Author: lobotero

I have been a radical, labor organizer, writer, lecturer, teacher, analyst, political activist , convention delegate and I still have my sanity--who knew?

From Utopian Dreams To Zombie Incrementalism

My regulars know that I am not a fan of the Democratic Party or Dems in general.  In my opinion they are nothing more than the other side of the conservative coin.

The only Dems I have any respect for are those that are of a different party but caucus with the Dems….

But what went wrong?

The Democratic Party once imagined itself as the engine of meaningful American transformation. First FDR revamped the relationship between the government and the people, then, in 1944, in his “Second Bill of Rights,” he proposed economic guarantees that would have rewritten the country’s legal and economic foundations. This would have entailed a huge structural change as the role of government would have moved further from a mere defender of freedoms to a guarantor of economic well-being.

Every American was to have the right to a job, the right to housing, the right to medical care, the right to education and the right to protection from economic fear. FDR stated that people in economic need could not fully participate in a democracy and we needed economic reform to ensure everyone had the economic security to participate in democratic governance and move the country in a humane direction.

But the Second Bill of Rights died with Roosevelt, so Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society then attempted to attack poverty, racial segregation/injustice and inequality at their structural roots, closely following many of Roosevelt’s proposals. The Great Society was however, hampered by congressional resistance, the budgetary and political drain of Vietnam and white backlash to civil rights.

There were victories, however: the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which sent federal funding into public schools serving low‑income children; Head Start; the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act enforcement mechanisms, which dismantled Jim Crow; the Higher Education Act, which opened college access to working‑class students through grants and loans; the creation of public broadcasting; the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities and major environmental laws like the Clean Air and Water Quality Acts.

Yet, despite these victories, we did not see real structural change because the Great Society was only allowed to alter the symptoms of American inequality without changing the underlying power arrangements that produced those symptoms. It expanded services but did not redistribute power and it created programs for the poor but left the economic order that manufactured poverty fully intact. The result was apparent progress without real transformation and reforms that improved lives while leaving the basic mechanisms of injustice standing.

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-the-democratic-party-has-become-from-utopian-dreams-to-zombie-incrementalism/

At one time the Dems were considered the “Left”….and in some less informed circles they still refer to them as the Left…but they are far from any representation of a true Left ideology.

Why?

Many years ago they abandoned the class struggle…..the working class.

That tradition began with a sharp diagnosis. Karl Marx argued that capitalism rests on a class relationship in which those who own the means of production extract surplus value from those who own only their labor power. One did not have to accept the inevitability of revolution to accept the centrality of class, and Bernstein did not. He kept the analysis and changed the method, betting that universal suffrage could be turned into economic democracy.

That bet defined what the old left stood for. It was not merely taxing the rich and redistributing the proceeds, the liberal project of John Stuart Mill and later John Maynard Keynes, but democratizing economic decision making itself. The New Deal and the Great Society were humane achievements, yet they were state capitalism for the benefit of the many and left the boardroom intact. The democratic socialist asked a harder question: who decides what gets built, where capital flows, and whose work disappears?

Put most simply, the socialist project was about extending democracy into the economy. We accept that the people should govern the state, that no king or boss may rule a polity by private right. The socialist asked why the same principle stops at the factory gate, why the firm that shapes a person’s waking life should remain a little monarchy exempt from the democratic rule we demand everywhere else.

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-is-wrong-with-the-american-left-the-abandonment-of-class/

We need a true Left in this country…..what we have now is just two corrupt parties that are for sale….the people meant absolutely nothing the the Congress as a whole.

We need a Left Party!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Here Is What The Deal Has To Say

The country, well those interested in foreign affairs, have been waiting for some sort of story about the wording of the deal between US and Iran….and we wait….

Wait no longer the Old Professor has the wording for you….

1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article and the remaining Articles.

2. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs.

3. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.

4. Immediately upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the United States Lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and restore traffic within a maximum of 30 days to its full capacity; the traffic of ships shall be proportional to the pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement.

5. Upon signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.

6. The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, While ensuring financing of at least $300 billion. The implementation mechanism of this plan, as part of the final agreement, will be formulated within 60 days.

7. The United States commits to ending, on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement, all types of sanctions currently facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, including resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary.

8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.

9. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.

10. The United States undertakes that immediately after the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and until the date of the lifting of sanctions, the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like.

