Thoughts of a retired physician

  Politico Magazine published this article yesterday on 18 ways the Supreme Court just changed  America. They range from the alpha to the omega, nothing much changed to civil war. Let me warn readers upfront of my sentiments on the recent SCOTUS decisions, Roe and others. I think the right-wing MAGA faction of the Republican Party is in full ascendancy. I disagree vehemently with them and find it appalling that after 233 years under the Constitution, the Supreme Court has simply become an operative arm of the party that committed sedition and is still trying to overthrow our government. I view the six conservative justices as a wrecking ball to the law. I will dedicate my efforts to seeing that they won’t succeed. Okay, on to what we now face as a nation. The 18 mini-essays in the Politico Magazine piece include some delusions. Kristan Hawkins, who has long been an anti-abortion advocate, wants us all to sing kumbaya and now just come together. This is the sort of slap to the face o

  In case you did not have a chance to read retired Judge J. Michael Luttig’s written statement, submitted to the January 6 Committee , it is online here and in pdf format here . I also will list Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter from today because it is an important addition to Luttig’s statement and is illustrative of the work America has in front of it if we are to save our democracy. My poor words can add nothing to these two documents. The next hearing is on 23 June at 1300 EDT. You should watch it. 

  The Roman encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus in the first century CE noted the cardinal signs of inflammation in his book De Medicina : c alor , rubor , dolor , and tumor . In English, they are heat, redness, pain, and swelling. As a first-year medical student at Temple in Philadelphia many years ago (where does the time go?), this Tetrad of Celsus was introduced. At the time, our understanding of inflammation in medical conditions was limited and students in 2020 can now discuss inflammation as an entity directed by cells and their secretions that produce these classic findings of inflammation. This is a big toe with acute gout; the redness and swelling are obvious, it is warm to the touch, and the person will tell you it hurts.  Analogously, we are in the midst of the Tetrad of Celsus as a polity. Separating the cardinal signs we have a lot of redness and heat in the current political climate. As the first hearing of the January 6 Committee revealed, that heat came from people

  I use a lot of editorial cartoons in my blog posts and also on my Facebook and Twitter pages. They are a way to say much using a drawing and few words (sometimes none). The above cartoon from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is copyrighted 2012 but has been recycled today. Its message is clear, crisp, and concise. Here is one that is literally directed to the Uvalde massacre: And from 1939: My writing is nowhere as sharp as these cartoons. But I keep trying. For now, let’s remember that gun safety is being obstructed by one political party and the shootings continue. No one in America is safe as a consequence. We are not a civilized nation.

  First, the nice part. Several days ago, Margan and I got back from a 2600-mile road trip that included Grand Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Denver (visiting family for 5 days), and Santa Fe. Tons of photographs to process. I used some of them for prior blog posts. All in all, delightful, and we escaped Covid thanks to masks and excellent planning on Margan’s part. Now, the not-so-nice part. I am angry as hell with the Republican Party, which has now flagrantly shown itself to be a bunch of crazies. We left Altadena seething with the likely decision of the Supreme Court to end protections for abortion after 50 years. The six conservatives on SCOTUS conspired (yes, they did) to overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade decision after they lied at their confirmation hearings in the Senate (yes, they lied). Of course, the anti-abortion crowd is ecstatic because of the nonsensical beliefs that an embryo is the same as a sentient, ambulatory human being and the concurrent idea that a

  Still on vacation. Utah above. On to Santa Fe, NM tomorrow for two days, then Flagstaff, then home. Keeping an eye on news and such. It SNOWED yesterday here in Colorado – threw my first snowball this morning in years!

  On vacation – this was on our way into Moab, Utah on US 191. Two quick thoughts. We have again had several mass shootings, with the one in Buffalo committed by an 18 year-old radicalized to believe that white people are being replaced by people of color. Too many guns, too many conspiracy theories, too much hatred and bigotry. And having come through Grand Canyon National Park, it is obvious that the vast majority of Americans are done with the Covid pandemic. The virus is not done with us. Stay safe and expect recurrent bad times from Covid. BTW, this is a cell phone shot through the windshield at 65 mph. I was not driving! The dark spots are insects that immolated themselves on the Subaru’s windshield.