I never thought our country could come to this. It makes me terribly sad to see how manipulated our citizens have been. I’m still hoping we can recover from this and have not given up, yet. Thank you for keeping us sane.
Several years ago, my husband was struck low by double pneumonia of both a viral and a bacterial kind. After spending 15 days in hospital—4 of which were in its ICU—he slowly recovered once the right antibiotic was prescribed. His harrowing experience upends the ridiculous ideas of people who disavow germ theory.
Bridget, it's not just the fault of people that upends ridiculous theories, it's the fault of good part of the American electorate that elevated an ignorant scumbag as president.
Bryan, I believe it was Reuters who just reported a poll indicating that 30% of those non-voters now regret their non-participation in the election. Too little, too late, I'm afraid-- they were warned about what might happen and chose to sit it out.
I'm not giving up on those nonvoters. They may yet be part of our salvation. If even 1/4 of that 30% are now ready to say loudly "this is insane and has to stop" (with passion coming from their sense of guilt), I believe that will help Congressional Republicans eventually say, as the economy is tanking, "Enough!"
Maybe there needs to be a organization that encourages them to act:
Regretful Nonvoters, or
Pissed-Off Sideliners.
(Other ideas?)
Also, people don't vote for SO many reasons, that I try not to stereotype them. Possible reasons:
No car or friends/family to help them get to the polls;
Very poor health;
Illiterate;
Agoraphobic, and don't leave home;
PTSD/extreme anxiety, causing fear of rooms full of people;
Afraid of dealing with "authorities", d/t past experiences;
History of incarceration, and uncertainty if they can vote legally;
please don't leave out voter suppression! When the final count was made, over 3 MILLION legal votes were not counted, or the voter wa snot allowed to vote!
Unfortunately, if all of those non-voters had voted, it might well have been worse. Independents and low-information members of the electorate lean R. We want to get the D-leaning non-voters to the polls, but we want the rest of them to stay in the couch. I work with GOTV groups that focus on the D-leaning voters. We need about a million more volunteers (and trained, paid activists) in that effort.
Byron, we have discussed why that might have happened including voter suppression and the belief that individual votes do not count. I realize that some probably couldn't bring themselves to vote for either and did not realize what was at stake. So, I wish they had voted, but I am not going to hold them as accountable as some want to make them.
I do hold them accountable. We are all accountable for our actions or inactions. The choices were abundantly clear every darn day, choosing to put your head in the sand does not give you a pass. "Democracy is not a spectator sport". (George Schultz)
I refuse to hold them all accountable. To me this is like condemning all Christians because some of them are raving hypocrites and vote for people like death star. There is all kinds of voter suppression going on for starters. And as I noted some people are just weighed down by life and not likely to think about voting. They are too busy surviving. I do hold those people accountable who were too lazy and I especially hold them accountable here in Oregon where voting is so easy.
I believe there were people who thought Kamala had it all locked up, her momentum was so impressive it sort of took the desperation out of it all and they just didn't go to the polls. I also firmly believe that Trump and Musk rigged the election just enough to take the Senate, and win all 7 swing states and the popular vote. Now we know what happens, and it's all hands on deck from here on out.
Ricardo, I know. That fact/fault makes me want to run outside and howl at the moon. However, knowing that is futile, I am hopeful that people like you and me can convince a few trumpers to change sides. 🤞
Fiction. Lies. Fantasyland. Both the vulgar orange felon in the U.S. and his Russian mentor fully embrace all those substitutions for facts, truth, evidence.
Trouble is, because of testing, and all those elites who excelled at it, facts, truth, and evidence have become as denatured as all the tests that measure only the impersonal.
So real, humanly grounded fiction -- all our decent, great varieties of it -- have disappeared from nearly all the schools. Only so that the elites' greater lies for abstractions, categories, and the simpleton linear may reign.
Carolyn, I am not yet ready to predict that we will be under Russian rule, but I am certain that if Trump is not removed very soon, we are on track to become another Russia. Consider the similarities already in view. The U.S. is quickly being isolated on many levels.
Leaders of our former military allies are on record stating that our former alliances have ended. In terms of defense, we are on our own.
We are rapidly being isolated economically, again, on many levels. Our government debt is no longer a desirable investment and the U.S. dollar is losing its place as a global standard.
As our trade partners turn to other nations, we will be unable to import the materials to make products we sell domestically and export to other nations. Moreover, as the Trump regime eliminates the agencies that ensure quality and safety, the products we make will become unsafe junk that nobody wants. The products we make with domestic resources will be unwelcome around the world.
U.S. consumers will no longer be consumers, but survivors. We will have limited choices in any product category, if any product is available at all. Underpaid workers will be unable to afford the products they make in a vicious economic feedback loop.
We will become further isolated if/when U.S. citizens become carriers of disease, due to our antiquated public health policies. Other nations will simply not allow Americans to enter their countries, based on the potential of reintroducing diseases that were thought to be eradicated.
What I have described above is a snapshot of modern-day Russia. Isolated. Weak military with few, unreliable allies. Struggling economy. Limited availability of unaffordable, poor-quality products that nobody wants. Low life-expectancy. Little leisure or travel. Miserable lives ruled by a handful of oligarchs.
This is where we are headed unless Trump is eliminated from the equation. And soon.
Dale, I agree with your excellent post. We will be run by a few wealthy oligarchs while the rest struggle as you have outlined I hadn't thought about Americans being unwelcome abroad because they might reintroduce diseases. Wormbrain sounds like he thinks he is in medieval times and all the science around germ theory does not exist.
I'm adding this thought: What is so embarrassing – no, more than embarrassing, shameful – about the comparison of Russia with the U.S. is that Russians have never really had a choice. Although regimes and formats have been overturned many times, Russians have swapped one autocrat for another ever since there's been a Russia, 862 C.E. or thereabouts. The populace has never really been given a chance at self-government.
Setting aside the unsavory history of European theft of indigenous land, the U.S. was actually founded on the idea of anti-autocracy! And setting aside our unsavory history of suffrage, the U.S. has ALWAYS had a choice about who governs us and how. And yet, politicians, originally elected by a majority, have systematically corrupted our electoral system in such a way that an ignorant minority have been given the power to choose an autocrat to rule all of us.
Agreed! Your picture paints a spot on portrait of things to come! I wish those on the other side would develop some sort of courage and challenge him. He has already stated he is not interested in a third term. So why not treat him like the lame ducks that he is?
A good part of the American electorate did not actively elevate him. 015% of those who voted did it. I thank the gods for my one-room school with its constant review/preview of civics. Most of all I thank Mrs. Haroff, our teacher grades 2-8.
But will education look like when trump has finished rewriting history? Already he ordered Arlington to remove many links to women. blacks, and Hispanics from the website. Slavery was a way to get employable skills (what picking cotton and being a prostitute for the owner?)
Who then elevated another ignorant and ideologically driven man to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Republican Senate proceeded to confirm the HHS nominee knowing he had no true qualifications for the job.
Exactly. We tend to put blame on Trump and Kennedy, and forget that we elected them. What we are in now is a rebuke that we were not carefull of applying the privilege of voting to elect leaders.
T💩p and Krazy Kennedy Jr. wants folks in your husband’s condition to die quickly and in pain, because some woke doctors, (who probably voted for Democrats and would minister to illegal immigrants,) have an obligation to help as specified by the Hippocratic Oath. We all know T💩p cares nothing for oaths, and who knows what goes through the worm-damaged brain of the other one.
I predict hundreds of thousands of awful and horrifying preventable deaths in this country. Perhaps the first factories that need to be rebuilt are for caskets and iron lungs. (A little black humor to start my morning.)
I’m now weeping over what I just wrote, but I’ll let it stand.
Two sadistic headlines in today’s paper: Trump cuts grants for mental health in schools, and Medical College loses $5,000,000 and University loses $12,000,000 of NIH grants. Nothing says progress like defunding medical research and mental health support. Everything is out of whack - country is run by whack jobs.
Yup -- he is sowing the seeds of our destruction. He is clearly the master of the US and the world! He is anti-science; anti-education; anti-clean air and water; but pro measles and pro Putin...
Yeah, like closing the border to the continual flow of illegal, a Rams have who have killed raped and traffic people.
Given women an even ground on which to participate in sports
Lower the cost of gas, eggs, mortgage rates, and inflation
And as far as education if you would really like some more information, I think he would be shocked to know what he’s talking about. He’s not talking about anti-education he’s talking about anti-waste of money that we’ve been doing since 1979.
In 1979 with the Department of Education was first formed, we were Number one in the world and education. 30 years later, after doubling or tripling, the amount of money spent per student we were 18th in the world. Today we are 40th in the world and if you call that progress I feel badly for you
All he’s talking about is the freedom of choice, and not succumbing to the lack of success by the department of education and allowing people to choose where they go to school. You know like the American way. Oooops didnt mean to offend you
Please get the article for five or six of them, and explain exactly what the issue was and it really has nothing to do with hurting people with mental health issues. As I saw the number on the post, I just like USAID where the money is going I would spend and to whom
You might wanna publish the entire article, and exactly what was defunded. Most of you like to,excerpt what you want people to see and don’t include all the Germaine information. There are assuredly a myriad of explanations. By the way, the only thing out of whack are the activist judges. Would you like an example let me know
I don’t really “like” what you said, Derek, but not having explored Jr. further, l’m inclined to think back to the COVD epidemic when some dark theories surfaced about who survives and who doesn’t, especially by t-rumps son in law.
Derek, this season of Call the Midwife had an episode with a person in an iron lung. The same episode had a boy who got measles before the vaccine and his mother went out with him to encourage others to get the new vaccine.
“Forgive me father for I have sinned. It’s been 300 years since my last confession. I lied, I’ve taken the name of thy Lord in vein. I’ve stolen. I’ve cheated. I tried to grab the you know what of the Virgin Mary. I’ve never told the truth in my long putrid life. I’ve cheated the government out of fair collection of taxes. And I’ve assumed an image of the next Papa in Roma. And if you vote for me, Father, and make me your next Pope, I’ll nominate you to be a cardinal.”
Reminds me of a joke. 2 dogs and a cat were at the pearly gates. God said, "Why should I let you in?" The first dog said, " I was a military dog and saved the lives of many soldiers." "Go on in." The second dog said, "I was a service dog who was able to take care of a blind child." " Go on in. Cat, why should you be allowed to enter heaven?" The cat said," Get out of my chair." Excuse the lack of paragraphing.
Yo, by the way there are 825,000 cows slaughtered every day for their meat. I doubt if you having a 32 ounce porterhouse one day it’s gonna make a big difference in you saving the cow from extinction.
And I like cows too Bill. In fact, I bet most people like cows.
Hopelessly lost in your hate. Do a book on Biden. It will outsell the Trump’s book times ten. And you have a never ending volume of material. Shaking hands with the air. Getting lost on stage time and timid again, fall down the stairs as well as level Ground, and falls UP THE STAIRS. LOL.
falls off a bike..freezes “literally” during a lawn party for minutes while all around him are dancing to the music, had a memorably stellar performance in his debate with Trump…he was so competent that your party actually removed him from the presidency via running him over for election forcing him out. Oh and had to PARDON his entire family despite he never met with any of Hunter’s partners despite the numerous photos… and I’m only reading out the highlights, Bill. You could make a ton.
Come on Bill with all Buden's ailments with all the commentary with all the shaking hands with the air, freezing in the middle of a video for a minute, not knowing where he is falling down the stairs, falling up the stairs you've got to be able to put together a simple book and probably make even more money in the process lol
And topped off by having him removed from office you've gotta be able to write a book that you're gonna sell a ton 🤪
Bridget, you wrote, "....once the right antibiotic was prescribed." My daughter had pneumonia several years ago and was hospitalized when she was 20 years old.
She had started a new job and her boss had come in hacking on everyone. He told the employees he couldn't stay long because he had pneumonia.
She mentioned this to the admitting nurse in the hospital. It took took days for them to "discover" that she had pneumonia after testing her for several different viruses and bacterium including HIV even though she hadn't been sexually active.
The doctors were so proud of themselves when they finally "discovered" she had pneumonia and proceeded to treat her with the proper antibiotic.
When we asked our daughter which hospital she wanted to go to--Baptist Beaches or the Mayo-- she said Baptist Beaches because her primary doctor was part of the Baptist network. I'm not blaming her because the Baptist Beaches staff clearly messed this one up, but I wonder if the Mayo would have been faster at determining the correct diagnosis.
I used Loma Linda University Hospital for 34 years we lived in California and found 6 of the Doctors and Specialists I used had interned at Mayo Clinics. I found out after seeing Ken Burns' "The Mayo Clinic" documentary and mentioning appreciation of the collaborative care approach shown in the documentary
Whenever I have a health question I ALWAYS go Mayo or Cleveland Clinics. - sometimes NIH. Hopefully, they will remain trusted sources of medical information.
I was flying back from England after taking care of an ill friend. I boarded the plane and heard someone hacking behind me. Two days later I was sick, sicker than I’ve ever been. I didn’t end up hospitalized but told my husband it’s no wonder elderly people die from pneumonia.
This comment is harmful. The assumption and ignorance here is gross,not based in reality, and a sad testament to fear of experts. All doctors are not created equal, but in my 30 years of medicine the vast majority of them want to help their patients to the best of their abilities. Period. My colleagues here and myself, care for a small rural community and work long and hard to serve them. I make working class wages, hold tremendous responsibility and take this seriously. The problem is with the system, not the good people in the trenches saving lives. We as a country need to get that straight before it is all gone.
The doctors who treated your daughter weren't listening to her! You didn't say when she was treated for pneumonia. HIV testing might have made sense 20 years ago. People could get infected from blood transfusions. If she was ill more recently HIV would be far less likely. Pneumonia is a lot more common.
GJ Loft. I think Mayo is always the best choice. I’ve know countless people that finally after doctoring local finally go to Mayo and get the correct diagnosis and treatment and healing.
The last time people believed in poisonous vapors or terrain theory it was called the Dark Ages! While men and women and children die, autocracy will be immortal!
Having been in employment my entire career, I don’t even know how to hire an entire workforce of nut jobs, morons, weirdos, misfit and ignoramuses, all at the same time.
I guess you don’t recognize Merrick Garland when you see him nor his actions
Or tisha James or judge Marchan who valued mar a lago at 18 million dollars where a VACANT PARCEL OF LESS VALUABLE LAND WAS VALUED AT get this 200 million dollars….. whose daughter was a dem party fundraiser or. Alvin Bragg. Or Fani Willis. No revenge there …..lol and I guess you didn’t see my link or list on the millions
( 27 million of them by Clinton, bush, and Obama) of deported illegals by 3 former presidents with zero injunctions and Trump has deported about 100,000. That’s one hundred thousand,, and miraculously. ,,30 injunctions. Absolutely no appearance of revenge. Yikes
Hey Mary, as it is in every administration other than the fact that Trump appointed to Democrats to his cabinet. ever see a democrat put a republican in their cabinet.
So, for example, do you think a president should hire somebody this cabinet that thinks the opposite of him or is defiant of him or doesn’t like him or refuses to follow him what are you thinking?
Bridget, glad your husband survived his scary ordeal! I think that RFK Jr himself is evidence of the "Miasma theory." He exudes poisonous vapors. He is definitely suffering from "terrain theory." His internal terrain ( brain) is clearly " out of whack." What a quack, and no offense to innocent ducks.
One of my sons was in that position about 15 years ago. It is frightening that people in power wish to deny medical research in favor of snake oil - or in Kennedy's case, cod liver oil.
Bridget, glad your husband survived his scary ordeal! I think that RFK Jr himself is evidence of the "Miasma theory." He exudes poisonous vapors. He is definitely suffering from "terrain theory." His internal terrain ( brain) is clearly " out of whack." What a quack, and no offense to innocent ducks.
My husband had that pneumonia in about 2016. We quarantined him in his bedroom and masked and gloved to prevent the spread. I still had to do a course of treatment but only had a mild case.
Trump picked RFK Jr and it’s said Trump is a germaphobe. Amazing how delusional these people are.
I often wonder if some of this delusion by the base comes from the highly processed diet and chemicals they are subjected to.
Vitamin A can be toxic in high doses. Both acute and chronic toxicity can occur, with the most common cause being high doses of vitamin A supplements. Acute toxicity happens after a single, large dose, while chronic toxicity develops over time with prolonged excessive intake.
Symptoms include: Nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, irritability, blurred vision, and muscular incoordination. Also, skin changes like peeling, dry skin and hair loss. Severe cases can lead to increased intracranial pressure and even coma.
Bridget, I'm glad your husband recovered, and that they found the right antibiotic for the bacterial infection. But you should know that antibiotics do not work on viruses. Viruses require special drugs that are very difficult to develop, because viruses live in the cells of their host, and it is difficult to kill the virus and not kill the cell. That's why antiviral drugs are so expensive.
If the citizens you’re talking about have been manipulated, it has been with their willful and enthusiastic cooperation. The fact is that at least 77 million Americans, 60% of white Americans, 70% of white working class Americans, and 80% of white evangelical Americans do not support the Constitution and have not supported it since 1964, when they found out that it gave black Americans and other marginalized groups the same rights as white Americans. It took from 1980, when Reagan called the ragtag white masses to order until now, when they have put one of of their ignorant, lawless compatriots in the White House, to find a way to subvert the Constitution. They may yet be stopped from destroying the republic, but it will take a miracle.
Rex, I subscribed to every one of your points until I reached your last sentence. Millions of us who are in this fight against a presidency at war with the Constitution and the rule of law are both expanding our movement and also observing increasingly more of our Democratic elected officials fighting alongside us.
Rex is being prepared for the worst. We can continue the fight, but P25 is now very, very deep. The people to be most feared about are Miller, Voght, and Kevin Roberts.
Yes, but we will need a lot more for that trend to overcome the devastation our enemies are wroughting upon our republic, especially since the entire billionaire class (with a few exceptions like Gates and Buffet) are busy buying local, state, and federal legislators.
