Commentary update by Heather Cox Richardson

Ed note: Historian Heather Cox Richardson helps make the current current political chaos understandable putting events in context.

In an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) yesterday, billionaire Elon Musk seemed to be having difficulty speaking. Musk brandished a chainsaw like that Argentina’s president Javier Milei used to symbolize the drastic cuts he intended to make to his country’s government, then posted that image to X, labeling it “The DogeFather,” although the administration has recently told a court that Musk is neither an employee nor the leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Politico called Musk’s behavior “eccentric.”

While attendees cheered Musk on, outside CPAC there appears to be a storm brewing. While Trump and his team have claimed they have a mandate, in fact more people voted for someone other than Trump in 2024, and his early approval ratings were only 47%, the lowest of any president going back to 1953, when Gallup began checking them. His approval has not grown as he has called himself a “king” and openly mused about running for a third term.

A Washington Post/Ipsos poll released yesterday shows that even that “honeymoon” is over. Only 45% approve of the “the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president,” while 53% disapprove. Forty-three percent of Americans say they support what Trump has done since he took office; 48% oppose his actions. The number of people who strongly support his actions sits at 27%; the number who strongly oppose them is twelve points higher, at 39%. Fifty-seven percent of Americans think Trump has gone beyond his authority as president.

Americans especially dislike his attempts to end USAID, his tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and his firing of large numbers of government workers. Even Trump’s signature issue of deporting undocumented immigrants receives 51% approval only if respondents think those deported are “criminals.” Fifty-seven percent opposed deporting those who are not accused of crimes, 70% oppose deporting those brought to the U.S. as children, and 66% oppose deporting those who have children who are U.S. citizens. Eighty-three percent of Americans oppose Trump’s pardon of the violent offenders convicted for their behavior during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Even those who identify as Republican-leaning oppose those pardons 70 to 27 percent.

As Aaron Blake points out in the Washington Post, a new CNN poll, also released yesterday, shows that Musk is a major factor in Trump’s declining ratings. By nearly two to one, Americans see Musk having a prominent role in the administration as a “bad thing.” The ratio was 54 to 28. The Washington Post/Ipsos poll showed that Americans disapprove of Musk “shutting down federal government programs that he decides are unnecessary” by the wide margin of 52 to 26. Sixty-three percent of Americans are worried about Musk’s team getting access to their data.

Meanwhile, Jessica Piper of Politico noted that 62% of Americans in the CNN poll said that Trump has not done enough to try to reduce prices, and today’s economic news bears out that concern: not only are egg prices at an all-time high, but also consumer sentiment dropped to a 15-month low as people worry that Trump’s tariffs will raise prices. White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said in a statement: “[T]he American people actually feel great about the direction of the country…. What’s to hate? We are undoing the widely unpopular agenda of the previous office holder, uprooting waste, fraud, and abuse, and chugging along on the great American Comeback.”

Phone calls swamping the congressional switchboards and constituents turning out for town halls with House members disprove Fields’s statement. In packed rooms with overflow spaces, constituents have shown up this week both to demand that their representatives take a stand against Musk’s slashing of the federal government and access to personal data, and to protest Trump’s claim to be a king. In an eastern Oregon district that Trump won by 68%, constituents shouted at Representative Cliff Bentz: “tax Elon,” “tax the wealthy,” “tax the rich,” and “tax the billionaires.” In a solid-red Atlanta suburb, the crowd was so angry at Representative Richard McCormick that he has apparently gone to ground, bailing on a CNN interview about the disastrous town hall at the last minute. (continued)

Posted in Economics, Government, Politics, Race | Comments Off on Commentary update by Heather Cox Richardson

How to topple Trump in six steps

By David Brewster February 21, 2025

Like many, I am tired of waiting for the congressional Republicans to grow a spine, and for Democrats to get their resistance act together. Instead, I suggest aspects of a shadow government and an emerging new politics, with these components.

A candidate for president. Now.

Such a candidate would begin to assemble a new, broad coalition and issues that will focus attention on the resistance agenda. The candidate would not be a standard-issue Democrat and would appeal to independents and Never-Trump Republicans. He or she might signal that their candidacy might end when the primary season commences.

