Great Ideas
Health
Alzheimers and Medicine’s Approach to Disease
Dr Robert Lustig and Dr Dale Bredesen discuss their experiences and findings.
Takeaways:
- Alzheimers can be reversed. Not a disease, a syndrome.
Genetic component: APOE e4 allele (most common)
Amyloid PET scan will reveal amyloid plaques collecting in the brain. Tau proteins malfunction and stick together to form neurofibrillary tangles. These tangles are associated with the abnormal brain functions seen in Alzheimer’s disease. According to Bredesen, the amyloid buildup is a response to various metabolic and other toxins[a], including micotoxins (including molds in homes).
Typical treatment: amyloid drug trial. Can make matters worse.
The disease process must be evaluated on multiple bases: biologically, toxicologically, genetically, etc. No one answer will resolve the issue… and it’s different for each individual.
- Four basic causes for this neurological degenerative process
Anything that causes ongoing inflammation (pathogens / leaky gut / poor oral microbiome)
Anything thst is toxic (organic or inorganic toxins)
Energetics (must support the brain, including oxygenation, mitochondrial function, ketones)
Trophic support (regenerative growth: exercise, B vitamins)
- Eight subcellular pathologies contributing to chronic disease
glycation
oxidative stress (reactive oxygen species)
mitochondrial dysfunction
insulin resistance
membrane instability
inflammation
methylation
autophagy
- Insulin resistance is top of that list, contributes to all four pathogical processes in Alzheimers
inflammation due to non-enzymatic glycation of protein
insulin resistance-related toxicity
trophic processes (brain cell regeneration) requires insulin: neurons need insulin as a growth factor, pathology which goes from synapto-plastic state (making new neurons) to a synapto-clastic state (protective signalling driving amyloid-precursor proteins, which is part of the protective mechanism / innate immune response)
Alzheimers is a neurological degenerative disease that is a deficiency disease borne of excess
Also:
Food and Spices
Add Garlic Last
If you enjoy trying new dishes with bold, delicious flavors, you might have noticed a pattern: recipes rarely tell you to toss garlic in a dish first. But why is that?
Garlic is almost always added after you’ve begun cooking other aromatics, like celery and carrots, to prevent it from overcooking or burning.
Those who have cooked with minced garlic before are likely well aware that it burns incredibly fast. Unlike onions, which get a delicious caramelization effect as they cook, overcooked garlic is acrid and not the most savory flavor. Adding garlic after you sauté other ingredients can help prevent that burnt flavor from invading your recipe.
Unlike onions and other aromatics, garlic has less water content which is why it’s so prone to burn. When you start your dish with an ingredient like onions, they release water into the pan. By creating that layer in the pan and then adding garlic, you’ll help prevent burning.
Worried about if cooking your garlic later will mean less garlic flavor? Don’t be. In a test done by Serious Eats, garlic was added to a pan at the same time as onions in one dish, and in another dish, the onions were sauteed first with garlic added second. Turns out, adding garlic to a recipe later actually results in more garlic flavor, not less.
The next time you’re tempted to add your garlic first because you think it’ll boost flavor, think again.
