When I was back in Chicago -- Evanston actually, staying just a few blocks from the beloved Northwestern -- I saw the news story on how the Trump administration (in its ongoing fascist effort to destroy education in the United States) had added Northwestern to its list and was demanding "changes" or else they would freeze $790 million in federal funding from the school. This stems from, as the New York Times stated it, Trump team "accusations of racial discrimination stemming from their efforts to promote diversity."

As the article later notes, Northwestern (a Big Ten university) is the first non-Ivy League school to have funding from the Trump administration targeted.

A spokesman for the school, Jon Yates, said -- "Federal funds that Northwestern receives drive innovative and lifesaving research, like the recent development by Northwestern researchers of the world’s smallest pacemaker, and research fueling the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. This type of research is now at jeopardy.”

Before we get to that, I think it's important to know what this actually means, and that's it's not just "spokesman fluff".  When he says "recent, that "world's smallest pacemaker" was announced literally less than two weeks ago, on April 2, and it's utterly remarkable.  Jaw-dropping breathtaking.  Whatever you may have in mind about "world's smallest pacemaker," you almost certainly might want to think smaller -- and even that's not the only thing that's stunning about it.  The device is so small, it can be inserted with a syringe, and then dissolves after it’s no longer needed!

Yes, that's a pacemaker.  And yes, that is small.  And it dissolves when not needed.  Here's a 90-second video about it --

And that's the thing about this fascist Trump effort -- accepted and enabled by MAGOPs in Congress -- to destroy education.  No doubt the base (and the word was never more accurate) loves when its party tries to undermine and shred education by freezing funding for all those "elites."  Except what so much of the federal funding goes for is critical research that impacts the lives of everyone -- Red, Blue and every color in between -- and also helps the U.S. lead the world in scientific and medical advances.

The $2 billion in funding that Trump/MAGOPs now want to freeze may be a joy to the base, but they might want to find out first that the bulk of the money goes for medical research into cancer and Alzheimer's Disease (neither of which discriminate on the basis of political belief...), and also Harvard-based hospitals, like the renowned Mass General and Boston Children's Hospital.  Neither of which discriminate on the basis of...oh, you know.  

If you (whoever you are) ever need and can benefit from the medical care or scientific advances from any of this research that Trump/MAGOPs are trying to freeze, because they want to destroy education and have it heel to their fascist beliefs, just know what could be lost could affect you or your loved ones.  And leadership in the fields might now go overseas.

That's what this is about. Not falsely presumed "elites" or the MAGOP-hated "education."

Which is why I was thrilled to see Harvard turn down the Trump/MAGOP demands, even if it meant losing $2 billion.  It will hurt Harvard -- but it will also hurt all Americans, because they're who benefit from medical advances and needs.  They and everyone in the world.

As Harvard President Alan Garber said, spot-on properly: “No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”

I must assume there will be lawsuits from Harvard and all the universities under threat of their government funding being frozen, including of course Northwestern.  So, hopefully, they will either get to keep their funding for research or won't be blocked.

In the meantime, though, great for Harvard.  What a courageous, important stand to take.

Which leads me to end with this from Tom Lehrer.  To be clear, it's a comic song that has nothing to do with medical research (though does with scholarship), and is really just a chiding number about what a football fight song should be for the school.  But its title fits perfectly, and so that's why we're going with it. 

"Fight Fiercely Harvard," indeed.
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What in the name of all that is good and holy will it take for climate deniers to finally get that Climate Change actually exists??!!  That it's a very real thing.  That what you have seen and seen and seen for decades actually happened.  And ignoring it is catastrophic.

Okay, that's it.  That's the  whole point.  We are long past the line of having to "make the case" to prove the issue. 

And I really was going to stop there.  And gave it a lot of thought.  It certainly would have saved me (and you all) a lot of time.  But after much consideration, I kept getting annoyed that it was such a clear issue that three sentences could state the case.  And so, I realized it was best to continue.  Not to explain yet again all the scientific evidence why Climate Change is real, not to point out all the catastrophes we keeping seeing over the past decades and growing worse, but rather to clarify the problem, so we can avoid the sinkhole and find a safe way around it.  Science doesn't have to prove any longer that that's the sun in the sky.  The only thing to do is ponder what will it finally take for some people to accept that what they actually see is really, truly the sun in the sky.

Worse, it's not just "some people," but includes people elected to positions of authority who can act to help address continual devastation that regularly is destroying lives.