An impeachment trial. 

If Congress won’t do it, citizens should. Present key evidence, with rebuttals, and make the case public for removal of Trump. It would be catnip for the media.

Select 20 congressional targets.

There might be 10 from each chamber, who are in swing districts and thus vulnerable to a primary. The goal is to squeeze out candidates who have given up on congressional independence and can be attacked for wimpiness. One hopes there would also be challenges from the right, meaning only one-third of voters are needed to remove them in the primary. Raise money to fund the challenges, and pick challengers who suggest a new, third party.

Develop political leverage that pinches. 

Some candidates: secession by Northeast or West Coast; a general strike for government agencies; armed Minutemen doing field exercises; product boycotts for Tesla and Trump resorts.

Build a Defense Fund. 

There will be massive legal expenses, so create a large pool of money to pay for lawyers (and seek volunteers). Create a mechanism for distributing the funding in a tactical way. The fund, along with the congressional targets, gives people an effective way to volunteer and send money.

The patriotism model.

The script for this is along the lines of De Gaulle’s Free France during World War II in England and France, and the patriotic tide that produced the American Revolution and pushed out the mighty British. That is: rallies, marches, websites, and modern versions of Sam Adams’s Committees of Correspondence. All are meant to focus the resistance and generate a new politics and a sense of hope.

David Brewster

David Brewster, a founding member of Post Alley, has a long career in publishing, having founded Seattle Weekly, Sasquatch Books, and Crosscut.com. His civic ventures have been Town Hall Seattle and FolioSeattle.

Ed note: We’re fortunate to have David and Joyce as fellow Skyline residents. David is a creative activist–just what we need.

Posted in Government | 2 Comments

“The 24 hour Economic Blackout”

Ed note: Will someone explain whether this will really help?

Posted by Jon Stewart but initiated by John Clemens: 

“The 24 hour Economic Blackout”
As our initial act, we turn it off. For one day we show them who really holds the power.

WHEN: Friday February 28th from12:00 A.M. to 11:59 P.M.

WHAT NOT TO DO:
Do not make any purchases; Do not shop online, or in-store; No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy; Nowhere!
Do not spend money on Food & Gas
Do not use Credit or Debit Cards
Do not hire anyone to do work around your house, etc.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Only buy essentials if absolutely necessary (Food, Medicine, Emergency Supplies)
If you must spend, ONLY support small, local businesses.

SPREAD THE MESSAGE
Talk about it, post about it, and document your actions that day!

WHY THIS MATTERS?
DT and his minions only care about their pocketbooksCorporations, banks only care about their bottom lineFinancial markets rely on consumers to spend
If we disrupt the economy for just ONE DAY, it sends a powerful message.If they don’t listen (they won’t) we make the next blackout longer (We will)

This is our first action. 

February 28thThe 24 Hour Economic Black Out Begins.

PLEASE PASS IT ON

Posted in Economics | Tagged | Comments Off on “The 24 hour Economic Blackout”

Trump’s ‘Long Live the King’ Post Sparks Outcry: ‘Embarrassing and Disrespectful to Our Country’

Jacob Bryant in Yahoo News

Donald Trump’s post proclaiming himself “king” rightfully earned a heap of backlash – more so after it was shared on official White House social media accounts with an apparently AI-generated image of him in a crown.

On Wednesday, Trump posted “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” to his Truth Social account after the administration put an end to the daytime tolls in New York. Shortly after both the official White House X and Instagram handles posted the quote along with an image of the president in a crown standing in front of New York.

Reactions to the Instagram posts in the comments ranged from “This must be new wall art for his bathroom” to “Really??? Posting this on the official White House account is so embarrassing and disrespectful to our country.”

Over on X, a number of users – both familiar faces and regular users – rallied against the comment and wondered loudly why more Republicans were not crying out with similar concern. Many also asked how organizations like Fox News might have reacted if former presidents Barack Obama or Joe Biden had proclaimed themselves a “king” on their social media platform of choice.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Putin’s Poodle

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Access to the Government

Thanks to Mike C.

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Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

From Foundation Fighting Blindness – Thanks to Ann M.

