Fingerprints continued.( On the body of the Montenegran delegate).

The Octogenarians

POTUS shoved aside the delegate from Montenegro,shouldered his way through to the front line to be photographed accompanying this with primitive preening behavior somewhere between that of a parrot and that of a pugilistic thug.It was unnecessary and just plain dumb.This “fingerprint” tells us more about our leader and sets the tone for those of us who are influenced by the behavior of our leaders (Montana anyone?) to flail and pummel,to take umbrage,to sulk and to push thinking behavior aside in favor of childish momentary gratification.

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The Fingerprints on the Glass…

The Octogenarians

California congressman Ted Lieu,no supporter of Trump,said in a recent interview that he hoped that Trump would do us proud on his travels to Saudi Arabia,Israel and Rome(the Vatican)and then come back to face the music.At best we can only hope that there is no egregious stumble.Congressman Lieu is probably unfamiliar with Alfred Adler’s quote to the effect that personality is all encompassing and doesn’t change as context or environment shifts.Thus,the fingerprints on the glass remain the same over time.If he sticks to carefully prepared script he may not grossly embarrass us.The minute his showman instincts prompt him toward spontaneity…watch out!
It would appear that the business of this trek was preset by Jared Kushner acting as crown prince in this Romanoff recapitulation.No humanitarian insistence on limited use of technology against civilian populations (Yemen).Bargain rates for an autocracy which holds sway over a suppressed population that gives rise to Baathist…

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You’ve Received a Top Doctor Badge!

The Octogenarians

Congratulations to Dr. Claudewell Thomas for his Top Doctor badge.

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Truth and Consequences

The Octogenarians

“Truth Will Out” and the rush of information coming out is rocking the leaky boat of Trump’s administration.The offer by Putin and co. to make available to America their transcripts of Potus’ conversation with the Russian ambassador and Secretary is an insult.Apparently Trump isn’t politically dumb enough to accept the offer.The appointment of a special counsel and the digging in of the FBI spell more trouble for Trump.The subpoenaing of Flynn and Mannifour puts an exclamation point on the seriousness of the whole mess to the concept of the American Presidency.
A major argument is taking place among professionals as to the ethicality of making public judgments about the psychological fitness of the Trumpeter.The Goldwater rule is cited as a gold standard no pun intended)of practice in this regard.But aside from the risk of loss of tax exempt status by professional( guild) associations,there is the reality of the U.S. being…

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The Chalice From the Palace,One More Time

The Octogenarians

The wheels are coming off.The firing of James Comey revealed how tight the Trump inside circle is and the near impossibility of getting alternative” facts” quickly enough assembled to distribute them to all those in contact with a waiting public spearheaded by a vigilant press.Potus’ physical posture during the Lesley Holt interview was one of fearful hyper vigilance reinforcing the impression that Potus was less than truthful.
How truthful are the assertions that ACA is falling apart? Republican governed states are certainly not helping with the matter of exchanges as a result of which these states have little or no competition for ACA exchange membership which,particularly in rural areas,pares profitability for participating providers.Social Security,Medicare,Medicaid have been worked on and modified over decades.Veterans Affairs have been neglected and are in disarray.Simply put systems have to evolve.There is no omniscience behind plan development.Worse yet there is evidence of deliberate sabotage to help…

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A Speculative Analysis Of Governmental Paralysis.

The Octogenarians

The repeal and replacement of AHCA (Obamacare)appears to be tied to budgetary reform insofar as money recovered therefrom may be needed to fund various measures.A five billion dollar addition ( for how long?) to cover those with pre-existing conditions for ACA( Trumpcare)is spit in the ocean.Risk sharing is the key to health care; the creation of a high risk pool that can be opted out of by individual states or by failure of USPHS to respond to a states’ objection ensures non compliance.
Russian interference in the election pales into insignificance besides the probability of outright bribery and collusion with key figures in the Trump campaign.The key person here is Mike Flynn whose hamfisted greed had to be known of by Trump,Pence and all others who had to approve of him as National Security Chief.The fiscal cornucopia afforded by Putin and his Kleptocracy not only bailed out Trump 8 to…

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The Quality of Mercy One More Time.

The Octogenarians

The fundamental issue deciding military action can never be the empathic response or lack of it on the part of a leader in a non autocracy.I do not believe that current POTUS has an empathy structured personality.The strike in my view is a pre designed action( designed by competent military advisers) utilized by Trump to get out from under the Russian puppet label and to enhance a strong man image.Russian withdrawal of the aircraft deterrent understanding increases the risk of escalation of the incident.Assaad will test us again but not for awhile.More serious is the rumor of Trump putting nuclear arms in South Korea.Potus has to have at least one time retaliatory capability,it should not be with nuclear arms.Congressional approval should be obtained(as Obama tried) beyond one response except under extraordinary circumstances only knowable by reliable intelligence sources.
We have no proxy wars going for us and no proxy armies.(some…

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Undeclared War vs Mutual Assured Destruction

The Octogenarians

Cyber-warfare is real and dangerous; just how dangerous to our system is becoming clear.Also becoming clear is the reality that major geopolitical entities are engaging in it full time.Groups like Isis and Al Qaeda apparently lack the massive computer power to engage quite so effectively. However toxins,poisonous gases ,viral and bacterial infectious agents can be obtained and can be opened in plains trains. etc and flung into reservoirs,lakes and dams relatively easily.The scenarios from TV where emergency rooms are taken over by the military and summarily organized into triage based operations are exactly what will have to happen.It is not as some have erroneously suggested that the poor who use ERs for basic health(and it is more expensive by a lot than routine care)will be targeted first,but that their occupancy of what will have to become a first line of belated defense will have to be ended.What is not sufficiently…

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“Who knew it was so complicated?”

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Repeal and replace! CBO says a 10 year 300 billion dollar saving is accompanied by 11 million person loss of health protection to be followed by 13 million more in three years.People between 50 and 61 will bear the brunt.Younger people can select catastrophic plans or none at all.Cross state enrolling will allow competition to lower drug and treatment costs.etc. It’s balderdash,companies including big pharma and health care providers know how to cooperate in fixing prices.It is really pretty simple.You lower costs by spreading risk.If you value lives and productivity you have as large a pool as possible;single payer systems( government) work best.Not possible here? Then let it be ACA but American Health Care which is voluntary and penalizes pre-existing conditions leaves w whole lot of people in deep trouble.

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Once Upon A Time The Chalice From The Palace Held The Brew That Is True.

The Octogenarians

Flynn registers as a foreign agent( working for Turkey for $530,000(per year?)and since when?Wikileaks releases key CIA tracking codes and tools,Comey gives confidential reports to congressional investigative committees which likely contradict Trumps claim of Obama targeting,lying Ryan pushes a non starter ACA replacement saying that it’s the only possibility and pushing for passage before scoring by the congressional budget committee,China approves 38 more Trump patents,Trump ban on legal and illegal immigration is objected to by three states.Want more? Just stay tuned ;even Fox news is taken aback.Sessions is now calling for investigation of the Justice Department under Obama.
There was a time when the office of the President could be relied upon for ” mostly” truth and limited personal exploitation of the office.( including sexual predation)but this Trump White House is beyond the pale( supply your own associations to walls ,antisemitism and Russia).Danny Kaye,we need you to make us laugh…

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