Y'know, just thinking in retrospect, after watching John McCain's vote to kill TrumpCare, but maybe Trump's whole, "I like people that weren't captured" line during the primaries wasn't such a great idea, after all.

And watching Lisa Murkowski's vote to kill TrumpCare, maybe when the Republicans wanted Lisa Murkowski out of the Senate and ran a Tea Party candidate against her in the Alaska primary and beat her -- only to have her run as a write-in candidate and win, that might not have been such a great idea either.

And maybe having the Secretary of the Interior thrilled to be able to swagger with the awesome power of the presidency behind him and call United States Senator Lisa Murkowski up to threaten the entire state of Alaska, that doesn't seem all that great of an idea looking back.

Who knew?  The old bromide, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it" actually has a lot of truth to it.  Go figure.

By the way, I'm not saying that their remembering slams of the past is what caused anyone to vote the way they did.  Though I suspect that if there was any uncertainty in a person's mind how to vote and "party loyalty" and "loyalty to the president" were being pushed on them, then my sense is that they weren't as strong arguments as might have been otherwise...

Important and terrific as it was that the horrific TrumpCare bill didn't pass, it's critical to always keep in mind that it shouldn't have come this close.  Forgetting even the damage that this bill would have done, to have almost passed a bill that wouldn't impact one-sixth of the U.S. economy and which pretty much no one knew what was even it is a shameful, reprehensible way for elected officials to act, whatever the bill was about.  And it seems to have probably been done not because of the merits of the bill -- again, most senators didn't even know what was in the bill until just before, and even once they knew, hardly time to study it -- but rather out of spite against Barack Obama because he...well, who knows?, because he was Barack Obama.  Perhaps being different is enough.  Being different seems to be a scary thing in the very conservative Republican Party.

Did the bill fail just because John McCain came down with a horrible, life-threatening diagnosis the week before and he faced mortality and the consequences of healthcare and voted "No"?  Is that what saved healthcare of tens of millions of people?  And saved the lives of unknown many?  Would he have voted "No" anyway?  Unless John McCain explains the answer, we don't know.  All we know is that it came down to one vote, and that may well have been the vote.

It seems that this ill-conceived action of pushing TrumpCare may well backfire profoundly on the Republican Party. On the one hand, the base will be furious that the party couldn't repeal that healthcare bill by the black guy, despite controlling the White House, Senate and House, after seven years of promising.  And on the other hand, the 83% of the rest of the country who hated the TrumpCare bill will hate that the Republican Party tried to pass it and came within a vote of doing so.

And I suspect that the GOP is still going to keep trying to pass it again, in same harmful form, for soul-crushing reasons known only to them.

But at least for now, they lost.  And all 46 Democrats, along with both Independents, and three Republicans were responsible, 49-51.

The Tweetstorm awaits.  Followed by the next Anthony Scaramucci meltdown.

I love how the Republican Party actually, bizarrely listened to Ted Cruz of all people for some unknown reason and for perhaps the first time since he became a senator and the most-hated man in the Senate-- only to have his amendment (not shockingly) turn the already-disastrous TrumpCare bill into a total meltdown.

The whole supposed-reason for this bill has been to suggest (wrongly) how insurance companies supposedly all hate the ACA and supposedly are all pulling out of the program, but now they've got these very insurance companies ACTUALLY up in arms over the TrumpCare bill and outraged. ​

Who'd have thought that following the advice of Ted Cruz this would be the result...

I don't generally watch shows like America's Got Talent, or Little Big Shots, though occasionally I see a video that stands out.  And this is a yowzer.

It's from Little Big Shots, which seems to be about little kids, but this is the opposite, a woman named Johanna who is 91 years old -- and does gymnastics!!!  They've sub-titled this edition, "Forever Young."  That doesn't do it justice.

Now, normally, even at that, I might admired it a lot, but not necessarily even watch.  But given all the time I've spent the last few years at the independent living residence where my folks lived, with most people there generally in their late-80s and 90s -- and some in their 100s -- my perspective on the video and lady is very pronounced.  

People walk very slowly -- very slowly.  A great many use walkers, some motorized carts.  A couple years ago, one of my dad's friends in his late 80s was extremely proud to point out that when he dresses, he's able to put his pants on standing up, without holding on to anything and not loosing his balance.  (This really is impressive.)  My dad was 96 when he passed away, and for his last couple years was able to get around very slowly with a walker, but even that was difficult and tended to be fairly immobile.  (It was less a pure physical issue, but more related to congenital heart disease.  But that's one of the realities many face when hitting their 90s.)

Which is why I don't just link this video merely stands out, but I watch it in near-disbelieving awe.  I particularly like that the director had the good sense to periodically cut to host Steve Harvey for his reaction.  And there's nothing show-biz here, as might be the case when he's reacting to some cute little kids.  No, this is pure reality.  You can see it in his face and eyes, and how he turns to others to respond.  And you know it's his reaction because it's how you most-probably feel.  It's like -- what???!!

I like too that they bring someone out at the end.  I won't give it away, but I was glad to see that the woman, Johanna, immediately recognized the surprise.  And glad to see the person's reaction was just much in awe and said all the right things. 

It is not a great idea to scarf a lot of walnuts and then guzzle several glasses of water at 10:30 in the evening, not long before you go to bed.  It will bode for a really bad night.

