Big Pharma – DNC-Consulting

Do we Understand this Principle?

The First Amendment to the US Constitution claims the following:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

What is the principle? “Prohibiting the free exercise, or abridging speech, through the use of government mandates.” The government is not supposed to be picking winners (acceptable speech) and losers (unacceptable speech). More to the point, neither shall ANY private business, non-profit, or non-governmental organizations employ force of coercion to limit speech. Yet, what do we see daily, government and business organizations stealing liberty through limiting speech.

Consider the recent actions of GoFundMe, stealing funds collected for one group and trying to disburse them to other more “accepted” charities. What was the group being stolen from; the Freedom Convey in Ottawa. Who is being stole from; small people trying to do everything they can do support an end to government mandates. Who forced GoFundMe to steal; nobody! Sure, there was political pressure by politicians, but there was no law broken. Yet, theft was planned and executed until sufficient opposing pressure was applied.

Stealing money donated is denying a voice to the donors who willingly gave money to a cause. Where else do we see speech being limited, social media; especially, LinkedIn and Facebook, with Twitter a close third and competing heavily. Daily on LinkedIn people report being put into social media jail for sharing information, making comments, and trying to learn about topics the social media companies find “objectionable,” “misinformation,” or merely not politically acceptable to the company owners.

Since we hear the term so often, what is “misinformation?” According to Webster, misinformation is any information considered incorrect. What is being labeled as misinformation most commonly, how masks are ineffective against viral diseases. Recently I read the back of a box of N95 (Chinese KN95) masks (effective filtration to filter haze and dust), the manufacturer claims the mask is not effective against viruses. But, if you share this information online, it is considered “misinformation.” Thus, either the manufacturer is providing misinformation by manufacturing masks that cannot stop a virus, or those forcing mask mandates are passing misinformation.

Misinformation continues to be “the topic” for controlling information. Why does information need controlled? Consider the vitamin industry, tons of information are available, not all of the information has been approved by government agencies and bureaucrats, but the vitamin industry continues to make money and people benefit from taking vitamins. Yet, according to the website Psychology Today quotes the Surgeon General on the following:

“Information requires processes for representing, collecting, storing, retrieving, evaluating, transforming, sending, and receiving.”

People supporting this opinion are hell bent on stealing freedom and removing freedom from other people. Information does not need a process for representation, unless someone has something to hide or a devious purpose in conveying the information. The Surgeon General report goes on to relate the following as the definition of misinformation:

“Information that is false, inaccurate, or misleading according to the best available evidence at the time.”

For example, returning to the mask mandates. The manufacturer by law, according to Federal Regulations on labeling, must report what their masks can and cannot do. Yet, if you publish the manufacturer’s label on social media, you can have your social media accounts suspended for publishing misinformation, but who decides what is and is not misinformation?

Who enforces something as “misinformation?” No one should, but too many bureaucrats think they can limit speech and no elected official is stepping up to put the bureaucrats out of the freedom limiting business. Thus, we must ask ourselves, why aren’t elected officials stepping up to protect the citizens, because they do not deserve to be elected officials. Do you think this is too tough; I do not! When the elected officials refuse to do their jobs and protect the citizen from the liberty theft from bureaucrats, then it is time for new elected officials and smaller government!

Who granted Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter authority and power as the police of misinformation? The politicians did, by default and political power, by refusing to stand up for liberty, freedom, and the US Constitution they are duty sworn to uphold, has opened the abuse of the electorate. Consider the following statement from the Surgeon General:

“I am urging all Americans to help slow the spread of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Health misinformation is a serious threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, harm people’s health, and undermine public health efforts. Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic imperative that will require a whole-of-society effort.”

Getting back to vitamins, the government makes claims, the vitamin manufacturers make claims, and the public is left the freedom and liberty to decide for themselves. Why is COVID-19 any different? Here is another pandemic, polio.

My wife, as a pre-teen (late 1940s early 1950s) contracted polio in Geneva, Ohio along with 14 or 15 classmates. My mother-in-law refused the doctor’s diagnosis claiming my wife would have to live in an iron lung and remain handicapped for the rest of her life. My mother-in-law went out, researched some treatments some Nuns in India/Asia were using to treat polio patients, and went to work convincing other parents and practicing the treatments on her sick daughter. Of the children who listened to my mother-in-law, every single one has led a productive life, did not have their leg muscles split, did not live in an iron lung, and have survived polio. One parent listened and followed the doctor’s advice, and the health policies of the county, that child had her leg muscles split, lived in an iron lung, and died early.