11. The United States undertakes that, in light of the progress of negotiations towards a final agreement, frozen or restricted funds and assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be released and made fully available. These funds, whether held in the master account or transferred, will be used for any final beneficiary payment determined by the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran and will be fully available for use. The United States undertakes to issue all necessary permits and licenses on this basis.

12. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that an implementation mechanism will be established to oversee the successful implementation of and future commitment to the Final Agreement.

13. Following the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and upon receipt of assurances regarding the commencement of implementation of Articles 4, 5, 10, and 11 of this Memorandum of Understanding, and the continued implementation of these steps, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States will enter into negotiations for a Final Agreement solely with respect to the remaining Articles.

14. The final agreement will be approved through a binding resolution of the UN Security Council.

This really was not that hard to locate so I do not know why Donny and the media was dragging their feet.

If I am not mistaken most of the points covered have been recovered before…..so what did we need to start killing civilians for a couple of months ago?

This agreement is a joke!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Congrats Lefties!

***Let me state that I do not agree with anything this rag wrote about the Left movement in this country.***

I will be doing a short series on political lies….

This is an article from the New York Post which is about as worthless as a paper can be…..not even fit to line a bird’s cage.

The political chaos that this country is going through is being blamed on those selfish Lefties….like myself….

 

https://nypost.com/2026/06/11/opinion/congratulations-lefties-you-broke-the-system/

 

This is all lies….they cannot blame the morons that actually are destroying this nation so they do what they always do….blame the Left.

So much bullshit and this paper’s best use is as toilet paper.

Does anyone believe this crap?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

What We Do Not Know Constitutionally

AS we near the first step to our independence it comes to light that we know very little about the US Constitution…..

These are the 10 most common mistakes….

The phrase “it’s unconstitutional” gets thrown around in American political life the way people invoke “the rules” in an argument they’re losing: with great confidence and very little specificity. Most Americans have a working sense of what the Constitution does. It protects rights, limits government, sets up three branches. But the gap between that general outline and what the document actually says, and crucially what it doesn’t say, is wider than most people realize.

10 Things Most Americans Get Wrong About the Constitution

Now you know.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Same As It Ever Was

According to Donny (take it with a grain of salt) the deal with Iran has already been signed (digital)….

The digital ink is dry on a US-Iran framework, President Trump and other US officials said Monday, that he contends will have the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” by Friday. Arriving at the G7 summit in Évian, Trump touted a memorandum of understanding calling for the US naval blockade to be lifted in exchange for reopening the key oil chokepoint, the Guardian reports. Trump and Vice President JD Vance electronically signed the deal, as did Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, per the New York Times. Pakistan said a ceremonial signing will be held Friday in Geneva; Trump did not commit to attending but said Vance would.

Little information about the agreement has been released. Vance told CNBC that administration negotiators have “very important details to figure out” in the next phase of the talks. Those details include how the US wants Iran to dispose of its highly enriched uranium. “It’s been nearly 24 hours since Trump announced there was a potential deal with Iran, and we still don’t know the details,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, per CBS News. Trump told reporters in France that the text might not be released until after Friday. “This is a very powerful document and I want it to be released,” he said. “So probably pretty soon.”

Does this mean Israel will have to take a seat?

Israel’s leaders are watching President Trump’s looming Iran deal with more unease than enthusiasm. With the agreement expected to be signed this week but key details still murky, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urgently seeking a meeting with Trump as Israeli officials warn the accord could ease sanctions and revive Iran’s economy without forcing it to surrender enriched uranium, per the Wall Street Journal. While Trump aims to bring the conflict to a close without Iranian regime change, Jerusalem still talks about using military pressure to weaken or possibly topple Tehran and maintaining a “security zone” in Lebanon.

Israel will continue killing civilians in the name of defense…..the same tactic they have been using for at least 50 years and get away with it because the US will always look the other way.

Now that a deal(?) has been signed what does it look like?

Barack Obama predicts some deja vu when the dust settles on the new deal between Iran and the US. In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, the former president said any deal that emerges is unlikely to be much different from the 2015 nuclear accord his administration negotiated, known as the JCPOA—an agreement Trump quit in 2018 and has long castigated as a “horrible deal,” reports ABC News.

“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different, or in a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place, and had worked for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out of it,” Obama said in a Good Morning America interview set to air Wednesday, per the Hill. See the preview clip here.