Our Motto
"We do personal research for the benefit others, so that you don't have to."
-- The Management

Yesterday, the Huffington Post had an article here about the apparently-surprising health problems from using coconut oil, titled, "New Study Confirms Coconut Oil is Alarmingly High in Saturated Fat."  I was going to write a scathing piece on this, how surprised the reporter was -- but after I read it, it turns out that while the reporter might have been somewhat surprised, the operative word in the headline was "Confirms."

I watch my cholesterol level (as of course should everyone...), and coconut oil has been on my "Oh, God, No" list for at least 20 years.  When I check ingredients and see "coconut oil," I tend to cringe and drop the product so fast that other customers ask me if I'm okay...  So, why this should be a "surprise" to anyone is beyond me.  It was well-reported at the time the initial studies were released.

It turns out I'm the one who should be a touch surprised, since apparently coconut oil is stocked in health food stores, for some unearthly reasons.  And as the article reports, a new report from the American Heart Association shows that 72 percent of Americans think that coconut oil is actually a health food. 

The HuffPo article references some of that study, most notably --

"In fact, 82 percent of the fat found in coconut oil is saturated ― that’s significantly more than olive oil, which clocks in at 14 percent and canola oil, which contains a mere seven percent. 

"The AHA reviewed existing data on saturated fats and found that in seven out of eight studies, coconut oil actually increased LDL cholesterol ― the bad cholesterol ― which is a cause of cardiovascular disease. The findings were so clear that Frank Sacks, the report’s lead author, told USA Today, 'You can put it on your body, but don’t put it in your body.'”

And again, the operative term in that passage is -- "existing data."  This is not new information.  It's just really important health information that was released over two decades ago that seemingly most of the public and forgotten or been willing to blissfully ignore, because coconut oil tastes good...

Oddly, only last night I was watching a rerun Shark Tank and all this came to mind.  A lady was presenting her all natural, healthy alternative to frosting -- I think the company was called "Dollop."  It sounded great -- until she mentioned it had palm oil.  I cringed.  Palm oil is a kissing-cousin of coconut oil.  It tastes great...and is horrible for you.  But she included this ingredient rather than others (I assume butter), since she said she wanted an ingredient everyone could tolerate.  She even got two investment offers, making a deal with one of them.  So, it was with that cringing on my mind when I read this article today.

A surprise??  Apparently so.  Just not to those who actually pay attention to such things.  As the phrase goes, it was in all the papers...

I know that this eventually made the national news by this point.  But when I first began writing about it elsewhere before the weekend it was still under the wire.  And it's so egregious -- not just a Quote of the Day, but a contender for Quote of the Year -- that it still bears addressing, even now.

And that's the comment made by Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), responding to a question at a town hall meeting he was holding.  It was when he said --

"Nobody dies because they don't have access to healthcare"
-- Rep. Paul Labrador (R-ID))

​It's so inexplicably bizarre that trying to comprehend what he was thinking when he said it almost hurts.  And I'm sure that he or at least his communications director has come up with an explanation of what he "really meant," but it doesn't matter because we can hear what he said, in context, and whatever he "really meant" after the fact (at best, bending over backwards until your head touches the ground) still has as its bottom line that healthcare insurance isn't as important as the damn liberals and doctors and health organization want you to believe.  At its best, you still have to wonder what in God's name was in his mind when those words came out of his mouth.

And "at its best" is not a concept one should necessarily apply to Raul Labrador, who has a history of thoughtless, idiotic statements.  When I first wrote about this online, I got a response back from someone who lived in the district that Mr. Labrador represents, and he said (excuse the crudeness, but I'm quoting here), "Yes, he really is a dick."

Mind you, when I say "bending over backwards" what Raul Labrador may really have "meant," I'm going pretty far here, because even days after the fact, I've yet to come across a public explanation from the congressman or a spokesperson from his staff.  Maybe I've missed it, though it would difficult given the amount of coverage.  Or maybe it's what he did mean.  Still, I'm going to continue giving him the massive benefit of the doubt that he's not a complete heartless idiot, just a work in progress.

And because the quote is so monumentally ludicrous, I think it's not enough to just quote it, but actually show it as proof that he really, truly, honestly did say it and in context --
​

The good news is that he's booed instantly by the outraged crowd.  Unfortunately, the video cuts off after two seconds of booing, so we can't see how long it went on.  But since there were no news reports of an angry mob rushing the stage in Idaho, I think we can assume that Raul Labrador didn't have to face that.

But then, short video or not, I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be the last we see of Mr. Labrador saying this.  It's likely that it's already on a loop to be played and re-played endless during the 2018 election cycle, since Raul Labrador is now the Poster Boy for "TrumpCare."

I don't think we can tie all Republican in the House of Representatives who voted for the TrumpCare bill to this statement by Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID).  Cruel, heartless and thoughtless are different than clueless and insane.  But I do think from the vote and the silly "celebration" at the White House Rose Garden before this House bill is even addressed in the Senate, and from comments from many of those who voted for it that -- at best -- what they believe Rep. Labrador may have been "meaning" to try and say about the unimportance of health care that he was indeed speaking for many of his fellow Republicans.  Or else why vote for a bill whose predecessor was scored to show that 24 million Americans will lose their health care and by all accounts this version is worse.

And so, I just thought it appropriate, if not necessary to bring the quote up even days later and also show it in full Technicolor.

​I was going to say "living color," but...well, I thought that that just didn't fit.