Drugmaker Eli Lilly announced today that it will cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing costs for people with private insurance and those without insurance who sign up for Lilly’s copay assistance program into line with the $35 cap for Medicare recipients Congress imposed with the Inflation Reduction Act last August.
The fact that the ERA has not been fully ratified to date is testament to the patriarchal condemnation of women and our LGBTQ kin to second class citizenry.
Totes, Rowshan. And the fact is that the Catholic bishops going apes*t right now about the possibility that ERA could actually be ratified should be a red flag.
Dave There is only a vague random correlation between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the actions and beliefs of many bishops. The Gospels seldom relate to the dictums of the Vatican.
I taught the New Testament for nearly two decades. I suggest that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church read it and follow its guidelines.
Keith and Dave, in my abbreviated experience with the Catholic church, I never heard any mention of the Bible. Their focus is on producing as many infants as possible, to grow up and fill their coffers. After all, someone has to pay for their infrastructure.
In the 21st century we are still held hostage by a bunch of guys in dresses, who sell the idea that instead of thinking for themselves people ought to follow the "teachings" of a magical sky parent. (I don't care if they do wear dresses, but their opposition to women being given first class citizen status, while cross dressing is telling).
Not just the infrastructure and huge property holdings in highly valuable areas of major cities around the world, the Archdiocese of Boston, a few years ago, contributed $750,000 to an anti-legalization campaign in MA that passed overwhelmingly. If they've got that kind of money to blow, mitigating poverty should be a piece of cake.
The problem is that only one of those is Scripture and not even all of the Douay-Rheims Bible was inspired. Most of it is historical accounts, just like all the others.
The "creation stories" of almost all of the world's faith traditions' sacred texts are, all by themselves, articles of faith that the "stories" told are even historical accounts. And all claim to have been "divinely inspired" in one form or another.
The American Catholic bishops are anti-American. Before every election I get a communication telling me how to vote and asking for money. Not knowing how the Catholic bishops got my name and address and with the Declaration of Independence in mind, every year I write in the blanks that America has separation of Church and State. Then I stamp and mail it to PA, which is where it comes from. Republicans and Radicals of all “religious” stripes need to be reminded that the Founding Fathers would be unsurprised, but not pleased, by their behavior. It’s anti-American.
Ten years ago, Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe wrote a column re: Cardinal O'Malley and his hypocrisy in boycotting a Boston College ceremony at which Ireland's prime minister was to receive an honorary degree and give the commencement speech (the prime minister had filed legislation allowing abortion to save the life of the mother). From his note responding to my thanking him for it:
"I'm done with them.
I will spiritually and financially support good priests and nuns.
But I'm done with the institutional church.
The Cardinal did me a favor by making me finally make a stand.
Feck them.
Judgmental, smug, arrogant, self righteous.
I'm done with them."
He closed with his father's deathbed quote, in which he referred to bishops as "a shower of arseholes".
James, as of the '60s, when I was still taking Catechism classes--and I have no reason to think things have changed--the church still maintained a platonic vision of creation as a hierarchical structure. If memory serves, we had the triune God at the top, followed successively by the Blessed Virgin, saints and angels in their stratified ranks, the Pope, cardinals and bishops, priests, (maybe civil authorities in there somewhere under priests?) parents, and last and least, children. That last place for children was emphasized with the assertion that we, as children, had no right to question the higher levels of authority above us. I don't recall any discussion of unborn babies' place in all of this, perhaps because the obvious implication of sex was to be avoided. Or perhaps my memory is faulty. In any case, according to this paradigm, unborn babies should be at the bottom, but somehow they've been elevated to somewhere above parents. Call me cynical, but it seemed to me when I first noticed this that this elevation approximately arose in the wake of the pedophilia scandal. Again, memory is faulty, so there's always that.
I follow a person on Facebook who has reported religious men who have been arrested for sexual crimes against children every day since December 2022 ....every single day ! How disgusting is that ! Yet repugnants states are banning drag shows as they are the groomers !! Where does it end ??
Don't forget how the same Bishops rode Obama into the ground for the ACA, because of its inclusions of women's health. Let's expose these smug old guys with antedeluvian biases in their cassocks!
My cousins that are Catholic quit going to mass when the priest began talking about supporting "tfg". That happened in our other area Christian churches too!
Unfortunately, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. Both times. If the percentage decent human beings among white evangelicals were as high as it is among Catholics (excluding American bishops of course, below which it’s hard to go), Trump would have been defeated.
Republicans supported by the religious right clearly don’t believe in the separation of Church and State. The US Supreme Court seems to be following suit by requiring public funds to be used for one parochial school in New England as well as allowing businesses and individuals to discriminate on the basis of religion. Look next for the religious right, followed by the US Supreme Court, to determine that there is no such prohibition as the separation of church and state since it is based on the first clause in the bill of rights, i.e the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” Such a narrow interpretation flies in the face of its intent and historical understanding.,
What is the word for turning a phrase so that it's new meaning is the opposite of the original? Parsing is the one that comes to mind, but there are others.
The Catholic church, as well as all of the money-grubbing Evangelicals, should have had their tax-exempt status rescinded years ago. If that happened, we wouldn't be in this mess!
Our moral compass is spinning as it searches for a North Star. We have truly entered the world of upside down when the word of Jesus Christ does not equate with social justice and “Fuck You” is considered acceptable speech in the halls of Congress.
Your comment gave me a thought: why do we have a chaplains in the House and Senate? Seems to me there should be no connecton to any religion in the halls of Congress. If separation of church and state is not complete, then there should be rabbis, imams, et alii to guarantee equal representation.
Does this mean the catholic church does not want women to be equal to men ?? Same bullshit! Same bigotry still ! There should be separation between church and state for obvious reasons!! I'm sure these catholic and Christian national people wouldn't mind paying the taxes on their churches!
Perhaps churches should have their “non profit” status revoked. You shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways. That is, the church is taking a political stand against women, and they are seeking to influence our government to deny equal rights to women. All the while, sitting on vast wealth that could support their congregation and then lobbying people in congress.
Of course— after reading the wonderful Wilkerson book , I deeply understand that we women are simply in the caste of woman. Always have been and probably always will be no matter what our achievements.
I have NEVER understood the need for religions to proselytize. If you've got a good "product" people should be flocking to you. This isn't exactly what you've addressed here, but it is one of my personal "I don't get it" things.
What I see with the religious "community" isn't so much keeping one's religion to themselves, it it the need to shout it out and shove it down everyone's throat that theirs is the "one, true way" and that their belief should transcend everything else.
It's interesting to contemplate the prehistoric roots of religion. Before a certain time, many early communities were built upon egalitarian care of each other without interpersonal violence or designation of master-to-slave hierarchies. (cf: The Dawn of Everything)
Something changed. The warrior/administrator evolved. He gave himself special qualities for the sake of keeping power and gathering wealth. He demanded a fancy funeral with promises of returning after life in order to continue the same. Ergo, the concept of god. Then he sent others to battle while he directed from behind. He called himself king.
With very few exceptions, this person was an adult male who repressed his own people as well as warring with other tribes. I tell myself nothing much has changed.
There is, of course, spirituality which is integral to most of us. It defines our place in the universe and our relationship with all creation. A truly spiritual person is at ease with being a temporary, small cog in the midst of wonder. It is not the same thing as religion at all.
HOPE ! You are! SO Close! to HIS Truth !! " A Truly Spiritual Person IS AT Ease, with Being a TEMPORARY Small Cog in THE HANDS, of a WONDERFULL, LOVING GOD! ETERNITY! Awaits US!
Ally (you are mine!) Years ago I had a friend (pastor) who obtained a PhD in divinity writing his dissertation on “Marketing Christianity.” He related this to the task of marketing Protestantism and the distinctions between Presbyterianism, Methods, Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans (evangelicals were not in his marketing play book).
He seemed more focused on money than the moral teachings of Jesus Christ.
Hmm… the story about your friend reminded me of my moment of epiphany when I was about 12. Being raised Catholic by a very religious Catholic mother, I had been attending an all-girls Catholic school ran by Maryknoll sisters who indoctrinated students about humility and compassion, yet lived a luxurious lifestyle AND discriminated against those of us who, not as wealthy as their favorite pupils, couldn’t contribute regularly to their repetitive fundraising causes. I thought they were Capitalist Christians—yes, an oxymoron, but an accurate description of their agendas. And how can we forget the genocidal conquests that were carried out in the “New World” under the guise of evangelization by order of the Catholic rulers of Spain? Six centuries later, a similar genocide is being fostered by contemporary Catholic rulers who haven’t changed one bit since the Middle Ages and are now vowing to make a dime by allying themselves with righteous politicians. Shameful!!!
Rose. CC=Capitalist Christians & Catholic Church (or am I repeating myself?) Francis, who preached poverty, was saintified, while, after his death, two of his principal followers were harshly treated for espousing poverty. Later one could purchase indulgences forgiving you for future sins, as the new St. Peter’s was being financed.
Witzil doing this in Martin Luther’s parish prmpted Luther to post the 95 theses and establish the Protestant church. (Soon thereafterLther married a former nun)
This is interesting! The distinction among Christians that has long intrigued me is the one between denominations that emphasize hierarchy and those where congregations are more autonomous. This was a big driver of the Reformation, with the Catholic Church on the "most hierarchical" end and eventually the various Protestant denominations strung out on a continuum, with the Episcopalians/Anglicans not all that far from the Catholics and maybe the Friends at the other end. (I don't know much about the Orthodox tradition(s), but from the outside they seem to combine hierarchy with autonomy -- one of these days I'll learn more about how that works.)
The religions that proselytize (not all of them do) seem to think that they're doing unbelievers a favor by giving them the key to eternal life or heaven or a similar great reward. That's the theory, anyway. In practice? A quick review of the proselytizers' actions over the centuries, both with and without the sword, should give one pause.
I should add, though, that individual missionaries may be guided by genuinely altruistic motives and may improve the lives of those they attempt to convert. But I can't say the same for the institutions behind them.
One of the very first concerns of any biological organism is to replicate and reproduce. Without replication, they die out. Some factions of Christianity, just like some other religions one could name, resemble a cult, and one of the first things a cult has to do is self-preservation, just like a replicating organism, so that means make lots of babies and proselytize like mad. There's safety in numbers. They then keep their members in line and gain new ones by convincing them all these dire things will happen to them if they don't follow the rules, plus convincing them all these wonderful rewards await them in somewhere the sky. Rule by fear and promise them pie. All these religions are convinced THEY posses the "truth", so they then slaughter each other (and anyone else who doesn't believe as they do) to prove it, and whoever is left, wins. Welcome to the human race.
We have a fairly devout cult here; a Mormon offshoot called "General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn". They are very male dominated and anti medicine. I personally handled two death investigations of preventable origin: an infected wound that went untreated (of an adult), and appendicitis (of a 15 year old boy). Ironically, the adult was the father of the son, whose mother had remarried a man who lost his wife in childbirth (preventable, had there been medical intervention). The latter ended up as a criminal investigation that netted a conviction of Criminally Negligent Homicide for the parents.
I am a HUGE proponent of the separation of church and state. The 15 year old was a very difficult investigation for me, personally. It boils down to protecting children.
A good example about a religious organism dying out was the Shakers-they didn't marry/have children. They took in outsiders or orphan children who would live with them for periods of time by the individual's choice or grown up. But boy, were they great craftsmen, believed in laborsaving devices for workers, and entrepreneurs. (What we consider the standard flat corn broom was invented by them.) They came up with the concept of packaging seeds for sale, which still exists today. (a tidbit about the Shaker chairs-the cross bar slats were so the chairs could be hung on the walls to make sweeping easier.) (Yes, I've been to two or three Shaker villages.)
Could you be more specific about what or whom you consider "mind-bogglingly self centered and arrogant"? The way threading works in Substack, it's sometimes hard to tell what comments are replying to.
I find the Catholic Bishops statement in opposition to both the ERA and the codification of women's equality to be nothing short of disgraceful.
Yet your defamatory comment about the Bishops as a whole is way out of line. Let's not use MTG-esque language here to assign the ugly abuses by some to all.
Old Testament stuff. New Testament does not condemn or blame women as the generators of sin--except for Paul, that judgmental misogynist--indeed, Jesus considered Mary as one of the Apostles, although the Roman Catholic (male) hierarchy has done it's best to obscure that nugget.
Yes, I know this. Never have been a fan of Paul. Early church fathers spent too much time sitting on pillars in the desert or having fun and then renouncing the riotous life. The presence of women causes so much trouble.
Adam and Eve is an allegorical story. Look behind the literal interpretation and you may better understand the allegory and what it was meant to convey.
The Bishops take on the ERA is undoubtedly un Christian. Yet, without dragging this on unduly, to accuse an entire group of engaging in criminal acts when the entire group did not commit them is pretty much defamation per se
Just a gentle reminder to you both that Joseph Robinette Biden is Catholic. Without putting too fine a point on it, our President is who he is because of his faith - not despite it. President Biden is, without a doubt, one of the best examples of a President acting in a truly Christian manner but also in a way that respects the separation of Church and State in my lifetime. I know you can see that as well as I do.
I grew up in a deeply Catholic household. I left the Church long ago for reasons you both understand. But I am also a daily witness to many ordinary Catholics who live in ways that are faithful, respectful and loving - including my younger brother’s work running a 150 bed treatment center for homeless alcoholics. His faith is unshakeable. Thank heavens for that.
If examples like Patrick made the daily news, your opinions of Catholics might tick up a bit, MikeS. They don’t. Please remember that Bishops don’t represent the majority of their flocks any more than Republicans opinions represent the opinions of the majority of Americans. The governing structure of the Catholic Church is terribly corrupt. The damage they have done to women and children and young men all over the world unfathomable. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just watch what Biden DOES, rather than what the bishops think he should do.
Your comments leave me with gratitude that I did not leave a comment sooner. Your comments were good reminders. They burrow deep into the heart and memory, overriding the deeply felt outrage fueled by those coverups. Yet the anger towards that minority, a well heeled, well oiled, self righteous army determined to impose their will on the majority, still fuels a continued resentment and distrust.
Thanks, K, and Sheila, you both said it beautifully. In a similar vein, I would add the example of former President Jimmy Carter in his approach to leading being similar to Biden's. Both are men of strong faith, but both as elected leaders of the people knew their task was to rule in the way the people elected them to lead. Their job was NOT to force a populace to believe what they believe. I think that's what the founders of this country intended: lead the people, but leave your personal faith outside of that. And then, in his post-Presidential work, Carter has really shone his true colours: commitment to helping others. You wanna be like Jesus? Then serve your fellow man, and do it quietly, under the radar, without calling attention to yourself. Jesus exhorted us to do that very thing. Help only for the sake of helping, not to show how wonderful you are. There ARE many many Christians who do just that, and they are the ones you never hear about, which is as it should be. Yes, I believe the RCC is, in its leadership, one of the most corrupt entities around, but in spite of that, there are many of its members who follow Christ's example anyway. Personally, I could never be Catholic myself because of its tenets--so I'm Anglican: all of the theatrical pageantry, none of the guilt!--but I have many Catholic friends who I know ARE good Christians and who are not supportive of much of their leadership hierarchy. In that regard I feel kinda sorry for them (actually, sometimes the leaders in my denomination aren't perfect either...), but we carry on anyway.
This is why I refuse to paint every believer with the same brush. Yes, some are hypocrites, but a lot of people are motivated by their faith to become active in helping others as you, Sheila, point out with your brother.
Sheila, thank you for reminding us that there ARE good Catholics and, by extension, good Christians. Indeed, Biden is an excellent example! I think that the criticisms expressed here chastise the institutionalized, organized Catholic Church leadership that speaks on behalf of all Catholics and endorses propositions that politicize the religion and in essence are unchristian.
I am not arguing that it was or was not defamation.
However, I would say that the overall Catholic leadership culture, possibly for centuries, has, in fact, fully supported and condoned and perhaps even encouraged "criminal acts" given the massive number of priests and Bishops that have been removed, and charged with crimes, all across America.
It is not like two or three guys got caught out. Half the priests in Boston alone were relieved of duty.
So, yes, I am sure there were some priests NOT engaging in criminal behavior but the way the Catholic church hid and condoned the widespread criminal behavior, probably for hundreds of years?
C'mon. Is it really "defamation" to write the truth in a way that that captures reality in an eyes wide open manner?
As noted: The comment has been removed out of respect for your feedback.
“Catholic leaders culture for centuries, has, in fact, fully supported and condoned and perhaps even encouraged ‘criminal acts’.” So true, Mike! During the Crusades, Pope Urban II offered papal indulgences (which technically reduced or eliminated the prescribed punishment for committing sins) to any soldier who participated in these religious, “just” wars. In fact, indulgences were promised even in advance of the commission of the sins (perhaps as an incentive to recruit troops), and some indulgences were even sold! The Conquest of the Americas saw a prolongation of this Capitalist system that profiteered from the sale of religious commodities.
I somewhat disagree with your statement about bishops who didn’t directly commit crimes not being responsible for the crimes the priests committed in their dioceses. The bishop’s office is the Catholic HR, and there wasn’t a single complaint or accusation that didn’t go through their office. BISHOPS protected predatory priests by using their standing to shame a family out of reporting any incidents. BISHOPS moved those priests from parish to parish instead of defrocking sexual predators, each time giving them fresh meat to gnaw on.
Cardinal Whuerl even tried to expose the problem in the early 2000s when he was the Bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese, but his true function was to act contrite and get NDAs from the families in exchange for money. The bishops cannot extricate themselves form a problem they perpetuated.
I understand, and join in the condemnation down the line of those bishops who hid, obfuscated and transferred the predator priests, as well as downplaying the problem.
YET, the point remains that one cannot fairly or accurately cast the condemnatory net over the entirety of the Catholic bishops.
Beyond that, the glaringly out of touch error of the bishops' position on the ERA stands on its own, without the need to color the margins with inappropriate references to the abuse scandals.
Gosh, Mike, you did not tell everyone to FO. This tells me that Gangrene and her staff do not have an answer, so they resort to four letter words to avoid saying anything that actually answers the reporter's question and that she and her staff know she made a fool of herself...again.
I have no doubt that Empty's staff are rather sick of having to field constant questions from the press when Empty shoots off her mouth and spills out one of her inflammatory but utterly senseless little "gems".
It should be noted that her overt disrespect for anybody or anything other than her little far-right allies and groupies has clearly rubbed off on her staff and they treat media folk like shyte. that may not be to her long-term advantage although it's obvious her little red fanboys and girls think it proves how "strong-minded and defiant of the elite establishment" she is. Ugh. Her ego would gag a gator.
Mike, I support your view on the corruption and criminality of the leadership of the Catholic Church. Despite a dire shortage of priests, the hierarchy refuses to allow women priests. The egregious child abuse was atrocious enough but the revealed cover up piled suffering upon suffering of innocent people. It happened in my own back yard, bringing with it suicides, broken families and fractured lives. The main perpetrator never spent a minute in jail. Now the arrogance of Catholic bishops sending damning letters to our government leaders warning of the “damage” perpetrated by ratification of the ERA is enough to make this woman wonder how in literally God’s name does one support a religion that blatantly hurts its most vulnerable, denies acceptance of the LGBT community and fights to place women in second class citizenry. It sickens my soul that I was Catholic until age 50. The good people of this religion need to stand up to this ongoing atrocity within their leadership. Stand up for Jesus’s tenets of loving one another, protecting the poor and bringing fairness and justice to all mankind.
