Tag: health

The Art of the Presidential Health Cover-Up

When the St. Petersburg Times first launched PolitiFact in 2007, its purpose was to assess the veracity of statements made by “members of Congress, the president, cabinet secretaries, lobbyists, people who testify before Congress and anyone else who speaks up in Washington.”

Fast forward to September 2025, and the trailblazing fact-checker has been reduced to informing us that “President Donald Trump is alive.” Yes, and the sky is blue, and the day ends in y, even if some online randos may be memeing to the contrary.

The trivial episode of Trump’s rumored demise illuminates what the future intersection of politics and information might look like. POTUSes and their handlers will go to fantastical lengths to lie about presidential health crises, history demonstrates; what changes over time is how they get away with it.

Grover Cleveland, for example, traded on his considerable reputation as “The Honest President” to not only deny the factual newspaper report that what had been billed as a four-day yachting vacation in 1893 was actually major oral surgery to remove a cancerous tumor on the roof of his mouth, but also to successfully disparage the reporter as a fabulist disgrace to journalism.

Edith Wilson, the Jill Biden of a century ago, cut off nearly all access to her husband Woodrow after his October 1919 stroke while he was president, making his final 17 months in office an unelected co-presidency at best. She and his complicit medical team (who took care to avoid the word stroke, preferring exhaustion) successfully pulled off a single, risky, stage-managed afternoon
meeting with two suspicious senators, during which Woodrow Wilson’s paralyzed side was covered by a blanket. The president was able to rally enough to mollify (if on a secondhand basis) the 100 or so reporters waiting downstairs.

Edith Wilson also helped arrange a glowing, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York World profile by Louis Seibold in June 1920, showing her husband to be a hale, active, and sharp-witted operator. It was, alas, a work of fiction.

How was Franklin Delano Roosevelt able to conceal his debilitating congestive heart failure, diagnosed in March 1944—an election year that he (unlike Wilson in 1920) was still competing in? For one, he and his team had had 23 years’ worth of experience working with a mostly compliant and occasionally intimidated press to conceal and suppress visual evidence of his polio paralysis. For another, it was a war year, back long before our modern yearslong presidential election marathons. The actual campaign didn’t really begin until late September, and the president did manage to propel himself through a few vigorous days on the hustings.

It also helped that FDR’s personal physician, Vice Admiral Ross T. McIntire, was an extravagant liar. In January 1944 he insisted his boss “was in better health than at any time since he entered the White House,” and then in the fall that “the president’s health is perfectly OK. There are absolutely no organic difficulties at all.”

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Scotland is getting sicker under the SNP as HALF of population now suffers from long term health problems

Scotland is getting sicker under the SNP as HALF of population now suffers from long term health problems

The Scottish Health Survey found a staggering 50 per cent of people reported a long-term condition last year, the highest since comparable studies began in 2003, when it was 41 per cent.

The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed diabetes also doubled over the same period.

Around 1 in 13 Scots now have the life-limiting condition.

A fifth of adults have ‘harmful’ alcohol intakes, and almost as many (18 per cent) have been diagnosed with asthma, up from 13 per cent in 2003 and another unwelcome record.

The Scottish Tories said the worsening picture threatened to ‘overwhelm’ an already over-stretched NHS.

Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘Scotland is getting sicker under the SNP.

‘Their failure to support our NHS and invest in preventative health means that Scots are the unhealthiest they’ve been since 2008.

‘On their watch, mental health issues are on the rise, harmful alcohol consumption remains dangerously high and the number of children at risk of obesity is at record levels.

‘This rising tide of poor health threatens to overwhelm our already overstretched NHS and cost taxpayers’ a fortune in the process.

‘SNP ministers need to act now to tackle this crisis by boosting GP numbers, focus on improving mental wellbeing, prioritising preventative health and cutting waste to ensure that Scots can access the healthcare they need.’

Published by the Scottish Government, the annual survey defines a long-term condition as ‘a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more’.

Around four in five (81 per cent) of those living with a long-term condition say it limits their activities, with most citing problems with mobility (32 per cent), stamina, breathing and fatigue (28) and mental health (26).

The percentage of Scots with diagnosed diabetes has risen from 4 to 8 per cent since 2003, with most people affected by Type 2 diabetes, often associated with an unhealthy lifestyle.

The disease, caused by the body not making enough insulin to regulate blood sugar, can damage the heart, kidneys, eyes and feet if untreated and shorten life expectancy.

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The Comfortable Collapse: How America Learned to Pretend Obesity Is Normal

Walk into any American airport today and pause. Look around at the travelers waiting at the gate, the families queuing for fast food, the crowds rushing past. You are looking at a country that our grandparents would not recognize. In less than three generations, the very shape of the American body has shifted so dramatically that what would once have been regarded as rare or concerning is now routine. Airplane seats have been widened, retail clothing racks have been extended, mannequins have been reshaped, and soda cups have been enlarged. Entire industries have recalibrated to accommodate a physiology that is neither healthy nor sustainable.

