rjshae

Guess where Trump won the election in 2016: the rust belt.

I think a lot of this is being driven by America's relative decline in power. Many of the people supporting the Trumpian faction have been hurt economically by the loss of manufacturing in the US. Unfortunately for them their central figure is not quite right in the head, or perhaps their movement would be more potent and effective. Trump isn't an effective strategist, at least not in terms of the national interests.

The actual number of civilian casualties in both conflicts can only be estimated, but those estimates are typically in the six figures: the estimates for Iraq are ~200,000 and for Syria are ~500,000. Typically the US uses more expensive precision weapons that limit damage to infrastructure, and probably to civilians to some degree. They're both horrific conflicts, comparable to the Spanish civil war. Iraq will probably bounce back better because of its extensive oil resources.

FDA authorizes bamlanivimab and etesevimab monoclonal antibody therapy for post-exposure prophylaxis (prevention) for COVID-19 Apparently the hydroxychloroquine/ivermectin/anti-vaxxer gang has latched onto this as the latest panacea treatment for COVID-19. The difference this time is this actually shows some (albeit preliminary) positive results by preventing a statistically significant portion of the infected from being hospitalized. The irony is that the same people raging against Big Pharma pursuing expensive treatments for COVID-19 have gravitated toward an expensive treatment from Big Pharma, rather than getting vaccinated. Strange logic. I suspect that this treatment will not be available to low income, uninsured people.

The doors will be locked as they fly by...

I have to suspect that, at the time, there was a lot of intense pressure on the military brass to stop another bombing, which led to hasty intel conclusions and targeting mistakes. All part of the fog of war. My sympathies for the family targeted.

I took my annual flu shot yesterday. Barely felt it go in and I've felt fine since. Maybe it was just water? 😉

It's not actually a new phenomenon. There have long been political (and personal) influences in the selections.

Those old 80's sticky hair sprays sure did klingon...

It seems odd that the state Lieutenant Governor wouldn't succeed a vacated office of the Governor. That's just asking for trouble.

Long COVID: an estrogen-associated autoimmune disease? If true, this doesn't seem like a good outcome.

But that's the way politics works in the USA now: the two parties are so far apart that political oscillation can't be avoided. You get your left/right-wing President in office with control of Congress, and you get a year to ram through your left/right platform. Then the next election cycle kicks in and it's stalemate for 3-7 years, whereupon the pendulum swings to the opposite extreme. Even a moderate Biden is trapped in this cycle. I think the fix is to change the pluralistic voting scheme to a method that's more tolerant of multiple candidates, such as approval voting or ranked choice. That gives moderate candidates a greater chance of winning office.

Potential COVID-19 treatment: Effective, cheap, available It's curious that an anti-depressant would look promising, but apparently it also has an anti-inflammatory effect. COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

Sure, sure. How quickly we forget Trump's response to the pandemic.

I suspect that's an oversimplification. They do care about the kids of their family and friends. Many of them are probably charitable.