Author: Californiacontrarian

One of the most argued about topic is concerning the best way to handle the campus protests concerning Hamas/Israel. The approach at the I y League schools seems to be one of mollycoddling the protestors. I do not understand what the endpoint to this approach is. Perhaps those in charge at these schools are hoping that the se protests will fizzle out once the academic school year ends.

In contrast the University of Florida is taking a non-mollycoddling sort of approach.

From the Gainesville Sun:

“A pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Florida has turned controversial as the university has threatened student and employee protestors with a ban from campus if they engage in prohibited activities.

The university had distributed a flyer of new items and activities not allowed during protest.

The university gave a statement about the situation to The Sun Friday which said UF will protect speech and uphold the law.

“Peaceful protests are constitutionally protected. Camping, putting up structures, disrupting academic activity, or threatening others on university property is strictly prohibited,” the university said. “The University has clearly communicated this to our students and explained that they can exercise their free speech rights but breaking the law will result in an immediate trespassing order from UFPD and an interim suspension from Student Life.”

Cynthia Roldán, UF director of public affairs, shared in an email the document that was given to students Thursday. The paper highlights the allowed and prohibited activities during protesting, which Roldán said are part of existing UF policies and regulations.

Additionally, Roldán said in an email that UF’s policies have been in place for years and none have been adjusted recently.

Allowable activities include speech, expressing viewpoints and holding signs in hands, the paper reads. Prohibited activities include sleeping, camping, amplified sound and demonstrations inside buildings, among others. Additionally, prohibited items include camping items, weapons, unmanned signs and chairs, among others.

Additionally, the document reads that individuals who don’t comply with these rules, and those found engaging in prohibited activities, will be trespassed from campus. Students will receive a three year trespass and suspension, while employees will be trespassed and removed from employment.”

So there you have it.

“ Mollycoddling” vs. “Non-Mollycoddling”

Which approach will prove to be effective?

Place your bets!

4/27/24

When I read something which I think is potentially medically important for my readers to know about, I feel that it is my duty to pass it on.

As an aside when I was working, I used to drink three, four, or five cups of coffee per day. Furthermore, I would drink coffee after dinner and go right to sleep soon thereafter. Back then ‘De-caf’ was not in my vocabulary. Now I still drink coffee, but am down to two or three cups per day … again leaded, and not the unleaded variety.

So far I do not think that I have dementia. Is this coincidental or perhaps cause-and-effect related to my long term chronic coffee intake? I can almost hear most of you scoffing … but read the following and then reconsider.

From Epoch Health:

“A 2016 study published in the Journals of Gerontology, tracked 6,467 women aged 65 and above for up to 10 years, investigating the relationship between caffeine intake and cognitive impairment or probable dementia.

The study findings suggested an inverse association between caffeine intake and age-related cognitive dysfunction. Older women with higher than the median caffeine intake were found to be less likely to suffer from dementia or age-related cognitive impairment. The median level of caffeine consumption was 261 mg, equivalent to three 8-ounce cups of coffee, or six cups of black tea.”

Okay. So women might benefit from coffee, but what about men?

“Another study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007 found that drinking coffee can reduce cognitive decline in older males. A total of 676 healthy older men from Finland, Italy, and the Netherlands, born between 1900 and 1920, participated in the 10-year prospective group study. The study suggests that elderly men who do not drink coffee have a higher cognitive decline than coffee drinkers, with the least cognitive decline for those who drink three cups of coffee daily.”

If three cups of coffee a day is good, could six cups be better?

“Compared with participants who only drink a small amount of coffee, research (research which analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of 398,646 British Biological Sample Bank participants between 37 and 73 years old and examined the associations with brain volume and with the incidence of dementia and stroke.) showed that people who drink over six cups of coffee per day, are 53 percent more likely to suffer from senile dementia than those who drink one to two cups daily, with less evidence of an association with stroke.”

Is the beneficial effect of caffeine limited to the risk of dementia?

“A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2022 showed that two to three cups of coffee a day could significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and death compared with non-coffee drinkers.