Seasonings - HelloFresh
All American Spice Blend:
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley
.5 tsp black pepper
.5 tsp dried mustard
.5 tsp red pepper flakes
.25 tsp ground allspice
.125 tsp ground cloves
Berbere Spice Blend:
3 part paprika
1 part cayenne
.5 part ground coriander
.25 part ground ginger
.125 part ground cardamom
.125 part ground fenugreek
Bold and Savory Steak Spice Blend:
1 part red chili flake
1 part crushed coriander seed
2 parts crushed dill seed
3 parts crushed mustard seed
4 parts dried minced garlic
4 parts crushed black pepper
Blackening Spice Blend:
3 tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp white pepper
.5 tsp black pepper
.25 tsp thyme
.25 tsp oregano
.125 tsp low heat cayenne
Burger Spice Blend:
1 Tbsp paprika
1.25 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
.5 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp brown sugar
.5 tsp onion powder
.25 tsp cayenne
Cajun Spice Blend:
2 part paprika
2 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1 part dried oregano
1 part dried thyme
.5 part dried basil
.5 part cayenne
Enchilada Spice Blend:
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. light brown sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
1.5 tsp. onion powder
1.5 tsp. garlic powder
1.5 tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. black pepper
.25 to .5 tsp. cayenne pepper
Fajita Spice Blend:
1 part Salt
1 part Pepper
1 part Onion Powder
1 part Garlic Powder
1 part Paprika
Fajita Spice Blend (Alternative):
4 parts paprika
1 part onion powder
1 part garlic powder
1 part chili powder
1 part cumin
1 part oregano
Fall Spice Blend:
3 parts dried thyme
3 parts ground sage
2 parts garlic powder
1 part onion powder
Fry Seasoning:
1 part garlic powder
1 part onion powder
1 part paprika
Herbes de Provence Blend:
1 part savory
1 part thyme
1 part rosemary
1 part basil
1 part tarragon
1 part lavender flowers
Indian Spice Mix:
Gr. Coriander
Gr. Cumin
Gr. Mustard
Gara Masala
Tumeric
salt
pepper
Italian Seasoning Blend:
1 part garlic powder
1 part oregano
1 part basil
1 part black pepper
1 part parsley
Meatloaf Seasoning:
2 parts onion powder
2 parts garlic powder
Mediterranean Spice Blend:
2 parts dried oregano
1 part dried mint
1 part sumac
1 part ground coriander
Mexican Spice Blend:
2 parts chili powder
1 part oregano
1 part smoked paprika
1 part cumin
Moo Shu Spice Blend:
1 part ground ginger
1 part garlic powder
Nan’s Seasoning (aka Grandma’s Seasoning):
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Sugar (tip: use coconut sugar)
0.5 tsp Sea salt
0.5 tsp Garlic powder (not salt)
0.5 tsp Onion powder (not salt)
0.5 tsp Black pepper or 0.25 tsp black pepper + 0.25 tsp turmeric
Shawarma Spice Blend:
2 part tumeric
2 part cumin
1 part dried coriander
1 part garlic powder
1 part paprika
.5 part ground allspice
.5 part black pepper
Southwest Spice Blend:
4 part garlic powder
2 part cumin
2 part chili powder
Smoky BBQ Seasoning:
8 parts smoked paprika
6 parts granulated sugar
2 parts garlic powder
1 part dry mustard
1 part ground cumin
1 part ground ginger
.5 part black pepper
Smoky Cinnamon Paprika Spice Blend:
1 part ground cloves
8 parts onion powder
8 parts ground cinnamon
6 parts smoked paprika
16 parts mustard powder
24 parts sweet paprika
24 parts white granulated sugar
Steak Spice Blend:
1 part red chili flakes
1 part crushed coriander seed
2 parts crushed dill seed
3 parts crushed mustard seed
4 parts dried minced garlic
4 parts crushed black pepper
3 parts kosher salt
Sweet Smoky BBQ Spice Blend:
8 parts smoked paprika
6 parts sugar
2 parts garlic powder
.5 part black pepper
1 part dry mustard
1 part cumin
1 part ground ginger
Thai Seven Spice Blend:
2.5 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp onion powder
.5 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp shrimp extract powder
.25 tsp cinnamon
.125 tsp low heat cayenne
Tunisian Spice Blend:
4 parts ground caraway seed
4 parts ground coriander
4 parts smoked paprika
4 parts turmeric
4 parts chili powder
4 parts garlic powder
1 part cayenne pepper [7.5 k (hu)]
1 part cinnamon
1 part ground black pepper
Turkish Spice Blend:
2 part cumin
2 part garlic powder
1 part ground coriander
.25 part ground allspice
.25 part chili flakes
Tuscan Heat Spice Blend:
4 parts dried basil
2 parts dried rosemary
2 parts dried oregano
2 parts garlic powder
1 part cayenne pepper [7.5 k (hu)]
1 part ground fennel
Home Improvements
Blue-ing: Rust Replacement
From the SawmillCreek.org Forum:
The black or gray residue is a very nice thing to have. It is a form of iron oxide, or rust. It is however different from red rust as it does not expand cracks and promote further rust. It does however, and here is the big thing, add a bit of resistance to rust. It makes a somewhat self-healing layer of protection. The only reason you would not want that coating is if you have a cosmetic need for shiny.
