This and That

There are a variety of topics buzzing through my head as I walk in the Southern California sun. Why can’t the world be as perfect as the gorgeous scenery?

I am reading and worrying about the unfolding catastrophe that is the regional Middle East war we started. It appears to be an unmitigated disaster. The Iranian human rights dissidents, many of whom were massacred in the thousands, are unlikely to be emboldened to go back in the streets unarmed to topple the government. Gulf state hotels are being bombed. Casualties are nearing a thousand. The Strait of Hormuz is closed, the price of oil is going up, the Dow is down. Trump of course did not consult Congress in any way prior to the onset of military action.

For comic relief, we have the sage words of RFK, Jr. Talking about his childhood, he diagnosed himself as having ADHD (amazingly, not vaccine related). He said that he started taking heroin as self medication because Adderrall was not available (thank god for heroin!). He is quoted as saying that he: “went from the worst kid in my class to the first, second, or third academically in my class for the rest of my career, because it calmed me down. It made me so that I could sit still, which I could not sit still, my brain was in turmoil all the time. I couldn’t concentrate. I couldn’t sit still and read.”

https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/120126

Heroin as treatment for ADHD? Why didn’t I think of that for my patients? I also understand that Kennedy snorted cocaine off of toilet seats. He was mixing his uppers with his downers. What a great idea! John Belushi, legendary comedian, died from an overdose of a mixture of heroin and cocaine. For those not in the know, this combination is called a “speedball”. Other celebrities dying from ‘speedballing” include Chris Farley and River Phoenix.

Kennedy was not only a drug addict, but a dealer. Imagine if he was a person of color from a poor neighborhood. He would have been in prison, rather than rising in the ranks of power. He is clean now, and using his great expertise in pushing the country away from the scientific method.

I thought that tariffs would bring on what is known as stagflation, where inflationary factors are joined by a decrease in employment and economic activity as defined by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But the enormity of tariffs has been cut by the bond vigilantes after “Liberation Day”, and by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision making Trump’s tariffs based on national emergencies unconstitutional.

Now we have stagflation potentially mimicking the Oil Shocks of 1973 and 1979, when the price of oil quadrupled, and mortgage rates were in the double digits. The price of oil has currently increased by over 35% in the past week to 90 dollars a barrel. Stagflation as a possibility will go up with the price of oil to the 150 dollar a barrel range. Employment growth is already static.

Thank you, President Trump, for causing unnecessary deaths and creating an unnecessary economic crisis And thank you, as always, to Dr. Senator Cassidy for giving us RFK, Jr.