Polio has a significantly higher lethality rate than COVID-19 (50% vs. .01%), yet if a person does not listen and adhere to a doctor’s and bureaucrats every word as gospel for COVID, then that person is automatically considered bad, rebelling, and if they communicate online, they spread misinformation. Yet, the best doctors know they do not know everything and will admit this openly. Why should bureaucrats and scientists be given a free pass to say whatever they concoct, while everyone else is told to stop spreading misinformation? By the way, masks are ineffective against Polio as well.

Is the problem more apparent? Is the principle clear? When speech can be selected as a winner or loser using the authoritative power of the government, then those selecting what speech is allowed or not are committing an illegal action. It is 100% unconstitutional to regulate speech! Regardless of online, in person, by letter, etc. it is illegal and unethical no matter how the regulations are wrapped in empathetic language.

Review again the mandate for controlling language from the Surgeon General. Trading information on vitamins is health information and nobody is trying to restrict vitamins, but the Federal Government who wants more people to use pills from Big Pharmaceutical companies than natural remedies. Slowly but surely discussing vitamins have had to onboard more and more disclaimers, but still the discussion continues. America has reached a critical point, do we lay down our rights, liberties, and freedoms, or do we stand up and demand the government cease?

I choose to stand! Join me?

© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

COVID, Vaccines, and Fetal Cells – Do You Know the Ingredients of Your Vaccines?

Knowledge Check! By now, it should not surprise anyone that many common vaccines contain fetal cells, including those for COVID-19. In a press release, the North Dakota Department of Health makes the following claim, “… some of the COVID-19 vaccines used cells originally isolated from fetal tissue (often referred to as fetal cells), some of which were originally derived from an aborted fetus. The use of fetal cell lines is a very sensitive and important topic within some faith communities and among individuals with concerns about the ethics of using materials derived in this way.” It has been an open secret that fetal cells have been used to make or test vaccines for a long time now, and the cells were harvested in the 1960s.

Dr. McKenna (2018) writes on using aborted fetal tissues in vaccine and medical research and makes a strong case between the use of aborted fetal tissue in a research laboratory and the reimbursement practices of Planned Parenthood. Legal or illegal, moral or immoral, ethical or unethical, the actions of Planned Parenthood in selling aborted fetal tissues are personally repugnant, but I do not understand the legal jargon sufficiently to offer an informed opinion. I find the selling of aborted fetal tissues ghoulish, immoral, and disgusting. However, the science of using fetal tissues in producing and testing vaccines is understandable, and I find this practice heinous and dangerous. Apathy

Consider with me the science and draw your own conclusions, for this is the power of science. We can both observe what is occurring and draw independent conclusions based upon the data presented. We can disagree, and the science can be debated, for one thing is universal, “Science is NEVER settled!”

Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines were developed with fetal cells. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are “supposedly” not derived from fetal cells, but some reports have these companies testing the vaccine on fetal cells. Frankly, with all the money involved, I do not trust any pharmaceutical company to report the truth. They cannot be held liable for lying or endangering the health and welfare of those receiving their products. Again, draw your own conclusions. I am not here to tell you how to think; just hear me out first. The Duty of Americans

Let’s separate some fact and fiction from the marketing and hype. Here is a website typical of most “informational,” “quasi-science,” filtered data websites on vaccines and fetal cells. The website is more useful for what is not related than what is related, and that is the first problem. In reporting that fetal cells are being used, what are your first three most important questions?

My first three questions are:

Why are fetal cells used and not other types of cells?
Why use cells from such old specimens to grow the vaccines?
What about the recipient and any potential for DNA/RNA cross-over from human-to-human contamination?

If you want an excellent book on this topic, please see Meredith Wadman’s “The Vaccine Race: Science, Politics, and the Human Costs of Defeating Disease.” I am not writing to sell a book, but I do recommend this book as a means of capturing the information I cannot cover in a simple blog post. There is history, science, government politics, intrigue, and a whole lot of people who are needed to flush out even a tenth of this topic and the book does a good job of explaining these topics. Imperative to note, you do not need to be a chemist, physicist, or a multi-degreed scientist or medical doctor to read the book. If you have legitimate questions about vaccines, from the annual flu vaccine to COVID, I recommend having this book as a reference. Problems

Are there alternatives to fetal tissue available and of sufficiently low enough cost to change from 60-year old fetal tissues; yes. However, as the book The Vaccine Race makes clear, the impetus to change is missing. Herein lay the problem, Big Pharma is not going to change. Unfortunately, there are no regulatory agencies with enough power to force change on a $100 Million industry; the sale of aborted fetal tissue is that big and more. Worse, by manipulating the public through feel-good marketing websites and public disclosures that do not answer questions, Big Pharma can avoid accountability.

