As seen on twatter.

https://twitter.com/DanWeldonFL/status/1121048472617201664

Are the walls closing in on Baltimore's mayor?

The University of Maryland Medical System wasn’t the only major buyer of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s “Healthy Holly” children’s books.

Health provider Kaiser Permanente paid Pugh more than $100,000 to buy about 20,000 copies of her books during a period when the company was seeking a lucrative contract to provide health benefits to city employees.

And the nonprofit Associated Black Charities says it collected nearly $90,000 from five separate entities — including CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, another city insurer — to buy and distribute 10,000 copies of Pugh’s books, forwarding nearly $80,000 of that to Pugh’s company and pocketing the rest.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-kaiser-deal-20190401-story.html

It's gotten to the point that, when I come across a WaPo or NYT story, I can't say to myself, "Well, that's roughly what happened, because WaPo or NYT (or any number of outlets) say so." Rather, my immediate instinct is: "What ideological bullshit are they trying to pull on me?"

https://twitter.com/SohrabAhmari/status/1121479183757205506

Now Satanists can enjoy the same tax-free status as your local vertically-coiffed bleached-tooth purveyor of Jesus Wants You To Be Rich theology.

Praise!

Baltimore's Mayor Pugh update:

Mayor not lucid enough to resign

She sounds nice.

https://www.thecollegefix.com/men-dont-deserve-opinions-tweeted-new-director-of-gender-relations/

What kind of measles are you getting in the USA?

When I got them as a kid, the doctor told my parents just to keep me away from sunlight, drink plenty of water and get lots of rest.

Measles is deadly

The highly infectious respiratory disease starts with a fever, coughs, conjunctivitis (red, watery eyes), and runny nose. White spots (Koplik spots) in the mouth can show up a few days later. A few days more bring the tell-tale red rash and scorching fevers that may spike above 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Complications can arise in any victim, but children aged 5 and younger are particularly vulnerable. The most common complications are ear infections and diarrhea. But there’s also the potential for severe inflammation in the lungs and airway (croup), as well as pneumonia, and swelling in the brain (encephalitis) that can lead to convulsions and long-term intellectual disabilities. One or two children in 1,000 will die from the disease. In pregnant women, the disease can cause premature birth and low birth weight.

Emergency declared in NY over measles, unvaccinated barred from public spaces Surviving the disease doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. The virus can cripple the immune system for months or even years, leaving survivors vulnerable to a host of other infections. Moreover, in rare cases, the virus is thought to hide in the brain, causing a slowly progressive, ultimately fatal neurological disorder called Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). It usually presents six to eight years after the initial infection and starts with subtle mental decline, such as memory loss, as well as irritability and motor issues, such as involuntary jerking. It can progress to seizures and blindness from there. At the end stages, patients may lose the ability to walk before becoming comatose and falling into a vegetative state. SSPE usually kills with fever, heart failure, or by destroying the autonomic nervous system, which regulates breathing and heart rate among other essential functions. Most cases are seen in children who contracted measles early in life (before age 2) and most of them die from the disease within one to three years of being diagnosed.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/04/what-to-know-about-measles-in-the-us-as-case-count-breaks-record/

" the doctor told my parents just to keep me away from sunlight"

Talk about a small world - my pediatric physician was from Transylvania too!

...my pediatric physician was from Transylvania too! ~ Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at April 26, 2019 10:32 AM

Was it Dr. Acula?

I like Lindsey Graham v2.0.

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1121495577253023745

I guess I'm fortunate WRT measles. During the last big outbreak in Florida, circa 1994, work required me to provide proof of previous vaccination, or to get another. I ended up getting the vaccine.

Fast forward 25 years, and that turned out to my benefit. Fortunately, we've not had many cases in Florida.

The virus can cripple the immune system

From what I've read, its not that it cripples the immune system, it's that it resets the immune system, causing it to "forget" diseases and viruses it's seen and developed counter-measures for.