A review published in the British Medical Journal in 2017 found that consuming up to four cups of coffee daily can minimize specific health risks compared with no coffee intake, including all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular diseases, and liver and kidney diseases”

Ergo, in my opinion, an impressive array of data suggests that coffee is indeed good for a lot of individuals. However, I must advise some caution, as in certain individuals coffee can have some adverse effects. (Furthermore … my opinions should not be construed as medical advice.)

4/26/24

The other day I read two different stories from two different states. These two stories were not related to each other except in “OMG! What is the USA coming to?”

From BlazeMedia:

“A North Carolina high school student was suspended last week because he dared utter the phrase “illegal alien” in class.

Last week, Central Davidson High School student Christian McGhee asked his English teacher an otherwise innocuous question about a vocabulary assignment that included the word “alien.”

“Like space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?” McGhee asked.

The question allegedly prompted a fellow classmate to threaten McGhee because he felt offended by the question, according to the Carolina Journal, which caused the teacher to phone the assistant principal. School administration then decided to suspend McGhee for three days.

The violation? McGhee made a “racially insensitive comment” that allegedly violated school policies, according to a school document.

Christian’s parents later met with the assistant principal to appeal the suspension. They explained the phrase “illegal alien” appears in the dictionary, federal code, and numerous media outlets. But their efforts were unsuccessful as Christian llegedly violated school policies, according to a school document.”

OMG! These ying-yangs are in charge of teaching our children!

Meanwhile, also from BlazeMedia:

The Indiana Department of Child Services had a male minor suffering from both anorexia and gender dysphoria removed from the custody of his loving, traditional Catholic parents in 2021, even though Mary and Jeremy Cox were getting him help.

The Coxes’ refusal to compromise on their deeply held religious convictions and affirm the so-called transgender identity of their 16-year-old son appears to have been a driving factor behind both the DCS’ initial investigation into the family and the state’s subsequent efforts to keep the teen — referred to as A.C. in court documents — out of his familial home.

The parents fought the state every step of the way but had no luck in the trial court or the appellate court.

OMG! These courts are deciding what is legal for parents to do and not to do with their own children according to their religious beliefs! 

The good news is that in both of these instances the families have hired lawyers.

4/25/24

Last week on Fox News Sunday Sen. John Kennedy (R, LA) was interviewed, and once again in a short period of time he came up with some lines that could well be quoted ad infinitum. [In the following I have underlined some of these memorable quotes. Then from the underlined quotes each reader can pick his/her favorite!]

From Townhall:

“Sen. John Kennedy offered advice to President Biden on Sunday over his “wobbly” support of Israel. 

Noting that the president’s support for the Jewish state has waned in recent months, the Louisiana Republican used his interview on ‘Fox News Sunday’ to urge the president to stop ‘being influenced by the Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.’”

 So far nothing to get excited about.

But then,

“Israel’s not at war with Hamas or Hezbollah or Yemen,” the senator said. “Those are all surrogates for Iran, they’re prostitutes. The pimp is Iran. Israel is at war with Iran. Iran hates Americans. Iran hates Jews. Iran wants to kill Americans and Jews. And if we turn the other cheek to them, we’re going to get it in the neck.”

Good …however Senator Kennedy was just warming up!

“Referring to reports of the White House warning Israel that the United States will not participate in retaliatory strikes against Iran after their attack on the country, Kennedy said “more sheep is not going to solve the wolf problem.” 

Better. Nonetheless, for me, the best was yet to come!

Kennedy continued: “My advice to the president today, for what it’s worth, is don’t, stop it,” he added. “Support Israel. With respect, go to Amazon and buy a spine online. Peace through weakness never works.”

Bingo! My favorite … “Go to Amazon and buy a spine online.”

4/24/

Up until a few days ago I had never heard of “infrasound”, and now I am intrigued by it.