Using the CDC website, let’s explore some other common ingredients in today’s vaccines, and you can choose whether you want these chemicals in your body.

- Formaldehyde – Used to kill viruses and toxins that are introduced in the vaccine manufacturing process. Where do we find formaldehyde; the preservation of dead bodies in a mortuary.
- Sugar and Gelatin – Yup, you read that right, you are getting a shot of Jell-O.
- Aluminum Salts – Check out the research on what Aluminum Salts do to the neurological system. Nothing good is a vast understatement!
- Thimerosal – Also known as “Ethylmercury” or a form of alcohol mercury, but if you believe the CDC and Big Pharma, this type of mercury is in a smaller dose and is not as easily stacked up in the body, and is less likely to cause mercury poisoning. Even the CDC warns that Thimerosal is only used in Flu vaccines; you know, those vaccines you’re supposed to not worry about and get every year.
- Egg Proteins and Neomycin – Egg proteins are generally only found in Influenza (flu) vaccines and Yellow Fever vaccines. Neomycin is an antibiotic used to prevent bacterial contamination from the manufacturing process.

Vaccine As a side note, does the process of creating and manufacturing a vaccine concern you if the manufacturers need formaldehyde and neomycin due to problems prevalent in the manufacturing process? Now, consider two significant issues in America, the explosion of medicine-resistant bacteria and viral infections in hospitals and the explosion of obesity. With Jell-O in the annual flu vaccines and the neomycin, aren’t the vaccines part of the growing problem of medicine-resistant bacteria and viruses and the obesity problems?

Ingredients specific to the COVID vaccines, we find a list of chemicals, metals, sugars, and alcohols that frankly astounds and mystifies. Here is the website with the ingredients broken down that the pharmaceutical companies are willing to advertise as being inside their vaccine.

- Sucrose is in two of the vaccines.
- A couple of chemicals (polyethylene glycol/ethanol) I use to wash engines.
- Salts and cholesterol are in the vaccines.

… and the list goes on and on! Some of these ingredients are in a Twinkie. Does this mean that I can safely eat Twinkies, Zingers, and other processed foods and not gain weight or have adverse health problems? Why should people not be asking more questions about chemical reactions with other medications inside the body? Why shouldn’t we be asking more questions about long-term side effects and multi-chemical toxicity?

Bobblehead Doll I am not anti-science, anti-vaccine, anti-anything. I am pro-choice and pro-question. I want clarity, honesty, and transparency. I desire the ability to have all the information so as to make informed decisions, whether those decisions be about health, law, science, politics, etc. I do not feel this is too much to ask. Do you?

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Ineffective Governance – Chronicling the VA

I-Care In a scheme fit to fully infuriate patients and pad wallets, the VA providers prescribe medications; generally, the medication provided is a cheap knock-off, a generic mixture, or drugs with rebate incentives where the hospital providers are “encouraged” to use one drug more than another and the “higher cost” is rebated back the hospital in a profit-sharing scheme. All these schemes and more play out at your local hospital and VA facilities, so please do not think this is industry-specific to the government. However, as proved by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) reports, t improper controls and governance wastes the rebates, harms patients, and still cannot get the programs correct.

Angry Wet Chicken I have three prescriptions hindered by the pharmacy practices of the VA, where the knock-off drug is useless, the mixture of the medication does not do as well as the original medicines prescribed, and where the cost of an ingredient has changed one medication to another and made the prescription less effective to the point where more medication is required for less overall effectiveness. If the patient has to take more medication, does that mean that the cost savings never happened or that the cost savings were pushed down to the customer? Does the patient even have a voice in the pharmaceutical decisions? Why?

We begin the VA-OIG reports with a New Jersey man, who from 2017 thru 2020 stole more than $8.2 million in HIV medication from the VA. Where were the supervisors when procurement officers for the VA over-ordered medication, stole the excess, sold the stolen goods, and pocketed the profits? Where were the oversight accountants? Where were the hospital directors? People had to know, yet somehow the scheme could exist and thrive; this is as much a failure of leadership as it is ineffective governance, poor inventory control, and useless organizational controls. Truly a pathetic example of VA leadership! VA 3

On the topic of ineffective governance of pharmaceutical contracts, and diversions of drugs, the VA-OIG report the following:

“The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) spent about $6.6 billion on prescription drugs in fiscal year (FY) 2019. Most were dispensed to veterans by medical facility pharmacies. VHA pharmacies can return drugs that become damaged or expire before use through a reverse distributor for credit or destruction. In FY 2019, VHA expected to receive about $52 million from drug returns. The VA-OIG found VHA pharmacy chiefs did not effectively implement the program and did not follow requirements in VA’s contract with the reverse distributor, Pharma Logistics. These issues increased the risk of drug diversion and ultimately put about $18.1 million at risk. Pharmacy chiefs did not always secure, and track drugs held for return or complete required analyses to maximize returns. They also failed to meet contract requirements to return for credit-only drugs due to expire within 120 days. VA’s National Contract Service and network contracting officers needed to do more to ensure contract terms were met. The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Services and the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management did not effectively govern the program or communicate requirements to medical facilities” [emphasis mine].

VA 3 Someone help me out, for I cannot understand how incompetence can be designed into these systems, policies, procedures, and responsible parties retain their positions of power. What happened in 2018, 2017, 2016, and earlier? We have a single fiscal year (FY) snapshot at a program that is an absolute failure. By any measurable standard, that should have ignited a full audit of previous years until finding a successful year when the program worked. Will there be a follow-up to this investigation to see if the VA-OIG’s recommendations are followed and implemented? The VA-OIG has the leadership caught dead to rights on ineffective governance of a program worth $6.6 Billion to the American Taxpayer, and no accountability or responsibility of personnel is to be found anywhere. Why?

Plato 2 In a separate investigation, the VA-OIG found:

“In October 2020, VA ended its contract with Pharma Logistics. The vendor continues to process and issue final invoices to facilities as the returned drugs become eligible for and receive manufacturer credit. The final invoice process will continue until at least April 2022. VHA medical facility pharmacies lost at least an estimated $2.1 million worth of drug return credits because pharmacy chiefs did not always effectively monitor or review job settlement statements before Pharma Logistics issued final invoices. In addition, although the vendor established a dashboard that provided information on the status of drug return credits at the facility level, it cannot provide a national report on all outstanding credits. This hurt VHA’s ability to maximize potential drug return credits and minimize the risk of lost credits. VHA will continue to be unable to ensure it is receiving all credits for drugs returned by medical facilities if pharmacy chiefs do not routinely monitor preliminary invoices, reconcile job settlement statements to identify outstanding credits, and request extensions to final invoices to allow additional time for credit processing. This risk will persist for any future drug return contract(s)—whether awarded nationally or locally—if the reimbursement structure remains the same” [emphasis mine]. VA 3

Did you catch that; the vendor created software to help track medications, making it easier to return medicines, and the VA pharmacy chiefs could not follow the dashboard and increased the risk of losing money for the VHA. You were hired to perform a job; a collateral duty of your job is inventory management, tools are provided and supported to aid you in making decisions, and you refuse to use these tools. How is this the vendor’s fault? Why do you still retain your position? Ineffective governance is barely the tip of the VA’s problematic iceberg created the good ship America has hit!

Liars, Thieves, and Fraud Artists Beware

Gavel A Norwood, Massachusetts woman has been indicted, remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, by a jury of her peers, for stealing social security and workman’s compensation benefits. The Norwood woman’s actions are continuing to support the claim that complexity breeds criminal abuse. Unfortunately, also proving that the government is not doing their jobs in checking tax records before providing benefits.

A man from Georgia has pled guilty to running a Ponzi scheme and defraud the American government during the COVID pandemic. Frankly, I am thrilled to see another fraudster being stopped before his crimes become astronomical in scale. I remain convinced that the government procurement system is wide open to abuse, and the complexity of the procurement system is too costly, cumbersome, and risk inviting. The criminals see too much opportunity in the government procurement system, and the complexity breeds the ability to lie, steal, cheat the American taxpayer.

Question The following remains a case where there are too many lawyers and not enough truth to ascertain what in the world is going on. If you have further insight, please weigh in. “Sunrhys LLC, a landlord and property management company, headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, agreed to pay $16,618 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by overcharging a tenant and by fraudulently obtaining federal funds from a federal program designed to provide housing to homeless Veterans. The United States alleged that Sunrhys violated the agreement and the HUD-VA Support Housing program requirements by fraudulently overcharging a veteran for monthly rent between July 2019 and April 2020.”