You may have seen this greyish flat finish on an old kitchen knife. It is a classic old time method of steel protection.
US Citizenship Stuff
Rescinding your US citizenship.
Advice About Possible Loss of U.S. Nationality and Seeking Public Office in a Foreign State A U.S. national’s employment, after attaining the age of 18, with the government of a foreign country or a political subdivision thereof is a potentially expatriating act pursuant to Section 349(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act if the individual is a citizen of that foreign country or takes an oath of allegiance to that country in connection with such employment. Such employment, however, will result in one’s expatriation only if done voluntarily with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship. Running for foreign office, even foreign head of state, is not a potentially expatriating act; only accepting, serving in, or performing the duties of a foreign office are potentially expatriating as described above.
The Department has adopted an administrative presumption that U.S. nationals intend to retain their U.S. citizenship when they naturalize as nationals of a foreign state, declare their allegiance to a foreign state, or accept non-policy level employment with a foreign government. See 22 CFR 50.40(a); see also 7 FAM 1200 (additionally applying the presumption to serving as an officer in the military forces of a foreign state not engaged in hostilities against the United States). Questions concerning whether a foreign government position is a policy level position should be referred to the Office of Legal Affairs for Overseas Citizens Services.
U.S. nationals employed in non-policy level positions with foreign governments are not required to take any action to retain their U.S. nationality if they wish to retain it because the Department presumes that U.S. nationals employed in such positions do not have the requisite intent to relinquish their U.S. nationality. An individual who is employed in a non-policy level position will only lose his/her U.S. nationality if he or she establishes clearly and credibly, by a preponderance of the evidence, an intent to relinquish U.S. nationality upon assuming or serving in such foreign government employment.
In cases where U.S. nationals are employed in policy-level positions, the Department of State will seek to ascertain the individual’s intent to retain or relinquish his or her U.S. nationality upon accepting the policy level position with a foreign government. An individual assuming such a position who wishes to retain U.S. nationality should state clearly to the Department or post that he or she intended to retain U.S. nationality. An individual assuming such a position who wishes to relinquish U.S. nationality may come to Post and follow the required steps to complete the Certificate of Loss of Nationality application process.
Cases involving service of a U.S. national as a foreign head of state, head of government, or foreign minister raise complex questions of international law and are reviewed by the Department on a case by case basis. Serving as a foreign head of state/government or foreign minister may affect the level of immunity from U.S. jurisdiction that a dual national may be afforded. All such cases should be referred to the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Consular Affairs.
Thoughts
America is the Greatest…
Why America Sucks at Everything:
Gun Control in Oz
Here’s why this is effective… the statistics bear it out.
Is This An Ideal Morality
Looking at those Republican moralisers with a bit of irony. Je ne suis pas qualifié pour soigner les fous.
Ha! MTG
Dear Ms. Taylor Greene:
We write you on behalf of our client, Andre Young p/k/a Dr. Dre, composer and performer of the hit song ‘Still D.R.E.’ You are wrongfully exploiting this work through the various social media outlets to promote your divisive and hateful political agenda.
Andre Young is the owner of the copyright in ‘Still D.R.E.,’ with the exclusive right to exploit same. Mr. Young has not, and will never, grant you permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music. The use of ‘Still D.R.E.’ without permission constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 14 U.S.C. § 501.
One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country. It’s possible, though, that laws governing intellectual property are a little too arcane and insufficiently populist for you to really have spent much time on. We’re writing because we think an actual lawmaker should be making laws not breaking laws, especially those embodied in the constitution by the founding fathers.
The United States Copyright Act says a lot of things, but one of the things it says is that you can’t use someone else’s song for your political campaign promotions unless you get permission from the owner of the copyright in the song, a step you failed to take.
Demand is hereby made that you cease and desist from any further unauthorized use of Andre Young’s music.
This letter shall constitute formal notice to you of the matters set forth herein. Accordingly, please provide me with written confirmation that you have complied with these demands before January 11, 2023 by 5:00 pm EST.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed an admission of any fact of a waiver of any rights.
