Category: Uncategorized

A few days ago I read a piece in Epoch Health that introduced me to a new acronym … GRAS, which stands for Generally Regarded As Safe. If a substance is GRAS, it means that it underwent a less rigorous approval process by the FDA than products approved as food additives. While the FDA sets an allowable limit for food additives, it does not set one for GRAS substances.
As most of you are aware, RFKJr has been nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Trump administration.
“Americans are being poisoned,” former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated throughout his campaign. He linked the nation’s poor diet to rising health care costs for chronic diseases and shorter lifespans.
(Americans have a life expectancy that is five years shorter than other developed nations and that may be because 50 to 70 percent of the American diet is ultra-processed foods—the highest consumption rate in the developed world. Many of the food additives and ingredients used in the United States are already restricted or banned in Europe.)
Kennedy has primarily scrutinized several key food ingredients, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), seed oils, and food dye.

During his campaign, Kennedy repeatedly emphasized the risks of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the most common sweetener in American processed foods.
HFCS is a cheaper ingredient than sugar. Ultra processed food makers adopted HFCS rapidly in the late 20th century. Between 1970 to 1990s, HFCS consumption increased by more than 1,000 percent, the greatest change in the American diet over that time. This increase coincided with the emergence and rise of obesity in the 1980s.
HFCS is currently approved by the FDA as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).

Kennedy has repeatedly criticized the wide consumption of processed vegetable oils, also called “seed oils.”
During his campaign, he said that seed oils are everywhere and are the most common ingredient in the processed foods that make up the American diet.
Seed oils also have a higher omega-6 fatty acid content than omega-3 fatty acids. Research has linked higher omega-6 fatty acid consumption with a whole host of chronic diseases like Type-2 diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and more.
Most seed oils, like canola, soybean, corn, and sunflower oils, are approved by the FDA as GRAS.

The GRAS system, introduced in 1958, is one of the most criticized aspects of American food regulation.
Food ingredients that are categorized as food additives undergo relatively rigorous premarket safety review, with the FDA setting an allowable limit.
But GRAS ingredients do not have to undergo this premarket review if the substance has a long history of use, or if there is a scientific consensus on safety.
In 1997, the FDA proposed a new regulation that allowed companies to self-determine GRAS status without submitting it for affirmation from the FDA. This change was gradually phased in and made official in 2016. As a result, companies no longer have to notify the FDA when they have a new GRAS substance.
This created a major loophole, with the primary one being that “there are unknown ingredients in the food supply that the FDA and the public doesn’t know about,” Jennifer Pomeranz, associate professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health, told The Epoch Times.
Congress may need to update the 1958 legislature to make it clear that the FDA should review GRAS applications, Pomeranz said.
I can hardly wait for RFKJr to get into office!
11/22/24

A multitude of things were just reported that only emphasize the ludicrousness of Biden’s border policy … or perhaps, better stated, his non-border policy.
From the NY Post:
“Tren de Aragua has already set up shop in these 16 states, Homeland Security warns”
The vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) has expanded its territory to at least 16 US states — an area that includes half of America’s population, The Post has learned.
Homeland Security officials last week were warned in an internal department intelligence memo about TdA’s growing presence across the country, most recently in Washington, DC, Virginia, Montana and Wyoming.
The gang already has footholds in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, according to the memo and previous reporting by The Post.
TdA members embedded themselves in the waves of millions of migrants who crossed the US-Mexico border during the Biden-Harris administration. With no information-sharing between the US and Venezuela to detect the gang members, they were easily released into the US, according to US Border Patrol sources.

Even a Biden’s Homeland Security memo admits that violent migrant crime is exploding. And the thugs’ “violent tendencies” have only grown, warns the memo.
Make no mistake: This is not anti-migrant scaremongering, as the left might claim; it comes from officials at Alejandro Mayorkas’ Department of Homeland Security, the very agency that’s not only failed to keep violent gangs out of the country but has virtually invited them in.

