What do you think about with current News and Opinions?

subee, MSN, CRNA · Jul 13, 2022

16 hours ago, MEDFET said:

Back to Boston...living in CA has its pros and cons but we don’t fear marathons being bombed by thrill seekers. We get enough of GSW but seriously we are correcting issues like combatting opiate addictions when my sister lived through similar experiences during her tour of Afghanistan ?? she described scenes vividly where soldiers were taking the leaves and putting rt smack on top of wounds out in combat fast forward today we see movies like Apple TV to here now as in Cherry. Which is a true story however embellished I see so many communities in New England complaining about this Opiate crisis but even with this sequester the money isn’t helping the problem what do you think will fix this? Or is there really a problem iris that is Embellished

Come to the Midwest. Addiction in Appalachia is like nowhere else. It is not "Embellished". Addiction caused by doctors is falling bit they will.generally turn to heroin and meth which ate even meaner. I don't understand what you are trying to say in the beginning of your post.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Jul 13, 2022

1 hour ago, nursej22 said:

So this comment on the FBI being run by the Biden administration didn't mean anything? You thought the same about the FBI with the same director before Jan 2020?

Read my prior post regarding your comment on this. Many persons in political positions, both elected and appointed in the legislative and executive branches will go whichever way the wind blows to save their own skins. Yes, I would say the same about any FBI director, or other person in the government realm, in modern politics. I won't apologize for feeling like many of these people are simply out for themselves, not caring what lies are told, or scenarios covered up, regardless of who gets hurt, as long as they get to continue to play the game

nursej22, MSN, RN · Jul 13, 2022

And many people in public service feel that they are serving the public. Many of those appointed are making considerably less than they would make the private sector and have made the decision to serve.

I'm not sure what your definition of many is, but I would venture to guess that 85-90% of those working in government really do want to work for the betterment of their fellow citizens. No one hears about the life-long state department clerk, or dept. of agriculture scientist, and the IRS accountant who does their job day in and day out.

But the media, and consumers of media assume one bad apple spoils the bunch. I refuse to think that. James Comey refused to go along with the former president's wishes and got fired for it. It doesn't mean he was corrupt or that the whole organization was bad. Human and able to err, but not corrupt.

Perhaps I am overly sensitive in this area because I work for the local government. So be it.

Hoosier_RN, MSN · Jul 13, 2022

2 minutes ago, nursej22 said:

And many people in public service feel that they are serving the public. Many of those appointed are making considerably less than they would make the private sector and have made the decision to serve.

I'm not sure what your definition of many is, but I would venture to guess that 85-90% of those working in government really do want to work for the betterment of their fellow citizens. No one hears about the life-long state department clerk, or dept. of agriculture scientist, and the IRS accountant who does their job day in and day out.

But the media, and consumers of media assume one bad apple spoils the bunch. I refuse to think that. James Comey refused to go along with the former president's wishes and got fired for it. It doesn't mean he was corrupt or that the whole organization was bad. Human and able to err, but not corrupt.

Perhaps I am overly sensitive in this area because I work for the local government. So be it.

I think local govs may contain more of those who wish to serve, but I also believe the higher up you go, corruption sets in. Oddly, the few people that I know (not close friends, just casual acquaintances) that are in a government job tell me that they're in it strictly for the benefits, no mention of serving their fellow man. This isn't just an American thing, either. Occasionally, we hear things about other countries, as well, regarding corruption or questionable dealings. Boris Johnson comes to mind. Some will say it's because he's a conservative blah blah blah, but I say nope. It's because he was a self serving jerk. He just so happens to be a conservative (my British friend says he's anything but a conservative LOL)

toomuchbaloney · Jul 13, 2022

32 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

I think local govs may contain more of those who wish to serve, but I also believe the higher up you go, corruption sets in. Oddly, the few people that I know (not close friends, just casual acquaintances) that are in a government job tell me that they're in it strictly for the benefits, no mention of serving their fellow man. This isn't just an American thing, either. Occasionally, we hear things about other countries, as well, regarding corruption or questionable dealings. Boris Johnson comes to mind. Some will say it's because he's a conservative blah blah blah, but I say nope. It's because he was a self serving jerk. He just so happens to be a conservative (my British friend says he's anything but a conservative LOL)

Authoritarianism is on the rise across the globe.

https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-health-religion-government-and-politics-a127151d7208b79c02767b435355511d

Lots of Americans seem to prefer authoritarian leadership.

subee, MSN, CRNA · Jul 14, 2022

3 hours ago, nursej22 said:

And many people in public service feel that they are serving the public. Many of those appointed are making considerably less than they would make the private sector and have made the decision to serve.

I'm not sure what your definition of many is, but I would venture to guess that 85-90% of those working in government really do want to work for the betterment of their fellow citizens. No one hears about the life-long state department clerk, or dept. of agriculture scientist, and the IRS accountant who does their job day in and day out.

But the media, and consumers of media assume one bad apple spoils the bunch. I refuse to think that. James Comey refused to go along with the former president's wishes and got fired for it. It doesn't mean he was corrupt or that the whole organization was bad. Human and able to err, but not corrupt.

Perhaps I am overly sensitive in this area because I work for the local government. So be it.