Join A Virtual Quarterly Vision Webinar on Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) February 27th | 7:00 p.m. ET   (4 PM PT)


Dear Friends,   Discover the latest information on AMD with the Foundation Fighting Blindness! We invite you to a free webinar to learn more about this common eye condition. This webinar is sponsored by Apellis Pharmaceuticals.   What will you learn? What is AMD and how does it affect vision Current research and potential treatments Tips for managing AMD and maintaining eye health Q&A with experts  

Webinar Details   Date: Thursday, February 27th, 2025 Registration Page: Quarterly Vision Webinar on AMD   PS: Forward this to anyone you know who’s interested in eye health research.
REGISTER TODAY  
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Take a nice slow breath and listen

Jamie Dupuis played a meditative fingerstyle cover of the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah” on 26 string harp guitar. (Thanks to Bob P.)

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Trump in the World 2.0 Spring Lecture Series

Thanks to Marilyn W.

Join us for Trump in the World 2.0, a series of talks and discussions on the international impact of the second Trump presidency.

Moderator: Danny Hoffman, Director of the Jackson School of International Studies and Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies

Mondays, 5-6:20 p.m. from March 31 to June 2, 2025

This lecture series is available as an in-person 2 credit/no credit course for UW students. It is available and free for the public via livestream only.

Faculty and guest speaker presentations will explore how different regions and global issues are affected by the policies of the Trump administration.

UW students: Register in MyPlan for the course; regular attendance required if taking the course.

For the public: Registration is required to receive the livestream link. RSVP: bit.ly/trump-in-world-series

Sponsored by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and co-sponsored by the Office of Global Affairs at the University of Washington. 

Questions? For course information, email jsiscom@uw.edu. For public livestream registration, email jsiscom@uw.edu


LIST OF SPEAKERS AND TOPICS (continued)

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Democracy in action today

thanks to Mike C.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Tragic displacement in the West Bank

Thanks to Mike C.

Posted in Race, Religion, War | 1 Comment

Listen in, call in & stay involved!

Commentary from a college classmate of Mary Jane F.

A town hall with our local House of Representatives member, Rick Larson* appeared on my phone yesterday and I decided to listen in. Larson, a Democrat, has represented this region of Washington for 24 years and is now in charge of the transportation subcommittee. There were 400 questions in queue, and 13,000 of us listening.

Some good points:

1. Contact. Contact. Call your representatives in Congress with your concerns. Call representatives and senators whose actions you do not like, call the White House. And then call again the next day. He says these numbers make a difference. The White House is feeling the pressure. If you don’t want to call, send emails. Write letters. Keep the pressure up.

2. A woman asked about working across the aisle. He said that there is no concession with what the Trump team is trying to do. However, in committee they do work across the aisle and are able to come up with effective legislation.

3. He believes that the reason Trump team is doing so much that is outrageous so fast is — they are throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. The more we are outraged and make that known as they throw these things at the wall the fewer they will get away with.

4. I can’t list the different many things that were mentioned that he says can actually not be changed by executive order but it was comforting to hear. A lot of the government is continuing to function fairly normally.

5. Support your attorneys general, support them with letters, emails etc. That is where the real battlefield of this crisis is.

6. The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center and other nonprofits need to be supported in whatever ways you can. They are doing good work.

There was more but that’s enough for now. We need to work with the good people who are representing us.

*Rick Larsen is the representative from Washington’s 2nd Congressional District

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Recycle right: misconceptions, and what not to do

Not everything is destined for the recycle bin. Jay Simmons, packaging product development manager from North Pacific Paper Company, says it's important to know what can and can't be processed by the company. Keep the Christmas lights out. (Courtesy of NORPAC)
1 of 6 | Not everything is destined for the recycle bin. Jay Simmons, packaging product development manager from North Pacific Paper Company, says it’s important to know what can and can’t be processed by the company. Keep the Christmas… (Courtesy of NORPAC)More 

By Bree Coven in the Seattle Times (thanks to Marilyn W.)

You dutifully toss your soda cans and last week’s newspaper in the bin and wheel it out to the curb every other week. But are you recycling right?

