Month: June 2024

At this point Joe Biden has not yet had a “basket of deplorables” moment similar to what Hillary Clinton had back in 2016 when she was running for President. As many will recall on September 9, 2016, at a campaign fundraising event, she used that phrase to describe “half” of the supporters of her opponent. The next day, she expressed regret for “saying half”,  but it was too late, and the Trump campaign repeatedly used the phrase against Clinton during and after the 2016 presidential election.

Could New York Gov. Kathy Hochul by her recent misstatements have given something for Republicans to run with in 2024 … similar to Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” in 2016?

Just weeks after suggesting black children “don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is,” and then calling a New York Supreme Court justice an “extremist” for following the law, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul concluded on CNN’s “The Lead” on 5/23/24 that the constituents of this diverse crowd of working-class Americans at a Trump rally in the South Bronx were “clowns.”

Now let me be clear, even though Trump has pulled to within nine points in New York’s most recent polling, I do not think that he will win New York.

However, Hochul’s “clown” statement and similarly her saying that black children “do not even know what a computer is,” could well come back to hurt the Democrats. I can almost picture the commercials with her words superimposed on black Trump rallyers in both the Bronx and in Harlem. Broadcasting a spot like this in areas across the country that have sizable black populations, could be enough to boost the black Trump vote by just a few percentage points, and who knows what that will do in November. Who knows?

Thank you, Governor Hochul !

6/15/24

However, in addition to the financial difficulty that primary care physicians find themselves in, there is the additional burden of merely trying to keep up with their day to day challenges. Whereas the “electronic medical record” (EMR) was supposed to make life easier for physicians, in fact for the most part the opposite has happened. Yes, it did solve the problem of not getting updated records from other physicians, but at what cost?

Many primary care physicians that I know often have to spend hours at home trying to complete the records for the patients that they had seen that day. Why? … because there is just enough time in a typical fifteen minute time slot, to actually connect with the patient and complete the EMR in that same time slot. So in reality what happens? Either, the physician must spend the entire fifteen minutes not looking at the patient, while keeping his/her eyes constantly on the keyboard … or, … the notes must be finished after the usual office hours.

In addition, if the patient has a more complicated medical problem, the primary care physician must, for his/her own survival, refer that patient to a specialist, which now has a long waiting list for appointments because of all the referrals from primary care.

To make matters even worse for primary care physicians, they are getting increasingly punished by administrators to see more patients in a day. More patients means more notes and more referrals and more time spent at home just trying to survive.

The other thing that happens is that some more experienced primary care doctors advance up the ladder into administration. Whereas one might think that having a ex-primary care physician looking after other primary care physicians would be a good thing, however, when they become administrators they seem to forget how difficult it was to make it through each day in the office. 

Ergo, who is taking the side of the primary care physicians? No one is!

Is this an unanswerable problem? 

From my perspective could it be that the only reasonable way to resolve this problem is for the primary care physicians to unionize?

6/14/24

In this country there is already a significant shortage of primary care physicians ((PCPs), and it is slowly getting worse.

From the Washington Post:

“The percentage of U.S. doctors in adult primary care has been declining for years and is now about 25% — a tipping point beyond which many Americans won’t be able to find a family doctor at all.

Already, more than 100 million Americans don’t have usual access to primary care, a number that has nearly doubled since 2014.”

There are multiple reasons for this. The Covid pandemic obviously prompted a number of older primary care physicians to head for the exits. However, the main reasons for the worsening dearth of primary care physicians go much deeper than Covid. As an example, someone I know opted to leave Southern California, because “if I ever wanted to own a house, it was clear to my wife and I that we had to move. I owed $200,000 in loans, and there was no way that I could pay-off my loans and buy a house in SoCal at the same time.” While this economic dilemma is worse in California, it is a practical and realistic issue just about everywhere in the US, because med school is so expensive. Furthermore, it is worse for primary care physicians because they are at the bottom of the salary remuneration totem-pole.

