Moonshot Initiative

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Ken
President Biden’s unintended war on cancer patients.
Opinion by Tomas J. Philipson, opinion contributor

Patients could become the collateral damage of a tug of war that Washington
is playing between lowering drug prices and lowering the death rate from cancer.
It comes at a moment when the White House’s proposed Cancer Moonshot initiative 
took center stage at the flagship meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
(ASCO) and as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) resumes talks with Democratic leadership
to revitalize drug price controls.

Despite the great intent of the Cancer Moonshot, new evidence tells us the joint implementation of such price controls from Congress will raise cancer mortality substantially and stall out decades of progress to discover treatments for a
devastating and personal disease.
 
Cancer is the second leading cause of deaths in the U.S. today, killing about 600,000 Americans a year. Most of us have been left behind by loved ones who became victims
of the dreadful disease. Given its large historical presence, in 1971 the National Cancer
Act was passed in a bipartisan fashion, spurring the War on Cancer through decades of significant public investment in cancer research that continues to this day. Evidence has found that the economic rates of returns of this war, the gains in cancer longevity relative to investments in research and development (R&D), have been enormous and that cancer patient gains from the war have been five times as large as those of drug companies who made such investments. 

Recently the Biden administration aimed to further this ongoing war by reigniting
the Cancer Moonshot to substantially cut cancer mortality through its proposed federal budget. Its stated objectives include cutting cancer mortality in half over the next 25 years. Just as for the rest of us, family members of the president were struck with the disease, and this seems to have heightened the relevancy for the president of the Moonshot initiative before his current term in the White House. 

In the budget, the White House proposed a $1.9 billion annual increase in public R&D
funding for cancer, mainly through additional funds to the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This represents about a 3 percent increase to what we estimate is the current level of cancer R&D, public and private, of about $57 billion, where the private share is not directly reported given the proprietary nature of R&D. This injection of federal funds comes at a time when cancer research is booming due to existing market and policy incentives. Our analysis finds an astonishing 49 percent of the total FDA pipeline today is for new cancer treatments and 
27 percent of new drug and biologics approvals are for cancer. 

But the Moonshot is not the only Washington proposal affecting cancer R&D and the discovery of future treatments for cancer patients. In fact, contradictory to the Biden administration’s goals on cancer, a separate effort in Congress to institute price controls on prescription drugs would actually dampen the very efforts to fuel the development of new, potentially groundbreaking cancer treatments.
 
In a new analysis , researchers at the University of Chicago found that proposed drug price controls on cancer treatments will reduce overall annual cancer R&D spending by about $18 billion per year , or 31.9 percent.
Despite admirable efforts by the administration to increase funding for cancer research, the reduction in total R&D spending from the proposed price controls is about 9.5 times as large as such an increase from the budgetary expansion. In short, cancer patients would miss out on 9.5 times as many new drugs due to price controls as they gain from the Cancer Moonshot initiative. 

Despite mountains of evidence, some politicians unfamiliar with how markets work
argue that future profits do not drive R&D spending so price controls will not impact the development of new drugs. Maybe a Congressional field visit to a venture capital or private equity firm would be useful, to see in action the self-evident fact that future profits drive the funding rounds needed to finance the trials required by FDA.
Or just look at how little private research occurred understanding COVID natural immunity compared to vaccines because natural immunity cannot be sold but vaccines can. Turns out good science relies on good profits. 

Politicians also argue that cancer care is more expensive here than abroad, arguing that we need to import foreign price controls. But if the large U.S. market pays less than the actual value of cancer treatments like foreigners do, it will have larger effects worldwide as the U.S. contributes more than 70 percent of the global drug earnings driving worldwide innovation. 

Such innovation is making remarkable strides at the moment.
At ASCO this June, researchers presented findings from a small clinical trial for colorectal cancer that triggered a remarkable remission in all 14 patients who received the treatment.
It is a testament to what is possible for patients who are suffering from a devastating disease and how dedicated R&D spending can change the course of care.

It is also a stark reminder of what is at stake for the president and an administration that is focused on both lowering cancer mortality and prices of cancer treatments. Though the actions of the administration and Congress are well-intended, price control proposals will unintentionally reverse decades of progress to win the ongoing war on cancer that began in 1971 when President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act. 

Tomas J. Philipson is the Daniel Levin Chair Emeritus at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and a former member and chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2017 to 2020. He reports research support or consulting income from many industries including biopharmaceutical companies.

TAGS BIDEN CANCER DEATHS CANCER MOONSHOT CANCER RESEARCH 
DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATION JOE MANCHIN NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE PHARMACEUTICALS POLICY PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES 
PRICE CONTROLS PRIVATE INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Related video:  President Biden and his mounting dilemmas.

Brian Rivers on President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Cancer death rates fall 32 percent since 1991 peak | The Hill
The ACS noted that the report also does not account for the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on diagnosis and treatment since the fatality data goes up to 2019.

The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers
to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter. 🌷💛☀ Let light shine out of darkness ☀💛🌷

Inflation: Reagan and Trump vs. Carter and Biden | Opinion (msn.com)
Inflation is Biden administration’s ‘biggest problem’ but not his ‘highest priority,’
Dana Perino says (msn.com)

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A Guide to Happiness

Posted on June 28, 2022 by Ken
Dalai Lama’s guide to happiness – YouTube

“We have bigger houses but smaller families; more conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicines, but less healthiness; We’ve been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve built more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever but have less communications; We have become long on quantity, but short on quality. These times are times of fast foods; but slow digestion; Tall man but short character; Steep profits but shallow relationships. It is a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.”

The Relevance of the Dalai Lama in the Modern World — Study Buddhism

The Dalai Lama was born Lhamo Thondup on July 6, 1935 in Taktser, China.
At age 15, he assumed the political power of Tibet as the Dalai Lama. The Almost 87-year-old Buddhist monk Dalai Lama is a living legend of the 21st century. Dalai Lama devoted his life to promoting human values around the world. His teaching on human values and their importance are more relevant in today’s world. 
Dalai Lama’s dedication to the virtue of kindness is obvious in his way of life:
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
Being kind is not just personal development, it is a collective
growth of humanistic values such as love, compassion, and friendliness.
Kindness is more needed in today’s time when people at large need each other to understand, empathize, and share each other’s suffering. The Buddhist philosophy 
Maitri or Metta meaning loving-kindness is the first of the four sublime states taught by Buddha. The ancient text of Hinduism and Jainism also mentions the importance of kindness, love, and compassion. . . . “Kindness and a good heart are the foundation for success in this life, progress on the spiritual path, and the fulfillment of our aspirations.”

Remember, as a child, you used to help everyone, regardless of their names, color, or status. It was a pure act of kindness.
Your bitter experiences or exploitation have corrupted the very conception of helping others. It made you skeptical about offering genuine help to any stranger.
Kindness is not a task you go out to perform one day and get a reward for.
It comes naturally from the heart, with pure sympathy for others’ suffering.
Being a kind person makes you more empathetic towards others. Others see you as a better human with mutual understanding. You become more appealing to other people.
The right attitude and behavior will get you more opportunities and set a path towards a successful life. Kindness resonates with spiritual peace and tranquility.
It helps you better understand yourself, making you more confident. . . .

“Through your kindness to others, your mind and heart will open to peace.”
In this fast-moving world, we are much more concerned about material needs than the spiritual state of mind. We have become consumers of our own longings.
In the race of achieving goals, mental peace and satisfaction are often sacrificed.
The feeling of being useful to others in any form will always surge a sense of pride and
self-satisfaction. Helping others or caring for others with no intentions makes you a better person in your eyes and in others.
Helping someone cross the road, carrying heavy bags of groceries or giving food to the needy ones, or even just smiling at a stranger. These blissful memories will always be a beacon in the darkness.
The more of these memories build-up, the more content you become.
As Dalai Lama said, “The more you nurture a feeling of kindness,
the happier and calmer you will be.”  . . .

“If we remember that others too are human beings like us,
we can extend a sense of kindness even towards those we think of as enemies.”
Dalai Lama fought for his land before becoming a refugee in India.
He talked with the Chinese for peaceful resolution and dialogues.
The sense of fraternity has lost its way in categorization and groupings. Others are humans like us, they eat like us; they breathe like us. They cry and they bleed like us.
And it does not matter if they don’t like us or they are enemies, they are still fellow humans. Kindness does not filter out anyone, it just flows from one heart to another.
Practicing compassion and kindness is not cowardice, it takes a courageous heart to accept others and empathize with them. If we understand each other, we can extend the sense of kindness or express love and compassion.
In Dalai Lama’s words, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”  

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible”
Being kind does not need a transformation of life or change in way of thinking.
It is an aspect of human nature that needs no special implementation.

We often ignore people’s suffering. We value our time more than caring for people’s problems or even listen to them. There may be many reasons, or more accurately excuses, to not reaching out to the people in need.
Kindness should flow like a river without worrying about its path or destination. 
It is always possible. There should not be any excuses or reasons to be kind.
It does not need a place, time, or conditions to be a kind person.
Be kind whenever or in whatever form needed. 
“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.
Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
Our lives have become slaves of our dreams and desires. We are so self-consumed in our achievements we forgot the very basic virtue that makes us what we are. Humanity.

We call ourselves humans, not because we live together, but because we care for each other’s value in the world. Love, compassion, and kindness are the symbols of humanity.
Our shared values of love and compassion towards each other make us human.
And if we let go of these values, hostility towards each other may increase.
Eventually, we might lose our only identity, humanity. 

How To Be Kind:
Being kind is not a specialty, it does not require any exercise or particular efforts.
It requires opening your heart and your mind for others.

Dalai Lama himself expressed the simplicity of kindness,
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness.”

Start with little.
Listen to people
Understand their problems and their feelings
Help others without worrying about personal gains
Express gratitude to others, even if not needed
Make friends, genuinely, not for any benefits
Share smiles whenever possible
Treat everyone as a fellow human

Change your perspective to realize others’ problems, sympathize with them,
and ensure your support for them.
“Whether one believes in a religion or not and whether one believes in rebirth or not. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” — Dalai Lama 
In the time of Corona-virus kindness, love and compassion are much needed to share
the suffering and thrive towards a better society.
We cannot expect any third entity to elevate every human life and eventually make everyone happy. Our problems must be solved by ourselves, collectively.


Not Giving a F**K . . . . Apathy – Wikipedia

10 Lessons from Dalai Lama That Will Change Your Life
Robert Locke

Author of Ziger the Tiger Stories, a health enthusiast specializing in relationships,
life improvement and mental health.

It is not often that Oprah Winfrey is lost for words!

Yet this was exactly what happened when she asked the Dalai Lama a very pertinent question, which is recounted in the book by Victor Chan entitled The Wisdom of Forgiveness.

She asked him, “Have you ever had to forgive yourself for something?”
His Holiness replied, “My attitude towards mosquitoes is not very favorable, not very peaceful. Bed bugs also.”
Oprah was astounded that there was nothing else to be forgiven for in a life spanning 78 years. Forgiveness and compassion for all living creatures are the two pillars of the Dalai Lama’s teachings. Let’s discover together how his teachings will change your life.

⌄ Scroll down to continue reading article ⌄
Your Action Plan to Achieve What You Want

1. Be compassionate.
“The topic of compassion is not at all religious business; it is important to know it is human business, it is a question of human survival.”

Research now shows that when you are compassionate, you experience a
similar feeling of pleasure as when you have sex, good food or a relaxing holiday.
Basically, showing compassion is good for your health. Take compassionate action
and get the “giver’s high.” Benefits are reduced stress, more regular heartbeat and
improved immune system.

You can show compassion by understanding the person’s feelings and emotions.
That means talking to them and trying to share what they are going through. It is more demanding than a mere act of kindness. If you are compassionate, you are going to get emotionally involved. You also ask what help is needed.

You could apply this to:

A friend who is ill
Someone who has lost their job
A relative who has been bereaved
Someone going through a separation
A homeless person

2. Be kind and help others.
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

Being kind and generous costs little and the benefits you gain in happiness are considerable. That was the conclusion that Michael Norton and colleagues at the Harvard Business School came to, after doing some very interesting research. The volunteers who gave away some money were happier than those who had spent it on themselves.

Get the push you need to move forward by grabbing your FREE action plan to turn your ideas into actionable tasks and make your goal happen!

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

3. Find happiness.
“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

In the rat race, the one thing you really want at the end of the day is the capacity to find happiness.

When he was interviewed about this, the Dalai Lama said that we are bombarded with messages about material possessions. There are very few messages about forgiving, being compassionate, patient, tolerant, and kind. You really have to give those values top priority in order to be happy.

“Happiness is not ready made—it comes from our own actions.”

4. Discover inner peace.
The Dalai Lama advises everybody to spend a little time alone each day. Time to reflect and chase away the negative thoughts such as anger, resentment, jealousy, and tiredness. Try to replace those with positive emotions such as optimism, gratitude, love, and peace. He rightly says that the truly calm mind is the source of happiness and good health.

5. Do not harm others.
“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.”

If you start telling lies, gossiping and spreading nasty rumors, bullying, and taking advantage of others, then the negative fallout from them will come back to haunt you. These are just a few of the actions that can harm others.

6. Nurture your friendships.
Friendships should never be undervalued. They need tender loving care because they
can generate trust and affection. Real friendships will never depend on money or political clout. It is a sad fact that neglected or stillborn friendships lead to loneliness. This is one of the risk factors which probably contributes to depression in our society.

7. Don’t let technology rule your life.
Did you know that the Dalai Lama has over 8 million followers on Twitter?
While he admires the advances in social media in helping us to communicate,
he nevertheless warns against its overuse for the following reasons:

It can control your life—look at people in restaurants using their cell phones.
Who is in charge? You or the technology?
It is a poor substitute for real friendship.
It cannot help you to be compassionate.