Headline from the Epoch Times:

“Infrasound From Wind Turbines Could Be A ‘Huge Threat to the Entire Biodiversity’: Doctor”

“Infrasound is defined as a sound wave with a frequency of less than 20 hertz (Hz). The lower the frequency of the sound, the greater its wavelength and the harder it is to shield from it. Infrasound can penetrate walls, people, and animals.

“Since around 2015, it has been noticed that people exposed to infrasound and vibration from technical emitters have shown symptoms that correspond to microcirculatory disorders,” Dr. Bellut-Staeck said. This effect was particularly noticeable after smaller wind turbines were replaced by larger ones.

Reported adverse effects of industrial wind turbines include weakness, dizziness, headaches, concentration and memory issues, ear pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, and sleep disorders, according to research cited in Canadian Family Physician.

Infrasound could also affect microcirculation, the blood circulation of the fine capillary network where oxygen and nutrients enter the surrounding tissues.

More precisely, it’s the endothelial cells located on the inner wall of the capillaries that react to infrasound, Dr. Ursula Bellut-Staeck said. She’s been studying microcirculation and endothelial cells since 2004. 

The German Federal Environment Agency, however, told The Epoch Times that it has not found any evidence that infrasound from wind turbines causes adverse health effects and that “how infrasound emitted by wind turbines affects endothelial cells has not yet been scientifically proven.”

However, initial studies on the effects of infrasound indicate possible serious health problems. One study published in Environmental Disease concluded there was a high probability that people living near industrial wind turbines would experience harmful health effects due to anxiety, stress, and loss of sleep resulting from exposure to infrasound and other emissions. A German study also identified the toxic effects of infrasound exposure at a cellular level. Another study, published in PLoS ONE, documented brain activity changes following exposure to infrasound stimulation.”

Where have we recently heard from “those that know best” that there is no scientific evidence that XXX causes any harm … only to have this amended or even reversed?

Just a thought …could the “Havana Syndrome” be caused by prior exposure to infrasound?

4/23/24

The other morning a middle aged woman asked a group of us to pray for her seventeen year granddaughter who was just diagnosed with a very unusual type of cancer. My immediate thought was … “it’s due to the Covid vaccine.”

Obviously, however, one unusual situation, or one unusual type of cancer in a teenager does not a pattern make. But more to the real issue: Are these unusual, aggressive or “turbo” cancers becoming more of an issue?

At this point some of those who perhaps coincidentally were “anti-vaxxers” seem to think that this is a real issue, while others in respected positions think not.

From C&C:

“Canadian anti-vaccine Doctor William Makis published an encouraging new Substack yesterday, along with a summary on Twitter. Dr. Makis, who has been de-credentialed in Canada for his online advocacy during and after the pandemic, is well known for his regular and diligent articles describing sudden deaths and reporting new vaccine studies.

He reported that just in the last two weeks, six new academic papers have been published linking covid mRNA vaccines to cancer, bringing the running total (by his count) to twenty-six.”

[Dr. Makis then listed the six new papers.]

“Of course, these cancer papers follow a long, significant trend of papers — thousands now — linking injuries apart from myocarditis to the jabs.”

On the other hand:

“David Gorski, a breast cancer surgeon at Wayne Stare University in Detroit, summarized the “turbo cancer” phenomenon as “the usual misinformation techniques used by antivaxxers: Citing anecdotes, wild speculation about biological mechanisms without a firm basis in biology, and conflating correlation with causation.”

The best I can say at present is that I am suspicious that Dr.Makis  may  turn out to be right.

Meanwhile, I will keep the seventeen year old girl in my prayers.

4/22/24

As my regular readers are aware Sunday’s pieces are about someone that we can all admire. This Sunday is no different although this week all I have is a first name … “Jim,” and he is from Australia.

From Epoch Bright:

In 2020, Manly Beach resident—and wife of Jim—Maureen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. She was given only four months to live. However, she has beaten the unimaginable odds, and four years on, she is spreading happiness with her joyful personality.

Whenever the couple spends time outdoors, Maureen can be seen waving at tourists and other people as they pass by. However, in the past, sometimes people didn’t reciprocate with as much enthusiasm, leaving Maureen disappointed. So Jim came up with the idea of printing a customized T-shirt with the words: “My wife has dementia, please say ‘HELLO’ to her.”