They already bought the right-wing Justice's on the Supreme Court.
I'm hoping the majority of voters will abandon the fascist GOP when they realize that trump, with the acquiescence of the fascist GOP Congresspeople, has devastated the US economy and our position in the world economy.
I often hear political pundits comment that people voted for Trump's tariff policies, and he did run touting tariffs, but economic pain was not mentioned until after the election. It was Musk who talked about short-term economic pain, nobody ever talked about restructuring our domestic and international economy around massive tariffs.
They may have a plan to manufacture an economic collapse so they can take advantage of the shock doctrine to take total control of government.
But most of them support the 2nd amendment and the first amendment when they feel their free speech has been stifled. The Citizens United decision was based on a gross misinterpretation by the Robert's SCOTUS.
I am also a strong supporter of the 1st Amendment (and here I specifically am referring to freedom of speech). While I sometimes disagree with what others say (e.g., American Nazis), I defend their right to say it… peacefully and without inciting violence or harm to others. I agree with the Founders that free speech is absolutely necessary to a free nation.
On the other hand, I cannot agree with the Roberts Court decision in Citizens United. For one thing, it gives an unequal power of speech to those with more money and also multiplies that power to entities whose members already hold that right and power, albeit individually — just like the rest of us.
I support the 2nd Amendment also, but not the interpretation that the Roberts Court gave it, especially since they conveniently ignored the clear intent of the first clause which is to support “[a] well regulated Militia.
The only “well regulated militia”in the US are the units of the National Guard, so any rationale for unlimited and unregulated weaponry to all citizens (and other inhabitants) is no longer a necessity under the clear intent of the Amendment, especially when it causes more harm than good to the citizenry. Constitutional originalists, especially, if they are being honest, should recognize this.
There are already “infringements” on the “right of the people to keep and bear Arms” – machine guns, bazookas, rocket launchers, etc are already (for all practical purposes) banned from private ownership.
Actually, machine guns in the form of boot stocks for assault rifles are now legal, notwithstanding “Justice” Thomas’s ridiculous (and detailed) argument in an official SCOTUS opinion that bump stocks do not, in a highly technical and functionally irrelevant way, convert assault rifles into machine guns.
Citizens United was the result of the Federalist Society, funded by the ultra-rich to enable unlimited, unregulated political financing so the ultra-rich could install the government they control.
As a retired biology teacher, I can agree that teachers need more respect for their expertise. Science information is always changing and is often taught by people who are human, and thus fallible. We also have the mind set of "we can make our own reality." When we have a top leader who gets away with lies, crimes and selfish actions, how can we expect our nations' students to differ?
Amy, the very nature of science - ever changing- because as knowledge increases, things change has been used as one of the reasons to not trust science. We saw that during covid where new information changed actions because did not know everything. The power seeking skeptics used that changing of information as a reason to not trust the science. It is a sign of a real problem in the public.
Yes. Teachers need principals who will support their efforts and not take the side of ignorant Karens who complain about this or that in the curriculum. Standardized testing is an exceedingly minor problem compared to the widespread disrespect for the trained, professional teachers who work to educate our children.
We laughed at “The Silent Majority” that Nixon invoked, but that defined group of people have been undermining our Republic since the 1960s by infiltrating our local, state and federal governments from school boards up through the 3 branches of federal government where they have finally captured the top national power.
Yes, we do not have the luxury of only playing the long game of returning the country to its democratic path, but while working on a more immediate change, we cannot ignore the future. We need both swift results and long-term changes.
They just morphed to the Tea Party, then MAGAts. I watched friends become radical and stupid as Sarah Palin’s stupidity spread. They are still with us.
Racial integration of K12 schools improved the humanity of GenX a little and GenY a little more, but the subsequent racial de-integration that has been and still is on the rise has caused recidivism on that front. The most effective means of increasing the fraction of fairminded citizens would be the successful and permanent racial integration of K12 schools in all regions of the USA. It’s a longterm (not to mention longshot) project, but a necessary one.
Yes! Unfortunately, the white evangelicals who win schoolboard elections undermine the ability of teachers to educate their students. In homes it’s even worse. The only hope is to have more diverse student bodies, so young people will learn the value of tolerance, but of course de-segregation of schools has been on a downslope for decades and is now totally out of reach, what with the enormous popularity of anti-DEI actions, nationwide, at every level.
Well, if those numbers are correct, then I'm proud to be in the 40% and the 30%·. (And here I thought I was a member of the 99%). So I guess this is what it feels like to be a minority😉
If you were a white voter without a college degree, you would be outnumbered, two to one, in that cohort. If a little under two-thirds of white working class voters had voted for the felon (instead of a little a little over two-thirds), Trump would never have been elected. A possibly even sadder observation is that if one in three white evangelicals were decent human beings (instead of the one in five that the voting data indicates), both the 2016 and 2020 elections, if not all presidential elections for the foreseeable future, would have been landslides for the Democrats.
Well said Rex but it would take more than a miracle to prevent the destruction of the republic, it would take the will of we the people to do it, and that might be a the miracle.
Indeed! Unfortunately, the will of the white electorate has delivered a mechanism of destruction for the rule of law and all other guarantees in the Constitution.
As Benjamin Franklin said, you have a republic, if you can keep it. Can we keep it? The question still remains. As the song goes, you don't know what you've got til it's gone. And as the other song goes, They didn't listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will. I'll spare you the Bob Dylan.
You are correct that the conservatives gave up on the Constitution when it no longer was interpreted in their favor. When "men" became "humans" the conservatives decided to move toward authoritarianism.
The Lewis Powell Memo is actually their Mein Kampf where the conservatives accused the left of the very things they wanted to do and now are doing.
Astute observation, Rickey. When white men lost their spot at the top, and women and the alphabet people (BIPOC and LGBTQ+) get to have "equal rights" it was a bridge too far.
And as HCR writes, "Clearly, Trump doesn’t think he needs experts in at least three of those four senior posts. Perhaps it also shows there are few experts still willing to work in a Trump White House."
I think she could have omitted the word "experts" and it would have also been accurate.
We have friends who voted for Trump because they only vote Republican & only watch Fox News. Believe it or not, they had not heard or read anything about Trump selling Meme coins & offering the buyers of the coins private dinners with him.
They only know what Fox News tells them. How do we solve THAT problem?
KMD...I think many of us have discovered "friends" like yours. What I believe is they watch fox news because they want to. It resonates with them. It feeds their preexisting narratives. It legitimizes how they think and feel. Otherwise, they would not.
I know I push this onhere all the time, but there are journalists on YouTube whose followers include a few MAGA. They will report on the comments and questions that MAGA sends in to them. "Belle of the Ranch" does this on her channel quite frequently. Her clips are short and she sticks to relying facts. I also appreciate "Tennessee Brando" who is part of the the YouTube Midas Touch network (that of which has overtaken Joe Rogan in viewership). Brando's clips are longer, and they are his reaction to news, but living (as he calls it) "in the buckle of the deep red belt" he gets a lot of MAGA watching as well.
Watch their videos, and perhaps send them a clip. If they'd watch it, I HIGHLY recommend Heather's "Politics Chat" videos, although they are an hour long.
Easier to say than to do, Mobiguy. My cohort of retired cops is like this. When I mentioned the Tufts student's case to my former sergeant, he asked if there was video of the kidnapping...er...arrest. That has been all over the news and my feeds, but he hadn't seen it. Sigh.
True. There have been a couple times where I run into random trumper. After initial tensions, with tense if not elevated voices, we come to learn that we have a lot more in common than either of us might have imagined. This is rare, however; that makes me sad.
I learned that I had more differences than common ground with my long time bff when Fox came on the air. Friends are either dead or gone the way of MAGAts. Same for family that I had been close to for all my life. One cousin keeps me sane.
Restoring the 'Fairness Doctrine' would be a first step. Regulating social media as news outlets rather than 'platforms' would be a second step. Alone, these two steps would be insufficient. After that start, however, I have no idea what to do. Perhaps identify which speech is not protected. Paraphrasing Justice Potter Stewart, for example, I might KNOW what hate speech is but I would know it when I read or hear it.
I know it’s like talking to a wall sometimes but find a way to get truthful information in conversations. And also explain what it means.
Dems always say “I respect the voters intelligence or the American voter is busy.” Based on what evidence in 2025? Talk down to them. The ones who are offended pay enough attention to still vote for you and the ones who need a bumper sticker to make decisions need it modified and maybe they’ll vote for you.
Because people who are shocked are only shocked because they didn’t want to be bothered putting in the work required to live and KEEP a democracy. None of this has been shocking to anyone who paid attention. I’m not shocked if I hear “unprecedented” one more time, I’ll scream. HRC warned strenuously how dangerous citizens and Dobbs were going to be. Your friend probably believed the line FOX put out that Dobbs didn’t really overturn Roe, it just simp,y sent ti to the states. Now 19 have total or partial bans. And she probably may have not cared because she’s not in the wheelhouse of kids but many of the gynecologists left which means all women health care suffer. Citizens is why Musk was able to walk in the agencies of our government, steal all our information and erase any incriminating evidence on him and his friends.he said BEFORE the election, “if Harris wins, I’m going to jail”.
We’ve known since 1980 MAGA wants to privatize social security and education. Not to run it better, to get the trillions to gamble with. And we knew this SCOTUS was dabbling with crossing the line by federal funds going to religious schools which will also have to go to private schools. My kid went private, great choice and it cost us a fortune. It also increased automatically 1-3% every year. You think these corporate school will not hike tuition offer the voucher price? Please. Either you come up with an extra grand or Johnny gets expelled. And we think inequality is bad now. The schools will be “exam” schools with the exception of legacies and donors (just like SCOTUS did for their dipshits to got to ivies - white affirmative action).
And all they had to do was switch a channel for a differing view or read the times or used to be the post but they are like millions of Americans who simply didn’t want the effort and now we are losing due processes, the president is openly taking bribes and a whack a doodle is going to get us all killed with disease. But I’m sure fox and friends cracked em up and those bright primary colors are very mesmerizing. I’m sure they even watched “Grab me a shot with my pint Pete
Yes. It took a long time to get here and will likely take a long time to dig our way clear from here. In my case, I had not understood that I was in a bubble until it popped on election day. It is hard to listen to Fox for me because the fanaticism, fallacies, and falsehoods repugn me.
Students, Scholars & Rumseya & other persons pay the consequences:
TODAY, 5/6/25 for 90 minutes starting at 10 AM Eastern, a three (3) Judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals heard an argument on whether to bring Tuft's student RUMSEYA OZTURK back to Vermont among several other major appellate issues.
But, at the Tuesday Morning Appellate Hearing -- SURPRISE!
While we were all sleeping the Appellate Panel allowed for a consolidated hearing, 1st Rumseya's case then immediately after the panel heard on another case the MOHSHEN MAHDAWI matter:
Trump2.0 wants MOHSHEN back in jail! There's a latin phrase for its but, SPOILER ALERT, not a chance in Hell - no way!
*****
DEEPER: Rumseya's counsel had filed a habeas action in Massachusetts where Kahnbabi thought her client was detained in MA. But, Rumseya was swiftly moved out-of-state by Trump 2.0 between 5 PM and 4 AM six weeks ago & jailed in Basile Louisiana, U.S.A. It is difficult to have a'habeas" hearing when the"body" is hidden away in an obscure jail in north of Baton Rouge 2 1/2 hours by car.
Rumseya wrote an 'OP-ED' in a Tuft's school paper back in 2024. Regardless, all "persons" have the U.S. Constitutional right of due process as mandated the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's all PERSONS -- not limited only to "citizens" of the United State
Some of us here would really appreciate your identifying the 1/2 dozen you mentioned, but know that the work you've already done and reported here is deeply appreciated. Thank you.
Violation of Amendments 1 (freedom of the press), 4 (unreasonable search and seizure), Amendment 8 (cruel and unusual punishment), with several additional components of Amendment 5 (due process and right to counsel) are the ones that I can think of.
Certainly Hendrik. Last UPDATED May 5 at 4 PM Pacific:
* MOHSHEN MAHDAWI was snatched at his U.S. citizenship appointment AFTER he signed a pledge to defend the U.S. Constitution. Mohshen was RELEASED Friday, 5/2, outside the Vermont courthouse where addressing Trump 2.0 overt actors and said: "I'm not afraid of You".
*****
*. CONFIRMED: Rumseya's Appellate Hearing Starts: 5/6 10 AM Eastern!
Per the ACLU she will "urge the Panel to not delay [No Delay]
her return to Vermont".
A three (3) Judge Panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals this coming TUESDAY May 6, 2025 [at 10AM] on whether to bring her back to Vermont among other federal legal issues such as IMO cruel & unusual punishment.
RUMSEYA is represented by attorney Mahsa Khanbabi, counsel who filed a habeas action in Massachusetts where she thought her client was detained before she was shipped to an isolated Prison in Louisiana.
Rumseya did write an editorial in a Tuft's school paper back in 2024. Regardless, all "persons" have the U.S. Constitutional right of due process as mandated the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's all PERSONS not limited to "citizens".
*****
*. DR. BANDAR KHAN SURI; Dr. Suri was falsely told his visa was being revoked. The Georgetown University scholar filed Khan Siri vs Trump et al on 3/20/25 represented by the ACLU of Virginia.
Judge Patricia Giles promptly ordered that Dr. Suri could NOT be moved from the United States while Dr. Siri's case was pending. The heart of this case is freedom of speech of a well known Georgetown academic scholar.
Dr. Suri's spouse, MAPEZE SALEH was holding up a sign outside the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virgina in Alexandria, VA on May Day last Thursday in support of her husband:
"Release Dr. Khan Suri"
* MOHSHEN MAHDAWI was snatched at his U.S. citizenship appointment AFTER he signed a pledge to defend the U.S. Constitution. Mohshen was released Friday 5/2 outside the Vermont courthouse where addressing Trump 2.0 overt actors and said: "I'm not afraid of You".
*. MAHMOUD KHALIL Khalil was taken to the prison in Jena Louisiana which per Alexander Simon at SLATE is a 2 hour 45 minute drive from Baton Rouge, has 3 stop 🔴🔴🔴 lights in a town that is in a galaxy faraway. Officially, this hidden jail is named: "Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center".
GOOD NEWS: Khalil was released by the Judge at the 1st Court hearing. Per Andalou Ajansi Khalil has petitioned the Court to expand public access including audio of any court hearings.
H/t ACLU Disclosure: I am a sustaining ACLU member.
You two guys (any gal that can haul a tuba around gets lovingly referred to as same!) are restoring my faith in this vehicle. As Ally knows when she looks at her own Substack I was reduced to something of a lamentation yesterday and today! These buoy me back up!
Using the defense of anti-Semitism to betray Judaism. Horwellian. (E.g., Leviticus 19:33-34; "33 ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as [a]one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
As I’ve noted elsewhere in reply to a post on the good professor’s “letter”, I am a strong supporter of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech. If Rumseya’s arrest isn’t a blatant example of exactly what the Founders wanted to prevent (my disagreements with that letter notwithstanding), I don’t know what would be.
Unfortunately, we will be held to account as a society. I can say, "Hey, lookie at me, l am good guy!" That will not work with people in other countries -- at least for two or three generations, after we are long gone.
I really don't think the majority of the 39-40% of Americans who form the core of MAGA support have been manipulated. I think it's better to simply admit that these people are also part of who America is as a population. Unlike in the past, or in other countries like Russia, it's (still) infinitely harder for Trump, RFK Jr., etc., to control the flow of information. Voters don't have to watch Fox "News." Their audience does so because it confirms their preexisting beliefs.
The 39-40% who support this are simply bad people who think this insanity is a good thing, or they simply don't care because it doesn't personally impact them. (Which IMO makes them bad people too.) They're exemplified by the Republican Senator who told a voter who lost their federal job "you probably deserved it." People who think like that Republican see themselves as the only "real" Americans.
As for RFK Jr.'s beliefs, ultimately it is eugenics, which I must point out didn't enter the realm of legal public policy in Nazi Germany. Eugenics first gained popularity and then became public policy here, thanks to SCOTUS's decision in Buck v. Bell (1927.) The theory gained more popularity here in the US despite being first proposed by Charles Darwin's cousin Francis Galton.
He hasn't admitted belief in eugenics, but that's quite irrelevent. After what SCOTUS, and later the Nazis did, no politician who isn't actually a publicly avowed Nazi is going to admit supporting eugenics. But if you examine what RFK Jr. is known to believe, logically it doesn't take much of a leap to get from that to eugenics.
As Dr. Richardson wrote, RFK Jr. believes that "infections don't pose a risk to healthy people who have optimized their immune system." He thinks the kids who have died from measles were malnourished, and therefore their immune systems weren't optimized and therefore unable to protect them from measles. Believing this, and believing in such abhorrant nonsense as Oliver Wendell Holmes' "three generations of imbicles is enough" and Hitler's "useless eaters" really is a distinction without a difference.
Read your history of the Eugenic movement in the United Ststes Histiry it was a yucky thing abd even as previously noted judges and all got into it . Some say both Margret Sanger and Helen Keller but I don’t have the primary forces. It does highlight the fear in our nation of others and our Histiry with indigenous folks just beyond tragic because of fear. Somehow this fear reigned on over abd underground abd came through after the Civil War either the oppression of freed slaves not to mention Asian immigrants, Hispanic immigrants and any other type of person. Angel Island is worth a look into . But the Germans before NAZIism took over studied the American South and how it keep
human beings suppressed. And part of why Paul Robeson became a communist because as my mother said there was at the time was no other tool other than the church. And as Irish folks know abd others sometimes the church plays footsies under the controlling power dinner table.
