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James Hamilton, M. D.

Regardless of one's beliefs on the many factors that are involved with climate change, it does have the appearance of hypocrisy when so many choose to fly on private aircraft to a conference mostly directed toward the carbon issue. For what gets accomplished at these meetings it would seem greener to hold them virtually over the internet.

Jim

John Jackson

Jim, I’m really skeptical that, for important things, virtual meetings invariably accomplish as much as face to face ones.  The informal after-hours and casual get-togethers are just as important (or maybe more so) than the formal meetings. 

You’ve spoken a number of times about the limits of telemedicine and mentioned you always make it a point to put your hands on the patient at least once (that impressed me).  I’ve had a couple of virtual visits with doctors in the past year or two and they are just not the same (through no fault of the doctor).  I’m guessing the situation is not much different with any kind of human interaction, including climate diplomacy.

David Mitchell

Does the fact that there are in fact, hypocrites flying private jets to conferences mean that the issue of climate change does not exist?

What is the explanation for the drastic loss of snow caps on the world's major peaks - Kilamanjaro, Aconcagua, or the Matterhorn for example, in the last century?  

What is the cause of the slow but steady death of the world's corral reefs?

What can communities like Norfolk, Virginia do to stop the increase in flooding of it's streets near the harbor?

What will happen to most of the world's sea level island nations in the near future?

Why are the major casualty insurers (and re-insurers) growing so concerned over their liability exposure on cities like New York and Miami? (hint: could it be about the billions of dollars of subways and basement mounted HVAC systems in major East Coast cities)

What will Phoenix (and eventually, Los Angeles, Tuscon, San Diego, etc.) do after this first ever decrease in Colorado River water allottments? Will there be more cut backs? And if so, what will the Arizona and Southern Caifornia farmers do?

We could go on.

David Mitchell

P.s.

I lived in the "Mile High" city Denver for over 17 years. One needs only to drive down from the mountians (while driving the kids home from the ski areas) into the city, and see the sickening health hazard known as the famous Denver "brown cloud" hanging about a thousand feet over the entire city.  

It's something ugly to behold! 

James Hamilton, M. D.

John J.,

I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of human interaction. You know well my feelings about the importance of touch in the patient doctor relationship. It is not only part of the diagnostic process but the therapeutic one as well. And individual patients - as you seem to have discovered - notice the benefits.

President Biden apparently believes that a Climate Crisis demands his presence even though some of the heads of state of some of the worst carbon offenders chose not to go. Perhaps, virtual would have worked better for them.

It would be nice if the President would consider his presence helpful by a personal visit to the crisis on our Southern Border and meet with CBP and other law enforcement officers, or at a meeting with the thousands of unemployed oil pipline (and other oil industry) workers as we approach an energy and inflation crisis, or with the families of the 13 service members killed by a suicide bomber outside the Kabul airport and the friends and families of those Americans and helpers who are trapped by - and being killed and tortured by - the Taliban in Afghanistan. These would require much shorter trips on Air Force One.

And maybe, just maybe, they would result in some quicker and more impactful change for individual lives.

Jim

David Mitchell

I gotta add this today.

While I am on the subject of Denver,  today I am officialy in mourning - sick in the heart at the Broncos trading  Von Miller to the Rams. One of the best players and great community action guys to ever wear the "Bronco Orange"

A goofy, upbeat Texas guy who spent millions buying thousands of Denver kids glasses (and showing them that glasses were cool) at his annual "Von's Vision" clinics right before each training camp.

I guess you'd have to be a Denver fan to get the full effect. He and his funny cowboy hats will be missed.

(his greatest moment - from Super Bowl 50)

John Jackson

Jim, climate change is a slowly unfolding catastrophe that will dwarf all of our current problems if we don’t get a handle on it soon.  An example - if you think the situation at the border is bad now,  just wait until already obvious climate effects kick in with a vengeance in the countries to our South.  And those of us who are safely north of the Southern border have had a summer of hellish weather catastrophes that will look mild ten or twenty years from now.

The last major climate conference was in Paris six years ago so for an American president to attend another conference now is hardly excessive.

Exxon and other companies used to fund “studies” by “experts” (mostly in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry) questioning the reality of climate change.  But the scientific consensus is now so overwhelming that they no longer have the nerve to do that.  And the private sector (not usually known for engaging in "groupthink") now fully accepts that climate change is real and serious and they need to plan for big changes – a perfect example is all the major auto companies, domestic and foreign,  who are abandoning further development of models fueled by gasoline and are instead putting all their development dollars into electric vehicles.