Seattle has some of the highest recycling rates in the U.S., with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU)’s program recycling nearly three-quarters of all recyclable packaging and paper products discarded by residents, Susan Fife-Ferris, director of SPU’s solid waste planning and program management, told The Seattle Times in November. Local organizations and businesses, community events and Ridwell’s subscription service all help reduce waste, too.

Yet questions remain. Fortunately, the answers — and many solutions for the things you don’t want or can’t use anymore — are out there.

“Climate anxiety seems to be at an all-time high,” says Kyleigh Turk-Polifko, owner of PUBLIC, a sustainable goods and refill shop in West Seattle with low-waste home and personal care options. “Instead of letting that take us to a place of paralysis, we keep encouraging our community to look for ways to make an impact locally. Recycling correctly is one way you can make an individual difference.”

Everything in its place

Seattle Public Utilities asks residents to focus on the top five types of recyclables: paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and metal. SPU spells out best practices on its website. First, make sure each item is actually recyclable. SPU’s online Where Does It Go Tool lists thousands of items (searchable by name and item category) and is available in 14 languages.

Gotta keep it separated

One of the biggest recycling misconceptions is assuming the recycling facility can easily separate items placed in the bin, says Jay Simmons, packaging product development manager from North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) in Longview, Wash. (norpacpaper.com).

“For example, someone might put a strand of broken Christmas lights into their recycling bin, expecting that the recycling facility is capable of separating the bulbs, insulation and copper/aluminum wiring for processing to make new products,” Simmons says. “In reality, there is no technology that can do this and those strands of Christmas lights will degrade the separation efficiency of other products.”

Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) process 200 to 500 tons per day with highly automated equipment, Simmons says. Anything that interferes with that hands-free process creates inefficiencies downstream. 

Another misconception, he says, is some consumers think items put into a recycling bin are just being transferred to the solid waste dump. They’re not.

Keep it clean

If you’re going to recycle, recycle right, Turk-Polifko says.

“It’s so important to make sure your items are clean and dry before putting them in your bin,” she says. “That is the standard for all recycling programs (including our in-shop beauty recycling program) so other recyclables aren’t contaminated.”

One water- and timesaving strategy her shoppers use is to keep a tub under the sink for recyclables that need cleaning and wash them all at once when it’s full.

No bags allowed

Place recyclables loose into the container. Do not bag them. Plastic bags have not been accepted in the recycling cart since 2019 and actually damage the machinery at the recycling centers. Heather Trim, executive director of Zero Waste Washington, which is working to make trash obsolete through policy, on-the-ground projects and research, says plastic bags, plastic wrap, flexible film and candy wrappers cause major problems. They wrap around and clog the equipment of the recycling facility. “For every eight-hour shift, they have to close it down for an hour to cut the plastic off the metal rollers,” she says.

Instead, bring plastic grocery bags to take-back bins in local grocery stores like Fred Meyer, QFC, Safeway, Haggen and Albertsons, where they are collected and often sent NexTrex, which mixes them with sawdust to create plastic lumber decking and benches. (continued)

Posted in Recycling | Comments Off on Recycle right: misconceptions, and what not to do

Congresswoman Jayapal at Town Hall

Thanks to Mary Jane F.

Image

There is no question that it has been a difficult start to this year and the new Trump administration — from funding freezes to executive orders that have caused chaos across the country. We must come together as a community to fight back, which is why I’d like to invite you to my Community Forum on Tuesday, February 18th. This is an opportunity to hear directly what I’m doing to fight back in Congress, learn from other local leaders in a panel discussion on where we go from here and get answers to your biggest questions. Join us to gather in community and chart our path forward under this new administration. 
WHAT: Community Forum with Congresswoman Jayapal: Coming Together, Building Resilience, & Uniting for Change

WHEN: Tuesday, February 18, 2025 from 6:00-7:30 PM, doors open at 5:30 PM

WHERE: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

RSVP here: Image   Be sure to arrive early to visit various booths from community partners on the front lines serving our district.

I hope to see you there! Space is limited and registration is required, so please RSVP today.

Talk soon,  Image     
Pramila Jayapal
U.S. Representative (WA-07) Did you find this update helpful? Yes No Other (please specify)   Let me know
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Crossing a line

Thanks to Pam P.