If all that is true just why did we fight with Iran?

Can you see the stupidity here?

The only thing this ‘war’ accomplished was making more money for Donny’s butt buddies….after all is that not what war is for?

Very few people see this as something new and good…..

Way back on March 6, not long after President Donald Trump hurled America into the dumbest war imaginable, our Nobel-Peace-Prize-deficient leader declared on social media: “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”

That was about the same time he said America’s “excursion” into Iran would take “four to five weeks” and “won’t be difficult.”

More than 14 weeks, thousands of lost lives and billions upon billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars later, it appears America is the one surrendering.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/06/15/trump-iran-peace-deal-strait-hormuz/90560252007/

“Trump made Neville Chamberlain look like Winston Churchill,”

‘Trump Made Neville Chamberlain Look Like Winston Churchill’: The Iran Deal Is Nothing Short of a Disaster

Speak up!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Preparedness And The Working Class

We know how bad the working class is taking it from the policies of Donny and his Band of Lunatics….but what can be done?

This is an opinion written by Eugene V. Debs in 1916….it could well have been written yesterday….

‘Preparedness and the Working Class’ by Eugene V. Debs from The National Ripsaw. Vol. 13 No. 3. May, 1916.

Just to let you know this fight we are having today is NOTHING new.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Historically Ignorant President

Our brainless Donny has a full schedule of ‘celebrations’ for our 250th anniversary….a UFC cage match. a street race, a county fair, etc etc etc…..all the mind numbing crap and little about what this country went through in that 250 years.

But what can we expect from a historically ignorant president?

Last week, Donald Trump’s rolling assault on the physical landscape of the capital set its sights on yet another historical landmark. The fountain in the World War II memorial, Trump declared, looked “in pretty bad shape on the bottom,” in need of a makeover “duplicating” that for the nearby Reflecting Pool, though “maybe with a slightly different color … a lighter blue.”

But as we head toward Trump-led celebrations of our country’s semiquincentennial featuring a UFC cage fight in a 5,000-person arena thrown up on the White House lawn, we need to recognize that his onslaught against our history has also extended far beyond the physical.

Not long ago, two watchdog groups sued the Trump administration over the White House’s internal guidance that email exchanges between executive branch officials could be peremptorily deleted, escaping preservation for the historical record. A blatant violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978, the memo leaned on a Justice  Department move declaring this act itself unconstitutional. While this time, a court then ruled in favor of the watchdogs, this administration’s efforts to vanish its own public record advance its sweeping campaign to expunge realities as well as richness from American history, to reduce it to tales of untethered “heroes” that will drain its democratic lifeblood.

In April, the Organization of American Historians convened its annual conference in Philadelphia. New York Times reporter Jennifer Schuessler described the tone of this gathering of American historians as “anxious.” This attendee felt a more widespread emotional undercurrent: anger. That feeling has been stirred far more by the Trump administration’s designs on American history than by other worries reported by Schuessler, including historians’ “declining authority” as growing numbers of Americans take up history telling via TikTok, YouTube, and other media that are available to everyone.

I, along with many other historians, am far less bothered by TikTok history than by the sheer scope and brazenness of this top-down White House–led assault on history.

https://newrepublic.com/article/211170/trump-250-commemorating-history-ignorant-president

As a political historian I am disgusted with the gaudy display of insensitivity shown by this idiot that claims to be a ‘stable genius’ and yet he cannot see past the infantile cheap tricks he calls ‘celebrations’.

Anything to say?

Something to think about../..this is how the 1876 celebrations went….

In the summer of 1876, the United States was preparing for its 100th birthday with patriotic celebrations. In its first century, the country had grown from 13 states to 37, with Colorado poised to become the 38th state weeks after July 4.

But while Americans felt proud, many were also worried. “The country was filled with anxiety for the future,”

https://www.history.com/articles/american-centennial-1876-celebrations

A little history goes a long way.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yes Irene We Have A Deal

There were rumblings over the weekend that there was a deal waiting to be signed…..and it was announced on his birthday (go figure)….

The US and Iran have finally struck a peace deal after 4 months of war. Both sides on Sunday said they had agreed to halt military operations in a conflict that has rattled global politics and energy markets, reports the Wall Street Journal. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a formal signing will take place Friday in Switzerland. “Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he wrote. The two nations later confirmed, though “permanent” might be a overly optimistic: The most difficult issues have pushed into the next round of talks, notes the New York Times.

