Trump Daily Death Count June 23, 2020

Today’s COVID-19 US Daily Death Count bought to you by…

Republicans – The Party of White!

Because White Makes Right.

As of this evening, June 23, 2020, at least 121,224 Americans have sacrificed their lives for DJ Trump, the narcissistic incompetent Liar in Chief who pretends to be the President of the United States.

Thank you for your sacrifice.

And for those who have become infected, but have not died,

Is DUI Worthy Of Death?

America’s historical laxity on DWI/DUI is infamous.

In some nations, as recently as 1978/9, anecdote suggests that DUI offenders in some nations may have been summarily executed… without trial.

But civilization, you know.

And due process.

There’s something to be said for them both.

And yet, due process is NOT laxity on law.

Consider some contemporary penalties for inebriated drivers in other nations:

• In Australia, the names of intoxicated drivers are sent to the local paper and are printed under the heading: “He’s drunk and in jail”.
• In England, drunk drivers face a one-year suspension of license, a $250 fine, and one year in jail.
• In France, there is a three-year loss of license, one year in jail, and a $1,000 fine.
• In Malaysia, the driver is jailed. If he is married, his wife is jailed, too.
• In Norway, the penalty is three weeks in jail at hard labor and one year loss of license. With a second offense within five years, the license is revoked for life.In Russia, the license is revoked for life.
• In South Africa, the penalty is a ten-year prison sentence and the equivalent of $10,000 fine, or both.
• In Turkey, drunks are taken ten miles from town by the police and forced to walk back under escort.

Nevertheless, that I’m aware, there’s little-to-no evidence to suggest that DUI is a capital offense – at least in America.

Or, is there?

There’s the late Rayshard Brooks of Atlanta, you know.

He was summarily executed – shot in the back – by Atlanta police officers for DUI.

Yeah.

And he wasn’t even driving.

That’s an “inconvenient truth” which some don’t want to talk about.

And then, I think about what John Adams (1735 – 1826) – American Diplomat, 2nd POTUS, father of John Quincy Adams, and “founding father” of the United States – said at a December 1770 mass murder trial in which he was the Attorney for the Defense.

“Facts are stubborn things;
and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,
or the dictates of our passion,
they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

— John Adams, statement made in “Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,” December 1770

At the time, Adams was aged 35.

And the defendants whom were accused of murder?

They were British soldiers of the 29th Regiment under the command an Irishman, Captain Thomas Preston.

Along with 4 civilians, the soldiers accused of murder were William Wemms, James Hartigan, William McCauley, Hugh White, Matthew Kilroy, William Warren, John Carrol and Hugh Montgomery.

The deceased victims of the event colloquially known as the “Boston Massacre” were Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, James Coldwell and Crispus Attucks, all who died immediately. Patrick Carr, who was wounded, died 9 days later.

The circumstances of the situation were that, late on the night of Monday, March 5, 1770, a crowd had gathered in front of the Customs House and confronted 8 British soldiers and Captain Preston. The soldiers, armed with muskets fitted with bayonets, formed a semi-circle as the crowd dared them to shoot. The scene was tense, and an unknown man in the crowd threw a club which struck a soldier, whereupon a shot was fired, which was followed by about 6 seconds of silence, followed by a volley of several shots. Many were wounded, including some who died instantly.

Enraged that troops under his command had fired without his order, Captain Preston commanded them to cease fire. Upon restoration of order, the troops departed the scene unscathed, leaving the peaceful civilian protesters feeling powerless.

Shortly, additional reinforcement British troops arrived on scene, which again escalated tensions, which had been significantly reduced following Captain Preston’s orders. Violence again seemed impending, but when Thomas Hutchinson made a quick speech from the balcony of the Town House guaranteeing that Captain Preston and his troops would be tried in court, the peaceful protesters were assuaged, the situation was thereby de-escalated, and the crowd dispersed.

According to the magistrate’s order, Captain Preston and the eight soldiers were to be tried separately.

John Adams headed the defense team, and with Josiah Quincy, the younger brother of

Overburdened Police

There’s been much “water under the bridge” in the last 50 years, or so.

Like it, or not, America has changed.

And frankly, not all change is good. Not all change is for the better. And we all recognize that fact, whether we voted, and voted for Trump, or someone else.

That’s a common unifier among us all regardless of what political affiliation – if any – we may have. We know that change has come, and some of it hasn’t produced the good it was purported to bring about.

Some of the change has been oblique, some of it has been blatant, some of it may have been justified, and some of it may have been a handout, or a head on a silver platter as a political favor.

Again, not all change is good, nor has all change been good. But neither is it all bad.

Change is necessary. We change diapers on babies regularly, and (should) change politicians regularly for the same reason – when they’re full of poop, they’re stinky, and dirty, and if left in place too long, will irritate the skin, and lead to infection.

In an interview article entitled “How Much Do We Need The Police?” by Leah Donnella, published June 6, 2020 on the NPR website, she spoke with Dr. Alex S. Vitale, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College, and is a Visiting Professor at London Southbank University. For the past 25 years, he has consulted with police departments and international human rights organizations, served on numerous boards, conducted research, and authored numerous books, scholarly articles, and articles of public interest on matters of law enforcement.

In the interview, his observations were not merely prescient, but keen, some of which were, quite frankly, obvious – although at the time, we may not have noticed what would have occurred. But after problems did begin to emerge, we did nothing.

It’s the “Frosted Lucky Charms” mindset – thinking that if we do nothing, it’ll all be “magically delicious,” or miraculously go away… like the POTUS said of COVID-19 at a New Hampshire rally, February 10, 2020 when he said in part, that, “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”

And now, as the saying goes, “the chickens have come home to roost.”

The fruit borne of the changes which have been made in many matters that do NOT pertain to police, that do NOT pertain to law enforcement, that do NOT require law enforcement intervention, that are merely either civil, health, or social matters, have been unfairly and unjustly thrust upon police whom have been tasked with responding to them.

In a very real way, they’ve been unjustifiably overburdened, and have by default, commanded to do many things OUTSIDE the scope of law enforcement. It’d be like asking a groundskeeper to also be a nanny. It’s also patently and preposterously absurd.

That blatantly points to the need for

America now has MORE COVID-19 Deaths than World War I Deaths.

Today, as of the report made 6/8/2020, 10:35:04 AM, we have 116,933 COVID-19 deaths in America.

During World War I, America had 116,516 deaths.

The Dance of Death (1493) by Michael Wolgemut (1434-1519), from the Nuremberg Chronicle of Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514).

YOU DID IT!

Way to go Trump!

We all knew you could do it!

We knew you could pull a rabbit out of a hat!

America is GREAT AGAIN!

And you did it alone!

You alone!

That’s because you know more than the Generals do!

Keep America great!

America is NUMBER #1!

We’re Number #1!

You’re doing a GREAT JOB, TRUMP!

AMERICA
NOW HAS
MORE DEATHS
FROM
COVID-19
THAN FROM
ALL AMERICAN
DEATHS
IN
WORLD WAR I.

Last night, we closed out the day with 110,514 COVID-19 deaths in America, and using that emerging figure as a trend, I calculated that we would equal, or surpass 116,516 – the TOTAL number of American deaths in World War I – in a matter of a few short days.

Much to my surprise, IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT!

This is genuinely sad day in America.

Nay… a tragic day.

And it all can be laid at the feet of

Six Zero Zero Two

The caption at the bottom of the image, which is in Latin, is translated as: “When you become heaps, a sort of man, why do not you reject mortal things; Death is a common obligation to all fate. “What does it profit a man if hurt, one hundred centuries; When we die we think life has passed like the wind.” The banner is translated as: For you know neither day, nor the hour at” and cites the reference from the Biblical book of Matthew, chapter 25 verse 13 which states “Therefore watch, for you do not know the day, nor the hour.” The top translates as “thou come hither, anyone who in the world is visible to the whole.”