When I was 10 or 11 yrs old my mother told me that Jesus said the most important commandment was Love. Nothing more, nothing less, simply Love. Basically saying all the others could be disregarded as acting with Love encompassed them.
How did that work the the survivors of child abuse by parish priests for years? The Catholic Church and their administration including Bishops STILL has a lot to answer for.
My Uncle Bobby is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is mostly deaf. He was, remarkably, not checked for deafness until he was exiting high school. By that point everyone had taken for granted that he was simply unintelligent, considering he always did so poorly in school and frequently couldn't follow instructions. Turns out he never could hear what anyone was saying if their back was turned. By that point it was clear he was not on track to go to college. He worked for decades making an honest living at a pizza parlor, and was liked by absolutely everyone.
Oh, he is also diabetic. That should be unimportant, considering how many people are. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. All it took was for him to hurt his leg, get a cast, and have that cast not fit just right. There goes the infection. There goes the leg. There goes the job at the pizza parlor. There goes that meager salary. There goes the social life, too. Here comes living in a tiny room, with nothing to fill the day, and no way of getting around. Here comes the slide into barely concealed alcoholism. Here comes the after-effects of all that beer and immobility on a 60 year old diabetic body. There goes the other leg. Here comes the nursing home.
Funny thing about the nursing home, now that he is a ward of the state he actually gets the excellent care that could have prevented him from landing in the nursing home.
Oh, and this was right before the pandemic. So there goes being able to see your family for a few years. And here comes getting Covid. Twice. And fighting it off. Twice. And another infection. In your skull. And fighting that off too. And managing somehow to get out of your chair. And putting on your leg braces. And walking down the whole long hallway, just leaning on a walker, pure upper body strength and determination, captured on a shaky phone camera, probably by one of the nurses you are currently in love with, because you fall in love with all your nurses, because you've never had a real girlfriend, not once, and because they are kind and bring you coffee and take care of you, and you've never had anyone to take care of you, other than your sister Dianne, who even though she is only 11 months older still was assigned to walk you to school because she was so mature and you were so simple, and that is who you are sending this to right now, because she'll be proud of you and send back a message of nothing but heart emojis and candy canes, even though Cristmas is over, because you both love Christmas THAT MUCH.
This is a strong person I just described. Also a dependent person. Don't get it twisted, they can be both. This person would have been dead many times over, year after year, if it wasn't for a very easily manufactured medicine.
Eli Lilly can afford to cut their costs by 70% and still make money. What were they making before? Too much. And now, still, too much. The correct amount would be zero dollars. No one should make so much money on something so many others cannot afford to be without.
Will, in my career, I worked in the lab of a major medical center in Chicago. As I ran hundreds of blood tests each day, I'd look at the diagnoses that the ER entered in the computer. They sometimes put a direct quote of what the patient told them. A number of times I saw, "ran out of" or "can't afford" insulin. Who knows if these people had insurance, but I would see the astronomical glucose levels and figure that they weren't going home that day. The lack of affordable medicine lead to EXACTLY the type of situations you talked about! Which in the long run, increased costs for ALL of us.
I might also mention that diabetes often leads to renal failure. Renal failure leads to dialysis---I believe (someone help me here?) that is one of the biggest expenses to Medicare/Medicaid. Also, big business, as John Oliver had a segment a few years back about the dialysis industry which was eye opening.
A former co-worker of mine was borderline diabetic for most of his career. He retired from the SO and went to work for one of the casinos managing their security team. He ended up having to retire from that when he (due to diabetic neuropathy) could no longer walk. His ultimate "last walk" went from digital amputation on one foot, followed in short order by amputation below, then above the knee, then a double amputation above the knee, and a very difficult recovery due to both renal and heart issues and ultimately resulted in his death from a heart attack at age 60. He could never afford the treatments he was offered as the more "preventative" ones were not covered by insurance.
And generally dialysis, yes, for renal failure, is poorly tolerated by diabetic individuals, which makes prevention by proper early treatment true life extension, and it's far less expensive than the treatments needed for all the complications detailed in your and Wil's notes. But if companies only see their bottom line and ignore everything else, and if half crazed lunatics in our House of Representatives only see political advantage, things would never change. We must stay woke. For woke means awakened to injustice.
Not only does long-standing, poorly controlled diabetes cause renal failure, it puts you at high risk for infection, metabolic syndrome (heart disease/stroke/diabetes), heart failure (CV disease), retinopathy (vision damage), puts you at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, foot complications due to neuropathy as stated below and depression! I am a nurse practitioner who works on a critical care unit and see the devastating effects of on a daily basis. We need physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who work in primary care to be trained in 'lifestyle medicine' to educate these sick folks about the 6 domains (see below) to healthier living in order to reverse or at least tame this disease, to use health coaches
(make sure insurance companies cover coaching) and YES, provide insulin at little to no cost! We must address this problem holistically (whole food plant-based diet, physical activity, restorative sleep, avoiding risky substances and promoting positive social connections.
Don't know where you are but your nursing philosophy is spot on. It's why I spoke to a large conference of NP's about 25 years ago and told them that I believed, as a primary care internist, that eventually there would be few primary care docs and most primary care would be done by nurse practitioners. Of course, I had special education as I was and still am married to a now retired ARNP.
Thank you for dedicating your career to primary care, we need more of you! My dear friend is also a primary care internist in rural PA (my home state) and he would agree with you. I became a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and got certified in Lifestyle Medicine as a Health Coach during the pandemic. I have lectured about Lifestyle Medicine and the Blue Zones and it's positive affect on health and well being. The ACLM is an ever-growing society of health professionals on a mission to reverse chronic disease. I am currently working as an ICU NP in San Francisco but will be launching a LM course that specifically focuses on women's health (perimenopause and menopause). Lifestyle Medicine is evidence-based and research shows this is the future of healthcare! I highly recommend checking their website out, lots of good resources to point friends and family to that need help getting healthier!
More power to you. Your experiences doing that would be of interest to a journal like Menopause, I bet, in which Ellen Mitchell and Nancy Woods, U of Washington, published many things about the menopausal transition which they studied for about 25 years. Stuff that women really want to know about how long the transition to FMP will last and what symptoms tend to be exaggerated or changed by the transition. Somehow, we have all made the transition to retirement together, but it was a great fun ride!
Once upon a time there were nutrition courses, obligatory in public schools. Does anyone remember “the basic seven”? Nutrition studies have advanced since then, but the rash of diabetes is a tribute to corporate America’s pushing sugar: colas, sweet snacks. At a recent check-up I was twice asked if I have diabetes. It’s expected of people of “a certain age.” It’s time for really thorough “health” courses in public schools, particularly before Florida can take over truth.
We are a nation of drugs over exercise. It may well be our undoing. Once public schools had vigorous sports programs for everyone (how well I remember being the last chosen for a side playing softball - astigmatic, I couldn’t catch or hit a ball), not just the “athletes.” What happened?
There has been a suggestion(out "there") that a moratorium on law suits be provided for dieticians and the medical community in regard to current protocols for the treatment of T2d, type 2 diabetes. There is a huge online community of motivated diabetics. Over the years, the medical community has agreed to a pharmaceutical answer to all of T2d. There is evidence the SAD(Standard American Diet) promotes metabolic syndrome. There are alternatives. Capitalism shows us it is not the economic vehicle to provide community health and wellness. ...plenty of stuff, yes. Be safe. Be well.
Agreed. It is expensive to eat healthy. In the long term though it is cheaper if you can avoid the health problems that co m e from the SAD.
Think of the food deserts and people buying good at dollar stores. I sometimes watch a YouTube channel where they do "southern" cooking. She has done a few shows where she buys all the ingredients at one of them. I was horrified at the fat/sodium laden canned junk she threw together, but I realized that is all many of her viewers can afford. Very sad.
Will, thank you for such a clear and concise explanation of what happens when we put profit over people. I will never understand how anyone can accept that medical care should be profit based. It’s just so wrong!
Now there is an idea. I wonder what form it would take - a substack? A prime time TV half hour? The wingers would loooove that. And demand equal time to rebut.
The translation is something like “Who do you think you are, expecting us to respect facts? People believe us more than anything you can ‘prove’ with facts.”
You describe a series of situations that collide to cause a mans life to collapse. Yet, he endured.
I am so moved by this story of Uncle Bobby and by your writing skill.
Some of those events were avoidable, preventable situations. Some were just the luck of the draw. I suspect most of us have family members who were victims of ignorance and neglect. Or just plain suffered the assault of illness after illness.
You write with such compassion and literacy. You honor the unfortunate. You are a talent to be reckoned with. You have a powerful gift. More please, as you please.
I've not yet read the comments here yet (I'm imagining there's one or two). Your story of your Uncle is one similar to what I saw a number of times in my career where, for want of adequate medical attention, people die (keeping in mind that my introduction to them comes from having to do a death investigation when they die while "not under the care and treatment of a physician."
I am watching a childhood friend enter Hospice care this week at the age of 60 due to lung cancer that was undiagnosed (because no insurance, and made too much money as a pizza delivery driver/gas pump jockey to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan) until his lungs were full of tumors.
Health care is not something you earn, or deserve to have. Everyone should have access.
Will~this is one of the most beautiful, illuminating, and poetic pieces of writing I have ever seen that bring the systemic failings of our cruel profit-over-people-at-all-costs society. You brought Uncle Bobby to life in a powerful way that everyone can see, feel, hear, mourn, and celebrate. You have a real gift. I'm not sure what you should do with it, but these kind of takes on any number of lives that have been sacrificed in the name of extreme greed are just what we need to turn the tide by open more eyes among those who vote against their interests, because I am sure they have experienced limitations and suffering in their own lives at the hands of the super rich + powerful.
OMG Will 😳 I hope that you publish your writing. You have an amazing ability in seeing and then communicating what you see. As a healthcare provider I am too familiar with your Uncle Bobby. How heartbreaking to endure an entire childhood of being deaf and not having that recognized by another being. Thank you for writing and sharing. ❤️🤗🙏
Will, your story of Bobby should be published widely and read widely. Then people could grasp how in America so many end up not being able to be the productive citizens they wish they could be. Instead they end up homeless, addicted or, as with Bobby, needing nursing home care when that all could have been avoided with better healthcare and a better educational system (that would have detected Bobby’s hearing problem). Thank you.
Thank you Will for your wonderfully well-written witness to the struggle some folks had before dyslexia, learning disabilities, auditory processing disabilities and so many, many other bars to learning and education were recognized. Your Uncle is a true hero.
Wow! A Second George Santos in Congress!!! Who woulda thunk it????
But this highlights the major question of why there was not even cursory investigative reporting on these guys when they were in primaries. Local news media organizations are being gutted and/or taken over by conservative media conglomerates.
Actually a third, if you count Anna Paulina Mayerhofer, who used to tell people she was, alternatively, "Jewish" and "Syrian," before changing her name to Luna (forgetting to add the "tic") and "honoring" her "hispanic heritage." The stupid airhead is on the record saying in 2020 that "I didn't even know what 'conservative' meant last year" when she took at job as "youth influencer" for Hitler Youth Assistant Fuhrer Charlie Kirk, er, I mean, organizer of Turning Points USA conservative youth.
Actually, she's only the third if you are only counting the people that we know of that didn't get the lies broadcasted until after they won. A few more faked resumes led to losses; check out the guy Ohio legend Marcy Kaptur thankfully just beat. Yikes.
There must be something in their inspiring outlook on life that just brings together all the best people, amirite?
Will, you are a breath of fresh air with your always witty, thoughtful and intelligent comments. I always look forward to reading your take and frequently get a belly laugh while reading your witticism
You are right!!! I had completely forgotten about her, yet another practitioner of pseudologia fantastica, otherwise known as mythomania. Aren't those fantastic terms? Amazing what you can google....
Have been focused on Santos who represents the district I grew up in :-(.
If such are groomed by their party to be candidates that we vote on, why are we citizens kept uninformed about knowing the history of these people?
If an opposing party is seriously probing the competing party's candidate for weaknesses, why are such blatant lies and weaknesses left undiscovered and unrevealed?
If we actually have a free press with investigative reporters doing the job of the press to acquire and publish information about elections, parties, and government, then how could the lies, deceit, and misinformation been hidden for so long?
The situation screams a much larger and more critical question: "Who and what can citizens actually trust?"
This sort of crap is so unusual, so previously unthought-of (really) that normal people look at these freaks the way French generals used to look at the German tanks fording the Sedan River during the blitzkrieg. Nothing in their experience prepared them to deal with it. But I think 2024 will see more thorough oppo research of the mendacious malicious morons.
Watch Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar...another independent news source. They hold Fox, MSNBC, NYT, and both parties accountable. Partisan stooges of all stripes hate their reporting. When they get something wrong, they apologize and admit it, which is something partisan Facebook sites and mainstream media never do.
They do such an amazing job!! We are so impressed and appreciative after watching every show. And we never miss one. Grateful for their commitment and dedication to their work. Delighted to recognize and support what they're bringing to the world. Independent journalism!
In the case of fake resumes in Tennessee the reporters are all busy reporting about football. All the other reporters got pink slips when the papers were bought out by hedge funds.
Could it be that the free press is so busy trying to get the “good” candidates elected (which means also trying to fight the lies being spread about them - the list is long) that they don’t have time to check on the lying candidates.
Ah, now you've got it Georgia. The continuing stream of facts regarding the 'who' that makes up the maga 'coalition'. Names of all those needs to go viral. Make it happen folks !
Yes,I agree.I wonder how many more George Santos wannabes are sitting right now in Congress having been elected on sketchy or totally false resumes?Kinda make you want to scratch your head( or scream lol).
Two more now beyond Santos; there's a woman from Florida who had (I believe; too lazy to research it since the coffee hasn't kicked in yet) who claimed several falsehoods, one of them being Hispanic) and now Ogles.
A local Long Island news org reported that there were serious questions about Santos, but it was drowned out by the horse race noise generated by the Governor’s race between Hochul and the fascist Zeldin. NYS would be in deep shit should Zeldin have won, but it was too close for my comfort. Most people think NY is a blue state, but that’s because of NYC. North and west of the city, it gets red pretty quick. Even parts of LI are deeply crimson.
I mean, it isn't just NYC. Biden took NY by almost 25 points, and won counties all along the eastern side of the state and scattered throughout. I don't live there, so do not know the details, but by all reasonable expectations the Hochul showing was just really weak. By all accounts, the whole party apparatus was horrible in NYS last year, actually. The turnout in NY & CA (& OR) was what cost the House; with how massively well Dems performed in the swing states there really was no excuse - or precedent - for having the strongholds collapse like that. Bizzarre and infuriating.
Demographics are with Democrats. Gen Y and Z are mostly not MAGA. I believe the youth vote in many areas was better than average in 2020. But it needs to be a LOT better than that in 2024.
One answer, IMO, is for my generation of politicians to step aside and assist the younger ones. Pelosi to Jeffries should serve as a model. I want to hear soaring speeches from the likes of Corey Booker, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Katie Porter, Stacey Abrams, Mallory McMurrow, etc. Our bench is very deep with integrity and talent. We need to pass the baton and get louder.
The other answer is for the DNC to step up its game and deluge the nation with a social media saturation campaign that says two things:
"MAGA Republicans want to run and ruin your life. They want to take your health care and your health rights." Images of women being turned away at clinics.
"Republicans are funded by the billionaires who are running the country. Democrats are for all of us. MAGA Republicans are for the uber rich." Images of parties on very large yachts.
I think you should remove Newsom from your list. There's a lot of stuff coming out now that demonstrates that a one left party state ends up as bad (for different reasons) as a one right party state. The eagle needs two wings to fly and we are very much starting to see that now. Newsom has promoted the legal (which isn't very) weed industry here, and the corruption of a big all-cash industry is showing up just like you would think it would with that much cash swimming around. That's just one thing. I used to think getting rid of the Republicans here was a good thing but I was wrong. MAGAs, yes, certainly. But you need an opponent to keep you on your toes or you get fat, dumb and lazy, which is a good description of the California Democratic Party.
Always like your insight, Bill and this one, too. I think your list is too short though. Women's right are at the top for sure but, factual deaths can be attributed to incompetence and inhuman action / inaction on their watch.
Additional items - Republicans will:
3. Kill you with their guns - open carry by 8-yr-olds & AR-15s the natl rifle.
4. Take away Soc Sec & Medicare (+ age to 70 as US male life exp drops to 73)
5. Respond to future pandemics like they did for Covid where over 1m died
6. Same with Opioids, Suicides, Obesity, etc - Do nothing then blame others
7. Make America Dumb Again - Burn Books, censor, lower education stds, etc.
8. Promote Racism & White Supremacy - make Kyle Rittenhouse a Senator
9. Make US a fascist dictatorship - Jan 6th being the start
10. Allow Lying to become the national pastime - Fox?, G Santos?, MTG?
11. Remove Every Environmental Reg - Trash the planet,...because they can
12. Oh, and...would control the most destructive nuclear arsenal in history
It's a long, long list. Others can add at will. Using their own playbook, "Flood the Zone" but with truth and facts. We don't have to make any of it up.
I've always liked the idea of engaging our best storytellers like Spielberg, Ken Burns, Michael Moore, etc to create a series of documentaries to literally SHOW the country & world what the US would be like should the GOP manage to steal a future election. Present these legitimate images of the potential horrific future should this come to pass in time to make a difference for 2024.
TY Bill. Yes, your idea to "prime the pump worked with me at least! There are so many posts by the time I see the computer here in the east one has to be selective and pick one that resonates. HCR's post time from Maine seems to be usually not before 2 AM (does she ever sleep?) and by morning the western time zones have posted the day's first ideas so, we easterners are usually following the leads.
Will do on sending to your link and glad you also like the idea of using our best storytellers to lay out what's to come if we don't succeed in putting down the fascist rebellion. Peter Coyote's voice is definitely the one to narrate. If this could get momentum through someone with connections one would think these documentarians would be more than interested as they would also have a vested interest. Should these dark things come to pass their work would be one of the first things "outlawed" in a fascist regime since their work is based on truth and honesty so such media would be one of the first to go.
I will forward the idea and list to your link and hope that someone similarly aligned will be doing the vetting to see what gets through.
Politicians took NY for granted that it would remain staunchly Democratic. I believe they somehow forgot about the ideological aspect of politics of late.
They also ignored decades of decline of the quality of life of workers / Middle Class. People work longer hours for far less money now and have little to show for it.
Quality of public education has been declining as well. There’s little to no budget in many areas for the arts or other school programs. If my Gen X education is anything to go by, I feel they removed much of civics from the curriculum. I have to believe it’s because the earlier generation of activists scared Conservatives enough to start tampering to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
Rents/Mortgages & property taxes have been astronomically high for a long time now. The pandemic tipped things over the edge. Many residents have had to downsize their living space at least once or even move out of state. Also, Private Equity firms are rapidly purchasing houses and multi-family dwellings.
Most people outside of NY, including politicians, think that Red States have cornered the market on racism, intolerance, misogyny, ignorance, selfishness, & faux Christianity. Nope! Ideologically speaking, much of NY State unfortunately has racist, sexist, misogynistic, intolerant tendencies.
