SEPARATED AT BIRTH

 Our Governor posted the photo below in a tribute to his father on Father's Day, and I thought, dang, that looks a lot like me!!  😊

 Him

Me

 

 

 

What do ya think? 

 

 

 

TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME

 

Whenever I have some non-complimentary things to say about Donald, several of my relatives accuse me of having Trump Derangement Syndrome, that Wikipedia defines as thus:

 Trump derangement syndrome (TDS) is a pejorative term, used to describe criticism of or negative reactions to President Donald Trump that are perceived to be irrational and to have little regard for Trump's actual policy positions. The term has mainly been used by Trump supporters to discredit criticism of him, as a way of re-framing the discussion by suggesting that his opponents are incapable of accurately perceiving the world. Some journalists have used the term to call for restraint when judging Trump's statements and actions.

Despite the usage of the term syndrome suggesting a medical condition, TDS is not an official medical diagnosis. A 2021 research study found no evidence to support the existence of TDS among Trump detractors on the left, but instead found bias among his supporters.

 I would like to follow up on the last sentence, and posit the following:

    There are two distinct types of TDS, one that can be labeled TDS-RL for Trump Derangement Syndrome-Radical Left, and a second one labeled TDS-RR for Trump Derangement Syndrome-Radical Right. 

I believe that TDS-RL was a primary reason that Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election.  The Democrats bought into the idea that attacking Trump as the pernicious, narcissistic, misogynistic, felon, faux-Christian, sexual predator con-man that he is would surely convince voters to support Harris.  Obviously this failed.  Voters wanted clear statements on the border, illegal immigration, the economy, on men in women's sports, etc., and they got Harris saying that she couldn't think of anything that she would have done differently during the previous four years.

Similarly, I believe that TDS-RR was also a signficant reason that Trump won.  The avid Trump supporters, who are akin to a cult, support Trump regardless of whatever outlandish lies he tells.  The main thing that they care about is "Trump owning the libs" via his rhetoric, even though his policies are most likely going to have an adverse effect on many of his supporters [excepting of course his buddy billionaires]. Too bad these folks didn't actually read Project 2025.

AND SO IT BEGINS.....

 

Latest Measles Outbreak - Read about it here

 

Looks like we can thank our Mennonite brethren for this recent outbreak: 

"The measles case count in Texas and New Mexico likely represents a fraction of the true number of infections. Health officials suspect that between 200 and 300 people are infected but untested. The cases in West Texas appear to trace back to unvaccinated members of a Mennonite community."

 

Mennos in general are not anti-vaxx but some of the more conservative communities are similar to the Amish in their attitudes toward anything recommended or mandated by the government.  Thankfully my parents saw the need for my childhood vaccinations including smallpox and polio.

DEAR GOVERNOR POLIS

 

Governor Polis:

While I support many of your political actions, your endorsement of RFK Jr. to head the nation’s health services is ethically and scientifically reprehensible.  Our chief health officer is an antivaxxer, science-denier, and lying conspiracy advocate who is yet another example of the emergent kakistocracy of school boards, state houses, Congress, and the President and his sycophantic administration members.

Over 2000 years ago, the Chinese understood how to protect their children from the ravages of smallpox.  Over 200 years ago, Jenner described the fundamental efficacy of immunization against the virus.  Because of immunization initiatives, this deadly disease has been eradicated globally.  Many other debilitating and deadly diseases have also been controlled by immunization programs, but we now have health care leaders who have actively promoted the false and dangerous claims that vaccines are unsafe and worse than the diseases.  These misguided actions by Kennedy and like-minded, ill-informed charlatans are enabling the re-emergence of once well-controlled infectious diseases and have made our response to new diseases more difficult.