Again from the Washington Post:

“One explanation for the disappearing primary care doctor is financial. The payment structure in the U.S. health system has long rewarded surgeries and procedures while shortchanging the diagnostic, prescriptive, and preventive work that is the province of primary care. Furthermore, the traditionally independent doctors in this field have little power to negotiate sustainable payments with the mammoth insurers in the U.S. market.”

In general, if you want to attract someone to something, you have to somehow make that something more attractive. As far as convincing med students to become primary care physicians, one would have to guarantee that their future lives would be better … such that they could afford to buy a house, go out to dinner occasionally, and even send their kids to private schools if they wished. To start this could be a simple economic proposal. For example a state could say, “if you become a primary care physician in our state, we (the state) will pay off your school loans over X years.”

For each state the choreography of the guaranteed loan pay-off would be different as the cost of buying a house and the amount owed on the individual loans is much different from state to state, and from individual to individual.

Granted this solution would not address the total deficit of primary care physicians in the US, but would shift this deficit among the different states. 

In part 2 I will address the more pressing day-to-day frustrations of PCPs.

6/13/24

On the same day two opposing things came out. First, our Attorney General is whing how employees of the DOJ are being treated unfairly.

From Daybreak Insider:

Attorney General Merrick Garland is responding to what he says are “unfounded attacks” that are endangering Department of Justice (DOJ) employees and, by extension, the state of democracy in the United States as the GOP pushes back against what they see as partisan law fare.

The Washington Post published an op-ed on Monday in which Garland called for an end to a wave of conspiracy theories, lies, intimidation and threats of violence that he said have escalated against public servants under his charge.”

Meanwhile on the same day the following came out.

From the Daily Wire: 

“An employee of the FBI had his security clearance revoked after the bureau investigated his support for former President Donald Trump and opposition to COVID vaccines, according to a complaint made public on Monday after it was recently filed against the Justice Department.

From Empower Oversight: 

Our client served the FBI honorably for 12 years, receiving cash awards and positive performance evaluations. Then-FBI Executive Assistant Director (“EAD”) Jennifer Leigh Moore suspended our client’s security clearance in March 2022, which led to an indefinite suspension without pay. Shortly thereafter, our client confidentially made protected disclosures to the House Judiciary Committee, alleging politicization and abuses of the security clearance process in this case and others “

So who is the liar here?

Who is right? Who is telling the truth?

Could it be that both are?

Are DOJ employees being criticized because they are carrying out the commands of their boss? I think that this could well be true, as many US citizens have had enough of Biden’s and Garland’s skewed interpretation of what is right. Now let”s be perfectly clear … I am not encouraging, or advocating violence. However, FBI Executive Assistant Director (“EAD”) Jennifer Leigh Moore suspending a trusted FBI-person’s security clearance in March 2022, because she, or her boss, did not like that  individual’s conservative views is just not kosher or right?

6/11/24

Personally, I have nothing against Electric Vehicles (EVs). At this point in my life, I do not want one, and apparently I am not alone. 

Growth in EV sales slowed in the first quarter of 2024 as consumers decline to adopt the product, leading to a drop in market share compared to traditional vehicles, declining from 7.6% to 7.1%. EV sales grew just 2.7% in the quarter compared to the 47% growth seen as a whole last year.

Because there has been a considerable downturn in the EV market as a response EV workers are being laid off.

From the Daily Caller:

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Motors announced that the company would be laying off staff in a bid to lower expenses amid a slowdown in the market.

The layoffs will affect 6% of its workforce, equating to around 400 employees, and will trim from all employee levels, including leadership and mid-level management, according to a filing submitted on 5/24/24, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The company estimates that it will have to pay out between $21 million and $25 million in severance pay and benefits in connection with the layoffs, according to the filing. The planned terminations are expected to be done by the end of the third quarter.

The world’s largest EV maker, Tesla, announced in April that it would be laying off more than 10% of its workforce of over 140,000 employees following slower-than-expected global deliveries in the first quarter.

