In Another Sellout, Spanberger Turns Virginia Into Giant Weed Dispensary
Spanberger isn't protecting Virginia from the marijuana industry; she is throwing the commonwealth under the cannabis.Spanberger isn't protecting Virginia from the marijuana industry; she is throwing the commonwealth under the cannabis.Abortion pills in America's water supply: Republican AGs call for the EPA to investigate possible contamination
In addition to killing unborn children in the womb and exposing their mothers to potentially fatal health risks, the abortion pill mifepristone might be contaminating America's water supply.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration claimed when the drug was approved 26 years ago that mifepristone — which "may enter the environment from excretion by patients, from disposal of pharmaceutical waste, or from emissions from manufacturing sites" — would have a negligible environmental impact.
'It risks contaminating the very water supply millions of Americans drink every day.'
Whereas medical abortions accounted for only 6% of all abortions in the formal U.S. health care system in the year immediately following mifepristone's approval, that number climbed to 53% in 2020 and again to 63% in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Given the drug's massively increased use in recent years and the coinciding loosening of relevant regulations, a coalition of 14 state attorneys general is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate whether mifepristone has contaminated American waters and adversely impacted public health — especially the health of expectant mothers.
The coalition's recent letter to the EPA states that while the FDA promulgated a regimen and risk evaluation and mitigation strategy when mifepristone was first approved, "The FDA has eliminated many of the protections that minimized the health risks posed by mifepristone and its approved generics, including the in-person dispensing and check-up requirements that kept medical staff involved in the process."
In addition to the FDA dropping these protections, the coalition noted that regulations have been greatly relaxed, paving the way for far more "chemical abortions occurring in the home" and resulting, in turn, "in tons of chemically tainted medical waste being flushed into American waterways."
Aid Access, a group that works with registered abortion providers who provide abortion pills, states on its website, "It is best to flush everything [placenta, embryo, and blood] down the toilet or to wrap the sanitary pads in a plastic bag."
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The death of hundreds of thousands of children via medical abortions every year has "serious implications for the Safe Drinking Water Act," said the coalition's letter, not only because conventional wastewater treatment is not designed to remove the contaminants involved but because "the metabolites in mifepristone and its approved generics remain active post-excretion, meaning they 'retain [their] considerable affinity towards the human progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors' after disposal."
The coalition expressed concern that if the mifepristone entering the American water supply reaches a sufficient concentration, then pregnant women who unwittingly ingest the drug may disproportionately suffer health complications.
After all, the drug harms an existing pregnancy by inhibiting the actions of progesterone at progesterone-receptor sites and promoting both uterine contractions and a softening of the cervix, according to the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substances Data Bank.
The Republican state attorneys general — hailing from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas — have asked for the EPA to add mifepristone and its generics to the Contaminant Candidate List — "a list of drinking water contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and are not currently subject to EPA drinking water regulations."
"The health of pregnant women and Americans everywhere may depend on it," said the letter.
"As medical waste is discarded and washed away, it risks contaminating the very water supply millions of Americans drink every day, and the long-term consequences could be severe," Alabama AG Steve Marshall said in a statement on Wednesday.
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GOP-Run Indiana City Considers Democrat-Run, California-Style Homeless Center
Hundreds of billions spent nationwide on homeless services have only resulted in more homelessness. Councilman Russ Jehl says Fort Wayne should try a third option besides doing nothing or enabling addicts.WACK JOB: My adventures in the mental health industrial complex
I recently had a minor health issue, and while talking to my doctor, he mentioned that “stress and anxiety” might be contributing to my problem.
Probably a lot of patients at doctors' offices hear this. Unless you have a broken leg or tennis elbow, doctors can probably link your health problems to “stress and anxiety.”
Did I ever think: 'The steering wheel of my car has too many buttons. I should probably just kill myself'?
These days, this is probably a reasonable assumption. You’re constipated. You have headaches. Your stomach hurts. Stress and anxiety probably play a part.
When my doctor first suggested I contact the mental health department, I politely declined.
But when my health issue persisted, he mentioned it again, and this time, I agreed to check it out. Who knows? Maybe he’s right.
Head case highway
At my health care provider, it sometimes takes several weeks before you can see someone. But if you have mental health concerns, they get you right on the phone with a mental health specialist.
It seems like health care providers currently put an emphasis on getting everyone signed up for some kind of mental health regimen.
You let a dentist inspect and clean your teeth twice a year. Why not let a mental health expert have a regular look at your brain? And maybe suggest some tweaks and adjustments?
To be or not to be
I spent an hour on the phone with different people as I did my mental health intake. During these phone calls, I was asked repeatedly if I wanted to kill myself.
Had I ever imagined killing myself? Had I ever made plans to kill myself? Did I think about killing myself with a knife? Or a gun? Or by hanging?
Did I ever think: “The steering wheel of my car has too many buttons. I should probably just kill myself”?
I assumed this was done for legal reasons. But it was alarming how thorough the questioning was. And how many times I had to go through it.
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Brain candy
And then came the moment of truth: I was asked which kind of mental health care I sought. There were two choices: 1) therapy, or 2) drugs.
