It’s bad enough that RFK Jr, the Trump nominee to head HHS, is spreading lies about water fluoridation. He’s also vetting federal health officials based on their willingness to question life-saving vaccines. “Aaron Siri, the lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to […]
“Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, has repeatedly criticized policies allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military, calling them part of a “Marxist” agenda to prioritize social justice over combat readiness.” LOL! I’m absolutely confident that Hegseth hasn’t read a word of Marx or Marxist economics. I’m equally […]
Recently, Anthem BCBS rescinded its policy of limiting the amount of anesthesia it would pay for during operations. The policy conjured images of patients waking up before the end of their operations, or later being confronted with unexpected bills. But allegedly, that’s not the intent: “Anesthesia services are billed partially on the basis of how […]
I’m old enough to remember Russia as the mother country to the Soviet Union. While the USSR was never a world-class economic power, it did punch above its weight as a military power under Stalin and for a couple decades after. Russia under Putin has been described as a gas station with an Army. Its […]
RFK Jr continues in his crackpot crusade against fluoridated water. There is *zero* evidence that artificial fluoridation of water at or below the approved level (0.7 mg/liter) has any pathological consequences. Why do we fluoridate public water? “Bacteria in the mouth that serve to break down food also create acids that degrade the enamel on […]
Robert Kutner has a paywalled article in The New York Review of Books about the history of free trade and the efforts since Trump’s first term to impose tariffs, particularly on China, beginning with the first Trump Administration. “Free trade ideology once aligned with America’s economic and security interests. After World War II, open markets […]
High fructose corn syrup has been linked to fatty liver disease, high triglycerides, insulin resistance, high blood sugar, cancer and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. It is added to many foods: candy, condiments, beverages and various snack foods. A recent paper in the journal Nature highlights the mechanistic link between dietary fructose and […]
During his campaign, Donald Trump “promised” not to touch Social Security and to veto and law that modified the program. That “promise” is about to be tested. “Lee’s attack has four basic components. One is to bemoan the fact that Social Security is funded mostly by a tax, which he asserts the government can use […]
Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are the nicknames for two mortgage giants that back about 70% of U.S. mortgages and have been under government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t issue mortgages directly. They purchase loans from lenders and package them into securities sold to investors. This process ensures […]
The antiregulation bias of the Supreme Court was loudly signaled with the overturn of Chevron deference. Now, the SCOTUS has arrogated to itself the interpretation of technical details for regulation of things they are all incompetent to assess: ““Since Chevron has fallen, agencies are much more cautious in putting forward rules and regulations,” Ramachandran said. […]