Global spread of autoimmune disease blamed on western diet

More and more people around the world are suffering because their immune systems can no longer tell the difference between healthy cells and invading micro-organisms. Disease defences that once protected them are instead attacking their tissue and organs.

Latest scary health theory: Western (i.e., low fiber) diet seems to contribute to the spike in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease and lupus — at least in people with certain genetic profiles.

In other words, if you have genes that make you susceptible to autoimmune disease and you load up on Happy Meals, you’re much more likely to actually experience an autoimmune disease than if you stick to rabbit food.

Is this proven yet? No, but it looks pretty likely.

Source: Global spread of autoimmune disease blamed on western diet | Medical research | The Guardian

Maryland’s GOP Governor Hogan Hid COVID-19 Test Kits So Feds Can’t Take Them

The federal government has left states largely on their own when it comes to testing their citizens and securing critical equipment during the pandemic. But when it comes to those supplies, Gov. Hogan’s concern appears to have been warranted: There have been numerous reports of the Federal Emergency Management Agency hijacking desperately needed protective gear for first responders and health care workers.

Source: Maryland’s GOP Governor Hid COVID-19 Test Kits So Feds Can’t Take Them | HuffPost

Inmates in charge of the asylum

We hear that New York City Mayor de Blasio is giving his daily briefing now. He’s sitting six feet away for his Health Commissioner, but neither are wearing face masks. I had thought he was doing a decent job but I’m beginning to have second thoughts.

As of 13 April 2020, the city has more confirmed coronavirus cases than China, where the epidemic began; the United Kingdom; and Iran.[8] The encompassing state of New York has more cases than any foreign country worldwide.[9] [from Wikipedia, April 15, 2020]

And on to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo: He, too, sounded good on TV. But, even in a pandemic, he always has time to shit on de Blasio. And the state’s coronavirus numbers are . . . impressive?

Still, either de Blasio or Cuomo would be better than President 45.

U.S. coronavirus cases per capita, from the Washington Post

Here in the Transbaikal, we get our news brought in by yak; it’s slow but reliable (“reliable” in the sense that the yaks refuse to carry anything from Fox News or the Washington Times).

It has been our good fortune that correspondent J.R. packed this link into our latest yak delivery. Instead of the usual media blather about “most cases” or “most deaths,” the Washington Post has helpfully converted the data to per capita.

Click the link and be enlightened:  U.S. coronavirus cases: Tracking deaths, reported cases by state – Washington Post

Are some of the presidential candidates smoking something or just trying to blow smoke?

This just in from Neil B. Goldstein, long-time New York politico:

At least a couple of the Democratic Presidential candidates have argued that it’s not enough to merely defeat Trump and elect a traditional Democrat. They passionately tell us that compromise solutions have failed our nation in the past, and led to the subsequent election of Republicans. What the country needs now, and is yearning for, they say, is fundamental change. And they tell us that, if they are elected, that is what they will deliver.

So, is there any realistic chance that can do what they say. Or is it all delusional “happy talk” aimed at voters so desperate for change that they are willing to suspend mature judgment and be conned one more time?

The problem with fulfilling these candidates’ vision and their promises is that enacting the ambitious, fundamental change they propose requires the votes of Congress. And that’s not going to happen as long as there continues to be a Republican Senate majority under Mitch McConnell. So, it turns out that the single most crucial question to ask in 2020 isn’t, which Presidential candidate is most electable? It’s, which Presidential candidate is going to make it possible to win the Senate?

Let me put that more precisely, because it’s so important: WHICH PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WILL ENABLE US TO ELECT DEMOCRATS TO THE SENATE IN THOSE STATES WHERE REPUBLICAN SEATS ARE WINNABLE, AND WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO RETAIN ANY DEMOCRATIC SENATORS WHO ARE VULNERABLE? The answer to that question — and the choice we make in response to that answer is crucial, because, unless we can capture the Senate, too, all those ideas about fundamental change go right out the window. In fact, even modest change (e.g. restoring a liberal Supreme Court majority) will remain impossible under a Democratic President without a Democratic Senate.

According to my reading, those states that are in play are Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Colorado and Maine. Take a good look at that list when you choose who you want to head our Party’s ticket. The special election taking place this month in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional district tells us quite a bit about what the Republican strategy will be to hold those seats. What is going on there, shows that the Republican strategy to paint the Democrats as a party of radicals continues to work to defeat us in North Carolina. And it could work in the other key Senate states as well. In that contest, the Republicans are trying to paint the Democrat, Allen Thomas, as a socialist radical — tying him to Ilhan Omar, Rashid Tlaib, AOC, Bernie Sanders and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

And their strategy is working . . . the Republican is ahead by 9 points! Sure, a Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren could stop building Trump’s border wall or put an end to Trump’s family separation policy through executive action alone . . . ANY Democrat could and would. But their plans to outlaw private health insurance or to address the climate change crisis will require Senate acquiescence, and that will require a Democratic majority in the Senate. The irony is that, if they top the ticket, that’s not going to happen.

Bullies Laughed At This Boy’s DIY College Shirt. It’s Now An Official Design.

A Florida fourth-grader was mocked for his homemade University of Tennessee T-shirt on his school’s “college colors” day ― so the university made it into an official design. It sold so fast that their website crashed.

Source: Bullies Laughed At This Boy’s DIY College Shirt. It’s Now An Official Design. | HuffPost

8 College Degrees With The Lowest Unemployment Rates | HuffPost Life

What I found interesting wasn’t the results of the study or the methodology (I didn’t read that far), but the values they reported: unemployment rate, underemployment rate, median wage early career, median wage mid-career, and share with graduate degree.

I think , if you wanted to choose a career based on the economics, you’d want to weigh those factors, as well as where you’d need to move in order to achieve those outcomes.

Source: 8 College Degrees With The Lowest Unemployment Rates | HuffPost Life