Yet our cultural narrative increasingly insists that this shift is normal—sometimes even desirable. We are told that larger mannequins are a sign of “representation,” that rebranded fashion shows signify “inclusivity,” and that bigger chairs and bigger uniforms are gestures of compassion. But none of this changes biology. A mannequin does not get diabetes. A marketing campaign cannot erase hypertension. And no amount of “body positivity” cancels the cruel arithmetic of metabolic disease.

Obesity is not normal physiology. It is common, costly, and deadly. Pretending otherwise is not kindness—it is cultural anesthesia.

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Thousands of U.S. areas afflicted with lead poisoning beyond Flint’s

On a sunny November afternoon in this historic city, birthplace of the Pony Express and death spot of Jesse James, Lauranda Mignery watched her son Kadin, 2, dig in their front yard. As he played, she scolded him for putting his fingers in his mouth.

In explanation, she pointed to the peeling paint on her old house. Kadin, she said, has been diagnosed with lead poisoning.

He has lots of company: Within 15 blocks of his house, at least 120 small children have been poisoned since 2010, making the neighborhood among the most toxic in Missouri, Reuters found as part of an analysis of childhood lead testing results across the country. In St. Joseph, even a local pediatrician’s children were poisoned.

Last year, the city of Flint, Michigan, burst into the world spotlight after its children were exposed to lead in drinking water and some were poisoned. In the year after Flint switched to corrosive river water that leached lead from old pipes, 5 percent of the children screened there had high blood lead levels.

Flint is no aberration. In fact, it doesn’t even rank among the most dangerous lead hotspots in America.

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Hidden hazards: Common household chemicals are damaging brain health, especially in children, reports study

  • A recent study reveals quaternary ammonium compounds in disinfectants and organophosphate flame retardants damage brain cells (oligodendrocytes), leading to cognitive deficits, motor impairments and neurological disorders.
  • Flame retardant metabolites were found in 100 percent of children tested, with higher exposure linked to learning disabilities and special education needs. COVID-era disinfectant overuse doubled quaternary ammonium compound levels in blood.
  • The EPA and FDA rely on industry-funded research, allowing toxic chemicals to be used in household products without long-term safety testing. Outdated fire safety laws keep carcinogenic flame retardants in furniture despite known risks.
  • Manufacturers resist safer alternatives despite evidence linking these chemicals to autism, Parkinson’s, infertility and chronic diseases, all while healthcare costs soar.
  • Consumers can reduce their exposure to these toxic chemicals by replacing toxic cleaners with natural alternatives, buying flame-retardant-free furniture and improving ventilation at home.

For decades, Americans have been taught that a clean home is a healthy home. But a groundbreaking study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio suggests that some of the very products used to sanitize living spaces and prevent fires may be silently eroding brain health — particularly in children.

Published in Nature Neuroscience, the 2024 study reveals that two classes of chemicals found in everyday disinfectants, personal care products and furniture can impair or destroy critical brain cells, potentially leading to cognitive deficits, motor skill impairments and long-term neurological consequences. The findings raise urgent questions about regulatory oversight, corporate accountability and the unintended health costs of modern hygiene and safety standards.

The unseen threat in cleaning supplies and furniture

The study examined 1,823 environmental compounds, zeroing in on two categories with alarming neurotoxic effects:

  • Quaternary ammonium compounds – Commonly found in disinfectant sprays, hand sanitizers and personal care products
  • Organophosphate flame retardants – Used in furniture, electronics and textiles to meet flammability standards

Researchers discovered that these chemicals either stunt the development of oligodendrocytes — brain cells responsible for insulating neurons — or kill them outright. Without proper insulation, neural signals slow or misfire, leading to memory problems, impaired motor function and learning disabilities.

Modern research continues to reveal the many ways these toxic chemicals harm human health. As explained by the Enoch AI engine at Brighteon.AI: “Quaternary compounds disrupt cellular function by interfering with mitochondrial energy production, damaging nerve and muscle cells, while also acting as endocrine disruptors that contribute to hormonal imbalances, infertility and chronic diseases like cancer.

“Organophosphates, meanwhile, permanently bind to and inhibit acetylcholinesterase (a crucial brain enzyme), causing muscle paralysis, seizures, respiratory failure and long-term damage (neurological disorders, Parkinson’s, cognitive decline and immune dysfunction), while also accumulating in fat tissues to wreak havoc over time.” (Related: 5 Toxic ingredients that can be found in common cleaning products.)

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NY Times Slammed For Predictable RFK Health Hit-Pieces

The New York Times came under fire on Monday for running a hit piece against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s pro-exercise campaign.

The leftist newspaper, as legacy media often does, leaned on so-called experts cautioning “against jumping into a difficult routine suggested by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth.”

Its headline—100 Push-Ups and 50 Pull-Ups in Under 10 Minutes. What Could Go Wrong?—was predictably snarky.

The piece targeted the “Pete and Bobby Challenge,” a social media campaign aimed at raising awareness about fitness and weight loss.

However, according to The Times and their quoted experts, the exercise “may not be for everyone.”