  • Trump: “Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” President Trump wrote on social media late Sunday afternoon. “Congratulations to all! I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
  • Iran: “Agreement reached,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the X platform. “Greetings to Diplomacy General,” he added, under a photo of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
  • 60 days: The accord launches a 60-day window for talks over Iran’s nuclear program. In return for limits on that program, Iran expects access to frozen funds and potential sanctions relief. Trump said he’s not seeking regime change, while promising “strong inspections” without detailing how they would work.
  • Oil prices: The price of Brent international crude dropped about 5% on the news to $83 a barrel, report CNBC.

There had been word that Donny would sign the deaal on Sunday….

President Trump said Saturday he plans to sign a peace framework with Iran on Sunday, though the Tehran government indicated it’s not on the same timeline. Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” the Hill reports. He promised the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint closed during the current crisis, would reopen immediately after a signing, while hinting at an undefined “ultimate alternative” if the process falters. Pakistan, which is mediating the talks, similarly projected a quick resolution, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the agreement would be finalized within 24 hours.

You did not think he would let this minor deal crap on his birthday bash did you?

It is good news that the ‘war’ is over….but is it?

Will Israel stop killing in the name of ‘defense’?

If I were Cuba I would be fearful!

How long before Cuba will feel the pressure from Donny and Pistol Pete?

Just wondering.

Any thing to add?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–14Jun26

Today is Flag Day and sadly also Donny’s birthday and he will make it all about him….this country history and survival is far more important than some orange twat trying to feed his ego.

Let’s start with his newest desire to buy the Chagos Islands….why?

His big idea for a concert on his birthday crapped out he will take to the stage, as usual, and thump his chest….

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. semiquincentennial celebration will now be a “rally” featuring a handful of musical acts, as well as “a fine and highly dignified gentleman” – himself.

Last week, the president canceled his “Freedom 250” concert series at the Kennedy Center after six of the nine musical acts canceled their appearances. The series had been touted as the “Great American State Fair,” featuring artists such as Vanilla Ice, Bret Michaels, and the surviving member of Milli Vanilli.

Trump Announces America’s 250th Celebration Will Now Be a ‘Rally To End All Rallies’ Featuring Himself

Donny is messing with research grants….

The Trump administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul on how the federal government awards billions of dollars in research grants. But researchers say it could allow the administration to limit and exert more control over critical scientific research. Craig McLean, the former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, joins William Brangham to discuss.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/new-proposal-would-give-trump-officials-more-control-over-scientific-research-grants

This is scary….their moronic policies have led to the worse measles outbreak in many years….whooping cough is on the rise as well….

The newest problem that the incompetent MAGA twats will deal with is the screwworm….and one of them knows where it originated….always take the easy way out….and blame Biden.

“This is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for”

A Republican senator is alleging, without evidence, that the New World screwworm’s spread is tied to migrants crossing the border, even though the parasite is moving through livestock.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) went on CNBC to fault the response to a recent outbreak of the flesh-eating New World screwworm in Texas. Marshall pinned the situation on former President Joe Biden, pointing to migration from Central America.

Referring to the screwworm, he said on CNBC, “This is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for.” Marshall claimed that millions of people arriving from Central America brought the parasite into the U.S. on pets and on people, which then led to infections in livestock.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/deluded-maga-wrongly-claims-migrants-1876722

In some states mail-in voting is the only way they can get to vote and of course Donny and the morons have a hared-on for mail-in ballots….

State election officials could soon face a stark choice: Hand over voter lists to the Trump administration or risk losing Postal Service delivery for mail-in ballots.

That dilemma stems from newly proposed USPS rules that seek to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed this spring to crack down on mail-in voting. If courts let the order stand, it would give the federal government an unprecedented role in elections — and could put even more voter data in the hands of Trump officials searching for supposed election fraud.

The proposed rules lay out new conditions that states would have to meet to send ballots through the mail, including giving the agency lists of all voters set to receive mail ballots.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/10/politics/postal-service-deliver-mail-in-ballots

I just do not understand the idiocy that comes with a MAGA hat….and why does the prez need the voter rolls?

Just have to post on the MAGA idiots…..this one is about gays….

