Infectious Diseases Are Rising in America

(Close up macro of small sand fly gnat on green leaf - Getty Images/Ezumelmages)

While no one was looking after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic a host of other infectious diseases have been spreading through the states.

Especially in Florida and Texas.

A new report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described an endemic in Texas where parasitic flesh-eating sand flies are spreading a disease - leishmaniasis - in the state.

Although relatively common in other parts of the world it didn't show up in the United States until the last few years. A form of the disease is now "native" or endemic to parts of Texas.

According to the World Health Organization, there are three forms of leishmaniases: "visceral (the most serious form because it is almost always fatal without treatment); cutaneous (the most common, usually causing skin ulcers); and mucocutaneous (affecting mouth, nose, and throat)."

Next.

For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. has recorded homegrown malaria cases.

Cases have been discovered in Florida, Texas, and Maryland. There's a concern that if malaria and other diseases are re-emerging, or emerging in places where they haven't previously been it's going to become a larger health issue in the future.

With the climatic changes the conditions are becoming more favorable for malaria transmission.

Reemerging diseases include malaria, tuberculous, cholera, pertussis, influenza, pneumococcal disease, and gonorrhea.

New strains of known disease-causing organisms are also appearing. For example, the overuse of antibiotics has led to disease causing organisms that are resistant to medicines.

Researchers say the increased number of global travelers is contributing to recent renewal of many infectious diseases in America. 

The CDC has made it clear there are a number of factors causing these outbreaks. The challenge now is to stay ahead of the curve by educating the public on safety measures and developing new vaccines. 

As it stands, we can't do anything about the bad effects of climate change, or travelers bringing diseases, but we can stay informed on them, especially where we live in order to protect ourselves.

Revenge of the Rhinos, 2 US Hostages Released, and Chesebro Flips on Trump

       What a day!

     Good News!

Two US hostages have been released by Hamas Friday. 

A mother and daughter are now in safely in Israel. 

Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natali Raanan from the Chicago area had been visiting relatives when Hamas stuck, and they were captured.

Next.

House Republicans have failed for the third straight time to elect Jim Jordan for speaker of the house with more members voting against him on every round.

Worse yet, there doesn't appear to be a way out of the clusterfuck the GOP has created for themselves. 

They're reduced to name calling, threatening lives of wives of some members, canceling each other on social media platforms, finger-pointing at the Democrats for not saving their silly asses, and other unproductive pursuits.

Day 17 - Congress in chaos. With no leader before November 17th, the entire government will shut down with serious consequences.

Next

Another Trump crony flipped on him Friday in the Fulton County election subversion trial.

His campaign legal advisor Kenneth Chesebro (photo above) struck a deal with the prosecution to save his ass and testify against Trump.

This surprising turn of events may harken a stampede among other co-defendants to make similar deals.

Thursday it was Sidney Powell who flipped a day before her jury trial was to take place. Now Chesebro has done the same thing the day before his trial. 

That makes three defendants - Scott Hall, Sidney Powell, and Kenneth Chesebro, who have flipped on Trump. Let's hope it's a trend.

As it stands, there's certainly been some BIG NEWS lately. These are just my three picks among many to select from.

Surprise! Kraken Lawyer Sideny Powell Pleads Guilty to Election Subversion

After threatening Trump opponents with "releasing the Kraken" in court cases defending Trump, Sidney Powell suddenly admitted her guilt today in a move that surprised everyone.

Her trial was set to start tomorrow. After confessing to her role in the breach of election systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia, Powell has agreed to cooperate with AG Fani Willis and testify under oath.

Keeping count. That's two defendants who admitted guilt in the Fulton County election subversion trial. Scott Hall, and Sidney Powell.

Trump's craziest lawyer, Powell, is still facing legal problems beyond the Georgia case. She is an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal election subversion case that Jack Smith filed against Trump.

It doesn't end there. She is facing massive defamation lawsuits from two voting technology companies who sued her for falsely accusing them of rigging the 2020 election.

At this point it looks like Powell will be releasing the Kraken against Donald Trump. There's no such thing as halfway cooperation.

She will be expected to truthfully expose Trump's part in the criminal conspiracy, and other bad actors like Misty Hampton the Coffee County election supervisor that she worked with in the nefarious scheme to disenfranchise Georgia voters.

There's no doubt this development came as a happy surprise to prosecutors who face numerous challenges bringing all the perpetrators to justice.

We may witness a domino effect as the other defendants decide to take Powell's example and try to save themself from prison time. I wouldn't count on it, but today's news is going to make them all think twice.

As it stands, my guess is Trump took a bigly dump in his diapers after this news came out this morning.

The Wages of Trumpism: Bully Jim Jorden Loses 2 Bids for House Speakership - Enough is Enough

By now you'd think the GOP members of the House have learned their lesson trying to promote Trumpism via Gym Jordan.

Jordan is a loser. Just like his idol the orange guy who lives in Florida and still thinks he's the president of the United States, he's a thug that found out he can't get away with threatening his peers if they didn't vote for him.