6,002.

That’s how many more COVID-19 deaths we’ll need in America before we equal the number of American deaths in WWI – 116,516.

Only 6,002 more to go.

Today, we started off with 109,846 COVID-19 deaths in America.

Tonight, we finish with 110,514.

That’s a difference of 668, or a 0.6081% increase, in the stretch of a 12-hour period.

If we continue at that rate, we’ll be there, and quite possibly surpass the mark, in 9 days, on June 16.

That’s just a mere 216 hours from now.

And, it’s but a

The Lost Cause is the Root Cause of Violence Against Blacks

It’s Open Season on Black men and women in America.

Cops kill with impunity.

The Department of Justice (especially under this administration) does nothing.

There is NO justice in this land.

But Fortunately, Open Season on Blacks in America is Closing Soon.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020 marks the day.

That’s the day of the General Election.

And it’s time to vote OUT those with a “R” after their name, and most especially, to clean out the White House and rid it of the infestation of vermin which have afflicted it and this nation for the past 4 years.

George Floyd’s death in Minnesota is just the latest, and hopefully, the last straw – the one that proverbially broke the camel’s back in this miserably shameful and ongoing horror story.

That the POTUS has chosen to NOT address the nation during this crisis speaks volumes, none of which have any good in them.

It wasn’t too long ago that a young man in Alabama who had just entered the United States Army, and was home on leave during Thanksgiving, was shot and killed by the Hoover Police Department at the Riverchase Galleria mall in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham on November 22, 2018.

The deceased young man was the type of person the NRA holds out as a proverbial exemplar of the “good guy with a gun” character they often tout. The only problem was, that in his case, he was Black. The fact that he was properly licensed to carry a concealed weapon – and did – made no difference.

The facts of that case were that following the sound of

969 New American COVID-19 Deaths Today

In the space
of a few hours,
America’s
COVID-19
Death Toll
has gone from 100,647
to
101,616
–
an increase of
969.

COVID-19 update May 28, 2020 AM

COVID-19 update May 28, 2020 PM

COVID-19 Deaths in America Compared

Some have wondered how other diseases’ mortality (death statistics) compares with COVID-19.

To illustrate, their questions can be stated somewhat like “on an annualized basis, how many deaths have historically occurred because of “X” disease when compared to COVID-19?”

Such a comparison examines ONLY death.

It does not examine risk.

“Death as a Strangler”; “Death playing the violin at a Masquerade during a cholera outbreak in Paris in 1831.” 1845, by Alfred Rethel (1816-1859)

It’s akin to asking “who will die?”

Answer: Your death is a 100% certainty.

Or, if you prefer, we know for a hard, cold fact, that you will die. The corollary operative Latin phrase is “memento mori,” translated literally “remember die,” and which translates functionally as “remember death,” or loosely as “remember that you must die.”

Death rates do NOT examine how quickly hospital or healthcare systems have been or could be overwhelmed with “X” disease.

In some localities, New York City most notably, COVID-19 has overwhelmed the healthcare resources of America’s most populous city.

Death rates do NOT examine the disease’s ease of transmissibility.

COVID-19 is spread by breathing. Cancer is not. Heart disease is not. Accidents are not. Cerebrovascular disease is not. Alzheimer’s is not.

Cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, etc., are typically chronic (long-term) conditions.

COVID-19 is not, and has often killed in a matter of days.

Death rates do not consider the insidious nature of COVID-19, i.e., that it hides in the body, often not even making its presence known (at least 30-50% of those infected are asymptomatic, i.e., show no signs of infection – not even one, including fever), even after an incubation period that ranges from 2-14 days.

Death rates do NOT examine

BREAKING NEWS! Alex Jones Teaching New York City Rats!

Alex Jones would feel right at home.

Definitely NOT the Pied Piper.

Or, is he?

And, for the benefit of those unaware of the association and correlation, here’s a wee bit of a backgrounder:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethcohen/2020/05/02/what-alex-jones-said/

---

Starving Rats Are Reportedly Turning Into Cannibals And Attacking One Other As Their Restaurant Food Supply Disappears

By TPorter@businessinsider.com (Tom Porter)

• The CDC has warned that rats are growing increasingly aggressive amid the coronavirus epidemic, and advised on what people can do to stop infestations in their neighborhoods.

• The rodents usually feed on rubbish in restaurant bins, but with many outlets closed or only offering takeout they are empty.

• Videos have been posted on social media of rats swarming deserted streets in New Orleans and New York streets.

• Pest control officials say that some rats are resorting to cannibalism and infanticide to survive.

Rats are growing increasingly aggressive in their hunt for food as restaurants across the US

In Memoriam On Memorial Day

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

Thus far, 1,354,664 American lives have been lost in the total 78 armed conflicts in our nation’s 244 year history.

That averages out to very nearly 5,552 per year.

In the past 127 days since COVID-19 disease was discovered to have invaded our nation on January 20 this year, over 97,811 deaths – that we now know of – have occurred.

Again, using averages, that averages out to be

Which is more important – money, or life?

One again, Republicans are demonstrating their lackadaisical reckless attitude toward human life, and thereby proving that they care little, if anything, about Americans of any stripe.

Whether young, old, infant, geriatric, sick, healthy, able, disabled, veteran, civilian, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, well-educated, poorly-educated, gay, straight, bi, gender non-conforming, or anything of all points in between – it makes no difference. Money is their god. The Almighty Dollar rules.

They and their feckless titular leader are forcing ALL Americans to bow before the altar of Mammon, sacrificing our wise elders, children, even the unborn, to the all-consuming selfish fires of commerce.

The radicalized members of the Party of Trump are your “Death Panels.” They are the very thing Republicans warned America which would happen if the PPACA were to become enacted — which is not even anything even remotely close to Single Payer/Medicare For All.

And yet, even though they’ve continually tried their damndest to kill the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), aka “ObamaCare,” and every vestige of it since the day it was enacted on March 23, 2010, they’ve still not managed to come up with any alternative whatsoever.

Nada.

Bupkis.

Not only have the GOP’s dire predictions not come true, nor have they even remotely happened, but they’re still showing America what they think is TRULY important – money, money, money… MONEY!

––//––

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/13/poll-coronavirus-reopen-trump-republicans-252726

Republican voters have undergone a significant shift on the coronavirus in a few short weeks.

A month ago, half of GOP voters said they were more worried about

Now More American COVID-19 Deaths Than Vietnam & Korea Combined

I knew STRONGLY SUSPECTED this day was coming very soon.

It’s now here.

Soon enough, we’ll surpass the number of deaths in WWI – 116,516.

Only 18,805 to go.

Welcome aboard the Death Train.

---

Figures are total deaths, i.e., combat, and non-combat related deaths.

Vietnam War Deaths = 58,209
+
Korean War Deaths = 36,516
GRAND TOTAL = 94,725

COVID-19 Deaths in the United States as of 8:32:56 PM, 24 May 2020 = 97,711

Difference = 2986

War in Afghanistan Deaths = 2,216

Difference = 770

Gulf War Deaths = 294

Difference = 476

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

Beirut Deployment Deaths = 266

Difference = 210

Somalia Deaths =

Donald’s Daily Death Count Saturday, 16 May 2020

Good news, America!

As of today, we’re only 6,069 body bags, and 3 days away from our goal!

Let’s review:

Yesterday, Friday, 15 May 2020, we closed out the day with 85,884 COVID-19 Deaths in America.

