There are many depressing things about what is happening right now but of all of them one of the worst is this.
The American Medical Association (AMA), in a surprising move, has officially rescinded a previous statement against the use of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, giving physicians the okay to return to utilizing the medication at their discretion.
Previously, the AMA had issued a statement in March that was highly critical of HCQ in regards to its use as a proposed treatment by some physicians in the early stages of COVID-19. In addition to discouraging doctors from ordering the medication in bulk for “off-label” use – HCQ is typically used to treat diseases such as malaria – they also claimed that there was no proof that it was effective in treating COVID, and that its use could be harmful in some instances.
Let’s be blunt, the AMA is not changing its recommendation on HCQ because of some new medical breakthrough, they are doing so because now that the election is over it doesn’t matter of President Trump recommended and talked up the drug.
Hey if thousands had to die or suffer to get the result they wanted, well apparently you can’t make an omelet without killing a few Americans.
The devil owns the AMA now, as he owns so many other American institutions.
In fairness given the abandonment and editing of the Hippocratic Oath and the willingness of doctors to recommend drastic surgery to children who want to change their sex something like this can’t be all that surprising.
Merely depressing.
Welcome to your post Christian society, may our society be happy in its choices choices.
Listening to music is a serendipitous adventure. And it was on one of those journeys I uncovered another great band that you’ve probably never heard of, The Divine Comedy. Last year before the post was swallowed up by a memory hole at Da Tech Guy, I profiled another undeservedly unknown band, the Rainmakers. Only I first encountered the Rainmakers on a local radio station years ago.
I discovered The Divine Comedy when I downloaded the “Inspired by the Kinks” compilation on Apple iTunes. A great collection, yes, and easily the standout cut for me was “The National Express,” a satirical look at a ride on the eponymous company’s bus line.
Unknown? As this is an American blog with, I believe, a predominately American readership, that’s true. But The Divine Comedy has scored hits in Europe, particularly in Great Britain and Ireland, which is understandable as the band’s only constant member is Neil Hannon, who is from Northern Ireland.
As great as “The National Express” is, there’s just one small issue in my opinion. I’m a huge Kinks fan, but unless you count that British band’s last big hit, “Come Dancing,” it doesn’t sound like any other Kinks tune.
Listen for yourself!
The Divine Comedy’s first album, since cancelled by Hannon, was the R.E.M. inspired Fanfare for the Comic Muse, which was released in 1990. The only place it seems to be available is on YouTube. If you somehow find a copy of it at a rummage sale or used record store, grab it if it’s priced cheap, as it is probably a collector’s item.
The band then “regenerated” three years later into a chamber pop, or if you prefer Britpop band, for Liberation. Actually I prefer the moniker baroque pop. Regardless of the name, what kind of music am I talking about? Think along the lines of “Penny Lane” by the Beatles, “Senses Working Overtime” or “Easter Theatre” by XTC, or “Never My Love” by The Association, the glimmering song that was used with such beautiful yet chilling effect in the final episode of the most recent season of Outlander. Oh, throw in a bit of Cole Porter too. Back to Liberation: My favorite song from that collection is “The Pop Singer’s Fear of the Pollen Count,” which is cleary inspired by the Beach Boys. Yes, I suffer from allergies too so I can commiserate.
Hannon, who writes nearly all of the band’s songs, is a clever lyricist who brings wit and even snarkiness to many of his songs. The Divine Comedy’s melodies are striking and the musicianship is superb.
With her military might She could defeat anyone that she liked And she looked so bloody good on a horse They couldn’t wait For her to invade Catherine the Great.
Yes, there is a sly reference here to the historical gossip that the Empress of Russia died from a mishap during carnal relations with a stallion.
One more Divine Comedy favorite of mine is “Gin Soaked Boy” from the 1999 compilation A Secret History…The Best of the Divine Comedy, which might be good place for you to see if The Divine Comedy is for you. Or you can begin as I did on Apple Music with their “Essentials” and “Next Steps” collections.