I have a relative who just retired as a spy..no kidding. He spent hugh chunks of time in the Middle East all of his adult life. He was also a college professor on this side. Perhaps he could have been corrupt had he tried but he did it because he believed that he could help and did't make a lot of money. I don't think he was alone in doing a job that only the government can provide and there are a lot of those jobs - especially in the sciences. I don't begrudge people who do government work because they want the retirement, etc. None of them are able to become wealthy on their salaries. The few people at the top of the pyramid of government have the jobs that invite corruption. But half of America voted in favor of corruption, so I can only believe that they are OK with it.

MEDFET, CNA · Jul 14, 2022

I’m confused to the entirety of the post can we say blame shame pain! We can’t point fingers without accountability. Sure it’s easy to blame doctors but are they the problem aren’t they controlled by pharma and then when we say government that’s a big umbrella as it’s a grey blurred line whose in bed with whom just saying it’s not simple answer I’m sure it’s easy to say addicts but what caused the chaos is it the criminal offense that’s associated with certain drugs

MEDFET, CNA · Jul 14, 2022

What I’m thinking at this moment is how shameful the human race has gone to depravity to go so low! Anyway whatever makes these kinds people feel better to storm into shows me the level where now it’s that type of behavior can we call invasion of privacy and with doing so putting us in a microscope we did not ever ask to be placed. Home invasion! How many votes did you buy? Or didn’t there rather?sorry. This has to stop to protect humanity. You know we were all born to act accordingly nothing can show me respect in any of those actions what kind of brotherhood is this?

toomuchbaloney · Jul 14, 2022

Biden, Battered at Home, Basks in Unvarnished Praise in Israel https://nyti.ms/3Pmpeq1

Quote

The chummy, grinning, backslapping reception he received on the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport may have been something of a balm. Even former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was so besotted with Mr. Trump that he named a settlement after him, greeted Mr. Biden with a warm, prolonged handshake.

Reestablishing alliances and normal diplomacy will take time and effort.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 14, 2022

A Culture Warrior Goes Quiet: DeSantis Dodges Questions on Abortion Plans https://nyti.ms/3Rqs12B

Quote

State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said she expected Republicans to file proposals for a six-week abortion ban and for a complete ban next year, as well as for new restrictions on medical abortions, in which prescription drugs are used to end a pregnancy. The fact that medical abortion was defined for the first time in this year’s law suggests to Ms. Eskamani that such abortions could be regulated in the future.

Ms. Eskamani noted that Mr. DeSantis’s statement after Roe was overturned was “pretty watered-down.”

“It’s clear that he knows this is politically unpopular,” she said. “It’s also a wake-up call for Democratic voters.”

Mr. DeSantis has widely been expected to win re-election by a comfortable margin, which could bolster his standing in a crowded Republican presidential primary field for 2024.

But a large margin of victory is not assured.

It sounds like DeSantis is trying to find a way to feed the crazies in his state while not scaring away businesses or a presidential bid.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 14, 2022

Trump: A Brat, but Not a Child https://nyti.ms/3AM3bo0

I think that Mr Blow's opinion is well founded.

Quote

This is a country in which the Internal Revenue Service audits poor families — households with less than $25,000 in annual income — at a rate five times higher than it audits everybody else, a Syracuse University analysis found.

The way we target people for punishment in this country is rarely about a pursuit of justice and fairness; it simply reflects the reality that the vise squeezes hardest at the points of least resistance.

The fact that Trump has thus far faced few legal repercussions for his many transgressions eats away at people’s faith.

I believe this has contributed to our cratering confidence in American institutions, as measured by a recent Gallup poll. There are many factors undermining the faith Americans once had in their institutions, to be sure, but I believe a justice system rife with injustice is one of the main ones. In the poll, only 4 percent of Americans had a great deal of confidence in the criminal justice system.

The only institution that did worse on that metric was Congress, with just 2 percent.

We have a criminal justice crisis in this country, and people are portraying Trump’s behavior like that of a child in hopes of keeping him from facing consequences in a country that jails actual children.

According to the Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center, “Approximately 10,000 minors under the age of 18 are housed in jails and prisons intended for adult offenders, and juveniles make up 1,200 of the 1.5 million people imprisoned in state and federal detention facilities.”

There is no excuse for what Trump has done, and if he is not held accountable for it, even more faith in the United States as a “country of laws” will be lost.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 14, 2022

A Trump Backer’s Downfall as the Target of a Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theory https://nyti.ms/3uJJMAr

Quote

Ray Epps has suffered enormously in the past 10 months as right-wing media figures and Republican politicians have baselessly described him as a covert government agent who helped to instigate the attack on the Capitol last year.

Strangers have assailed him as a coward and a traitor and have menacingly cautioned him to sleep with one eye open. He was forced to sell his business and his home in Arizona. Fearing for his safety and uncertain of his future, he and his wife moved into a mobile home in the foothills of the Rockies, with all of their belongings crammed into shipping containers in a high-desert meadow, a mile or two away.

“And for what — lies?” Mr. Epps asked the other day with a look of pained exhaustion. “All of this, it’s just been hell.”

This Trump supporter was sacrificed by the right wing lie factory after Trump tried to overthrow the government.