To set the wheels in motion, he contacted Jasmin Stockwell, of CRE8withJAZ.

“He didn’t want to just order a T-shirt online,” Ms. Stockwell told The Epoch Times. “He wanted to come in and talk to someone and discuss his idea and make it special.”

At Ms. Stockwell’s studio, Jim worked with her team to come up with the text for the T-shirt, right on the spot. The simple phrase touched Ms. Stockwell and her staff. Seeing Jim wanting to do this for his wife, she said she was moved to tears.

“It was just beautiful,” Ms. Stockwell said. “That’s probably one of the best shirts I’ve ever printed.”

A few weeks later, Jim came back with a request to modify the text—he wanted to add the word “beautiful” to the sentence.

The T-shirt now read: “My beautiful wife has dementia, please say ‘HELLO’ to her.”

This year, Jim and Maureen celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary.

“He’s just making the most of every moment they have together,” Ms. Stockwell said.

One thing is for certain—now, when Jim’s beautiful wife says hello, strangers won’t shy away from greeting her in return.

Kudos to Jim from Australia for multiple reasons!

4/21/24

Who can recall the TV show, “To Tell theTruth?” It was a show on which a celebrity panel questioned three contestants in an attempt to determine the actual person associated with a story. At the end of the questioning the celebrity panel each ventured a guess as to which of the three contestants the real actual person was. After the celebrity guesses the show ended with …”will the real XXX please stand up!” Typically there was feigning by one or two of the three contestants before the real XXX finally stood up. What made it a good show was that those contestants who were not XXX were quite good and believable.

While admittedly I have never been to Scranton, Pennsylvania I had been a loyal viewer for many years of “The Office,” which was set in Scranton. Like most of the viewers of “The Office,” I cannot forget the various antics of the different employees of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. I remember Steve Carell as Michael Scott as well as Dwight, Jim, and Pam. They were all believable characters. Interestingly, the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. For example, the producers asked the actors several questions and they responded as the characters they were auditioning for.

Now compare this to Joe Biden’s recent campaign stop in Scranton. While everyone has been rightfully focused on J.B.’s ridiculous fable about his uncle who was eaten by cannibals in New Guinea, I was focused on the five individuals who were standing behind Joe Biden. OMG, what a sad group of four white men and one woman. The facial expressions of all five telegraphed perhaps what they were thinking , “Why am I here?” “Did I pick the short straw?” “That’s the last time I will let mom talk me into anything!” “Why did I choose to be here when I could have been having my root canal?”

What a sad group! If these five actually represented five of Biden’s Scranton supporters, then either Scranton is a woeful place to live or Biden picked them out himself. Not one of them ever cracked a smile. In fact none of the five ever had a change in their facial expression. In “The Office” there was Oscar (Hispanic) and Stanley (Black). Here there was no attempt at racial diversity. In addition both Jim and Pam were young, vivacious, and good looking … does the real Scranton have any similar individuals? Suffice it to say, I liked the Scranton-ites on “The Office” much more than those presumed Scranton-ites standing around JB … and thus I ask, “Will the real Scranton-ites please stand up.”

Whereas in 2016, Rolling Stone named The Office one of the 100 greatest television shows of all time, the production of this Scranton campaign stop has to be one of 100 worst campaign spots of all time … even before considering  “the fictional cannibals in New Guinea.” 

4/20/

Some of us have lifelong friends and we basically understand their opinions, their peculiarities, and their moral fiber. if one of those lifelong friends did something that seemed totally out of character most of us would be concerned that something is wrong with our friend. Is he sick? Is there some sort of internal family issue that he dealing with?  Is someone or something threatening him? However what most of us would not do is ignore the fact the some underlying thing is happening and thus turn a blind eye.