Although they won’t admit it, people on the right know that the scientific debate is over.  So, since they have no substantive arguments to make, they resort to sniping about world leaders flying to climate meetings on “private” jets (like Air Force One).                                                                                                                                                                                     

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Maybe someone could explain why the climate disaster fear mongering has been never-ending since 1969.  Please just pick one of the extremely dire predictions that did not ever materialize.  https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/

If you really believe multi-billionaires do not have to change their lifestyles to fit their climate disaster narrative........then convince me why millions of us less fortunate should be forced, through taxation and the banning of any fossil fuels, to keep their thermostats set at the politically correct temperature, get rid of their trucks and SUV's (by the way Biden's climate entourage was reported to be driving 85 SUV's and limos), move  out of their large homes and into smaller homes/apartments, do away with the suburbs by taxing the number of miles a person drives/day, thus limiting their freedom of movement.  What about social credit scores that keep track of what you own and what you purchase and how that comports to the politically correct agenda.  Not in  line with the designated agenda, forget about getting a loan from a bank to purchase a car/a house/a business, etc.  All one has to do to confirm these initiatives fueled by the dictates of the climate change agenda is to.check out Agenda 21 or the World Economic Forum's agenda or Klaus Schwab's Great Reset.  Look at how they used the pandemic to lockdown the world and force out small businesses, and keep kids out of school, and prevent people form worshipping God in their churches.  It has been far worse in places like California, Oregon, New York City, Chicago, Australia, Canada.  These attacks on our freedoms continue because people have been conditioned for two years to live in fear of one another.  When the populace has been coerced into becoming fearful and their fatih in God has been diminished, they will by nature look to the governments of men to provide for them.  That has never worked out for any people anywhere in the world....ever.   

Joseph D. McCarthy

A sign seen in a store window:

                   You can choose not to

                       wear a mask.

                Then you must also remove

                        all your clothes

                            to enter.

       It's all or nothing.  It's about choices.

       Thank you.

       The Management MeWow

David Mitchell

Mary Margaret,

You left out one about anti-vaxing.

On February 5th, 1777,General George Washignton (you remember him?) was so concerend about smallpox ravaging our troops, that he ordered a mass innoculaton of his Continental Army. Otherwise we would have most likely lost the war to the British.  

(I hope you are not wasting your time getting flu shots - somewhat less effective than the Pfizer or Moderna Covid shots. )

-------------------

And in your link about projections that have NOT come true, you gave no answer to my questions about what is going on in a few (of many) situations that we can all see and verify. They were NOT projections - they are actually happening - now.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Dave M.,

 Please don't mislead our classmates that flu shots are a "waste of time"! Influenza, especially in us senior citizens, can be very disabling and fatal. No vaccine is 100% effective and, although the COVID vaccines have a higher percentage of preventing severe disease, that should in no way deter someone from getting a flu shot. 

All of this year's flu vaccines are quadravalent and this year is predicted to have a higher rate of influenza than last year. We certainly do not need another pandemic, this time with influenza!

Jim

Mark Schweickart

This has nothing to do with the current postings being discussed, but humor me and let me offer an interlude for a moment, something a little lighter that I stumbled across yesterday. As you may know, I became quite involved with the swing dance craze that swept through the world back in the 1990's and 2000's – a time when many were suddenly embracing dance moves form the 30's, 40's and 50's, having tired of the disco 70's and the always present (since the 60's) improvised moves one does while pretending to have rhythm as we dance, more or less partnerless, just doing one's thing, and hoping to not look too ridiculous.

What I wouldn't have given to have anything approaching the style of these two in the video below. What an amazing display of smooth athleticism, and beautiful timing to the music! As you can tell from the setting, this seems to be taking place at a country-western amatuer dance competition somewhere from  fifteen or twenty years back. But damn, it's really fun to see that these young dancers could move like this.

(I googled this couple only to sadly learn that Jason passed away unexpectantly in 2009 at the age of 31. What a shame.)

Anyway – enjoy a little honky-tonk song and dance:

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Dave, In Washington's time, the ony way to protect against smallpox was variolation, a procedure involving obtaining smallpox scabs from those sick with the disease, making a small cut into a healthy person's arm and then inserting the scab into that cut.