Highlights, Audits, and Inspections

July 2021 – Highlights:

“Each month, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) publishes highlights of our investigative work, congressional testimony, and oversight reports. Each month’s highlights are meant to provide a brief overview of the most significant OIG work conducted in that period.”

blue-money-burning The VA-OIG conducted a financial efficiency review of the Miami VAHCS. From the findings, the VHA, VBA, National Cemeteries, specifically, and the VA generally, could learn much about fiscal responsibility. But this was already well documented! The VA has never successfully passed an audit with transparency, accountability, and responsibility; why am I the only person demanding to know why? Want to laugh; the VA-OIG recommends “more scrutiny” for financial transactions to the VA as a recommendation. Like the current system for scrutiny is working, and just a bit more effort will help. Go ahead and read the report for more specifics; my stomach cannot handle writing about the gross inefficiencies, the actual harm, and out-of-control governance failures. Fiscal insanity is one thing; what is occurring at the Miami VAHCS is beyond insane and bordering on the unbelievable! Almost the beginning of the Twilight Zone.

Survived the VA The Sheridan VAMC in Wyoming continues to be performing well and deserves hearty congratulations for the results of their latest comprehensive healthcare inspection. I prefer to issue congratulations than butt-kickings, and the congratulations are well deserved. Keep up the good work moving forward.

© 2021 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain; this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.

Weep America! – The VA Leadership is Becoming Worse! – Part 2

Angry Wet Chicken One of the first rules in overseeing junior people working is to make available someone to answer questions, immediately, and render support if needed. I have had the pleasure of training junior people in a myriad of tasks over the years. When I read this Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) report, a plethora of questions arise, and I deeply question the professionalism and competence of the doctor overseeing the work of residents in a VA Hospital who are performing procedures.

Ophthalmology Resident Supervision – Important to note, the patient did not experience any long-term loss of sight over this issue. Congratulations to the resident and the other ophthalmology doctors present! From the VA-OIG report we find the following:

“… The subject ophthalmologist failed to provide adequate resident supervision and entered inaccurate documentation related to supervision for a single patient case.” Essentially, the doctor charged with overseeing residents was AWOL, and then compounded his error by falsifying patient records. The VA-OIG report continues by claiming this falsification was the result of an oversight when using pre-recorded notes for patient files.

Draw your own conclusions. Personally, I think this doctor needs to be released of all duties where overseeing residents is concerned. I would also question his ethics and morals for falsifying patient records. You hold a double position of trust, first as a doctor, second as a teacher and leader of residents, and the behavior witnessed should come with steep repercussions professionally! VA 3

Knowledge Check! On the topic of professional duties, and steep repercussions, drug interactions killed a veteran at the Marion VAMC in Illinois. Before launching into the VA-OIG’s report, please allow me a moment of your attention. Drug interactions can arise due to vitamin usage, over-the-counter medications, and from illegal and legal but illicit drug use. Often, I have claimed that people are walking chemistry experiments, and even vaccines need to be carefully evaluated for drug interaction potential. Foods can cause drug interactions due to the chemicals in the food. Drug interactions are a growing problem and every medical professional I have spoken to admits drug interactions are becoming worse by the day. I do not say this lightly, but I do not hold the medical professionals as fully competent in fighting the drug interaction problem due to the amount of chemicals the average person interacts with daily. The problem is Big-Parma and the continual push towards more specialized medicines, we are going to see more drug interaction issues. Unfortunately, drug interaction issues come with the risk of death!

From the VA-OIG report we find the following:

“The VA-OIG substantiated that high cholesterol contributed to the patient’s death; however, the death certificate indicated that the primary cause of death was accidental acute multi-drug intoxication. The psychiatrist and staff failed to document providing the patient with education during a telephone encounter regarding potential side effects or adverse drug-drug interactions of medication changes. Contrary to clinical guidance, the psychiatrist prescribed long-term benzodiazepine use for a patient diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. The psychiatrist also failed to address the patient’s two negative urine drug screens for a prescribed medication and failed to address a positive urine drug screen for cannabis. Due to COVID-19, the facility failed to launch the Psychotropic Drug Safety Initiative Phase Four Plan. The primary care provider did not comply with facility policy by failing to enter a return-to-clinic order following an appointment but could not determine if this affected the patient. Primary care and behavioral health staff did not comply with facility policy to telephone the patient or send a letter after the patient missed appointments” [emphasis mine].

The lack of staff to follow procedures and do their job, I will certainly hold them accountable for, especially since Cannabis is involved! Please do not believe that Cannabis is a non-toxic drug, especially when mixed with other drugs, it can be the fatal trigger in a multi-drug intoxication! VA 3

At 18, low those many years ago, I took the EMT-Basic class, but left for US Army Basic Training before I could certify. Since then, I have received certification as a combat medic and a Journeyman Firefighter (Any industry) which required a lot of hours studying emergency medicine. I am experienced in drawing blood, starting IVs in difficult circumstances, and handling a myriad of injuries. I am not a medical professional by any stretch of the imagination, I simply have a healthy desire to learn, and emergency medicine is a fascinating topic I regularly pursue. I am not a chemist; I rely upon peer reviewed resources and legal and medical websites to stay current on a host of topics. With this as my qualifier I am going to make several statements and you can judge their merit. Feel free to comment.