EV maker Rivian also announced in April that it would be laying off 1% of its workforce after previously announcing that it would be cutting 10% of the company’s staff. Rivian cut 6% of staff in 2023 and another 6% in July 2022.

Other automakers have had to push back their EV production targets due to the slowdown in the growth of market demand, including Bentley, General Motors, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Honda.

Because consumers either do not want EVs for a variety of different reasons or cannot afford them, EV.producers are taking it in the shorts, and the laying off of workers is just beginning. After Trump gets elected in November, gasoline prices will decrease and consequently EV sales will decline even more. Time to sell EV socks short?

6/11/24

Marijuana use in the United States has skyrocketed in the past several decades, and now there are more people who use marijuana daily than people who drink alcohol daily, according to a new study. 

Researcher Jonathan Caulkins compared daily alcohol and marijuana use based on surveys taken in 1979, 1992, 2008, and 2022. Caulkins published his findings on May 22. 

In my opinion in future years will there be a realization that legalizing marijuana was a big mistake. When this happens, those who were big time marijuana advocates will no longer be in office, or will be dead. As most regular readers know I have been against okaying marijuana mainly because as of yet, as opposed to alcohol, there is no way to test for its recent use when one is driving impaired. I continue to feel that way, and furthermore my position is being enhanced because of increasing reports of significant disastrous medical side effects from its use.

Epoch Health recently published a summary about the adverse psychiatric effects of cannabis, including articles from The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Addiction, & Molecular Psychiatry.

The following is from that Epoch Health article:

New UK research shows adults who consumed high-potency cannabis between ages 16 and 18 are twice as likely to experience psychotic episodes like hallucinations and delusions by their mid-20s compared to those using low-potency strains or abstaining. The longitudinal study, published in Addiction, highlights cannabis’ risks to adolescent brain development.

Over the past several decades, illicit marijuana products have become significantly more potent. The concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the psychoactive compound in cannabis responsible for the “high” sensation and one linked to psychotic experiences in some people—increased from around 10 percent in 2009 to roughly 14 percent by 2019, according to a scientific review published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging.

“This is the problem,” Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai in New York, told The Epoch Times. “Many people don’t realize that the cannabis that is consumed today—the majority or all of it—is high-potency.”

Cannabis poses a greater psychosis risk than tobacco or alcohol, according to Ms. Hurd, who noted that the new findings align with numerous studies linking cannabis use to psychosis.

Despite evidence linking cannabis to psychosis, teen use soared 245 percent between 2000 and 2020, according to research published in Clinical Toxicology. The authors attributed the rise to popular edible products, with legalization making cannabis seem safer and more accessible to teens, even though it is only legal for adults in 24 states and Washington, D.C.

Biden’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently proposed to move cannabis to a Schedule III drug, which would reduce the penalty for selling or delivering the drug in states where it remains criminalized.

While “we should not criminalize the use,” Ms Hurd said, the move to make it legal and reduce penalties ignores the fact that the current strains are purposely made to be addictive because “like everything else, it’s a business, and the business is to get more customers,” she added.

While I am certain that J.B. is only familiar with what his handlers allow him read, which is not The American Journal of Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Addiction, & Molecular Psychiatry, or even the Epoch Times.

However, it is also likely that “those who know best” in the DEA either cannot read or willfully ignore these recent studies documenting these severe consequences of cannabis use.

6/10/24

Larry Farris Jr. is a bus driver in Lexington, Kentucky. On one particular day he saw a need and did what an exceptional person would do.

“Normally, when I pull up, Levi is standing there waiting for me with a big smile, but on this day, he was sitting on the ground with a jacket over his head and tears streaming down his face. I asked him, ‘Hey buddy, what’s going on? What’s wrong?'”

Levi, a first-grader at Engelhard Elementary School, explained through sobs that he didn’t have pajamas for Pajama Day at school.

