets into full swing.
If so, one would expect other major carriers to experience mysterious problems as politics heats up.

"To sum it up...intensive weight loss via exercise.
Well no shit."

Are you sure you didn't mean
"...minimal weight loss via intensive exercise.
Oh well, no shit time left in the day."

Adios, you motherflashing software cesspool.

You have my sympathy.
Drinking water quality from various utilities can vary immensely.
I have tasted sparkling 'springwater' pure product from one facility and seen brown ice cubes from water by another facility.
Much depends on whether the utility is focused on product quality and customer service or instead focused on local politics and money. [ref the 'beancounter' posts a couple of items above this one]
Your example may be overchlorinated (bleach taste) to disinfect and pass bacteriological testing with water that is inadequately treated.
The lime taste often results from efforts to correct the pH of the water after flocculation and filtering.
This is more common if poor quality raw water feeds the treatment plant, requiring heavier chemical dosing.

Good point about the bean counters.
In too many scenarios it's the money people who make the final decisions but not knowledgeable experts in the relevant field.
And you just have to love that beady-eyed beancounter look they have while determining others' fates.
Or in this particular case, Flint's fate.

"Why does the child molestation by members of a church make the news?"..."But because it's a follower of Christ therefore it's news."
It's newsworthy because of the hypocrisy by holier-than-thou power seekers hiding behind Christ's message of love.
Most other religions have the same predatory problem.
They don't care about saving souls as much as dictating the behavior of the flock for their own benefit.

"...The Secure Elections Act would give states grants specifically earmarked for replacing these systems with more secure systems that use voter-verified paper ballots..."
So, states using secure systems have to fund grants bailing out states that willfully (after warnings) purchased insecure voting machines?
Alternative solution: Don't accept their election results until they purchase and install secure systems on their own.
The votes of their reps in Congress don't count unless secure standards are met.

Sounds a lot like Sinclair Networks.
They give their local stations 'Must Run' segments that promote their biased opinions.
Next step will be to close the local broadcast studios and supply all content from their headquarters instead.
FCC chairman Ajit Pai is trying to change regs to allow that dumping of local studios and content.
His political views echo those of Trump, Fox, and Sinclair.

Enjoy your Local News coverage while it lasts.
Broadcasts originating in smaller communities are an endangered species that Ajit Pai (FCC Chairman) is trying to exterminate.
Current rules require a local originating studio for those stations.
Pai's proposal would allow syndicates (like Sinclair) that own local stations to eliminate that local originating studio.
They would convert your 'local station' into a repeater of the network's material.
Then, your 'local' news might originate 3 time zones away.
Politically motivated owners already order 'Must Run' segments that fit their agenda but not our community.

We are the people, and the sheep to be sheared.
Corporations and lobbyists pay politicians big bucks.
The pols then invite the CEOs and lobbyists to write the rules and laws that govern their industry.
And we sheep keep electing those politicians because of some smokescreen wedge issue.
Today the smoke is even murkier with 'alternative facts' and 'truthiness' being accepted as reality.
Evidently critical thinking is beyond sheeps' ability.
When we sheep vote based on listening to our gut one has to wonder where our heads are.

"...there is a major oversupply of labor" is certainly true in more sectors of the workforce every year.
Yet there are jobs that go begging, usually requiring technical expertise and possibly licensing or certification.
Think in terms of post highschool or Associate Degree levels of education.
Some may continue OJT equivalent to 4 years of college, but without the flooded job market and student loans.
Been there, done that, & comfortably retired.
My last employer had a hard time finding suitable applicants for open positions.

"Foxconn has no reason to pay a cent in kickbacks..."
They do if Wisconsin politicians make that gift wrapped $3 billion contingent on certain palms being greased off camera.
Keep your eye on the carrot, er, jobs.
Pay no attention to what's going on behind the curtain.