Adding Notes
Physio complaint detail form (Redland Bay Physio):
Lower back pain, radiating into the gluteus and lateral left calf almost at the ankle. I've had persistent pain in L4-5 region radiating L5 left side for the past two weeks when lying in bed or standing, less when walking and relieved by sitting. CT-scan on Friday revealed minor upper lumbar scoliosis convex right leading to disc space narrowing right side L3-4 and particularly L4-5, with mild degenerative anterolisthesis of L5 on S1. Dr Budge concluded the lower back pain may relate to severe facet arthropathy at L4-5 and L5-S1, with potential impingement of the L5 nerve root at the subarticular recess by a left central disc extrusion L4-5. I'll bring in the full report tomorrow for your perusal.
The injury is likely an old one, as the symptoms are not unfamiliar, incurred during my 40-odd years of nursing. My recent works around the house, which involved shoveling rocky, wet dirt, pushing a heavy wheelbarrow and lifting heavy timber served to cause a flareup of the symptoms, which have not subsided despite cessation of those activities.
Trump’s Plans for a Coup Are Now Public
Some of the plots to overturn the election happened in secret. But don’t forget the ones that unfolded in the open.
By Adam Serwer
From The Atlantic.
Last year, John Eastman, whom CNN describes as an attorney working with Donald Trump’s legal team, wrote a preposterous memo outlining how then–Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the 2020 election by fiat or, failing that, throw the election to the House of Representatives, where Republicans could install Trump in office despite his loss to Joe Biden. The document, which was first reported by the Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in their new book, is a step-by-step plan to overthrow the government of the United States through a preposterous interpretation of legal procedure.
Pence apparently took the idea seriously — so seriously, in fact, that, according to Woodward and Costa, former Vice President Dan Quayle had to talk him out of it. Prior to November, the possibility of Trump attempting a coup was seen as the deranged fever dream of crazed liberals. But as it turns out, Trump and his advisers had devised explicit plans for reversing Trump’s loss. Republican leaders deliberately stoked election conspiracy theories they knew to be false, in order to lay a political pretext for invalidating the results. Now, more than 10 months after the election, the country knows of at least five ways in which Trump attempted to retain power despite his defeat.
Trump tried to pressure secretaries of state to not certify.
Trump held early leads in vote counts in several states—not because he was ever actually ahead but because of discrepancies between when states count mail-in ballots and Election Day ballots. This so-called blue shift was written about long in advance of Election Day, and was partially the result of Trump’s own attacks on voting by mail. Nevertheless, Trump made this a key part of his election conspiracy theories (as many predicted he would), insisting that Democrats were somehow inserting fraudulent ballots into the vote count in the presidential election (something they apparently forgot to do in close House and Senate races, in which Democrats did worse than polls had anticipated). To help substantiate these falsehoods, the Trump campaign attempted to pressure secretaries of state to either not certify the results or “find” fraudulent ballots. In some states, spurred by the president’s fictions, pro-Trump mobs showed up at vote-counting sites and attempted to disrupt the proceedings.
Trump tried to pressure state legislatures to overturn the results.
Trump personally attempted to coerce state legislators to overturn election results in a few states that voted for Biden, on the dubious legal theory that such legislatures could simply ignore the results of the popular vote in their own states. In Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and Georgia, Trump publicly urged Republican-controlled statehouses to “intervene to declare him the winner” and tweeted, “Hopefully the Courts and/or Legislatures will have the COURAGE to do what has to be done to maintain the integrity of our Elections, and the United States of America itself.” As my colleague Barton Gellman reported last year, the Trump campaign discussed “contingency plans to bypass election results and appoint loyal electors in battleground states where Republicans hold the legislative majority.”
David A. Graham: Trump’s coup attempt didn’t start on January 6
Trump tried to get the courts to overturn the results.
The embattled attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, filed an absurd lawsuit demanding that the Supreme Court void the election results in Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, four states Biden won. The large majority of the Republican delegation in Congress, as well as nearly 20 Republican state attorneys general, supported this attempt to get the conservative-controlled Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 election results by fiat. The justices declined to crown Trump—but the amount of support this bid received from Republican elected officials is itself alarming.