Christian nationalist hate pastor Joel Webbon — a man who blames Jewish people for all social evils, thinks marijuana makes men “spiritually gay,” and thinks Adolf Hitler wasn’t so bad after all — and the co-hosts of his Right Response broadcast said in a June 9 episode that female public school teachers and childhood molestation turn boys into homosexuals. There is absolutely no proof backing up their claims.

First, the co-hosts discuss how feminine men don’t go to heaven. “Don’t be gay,” Webbon said, “There is spiritual gayness, and there is literal gayness… and you need to be avoiding both of those…. You will not inherit the kingdom of God if you are a literal sodomite, that’s true, but also if you are effeminate.”

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/06/hate-pastors-say-female-teachers-cause-men-to-become-gay/

Can you believe the stupidity in these people?

Since today is Flag Day I want to cut my Sh*t Show post short to post something that is important….the proper display of the symbol of our country, the flag….

So-called ‘patriots’ have a flag in the front yard and about 70% of the time it is displayed wrong….

  • Time of Display: Display the flag only from sunrise to sunset. If flown at night, it must be properly illuminated during darkness.
  • Weather Conditions: Do not display the flag in inclement weather unless you are using an all-weather flag made for outdoor conditions.
  • Hoisting and Lowering: When raising the flag, hoist it briskly to the peak of the pole, and when lowering, lower it slowly and ceremoniously as a sign of respect. Never let the flag drop to the ground while lowering it.
  • Half-Staff Protocol: Flying the flag at half-staff is a sign of mourning or respect. To do this properly, first raise the flag to the peak briefly, then lower it to the half-staff position (halfway down the pole). Before taking the flag down for the day, raise it to the peak again, then lower it completely.
  • Multiple Flags Display: If the U.S. flag is displayed with other flags (such as state or organizational flags) on adjacent poles, the U.S. flag should be at the center (if applicable) and at the highest point, and it must be hoisted first and lowered last. No other flag should ever be placed above the U.S. flag or to its right (on the same level) when displayed together.
  • Parade & Procession: When the flag is carried in a procession or parade with other flags, it should occupy the position of honor. This means the U.S. flag is on the marching right (i.e., to its own right, which is the viewer’s left), or if other flags line both sides, the U.S. flag goes in front at the center of the line. The U.S. flag should not be draped over a vehicle, float, or boat; if displayed on a vehicle, it must be on a staff firmly attached to the right fender or chassis, not draped over the hood or sides.
  • Wall or Vertical Hanging: When hanging the American flag against a wall or from a window, the union (the blue field with stars) should always be uppermost and to the flag’s own right, which means to the observer’s left when facing the flag. This rule applies whether the flag is hung vertically or horizontally. (In other words, if you hang the flag vertically on a wall, make sure the stars are at the top left from the viewer’s perspective – this is the correct way to display American flags vertically.)
  • Use on a Casket: When the flag is used to cover a casket (as in a military or state funeral), place it so that the union (blue field) is at the head of the casket and over the left shoulder of the deceased. The flag should not touch the ground at any point, and it is removed and folded with honor before the casket is lowered into the ground.
  • Indoor Display and Stage: If displayed flat behind a speaker or on a stage, the flag should be above and behind the speaker, with the union to the observer’s left. When displayed by a staff on a podium or in a church/auditorium, the flag should be positioned to the speaker’s right (audience’s left) as they face the audience, as this is the position of honor.

There is more to flag protocol….and a little history….

https://www.showallegiance.com/blogs/american-flag/quick-reference-guide-to-u-s-flag-protocol

 

 

IST Saturday News Dump–13Jun26

Milestone–Yesterday I posted my 20,000th post….and every one has been a joy….hopefully I can keep going for another 20,000.  Thanx everyone for your support and most of all your visits and comments.

 

We begin a new month, a Summer month, when all thoughts are to a coming vacay….today’s Dump is a bit lengthy for it must make-up for my absence last Saturday….sorry….

Local–All this weekend there will be 2 blueberry festivals and a pickle festival….and somewhere in there there will be a celebration of Elvis who visited the Coast in the Summer of 1956…plus the Scraping The Coast….cars tricked out come to play….

Personal–Lung doctor is still fighting to find out what that new mass is in my lung…..not responding to chemo so probably not a cancer…..but what then?   That means more scans and more doctors getting involved.,….oh goody.