I invite you to walk with me through the small rural graveyard in my home township to ponder the large number of headstones of young people, many of whom died of now-preventable communicable diseases.  Give some thought regarding how Salk and Sabin altered the dangerous trajectory of the polio virus.  Also please read about the devastation of communities that were not immunized against such diseases, including the Samoans who listened to Kennedy’s anti-MMR vaccine crusade, and subsequently lost 83 members of their small population.

Unfortunately, you poured gasoline on the anti-vaxx fire, and many will be consumed.

Sadly,

Douglas E. Swartzendruber

Professor of Biology, Emeritus

University of Colorado – Colorado Springs

 

Denver, Colorado

THE COMING CALAMITIES

As a biologist who teaches immunology and authored a BSCS high school textbook chapter on immunology, I am beyond appalled by the incoming administrations' plans for directing the FDA to rescind the approval of the polio vaccine as well as several other important vaccines.  The claim is that their safety and efficacy has not been shown in a double-blind clinical trial of vaccine versus placebo.  Anyone who knows anything about clinical trials understands that such a study for polio and other childhood diseases would be unethical, immoral, and a health-care disaster.

The incoming Trump cult had claimed that they would not attack the well-established benefits of vaccines, but of course they lied.  Not surprising given their troves of previous lies, from Supreme Court nominees to disclaiming Project 2025 to assuring the gullible that grocery prices would immediately drop to the thousands of verifiable untruths spewed during the last eight years.

RFK Jr. and his rabid anti-vaccine minions are more interested in self-promotion than in public welfare.  The polio vaccine has proven to be safe and effective since the 1950's.  In the late 1700's, Edward Jenner established the scientific basis for vaccines.  And over 2000 years ago, Chinese folk medicine practiced variolation to greatly lessen the illness caused by smallpox.  The anti-science ignorance of the Trump cult is astonishing, but more importantly, it poses a danger to millions of Americans.  What will they attack next?  Antibiotics?  Appendectomies? Chemotherapy?  ???

I have a simple proposal for the Trump anti-vaxxer crowd - there is no need for their proposed double-blind clinical trial - just let parents choose for their children whether or not to be vaccinated for polio, and then expose the two groups to the polio virus.  Perhaps the debilitation, paralysis, and deaths in the unvaccinated group and their absence in the vaccinated group will change some minds in the no-vaccine crowd.  PLEASE NOTE - this paragraph is written with extreme sarcasm.  As a scientist and a grandfather,  I would never condone a study that would surely cause great harm to the unvaccinated.  Similarly, I do not support any parent who chooses not to have their child immunized against deadly diseases.  These people are benefiting from the herd immunity provided by those who are vaccinated, and this will disappear if the Trump cult has its way.

Please share if you agree.

MY ADMINISTRATION

Since Trump is making some "amazing" nominations for his administration, I started to think "Who would I have in my Administration?"  Since Trump and I are the same age, I should have also run for President!!

So here is the foundation of my team - if you don't know them, Google is your friend.

Vice President - tough call, Michele Obama or Bernie Sanders or Cher - help me out on this!

Chief of Staff - Dwayne "Rock" Johnson - he will certainly be a great bouncer for the Oval Office!

White House Spokesperson - Jon Stewart

White House Senior Advisors - Pete Buttigieg and Michael Shermer

White House Science Advisor - Jerry Coyne

Chefs - Josefina Garcilazo and Hosea Rosenberg

Artist in Residence - Joy Harjo

Social Directors - Rachel Swartzendruber and Gayle King

 

State - John Oliver

Defense - Lynn Cheney

Interior - Deb Haaland

Education - Sam Harris

Health & Human Services - Francis Collins

Treasury - Jill Schlesinger

Justice - Jack Smith

Agriculture - Kasey Bamberger

Labor - Shawn Fain

HUD - Brandon Scott

Transportation - John Hickenlooper

VA - Tammy Duckworth 

Homeland Security - Michelle Lujan Grisham

EPA - Angela Alsobrooks

UN - Triumph The Insult Comic Dog

In case you think that any of these are just a joke - you are wrong!!!