Borders between one kind of life and another. A moving piece by Timothy Snyder, one of our most well-informed advocates for democracy and Ukraine and author of the 2017 book On Tyranny.   I hope he is as safe travelling close to Russian occupied parts of Ukraine as he says he is.

TIMOTHY SNYDER FEB 12

I am on a night train from Kyiv, bound for Zaporizhzhia, a city in the southeast of Ukraine which is about twenty miles from the front. Russian missiles take about thirty-five seconds to hit the city, and the take civilian lives. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region. In September of 2022 the Russian parliament proclaimed the annexation of the region as a whole.

That front is a line that runs through Zaporizhzhia region, and indeed across the east and south of Ukraine. My train rushes southeast, towards that line. Its passengers, civilians and soldiers alike, know what lies on the other side.

Given the nature of Russian occupation, Ukrainians are fighting not only for their lives, but for a certain idea of life in freedom. In the parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia, anyone who showed any initiative or was elected to any position is killed or subjected to torture. Any expression of a political opinion or any gathering or anything that seems like opposition to Russian authorities will lead to a long prison sentence in awful conditions. Just having Ukrainian material on your phone is enough to be sent to prison. Ukrainian citizens in the occupied zones have to accept Russian citizenship in order to have access to basic services, such as schools. Children are kidnapped and sent to Russian families for adoption. They will be raised to hate the land of their birth. Perhaps still worse, they will be raised in a country where the government lies about everything all the time, where the media lies about everything all the time, and this is thought to be normal.

These basic facts create a different kind of existence, on that side of the line.

Ukraine is not a perfect country, and of course war itself makes people less free. The number of killed and wounded, though far lower than on the Russian side, grows every day. Ukrainian men have to serve in the armed forces, whether they want to or not. Even in the unoccupied majority of Ukrainian territory, Russian missile and drone attacks are not only lethal but exhausting. It is worse close to the front, as in Zaporizhzhia, where I arrive tomorrow morning, or Kharkiv, which I visited last September, because there is no time to take shelter from the missiles. But everywhere in the country nights are interrupted and people are at risk. I spent part of last night in a bomb shelter in Kyiv, awakened by the siren right after I went to sleep. For me this is an irritation. But for Ukrainians, three years of sleep deprivation takes a toll. The train tonight departed right at the time of the curfew, when people have to go home. This, too, is a certain deprivation of freedom.

And, yet, on this, the Ukrainian side of the line, people lead completely different lives than under Russian occupation or in Russia. Ukrainians say what they want, including about the war and about politics. Journalists cover the war and write about politics. There is fear, although less than you might think; but it is fear of bombs and missiles and violence from Russia, not of denunciations or oppression or of one’s own government. I have the strange feeling, this week in Kyiv, that Ukrainians are living freer lives now than Americans. At a book store where I was talking to a Ukrainian philosopher about freedom, a young woman put her hand on my arm and said “sorry about the U.S.”

There are lines that matter. If I made some sort of mistake, and somehow found myself on the Russian side of the line in the Zaporizhzhia region, I would probably disappear for good. Russian authorities have made clear what they think of me, sanctioning me not once but twice. (And, to be clear, it is a terrible idea for any American to go to Russia now; you will just be kidnapped, and held for some possible exchange for a Russian criminal.) If I crossed that line, it is unlikely that I would come back. (continued)

Posted in War | Comments Off on Crossing a line

Opening in 3 weeks!

Info from Mike C. – checkout this twin tower just east of Skyline: https://museumhouseseattle.com/

Sky Bridge Amenity Space

The Sky Bridge offers one of the best views in the building — perhaps one of the best views in Seattle. The design philosophy centers around framing the brilliant views with natural elements and a rich palette of earth tones.

The Nautical Gauges placed on the Sky Bridge reflect the nautical inspired interior details of the project in the amenity overlooking Seattle’s waterfront. The gauges selected are historic pilot navigation tools in black to match the blackened steel staircases leading to the second level.

Fitness Center Curated by House Concepts

Located on level 32, the indoor and outdoor fitness center will be equipped with cardio equipment as well as free weights and lifting equipment. The outdoor space will be home to a full size boxing ring. Residents will also have access to a range of fitness classes curated by House Concepts, and private training.