Real human interaction will suffer.
“We are the controllers of technology. If we become a slave of technology, then that’s not good.”

8. Don’t argue or fight; just negotiate.
“Non-violence means dialogue, using our language, the human language. Dialogue means compromise; respecting each other’s rights; in the spirit of reconciliation there is a real solution to conflict and disagreement. There is no hundred percent winner, no hundred percent loser—not that way but half-and-half. That is the practical way, the only way.”

Whether it is an international crisis or an argument with your partner or boss,
the key to a peaceful, non-violent outcome is dialogue. In this way, you learn the art of compromise and negotiation. His Holiness recommends that you should never bring up the past but concentrate on what is causing the present problem.

9. Be gentle with the earth.
In order to survive, we have a duty to preserve this planet as best we can. Learning how to recycle, looking at ways to create alternative energy, and learning about the current issues are all ways that can help to delay the tipping point.

10. Learn from your failures.
“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”

When you screw up, it is important to examine what went wrong.
Maybe you said the wrong thing or maybe you haven’t thought the whole process through. Perhaps there was a problem in planning the project and maybe you did not think about worst-case scenarios. Reflection can help you learn every time you fail. Could these ten lessons really change your life?

Try to apply them to your life and work. You will soon discover that truth, honesty, warm-heartedness and compassion will be the driving forces in your life and will help you to gain real happiness. Tell us in the comments what teachings or quotes from the Dalai Lama have inspired you and how they have changed your life.

Dalai Lama Famous Quotes – Bing video

image.png
 
THE PARADE OF THE PLANETS!🪐 Peaks last night !

The rare planetary alignment:

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn of 2022. 

We won’t be seeing this again until 2040.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Amish Cancer Secret

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Ken
How To Cure Just About Any Cancer The Amish Way
Are the Amish onto something BIG?

Why Don’t the Amish Get Cancer? (shgamishcancer.blogspot.com)  
Here’s Why the Amish RARELY Get Cancer (dailyhealthpost.com)
Amish Have Lower Rates Of Cancer, Ohio State Study Shows – Schwartzreport

When Scientists Studied The Amish, They Were Amazed That This Was Significantly Lower.
We are always looking for the cure for cancer. What we don’t seem to pay attention to are the people who don’t seem to have the massive rates of cancer that the rest of the population has.
That is finally being studied as a Cancer Causes and Control study is saying that cancer rates in Amish people are significantly lower than any other group in the United States! The Ohio State University researchers had a typical bias that many have when they started the study. Naturally, they thought, the Amish were going to have an increased risk of illness due to not having access to all those wonderful pharmaceuticals and modern medicines, right? Wrong. The Amish cancer rate was very low.

The researchers then dialed into their lifestyle, which includes many staying away from drinking and smoking, while not living promiscuously due to their beliefs. Thus lifestyle was a big factor. But they also are engaged in physical work every day involving construction and agriculture. No TV’s either.
Food has to play a huge role as well, as they grow their own and the fruits and veggies are organic. And their dairy is unprocessed.

While many mock the Amish from time to time, these are the people who are actually holding the keys to high health, and cancer-free lifestyles.


Is it possible to cure just about any cancer the Amish way? Is it true that many Amish people get rid of cancer the easy way in just three or four weeks? 



Word-Of-Mouth Advertising Keeps
The Amish Coming Back for the Cure.

Word-of-mouth advertising explains why hundreds of Amish cancer patients continue to travel long distances by train for the natural cancer cure. If it didn’t work, the Amish would quit making that journey!
Recently, at Union Station in Chicago, I introduced myself to a young Amish man from Pennsylvania. I asked him, “When Amish people get cancer, where do they go for a cure?”


Perhaps The Strongest Proof
That The Amish Cancer Cure Works
The Amish who lives in far-flung communities throughout America’s heartland know where to go to cure cancer because they talk to each other. This word-of-mouth advertising is perhaps the strongest proof that the Amish cancer cure actually works!

“Terminal” Cancer Case “CURED” Donald Factor Obituary (1934 – 2017) –
Palm Springs, CA – The Desert Sun (Legacy.Com)
‘My Unorthodox Battle With Cancer’ | Daily Mail Online
Actual Cases Of Cancer Victors – Welcome To Cancer Cure Foundation (Cancure.Org)
Lung Cancer Healed with Integrative Therapies (Donald Factor) – Cancer Compass an Alternate Route (Cancercompassalternateroute.Com)

Let me tell you about another spectacular cancer cure at one of the clinics that sees many Amish patients.
You’ve probably heard of Max Factor, the creator of the cosmetics empire. But you may not have heard that the heir to the Max Factor fortune cured his “terminal” cancer the Amish way. As a multi-millionaire, he could have afforded the Mayo Clinic or any other American hospital — or any hospital in the world for that matter.
This tycoon didn’t seek alternative treatments to save money but to SAVE HIS LIFE.

Here’s what happened.
Max Factor’s son Donald came down with one of the deadliest, most aggressive forms
of cancer: carcinoma of the lung that had already metastasized to his liver and spine.



Max Factor’s son Donald got a death sentence from his conventional cancer doctors. But a hospital 30 minutes from San Diego cured his cancer. And he’s been cancer-free and healthy for over 20 years!
At the time of the shocking diagnosis, Donald was 51 years old. He said, “I was told I only had six months to live. But 17 years later I’m still alive and kicking!” (He made that remark in 2003.) He credits his astounding recovery to the natural cancer treatments he received at a little-known hospital near San Diego.
Most amazingly, Donald’s doctors pronounced him “cured” — not just “in remission.”
Donald says, “I went back regularly for check-ups, and after about three years of being in remission the doctors said I was cured. I said, ‘I thought in the cancer business you were never cured.’ And they said, ‘Well, it’s silly to keep writing down “Remission” year after year. We’ll see you whenever you want to come back.’ And that was that…”
The hospital he was treated at is doing an ongoing study. So far, the results show that its treatments for breast cancer and ovarian cancer are three times more effective than conventional treatments. For lung cancer its treatments are ten times more effective.
And their treatments have no side effects! No hair loss. No nausea. No vomiting.
The healing secrets of this hospital belong to a legendary family of MDs, and these secrets have been passed on from father to son for three generations.

These Natural Therapies Knocked the Cancer Out, including:

Hyperthermia: a gentle therapy that gives the patient an artificial fever to “bake”
the cancer cells to death. Cancer cells “can’t take the heat,” but normal cells can.
Oxygen therapy: Cancer cells die by the millions when they get a blast of oxygen.
Laetrile and vitamin C by IV: These non-toxic therapies kill cancer cells and also quench free radicals. They are far more powerful when administered by IV than when taken by mouth.
A strictly organic diet to give the body the nutrition it needs
Detoxification therapies to get rid of the poisons that can cause cancer
Let me describe why people from all walks of life and from all over the world seek natural treatment at one of the little-known clinics. If you have cancer…detox – Search (bing.com)

Imagine getting rid of it in three to six weeks in a safe, secure hospital that seems more like a five-star spa resort.
Imagine having a spacious and immaculately clean private room with your own private balcony giving you a spectacular view of the ocean.

Image result for detox
– Imagine a team of first-class doctors who focus like a laser beam on your case every day and imagine further that they never rush you but instead give you as much time as you need.
– Imagine being pain-free and prescription-drug-free while you heal under the care of your team of doctors.
– Imagine being pampered — being waited on hand and foot — with a soothing, therapeutic massage every day and other therapeutic spa services such as mineral wraps and a daily session in a far-infrared sauna.
– Imagine soaking in the mineralized healing waters of a pool by the ocean.
– Imagine being entertained in the dining room by a professional band or possibly even by pop music star Gloria Gaynor singing her signature song “I Will Survive!” in person.
– Imagine leaving this spa-like hospital cancer-free and armed with a solid plan to keep the cancer from ever sneaking back into your life.
– Imagine that this fit-for-royalty cancer treatment costs only about $1,000 a day — nowhere near the $10,000-a-day price tag of cancer treatment in an American hospital, not counting the exorbitant cost of cancer drugs.
Finally, imagine that your insurance company will probably reimburse you for most of the cost!

If you think that’s too good to be true, think again, and imagine no more.
You see, this paradise by the ocean really does exist. Celebrities and ordinary people from all over the world go there for treatment. And the pop singer Gloria Gaynor actually did sing “I Will Survive!” in person in the dining room for the cancer patients and their companions.
Incredibly, the hospital’s mineralized, healing spa pools contain ocean water that’s purified through a million-dollar filtration system and circulated back into the ocean. Soaking in ocean water has long been known to have health benefits.

The Amish Don’t Rough It
When They Get Cancer Treatment!
As you can tell from the description above, the Amish don’t rough it when they get cancer treatment. They prefer the easy way, which is also the more effective and less expensive way.
You’re probably wondering how it’s possible to get this kind of cancer treatment for the price of a minivan. Frankly, mainstream cancer treatment prices are a rip-off. Natural treatments are affordable and reasonable — and are also more effective against cancer.

Nicholas Gonzalez Cancer – Bing video
Search Results for Carl O Helvie | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)
Carl O Helvie Cancer Compass – Search (bing.com)

This Hospital’s Cure Rate
Leaves Conventional Cancer Doctors in The Dust
Conventional cancer doctors have a two-percent success rate for stage-four cancers. (Stage-four is the last stage before death.) In other words, five years after conventional treatment, only two patients out of 100 are still alive. Ninety-eight are dead.



Patrick Swayze died at the young age of 57. But chemo made him look decades older.
It sickened him and caused his hair to fall out. One of the listed side effects of the popular chemo drug “5FU” is “death.” No wonder 5FU’s nickname is “Five Feet Under.”
In contrast to conventional cancer doctors’ abysmal failure rate, the doctor who cured country singer Jonathan’s throat cancer boasts a success rate of 50 to 90 percent, depending on the type of cancer. And his treatments don’t ruin his patients’ quality of life.
Actor Patrick Swayze chose conventional American cancer treatments. As you can see from the “before” and “after” photos, the high doses of chemotherapy ruined his health.

By contrast, actress and author Suzanne Somers Knockout pdf – Search (bing.com) shocked her doctors in 2001 when she refused chemo for her breast cancer. They were aghast that she wouldn’t take their advice. Instead, she chose natural treatments. And because she refused to sacrifice her beauty to chemotherapy, she looks fabulous today — much younger than her actual age. And she remains cancer free.
What’s The Problem with Conventional Cancer Doctors?
Why do conventional cancer doctors fail so often?
The main reason is that they only focus on the symptom (the tumor).
They try to cut it out, burn it out, or poison it.
What about finding the underlying cause of the cancer?
Conventional cancer doctors just aren’t interested.
What about hyperthermia and oxygen therapies?
These non-toxic therapies don’t fit the conventional doctors’
“cut-burn-poison” model of cancer treatment.



What about detoxification, nutrition, and immune-boosting therapies?
Most conventional doctors ignore them.
Why Should It Cost
Over $300,000 To Die Of Cancer?
You can get rid of your cancer the Amish way in three to six weeks for $15,000 to $35,000. Or you can spend $300,000 to $800,000 or more to die of cancer.
If you think I’m exaggerating, think again.
CNN $618,000 cancer bill only to die after seven years of agonizing, overpriced, useless treatments. – Search (bing.com)

In the year 2000, doctors diagnosed him with kidney cancer, and he was determined
to beat it. The cost of surgery to remove his kidney was $25,000, and that was just the beginning. Two years later the cancer had spread, so he took a drug called Interleukin 2
for $735 a dose.
In 2005 he had another setback: cancer was growing in his lungs.
So, he started an IV drug called Avastin. The cost: $27,360 for one dose! 
(For that price, you can get rid of just about any cancer in three or four weeks the Amish way.)
He had 60 chest scans at $3,200 each. Total cost of the scans: $192,000!
The last drug he took was a chemo drug called Sutent at $200 a pill.
He took it once a day for a month. Total cost: $6,000 for the month.
Did his overpriced drugs work? Apparently not. In December of 2007 he was rushed to the hospital again, and the cancer had spread to his brain. The cancer doctors “worked on him” for four days, and then he died.
The cost of those last four days of treatment: $43,000 — more than $10,000 per day.
His wife said, “The only thing I can say for certain that we spent that money on was to confirm that he was dying.”
It bears repeating that his total cost to die of cancer in pain was $618,000!

Many Dying Cancer Patients Try Useless Treatments (webmd.com)
Follow-Up Care After Leiomyosarcoma Treatment (webmd.com)
Search Results for Leiomyosarcoma | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)

The cost of medical care at one of the little-known clinics near San Diego is an astounding bargain compared to the outrageous medical bills in conventional hospitals. But the cost savings aren’t the main reason the Amish and other cancer patients go to those clinics for treatment. They go there for results!
That’s why the late actor Eddie Albert took his wife there. He was so pleased with the treatment she received that he appeared in an educational video promoting natural cancer treatments.



Because of word-of-mouth advertising about these natural cancer treatments,
other Hollywood stars have gone to the little-known clinics for cancer treatment.
Perhaps you saw actress Rebecca De Mornay with Tom Cruise in Risky Business.
She was also in Wedding Crashers and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
She took her mother to one of the little-known clinics near San Diego when she got cancer. Celebrities Who Go to The Cancer Clinics for Anti-Aging Treatments.
Motivational speaker Mark Victor Hansen, the author of the best-selling “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, is a HUGE fan of the luxurious resort cancer clinic I described earlier. He’s never had cancer as far as I know. But he goes there for health tune-ups, rejuvenation, and relaxation.
So does his colleague, motivational speaker Dennis Waitley. So does Christiane Northrup, M.D., the best-selling author of books about women’s health.
These celebrities don’t mind being named. But I’m unable to tell you the names of most of the celebrities who go to little-known clinics for treatment because of medical confidentiality.
The little-known clinics also attract patients who are just plain frustrated with their health.