As part of this effort, we can include the baseless “Kraken” lawsuits, filled with conspiracy theories about vote changes. Trump attempted to coerce the Justice Department into providing him with a pretext to overturn the results, but his attorney general, Bill Barr, refused to do so. Had DOJ leadership acquiesced, it would have lent credibility to Trump’s other corrupt schemes to reverse his loss. In a meeting with the acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, according to contemporaneous notes taken by Rosen’s deputy, Trump said, “Just say that the election was corrupt [and] leave the rest to me.”
Trump tried to pressure Mike Pence to overturn the results.
It is hard to pick the most ridiculous means of executing a coup, but insisting that the vice president has the power to unilaterally decide who won an election is up there. Trump publicly hounded Pence to reject the results prior to the traditionally ceremonial electoral-vote count in Congress, and Pence reportedly took that demand seriously enough to seek advice from Dan Quayle on the matter, “asking if there were any grounds to pause the certification because of ongoing legal challenges,” according to Costa and Woodward. That this got so far is profoundly disturbing, but even more disturbing is Eastman’s memo, which shows that the Trump team had thought very deliberately about how this scheme would work.
According to the memo, Pence could refuse to certify the results in particular states, giving Trump more electoral votes than Biden, and Pence would declare Trump the victor. If Democrats objected (as surely they would), the vote would then go to the House. Because the Constitution gives one vote to each state in disputed presidential elections, and the Republicans were the majority in 26 of 50 state delegations, the Democratic House majority would be unable to prevent Republicans from throwing the election to Trump. The election-law expert Ned Foley writes that the scheme would likely not have prevailed, given the Democrats’ ability to prevent a joint session, but that seems almost beside the point, which is that a sitting president and vice president were considering how to keep themselves in power following an election they lost.
When all else failed, Trump tried to get a mob to overturn the results.
At the rally prior to the vote count in Congress, Trump urged the crowd to act, saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The explicit goal of the rally and subsequent riot was to pressure Congress, and Pence in particular, into overturning the election results. Trump told his followers, “If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election.”
This scheme didn’t work on its own, but it certainly could have helped one of the others: Imagine if Pence had gone along with Eastman’s absurd plan, and a mob had been present at the Capitol to help enforce the decision and menace lawmakers who tried to oppose it — then what? As it stands, the mob ransacked the Capitol and forced lawmakers to flee. Had the mob succeeded at reaching any actual legislators, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
Trump was impeached for his incitement of the January 6 mob, but Senate Republicans dutifully prevented him from being convicted and barred from holding office ever again.
Virginia Heffernan: Trump’s campaign to overturn the election was inane
Those who attempted to subvert democracy have faced few political or legal consequences. As is typical, some rioters are facing prosecution while the elites who tried to overthrow the election through more bureaucratic or procedural means remain in good standing with their peers. The failure to impose accountability for an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order will encourage further such efforts.
Meanwhile, those rare Republicans who did stand up against this attempt to destroy American democracy are the only ones dealing with real political consequences from their party, facing primary challenges, being forced into retirement, or being stripped of their leadership positions. Republican officials who were unwilling to use their office to overturn the election results are seeing challenges from Trump devotees who will, should the opportunity arise again.
If Trump had succeeded, many of those downplaying the former president’s actions would today be rationalizing an American coup. No, you see, George Washington and James Madison intended for Donald Trump to be president for life. Read the Constitution.
At the core of these attempts is a dangerous ideology—the presumption that because Trump supporters represent “Real Americans”, the will of democratic majorities can be disregarded. This does not mean that the Republican Party is incapable of winning majorities, but that winning them is irrelevant to whether or not the party’s Trumpist faithful believe they are entitled to wield power. Win or lose, their claim to be the sole authentic inheritors of the American tradition means they are the only ones who can legitimately govern and are therefore justified in seizing power by any means. This is the modern incarnation of an old ideology, one that has justified excluding certain groups of Americans from the suffrage on the basis that their participation is an affront to the political process.
American traditions of unfreedom always represent themselves as democracy’s protectors, rather than its undertakers, and this one is no different. If Biden were allowed to take office, Eastman insisted in a longer version of his memo, “we will have ceased to be a self-governing people.”
The catastrophe is not only that Trump tried to overthrow an election. It is that so many Americans were cheering him on.
Adam Serwer is a staff writer at The Atlantic.