Tag Archives: DNA testing

Rainy Day Snarky Snippets

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Environmental Issues, Political commentary, Social commentary

I slept poorly last night, waking about every 20 minutes.  I awoke to a number of unpleasantries, such as a set of dirty sheets in the hallway because Princess Nala had an accident in Miss Goose’s bed, an extra large package weighing about 5,000 pounds being delivered in the rain, and a cat fight.  As such, I am feeling rather snarky this afternoon and so, you know what that means, right?  Snarky Snippets!

heineken-lager-beer-amsterdam-netherlands-10519080A portion of the population in the U.S. and Canada scoff at the notion of climate change.  Rather than believe all of the highly-educated scientists worldwide who have studied the data and done the research, they follow Donald Trump’s lead 🙄 and claim it is a hoax, it is a scam, or that “sure, the weather is changing, but that’s a natural phenomenon – remember the ice age?” No, actually I don’t … it was a bit before my time.  But take heart!  I have found something that is going to make those skeptics sit up and take notice!  Check out this headline from The Guardian …

Trouble brewing: climate change to cause ‘dramatic’ beer shortages

Extreme heatwaves and droughts will increasingly damage the global barley crop, meaning a common ingredient of the world’s favourite alcoholic beverage will become scarcer. Key brewing nations are forecast to be among the worst hit, including Belgium, the Czech Republic and Ireland.

The researchers said that compared with life-threatening impacts of global warming such as the floods and storms faced by millions, a beer shortage may seem relatively unimportant. But they said it would affect the quality of life of many people.

“There is little doubt that for millions of people around the world, the climate impacts on beer availability and price will add insult to injury,” said Prof Dabo Guan at the University of East Anglia, one of the research team. “There is something fundamental in the cross-cultural appreciation of beer.

“If you still want to still have a couple of pints of beer while you watch the football, then climate change [action] is the only way out. This is the key message.”

This, even more than food and water shortages, even more than un-breathable air, even more than the threat of extinction, will be a wake-up call to Trump’s base!

I typically think that it is wrong for the media to critique a politician’s family.  Wives, husbands, and children ought to be off-limits, for they are not responsible for what their political spouse or parent says or does.  There are exceptions, however, in the case of either grown children or spouses when they act in ways that seem to invite criticism.  Melania Trump is one such exception.Melania-jacketWhen she went to visit the New Hope Children’s Shelter in McAllen, Texas, on 21 June, wearing a jacket (it was hot that day, no need for a jacket at all) that read, “I really don’t care, do U?” she came under fire by the press, and many of us were seeing red, myself included.  Her staff insisted there was no message intended, but nobody fell for that.  The jacket was ugly, and Melania typically dresses like a high-class call girl, so it was quite outside her ‘norm’.

Now we get the real story.  In an interview with ABC News on Saturday morning, she said …

“It was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticizing me. I want to show them I don’t care. You could criticize whatever you want to say. But it will not stop me to do what I feel is right. I often asking myself, if I had not worn that jacket, if I will have so much media coverage. I would prefer they would focus on what I do and on my initiatives, than what I wear.”

So, first of all, her ‘initiatives’ amount to nothing.  She is against bullying, but thus far has done next to nothing toward ending bullying, and in truth, she is the exact wrong person to convey that message, for she is married to the biggest bully the world has ever seen.  Secondly, let’s think about something for a minute … she was on her way to visit a detention center where, because of her husband’s actions, 55 immigrant children were being held apart from their parents, and her primary thought is to send a message to the press and by extension, those of us who don’t support her husband.  Okaaaaaayyyy …

In the same interview, she claimed that she is the most bullied person in the world.  Back up a minute … Hillary Clinton was slammed by the republicans, most notably Donald Trump, for her husband’s affairs.  It was claimed that she “enabled” him, although I always felt that what was really being said is the same tired old story that if a man cheats, it must surely be because his wife isn’t taking good care of him at home.  But has anybody blamed Melania for Donald’s affairs?  Not that I’ve heard.  Michelle Obama was slammed for wearing a sleeveless dress … a dress that was quite conservative but just happened to be sleeveless.  And yet … Melania, once a nude model, cries because her style of clothing is critiqued?  It sounds to me like somebody has some growing up to do!

As I said, I don’t typically believe in picking on the president’s family, but in this case, Melania is getting exactly what she deserves from the press.

More than once, Donald Trump has belittled Senator Elizabeth Warren for claiming Native American ancestry, even going so far as to routinely refer to her as ‘Pocahontas’.  Nice way for a nation’s leader to behave, right?  He even went so far as to renew his diatribe against her at a November 2017 White House event honoring Navajo code-breakers.Trump-Navajo-code-breakersIn July, Trump again returned to the attack, offering a $1 million personal donation to Warren’s favorite charity if she took a DNA test and it confirmed her Cherokee ancestry.