The manipulation is so strong. I had refrained from visiting FB for several months until yesterday. When I signed on I saw a post from an old family friend. He had posted a picture of an article from our local newspaper which reported on the courts blocking deportation without due process. He asked how can the courts block this. He stated he had taken civics in college and wrote they had violated their due process when they entered the country illegally. I didn't read the replies. I had already spent too much time on a site that has as its primary purposes to keep me fearful and engaging with its advertisers. HIS faithful can justify anything HE says. Many agree that 2-3 million court appearances is too slow a process for their desire to rid the county of the others.
Blaming it on manipulation lets them off the hook for their odious views. They watch rightwing propaganda sources because that’s what they want to hear. As Tucker Carson correctly pointed out, if Fox doesn’t give them what they want, they’ll stop watching Fox and start watching something even worse.
Susan, I think it has become strikingly clear that the tRump administration continues to demonstrate the abiding truth that conflict of interests, most usually in the form of acquiring money and usually accompanied by the acquisition of power and notoriety is the sub rosa driver behind the entire administration and all in it. The scientific and medical communities have recognized this corrosive effect of conflicts of interest for well over a century and has taken many steps to root these out. Corrective measures have included requirement of disclosure statements of sources of financial support, naming all who collaborated in the study and retractions of published studies later found to have been unduly influenced or found to have altered their data. We see this at work i "New York Times global health reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr. noted that both Geier and Kennedy have made significant money thanks to their anti-vax stands as they monetize alleged treatments and sue pharmaceutical companies.” And RFK Jr has certainly traded on the notoriety of his name by further taking dramatic stances which go against all current scientific knowledge. In the end, the tRump administration (and I use the term very loosely) has been a living breathing, even screaming demonstration of a vast collection of people with dramatic conflicts of interest who seek money and power by means of the controversial nature of the ideas which propel them into the news on a daily basis. It all further confirms that with the Citizens United decision wherein money was declared the same as “Free Speech,” the fundamental necessity for there to be a legal requirement for disclosure of financial sources to political campaigns at the very least. Our republic has been captured by the interests of the capitalists let alone the fascists and/or oligarchs without the necessary balance by interests of “we the people,” interests formerly served by legislation and regulation.
As I was finishing reading HCR, I was thinking about what to write. You wrote exactly what I was intending to say. If this maniac stays in power for four more years, God knows to what extent our decline will be.
@Susan. Trump is a fool This is another opportunity. Ask every Congressional Republican whether Trump and they are bound by the Constitution. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Kennedy does make a point that diet is important; but as an active complement to vaccines, not as a substitute for them. Impeach and remove Trump, Vance and the rest of team treason.
What he's doing now is commissioning research that will provide support for his crazy views on autism and infectious disease. He's aided in this by two anti-lockdown and vaccine mandate sceptics, Jay Bhattacharya and Marty Makary. This is happening while there is a measles outbreak going on (the largest in 30 years) and a looming pandemic in the continued spread of the avian influenza which has already spread to around 200 mammalian species and might be becoming endemic in US dairy herds. It has already affected 70 humans and the risk of mutation to increase its pathogenicity to human transmission is very real. These risks are being ignored by Kennedy. His proposed transformation of the HHS to a department he's calling the AHA (the Administration for a Healthy America) will entail a loss a fifth of its workforce and place much of the future of Americans' health on their ability to embrace the dubious claims of the wellness industry. It's completely nuts.
Why is he having access to all the money he needs to prove things that have been proved long ago? It's this the best they can do with their cruel "efficiency programs"
He's using public funds to promote his own ideas of 'wellness' and disease- prevention and as secretary of state for health he's entitled to do so. The idea of him being nominally in charge of a response to an epidemic is frankly terrifying, but arguably no more so than the idea of Trump being president again in such circumstances.
Don’t forget there is another group of people complicit in the measles outbreak—ignorant parents, who refuse to get their children vaccinated. Until Covid, this wasn’t a problem. What’s the common factor here? Trump.
To clarify, Donald isn't opposed to modern medicine. In fact, he's a bit of a germaphobe. His issue with the medical community's response to Covid was that it was paralyzing the U.S. economy, which generates revenue for him. He was anxious to get the U.S. "back to work" so his personal fortune could be boosted.
He didn't give a rat's hat about RFK Jr.'s ideas about health or even whether he was qualified for the position. It was strictly quid pro quo. RFK Jr. asked for the post in exchange for his support of Donald's election and he gave it to him.
The vax issue was there prior to Covid. It got juiced by Covid. Lots of suburban moms were falling for “too many shots at once” propaganda and were trying to rearrange the cdc shot schedule to their liking. Some pediatrician accommodated this and some said “find another doctor.”
In my case, as I was sixty-six at the time, the vaccine for COVID was a non-issue for me. Had I been younger, however, I would have been more hesitant; I suspect I would have taken the vaccine but with a bit more anxiety. 🫣
Why? 🤔
Because, per my limited frame of reference, I had 'known' that drugs go through a long approval process and the COVID vaccines took a year or two from start to finish. 😳
That implied balancing risk and rewards, at least for me. ⚖️
What I did not know until later was that the base, for lack of a better term with my limited knowledge, of the vaccine had been in place for a long time and that the eventual COVID vaccine was a modification of that base. 💡
Of course, my recall may wrong, or I may have been in error all along. Please feel free to straighten me out.🤝🏻
What's different now is that there is a worldwide movement against the routine use of vaccines that has mushroomed on social media based on misinformation spread by a relatively small number of people which has caused hesitancy rather than informed scepticism about vaccines. It has been reinforced by some really bad practices by big pharma. For example see Ben Goldacre's book 'Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients'-
I don't think Trump is an anti-vaxxer although he has made several misleading statements about vaccines and his appointment of anti-vaxxers Robert Kennedy and Marty Makary is obviously troubling. He did in fact get vaccinated during the pandemic and has apparently subsequently received boosters.
Thanks for that Guardian article, Russell, about the dirty dozen behind COVIDious misinformation: "Among the dozen are physicians that have embraced pseudoscience, a bodybuilder, a wellness blogger, a religious zealot, and, most notably Robert F Kennedy Jr . . . ." 😵😳💔🤬🤢
Naomi Klein delves into the wellness industry and its curious association with the far right in her book 'Doppleganger: A trip into the Mirror World'. It's a rabbit hole that I'm happy she went down rather than me.
Yes, because it's fat-soluble and can't be excreted but apparently it can be taken safely in quite large doses after a hearty meal of rotting bear carcass with the only adverse side-effect the possibility of infection with a brain worm parasite. Nothing to worry about really.
Thank you Russell. Every summer day of 1953-54, my father would give me and my sister a teaspoon of cod liver oil. It was later that I found out he did this for polio prevention. The only way he knew how. When the polio vaccine came out, we all lined up in the school gymnasium. I never saw cod liver oil again (thankfully). The vaccine was a godsend. I knew too many families affected by polio before the vaccine. Food quality and dietary habits were much better in those days. We ate a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. My mother cooked all our food from scratch (except bread). Our guts (hence immune system) were likely in better shape than today. I still caught measles, chicken pox, mumps, and german measles in my childhood. We are today, as a whole, a sick people. The majority of our diet is overly processed. Our guts are sick, but I doubt Kennedy is going to be able to change our food system, though it does need to change and In some respects, I do hope he can move the needle. He will be up against big ag ($$$$$) and he will not win. My guess is he will be canned when he tries to tell big ag what to do.
Eileen, I'd never seen anything in the journals about cod liver oil or vitamin D for prevention of polio. I know that more recently we've had unsupported claims about the benefits of Omega-3 supplements.
You're right about vaccines and about how although we're living longer we're also living less well. One academic related this phenomenon to the story of Tithonus, a Trojan prince who was the beloved of Eos, goddess of the dawn. She pleaded with Zeus, her father, to make Tithonus immortal but she forgot to ask him to also give him eternal youth. He became gradually more and more infirm until he was loathsome to behold (in some versions of the story he turned into a cicada, an insect renowned for its periodical life cycles presumably suggesting eternal renewal). We do not live well, for the reasons you mention, and Kennedy is right about this (and he's right about very few things concerning health). You are also right about the risks of consuming too much highly processed food and the powerful food lobby.
I truly believe we WILL see the demise of the trump regime. AND they WILL do it to themselves... because what DECADES of history have shown us all...eventually EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES.
It will be his narcissism run amok that gets them all. Every day they go too far. Maybe the writers of Project 2025 did not take in the sleeping giant of the American electorate.
And yes. Everything he touches does die (Rick Wilson book by the title "Everything trump touches Dies.)
They were hoping to ram it through before that part awakened, as it’s easier to break things than to fix. The problem with their agenda is they’ve torn down the old (sort of… 200 hundred court cases have stopped the bleeding somewhat.) It’s going to be much harder for them to do the next part: rebuild society they way they want it.
None of this is a surprise. I read through Project 2025. This is a play by play, carefully orchestrated coup. It is actually decades in the making. What they did not factor in was the human equation. Because Americans have been relatively non-responsive and easily molded politically for decades the evil planners thought we would roll over. Obviously we haven't. The politicians and many of the educated and corporate class did. Not the people.
Every competent doctor recommends a healthy lifestyle. I'm sure RFK Jr could not really explain why a "bug" with a novel mutation can create pandemics. Vitamins? Good luck.
RFK is not entirely wrong on diet, micronutrients and healthy lifestyle, but he’s an idiot for dismissing vaccines. As an osteopath, I apply _both_ germ theory and terrain theory. It’s not a question of one vs the other. For example, research has shown that an adequate vitamin D rauses the efficacy of vaccines. If RFK is really interested in health, he should propagate this, but he’s not: he’s far more interested in furthering his own old talking points.
I'm super-grateful for your post because it speaks from a both/and perspective that is not black and white. I'm decisive about RFK's presence in government -- a tragic reality (and more strategic than I want to comprehend). Fortunately, we still have some freedom to choose, (at least a few privileged citizens who have not yet been deprived of constitutional rights).
Thank you for your kind words, Joan :) I must say that I know that some in the alternative/naturopathic field saw it as a chance that RFK was appointed to overview health care, because he is so adamant to further (some) naturopathic viewpoints; but I am not happy about it - not in the least. The man is at least as rusted solid into his own view points as are the skeptics who want none of the alternative methods, and in my opinion, he will do more harm to the possible integration of regular and naturopathic medicine than he will advance it, not in the least because of his lack of expertise... :/
I’m very pro some alternatives but he inspires zero trust and looks like a serious liability. Individual responsibility for health can be a blessing but needs a cultural context of reverence for science and a broad educational exposure at young ages to whole systems integration (biological, geophysical, vital foods and water). We don’t have wise leadership or infrastructure. Thank you for doing what you do and sharing your experience here.
You are absolutely right on all counts: yes, RFK is a serious liability and individual responsibility for health needs quite some education - and don't forget philosophy: much of regular medicine (and Western thinking in general) is still very much dominated by reductionist materialism: thinking in parts, either-or-thinking and thinking there's only matter in the Newtonian sense. This kind of thinking just doesn't work when dealing with living organisms, especially with human patients...
Exactly, an all-of-the-above approach within reasonable limits set by the state of knowledge and research. That intellectual inclusivity -- as an input to policy, not the policy itself -- makes wisdom a stronger possibility.
He is not entirely wrong, but his wrong certainly negates anything he gets right. My habits are well-chosen (later in life), and make use of all the knowledge I can muster. I attended Holistic Health Seminars in the 70’s which started a life long quest for alternatives without throwing out the basics. Even met Hans Selye and was blown away by him. I listened to RFKJ and decided he was 90% insane. Those who take his 10% are missing the message.
RFKJ has definitely thrown out the basics, and is doing much more harm than good in general, and also for alternatives in particular. Those who practice alternative or complementary medicine who think he is their hero are badly, badly mistaken... Just like his employer, RFKJ is only there for himself.
It is eugenics. Not everyone CAN be healthy due to things like genetic, autoimmune, cancer illnesses and let’s not forget POVERTY. They want these suboptimal humans to die.
And also not forgetting the 'food deserts' in less affluent urban areas which makes it harder for some communities to access healthier food. Fast food is also cheaper than fresh produce. McDonalds and other chains have spent decades searching for the perfect nexus of fat-sugar-salt and advertised 'super sizing' their meals as a good deal.
Lauriemcf, I had the opportunity to describe local "food deserts" to someone who was ranting about seeing someone buying high priced canned goods with an EBT card at a convenience store. I asked him where the nearest grocery store was to where the convenience store was, and he couldn't tell me. (This particular store is at least 3 miles from any larger grocery store). I think there are several others in the area that are farther than that, many of which have large apartment complexes that are a large percentage of lower income folks.
Don't forget diet Becky. Have you read "Deep Nutrition" by Cate Shanahan? She goes into the science of how different foods, especially sugar and vegetable oil, affects the body chemistry down to your DNA.
I am a person of wavering commitment to my own diet; vitamins are easy and I am conscientious about those. When I eat crappy foods that taste good, however, I feel vaguely ill. The healthfulness of whatever I am eating shows up pretty quickly.
You describe my nutritional outlook nicely. I know what and how to eat properly. Have not eaten at McDonalds or Burger King in 20 years although I still eat out more frequently than I should. I share that "feel vaguely ill" sensation almost every time I eat those "crappy foods that taste good".
True! When I pass fast food places, they sure smell good but I remind myself how crappy I'm going to feel later...and I just drove by smiling that the smell didn't lure me in once again!
I am not defending Kennedy or minimizing the destructiveness of his actions. I am saying that emphasizing fitness and diet is important ALONG WITH focussing on vaccines. The electorate and the Senate are getting what they signed up for. EDIT P.S., in any case, I appreciate the research and explanation.
Agree with you wholeheartedly, Ned. Kennedy is right for stating that diet, vitamins, and bodily exercise are important for a strong immune system. But he’s an idiot for dismissing vaccines as a good method for preventing infectious diseases. As an osteopath, I believe in BOTH germ theory and terrain theory. If the body is healthy and stocked up well with micronutrients, it can handle disease better and recuperate faster; plus: vaccines are more effective then, too.
Ned & Mike, we are repeatedly confronted by people, especially politicians who want to peddle this or that particular “solution” who seem incapable of accepting the idea of a BALANCE of forces or solutions or contributors. I suppose it arises from the need we all feel to simplify a very complex world to the point we can understand it.
Great comment, there, JohnM. I call it 'simplistification', which makes complicated policy questions easy to answer but the consequences of those answers hard.
Yes, they can. Being healthy is never a 100% guarantee of not getting sick. But malnourished and generally unhealthy people definitely have slimmer chances of getting through it in a good way.
And as a physician I’m sure you know that diet and exercise are much harder to “prescribe.” However society wide solutions to improve diets such as ending food deserts, encouraging community gardens, finding ways to allow food stamps to be used at farmers’ markets are all within our grasp.
Yes, and they are very important measures, too. But for this, you will need some compliance from patients, too. These methods will not satisfy the "I've-got-health-issues-so-you-gotta-give-me-a-pill-so-they-go-away"-clientele.
The problem is that not only the stupid part of the electorate and the Senate are getting what they signed up for, The problem is that we are getting it too.
Diet and environment are so important -- along with science-based medicine. How ironic then that this administration fires food inspectors and wipes out food regulations because - god forbid - Big Government. Same with environmental regulations. I recall when Michelle Obama planted the kitchen garden in an effort to get kids to know where food comes from, eat better and move more - and was excoriated by the right as supporting the "nanny state."
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Kennedy is a clear and present danger to our country. Doctors must unite against him. Time for a health professionals march!
I almost died from a rare fungus infection a dozen years ago. When the fungus was finally isolated the medical team offered one (only ) available drug to mitigate the fungus. I will be in serious do-do if vaccinations become unavailable.
As it is I have been fighting pneumonia for a year now even with all the recommended vaccinations. I feel like they are working overtime to kill off some of our population while planning for a new white Christian nation.
Well, I am glad to read that you remain with us, Marj. I hope you and Becky are mid-reading the idea of eugenically culling the herd. I would be one of the first to go.
A president who questions if he has an obey the constitution and says he really doesn’t know?! I read and heard him speak this earlier today. His constant exaggeration of everything with no evidence is hard to swallow.
Then, RFK Jr, who is ready to toss out the baby with the bath water, or ignore the water altogether.
May our protests get louder and larger. This is not what I expected from my senior years.
Indivisible has protests everywhere coming up on June 14 ( Day of Trump's upcoming birthday spectacle)...Theme of protest is: NO THRONES - NO CROWNS - NO KINGS... This is a chance to make a huge statement. Let's show him what crowd size really means!!!
I signed a petition today urging Muriel Bowser, the Mayor of DC, to deny Trump the route he wants for his parade. Contact her--e-mail her, call her, text her, write to her using the USPS.
We need just one of us in front of the charade, sorry, I mean parade, blocking it, at least for few seconds. That would steal the show as the courageous Chinese citizen did in Tiananmen Square.
He will only twist the crowds to be FOR him and not a protest, no matter what signs are carried. A better protest would be for everyone to stay home and be totally silent. Too bad his birthday corresponds to the anniversary of the Army.
This is the law. Not everyone follows the law. I would like to see an interviewer ask him if he understands that he is a public servant, who works for all of us.
Maybe there will be protests then as well. Protests matter in defeating authoritarianism. Check with the group Indivisible to see if they have protests listed for July 4th. I think it is a good suggestion... If we all can keep our energy up...
Fourth of July is a day when we can read the Declaration of Independence and its parallels with our current experiences: lack of due process, illegal deportations, excessive tariffs, and taxation without representation. On July Fourth, we can declare our clear intent not to follow the dictates of a mad wannabe king, Donny 2 Dolls. Gather with your fellow patriots and channel the spirit of our founding fathers.
"This is not what I expected from my senior years." This is exactly how I felt when Trump won the election. I don't want to leave this kind of country/world to my grandchildren and I don't want to spend these last years of my life feeling angry and powerless.