Today, we close out the day with a total of 88,754 COVID-19 Deaths – a 3.3417% increase, only slightly above our projected 2% daily increase.

As we had earlier written, “Again, a friendly reminder that by June 2, at the current rate, we’ll have a total of 115,781 COVID-19 related deaths. In fact, at the fairly constant increase of 2% per day, in 5ive days (May 19), we’ll have MORE COVID-19 related deaths than ALL the DEATHS from the Vietnam War & Korean War COMBINED – 94,823!!”

If we continue to keep up what we’re doing (and there’s no indication that we’ll do anything any differently – why mess with success, eh?), at our projected approximate 2% Daily Death Rate increase, we’ll be

Donald’s Daily Death Update – Are You COVIDiseased yet?

Just wait.

You will be.

Or your better half.

Or your kids.

Or your parents.

Or someone else you know and love.

As of yesterday (13 May 2020) at 4:32PM ET, there were 83,715 COVID-19 deaths in the Good ol’ USA.

On 8 May 2020 as of 8:32AM ET, there were 75,670 American COVID-19 deaths in America.

That’s an INCREASE of 10.6316% in 5 days, or slightly over 2% per day.

On 6 May, there were 71,078 deaths.

On 3 May, there were 67,682 deaths.

From 3 May to 13 May (10 days), there has been a 23.6887% increase in deaths – a 2.3688% death rate per day… a consistent, practically unchanged rate.

Using that rate as a guide, if it remains unchanged, at the 30-day mark (2 June), there will be

Who are YOU willing to sacrifice for this economy?

Your Money, or Your Life… You Choose.

Presently, there are increasing calls clamoring for our states’ and nation’s economies to be returned to a state of “normalcy” (whatever that may be, or look like). Those voices are largely cacophonous, often belligerent, threatening with violent, even lawless displays, such as in Michigan recently, when renegades and insurrectionists stormed the State Capitol building armed with loaded assault weapons, and battle accouterments such as helmets, flak jackets, and bullet-proof vests, threatening to kill the Governor, and attempted to seize the Legislative floors.

In response, some states’ Governors are “reopening” their states’ economies, which have been largely shuttered for the benefit, and protection of the Greater Good, preservation of Public Health, and the prevention of loss of life, through unwitting dissemination of a particularly insidious and occult disease for which we have no cure, neither validated, nor verified treatment, nor vaccine – the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, aka COVID-19.

It seems to me that, in essence, what is being done – not merely said – is presenting a “your money, or your life” robbery type scenario, a practical sacrificing of human life upon the altar of filthy lucre to the god of mammon, through the high priests of

Which is more deadly? War, or COVID-19?

American COVID-19 Deaths
WILL SURPASS
the
TOTAL Number of Deaths
in the
Vietnam and Korean Wars
COMBINED.

33,686 + 47,424 =81,110

81,110 – 68,387 = 12,723

Remember those numbers.

What are they?

The first figure – 33,686 – represents the number of deaths in the Korean War.

The second figure – 47,424 – represents the number of deaths in the Vietnam War.

The third figure is the sum (total) of the two numbers.

The fourth figure – 68,387 – represents the number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States, as of 0450 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time), Monday, 4 May 2020.

The fifth figure – 12,723 – represents the difference between the current number of COVID-19 American Deaths and the Total number of Deaths in the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined.

Sadly, that fifth figure WILL surpass the the third figure in a matter of days.

Already, the TOTAL number of American COVID-19 deaths has SURPASSED the number of deaths in Vietnam (47,424), Iraq (3836), Afghanistan (1833), Gulf War (149), and the Beirut Deployment (256) COMBINED – 53,498.

But here’s the sad, startling fact:

This has all happened in the space of a couple months – since 20 January – a mere 106 days. On the other hand, those wars lasted far, far longer.

So, you tell me

A More Thoroughly Comprehensive COVID-19 Timeline

Editor’s Note: The timeline will be updated as information becomes available, and events occur.

BACKGROUND: In the 1970’s, amidst a national famine in which millions died, the Chinese Communist government allowed and encouraged private farming in 1978, and 10 years later legalized the private industrialization of wildlife farming, in which wildlife animals were farmed, and sold in so-called “wet markets,” where live animals were slaughtered, butchered and sold alongside other foods.

This recent outbreak of coronavirus of SARS-CoV (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome), a coronavirus known as COVID-19, appears to have originated in a particular live-animal wet market in the Hubei province city of Wuhan, China, which population is estimated between 8.9 to 11 million – and by some estimates, the 6th most populous city in China. Of the first 41 people infected with the virus, 27 had gone to the Huanan live market in Wuhan.

Vox produced a brief video of the scenario surrounding the emergence of the novel coronavirus on March 6. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpoJGYlW54)

This illustration reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by the COVID-19 coronavirus. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. Image credit: CDC.

One particularly fascinating aspect of the market where farm-raised wildlife is sold, is that the exceeding majority of Chinese nationals do not eat wildlife, and rather, it is the well-to-do and wealthy – who are an extremely small minority of the 1.389 billion-plus Chinese population – which consume such fare.

“Animal husbandry” is the term given to describe the agricultural practice of tending to, caring for, raising, breeding, and rearing animals, particularly and especially livestock, meaning domesticated animals typically raised for human use, either as use for production of dairy, meat, fiber, clothing, etc. Typically again, those animals are hogs, cattle, goat, sheep, poultry and fowl, including animals used for labor such as donkeys, mules, horses, oxen, etc. While there are examples of farm-raised wildlife in Western nations such as with alligators, mink, etc., such animals are infrequently or rarely used for human consumption, but in China, that practice is allowed, and even encouraged.

While China has made great strides in acknowledging that animal health is important for the animals intrinsically, and in relationship to humans’ interaction with them as well, there remain many more significant advancements to be made, because the health of animals and humans are inextricably intertwined. Specifically, laws, regulations, and governmental agencies, standards and practices in veterinarian medicine, and in animal husbandry and health should be more jointly unified, widespread, and enforced.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

2017
January

10 – Dr. Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, delivered keynote address at a Harvard Global Health Institute conference in conjunction with peer-reviewed healthcare journal Health Affairs, held at Georgetown University entitled “Pandemic Preparedness for the Next Administration” which “focused on priorities for the next U.S. presidential administration and potential agenda items for pandemic preparedness.”
(https://globalhealth.harvard.edu/news/pandemic-preparedness-priorities-next-administration)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2018
April

White House National Security Advisor John Bolton pressured White House Homeland Security Advisor, Tom Bossert, to resign along with his team. Neither the NSC nor DHS epidemic teams were replaced.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-homeland-security-adviser-resigns-amid-continued-turnover-in-trump-administration/2018/04/10/15db518a-3ccb-11e8-a7d1-e4efec6389f0_story.html)

May

POTUS ordered the National Security Council’s entire Global Health Security unit shut down, and called for Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biothreats Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer to be reassigned, and dissolved his team inside the agency.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/)

7 – POTUS called for cutting $252 million of unused funds remaining from the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, far exceeding the combined total cases reported in about 20 previous outbreaks since the 1970s.
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2018/05/10/top-white-house-official-in-charge-of-pandemic-response-exits-abruptly/)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
2019
November

In a secret intelligence report by the military’s National Center for Medical Intelligence (NCMI), based upon analysis of wire and computer intercepts, and satellite images, concerns that an out-of-control disease sweeping through China’s Wuhan region could pose a serious threat to U.S. Armed Forces in Asia, that

Cytokine Storm

Cytokine storm.

Wot zat?

Glad you asked.

Imagine having a very minor kitchen fire – as in ’some grease/oil in a small 6-inch skillet flamed up’ while cooking breakfast one morning.