Posted in Housing, In the Neighborhood | Comments Off on Opening in 3 weeks!

What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before

Thanks to Pam P. – in Science Advisor

When asked to draw a scientist, school-age kids in the United States are increasingly sketching women. That’s the main conclusion of a new study that compiled information about 20,860 pictures drawn by students age 5 to 18 over 5 decades.

In the 1960s and 1970s, less than 1% of students depicted scientists as female. But the percentage of women in the “draw a scientist” sketches—like the one pictured, drawn by a third grade girl in San Antonio, Texas—has increased over time, reaching an estimated 34% by 2016. And the numbers are even more stark when looking at drawings penned by girls: About 1% drew women in the first 2 decades—but in the past decade more than half have drawn women, researchers report in Child Development.

The trend in how children perceive scientists parallels an uptick in the actual number of female scientists. Over roughly the same time period—from 1960 to 2013—the percentage of women holding science jobs rose from 28% to 49% in biological science, from 8% to 35% in chemistry, and from 3% to 11% in physics and astronomy.

Posted in Science and Technology | Comments Off on What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before

Make your voice heard.

Ed note: Please consider joining this group: https://5calls.org/. It connects you with issues of concern and gives you the number/persons to call. You can also subscribe to their newsletter. It’s a chance for your voice to be heard.


Calling your congressperson is the most effective way to influence policy.

Learn more about why calling works.

We’ve made 5,254,024 calls so far. Join us.

Pick an issue from the list, or read our guide to getting started.

Get updates on the latest issues.

Subscribe to our newsletter. One email per week at most, no spam.

Also you can contact the White House?

Phone number

1-202-456-1111 (comments)

1-202-456-1414 (switchboard)

Posted in Government | Comments Off on Make your voice heard.

Marching together toward ….

Thanks to Mike C.

S
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Beyond having a smart phone

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The moon surrenders to dawn

Thanks to Kathy M.

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Understanding RFK Jr.

Ed note: Since the time of Pasteur, Lister, Koch and Semmelweis we’ve all (but for a few) accepted the germ theory of disease. One of those few who does not accept established science is RFK Jr. Yet, he’s about to try to take our public health and research system (the envy of the world) back a few centuries. Even physician Republicans like Senator Cassidy (up for election in 2026) in going to vote for him. Institutions are only as good and ethical as the people running them. This is a very sad chapter highlighting the follies of politics and a disinformed public.

by Paul Offit (thanks to Ed M.)

If you want to know why RFK Jr. believes so many weird things, just read his book, The Real Anthony Fauci. Four pages explain everything.

RFK Jr. believes many weird things about the causes, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases. These false beliefs might seem disparate and unrelated, but they’re not. They’re all rooted in a single belief described on pages 285-288 of his book, The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. In short, RFK Jr. doesn’t believe in the germ theory. He believes in something called the miasma theory.

The miasma theory is a long-abandoned medical theory that holds that diseases are caused by poisonous vapors (i.e., miasmata) that are generated by rotting organic matter, such as trash sitting out on the street. According to the miasmists, diseases aren’t passed from one person to another; rather, they are the product of poor hygiene and sanitation.

In 1876, Robert Koch proved that a specific bacterium (Bacillus anthracis) caused anthrax. The germ theory was born. Understanding that specific bacteria and viruses caused specific diseases led to treatments like antibiotics and preventives like vaccines, which has caused us to live 40 years longer than we did in the late-1800s.

Nonetheless, in a section in his book titled “Miasma vs. Germ Theory,” RFK Jr. continues to embrace the miasma theory, writing the following statements:

The ubiquity of pasteurization and vaccinations are only two of the many indicators of the dominating ascendancy of germ theory as the cornerstone of contemporary public health policy. A $1 trillion pharmaceutical industry pushing patented pills, powders, pricks, potions, and poisons and the powerful professions of virology and vaccinologyThe miasmist approach to public health is to boost individual immune responses.” If you want to avoid infection, according to RFK Jr., all you need to do is maintain a healthy immune system. This explains why he has said that no vaccine is beneficial, that the polio vaccine killed more people than it saved, that young parents shouldn’t vaccinate their children, that HIV does not cause AIDS, that HIV is not spread from one person to another, and that the anti-AIDS drug AZT was an example of “mass murder”. It also explains why he drinks raw, unpasteurized milk.

