"There is Everything to Say. There is Nothing to Say"

First, let me say I’m sorry for having gone radio silent for so long. I’m so grateful to so many of you who engage with my comments, who’ve become new followers and new subscribers despite this silence. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The title of this post reflects my ennui, my despair. I mean, seriously…there is so much to talk about, but what the hell can you actually say..? “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…” The world has gone well and truly bonkers — and what has been revealed about our countrymen??? In this country — America?

I’ve wondered for many years what the hell planet I’m on and what the whole point is of being in this body on this planet hurtling through space and time. Lately, though, I’ve really begun to wonder, “What the hell country am I in?”

Today, I watched a clip of testimony by Dr. David Gortler from last month before the U.S. House Oversight & Accountability Committee. Dr. Brad Wenstrup chairs this committee. Believe it or not, this clip appeared on LinkedIn. I made my own post from this clip and I share it with you here:

In the video below, we hear Dr. David Gortler's testimony from Mar 2024 before the U.S. House Oversight & Accountability Committee.

Dr. David Gortler is a pharmacologist, pharmacist and a Yale University-trained pharmacology and molecular biology research scientist. Following his postdoctoral training at the Yale School of Medicine, he worked as an investigational medicine scientist at Pfizer Inc. He later returned to Yale as a didactic/lecturing professor of pharmacology and biotechnology at the Yale School of Medicine. He was then hired by the FDA and served as a medical officer/senior medical analyst. In his FDA role, he oversaw an multi-disciplinary clinical and scientific support team. He was directly in charge of evaluating the safety and/or efficacy of drugs, FDA labeling changes and whether or not to recommend submitted new drug applications.

Dr. Gortler uses the analogy of a "new car" made in 45 minutes vs. the 10-12 hours it normally takes for assembly.

The testimony continues, but Dr. Gortler's introductory remarks are just over five minutes: https://lnkd.in/ejEjYFmw

And now imagine that you live in "America," land of the free and brave. Across all institutions and within all professions, "Americans" in positions of "leadership" and "authority" abide by and carry out this order to force you to buy this "new car."

And now imagine that "new car" as one you 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 buy. If you don't buy this "new car," you will lose your job, your income, your insurance, your career. You will be prohibited from shopping or traveling or going to the theater or restaurants. If you have children in attendance at college that you've already paid for, they will be kicked out of that school if they, too, do not buy this "new car."

Now imagine that on top of the forced purchase of this thing, the manufacturer -- thanks to the U.S. Congress -- enjoys complete product liability immunity. This means should any injury or death occur with this "new car," you, the "purchaser," bear all the risk.

And now imagine that you find out that all the claims about the "new car" are all untrue.

And now imagine how you feel about your country and the people in it.

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And that’s where I’m at, my friends. It’s where I’ve been, so to speak. At a loss…

I’ll leave you with a shot taken by friends who came to visit our little corner of the world last month. They’re from the mid west — far from large bodies of water. They made sure to get up in time for the sunrise, taking this shot looking down Navarre Beach toward the Navarre Beach pier that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico…

This planet does have its positives…