“I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian [sic].”

This morning, Senator Warren called Trump’s bluff and released a genetic analysis done by Stanford University geneticist Carlos Bustamante who stated that the facts support her claim to Native American ancestry.  So, Trump picked up his pen and wrote a check, right?  Surely you jest.  Kellyanne Conway responded …

“I haven’t looked at the test. I know that everybody likes to pick their junk science or sound science depending on the conclusion it seems some days. But I haven’t looked at the DNA test and it really doesn’t interest me…”

And Trump simply denies he ever said it, despite the fact that his statement, made at one of his annoying rallies, was recorded by none other than Fox News!  Senator Warren has requested that he make the check to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.  Any bets as to whether the check ever gets written?trump-native-Am-toon

Thus concludes another episode of Filosofa’s Snarky Snippets, as I have sheets to wash.  Have a great week!

Define “Generous” Please …

Posted on by under Global Issues, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

My jaw literally (well, okay, figuratively) dropped to the floor this morning when I saw this headline:

HHS Secretary: Separating Immigrant Families Is ‘One of the Great Acts of American Generosity’

Say what???

The separation of children from their parents at the southern border can be defined by only two words:  a fiasco, and chaos.  ‘Generosity’ is definitely the antithesis of what this nation has done to those families seeking a safe haven.  A federal judge ordered all children under the age of five to be reunited with their parents by July 10th  — yesterday.  However, some 84 of the 101 or 102 children under five remain separated from their families in detention centers, aka concentration camps.  How is this ‘generous’?

“We have nothing to hide about how we operate these facilities.” That was Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Tuesday night, referring to what he calls the juvenile and “tender age” facilities in which many of the separated children are currently being detained. It seems strange to me that if they have nothing to hide, they have barred media outlets and public figures from filming or visiting. And then he went on to say …

“It is one of the great acts of American generosity and charity, what we are doing for these unaccompanied kids.” 

I call FOUL!!!  There is no generosity involved in taking a young child, a toddler, from its mother’s arms and putting it in an abandoned Wal-Mart store, surrounded by wire and strange faces!  And why is he referring to them as ‘unaccompanied’?  A two-year-old child does not just wander across the border on his own.  These children were accompanied by their parents!!!  Three thousand – 3,000 – children were accompanied by their parents, then taken away to detention centers, scared, alone, and not knowing why they are no longer with their parents.  And Mr. Azar calls this ‘generous’?  Perhaps his definition of the word is different than mine.  Or perhaps he is in the wrong job, for his agency is titled “Health and Human Services”, and there is nothing … not one thing … humanitarian about what is happening to these children!

HHS and ICE have so royally mucked up this entire fiasco that they deserve to be placed in these detention centers themselves.  First, they have lost track of some 20% of the parents who were either released in the U.S. or deported back to their homelands – without their children.  Second, they are claiming that 27 of the children under 5 will not be reunited because the parents have ‘criminal records’, yet we are not told what crimes they are accused of.  Perhaps nothing more than a speeding ticket or jaywalking in some cases.  We don’t know … we just don’t know.  And frankly, I no longer trust our government to provide us with actual facts, for thus far we have been spoon-fed the b.s. that they want us to believe and I do not buy a single word of it.

The delay in reuniting the children, we are told, is because HHS is conducting DNA testing on children and parents in order to ensure the right kids go to the right families.  I see this more as a delaying tactic than a genuine concern for the children’s safety and welfare.  Part of the reason for the DNA requirement, according to officials, is that the documents proving parentage were initially taken from the parents at the border, and those documents have since been lost!  They cannot keep up with the parents, they cannot keep up with the paperwork … what next?  And now we are told that at least four of the mothers have been told they must pay the cost for the DNA testing before getting their children back!  These mothers do not have $700 – $800 in their pockets!

There are many people in this administration who must bear the guilt of this fiasco, but at the end of the day, it all falls squarely in the lap of Donald Trump.  Separating these children from their parents was a political move, making the children pawns in Trump’s game.  The process was hastily thrown together with little or no thought to record-keeping and eventual reunification.  These children and their parents are human beings, yet they have been treated as … objects, for lack of a better word.  And now, to add insult to injury, Alex Azar has the unmitigated gall to call what we are doing ‘generous’?  I don’t think so, Alex … no sir, I do not see generosity anywhere in this equation.

