A delinquent who is juvenile to the extreme – Trump’s inexplicable mesmerism – Wegovy as an obesity drug – Evening statistics
It’s been a rather uneventful day, with me being mainly focused on preparations for the trip to California. It has been uneventful on a national scale as well, and there is little in the news except for odds and ends.
A strange case has occurred in Brasher Falls, a small community in upstate New York. A young male has been arrested on a charge of third-degree rape and will be tried as a juvenile delinquent. Nothing particularly unusual in that, one would say – except that, in this case, the accused is seven years old. Few details about the case have emerged, on account of the young ages of both the accused and the victim. An incident occurred during a Thanksgiving celebration that prompted troopers to be called in, and they ended by arresting this fearsome menace from the second grade. He was cited and later released. The case has since been sent to a family court. Child advocates are up in arms about the matter, solemnly proclaiming that arrests of children traumatize them and lock them into the prison system, making it likely that they will become repeat offenders. No one appears to be overly perturbed by the fact that the charge in question is a physical impossibility. I have no doubt that some sort of bullying occurred, but a seven-year old boy, however dishonorable he may be in intention, lacks certain . . . equipment, shall we say, to carry out that particular operation.
Even though he is out of office, Donald Trump continues to exercise his strange ability to rob people of their common sense and self-respect. George P. Bush, the son of Jeb Bush, announced this week that he was going to be running for Texas’ attorney general in 2022, and in the course of this effort he has been attempting to gain Trump’s endorsement, even to the extent of releasing merchandise featuring the former President. Trump has repeatedly attacked Bush’s father and for good measure he has referred to Columba Bush, George P.’s mother, as a “Mexican illegal.” Bush’s case is hardly unique, of course. Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, is the niece of Mitt Romney, Trump’s determined opponent; and she is quite blatant about giving Trump her preference. Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump after the latter insulted his wife; and Ted Cruz went one better, becoming Trump’s adherent after Trump not only insulted his wife but accused his father of being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Greg Pence is the brother of Mike Pence, and although Trump supporters repeatedly shouted “Hang Mike Pence!” when they assaulted the Capitol, he has voted against investigating the attack. For that matter, Mike Pence himself has refused to condemn Trump overtly for his role in that treasonous attempt. In the words of CNN anchor Briana Keilar, “Blood may be thicker than water, but apparently it’s not thicker than Kool-Aid.”
The FDA has approved Wegovy, currently used as a diabetes medication, to be sold as a weight-loss drug. In various experiments, participants have lost about 15% of their body weight over a period of 16 months, after which they reach a “plateau.” The current obesity drugs have up to this point achieved no better than a 5%-10% weight loss reduction. Obesity is certainly a problem in this country, as I have noted in previous entries. The amount of the national population considered obese is now about 36.2%, one of the highest rates in the world. Only various micro-states (mainly island nations in Micronesia) have a higher ratio of obese citizens. Nations with comparable lifestyles have significantly lower rates: 29.4% in Canada, 22.3% in Germany, 4.3% in Japan. Sometimes such drugs are necessary. Physicians may prescribe them for patients whose body-mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher, or for patients whose BMI is over 27 and who medical complications such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Unfortunately many people seem to be unaware that such drugs are meant as supplements to diet control and exercise, not as substitutes. Like most drugs, they can have unpleasant side effects: palpitations, increased heart rate, nausea, insomnia, hypertension, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, among others.
It’s difficult to say what to do about this issue. Dependence on drugs is obviously a second-best solution; but the medical establishment has repeatedly stressed the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and its warnings have apparently had little effect. When I was working, I customarily took a two-mile walk during my lunch hour. My colleagues looked upon such a practice as something unusual, and there were very few occasions when any of them could be persuaded to accompany me – and this attitude, I think, encapsulates the attitude of a large segment of our population towards physical activity.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 173,299,985; # of deaths worldwide: 3,726,677; # of cases U.S.: 34,191,257; # of deaths; U.S.: 612,202.