It seems to me that the same logic that should apply to a change in the basic behavior in a long term friend would also apply to a company … a company that has been like that same long term friend. If a certain company has been honest in its business relationships with its clients, and suddenly this company starts to act in contradistinction to that established trustworthy pattern, who among us wouldn’t suspect that something dire is going on.

And this brings me to the insurance and banking company, USAA. I have been doing business with USAA for well over fifty years, and have always found them to be trustworthy and on the up-and-up.

However, I just read something that concerns me, because what USAA has recently done to John Eastman does not at all sound like that same company that I have known for quite a long time!

From the Daily Caller:

John Eastman is a prominent well-respected conservative attorney. He is one of the left’s biggest political targets, and recently he found himself “de-banked” by USAA, with no warning and little avenue for recourse. 

“De-banking” is a phenomenon in which financial institutions refuse financial service to the targets of political activism, who often end up being conservatives.

Eastman was notified of his USAA accounts being closed on Nov. 20, 2023. A few weeks prior, a California judge made a preliminary decision saying that Eastman was culpable of ethics violations in a state bar disciplinary case, CNN reported.

USAA claimed in its letter that it was “exercising its right to no longer do banking business” with Eastman per its “Depository Agreement.” 

“We may close your account for any reason without advance notice. We may require you to give us a minimum of seven (7) calendar days advance written notice when you intend to close your account by withdrawing your funds,” a section of the agreement reads.

USAA did not respond to the Daily Caller’s multiple requests for comment.

When Eastman inquired about the closures, the banks said it was their policy to not provide any more information on the matter, he told the Daily Caller.

“What these banks are doing is they’re saying you’re either high risk, or we don’t want to do business with you, or whatever it is. There’s no methodology behind this. There’s no kind of reason that matches traditional indicators or traditional metrics that a bank would use to calculate your liquidity, your credit score, whatever it is. They’re using these non-financial factors, and then making these decisions and just like closing people’s accounts,” Eric Bledsoe, an expert on de-banking for the Foundation for Government Accountability, told the Daily Caller.

Hmmm! … to me this sounds very underhanded and bordering on vindictive. But why??

The other interesting suspicious part of this story is the Bank of America also “debanked” Mr. Eastman not long before he was “debanked” by USAA. I have no interest in what BOA is doing as BOA has not been my trusted confidant for almost a half century like USAA has been.

But come on! Two separate “debankings” I a short period of time!

I find it very difficult to believe that these two events are random. 

Why did my trusted insurance company and bank act in a manner that seems so out of character?

Who is putting pressure on these banks to separate themselves from Mr. Eastman?

 Oh, BTW, John Eastman was once an attorney for former President Donald Trump!

 4/19/24

The term “Gaslighting” means to cause (a person) to doubt his or her sanity through the use of psychological manipulation. 

“The economy is fine” and “Inflation is under control.” are recent examples of Joe Biden trying to convince all of us of what we know from our own personal experience is just not the case.

The most recent example of how bad things are has to do with the 99 Cents Only stores across the country. 

From an article by Michael Synder titled:

“I Cannot Afford To Live”: Americans Get Emotional As The U.S. Economy Goes Off The Rails”

“99 Cents Only is moving toward liquidating all of their stores…

99 Cents Only shops will begin shuttering its hundreds of locations as the company moves toward total liquidation.

“99 Cents Only Stores, together with its financial and legal advisors, engaged in an extensive analysis of all available and credible alternatives to identify a solution that would allow the business to continue,” the company said in a press release.

“Following months of actively pursuing these alternatives, the company ultimately determined that an orderly wind-down was necessary and the best way to maximize the value of 99 Cents Only Stores’ assets.”

Prior to the announcement, 99 Cents Only was operating 371 stores in the United States.

Of course we also recently learned that Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will be closing about 1000 stores.”

A lot of less affluent individuals do a lot of shopping at these low-price stores. When they start to close because the store can no longer make it, what are these individuals going to do? Where can they now shop? Who do they believe when the ‘Gaslighter-in-Charge’ says that things are fine. Do they believe what is happening in their day-to-day I lives or do they believe J.B.?

4/18/24