Q. This is an education question: I’m wondering how the military decides on the methods to be used in fighting a war. Is that all done at West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy?

A. The military has a marvelous education system and its training puts major American corporations to shame. One of the highlights of my time in the U.S. Army was the number of opportunities for education that always came your way. The answer to your question is that in addition to the three military academies, the military has an elaborate system of colleges and research centers focused on how to fight a war. Here is an answer to your question from Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael M. Dunn, president of the National Defense University at Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.: “Our mission is not only to educate tomorrow’s leaders, but [also] to create new thought and new thinkers through vigorous research.” He was interviewed on this subject in the magazine Military Officer (July 2005).

2.

Q. Does drinking warm milk really help put you to sleep?

A. Yes and it tastes better than a sleeping pill. It contains tryptophan, an amino acid, that does its work in inducing sleep. If you don’t like milk, try turkey, which contains the same amino acid.

3.

Q. Is there any limit to how accurate a time piece can be?

A. Timex is accurate enough for me, but if you want the world’s most accurate clock, go to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Its clock, the NFSI-F1, does not gain or lose one second in 60 million years. If you need something more accurate, I can’t help you. What happens after 60 million years? Call me collect and I’ll tell you.

4.

Q. Can you buy tires by brand name and assume you’re going to get the best or close to it?

A. Take the latest ratings on all-season tires. The top rated tire was Goodyear Assurance TripleTred. The bottom rated tire (number 18) is the Goodyear WeatherHandler LS. Michelin all-season tires came in at 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th. So the answer is “no,” at least according to Consumer Reports that determined those ratings.

5.

Q. Why should a pregnant woman be able to enter the U.S. illegally, deliver her baby her, and thus confer U.S. citizenship on the child?

A. The answer is that’s because the constitution so provided to anyone born in the U.S. Some members of Congress are trying to change that by a constitutional amendment. I agree that the birthright citizen provision doesn’t make sense and serves as an inducement for illegal immigration to attain citizenship.

6.

Q. Is there any proof that people who buy stocks and hold them do better than those who trade frequently?

A. The Boston investment firm, Dalbar, did a study from 1984 to 2002 and found the buy-and-holders earned 12.22 per cent annually (holding S&P 500 index funds) while traders earned only 2.57 percent. Consumer Reports explains that traders must pay taxes on profits when they sell, must pay commissions on each transaction, and also “tend to miss out on the last gains before a market rally ends as well as the big price increases that tend to signal a market rebound.”

7.

Q. You recently said that the Wall Street Journal, the newspaper, was your favorite “magazine” as it had the most high quality articles of any magazine you know of. What about the other business magazines?

A. I’d give high marks to Forbes, Business Week, and Fortune in that order. They are worth reading on a regular basis.

8.

Q. You recently did a column indicating that many herbal remedies lack a scientific basis for their curative claims. What about Kudzu to reduce the urge to drink alcohol?

A. Harvard doctors recently reported that Kudzu does “dampen the desire for alcohol.” And there’s more good news. Kudzu has no side effects. I’ll drink to that but no Kudzu for me.

9.

Q. A runner friend told me that putting Vaseline on my feet will help prevent blisters. That doesn’t sound right. Is it?

A. Yes. The American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine recommends wearing two pairs of socks or rubbing petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on the skin with a single layer of socks to help prevent blisters.

Herb Denenberg is a former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner, professor at the Wharton School, and Pennsylvania Public Utility Commissioner. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and is a board member of the Center for Safe Medication Use. He is an adjunct professor of insurance and information science and technology at Cabrini College. You can write Herb at POB 7301,St. Davids, PA e-mail him at hdenenberg@aol.com or reach him at his two Web sites: thedenrep_archive.org or denenbergsdump.org