So many of my friends are thinking the same thing about our senior years. My grandson will graduate from college on Friday, May 9th with his BFA in Interior Architectural Design. He has a great job lined up and will move to a new state. I want him to have the best possible life! I want the same for my granddaughter who has just finished her freshman year of college. I want the same for everyone’s children and grandchildren.
And wanting for your grandchildren _as well as everyone’s children and grandchildren_ makes your views the polar opposite of most of these corrupt individuals in DC. Hell, I don't even have children and want only the best for us all. Thank you Vicki!
"I don't know" is his reflex response. I listened to this today. Half an hour may be longer than the MAGA concentration span, but even some of it must get past the blood-brain barrier:
Watched a YouTube this evening where AI was asked to evaluate rumpy's first 100 days then predict what the next 100 might bring. Of course, it didn't have today's Constitution questions to add to its evaluation but it certainly was interesting.
I can appreciate the words but am very wary due to the disclaimer included in the video titled "HE QUESTIONS TRUMP’S MENTAL ACUITY – FULL BARACK OBAMA SPEECH ON LEADERSHIP & DEMOCRATIC VALUES"
"...DISCLAIMER:
This video contains a fictional speech written in the oratorical style of former President Barack Obama. It is not an official statement nor is it affiliated with Barack Obama or any political entity. The content is designed to educate, inspire, and promote civic awareness through a creative format reflecting presidential communication values..."
There are more of these appearing now but no matter how sensible they sound they remind me of Bill Whittle's "Virtual President" State of the Union speeches some in my old party fell for.
If they are making it up, I prefer it being more obvious such as Steve Allen's Meeting of the Minds.
There’s a disclaimer in the more info section saying that this is a fictional speech written in Obama’s style and produced with digitally altered content. It’s a good speech but I think it’s important to note that it’s not actually Obama.
"This is not what I expected from my senior years." Exactly! As I too often have to say "how many years do they think we have left?!" It's getting a lot shorter and a lot more difficult to deal with. I had surgery recently to treat a benign issue. Those hours before, during, and after were the most peaceful I've had in a decade as trump and the evil cabal went away!
I am hoping (yes I know hope is not a strategy) that the ultimate reaction to current events is a Congress determined to enact new laws that address every one of the despicable actions this administration is taking. It starts 11/2026.
Heather, Trumps: “And the second time, I run the country and the world.” should be followed with "into the ground". He's doing this on all fronts; economic, health, social, education, international relations.. everything. A more incompetent regime would be hard to fine.
Who was it who promoted a candidate for the Supreme Court on the basis that the Court should have some C students as members to represent the C students in the country? The idea that knowledge and expertise aren't necessary isn't new, but I think that we'd all prefer to be operated on by a surgeon who was the top of her class over one who was a C student.
I think you’re referring to the time Nebraska Senator Hruska responded to a comment that a Nixon Supreme Court nominee was mediocre that maybe it was time mediocrity was represented on the Court.
Doesn’t Kavanaugh fulfill that role? Along with the typical “frat boy” attitude and obvious misogyny on display during his confirmation hearings he didn’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed.
David, it might sound like a non sense comment but you are quite right. Could you imagine a cruel and authoritarian government as the one who got but competent and effective?
I wonder if RFK Jr would take his bacterial pneumonia, infected heart valve, or cellulitis without antibiotics. He could show everyone how it is done using the strength of his immune system.
Our big hope for our bedbound son who has a postviral illness, was pretty much dashed by the elimination of the long haul covid research at NIH.. he and millions of others like him will now prob be sentenced to life in their beds with their old parents caring for them ( if they are lucky) or just die in the street.. people we know who voted for trump wonder why we have lost our respect and trust for them, and just cannot understand why the lifelong friendship is over.
I'm another MEep who has a lot more fear for my life, and still very little agency, since Nov. The stress and fear and worsening illness already happening in our community are palpable. I used to work in public health. It's a dagger in each side, watching MEeps decline and watching governmental public health decline, too.
Today in Japan is already May 5. National holiday. Children’s Day.
All across the country you can see colorful sock banners flying on tall poles – representing the strength of children which parents hope for, as in carp in their strength swimming upstream.
Here in a small river valley town in the mountains of Kyushu, where I live, on an adjacent valley hillside there’s an annual Buddhist ceremony for peace, commemorating the May 5, 1945, downing of an American B-29 bomber. A 19-year-old Japanese suicide pilot in a small plane rammed it, forcing all the U.S. crew to parachute. Half the U.S. airmen died at the hands of farmers trained in bamboo spears. The other half were taken to a university medical center, where they died at the hands of a physician doing live experiments on them. The plane’s captain lived, having been taken to Tokyo, then home to America after the war.
Buddhist prayers. And I’m still in Timothy Snyder’s 2018 “The Road to Unfreedom,” where p. 219 has him referring to “Donald Trump, successful businessman" as "not a person. It was a fantasy born in the strange climate where . . . unfettered capitalism . . . met the rising hydrocarbon fumes of . . . Russian . . . kleptocratic authoritarianism.”
Cultures, peoples, nations can -- and do -- change.
None of us (I think) could have imagined the descent America has experienced for its cult criminal.
How many in MacArthur's occupation authority might have expected Japan so incredibly positively to embrace so well even more FDR-style reforms than the U.S. itself could embrace?
Much of what was accomplished was b/c they were forbidden to rearm after losing the war. Imagine the US relinquishing it's industrial armament complex! Ike was right.
Florence Nightingale who served in the Crimean war as a nurse saw the rampant wound infections and without a microscope deduced the hands and instruments were full of organisms. After instituting handwashing and cleaning of instruments the death rate fell from 42% to 2%. So might that be some evidence that these unseen organisms such as bacteria and viruses are the major cause of illness and death RFK Jr?? Sometimes it really doesn’t matter how healthy you are… those bugs can still get you. And if there are preventative vaccines or pharmaceutical treatments we can thank science for saving our children and our lives. Happy Nurse’s Day to my fellow Nurses. And Happy Birthday dear Florence!
It has always been interesting to me that within a few years and one large ocean of each other, Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton did so much, for so many, in the very jaws of two horrific wars. Both the Lady of the Lamp and the Angel of the Battlefield were well known and admired, yet still underrated.
Nightingale spent much of the last 50 years of her life bedridden. It's unclear what her condition was, but there's a good argument that it was a remitting-recurring version of a post acute infection syndrome, like ME/CFS or today's Long Covid.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
Yeah I didn’t want to use a random person’s house address just in case we’re ever looking at repercussions for our voices - so that’s why I listed a rep’s in state office address for every state (or district for House reps) and I use their own office addresses when I email ☺️ - there’s a note on the spreadsheet in a couple places saying that’s an option
I really can't comprehend the willingness of parents to risk their children's health and lives by not vaccinating them. A little bit of research would show them how young children routinely died of illnesses like diarrhea, measles, TB, pneumonia, and others before there were vaccines and treatment available.
The embrace of ignorance and fascism - this could be fatal to all of us. I hope everyone will get active with a democracy group near you. If there isn't one, start one. Indivisible.org can help. Come together with like-minded people to build our democracy community.
Heather, I see you got a lil’ statement about your “favorite” president, Garfield into tonight’s column. It is very telling that RFK, Jr. is going after the many pharmaceutical industries and the scientists who have proven their drugs or vaccines efficacies. Here, trump is generously rewarding corporation’s CEOs with tax breaks but Bobby is ignoring facts and credible scientific data that save our lives. He is touting that clean water and fresh air cure all ills. Well, that’s nice. Where are we going to get our water and air from when it’s been polluted by industrial companies, such as oil refineries,chemical manufacturing, and agriculture? The fossil fuel companies are the biggest criminals that cause climate change to the tune of 90% of our CO2 emissions. Keep protesting!!
I think it can be argued that something happened to Bobby Jr. in the aftermath of his father's death (if not before). His parents had 11 children, and no matter how much wealth a family has, I think it can be argued that it's difficult to pay proper attention to that many kids. His sister Kerry just offered a warning, as did his cousin, Caroline, before her. But he brought a lot of followers to the Trump fold, not to mention a lot of big donors.Trump's behavior while he was infected with Covid was to demonstrate that was no big deal for a guy like him, so he spread it around everyone who was charged with protecting him. Now our whole government is toxic.
I don't know why I'm telling you all this, but I married a Catholic girl, who was one of five. When we were dating, she said that she wanted to have seven children. I was one of three boys, and sincerely offered that maybe five children would be better. We ended up deciding that our two was all that we could afford to raise properly. It's been a happy struggle and we are far from being rich. We are still together after 46 years, and I know I haven't been the easiest man to live with. We are extremely proud of our two, and also of our two grandsons. As it has turned out so far, they all live very close to us. However life turns out, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. Don't tell my wife I said that 😉
1970 in Washington, DC., I met a guy who had just returned from being in Vietnam as I was participating in moratoriums against the Vietnam War. He was raised Irish Catholic in CA and I was raised Jewish by Holocaust victims, in a Southern Baptist town. That was 55 years ago. We will be married 49 years in June. He penned a moniker for our daughters as “JIrish”. So, I get what you’re saying.
Congratulations to you. And I get what you're saying. Two months after I met that angel of a lady I proposed and she said yes. Four months after that we got married. I heard that some family members were taking bets that our marriage wouldn't last six months. Sometimes you just know. We knew. Oh, and about the Irish: I was told most of my life I was told that I was Irish but my wife and I took one of those ancestry DNA tests a few years ago. It turns out that I'm mostly English with maybe 10% Irish. But my wife is at least 75% Irish, traced directly to Ulster.
Kennedy would be run out of town on a rail if it were not a fact that the general public is not educated in how to do critical thinking. They are apparently not educated in how to be responsible citizens either. This is not limited to a particular social or ethnic, or racial, or gender classification. We get what we deserve, and maybe we are learning from that, I hope.
how do we help our young folks distinguish truth from fiction... i do a lot of shows in teh schools and am thinking to do a game show style assembly... teaching and rewarding how to tell facts from lies...any suggestions how to discern in a fun way?
He should be rounded up and taken off the streets permanently. He’s out of his damned mind. His backstory is that of someone who has needed professional help since adolescence.
I never thought our country could come to this. It makes me terribly sad to see how manipulated our citizens have been. I’m still hoping we can recover from this and have not given up, yet. Thank you for keeping us sane.
Several years ago, my husband was struck low by double pneumonia of both a viral and a bacterial kind. After spending 15 days in hospital—4 of which were in its ICU—he slowly recovered once the right antibiotic was prescribed. His harrowing experience upends the ridiculous ideas of people who disavow germ theory.
Bridget, it's not just the fault of people that upends ridiculous theories, it's the fault of good part of the American electorate that elevated an ignorant scumbag as president.
And, the 75 Million that stayed home & did not vote.
Bryan, I believe it was Reuters who just reported a poll indicating that 30% of those non-voters now regret their non-participation in the election. Too little, too late, I'm afraid-- they were warned about what might happen and chose to sit it out.
But will they vote next time, if there is a next time?
I was thinking the same thing.
I'm not giving up on those nonvoters. They may yet be part of our salvation. If even 1/4 of that 30% are now ready to say loudly "this is insane and has to stop" (with passion coming from their sense of guilt), I believe that will help Congressional Republicans eventually say, as the economy is tanking, "Enough!"
Maybe there needs to be a organization that encourages them to act:
Regretful Nonvoters, or
Pissed-Off Sideliners.
(Other ideas?)
Also, people don't vote for SO many reasons, that I try not to stereotype them. Possible reasons:
No car or friends/family to help them get to the polls;
Very poor health;
Illiterate;
Agoraphobic, and don't leave home;
PTSD/extreme anxiety, causing fear of rooms full of people;
Afraid of dealing with "authorities", d/t past experiences;
History of incarceration, and uncertainty if they can vote legally;
Etc.
What about “I couldn’t care less. I’m more interested in watching TV, working on my golf game, scrolling Instagram, etc.”
I think THAT’s the main reason.
please don't leave out voter suppression! When the final count was made, over 3 MILLION legal votes were not counted, or the voter wa snot allowed to vote!
Tyler, while I agree with your first paragraph, my response to your list of possible reasons voters don't vote is as follows:
Countries such as Australia have made voting by all eligible citizens compulsory. Somehow they get to the polls.
But 70% don’t?!
Ron, maybe the 70% couldn't be bothered to answer the poll.
Unfortunately, if all of those non-voters had voted, it might well have been worse. Independents and low-information members of the electorate lean R. We want to get the D-leaning non-voters to the polls, but we want the rest of them to stay in the couch. I work with GOTV groups that focus on the D-leaning voters. We need about a million more volunteers (and trained, paid activists) in that effort.
Byron, we have discussed why that might have happened including voter suppression and the belief that individual votes do not count. I realize that some probably couldn't bring themselves to vote for either and did not realize what was at stake. So, I wish they had voted, but I am not going to hold them as accountable as some want to make them.
I do hold them accountable. We are all accountable for our actions or inactions. The choices were abundantly clear every darn day, choosing to put your head in the sand does not give you a pass. "Democracy is not a spectator sport". (George Schultz)
I refuse to hold them all accountable. To me this is like condemning all Christians because some of them are raving hypocrites and vote for people like death star. There is all kinds of voter suppression going on for starters. And as I noted some people are just weighed down by life and not likely to think about voting. They are too busy surviving. I do hold those people accountable who were too lazy and I especially hold them accountable here in Oregon where voting is so easy.
Amen!!
I believe there were people who thought Kamala had it all locked up, her momentum was so impressive it sort of took the desperation out of it all and they just didn't go to the polls. I also firmly believe that Trump and Musk rigged the election just enough to take the Senate, and win all 7 swing states and the popular vote. Now we know what happens, and it's all hands on deck from here on out.
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️ !!!!!!!!!!!
Ricardo, I know. That fact/fault makes me want to run outside and howl at the moon. However, knowing that is futile, I am hopeful that people like you and me can convince a few trumpers to change sides. 🤞
I try that every day Bridget, some times it works. 😄
He's not entirely ignorant, Ricardo.
He knows what Putin wants.
I think he operates on a very primal brain -- going after his "prey" which is power, adulation and wealth.
One more thing, laurie.
Fiction. Lies. Fantasyland. Both the vulgar orange felon in the U.S. and his Russian mentor fully embrace all those substitutions for facts, truth, evidence.
Trouble is, because of testing, and all those elites who excelled at it, facts, truth, and evidence have become as denatured as all the tests that measure only the impersonal.
So real, humanly grounded fiction -- all our decent, great varieties of it -- have disappeared from nearly all the schools. Only so that the elites' greater lies for abstractions, categories, and the simpleton linear may reign.
Mr. Balla, somehow I think I agree with you but I am not clear as to why. “ Humanly grounded fiction “? Will you help me out with this. Jay
laurie, agreed. He has a reptilian brain busy hissing and striking at anyone he perceives as the enemy
He knows because Victor Orban told him.
He is doing Putin's bidding in plain sight. Too bad MSM and others can't see it. We will be under Russian rule in the near future, imo.
Carolyn, I am not yet ready to predict that we will be under Russian rule, but I am certain that if Trump is not removed very soon, we are on track to become another Russia. Consider the similarities already in view. The U.S. is quickly being isolated on many levels.
Leaders of our former military allies are on record stating that our former alliances have ended. In terms of defense, we are on our own.
We are rapidly being isolated economically, again, on many levels. Our government debt is no longer a desirable investment and the U.S. dollar is losing its place as a global standard.
As our trade partners turn to other nations, we will be unable to import the materials to make products we sell domestically and export to other nations. Moreover, as the Trump regime eliminates the agencies that ensure quality and safety, the products we make will become unsafe junk that nobody wants. The products we make with domestic resources will be unwelcome around the world.
U.S. consumers will no longer be consumers, but survivors. We will have limited choices in any product category, if any product is available at all. Underpaid workers will be unable to afford the products they make in a vicious economic feedback loop.
We will become further isolated if/when U.S. citizens become carriers of disease, due to our antiquated public health policies. Other nations will simply not allow Americans to enter their countries, based on the potential of reintroducing diseases that were thought to be eradicated.
What I have described above is a snapshot of modern-day Russia. Isolated. Weak military with few, unreliable allies. Struggling economy. Limited availability of unaffordable, poor-quality products that nobody wants. Low life-expectancy. Little leisure or travel. Miserable lives ruled by a handful of oligarchs.
This is where we are headed unless Trump is eliminated from the equation. And soon.
We all agree, but HOW DO WE GET RID OF HIM? Do we have to hope on his birthday parade the military turns on him like Anwar Sadat?
Dale, I agree with your excellent post. We will be run by a few wealthy oligarchs while the rest struggle as you have outlined I hadn't thought about Americans being unwelcome abroad because they might reintroduce diseases. Wormbrain sounds like he thinks he is in medieval times and all the science around germ theory does not exist.
I'm adding this thought: What is so embarrassing – no, more than embarrassing, shameful – about the comparison of Russia with the U.S. is that Russians have never really had a choice. Although regimes and formats have been overturned many times, Russians have swapped one autocrat for another ever since there's been a Russia, 862 C.E. or thereabouts. The populace has never really been given a chance at self-government.
Setting aside the unsavory history of European theft of indigenous land, the U.S. was actually founded on the idea of anti-autocracy! And setting aside our unsavory history of suffrage, the U.S. has ALWAYS had a choice about who governs us and how. And yet, politicians, originally elected by a majority, have systematically corrupted our electoral system in such a way that an ignorant minority have been given the power to choose an autocrat to rule all of us.
How embarrassing! How shameful!
Agreed! Your picture paints a spot on portrait of things to come! I wish those on the other side would develop some sort of courage and challenge him. He has already stated he is not interested in a third term. So why not treat him like the lame ducks that he is?
Thank you I tend to agree.
Correct -- and they do so without regard to human life or social good or the deleterious impact of their vote.
Good reply Stephanie 👍
I don't want to live in a country that one person decides what the truth and law is. Do you?