“What’s Wrong with Me?”
You see, a surprising number of Americans have chronic pain. They don’t feel right, and their symptoms are worrisome or alarming. They want an answer to the question: “What’s wrong with me?” But they can’t get a straight answer from their doctor.
Instead, their doctor writes a prescription for an overpriced drug and quickly moves on to the next patient.
But at the hospitals and clinics that attract the Amish, the doctors take the time to get to the bottom of the patient’s health problem — whether it’s cancer or some undiagnosed disease.
People who don’t feel well can find out what’s wrong by going to the clinics and hospitals
I recommend. The tests are non-invasive, and when the root problem is finally exposed,
a treatment plan can begin.
The holistic hospitals and clinics achieve breakthrough results not only for cancer but also for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other degenerative diseases.

And paying for medical treatments at these clinics has never been easier.
Oasis of Hope – Bing video
CMN Cancer Mexico – Search (bing.com)
Sanoviv Medical Institute Mexico – Bing video
Cancun, Mexico | Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers
Cancer Center Merida Mexico – Search (bing.com)

Cancer Killers
Link Between Oxygen & Cancer?
Underlying Causes of Cancer

(amishamerica.com)

Do Amish visit doctors? (amishamerica.com)
Wisconsin country doctor treats Amish, studies genetic diseases (jsonline.com)
What Happened After I Visited an Amish Iridologist (disabilitydame.com)
99 Favorite Amish Home Remedies (harvesthousepublishers.com)
How the Amish Made Me a Better Doctor — CovenantMD
Amish doctors near me – Search (bing.com)
Contact Us | Releaf Health Clinic

Cancer Cure Guide to The 25 Most Famous Alternative Cancer Treatment Facilities Worldwide | Alive-N-Healthy (alivenhealthy.com)
Amish Girl With Cancer in Hiding to Avoid Chemotherapy; 11-Year-Old Sarah Hershberger’s Parents Disregard Appellate Court (medicaldaily.com)
MIRACLE: Amish girl ruled cancer free 2 yrs after she went into HIDING to avoid court-ordered chemo | John Hawkins’ Right Wing News
Sarah Hershberger: “Cancer-free” and proof that natural healing works? Not so much… – RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE
A Clash of Cultural Values: The Case of Sarah Hershberger – Saloma Miller Furlong (salomafurlong.com)
Top 4 Holistic Cancer Treatment Centers in Tijuana, Mexico | Alive-N-Healthy (alivenhealthy.com)

Kentucky Amish Farmer Goes on Trial Over Homemade Health Products (amishamerica.com)
10 Reasons Why the Amish People Don’t Get Cancer and Rarely Get Sick (lifeadvancer.com)
Family of Amish girl with cancer claim natural remedies have cured her | Daily Mail Online
Learn The Shocking Truth Why There Is No Cure For Cancer – Cancer Wisdom
Going to Hoxsey Clinic | Tijuana Mexico | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)
How To Cure Just About Any Cancer the Amish Way – Search (bing.com)
Search Results for Shannon Knight | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)
How To Cure Cancer Effectively? 5 Natural Remedies You Must Try

Sarah Hershberger Family Interview (Video) (amishamerica.com)
How-To-Cure-Almost-Any-Cancer.pdf (educate-yourself.org)
My Thoughts on Cancer | Cancer Quick Facts (solitarius.org)
Cancer and the Amish | Cancer Today (cancertodaymag.org)
Medicinal Herbs Chart Plants Uses (anniesremedy.com)
Health Secrets of the Amish (organicconsumers.org)
Health secrets of the Amish | Op-eds – Gulf News
Health Secrets of the Amish – Bing video
How to Cure Cancer | The Cure Manual
CancerFightingStrategies.com – Home
Tijuana Clinic- Search (bing.com)
Sarah Hershberger  (bing.com)

Related searches for Amish Doctors near me
Amish doctor Ky
1205 Radure Rd Hestand Ky
Dr Ruben Hestand Ky
Iridologist in kentucky
Ruben Schwartz amish doctor
Vernon Amish community hestand ky
Do amish people see doctors
Dr Reuben Schwartz Ky

“Scott Hamilton and Friends on Ice” featuring MercyMe Live in Concert
Bart Millard of MercyMe & Sheryl Crow “Even If” – Bing video
MercyMe in Concert – YouTube

I LOVE❤❤❤ MercyMe!!!

Scott Hamilton Proton Therapy – Bing video
Nano Knife surgery – Bing video
Proton Therapy – Bing video

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Individualism

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Ken
 Dr. Robert Montgomery believes the best option for all nations is to work together for the good of all. Individualism: Everybody’s Purpose in Life is Different.

Americans gravitated toward individualism as people spread out in a new land that seemed wide-open with many opportunities. Many had to make individual decisions to come to America in the first place. Of course, this does not apply to slaves brought here by force, but in general the settlers saw numerous opportunities for individual enrichment.
The arriving farmers looked at land that was ready for farming. The indigenous hunting people already here saw the land differently as full of animals waiting to be hunted.
The arriving farmers soon outnumbered the hunters.
Succeeding generations leading up to and beyond the Industrial Revolution rewarded individuals showing initiative. These circumstances led American culture to elevate the value of individualism. American parents still encourage their children with words like “you can be what you want to be, even President of the United States.”

However, the problem with individualism in American culture is that it blinds people
circumstantial influences, especially when they have experienced more favorable circumstances than others.  As a generalization, conservatives tend to favor individualism and progressives tend to see additional broader circumstantial influences. The result is two subcultures leaning in different directions. Historically, President Roosevelt in the 1930s questioned the individualistic forces of capitalism that brought great disparities of wealth and the Great Depression. 
His opponents called him and his party “socialistic,” seeing America as becoming
like European countries. Democrats saw it as America maturing beyond its extreme individualism. The democratic policies of Social Security and later Medicare and Medicaid have come to be very helpful and taken-for-granted. Post-World War II policies of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations favoring aid to the poor and less privileged were also largely accepted.

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Now we face a new era of clashing cultures with similarities to past competing viewpoints. The individualism in American culture has reasserted itself in gun culture. Examples of American individualism are the sayings, “It takes a good man with a gun to stop a bad man with a gun,” or “guns don’t kill people, it is people who kill people.” To think only in terms of individuals leads to half-truths that can be dangerous when they blind people to making laws that protect people.  
One of the results of the ideology of individualism is to blame those who are having a hard time in their lives. Followers of individualism say things like, “If they only tried or worked harder, they would not be having so much trouble.” Again, this ignores other important factors beyond one’s control. Individualism can also encourage those who are comfortable in life to think they were able to achieve their comfort in life on their own, which is rarely true.  
It would be a great help to the nation for people to understand both the power and blindness of individualism in American culture. We should seek to understand the influence on us of our physical and social circumstances.
A combination of events and circumstances has brought Americans to the cusp of
realizing many realities in American life. Some derisively call this realization as being
“Woke,” but coming to new understandings should not be derided.

It is important growth in both knowledge and wisdom.
It is also part of being a good citizen of America.
 
Of course, we will always be a society where people have differing and competing opinions.
Being a democracy means we agree to debate our views and participate in voting for people and policies that we support. We have two competing parties that lean in different directions. One is focused on individualism, which obviously has the value of encouraging individual initiative and innovation. The other considers broader influences in society that can either benefit or harm people. The right to own guns brings to light the danger of seeing only individuals instead of the circumstances of others in life.
I love the individual freedom to make decisions that I have had and would not want to give up that freedom.
However, I must acknowledge that I inherited advantages others have not had. Many people seem unconscious of the advantages they have received in life compared to others.
Our democracy is at stake because our nation is in a world where autocrats have arisen in a number of nations, including in America. Many people are drawn to such people as models of the strong individual they would like to be and who will make circumstances better for them. Instead, autocrats seek mainly to increase their own power.
Rev. Robert L. Montgomery, who holds a Ph.D. in social scientific studies of religion, lives in Black Mountain.                                                                                                  
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times:
 Opinion: The problem with individualism in American culture
11 Specific Dating Beliefs Held By Confident Women — That Make Them Even More Desirable & In Control (msn.com)

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In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Anya Magnuson’s own health was in crisis. 
– Marla Broadfoot, Ph.D., May 3, 2022

The 21-year-old Minnesotan had already endured four brain surgeries, 35 lumbar punctures and about 11 weeks of hospitalization. At various times during the preceding
28 months, she was treated for fungal meningitis, an inflammatory disease known as Neurosarcoidosis, and finally a rare blood cancer called Erdheim-Chester disease.
None of the treatments her doctors had prescribed worked; in many cases, they made her condition worse. Her vision was failing. She lost feeling in her feet and could no longer walk. Her headaches were so brutal that after one 13-hour episode of vomiting and writhing in pain, she cried out, “Why can’t anyone fix me?”
Ronald Go, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist, and Jithma Abeykoon, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematology-oncology fellow, two of the large, interdisciplinary team doctors at Mayo Clinic treating Anya, began to question her diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester disease. They wondered whether they should biopsy her spinal cord again. A neurologist consulting on the case thought it would be too risky to perform the procedure in her current state.
While they debated the next steps, the world outside was shutting down. Within Mayo, only surgeries deemed to be “emergency” or “lifesaving” were permitted. Her case was a mystery, and it wasn’t clear if a biopsy would provide any answers or just cause more pain. “It was a really dark time,” says Colleen Kelly, Anya’s mother. 
 
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From left are Dr. Ronald Go M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist,
and Jithma Abeykoon, M.D., a Mayo Clinic Hematology-Oncology fellow,
in February 2021. Photo credit: Anya Magnuson

The early days
Anya is exceptional. In high school, she was a National Merit Scholar, editor of her yearbook and an all-conference volleyball player. She became fluent in Spanish while working alongside international students at a Twin Cities amusement park, eventually testing out of four semesters of the subject.
“She was very driven academically but driven to the beat of her own drum,” says Colleen.
The headaches began in November 2017 during her second year at Arizona State University in Phoenix. She felt like her head was going to explode. She went to the emergency department, but her symptoms were dismissed as migraines. Her next symptom emerged in early December while she was home for the holidays.
She told her mom that her hand was in the wrong place.
“That’s when I knew something more serious was wrong,” says Colleen.
The next night Colleen stayed up late, “madly” Googling Anya’s symptoms:
headaches, blind spots, numbness.
It was right after “idiopathic intercranial hypertension” — unexplained high pressure around the brain — came up in her search results that she heard her daughter trip
and fall upstairs. She took her to the hospital right away.
Anya spent three weeks in and out of the hospital, making little to no progress. But then she started seeing Johanna Beebe, M.D., a neuro-ophthalmologist who had done her residency at Mayo Clinic.
“We still consider her to be the first person who basically saved Anya’s life,” says Colleen.
Dr. Beebe spent the Friday afternoon before Christmas writing up Anya’s entire medical record and calling her old mentor in the hope of getting Anya admitted to Mayo Clinic.

Her safe space
At Mayo, it was another three weeks of testing to try to figure out what was going on.
At that point, the doctors charged with her care still didn’t have answers, but they knew they had to do something to relieve the dangerously high pressure on Anya’s brain.
In January 2018, they inserted a shunt and performed a craniotomy and brain biopsy, which was inconclusive. With little else to go on, they presumed that she had fungal meningitis and put her on the potent antifungal medication amphotericin.

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Anya in February 2018, just before being discharged after her
third brain surgery. Photo credit: Colleen Kelly

During the months that followed, Anya endured an infection, emergency surgery, a different shunt, and another brain surgery. Yet she pushed on, traveling to Oklahoma for a photojournalism internship; Phoenix to resume her studies at Arizona State University; and Lima, Peru, for a reporting trip. By the time she returned home from college in May 2019, she had developed another new symptom: numbness in her feet and toes, making it hard to walk. Eoin Flanagan, M.B., B.Ch., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, suspected Neurosarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that affects the nervous system. But positron emission tomography scans revealed strange dark masses along her lower spine.
“It was horrifying,” says Colleen. “You do not need to be a doctor to see it and think: 
Oh my God, that’s awful. Whatever that is, it is not good.“

The doctors biopsied one of those masses and sent its DNA for sequencing. Though the sequencing wasn’t informative, the biopsy itself was. Anya’s tumors were chocked full of white blood cells known as histiocytes, a hallmark of Erdheim-Chester disease.
The finding was a surprise. Erdheim-Chester disease typically affects middle-aged men. Even then, it is exceedingly rare. Less than 2,000 cases had ever been reported. Dr. Go said in his 13 years as a community hematologist-oncologist, he had not seen a single case. Until Anya.
The doctors prescribed the off-label use of a targeted drug called Cobimetinib, which had been shown to help some patients with Erdheim-Chester disease. However, in Anya’s case, it was ineffective and came with debilitating side effects. Next, they tried the immunotherapy drug interferon to stimulate her body to fight the cancer.
That backfired, sending her into a downward spiral.

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The summer and fall of 2019 were difficult for Anya.
 Photo credits: Anya Magnuson and Nicole Neri

In July, she had debilitating side effects from the Cobimetinib — a painful and disfiguring facial rash, shown at left above, along with other symptoms. Then in November, she had to be taken to the emergency department after weeks of reactions to interferon. Her headaches became so excruciating she had to leave school.
Colleen flew to Arizona to get her, bringing her home in a wheelchair with a gallon-size bag of pain medications in her purse. Back at Mayo, they tried six rounds of the chemotherapy drug methotrexate. The side effects were manageable, but her disease kept progressing. Through it all, Colleen says she and Anya considered Mayo to be her safe space.
“Even when things were really bad, every time I drove her down there, I thought: 
‘She’s at Mayo. It’s going to be OK because they aren’t going to give up.'”