It’s easily put out by placing a lid on the pan.

Stop the air from getting to it, and VOILA!

Out goes the light.

More’n likely, anyone who’s ever cooked has experienced one.

Not a big deal, right?

So, what if, in response to that minor emergency – and yes, it is an emergency, and yes, it is minor – a fleet of 747 jumbo jets all filled with water (for forest fire-fighting purposes, they’re called “Super Tankers”) flew over your place and dumped it all atop your house?

That’d be pretty extreme, wouldn’t it?

Of course it would!

But

COVID-19: Death Warmed Over

Frontispiece from Bernardino Genga’s “Anatomia per uso et intelligenza del disengno…”, 1691,
via National Library of Medicine #2353013R

It’s 2020, Sunday, 29 March 2020, and there are now 142,106 CONFIRMED cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in the United States.

This morning at 0811, there were “124,686 ACTIVE cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus.”

That’s a 17,420 difference, or an increase of 13.971095% in 12 hours. (Might as well call it 14%.)

Put another way, it’s an increase of 1.1666% every hour.

Extrapolating, at the current rate of 14% in a 12-hour period, tomorrow morning at 0800, there’ll be an additional

Dear Millennials, YES, you TOO can get sick… VERY sick!

Don’t think COVID-19 novel coronavirus can’t affect you.

It can.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that 705 of the first 2,500 cases of COVID-19 novel coronavirus in the United States were ages 20-44, 15-20% of which were hospitalized, with at least 4% needing stays in Intensive Care Units. And there were a few deaths.

In Italy, 25% of that nation’s coronavirus victims were/are aged 19-50 – with a very nearly equal distribution between the two other major age categories 51-70, and 71+.

Clement Chow, Assistant Professor of Genetics at the University of Utah is one example of a young person getting VERY SICK and requiring hospitalization in an ICU.

In a series of Tweets on March 15, 2020, he wrote in part:

“I’m young and not high risk, yet I am in the ICU with a very severe case. We really don’t

Trump Kills Soleimani -and- Muqtada al-Sadr is Correct

Maclean’s, a Canadian current affairs/news magazine since 1905, published an article headlined “The U.S. was justified in killing Soleimani—but is it ready for what comes next?“

First, let it be known that I am exceedingly glad that Soleimani is dead.
-and-
The Twidiot in Chief  is 100% correct when when he tweeted (in part) that “He should have been taken out many years ago!”

Qasem Soleimani, late commander of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force

Qasem Soleimani, late commander of the terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force

Even a broken clock is correct twice a day, right?

Look, Soleimani was a terrorist – plain and simple.

Following Soleimani’s death, the United States Department of Defense issued a Press Release on January 2, 2020, which stated in part that,

“Qasem Soleimani [was] the
head of the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force,
a
U.S.-designated
Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

“General Soleimani and his Quds Force
were responsible for the
deaths of hundreds of American and
coalition service members and the
wounding of thousands more.”

The United States was not the only nation which considered Soleimani a terrorist. The Counter Extremism Project writes this of Soleimani:

“The U.S. government, the United Nations, and the European Union have all sanction-designated Soleimani for involvement in either Iran’s nuclear program or the Syrian civil war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.¹ Furthermore, U.S. Central Command documents declassified in 2015 reveal that Iraqi Shiite militants under Soleimani’s command killed more than 500 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2005 and 2011.² U.S. intelligence has also linked Soleimani to a 2011 assassination attempt of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C.³

“Soleimani was banned from international travel because of his 2007 U.N. designation for his role in Iran’s nuclear program.⁴ Nonetheless, he reportedly flew to Moscow at least three times—in July 2015, April 2016, and February 2017—for meetings with Russian officials.⁵ After Soleimani reportedly traveled to Russia for military discussions in April 2016, the U.S. State Department confirmed that U.N. travel sanctions on Soleimani remained in effect despite the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1.⁵

“Soleimani’s influence extended to Syria as well. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Soleimani oversaw Iran’s military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.⁶ One Free Syrian Army commander told the Wall Street Journal in 2013 that Soleimani was “running Syria. [President] Bashar [al-Assad] is just his mayor.”⁷ During the October 2016 funeral of IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Hamedani, Soleimani justified Iran’s role in Syria as repayment for Syria’s support during the Iran-Iraq War. He further argued that it was in Iran’s interests to intervene on Assad’s behalf.”⁸

¹ “Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 611/2011 of 23 June 2011 Implementing Regulations (EU) No 442/2011 Concerning Restrictive Measures in View of the Situation in Syria,” Official Journal of the European Union, June 24, 2011, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:164:0001:0003:EN:PDF;
“Treasury Targets Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 11, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1320.aspx;
“Designation of Five Individuals Pursuant to Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 17, 2011, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-10-17/html/2011-26775.htm;
“Security Council Toughens Sanctions Against Iran, Adds Arms Embargo, With Unanimous Adoption of Resolution 1747 (2007), United Nations, March 24, 2007, http://www.un.org/press/en/2007/sc8980.doc.htm;
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, “General Qasem Soleimani: Iran’s Rising Star,” BBC News, March 6, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27883162.

² Rowan Scarborough, “Iran responsible for deaths of 500 American service members in Iraq,” Washington Times, September 13, 2015, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/13/iran-responsible-for-deaths-of-500-us-service-memb/.

³ “Treasury Targets Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, October 11, 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1320.aspx.

⁴ “Security Council Toughens Sanctions Against Iran, Adds Arms Embargo, With Unanimous Adoption of Resolution 1747 (2007), United Nations, March 24, 2007, http://www.un.org/press/en/2007/sc8980.doc.htm.

⁵ Lucas Tomlinson, “EXCLUSIVE: Shadowy Iranian general visits Moscow, violating sanctions,” Fox News, February 15, 2017, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/02/15/exclusive-shadowy-iranian-general-visits-moscow-violating-sanctions.html;Jennifer Griffin and Lucas Tomlinson, “Exclusive: Quds Force commander Soleimani visited Moscow, met Russian leaders in defiance of sanctions,” Fox News, August 6, 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/06/exclusive-quds-force-commander-soleimani-visited-moscow-met-russian-leaders-in.html.

⁶ Lidia Kelly and Parisa Hafezi, “Iran’s Soleimani in Russia for talks on Syria, missiles: sources,” Reuters, April 15, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-iran-soleimani-idUSKCN0XC0TR.

⁷ Farnaz Fassihi, Jay Solomon, and Sam Dagher, “Iranians Dial Up Presence in Syria,” Wall Street Journal, September 16, 2013, http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323864604579067382861808984.

⁸ “Iran’s Soleimani Says Syria War Plays to Iran National Interests,” Asharq Al-Awsat, October 7, 2016, http://english.aawsat.com/2016/10/article55359787/irans-soleimani-says-syria-war-plays-iran-national-interests.

.
.
In September 2013, Dexter Filkins wrote a feature article about Soleimani for The New Yorker which was entitled

“The Shadow Commander – Qassem Suleimani is the Iranian operative who has been reshaping the Middle East. Now he’s directing Assad’s war in Syria.”

