MY BAD....12/5/23

With the death of Henry Kissinger last week, I had a thought.

What if obituaries for all presidents and higher up officials began with the bad things the deceased had done during their lives?

Lyndon Johnson’s eulogy would have included lying to us about our chances of winning the Viet Nam War (there was no chance and he knew it).

Kissinger’s of course would start with his secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos, and then ALSO covering up the fact that we were losing the war but stayed in it anyway, causing the unnecessary deaths of thousands of American soldiers.

Nixon’s memorial would have begun with the Watergate break-in, and Reagan’s and George H.W. Bush’s would have been prefaced by their illegal Iran-Contra dealings.

George W. Bush’s chief testimonial would be lying us into the Iraq quagmire with his “weapons of mass destruction” nonsense.

And Donald Trump’s? That obit would take days to read - and that’s just the bad part.

A SHOCKING STATISTIC....12/4/23

Allysin Felix came close to losing her baby as well as her own life during her pregnancy in 2019.

One of her 4 teammates also died while pregnant and another came close. All were Black.

Felix is the most decorated athlete in track and field history, having won 31 medals during her illustrious career. One could argue that she's in excellent health.

But a CDC investigation from 2 years ago revealed that Black women were almost 3 times more likely to lose their lives at some point during their pregnancies than White women....

....AND that 80% of those deaths were preventable!!!

Felix had no idea what the risks were before she began suffering from preeclampsia, a condition that could easily have been discovered and treated early on. She simply wasn't told.

So when some people argue that institutional racism is no longer an issue here in this country, just ask the survivors of those women of color who died because the medical system failed to appropriately monitor their health prior to giving birth.

MONEY BUYS HAPPINESS....12/3/23

George Carlin once said, "Money can't buy happiness, but it's more comfortable crying in a Porsche than on a bicycle."

Turns out he was only partly right - a lot more money buys happiness - that is if you're already doing just fine.

In a recent Harris Poll, people were asked how much money they'd need to earn to feel happy and less stressed.

Those who were making $200,000 a year said they would need an income of $350,000 to make them happy.

But for poor people who make under $25,000, they only need an income of $33,250 to make them jump for joy.

I guess it's a lot like power - the more we have, the more we want.