1. 1. The first rule of medicine is document everything! My first lesson, first day of EMT training, this point was driven home. If you do not write it down, it never happened! Yet, what does the VA-OIG find time after time in reviewing cases at the VHA, lack of documentation of steps taken! Can you say, “Asinine and abysmal behavior by credentialed professionals?” I know I can!
  2. Aspirin and Alcohol can cause a drug interaction that can be deadly. Both chemicals are readily available in the home and over the counter. Why is spray paint now requiring proper ID, because people are huffing the stuff and getting a multi-drug intoxication. Oven cleaner and spray pain can cause serious breathing issues and when mixed together can cause a cheap high, as well as a multi-chemical intoxication leading to breathing paralysis and death!
  3. Cannabis continues to be modified, changed, enhanced, and designed to trigger different chemical reactions in the body. Continuing work that began in earnest in the 1960s for the pot-smokers who wanted a more serious high. Guess what, cannabis and aspirin along with vitamins can cause multi-drug intoxication problems leading to death!
  4. Vitamin D and Vitamin C have both caused serious drug intoxications during COVID-19. People became frightened and took too many of both or just one and wound up in the ER with life-threatening health problems from toxicity of these vitamins. India has reported a spike in black mould that has caused serious long-term health problems for diabetics after recovering from COVID. It is currently presumed that the chemicals used to fight COVID allowed for a natural mould to grow in the body, and that became life-threatening.

The VA-OIG conducted another virtual comprehensive healthcare inspection, and found the same problems continue at another VAMC. Do you know how tired I am of reading these “comprehensive inspection” results and finding the same problems time after time? When will the VA actually start enforcing some of these VA-OIG recommendations to effect change? Better, when will the politicians who are charged with scrutinizing the government tire of seeing the same recommendations and not seeing any change? Bloody frustrating reading these reports and not seeing improvement! VA 3

Broken Robot Finally, we come to what I was hoping to be a great report, where the politician’s heads were going to explode at the inefficiencies, the detestable behavior, and the horrendous responses to legally mandated IT infrastructure changes, and why those changes are not happening at the VA. I was not disappointed; I was thoroughly disgusted that his report fell on plastic ears speaking plastic words from wax lips! Statement of Michael Bowman, Office of Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs, Director of IT and Security Audits Division, Before the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Hearing on Cybersecurity and Risk Management at VA: Addressing Ongoing Challenges and Moving Forward May 20, 2021. Notice something, the failures at the VA in the IT Department are being called “ongoing challenges.”

Millstone of Designed Incompetence Let me remind you, FISMA was released on 29 April 2021, and I wrote about the abysmal findings of the VA-OIG. This report is the accountability statement to the Congressional representatives who should have skewered this bureaucrat and roasted him on a spit with onions and peppers, then served him up for public ridicule after firing him! For the Director of IT and Security Audits Division to make the following statement is flat out beyond comprehension, “The OIG’s conclusions in the FY 2020 FISMA audit are not new or revelatory—rather, they repeat many of the same concerns with VA’s IT security that the OIG has found for many years.” What incredible chutzpah to make this comment after that scathing report showed just how deplorable the leadership of the IT and Security Audits Division revealed! Director Bowman then goes on to downplay the band-aid solutions implemented while decrying the time for improvement is too short and there is not enough money. Do not forget, “Of the 26 recommendations, 21 have been included in every FISMA audit dating back to at least 2017.” With at least 15 of these recommendations dating back even further. Want a full list, as well as how old these recommendations are; you will not find it in the Director’s report to Congress! Is anybody incensed enough to demand a full accounting of just how old these IT recommendations are?

Detective 4 The gall of this director to continue to blame legacy systems that were legislated to have been scrapped between 2000 and 2010 continues to highlight the incompetence of the director in conducting business and holding people accountable for failed projects and overspending of taxpayer monies! The director went further and stated the following, at which time, every single Congressional Representative should have stood and demanded his head. The “VA does not properly manage and secure their IT investments.” Tell me director, why should you remain employed if the VA does not properly manage and secure their IT investments? Is the failure to manage and secure IT investments the root cause for veterans to continue to suffer identity theft from the VA losing their identity?