Donald Trump, United States President, official portrait

Donald Trump, United States President, official portrait

The article stated in part that, “Suleimani took command of the Quds Force fifteen years ago, and in that time he has

Jeffrey Epstein Found Dead

NOTE TO READERS: Effectively, because no other parties were named in the indictment against Jeffrey Epstein, the case against him is now just as dead as he is. As well, it’s highly doubtful that any information obtained in the Grand Jury process will be released to the public. However, Geoffrey S. Berman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said, “Today’s events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein’s many victims their day in Court. To those brave young women who have already come forward and to the many others who have yet to do so, let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing for you, and our investigation of the conduct charged in the Indictment – which included a conspiracy count – remains ongoing.” Such a statement strongly suggests that the government’s investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking case will continue. There is at least one other potential co-conspirator, and that is Epstein’s long-time confidant-cum-occasional-sexual partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. –Editor
––//––
According to a Press Release by the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons – including numerous independent reports from validated, and verified sources – convicted pedophile, and accused sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein has apparently

“Do Something!” About Gun Sickness and Disease

Within a period of 7 days, 35 people were killed, and 64 were injured in 3 mass shootings in our nation.

July 28, 2019 – 5:48 PM PDT Garlic Festival – Gilroy, CA – 3 Killed, 13 Injured

August 3, 2019 – 10:39 AM CDT Wal-Mart – El Paso, TX – 22 Killed, 24 Injured

August 4, 2019 – 1:05 AM EDT – Historic Oregon District, Downtown Dayton, OH – 10 Killed, 27 Injured

Authorities have identified the assailants and weapons used. In each case, the weapons used were military-grade assault style rifles designed for military use, modeled after the Russian AK-47, and the American AR-15. The exclusive purpose of such firearms as weapons of mass destruction is to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency – to inflict as much carnage and damage upon as many people as possible, in a short period of time. They are ONLY weapons of war, and nothing else. They were NOT designed for any other purpose than to kill human beings with great ease, and efficiency.

The assailants were:
• Connor Stephen Betts, 24, of Bellbrook, OH (Dayton) – deceased;
• Santino William Legan, 19, of Gilroy, CA and Walker Lake, NV (Gilroy) – deceased, and;
• Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, of Allen, TX (El Paso) – captured.

In none of those cases neither “a good guy with a gun,” nor a border wall was effective to either deter, prevent, or stop the deaths and injuries of 127 people.

But those three tragedies were not the only ones.

Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike Dewine addresses Ohioans about the Dayton mass shooting.

Just today – August 5, 2019 – in Brooklyn, the most populous borough in NYC, there was a mass shooting at 216 Buffalo Avenue where 4 people were injured, with no deaths in which “Police confirm a man was shot in the chest, and two women have also been found with gunshots wounds.”
-and-
A shooting with 4 injuries occurred at 5691 Suitland Road, in Suitland, MD.

Yesterday, there were FOUR mass shootings at:
1800 S Kildare Ave in Chicago, one killed, and 7 wounded;
443 E Shelby Dr in Memphis, one killed, 3 wounded;
2900 block of W Roosevelt Rd in Chicago, 7 wounded;
419 E 5th St in Dayton, OH, 10 killed, 26 wounded.

On July 28, the date of the Gilroy, CA Garlic Festival shooting, there were a total of SIX mass shootings throughout the nation.

In the days since, there have been 15 mass shootings, inclusive, in which 47 people were killed, with 115 injured. For details, see: https://www.GunViolenceArchive.org/reports/mass-shooting

According to data from the Gun Violence Archive website, this year to date, there have been 255 mass shootings, resulting in 275 deaths, and 1069 injuries.

No one is happy about this.

No one.

Kentucky Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell proudly displaying the Made-in-China Nike brand athletic shoes which he blames for his fall which ironically, injured his LEFT shoulder. As a child born in Alabama, McConnell also had polio.

The paralytic gridlocked Congress is in summer recess, as GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is

Amy Winehouse Remembered

Yesterday marked the 8th anniversary of the loss of phenomenal 27-year-old Grammy Award-winning British musician-songstress Amy Winehouse.

Her 6 awards included an ironic-now-iconic autobiographical performance of “Rehab” at the 50th annual Grammy Awards February 20, 2008 in Los Angeles, where she won an unprecedented 5 awards for her 2006 album Back to Black – making her the first British female artist to have ever won as many – including Album of The Year for “Back to Black,” Record of the Year and Song of The Year for “Rehab,” Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Rehab, and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Back to Black.”

At the time of the Grammy awards, she was in London performing at the 2008 BRIT Awards via satellite from Earls Court.

Her accomplishments were unprecedented, because she also tied the previous record for the most Grammy awards by a female artist in a single night.

The Grammys honor musical achievement in the year prior, and were for releases between October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007.

On July 23, 2011, she was found unresponsive in her bedroom at her house in the borough of Camden, in northwest London.

Because her death was unattended, a coroner’s inquest began, which autopsy revealed

World’s Oldest Man

“Methuselah lived 900 years,” says the partial lyric in one song.

The account to which the song refers, is found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 5, verse 27, which states that, “Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.” (NIV)

But more recently, the World’s Oldest Man, Masazo Nonaka, who was aged 113, has died overnight. That according to his family, granddaughter Yuko Nonaka, who called the family doctor, who in turn, officially pronounced his death.

Of her grandfather’s death Yuko said in part that, “We feel shocked at the loss of this big figure. He didn’t have any health problem. He went peacefully and that’s at least our consolation.”

In April 2018, the Guinness World Records certified Masazo Nonaka, then aged 112 years and 259 days, as being the World’s Oldest Living Man.

Masazo Nonaka was certified by Guinness World Records as the Oldest Living Man April 2018.

Born July 25, 1905, he grew up in a large family – six brothers, one sister – in his youth was a lumberjack and farmer, married in 1931, and fathered five children. He succeeded his parents in owning and operating Yado Nonaka Onsen, a hot springs inn at the foot of

Did You Know?

This is what Alabama calls a “hunting accident”:

When you’re so STOOPID that you carry a loaded, ready-to-be-fired hunting rifle in the vehicle, and then “accidentally” git kilt.

Folks must be doing a lot of hunting from their cars in those parts.😳

John Allen Chau Was NOT A “Missionary”

John Allen Chau

Many news-telling organizations are uninformed and completely WRONG in the stories they write about American John Allen Chau who was recently killed on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands chain in the Bay of Bengal, east of India.

More DETAILS are in an earlier entry entitled “Stone Age Sentinel Island Tribe Sends John Allen Chau To Meet His Maker.”

So, FOR THE RECORD, let’s set this all straight.

1.) John Allen Chau was NOT a “missionary” of any kind. He was about as much a “missionary” as fictitious group The Blues Brothers – Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi – in their absurdist 1980 comedy movie, who in character claimed they were “on a mission from God.” Chau NEVER made any such claim.

Instagram obituary of John Allen Chau, 27, by his family.

Chau’s verbatim description of himself on his Instagram account was:
Following the Way.
Wilderness EMT.
PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.
Outbound Collective Explorer.
Perky Jerky Ambassador.
Snakebite Survivor.

Outbound Collective is loosely, unofficially affiliated group of people who describe themselves as “a relatively small, but well-balanced team. We come from a variety of backgrounds and outdoor interests. …united by a shared passion for the outdoors.”

Chau had a webpage on the Outbound Collective site, which exists for others to share their “exploring” – and is a type of social media centering around outdoor recreational activities. In his description of himself on the OC website he wrote,

Roll Tide! Alabama ranked 2nd Nationally!

Roll Tide, y’all!

But you might wanna’ hang your head and weep at this one.

It’s nothing to be proud about.

According to

Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford, Jr. –– May he Rest In Peace.

SHOTS FIRED!

Black Man With A Gun!

Birmingham, AL metro area showing Hoover, south of Birmingham, and the Riverchase Galleria mall, south of Hoover.

“They took out the threat. Our plan works.”
– Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis describing how uniformed HPD LEOs killed Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford, Jr.

It was a Black Friday in more ways than one.

Gunfire erupted late Thanksgiving night around 10PM Central Standard Time in Hoover, Alabama, a small suburb south of Birmingham and part of the Greater Birmingham Metro Area.