People also assume New Yorkers range from being non-religious to anti-religious. That is also not true. Before this wave of faux Christianity & faux-Patriotism, it was not part of NY culture to wear their flags and religious symbols on their shirt sleeves. Patriotism & religion are generally considered personal matters. Public displays of either (when it’s not seasonally appropriate) would seem a bit inappropriate, like an adult couple having a public make-out session.
Gov Kathy Hochul did not do well in the 2022 Election because she is female, no one knew much about her, there was little advertising, and was part of Andrew Cuomo’s Conservative Democrat team.
Lastly, New Yorkers have suffered greatly from the economics of the last 40 years. There is almost no manufacturing left. We have agriculture which suffered under Trump and is still struggling, There is Real Estate, and service-related industries like Healthcare, Bars, Restaurants, Grocery, Delivery, Uber, etc. That’s the bulk of it. It’s not enough to help offset the taxes residents are paying.
NYers are struggling so much that it was upsetting to know that other States were getting our ‘extra’ tax money that most residents could ill afford. The roads & bridges are a mess, but ‘extra’ tax money went to other States.
If Democrats want New York to remain Blue, it needs to pay a lot of attention to the people and start fixing the problems.
We've got Confederate flag flyers here in Maine too.
Our Maine forbears would be appalled at this, since Maine was white-hot for the abolition of slavery.
Maine sent 80,000 young men to fight for the Union in the Civil War, the largest number per capita of any Northern state. Many of our current Confederate flag flyers have direct ancestors who fought and died for the Union.
That is one of the saddest and most deeply ironic results of our lack of family and state historical knowledge, that I can think of. :(
From the BDN “Population growth varied widely between states, with the roughly 16,000 people who moved to Maine over the past year making it among the top U.S. destinations in terms of net migration. As a share of population, only six states — Idaho, Montana, Arizona, South Carolina, Delaware and Florida — attracted more new residents.”
wish there was more info on who’s migrating and why
You could not get any further away from the Mason Dixon Line than the Adirondacks where I have vacationed since I was a child. There used to be lots of Confederate flags flying but now they are pretty much reduced to flying from trucks. Lawn signs are present, some scatalogical but the voting patterns are a severe delineation. This is Elise Stefanik Country no matter who the Democratic Party chooses to run against her and it has always mystified me - a true Red Sea in a blue state, below the poverty line and lacking in so many services.
Well, it was Democrat Bill Owens who preceded Stefanik in office... but I guess things have changed. Redistricting nearly put our house in Stefanik country; thankfully we were able to remain in Rep. Paul Tonko's district!
I read somewhere that it was/is considered treasonous to fly the Confederate battle flag above the Mason-Dixon line.Makes sense to me but sadly we here in the Buckeye state have our own share of “traitors” too it seems.
I’ve been telling people for a while that NY has always been ideologically Red. Now the votes are catching up. The Democratic Party has been kissing Red State butt for years to change their votes, while Republicans have been quietly and effectively turning NY votes Red.
NY’s been largely voting in Conservative Democrats for years too.
Also, for too long, those in NYC who vote Blue, have been leaving the city and even the State because they can’t afford to live in NY. The pandemic helped this along.
Local newspapers--when they were vigilant and well-staffed--used to be the the first firewall against people who SHOULDN'T be electable or elected. Now we are left with few major statewide papers too often owned by conservative corporations. Neither the WaPo nor the NYT are what they used to be. And that goes for so many, many other small but excellent papers.
I agree on the NYT. I've not enough history as a WaPo reader to know how good it once was.
NYT gave up on honest reporting of the campaign in 2016 when they tried to BE the campaign and acted as an arm of corporate cartels. I subscribe now to independent sources to get news and to NYT to learn what oligarchy wants us to believe about politics--rest of paper still is newsworthy. That said, independent media cannot(?) focus well on covering the numerous individual candidates and campaigns.
When mainstream media became the mouthpiece of oligarchy, we lost the real function of journalism as a watchdog of government. Now, when our federal government and administrations of two parties prosecute the whistleblowers who report war crimes and imprison their publishers, mainstream media just gives a wink and a nod, if it even gives this a mention.
“‘Out country was founded to support the prosperity and potential of Americans in every corner of the nation,’ Vilsack wrote. ‘Under President Joe Biden’s administration, we’re making good on this promise.’”
I don't understand, can't possibly comprehend, why the GOP and MAGA crowds can't comprehend this. Is it only Democrats who need insulin? And that it was just capped at $35?
I don’t trust Vilsack at all. Pres Obama made a campaign promise to end GMOs then did a 180 after he was election. Then Vilsack was installed. He was a CEO or something high up in Monsanto (Bayer)
Now here he is again in the Dept of agriculture. I wonder if he’s still getting paid by them
I do not have a particular opinion on Secrerary Vilsack, but all of this is incorrect.
1) Obama never promised to end GMOs. He said he would like to have them labeled. He did, in fact, sign a bill to do just that.
2) There really is no need to ban GMOs anyway. Huge numbers of studies have shown that they have no noticeable nutritional difference from non-GMOs.
3) Vilsack never worked for or was even tangentially payed by Bayer or Monsanto. His only position as CEO was for U.S. Dairy Export Council, AFTER the Obama administration. He was also on the board of Feeding America, the largest charity to fight hunger in this country.
4) Bayer and Monsanto did merge while he was Ag Sec. But it is the Justice Dept that would have opposed the merger, not Agriculture.
5) No one in the Biden administration is being directly paid by any major company. This isn't the late 19th century. Or 2017.
As I was reading I found myself wondering if you, Will, have a substack of your own. I'm so impressed by the way you express the facts. Clearly, calmly, carefully. But I wouldn't want you to spread yourself too thin. We need your knowledge and wisdom (and tact) here.
I often worry when people say Democrats should go on the offensive. I agree, but I would never want us to stoop to the Banana Republicans' tactics. If everyone could learn to refute the lies with such aplomb as you, a constant offensive game by Democrats would be a boon to our democracy.
Virginia, I stole it from Jamie Raskin. It was a reply he made to Lauren Boebert 😂 yesterday or the day before. You can find it on YouTube. He's a prince of a man!
Will, I must add my support to you writing a substack letter. Even if it is randomly offered whenever you are moved to write. That's my approach. No pressure.
Just know that your fans are growing with each of your comments. And why is that? Because you embrace the truth, express yourself with passion and eloquence. My only suggestion is to add a bit of spacing within the larger paragraphs.
Anyway, count me as one who scans the comments and searches for "Will, from Cal".
I will add that Vilsack was governor of Iowa for 2 terms from 1999 to 2007. I would say Iowa was purple back then before going crazy red. Iowa has had a serious brain drain as the best and brightest leave Iowa after graduation. All 3 of our kids did, 1 grad from Iowa State the other 2 Iowa.
Will, don't disagree with your astutely assembled list, except for one detail: the primary reason GMOs can be a problem is not based on nutrition but on changes made that can directly impact other parts of our environment. GMOs are also part of the problem of the takeover of agriculture by large corporations who make huge profits from patented seeds and repeatedly have sued people whose standard crops have been contaminated by pollen from neighboring GMO crops for patent intrusion! These corporations also are responsible for many farm bankrupcies by selling farmers an expensive non-sustainable ag system based on costly inputs, rather than building the soil and diversification of crops. Your take on GMOs is an example of simplistic thinking.
I am happy to say that non-corporate farmers are leaning more and more on the soil-building and diversification model, as well as retiring some lands that should not be farmed at all. It has become a movement, even in California and the midwest.
My caution to you is not to get too carried away by simplistic thinking and sweeping generalizations. You have some valid insights, but they are weakened by distilling down to the point they don't necessarily represent what you think they do,
Many of my students were children of Indian techie immigrants. One kid’s dad had once worked to create Round-Up Ready GMO corn, for Monsanto. When there was news that Monsanto tried to patent the genes of traditional Indian crops like basmati rice and the special wheat for the bread which all Indians eat every day, you can imagine their outrage. Monsanto could set the price of crops developed over centuries by Indian farmers.
You speak the truth, neighbor. Do you know the RG quit publishing their "Letters to the Editor" because disagreement with other people's writing was cited as the reason for terminating their subscription?
Nancy Kish: Your question reminds me of AI Sidney from Kevin Russe's NYT compelling transcript "AI Conversation with BING." a couple of weeks ago. LOL. After Kevin repeatedly answered that question: "Are you trustworthy" and "Can I trust you?" with an affirmative, Sidney the Bing AI bot declares her love for him. Will's gotten plenty of those well deserved declarations too! LOL. John Oliver did a terrific bit on it as well.
Hi Lee. If you are eating wheat, corn, or soybeans, you are eating genetically modified organisms. If you eat anything else, probably not. The modification to crops that are GMO is to make them more resistant to Roundup (originally developed as a drain cleaner), a product used to kill weeds in the fields. The problem here is not GMOs per se, it is the liberal spraying of Roundup, a known carcinogen, on most of the world's food supply and arable land.
And I am not sure that "plenty of studies" declaring GMO nutritional delivery is the same as confirmation that there are no negligible long term cellular impacts in humans consuming the genetically modified foods.
Is it in fact accurate to say that cancer, allergies, antibiotic resistance, immuno-suppression etc have, in fact, been shown to be insignificant concerns, other than from studies funded by large US Corporate Food Production lobbies??? Not a scientist. Just very interested. Ive long been cautious with wheat corn and soy....
Steve, in some cases it is GMOs, per se. Particularly related to some of the tactics the corporations take in promoting them, and in protecting their patent rights. Gmos may simplify farming at the front end, but complicate it at the other end. And contribute to farm failures, both in terms of financial stability, but in the destruction of viable farming ecosystems.
Glyphosate is heavily used on the GMO crops of corn and soy, but it is also used on on chickpeas, wheat and oats as well.
Use of glyphosate (one of the carcinogenic chemicals in Round-up) has been mostly for post crop maturity to kill weeds which makes for easier harvesting, however, some farmers have started to spray glyphosate as an "off-label" pre-harvest dessicant on non-GMO food crops, forcing the crop to ripen earlier.
I chose organic as much as possible. I firmly believe that GMO is the main reason roundup was invented and is one of the worst scourges on the health of all life on the planet
Not sure Vilsack was CEO of anything. He was (a dem) governor of Iowa for a while, so he has plenty of experience grappling with conservatives. I'll take him over Sonny Perdue any day.
"Today, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) did an end run around McCarthy to address the problem of disinformation directly at the source. They sent a letter to Rupert Murdoch, chair of the Fox Corporation, and other top Fox executives..."
How about a letter to the FCC about canceling FNC's broadcast license? I believe there is language in FCC broadcast regs requiring licensees to "serve the public interest" in some way. Knowingly, willingly, repeatedly broadcasting lies undermining public faith in a bona fide presidential election that leads to an attempted coup is as great a dis-service of the public interest that I can think of.
The FCC should suspend FNC's broadcast license and make the first requirement for reinstatement pre-recorded and FCC-approved mia culpa confessions of every FNC personality starting with Carlson and Hannity, along with an acknowledgement by one and all that Joe Biden is indeed the bona fide, legally elected president of the United States. Said recording should be required to be broadcast by FNC, during prime time, at least twice, or they lose their license.
I'm just venting now but, damn I'm so angry that Rupert Murdoch and his gang of propagandists are still on the air.
Ditto every word, I am numb from being angry about Rupert, since 1981. From WaPo about Jan 1981, at dinner honoring Mr. Murdock. “Representative Jack Kemp, a New York republican, said, ‘Rupert Murdock used the editorial page, the front page, and every other page necessary to elect Ronald Reagan president.” And he was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams, as he delivered a nightmare to his adopted country…
I wish the FCC could do something about Fox but they only have power over broadcast and Fox is cable. It will take Congress (good luck) to do something about Fox. But just maybe a huge settlement could change their behavior a little since money is the only thing that matters to Fox.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit is likely close behind Dominion’s. Fox might get battered enough for at least some of the deniers to think twice about swallowing their lies?
I went to Catholic school, along with my brothers and sisters, my husband and his siblings, our parents, and our children. In Western PA. When the report of all the priests and other Catholic leaders who abused children came out, that was it for me. There wasn’t a Catholic family in PA who didn’t know at least one of the 150 men and women accused, and the measures they took to protect the abusers.
So to the Cardinal in San Francisco - go ahead, refuse to give communion to Nancy Pelosi. The pipeline of vulnerable children is drying up for you.
It is only in recent months that I thought of what the priest said to me when I went to my "first confession", a month before receiving my first communion. I had just turned 8 years old and can't even say it here. Had I told my parents, my dad would have gone down and punched that priest in the face. And it would have been deserved. I was left feeling ashamed and only recently thought, wait a minute. That was a form of abuse and sexual innuendo. I'm a grandmother to two darling little boys and it's been inside me all these years.
Joanna, I pray he has been removed from the priesthood. God will hold him accountable. One of my great joys is that Pope Francis is such a good and husky man, and regularly disagrees with these extremist priests in the USA. Peace be yours, my friend.
How awful for you, Joanna. It makes me furious on your behalf. It's only in hindsight that I realize that in my time at Catholic school (Grades 1 through 8) the priests were more interested in the boys than we girls. We girls were more chastised for our "sins" at every confessional.
I think you're right on that, Lynell. I went to Catholic school for three years, grades 7, 8, and 9. I also taught K-8 music in two Catholic schools. I'm an organist but won't work for the Catholic Church anymore. For that matter, I won't work for any church. I saw an emotional and sometimes physical abuse of young boys in the choir where I last worked, many years ago, by a priest. Some of these boys were my private music students and I could just cry watching this. The priest one day told me I was fired when, after screaming at the boys, I asked where he was in the music. He told me he had "had enough!" of me. And I, him. I told him, you don't have to fire me because I just quit. That was it for me and any church!
I came from a large family, and my dad worked for the diocese. One of my brothers was smacked across the head and face with a wooden paddle by a nun after he snickered at her attempt to spank him. I have 3 brothers who were hit on at various Young Life events, and the young priest who served me my first communion was called out in that report many times.
I can’t count how many times I was beaten by either nuns or priests in my first 12 years of school. To their credit the Jesuits did teach me how to think and craft an argument based on truth, not shifting sands but the rock of truth.
I was raised Catholic and that doesn’t change my opinion. Do religions really not understand the concept of separation of Church and State? Or do they just not give a hoot?!!
I was raised Catholic too. All I've seen religion do is separate people. It rarely brings people together. I have no use for organized religion. Just treat people fairly and respectfully, that is my religion. I think if the Catholic Church is going to weigh in on politics, the very least they can do is PAY TAXES.
Joanna, when I was about six or seven years old, after attending a Methodist service in our nearby village, my Mom said I always seemed uncomfortable in church, and asked if I would prefer not to go to church on Sunday with her. It would be OK, because my Dad didn't attend church services and I could stay home. I jumped at the chance. It never made sense to me. I will be forever grateful to her for understanding me so well at that young age. Looking back, I know I spent far less effort "unlearning" what our culture was attempting to inculcate in me, and in everyone else. Eventually I arrived at a view of the divine aspect of the universe with which I am completely comfortable. I understand that the Catholic Church, and the rest of the religious establishment, are trying to do the right thing. But I wish that Genesis did not contain gender-specific pronouns. I wish there were a Mrs God in that story, fully equal in stature and power to Mr God. For starters.
The first time my parents took me to Sunday school when I was five, I kicked the Sunday school teacher in the shins and called her a "Liar," starting my parents' voyage through Denver churches resulting from my "outrageous behavior" on Sundays. Outside of attending funeral services for friends, I haven't voluntarily darkened the doorway of a church since leaving home the first day I could.
David, I'm glad you have come to some peaceful place and your mom was really terrific in understanding you. I like the idea of Mrs. God, I mean, why not? I have also come to a peaceful place in my life, and I believe one must find that place from within.
Yup. Deliberate disinformation. He never claimed to be king of anything When Pilate asked him directly, he said "You're the one saying it." (Freely translated from the Aramaic...) So Pilate ceremonially washed his hands and handed the victim over to the religious leaders.
Jesus was Jewish and a religious socialist and an extraordinary figure, as far as I have read, and men wrote the ensuing chapters about his life and the organization they chose to build. And female religious were put in burkkahs for centuries.
Now if only Congress wrote a bill that required Medicare and Medicaid drug providers to use a single national formulary with standard prices for ALL drugs, and Part B items like continuous glucose monitors so that people don't have to shop to see which provider covers what meds/ancillaries at what price which can change year to year and provider to provider.
I continue to be amazed at how systems to support older people get more and more complicated and force seniors to go through so many hoops along with so much additional supporting administration in government and in the companies.
My 20/20 vision has been compromised constantly for more than a year with a dry eye diagnosis as part of a larger issue. We will now try serum tears using my own blood to make me eye drops. I thought the prescription and OTC eye drops were ridiculously priced and now there is this added expense because of course health insurance does not consider my eye sight worthy of coverage even though I pay for 3 insurance plans. Medicare, a supplement to Medicare insurance and a separate drug plan and I will still have to pay hundreds of dollars for treatments. Of course I am scarcely able to work due to this maddening condition. Pretty sure we were asleep at the wheel when we allowed the insurance industry to involve itself in our health care.
Marj, I can relate to your eye problems. I am hoping this myriad of treatments you have tried include punctual plugs. I have had them in my eyes for years. They keep the tears from going into the tear ducts so my eyes stay lubricated. I’m sure if you’re at the point of custom eye drops you’ve done this but you never know.
Thx Sharon. Yes we tried these plugs. The craziest part of the entire process is the awesome eye doc at MA Eye Ear says the plugs are working in combo with low dose doxycycline I have been taking for months. The associated blinking is now habitual. So I am dealing with the annoying constant blinking. We have to now retrain the brain to stop blinking. Crazy stuff. Hope you are finding relief using drops and warm compresses!
Yes definitely. It is interesting that your pressure was building up from tears. I’ve had radial keratotomy to keep my eyesight and it led to a whole myriad of other problems. Losing your eyesight is super scary and I worry what will happen when I am unable to put my own contact lenses in so I can see. I wish you the best.
Oh boy oh boy! I hope you find relief and soon! Super scary indeed! Thought of losing eyesight is so stressful. If you live alone it is that much scarier.
George, I share your experience and echo your amazement. The endless ads, robocalls, buttons to click are confusing and frustrating for all who try to figure out how to best spend their limited funds in order to try to insure their health. Health care does not have to be a profit-driven business and it should be the role of government to oversee that it is truly available to all.
The massive number of marginalized children and seniors in this country is an international disgrace.
If Congress even prevented insurance companies from raising formulary prices during the contracted year, it would be an improvement. People sign up for Part D for a full year, while companies can change their coverage every month!
You can’t just get Part D by the year. When we turned 65 we opted not get Dubya’s addition because we didn’t think it necessary. How times and conditions change. My 87 year old husband now takes 6 expensive drugs and in order to maintain them, he is paying the expensive penalty to Medicare. I’m hanging in there going online for best price using GoodRX and other like assists. Just last night we checked out the only maintenance drug I take as I need refill. Price jumped over $7 in the last two months. Some of the drug stores whose prices were listed are $20 over that! Going back to earlier comment here, Walmart has the best price...again. They beat Costco.
What I meant, is that each year I have the option to change which Part D plan I use. Many people search the plans offered to find out which has the best price for the drugs they use. Massachusetts even has a web site to make that easier. Once I sign up, I can't change plans until the next year - but the insurance company can change what they charge me. A friend of mine volunteers to help people navigate that maze, and he has told me of people fighting with insurance companies to keep the coverage they signed up for.
