Man Of Jackistan: Reason and Truth's Time and Place

Trump Approval Rating Rises Amid Coronavirus Crisis Rant #19 ( Opinion ) Originally March 24, 2020 Donald Trump ignored intelligence reports from multiple agencies in the months of January and February that warned of the coronavirus imminently infecting America, doing great damage to the economy and public health. The president publicly refuted the severity of the virus, famously called it a "Democratic hoax," and to this day despite having declared a national emergency continues to give bad advice about the illness, for example by claiming that chloroquine is a viable cure for COVID-19. And now, the president has begun flirting with the idea of reeling back the emergency measures meant to flatten the curve of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. It doesn't stop there, either. Here's a link to a video which very effectively displays some more examples of how he has totally mismanaged the crisis thus far. And yet, the president's approval rating has r...

More Red Flags Than A Chinese Communist Party Parade Rant #13 ( Opinion ) Originally March 17, 2020 Not to say I told you so, to those who either bought that this president had the skills to effectively manage a crisis, or the many who bet that the country would not face something seriously threatening for 4 or 8 years...without gloating or anything, please don't say nobody raised concerns about his ability to lead. Of the many, many, many warning sides in a sequence of more red flags than a Chinese Communist Party parade: When trump used a sharpie to draw obviously altered lines over a map to show (falsely) that a hurricane would hit Alabama--in line with an earlier, incorrect statement--his more cognizant supporters wrote it off as clearly not true, but insignificant (whereas his die-hard base adjusted their understanding of that hurricane's path, trusting trump over NOAA, the nation's premier meteorological agency).  Instead of admitting wro...

Pennsylvania Must Reconsider Closing Its State Liquor Stores Tomorrow My Take Originally March 16, 2020 Governor Tom Wolf recently issued his emergency plans for the state of Pennsylvania's coronavirus response. With my county among those now claiming confirmed cases, and in lieu of an adequate response from the federal government, I welcome something of the sort.But when I found out that on Tuesday March 17, Pennsylvania will close its state-run liquor stores (Fine Wine & Good Spritis) in response to the coronavirus, I immediately wrote this letter to the state's Department of Health reasoning as to why they should not do that. For my out-of-state readers, the state government in PA has a monopoly on most alcoholic beverages sales outside of bars, restaurants, etc--though that has begun to change in recent years, allowing places like grocery stores to sell limited quantities of beer and wine. Nonetheless, almost all alcohol sold in the state that the buyer does not...

"Symptoms of Infection--and I Don't Just Mean Coronavirus" Rant # 10 (Opinion) Originally March 12, 2020 The coronavirus (COVID-19) dominates the news cycle this week, though not only viruses infect the people of earth: we as a species succumb to many different kinds of infectious and fatal waves. The World Health Organization (WHO) has just classified the coronavirus as a global pandemic. Several thousand people have died all across the world, with that number rising in the United States. Colleges have instructed students not to return from spring break--many will facilitate classes online instead. New York City has cancelled events with over 500 people. And it will only get worse before it gets better. Major indices point to this outbreak causing a recession. On Monday, oil prices fell dramatically. That sounds good as a consumer: paying less at the pump, what's not to love? However, a drop in oil prices is a bad omen for the markets. Stock prices drop...

They Should Understand Addiction, Or At Least Try! Rant #4 ( Opinion ) Originally February 24, 2020 Somebody said that they hate when people don't understand addiction as a disease, or that sometimes, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) such as buprenorphine (usually called by the most famous brand name of it, Suboxone) and methadone. These treatments involve taking a person addicted to opioids and administering Suboxone or methadone to them, in order to quell withdrawal symptoms and craving. Because both are actually just different opioid drugs, it prevents those things from happening. 'Giving drugs to addicts' seems controversial, especially when somebody knows little about those treatments or the science behind it. Below, I have cleaned up the response I gave to my friend: I am so annoyed when people say "I'd never get addicted to that because I have strong willpower" or "I've [drank/done drugs] and I never got addicted." Yes. So cle...

Adderall Manufacturer Mallinckroft Is Awful A Review Containing Subjective Input Originally February 16, 2020 I have been prescribed Adderall/its generic equivalent on and off for 13 years; I've been on IR, XR, Vyvanse, brand name, various manufacturers. In the last 7 or 8 months, at least 3 times I have refilled my Rx for 20mg IR 'Adderall' and gotten these white, octagonal pills. The bottle lists "Mallinck" as the manufacturer, shorthand for Mallincrodt. These pills are, for lack of better word, garbage. While I am not going to take more than the doctor has prescribed me (because I can't; 60 mg a day appears to be the upper limit), if I wanted to take a dose of Mallinckrodt equivalent to the normal kind I get, I would have to probably take somewhere in the range of 1.5 to 1.8 times the dose--possibly even twice as much or more. Seriously, this stuff stinks. Also, it has a divergent side effect profile when compared to the other brands, it would seem. M...

Q&A: "Are People Better Or Worse Off With All The Prescription Drugs We Have These Days?" Contains Subjective Input/Opinion Originally January 15, 2019 A lot of people have to think hard about this question, citing all the possible side effects of any given Rx as reason alone to criticize the scope of prescription drugs in the United States and elsewhere. Also, Big Pharma has some fairly shady marketing practices at times. Many believe that these companies made up disorders like Restless Leg Syndrome and ADHD just to sell pills, when the medical community clearly recognizes these as legitimate syndromes with particular treatments. Again, the marketing strategies employed by Big Pharma cross into shady territory all too often, but they don’t belong to some grand conspiracy that makes up mental illnesses in order to drug different-minded people into submission to the status quo… Before going off on some tangents that explore America's obsession with pharmaceuti...