Also Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant and Tren de Aragua gang member accused of viciously murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, was found guilty of all charges in an Athens, Georgia courtroom Wednesday.
Judge Patrick Haggard handed down the guilty verdicts on a range of charges, returning to the bench just 19 minutes after the prosecution and defense presented their closing arguments.

President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar,” Tom Homan, declared the Biden administration “has blood on their hands” for the murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley who was killed by an illegal migrant earlier this year.

I could not agree more as what happened to Laken Riley was completely predictable!
11/21/24

Right now, our President is acting as if he wants to be remembered as the one who was ultimately responsible for starting WWWIII. He is a lame duck president, and his successor vows to end the war in Ukraine shortly after he enters office, so what does this man of dubious mental capabilities do? … he gives Ukraine permission to use American-made weapons to attack inside Russia.
Ukraine had long been seeking permission to use long-range weapons inside Russian territories, but Biden had remained opposed. Previously, Biden said he felt allowing U.S. missiles to be used on Russian territories could draw the United States and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
From Fox News:
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine on Tuesday stating that any attack on Russia supported by a country with nuclear power could be grounds for a nuclear response.
Putin signed the new policy on the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine and the day after President Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
The doctrine also states that Russia could respond to aggression against its ally Belarus with nuclear weapons, The Associated Press reported.
Though the doctrine doesn’t specify that Russia will definitely respond to such attacks with nuclear weapons, it does mention the “uncertainty of scale, time and place of possible use of nuclear deterrent” as key principles of deterrence.
It also contains a broader range of conditions that would trigger the use of nuclear weapons, noting that they could be used in response to an air attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft, drones and other flying vehicles.

Today’s news in what could be the next step towards disaster … the U.S Embassy in Kyiv shuts over ‘potential significant air attack.’ The warning comes one day after Russia said that Ukraine used U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike its territory.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” a statement published on the embassy’s official website stated.

Come on, Joe, really?? Trying to increase the possibility of expanding this war just before you are ready to step aside.
Even Jimmy Carter did not try to start a war! Does this make any sense?
11/20/24

Sometimes I read a story and think that someone is putting me on, or that it is from the satirical Babylon Bee. However, the following is neither, as it is a true story. It really happened!
Initially I read about it on Twitchy:
“Brittany Patterson was charged with reckless conduct after deputies said her 10-year-old son walked less than a mile to a store from their north Georgia home.”

From the NY Post:
Brittany Patterson, 41, of Mineral Bluff, Ga., was arrested by the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department on Oct. 30 after she left her son alone at home and he wandered less than a mile into town. The Fannin County Sheriff’s Department initially called the mom to alert her to the fact that her son, Soren, was unaccompanied in the town located near the North Carolina border.
“It’s not a super dangerous or even dangerous-at-all stretch of road,” Patterson told the outlet, referring to the street that leads from their rural home to the town of Mineral Bluff. “I wasn’t terrified for him or scared for his safety.”
Deputies drove Soren home and, hours later, returned to handcuff and arrest her in front of her family.
Patterson was booked on suspicion of reckless conduct and posted a $500 bond, according to the report.
The mom said she was angered and frustrated that her children had to witness her being handcuffed and booked by police.
The Sheriff’s Office has offered to drop charges if Patterson signs a form that outlines a safety plan for her kids, she and her lawyer say, according to NBC. Patterson has rejected an offer to drop the charges, arguing they are entirely unwarranted.

There are so many things wrong here that I don’t know where to start.

First: Mineral Bluff is a census-designated place and unincorporated community located in Fannin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its population was 223 as of the 2020 census.
Basically, it’s a nothin’ town located in the middle of nowhere.
This is not a crowded crime infested area.

Second: Ms. Patterson was not at home because she was taking another of her children to the doctor … not exactly what an uncaring mother would be doing. (Taking an otherwise well child into a waiting room full of sick children is hardly ever a good idea!)

Third: When asked what she was being arrested for, the haughty cop answered, “we don’t answer questions.” A polite question followed by a smart-ass answer!

Fourth: Handcuffs!! OMG! Really! I saw the video, and there was absolutely no sign of resistance by Brittany Patterson. And handcuffed in front of her children!

