The Upside Of A Terminal Illness
Posted By: Magnante, 3/8/2025 7:46:10 AM
I doubt that anyone forgets the moment when a doctor tells them that they are never going to recover from the illness that brought them in and led to all those diagnostic tests. It’s terminal and it’s only a matter of time before you die. Add in the words “There’s no known cure, and we don’t even know what causes it” and the verdict seems absolute: you’re without hope. Yet my experience over the five and a half years since these words were spoken to me has not felt tragic; to the contrary, I have discovered a surprising upside to the de facto death sentence.
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The Upside Of A Terminal Illness
13 replies
I doubt that anyone forgets the moment when a doctor tells them that they are never going to recover from the illness that brought them in and led to all those diagnostic tests. It’s terminal and it’s only a matter of time before you die. Add in the words “There’s no known cure, and we don’t even know what causes it” and the verdict seems absolute: you’re without hope. Yet my experience over the five and a half years since these words were spoken to me has not felt tragic; to the contrary, I have discovered a surprising upside to the de facto death sentence.
Watching President Trump speak to both Houses of Congress, two colorful Yiddish words kept floating into my mind. (snip) each captures an aspect of the reality of that unprecedented gathering that the English language fails to convey with the same level of nuance.
As President Trump spoke, I kept thinking that he’s a real shtarker, which is often translated as “tough guy”, but which carries considerable historical context. (snip) "In Europe, studious, myopic Jews (snip) were easy pickins for their loutish, violent anti-Semitic neighbors and were often attacked and beaten. Every community had their tough guy (shtarker = strong one) who could be summoned to prevent or mitigate a beating
There must be a lot of sour stomachs among Democrats in the wake of Donald Trump’s acceptance speech Thursday night. He did what he had to do: we saw a convincing portrait of a man whose essence remains the same but who has been simultaneously (and seemingly contradictorily) both softened and tempered.
His entrance was pure Trump, glitzy and over-the-top showbizzy, with flashing lights and his name spelled out in giant illuminated letters:
Just as Hamas targeted young children, even babies, for unthinkable torture and death, pro-Hamas demonstrators in Berkeley targeted a Jewish Community Center (NOT an Israeli facility) with preschool students in class as they chanted slogans through a bullhorn and marched. Even worse, the students who walked out were reportedly accompanied by two vice principals from the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School as they intimidated the innocent toddlers, guilty solely of being Jewish.
The Democrat Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, didn’t send police onto the campus of UCLA when pro-Hamas demonstrators took over parts of it and prevented Jews from entering, just as Nazis one blocked Jewish students from the University of Vienna. A Jewish girl being beaten unconscious and hospitalized also drew no police response to the state government-owned campus. But when non-student members of the Jewish community of Los Angeles entered the campus....
Joe Biden Comes to Town
6 replies
President Biden is attending a fundraiser, hosted by Michael Douglas, Eileen Fischer, and a few other wealthy, liberal elites who live in my town. The disruption to residents’ lives and local small businesses is intrusive and appalling. (snip) Biden is here, and I’m stuck at home, not able to drive my car off my street, walk my dogs on the path that I usually do, or go into town to dine in one of the restaurants we frequent. My husband can’t get home from work. (snip) Schools in all of these towns were forced to close early, and after school activities were canceled.
Are you aware that there have been two near-catastrophes at major American airports (DC Reagan and NY JFK) where airplanes were cleared to cross runways as another airplane was taking off? (snip) The first incident took place last Thursday, April 18, at Reagan National Airport when the tower controller ordered a Southwest jet to cross a runway as a Jet Blue plane was taking off. (snip) A mere 3 days later, at JFK Airport, a Swiss Airlines jumbo jet was at the end of the runway cleared for takeoff when multiple airliners, including a Delta jumbo jet were cleared to cross the runway.
Trust is foundational in relationships, whether between individuals or between individuals and institutions. A Gallup survey from last summer found, “Americans’ faith in major societal institutions hasn’t improved over the past year following a slump in public confidence in 2022.” (snip) Doctors, hospitals, and healthcare systems used to be held in high esteem, but no more. Aren’t these the “experts” in white coats? What happened to that trust? Why do only 1 in 3 Americans trust what was once a sacred healing profession? (snip) What is interesting is the partisan divide, with Democrats far more trusting in medical instructions than Republicans.
DEI is hobbling the effectiveness large organizations throughout our economy. Nowhere is this more evident and urgent than the semiconductor chip industry (snip) Intel announced that it’s putting the brakes on its Columbus factory. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has pushed back production at its second Arizona foundry. The remaining major chipmaker, Samsung, just delayed its first Texas fab.
This is not the way companies typically respond to multi-billion-dollar subsidies. So what explains chipmakers’ apparent ingratitude? In large part, frustration with DEI requirements embedded in the CHIPS Act.
A fellow Georgia prosecutor has come forward after viewing the televised testimony in the Fani Willis disqualification hearing, alleging what amounts to witness tampering on the part of the DA in Atlanta. If the account is truthful, that would make Fani the dumbest prosecutor ever, apparently blissfully unaware that the rules apply to her, too. (snip) A new witness could testify Fani Willis warned lover Nathan Wade’s former business partner to stay quiet about their affair (snip)
“They are coming after us. You don’t need to talk to them about anything about us,” Willis is alleged to have warned Terrence Bradley in a September 2023 phone call.
Trump’s Promise -– Retribution or Revenge?
21 replies
Former President Donald Trump is cruising toward the GOP nomination. (snip) An NBC News headline last week revealed palpable fear:
Fight or flight: Fearful Trump critics weigh the risk of retribution if he’s reelected. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and family wonder if they will have to flee the country if Trump is reelected. (snip) Retribution is a form of punishment imposed by law and legally authorized.
Revenge, in contrast, is a form of personal punishment, one not sanctioned by law.
The ultimate goal of Retribution is to punish the wrongdoer or offender and ensure that justice is served to the victim and public as a whole.
The student-run daily newspaper at Harvard, the Harvard Crimson, reports that in the face of continuing discovery of plagiarism evidence in her published work, Claudine Gay has resigned (snip)Quite simply, Gay has damaged Harvard’s core mission. No, I don’t mean the education of students or the production of research. Harvard’s real business is the production and maintenance of institutional prestige. That prestige is what attracts students, faculty, donors, campus visitors and other people who bring value and further enhance prestige. And it has taken a gigantic hit.
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Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that it was “offensive” Republicans and President Donald Trump were blocking transgender students from playing in women’s sports
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REPORT: Sorority Kicks Out Women’s Sports
Advocate Payton McNabb for Filming Man
in Women’s Bathroom 15 replies
Advocate Payton McNabb for Filming Man
in Women’s Bathroom 15 replies
Payton McNabb, the woman seriously injured in high school by a transgender athlete, has been expelled from her college sorority after she spoke out about a male using the women’s bathroom at her school.
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As Catholics around the world celebrate Lent, the Vatican, under the stewardship of radical leftist Pope Francis, wants to make sure that Ramadan is at the forefront.
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Mark Carney, the former head of the UK and Canada central banks, was named Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s successor Sunday and immediately fired shots at President Trump in his victory speech.
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