The Value of Life …

Posted on by under Political commentary, Social commentary

lethal injThe State of Arkansas is scheduled to execute seven men over an 11 day period beginning next Monday, 17 April 2017.  Arkansas has not executed anybody since 2005, and these seven men represent fully one-fifth of their death row population.  Why, all of a sudden, are they doing what some are referring to as ‘conveyor belt’ executions?  Because the state’s store of the sedative midazolam, one of the pharmaceuticals used in its lethal injection protocol, is due to expire at the end of April.  The cost of the drugs to perform an execution by lethal injection is said to be $16,500 per execution, up from $525 just a few short years ago.  So, I suppose Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson should be applauded for saving the state some $115,500 (the total replacement cost of the drugs).  Given Arkansas’ annual budget of $23.6 billion, these savings represent a whopping 0.000489%. Sorry, guvn’r, Filosofa is not applauding.

Regular readers are aware that I do not support the death penalty for a variety of reasons, most notably that if, twenty years down the road the person is found to have not been guilty, it is impossible to bring him/her back to life.  Other reasons include the value of a human life, and the fact that the rate of botched executions using lethal injection is 7.12%.  I understand the arguments that if a person committed a crime heinous enough to be sentenced to death, it doesn’t really matter as long as they end up dead.  I understand the argument, but I do not agree with it.

ward

Bruce Ward

But back to the slated executions in Arkansas.  The first, scheduled for Monday, is to be Bruce Earl Ward, age 60. Mr. Ward, who has been in solitary confinement for 14 years, is not too concerned about his impending execution, as he believes he is certain to survive the triple lethal injection and walk out of the prison to fabulous wealth and public acclaim, then go on to found an evangelical ministry.  Mr. Ward, you see, is mentally ill.

Since 1986, under the Ford v Wainwright ruling of the US Supreme Court, reinforced by Panetti v Quarterman in 2007, states have been banned from executing prisoners who are insane or incapable of understanding the reason they are about to be put to death. Ward has consistently displayed signs of mental illness for almost 30 years, and was evaluated by a court-recognized psychiatrist and diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

“At heart here is someone who back in the late 1980s was not competent to stand trial but never had a fair court process to look at whether he was insane. The question was kicked down the road, and here we are now with him facing imminent execution,” said one of his legal team, Joseph Perkovich, an attorney with the Phillips Black project. Mr. Ward’s mental health challenges started young. Teachers at his high school vividly remember him eating flies during class. One of his post-conviction lawyers, Joseph Luby, testified in an affidavit that Ward “lacked a rational understanding about his case and was unable to fully and reasonably assist counsel in litigating it”.

While Ward’s case may be the most severe in terms of mental illness, it was reported that four of the seven inmates scheduled appear to suffer from serious mental illness or intellectual impairment, according to the Fair Punishment Project, which is affiliated with Harvard Law School.

johnsonIn the case of another, Stacey Eugene Johnson, there remains doubt as to his guilt, and The Innocence Project has petitioned the court to grant new DNA testing.  Johnson has maintained his innocence throughout, and in part his conviction was the result of testimony by a six-year-old who was initially determined incompetent to testify.

On Tuesday, the president of the American Bar Association asked Hutchinson to delay his “unprecedented execution schedule” because “expediency need not, and should not, be placed above the Constitution’s due process protections.” Earlier this week, a federal judge began to hear arguments from the inmates’ lawyers about the risks involved in using midazolam and in following the accelerated schedule. The lawyers have presented evidence that the schedule is making it impossible for them to defend their clients properly, depriving the inmates of their right to counsel and leaving the lawyers in violation of their ethical duties.

Little Rock lawyer Julie Vandiver said, “When the state undertakes the task of killing a person, there are multiple ways that it can go horribly wrong. Over and over, Arkansas officials have failed to treat this incredibly complex enterprise with appropriate gravity.”

In 2015, in a dissent to a Supreme Court ruling about lethal-injection drugs, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that, when midazolam does not work as expected, the drugs that then paralyze an inmate and stop his heart “do so in a torturous manner, causing burning, searing pain.” She described that as “what may well be the chemical equivalent of being burned at the stake.”

While I am against capital punishment in any circumstances, I set that aside for the moment as I posit that even those who support the death penalty must be appalled at the plan to take seven lives under these circumstances and for this reason.  What is the value of a human life?  Whose job is it to determine the value of a life?  I know that it is not mine, and I do not believe it is Governor Hutchinson’s, either.

In addition to the flurry of motions and petitions filed by attorneys for the seven men, two pharmaceutical companies have asked a judge to stop the use of their medicines for executions. Fresenius Kabi manufactures potassium chloride, the drug that prison officials use to stop the heart, and West-Ward Pharmaceuticals manufactures midazolam, the controversial sedative that prompted this madness.

As of 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency set the value of a human life at $9.1 million. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration put it at $7.9 million — and the Department of Transportation figure was around $6 million. For the purpose of this conversation, the methods by which each arrived at their estimate, and the wide disparity, are irrelevant.  What is relevant here is that the various agencies of the United States Government have declared a single human life to be worth millions of dollars.  So how can anybody justify taking a life that is valued in the millions, to save a few thousand dollars’ worth of drugs? Think about it.