It was Black Friday eve at Riverchase Galleria – the state’s largest shopping mall – where holiday shoppers where amassed for huge sales and deep discounts at local and national retailers, many of whom have had a presence there for the over 30 years its been a Jefferson County jolly green sales tax giant.

“The Threat,” Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford, Jr., has been neutralized. “Our Plan works,”
said Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.

A 21-year-old Black man identified as Emantic Fitzgerald Bradford Jr., of Hueytown, AL, was observed fleeing the shooting scene while brandishing a handgun, was engaged, shot and killed by a uniformed Hoover police officer, according to Hoover Police Captain Gregg Rector.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis, said, “Thank God we had our officers very close. They heard the gunfire, they engaged the subject, and they took out the threat. That threat could have materialized into a lot more people being injured. Thank goodness that did not happen. We have a plan and our plan works.”

Gun Sickness

I still remember the 1st GSW I saw.

Went from assault, to murder, in a matter of minutes.

Completely fucking bled out.

As in O.

U.

Fucking T.

OUT.

Unclamped his aorta, and BOOM!

“Time of death…,” and all walked out – ‘cept me.

And then, there’s the drug deal gone bad.

Etc., etc.

And the .22 to the temple.
There’s a reason it’s called “gray matter.”

And the one where no one could figure out where he was shot… until I found the powder burns around his nostril.

And the mother who lost her only son.

Yeah.

Like Mother Mary.

We looked at each other & said not a word as I caught her while she started to collapse.
Her soul spoke volumes w/o words.

I went & hid behind the curtains in an empty slot in the Trauma bay, looked out over the city & wept.

I could hardly compose myself.

Gawddamn.

That is some shit.

The scumbag dealers of death want us to forget that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”

Prophets of profit.
Ministers of misery.
Purveyors of pain.
Balladeers with bullets.
Thieves of time.
Luxuriating liars.
Cold steel hearts.
Barrels of blood.
Gunpowder girls.

Children dancing with death.
Devils with human hands.
Manufacturers of the merciless.
Dead eyes.
Cheap shots.
Raining bullets.
Shell shocked.
Locked and loaded.
All clear.
Trigger happy.
Russian roulette.
Drive bys.
Going postal.
Full auto.
One shot.
Blunderbuss.
Red sticks.

Flintlocks.
Kentucky rifles.
Revolver.

I’m Thinking About Suicide

Ever thought about suicide?

Many have.

And not all of them are depressed.

Some are epidemiologists – folks whose business it is to think about the source, causes, and prevention of disease. And then, other health professionals such as physicians, Nurses, psychologists, social workers, and others think about suicide – again, not as means to end their own lives, but for the sake of others. And yet Nurses and physicians also personally think about suicide, and often at rates greater than the average population.

I’ve thought about suicide.

I’ve thought about suicide many times.

In fact, I’m thinking about suicide as I write this entry.

But I’m not thinking about suicide as a means to end my own life.

I’m thinking about suicide because…

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s Wife Committed Suicide; NOW is the PERFECT Time To Talk About Mental Health in Alabama

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s wife Bridgette apparently committed suicide Sunday morning, June 24, 2018, and his office issued a statement which in part said, “We are saddened to report that Bridgette Marshall, wife of Attorney General Steve Marshall, passed away this morning after a long struggle with mental illness.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and now-late wife Bridgette at their Albertville, AL home.

In response, as expected, Governess Kay Ivey’s office issued a press release as well, which was thoughtfully worded, but expressed nothing other than a seemingly heartfelt ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

Former GOP Attorney General, and repeat AG candidate Troy King said in part that, “We offer our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers for Attorney General Steve Marshall and his family and pray that God’s grace and peace and hope will enfold and sustain them,” and ordered all his campaign advertising temporarily ceased, adding that his campaign effort has been “paused.”

To be certain, suicide is tragic. We’ve seen far too many. And the recent deaths of Chef Anthony Bourdain, and Designer Kate Spade have once again, brought to the fore of discussion the problem of suicide.

Alabama prisons, like other prisons nationwide, are chock full of those with mental illnesses. We can thank Ronald Reagan and the GOP for that misguided plan.

Alabama’s first Governess, Lurleen B. Wallace, advocated for superiority of mental healthcare in Alabama, and while not without problems, Alabama boasted a mental healthcare system of which it could be, and was, justifiably proud. Partlow, Bryce, LBW in Decatur, and numerous other facilities throughout the state cared for those whom were unable to care for themselves because of the severity of their disability and ill mental health.

Now, in Alabama, and throughout the nation, mental health is a joke. And neither the GOP in Alabama, nor national GOP show any signs of changing.

“Thoughts and prayers…” are all the GOP has to offer. That’s all they had to offer following the mass murders in Las Vegas, and other schools. Their pietistic platitudes are meaningless, and worthless.

Alabama, like the national GOP, has allowed mental health to deteriorate. Their values are valueless, worthless, and meaningless. They do NOT value life, they value birth. For if they TRULY valued life, they’d pay for it, they’d support research upon it, learn how to preserve it, protect it, and prolong it for those whom are living and breathing. They don’t care about the living. They care about those who don’t breathe. The unborn. Once you’re born, you’re on your own. Good luck! That is NOT life affirming, it is NOT life valuing! It is degrading, and dehumanizing! It is the “Law of the Jungle,” where “only the strong survive.” It is as much a gladiatorial match as any. Only this one is played out in Congress upon the American people as victims.

Professionally, and personally, I have seen and cared for more cases of mental illness and mental health than any ten people combined, at least.

Here’s an example of one case of mental illness – you’ll need to see the image in context to understand it, and I’ll not explain it here. You MUST go to the site to read the description (click on the photograph to go to the site) – for I’ll NOT “spoon feed” you, or others whom can feed themselves.

I recall also the case of a young man in Tennessee whom was my patient in a secure facility where he will likely spend the remainder of his life, and die. Like some animal in a zoo on display, he was paraded on the Dr. Phil show, whom mocked and derided him, rather than seeking to understand why the system failed him from childhood, knowing that he very early on showed signs of serious mental illness, and yet continuously FAILED him to the point at which he, as a teen, bludgeoned his mother to death as she slept, and attempted to burn down the house where she, he and his brother lived, as his brother was sleeping.

I recall at least FIVE High School friends, and at least one Professional colleague whom committed suicide. One while in HS. Another after he returned home from the Navy. Another whom did so shortly after graduating. Another who took his life in the back seat of his family’s car. Another who felt she couldn’t live. A Professional Nursing colleague took her life. There are others, but I’ll spare you.

There are medications to treat depression, often the root cause of suicide, one which is showing IMMENSE success which is a novel, off-label use of an anesthetic called ketamine. UAB led the nation in demonstrating efficacy of that medication to practically instantly reverse suicidal ideations in those who showed up in the ED (Emergency Department). Now, it’s being used nation-wide, and is being developed for intranasal administration.

What’s Alabama doing about it?

Not one goddamn thing.

Bupkis.

It’s a GIANT FUCK YOU to everyone concerned.

EVERYONE.

Including those who do NOT suffer from mental illness.

So DO NOT EVER tell me that the GOP in Alabama, or elsewhere, has any sense of care for the living, for THEY DO NOT.

Or else… we could’ve had this problem solved by now.

But Alabama?

Alabama is still stuck in the 18th century.

It’s the PERFECT time for the ALGOP to tell the people how and why they care, and what they plan to do to correct matters of mental health.

But, they have no plan.

They don’t care.

They.

Just.

Don’t.

Care.

They care more for a big mule than a human.