Anthony Fauci [said that] vaccines have already saved millions and millions of lives. Most Americans accept the claim as dogma. It will therefore come as a surprise to learn that it is simply untrue.” This explains why RFK Jr. has claimed that improvements in sanitation, as promoted by miasmists, not vaccines, have accounted for a decrease in infections. In the late 1970s, when I was a pediatric resident, every year a bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB) accounted for about 25,000 cases of bloodstream infections, pneumonia, meningitis, epiglottitis, and cellulitis in young children. A vaccine to prevent HiB, which was introduced in 1987, has virtually eliminated the disease in the United States. Hib wasn’t eliminated because of a dramatic improvement in sanitation. It was eliminated because of the Hib vaccine.

When a starving African child succumbs to measles, the miasmist attributes the death to malnutrition; germ theory proponents (aka virologists) blame the virus.” This explains why, when RFK Jr. visited Samoa, which was in the midst of a measles outbreak that caused 5,600 cases and 83 deaths, primarily in young children, he urged vitamin A treatments, not a measles vaccine. Indeed, he said that the outbreak wasn’t caused by measles virus, which would have meant he would have had to embrace the germ theory. He made this claim well after a wild-type measles virus strain had been identified as the cause of the outbreak.

Imperialist ideologues find natural affinity with the germ theory.” This explains why he has said that scientists who promote vaccines, like Anthony Fauci, should be put in jail.

This is not a man who should be leading the largest public health agency in the United States.

Posted in Government, Health, History, Politics | Comments Off on Understanding RFK Jr.

Hasn’t happened in the Bistro–yet!

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Thousands of Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S.

 Travis Schlepp in KTLA5 Morning News (thanks to Bob P.)

In response to President Donald Trump’s continued musing about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America’s most economically prosperous state.

An online petition seeking the “Denmarkification” of California has seemingly garnered nearly 200,000 signatures, with a pitch to Danish citizens that purchasing the Golden State would provide them with more sunshine, dominance in the tech industry, limitless avocado toast and easy access to Disneyland — which organizers say would be renamed to honor fairytale author and poet Hans Christian Andersen.

“Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates.’ Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality,” petition organizers write on the online page.

Danes who sign the petition are encouraged to chip in for the fundraising goal of $1 trillion (give or take), which organizers say would cost every citizen of the Scandinavian nation approximately 200,000 DKK — or roughly $28,000.

Executives from LEGO and the cast of Danish political drama “Borgen” would negotiate the deal on behalf of the Scandinavian nation, and organizers said they would throw in a lifetime supply of Danish pastries to sweeten the deal. Greenland’s leader says his people don’t want to be Americans

The petition is a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to Trump’s fixation on acquiring Greenland, a Danish territory, which he says is critical to America’s national security interests. Republican legislators have also highlighted Greenland’s access to natural resources like oil, gas and minerals as reasons the U.S. should prioritize acquiring the territory.

FILE - Homes are illuminated after the sunset in Tasiilaq, Greenland, Friday Aug. 16, 2019. A group of 143 Greenlandic women have sued the Danish state for having been fitted with coils in the 1960s and 1970s, and demand a total compensation of nearly 43 million kroner ($6.3 million), Danish broadcaster DR reported Monday, March 4, 2024.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
FILE – Homes are illuminated after the sunset in Tasiilaq, Greenland, Friday Aug. 16, 2019.(AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump’s desire to obtain Greenland “absurd,” which led to the president cancelling a trip to visit Copenhagen during his first presidency. Greenland’s own leader, Múte Egede, echoed the statement, saying it is not for sale. (continued)

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Your Parents Deserve More From Their Nursing Home

Ed note: Please see the following post about the need for regulations in this growing, yet underfunded and understaffed industry charged with taking care of an elderly vulnerable population. We must be informed and strong advocates for good care.

By Norma B. Coe and Rachel M. Werner in the NYT

Dr. Coe is the director of research and Dr. Werner is the executive director at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

For anyone who lives in a nursing home, the adequacy of the nursing staff is a life-or-death issue. That’s why the Biden administration issued federal rules last year setting minimum standards for staffing. By our estimate, they will save 13,000 lives a year. But those rules are now under attack.