“For the average person, I would definitely recommend building volume in these movements over three to four weeks before giving it a go,” said Utah athlete Dallin Pepper.

The leftist rag then cited Toronto-based personal trainer Chris Smits to say that the regimen proposed by Hegseth and Kennedy is not feasible for most Americans.

Citing experts is a common tactic in legacy media attacks on conservatives.

Self-described journalists pick a topic, guide the experts toward the conclusions they desire and then publish the story.

This cycle allows them to wash their hands by claiming they are simply reporting.

On X, critics piled on The Times, describing the hit piece as predictable as it was laughable.

“The New York Times really hates working out,” wrote Republican communicator Nathan Brand.

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CNN Doctor Who Raised Alarms Over Trump Diagnosis Is an NAACP ‘Health Equity’ Director, Not a Practicing Physician

A CNN doctor who painted a dark picture of President Donald Trump’s health appears not to have practiced medicine since her residency, instead spending her career as a diversity, equity, and inclusion specialist. She is also an “apostle” of a church whose leader describes Trump as the “antichrist.”

Chris Pernell, a frequent television doctor on CNN and other news stations, warned last week that President Trump’s broadly unremarkable diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency could be more than it seemed.

“It is a disease that is progressive,” Pernell said. “And what that means is that if there aren’t conservative treatments, elevation, compression, medication, if needed, to treat accompanying ulcers or skin changes, it can worsen and actually put a person at risk for deep venous thrombosis.”

Pernell went on to suggest other potential complications as a result of chronic venous insufficiency.

“If a person is sitting or standing for prolonged amounts of time, you can get chronic venous insufficiency, and while it is not life threatening, it can be debilitating,” she added. “You can develop ulcers in addition to skin discoloration. And if a person develops ulcers, you want to make sure those ulcers aren’t infected.”

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Trump Admin Will Encourage All Americans To Use Wearables, Says RFK Jr.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will soon start a massive advertising blitz to encourage uptake of wearables such as fitness trackers among Americans, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on June 24.

“We’re about to launch one of the biggest advertising campaigns in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables,” Kennedy said on Capitol Hill in Washington during a congressional hearing.

Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) spoke positively about what he described as innovative wellness tools and asked Kennedy to describe how the government is promoting access to such tools. Balderson noted that research suggests that increased patient engagement can result in improved health.

“It’s a way people can take control over their own health, they can take responsibility, they can see what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics as they eat it, and they can begin to make good judgements about their diet, about their physical activity, about the way they live their lives,” Kennedy said.

“We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda, Making America Healthy Again. My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years.”

Balderson also asked about concerns over keeping data from wearables private. Kennedy declined to address that aspect of the matter.

In addition to his role as health secretary, Kennedy is chairman of the MAHA Commission, established by President Donald Trump to study ways to improve the health of Americans.

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Barbie launches first doll with Type 1 diabetes, glucose monitor

Barbie is aiming to expand on inclusivity with the launch of its first doll with Type 1 diabetes.

The doll, part of Barbie’s Fashionistas line, comes complete with a continuous glucose monitor, insulin pump and other features to represent those diagnosed with the chronic disease.

The brand partnered with Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, a diabetes research organization, to create the doll. Barbie said in a news release that it is also donating dolls to the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children’s Congress, a biennial event that brings over a hundred children with Type 1 diabetes to Washington to meet with members of Congress.

“Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation,” Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel, said in a release. “Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.”

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Illness and Endless Wars

Hey, you remember that guy, right? You know, the candidate who, in his third campaign for president in 2024 insisted that he was the one who would remove this country’s “warmongers and America-last globalists” and that returning him to the White House would “turn the page forever on those foolish, stupid days of never-ending war. They never ended.”

Yes, indeed, America’s wars haven’t ended, not by a long shot, not with Donald Trump back in the White House a second time. And yes (again), he did indeed swear that he was done with such wars. But then he wasn’t thinking about Bibi Netanyahu, was he? He wasn’t thinking about Israel bombing Iran. In typical fashion, he wasn’t thinking three (two? one?) steps ahead. And now, of course, we have Iran. I know, I know, after his bombing runs against that country’s nuclear sites, there is at least what passes for a truce in place (until, of course, there isn’t). With Netanyahu once again focused on killing Palestinians in Gaza and Trump focused on… well, himself, it’s easy enough to forget that he did indeed bring American-style warfare back to a Middle East that already had an estimated 40,000-50,000 American soldiers stationed at perhaps 19 sites across the region. And mind you, he hasn’t stopped implying that there might be worse to come. (“Can it start again? I guess someday, it can. It could maybe start soon.”)

And with all of that looming, and the unpredictable Donald Trump in the White House, let TomDispatch regular Andrea Mazzarino, one of the founders of the invaluable Costs of War Project, take you on a grim voyage into what war — in fact, the wars this country has so regularly fought in this century across the Greater Middle East and Africa (where, by the way, the Trump administration is still sending American planes on remarkably regular bombing runs in Somalia at a pace that could set a Trumpian record this year) — does to our health. It isn’t pretty, believe me.

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