One More Try
By March 2020, Anya was running out of options. In addition to the tumors in her lower spine, her positron emission tomography scan now showed suspicious activity in her upper spine. Doctors were concerned that she would be paralyzed soon.
They did another biopsy, which Karen Rech, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematopathologist confirmed was consistent with the diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester disease. In addition, they sent off DNA from her tumor for another round of sequencing. As before, the sequencing failed to turn up any clearly pathogenic mutations. However, the report listed a “variant of unknown significance” — a genetic change whose impact on disease is unclear — in a gene called CSF1R.
“The variant had never been reported anywhere in the world,” says Dr. Abeykoon.
Luckily, he was already familiar with CSF1R. The previous day, Dr. Abeykoon had treated one of his patients in the sarcoma clinic with Pexidartinib, a CSF1R inhibitor that had been approved for a rare joint tumor known as Teno synovial giant cell tumor. There was a drug that could potentially treat Anya’s cancer. But first, the researchers needed to determine whether the CSF1R variant of unknown significance found in her tumor was in fact significant.
CSF1R is part of a family of genes that code for proteins known as colony-stimulating factors, named for their ability to stimulate the growth of entire colonies of cells in laboratory dishes. Mutations that activate genes like CSF1R have been shown to send cells growing out of control, fueling the development of tumors. Dr. Abeykoon asked Terra Lasho, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular biologist, to investigate whether Anya’s mutation was activating.

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Terra Lasho, Ph.D., is a Mayo Clinic hematology researcher.

She mapped the sequence and found that the mutation disrupted a part of the CSF1R protein known as the “autoinhibitory region,” which keeps the protein’s activity in check. The disruption short-circuited the protein’s ability to shut itself down, forcing it into a state of perpetual activity. “I knew it was an activating mutation,” said Dr. Lasho,
“so, I emailed him back right away and told him we have to pursue this.”

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Image created in BioRender.

But when Dr. Abeykoon applied for Anya’s insurance company to cover pexidartinib, which inactivates CSF1R, he was promptly rejected. No one had ever used the drug to
treat blood cancer before, and the insurers wanted to see evidence that it would work.
He tried to convince them again. And again. Finally, on the fourth try, he got someone from the insurance company on the phone and said, “If this was your daughter, and she was going to die in a month, what would you do?” They offered to insure the drug for a three-month trial.

A path forward
Anya started taking the medication right away. Within weeks, she had regained her
vision and her ability to walk. Three months later, a positron emission tomography scan indicated that the dark masses running up and down her spine had completely melted away. An MRI also showed no signs of disease.
Dr. Abeykoon recalls being “excited, cautiously excited” when he told Anya and Colleen that the treatment was working. Colleen remembers having no reaction to the news,
as she and her daughter sat stone-faced, side by side. Things had been so bad for so long.
“You have to realize that is how she and the entire family have survived is by basically not getting too upset when things are awful. But at the same time, you kind of steel yourself from getting too happy (when there’s reason to hope),” says Colleen. “It took a really long time to even begin to accept and believe that there was a path forward for a future.”
Unlike the relentless side effects that Anya experienced with previous medications, this one only had one apparent downside: It turned her hair white.
As her health returned, Anya said yes to everything, possessed with the desire to make up for lost time. She got a master’s degree in communications, earning her undergraduate and graduate degrees (in sickness and during a pandemic). She dyed her hair red, made new friends, traveled and worked three jobs.

The next challenge
So it seemed, Anya could finally resume her highly active life and pursue her career goals. Yet despite her apparent cancer remission, her biggest challenge was about to occur.
Last October, Anya was walking across the street with a small group of friends after their shift at a Minneapolis restaurant when the driver of an SUV hit her, throwing her more than 30 feet. The crash shattered her pelvis, broke her leg in three places, cracked her eye socket and fractured two bones at the base of her skull. It also left her with a traumatic brain injury.
She spent 28 days in the hospital and was off the cancer drug the entire time, prompting concerns that her tumors might return. Just as no one had ever used this drug to treat her cancer before, no one had ever stopped it so abruptly.
Anya returned to Mayo Clinic for a follow-up appointment in March. Though her bones had all healed, she was still adjusting to the realities of life with a traumatic brain injury. The looming question was whether she would have to deal with her recovery while also battling a resurgence of her cancer. She hadn’t noticed any of her old symptoms resurfacing. By every indication, she appears to have remained cancer-free.
Anya is making slow but steady progress on regaining her abilities from the brain injury. The same determination and spirit that carried her through her cancer odyssey is now helping her meet the difficulties of this latest challenge.

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Anya enjoying coffee with her sister, Talia, in early 2022. 
Photo credits: Colleen Kelly

As for the cancer, Dr. Go feels remarkably lucky at the outcome. He and other cancer researchers often search for a disease-causing mutation in their hardest-to-treat patients but never find one. They might find a mutation only to discover there is no off-the-shelf drug available to target it. And because many cancers are caused not by a single “driver” mutation but several, they might knock one mutation down only to have another step up to fuel the cancer. “So, you have to be lucky on many levels,” says Dr. Go.

Given all the challenges this individualized medicine approach entails, the story
of Anya’s success has taken on even more meaning. “You might say our team helped her, but she really helped us,” says Dr. Lasho. “Her success motivates us to keep going and to push the science forward.”
Recently, Mayo began treating another patient, a young woman who was even worse
off than Anya. Two months after taking Pexidartinib, she went from being bedridden to walking again. She and Colleen have begun texting back and forth, as she, too, benefits
and learns from Anya’s story, even as it continues to unfold. “It’s not just that Mayo saved her life,” says Colleen. “They saved her life using a way that didn’t exist before they came up with it.”

Tissue Damage Cues Memory T Cells to Stick Around, Now Researchers Know Why | Discovery’s Edge Discovery’s Edge (mayo.edu)
A Courageous Mind, and a Research Career in the Making | Discovery’s Edge Discovery’s Edge (mayo.edu)
Gloria Steinem slams Roe v. Wade repeal, says ‘there is no democracy’ without the right to choose (msn.com)
Muscle weakness with age: What’s normal and what can be done about it (msn.com)
Ageism is everywhere and can affect physical, mental health (msn.com)
Why Depression Can Wipe Your Memory Clean (msn.com)
A mass exodus from the Democrats’ America (msn.com)
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Talking to Yourself

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Ken
Poll: Almost Forty Percent of Americans Say They Would Rather Flee Than Defend the United States

There are fewer people willing to fight for what’s right than those willing to start a fight for what’s wrong? ~ ~ ~Nathaniel M. Wrey 

In World War II, Winston Churchill famously declared that “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” It appears that there may be even fewer to count on if a recent poll out this weekend is accurate. The Quinnipiac University poll asked Americans “what would you do if you were in the same position as Ukrainians are now, stay and fight or leave the country?” Only 55 percent said that they would stay and fight for this country.
That included only 40 percent of Democrats. Overall 38 percent of Americans said that they would flee. It appears that this country is facing an existential crisis of faith and we should have a frank discussion about why so few Americans are now willing to pledge their lives in defense of this country.
Quinnipiac has long been relied upon in polling in the United States and is one of the most cited polling outfits for the media. It is important to note that, while the results were shocking overall, many did say that they would stand and defend the United States from any invader. When asked this question 68 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Independents say that they would fight. However more than half of Democrats (52%) said they would flee before fighting for their country (Eight percent did not have an answer, a shrug that is equally alarming).

As someone who came from a liberal, Democratic family in Chicago, I was shocked by the poll. My father and grandfather fought in the World Wars and everyone I grew up with on the liberal Northside of Chicago was both intensely liberal and intensely patriotic. Indeed, I often heard my parents challenge Republican friends for suggesting that conservatives were more patriotic or more willing to sacrifice for their country.
For my maternal Sicilian family, they felt a deep bond to the country that took them in and allowed them to live in freedom. Despite the prejudice that they encountered and difficult times, my Sicilian grandparents celebrated Independence Day like a religious holiday and often discussed their pride when they became American citizens. My grandfather was a union organizer and a coal miner who developed black lung in the mines of Ohio. He could not read or write but he could proudly recite parts of the Declaration of Independence and our national anthem.

We should be alarmed by this poll because it shows a deep disconnection with this
country and its protection. If you are not willing to defend this country, citizenship becomes a status of convenience; an opportunistic association can be shed as easily as it is acquired. It is a commitment that extends little beyond annual tax obligations.
Notably, the poll did not pose a question over what might be viewed as an unjustified war in another land like Vietnam. This question asked about an invasion of our country. Indeed, despite the opposition to Vietnam, many Democrats and liberals still felt obligated to answer the call for service when drafted.
The poll shows a crisis of faith within the Democratic party, but also our country at large. People have lost faith in our common article of faith in the Constitution. That did not occur over night. There have been unrelenting attacks on our institutions and core values for years that ignore our countervailing successes. We have gone through terrible periods and faced terrible institutions and practices from slavery to segregation. However, we faced them as a people united in a common faith captured in the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

We have not always lived up to those principles. Indeed, when those words were written, millions were left in slavery and millions were barred from voting, property ownership. and other basic rights of citizenship. However, we became better than we were due to a faith in ourselves and our common constitutional bound.
This is just one poll and people can have different motivations in answering such questions. However, there was clearly a desire by many to convey this disconnection with the country in their answers that suggest something more than just impish responses.
There has been a growing agnosticism regarding this country as many challenge our foundational institutions and values. It is captured in words of leaders like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who questioned the very need for the Supreme Court when it was not ruling in line with her own views: “How much does the current structure benefit us? And I don’t think it does.” That is a worthy debate to have and our Constitution protects all sides in having it. Yet, there is an underlying message that, because our institutions did not produce the results demanded by Ocasio-Cortez, we are told to scrap them.

Elie Mystal, who writes for the Nation and Above the Law, called the Constitution “trash.” In his new book, “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution,” Mystal says that we should just ignore what the Framers thought or said. When asked “if you are arguing that the Constitution needs to be scrapped altogether?” Mystal said he would be “all for” a move to “throw out” the Constitution. Others, including lawyers, agreed with Mystal and declared “the Constitution is trash.”
It is a crisis of faith shown in academics like Georgetown Professor Eddie Glaude insisting that we need to scrap what we have and be “rebounded” rather than “tinker around the edges while people are dying.” He insists that, despite the Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement and anti-discrimination laws, it is hopeless to expect the system to change:
“At every moment when a new America seems to be about to be born,
the umbilical cord of white supremacy is wrapped around the baby’s neck, choking the life out of it.”
The curious aspect of such comments is that we are constantly being reborn as a people. Our Constitution created an experiment in self-governance that remains a work in progress. However, it does not guarantee that you simply get what you want, or you can “throw out” the Constitution like Mystal’s unwanted trash.

The people of Ukraine have given the world a symbol of defiance and faith. That is a country that has been deeply divided in the past and only gained its independence in 1991. Vladimir Putin clearly counted on many opting to stand aside rather than stand up for their young nation. Instead, opposing parties and leaders stood together and united in their common identity as Ukrainians.
It appears from this poll that many of us have lost that capacity for faith and sacrifice. Many are unwilling to take that same leap of faith in our system and each other.
President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat who was decorated for his bravery in World War II, famously declared in 1961: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” The question is whether Americans are willing to answer the same call today.   

 Why aren’t people willing to fight for what’s right – Search (bing.com)

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Do you talk to yourself? Here’s what science says about it in certain circumstances,
being caught talking to yourself is embarrassing.

It makes you look like you’ve lost your mind!
Generally, it’s understood that we speak to communicate, and doing so without it being directed at someone or not being heard by anyone defeats the point. However, this isn’t true. Speaking serves other functions too.
How many times have we been looking for our keys and have asked ourselves,
“where are my keys?” Saying it out loud helps us find them because it reminds
us of what we’re looking for, and we don’t lose focus. And that’s just one example.
Speaking out loud to nobody is an extension of our inner dialog. It’s caused by a motor command being triggered automatically. In the early 20th century, Soviet psychologist
Lev Vygotsky proposed that we speak out loud when we first learn to talk because our speech and thoughts aren’t connected. After that, inner speech emerges, and our thoughts become more like verbal sentences.

Thoughts and speech connected
Once we’ve learned to connect our thoughts to our speech, we tend not to do it as much. But in adulthood, we still do it, and there are other reasons for this. There are plenty of reasons why speaking out loud can be helpful for adults. Some reasons for “private speech” are practicing a language, learning, and social skills.
The people who learn through sound tend to repeat directions back to the person who
gave them so they can remember. Likewise, they probably learned how to spell by saying the letters of a word over and over again.

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It helps everyone remember something if they read it aloud
instead of reading it in their inside voice.

It can help us to concentrate, depending on what we’re saying.
For example, researchers have gotten people to utter nonsense out loud while trying to perform unrelated tasks. Since humans aren’t great at multitasking, it typically impedes their performance at the task. Conversely, if people use their speech to direct their actions, it improves their performance in carrying out tasks by helping them remember what they’re supposed to be doing.

Self-talk and visualization
There are also implications for speaking out loud and how we visualize things.
For example, if someone is looking for a chicken in a ‘Where’s Waldo?’-style illustration with a lot going on in the image, and they say the word “chicken,” they will visualize a chicken and can find it faster. There are also benefits to talking to yourself outside of cognition and concentration. For example, you might increase your confidence and motivation by speaking to yourself positively. There have been numerous studies on
the effects of self-talk on tennis players’ performance.

Generally, individuals are split into two groups and participate in an assessment, training sessions, and a final evaluation. One group is asked to practice positive self-talk. In the final assessment, the group that practices positive self-talk shows less anxiety and more confidence, and their performance improves. Speaking to yourself in the third person causes self-distancing, which can reduce anxiety towards an upcoming job interview.

Self-distancing 
Instead of saying “I can do this,” people who speak to themselves in the third person by saying “you can do this, John,” feel less anxious and nervous about the task than people who speak to themselves in the first person. One study published in Scientific Reports proved that speaking to yourself in the third person is the most effective way of calming yourself down. We all have inner dialog. Some people have more than others.