Which might be an interesting path towards treating autoimmune diseases. If we can figure out how measles does that trick, and if it can be targeted at specific portions of the immune system. Reset the autoimmune responses, leave the useful portions intact.

"Was it Dr. Acula?"

I was going to go for a Vlad's Impala pun but I won't do it.

I won't.

When you get the measles, your eyes get very sensitive to light.

Luckily for me, back then there was no cable the cartoon blocks aired between 6AM to 7AM in the morning and then in the afternoon from 3PM to 5PM.

Even with the contrast and brightness set to the lowest settings, it was painful to watch the TV.

Will y'all settle for a Vlad the Imploder link? from Austin Bay, it seems that one can have imperial ambitions, but if you don't have an adequate enough military that doesn't really matter.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/vlad-the-imploder-vlad-the-impaler-was-the-historical-figure-behind-the-dracula-legend-alas-vladi/

It seems that the Russian fleet is only marginally better than their German counterparts.

Growing, you say??

Fatness is health, dieting is sexual assault, and fitness is a white supremacist Nazi science – so stated a self-described ‘Fat Sex Therapist” at a college talk. Commenters were shocked, but the anti-fitness backlash is growing.

https://www.rt.com/usa/457529-fat-sex-therapist-nazi/

Praise!

There is no violation of the Establishment Clause involved in making sure that genuinely evil organizations do not get 501(c)(3) status.

Meanwhile, more of that unearned power-tripping:

In Defense of Kate Smith

Another Bridezilla!

mpetrie, I remember that - assuming it's the same Bridezilla.

I'd say it's the inevitable result, sadly, of the idea that if you don't keep up with the Joneses - or, rather, the Joneses one only sees on TV, real or fictional - you are not a self-respecting American. Even if that means living above your means and trying to dump your bills on people who didn't ask for them.

Even RICH people often seem to think that avoiding credit card debt is degrading. What's so great about paying interest when you could have avoided it in the first place?

From an old thread:

http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/03/need-your-pet-p.html

Here's my peeve: People who have no idea that just because a lot of people do something and get away with it, that doesn't make it "polite."

Examples are those who talk (with or without phones) in the library and get mad when others ask them to pipe down.

But the worst is those who charge admission, in effect, to their parties and weddings. Even memorials!

It makes me furious - one reason being that people I know who would probably NOT do that increasingly don't see anything wrong with complying with "hosts" who DO.

As Miss Manners says, over and over:
"If you can't afford champagne, serve punch. If you can't afford punch, serve water. But serve it graciously."

To reiterate:

I don't mind potluck dinners, especially when circumstances mean that the hosts will never visit my house (such as when they are semi-invalids). But there ARE times when potluck isn't really that - it's mooching.

From Amy Dickinson's column, fall of 2006:

Dear Amy: I just received yet another invitation to a "party" to which I am supposed to bring food and drink. I have noticed that over the years this "potluck" trend is increasing.

I think potlucks are fine for impoverished grad students or committee meetings, but it seems to me that two gainfully employed adults who own their home should not expect their guests to provide refreshments for themselves.

If the excuse is that both are working and have no time to prepare, I would argue that the same is true for their guests.

If cash is short, a big pot of soup and some crusty bread make fine fare. My understanding is that hospitality means sharing what you have with your friends, not asking them to pay for your "party."

I have taken to simply declining without explanation invitations that require me to provide refreshments as price of admission. I am wondering if I am the only person who is fed up with this whole thing.
- Tired Of Cooking

Dear Tired: I have also noticed an increase in potlucking and agree with you that, depending on the event, bringing your own food and drink to a dinner party hardly seems like hospitality.

Now that you've thrown down the cassoulet, let's see how others respond.

And here's the best follow-up, from Jan. 2007:

"Those who object to potluck dinners should be aware that there is a difference between a dinner that everyone agrees will be shared -- and one to which guests are invited, only to be asked to supply the hostess's menu. I agree that the latter is inappropriate."

(end of post from thread)