They didn’t say it quite so bluntly. It was more like “counseling” or “psychiatry.” And of course, my primary care doctor would be consulted as well.
But ultimately, this was my personal choice. Did I want to talk? Or did I want to take drugs?
I opted for talking since I don’t know anything about the drugs and was told as a child to “just say no” to them.
No, I played it safe and chose “therapy.” An appointment was made for me right away — with a therapist who had a Vietnamese name, which I think is female. (But I’m not sure.)
Positive feelings
By now, I felt good about this plan. I felt a sense of relief just admitting to the intake people that I might have a problem with stress and anxiety.
Of course, I had a problem with it. I’m an intelligent person living in a once great country that seems determined to ruin itself.
Forget about me committing suicide. My whole country was committing suicide! Why wouldn’t I be a little stressed and anxious?
The great therapy problem
Then, I thought about my new female Vietnamese therapist who I’d be visiting next week. What would I talk to her about?
That’s when I remembered the great therapy problem, which is that 90% of therapists are woke. The whole field is woke. Sitting around, discussing how you feel about things — instead of acknowledging how things actually are — is essentially the basis of all wokeness.
The publication's own Josh Slocum has talked about this. What if you’re a Republican and your therapist is a democratic socialist? To that therapist, everything you think or say might be hate speech. If you were outside the office, this person would want you arrested.
OK, I thought. I’ll just be careful what I say. And make sure to avoid certain subjects. We’ll probably be talking about “therapy topics” anyway. Like my family. My upbringing. What parts of my life cause my anxiety.
This way to the rubber room
BUT ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE POLITICAL!!! At least nowadays they are. My family? Split by politics. My upbringing? I grew up conservative, and now I’m stuck in a blue city. The cause of my stress and anxiety? The insanity of present-day society!
I’m trying to visualize my first session with the Vietnamese therapist. She’ll probably be very young. Everyone at my health care facility looks to me like they’re in high school.
What on earth am I going to say to this woman? I have no idea. This might be a bad idea. Maybe I should have just gone for the drugs. Drugs don’t care who you voted for.
Two New Indictments Illuminate China’s Unconventional War Against The U.S.
China doesn't need missiles to attack the United States. They're already using hackers, spies, and meth engineers.Democrats In NY Town Block Christian Shelter From Welcoming More Homeless
The Capital City Rescue Mission is suing the city in federal court for blocking its First Amendment right to build an addition to accommodate an overflow of homeless people.Backlash To Legal Weed Rising As Its Massive Costs Hit Neighborhoods
The pot industry sold America a bill of goods on the supposed 'benefits' of marijuana, and the bill is coming due.Jon Stewart to Trump: 'You did a good thing' on veteran PTSD treatments
Jon Stewart routinely derides President Donald Trump on his Comedy Central infotainment show. This week, however, the cynical liberal found himself reluctantly celebrating the president over a new mental health initiative that could greatly impact afflicted veterans.
Trump signed an executive order on Saturday aimed at accelerating research and removing barriers to psychedelic drugs — including hallucinogenic ibogaine compounds, psilocybin, and LSD — as potential treatments for serious mental illnesses, including PTSD and depression.
'Credit where credit is due.'
In addition to tasking Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary with reducing product application review times for psychedelic drugs that have received breakthrough therapy designations for treating mental illnesses, Trump ordered the FDA and Drug Enforcement Agency to create a pathway for eligible patients to access investigational psychedelic drugs.
Per the order, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA must also work with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the private sector "to increase clinical trial participation, data sharing, and real-world evidence generation regarding psychedelic drugs, and shall prioritize drugs that have received a Breakthrough Therapy designation." Fifty million dollars will also be provided for state-level research into ibogaine.
The White House noted in a fact sheet that over 14 million American adults suffer from a serious mental illness; suicide rates remain alarmingly high; and the suicide rate among veterans is more than double that of the nonveteran adult population.
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Afforded an opportunity to speak at the signing ceremony on Saturday, podcaster Joe Rogan revealed that the ball got rolling on the executive order after he "sent President Donald Trump some information" about ibogaine.
Trump confirmed the genesis of the initiative, noting that Rogan "wrote me a little note about this, and I had it checked out. I didn't just do it. ... I went to [HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] and [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz] and went to some of the people that work for you, real pros, and everybody came back with the same answer."
"Everybody thought it was incredible, and I told Bobby, I said, 'Bobby, let's just do it, and get Oz involved," added Trump.
The president noted at the EO signing that "these experimental treatments have shown life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans."
On the April 20 episode of his show, Jon Stewart alerted his liberal audience that he wanted to "give credit where credit is due. We don't, obviously, often do this."
"The president did a solid over the weekend," said Stewart. "President Trump signed an executive order in front of his fraternity brothers fast-tracking the FDA process for novel psychedelic drug treatments for veterans suffering from all forms of PTSD and other psychiatric conditions, including addiction."
After playing tape from the EO signing and reflexively attacking the president over his unscripted remarks, Stewart stopped himself and said, "I'm sorry. I'm falling into old habits. It's good. You did a good thing. I'm nitpicking. I apologize."
Stewart noted further, "A lot of the people are going to get the help they need."
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