Larry’s heart sank as he watched Levi’s disappointment, knowing the young boy wanted to participate but couldn’t. After finishing his morning routes, he made a special trip to a Family Dollar store and purchased two pairs of pajamas for Levi. With pajamas in hand, Larry headed to Levi’s school to deliver the heartfelt gift.

As Larry Farrish Jr. presented the pajamas to Levi, the young boy’s face lit up with joy, his tears replaced by a radiant smile. Levi hugged the “All-Star” football pajamas close to his chest, overwhelmed with gratitude for Larry’s kindness.

“I said, ‘You were hurting this morning, you were crying, so I got you these pajamas,” Larry explained. “He was so excited – you should’ve seen how his face lit up.”

Reflecting on his calling as a bus driver, Larry humbly expresses his love for building bonds with the children he serves. 

Larry Farrish Jr. reminds us that God creates heroes out of ordinary people, showing us that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a world of difference in someone’s life. 

Yes, Larry Farris Jr. is a hero in the eyes of Levi, and in my eyes also.

6/9/24

In my continuing attempt to occasionally bring my readers some medical news that is most likely likely not commented on by the MSM.

In just the past few years I have known three individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, and so this piece in Neurology was of special interest to me 

From Epoch Health:

While previous research highlighted caffeine’s benefits like increased energy and enhanced cognitive performance, a recent study in the journal, Neurology, adds to the evidence that caffeine may help prevent Parkinson’s disease, a progressive movement disorder. The new study examined coffee intake and future Parkinson’s risk in 184,024 participants across six European countries.

Unlike prior studies, it quantified caffeine biomarkers years before Parkinson’s onset. Researchers identified 351 Parkinson’s cases, matched with controls by age, sex, study center, and fasting status during blood collection.

Results showed that higher caffeine consumption and the presence of key metabolites like paraxanthine and theophylline were linked to reduced Parkinson’s risk.

The neuroprotective effects were exposure-dependent, with the highest consumption group having nearly 40 percent lower Parkinson’s risk compared to non-coffee drinkers.

The “sweet spot of coffee consumption” is probably two to four cups per day, Dr. Jack Wolfson, a board-certified cardiologist in Scottsdale, Arizona, not associated with the study, told The Epoch Times. Above that amount, “there is probably not much benefit,” he added.

The scientific evidence linking coffee consumption to a decreased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease is quite strong, Dr. Hwai Ooi, a neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.

In addition to coffee consumption, experts say there are other lifestyle factors and habits that could play a role in reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

The most important is aerobic exercise, “which has clearly been shown to be neuroprotective effects in Parkinson’s disease and can slow down progression of the disease,” Dr. Ooi said. Current guidelines recommend a minimum of 2.5 hours of aerobic activity per week for those with Parkinson’s.

My take on this is to have a couple of cups of JOE in the morning followed by thirty minutes of walking or any other type of loco- MOtion.

6/8/24

Does Being Liberal Mean Never Having To Say, “I’m Sorry?”   

Many of us, like me, who were paying attention to the news back in 2021, were shocked when the reports out of Canada alleged that many unmarked Indian children’s graves were found near and in former residential schools.

from BlazeMedia:

The residential schools were part of a federally mandated campaign to both educate Indian children who had no alternative local school options and to assimilate them into contemporary Canadian society.

These schools operated from the 1880s until the second half of the 20th century.

While neither the Catholic Church as a whole nor the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops were associated with the system, various Catholic dioceses helped administer a plurality of the schools. The Anglican and Presbyterian churches were also involved. An estimated 150,000 children attended the schools over the course of a century.

Years after the last school was shuttered, a grievance industry began to grow around claims of abuse and so-called “cultural genocide” in the schools.

The formerly called Kamloops Indian Band — announced in May 2021 that it had confirmed the discovery of children’s remains in an apple orchard near a former Catholic-run residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia.