This internal dialog can wander. 
Late at night, we may notice that our inner thoughts wander almost randomly. However, we need to be able to cut through this noise to carry out our days. With people who suffer from depression or anxiety, this inner dialog can be harder to cut through. When people’s internal dialog begins to wander too much, they can end up incoherent and nonsensical.

If people are struggling with difficult emotions, it can help to talk through them. 

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Self-talk helps to deal with difficult emotions:

Like it can help to speak to a friend or a therapist about issues, it can also help to speak to yourself when nobody is around. Essentially it can help us understand what it is exactly we’re feeling, whether it be grief, guilt, or any other feeling, and help us come to terms with accepting what we’re feeling. The person who speaks to themselves as a result of mental illness is a different story. For example, people who have schizophrenia can hear another entity speaking in their head and sometimes respond to it aloud.

image.png
Speaking to yourself becomes a concern:

When it’s the result of auditory hallucinations, like speaking to another entity
in your head that only you can hear and that’s separate from your own thoughts.
There are other harmful forms of self-talk, too.
One example of this is negative self-talk, which generally involves a person
discouraging and criticizing themselves out loud.

image.png
For the most part, it’s normal:

The bottom line is that speaking to yourself is entirely normal for the most part
and has many functions other than being a symptom of a mental health condition. 

image.png
People do this to process their emotions and thoughts and to better carry out tasks.

When it becomes a problem, seek help:
If it is a habit that you can’t stop and want to, if you feel distressed about it, or it’s predominantly negative self-talk, it may be a good idea to ask someone for help.

Sources: (Neuroscience Letters) (Nature) (Big Think) (Medical News Today)(Healthline) (Perceptual and Motor Skills) See also: Reasons why people refuse to go to therapy
image.png
Apathy defined – Search (bing.com)
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Hollie Grote

Posted on June 25, 2022 by Ken
Missouri inmate cried for medical care for months before dying from brain tumor:
report by: Chris Hayes,

PIKE COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) — An inmate in Missouri cried for medical help, was given Tylenol, and then put on suicide watch before dying from a brain tumor, according to a jail incident report. The Pike County jail’s investigative report laid out a timeline that shows the 41-year-old woman, Hollie Grote, cried for medical help for months. “You could tell something was wrong, and she was ignored,” her sister, Ashley Lovelace, told KTVI. Grote’s daughter Shainey Harpole added, “She was losing her vision. She had headaches.”
Grote’s complaints were consistent and daily, according to her family. Their assertions are backed up by the jail’s records. “I thought she had had a stroke from the things that she was saying,” Harpole said. Grote was detained at the Pike County, Missouri, jail on a drug charge last June. When Grote told her family she couldn’t get a medical response from the jail, relatives said they personally visited the sheriff. “I asked if there was any way if he would let her go to the hospital, and he told me no,” said Harpole.

“He said that people do it for attention a lot.”

“(The sheriff) said he sent somebody to the hospital the night before,” Lovelace added. “I’m like, ‘What did they do? How did they get to go? You know, four months she’s been crying, begging you guys, and her physical appearance has changed.’” Clayton lawyer Mark Pedroli is investigating the case for Grote’s family. “A layperson would know this person needed medical care,” he said. Pedroli uncovered jail documents showing Grote began complaining shortly after being arrested on a drug charge. Medical complaints were first documented on July 28, 2021. Another inmate said, “Grote’s eye was drooping.”
By Oct. 23, Grote said her head hurt so badly that she was going to kill herself, according to the incident report. An officer noted “scratch marks on the forearm/wrist area.” “She still did not get the attention that she needed,” Lovelace said. “She still wasn’t sent to the hospital after she had done physical harm to herself.”  Another officer wrote that it “looks like she is in pain but overall normal; laying on the pod floor crying and seems like she can’t think.” Another entry said the detention doctor advised giving Grote 1,000 mg of Tylenol.The record said Grote was then placed in what is referred to as a “pickle suit”
 Anti-suicide smock – Bing images.

Officers then documented observing her on a video while she was on suicide watch.
An officer wrote that Grote was acting strangely and would only grunt in response to questions. She then slowly rolled off her bunk before she died on the floor. Pedroli said it was remarkable “…how consistent her complaints were and how often she pleaded just to get to go to the hospital, just to have somebody drive her down the road to see a doctor and that would have saved her life.”

An autopsy by the Boone and Calloway County medical examiner found her “brain was swollen” from a “tumor located on the right side.” Advanced Correctional Healthcare is
the private medical contractor for the jail, and a representative told KTVI on Thursday evening that it was working on a response. Sheriff Stephen Korte wrote in response,
“Due to the pending possible litigation, I am declining to be interviewed at this time as my words may be misconstrued and my opinions misinterpreted as facts.”
He also said, “An investigation was completed for any wrongdoing by staff and has been forwarded to the Pike County Prosecutor who will be sending it to an outside prosecutor for review.” Grote’s sister and daughter said they asked the sheriff what it would take to get an inmate to the hospital. They said they were told someone would have to be bleeding out or vomiting in a way that it would be obvious something is wrong. Hollie Grote died while in the custody of the Pike County Sheriff’s Department on Oct. 24, 2021. A news release then stated that the 41-year-old woman had died in her sleep while under observation.

Missouri inmate cried for medical care for months before dying from brain tumor:
report | WANE 15

The autopsy was done, and according to Mark Pedroli, the attorney who was hired by Grote’s family, the results showed that she died of a brain tumor. She had been in the
Pike County Jail since June of 2021, under two warrants, the Sheriff’s Department noted in its news release about her death last year. But according to documents uncovered by Pedroli in his investigation into Grote’s death, Grote had sought medical attention almost daily because of severe headaches. After getting clearance from the family over HIPAA restrictions and filing several FOI requests, Pedroli said he learned the depth of pain
Grote had been in during her four months in custody.

Pedroli said he filed a Sunshine Litigation against the Pike County Sheriff’s Office shortly after Grote’s death on behalf of her family “for refusing to give us investigative material.” After filing the lawsuit, Pedroli said they received “most” of the material they had asked for. Pedroli has been working with Pike County Prosecutor Alex Ellis, who he said is attempting to get the rest of what they need before proceeding with any action against the Sheriff’s Department.
“The only thing left is getting the communications between upper government officials about what happened that night—whether they be text messages or emails,” he said.
“That is the last remaining component of the Sunshine Litigation. “Once this is resolved,” he added, “I’ll talk to the family about what our next moves are.”  After reviewing the material, he has now, Pedroli said he believes Grote’s Constitutional 8th Amendment rights were violated. 

“From what I’ve seen, it seems pretty clear that they violated her Constitutional rights,”
he spoke. “She was clearly in need of medical attention,” he added, saying, “even a layperson would have known. You didn’t need a doctor or nurse or a professional to know that she needed medical attention, that she should have received it—(and) she didn’t get it.” He said the lack of treatment was a tragedy. Pedroli noted that he handles a lot of these types of cases, ones involving the death of an inmate in a city or county jail.
“This one—it was pretty brutal to review this evidence,” he said during a phone interview. “To see her (Hollie Grote) continuously begging—in writing—and other ways to get her
to a doctor or a hospital, to get someone to believe her that she was in that kind of pain.
Her symptoms were significant,” he added. Records show, he explained, that she had double vision and at one point could no longer talk. Sheriff Stephen Korte said his office did an investigation into Grote’s death and turned over the report to the county prosecutor’s office. He said he could only disclose the information he released last year after Grote’s death.
Pedroli said he didn’t think the Sheriff’s Office should have done the investigation.
“I don’t know if they did that here. I’m trying to figure that out,” he said.
“I discussed this with Ellis (the county prosecutor) at the start of this,” he said.
“A lot of times small counties will call in to the Missouri State Highway Patrol” to
do these types of investigations. “In my opinion, the sheriff can’t investigate the sheriff’s department,” he explained. “Someone else needs to do that investigation.” Ellis could not be reached before the deadline for a comment. Pedroli said he believes Ellis has referred the investigation to an outside prosecutor for review.

Dying woman’s calls for help from Missouri jail revealed | FOX 2 (fox2now.com)

PIKE COUNTY, Mo. – The family of a woman who died in jail while pleading for a nurse say they were told they had no right to their loved one’s last words. That changed when the family sued for the heartbreaking messages. Hollie Grote pleaded to see a nurse and go to a hospital while locked up in the Pike County Jail on a drug charge. She warned staff she was dying. Then she did. “(My Mom) was losing her vision. She had headaches. She had these spells where she felt like she was going to pass out and couldn’t talk,” said Shainey Harpole, Grote’s daughter.

Grote died on Oct. 24, 2021, in the Pike County Jail. The medical examiner determined
her cause of death was “increased intracranial pressure” from a benign brain tumor.
“She would tell me every day that she would request to see the nurse,” Harpole said.
Grote messaged jail staff repeatedly from an inmate kiosk, sending messages that family members say they used to obtain. Repeated requests starting in August 2021 – messages like, “May I please see the nurse ASAP?” and “I believe I need to go to an actual doctor or hospital to be tested.”
In September she wrote, “I could die if I don’t get the proper tests and or health care.”
Then in October, the month she died, she wrote, “I have extremely bad vision, darkness
on one side and major double vision. I need this to be looked into.” You can feel her frustration in another message the same month – “You guys are trying to kill me.”
The answer from jail staff is nearly the same every time – “This will be printed and placed in the nurse’s box.” The family says she never got to go to the hospital. “You could tell something was wrong. And she was ignored,” said Ashley Lovelace, Grote’s sister.

Harpole talked about trying to get the messages initially.
“I actually went up there before I hired (attorney Mark Pedroli) and asked for it and
they didn’t give me any of her belongings or any of that stuff because they said it was under investigation, which I didn’t understand,” she said. Pedroli sued under Missouri’s Sunshine Law to obtain Grote’s final written messages. He said Pike County refused to hand them over until he filed. “These kinds of cases are unfortunately more common now than ever,” he said. 
“The only thing left that they have not produced, which is also extremely important, are the communications among the sheriff employees and the sheriff about what happened that night, and I also think — they’re claiming that because those communications were conducted on private phones. They don’t have to turn them over to us, but because they’re about her and it’s about public business, we say they do. “I don’t know why they would fight. It seems like maybe they are, in fact, hiding something.”

Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte responded Tuesday, saying he’s not hiding anything and that his office turned over everything it has, including an internal investigation of the jail death to an outside prosecutor from another county for review. Korte said he’s limited on what he could say because of a possible wrongful-death lawsuit.
That’s something Grote also wrote about in one of her messages.
Approximately 24 days before she died, Grote messaged jail staff,
“When I do die because of the amount of neglect here …
At least my family can sue you.”   
Contact Sheriff Stephen Korte and ask him to step down.

Phone: (573) 324-3202    
Fax: (573) 324-3972
Email: sheriff@pikecountyso.org
1600 Bus. 54
Bowling Green, MO 63334
*Administration Hours 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

CRIME STOPPERS-(573)324-5000

Also, 

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Black Death

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Ken
According to a new study, the Black Death originated near Lake Issyk Kul in the mountainous
Tian Shan region of northern Kyrgyzstan. Google Maps
  • Scientists say they have identified the origins of the Black Death, according to a new study.
  • The Black Death was a pandemic caused by bubonic plague that killed 75–200 million worldwide between 1347 to 1351.
  • The team of researchers believes the Black Death first originated in northern Kyrgyzstan in the late 1330s.

Scientists say they have finally pinpointed the origins of the historic Black Death plague, according to a new study.

The Black Death was a pandemic caused by the bubonic plague that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe between 1347 to 1351 and tens of millions more worldwide, carried by rats infected with plague-carrying fleas.

Historians have long debated its geographical origins. However, according to a new study in the science journal Nature, the Black Death originated in northern Kyrgyzstan in central Asia in the late 1330s.

A team of researchers from Scotland’s University of Stirling, Germany’s Max Planck Institute, and the University of Tubingen analyzed ancient DNA from the teeth of seven skeletons discovered in cemeteries near Lake Issyk Kul in the mountainous Tian Shan region of Kyrgyzstan.

DNA sequencing found that three individuals carried Yersinia pestis, a bacterium linked to the outbreak of the plague that led to the Black Death, the study said. 

A painting titled "Carting the Dead" by French artist Jean-Pierre Moynet that depicts a cart of bodies that died from the Black Plague in the 1300s. Wikimedia Commons

A painting titled “Carting the Dead” by French artist Jean-Pierre Moynet that depicts a cart of bodies that died from the Black Plague in the 1300s. © Wikimedia Commons

Previously, the Black Death was believed to have originated in the Black Sea region in 1346, but the study said its findings predate that.

Related video: Did scientists find origins of black death, bubonic plague after 675 years?

  The scientists chose the cemeteries near Lake Issyk Kul because they had previously identified an unusually high spike in the number of burials between 1337 and 1339, according to the study.

Some of the headstones, written in the Syriac language, noted the causes of death as “pestilence” — an archaic word used to describe a fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague.

The first victims of the Black Death would have died in agony. The most common symptoms of the bubonic plague were large, pustulant boils (buboes) in the groin, neck, and armpits. Acute fever and vomiting blood followed — The skin sores become black.

They would have died between two and seven days after infection. 

image.png
Yersinia pestis bacteria as seen under a microscope. This bacterium is the cause of the Bubonic plague, also known as the Black Plague or Black Death. NIAID.

The presence of Yersinia pestis in the three exhumed bodies from this cemetery points to an earlier origin date for the deadly plague than 1346, as was previously assumed. “Our study puts to rest one of the biggest and most fascinating questions in history and determines when and where the single most notorious and infamous killer of humans began,” said Philip Slavin, a University of Stirling historian, per Metro.