Do not comply, our Democracy and lives depend on it.
A good part of the American electorate did not actively elevate him. 015% of those who voted did it. I thank the gods for my one-room school with its constant review/preview of civics. Most of all I thank Mrs. Haroff, our teacher grades 2-8.
But will education look like when trump has finished rewriting history? Already he ordered Arlington to remove many links to women. blacks, and Hispanics from the website. Slavery was a way to get employable skills (what picking cotton and being a prostitute for the owner?)
Who then elevated another ignorant and ideologically driven man to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Republican Senate proceeded to confirm the HHS nominee knowing he had no true qualifications for the job.
Exactly. We tend to put blame on Trump and Kennedy, and forget that we elected them. What we are in now is a rebuke that we were not carefull of applying the privilege of voting to elect leaders.
Ricardo. You are right on. scumbag is putting it mildly🤬💩
T💩p and Krazy Kennedy Jr. wants folks in your husband’s condition to die quickly and in pain, because some woke doctors, (who probably voted for Democrats and would minister to illegal immigrants,) have an obligation to help as specified by the Hippocratic Oath. We all know T💩p cares nothing for oaths, and who knows what goes through the worm-damaged brain of the other one.
I predict hundreds of thousands of awful and horrifying preventable deaths in this country. Perhaps the first factories that need to be rebuilt are for caskets and iron lungs. (A little black humor to start my morning.)
I’m now weeping over what I just wrote, but I’ll let it stand.
Well, we are governed by a pool of broken people, too easily aligned with sadism.
Two sadistic headlines in today’s paper: Trump cuts grants for mental health in schools, and Medical College loses $5,000,000 and University loses $12,000,000 of NIH grants. Nothing says progress like defunding medical research and mental health support. Everything is out of whack - country is run by whack jobs.
Yup -- he is sowing the seeds of our destruction. He is clearly the master of the US and the world! He is anti-science; anti-education; anti-clean air and water; but pro measles and pro Putin...
Yeah, like closing the border to the continual flow of illegal, a Rams have who have killed raped and traffic people.
Given women an even ground on which to participate in sports
Lower the cost of gas, eggs, mortgage rates, and inflation
And as far as education if you would really like some more information, I think he would be shocked to know what he’s talking about. He’s not talking about anti-education he’s talking about anti-waste of money that we’ve been doing since 1979.
In 1979 with the Department of Education was first formed, we were Number one in the world and education. 30 years later, after doubling or tripling, the amount of money spent per student we were 18th in the world. Today we are 40th in the world and if you call that progress I feel badly for you
All he’s talking about is the freedom of choice, and not succumbing to the lack of success by the department of education and allowing people to choose where they go to school. You know like the American way. Oooops didnt mean to offend you
Even a southern red state republican was complaining how many jobs her state has lost due to cuts in NIH funding.
What bubble will they live in to keep them healthy?
Please get the article for five or six of them, and explain exactly what the issue was and it really has nothing to do with hurting people with mental health issues. As I saw the number on the post, I just like USAID where the money is going I would spend and to whom
You might wanna publish the entire article, and exactly what was defunded. Most of you like to,excerpt what you want people to see and don’t include all the Germaine information. There are assuredly a myriad of explanations. By the way, the only thing out of whack are the activist judges. Would you like an example let me know
🙄
We are definitely "ruled" by a sadist in the White House.
I don’t really “like” what you said, Derek, but not having explored Jr. further, l’m inclined to think back to the COVD epidemic when some dark theories surfaced about who survives and who doesn’t, especially by t-rumps son in law.
If you really want the truth, ask anybody, but Fauci.
😂
👹
🙄
Derek, this season of Call the Midwife had an episode with a person in an iron lung. The same episode had a boy who got measles before the vaccine and his mother went out with him to encourage others to get the new vaccine.
Sending hugs. Hoping you're wrong, of course, but fearing your right.
isn't he, a former drug user, targeting Narcan ? That will help get rid of drug users.
I am so sorry to hear that your husband went through that ordeal, Bridget. And your point is certainly well taken.
The Donald Confesses:
“Forgive me father for I have sinned. It’s been 300 years since my last confession. I lied, I’ve taken the name of thy Lord in vein. I’ve stolen. I’ve cheated. I tried to grab the you know what of the Virgin Mary. I’ve never told the truth in my long putrid life. I’ve cheated the government out of fair collection of taxes. And I’ve assumed an image of the next Papa in Roma. And if you vote for me, Father, and make me your next Pope, I’ll nominate you to be a cardinal.”
Brilliant!
Reminds me of a joke. 2 dogs and a cat were at the pearly gates. God said, "Why should I let you in?" The first dog said, " I was a military dog and saved the lives of many soldiers." "Go on in." The second dog said, "I was a service dog who was able to take care of a blind child." " Go on in. Cat, why should you be allowed to enter heaven?" The cat said," Get out of my chair." Excuse the lack of paragraphing.
Enjoy your wit. Thank you
Hey, why don’t you ask me to do one for Biden I could do one.
Yo, by the way there are 825,000 cows slaughtered every day for their meat. I doubt if you having a 32 ounce porterhouse one day it’s gonna make a big difference in you saving the cow from extinction.
And I like cows too Bill. In fact, I bet most people like cows.
👹
Hopelessly lost in your hate. Do a book on Biden. It will outsell the Trump’s book times ten. And you have a never ending volume of material. Shaking hands with the air. Getting lost on stage time and timid again, fall down the stairs as well as level Ground, and falls UP THE STAIRS. LOL.
falls off a bike..freezes “literally” during a lawn party for minutes while all around him are dancing to the music, had a memorably stellar performance in his debate with Trump…he was so competent that your party actually removed him from the presidency via running him over for election forcing him out. Oh and had to PARDON his entire family despite he never met with any of Hunter’s partners despite the numerous photos… and I’m only reading out the highlights, Bill. You could make a ton.
Bill, if your sarcasm was humorous or accurate, I could buy it. Alas, its political overtones are overshadowing what could be humorous or accurate.
Let me see if you can do one for Biden, which would be a lot easier.
Now that would be something I’d love to see
👹
Come on Bill with all Buden's ailments with all the commentary with all the shaking hands with the air, freezing in the middle of a video for a minute, not knowing where he is falling down the stairs, falling up the stairs you've got to be able to put together a simple book and probably make even more money in the process lol
And topped off by having him removed from office you've gotta be able to write a book that you're gonna sell a ton 🤪
Bridget, you wrote, "....once the right antibiotic was prescribed." My daughter had pneumonia several years ago and was hospitalized when she was 20 years old.
She had started a new job and her boss had come in hacking on everyone. He told the employees he couldn't stay long because he had pneumonia.
She mentioned this to the admitting nurse in the hospital. It took took days for them to "discover" that she had pneumonia after testing her for several different viruses and bacterium including HIV even though she hadn't been sexually active.
The doctors were so proud of themselves when they finally "discovered" she had pneumonia and proceeded to treat her with the proper antibiotic.
When we asked our daughter which hospital she wanted to go to--Baptist Beaches or the Mayo-- she said Baptist Beaches because her primary doctor was part of the Baptist network. I'm not blaming her because the Baptist Beaches staff clearly messed this one up, but I wonder if the Mayo would have been faster at determining the correct diagnosis.
I used Loma Linda University Hospital for 34 years we lived in California and found 6 of the Doctors and Specialists I used had interned at Mayo Clinics. I found out after seeing Ken Burns' "The Mayo Clinic" documentary and mentioning appreciation of the collaborative care approach shown in the documentary
For a great start on its history, see https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-mayo-clinic
That documentary alone has me so grateful for the good works of PBS
Whenever I have a health question I ALWAYS go Mayo or Cleveland Clinics. - sometimes NIH. Hopefully, they will remain trusted sources of medical information.
Pneumonia is terrible. I am so sorry that your daughter suffered from it. Breathing freely is such a natural right.
And I am so sorry your husband went through that also. You are correct about it being such a natural right.
I was flying back from England after taking care of an ill friend. I boarded the plane and heard someone hacking behind me. Two days later I was sick, sicker than I’ve ever been. I didn’t end up hospitalized but told my husband it’s no wonder elderly people die from pneumonia.
GJ, one day we need to take doctors out of their pedestal and back to earth where people live.
This comment is harmful. The assumption and ignorance here is gross,not based in reality, and a sad testament to fear of experts. All doctors are not created equal, but in my 30 years of medicine the vast majority of them want to help their patients to the best of their abilities. Period. My colleagues here and myself, care for a small rural community and work long and hard to serve them. I make working class wages, hold tremendous responsibility and take this seriously. The problem is with the system, not the good people in the trenches saving lives. We as a country need to get that straight before it is all gone.
Geez man, I am so sorry that your daughter and those who love her went through this
The doctors who treated your daughter weren't listening to her! You didn't say when she was treated for pneumonia. HIV testing might have made sense 20 years ago. People could get infected from blood transfusions. If she was ill more recently HIV would be far less likely. Pneumonia is a lot more common.
GJ Loft. I think Mayo is always the best choice. I’ve know countless people that finally after doctoring local finally go to Mayo and get the correct diagnosis and treatment and healing.
The last time people believed in poisonous vapors or terrain theory it was called the Dark Ages! While men and women and children die, autocracy will be immortal!
Having been in employment my entire career, I don’t even know how to hire an entire workforce of nut jobs, morons, weirdos, misfit and ignoramuses, all at the same time.
Trump delivers an orgy of revenge; every day glows with malice and stupidity. Trump is our first special needs president.
I guess you don’t recognize Merrick Garland when you see him nor his actions
Or tisha James or judge Marchan who valued mar a lago at 18 million dollars where a VACANT PARCEL OF LESS VALUABLE LAND WAS VALUED AT get this 200 million dollars….. whose daughter was a dem party fundraiser or. Alvin Bragg. Or Fani Willis. No revenge there …..lol and I guess you didn’t see my link or list on the millions
( 27 million of them by Clinton, bush, and Obama) of deported illegals by 3 former presidents with zero injunctions and Trump has deported about 100,000. That’s one hundred thousand,, and miraculously. ,,30 injunctions. Absolutely no appearance of revenge. Yikes
Understandable if the primary job requirement is abject loyalty to T...p.
Hey Mary, as it is in every administration other than the fact that Trump appointed to Democrats to his cabinet. ever see a democrat put a republican in their cabinet.
So, for example, do you think a president should hire somebody this cabinet that thinks the opposite of him or is defiant of him or doesn’t like him or refuses to follow him what are you thinking?
Read above.
He picks them based on how much money they send his way.
Bridget, glad your husband survived his scary ordeal! I think that RFK Jr himself is evidence of the "Miasma theory." He exudes poisonous vapors. He is definitely suffering from "terrain theory." His internal terrain ( brain) is clearly " out of whack." What a quack, and no offense to innocent ducks.
Miasma theory, indeed. This entire administration is noxious gases and poisonous vapors!
Modern medicine is amazing and, while nothing is perfect, the new creations of cancer immunotherapy are at risk.
The RFK’s of the world are actually fucking nuts!
And their leader is worse.
One of my sons was in that position about 15 years ago. It is frightening that people in power wish to deny medical research in favor of snake oil - or in Kennedy's case, cod liver oil.
Bridget, glad your husband survived his scary ordeal! I think that RFK Jr himself is evidence of the "Miasma theory." He exudes poisonous vapors. He is definitely suffering from "terrain theory." His internal terrain ( brain) is clearly " out of whack." What a quack, and no offense to innocent ducks.
My husband had that pneumonia in about 2016. We quarantined him in his bedroom and masked and gloved to prevent the spread. I still had to do a course of treatment but only had a mild case.
Trump picked RFK Jr and it’s said Trump is a germaphobe. Amazing how delusional these people are.
I often wonder if some of this delusion by the base comes from the highly processed diet and chemicals they are subjected to.
Vitamin A can be toxic in high doses. Both acute and chronic toxicity can occur, with the most common cause being high doses of vitamin A supplements. Acute toxicity happens after a single, large dose, while chronic toxicity develops over time with prolonged excessive intake.
Symptoms include: Nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, irritability, blurred vision, and muscular incoordination. Also, skin changes like peeling, dry skin and hair loss. Severe cases can lead to increased intracranial pressure and even coma.
Ditto!!! I almost dies from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I was finally admitted to the hospital and given Doxycycline. Harrowing is the word...
Bridget, I'm glad your husband recovered, and that they found the right antibiotic for the bacterial infection. But you should know that antibiotics do not work on viruses. Viruses require special drugs that are very difficult to develop, because viruses live in the cells of their host, and it is difficult to kill the virus and not kill the cell. That's why antiviral drugs are so expensive.
If the citizens you’re talking about have been manipulated, it has been with their willful and enthusiastic cooperation. The fact is that at least 77 million Americans, 60% of white Americans, 70% of white working class Americans, and 80% of white evangelical Americans do not support the Constitution and have not supported it since 1964, when they found out that it gave black Americans and other marginalized groups the same rights as white Americans. It took from 1980, when Reagan called the ragtag white masses to order until now, when they have put one of of their ignorant, lawless compatriots in the White House, to find a way to subvert the Constitution. They may yet be stopped from destroying the republic, but it will take a miracle.
Rex, I subscribed to every one of your points until I reached your last sentence. Millions of us who are in this fight against a presidency at war with the Constitution and the rule of law are both expanding our movement and also observing increasingly more of our Democratic elected officials fighting alongside us.
Rex is being prepared for the worst. We can continue the fight, but P25 is now very, very deep. The people to be most feared about are Miller, Voght, and Kevin Roberts.
Yes, but we will need a lot more for that trend to overcome the devastation our enemies are wroughting upon our republic, especially since the entire billionaire class (with a few exceptions like Gates and Buffet) are busy buying local, state, and federal legislators.
They already bought the right-wing Justice's on the Supreme Court.
I'm hoping the majority of voters will abandon the fascist GOP when they realize that trump, with the acquiescence of the fascist GOP Congresspeople, has devastated the US economy and our position in the world economy.
I often hear political pundits comment that people voted for Trump's tariff policies, and he did run touting tariffs, but economic pain was not mentioned until after the election. It was Musk who talked about short-term economic pain, nobody ever talked about restructuring our domestic and international economy around massive tariffs.
They may have a plan to manufacture an economic collapse so they can take advantage of the shock doctrine to take total control of government.
But most of them support the 2nd amendment and the first amendment when they feel their free speech has been stifled. The Citizens United decision was based on a gross misinterpretation by the Robert's SCOTUS.
Citizens United has caused infinite harm.
I am also a strong supporter of the 1st Amendment (and here I specifically am referring to freedom of speech). While I sometimes disagree with what others say (e.g., American Nazis), I defend their right to say it… peacefully and without inciting violence or harm to others. I agree with the Founders that free speech is absolutely necessary to a free nation.
On the other hand, I cannot agree with the Roberts Court decision in Citizens United. For one thing, it gives an unequal power of speech to those with more money and also multiplies that power to entities whose members already hold that right and power, albeit individually — just like the rest of us.
I support the 2nd Amendment also, but not the interpretation that the Roberts Court gave it, especially since they conveniently ignored the clear intent of the first clause which is to support “[a] well regulated Militia.
The only “well regulated militia”in the US are the units of the National Guard, so any rationale for unlimited and unregulated weaponry to all citizens (and other inhabitants) is no longer a necessity under the clear intent of the Amendment, especially when it causes more harm than good to the citizenry. Constitutional originalists, especially, if they are being honest, should recognize this.
There are already “infringements” on the “right of the people to keep and bear Arms” – machine guns, bazookas, rocket launchers, etc are already (for all practical purposes) banned from private ownership.
Actually, machine guns in the form of boot stocks for assault rifles are now legal, notwithstanding “Justice” Thomas’s ridiculous (and detailed) argument in an official SCOTUS opinion that bump stocks do not, in a highly technical and functionally irrelevant way, convert assault rifles into machine guns.
Citizens United was the result of the Federalist Society, funded by the ultra-rich to enable unlimited, unregulated political financing so the ultra-rich could install the government they control.
A miracle, Rex?
No, it will take putting teachers center in schools, and putting them over the testers.
That would now qualify as a miracle.
As a retired biology teacher, I can agree that teachers need more respect for their expertise. Science information is always changing and is often taught by people who are human, and thus fallible. We also have the mind set of "we can make our own reality." When we have a top leader who gets away with lies, crimes and selfish actions, how can we expect our nations' students to differ?
Amy, the very nature of science - ever changing- because as knowledge increases, things change has been used as one of the reasons to not trust science. We saw that during covid where new information changed actions because did not know everything. The power seeking skeptics used that changing of information as a reason to not trust the science. It is a sign of a real problem in the public.
Again: a lack of education.
Yes. Teachers need principals who will support their efforts and not take the side of ignorant Karens who complain about this or that in the curriculum. Standardized testing is an exceedingly minor problem compared to the widespread disrespect for the trained, professional teachers who work to educate our children.
Yours is a valid long-term solution. We don't have the 5-6 years it will take to change the education system.
They have been hacking at it for half a century.
I don't disagree but reversing the harm will take years; we need to look elsewhere for ways of saving our republic.
Let’s do both.
And the trend is to make it worse, with Texas leading the way.
We laughed at “The Silent Majority” that Nixon invoked, but that defined group of people have been undermining our Republic since the 1960s by infiltrating our local, state and federal governments from school boards up through the 3 branches of federal government where they have finally captured the top national power.
Yes, we do not have the luxury of only playing the long game of returning the country to its democratic path, but while working on a more immediate change, we cannot ignore the future. We need both swift results and long-term changes.
They just morphed to the Tea Party, then MAGAts. I watched friends become radical and stupid as Sarah Palin’s stupidity spread. They are still with us.