Fifth: “Reckless Conduct?” Reckless conduct is a phrase used to describe a type of behavior in negligence lawsuits. Reckless conduct is any behavior where the defendant knew or should have known that their actions would harm another person.
Is the perceived negligence because she did not lock her son in the house while she went to the doctor’s office? Is her “reckless conduct” that she did not command her ten-year old to stay in the house?
If Soren had walked one-hundred feet from his house would this also have been reckless? How about a block? What is the distance criteria for the term, “reckless conduct” to apply. If Soren was eleven, would the same perceived “reckless conduct” apply?
To me it seems totally arbitrary!

Sixth: The police apparently waited about five hours before going to the Patterson house to arrest her. Were the arresting officers acting because some “woke” uppity-up ordered them to do so? Is there some other background information that we do not know?

Seventh: “Drop the charges in exchange for placing a monitoring device on Soren’s phone!” Does this imply that Soren actually has a phone … perhaps a phone with which to call his mother if need be?

I hope that I will be able to follow-up on this story. Certainly Britany Patterson will be suing the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department.
It’s police work like this that potentially gives all cops a bad name!
11/19/24

A fellow Trump supporter just asked me what I thought President Trump would do on his first day in office. Other than the obvious closing of the border, the opening up of fracking and pipelines in order to address the two most pressing issues for Americans of illegal immigration and inflation, I was silent until I read something from Rip McIntosh’s Newsletter written by Christopher Rufo:
“How Gender Ideology Captured the State Department.”
“A Biden executive order prompted the agency to recast its mission from advancing American interests abroad through complex and delicate diplomatic missions and maintaining the safety of those missions and the Americans serving them.
Under President Joe Biden, the State Department has demoted that critical objective in favor of a new global agenda: to spread radical gender theory to foreign nations.
Upon taking office in 2021, the administration issued a slew of executive orders and memoranda entrenching left-wing ideologies in all levels of the federal government under the guise of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion,’ or DEI.”

“As part of this DEI initiative, the White House required each federal agency to submit detailed DEI progress reports regularly, appoint a chief diversity officer, and create “Agency Equity Teams,” whose leaders were tasked with “delivering equitable outcomes.” These requirements contributed to what the president called “an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda.”
The gender component of this agenda spread to the State Department through the president’s Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World.  Published in February 2021, this memorandum directed State and other agencies to monitor closely and report on the “LGBTQI+” policies of our allies to “broaden the number of countries willing to support and defend” the radical Left’s understanding of gender—for example, by funding pro-transgender “civil society advocates” in order to shift public opinion in those countries—and to tie in the principles of gender theory to America’s foreign-aid programs.

Furthermore Rufo’s piece in McIntosh’s Newsletter goes on to specify how the State Department has been basically been taken over by the DEI nonsense. In actuality the clearing out of DEI hires and policies might be better dealt with by Elon Musk, as President Trump will have more pressing things to do on his first day – like talking to Putin, and attempting to end the war in Ukraine.
11/18/24

On Sundays I headline individuals who we all can admire and respect. Gale Brown was such a person.
Most of what follows was taken from an article written by his daughter, and originally published in American Essence magazine.
Gale Brown was born in 1925 in coal mining town of Wyndall, West Virginia. Following in his father’s footsteps, he entered the mines in June 1943 straight out of high school. Although he could have received a deferment due to his essential work in the mines, his commitment to service drove him to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard in November 1943.
After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he volunteered for a hazardous assignment dismantling Japanese radio equipment at Omura Air Base in Nagasaki. This assignment exposed him to radiation and sickness that, in five years, left him completely blind.
Miraculously in 1952, an appendectomy partially restored his vision in one eye (though doctors couldn’t explain why). His response to his blindness was nothing short of remarkable. He continued his schooling, eventually earning a bachelor’s in sociology, two master’s degrees in elementary education and special education, and certifications in pre-law and real estate. His deteriorating vision led him to learn Braille and enroll in a summer program at Catholic University of America to become a Braille teacher, which then led him to the Maryland Workshop for the Blind, where he taught Braille and vocational skills to blind adults. He worked with adults affected by retrolental fibroplasia, a condition causing blindness in infants of low birth weight due to excessive oxygen exposure. Recognizing the need for educational support for both adults and children with visual impairments, Gale Brown began working on integrating blind students into public school classrooms—a novel and progressive approach at the time, and he thus became a pivotal figure in the field of education for the blind.
His life was a narrative of incredible achievements that transcend mere academic and professional success. His ability to face adversity head-on, adapt to new challenges, and help those in need, epitomized service and persistence. Until he recently died at age 99, Gale Brown often offered his time as a veterans’ services officer (67 years) to help veterans fill out paperwork and wade through the bureaucratic process for seeking veteran benefits. He was always serving.
His life exemplified the essence of true heroism—not through grandiose acts, but through unwavering dedication to improving the lives of those around him.
11/17/24