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Intrusive Thoughts

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Ken
Some anxiety is a typical part of life. It’s a byproduct of living in a busy world.
Intrusive thoughts: Why we have them, and how to take away their power

My understanding is that it’s a frequency thing. 
Everything has a frequency (thoughts, feelings, maladies/illnesses and normal wellness, etc.). So, when you shift the frequency of the thought/belief, feeling, or physicality, one
can heal it. HOWEVER, this doesn’t negate the responsibility of the person being healed because if they don’t make any changes (consciously choosing their thoughts and beliefs, consciously choosing their feelings and responses, and consciously choosing to make any necessary dietary or lifestyle changes), they will shift back to being exactly as they were prior to the healing. This aspect is frequently forgotten and ignored. This is why I am also a life coach so that we can work on the thought/belief/feeling/behavior that manifests their current issues so that the changes are permanent. ~ JENNIFER PASSAVANT – Search (bing.com)

Anxiety isn’t all bad, though. It makes you aware of danger, motivates you to stay organized and prepared, and helps you calculate risks. Still, when anxiety becomes
a daily recurrence, it’s time to act before it snowballs. Unchecked anxiety may greatly impact your quality of life. Take control by trying out the ideas below.
One must remember as we get older… our life dies around us. If one lives long enough. You have lost everyone around you(parents, siblings, some children and there you are feeling that sense of loss. That’s enough within yourself to lose your memory about your life. In some instances you lose every memory about your life and others trying to convince you …you have dementia. 
What is anxiety?

Anxiety is your body’s natural response to stress. It’s a feeling of fear or worry
that could be caused by a combination of factors that researchers believe range
from genetics to environmental to brain chemistry.

Some common symptoms of anxiety include:
increased heart rate
rapid breathing
restlessness
trouble concentrating

However, it’s important to note that anxiety can present itself in different ways for different people. While one person may experience a butterfly feeling in their stomach, another might have panic attacks, nightmares, or painful thoughts. With that being said, there’s a difference between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorders. Feeling anxious about something new or stressful is one thing, but when it gets to an uncontrollable or excessive point and starts to affect your quality of life, it could be a disorder.

Some anxiety disorders include:
panic disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
separation anxiety
illness anxiety
phobia
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
social anxiety disorder 

How can I treat anxiety?
Anxiety can be treated in a variety of ways. One common treatment option is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps provide people with tools to cope with anxiety when it occurs.
There are also certain medications, like antidepressants and sedatives, that work to balance brain chemistry and prevent episodes of anxiety. They may even ward off the
most severe symptoms.

If you’re looking to go a more natural route, though, there are little and big ways you can help combat anxiety. You can make adjustments to habits, like exercise, sleep, and diet.
You can also try something totally new, like aromatherapy or meditation. No matter what your lifestyle demands, there’s a natural way to help reduce anxiety for everyone.
If your loved one is beginning to show signs of anxiety, the first thing you should do is try to calm him down. Sometimes simple distraction could be enough to reduce anxiety and keep him calm. Try discussing something other than their illness or symptoms — perhaps the latest ball game or celebrity gossip.

Simple interventions that can be done at home to help with anxiety include:2

Distraction: Be careful with this, however, as patients nearing end of life will experience normal anxiety that needs to be validated and not only replaced with different thoughts.
Deep breathing: The power of mindful breathing is endless. Making the simple effort of gathering up your breath and allowing your exhalation (breathing out) to be longer than your inhalation, will increase the activity of your vagus nerve, which will help you relax.
Naming: Simple naming games—e.g., name five things you can see in the room, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, etc. These allow the patient to feel grounded in the moment, which is usually not as overwhelming as the mind can make it appear. Once we are more present, anxiety naturally dissipates.

Reassurance goes a long way
End of Life: Coping with Anxiety and Depression
By Gina Shaw

 Medically Reviewed by Carol DerSarkissian, MD
People often assume that those diagnosed with a life-threatening
illness will automatically experience depression.
True, people facing a serious illness are more likely than healthy people to suffer depression or anxiety. One study of terminally ill cancer patients, for example, found that at least 17% were clinically depressed. Other research points to even higher numbers of people with terminal illness meeting the criteria for major depression.
Experts point out that it’s perfectly natural to feel scared, sad, and anxious about death and the dying process. That’s because people are facing something that they’ve never
had to deal with before. But the palliative care team can help them work through these feelings.
True clinical depression, however, goes beyond this usual sadness and anxiety.
It’s important to understand the difference between this kind of depression and the normal grieving process that occurs for everyone who faces death. 
Clinical depression is often underdiagnosed, but it should be identified and treated.
Here are some of the signs that you or your loved one may be experiencing clinical depression:
You don’t feel like doing the activities you normally enjoy, even if they are things you can still physically do.
Even when you do participate in things you once enjoyed, you find that you are getting little pleasure out of them.
You have major changes in sleeping or eating habits — sleeping or eating much more,
or much less, than usual. (These symptoms can sometimes be the side effects of certain medications or treatments.)

You withdraw from your friends and family.
You think or talk seriously about suicide.

If you see these signs in a loved one, or find that you’re experiencing them yourself,
it’s important to talk with your doctor or someone else on your care team about them.
Get immediate medical help if you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide.

Clinical depression in someone who is dying can be treated.
Antidepressant treatments work just as well in palliative care patients as in the general population. The most effective treatments for clinical depression usually combine short-term psychotherapy with antidepressant medications as needed. 
Palliative care professionals point out that coping with these emotions often involves educating not only the person who’s facing the diagnosis but also the people who are caring for that person about what they can expect. A lot of anxiety and negative emotions associated with a life-threatening illness come from feeling helpless and not knowing what’s happening. The social worker and other members of the palliative care team can answer questions, work with you through talk therapy, and help you live as well as you are able for as long as you can.
Much anxiety near the end of life may stem from not talking. Both the dying person and the people around the dying person are often reluctant to talk about what is happening because of how they think doing so will affect the other. Your palliative care team can
help the family talk calmly and not be alarmist about the process, dispelling a lot of the anxiety and making it easier on everyone.
 What if what you’re experiencing is grief and anxiety, not full-scale depression? 
When I had severe depression it was all about changing my outlook on LIFE!!!
In this case you might not need medications for anxiety or depression,
but that doesn’t mean your care team can’t help.

10 natural remedies for anxiety
1. Stay active
Regular exercise isn’t just about physical health — it can be a huge help to your mental health, as well.
A 2013 studyTrusted Source found that people with anxiety disorders who reported a
high level of physical activity were better protected against developing anxiety symptoms.
This could be for a variety of reasons. Exercise can divert your attention away from something that’s making you anxious.
Getting your heart rate up also changes the brain chemistry to create
more space for anti-anxiety neurochemicals, like:
serotonin
gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
endocannabinoids
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), regular exercise leads to an enhancement of concentration and willpower, which can help certain anxiety symptoms.

When it comes to what type of exercise, this is more of a personal preference.
If you’re looking to really get your heart rate up, something like a HIIT class
(high-intensity interval training) or running is your best bet.
But if you’re looking to start off with something with a little lower impact, workouts,
like Pilates and yoga, could also be just as beneficial for your mental health.

2. Steer clear of alcohol
Drinking alcohol may take the edge off at first, since it’s a natural sedative. However, researchTrusted Source suggests there’s a link between anxiety and alcohol consumption, with anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorder (AUD) occurring hand-in-hand.

A 2017 reviewTrusted Source that looked at 63 different studies showed
that decreasing alcohol intake can improve both anxiety and depression.
Heavy drinking can interfere with the balance of neurotransmitters, which can be responsible for positive mental health. This interference creates an imbalance that may lead to certain symptoms of anxiety.
Anxiety may temporarily increase in early sobriety but can improve in the long run.

Alcohol has also been shown to disrupt your body’s natural ability to sleep by interfering with sleep homeostasis. And as we’ll later point out, a good night’s sleep is incredibly helpful when combating anxiety.

. Consider quitting smoking cigarettes
Smokers often reach for a cigarette during stressful times. Yet, like drinking alcohol, taking a drag on a cigarette when you’re stressed is a quick fix that may worsen anxiety over time.
ResearchTrusted Source has shown that the earlier you start smoking in life, the higher your risk of developing an anxiety disorder later. Research also suggests nicotine and other chemicals in cigarette smoke alter pathways in the brain linked to anxiety.
If you’re looking to quit, there are lots of different ways you can get started.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source recommends finding a safe substitute for cigarettes, like toothpicks.
You can also take up habits that may distract you in order to create an environment that works for your smoke-free life. Additionally, you can make a plan with a support system who can provide everything from encouragement to distractions.

4. Limit caffeine intake
If you have chronic anxiety, caffeine is not your friend.
Caffeine may cause nervousness and jitters, neither of which is good if you’re anxious.
Research has shown caffeine may cause or worsen anxiety disorders. It may also cause panic attacks in people with panic disorder. In some people, eliminating caffeine may significantly improve anxiety symptoms.

Similar to alcohol, caffeine and anxiety are often linked, due to caffeine’s ability to alter brain chemistry.
For example, a 2008 studyTrusted Source showed that caffeine increases alertness by blocking the brain chemical adenosine, which is what makes you feel tired, while at the same time triggering the release of adrenalin.

With all this being said, a moderate intake of caffeine is safe for most people.

However, if you’re looking to cut back or completely cut out caffeine, you’ll want to start by slowly reducing the amount of caffeine you drink daily.
Start replacing these drinks with water to quench the thirst. This will not only satisfy your body’s need to drink a liquid, but it will also help flush caffeine from your body and keep you hydrated.
Gradually reducing your caffeine over the course of a few weeks can help adjust the habit without the body going through withdrawal.

5. Prioritize getting a good night’s rest
Sleep has been proven time and time again to be an important part of good mental health.
Even though a 2012 survey found that nearly a third of adults get less than 6 hours of sleep a night, the CDC recommendsTrusted Source that adults get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day.
You can make sleep a priority by:
only sleeping at night when you’re tired
not reading or watching television in bed
not using your phone, tablet, or computer in bed
not tossing and turning in your bed or going to another room if you can’t sleep
avoiding caffeine, large meals, and nicotine before bedtime
keeping your room dark and cool
writing down your worries before going to bed
going to sleep at the same time each night

6. Meditate and practice mindfulness
A main goal of meditation is full awareness of the present moment, which includes noticing all thoughts in a nonjudgmental way. This can lead to a sense of calm and contentment by increasing your ability to mindfully tolerate all thoughts and feelings.
Meditation is known to relieve stress and anxiety and is a primary facet of CBT.
Research from John Hopkins suggests 30 minutes of daily meditation may alleviate
some anxiety symptoms and act as an antidepressant. 
How to meditate 
There are 9 popular types of meditation:
mindfulness meditation
spiritual meditation
focused meditation
movement meditation
mantra meditation
transcendental meditation
progressive relaxation
loving-kindness meditation
visualization meditation
Mindfulness meditation is generally the most popular form.
To mindfully meditate, you can close your eyes, breathe deeply, and pay attention to your thoughts as they pass through your mind. You don’t judge or become involved with them. Instead, you simply observe them and take note of any patterns.

7. Eat a balanced diet
Low blood sugar levels, dehydration, or chemicals in processed foods, such as artificial flavorings, artificial coloring, and preservatives, may cause mood changes in some people. A high-sugar diet may also impact temperament.
If your anxiety worsens after eating, check your eating habits. Stay hydrated, eliminate processed foods, and eat a balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins.

8. Practice deep breathing
Shallow, fast breathing is common with anxiety. It may lead to a fast heart rate, dizziness or lightheadedness, or even a panic attack.
Deep breathing exercises — the deliberate process of taking slow, even, deep breaths —
can help restore normal breathing patterns and reduce anxiety.

9. Try aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that has been used by humans for thousands of years. The practice uses natural plant extracts and essential oils to promote the health and well-being of the mind, body, and spirit. Its goal is to enhance both physical and emotional health.
The essential oils created by the natural plant extracts may be inhaled directly
or added to a warm bath or diffuser. Aromatherapy is suggested to:
help you relax
help you sleep
boost mood
reduce heart rate and blood pressure
Some essential oils believed to relieve anxiety are:
bergamot
lavender
clary sage
grapefruit
ylang ylang

10. Drink chamomile tea
A cup of chamomile tea is a common home remedy to calm frayed nerves and promote sleep.
A 2014 studyTrusted Source showed chamomile may also be a powerful ally against GAD. The study found people who took German chamomile capsules (220 milligrams up to five times daily) had a greater reduction in test scores that measure anxiety symptoms than those who were given a placebo.
Another 2005 study found that chamomile extract helped sleep-disturbed rats fall asleep. Researchers believe that the tea may function like benzodiazepine, binding to benzodiazepine receptors and having benzodiazepine-like hypnotic activity.
Interested in other resources for mental health?
Explore our evidence-driven reviews of top providers, products,
and more to support your physical and emotional well-being.

Takeaway
If you’re feeling anxious, the above ideas may help calm you down.
Remember, home remedies may help ease anxiety, but they don’t replace professional help. Increased anxiety may require therapy or prescription medication. Talk with your doctor about your concerns.
Read this article in Spanish.

Caring for a Person With Dementia
By Eileen Beal
 Medically Reviewed by Sabrina Felson, MD

IN THIS ARTICLE
The Three Stages of Dementia
Resources for Dementia Caregivers
Dementia is a progressive loss of mental function due to certain diseases that affect the brain.
The losses are substantial. Over time, all types of dementia will lead to loss of memory, loss of reasoning and judgment, personality and behavioral changes, physical decline,
and death.
But the course dementia takes can vary widely from person to person.
It’s influenced by many factors, including age and other conditions a person may have.
REMEMBER THAT DOCTORS ARE ALWAYS QUICK TO WRITE OFF A PATIENT
WITH AN ANXIETY DISORDER OR DEPRESSION WITH DEMENTIA OF ALZHEIMER
Sixty to 80 percent of U.S. dementia cases are caused by Alzheimer’s disease. That’s more than 6 million people. The next most common dementias are vascular dementia, or tiny strokes in the brain, and Lewy Body dementia where alpha-synuclein protein lodges in certain regions of the brain.

