Looking forward now to spring.
I am “friolenta,” as we say in Spanish, that is,
particularly sensitive to cold, so spring and summer are my favorite seasons.
Pink flowers bloom are blooming once again on
my back porch.
//////////////////////////////////////////////
Anyone working in the area with a key to my house needing to use the first-floor bathroom, please when you leave, open the outer door slightly
while tightly closing the inner door to reduce the chances that the inner door will
be pushed open, allowing colder or warmer outside air (depending on the season)
to enter. Thank you.
I am considering selling my house bought in 1969 and moving in
with or near my son in W. Va. Now living alone after raising 4 kids here, I am
ready to downsize. I tire easily going up and down stairs in this large 3-story
house, built back in 1895.
So many questions for Donald Trump.
Though many Americans consider Donald Trump a criminal, some
voted for him anyway. On taking once office again, Donald Trump vowed to “fix”
the economy. Did it really need fixing? The economy had actually been doing quite
well, but thanks now to Mr. Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk, a recession looms.
Soon after Trump took office again, the Dow plunged almost 500 points in s
single day, though has recovered somewhat since.
Rubio declares South African ambassador to US ‘persona
non grata’ over Trump comments
Rubio had some rather harsh words for the South African
ambassador. Is this the same Marco Rubio with whom I once had a very cordial
bilingual conversation on a flight from Florida to DC?
Wash. Post, Rubio
says South African ambassador to U.S. ‘no longer welcome’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio
called South Africa’s U.S. ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, “a race-baiting
politician who hates America” and declared him persona non grata.
Trump has summarily cancelled the already approved Obama presidential
library, while making plans for his own grandiose presidential library in Florida. How
petty is that?
Wash. Post, Mural
of Anthony Fauci removed from NIH campus (another petty act)
Wash. Post, Border
patrol grabs Venezuelan parents in D.C., despite protected status
Meanwhile, the stock market and financial markets have zig-zagged
up and down, spooking investors. When Trump took office the first time, the
stock market soared, but now it’s been tanking. No more “Make America great
again.” Trump has admitted that a recession may be pending, so how about “fixing”
that? Would a slump actually be inevitable? Maybe under Trump’s leadership the
answer is “yes.” Let’s urge Donald Trump to spend more time perfecting his
swing out on the golf course.
In railing against immigrants, Trump seems to have forgotten
that his own wife is an immigrant and that his VP’s wife is the daughter of immigrants.
Vance and his wife were booed recently at the Kennedy Center.
And why are federal workers being demonized by Trump/Musk? Many
voters, understandably, would welcome reduced taxes and exemption from rules
they might find onerous. But a majority of Americans never voted for tariffs or
a trade war, or even for slashing the federal workforce. Tariffs and budget
cuts have now seriously damaged an economy that had been perking right along. The
stock market crashed and has not fully recovered. Tariffs seem only to have made
matters worse. Trump seems to be flailing around wildly for a solution.
This is completely a Trump/Musk manufactured recession. Political
commentators now see big changes coming at the midterms. Maybe a jolt from
voters in the midterms will finally trigger a course-correction but can we even
afford to wait? The economy is already wavering.
I say, let’s ditch the tariffs, welcome immigrants again, and
honor Musk in a televised ceremony awarding him a golden plaque as “Patriot of
the Year.”
Plenty of problems already exist without a president deliberately
manufacturing or aggravating them as Trump and Musk are doing. Unfortunately,
no one in the Republican Party has stepped up to challenge them. And who elected
Musk anyway? Yes, he contributed big-time to Trump’s election, but is Musk’s advisory
position even legally authorized? That looks doubtful. And Tesla sales have now
plunged some 45% in Europe, also slumping here in the US. Tesla vehicles are being
vandalized. Even Trump’s promise to buy a Tesla himself hasn’t helped. (Yes, one
of my daughters already owned a Tesla.)
Wash.
Post, Trump’s
ad hoc presidency is destroying the economy — and a lot more
Wash.
Post, Judges
order Trump officials to offer jobs back to thousands of fired workers
Reuters,
White House withdraws vaccine critic Weldon for CDC director
NYTimes, Israel
Keeps Up Attacks in Gaza Despite Truce
Nor am I very hopeful about what’s
happening on the health front. Is TV personality Dr. Oz actually a real doctor?
Trump seems to think so. Wash. Post, Oz to face Senate hearing to lead Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency that
oversees millions of Americans’ health insurance, will face questioning from
senators.
And Trump health appointee RFK Jr. has continued to
rail against vaccines,
even for a highly contagious and potentially life-threating illness like measles,
nearly eradicated in the US 20 years ago, but spreading once again. NY Times, Measles and
Mumps are a Big Deal: Ask your grandparents
“There are adverse events from
the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that
measles itself causes, like encephalitis and blindness, etc., so people
ought to be able to make that choice for themselves,” RFK Jr. insists. He has also been touting Vit. A as a
treatment for measles. Vitamins might be marginally beneficial, but only if lacking
in the diet. At least RFK Jr. has now acknowledged that measles can cause illness and disability. And
admittedly, vaccines are not 100% effective, so a vaccinated person might still
fall ill. Yet, in rigorous tests, the MMR vaccine has been proven 97%
effective in preventing illness and nearly 100% effective in curbing cases of severe illness and death. Vaccines also
offer lifelong protection. Furthermore, vaccines alone have never been shown to
actually cause deaths and disability, as RFK Jr.
alleges. One of 2 recent deaths in the Texas measles outbreak was in an unvaccinated
6-year-old girl whose father attributed her death to “God’s will.” Some 250
unvaccinated people in the US have fallen ill now, with 29 being hospitalized. More
than 95% of measles cases have occurred in unvaccinated people and the handful
of vaccinated folks still getting sick have experienced mild symptoms and are also
less contagious.
Measles has now spread as far
as NY and NJ. The CDC advises: “The
best way to protect against measles is to get the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
vaccine. Children may get the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV)
vaccine instead, which protects against chickenpox too. Most people
who are vaccinated with MMR & MMRV will be protected for life.” Chickenpox is usually a mild illness, but in Honduras
I met a girl using a wheelchair who said she had been paralyzed by chickenpox.
· Getting an MMR
vaccine within 72 hours of being initially exposed to measles affords some
protection and may result
in a milder illness. But during pregnancy, all vaccinations should be
avoided.
· Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mennonites
may get vaccine exemptions on religious grounds.
DC Nextdoor, State health officials have been alerted to a confirmed case of measles in your neighborhood
White rice,
a traditional Japanese diet staple, is reportedly becoming scarce there now.
How did that happen?
NY Times, After $30
Million in U.S. Aid, Haiti’s Biggest Hospital Goes Up in Smoke A fire set by
gangs at the country’s largest public hospital underscores long-simmering
problems in Haiti, which is heavily dependent on international aid.
Many Americans seem to have
forgotten about Haiti, but after several memorable visits there, I certainly
have not.
Nor have I forgotten about
Cuba, ever since being ousted by State Security back in 1979. I just sent a message
to a longtime friend who, like me, was unceremoniously ejected from Cuba: “This
is nothing new: https://apnews.com/article/cuba-power-outage-havana-Cuba has suffered a massive power
outage affecting Havana and the country’s provinces that has left millions in the dark. I
wonder now whether you and I will
ever be able to visit Cuba again?”
My books provide more details about
my experiences in both Haiti and Cuba.
My whole life, I’ve avoided
telling an outright lie, though I may ask someone why they are asking a
question or simply avoid answering.
I’ll be
taking
a break now from the blog while
visiting my son in W Va.
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