Do NOT vote for Republicans in November.

And for those whom would mindlessly scold me, as if they have some moral superiority, I have this to say:

“My maternal Grandfather committed suicide while my mother was pregnant with me.

“My life has been touched by suicides more times than I care to count – at least a dozen.

“I purposely DO NOT talk about my private life, because it’s MY PRIVATE LIFE.

“But I hardly think anyone in a position to scold me, my friend, especially given the fact that as a RN, EMT & Firefighter, I’ve seen more death and suffering in my life than most people will EVER see in theirs.”

Six Word Story

A six word storyland visit follows.

What that is, I don’t know.

Here are this morning’s goodies:

• Sad Six Word Stories (SWS)
“She loved me and

How To End Gun Violence

Ending gun violence neither requires repealing the 2nd Amendment, writing entirely new legislation, nor doing nothing – as is being now done, no matter how seemingly well intentioned. With minor modifications to existing law as language additions, almost all interested parties are satisfied – not all, but many, if not most – concerns are addressed in a rational, reasonable, lawful, Constitutional, and commonsensical legislative process that also minimizes taxpayer burden.

Opinions run the gamut, from one extreme, including repeal of the Second Amendment – by former SCOTUS Justice John Paul Stevens, a Republican and Ford appointee – to the other, from arming teachers, to wholesale abandonment of all existing firearm law.

But rarely, if ever, is there any commonsensical solution ever made on settling on any problem with rational, reasonable, logical compromise that achieves most all goals, within reason, and with very slight compromise to all interested parties.

My conservative friends think me liberal, while my liberal friends think me conservative, and both are wrong.

The casual and cursory

11 Year Study Finds Opioid Deaths Down In Medical #Marijuana States

In an article entitled “Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010” published August 25, 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researcher and primary author, Dr. Marcus A. Bachhuber, MD, with the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 423 Guardian Dr, 1303-A Blockley Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (marcus.bachhuber@gmail.com), and others concluded that, “The present study provides evidence that medical cannabis laws are associated with

How To Resolve Gun Sickness & Disease

Firearm fascination has gotten to the point of ridiculousness, to the extent that it’s much like a paraphilia. It’s no longer merely “disturbing,” its downright dangerous, and blatantly irresponsible. As Healthcare professionals, we research & examine the scope, extent, and exact nature of the problem, then make a diagnosis, and formulate a plan of treatment to either ameliorate the symptoms, or cure the disease. It presumes, of course, that the patient will cooperate with the plan, and follow the course of treatment.

In this present “gun nut” scenario in which we find ourselves suffering, the NRA has bent over backwards to

At The Hour Of Our Death

A few years ago a church document had this to say about death: “Death, while starkly real and total, is the vehicle of that final offering of self which calls for the supreme act of faith in the Lord of Life.” Yes, death is

A Nearly Anonymous Apostle

Poor Bartholomew, the mystery apostle. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles call him Bartholomew, but in John he might be the person named Nathaniel. An interesting lesson for those who think the Bible is clear about everything — even the names of the 12 apostles!

Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, (1355-1360) Prato, Museo di Palazzo; Tradition holds that the apostle Bartholomew was martyred by being flayed alive. That brutal torture has been depicted in a variety of ways over the centuries. He is sometimes depicted holding a knife, which symbolizes his martyrdom. The artworks seem to evolve over time from showing him just before the blade strikes, to when flaying occurs and then in later works after the act, where he is draped in, or holding his own skin. Viewing those artworks reflecting the act of being skinned alive without squirming can be difficult considering the pain and blood. That is especially so in the early religious paintings of the saint.

But aren’t most of us nearly anonymous disciples ourselves? We don’t get mentioned in the church bulletin all the time, and

A Tribute To Good… In Auschwitz

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe OFM Conv. (Raymund Kolbe), was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in Auschwitz, the Nazi German death camp, as Prisoner #16670.

In Jesus’ day, people had to pay “tribute” — taxes — to their Roman conqueror, which was a way of signifying their submission to his power. When Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) was canonized in 1982, a special person was on hand to pay tribute to his greatness. Yes, John Paul II, a fellow Pole, was there to do the canonizing, but equally special, so was Francis Gajowniczek, the Auschwitz inmate Kolbe died for.

Francis Gajowniczek (LEFT), and John Paul II, a fellow Pole, at Maxmilian Kolbe’s canonizing. Before he became Pope, Polish Cardinal Wyszynski said of Kolbe, that, “Whereas people trust in material resources like tanks, planes, and armies, Kolbe shows that only one thing is necessary to gain peace and unity for the world, the practice of love.”

 As they slaved away in the Nazi death camp, a prisoner escaped. Infuriated guards randomly chose 10 men to die in retaliation. When Gajowniczek cried out that he had a wife and children, Father Kolbe stepped forward to take his place. Kolbe paid tribute to Jesus. What truths do we submit to daily?

Francis Gajowniczek, Auschwitz prisoner photo

All God Wants Is Our Heart

Widowed young (age 28) and suddenly, Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641) faced a difficult life raising her six children alone. Then she chanced to hear Francis de Sales preach and became his lifelong friend. She was taken by the notion that “all God wants is our heart,” and her writings are centered on the two facets of love: devotion to God and neighbor. She was

Remembering Medgar Evers

Mourners saying farewell to slain NAACP official Medgar Evers at his funeral, June 15, 1963.

Today marks the 54th anniversary of the death of WWII Veteran & Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers.

His death, along with that of 14-year old Emmet Till’s 1955 torture and murder, were seminal events in the Civil Rights Movement.

At 12:40 a.m., June 12, 1963, as he stood in the driveway of his home in Jackson, Mississippi, 37-year old Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Ku Klux Klansman who used a high-powered rifle.

Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he died less than a hour later.

During WWII, Evers volunteered in the Army, and participated in the Normandy invasion. After tours of duty in France & Germany,

Where Did It All Go?

I used to have stuff. Used to have it in a 10×10, just like you. I got tired of having “stuff.” I got tired of paying thousands annually for a place to keep it all.

My “trophies” weren’t plastic sports figurines mounted on wooden, or marble scraps, and made in China. Mine were

Remembering Alabama OB-GYN Dr. Larry Stutts, MD, DVM

“Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.”

-Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), Rambler #2 (March 24, 1750)

Dr. Larry Stutts, MD, DVM was elected as a Republican to Alabama State Senate District 6 in 2014 by a 70-vote margin. His 36-year-old patient Rose Church, RN died 10 days after giving birth in 1998 because he refused to order a $5 test, and sent her home from the hospital early.

After narrowly winning election in 2014 by 70 votes in Alabama State Senate District 6, Dr. Larry Stutts, MD, DVM, a Republican, immediately wrote a bill (SB289) to repeal Code of Alabama Title 27-48-2, commonly known as “Rose’s Law,” which unanimously passed the House & Senate and become law in 1999.

“Rose’s Law” was written in response to the death of Stutts’ patient, Rose Church, a 36-year-old Registered Nurse, who died of a heart attack 10 days after giving birth to a girl in 1998 at Helen Keller Hospital in Sheffield. A simple $5 test could have saved her life, but Stutts refused to order the test, and sent her home early.

“Roses Law” gave women in Alabama a legal right to remain in hospital for 48 hours after a normal live birth, 96 hours if the birth was Cesarean or presented a complication, and required health insurers in Alabama to pay for the stay.

Stutts’ bill (SB289) would have repealed “Rose’s Law,” and would have also repealed a State law requiring physicians to

I had a Late Term #Abortion.