The Three Stages of Dementia
After dementia is diagnosed, it usually follows a three-stage, downward trajectory.
In mild dementia, people may have difficulty remembering words and names, learning and remembering new information, and planning and managing complicated activities such as driving. They may also be experiencing sadness, anxiety, loss of interest in once pleasurable activities, and other symptoms of major depression.

In moderate dementia, judgment, physical function, and sensory processing are typically affected. This can cause problems with personal hygiene, inappropriate language, and wandering. This stage — when your loved one is able to get around but has poor judgment — is physically and emotionally challenging for the caregiver.
“My dad went from being Mr. Nice Guy to Mr. Obsessed. And things were always
worse at night. He was energized and I was physically exhausted,” says Robert Matsuda, a Los Angeles musician who worked full-time and cared for his father with Alzheimer’s Disease for three years before recently placing him in a nursing home.
As a patient moves from mild to moderate dementia, some home modifications that may include removal of throw rugs, installation of locks and safety latches, and the addition of a commode in the bedroom often need to be made.

This is also the time when the palliative care team should be brought in to support the caregiver and help manage behaviors.
“I was anxious at first, but when they showed me how to manage my dad’s behaviors and started bringing services into our home — the nurse, the home health aide — it was like the cavalry arrived,” says Matsuda. 
 In severe dementia, there may be extensive memory loss, limited or no mobility, difficulty swallowing, and bowel and bladder control issues. There may be a need for around-the-clock care. At this stage, the patient may have difficulty recognizing family members and caregivers.
Caregivers experiencing high stress levels during the moderate and severe stages may also be dealing with anticipatory grief associated with a feeling of impending loss of their loved one. Talking with the palliative care team’s social worker can help caregivers understand these feelings and develop strategies for dealing with them.
Experts warn that caregivers who do not get such help may be more likely to experience a prolonged, complicated period of grief after their loved one dies. 

Resources for Dementia Caregivers
There are many resources available to caregivers of a person diagnosed with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association (800-272-3900) will refer you to your local chapter for information, resources, and their hands-on caregiver training workshops.
“I’ve been to our local association’s caregiver workshops and to their monthly support groups, too. Every time, when I leave, I’ve learned something — techniques, strategies, things like that — and that I’m not alone in this,” says George Robby who is caring for his wife with Alzheimer’s in their Chagrin Falls, Ohio, home.
Other good sources of information, assistance, and support include your local Area Agency on Aging (800-677-1116) and, for those caring for veterans, the Veterans Administration’s Caregiver Support Program (855-260-3274). Some senior care companies, including Silverado Senior Living and Home Instead Senior Care, offer programs and skill-building workshops at their facilities.

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Poor sleep habits have been linked to problems like depression and anxiety,
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Panic Disorder at the End-of-life
https://www.mypcnow.org › fast-fact › panic-disorder-at-the-end-of-life

Background Anxiety and fear occur commonly in the dying patient.
However, disabling anxiety and/or panic is not a normal aspect of the dying process.
Separating “normal” death-related … Depression, anxiety, and delirium in the terminally ill patient
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 

Early treatment is, of course, dependent on early recognition of the problem; all too often, physicians wait until the last weeks of a dying patient’s life to decide to address the …
Beliefs, death, anxiety, denial, and treatment preferences in end-of …
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › 17387055
This study examined cultural and religious beliefs, death anxiety, denial, and medical treatment preferences in end–of-life care in a sample of social work
students, community residents, and …
End-of-Life Care: Managing Common Symptoms
https://www.aafp.org

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Ability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds may predict longevity
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Craziness in the World Today

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ken
Former guerilla and leftist Gustavo Petro wins Colombian election over millionaire
‘king of TikTok’ – ABC News

Like TRUMP: The President Who Did Everything Right and Got No Thanks!
Opinion by David Frum

Which would you prefer? An elderly TikTok star who compares himself to Donald Trump? Or a former Marxist guerrilla who attended the funeral of Hugo Chávez?
A candidate notorious for his radical flip-flops on public policy?
Or a candidate notorious for his intolerance of any kind of disagreement or dissent?
One who explained his praise for the Hitler dictatorship by claiming he had confused Adolf Hitler with Albert Einstein? Or one whose attempt to renationalize garbage collection in his city left mountains of trash piled in the streets?

Welcome to the Colombian presidential election of 2022. The second round of voting last night yielded a victory for candidate No. 2, the former guerrilla Gustavo Petro, over No. 1, Rodolfo Hernández. Obviously, either choice would have inscribed huge question marks over the future of one of the more successful democracies in Latin America.
But there’s another question mark, a retrospective one: How in the world did Colombia arrive at such a bizarre dilemma?
Colombia’s outgoing president, the moderate conservative Iván Duque Márquez, was barred from running again by the country’s strict single-term limit. In those four years, he oversaw a record of policy success unmatched in recent South American history. In return, he is leaving office with an approval rating in the low 20s, the worst any president has had in Colombian polling history. The party he belonged to has been wrecked and discredited.
I interviewed Duque on June 2, during a visit he made to Washington, D.C., and found him as baffled as anybody else by Colombia’s turn to extremism.
When Duque took office in 2018, he was only 42. Yet he seems as vexed by the impact of social media as politicians’ decades his elder. “The world has become very polarized,” he said. “Sound debates about policy issues don’t seem to be applauded today. It makes more applause if you decide to take a strong stand, even based on not-sound facts or on lies—but you get a lot of likes. That sometimes seems the temptation we have in modern politics.”

[Read: This country is setting the bar for handling migrants]

President Duque faced two big challenges in his four years in office: the COVID-19 crisis and the social collapse of neighboring Venezuela. He met both challenges in a careful, balanced, well-informed way.
On COVID, he rejected the dismissal and denial espoused by populists like Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Duque did not pursue dubious Chinese vaccines to win points from anti-American voters, as Peru’s leftist president, Pedro Castillo, did. Instead, Duque used the strong relationship with the United States built by Colombia’s moderate conservative leadership. Colombia qualified for the first exports of the Pfizer vaccine from the United States and began a national vaccination program early in 2021.
As of mid-June, at least 70 percent of Colombia’s population has been fully vaccinated with safe and effective vaccines developed by Western democracies.

On Venezuela, Duque agreed with his country’s right that the Chávez-Maduro dictatorship was repugnant, no model for anyone to follow. He took a hard line against Venezuelan subversion and threats to export revolution to Colombia.
At the same time, Duque extended refuge to Venezuelans fleeing the disaster in their country. He granted some 1.7 million Venezuelans the right to remain and work in Colombia for 10 years, the largest such temporary-protected-status program in the
history of the Western hemisphere.
As he coped with these emergencies, Duque upheld Colombia’s trading relationship with the United States, ratified by the U.S.-Colombia free-trade agreement that entered into force in 2012. Thanks to this agreement, Colombia has enhanced its traditional exports of oil and coffee. The country now supplies three-quarters of all the cut flowers sold in the United States. Colombia has also emerged as the world’s No. 3 avocado producer.
Colombia is surging out of the pandemic with one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America. In the first quarter of 2022, Colombia’s output expanded at an annual rate of 7.5 percent. Duque used some of this wealth to bolster the nation’s shaky social-insurance system. He abolished tuition for virtually all students in Colombia’s public colleges and universities.
At every turn, he faced attacks either for doing dangerously too much, according to the hard right, or for doing offensively too little, according to the radical left.

[Read: The slow death of Colombia’s peace movement]

Colombian society remains cleaved by the aftermath of the left-wing insurgency of the 1970s and ’80s, as well as by the opportunistic alliance those guerrillas formed with drug-trafficking cartels like the one once run by the notorious Pablo Escobar. A lengthy peace process produced an agreement signed in 2016 that provided amnesty for former guerrillas. But the settlement was intensely resented by the many Colombians whose family and friends had been kidnapped or murdered by the insurgents. That resentment became the basis for a more militant Colombian far right—a resentment then reinforced by anti-immigrant sentiment, with the influx of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans asylum seekers into Colombia.
Colombia’s new president will inherit all of these challenges, plus soaring inflation and a possible recession in the United States, by far Colombia’s most important trading partner. That record made it no wonder that President Duque received such a fond goodbye from President Joe Biden on Duque’s farewell tour of the United States. In sharp contrast, President-elect Petro has made his career by exploiting his country’s social divisions, not healing them.
Americans may have come to take for granted Colombia’s very recent, hard-won, and fragile achievement of social peace. The democratic world will sadly miss President Duque, perhaps more than it yet knows.

Biden’s China tariff policy could irritate union allies
Morgan Chalfant

President Biden is facing a tough decision on whether to lift some Trump-era tariffs on China, a move that economists say will help inflation but promises to anger labor unions. 
Biden said over the weekend that he was still weighing such a move, and officials have not offered a timeline on when he would make a decision. 
Some economists see a clear benefit to lifting some tariffs, which former President Trump imposed as part of a tit-for-tat trade war with China. 
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that some of the tariffs inherited by the Biden administration serve “no strategic purpose.” 
But the decision won’t come easily for Biden given the blowback he is risking from unions, which have publicly expressed their opposition to lifting tariffs. 
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, who Biden shared a stage with last week when he addressed the group’s convention in Philadelphia, told CNN on Wednesday that
“it’s the wrong time to relax tariffs on China.”

“We think it would have a marginal impact, at best, on inflation,” she added.
Biden has been ramping up his engagements with organized labor as Democrats worry about losing ground with blue-collar workers in the midterm elections. Democrats lost union workers in 2020 in states like Ohio to Trump, whose anti-free trade message resonated with the labor vote. Biden routinely praises Big Labor, saying that unions “brung me to the dance” in expressing his gratitude for union support during his political career. And, for the most part, labor’s bosses are largely in his corner, which is on display when they praise the president during his visits to their events.
But labor unions would clash with Biden if he decided to lift tariffs on China amid efforts to lean into their support. Labor unions filed an official comment to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative earlier this month to push for tariffs to remain in place.
United Steelworkers President Thomas Conway, on behalf of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy, wrote in a letter that “members of the LAC are united in the view that the overall level and the individually identified tariffs imposed on China pursuant to the 301 actions should be extended.” 
Trump imposed a raft of tariffs on China to punish Beijing for unfair trade practices that affected a wide variety of imports totaling about $350 billion. 
The Biden administration has broadly maintained Trump-era tariffs and last fall launched negotiations with China aimed at enforcing the “phase one” trade agreement between Washington and Beijing brokered by the Trump administration. China fell short on its purchasing commitments under that deal. At the same time, Biden administration officials have described the previous administration’s approach to trade with China as flawed and signaled the possibility for change. 
Experts say that lifting some Trump-era tariffs would help lower the cost of goods at a time when Americans are grappling with sky-high inflation, but that depends on companies passing on savings to consumers. 
Biden has limited tools with which to fight inflation, and lifting tariffs on goods from China is among a few actions under consideration at the White House as it looks to ease the burden of costs on families.
“We’re looking closely at it, and I anticipate the president will have more to say on that issue in the coming weeks,” White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. 
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is slated to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday to testify on the fiscal 2023 funding request and could field questions about the policy decision process.
“My recommendation would be to remove the maximum amount of tariffs possible on China,” said Jason Furman, who served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under former President Obama.
Furman estimated that consumers would feel the relief “probably within a few months,” depending how quickly retailers adjust prices after receiving relief from tariffs. He also argued that the Biden administration should be reviewing other tariffs, not just those on Chinese imports. 

“They should be pulling every lever they have,” Furman said. 
Larry Summers, who served as Treasury secretary under the Clinton administration, endorsed the idea during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. Biden subsequently said that he spoke to Summers on Monday morning. “Look, I think cutting the tariffs is clearly a good idea. It will hold down prices. It will enable us to take
a more strategic approach to dealing with China,” Summers said Sunday, predicting that
it could cut 1 percentage point or more from the consumer price index — a key inflation gauge — over time. 
An analysis produced by the Peterson Institute for International Economics earlier this year estimated that a package of tariff reductions including those targeting Chinese goods would amount to a reduction in the consumer price index of 1.3 percentage points and would save each household $797. Lifting the tariffs would also ease tensions with business groups, which have been lobbying the administration to repeal tariffs on goods from China. 
An end to the tariffs would boost the bottom line for some major retailers, manufacturers and tech giants that pay tariffs of up to 25 percent to import some Chinese goods. The National Retail Federation, which represents major retailers like Walmart and Target, launched an ad campaign this month to push for an end to the tariffs, arguing the tariffs have cost the average American family more than $1,200 a year since they were implemented in 2018. 
“While the Federal Reserve continues with its long-term strategy to stem inflation, we need the administration and Congress to move forward on steps to lower prices that can be taken immediately,” National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement. “Repealing tariffs is one of those steps and one of the most effective and meaningful.”

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Image result for Americans nostalgia

Why are Americans gripped by nostalgia?
Nostalgia is our national mode. We salvage artifacts of the past for entertainment, to calm present anxieties. We discuss the present in terms of the past, and we judge the present by the standards of long ago. One party seeks to recapture the economic conditions of the 1960s; the other would restore the family structure of the 1950s; our films and television cannot escape the Reagan era. Our cultural dialogue is a series of ironic or earnest references to earlier works. Discussions of movies, television and music tend to begin with the question, “Remember when?” Those words summon happy thoughts. So acute has the condition become that the great satirists of our age, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, parodied it last year in an episode of South Park. Residents of the town became addicted to “Member Berries.”