I just read an amazing statement made by Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton. His statement to Boston 25 News on Friday 11/15/24 followed a controversial quote in the New York Times regarding his thoughts on transgender athletes and why Democrats lost the 2024 election.
From Boston 25News:
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Moulton told the New York Times before adding: “I have two girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”

The reaction from fellow Democrats and other left leaning groups and individuals was immediate, but Moulton did not back down from the criticism.
“I stand firmly in my belief for the need for competitive women’s sports to put limits on the participation of those with the unfair physical advantages that come with being born male,” Moulton said in a statement to Boston 25 News. “I am also a strong supporter of the civil rights of all Americans, including transgender rights.”
While Moulton received criticism from those within his party, Republicans applauded him.
“The backlash against Congressman Moulton for making this statement is one reason why Democrats suffered significant losses across the country this election cycle,” said Amy Carnevale, chair of the MassGOP. “Republicans agree that it’s entirely possible to respect gender preferences while also acknowledging that the physical differences between men and women create distinct risks in sports.”

Finally, a Democrat with some common sense! Finally, a Democrat who basically speaks his mind concerning something that potentially will affect him as his daughters as they get older. Finally, a Democrat who understands what millions of parents are concerned about as their daughters get older!
I just came from a soccer game played by 7&8 year old girls. On the adjacent field was a soccer game played by 7&8 year old boys. While watching both games literally at the same, it was obvious even at this young age that the boys were bigger, faster, and more aggressive. As these young kids get older these boys-girl differences will become more pronounced. Any rational person could predict the potential for injury if trans-girls are allowed to compete simultaneously on the same soccer field.
Rep. Seth Moulton is a rational individual despite what his fellow Massachusetts’ liberals think!
11/16/24

Trump just nominated Matt Goetz for Attorney General!
Does he have a chance at being confirmed?
What is the background?

Most of the following is from a September 26, 2022 article by Mollie Hemingway in the Federalist. BTW, to me Mollie Hemingway is a very good and a very spot-on journalist.
According to Hemingway’s article there was an attempt to railroad Florida congressman, Matt Gaetz, by anonymous sources. Keep in mind that more often than not, if the sources are anonymous, and remain anonymous, the story is not true.

“Prior to March 2021, Rep. Matt Gaetz was known for prominently pushing against Beltway groupthink.
The colorful Florida congressman had been one of the few Republicans to help win the public relations battle against the Russia collusion hoax, the conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump had stolen the 2016 election by colluding with Russia.
“When Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., held secret hearings, selectively released information, and lied about coordination with the so-called whistleblower during the Ukraine impeachment hearings, Gaetz led a group of Republican congressmen in protest. The move, which enraged the corporate media and other partisans, helped unify Republicans in their eventual defeat of the impeachment stunt.”

Congressman Gaetz was a real pain in the butt for partisan Democrats, and so basically, some Dems felt that he needed to be dealt with!

On 3/30/21 group of New York Times reporters who won awards for their roles pushing the Russia collusion lie penned an anonymously sourced article with a devastating headline: “Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl.” The story was sourced to “three people briefed on the matter,” none of them identified in any way. The story contained no evidence against Gaetz of sex crimes, but much guilt-by-association. Late in the story, the pack of reporters admitted that no charges had been filed and that the “extent of his criminal exposure is unclear.”
Gaetz strenuously and immediately asserted his innocence and denied the accusations.