When Hurricane Helene hit, and crushed six states, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- towns flooded, roads washed out, and homes obliterated -- just the latest in the long stream of this month's "hurricane of the century," and all the non-stop "tornado of the century," "wildfire of the century," "flood of the century," "snow storm of the century" natural disasters rising up like playing whack-a-mole from hell, the MAGOP nominee for vice president "JD Vance" was asked if Hurricane Helene changed his support of Trump's insistence that Climate Change is just a hoax, and he said "No."

"No." 

That's why this is about the question above: what in heaven's name will it take for climate deniers to finally get that Climate Change actually exists??!!  Hurricane Helene (and all its monstrous predecessors) didn't convince them -- a hurricane that experts estimate might cause $175 BILLION in damages (not to mention hundreds of deaths and thousands of ruined lives) and just two weeks later, we now have...not just another Worst of the Century, but one that could push Helene into a backup story, which many authorities think could be overwhelmingly the worst ever.  Only two weeks later!  In virtually the same spot.  And there also are ten tornadoes thrown into the middle.  Because that's how Climate Change rolls.

And by the way, it's not just that we had the catastrophic Hurricane Helene followed a mere two weeks later by the even more catastrophic Milton -- no, those were just the headline-grabbing stories..  But...there were Hurricane Isaac, tropical storm Joyce, powerful Hurricane Kirk and massive Hurricane Leslie in between!!

It's been so expansive that you haven't even needed an autographed Trump Sharpie to widen the map and make it all seem more disastrous.

And this doesn't even include the rest of the world.  And again, it's not that there are all these hurricanes, tornados, wild fires, floods, snow storms, winter freezes, tsunamis and typhoons -- but that there are more and more of them, and (most of all to the point) they are overwhelmingly more powerful and consistently so than those we've seen for a century.  Because of Climate Change, rising temperatures, melting icebergs, increased rainstorms, expanded snows, heated oceans, creating intense cyclonical conditions and more, at levels not seen in our lifetime.

"It's a hoax," says Trump.

"No, it doesn't change my opinion," says "JD Vance".

"They can control the weather" rambles lunatic Marjorie Taylor Greene.  And her Jewish Space Lasers causing wild fires.

And the MAGOP denies it all.  There are, I'm certain, a great many reasons they deny it all.  But in part, and near the top of the list, as I wrote here, they deny it because former Democratic Vice President and former Democratic Presidential nominee Al Gore (who had the far-right Supreme Court steal the White House from him) championed Climate Change, won the Nobel Peace Prize and won an Oscar for his documentary on the subject, and so Climate Change became a political issue to conservatives, unwilling to accept its existence and give in to Al Gore being correct.  Many on the extreme right may not even remember those origins, because it's long-since become embedded in their core, to deny reality.  But that foundation is there.  Along with all the other reasons, including supporting industries from which they get political funding and also believing that science is the devil because it contradicts God.  (Never mind that, by their own arguments, it was God who created scientists.)

It's too expensive, they shout, to do what environmentalists want, to do what the Green New Deal calls for. Never mind that when you create a new industry, you create jobs and expand the economy.  And there's no downside:  if you're wrong, you've created a new industry.  If you're right, you've avoided disaster.  And never mind the biggest irony of all -- saying it's too expensive to address Climate Change -- is that the cost of not accepting the reality of Climate Change means you get $175 BILLION bills to pay for Hurricane Helene.  And that's before catastrophic Hurricane Milton hits.  And ignores all the previous gargantuan bills that have piled up and been paid already.  With more to come.  Bills so high that many insurers have pulled out of states like Florida and high wild fire areas of California.

"It's a hoax," says Trump.

"No, it doesn't change my opinion," says "JD Vance".

"Jewish Space Lasers," says the space cadet.

This is not to convince anyone that that is the sun in the sky.  That 2+2 equals four.  There's always going to be a "Well, what about...??" cry from climate deniers based on absolutely nothing but, rumor, conspiracy theory, chimera, and cheesecloth to every fact and reality.  There's always going to be a "If icebergs are melting, why doesn't the water level flood everything, hunh??!" -- and no childlike explanation of how the really easy scientific reality of displacement works (the same reason when ice cubes in a beverage melt, your glass doesn't overflow!) will change their certainty that the existence of Climate Change doesn't exist.

"I don't believe in Climate Change," they pout, petulantly stomping their foot.  The thing is, science is not a belief system.