Ross Douthat says it’s a symptom of decadence.
“Not the decadence of orgies and debauchery, but the decadence of drift, stagnation, and repetition.” He quotes Jacques Barzun, who wrote that in periods of decadence “the forms of art as of life seem exhausted, the stages of development have been run through.” Yuval Levin, on the other hand, ascribes our “blinding nostalgia” to the dizzying changes of the early 21st century. “In our economy, our culture, our politics, and throughout our society, longstanding norms seem to be breaking down.” Writing in the neo-Marxist Jacobin, Samuel Earle points his finger at “global, neoliberal capitalism,” which, “by subjecting everything in the world to the logic of the market,” generates “enormous change in local communities with little to no regard for social cohesion.” Douthat and Barzun suggest that there isn’t enough novelty in the world; Levin and Earle, that there is too much.

Perhaps instability in the economic and social spheres moves us to stabilize the cultural and political ones, by clinging to franchises of yore, and by recalling national glories of old. Or perhaps we return to the past because we are experts in it. In his new collection of essays, X, Chuck Klosterman asks, “What if the feeling we like to call ‘nostalgia’ is simply the byproduct of accidental repetition?” He has listened to Ozzy Osbourne’s Bark at the Moon “more than all the other Ozzy solo albums combined,” he says, for the sole reason that “I had only six cassettes” as a teenager. Nostalgia for Klosterman has little to do with memory. He feels nostalgic for Bark at the Moon “because the middle ’80s were a time when I might lie on my bed and listen to a random Ozzy song 365 times over the course of 12 months. It’s not an emotional experience. It’s a mechanical experience.” Stranger Things, by this logic, satisfies our nostalgia craving because it’s an excuse to share our knowledge of all the Stephen King books we have read, all the Spielberg and Carpenter movies we have watched. “What seems like ‘nostalgia’ might be a form of low-grade expertise that amplifies the value of the listening event.”

I see what he means. How often did I watch Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as a kid, until I knew basically every line of dialogue, every fanfare and swell in the score, could mimic every sound effect? Do I feel nostalgia for Star Trek: The Next Generation because of what was going on in my life during middle school — not much — or because I have watched each episode of the series too many times to count, with the exception of “Conspiracy,” the existence of which I do not recognize? I feel no nostalgia for the rented townhouse where I first listened to Vs., but could describe to you in detail its layout, its fading tan wallpaper and thick brown carpet, because the memory of my surroundings is connected to “the listening event.” The fascination with early video games that manifests itself in the popularity of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One — the film adaptation by Spielberg is forthcoming — is less a longing for the innocence of childhood than evidence of all the hours I wasted on Atari and NES.

Klosterman’s thesis is a clever explanation for certain forms of nostalgia, but not of others. It might tell me why I return to the first three Indiana Jones movies, but it doesn’t explain why Spielberg and George Lucas insist on making more of them. (I don’t need Jacobin to tell me the reason is money.) Nor does Klosterman’s mechanical basis for nostalgia apply to politics. We experience history only once, and Golden Ages are few and far between, and difficult to reproduce.

Why are Americans gripped by nostalgia?
“Nostalgia,” wrote Robert Nisbet, “breaks the telescopic relation of past and present that is the essence of ritual. It makes the past a cornucopia of anodynes and fancies to draw from at will. It seizes upon some period, decade, or century and bathes it in solutions of sentimentality. The past, so necessary to replenish the present when properly understood, takes the form of memorabilia, golden-oldies such as records, books, and movies which should not be wrenched from their ages.”

For Nisbet, nostalgia waxes as the traditional understanding of time wanes.
Human beings are temporal creatures. We need ways to understand and to order the past, the present, and the future. Normally we do this through religion, its holidays and life-cycle events. “The greatest barrier to nostalgia,” he writes, “in contrast to simple respect for the past, is a social structure in which the forces of stable growth outweigh those of instability and perceived formlessness. Ritual — religious, political, and other — is a strong force against nostalgia.” It may be that religion, by keeping us focused on a life to come, and by emphasizing righteous acts in the present, prevents us from becoming lost in memories and trinkets of the past. Then again there are plenty of religious people who are nostalgic about some earlier incarnation of their church or their country or their culture.

Do they lack ritual?
What would be useful is a grand unified theory of nostalgia, a way to tie together Star Trek: Into Darkness and MAGA hats, Back to the Future Day and Marine Le Pen. Sorry to say, no such theory exists. Maybe none is possible. Nostalgia in politics, in the marketplace, and in our psychology may be separate phenomena, may operate on different axes. I’m inclined to believe that the flight to the past is a consequence of our anxiety over the future: our fear of mortality, the precarious state of our country, the feeling that no one is entirely in control of his government, his destiny. Grim thoughts to ponder on my way home from work, as Dave Matthews Band plays on the radio, and I prepare for an after-dinner viewing of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was just on TCM.

More from MATTHEW CONTINETTI:
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— Matthew Continetti is the editor-in-chief of the Washington Free Beacon,
where this column first appeared. © 2017 All rights reserved

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Biden’s Oil and Gas Crisis

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Ken
What’s Going to Happen to The Electric Car Batteries After Their Lifespans End?

The most frustrating thing about Biden’s oil and gas crisis
Opinion by Noah Rothman – Search (bing.com)

Have the crippling sanctions imposed on Russia as a response to its war of conquest
in Ukraine backfired on the West? That concern is being expressed across Europe and, increasingly, it is one that President Joe Biden’s administration shares. (Not to mention the mechanics reluctance to work on them and rejecting the cost of new tools.)
Bloomberg News reported last week that the White House was “initially impressed”
by the impact the post-invasion sanctions regime was having on the Russian economy
and by Western firms’ willingness to voluntarily divest from the Russian marketplace.
But, as that story points not, not only are those sanctions “exacerbating inflation” and “punishing ordinary Russians more than Putin or his allies,” the Russian energy sector — the country’s largest revenue generator by far — hasn’t suffered much at all.

The Kremlin is generating more revenue than it spends making war against Ukraine.
To the contrary, as The New York Times reported last Monday, “Russia’s revenues from fossil fuels” have soared over the course of the war. While the country’s overall energy exports have declined by volume, the report notes that “surging prices have more than canceled out the effects of that decline.” The Kremlin is generating more revenue than it spends making war against Ukraine, and new, stricter sanctions targeting Russian energy that are due to come online soon may come too late to shape the outcome of that conflict.
Countering the influence of Russian energy is a fiendishly complex problem. It’s been decades in the making, and it cannot be solved overnight. Moreover, the West’s eagerness to outsource its energy needs to foreign producers ensures that we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Putting downward pressure on energy prices is, I’d argue, Biden’s most urgent priority
at the moment, not only to limit Russia’s options in Ukraine but also to ease domestic inflation (because the cost of all goods is exacerbated by high energy costs). Toward that end, Biden has adopted two seemingly contradictory approaches to the problem.
On the one hand, he blames “Putin’s price hike” for Americans’ reduced purchasing power.
On the other, he accuses America’s fossil-fuel producers of greed for making profits off a high-demand product that is experiencing scarcity. 

President Biden demands oil companies explain lack of gasoline.
“At a time of war — historically high refinery profit margins being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable,” the president wrote in a letter to U.S. oil refining companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron. These “companies must take immediate actions to increase the supply of gasoline, diesel, and other refined products,” he continued.
But increased domestic fossil-fuel production wouldn’t just help ease inflationary
pressure on the economy; exporting domestically produced fuel would help offset the world’s dependence on petrostates and their illiberal governments. Unfortunately, we’ve spent the better part of the last half-decade limiting our ability to respond to exigencies like the war in Europe.
At the end of 2018, the United States produced over 20 million barrels of petroleum products (crude oil, natural gas and refinery derivatives) per day. In 2019, the U.S. outpaced Saudi Arabia’s output for the first time in decades, and forecasts estimated
that the U.S. would become a net exporter of energy by 2022.
Also in 2019, Iranian-backed forces executed a sophisticated, multi-drone strike 
on a Saudi oil-processing plant, the culmination of a series of Iranian-linked strikes
on oil-producing targets in the kingdom and in the Strait of Hormuz. 

How the Strait of Hormuz could potentially lead to war with Iran.
In years prior, an attack on one of the world’s most productive refineries would have crippled the global economy and may even have necessitated an armed response by the countries dependent upon that supply. But the United States was able to stabilize global markets by releasing an unspecified amount from the country’s strategic reserves, and thus the attack barely made an economic ripple.
Not only did American energy production capacity ballast the global economy,
it may have also prevented violence. Much has changed in just a few intervening years. As National Review’s Jim Geraghty observed, the onset of the pandemic artificially truncated global energy consumption, which ensured that Americans didn’t notice as the nation dramatically curtailed its refinery capacity. A 2019 accident crippled the East Coast’s largest refinery, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions plant, and it was permanently mothballed in 2020. Over the course of 2020, that diabolical year, five more American refineries stopped producing petroleum products. Most of those facilities have transitioned or are currently transitioning to alternative fuels and biofuels processing facilities.

Reversing the decline of America’s domestic refining capabilities is just one facet of a comprehensive campaign to combat the influence of the world’s anti-Western petrostates.
Reversing the decline of America’s domestic refining capabilities is just one facet of a comprehensive campaign to combat the influence of the world’s anti-Western petrostates. But an all-hands-on-deck approach to addressing the global energy deficit that is hurting Americans and advancing Russian interests would require the Biden administration to take many measures they’ve so far avoided.

To the White House’s credit, the administration has already taken a few welcome steps
in that direction, albeit belatedly. In April, the administration loosened an executive order that put a stop to all new leases for oil and gas exploration on federal land, and also the president has dropped his crusade to anathematize the Saudi Kingdom and its crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman, a concession that corresponded closely with a long-delayed decision by the Saudi-led OPEC cartel to ramp up production in July and August.
There is, however, plenty the White House still refuses to do to ease the pressure on American wallets. The administration so far has not abandoned its objection to providing drilling leases in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. It won’t rescind a day one executive order barring federal agencies from providing fossil fuel producers with “subsidies.”
It won’t allow three already approved offshore oil leases to move forward, taking millions of acres of exploitable deposits off the table.

The campaign to isolate Moscow and decouple the global energy market from reliance on Russian exports is proceeding in fits and starts. Remarkable progress toward that goal has been achieved in a staggeringly short period of time. But it was never going to be possible to wholly offset the world’s demand for Russian energy quickly enough to prevent petrodollars from fueling Moscow’s war in Europe.
There is one alternative to the energy produced and exported by totalitarian states, and that is the energy produced and exported by liberal, democratic states. However, the West has spent decades trading away its productive capacity in service to the idea that green energy was a sufficient replacement for fossil fuels. And where we needed to supplement our energy needs, we counted on the world’s most egregious human rights violators to provide the rest. This was always a devil’s bargain. Today, Ukraine is absorbing much of the cost of the West’s hunger for Russian energy, but its people won’t be the last to suffer for our delusions.


What happens to electric vehicle batteries when they die?
– Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International.
Nor’Adila Hepburn – Search (bing.com)

While driving electric vehicles is a step towards a greener future, the car batteries that power them are not as sustainable. Though the battery is at the heart of any EV, most are made from lithium-ion and have a limited lifespan that starts to degrade from the first time you charge them. So what happens when they reach capacity?
The cycle of charging and discharging causes them to lose energy and power. The more charge cycles a battery goes through, the faster it will degrade. Once batteries reach 70 or 80% of their capacity, which happens around either 5 to 8 years or after 100,000 miles of driving, they have to be replaced, according to Science Direct.
Due to electric vehicles’ rising popularity, it goes without saying that their battery
waste will become a major issue. Experts estimate that 12 million tons of batteries will be thrown away by 2030, The Guardian reported. The conundrum that manufacturers and consumers have is that although they can be recycled, there are not enough facilities to handle them. To date, there are only four lithium-ion recycling centers in the United States (via WCNC). However, this number must grow exponentially — in the next few years as  Industry experts predict there will be 85 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030
(via ScienceDirect).

EV car
Recycling Is Complex
© Blue Planet Studio/ShutterstockEV car

Recycling car batteries is an arduous and dangerous process that involves splitting them apart to extract the metals inside. To do it, recyclers typically utilize two techniques: pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, Science reported. Pyrometallurgy, the preferred method, shreds the battery down and then a burning process takes the metal out. With hydrometallurgy, the battery is submerged in acid to separate the metal. With either method, there is a risk of toxic fume emissions or an outright explosion (via Science).
There are other issues too. Unlike other compact batteries, EV batteries weigh about 960 pounds, according to Wired. If you are an EV manufacturer, finding proper transportation and storage could prove a logistical nightmare.
They are also a fire hazard if and when stored together. A report by the Environmental Protection Agency found that between 2013 and 2020, more than 240 lithium-ion battery fires broke out across 64 municipal waste facilities.
And that’s not all. If these batteries find their way to landfills, harmful toxins such as
lead and nickel can contaminate soil and groundwater supplies (via AZO CleanTech).

companies and EVs
Companies Are Giving EV Batteries A Second-Life
© Herr Loeffler/Shutterstockcompanies and EVs

Outside of recycling, old EV batteries can be repurposed as a renewable energy
source for homes and businesses. Even if they have a reduced storage capacity,
can be reused to store wind and solar energy, according to Innovative News Network. 
This can extend their life cycle by another seven to 10 years.
A good example of this is Toyota’s initiative to sustainably power Yellowstone Park.
The car company equipped the landmark with solar panels powered by batteries that
once belonged in Camry Hybrids, replacing diesel generators (via Toyota).
Toyota was not the only one, however. A Spanish company ran an experiment where
it converted used lithium-ion batteries into second-life batteries with great success. In particular, it proved the ability to use recycled electric vehicle batteries to help power one of the local electricity plants in the case that there is a temporary shutdown (via Enel).

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