Racial integration of K12 schools improved the humanity of GenX a little and GenY a little more, but the subsequent racial de-integration that has been and still is on the rise has caused recidivism on that front. The most effective means of increasing the fraction of fairminded citizens would be the successful and permanent racial integration of K12 schools in all regions of the USA. It’s a longterm (not to mention longshot) project, but a necessary one.
Yes! Unfortunately, the white evangelicals who win schoolboard elections undermine the ability of teachers to educate their students. In homes it’s even worse. The only hope is to have more diverse student bodies, so young people will learn the value of tolerance, but of course de-segregation of schools has been on a downslope for decades and is now totally out of reach, what with the enormous popularity of anti-DEI actions, nationwide, at every level.
Well, if those numbers are correct, then I'm proud to be in the 40% and the 30%·. (And here I thought I was a member of the 99%). So I guess this is what it feels like to be a minority😉
I used to think we had a sane majority. Still do some days
I thought so too, but it has been a shock to discover that propaganda trumps competence and decency on all fronts these days
If you were a white voter without a college degree, you would be outnumbered, two to one, in that cohort. If a little under two-thirds of white working class voters had voted for the felon (instead of a little a little over two-thirds), Trump would never have been elected. A possibly even sadder observation is that if one in three white evangelicals were decent human beings (instead of the one in five that the voting data indicates), both the 2016 and 2020 elections, if not all presidential elections for the foreseeable future, would have been landslides for the Democrats.
Well said Rex but it would take more than a miracle to prevent the destruction of the republic, it would take the will of we the people to do it, and that might be a the miracle.
Indeed! Unfortunately, the will of the white electorate has delivered a mechanism of destruction for the rule of law and all other guarantees in the Constitution.
As Benjamin Franklin said, you have a republic, if you can keep it. Can we keep it? The question still remains. As the song goes, you don't know what you've got til it's gone. And as the other song goes, They didn't listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will. I'll spare you the Bob Dylan.
You are correct that the conservatives gave up on the Constitution when it no longer was interpreted in their favor. When "men" became "humans" the conservatives decided to move toward authoritarianism.
The Lewis Powell Memo is actually their Mein Kampf where the conservatives accused the left of the very things they wanted to do and now are doing.
Astute observation, Rickey. When white men lost their spot at the top, and women and the alphabet people (BIPOC and LGBTQ+) get to have "equal rights" it was a bridge too far.
They thought they lost their spot, when it was actually making room for more people taking thier specilness away.
An interesting article in the financial section of News this morning, something that will only get worse under Trump policies for education.
https://stocks.apple.com/AoE4o99T9TiuKHnpeC4N17g
Sadly true
Amen. Miracles can abound.
Where is the study (studies?) that produced the numbers and percentages noted in this post?
In the articles referenced in accompanying notes below the body of her text.
Exit polls, and the assumption that anyone who voted for Trump got what they sought.
Proud not to be part of the stupid majority that voted against they own interest, even if now they are having buyers remorse.
And as HCR writes, "Clearly, Trump doesn’t think he needs experts in at least three of those four senior posts. Perhaps it also shows there are few experts still willing to work in a Trump White House."
I think she could have omitted the word "experts" and it would have also been accurate.
The electorate -- and the Senate in confirming incompetents and traitors -- are getting what they signed up for.
We have friends who voted for Trump because they only vote Republican & only watch Fox News. Believe it or not, they had not heard or read anything about Trump selling Meme coins & offering the buyers of the coins private dinners with him.
They only know what Fox News tells them. How do we solve THAT problem?
KMD...I think many of us have discovered "friends" like yours. What I believe is they watch fox news because they want to. It resonates with them. It feeds their preexisting narratives. It legitimizes how they think and feel. Otherwise, they would not.
So true, shocking as it is. Nazis knew how to package propaganda…
We get different 'friends'. And then we let the formers 'drown in their own shit'!
I know I push this onhere all the time, but there are journalists on YouTube whose followers include a few MAGA. They will report on the comments and questions that MAGA sends in to them. "Belle of the Ranch" does this on her channel quite frequently. Her clips are short and she sticks to relying facts. I also appreciate "Tennessee Brando" who is part of the the YouTube Midas Touch network (that of which has overtaken Joe Rogan in viewership). Brando's clips are longer, and they are his reaction to news, but living (as he calls it) "in the buckle of the deep red belt" he gets a lot of MAGA watching as well.
Watch their videos, and perhaps send them a clip. If they'd watch it, I HIGHLY recommend Heather's "Politics Chat" videos, although they are an hour long.
What will change their preexisting narrative if they don't have friends like you to challenge them?
Keepi your friends. Stay engaged.
Easier to say than to do, Mobiguy. My cohort of retired cops is like this. When I mentioned the Tufts student's case to my former sergeant, he asked if there was video of the kidnapping...er...arrest. That has been all over the news and my feeds, but he hadn't seen it. Sigh.
True. There have been a couple times where I run into random trumper. After initial tensions, with tense if not elevated voices, we come to learn that we have a lot more in common than either of us might have imagined. This is rare, however; that makes me sad.
I learned that I had more differences than common ground with my long time bff when Fox came on the air. Friends are either dead or gone the way of MAGAts. Same for family that I had been close to for all my life. One cousin keeps me sane.
Trump isn't hiding the play for pay dinners, or any of his other illegal/immoral acts. If you friends aren't aware then it's their choice, isn't it?
Yes, there is such a concept of willful neglect or IGNORE-ance.
I understand your frustration with the lack of information they get in their bubble of misinformation. Disturbing at best.
Restoring the 'Fairness Doctrine' would be a first step. Regulating social media as news outlets rather than 'platforms' would be a second step. Alone, these two steps would be insufficient. After that start, however, I have no idea what to do. Perhaps identify which speech is not protected. Paraphrasing Justice Potter Stewart, for example, I might KNOW what hate speech is but I would know it when I read or hear it.
I know it’s like talking to a wall sometimes but find a way to get truthful information in conversations. And also explain what it means.
Dems always say “I respect the voters intelligence or the American voter is busy.” Based on what evidence in 2025? Talk down to them. The ones who are offended pay enough attention to still vote for you and the ones who need a bumper sticker to make decisions need it modified and maybe they’ll vote for you.
Because people who are shocked are only shocked because they didn’t want to be bothered putting in the work required to live and KEEP a democracy. None of this has been shocking to anyone who paid attention. I’m not shocked if I hear “unprecedented” one more time, I’ll scream. HRC warned strenuously how dangerous citizens and Dobbs were going to be. Your friend probably believed the line FOX put out that Dobbs didn’t really overturn Roe, it just simp,y sent ti to the states. Now 19 have total or partial bans. And she probably may have not cared because she’s not in the wheelhouse of kids but many of the gynecologists left which means all women health care suffer. Citizens is why Musk was able to walk in the agencies of our government, steal all our information and erase any incriminating evidence on him and his friends.he said BEFORE the election, “if Harris wins, I’m going to jail”.
We’ve known since 1980 MAGA wants to privatize social security and education. Not to run it better, to get the trillions to gamble with. And we knew this SCOTUS was dabbling with crossing the line by federal funds going to religious schools which will also have to go to private schools. My kid went private, great choice and it cost us a fortune. It also increased automatically 1-3% every year. You think these corporate school will not hike tuition offer the voucher price? Please. Either you come up with an extra grand or Johnny gets expelled. And we think inequality is bad now. The schools will be “exam” schools with the exception of legacies and donors (just like SCOTUS did for their dipshits to got to ivies - white affirmative action).
And all they had to do was switch a channel for a differing view or read the times or used to be the post but they are like millions of Americans who simply didn’t want the effort and now we are losing due processes, the president is openly taking bribes and a whack a doodle is going to get us all killed with disease. But I’m sure fox and friends cracked em up and those bright primary colors are very mesmerizing. I’m sure they even watched “Grab me a shot with my pint Pete
Yes. It took a long time to get here and will likely take a long time to dig our way clear from here. In my case, I had not understood that I was in a bubble until it popped on election day. It is hard to listen to Fox for me because the fanaticism, fallacies, and falsehoods repugn me.
THE problem since 1996. My bff was a smart, productive woman who became a Fox nut.
They signed up and we pay the consequences. :(
Students, Scholars & Rumseya & other persons pay the consequences:
TODAY, 5/6/25 for 90 minutes starting at 10 AM Eastern, a three (3) Judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals heard an argument on whether to bring Tuft's student RUMSEYA OZTURK back to Vermont among several other major appellate issues.
But, at the Tuesday Morning Appellate Hearing -- SURPRISE!
While we were all sleeping the Appellate Panel allowed for a consolidated hearing, 1st Rumseya's case then immediately after the panel heard on another case the MOHSHEN MAHDAWI matter:
Trump2.0 wants MOHSHEN back in jail! There's a latin phrase for its but, SPOILER ALERT, not a chance in Hell - no way!
*****
DEEPER: Rumseya's counsel had filed a habeas action in Massachusetts where Kahnbabi thought her client was detained in MA. But, Rumseya was swiftly moved out-of-state by Trump 2.0 between 5 PM and 4 AM six weeks ago & jailed in Basile Louisiana, U.S.A. It is difficult to have a'habeas" hearing when the"body" is hidden away in an obscure jail in north of Baton Rouge 2 1/2 hours by car.
Rumseya wrote an 'OP-ED' in a Tuft's school paper back in 2024. Regardless, all "persons" have the U.S. Constitutional right of due process as mandated the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's all PERSONS -- not limited only to "citizens" of the United State
Some of us here would really appreciate your identifying the 1/2 dozen you mentioned, but know that the work you've already done and reported here is deeply appreciated. Thank you.
Violation of Amendments 1 (freedom of the press), 4 (unreasonable search and seizure), Amendment 8 (cruel and unusual punishment), with several additional components of Amendment 5 (due process and right to counsel) are the ones that I can think of.
Just as accurate as me Sheriff. What ... you carry and a pocket U.S. Constitution? : ---)
Thanks, Ally. Your comments raise my I.Q. by two points, at least. 😉
Certainly Hendrik. Last UPDATED May 5 at 4 PM Pacific:
* MOHSHEN MAHDAWI was snatched at his U.S. citizenship appointment AFTER he signed a pledge to defend the U.S. Constitution. Mohshen was RELEASED Friday, 5/2, outside the Vermont courthouse where addressing Trump 2.0 overt actors and said: "I'm not afraid of You".
*****
*. CONFIRMED: Rumseya's Appellate Hearing Starts: 5/6 10 AM Eastern!
Per the ACLU she will "urge the Panel to not delay [No Delay]
her return to Vermont".
A three (3) Judge Panel of the 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals this coming TUESDAY May 6, 2025 [at 10AM] on whether to bring her back to Vermont among other federal legal issues such as IMO cruel & unusual punishment.
RUMSEYA is represented by attorney Mahsa Khanbabi, counsel who filed a habeas action in Massachusetts where she thought her client was detained before she was shipped to an isolated Prison in Louisiana.
Rumseya did write an editorial in a Tuft's school paper back in 2024. Regardless, all "persons" have the U.S. Constitutional right of due process as mandated the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's all PERSONS not limited to "citizens".
*****
*. DR. BANDAR KHAN SURI; Dr. Suri was falsely told his visa was being revoked. The Georgetown University scholar filed Khan Siri vs Trump et al on 3/20/25 represented by the ACLU of Virginia.
Judge Patricia Giles promptly ordered that Dr. Suri could NOT be moved from the United States while Dr. Siri's case was pending. The heart of this case is freedom of speech of a well known Georgetown academic scholar.
Dr. Suri's spouse, MAPEZE SALEH was holding up a sign outside the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virgina in Alexandria, VA on May Day last Thursday in support of her husband:
"Release Dr. Khan Suri"
* MOHSHEN MAHDAWI was snatched at his U.S. citizenship appointment AFTER he signed a pledge to defend the U.S. Constitution. Mohshen was released Friday 5/2 outside the Vermont courthouse where addressing Trump 2.0 overt actors and said: "I'm not afraid of You".
*. MAHMOUD KHALIL Khalil was taken to the prison in Jena Louisiana which per Alexander Simon at SLATE is a 2 hour 45 minute drive from Baton Rouge, has 3 stop 🔴🔴🔴 lights in a town that is in a galaxy faraway. Officially, this hidden jail is named: "Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center".
GOOD NEWS: Khalil was released by the Judge at the 1st Court hearing. Per Andalou Ajansi Khalil has petitioned the Court to expand public access including audio of any court hearings.
H/t ACLU Disclosure: I am a sustaining ACLU member.
You two guys (any gal that can haul a tuba around gets lovingly referred to as same!) are restoring my faith in this vehicle. As Ally knows when she looks at her own Substack I was reduced to something of a lamentation yesterday and today! These buoy me back up!
Using the defense of anti-Semitism to betray Judaism. Horwellian. (E.g., Leviticus 19:33-34; "33 ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as [a]one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
As I’ve noted elsewhere in reply to a post on the good professor’s “letter”, I am a strong supporter of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech. If Rumseya’s arrest isn’t a blatant example of exactly what the Founders wanted to prevent (my disagreements with that letter notwithstanding), I don’t know what would be.
Unfortunately, we will be held to account as a society. I can say, "Hey, lookie at me, l am good guy!" That will not work with people in other countries -- at least for two or three generations, after we are long gone.
That's excellent news if you're a corporation or a racist or a mysogynist or enjoy the cannibalization of the country.
I really don't think the majority of the 39-40% of Americans who form the core of MAGA support have been manipulated. I think it's better to simply admit that these people are also part of who America is as a population. Unlike in the past, or in other countries like Russia, it's (still) infinitely harder for Trump, RFK Jr., etc., to control the flow of information. Voters don't have to watch Fox "News." Their audience does so because it confirms their preexisting beliefs.
The 39-40% who support this are simply bad people who think this insanity is a good thing, or they simply don't care because it doesn't personally impact them. (Which IMO makes them bad people too.) They're exemplified by the Republican Senator who told a voter who lost their federal job "you probably deserved it." People who think like that Republican see themselves as the only "real" Americans.
As for RFK Jr.'s beliefs, ultimately it is eugenics, which I must point out didn't enter the realm of legal public policy in Nazi Germany. Eugenics first gained popularity and then became public policy here, thanks to SCOTUS's decision in Buck v. Bell (1927.) The theory gained more popularity here in the US despite being first proposed by Charles Darwin's cousin Francis Galton.
RFK Jr hasn’t endorsed eugenics AFAIK. But he has endorsed numerous other crackpot ideas as noted in the article.
He hasn't admitted belief in eugenics, but that's quite irrelevent. After what SCOTUS, and later the Nazis did, no politician who isn't actually a publicly avowed Nazi is going to admit supporting eugenics. But if you examine what RFK Jr. is known to believe, logically it doesn't take much of a leap to get from that to eugenics.
As Dr. Richardson wrote, RFK Jr. believes that "infections don't pose a risk to healthy people who have optimized their immune system." He thinks the kids who have died from measles were malnourished, and therefore their immune systems weren't optimized and therefore unable to protect them from measles. Believing this, and believing in such abhorrant nonsense as Oliver Wendell Holmes' "three generations of imbicles is enough" and Hitler's "useless eaters" really is a distinction without a difference.
Eugenics was obsessed with breeding. Sterilizing the mentally backward, for example.
Read your history of the Eugenic movement in the United Ststes Histiry it was a yucky thing abd even as previously noted judges and all got into it . Some say both Margret Sanger and Helen Keller but I don’t have the primary forces. It does highlight the fear in our nation of others and our Histiry with indigenous folks just beyond tragic because of fear. Somehow this fear reigned on over abd underground abd came through after the Civil War either the oppression of freed slaves not to mention Asian immigrants, Hispanic immigrants and any other type of person. Angel Island is worth a look into . But the Germans before NAZIism took over studied the American South and how it keep
human beings suppressed. And part of why Paul Robeson became a communist because as my mother said there was at the time was no other tool other than the church. And as Irish folks know abd others sometimes the church plays footsies under the controlling power dinner table.
I’m Canadian so it was a bit different here. The emphasis here was on sterilizing the backward not so much on race.
What does “abd” mean?
Chris and and Frau Katze, you two bring up an interesting ambiguity. Kennedy may, in good faith, not believe in eugenics.
Nevertheless, if the consequences of his beliefs coincide with those of eugenic ideology, ¿what really is the difference?
Once Kennedy knows the consequences and persists in the "good faith" belief, ¿does he not become a eugenics promoter."
The manipulation is so strong. I had refrained from visiting FB for several months until yesterday. When I signed on I saw a post from an old family friend. He had posted a picture of an article from our local newspaper which reported on the courts blocking deportation without due process. He asked how can the courts block this. He stated he had taken civics in college and wrote they had violated their due process when they entered the country illegally. I didn't read the replies. I had already spent too much time on a site that has as its primary purposes to keep me fearful and engaging with its advertisers. HIS faithful can justify anything HE says. Many agree that 2-3 million court appearances is too slow a process for their desire to rid the county of the others.
He forgot to read the parts about how many of the people deported without due process had entered the country legally. Or he chose to ignore them.
Blaming it on manipulation lets them off the hook for their odious views. They watch rightwing propaganda sources because that’s what they want to hear. As Tucker Carson correctly pointed out, if Fox doesn’t give them what they want, they’ll stop watching Fox and start watching something even worse.
Susan, I think it has become strikingly clear that the tRump administration continues to demonstrate the abiding truth that conflict of interests, most usually in the form of acquiring money and usually accompanied by the acquisition of power and notoriety is the sub rosa driver behind the entire administration and all in it. The scientific and medical communities have recognized this corrosive effect of conflicts of interest for well over a century and has taken many steps to root these out. Corrective measures have included requirement of disclosure statements of sources of financial support, naming all who collaborated in the study and retractions of published studies later found to have been unduly influenced or found to have altered their data. We see this at work i "New York Times global health reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr. noted that both Geier and Kennedy have made significant money thanks to their anti-vax stands as they monetize alleged treatments and sue pharmaceutical companies.” And RFK Jr has certainly traded on the notoriety of his name by further taking dramatic stances which go against all current scientific knowledge. In the end, the tRump administration (and I use the term very loosely) has been a living breathing, even screaming demonstration of a vast collection of people with dramatic conflicts of interest who seek money and power by means of the controversial nature of the ideas which propel them into the news on a daily basis. It all further confirms that with the Citizens United decision wherein money was declared the same as “Free Speech,” the fundamental necessity for there to be a legal requirement for disclosure of financial sources to political campaigns at the very least. Our republic has been captured by the interests of the capitalists let alone the fascists and/or oligarchs without the necessary balance by interests of “we the people,” interests formerly served by legislation and regulation.
