Friday Stuff

(A backgrounder on this typically clueless moment from "The Gipper" is here.)

Leeja Miller asks Why Is Healthcare So Expensive (GREAT question)...I knew our maternal mortality numbers in this country were awful, but I didn’t know the figure was over twice as bad as the OEC average...one of the many great points in this video has to do with the specialization in health care as Miller notes, in order to maximize profit IMO; this is one of the reasons that I would recommend a nurse practitioner for a yearly checkup if you can because that’s the only class of medical professional I’ve seen who looks at the WHOLE patient picture (NSFW/H at the very end, though I agree with what she says...I meant to put this video up earlier in the week, but it got bumped for other more timely items)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us about the wingnut threat from within and without of our government (I think he means “Section 8” housing, not “Section 9”)...Thom starts by talking about the carnage from right-wing billionaires, then shifts to global threats, alleging (correctly I think) that the “party of Lincoln” is doing its best to weaken our standing in the world (and when it comes to billionaires trying to undermine this country, I would add this person to that sorry list)...



...and when it comes to what I would call domestic enemies of this country, I don’t think it’s possible to ignore Marjorie Traitor Greene...kudos to Becca Balint of Vermont here, even though her commendable effort will likely go for naught since this howler monkey in a dress from Georgia doesn’t possess a molecule of contrition...



...and with an eye towards the Middle East, Mike Figueredo tells us that the wingnuts in this country (along with the far right in Israel) treat Palestinians as animals (which we knew), alleging that they all support Hamas (spoiler alert – WRONG!) – and I’m not going to waste my time rebutting all of the nonsense from that nematode Jesse Watters...didn’t know that 38 states have adopted anti-BDS laws, including my own beloved commonwealth of PA...ugh...and with all due respect to Mike Figueredo, I’ve been yelling about “Bibi” Netanyahu for a little while now, starting with his goading of this country to go after “militant Islam” after 9/11 here, though Figueredo is completely right to call out ANYONE who supports anti-BDS laws, which run completely in opposition to our Constitutional freedoms (NSFW/H also)...



...and in case you were wondering whether or not some wingnut propagandist would try to link the Hamas attack on Israel and their Gaza incursion with the most recent mass gun slaughter in this country in Maine...well, no need to worry on that, because Baby Newton Leroy Gingrich is all over it – oh, and here is one response to his idiotic claim that, basically, more “permit-less carry” is needed in this country...

"By making it easy for almost anyone to carry a concealed handgun in public, right-to-carry laws increase violent crime, firearm robberies, gun thefts, workplace homicides, and mass shootings. Right-to-carry laws make it harder for law enforcement to solve violent crimes and are opposed by many law enforcement leaders across the country. Similarly, permitless carry harms public safety by removing essential safety measures designed to ensure that those carrying handguns in public have been properly trained and vetted. Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the removal of concealed carry permitting systems is associated with higher rates of gun homicide and violent crime."

More from Emma V. and the Majority Report on this is here...



...and I think we all deserve a nice weekend after this week’s insanity, and I’d like to get that started with this little number.