These people are unhinged

The Counter Counter Reformation

People are so eager to give up autonomy. It is baffling.

This will work well for us until
it morphs into the Chinese Navy should always win. Time marches on.

That would fit with all the other squirrelly aspects of that “ program”. Rule making is so old fashioned.

What does “moving public heath” even mean? Is there peer reviewed data, or is it just generating clicks? He really only cares about the latter.

When a friend taught my 4 year old to sing Dixie, I thought him that song. Made for a fun medley.

For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent

“A central goal of the U.S.-led military campaign in Iran is now reopening the strait, which was open when the war began”

A pointless humiliating expensive war that strengthens Iran. So much winning!

gift article from The NewYork Times

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

As noted earlier, Iran operates with two distinct power centers, and the one that truly matters is the faction that controls the military. The U.S. is almost certainly not talking to that group.

The markets are closed. Time for the chest beating.

How to take the world’s most respected regulatory agency, and make it a joke.

Someone has suggested Trump says it open while the markets are open. Then threatens blockades after they close. Should stay closed all weekend, I guess.

They have fired or driven off decades of institutional knowledge and replaced it with less skilled people. Anyone who interacts with HHS agencies knows this.

Schrodinger’s Straight pretty much sums it up.

Indianapolis has improved since it was a monument in a corn field .

Be pretty funny if the US established an Avignon papacy in the US when the Pope is an American

On the plus side, all those CA billionaires now live in Miami.

They could have called it Rosie. Maybe there is a Franklin estate that can complain?

enough about the children, who will think of the luxury brands??

$30m an hour: big oil reaping huge war windfall from consumers, analysis finds Exclusive: Climate action blockers including Saudi Arabia, Russia and major fossil fuel firms set to make extra $234bn by end of 2026

Guess who's winning the war? "The world’s top 100 oil and gas companies banked more than $30m every hour in unearned profit in the first month of the US-Israeli war in Iran..."

Highlighted in red: "Political interference is inappropriately shaping or interfering in the conduct, management, communication, or use of science for political advantage or such that it undermines impartiality, nonpartisanship, or professional judgement"

"HHS works to promote a culture of scientific integrity by creating an empowering environment for innovation and protecting scientists and the process of science from inappropriate interference. Scientific findings and products must not be suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes and must not be subjected to political interference or inappropriate influence. The responsible and ethical conduct of research and other scientific activities requires an environment that is safe and free from harassment and discrimination" Highlighted in red are "suppressed, delayed, or altered for political purposes", "subjected to political interference", and "inappropriate influence."

"HHS works to promote a culture of scientific integrity by creating an empowering environment for innovation and protecting scientists and the process of science from inappropriate interference. Scientific findings and products must not be subjected to interference or inappropriate influence and must not be inappropriately suppressed, delayed, or altered. The responsible and ethical conduct of research and other scientific activities requires an environment that is safe and free from harassment and discrimination." Highlighted in green are "subjected to interference or inappropriate influence" and "inappropriately suppressed, delayed, or altered."

Text, with "political" highlighted in red to indicate removal: I. Protecting Scientific Processes Scientific integrity fosters "honest scientific investigation, open discussion, refined understanding, and a firm commitment to evidence" (OSTP 2010). It also enables consideration and documentation of differing scientific opinions. Practices that support scientific integrity may include peer review and open science. Science, and public trust in science, thrives in an environment that prevents political interference and inappropriate influence from impacting scientific data and analyses and their use in decision making. It is the policy of HHS to: 1. Prohibit political interference or other inappropriate influence in the design, proposal, conduct, review, management, evaluation, communication about, and use of scientific activities and scientific information. Prohibit inappropriate restrictions on resources and capacity that limit and reduce the availability of science and scientific products (e.g., manuscripts for scientific journals, presentations for workshops, conferences, and symposia) outside of normal budgetary or priority-setting processes or without scientific, legal, or security justification. 3. Require that leadership and management ensure that covered individuals engaged in scientific activities can conduct their work objectively, free from political interference or other inappropriate influence, and free from retaliation.

HHS just published an update to its Scientific Integrity Policy. Notably, it has removed the concept of political interference, and no longer calls it out as something specifically to be prevented.
www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul... (deletions in red, insertions in green)

Landmines await Vinay Prasad’s successor at the FDA Who would want to be the head of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research?

Here’s the thing: Center Directors have always been career civil servants. They aren’t supposed to be “ political “. I am not optimistic that will ever return to status quo ante, and public health and commercial biotech will suffer.

www.statnews.com/2026/04/13/v...

A lot of his supporters think he IS chosen by god. I think some were offended that he portrayed himself as Christ, but this is more with the mainstream dispensationalist view.

There are always people who exploit these set asides. But the entree for black or women owned businesses opened a whole door to entrepreneurship in DC which was previously a good ole boy network. How about looking at these programs as a whole instead of picking out exploiters.

Someone drown that man. Restore him to his natural habitat.

Many Popes Have Been Entangled in Politics. Here Are 5 of Them.

exhausted historian of christianity screaming into the void, once again: christianity has never been apolitical. to wit: jesus was executed by the roman state.

Do you think he will actually understand the connection between his participation and failure? ( Rhetorical question) But if it renders him less electable, it is a win.

Sometimes, there is good news.

Referring to the only country who ever detonated a nuclear weapon in war.

From Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian

“A whole sector of mainstream media now functions as spirit mediums attempting to interpret Trump’s actions to try to fit them into the context of competent leadership and coherent and consistent agendas. “

The US is run by a madman. They just can’t see it.