As I was finishing reading HCR, I was thinking about what to write. You wrote exactly what I was intending to say. If this maniac stays in power for four more years, God knows to what extent our decline will be.
Or improvement if you have an open mind and stop hating
.... and informed
“ reshaping the nation’s medical system around his own dedication to a theory that was outdated well over a century ago.” Making us great again?
@Susan. Trump is a fool This is another opportunity. Ask every Congressional Republican whether Trump and they are bound by the Constitution. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
It's not Kennedy's fault. It's the Senate that confirmed him. Put the blame on the right place.
Not a confederacy but a conspiracy of dunces. Fifty years ago. Nixon fell; so will Trump.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7324841091336183808/
Kennedy does make a point that diet is important; but as an active complement to vaccines, not as a substitute for them. Impeach and remove Trump, Vance and the rest of team treason.
Actually Ned, he's claimed that chicken soup, cod liver oil and vitamin A are all cures for measles independently of vaccines.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/rfk-jr-claims-measles-treated-vitamin-linked-poor/story?id=119713193
What he's doing now is commissioning research that will provide support for his crazy views on autism and infectious disease. He's aided in this by two anti-lockdown and vaccine mandate sceptics, Jay Bhattacharya and Marty Makary. This is happening while there is a measles outbreak going on (the largest in 30 years) and a looming pandemic in the continued spread of the avian influenza which has already spread to around 200 mammalian species and might be becoming endemic in US dairy herds. It has already affected 70 humans and the risk of mutation to increase its pathogenicity to human transmission is very real. These risks are being ignored by Kennedy. His proposed transformation of the HHS to a department he's calling the AHA (the Administration for a Healthy America) will entail a loss a fifth of its workforce and place much of the future of Americans' health on their ability to embrace the dubious claims of the wellness industry. It's completely nuts.
Why is he having access to all the money he needs to prove things that have been proved long ago? It's this the best they can do with their cruel "efficiency programs"
He's using public funds to promote his own ideas of 'wellness' and disease- prevention and as secretary of state for health he's entitled to do so. The idea of him being nominally in charge of a response to an epidemic is frankly terrifying, but arguably no more so than the idea of Trump being president again in such circumstances.
Don’t forget there is another group of people complicit in the measles outbreak—ignorant parents, who refuse to get their children vaccinated. Until Covid, this wasn’t a problem. What’s the common factor here? Trump.
To clarify, Donald isn't opposed to modern medicine. In fact, he's a bit of a germaphobe. His issue with the medical community's response to Covid was that it was paralyzing the U.S. economy, which generates revenue for him. He was anxious to get the U.S. "back to work" so his personal fortune could be boosted.
He didn't give a rat's hat about RFK Jr.'s ideas about health or even whether he was qualified for the position. It was strictly quid pro quo. RFK Jr. asked for the post in exchange for his support of Donald's election and he gave it to him.
The vax issue was there prior to Covid. It got juiced by Covid. Lots of suburban moms were falling for “too many shots at once” propaganda and were trying to rearrange the cdc shot schedule to their liking. Some pediatrician accommodated this and some said “find another doctor.”
In my case, as I was sixty-six at the time, the vaccine for COVID was a non-issue for me. Had I been younger, however, I would have been more hesitant; I suspect I would have taken the vaccine but with a bit more anxiety. 🫣
Why? 🤔
Because, per my limited frame of reference, I had 'known' that drugs go through a long approval process and the COVID vaccines took a year or two from start to finish. 😳
That implied balancing risk and rewards, at least for me. ⚖️
What I did not know until later was that the base, for lack of a better term with my limited knowledge, of the vaccine had been in place for a long time and that the eventual COVID vaccine was a modification of that base. 💡
Of course, my recall may wrong, or I may have been in error all along. Please feel free to straighten me out.🤝🏻
Ultimately, that is where the locus of responsibility lies: with parents, more specifically with individual citizens.
Anti-vaccine sentiments are as old as vaccines themselves -
https://theconversation.com/covid-19-anti-vaxxers-use-the-same-arguments-from-135-years-ago-145592
What's different now is that there is a worldwide movement against the routine use of vaccines that has mushroomed on social media based on misinformation spread by a relatively small number of people which has caused hesitancy rather than informed scepticism about vaccines. It has been reinforced by some really bad practices by big pharma. For example see Ben Goldacre's book 'Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients'-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/17/covid-misinformation-conspiracy-theories-ccdh-report
I don't think Trump is an anti-vaxxer although he has made several misleading statements about vaccines and his appointment of anti-vaxxers Robert Kennedy and Marty Makary is obviously troubling. He did in fact get vaccinated during the pandemic and has apparently subsequently received boosters.
Thanks for that Guardian article, Russell, about the dirty dozen behind COVIDious misinformation: "Among the dozen are physicians that have embraced pseudoscience, a bodybuilder, a wellness blogger, a religious zealot, and, most notably Robert F Kennedy Jr . . . ." 😵😳💔🤬🤢
Naomi Klein delves into the wellness industry and its curious association with the far right in her book 'Doppleganger: A trip into the Mirror World'. It's a rabbit hole that I'm happy she went down rather than me.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/15/naomi-klein-interview-wellness-culture-far-right
Vit A can be toxic, can it not.
Yes, because it's fat-soluble and can't be excreted but apparently it can be taken safely in quite large doses after a hearty meal of rotting bear carcass with the only adverse side-effect the possibility of infection with a brain worm parasite. Nothing to worry about really.
🤣🤣🤣
Love this although bear carcasses are not on my menu
If this goes on for much longer they may soon be.
Would be tough for a vegetarian. Lordy..
Yes, doctors in Texas have been treating patients for vitamin A toxicity.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/25/health/measles-kennedy-vitamin-a.html?unlocked_article_code=1.E08.O2dt.xMv_Z0Httzns&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Yes. To the liver
Helen, a lot of maggots might say:‘liver? What liver? We eat liver at least once a week!’
🤣so I won’t cry!
Thank you Russell. Every summer day of 1953-54, my father would give me and my sister a teaspoon of cod liver oil. It was later that I found out he did this for polio prevention. The only way he knew how. When the polio vaccine came out, we all lined up in the school gymnasium. I never saw cod liver oil again (thankfully). The vaccine was a godsend. I knew too many families affected by polio before the vaccine. Food quality and dietary habits were much better in those days. We ate a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. My mother cooked all our food from scratch (except bread). Our guts (hence immune system) were likely in better shape than today. I still caught measles, chicken pox, mumps, and german measles in my childhood. We are today, as a whole, a sick people. The majority of our diet is overly processed. Our guts are sick, but I doubt Kennedy is going to be able to change our food system, though it does need to change and In some respects, I do hope he can move the needle. He will be up against big ag ($$$$$) and he will not win. My guess is he will be canned when he tries to tell big ag what to do.
Eileen, I'd never seen anything in the journals about cod liver oil or vitamin D for prevention of polio. I know that more recently we've had unsupported claims about the benefits of Omega-3 supplements.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jun/05/bad-science-omega3-fish-oil
You're right about vaccines and about how although we're living longer we're also living less well. One academic related this phenomenon to the story of Tithonus, a Trojan prince who was the beloved of Eos, goddess of the dawn. She pleaded with Zeus, her father, to make Tithonus immortal but she forgot to ask him to also give him eternal youth. He became gradually more and more infirm until he was loathsome to behold (in some versions of the story he turned into a cicada, an insect renowned for its periodical life cycles presumably suggesting eternal renewal). We do not live well, for the reasons you mention, and Kennedy is right about this (and he's right about very few things concerning health). You are also right about the risks of consuming too much highly processed food and the powerful food lobby.
I truly believe we WILL see the demise of the trump regime. AND they WILL do it to themselves... because what DECADES of history have shown us all...eventually EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES.
It will be his narcissism run amok that gets them all. Every day they go too far. Maybe the writers of Project 2025 did not take in the sleeping giant of the American electorate.
And yes. Everything he touches does die (Rick Wilson book by the title "Everything trump touches Dies.)
I wish the scumbag president touches traitor, incompetent and ignorant Little Marco and many more. ASAP please.
They were hoping to ram it through before that part awakened, as it’s easier to break things than to fix. The problem with their agenda is they’ve torn down the old (sort of… 200 hundred court cases have stopped the bleeding somewhat.) It’s going to be much harder for them to do the next part: rebuild society they way they want it.
None of this is a surprise. I read through Project 2025. This is a play by play, carefully orchestrated coup. It is actually decades in the making. What they did not factor in was the human equation. Because Americans have been relatively non-responsive and easily molded politically for decades the evil planners thought we would roll over. Obviously we haven't. The politicians and many of the educated and corporate class did. Not the people.
I have never been prouder to be an American.
I hope there is enough of us.
But he kills first, his cancer has spread
I agree. But how much damage will occur in the meantime and how long will it take to repair that damage if it can be repaired at all?
Every competent doctor recommends a healthy lifestyle. I'm sure RFK Jr could not really explain why a "bug" with a novel mutation can create pandemics. Vitamins? Good luck.
RFK is not entirely wrong on diet, micronutrients and healthy lifestyle, but he’s an idiot for dismissing vaccines. As an osteopath, I apply _both_ germ theory and terrain theory. It’s not a question of one vs the other. For example, research has shown that an adequate vitamin D rauses the efficacy of vaccines. If RFK is really interested in health, he should propagate this, but he’s not: he’s far more interested in furthering his own old talking points.
I'm super-grateful for your post because it speaks from a both/and perspective that is not black and white. I'm decisive about RFK's presence in government -- a tragic reality (and more strategic than I want to comprehend). Fortunately, we still have some freedom to choose, (at least a few privileged citizens who have not yet been deprived of constitutional rights).
Thank you, Joan.
Or been brainwashed.
Thank you for your kind words, Joan :) I must say that I know that some in the alternative/naturopathic field saw it as a chance that RFK was appointed to overview health care, because he is so adamant to further (some) naturopathic viewpoints; but I am not happy about it - not in the least. The man is at least as rusted solid into his own view points as are the skeptics who want none of the alternative methods, and in my opinion, he will do more harm to the possible integration of regular and naturopathic medicine than he will advance it, not in the least because of his lack of expertise... :/
I’m very pro some alternatives but he inspires zero trust and looks like a serious liability. Individual responsibility for health can be a blessing but needs a cultural context of reverence for science and a broad educational exposure at young ages to whole systems integration (biological, geophysical, vital foods and water). We don’t have wise leadership or infrastructure. Thank you for doing what you do and sharing your experience here.
You are absolutely right on all counts: yes, RFK is a serious liability and individual responsibility for health needs quite some education - and don't forget philosophy: much of regular medicine (and Western thinking in general) is still very much dominated by reductionist materialism: thinking in parts, either-or-thinking and thinking there's only matter in the Newtonian sense. This kind of thinking just doesn't work when dealing with living organisms, especially with human patients...
And those who do not slurp propaganda for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A toxic brew if ever there was one.
Exactly, an all-of-the-above approach within reasonable limits set by the state of knowledge and research. That intellectual inclusivity -- as an input to policy, not the policy itself -- makes wisdom a stronger possibility.
He is not entirely wrong, but his wrong certainly negates anything he gets right. My habits are well-chosen (later in life), and make use of all the knowledge I can muster. I attended Holistic Health Seminars in the 70’s which started a life long quest for alternatives without throwing out the basics. Even met Hans Selye and was blown away by him. I listened to RFKJ and decided he was 90% insane. Those who take his 10% are missing the message.
RFKJ has definitely thrown out the basics, and is doing much more harm than good in general, and also for alternatives in particular. Those who practice alternative or complementary medicine who think he is their hero are badly, badly mistaken... Just like his employer, RFKJ is only there for himself.
It is eugenics. Not everyone CAN be healthy due to things like genetic, autoimmune, cancer illnesses and let’s not forget POVERTY. They want these suboptimal humans to die.
And also not forgetting the 'food deserts' in less affluent urban areas which makes it harder for some communities to access healthier food. Fast food is also cheaper than fresh produce. McDonalds and other chains have spent decades searching for the perfect nexus of fat-sugar-salt and advertised 'super sizing' their meals as a good deal.
Lauriemcf, I had the opportunity to describe local "food deserts" to someone who was ranting about seeing someone buying high priced canned goods with an EBT card at a convenience store. I asked him where the nearest grocery store was to where the convenience store was, and he couldn't tell me. (This particular store is at least 3 miles from any larger grocery store). I think there are several others in the area that are farther than that, many of which have large apartment complexes that are a large percentage of lower income folks.
PLUS... crappy processed food, like boxes of mac and cheese, are a lot cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. It's such a shame.
Don't forget diet Becky. Have you read "Deep Nutrition" by Cate Shanahan? She goes into the science of how different foods, especially sugar and vegetable oil, affects the body chemistry down to your DNA.
I am a person of wavering commitment to my own diet; vitamins are easy and I am conscientious about those. When I eat crappy foods that taste good, however, I feel vaguely ill. The healthfulness of whatever I am eating shows up pretty quickly.
You describe my nutritional outlook nicely. I know what and how to eat properly. Have not eaten at McDonalds or Burger King in 20 years although I still eat out more frequently than I should. I share that "feel vaguely ill" sensation almost every time I eat those "crappy foods that taste good".
True! When I pass fast food places, they sure smell good but I remind myself how crappy I'm going to feel later...and I just drove by smiling that the smell didn't lure me in once again!
Nazi redux
Speaking of same, our government and Marco Rubio support Nazis.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the German intelligence agency designation of the far-right AfD party “tyranny in disguise,” after the agency classified AfD a “proven right-wing extremist organization.” https://www.nbcnews.com/world/germany/germany-hits-back-rubios-defense-far-right-afd-party-rcna204599
Please protest to Norman Braman, CANF,AIPAC and all Congressional Republicans.
Been clear since God was a baby. Chump has followed Mein Kampf from day one. And Goebbels ghost is smiling.
,,,,,,,,,,,sure does seem that way.
Whoa, J. L. and Russell,
I am not defending Kennedy or minimizing the destructiveness of his actions. I am saying that emphasizing fitness and diet is important ALONG WITH focussing on vaccines. The electorate and the Senate are getting what they signed up for. EDIT P.S., in any case, I appreciate the research and explanation.
Agree with you wholeheartedly, Ned. Kennedy is right for stating that diet, vitamins, and bodily exercise are important for a strong immune system. But he’s an idiot for dismissing vaccines as a good method for preventing infectious diseases. As an osteopath, I believe in BOTH germ theory and terrain theory. If the body is healthy and stocked up well with micronutrients, it can handle disease better and recuperate faster; plus: vaccines are more effective then, too.
Ned & Mike, we are repeatedly confronted by people, especially politicians who want to peddle this or that particular “solution” who seem incapable of accepting the idea of a BALANCE of forces or solutions or contributors. I suppose it arises from the need we all feel to simplify a very complex world to the point we can understand it.
Great comment, there, JohnM. I call it 'simplistification', which makes complicated policy questions easy to answer but the consequences of those answers hard.
Right you are, and I daresay it counts for (some) adherents of both regular AND naturopathic medicine...
And healthy people, especially children can get very very sick from diseases like measles.
Yes, they can. Being healthy is never a 100% guarantee of not getting sick. But malnourished and generally unhealthy people definitely have slimmer chances of getting through it in a good way.
And as a physician I’m sure you know that diet and exercise are much harder to “prescribe.” However society wide solutions to improve diets such as ending food deserts, encouraging community gardens, finding ways to allow food stamps to be used at farmers’ markets are all within our grasp.
Yes, and they are very important measures, too. But for this, you will need some compliance from patients, too. These methods will not satisfy the "I've-got-health-issues-so-you-gotta-give-me-a-pill-so-they-go-away"-clientele.
Nicely stated, Dutch Mike. Why not bring all the 'fire-power' at our disposal to bear on diseases.
The problem is that not only the stupid part of the electorate and the Senate are getting what they signed up for, The problem is that we are getting it too.
Absolutely, Ricardo; we are suffering through what others have signed up for. Collectively, we are enduring what we deserve.
Fitness and good diet do promote health but they CANNOT stop measles, which is extremely infectious.
Diet and environment are so important -- along with science-based medicine. How ironic then that this administration fires food inspectors and wipes out food regulations because - god forbid - Big Government. Same with environmental regulations. I recall when Michelle Obama planted the kitchen garden in an effort to get kids to know where food comes from, eat better and move more - and was excoriated by the right as supporting the "nanny state."
They just didn’t like anything she or Barack did, including breathe.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Kennedy is a clear and present danger to our country. Doctors must unite against him. Time for a health professionals march!
I almost died from a rare fungus infection a dozen years ago. When the fungus was finally isolated the medical team offered one (only ) available drug to mitigate the fungus. I will be in serious do-do if vaccinations become unavailable.
As it is I have been fighting pneumonia for a year now even with all the recommended vaccinations. I feel like they are working overtime to kill off some of our population while planning for a new white Christian nation.
Well, I am glad to read that you remain with us, Marj. I hope you and Becky are mid-reading the idea of eugenically culling the herd. I would be one of the first to go.
“Conspiracy of Dunces” — well done, Mr. McDoodle. Brilliant wordplay, and keen referencing.