I have been harvesting my blueberries….I have two big bushes left out of 12….storms have taken its toll.  I will get about 2-3 quarts of berries this year….plus my plums have come in and not the harvest I wanted only about a 2 gallons of plums….

Enough chit chat let’s get to the grits and gravy……

Since cancer is an important part of my life as well as many others I like reporting on new approaches…..

National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators have developed a blood test to find pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. The new test could improve survival rates from pancreatic cancer, which tends to be diagnosed at late stages when therapy is less likely to be effective. The findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Overall, only about 1 in 10 pancreatic cancer patients survive more than five years from diagnosis. However, experts expect that when the cancer is found and treated at an earlier stage, survival would improve. While finding the cancer early is key, there are no current screening methods to do so.

In the study, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, used a phased approach to testing biomarkers in the blood collected from patients with pancreatic cancer and similar patients without the malignancy. They included two blood biomarkers previously explored for use in this way, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), which is used to monitor treatment response in patients with pancreatic cancer, and thrombospondin 2 (THBS2), another previously used marker. Neither worked well as a screening tool. CA19-9 can be elevated in people with benign conditions such as pancreatitis and bile duct obstruction while other patients don’t produce it at all due to genetic factors.

In analyzing banked blood samples, the team found two novel biomarker proteins that were elevated in the blood of early-stage pancreatic cancer patients compared with healthy volunteers, aminopeptidase N (ANPEP) and polymeric immunoglobin receptor (PIGR).

When they combined ANPEP and PIGR with CA19-9 and THBS2 the four-marker panel successfully distinguished pancreatic cancer cases from non-cases 91.9% of the time for all stages combined at a false positive rate of 5% in non-cases. Similarly, for early-stage (stage I/II) cancer, the four-marker test identified 87.5% of cases.

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/researchers-identify-new-blood-markers-may-detect-early-pancreatic-cancer

Today organ transplants are no big deal…..that is unless you do 3 major organs at one time.

Organ transplants are among the greatest achievements in medicine, but there’s a major limitation: we just don’t have enough organs. One way that scientists hope to get around this is by using animal organs in place of human ones, and this field just took a step forward thanks to the first-ever combined liver and kidney transplant in a human using pig organs.

The use of animal organs in human transplants is called xenotransplantation, and it’s something that’s been the subject of imagination, scientific theory, questionable attempts, and – most recently – increasing experimental success.

The inescapable reality of organ transplantation is that a lot of people will not receive a human organ in time. There are over 100,000 people on the waiting list in the US alone, and 13 people die each day waiting for a transplant.

Strategies to tackle this problem include better ways of preserving, transporting, and selecting donor organs. Artificial options are also being explored, such as the titanium heart that recently saw a man in Australia become the first person to survive for a milestone 100 days with such a replacement organ.

https://www.iflscience.com/first-of-its-kind-organ-transplant-sees-whole-liver-and-both-kidneys-successfully-moved-from-pig-to-human-83680

Parkinson’s is a debilitating disease and there may be some progress on the disease….

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common brain disorders in the world. It affects movement, balance, and coordination, and it gradually becomes worse over time.

More than one million people in the United States live with Parkinson’s disease, and thousands of new cases are diagnosed every year. Although doctors have treatments that can help reduce symptoms, there is still no approved therapy that can slow or stop the disease itself.

Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered an important clue that could change that situation.

Their study, published in the journal Neuron, identified a brain immune protein that appears to help Parkinson’s disease spread through the brain. The researchers believe that blocking this protein may one day help slow the disease in its earliest stages.

New Parkinson’s Discovery May Stop the Disease Before It Gets Worse

My daughter gets so angry at politics that it drives her to tears….why is that?

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that political emotions, including anger, anxiety, disgust, depression and hope, are physically experienced in ways that differ from everyday emotions.

Researchers asked nearly 1,000 participants to map where they felt both ordinary and political emotions in their bodies using a body-mapping method known as the emBODY tool, which tracks bodily sensations tied to emotional experiences.

The study found that political emotions “take on distinct bodily patterns.”

“Politics itself may be a substantial source of emotional dysregulation,” the researchers wrote.

They also found ideological differences in how political emotions are experienced. Participants who leaned Democratic reported stronger bodily sensations tied to negative political emotions than those who leaned Republican.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/political-anger-comparison-study/

Tattoos, a fad that I never understood, has moved from the silly to the intellectual….