The Trump White House should defend them, not reverse or weaken them as part of its larger effort to roll back regulations across government.

The rules, which were finalized last April, represent some of the most significant reforms in nursing home care in decades. They will also cost most nursing facilities more to operate by increasing staffing, and that is why the rules are now in grave danger. But it will be money well spent on the industry’s core mission: caring for residents.

President Trump’s choice to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told lawmakers at a confirmation hearing last week that although the rules “were well intentioned,” they would be a “disaster,” especially for nursing homes in rural areas. Twenty Republican state attorneys general have gone to federal court to quash the rules. So have nursing home industry groups.

This amounts to an assault on some of our most vulnerable Americans, the roughly 1.3 million people who live in nursing homes, where understaffing and turnover are major problems. The rules, which are being phased in over the next several years, require a registered nurse to be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and mandate a minimum of 3.48 hours of nursing care per resident per day, mostly from nursing aides.

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That may not sound like a lot, but most nursing homes in the United States don’t meet those basic minimums. Staffing levels at 83 percent of nursing homes fell below the new requirements in the first half of 2023, according to our analysis.

As researchers who have studied nursing homes for decades, we know how crucial nursing home staff members are — and why efforts to roll back the new minimum staffing rules pose such a threat to the residents and their families who rely on these staffers.

This will be especially true in coming years. The fastest growing age group in the United States already is people age 65 and older. Roughly one in six Americans fall into that age group, representing 17 percent of the population. That percentage is expected to rise to 22 percent by 2040.

If we were to provide advice on choosing a facility for a loved one, we’d cite the number of nurses and their aides as one of the most important factors. In homes with more nurses and aides, residents experience fewer bedsores and urinary tract infections. They stay more active and live longer. But U.S. nursing homes suffer from significant staffing shortages.

What impact will the new regulations have? We reviewed estimates of the relationship between total nurse staffing hours and mortality from published research. What we found surprised us: Achieving the minimum staffing levels would save the lives of about 13,000 people per year in U.S. nursing homes, about the same number killed in drunken driving accidents. And that doesn’t include the infections and other severe medical issues that would be prevented.

It’s true that hiring and retaining staff members in nursing homes is challenging, particularly since the pandemic. But nursing homes outside rural areas have until 2026 to meet the new standards, with rural facilities getting even more time. Facilities are eligible for exemptions if they cannot reasonably meet the standards, and the federal government is providing $75 million in programs such as scholarships and tuition reimbursement to train the next generation of caregivers.

The Biden administration estimated the new rules would cost about $4.3 billion a year. One major industry group says that number is $6.5 billion a year.

The industry is opaque about how nursing homes spend their funds. While reported profit margins are thin, facilities regularly funnel their revenue into related firms that do business at inflated prices, effectively hiding profits. A recent analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that over two-thirds of profits are hidden this way. Artificially low profits shouldn’t be used as justification to eliminate important standards, putting profits over the residents themselves. But that seems to be what the industry wants.

Interestingly, a 2023 analysis of the rules’ impact by KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 90 percent of for-profit nursing facilities would need to hire more registered nurses or nurse aides compared with 60 percent of government and nonprofit facilities to comply with the proposed staffing minimums.

Many nursing homes may need to make only minimal changes to comply. While just about 20 percent of nursing homes now meet these standards, our analysis found that an additional 14 percent are out of compliance by only a small amount, or for only a few months of the year. The rules also include hardship exemptions for facilities that truly can’t meet the requirements, minimizing the burden on the most vulnerable institutions.

The truth is, nursing homes can meet these standards. The for-profit nursing home industry diverts hundreds of millions in profits to executives and shareholders — money that could be redirected toward hiring more nurses. California, where increasing minimum staffing requirements have existed for over two decades, has seen a net increase in the number of nursing homes, while at the same time there has been lower mortalitybetter nurse retention and higher quality of care.

The federal government’s minimum staffing requirements offer an opportunity to provide better care for older Americans and prolong their lives. We shouldn’t let that slip away.

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