Trump - No Class, No Redeeming Qualities

Ted Cruz thinks he's John Kennedy

Where's Lloyd Bentson when you need him??

Sarah Palin and leading from behind

Sarah has endorsed Trump for President.

I haven't read the entire speech, but I found this part curious (quote copied from above linked article):

"because a weak-kneed, capitulator-in-chief has decided America will lead from behind"

 I say curious because it has always been my understanding that Christ was a shepherd and shepherds basically, lead from behind.  How did that become a bad thing?

Questions about Hillary Rodham Clinton

Charles Pierce discusses the NYT obsession with Bill Clinton's penis.

While I appreciate that there was, indeed, a half-vast right wing conspiracy against Clinton and that the whole impeachment thing was BS, I'm not sure Hillary Rodham Clinton should be let off the hook quite as completely and easily as Pierce seems to do.

It's the old saying "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean people aren't out to get you".  Just because it is possible to dismiss a lot of what the NYT columnists might say, it doesn't mean there isn't some justification for it.  The Clintons apparently did attempt to disparage Bill's accusers in a way that would be completely unacceptable if it were done to an not famous woman accusing an not famous man of rape.  You can dismiss the NYT columnists, but HRC had some role in that and it is likely to be an issue come the real election.

If I get the chance, I will vote for Bernie in the primaries.  If HRC wins, I will gladly vote for her.  She has lots of positives and just a few negatives for me.  All of the candidates on the Republican side have lots of negatives and almost no positives so its no contest.

And we didn't have to send any missles this time

Charles Pierce covers the Iran giving us back our sailors crisis.

The title of this post is from his story.  And then of course the usual muscle flexing from the Republican candidates.  It's sad really.

Feel the Bern

Charles Pierce on Bernie Sanders vs The Donald



Add your name to Bernie's campaign against Wall Street

Real science is amazing

I just read the most amazing article in Scientific American about a clinic in Strasburg, PA that specializes in studying and treating rare genetic disorders found in Amish and Mennonite communities. The article details using real science to determine genetic defects and how in some cases, that science is used to develop specific nutritional/medical interventions to counteract and/or cure the resulting disease. 

Real science is amazing! I say "real science" to distinguish it from all the woo-woo being presented on line.  Yes, nutrition can mitigate the bad effects of disease, but there are no miracle cures.  It takes good, hard, real science to determine the problem and to develop the solution.


Unfortunately, you can't read the article without subscribing but here's a link to a shorter article written by the director of the clinic.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/…/clinic-genomics-can-im…/

Here is a brief summary of some of the original article:

“Mark” was brought to the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, PA.  He was “frail  and socially detached.  He lay on the floor in constant, restless motion.  His eyes roamed but did not fix, and he was unmoved by sound”.    Test results indicated that Mark suffered from a deficiency of 5,10-methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and they discovered an error in the his MTHFR-coding genes.  MTHFR deficiency results in depriving the brain of methionine and CH3.  An over the counter compound, betaine, supplies the brain with these compounds by an alternative metabolic pathway.  They provided the betaine to Mark, monitored his blood and titrated the dosage as needed.  Mark recovered somewhat, took his first steps and began responding to light and sound, but the damage was done and he is still disabled.

The clinic developed a test for the genetic defect.  The first case they found in a newborn turned out to be Mark’s sister.  They started her treatment about 2 weeks after she was born and today she is “an accomplished student, affectionate daughter and formidable stickball player”.  The treatment costs about 60 cents per day.  It doesn’t specifically say so in the article, but the implication is this is now a standard, ongoing protocol

Another disease in the communities – GA1 – was usually misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis and a third, known as maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) which makes the urine smell like maple syrup.  They’ve developed nutritional interventions for each of these which mitigate the health problems.