The director’s next statement puts his other outrageous comments to sleep. “Security failures also undermine the trust veterans put in VA to protect their sensitive information and can affect their engagement with programs and services” [emphasis mine]. Talk about such an obvious statement, it’s like the sun coming up on a cloudy day, you just cannot miss that sun rise; you also cannot miss the absurdity of making this statement! Did some intern write his speech? You are the director of IT Security and you make this type of comment, did you make this comment with a straight face? I cannot find the video-record of this Congressional hearing so I can only guess he delivered his lines with a straight face! Most detestable of all, he continued to make outrageous comments, his plan to move the IT security program at the VA forward is weak, lacking firm deadlines, and continues to allow him and his staff to escape accountability and responsibility. VA 3

Angry Grizzly Bear America, with these bureaucrats in charge, why shouldn’t we be weeping and wailing, and gnashing our teeth in frustration? When will we, the owners of this atrocious government, finally scream ENOUGH and demand a full change of heads at the ballot box? For until the elected representatives are forced out, the bureaucrats abusing us, will only continue! The VA is sick, but the problem lies in the bureaucrats, administrators, and directors leading the VA at the Federal and VISN levels. So many other government agencies are just as sick, or worse, and the same problem arises, the leadership refuses to act, but still expects a big titanium parachute when they leave office! I say it is time to tell them NO!

NO MORE BS: Hypocrites, Liars, and Thieves Edition

The pattern left to the reader in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of foremost importance to what we are witnessing in democratically governed societies the world over. If ever a time was presented when the people need to know and then act, that time is now. I intend to start the conversation on liars, thieves, and hypocrites with clarity, example and offer for your consideration patterns that spot the deceit. Once deceit is spotted, it is as glaring as a bloodstain on a white satin dress. You cannot look past that mark!

What is a Hypocrite?

Hypocrites are those who wear masks of decency and outward morality, but live lives of deception, believing that, like Dr. Jekyll, they can live a double life and never be discovered. From James’s New Testament writings, we find that “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). According to Webster, a hypocrite is one who practices hypocrisy. According to Webster, those who practice hypocrisy are living, “the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.” To Nathaniel Hawthorne goes the last word on hypocrites, “No man (person) for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”

What is a Liar?

According to Webster, a liar is a person who tells lies. Lying is defined by Webster as, “an intentionally false statement.” Is the distinction clear; the liar knows the truth and intentionally misleads the audience, always for personal gain. From William Shenstone, we find an eternal truth, “A liar begins with making falsehoods appear like truth, and ends with making truth itself appear like a falsehood.” The pattern detailed by William Shenstone is precise and speaks to one of the most deceitful practices of all, making truth appear as a falsehood to sell a bunch of lies. As a kid, I was often told that the devil will tell you one truth to help you believe a thousand lies.

What is a thief?

According to Webster, a thief is “a person who steals, especially secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.” During my undergraduate degree program, another student would regularly plagiarize my weekly posts as their own work, then had the temerity to try and claim I was plagiarizing them. I had a habit of posting the weekly posts the first day of the new week, the timestamps on my posts proved my work was mine, and the student eventually disappeared from my cohort. Plagiarism is a fancy word for intellectual property theft. Plagiarism used to get politicians kicked out of politics, except the current Commander in Chief is a well-known plagiarizer. He is being honored with keeping his job and getting promoted beyond his maximum level of incompetence. The fraudulent president, Biden’s first act in office, was to plagiarize President Trump on COVID response, vaccine response and belittled President Trump for doing the right thing.

Why is this important?

The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde speaks volumes on issues being combatted right now. Dr. Jekyll had conquered himself; his person was morally upright, had integrity, and had a worthy reputation. But, then drugs came along, and the drugs made Mr. Hyde, who was evil incarnate. Eventually, the drugs would no longer bring back Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde conquered, and Dr. Jekyll was destroyed.

All my life, I have been told, “Honorable people do not get into politics, and politicians never work at honest labor.” Yet, I cannot help but ask, “Why are people who lie, thieve, and practice hypocrisy allowed to represent anyone?” It was 1987-1988, while watching the presidential race get whittled down to Bush I and Dukakis, I heard Jesse Jackson and Al Gore one night talking, and thought I would not invite these people into my home, why are they allowed to run for president? Over time this thought has returned, in one election between two particularly vile election choices (Obama and Romney) I was told to “Hold my nose, lift my skirts, and vote for Romney as the ‘lesser of two evils.” I am happy to report, I voted for Donald Duck!