Now that I’m on a plan that pays for a medication I had to go through special approval to get my medication covered for a $95 copay I worry about changing to a different plan and losing that.
The whole thing is a mess. We need national health insurance funded by our taxes, so that actually getting health care and medecines does not require huge additional amounts of money. Plus, the govt needs to be able to negotiate with all drug companies on all drugs, and to take any windfall profits from these huge corporations and use them for the public good.
I deeply miss the communal practice of the Catholic faith. But I left the institutional church decades ago over the hypocrisy of the vast majority of the hierarchy and the priesthood towards women, towards the LBGBTQ+ community, for their failure to protect our children, and for their insatiable need to meddle in politics.
Every time, as I get older and start getting wistful again for the community some new eruption of tone deaf crazy gets spewed forth. Christ calls us to community, but the Catholic church is not it.
I’m with you, Georgia. We raised our children Catholic; I loved the community and the liturgy. But we, too, have left the Church, for the same reasons. I’m still enough of a Catholic that I don’t go anywhere else and we find our spirituality elsewhere. I’m done with organized religion.
I get you completely, Georgia, and appreciate your cri de couer.
I still consider myself a Catholic, but do not attend Mass for the most part anymore for basically similar reasons, and also a general aversion to the overarching dogma.
I too greatly miss both the communal practice, and the community. A
I did too nearly 55 years ago when I discovered the Episcopal church. The hypocrisy and interference in my life as a woman and wife did it for me and that’s after education at all-girls Catholic high school and college. I’d offer an estimate that nearly 50% of our congregation came from Catholic Church. This is the same group that I’ve marched with in nearly every protest there’s been since Trump and his ilk arrived on scene. The congregants are active in politics BUT not as the church, just as like-minded souls. We do sponsor truth and justice campaigns, food bank, prior to the pandemic we formed an alliance with local Islam group for better understanding and inclusion. The beautiful liturgy is nearly word-for-word the Catholic mass, without sermon that includes intrusion in my very personal life. Love for all and ministry for those in need guides us. I recognize that many of you don’t believe in or need an organized religion, but for many of us it fulfills a very real necessity. It is a personal thing; I am adamantly a proponent of separation of church and state and will continue to loudly vote against those who seek to ignore that concept.
Very cool, Sue. While I attend Mass most sporadically these days, I suspect I will always feel the soft pull the Church has on all of us that were raised within it. I certainly appreciate your protesting activities, not simply because they seem to parallel mine since Despicable Don descended his "Married to the Mob" escalator.
I have attended Episcopal services with friends over the years, and find them as you describe. However, my IRA relatives both living and dead would disown me if I ever associated with an organization so closely affiliated with the British crown.
As for the separation of church and state, you are absolutely right.
Thank you, Sue, for sharing your story. It sounds like what I am looking for. I had just retired before covid, had it early on with nearly two years of long haul,. It has been hard constructing a new social (real in the flesh) network. Yoga and meditation at the senior center isn't enough.
Thoughtful accepting spirituality is not much valued these days. I, like most of my generation, built a life around career and family caregiving so once my Catholic practice was abandoned the time got absorbed by other things. Now that there is finally more time with an un-fogged brain again, that time is not all so easily absorbed!
Thanks Dan. As a scientist by vocation since covid I started timing myself daily on the Times mini crossword and wordle and now spelling bee. When I first started I didn't have the ability to complete a 12 clue crossword in a day. I couldn't have a conversation without losing words. I'm down to under a minute and a half. So there is hope but it really is a long haul.
After my experience I am especially concerned about the Republican attacks on Social Security and Medicare. I am worried there are all of these post-covid seniors who have not really recovered mentally and are slowly declining because they can't care for themselves properly and can no longer recognize that fact. Now that covid is off most people's radar all those people are going to tax the healthcare system for the rest of their lives and there is no sense of urgency any longer.
I am lucky that I do not live in a healthcare desert like most Republican states.
Georgia, have you tried the Episcopal Church? We are often referred to, humorously, as Catholic Lite. 😉 Also, we ordain women to the priesthood. I was confirmed two years ago, and it filled a hole in my spiritual life that I didn’t know existed.
Up here in the mountains of western North Carolina we have locals who refer to us Episcopalians as English Catholics and still think we eat children.
We have quite a number of what I will call mixed marriages where one half came from Catholic background and the other half some other church. For me what is important is the acceptance of a very wide range of views. Also I have been glad to see how most (not all) have accept same sex marriage and we have had several such weddings in our church and those couples are very active and hard working.
I cannot take the foul mouths of the MAGA cult in Congress and their assistants. It is disgusting. This is what our children are subjected to if they want to tune into government. This is what needs to be shelved, not the banned books.
If I tell someone I am trained as a plumber or a doctor, and I take the job and mess it up; isn't that a kind of fraud? Those we entrust with the very critical job of translating our aims and need into societal actions are the very last people we should allow to lie to us.
Exactly. And we are neither trained nor very attentive to the management responsibilities that come with democracy and self-determination. as well as "liberty and justice for all". We rarely discuss how when political power is divided among the electorate, we get a share of responsibility for outcomes along with a share of choice. We are supposed to be hiring responsible fiduciary representatives, not rent-a-lords.
We are supposed to have the collective right to set the ground rules for our own society, including commerce, and including the rich and famous. Corporate profits should never "tr#mp" the common good, or individual justice. "Deregulation" has only enabled bratty and dangerous behavior by those in positions of power, be that source of power money, political position, or guns and the threat of violence (think of the Bundy clan). The "government" Republicans try so hard to "drown in a bathtub) is not "bad" autocratic government; it is "government of the people, by the people, for the people" that frustrates their one-sided plutocratic aims.
Requiring one from candidates opens a whole can of worms, but considering what is at stake, even for our posterity, our criteria proves shockingly slipshod. You will expect be sacked from just about any job when found to be substantially lying to "the boss".
I think there is a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech. Lying speech. The lying is bad enough, but I think the hate speech is damaging and dangerous.
Is she a "class act," though? Or does the seeming possession of a hint of class stand out only because the others in her chosen cadre form such a squalid ghetto of the intellect? Like, she claims to be pro-choice and for the ERA, but refuses to consider changing the filibuster rules necessary to actually pass these things, and also helped put Injustice Handmaiden on the Supreme Court. She's about as genuinely classy as a Walmart pretending to support a charity.
That being said, when my kids were in HS, two of the parents in our band boosters group were Walmart lower management. They were required to do volunteer hours and used the parent group as their chosen work. (BTW, they were wonderful people who put in easily 10x the amount of hours required) Walmart would donate $500 to the group you did your volunteer work for, so our group got $1000/yr from them. Desperately needed monies, as we had had a referendum to increase the property tax rate for the schools so that they wouldn't cut the arts. (What they always threaten) It did pass, but the band budget was bare bones. We fund-raised to get a better sound system, to get portable backdrops, etc, etc.
Heather, you are the best. Thanks so much for pulling together so many aspects of the news into such a cohesive narrative. Hope you jump into bed and have a great night of sleep!
Sen Bernie Sanders has been hammering big Pharma on the price of insulin and along with his friend Pres Biden deserves credit for Eli Lily deciding to cap insulin prices at $35.
What sets the Democrats apart from the repub party is Truth and the Democrats commitment to their oath and legislating for all the American people, whoever they voted for in the last presidential election. Everyone, no matter their party preference, will be able to take advantage of lower Insulin costs, child care or food programs or public schools, medical insurance, you get the picture. But repubs rely on Heritage Foundation, the Thomas More Society and a former Kansas attorney general whose license was suspended for ethics violations to help them block and stall legislation, progress, and the needs of women, children and families. Repubs continue to take up causes they call anti-religious or anti-family like abortion and women’s rights. The constitution, separation of church and state, or equal rights, women’s right to Abortion, the right to choose. And again the ERA. Remember Phyllis Schlafly’s campaign to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment. They are party of Past Tense.
Folks really want to oust George Santos for his Walter Mitty resume, but really so many of the MAGA Republicans are posers! MTG couldn’t even recite a number that started one million… Matt Gaetz was caught quoting Chinese propaganda, and asking for that propaganda source to be entered into the record of that committee meeting.
It so elitist to call them out?
Maybe we should just say nothing and watch them paint themselves into a corner. I’m sure they know no other way to paint. They need to feel the insecurity of their imposter syndrome.
No, I think they need to be called out every single time and Rep Raskin is doing an amazing job of this! I don't know how he has so much energy as he is recuperating from chemotherapy, but he is one heck of a representative for us!
He’s right in the middle of chemo. Having been there, done that - I do not know how he’s doing it. He is so full of energy and determination. Most of us were just resting at this point in treatment.
I second that "been there, done that, don't know how he's doing all that he is right now" comment. I did read somewhere that he is not showing any sign of "chemo brain"... mine lasted a full two years. Sigh.
Ally, two years ago yesterday I started treatment, and while I only had low dose chemo to boost the radiation, even that caused long lasting chemo brain. I still feel less agile mentally. You give me hope that there’s still improvement to be had! It’s his energy that astounds me. I’ve been wondering if those are his steroid days, or somewhere in a cycle where the side effects are lower. What an amazing man he is. And I love his head wraps. Some days he looks like a founding father, other days like a pirate.
For-profit companies have one mission - to increase revenue and profits. They owe it to their shareholders to sell as much of their products and services as they can, and they run marketing campaigns to do so. They owe it to their shareholders to set prices as high as they can, and they seek patents and eliminate competition to do so. This is what being a for-profit business means.
The problem is that, in America (and almost no where else), healthcare is a for-profit business. This means that American healthcare companies are driven to sell us as much healthcare as they can (America is one of the only countries that allows direct-to-consumer advertising for healthcare). And American healthcare companies are driven to charge as much as they can for their products and services. Yet healthcare is not like other businesses. Consumers can’t put off the cardiac surgery or the insulin purchase until there’s a sale. They can’t shop around for the best deal on a knee replacement. As a result, Americans pay twice as much (or more), per capita, as other developed nations do for healthcare. And our health and life expectancy is much worse.
Someday historians will look back on our for-profit healthcare system and deem it an abomination, while they wonder why we ever allowed it. They will note the brutality of a system driven by greed for some, instead of good health for all. They will tally the millions upon millions of deaths and shortened lives, all in pursuit of shareholder value. There’s a reason healthcare is “socialized” everywhere except in the US. It’s because socialized medicine is the humane, decent, moral approach - the approach that provides the best healthcare outcomes for all, instead of the highest returns on investment. For-profit medicine is obscene.
And another thing: there’s much handwringing going on today about our inability to continue to fund Medicaid and Medicare. You know what would fix that, without raising taxes OR curtailing healthcare? Socialized medicine. The US spends, today, about 18% of our GDP on healthcare. That amounts to $13,000 per capita, per year. Countries with socialized medicine, including Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and the UK, spend half of that, or less (Canada, for example, spends $5900 per capita). And, by all measures, their health is better. We could fix many problems in the US, including budget deficits, by adopting Medicare for All, and ending for-profit medicine. Doing so means defeating wealthy and powerful lobbyists and corporations. Which is why it hasn’t happened. Yet.
Ironic to me is the fact that evangelicals and the right wing were pro-abortion back in the 60s partly because the Catholics were against it!
John F Kennedy’s election as a Catholic was vigorously fought by the right wing too. And now we have five Catholics in the Supreme Court, thanks to them.
Considering the very long sordid history of the Catholic Church starting with the shenanigans of the early popes, the last 100+ years of pedophilia, their support of the Nazis during World War II, and the multitude of deaths of babies born from unwed mothers leaves leaves them with little moral standing.
Their current reprehensible, repulsive actions through the Thomas Moore society again reveals their true nature.
I don’t think that the Catholic Church actively supported the Nazis. Passively, they did, refusing to take a stand and condemn Fascist brutality. They certainly weren’t a group of Dieter Bonhoeffers, the German minister who died in a camp for challenging the Nazi regime.
I hear you, and yet, a blind eye is a blind eye. The Catholic Church agreed to stay silent about Hitler and Mussolini, at least in part, to protect their enormous wealth. They feared the fascists would plunder the church, or worse. Germany and Italy were predominantly Catholic. All of this is left out of most history books (it wasn’t until a college course on the history of Germany between the wars that filled in the many gaps for me).
The fact that the ERA has not been fully ratified to date is testament to the patriarchal condemnation of women and our LGBTQ kin to second class citizenry.
Totes, Rowshan. And the fact is that the Catholic bishops going apes*t right now about the possibility that ERA could actually be ratified should be a red flag.
Not just a red flag, but also a disgrace to all of the Catholics who truly care about other people—all other people.
In other words, all Catholics who actually try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Makes one wonder what Bible the bishops are reading.
Dave There is only a vague random correlation between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the actions and beliefs of many bishops. The Gospels seldom relate to the dictums of the Vatican.
I taught the New Testament for nearly two decades. I suggest that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church read it and follow its guidelines.
Keith and Dave, in my abbreviated experience with the Catholic church, I never heard any mention of the Bible. Their focus is on producing as many infants as possible, to grow up and fill their coffers. After all, someone has to pay for their infrastructure.
In the 21st century we are still held hostage by a bunch of guys in dresses, who sell the idea that instead of thinking for themselves people ought to follow the "teachings" of a magical sky parent. (I don't care if they do wear dresses, but their opposition to women being given first class citizen status, while cross dressing is telling).
Not just the infrastructure and huge property holdings in highly valuable areas of major cities around the world, the Archdiocese of Boston, a few years ago, contributed $750,000 to an anti-legalization campaign in MA that passed overwhelmingly. If they've got that kind of money to blow, mitigating poverty should be a piece of cake.
WOW!!!
Completely correct Keith. That's one of the reasons I used to be a Catholic Christian. The operative term, of course, is "used to be."
They'e reading the version of the Bible they wrote for Catholics, and the Baltimore Catechism.
How do you think they're able to reconcile acting so antithetical to the words of the historical Jesus?
The problem is that only one of those is Scripture and not even all of the Douay-Rheims Bible was inspired. Most of it is historical accounts, just like all the others.
The "creation stories" of almost all of the world's faith traditions' sacred texts are, all by themselves, articles of faith that the "stories" told are even historical accounts. And all claim to have been "divinely inspired" in one form or another.
Amen🌿
The American Catholic bishops are anti-American. Before every election I get a communication telling me how to vote and asking for money. Not knowing how the Catholic bishops got my name and address and with the Declaration of Independence in mind, every year I write in the blanks that America has separation of Church and State. Then I stamp and mail it to PA, which is where it comes from. Republicans and Radicals of all “religious” stripes need to be reminded that the Founding Fathers would be unsurprised, but not pleased, by their behavior. It’s anti-American.
Ten years ago, Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe wrote a column re: Cardinal O'Malley and his hypocrisy in boycotting a Boston College ceremony at which Ireland's prime minister was to receive an honorary degree and give the commencement speech (the prime minister had filed legislation allowing abortion to save the life of the mother). From his note responding to my thanking him for it:
"I'm done with them.
I will spiritually and financially support good priests and nuns.
But I'm done with the institutional church.
The Cardinal did me a favor by making me finally make a stand.
Feck them.
Judgmental, smug, arrogant, self righteous.
I'm done with them."
He closed with his father's deathbed quote, in which he referred to bishops as "a shower of arseholes".
I've never seen a more eloquent description.
James, as of the '60s, when I was still taking Catechism classes--and I have no reason to think things have changed--the church still maintained a platonic vision of creation as a hierarchical structure. If memory serves, we had the triune God at the top, followed successively by the Blessed Virgin, saints and angels in their stratified ranks, the Pope, cardinals and bishops, priests, (maybe civil authorities in there somewhere under priests?) parents, and last and least, children. That last place for children was emphasized with the assertion that we, as children, had no right to question the higher levels of authority above us. I don't recall any discussion of unborn babies' place in all of this, perhaps because the obvious implication of sex was to be avoided. Or perhaps my memory is faulty. In any case, according to this paradigm, unborn babies should be at the bottom, but somehow they've been elevated to somewhere above parents. Call me cynical, but it seemed to me when I first noticed this that this elevation approximately arose in the wake of the pedophilia scandal. Again, memory is faulty, so there's always that.
I follow a person on Facebook who has reported religious men who have been arrested for sexual crimes against children every day since December 2022 ....every single day ! How disgusting is that ! Yet repugnants states are banning drag shows as they are the groomers !! Where does it end ??
I remember back in the old days, shilling for political issues or candidates would cost a church its tax exemption. Not anymore.
That is a shame and should still be happening!
Do you know WHY that stopped?
Don't forget how the same Bishops rode Obama into the ground for the ACA, because of its inclusions of women's health. Let's expose these smug old guys with antedeluvian biases in their cassocks!
My cousins that are Catholic quit going to mass when the priest began talking about supporting "tfg". That happened in our other area Christian churches too!
Unfortunately, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. Both times. If the percentage decent human beings among white evangelicals were as high as it is among Catholics (excluding American bishops of course, below which it’s hard to go), Trump would have been defeated.
Republicans supported by the religious right clearly don’t believe in the separation of Church and State. The US Supreme Court seems to be following suit by requiring public funds to be used for one parochial school in New England as well as allowing businesses and individuals to discriminate on the basis of religion. Look next for the religious right, followed by the US Supreme Court, to determine that there is no such prohibition as the separation of church and state since it is based on the first clause in the bill of rights, i.e the First Amendment, which states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” Such a narrow interpretation flies in the face of its intent and historical understanding.,
What is the word for turning a phrase so that it's new meaning is the opposite of the original? Parsing is the one that comes to mind, but there are others.
The Catholic church, as well as all of the money-grubbing Evangelicals, should have had their tax-exempt status rescinded years ago. If that happened, we wouldn't be in this mess!
Our moral compass is spinning as it searches for a North Star. We have truly entered the world of upside down when the word of Jesus Christ does not equate with social justice and “Fuck You” is considered acceptable speech in the halls of Congress.
What has Jesus Christ to do with conduct when in Congress? And are nonbelievers unacceptable there? What are you saying?
Your comment gave me a thought: why do we have a chaplains in the House and Senate? Seems to me there should be no connecton to any religion in the halls of Congress. If separation of church and state is not complete, then there should be rabbis, imams, et alii to guarantee equal representation.
MANKIND has reached the Point OF Being "Under The BARREL !!
Does this mean the catholic church does not want women to be equal to men ?? Same bullshit! Same bigotry still ! There should be separation between church and state for obvious reasons!! I'm sure these catholic and Christian national people wouldn't mind paying the taxes on their churches!
Of course the catholic church doesn't want women to be equal-as exemplified by their absolute REFUSAL to allow women priests.
The bishops' reactions to the ERA belies their political agenda...
They obviously missed their calling...
Perhaps churches should have their “non profit” status revoked. You shouldn’t be allowed to have it both ways. That is, the church is taking a political stand against women, and they are seeking to influence our government to deny equal rights to women. All the while, sitting on vast wealth that could support their congregation and then lobbying people in congress.
Linda The image of the castle of pedophiles (Vatican) being concerned about women rights in ERA leaves me gobsmacked.
The catholic bishops? WTF?
There's no question about it!
In the year 2023, America hasn't legally enshrined equal rights for women. Because of Republicans. That says all we need to know.