For example, Jordan and cronies carried out a threat campaign on the 20 members who didn't vote for him during the first round in the Game of Political Thrones. 

Republican Rep. Don Bacon's wife received numerous emails and texts saying, "your husband better support Jim Jordan."

Pure Trumpism. Jordan has adopted Trump's scorched earth tactic of intimidation in order to obtain power. He just lost his second attempt today with more Republicans voting against him than in the first round.

He should take that as a hint, although it's not clear if he will. He may try one more time to pull a rabbit out of his tight-fitting MAGA hat, but it'll be a losing effort. Something Republicans are getting use to when enabling Trump's stooges in Congress.

The scary part of this whole breakdown in the House is someone like Jordan could have emerged the new Speaker. It would have been like giving the nuclear codes to a domestic terrorist. His first act would have been to shut the government down if his MAGA agenda wasn't accepted by the Senate. 

No doubt Trump would have been proud of his bad boy. Americans would suffer while Jordan held the government hostage.

That didn't happen. But where do we go from here? The GOP has proven they can't govern, and it appears no one will be able to get the necessary votes to be the speaker. I suspect a short-term solution will come up at some point.

Frankly, it has to. 

As it stands, I hope Americans remember this hot mess in the House next year when it comes time to vote and make the Republicans pay the price for their ineptitude.

'Dark Brandon' Looks for Converts by Joining Trump's Truth Social Platform

"Dark Brandon" mocked Trump by joining his social media platform on Monday.

President Biden's 2024 presential campaign created a Truth Social account to troll for hidden traitors ready to move on to someone else. 

Biden's account posted this; "Well. Let's see how this goes. Converts welcome!" The account, which is found under the handle @BidenHQ, features a profile image of Biden with red glowing eyes, a meme known online as "Dark Brandon."

By the way this is no rumor. Fox News Digital verified that it's a real account. Straight from the mouth of MAGA.

Why would President Biden even want to post on Trump's failing social media platform? After all it only has 600,000 monthly active users compared to the 528 million at X, and over 3 billion at Facebook.

The answer is simple. Truth Social is the only platform the former twice-impeached president consistently posts his personal thoughts on. The Dark Brandon meme is meant to infuriate Trump.

The origin of the Dark Brandon meme started after NASCAR racer Brandon Brown gave an interview where Trump supporters were shouting "f**K-Joe Biden" in the background and the interviewer apparently misheard the chant, thinking they were shouting "Let's go Brandon," to cheer on the driver.

To be clear, the "Let's go Brandon" meme was a convoluted misunderstanding that Trump supporters adopted in 2021. It became a coded word for saying curse words at Biden. No surprise, Trump made it a money-making grift and sold, "Let's Go Brandon" merchandise.

It didn't take long for Biden supporters to flip the meme on its head, trolling conservative Trump voters with memes like "Brandon Sends His Regards," before using images of Biden with glowing red eyes and naming him Dark Brandon.

Meanwhile Biden is showing strength and resolve over the war in the Middle East despite only having one functioning house in Congress, the Senate. 

The House of Representatives, mostly spawn of Trump, kicked out their own Speaker of the House two weeks ago and still can't find a replacement, effectively paralyzing much-needed legislative packages to Israel and Ukraine.

As it stands, I'm wishing Dark Brandon happy hunting on Truth Social.

The 'Pied Piper of COVID' Exposed as a Loser!

The court came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, aka the Pied Piper of COVID, and made him produce documents containing COVID-19 data that he previously lied about and said didn't exist.

A judge ordered the health department to immediately produce documents containing COVID-19 information previously denied to the public.

As a staunch defender against scientific methods of battling COVID, the Pied Piper pushed his anti-democratic agenda denying face masks and vaccinations saved lives during the pandemic through the halls of state government offices that he controlled like a dictator.

2 Facts:

- Florida was among the top three states to have the MOST COVID-related deaths in America.

- COVID's current comeback in Florida is worse than any other state in the union with thousands of cases cropping up.

By creating political polarization on health measures DeSantis sowed confusion among the public and even physicians. It was a pure MAGA agenda designed to appeal to lunatics who followed Trump. 

He issued an executive order during the height of the pandemic prohibiting masks in schools and granted himself veto power over municipal coronavirus mandates.

But that's yesterday's example of his corrupt dealings. Today he's struggling to find a message that resonates with his chaos electorate because his record on managing the pandemic failed to gain traction among Republican voters.

By necessity big political grifts have to keep adapting narratives.  The Pied Piper of COVID is having trouble finding his voice. The COVID thing has slipped out of public discourse especially with DeSantis's recent focus on cultural wars.

It appears DeSantis's run for the presidency has turned into a walk with no future. There are numerous polls showing his steady decline as a candidate after the first two GOP primary debates. One of his opponents, Nikki Haley, has passed him in the New Hampshire primary predictions.

Once considered Trump's biggest challenger, DeSantis is showing all the signs of a loser as he struggles to get the Republican nomination for president. 

As it stands, I'm always amused when someone like DeSantis uses stupid political memes like "Woke" when they are in fact asleep at the wheel.