The apple orchard was originally selected for a survey partly on the basis of “Knowledge keepers’ oral histories” and a tooth belonging to a juvenile found nearby. The chief of this tribe said that ground-penetrating radar surveys had uncovered the remains of 215 “missing children” whose deaths were “undocumented.”

Not unexpectedly, liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the alleged discovery, stating he was “terribly saddened.” The Canadian leader suggested further that the supposed unmarked graves served as “a shameful reminder of the systemic racism, discrimination, and injustice that Indigenous peoples have faced.”

Not to be outdone, the Canadian Parliament observed a moment of silence to “mark the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Kamloops.”

When I read about this back in 2021, I was horrified. However, … there is “the rest of the story … “

Maxime Bernier, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, told Blaze News, “Three years after a moral panic broke out following the supposed discovery of ‘mass graves’ at the Kamloops residential school, we now know that it was all a hoax. No bodies were found even after $8 million was spent to find them.”

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been blown on the other investigations — ostensibly also fruitless pursuits.

“But like other moral panics, this one was instrumentalized by far left activists and the Trudeau government to demonize Canadian history and Canadian society,” continued Bernier. “Among the awful repercussions of this demonization is the fact that it likely motivated hateful criminals to torch over 80 churches across the country during these three years, with new ones being added almost every week.

Any apologies from Canadian officials? … err, no apologies yet!

Any apologies from Trudeau? …err, no apologies yet!

Perhaps when we Adam Schiff apologize for his lying about the stuff he had on Trump, we will hear something from the mendacious Canadian liberals, but … don’t hold your breath!

6/7/24

Baksheesh ?

 I learned a new word today  … “baksheesh,” which means “a tip, present, or gratuity,” or in modern day vernacular, a “bribe.” In the Middle East marketplace, the souk culture is all about the baksheesh.

As everyone recalls, Egypt would not let any of those civilians trapped in Gaza escape into Egypt. The suspicion was that Egypt was worried that it would not be able to control those innocents fleeing the war in Gaza. To me that explanation was always suspect. Why not let them temporarily find safety in Egypt, and then when the conflict in Gaza was over, over time, escort all of them back to Gaza.

But could something else be playing a role? 

Remember that age-old adage … “follow the money!”

From Townhall:

“Egypt built a formidable border wall  It is impenetrable, militarized, and closely guarded with Egyptian troops and security forces. The way through it for Gazans seeking to get out of Gaza? Baksheesh. Upwards of $5,000 per person. It has also been a gateway for international aid and smuggling into Gaza resulting in over $88 million in profit to the holder of the border keys. 

The holder of those keys is a Bedouin tribal leader named Ibrahim al-Organi, now the wealthiest man in northern Sinai. He has extremely close ties with Egyptian President al-Sisi, and more significantly, with al-Sisi’s son, General Mahmoud al-Sisi , the Deputy Chief of Egyptian intelligence.

“Every day there is additional evidence  of Egyptian smuggling in Gaza. Intelligence on May 31, 2024 uncovered surface to air missiles smuggled into Rafah from Egypt. The large cache purportedly would have been used to take down IDF helicopters. How much money changed hands  for Egypt to have turned a blind eye (or been complicit) in these types of smuggling operations?”

On the IDF’s first day of entry into Rafah in mid-May they discovered hundreds of tunnels with over 50 two-way underground tunnels between Rafah and Egypt. Dozens more cross-border tunnels have been discovered since, along the Rafah-Egypt border. Some tunnels were paved and wide enough for passage of full-sized cargo trucks.

Beyond hostage remains, the IDF seized hundreds of weapons and war materiel They discovered UN relief packages, food, cash, electrification, housing, office space, etc. An underground metropolis was built by Hamas in Rafah. 

Assuming all of this is true, could it be that Joe Biden and cronies have been completely taken in by Egypt? I would rather believe that it is Biden’s naïveté as to what Egypt is doing, rather than believe his complicity with Egypt involved some baksheesh.

Hmmm!

6/5/24