Most variolated people would get a mild form of smallpox and become immune, although a certain percentage would get full-blown smallpox and become immune. Smallpox killed many of the people it infected and its 30% mortality rate justified Washington's drastic order.

Covid-19 is another story.  It has 97% and 99.75% survival rate and there are multiple safe, effective treatments to be given early in the symptom stage. This does not equate with any reasonable claim warranting the government to mandate vaccinations for every American man, woman and child regardless of whether they had Covid already and therefore, have natural immunity, or their personal risk vs benefit health status. 

I am not against vaccines in general, but I do believe that as every single person now, from age 5 -105, can obtain a free Covid vaccine in this nation if they so choose, then the government should have no Constitutional right to mandate it for everyone under present conditions.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Mark,

If you try to make some of those swing dance moves on the dance floor at our age, you will make a lot of orthopedic surgeons an physical therapists very happy!

Jim

David Mitchell

Jim,

I always get myself into trouble with my sarcasm. I was being sarcastic about not getting the flew shots. I just got my flew shot and my new shingles shot at my nearby VA clinic last week. However, from what I read, flu shots are a guess from year to year with maybe three different strains thown in, and having efficay rates in recent years down around 50%

Mary Margaret,

You should quote your percentages to the 1,500,000 children worldwide who have been orphaned by parents choosing not to vaccinate. I still beleive your reasoning to be completely irresponsible in light of the rigorous testing that the Pfizer and Moderna went through (no comment on the Johnson and Johnson) - and the dramatically larger populations we now have compared to Colonial times. 

David Mitchell

Mark,

Now you're talkin"!

I have been thinking af posting some of this for some time but now you have forced my hand. I still wish I had leanred to jitter bug back when we were kids.

David Mitchell

And then there is this couple who have therir own website.

Meet NIls and Bianca

This stuff is all from annual contests in Germany, whre American Rock and roll, boogie Woogie, Jazz, and Cowboys and all things "Western" have long been the craze. 

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Just so you know Dave, I did not pull that statistical percentage out of my hat - it is from the CDC's own data.taken from the totality of persons who contracted the virus across all ages and commorbidities..  Somehow, to disagree with the prevailing narrative that the vaccines must be administered to every man, woman and child in the world is to insinuate that those who do disagree are uncaring, cruel, uncompassionate fellow humans. That is both insulting and an attempt to paint those persons as a threat to the well-being of others. It is like sticking a big Yellow Star on those persons by denying those who choose not to take an experimental, never before used gene therapy the right to participate in society because they will not be able to show the right papers or digital passcode.  When governments do not allow for natural Covid immunity, or for medical/religious exemptions, or when they push vaccination on a segment of the population that have zero risk of dying from the virus....something evil is behind it.  There can be no other reason.  If you have one, please share it with me so I can try to understand the means to which governments are taking to get a shot in the arm of every person in the U.S. and around the world, even if it is against their own person choosing.  

Also, I question any mathmatical models used by the Imperial College of London who provided the statistic that 1,500,000 children have been orphaned by Covid.  After all, they grossly overestimated the number of Covid deaths in the U.S. and U.K. by millions in early 2020.  . 

"The team created mathematical models using estimates on data from 21 countries that make up 77% of global COVID-19 deaths from March 2020 to April 2021. The researchers then linked this information to fertility data from the same countries to estimate the number of kids who lost their caregivers."  https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article252921513.html

.

David Mitchell

M/M,

I did not disagree with your percentages. But I challenged you to use that as an consolation to the 1.5 million orphans. That is 1.5 million orphans who did not need to be orphaned (over 100,000 in the U.S. alone). We can go back and forth all day apout percetages, but I am talking about this attitude of stubborn selfishness, spawned by the ridiculous politicizing of the virus by one Donald Thump and his followers. I can accept a medical reason as an excuse but please don't throw that crap about religious exemptions at us. (as you so agresssively challenged on my Facebook page - copied from Colleen Cotter's wonderful FB post).

What I am critical off is this attitued that an individual's right comes before the common good. You may recall our forefathers, the framers of the Constitution, held the common good above all other values. (and yes, their original "document" was flawed - women and African slaves were left out at the beginning)

The pandemic is NOT an individual issue. It deals with the concept of contagion. Not just to risk to ourselves, but the risk of spreading it to our loved ones, or to any stranger on the street. It's a group problem - NOT an individual problem. How hard is that to grasp?