I HAD A LATE TERM ABORTION.
IT IS NOTHING LIKE DESCRIBED BY TRUMP.
PLEASE DON’T BASE YOUR VOTE ON THE FEAR MONGERING HE IS DOING.
PLEASE READ MY EXPERIENCE:

I had to have a late term abortion. It was the worst moment in my life. What made it even worse was the State of Utah had made it illegal. I had one dead twin. The other had severe Spina Bifida, and would only have lived with life support, in great pain, for a few days.

by Alyson Draper
October 19 at 8:46pm · Midway, UT
used with permission

I lay on the hospital floor, bawling hysterically, for twelve hours, waiting for an ethics committee of the health care corporation to

Terrorism In The South

Reunion of Quantrill’s Raiders, circa 1924, Oak Grove, Missouri. The first official reunion occurred in 1898, more than 30 years after Quantrill’s death and the end of the Civil War. The circled figure is Jesse James. Image from the Jackson County Historical Society and the Truman Library.

The 1901 reunion of Quantrill’s Raiders in Blue Springs, MO. Note the tag in the upper LEFT corner of the image. Sim Whitsett was at this reunion and is probably in this picture. Also in the picture is Frank James (center front, named). The first picture of the Quantrill veterans (Sim Whitsett was in attendance) was taken at the 1900 reunion. The picture is of a parade of the attendees on horseback. The 1901 is the first group photo in which the faces of individuals can be (barely) distinguished.

In response to a post expressing justifiable criticism of terrorism at home and abroad, it occurred to me that terrorism itself is nothing new… not even in the United States. So, I thought to share a brief overview of it, which appears as follows.

—/—

You forgot all about the War Between the States.

The Southern rebellion, of course, was often comprised of loosely associated rag-tag bands of incompetents and criminals, which thrived and often deserted formal association with the Confederate Army, and ransacked their way throughout the countryside.

John Singleton Mosby, image from his memoir. His note reads: “This picture is a copy of the one taken in Richmond in January 1863: The uniform is the one I wore on March 8th 1863 on the night of General Staughton’s capture. John S Mosby”

The rebels were known for such terroristic activities as

A Simple Solution to America’s Gun & Mass Shooting Problems

The Ingram MAC-11 (Military Armament Corporation Model 11), a defunct American small arms manufacturer, made this subcompact machine pistol developed during the 1970s. Shown here with 32-round capacity magazine, and suppressor.
Weight: 1.59 kg (3.50 lbs)
Length: 248 mm (9.76 in/20.90 in)
Barrel length: 129 mm
Cartridge: .380 ACP
Caliber: 9mm
Action: Straight Blowback
Rate of fire: 1200 /min
Muzzle velocity: 980 ft/s
Effective firing range: 50 m

There’s little debate of any significance about the problem of firearms in the hands of those who use them to commit heinous acts. This year alone, to date (as of this entry 27 August, the 239th day of 2015) there have been there have been:
248 Mass Shootings, with
313 Dead &
926 Wounded.

One only need type in ‘mass shootings’ in any search engine to find literally thousands upon thousands of news items, complete with details about this uniquely American problem. There is, however, significant and legitimate debate about how to ameliorate and stem the growing problem.

Some say no laws are needed, that LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) need to enforce current laws. Others say outlaw guns completely. Somewhere, there is a “happy middle ground” of compromise to be found that protects our law-abiding citizens’ 2d Amendment Rights, and protects the innocent from miscreant would-be murderers and assailants.

I have a rather simple solution
to the
gun / mass shooting problem.

Meteorology, Mama & Baby -or- How I Was Befriended By Luck

It was Easter Sunday, 2010, and unknown to me, dumb luck had befriended me.

Pure dumb luck.

Even scientists believe in it.

In 1996, Duncan C. Blanchard, a meteorological researcher then affiliated with the State University of New York at Albany, authored a scientific paper entitled “Serendipity, Scientific Discovery, and Project Cirrus” published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in which he cited Project Cirrus (1947-52), a period and project of research from which “many serendipitous discoveries and inventions were made, opening up areas of research still being pursued today.”

Blanchard’s work was cited a decade later in 2006 by David M. Schultz, who was then affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, and the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma in a research paper entitled The Mysteries of Mammatus Clouds: Observations and Formation Mechanisms. In it he wrote that what little we know about mammatus clouds was, because of their nature, “obtained largely through serendipitous opportunities.”

In other words, what little we know about the clouds (so named after human breasts because of their appearance), has been obtained by pure dumb luck – although, being prepared, and being in the right place at the right time does account for something.

In conversation recently with a dear, and longtime friend, I shared about

Alabama State Senator Larry Stutts sued for malpractice… again

Alabama State Senator Larry Stutts has once again been named in another malpractice lawsuit in which a patient of his retained placental tissue, and suffered excessive bleeding following delivery of her baby.

The new case is oddly reminiscent of an older case in which Stutts was named defendant, in which his patient retained placental tissue and suffered excessive bleeding, and later died. The new case’s Plaintiff, Greta C. Cooper, did not die.

Read the PDF file of the 2015 Lawsuit against state Sen Larry Stutts

The suit alleges, among other things, that Stutts failed to order powerful antibiotics to be administered EXCLUSIVELY by Licensed Professional Nurses, and that two RNs with Gentiva Home Health Services in Russellville, Alabama, then taught the Plaintiff’s husband how to administer the medication, and that as a result of his failure to properly order, blood levels of the medication were also not taken which resulted in overdose toxicity.

Dr. Larry Stutts, DVM, MD (R), who was first a veterinarian, then became an Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OBGYN), upset 32-year veteran Alabama Senate District 6 State Senator Roger Bedford (D) by 67 votes in the 2014 November General Election. Stutts is also president of Colbert Obstetrics and Gynecology, PC (his private medical practice), located at 1120 S Jackson Hwy #104, Sheffield, AL 35660, (256) 386-0855.

Alabama District 6 State Senator Dr. Larry Stutts, DVM, MD

Alabama State Senate District 6 encompasses all of Franklin County, and portions of Colbert, Marion, Lauderdale and Lawrence Counties in NW Alabama.

Interestingly, Sutts wasn’t the GOP’s original candidate for the Senate District 6 race. Jerry Mays was the original GOP candidate, but dropped out of the primary. In response to Mays’ decision, on March 20, 2014, State Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead announced that the Alabama Republican Party Candidate Committee had met and named Larry Stutts, who resides in Tuscumbia, to replace Mays candidacy. Stutts had never been in any elected political office.

Stutts is the same physician who was years earlier named in another lawsuit in which his patient Rose Church – a newlywed, and healthy 36-year-old Registered Nurse – died, which in turn,

All You Need Is Love

I recollect, a few years ago, having gone with a dear friend to the apartment where her former husband lived.

He had died alone.

D’Angelo (not his real name) was a retired Army NCO, whom had volunteered for service. He was genuinely a “squared away” soldier, and rose to the rank of First Sergeant (E-8), which rank is politely nicknamed “Top,” because, aside from Sergeant Major which is also an E-8 position, it is the highest rank and position a NCO can obtain.

His generosity was well-known, and his humility, honesty and genuine love for his fellow man was evident throughout his life. And though he was a good man with many admirable character qualities, a congenial fellow, well liked – even loved – by many, it seemed he never could win the battle over the bottle.

What little I knew of him from others’ reports and my own limited interaction with him, he was an honorable family man. And yet,

On the Bleeding Edge of the Front Line

Uncle Dean never spoke to his blood relatives about his WWII service – even though they inquired – which was for them, perplexing, and they eventually stopped asking. However, he voluntarily spoke at length about it with me.

Perhaps it was because we shared a common bond of military service, I don’t know. They never understood why he didn’t talk about his experience. His Purple Hearts, Bronze and Silver Stars, and other medals of valor that