Of course— after reading the wonderful Wilkerson book , I deeply understand that we women are simply in the caste of woman. Always have been and probably always will be no matter what our achievements.
I think you mean all the population.
Separation of church and state: one must respect the law of the land, and keep ones religion to ones self.
I have NEVER understood the need for religions to proselytize. If you've got a good "product" people should be flocking to you. This isn't exactly what you've addressed here, but it is one of my personal "I don't get it" things.
What I see with the religious "community" isn't so much keeping one's religion to themselves, it it the need to shout it out and shove it down everyone's throat that theirs is the "one, true way" and that their belief should transcend everything else.
It's interesting to contemplate the prehistoric roots of religion. Before a certain time, many early communities were built upon egalitarian care of each other without interpersonal violence or designation of master-to-slave hierarchies. (cf: The Dawn of Everything)
Something changed. The warrior/administrator evolved. He gave himself special qualities for the sake of keeping power and gathering wealth. He demanded a fancy funeral with promises of returning after life in order to continue the same. Ergo, the concept of god. Then he sent others to battle while he directed from behind. He called himself king.
With very few exceptions, this person was an adult male who repressed his own people as well as warring with other tribes. I tell myself nothing much has changed.
There is, of course, spirituality which is integral to most of us. It defines our place in the universe and our relationship with all creation. A truly spiritual person is at ease with being a temporary, small cog in the midst of wonder. It is not the same thing as religion at all.
Excellent observations, Hope!
HOPE ! You are! SO Close! to HIS Truth !! " A Truly Spiritual Person IS AT Ease, with Being a TEMPORARY Small Cog in THE HANDS, of a WONDERFULL, LOVING GOD! ETERNITY! Awaits US!
Ally (you are mine!) Years ago I had a friend (pastor) who obtained a PhD in divinity writing his dissertation on “Marketing Christianity.” He related this to the task of marketing Protestantism and the distinctions between Presbyterianism, Methods, Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans (evangelicals were not in his marketing play book).
He seemed more focused on money than the moral teachings of Jesus Christ.
Hmm… the story about your friend reminded me of my moment of epiphany when I was about 12. Being raised Catholic by a very religious Catholic mother, I had been attending an all-girls Catholic school ran by Maryknoll sisters who indoctrinated students about humility and compassion, yet lived a luxurious lifestyle AND discriminated against those of us who, not as wealthy as their favorite pupils, couldn’t contribute regularly to their repetitive fundraising causes. I thought they were Capitalist Christians—yes, an oxymoron, but an accurate description of their agendas. And how can we forget the genocidal conquests that were carried out in the “New World” under the guise of evangelization by order of the Catholic rulers of Spain? Six centuries later, a similar genocide is being fostered by contemporary Catholic rulers who haven’t changed one bit since the Middle Ages and are now vowing to make a dime by allying themselves with righteous politicians. Shameful!!!
Rose. CC=Capitalist Christians & Catholic Church (or am I repeating myself?) Francis, who preached poverty, was saintified, while, after his death, two of his principal followers were harshly treated for espousing poverty. Later one could purchase indulgences forgiving you for future sins, as the new St. Peter’s was being financed.
Witzil doing this in Martin Luther’s parish prmpted Luther to post the 95 theses and establish the Protestant church. (Soon thereafterLther married a former nun)
This is interesting! The distinction among Christians that has long intrigued me is the one between denominations that emphasize hierarchy and those where congregations are more autonomous. This was a big driver of the Reformation, with the Catholic Church on the "most hierarchical" end and eventually the various Protestant denominations strung out on a continuum, with the Episcopalians/Anglicans not all that far from the Catholics and maybe the Friends at the other end. (I don't know much about the Orthodox tradition(s), but from the outside they seem to combine hierarchy with autonomy -- one of these days I'll learn more about how that works.)
Susanna During my lifetime on various occasions I found comfort at Quaker meetings, where love and silence echoed through the services.
The religions that proselytize (not all of them do) seem to think that they're doing unbelievers a favor by giving them the key to eternal life or heaven or a similar great reward. That's the theory, anyway. In practice? A quick review of the proselytizers' actions over the centuries, both with and without the sword, should give one pause.
I should add, though, that individual missionaries may be guided by genuinely altruistic motives and may improve the lives of those they attempt to convert. But I can't say the same for the institutions behind them.
It's evolution in action. Just like biological organisms, the religions that reproduce the most are the types that dominate.
One of the very first concerns of any biological organism is to replicate and reproduce. Without replication, they die out. Some factions of Christianity, just like some other religions one could name, resemble a cult, and one of the first things a cult has to do is self-preservation, just like a replicating organism, so that means make lots of babies and proselytize like mad. There's safety in numbers. They then keep their members in line and gain new ones by convincing them all these dire things will happen to them if they don't follow the rules, plus convincing them all these wonderful rewards await them in somewhere the sky. Rule by fear and promise them pie. All these religions are convinced THEY posses the "truth", so they then slaughter each other (and anyone else who doesn't believe as they do) to prove it, and whoever is left, wins. Welcome to the human race.
We have a fairly devout cult here; a Mormon offshoot called "General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn". They are very male dominated and anti medicine. I personally handled two death investigations of preventable origin: an infected wound that went untreated (of an adult), and appendicitis (of a 15 year old boy). Ironically, the adult was the father of the son, whose mother had remarried a man who lost his wife in childbirth (preventable, had there been medical intervention). The latter ended up as a criminal investigation that netted a conviction of Criminally Negligent Homicide for the parents.
I am a HUGE proponent of the separation of church and state. The 15 year old was a very difficult investigation for me, personally. It boils down to protecting children.
A good example about a religious organism dying out was the Shakers-they didn't marry/have children. They took in outsiders or orphan children who would live with them for periods of time by the individual's choice or grown up. But boy, were they great craftsmen, believed in laborsaving devices for workers, and entrepreneurs. (What we consider the standard flat corn broom was invented by them.) They came up with the concept of packaging seeds for sale, which still exists today. (a tidbit about the Shaker chairs-the cross bar slats were so the chairs could be hung on the walls to make sweeping easier.) (Yes, I've been to two or three Shaker villages.)
Mind-bogglingly self centered and arrogant.
Huh. Describes quite a few folks LFAA “students “ discuss here.
Could you be more specific about what or whom you consider "mind-bogglingly self centered and arrogant"? The way threading works in Substack, it's sometimes hard to tell what comments are replying to.
Apparently not...
Just a non-theist's perspective.
Mike,
I find the Catholic Bishops statement in opposition to both the ERA and the codification of women's equality to be nothing short of disgraceful.
Yet your defamatory comment about the Bishops as a whole is way out of line. Let's not use MTG-esque language here to assign the ugly abuses by some to all.
Daniel, it might be hyperbolic but it’s not defamatory. The bishops’ behavior is un-Christian at a minimum.
It is actually very "Christian." Eve is the cause of all sin in the world.
Old Testament stuff. New Testament does not condemn or blame women as the generators of sin--except for Paul, that judgmental misogynist--indeed, Jesus considered Mary as one of the Apostles, although the Roman Catholic (male) hierarchy has done it's best to obscure that nugget.
Yes, I know this. Never have been a fan of Paul. Early church fathers spent too much time sitting on pillars in the desert or having fun and then renouncing the riotous life. The presence of women causes so much trouble.
Adam and Eve is an allegorical story. Look behind the literal interpretation and you may better understand the allegory and what it was meant to convey.
George The other version of creation in the Old Testament did not mention Adam and Eve. How could this be the ‘literal’ word of God?
Of course the ‘Book of Moses’ was written about 400 years after Moses’ death, so it might not be totally accurate.
I understand that. And I understand the allegory.
Everything was paradise until we knew there were gender differences and we had knowledge of you know what.
Michele I grew up on a property with 30 apple trees. Whatever the theological implications, I found the apples damned good.
Hi Mike,
The Bishops take on the ERA is undoubtedly un Christian. Yet, without dragging this on unduly, to accuse an entire group of engaging in criminal acts when the entire group did not commit them is pretty much defamation per se
Just a gentle reminder to you both that Joseph Robinette Biden is Catholic. Without putting too fine a point on it, our President is who he is because of his faith - not despite it. President Biden is, without a doubt, one of the best examples of a President acting in a truly Christian manner but also in a way that respects the separation of Church and State in my lifetime. I know you can see that as well as I do.
I grew up in a deeply Catholic household. I left the Church long ago for reasons you both understand. But I am also a daily witness to many ordinary Catholics who live in ways that are faithful, respectful and loving - including my younger brother’s work running a 150 bed treatment center for homeless alcoholics. His faith is unshakeable. Thank heavens for that.
If examples like Patrick made the daily news, your opinions of Catholics might tick up a bit, MikeS. They don’t. Please remember that Bishops don’t represent the majority of their flocks any more than Republicans opinions represent the opinions of the majority of Americans. The governing structure of the Catholic Church is terribly corrupt. The damage they have done to women and children and young men all over the world unfathomable. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just watch what Biden DOES, rather than what the bishops think he should do.
Your comments leave me with gratitude that I did not leave a comment sooner. Your comments were good reminders. They burrow deep into the heart and memory, overriding the deeply felt outrage fueled by those coverups. Yet the anger towards that minority, a well heeled, well oiled, self righteous army determined to impose their will on the majority, still fuels a continued resentment and distrust.
"including my younger brother’s work running a 150 bed treatment center for homeless alcoholics. "
Sounds like a good hearted, generous and hard working brother to me Sheila.
Thanks, K, and Sheila, you both said it beautifully. In a similar vein, I would add the example of former President Jimmy Carter in his approach to leading being similar to Biden's. Both are men of strong faith, but both as elected leaders of the people knew their task was to rule in the way the people elected them to lead. Their job was NOT to force a populace to believe what they believe. I think that's what the founders of this country intended: lead the people, but leave your personal faith outside of that. And then, in his post-Presidential work, Carter has really shone his true colours: commitment to helping others. You wanna be like Jesus? Then serve your fellow man, and do it quietly, under the radar, without calling attention to yourself. Jesus exhorted us to do that very thing. Help only for the sake of helping, not to show how wonderful you are. There ARE many many Christians who do just that, and they are the ones you never hear about, which is as it should be. Yes, I believe the RCC is, in its leadership, one of the most corrupt entities around, but in spite of that, there are many of its members who follow Christ's example anyway. Personally, I could never be Catholic myself because of its tenets--so I'm Anglican: all of the theatrical pageantry, none of the guilt!--but I have many Catholic friends who I know ARE good Christians and who are not supportive of much of their leadership hierarchy. In that regard I feel kinda sorry for them (actually, sometimes the leaders in my denomination aren't perfect either...), but we carry on anyway.
This is why I refuse to paint every believer with the same brush. Yes, some are hypocrites, but a lot of people are motivated by their faith to become active in helping others as you, Sheila, point out with your brother.
That was a most lovely post, Sheila. I thank you for your clarity, and both you and your brother for the love you give.
Shiela, thanks so much for this-you spoke my heart. Thank you.
Thank you, Shelia. You are an inspiration and now I learn of your brother,Patrick.Great genes think alike:)
I am watching, with awe, what President Biden does as opposed to what my “devout” Florida Governor does…
Sheila, thank you for reminding us that there ARE good Catholics and, by extension, good Christians. Indeed, Biden is an excellent example! I think that the criticisms expressed here chastise the institutionalized, organized Catholic Church leadership that speaks on behalf of all Catholics and endorses propositions that politicize the religion and in essence are unchristian.
Nancy Pelosi is also Catholic.
Sheila, very well expressed. Please see my comment at the end of this thread.
Daniel,
I am not arguing that it was or was not defamation.
However, I would say that the overall Catholic leadership culture, possibly for centuries, has, in fact, fully supported and condoned and perhaps even encouraged "criminal acts" given the massive number of priests and Bishops that have been removed, and charged with crimes, all across America.
It is not like two or three guys got caught out. Half the priests in Boston alone were relieved of duty.
So, yes, I am sure there were some priests NOT engaging in criminal behavior but the way the Catholic church hid and condoned the widespread criminal behavior, probably for hundreds of years?
C'mon. Is it really "defamation" to write the truth in a way that that captures reality in an eyes wide open manner?
As noted: The comment has been removed out of respect for your feedback.
“Catholic leaders culture for centuries, has, in fact, fully supported and condoned and perhaps even encouraged ‘criminal acts’.” So true, Mike! During the Crusades, Pope Urban II offered papal indulgences (which technically reduced or eliminated the prescribed punishment for committing sins) to any soldier who participated in these religious, “just” wars. In fact, indulgences were promised even in advance of the commission of the sins (perhaps as an incentive to recruit troops), and some indulgences were even sold! The Conquest of the Americas saw a prolongation of this Capitalist system that profiteered from the sale of religious commodities.
I somewhat disagree with your statement about bishops who didn’t directly commit crimes not being responsible for the crimes the priests committed in their dioceses. The bishop’s office is the Catholic HR, and there wasn’t a single complaint or accusation that didn’t go through their office. BISHOPS protected predatory priests by using their standing to shame a family out of reporting any incidents. BISHOPS moved those priests from parish to parish instead of defrocking sexual predators, each time giving them fresh meat to gnaw on.
Cardinal Whuerl even tried to expose the problem in the early 2000s when he was the Bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese, but his true function was to act contrite and get NDAs from the families in exchange for money. The bishops cannot extricate themselves form a problem they perpetuated.
I understand, and join in the condemnation down the line of those bishops who hid, obfuscated and transferred the predator priests, as well as downplaying the problem.
YET, the point remains that one cannot fairly or accurately cast the condemnatory net over the entirety of the Catholic bishops.
Beyond that, the glaringly out of touch error of the bishops' position on the ERA stands on its own, without the need to color the margins with inappropriate references to the abuse scandals.
Daniel,
Thank you for the feedback. Comment removed.
I am not a huge fan of a culture that preys on the weak and unprotected as you can tell.
But, I recognize there might be a diversity of perspective on that culture.
Again, thanks for the polite feedback.
I would argue, however, that my post was much better English language usage than that of MTG. Hence, its effectiveness.
Gosh, Mike, you did not tell everyone to FO. This tells me that Gangrene and her staff do not have an answer, so they resort to four letter words to avoid saying anything that actually answers the reporter's question and that she and her staff know she made a fool of herself...again.
I have no doubt that Empty's staff are rather sick of having to field constant questions from the press when Empty shoots off her mouth and spills out one of her inflammatory but utterly senseless little "gems".
It should be noted that her overt disrespect for anybody or anything other than her little far-right allies and groupies has clearly rubbed off on her staff and they treat media folk like shyte. that may not be to her long-term advantage although it's obvious her little red fanboys and girls think it proves how "strong-minded and defiant of the elite establishment" she is. Ugh. Her ego would gag a gator.
LOL...gag a gator. Excellent.
I suggest reading White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones.
Just put it on hold at the library. Surprisingly, it was there.
Mike, I support your view on the corruption and criminality of the leadership of the Catholic Church. Despite a dire shortage of priests, the hierarchy refuses to allow women priests. The egregious child abuse was atrocious enough but the revealed cover up piled suffering upon suffering of innocent people. It happened in my own back yard, bringing with it suicides, broken families and fractured lives. The main perpetrator never spent a minute in jail. Now the arrogance of Catholic bishops sending damning letters to our government leaders warning of the “damage” perpetrated by ratification of the ERA is enough to make this woman wonder how in literally God’s name does one support a religion that blatantly hurts its most vulnerable, denies acceptance of the LGBT community and fights to place women in second class citizenry. It sickens my soul that I was Catholic until age 50. The good people of this religion need to stand up to this ongoing atrocity within their leadership. Stand up for Jesus’s tenets of loving one another, protecting the poor and bringing fairness and justice to all mankind.
When I was 10 or 11 yrs old my mother told me that Jesus said the most important commandment was Love. Nothing more, nothing less, simply Love. Basically saying all the others could be disregarded as acting with Love encompassed them.
I can only guess at the "sickness in your soul" as a result of your religious background. Thank you for sharing your story here.
The good Catholic people with the wisdom and gumption to stand up against the church's trashing of Jesus' tenets left it decades ago.
I would hope, Mike, that you live in an area where the wing nuts are not trying to "cleanse" the public library.
I am the President of the Friends of my library.
I wish the would be nut my best wishes.
😊
Ditto.
I have. It was VERY interesting. In fact, I think I've recommended it here before.
How did that work the the survivors of child abuse by parish priests for years? The Catholic Church and their administration including Bishops STILL has a lot to answer for.
Indeed, it certainly does still have a lot to answer for. Part of the overall answer would be to allow women priests, of course.
My Uncle Bobby is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is mostly deaf. He was, remarkably, not checked for deafness until he was exiting high school. By that point everyone had taken for granted that he was simply unintelligent, considering he always did so poorly in school and frequently couldn't follow instructions. Turns out he never could hear what anyone was saying if their back was turned. By that point it was clear he was not on track to go to college. He worked for decades making an honest living at a pizza parlor, and was liked by absolutely everyone.
Oh, he is also diabetic. That should be unimportant, considering how many people are. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. All it took was for him to hurt his leg, get a cast, and have that cast not fit just right. There goes the infection. There goes the leg. There goes the job at the pizza parlor. There goes that meager salary. There goes the social life, too. Here comes living in a tiny room, with nothing to fill the day, and no way of getting around. Here comes the slide into barely concealed alcoholism. Here comes the after-effects of all that beer and immobility on a 60 year old diabetic body. There goes the other leg. Here comes the nursing home.
Funny thing about the nursing home, now that he is a ward of the state he actually gets the excellent care that could have prevented him from landing in the nursing home.
Oh, and this was right before the pandemic. So there goes being able to see your family for a few years. And here comes getting Covid. Twice. And fighting it off. Twice. And another infection. In your skull. And fighting that off too. And managing somehow to get out of your chair. And putting on your leg braces. And walking down the whole long hallway, just leaning on a walker, pure upper body strength and determination, captured on a shaky phone camera, probably by one of the nurses you are currently in love with, because you fall in love with all your nurses, because you've never had a real girlfriend, not once, and because they are kind and bring you coffee and take care of you, and you've never had anyone to take care of you, other than your sister Dianne, who even though she is only 11 months older still was assigned to walk you to school because she was so mature and you were so simple, and that is who you are sending this to right now, because she'll be proud of you and send back a message of nothing but heart emojis and candy canes, even though Cristmas is over, because you both love Christmas THAT MUCH.
This is a strong person I just described. Also a dependent person. Don't get it twisted, they can be both. This person would have been dead many times over, year after year, if it wasn't for a very easily manufactured medicine.
Eli Lilly can afford to cut their costs by 70% and still make money. What were they making before? Too much. And now, still, too much. The correct amount would be zero dollars. No one should make so much money on something so many others cannot afford to be without.
Will, thank you for standing up here to represent Bobby so well. It hits one in the heart.
Will,
I hereby title your short story:
"Untold Stories of the Real America".
I look forward to more of these.
Will, in my career, I worked in the lab of a major medical center in Chicago. As I ran hundreds of blood tests each day, I'd look at the diagnoses that the ER entered in the computer. They sometimes put a direct quote of what the patient told them. A number of times I saw, "ran out of" or "can't afford" insulin. Who knows if these people had insurance, but I would see the astronomical glucose levels and figure that they weren't going home that day. The lack of affordable medicine lead to EXACTLY the type of situations you talked about! Which in the long run, increased costs for ALL of us.