Of the band’s dozen studio albums Fin de Siècle, which contains “The National Express,” is my favorite. If you prefer to see what the Divine Comedy is up to now, its latest album is Office Politics. The track I enjoy the most on this collection is “Philip and Steve’s Furniture Removal Company.” It’s about a proposed sitcom and its theme song, both devised by Hannon, in which minimalist classical composers, Philip Glass and Steve Reich, operate a furniture removal business in the 1960s in New York.
Silly? Of course. Brilliant? Definitely.
Oh yes, I said “regenerated” earlier. Regeneration is the title of the Divine Comedy’s 2001 album. Perhaps not coincidentally Hannon contributed a couple of solo tracks, “Song for Ten” and “Love Don’t Roam” to Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack from 2006.
In addition to Apple Music works by The Divine Comedy are also available on Amazon.
Last week I put up a piece basically asking what the incentives are for the Democrat left to suddenly behave honorably if we go along with their steal of this election. Now I’d like to point out some of the incentives or lack thereof that the GOP should consider before they jump on the Biden bandwagon.
Let’s say you are a GOP Governor, Senator or ex cabinet official who would like to run for President of the United States in 2024 or beyond who chooses to oppose President Trump fight to stop the theft of election 2020: What incentive does the President or his supporters have to turn out for you in the primaries or donate to your cause?
Let’s say you are the GOP nominee for President in 2024 or 2028 and you urged President Trump to concede and/or insisted that election 2020 was not tainted by fraud. What incentive do Republican voters have to turn out for you or to donate to you if they believe the fix is already in?
Let’s say you are a GOP governor or Senator or Congressman who is running for re-election in 2022 and you choose to oppose President Trump’s fight to stop the theft of election 2020: What incentive does the President or his supporters have to eskew supporting a primary challenger and/or hold rallies for a primary challenger running against you?
Let’s say you are a GOP member of a state legislature in Georgia, or Michigan or Pennsylvania or Wisconsin who has decided against pushing back against a corrupt election in your state: What incentive does the President or his supporters have to eskew supporting a primary challenger and/or hold rallies for a primary challenger running against you?
Let’s say you are a GOP member of a state legislature in Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania or Michigan and your state supreme court rejects compelling evidence of election fraud and sworn affidavits of day presented by Sydney Powell, Lyn Wood and/or Rudy Guiliani and you choose not to vote for an alternative slate of electors: What incentive does a potential primary opponent have to stay away when they can raise money nationally from angry supporters of President Trump and maybe even get a visit or rally from said president in your race?
Finally let’s say you are a GOP official or pol who decides to leave government after opposing President Trump attempt to stop the steal of election 2020. What is the incentive of any think tank or conservative group to hire you when having you on their staff could adversely affect their fundraising or credibility among the party base?
“Quite obviously you don’t think alike,” Kirk said, “or both of you would have offered that remark simultaneously and in the same words.”
“True but not relevant, Captain, if I may so observe,” said Spock Two, “Even if we thought exactly alike at the moment of creation of the replicate, from then on our experiences differ slightly —beginning, of course, with the simple difference that we occupy different positions in space-time. This will create a divergence in our thinking which will inevitably widen as time goes on.”
“The difference, however, may remain trivial for some significant time to come.” said Spock One.
“We are already disagreeing, are we not?” Spoke Two said coldly, ‘That is already a nontrivial difference.”
James BlishSpock Must Die 1970
This was a piece of advice that came up in conversation with a couple who have been married 47 years who my wife and I was visiting. I was so impressed with this piece of advice that it is our final piece of advice.
“When you have something to convey to your partner, when you’ve told them, ask him or her to repeat back what they understood you to say, not what they heard you say but what they understood you to say.”
No matter what the culture or academics say men and women are different but more than that PEOPLE are different and understand things differently. You can have five eye witnesses to an event and each will have a different spin on what they saw.
People in a marriage are no different, they have different backgrounds, different experiences and different way of looking at things, they can see and hear the same thing and come back with totally different interpretations of it.
So when you say something that’s really important don’t assume he or she thinks you mean what YOU think you mean. Ask them to say how they took it.
This has the potential to save days of potential arguments.
My thanks to Mar Mar and Mike for this input. I wish I had heard it 30 years earlier.
