Drudge stood his ground with Tar Baby last night. I'm proud of him, because he did it nonviolently. Tar Baby is just about twice his size. I'd seen him next to Serena and thought they looked like a normal cat couple, but they're both large cats. Drudge is not a large cat. But he set up his tent under an old quilt, and nonverbally told Tar Baby "It's my house and I'm not going anywhere." In the morning Drudge reported for breakfast, looking a bit thin and tired but moving normally. Tar Baby was not trying to compete.
Well, yesterday I came back to cyberspace, cruised past a few blogs, pre-scheduled some posts, then got into my usual mix of serious book stuff and frivolous froth. Today I've found a few links worth sharing.
Education
Thirty years ago we were told that the best way to learn the skills today's Army really needs is...playing video games. Mmm-kay. Nice to know that those of us who'd become total couch potatoes, hunched over those silly remote boxes, were actually keeping fit, ready to join the local volunteer militia and rush through training to fly remotely controlled bomber planes. But are there video games and online media that are subverting users? I'm skeptical, because the Internet is full of conservatives who have if anything moved further Right over the last thirty years, but you might want to read this lady's link log and see if anything in it seems relevant to you or your children.
On a more positive note...is your local library hosting a Summer Reading Club? If not, no worries; Mrs. Vance is hosting one. One winner will be invited to the White House.
Health
I think Mike Adams may be a little too eager to score off Robert Kennedy in this twelve-minute video (with self-advertisements). Some jobs get done faster than others. I don't know that Kennedy, who has his own agenda as well as whatever jobs he's doing in Washington, has given up on going after Lilly, Bayer, Merck, ChemChina (China?! Bleep are we buying so many drugs from countries where we want peace and good will, yes, but we know full well that many of their most senior people still hate us?), Pfizer, et al. He's starting with the easy-peasy common-sense stuff that's not even controversial. We all know neon-colored food is not very healthy, though probably most of us aren't eating enough of it to be in great danger. We all know the human body does not run on sugar alone. Due to bigotry, though, some career office people still need education about glyphosate, MRNA vaccines, and antidepressants.
Want faster action? Maybe you should tell Trump to appoint Mike Adams, or me for that matter, or someone else who's been focussed on one of these prickly issues or another for years. How available is Dr. Glenmullen? But if I were appointed head of the FDA today, I think I might use a strategy similar to Kennedy's. We don't need tyrant monarchs here. Those office penguins were hired to contribute their intelligence to their work, too. I might call a meeting and say, "Right, team. We have a mandate from the people and youall have a chance to earn your keep by helping carry out that mandate. First of all, what issues have you been working on?"
Somebody says, "Well I've been indignant that M&Ms brought back the bright red color ever since 1989, even if they use a different red dye now, and I don't believe the blue dye's good for kids either."
I'd say, "Fine. That concern is widely understood so a small, simple media campaign ought to get more natural chocolate brown into the bag of M&Ms, which are an efficient enough energy source that adults make meals of them when we're on the road. M&Ms have changed since we were kids, haven't they? There used to be two shades of brown, and lots more brown candies in every bag than bright-colored ones. They could bring back that proportion, even go further with it. One bright-colored M&M in a package might sell better anyway. You can have that small campaign right away. Meanwhile, I want you and your staff to read these reports on glyphosate and start thinking about our campaign to sell the public on the benefits of banning that. I want daily written reports on what you're learning and any questions. What about you?"
Somebody else says, "I'm concerned about the 'food desert' situations we still see in certain neighborhoods even here in Washington. We want to bring good grocery stores like Giant, Kroger's, or Safeway into these neighborhoods, but store managers have certain concerns. How can we as government address those concerns?"
I'd say, "Probably best by leaving them alone, officially. Which is not to say forgetting about them. I want you, personally, to lean on a good locally owned store chain, as it used to be Shoppers Food Warehouse. Tell them they need the publicity from opening a full-size, full-service store in a 'food desert' zone. Hire local guards, local cashiers, and local stockers. Publicize how they're helping the employees who want college degrees to get them. The initiative needs to come from the store owners but you can have a mini media campaign to publicize it when it gets going. Meanwhile, can you and your staff read Dr. Malone's book, Lies My Gov't Told Me, and start thinking about our 'never again' project to make sure that (a) we never condone any vaccine mandates and (b) we don't recommend vaccines until they are time-tested--by volunteers."
Somebody else twitches slightly, scratches per purple hair, and says, "I'm sorry I've been struggling with setbacks with my new prescription for depression, but I think people don't understand the dangers of letting kids eat too much sugar."
I'd say, "Right onnn! Most people naturally become more aware of different flavors, more attracted to other tastes besides 'sweet,' as we grow up but we're all still eating a ton of simple carbs in what are supposed to be our non-sweet, non-dessert foods. For an adult I have a 'sweet tooth' myself, like chocolate bars and ice cream and have been known to binge on naturally sweet fruits, but it still disgusts me when things like peanut butter, tomato sauce, or what's advertised as some traditionally nutty and savory Asian stir-fry, taste like a bleepin' dessert. We do need more awareness of the need for unsweetened, savory food--especially fresh. I like a thought that came to me when I was trying to summarize my cat's behavior as a sentence the cat might have said if she could talk. 'I like fresh!' More sun-ripened strawberries and pineapples and plums, at the checkout counter or from the sidewalk vendor, instead of candy--yes Sir, yes Ma'am! No harangues about what people 'should' eat, no attempts to push them to buy one thing or another, just make sure the fresh is available from everyone who has a garden or greenhouse and time to take produce into town. Have you read Dr. Desmaisons' book, Potatoes Not Prozac? Let me guess, your doctor recommended the Prozac before even trying the diet and exercise, right? There ought to be a law. Hey, that's what government is for. Your whole department should read that book and start thinking about our monster campaign to get doctors recommending diet and exercise instead of pills. Glyphosate's been my issue for a long time, it's very important, but it'll soon be over. Vaccines are a major concern for hordes of Americans just now, but that'll soon be over, too. Actually getting Americans on the move toward making better informed health choices for themselves is the issue with career potential."
And so on. I may be putting too much faith in a very visibly flawed human being, but my guess is that that's the kind of thing Kennedy is doing. But if it's not, well, that's what "gadfly" commentary like this video is meant to "sting" him into doing.
In any case Adams is getting one thing absolutely right. Government is not going to make us healthy. Government can and should go after those who are making others unhealthy. Keeping us healthy is our own job.
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