I might also mention that diabetes often leads to renal failure. Renal failure leads to dialysis---I believe (someone help me here?) that is one of the biggest expenses to Medicare/Medicaid. Also, big business, as John Oliver had a segment a few years back about the dialysis industry which was eye opening.
A former co-worker of mine was borderline diabetic for most of his career. He retired from the SO and went to work for one of the casinos managing their security team. He ended up having to retire from that when he (due to diabetic neuropathy) could no longer walk. His ultimate "last walk" went from digital amputation on one foot, followed in short order by amputation below, then above the knee, then a double amputation above the knee, and a very difficult recovery due to both renal and heart issues and ultimately resulted in his death from a heart attack at age 60. He could never afford the treatments he was offered as the more "preventative" ones were not covered by insurance.
And generally dialysis, yes, for renal failure, is poorly tolerated by diabetic individuals, which makes prevention by proper early treatment true life extension, and it's far less expensive than the treatments needed for all the complications detailed in your and Wil's notes. But if companies only see their bottom line and ignore everything else, and if half crazed lunatics in our House of Representatives only see political advantage, things would never change. We must stay woke. For woke means awakened to injustice.
Not only does long-standing, poorly controlled diabetes cause renal failure, it puts you at high risk for infection, metabolic syndrome (heart disease/stroke/diabetes), heart failure (CV disease), retinopathy (vision damage), puts you at higher risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, foot complications due to neuropathy as stated below and depression! I am a nurse practitioner who works on a critical care unit and see the devastating effects of on a daily basis. We need physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who work in primary care to be trained in 'lifestyle medicine' to educate these sick folks about the 6 domains (see below) to healthier living in order to reverse or at least tame this disease, to use health coaches
(make sure insurance companies cover coaching) and YES, provide insulin at little to no cost! We must address this problem holistically (whole food plant-based diet, physical activity, restorative sleep, avoiding risky substances and promoting positive social connections.
Don't know where you are but your nursing philosophy is spot on. It's why I spoke to a large conference of NP's about 25 years ago and told them that I believed, as a primary care internist, that eventually there would be few primary care docs and most primary care would be done by nurse practitioners. Of course, I had special education as I was and still am married to a now retired ARNP.
Thank you for dedicating your career to primary care, we need more of you! My dear friend is also a primary care internist in rural PA (my home state) and he would agree with you. I became a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and got certified in Lifestyle Medicine as a Health Coach during the pandemic. I have lectured about Lifestyle Medicine and the Blue Zones and it's positive affect on health and well being. The ACLM is an ever-growing society of health professionals on a mission to reverse chronic disease. I am currently working as an ICU NP in San Francisco but will be launching a LM course that specifically focuses on women's health (perimenopause and menopause). Lifestyle Medicine is evidence-based and research shows this is the future of healthcare! I highly recommend checking their website out, lots of good resources to point friends and family to that need help getting healthier!
More power to you. Your experiences doing that would be of interest to a journal like Menopause, I bet, in which Ellen Mitchell and Nancy Woods, U of Washington, published many things about the menopausal transition which they studied for about 25 years. Stuff that women really want to know about how long the transition to FMP will last and what symptoms tend to be exaggerated or changed by the transition. Somehow, we have all made the transition to retirement together, but it was a great fun ride!
Thank you for the reference to the Menopause journal, I will definitely look into that! Enjoy your retirement, I am getting close!
Please add education in every school on Adverse Childhood Events.
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html
Once upon a time there were nutrition courses, obligatory in public schools. Does anyone remember “the basic seven”? Nutrition studies have advanced since then, but the rash of diabetes is a tribute to corporate America’s pushing sugar: colas, sweet snacks. At a recent check-up I was twice asked if I have diabetes. It’s expected of people of “a certain age.” It’s time for really thorough “health” courses in public schools, particularly before Florida can take over truth.
We are a nation of drugs over exercise. It may well be our undoing. Once public schools had vigorous sports programs for everyone (how well I remember being the last chosen for a side playing softball - astigmatic, I couldn’t catch or hit a ball), not just the “athletes.” What happened?
There has been a suggestion(out "there") that a moratorium on law suits be provided for dieticians and the medical community in regard to current protocols for the treatment of T2d, type 2 diabetes. There is a huge online community of motivated diabetics. Over the years, the medical community has agreed to a pharmaceutical answer to all of T2d. There is evidence the SAD(Standard American Diet) promotes metabolic syndrome. There are alternatives. Capitalism shows us it is not the economic vehicle to provide community health and wellness. ...plenty of stuff, yes. Be safe. Be well.
Agreed. It is expensive to eat healthy. In the long term though it is cheaper if you can avoid the health problems that co m e from the SAD.
Think of the food deserts and people buying good at dollar stores. I sometimes watch a YouTube channel where they do "southern" cooking. She has done a few shows where she buys all the ingredients at one of them. I was horrified at the fat/sodium laden canned junk she threw together, but I realized that is all many of her viewers can afford. Very sad.
Will, thank you for such a clear and concise explanation of what happens when we put profit over people. I will never understand how anyone can accept that medical care should be profit based. It’s just so wrong!
I think President Biden should bring back the weekly fireside chat. The first thing he should do is read Will’s post to the nation.
He'd never get through it without crying. And that's ok too,
Now there is an idea. I wonder what form it would take - a substack? A prime time TV half hour? The wingers would loooove that. And demand equal time to rebut.
Hmmm...well, in answer to those 'wingers' I might suggest a variation of Empty's staffer's vulgarly rude answer to media questions, "Fk off!"...
Somehow I doubt they'd enjoy hearing it nearly as much they seem to enjoy saying it to others.
The translation is something like “Who do you think you are, expecting us to respect facts? People believe us more than anything you can ‘prove’ with facts.”
They are Believing !! UNTO DEATH !!
Will, wow.
You describe a series of situations that collide to cause a mans life to collapse. Yet, he endured.
I am so moved by this story of Uncle Bobby and by your writing skill.
Some of those events were avoidable, preventable situations. Some were just the luck of the draw. I suspect most of us have family members who were victims of ignorance and neglect. Or just plain suffered the assault of illness after illness.
You write with such compassion and literacy. You honor the unfortunate. You are a talent to be reckoned with. You have a powerful gift. More please, as you please.
I second that!
💯💯💯
I've not yet read the comments here yet (I'm imagining there's one or two). Your story of your Uncle is one similar to what I saw a number of times in my career where, for want of adequate medical attention, people die (keeping in mind that my introduction to them comes from having to do a death investigation when they die while "not under the care and treatment of a physician."
I am watching a childhood friend enter Hospice care this week at the age of 60 due to lung cancer that was undiagnosed (because no insurance, and made too much money as a pizza delivery driver/gas pump jockey to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan) until his lungs were full of tumors.
Health care is not something you earn, or deserve to have. Everyone should have access.
Will~this is one of the most beautiful, illuminating, and poetic pieces of writing I have ever seen that bring the systemic failings of our cruel profit-over-people-at-all-costs society. You brought Uncle Bobby to life in a powerful way that everyone can see, feel, hear, mourn, and celebrate. You have a real gift. I'm not sure what you should do with it, but these kind of takes on any number of lives that have been sacrificed in the name of extreme greed are just what we need to turn the tide by open more eyes among those who vote against their interests, because I am sure they have experienced limitations and suffering in their own lives at the hands of the super rich + powerful.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Thanks again Will. I lost both my brother and sister-in-law to diabetes. Your story should be before Congress.
My sister lost her husband to diabetes.
Thank you Will. What informs you informs us and breaks our hearts.
OMG Will 😳 I hope that you publish your writing. You have an amazing ability in seeing and then communicating what you see. As a healthcare provider I am too familiar with your Uncle Bobby. How heartbreaking to endure an entire childhood of being deaf and not having that recognized by another being. Thank you for writing and sharing. ❤️🤗🙏
Will, your story of Bobby should be published widely and read widely. Then people could grasp how in America so many end up not being able to be the productive citizens they wish they could be. Instead they end up homeless, addicted or, as with Bobby, needing nursing home care when that all could have been avoided with better healthcare and a better educational system (that would have detected Bobby’s hearing problem). Thank you.
Your message made me cry. Tell Uncle Bobby that he has another girlfriend.
Such a moving story!!!!
Thank you Will for your wonderfully well-written witness to the struggle some folks had before dyslexia, learning disabilities, auditory processing disabilities and so many, many other bars to learning and education were recognized. Your Uncle is a true hero.
Wow! Thank you. One of the most powerful comments I have ever read.
Wow! A Second George Santos in Congress!!! Who woulda thunk it????
But this highlights the major question of why there was not even cursory investigative reporting on these guys when they were in primaries. Local news media organizations are being gutted and/or taken over by conservative media conglomerates.
Actually a third, if you count Anna Paulina Mayerhofer, who used to tell people she was, alternatively, "Jewish" and "Syrian," before changing her name to Luna (forgetting to add the "tic") and "honoring" her "hispanic heritage." The stupid airhead is on the record saying in 2020 that "I didn't even know what 'conservative' meant last year" when she took at job as "youth influencer" for Hitler Youth Assistant Fuhrer Charlie Kirk, er, I mean, organizer of Turning Points USA conservative youth.
Actually, she's only the third if you are only counting the people that we know of that didn't get the lies broadcasted until after they won. A few more faked resumes led to losses; check out the guy Ohio legend Marcy Kaptur thankfully just beat. Yikes.
There must be something in their inspiring outlook on life that just brings together all the best people, amirite?
That guy at least gave a new and previously-unknown definition to the term "knuckledragger."
Seriously. Those knuckles were making more of a ruckus on the asphalt that the cans attaches to the back of a "just married" sedan.
got my laughter in this am.....thank you
This is what I have been pushing for---a back & forth substack between TCinLA and Will, from Cal.
I search out comments from them both.
Here we go again 🤣 Drink your coffee carefully before reading. 🤣
Geez, I had to go look this guy up...Whew! Referring to him as a knuckledragger was actually very generous of you, TC.
Will, you are a breath of fresh air with your always witty, thoughtful and intelligent comments. I always look forward to reading your take and frequently get a belly laugh while reading your witticism
Doggone it, Midge, you done gone made me blush!
It will always be the Escalator of Foreboding for me from now on.
Luna”tic” 😂😂😂
You are right!!! I had completely forgotten about her, yet another practitioner of pseudologia fantastica, otherwise known as mythomania. Aren't those fantastic terms? Amazing what you can google....
Have been focused on Santos who represents the district I grew up in :-(.
LOVE the new "terms"!!! Thanks for the chuckle!
"forgetting to add the tic" -- that's the best!
I wish there was a laugh icon.
Try your function key.
Oh my, Mayerhofer to Luna....quite the switch.
One's her father's name, the other her mother's.
So Luna is her mother's first name, last name??
Michele Reminds me of Gleason threatening to send folks ‘to the Luna.’
GOOD Reference ! GOOD ole JACKIE ! "THE MOON !!"
"he took one course in economics and got a “C” in it, and that his resume was similarly exaggerated across the board"
So thoroughly Republican of him.
I got a C in a costume design class by dragging Google images of old hats onto a PowerPoint.
Where's my invitation to the Met Gala?
Will Your Met Gala invite was tweeted to you, but Ego Musk personally blocked the transmission.
Try the Oscars 😉
😂😂😂
If such are groomed by their party to be candidates that we vote on, why are we citizens kept uninformed about knowing the history of these people?
If an opposing party is seriously probing the competing party's candidate for weaknesses, why are such blatant lies and weaknesses left undiscovered and unrevealed?
If we actually have a free press with investigative reporters doing the job of the press to acquire and publish information about elections, parties, and government, then how could the lies, deceit, and misinformation been hidden for so long?
The situation screams a much larger and more critical question: "Who and what can citizens actually trust?"
This sort of crap is so unusual, so previously unthought-of (really) that normal people look at these freaks the way French generals used to look at the German tanks fording the Sedan River during the blitzkrieg. Nothing in their experience prepared them to deal with it. But I think 2024 will see more thorough oppo research of the mendacious malicious morons.
A local newspaper ran the facts about George Santos during the election campaign. They were pretty much ignored.
Shocker! Why does faux fox get headlines and not MSNBC?
Watch Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar...another independent news source. They hold Fox, MSNBC, NYT, and both parties accountable. Partisan stooges of all stripes hate their reporting. When they get something wrong, they apologize and admit it, which is something partisan Facebook sites and mainstream media never do.
They do such an amazing job!! We are so impressed and appreciative after watching every show. And we never miss one. Grateful for their commitment and dedication to their work. Delighted to recognize and support what they're bringing to the world. Independent journalism!
$$$$$$$
TC, you are on an alliteration tear: "mendacious malicious morons"! I love it.
The triple Ms. Or M&M&Ms...?
Well, I are a riter. :-)
In the case of fake resumes in Tennessee the reporters are all busy reporting about football. All the other reporters got pink slips when the papers were bought out by hedge funds.
We need more exposure of what hedge funds are doing. They seem to be another form of adverse corporate control.
Running a hedge fund should be a 20 year felony.
Agreed
Could it be that the free press is so busy trying to get the “good” candidates elected (which means also trying to fight the lies being spread about them - the list is long) that they don’t have time to check on the lying candidates.
I wish that was the reason! The reason is they're too busy pushing the "common wisdom" and the "horse race."
Ah, now you've got it Georgia. The continuing stream of facts regarding the 'who' that makes up the maga 'coalition'. Names of all those needs to go viral. Make it happen folks !
Yes,I agree.I wonder how many more George Santos wannabes are sitting right now in Congress having been elected on sketchy or totally false resumes?Kinda make you want to scratch your head( or scream lol).
And start researching.
Two more now beyond Santos; there's a woman from Florida who had (I believe; too lazy to research it since the coffee hasn't kicked in yet) who claimed several falsehoods, one of them being Hispanic) and now Ogles.
A local Long Island news org reported that there were serious questions about Santos, but it was drowned out by the horse race noise generated by the Governor’s race between Hochul and the fascist Zeldin. NYS would be in deep shit should Zeldin have won, but it was too close for my comfort. Most people think NY is a blue state, but that’s because of NYC. North and west of the city, it gets red pretty quick. Even parts of LI are deeply crimson.
I mean, it isn't just NYC. Biden took NY by almost 25 points, and won counties all along the eastern side of the state and scattered throughout. I don't live there, so do not know the details, but by all reasonable expectations the Hochul showing was just really weak. By all accounts, the whole party apparatus was horrible in NYS last year, actually. The turnout in NY & CA (& OR) was what cost the House; with how massively well Dems performed in the swing states there really was no excuse - or precedent - for having the strongholds collapse like that. Bizzarre and infuriating.
Demographics are with Democrats. Gen Y and Z are mostly not MAGA. I believe the youth vote in many areas was better than average in 2020. But it needs to be a LOT better than that in 2024.
One answer, IMO, is for my generation of politicians to step aside and assist the younger ones. Pelosi to Jeffries should serve as a model. I want to hear soaring speeches from the likes of Corey Booker, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Katie Porter, Stacey Abrams, Mallory McMurrow, etc. Our bench is very deep with integrity and talent. We need to pass the baton and get louder.
The other answer is for the DNC to step up its game and deluge the nation with a social media saturation campaign that says two things:
"MAGA Republicans want to run and ruin your life. They want to take your health care and your health rights." Images of women being turned away at clinics.
"Republicans are funded by the billionaires who are running the country. Democrats are for all of us. MAGA Republicans are for the uber rich." Images of parties on very large yachts.
I think you should remove Newsom from your list. There's a lot of stuff coming out now that demonstrates that a one left party state ends up as bad (for different reasons) as a one right party state. The eagle needs two wings to fly and we are very much starting to see that now. Newsom has promoted the legal (which isn't very) weed industry here, and the corruption of a big all-cash industry is showing up just like you would think it would with that much cash swimming around. That's just one thing. I used to think getting rid of the Republicans here was a good thing but I was wrong. MAGAs, yes, certainly. But you need an opponent to keep you on your toes or you get fat, dumb and lazy, which is a good description of the California Democratic Party.
Always like your insight, Bill and this one, too. I think your list is too short though. Women's right are at the top for sure but, factual deaths can be attributed to incompetence and inhuman action / inaction on their watch.
Additional items - Republicans will:
3. Kill you with their guns - open carry by 8-yr-olds & AR-15s the natl rifle.
4. Take away Soc Sec & Medicare (+ age to 70 as US male life exp drops to 73)
5. Respond to future pandemics like they did for Covid where over 1m died
6. Same with Opioids, Suicides, Obesity, etc - Do nothing then blame others
7. Make America Dumb Again - Burn Books, censor, lower education stds, etc.
8. Promote Racism & White Supremacy - make Kyle Rittenhouse a Senator
9. Make US a fascist dictatorship - Jan 6th being the start
10. Allow Lying to become the national pastime - Fox?, G Santos?, MTG?
11. Remove Every Environmental Reg - Trash the planet,...because they can
12. Oh, and...would control the most destructive nuclear arsenal in history
It's a long, long list. Others can add at will. Using their own playbook, "Flood the Zone" but with truth and facts. We don't have to make any of it up.
I've always liked the idea of engaging our best storytellers like Spielberg, Ken Burns, Michael Moore, etc to create a series of documentaries to literally SHOW the country & world what the US would be like should the GOP manage to steal a future election. Present these legitimate images of the potential horrific future should this come to pass in time to make a difference for 2024.
BK! I was hoping to prime the pump. It worked! This is a great list - please forward it to the DNC.
https://democrats.org/contact-us/
While you are on the website, scroll through our platform and be proud. Compare it to the Republican platform....oops, you can't.
And your idea of using gifted storytellers is brilliant. I can hear the narration of Peter Coyote. His voice in Burns' Civil War still haunts me.
TY Bill. Yes, your idea to "prime the pump worked with me at least! There are so many posts by the time I see the computer here in the east one has to be selective and pick one that resonates. HCR's post time from Maine seems to be usually not before 2 AM (does she ever sleep?) and by morning the western time zones have posted the day's first ideas so, we easterners are usually following the leads.
Will do on sending to your link and glad you also like the idea of using our best storytellers to lay out what's to come if we don't succeed in putting down the fascist rebellion. Peter Coyote's voice is definitely the one to narrate. If this could get momentum through someone with connections one would think these documentarians would be more than interested as they would also have a vested interest. Should these dark things come to pass their work would be one of the first things "outlawed" in a fascist regime since their work is based on truth and honesty so such media would be one of the first to go.
I will forward the idea and list to your link and hope that someone similarly aligned will be doing the vetting to see what gets through.
Politicians took NY for granted that it would remain staunchly Democratic. I believe they somehow forgot about the ideological aspect of politics of late.
They also ignored decades of decline of the quality of life of workers / Middle Class. People work longer hours for far less money now and have little to show for it.
Quality of public education has been declining as well. There’s little to no budget in many areas for the arts or other school programs. If my Gen X education is anything to go by, I feel they removed much of civics from the curriculum. I have to believe it’s because the earlier generation of activists scared Conservatives enough to start tampering to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
Rents/Mortgages & property taxes have been astronomically high for a long time now. The pandemic tipped things over the edge. Many residents have had to downsize their living space at least once or even move out of state. Also, Private Equity firms are rapidly purchasing houses and multi-family dwellings.