In line with the the rise of AI slop, visualised thinking – charts, Venn diagrams, complex chord diagrams and various other illustrations pulled from statistics – has become something of a signifier in recent years. They’re usually posted in Substack articles, pinned to Pinterest boards, or tucked into Instagram carousel posts with an indie-electro backing track. But beyond online spaces, these diagrammatic visuals have also begun cropping up in the tattoo world.

More and more posts of freshly tattooed skin with diagrams, axes and arrows are appearing on feeds. Some show fine line designs of systems-based models, others use labelled axes, or interconnected structures that map the many forms of the human condition. It’s an influx that East London-based tattoo artist Deven, whose recent work includes a circular map of the genetic code and a triangular mapping of the spirit, body and soul, can attest to. “Although abstract patterns and diagrammatic tattoos have always existed, there’s been a noticeable increase in people wanting these kinds of designs,” she tells us. “I’ve had people asking to add structural elements into my existing flash designs, while others have sent me diagrammatic images to incorporate into their tattoos.”

https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/70098/1/are-tattoos-getting-more-intellectual-diagrams-charts

This report is eeeewww!….

More than 100,000 live cockroaches that are illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder, officials said Friday. Not surprisingly, it accounts for the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, per the AP. The haul of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches, worth 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), was seized in May from a commercial breeder in the city of Bathurst in New South Wales state.

The Madagascar hissing species is one of the world’s biggest cockroaches, measuring 2 to 3 inches in length. Photos released by the department showed a shiny, brown invertebrate larger than a person’s finger. It’s much bigger than the country’s common Australian cockroach, which measures between 0.9 and 1.4 inches long. Cockroaches flourish in Australia because of its sub-tropical climates, with the country home to hundreds of species.

Bathurst snake catcher Stefanie Lesser told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the larger exotic species were likely being sold as a cost-effective reptile food because their large size meant fewer insects were needed. Officials urged pet owners to seek out crickets or wood roaches to feed their lizards instead. Both Madagascar hissing and dubia cockroaches are illegal to import into Australia. They can’t be legally kept, bred, or sold, no matter how they were obtained. Australia has strict biosecurity controls at its borders to protect its agriculture and horticulture sectors and native wildlife from pest infestations.

You fools want roaches?  Then come South we have them in spades.

How about masturbating birds?

A new study has found that masturbation among birds (that’s the birds doing the masturbating, not what would happen if a human were to practice self-loving in a park) is natural and healthy. The result flies in the face of the prevailing assumption that such behavior is a harmful response to captivity and stress that should be punished.

Self-love, also known as autosexual behavior, is pretty common in the animal kingdom, especially among mammals. It has been observed in species such as primates, marine mammals (dolphins and walruses), elephants, horses, squirrels, and dogs, among others. Tortoises and marine iguanas are also known to enjoy some “personal” attention when the mood takes them.

However, despite being a widespread behavior, masturbation represents a bit of a Darwinian puzzle. Viewed purely through the lens of adaptive functions, it has never been clear why individuals should waste resources such as time, energy, or sperm on something that doesn’t seem to aid them. 

https://www.iflscience.com/masturbation-among-birds-is-widespread-natural-and-should-not-be-punished-say-researchers-83706

Finally….the collection of urine….

A select number of toilets in Europe are doing double duty: collecting human waste and then turning the urine component into fertilizer. Writing for the Guardian, Chloé Farand profiles VunaNexus, the Swiss company behind “Aurin,” a nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich liquid fertilizer made entirely from treated urine that’s now approved for use in Switzerland and France. Special toilets divert urine to a set of tanks that scrub the urine of antibiotics and other micropollutants, pasteurize it to eliminate viruses, strip out the water, and concentrate it into Aurin.

VunaNexus’ system is in place in a number of commercial and residential buildings, including one that houses one of Geneva’s biggest private banks; it currently recycles about 800,000 gallons of urine a year. If it managed to magically gain access to all the urine in Europe, CEO David de Chambrier estimates it could meet roughly 30% of the nitrogen need. As Farand writes, “That’s not enough to transform the fertilizer market but it provides an alternative,” especially as the war in Iran “[exposes] the vulnerability of the fertilizer market.” The big hurdle is cost—currently as much as 50x that of conventional products—so scaling up and getting paid for the wastewater treatment it provides are key.

If interested …. Read the full story

Enough stuff….I hope everyone has a lovely Saturday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”