I will not give my permission to represent me, e.g., my vote, to someone I would never invite into my home as a guest. I have had to learn to research candidates, research issues, use critical thinking, and even then, make mistakes. Yet, I know that when we, the electorate, stand together and refuse the thieves, liars, and hypocrites a political office, we are better as a nation, a state, a county, a city, and a community.

Examples:

New York City Mayor De Blasio ordered COVID, infected patients, into long-term care facilities (nursing homes). The numbers are finally coming to light that 13,197 additional COVID patients were created, where 4080 died! The mayor has refused responsibility for these deaths, pain, suffering, and increased medical costs. The mayor of New York City has consistently lied throughout the COVID/Government Panic; people have died, resources wasted, and the person most responsible refuses accountability. Thus showing Mayor De Blasio is a liar, a thief, and a hypocrite!

Big Tech, for several years now, has been actively engaged in intentionally misleading consumers. When Facebook’s thought police remove data that asks honest questions as misleading, the consumer is being lied to. When LinkedIn edits posts arbitrarily and refuses First Amendment rights to everyone, all consumers using LinkedIn are being stolen from, lied to, and LinkedIn proves it is a hypocrite. Due to political leanings, Twitter illegally suppressing First Amendment rights to President Trump over a trumped-up charge is lying, stealing, and acting as a hypocrite!

November 2009, the Climate Research Unit became “Climategate,” ripped the scab off the festering wounds called Climate Change. The emails released showed how statistics were employed to lie, cheat, steal, and then the hypocritical scientists claimed that their lies were truth. Except, a lie cannot be a truth, and making a truth appear as a lie, does not change the lie into a truth. By gaming the peer-review process, climate science lies have been peddled, and politicians have gotten rich off climate lies and climate lawfare. I am not claiming that humans could not be better stewards of resources. I am arguing that draconian government mandates are never the answer to changing behaviors of individuals.

The hinge upon which the lies, thieves, and hypocrites will eventually hang.

How does a person tell a liar from a truth-teller; the person’s intent. How do you know a person’s intent; observe them. Are their actions producing good results, or are they producing poisoned fruit and hurting others? Intent is a legal term, and the following is essential as we observe for consequences of actions, words, and results.

What are the 3 types of intent?

The three common-law intents ranked in order of culpability are malice aforethought, specific intent, and general intent. Malice aforethought is a special common-law intent designated for only one crime: murder. The definition of malice aforethought is “intent to kill.” Specific intent is the intent to bring about a particular result, do something other than the criminal act. General intent is simply the intent to perform the criminal action.

Consider the following, Bill Engvall tells a story of his little toddler boy walking over to the sleeping cat and kicking the cat. When questioned, the little boy claims, “It was an accident.” Yet, the keen observer watched him walk across the room and intentionally kick the cat. Last summer, Speaker Pelosi (D) deliberately refused, for political gain, to collaborate with other lawmakers and pass COVID Relief legislation. Essentially refusing to perform her most basic job as a Congressional Representative. Speaker Paul Ryan (R) intentionally refused to pass a budget, and the government was shutdown. Intentions are the actions we take, regardless of our words, that prove where our priorities are and how we think about our jobs.

Consider the following headline from NPR, “After Record 2020 Turnout, State Republicans Weigh Making it Harder to Vote.” The title itself is misleading, the article is very biased, and voting problems go deeper than the fraud and misfeasance witnessed in November 2020. The 2020 primaries were a disaster! The 2018 election cycle was a farrago. The 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000 elections cycles have steadily worsened in fraud, idiocy in counting, technological blunders, and intentional theft of elections. Hence, NPR’s intent is to employ smoke screens and mirrors to obfuscate and denigrate, lie, cheat, steal, and be hypocrites of the fact that the only people who receive help from poorly performed election processes are Democrats! As a media channel, NPR’s job is to keep people confused so the charade of elections can continue. They are proving intent to harm and be hypocritical.

How does a person fight back?

Learn the candidates, look past the makeup, the façade, and the media representations.
Ask tougher questions. In order to learn, we must ask questions and never be satisfied with answers.
When we teach others, we learn more perfectly. As we learn more perfectly, we are inspired to teach more.
- Who do we teach, ourselves, our families, discussions with friends, and writing down your thoughts on a blog are all good and useful methods for teaching, to power better learning.
Start locally, clean up local politics first. Thus, get involved with the city council, the mayor, the county board, the school board. Demand to be heard.
Support good people around you, support the efforts to learn, support your neighbors as they begin to explore that which is familiar to you.
Stop allowing the media and politicians to separate, classify, divide, and name. I am an American! That title is sufficient!

American – A(h) Me I Can!

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