Most people outside of NY, including politicians, think that Red States have cornered the market on racism, intolerance, misogyny, ignorance, selfishness, & faux Christianity. Nope! Ideologically speaking, much of NY State unfortunately has racist, sexist, misogynistic, intolerant tendencies.
People also assume New Yorkers range from being non-religious to anti-religious. That is also not true. Before this wave of faux Christianity & faux-Patriotism, it was not part of NY culture to wear their flags and religious symbols on their shirt sleeves. Patriotism & religion are generally considered personal matters. Public displays of either (when it’s not seasonally appropriate) would seem a bit inappropriate, like an adult couple having a public make-out session.
Gov Kathy Hochul did not do well in the 2022 Election because she is female, no one knew much about her, there was little advertising, and was part of Andrew Cuomo’s Conservative Democrat team.
Lastly, New Yorkers have suffered greatly from the economics of the last 40 years. There is almost no manufacturing left. We have agriculture which suffered under Trump and is still struggling, There is Real Estate, and service-related industries like Healthcare, Bars, Restaurants, Grocery, Delivery, Uber, etc. That’s the bulk of it. It’s not enough to help offset the taxes residents are paying.
NYers are struggling so much that it was upsetting to know that other States were getting our ‘extra’ tax money that most residents could ill afford. The roads & bridges are a mess, but ‘extra’ tax money went to other States.
If Democrats want New York to remain Blue, it needs to pay a lot of attention to the people and start fixing the problems.
Derek,
I live in NY and own a small farm somewhere in that state in a rural environment.
Not even 1/4 mile from my place is a cabin that, year round, flies the Confederate flag.
Right here in NY. And, Confederate flag flyers are avid voters.
Oh yeah. I've seen Confederate and "Don't Tread on Me" flags in my rural upstate NY town as well... much to my disgust!
We've got Confederate flag flyers here in Maine too.
Our Maine forbears would be appalled at this, since Maine was white-hot for the abolition of slavery.
Maine sent 80,000 young men to fight for the Union in the Civil War, the largest number per capita of any Northern state. Many of our current Confederate flag flyers have direct ancestors who fought and died for the Union.
That is one of the saddest and most deeply ironic results of our lack of family and state historical knowledge, that I can think of. :(
From the BDN “Population growth varied widely between states, with the roughly 16,000 people who moved to Maine over the past year making it among the top U.S. destinations in terms of net migration. As a share of population, only six states — Idaho, Montana, Arizona, South Carolina, Delaware and Florida — attracted more new residents.”
wish there was more info on who’s migrating and why
I have been sorely tempted to get the "alternative" Gadsden flag that reads "I'm White and Scared of Everything" on it...
You could not get any further away from the Mason Dixon Line than the Adirondacks where I have vacationed since I was a child. There used to be lots of Confederate flags flying but now they are pretty much reduced to flying from trucks. Lawn signs are present, some scatalogical but the voting patterns are a severe delineation. This is Elise Stefanik Country no matter who the Democratic Party chooses to run against her and it has always mystified me - a true Red Sea in a blue state, below the poverty line and lacking in so many services.
Well, it was Democrat Bill Owens who preceded Stefanik in office... but I guess things have changed. Redistricting nearly put our house in Stefanik country; thankfully we were able to remain in Rep. Paul Tonko's district!
I read somewhere that it was/is considered treasonous to fly the Confederate battle flag above the Mason-Dixon line.Makes sense to me but sadly we here in the Buckeye state have our own share of “traitors” too it seems.
I’ve been telling people for a while that NY has always been ideologically Red. Now the votes are catching up. The Democratic Party has been kissing Red State butt for years to change their votes, while Republicans have been quietly and effectively turning NY votes Red.
NY’s been largely voting in Conservative Democrats for years too.
Also, for too long, those in NYC who vote Blue, have been leaving the city and even the State because they can’t afford to live in NY. The pandemic helped this along.
Great analysis. And, sadly accurate.
Thanks. I expanded upon it in a reply to someone else, FYI.
Frequent commenter, Mike S, mentions this a lot.
Local newspapers--when they were vigilant and well-staffed--used to be the the first firewall against people who SHOULDN'T be electable or elected. Now we are left with few major statewide papers too often owned by conservative corporations. Neither the WaPo nor the NYT are what they used to be. And that goes for so many, many other small but excellent papers.
I agree on the NYT. I've not enough history as a WaPo reader to know how good it once was.
NYT gave up on honest reporting of the campaign in 2016 when they tried to BE the campaign and acted as an arm of corporate cartels. I subscribe now to independent sources to get news and to NYT to learn what oligarchy wants us to believe about politics--rest of paper still is newsworthy. That said, independent media cannot(?) focus well on covering the numerous individual candidates and campaigns.
When mainstream media became the mouthpiece of oligarchy, we lost the real function of journalism as a watchdog of government. Now, when our federal government and administrations of two parties prosecute the whistleblowers who report war crimes and imprison their publishers, mainstream media just gives a wink and a nod, if it even gives this a mention.
Santos is a walking, talking talk show host for the Republikkkans. He should not be allowed out in public.
And a Republican, no less.
“‘Out country was founded to support the prosperity and potential of Americans in every corner of the nation,’ Vilsack wrote. ‘Under President Joe Biden’s administration, we’re making good on this promise.’”
Thank goodness for that!
I don't understand, can't possibly comprehend, why the GOP and MAGA crowds can't comprehend this. Is it only Democrats who need insulin? And that it was just capped at $35?
Their holy of holies:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
Chapter and Verse, the Book of Friedman
🥵😱🤬🤮....and that's what I think of Friedman and his sick version of economics.
I don’t trust Vilsack at all. Pres Obama made a campaign promise to end GMOs then did a 180 after he was election. Then Vilsack was installed. He was a CEO or something high up in Monsanto (Bayer)
Now here he is again in the Dept of agriculture. I wonder if he’s still getting paid by them
I do not have a particular opinion on Secrerary Vilsack, but all of this is incorrect.
1) Obama never promised to end GMOs. He said he would like to have them labeled. He did, in fact, sign a bill to do just that.
2) There really is no need to ban GMOs anyway. Huge numbers of studies have shown that they have no noticeable nutritional difference from non-GMOs.
3) Vilsack never worked for or was even tangentially payed by Bayer or Monsanto. His only position as CEO was for U.S. Dairy Export Council, AFTER the Obama administration. He was also on the board of Feeding America, the largest charity to fight hunger in this country.
4) Bayer and Monsanto did merge while he was Ag Sec. But it is the Justice Dept that would have opposed the merger, not Agriculture.
5) No one in the Biden administration is being directly paid by any major company. This isn't the late 19th century. Or 2017.
I'm surprised to see all of this here, honestly.
Will.
Best post of the day award.
A polite update of facts directed to someone who may be well intentioned but ill informed.
Well done.
As I was reading I found myself wondering if you, Will, have a substack of your own. I'm so impressed by the way you express the facts. Clearly, calmly, carefully. But I wouldn't want you to spread yourself too thin. We need your knowledge and wisdom (and tact) here.
I often worry when people say Democrats should go on the offensive. I agree, but I would never want us to stoop to the Banana Republicans' tactics. If everyone could learn to refute the lies with such aplomb as you, a constant offensive game by Democrats would be a boon to our democracy.
“Banana Republicans” 🤣🤣🤣 It covers everything from Batista Republicans in Florida to the anti-immigrant crowd. Thank you.
Virginia, I stole it from Jamie Raskin. It was a reply he made to Lauren Boebert 😂 yesterday or the day before. You can find it on YouTube. He's a prince of a man!
Notice how many words it takes to disprove the lies! Bravo Will!
Will - this forum would not be the same without you and one reason why I keep coming back. Thanks! -saw-
Will, I must add my support to you writing a substack letter. Even if it is randomly offered whenever you are moved to write. That's my approach. No pressure.
Just know that your fans are growing with each of your comments. And why is that? Because you embrace the truth, express yourself with passion and eloquence. My only suggestion is to add a bit of spacing within the larger paragraphs.
Anyway, count me as one who scans the comments and searches for "Will, from Cal".
"Anyway, count me as one who scans the comments and searches for "Will, from Cal"." ✅
Me too, Will. I always look for your comments first.
Thanks for the fact check, Will.
I will add that Vilsack was governor of Iowa for 2 terms from 1999 to 2007. I would say Iowa was purple back then before going crazy red. Iowa has had a serious brain drain as the best and brightest leave Iowa after graduation. All 3 of our kids did, 1 grad from Iowa State the other 2 Iowa.
Thanks, Will.
Thank you for correcting the misinformation regarding President Obama’s role in the GMO/Monsanto debacle. Vilsack does have a dark side.
Will, don't disagree with your astutely assembled list, except for one detail: the primary reason GMOs can be a problem is not based on nutrition but on changes made that can directly impact other parts of our environment. GMOs are also part of the problem of the takeover of agriculture by large corporations who make huge profits from patented seeds and repeatedly have sued people whose standard crops have been contaminated by pollen from neighboring GMO crops for patent intrusion! These corporations also are responsible for many farm bankrupcies by selling farmers an expensive non-sustainable ag system based on costly inputs, rather than building the soil and diversification of crops. Your take on GMOs is an example of simplistic thinking.
I am happy to say that non-corporate farmers are leaning more and more on the soil-building and diversification model, as well as retiring some lands that should not be farmed at all. It has become a movement, even in California and the midwest.
My caution to you is not to get too carried away by simplistic thinking and sweeping generalizations. You have some valid insights, but they are weakened by distilling down to the point they don't necessarily represent what you think they do,
Many of my students were children of Indian techie immigrants. One kid’s dad had once worked to create Round-Up Ready GMO corn, for Monsanto. When there was news that Monsanto tried to patent the genes of traditional Indian crops like basmati rice and the special wheat for the bread which all Indians eat every day, you can imagine their outrage. Monsanto could set the price of crops developed over centuries by Indian farmers.
Thanks, Will.
Misinformation infiltrates all segments of our society. Thanks for the clarification Will.
Loss of our local papers has been, and will continue to be a huge detriment to to the working of our democratic process.
You speak the truth, neighbor. Do you know the RG quit publishing their "Letters to the Editor" because disagreement with other people's writing was cited as the reason for terminating their subscription?
Thank you for this rendering of facts.
Let me echo others here, and say that I really appreciate your perspective and your writing.
Thank you for that clarification. Obama promised to end GMOs? Really, how could anyone do that? In China maybe.
Will, are you trustworthy?
Uh... yes? I certainly try to be.
All of this information is very easily available, though.
Easily available, but requiring effort. Thanks for doing the legwork. Very much appreciated.
May we call you “Heather’s Helper”?
Nancy Kish: Your question reminds me of AI Sidney from Kevin Russe's NYT compelling transcript "AI Conversation with BING." a couple of weeks ago. LOL. After Kevin repeatedly answered that question: "Are you trustworthy" and "Can I trust you?" with an affirmative, Sidney the Bing AI bot declares her love for him. Will's gotten plenty of those well deserved declarations too! LOL. John Oliver did a terrific bit on it as well.
Hi Lee. If you are eating wheat, corn, or soybeans, you are eating genetically modified organisms. If you eat anything else, probably not. The modification to crops that are GMO is to make them more resistant to Roundup (originally developed as a drain cleaner), a product used to kill weeds in the fields. The problem here is not GMOs per se, it is the liberal spraying of Roundup, a known carcinogen, on most of the world's food supply and arable land.
Roundup should not be as widely available, and used, as it is. It should be used only as a last resort to deal with invasive species, for example.
And don't get me started on neonics and the seeds treated with these horrible chemicals. They are killing wildlife.
And I am not sure that "plenty of studies" declaring GMO nutritional delivery is the same as confirmation that there are no negligible long term cellular impacts in humans consuming the genetically modified foods.
Is it in fact accurate to say that cancer, allergies, antibiotic resistance, immuno-suppression etc have, in fact, been shown to be insignificant concerns, other than from studies funded by large US Corporate Food Production lobbies??? Not a scientist. Just very interested. Ive long been cautious with wheat corn and soy....
Steve, in some cases it is GMOs, per se. Particularly related to some of the tactics the corporations take in promoting them, and in protecting their patent rights. Gmos may simplify farming at the front end, but complicate it at the other end. And contribute to farm failures, both in terms of financial stability, but in the destruction of viable farming ecosystems.
Glyphosate is heavily used on the GMO crops of corn and soy, but it is also used on on chickpeas, wheat and oats as well.
Use of glyphosate (one of the carcinogenic chemicals in Round-up) has been mostly for post crop maturity to kill weeds which makes for easier harvesting, however, some farmers have started to spray glyphosate as an "off-label" pre-harvest dessicant on non-GMO food crops, forcing the crop to ripen earlier.
I chose organic as much as possible. I firmly believe that GMO is the main reason roundup was invented and is one of the worst scourges on the health of all life on the planet
Thank you Steve!
Not sure Vilsack was CEO of anything. He was (a dem) governor of Iowa for a while, so he has plenty of experience grappling with conservatives. I'll take him over Sonny Perdue any day.
Or “Crooked” Deal, who groomed Kemp for his job. 🤬
Are you willfully ignorant or purposely spreading misinformation?
"Today, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) did an end run around McCarthy to address the problem of disinformation directly at the source. They sent a letter to Rupert Murdoch, chair of the Fox Corporation, and other top Fox executives..."
How about a letter to the FCC about canceling FNC's broadcast license? I believe there is language in FCC broadcast regs requiring licensees to "serve the public interest" in some way. Knowingly, willingly, repeatedly broadcasting lies undermining public faith in a bona fide presidential election that leads to an attempted coup is as great a dis-service of the public interest that I can think of.
The FCC should suspend FNC's broadcast license and make the first requirement for reinstatement pre-recorded and FCC-approved mia culpa confessions of every FNC personality starting with Carlson and Hannity, along with an acknowledgement by one and all that Joe Biden is indeed the bona fide, legally elected president of the United States. Said recording should be required to be broadcast by FNC, during prime time, at least twice, or they lose their license.
I'm just venting now but, damn I'm so angry that Rupert Murdoch and his gang of propagandists are still on the air.
Ditto every word, I am numb from being angry about Rupert, since 1981. From WaPo about Jan 1981, at dinner honoring Mr. Murdock. “Representative Jack Kemp, a New York republican, said, ‘Rupert Murdock used the editorial page, the front page, and every other page necessary to elect Ronald Reagan president.” And he was rewarded beyond his wildest dreams, as he delivered a nightmare to his adopted country…
I wish the FCC could do something about Fox but they only have power over broadcast and Fox is cable. It will take Congress (good luck) to do something about Fox. But just maybe a huge settlement could change their behavior a little since money is the only thing that matters to Fox.
The method of the media transmission should not excuse the mendacity of the content.
I wasn’t aware of the FCC distinction between cable and broadcast.
Even if Dominion wins it’s case, Murdoch’s army of lawyers will put off the day of reckoning for years with appeal after nitpicking appeal.
Smartmatic’s lawsuit is likely close behind Dominion’s. Fox might get battered enough for at least some of the deniers to think twice about swallowing their lies?
The Catholic bishops of the United States can go to purgatory, or worse.
I went to Catholic school, along with my brothers and sisters, my husband and his siblings, our parents, and our children. In Western PA. When the report of all the priests and other Catholic leaders who abused children came out, that was it for me. There wasn’t a Catholic family in PA who didn’t know at least one of the 150 men and women accused, and the measures they took to protect the abusers.
So to the Cardinal in San Francisco - go ahead, refuse to give communion to Nancy Pelosi. The pipeline of vulnerable children is drying up for you.
It is only in recent months that I thought of what the priest said to me when I went to my "first confession", a month before receiving my first communion. I had just turned 8 years old and can't even say it here. Had I told my parents, my dad would have gone down and punched that priest in the face. And it would have been deserved. I was left feeling ashamed and only recently thought, wait a minute. That was a form of abuse and sexual innuendo. I'm a grandmother to two darling little boys and it's been inside me all these years.
Sending you a great big HUG.
Aren't you sweet. Thank you Jude Ellen. 🌹
Joanna, I pray he has been removed from the priesthood. God will hold him accountable. One of my great joys is that Pope Francis is such a good and husky man, and regularly disagrees with these extremist priests in the USA. Peace be yours, my friend.
Thank you very much, Jen. I think that priest is long gone from this earth.
How awful for you, Joanna. It makes me furious on your behalf. It's only in hindsight that I realize that in my time at Catholic school (Grades 1 through 8) the priests were more interested in the boys than we girls. We girls were more chastised for our "sins" at every confessional.
I think you're right on that, Lynell. I went to Catholic school for three years, grades 7, 8, and 9. I also taught K-8 music in two Catholic schools. I'm an organist but won't work for the Catholic Church anymore. For that matter, I won't work for any church. I saw an emotional and sometimes physical abuse of young boys in the choir where I last worked, many years ago, by a priest. Some of these boys were my private music students and I could just cry watching this. The priest one day told me I was fired when, after screaming at the boys, I asked where he was in the music. He told me he had "had enough!" of me. And I, him. I told him, you don't have to fire me because I just quit. That was it for me and any church!
Thank you for sharing this, Joanna. So sorry for what you had to go through, and what you witnessed firsthand.
I am soooo sorry for what must be a dreadful memory.
Thank you Rowshan. 🌹
I came from a large family, and my dad worked for the diocese. One of my brothers was smacked across the head and face with a wooden paddle by a nun after he snickered at her attempt to spank him. I have 3 brothers who were hit on at various Young Life events, and the young priest who served me my first communion was called out in that report many times.
I can’t count how many times I was beaten by either nuns or priests in my first 12 years of school. To their credit the Jesuits did teach me how to think and craft an argument based on truth, not shifting sands but the rock of truth.
I am very sorry Dick. No child should have to bear this, ever.
How horrific!
Damn. That is just awful.
How dreadful for your family. I am so sorry.
Yikes. That’s terrible.
I'm so sorry for the abuse you have lived with for too many years. Thank you for sharing your truth. Sending healing energy, peace and love 💜
That did it for me as well.
Scathing, kudos!
Why are the catholic bishops even remotely relevant?
Because they have power and abuse it.
“Or worse” would be even better!
I was raised Catholic and that doesn’t change my opinion. Do religions really not understand the concept of separation of Church and State? Or do they just not give a hoot?!!
I was raised Catholic too. All I've seen religion do is separate people. It rarely brings people together. I have no use for organized religion. Just treat people fairly and respectfully, that is my religion. I think if the Catholic Church is going to weigh in on politics, the very least they can do is PAY TAXES.
Joanna, when I was about six or seven years old, after attending a Methodist service in our nearby village, my Mom said I always seemed uncomfortable in church, and asked if I would prefer not to go to church on Sunday with her. It would be OK, because my Dad didn't attend church services and I could stay home. I jumped at the chance. It never made sense to me. I will be forever grateful to her for understanding me so well at that young age. Looking back, I know I spent far less effort "unlearning" what our culture was attempting to inculcate in me, and in everyone else. Eventually I arrived at a view of the divine aspect of the universe with which I am completely comfortable. I understand that the Catholic Church, and the rest of the religious establishment, are trying to do the right thing. But I wish that Genesis did not contain gender-specific pronouns. I wish there were a Mrs God in that story, fully equal in stature and power to Mr God. For starters.
The first time my parents took me to Sunday school when I was five, I kicked the Sunday school teacher in the shins and called her a "Liar," starting my parents' voyage through Denver churches resulting from my "outrageous behavior" on Sundays. Outside of attending funeral services for friends, I haven't voluntarily darkened the doorway of a church since leaving home the first day I could.