A president who questions if he has an obey the constitution and says he really doesn’t know?! I read and heard him speak this earlier today. His constant exaggeration of everything with no evidence is hard to swallow.
Then, RFK Jr, who is ready to toss out the baby with the bath water, or ignore the water altogether.
May our protests get louder and larger. This is not what I expected from my senior years.
Indivisible has protests everywhere coming up on June 14 ( Day of Trump's upcoming birthday spectacle)...Theme of protest is: NO THRONES - NO CROWNS - NO KINGS... This is a chance to make a huge statement. Let's show him what crowd size really means!!!
But not on the route of his parade. That needs to show what a small crowd size means.
I signed a petition today urging Muriel Bowser, the Mayor of DC, to deny Trump the route he wants for his parade. Contact her--e-mail her, call her, text her, write to her using the USPS.
Excellent point... I wouldn't want to be anywhere that could give Trump any excuse at all to use his vengeful militia of Proud Boys!!!
We need just one of us in front of the charade, sorry, I mean parade, blocking it, at least for few seconds. That would steal the show as the courageous Chinese citizen did in Tiananmen Square.
We would probably end up in a prison in El Salvador!
He will only twist the crowds to be FOR him and not a protest, no matter what signs are carried. A better protest would be for everyone to stay home and be totally silent. Too bad his birthday corresponds to the anniversary of the Army.
I have heard that the Army is holding the parade to celebrate their anniversary. It's just coincidence that it's you-know-who's birthday
The US presidency is a job, not a coronation.
And the President is a public servant, who works for all of us.
Yeah, right. Not the scumbag we have now as "president"
Works ? For all??
Seriously????
This is the law. Not everyone follows the law. I would like to see an interviewer ask him if he understands that he is a public servant, who works for all of us.
He'd say, "I don't know. I leave that sort of thing to my brilliant lawyers. I don't know."
Did you ever think you would say that sentence in this lifetime?!# I think not...
Quite. Did you listen to Obama's message?
Which one? Leave ttracks with posts like this so others (like me) can find it.
Why can’t the army wait two weeks and celebrate on the Fourth of July when we can all celebrate?
Don’t pair Independence Day with the destroyer of our independence
Maybe there will be protests then as well. Protests matter in defeating authoritarianism. Check with the group Indivisible to see if they have protests listed for July 4th. I think it is a good suggestion... If we all can keep our energy up...
Fourth of July is a day when we can read the Declaration of Independence and its parallels with our current experiences: lack of due process, illegal deportations, excessive tariffs, and taxation without representation. On July Fourth, we can declare our clear intent not to follow the dictates of a mad wannabe king, Donny 2 Dolls. Gather with your fellow patriots and channel the spirit of our founding fathers.
What, and miss his birthday?
"This is not what I expected from my senior years." This is exactly how I felt when Trump won the election. I don't want to leave this kind of country/world to my grandchildren and I don't want to spend these last years of my life feeling angry and powerless.
So many of my friends are thinking the same thing about our senior years. My grandson will graduate from college on Friday, May 9th with his BFA in Interior Architectural Design. He has a great job lined up and will move to a new state. I want him to have the best possible life! I want the same for my granddaughter who has just finished her freshman year of college. I want the same for everyone’s children and grandchildren.
They need to move to a new country. Not just a new state. Seriously.
And wanting for your grandchildren _as well as everyone’s children and grandchildren_ makes your views the polar opposite of most of these corrupt individuals in DC. Hell, I don't even have children and want only the best for us all. Thank you Vicki!
I don't have children or grandchildren but I will gladly fight for a better life for yours! Keep the faith...
You read my mind
"I don't know" is his reflex response. I listened to this today. Half an hour may be longer than the MAGA concentration span, but even some of it must get past the blood-brain barrier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsEF5K0OUI
(Let me be very clear, (as this speaker used to say), it's not DJT, and I urge you to listen).
We can list his most frequently used words and phrases, including his exaggerations (and non words he makes up)
His ignorance is front and center, uneducated. Why he likes the uneducated. Why the educated fawn and bow is proof that you can’t educate stupid.
Nice contrast with the language used in the link I sent (hint: it's not Trump)
An understatement!!
Watched a YouTube this evening where AI was asked to evaluate rumpy's first 100 days then predict what the next 100 might bring. Of course, it didn't have today's Constitution questions to add to its evaluation but it certainly was interesting.
“They” will only get the revised FOX version.
So you don't think Fox will run Obama's speech? (s)
I expect they’ll cherry pick it & show only parts.
Sorry Anne-Louise, I got only half of your name right on a recent replay. It's my "under control" dyslexia acting up before my first coffee .:(
I can appreciate the words but am very wary due to the disclaimer included in the video titled "HE QUESTIONS TRUMP’S MENTAL ACUITY – FULL BARACK OBAMA SPEECH ON LEADERSHIP & DEMOCRATIC VALUES"
"...DISCLAIMER:
This video contains a fictional speech written in the oratorical style of former President Barack Obama. It is not an official statement nor is it affiliated with Barack Obama or any political entity. The content is designed to educate, inspire, and promote civic awareness through a creative format reflecting presidential communication values..."
There are more of these appearing now but no matter how sensible they sound they remind me of Bill Whittle's "Virtual President" State of the Union speeches some in my old party fell for.
If they are making it up, I prefer it being more obvious such as Steve Allen's Meeting of the Minds.
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKRxZSOqAYw
"...Featuring: Teddy Roosevelt, Cleopatra, Thomas Paine, Saint Thomas Aquinas..."
Not a single word wasted. And this is the guy that Mitch McConnell wanted to make a "one term president". What an aberration. Thanks Marie-Louise :)
:) :)
There’s a disclaimer in the more info section saying that this is a fictional speech written in Obama’s style and produced with digitally altered content. It’s a good speech but I think it’s important to note that it’s not actually Obama.
Just listened to this speech by Barack Obama. Thank you for posting.
"This is not what I expected from my senior years." Exactly! As I too often have to say "how many years do they think we have left?!" It's getting a lot shorter and a lot more difficult to deal with. I had surgery recently to treat a benign issue. Those hours before, during, and after were the most peaceful I've had in a decade as trump and the evil cabal went away!
I am hoping (yes I know hope is not a strategy) that the ultimate reaction to current events is a Congress determined to enact new laws that address every one of the despicable actions this administration is taking. It starts 11/2026.
Heather, Trumps: “And the second time, I run the country and the world.” should be followed with "into the ground". He's doing this on all fronts; economic, health, social, education, international relations.. everything. A more incompetent regime would be hard to fine.
Saw someone recently refer to Trump as, “President Wrecktum”. Very descriptive.
Now that's funny!!!
Who was it who promoted a candidate for the Supreme Court on the basis that the Court should have some C students as members to represent the C students in the country? The idea that knowledge and expertise aren't necessary isn't new, but I think that we'd all prefer to be operated on by a surgeon who was the top of her class over one who was a C student.
I think you’re referring to the time Nebraska Senator Hruska responded to a comment that a Nixon Supreme Court nominee was mediocre that maybe it was time mediocrity was represented on the Court.
Doesn’t Kavanaugh fulfill that role? Along with the typical “frat boy” attitude and obvious misogyny on display during his confirmation hearings he didn’t strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed.
Mission accomplished
Thank you. I knew someone would supply the details that I couldn't remember.
Incompetence may save us.
But they are competent at destruction. Like the bull in the china shop,
Easier to wreck than to build,
especially to build something good and useful and needed.
Sam Rayburn knew that decades ago. This crew is like a herd of bulls
David, it might sound like a non sense comment but you are quite right. Could you imagine a cruel and authoritarian government as the one who got but competent and effective?
I wonder if RFK Jr would take his bacterial pneumonia, infected heart valve, or cellulitis without antibiotics. He could show everyone how it is done using the strength of his immune system.
Our big hope for our bedbound son who has a postviral illness, was pretty much dashed by the elimination of the long haul covid research at NIH.. he and millions of others like him will now prob be sentenced to life in their beds with their old parents caring for them ( if they are lucky) or just die in the street.. people we know who voted for trump wonder why we have lost our respect and trust for them, and just cannot understand why the lifelong friendship is over.
Please don't lose hope- it is terrible that the research has stopped in the US- but it carries on in many other countries around the world.
It's worse than sad.
I'm another MEep who has a lot more fear for my life, and still very little agency, since Nov. The stress and fear and worsening illness already happening in our community are palpable. I used to work in public health. It's a dagger in each side, watching MEeps decline and watching governmental public health decline, too.
No mystery in my family. I told them
Today in Japan is already May 5. National holiday. Children’s Day.
All across the country you can see colorful sock banners flying on tall poles – representing the strength of children which parents hope for, as in carp in their strength swimming upstream.
Here in a small river valley town in the mountains of Kyushu, where I live, on an adjacent valley hillside there’s an annual Buddhist ceremony for peace, commemorating the May 5, 1945, downing of an American B-29 bomber. A 19-year-old Japanese suicide pilot in a small plane rammed it, forcing all the U.S. crew to parachute. Half the U.S. airmen died at the hands of farmers trained in bamboo spears. The other half were taken to a university medical center, where they died at the hands of a physician doing live experiments on them. The plane’s captain lived, having been taken to Tokyo, then home to America after the war.
Buddhist prayers. And I’m still in Timothy Snyder’s 2018 “The Road to Unfreedom,” where p. 219 has him referring to “Donald Trump, successful businessman" as "not a person. It was a fantasy born in the strange climate where . . . unfettered capitalism . . . met the rising hydrocarbon fumes of . . . Russian . . . kleptocratic authoritarianism.”
We have a lot to learn from Japan in transcending a death spiral of dictatorship into a great power democracy
You said a lot here, Ned.
Cultures, peoples, nations can -- and do -- change.
None of us (I think) could have imagined the descent America has experienced for its cult criminal.
How many in MacArthur's occupation authority might have expected Japan so incredibly positively to embrace so well even more FDR-style reforms than the U.S. itself could embrace?
Agreed. Evil in the past is not to be disregarded but used to build a better present and more beneficent future.
Much of what was accomplished was b/c they were forbidden to rearm after losing the war. Imagine the US relinquishing it's industrial armament complex! Ike was right.
Quite right, Ned
The four noble truths of Buddhism inform us that Desire and Ignorance are the source of all suffering.
If trump doesn't know anything about our constitution, who would expect him to know anything about the four noble truths of Buddhism?
Louis Pasteur is weeping.
So is Ignaz Semmelweis, who died proving that he was right.
Your mention of Ignaz Semmelweis led me to read about his scientific investigation.
Also, the NPR website is asking for donations in the wake of being de-funded by FEDGOV.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/12/375663920/the-doctor-who-championed-hand-washing-and-saved-women-s-lives
They are begging experts but I can’t give more. The destruction has been going on for decades. Who didn’t know this was coming.
Semmelweis’ observation and subsequent interventions saved hundreds of women from post-childbirth sepsis. The irony is he died in a mental hospital.
The greater irony is that he died of sepsis from a cut on the hand.
Florence Nightingale who served in the Crimean war as a nurse saw the rampant wound infections and without a microscope deduced the hands and instruments were full of organisms. After instituting handwashing and cleaning of instruments the death rate fell from 42% to 2%. So might that be some evidence that these unseen organisms such as bacteria and viruses are the major cause of illness and death RFK Jr?? Sometimes it really doesn’t matter how healthy you are… those bugs can still get you. And if there are preventative vaccines or pharmaceutical treatments we can thank science for saving our children and our lives. Happy Nurse’s Day to my fellow Nurses. And Happy Birthday dear Florence!
It has always been interesting to me that within a few years and one large ocean of each other, Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton did so much, for so many, in the very jaws of two horrific wars. Both the Lady of the Lamp and the Angel of the Battlefield were well known and admired, yet still underrated.
When the bugs get a new weapon, we are not well prepared for it. Nor are newly minted humans. Look at the death rates of kids in the 1800s.
Nightingale spent much of the last 50 years of her life bedridden. It's unclear what her condition was, but there's a good argument that it was a remitting-recurring version of a post acute infection syndrome, like ME/CFS or today's Long Covid.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
Warrior!
Hehe thanks! Doing what I can, and I love spreadsheets 😅
¡Hear, here!
Thank you, Megan.
You’re welcome! Thanks for using your voice right now!
I wonder why this isn't downloadable. Regardless, thanks for sharing!!!
I wonder if it’s because it’s a view only. If you try to “print” then see if you have a printer listed as “print as PDF”
Or “make a copy” but just know I’m adding things as I think of them or things are recommended.
and use family or friend addresses in other states.... or zillow addresses so your message goes thru.
Yeah I didn’t want to use a random person’s house address just in case we’re ever looking at repercussions for our voices - so that’s why I listed a rep’s in state office address for every state (or district for House reps) and I use their own office addresses when I email ☺️ - there’s a note on the spreadsheet in a couple places saying that’s an option
I really can't comprehend the willingness of parents to risk their children's health and lives by not vaccinating them. A little bit of research would show them how young children routinely died of illnesses like diarrhea, measles, TB, pneumonia, and others before there were vaccines and treatment available.
The embrace of ignorance and fascism - this could be fatal to all of us. I hope everyone will get active with a democracy group near you. If there isn't one, start one. Indivisible.org can help. Come together with like-minded people to build our democracy community.
I'm old enough to recall when "polio" was a big deal. People must be taking their vitamins.
Anyway, I always felt better prepared with each vaccination. Hit me with your best shots.
My high school gymnastics coach had polio as a child. It was a miracle he lived. I graduated high school in 1985.
Ditto.
Yes, I remember how our parents feared polio.
We certainly don't need any more snake oil salesmen.
Kennedy is Trump's Lysenko. Remember what happened to science under Stalin? Trump and his colleagues are dangerous and must be removed.
And it's urgent.
Trump did not place his hand on the Bible because he knew full well he was not going to uphold the Constitution
I doubt very much that trump has any belief in the Bible- but I am also quite sure that like most dictators he is VERY superstitious.
Had no intention to
As it would do any difference Lesley. ;)
We have a Secretary who has no concept of herd immunity. This puts even those who are vaccinated in peril.
The vaccine for measles is about 97% effective. Those who are more at risk are the immunocompromised.
Heather, I see you got a lil’ statement about your “favorite” president, Garfield into tonight’s column. It is very telling that RFK, Jr. is going after the many pharmaceutical industries and the scientists who have proven their drugs or vaccines efficacies. Here, trump is generously rewarding corporation’s CEOs with tax breaks but Bobby is ignoring facts and credible scientific data that save our lives. He is touting that clean water and fresh air cure all ills. Well, that’s nice. Where are we going to get our water and air from when it’s been polluted by industrial companies, such as oil refineries,chemical manufacturing, and agriculture? The fossil fuel companies are the biggest criminals that cause climate change to the tune of 90% of our CO2 emissions. Keep protesting!!
Bobby Jr, your Dad would be ashamed of you.
I think it can be argued that something happened to Bobby Jr. in the aftermath of his father's death (if not before). His parents had 11 children, and no matter how much wealth a family has, I think it can be argued that it's difficult to pay proper attention to that many kids. His sister Kerry just offered a warning, as did his cousin, Caroline, before her. But he brought a lot of followers to the Trump fold, not to mention a lot of big donors.Trump's behavior while he was infected with Covid was to demonstrate that was no big deal for a guy like him, so he spread it around everyone who was charged with protecting him. Now our whole government is toxic.
I don't know why I'm telling you all this, but I married a Catholic girl, who was one of five. When we were dating, she said that she wanted to have seven children. I was one of three boys, and sincerely offered that maybe five children would be better. We ended up deciding that our two was all that we could afford to raise properly. It's been a happy struggle and we are far from being rich. We are still together after 46 years, and I know I haven't been the easiest man to live with. We are extremely proud of our two, and also of our two grandsons. As it has turned out so far, they all live very close to us. However life turns out, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. Don't tell my wife I said that 😉
1970 in Washington, DC., I met a guy who had just returned from being in Vietnam as I was participating in moratoriums against the Vietnam War. He was raised Irish Catholic in CA and I was raised Jewish by Holocaust victims, in a Southern Baptist town. That was 55 years ago. We will be married 49 years in June. He penned a moniker for our daughters as “JIrish”. So, I get what you’re saying.
Congratulations to you. And I get what you're saying. Two months after I met that angel of a lady I proposed and she said yes. Four months after that we got married. I heard that some family members were taking bets that our marriage wouldn't last six months. Sometimes you just know. We knew. Oh, and about the Irish: I was told most of my life I was told that I was Irish but my wife and I took one of those ancestry DNA tests a few years ago. It turns out that I'm mostly English with maybe 10% Irish. But my wife is at least 75% Irish, traced directly to Ulster.
Kennedy would be run out of town on a rail if it were not a fact that the general public is not educated in how to do critical thinking. They are apparently not educated in how to be responsible citizens either. This is not limited to a particular social or ethnic, or racial, or gender classification. We get what we deserve, and maybe we are learning from that, I hope.
Actually, I wish his family would somehow be able to slip him a “mickey” but they’ve disowned him, rightfully so.
I'm with you, Marlene. One can only hope that one of his relatives will take him out to the middle of the lake, ala Fredo Corleone, and then.......
They won’t go that far. Maybe kidnap him though and put him in a mental institution not in the US.
how do we help our young folks distinguish truth from fiction... i do a lot of shows in teh schools and am thinking to do a game show style assembly... teaching and rewarding how to tell facts from lies...any suggestions how to discern in a fun way?
Easy, foosbeal.
Let teachers read good books and discuss them in class. Books that raise age-appropriate themes where telling truths from lies is key.
Novels. Memoirs. Biographies. Histories. Essay collections.
Teachers could do this if they weren't all enslaved to the testing machinery.
I hope we can get back to the future soon. This 19th century crap is intolerable.
He should be rounded up and taken off the streets permanently. He’s out of his damned mind. His backstory is that of someone who has needed professional help since adolescence.