Your comparisson to forcing people to wear "Gold Star" are ridiculous. Would you then argue that people who drive left of the center line and refuse to stop at stop signs are "excercisong their individual rights".  

Traffic laws - dang, government overreach!

If percentagges are your bag, let's not forget that about 90% of all Covid deaths in the U.S. were unvaccinated. And we have all seen hundreds of documented cases and videos of people begging their family and friends to get vaccinated just before they themselves died. 

Another aspect of this selfish atitude is the fact that the surges have put enormous pressure on Emergency Rooms around the country (especially here in the South), where ER personel were being worked to exhaustion, in overload conditions. Your attitude seems to be, "to hell with them". One of my daughter's best friends, a young female physician in a Manhattan ER during the initial outbreak, worked herself to exhaustion, and is now going through treatment for depression. At one point she worked 3 straight days and nights before being given a rest break. You seem to have ignored this detail entirely. Or do you have a statistic for that issue too? 

David Mitchell

As I wrote this, I am hearig about a new pill that Merck Laboratories has developed. And Merck has released the rights to the formula to the U.N. and the world - for free. This sounds like a potential game changer - even if only from an econmoic standpoint.  

If anybody knows more details about this, please chime in. I'd love to hear whatever you've got.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Merck (along with Ridgeback Labs) has developed molnupiravir, a prodrug that is metabolized to an active compound that interferes with replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is an oral antiviral agent. Remdesivir is the parenteral antiviral drug that has been in use for this virus since early in the pandemic. Like remdesivir, molnupiravir enters the scene with high hopes and it appears to be another good treatment if given at the correct time and phase of the disease.

Jim

Michael McLeod

This is funny.

A facebook post I made a year ago:

Michael McLeod

Ntcove47Sc03tmber 0su0540r,1 20250  · 

Shared with Public

 

 

 

Well now it may wind up being a matter of whether or not Trump will find a way to put his thumb on the scale.

 

 

Share

James Hamilton, M. D.

Search for Treatments Continue

It was announced yesterday that Pfizer is also in the process of researching another oral drug, Paxlovid (generic name ritinovir) for early treatment of COVID-19. This is an antiviral drug, a protease inhibitor, that has been around for several years. As was the case with remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat ebola, ritinovir has been used for the treatment and prophylaxis of HIV.

(You probably have noticed that the generic names of all these antiviral meds end in the letters -vir.)

Jim

James Hamilton, M. D.

Fast Five Flashbacks

 It's a slow Saturday night so here I am feet propped up awaiting a good movie on TV. And I got to thinking of some old commercials. Test your memory of these once famous lines and jingles by filling in the blanks and identifying the products.

1. "Said the captain to the bosun, so ask for the package with ___ ____ ____ _____ ___ _____".

2. "It's not nice to ____ ______ ______!"

3. "Choosy mothers choose ___."

4. "Please don't squeeze the _______!"

5. "... a little dab will do ya', you'll ___ __ _________"

There were dozens of these catchy ads. At our age we sometimes have some short term memory lapses but long term memory is often preserved. Does anyone have some favorites to share and open up those ancient synapses in our brains?

​​​​​Jim

Mark Schweickart

Jim – I remember 3 out of 5:

1. "Said the captain to the bosun, so ask for the package with ___ ____ ____ _____ ___ _____".

2. "It's not nice to _fool  _mother __nature!"

3. "Choosy mothers choose ___."

4. "Please don't squeeze the __Charmin!"

5. "Brylcreem.. a little dab will do ya', you'll _look __so  _debonair"

I should remember # 3, but I can't think of it. No idea about #1.

What sticks in my mind from those younger days are snatches of lyrics to the theme songs that accompanied the many Western TV shows. If you are similarly haiunted, you'll have no problem with filling in theses blanks:

1. Who is the tall dark stanger there? _______ is his name. Riding the trails to who knows where, luck is his companion, ________ is his game.

2. Easy lopn', cattle ropin' _________, carefee as a tumbleweed, with a heart full of song, a rifle, and _ ______ __  ___ ___.

3. _______, _______, where do you roam? _______, _______, far , far from home.  ____ ___ ____ _____ reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land. A soldier of fortune is a man called ______

4. ________, ________, where will you be camping tonight? ________, ________, will your heart stay free and light?

5. ______ ____ was a Rebel. He wandered through the West. ______ ____, the Rebel, he wandered alone.