On Friday, 18 months after he was accused of being a pedophile and child sex trafficker, the Washington Post published another anonymously sourced report. “Career prosecutors recommend no charges for Matt Gaetz,” said the article, published quietly on a Friday. Not only was he never convicted of any of the crimes he was alleged to have committed, he wasn’t even charged. And, if you believe the anonymously sourced claims, he isn’t going to be.
The damage was already done by the initial report, written by reporters who regularly regurgitate political leaks from Department of Justice and FBI sources.
On the year anniversary of the original Gaetz story, journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote that leaks “have the effect, and often the intent, of destroying someone’s reputation, convicting them of repellent crimes in the court of public opinion that will never be brought in a court of law, thus relieving the state of the requirement to prove the crime and depriving the accused the opportunity to exonerate themselves.”

The Democrat-run Ethics Committee in the House typically waits to run investigations of members until after the Department of Justice finishes an investigation. In Gaetz’s case, the committee went out of its way to begin — and announce — an investigation into the embattled Florida member.

The Department of Justice, the FBI, and the corporate media have a history of viciously attacking — usually through deceptive leaks and lies — anyone who threatens their power.”
Is this exactly what has happened to Matt Gaetz?
11/15/24

On 11/11 the Atlantic published a piece titled “The Democrats Need an Honest Conversation on Gender Identity.”
To be clear I do not read the left-leaning Atlantic, but this makes me wonder if a modicum of common sense is finally going to come to the Democrats. Namely are they finally realizing if the ‘trans’ concept is a losing concept?
From Hot Air:
Although most Americans agree that transgender people should not face discrimination in housing and employment, there is nowhere near the same level of support for allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
Donald Trump kept bringing up the issue. His campaign also barraged swing-state voters and sports fans with ads reminding them that Kamala Harris had previously supported taxpayer-funded gender-reassignment surgery for prisoners. The commercials were effective: The New York Times reported that Future Forward, a pro-Harris super PAC, found that one ad “shifted the race 2.7 percentage points in Mr. Trump’s favor after viewers watched it.”
On CNN on 11/8 conservative political strategist Shermichael Singleton was making the obvious point that most people don’t agree with boys competing in girls sports and fellow panelist Jay Michaelson freaked out and said he wouldn’t tolerate “transphobic language” as part of the discussion. What transphobic language? Using the word “boy” to describe trans girls who compete in girls sports.
The CNN host  Abby Phillips sided with Michaelson and effectively demanded Singleton adopt the approved newspeak.
Jay Michaelson is a loser.
Host Abby Phillips is a loser.
CNN is a loser.
Will the trans-fanatics ever realize that concept this is a loser?
What to hope for?
11/14/24

On 11/9/24 I wrote … a critical question needs to be asked: “Was Marn’i Washington acting on her own?”
For those of you who may have missed my 11/9 blog Marn’i Washington was a FEMA Florida supervisor who told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid after hurricane Milton.
FEMA higher-ups quickly disassociated themselves from Ms. Washington, and within a few days she was fired.
However the story didn’t end there.
From X:
“Fired FEMA Manager Claims Discrimination Against Trump Supporters Wasn’t Isolated, Says Agency ‘Made [Her] a Patsy’
Furthermore she said that FEMA workers were instructed to do it in the Carolinas too.”

CV NEWSFEED // Former Federal Emergency Management Agency supervisor Marn’i Washington on Tuesday took to social media for an interview with American journalist Roland Martin to discuss why she was fired from FEMA.
Washington alleged that the policy and instructions were developed by higher-ups and can be traced back through FEMA reports.
“Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know,” she said. “But if you ask the DSA crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field they will tell you ‘demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports.’”

How believable is what Ms Washington is saying?
Remember that FEMA is, after all, part of the Department of Homeland Security, and is under DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who in my opinion has often been far from being on the straight-and-narrow.
Ergo, the same aforementioned question remains, “Was Marn’i Washington acting on her own?” … or was she acting on orders from the top?
11/13/24