So revealing my friend.
It was men doing the translations.
David, I'm glad you have come to some peaceful place and your mom was really terrific in understanding you. I like the idea of Mrs. God, I mean, why not? I have also come to a peaceful place in my life, and I believe one must find that place from within.
Followers of that religion dominate the Roberts’ Stench Court!
That which is Caesar's.
...Is now mine! said the (un)holy fathers.
From what I could see, Jesus was pretty ascetic. I think all the effort to cast him in a political role as a king, is an add on.
Yup. Deliberate disinformation. He never claimed to be king of anything When Pilate asked him directly, he said "You're the one saying it." (Freely translated from the Aramaic...) So Pilate ceremonially washed his hands and handed the victim over to the religious leaders.
Jesus was Jewish and a religious socialist and an extraordinary figure, as far as I have read, and men wrote the ensuing chapters about his life and the organization they chose to build. And female religious were put in burkkahs for centuries.
The Catholic Church has been a State Religion since Constantine gave them the power of the old Roman state religion 1700 years ago.
Most churches want to BE the state, so no, they don’t see the need for separation.
Some of us, evelyn, think they will go to “worse”. Just where they belong.....
Now if only Congress wrote a bill that required Medicare and Medicaid drug providers to use a single national formulary with standard prices for ALL drugs, and Part B items like continuous glucose monitors so that people don't have to shop to see which provider covers what meds/ancillaries at what price which can change year to year and provider to provider.
I continue to be amazed at how systems to support older people get more and more complicated and force seniors to go through so many hoops along with so much additional supporting administration in government and in the companies.
My 20/20 vision has been compromised constantly for more than a year with a dry eye diagnosis as part of a larger issue. We will now try serum tears using my own blood to make me eye drops. I thought the prescription and OTC eye drops were ridiculously priced and now there is this added expense because of course health insurance does not consider my eye sight worthy of coverage even though I pay for 3 insurance plans. Medicare, a supplement to Medicare insurance and a separate drug plan and I will still have to pay hundreds of dollars for treatments. Of course I am scarcely able to work due to this maddening condition. Pretty sure we were asleep at the wheel when we allowed the insurance industry to involve itself in our health care.
So very sorry to read about this!!
Marj, I can relate to your eye problems. I am hoping this myriad of treatments you have tried include punctual plugs. I have had them in my eyes for years. They keep the tears from going into the tear ducts so my eyes stay lubricated. I’m sure if you’re at the point of custom eye drops you’ve done this but you never know.
Thx Sharon. Yes we tried these plugs. The craziest part of the entire process is the awesome eye doc at MA Eye Ear says the plugs are working in combo with low dose doxycycline I have been taking for months. The associated blinking is now habitual. So I am dealing with the annoying constant blinking. We have to now retrain the brain to stop blinking. Crazy stuff. Hope you are finding relief using drops and warm compresses!
Yes definitely. It is interesting that your pressure was building up from tears. I’ve had radial keratotomy to keep my eyesight and it led to a whole myriad of other problems. Losing your eyesight is super scary and I worry what will happen when I am unable to put my own contact lenses in so I can see. I wish you the best.
Oh boy oh boy! I hope you find relief and soon! Super scary indeed! Thought of losing eyesight is so stressful. If you live alone it is that much scarier.
George, I share your experience and echo your amazement. The endless ads, robocalls, buttons to click are confusing and frustrating for all who try to figure out how to best spend their limited funds in order to try to insure their health. Health care does not have to be a profit-driven business and it should be the role of government to oversee that it is truly available to all.
The massive number of marginalized children and seniors in this country is an international disgrace.
If Congress even prevented insurance companies from raising formulary prices during the contracted year, it would be an improvement. People sign up for Part D for a full year, while companies can change their coverage every month!
You can’t just get Part D by the year. When we turned 65 we opted not get Dubya’s addition because we didn’t think it necessary. How times and conditions change. My 87 year old husband now takes 6 expensive drugs and in order to maintain them, he is paying the expensive penalty to Medicare. I’m hanging in there going online for best price using GoodRX and other like assists. Just last night we checked out the only maintenance drug I take as I need refill. Price jumped over $7 in the last two months. Some of the drug stores whose prices were listed are $20 over that! Going back to earlier comment here, Walmart has the best price...again. They beat Costco.
What I meant, is that each year I have the option to change which Part D plan I use. Many people search the plans offered to find out which has the best price for the drugs they use. Massachusetts even has a web site to make that easier. Once I sign up, I can't change plans until the next year - but the insurance company can change what they charge me. A friend of mine volunteers to help people navigate that maze, and he has told me of people fighting with insurance companies to keep the coverage they signed up for.
Now that I’m on a plan that pays for a medication I had to go through special approval to get my medication covered for a $95 copay I worry about changing to a different plan and losing that.
The whole thing is a mess. We need national health insurance funded by our taxes, so that actually getting health care and medecines does not require huge additional amounts of money. Plus, the govt needs to be able to negotiate with all drug companies on all drugs, and to take any windfall profits from these huge corporations and use them for the public good.
I thought you could enroll during the fall open enrollment period, anytime????
I deeply miss the communal practice of the Catholic faith. But I left the institutional church decades ago over the hypocrisy of the vast majority of the hierarchy and the priesthood towards women, towards the LBGBTQ+ community, for their failure to protect our children, and for their insatiable need to meddle in politics.
Every time, as I get older and start getting wistful again for the community some new eruption of tone deaf crazy gets spewed forth. Christ calls us to community, but the Catholic church is not it.
I’m with you, Georgia. We raised our children Catholic; I loved the community and the liturgy. But we, too, have left the Church, for the same reasons. I’m still enough of a Catholic that I don’t go anywhere else and we find our spirituality elsewhere. I’m done with organized religion.
I get you completely, Georgia, and appreciate your cri de couer.
I still consider myself a Catholic, but do not attend Mass for the most part anymore for basically similar reasons, and also a general aversion to the overarching dogma.
I too greatly miss both the communal practice, and the community. A
I feel your pain Georgia.
I did too nearly 55 years ago when I discovered the Episcopal church. The hypocrisy and interference in my life as a woman and wife did it for me and that’s after education at all-girls Catholic high school and college. I’d offer an estimate that nearly 50% of our congregation came from Catholic Church. This is the same group that I’ve marched with in nearly every protest there’s been since Trump and his ilk arrived on scene. The congregants are active in politics BUT not as the church, just as like-minded souls. We do sponsor truth and justice campaigns, food bank, prior to the pandemic we formed an alliance with local Islam group for better understanding and inclusion. The beautiful liturgy is nearly word-for-word the Catholic mass, without sermon that includes intrusion in my very personal life. Love for all and ministry for those in need guides us. I recognize that many of you don’t believe in or need an organized religion, but for many of us it fulfills a very real necessity. It is a personal thing; I am adamantly a proponent of separation of church and state and will continue to loudly vote against those who seek to ignore that concept.
Very cool, Sue. While I attend Mass most sporadically these days, I suspect I will always feel the soft pull the Church has on all of us that were raised within it. I certainly appreciate your protesting activities, not simply because they seem to parallel mine since Despicable Don descended his "Married to the Mob" escalator.
I have attended Episcopal services with friends over the years, and find them as you describe. However, my IRA relatives both living and dead would disown me if I ever associated with an organization so closely affiliated with the British crown.
As for the separation of church and state, you are absolutely right.
Too bad Mayor Adams needs an education about that
Thank you, Sue, for sharing your story. It sounds like what I am looking for. I had just retired before covid, had it early on with nearly two years of long haul,. It has been hard constructing a new social (real in the flesh) network. Yoga and meditation at the senior center isn't enough.
Thoughtful accepting spirituality is not much valued these days. I, like most of my generation, built a life around career and family caregiving so once my Catholic practice was abandoned the time got absorbed by other things. Now that there is finally more time with an un-fogged brain again, that time is not all so easily absorbed!
I am most sorry to hear about your long haul, Georgia. I am heartened that you fought back and are now so vibrantly un-fogged.
Please keep rocking on!
Thanks Dan. As a scientist by vocation since covid I started timing myself daily on the Times mini crossword and wordle and now spelling bee. When I first started I didn't have the ability to complete a 12 clue crossword in a day. I couldn't have a conversation without losing words. I'm down to under a minute and a half. So there is hope but it really is a long haul.
After my experience I am especially concerned about the Republican attacks on Social Security and Medicare. I am worried there are all of these post-covid seniors who have not really recovered mentally and are slowly declining because they can't care for themselves properly and can no longer recognize that fact. Now that covid is off most people's radar all those people are going to tax the healthcare system for the rest of their lives and there is no sense of urgency any longer.
I am lucky that I do not live in a healthcare desert like most Republican states.
Hear hear!
Georgia, have you tried the Episcopal Church? We are often referred to, humorously, as Catholic Lite. 😉 Also, we ordain women to the priesthood. I was confirmed two years ago, and it filled a hole in my spiritual life that I didn’t know existed.
Up here in the mountains of western North Carolina we have locals who refer to us Episcopalians as English Catholics and still think we eat children.
We have quite a number of what I will call mixed marriages where one half came from Catholic background and the other half some other church. For me what is important is the acceptance of a very wide range of views. Also I have been glad to see how most (not all) have accept same sex marriage and we have had several such weddings in our church and those couples are very active and hard working.
Well said💜
Wow. He conservative Republicans are a classy bunch, aren’t they?
I will note that Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) is one of two main sponsors of the ERA bill. Now she is a class act.
I cannot take the foul mouths of the MAGA cult in Congress and their assistants. It is disgusting. This is what our children are subjected to if they want to tune into government. This is what needs to be shelved, not the banned books.
If I tell someone I am trained as a plumber or a doctor, and I take the job and mess it up; isn't that a kind of fraud? Those we entrust with the very critical job of translating our aims and need into societal actions are the very last people we should allow to lie to us.
I'd like to speak to the manager about these people, but then I remembered the manager is ALL OF US.
Exactly. And we are neither trained nor very attentive to the management responsibilities that come with democracy and self-determination. as well as "liberty and justice for all". We rarely discuss how when political power is divided among the electorate, we get a share of responsibility for outcomes along with a share of choice. We are supposed to be hiring responsible fiduciary representatives, not rent-a-lords.
We are supposed to have the collective right to set the ground rules for our own society, including commerce, and including the rich and famous. Corporate profits should never "tr#mp" the common good, or individual justice. "Deregulation" has only enabled bratty and dangerous behavior by those in positions of power, be that source of power money, political position, or guns and the threat of violence (think of the Bundy clan). The "government" Republicans try so hard to "drown in a bathtub) is not "bad" autocratic government; it is "government of the people, by the people, for the people" that frustrates their one-sided plutocratic aims.
Both require a license.
Requiring one from candidates opens a whole can of worms, but considering what is at stake, even for our posterity, our criteria proves shockingly slipshod. You will expect be sacked from just about any job when found to be substantially lying to "the boss".
They call it freedom of speech, more like freedom to lie.
I think there is a difference between freedom of speech and hate speech. Lying speech. The lying is bad enough, but I think the hate speech is damaging and dangerous.
Yes, I think about FL, pro gun anti books. It sounds like a dystopian movie.
--->>> "This is what needs to be shelved, not the banned books." <<<---
And we are paying his salary.
Is she a "class act," though? Or does the seeming possession of a hint of class stand out only because the others in her chosen cadre form such a squalid ghetto of the intellect? Like, she claims to be pro-choice and for the ERA, but refuses to consider changing the filibuster rules necessary to actually pass these things, and also helped put Injustice Handmaiden on the Supreme Court. She's about as genuinely classy as a Walmart pretending to support a charity.
Not a Walmart fan. NOT.A.WALMART.FAN. At all.
That being said, when my kids were in HS, two of the parents in our band boosters group were Walmart lower management. They were required to do volunteer hours and used the parent group as their chosen work. (BTW, they were wonderful people who put in easily 10x the amount of hours required) Walmart would donate $500 to the group you did your volunteer work for, so our group got $1000/yr from them. Desperately needed monies, as we had had a referendum to increase the property tax rate for the schools so that they wouldn't cut the arts. (What they always threaten) It did pass, but the band budget was bare bones. We fund-raised to get a better sound system, to get portable backdrops, etc, etc.
Only ONLY good thing I have to say about WalMart.
Will, as an Alaskan I couldn’t agree more with your comments about Lisa Murkowski
A powerful poster - The Awakening: Women Fight for the Vote (1915)
Echoes of today's fight for abortion rights.
https://forgottenfiles.substack.com/p/the-awakening-women-fight-for-the
great graphic
Thanks. It’s an iconic work.
Thanks for the link! A fun 🐇🕳 so I subscribed. [uh-oh]
Welcome
Beautiful poster... Thanks!
Thanks. It’s an iconic work.
Love it!
Thanks. It’s an iconic work.
Heather, you are the best. Thanks so much for pulling together so many aspects of the news into such a cohesive narrative. Hope you jump into bed and have a great night of sleep!
Sen Bernie Sanders has been hammering big Pharma on the price of insulin and along with his friend Pres Biden deserves credit for Eli Lily deciding to cap insulin prices at $35.
What sets the Democrats apart from the repub party is Truth and the Democrats commitment to their oath and legislating for all the American people, whoever they voted for in the last presidential election. Everyone, no matter their party preference, will be able to take advantage of lower Insulin costs, child care or food programs or public schools, medical insurance, you get the picture. But repubs rely on Heritage Foundation, the Thomas More Society and a former Kansas attorney general whose license was suspended for ethics violations to help them block and stall legislation, progress, and the needs of women, children and families. Repubs continue to take up causes they call anti-religious or anti-family like abortion and women’s rights. The constitution, separation of church and state, or equal rights, women’s right to Abortion, the right to choose. And again the ERA. Remember Phyllis Schlafly’s campaign to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment. They are party of Past Tense.
Many democrats Irenie, not all. The unholy coalition includes a good size number of crony capitalist dems. It will come out.
Folks really want to oust George Santos for his Walter Mitty resume, but really so many of the MAGA Republicans are posers! MTG couldn’t even recite a number that started one million… Matt Gaetz was caught quoting Chinese propaganda, and asking for that propaganda source to be entered into the record of that committee meeting.
It so elitist to call them out?
Maybe we should just say nothing and watch them paint themselves into a corner. I’m sure they know no other way to paint. They need to feel the insecurity of their imposter syndrome.
No, I think they need to be called out every single time and Rep Raskin is doing an amazing job of this! I don't know how he has so much energy as he is recuperating from chemotherapy, but he is one heck of a representative for us!
Raskin in a national treasure, as is Professor Richardson!
Calling out the morons is a target-rich environment, like shooting fish in a barrel.
But it's such a deep, deep, deep dark barrel. Like, it's the Marianas Trench meets Mary Poppins Bag of barrels.
Lol. I just woke up my wife because I laughed so hard... and she’s upstairs! 😹
Maybe, but Rep Raskin is doing it well, publicly, and with good timing.
Fish that would sell you the gun!
He’s right in the middle of chemo. Having been there, done that - I do not know how he’s doing it. He is so full of energy and determination. Most of us were just resting at this point in treatment.
I second that "been there, done that, don't know how he's doing all that he is right now" comment. I did read somewhere that he is not showing any sign of "chemo brain"... mine lasted a full two years. Sigh.
Ally, two years ago yesterday I started treatment, and while I only had low dose chemo to boost the radiation, even that caused long lasting chemo brain. I still feel less agile mentally. You give me hope that there’s still improvement to be had! It’s his energy that astounds me. I’ve been wondering if those are his steroid days, or somewhere in a cycle where the side effects are lower. What an amazing man he is. And I love his head wraps. Some days he looks like a founding father, other days like a pirate.
Climate change is painting us all into a corner. Nixon started the EPA, but environmental protection has been on the ropes since Reagan.
Absolutely right, Jane! BTW, I love your "nom de blog".
Your "Walter Mitty" reference is hilarious.
Yet, nobody really wants to know the "Secret Life of George Devander Santos"!
For-profit companies have one mission - to increase revenue and profits. They owe it to their shareholders to sell as much of their products and services as they can, and they run marketing campaigns to do so. They owe it to their shareholders to set prices as high as they can, and they seek patents and eliminate competition to do so. This is what being a for-profit business means.
The problem is that, in America (and almost no where else), healthcare is a for-profit business. This means that American healthcare companies are driven to sell us as much healthcare as they can (America is one of the only countries that allows direct-to-consumer advertising for healthcare). And American healthcare companies are driven to charge as much as they can for their products and services. Yet healthcare is not like other businesses. Consumers can’t put off the cardiac surgery or the insulin purchase until there’s a sale. They can’t shop around for the best deal on a knee replacement. As a result, Americans pay twice as much (or more), per capita, as other developed nations do for healthcare. And our health and life expectancy is much worse.
Someday historians will look back on our for-profit healthcare system and deem it an abomination, while they wonder why we ever allowed it. They will note the brutality of a system driven by greed for some, instead of good health for all. They will tally the millions upon millions of deaths and shortened lives, all in pursuit of shareholder value. There’s a reason healthcare is “socialized” everywhere except in the US. It’s because socialized medicine is the humane, decent, moral approach - the approach that provides the best healthcare outcomes for all, instead of the highest returns on investment. For-profit medicine is obscene.
And another thing: there’s much handwringing going on today about our inability to continue to fund Medicaid and Medicare. You know what would fix that, without raising taxes OR curtailing healthcare? Socialized medicine. The US spends, today, about 18% of our GDP on healthcare. That amounts to $13,000 per capita, per year. Countries with socialized medicine, including Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan and the UK, spend half of that, or less (Canada, for example, spends $5900 per capita). And, by all measures, their health is better. We could fix many problems in the US, including budget deficits, by adopting Medicare for All, and ending for-profit medicine. Doing so means defeating wealthy and powerful lobbyists and corporations. Which is why it hasn’t happened. Yet.
Amén, and thank you for polishing the mirror that reveals this truth.
"The problem is that, in America (and almost no where else), healthcare is a for-profit business." John R, you nailed it.
Ironic to me is the fact that evangelicals and the right wing were pro-abortion back in the 60s partly because the Catholics were against it!
John F Kennedy’s election as a Catholic was vigorously fought by the right wing too. And now we have five Catholics in the Supreme Court, thanks to them.
Considering the very long sordid history of the Catholic Church starting with the shenanigans of the early popes, the last 100+ years of pedophilia, their support of the Nazis during World War II, and the multitude of deaths of babies born from unwed mothers leaves leaves them with little moral standing.
Their current reprehensible, repulsive actions through the Thomas Moore society again reveals their true nature.
I don’t think that the Catholic Church actively supported the Nazis. Passively, they did, refusing to take a stand and condemn Fascist brutality. They certainly weren’t a group of Dieter Bonhoeffers, the German minister who died in a camp for challenging the Nazi regime.
I hear you, and yet, a blind eye is a blind eye. The Catholic Church agreed to stay silent about Hitler and Mussolini, at least in part, to protect their enormous wealth. They feared the fascists would plunder the church, or worse. Germany and Italy were predominantly Catholic. All of this is left out of most history books (it wasn’t until a college course on the history of Germany between the wars that filled in the many gaps for me).
"their enormous wealth" which is not taxed
Yes, Mark. I agree. Omission is also a sin.