Climate Change isn't just slamming everyone in the face, whether you believe it or not, it's destroying your towns, crushing your homes, burning your communities and drowning you.  And we know it, we've seen it all.  Time and again.  Seen it over and over. Been there, done that.  And it keeps getting worse, more powerful, more devastating.  Willful blindness is not a virtue.  So, this isn't about doing a better job trying to convince anyone to finally grasp the reality that keeps pummeling the Earth to life-churning degrees, time after time after time, with this week's Natural Disaster of the Century.  It's about them choosing not to listen.  It's on them.  

"It's a hoax," says Trump.

"No, it doesn't change my opinion," says "JD Vance".

"Oobla di, oobla da," says the life form over there in the corner.

"I don't believe in Climate Change," say all those who believe JFK is coming back to life.

This is only about one thing:  What in heaven's name will it take for climate deniers to finally get that Climate Change actually exists??!!  That it's a very real thing.  And ignoring it is catastrophic.

Water coming up to their ears, perhaps.  Maybe then, at last, some will realize reality and accept it.  The ones who don't, that's the gurgling sound you hear.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been on quite the roll the past week.  First, she claimed that “Yes they can the control the weather."  (No, really, she said that,  In fact, she added emphatically to make sure you knew she meant it, “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done” -- even doubling-down afterwards when the derision began pouring in.)  And then the other day, she followed that up by explaining how great raw milk was for you -- and that we should all return to raw milk for a healthy life.
 
By the way, a quick search of the term “raw milk risks” brought up as the very first result an article from the FDA titled “The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose a Serious Health Risk.”  It quotes statistics from the CDC and notes that “the germs in raw milk can be especially dangerous to people with weakened immune systems (children, older adults, and pregnant women)."  While adding that though most healthy people will recover from harmful germs in raw milk -- some can develop symptoms “that are life-threatening.” 
 
That search took me about eight seconds to find.  Apparently, though, that’s too much of a challenge for Dr. Marjorie Taylor Greene (honorary).
 
In fairness, I didn’t do a search to find out if they could control the weather.  In part, I didn’t do so because I didn’t know who “they” was.  And that made the search too difficult to start, having far too many options to check out.  At first, I did think it meant the Democrats.  That, or New York Mets.  But then I realized it couldn't be them because Democrats are too disorganized, and the Mets are Satan's Team, so they wouldn't want to destroy Florida, which is headquarters.

In part, too, I didn’t check it out because her claim also begs the question:  if “they” can control the weather, why can’t the MAGOP, too?  Indeed, such a profound inability would show how deeply problematic the party’s total disdain of science is!  (Not to mention, it would show Climate Change is real.)  Furthermore, if the MAGOP can control the weather, as well, why then aren’t they doing something to counteract all the disastrous hurricanes being created?  But instead are just sitting and letting all the pain and misery happen.  That would be wildly irresponsible of the MAGOP and make them essentially co-conspirators.
 
So, it seems like the claim by Science Whiz Marjorie Taylor Greene (honorary) is not only much too convoluted to make any sense, but ultimately fully counter-productive to benefit the MAGOP, indeed actually harmful to their best interests.  Which raises the question then:  between this and the whole “raw milk debacle”, is it possible she’s just total flaming idiot?
 
A valid question since we have to add in her claim about Jewish Space Lasers starting the California wildfires.
 
Importantly, though, in remembering that, we are actually able to draw some connections.  That’s because, after posting her claims about how “they” can control the weather, some of her online followers believed they knew who she was talking about.  After all, if Jews are able to start wildfires using space lasers, and since “they” and “those people” have long-historically been used as a more discreet way to describe Jews and hide virulent anti-Semitism, then “they” must surely mean Jewish people, especially if it’s coming from Marjorie Taylor Greene – which explains the rash of anti-Semitic social media attacks on Jews controlling the weather started to crop up.
 
And then it all starts to make sense.  Not just this, no, that's just a small part of the residual dust.  I mean it all explains Marjorie Taylor Greene being such a major critic of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal.  I always thought that was due to her jealousy over AOC's massive popularity as a new female member of Congress from the same freshman class and being identified by her three initials, which is why Greene soon began referring to herself as "MTG" (honorary).

But no.  Because when it comes to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s wildly ignorant concept of science -- from the health benefits of Salmonella-laden raw milk, a delusional ability to control the weather, and Anti-Semitic Space Lasers starting wildfires -- it’s all a matter of proprietary trademark infringement.  Because it's her birthright.  And importantly, "Greene" has more letters.  And as everyone knows, more letters means you win! 

Hey, it's as good an explanation as anything insane, yet damaging that Marjorie Taylor Greene has come up with.

If you missed Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Sunday, the Main Story was about UFOs.  Yes, really.  As you might imagine, this lent itself to a great deal of humor.  That said, the focus was serious, dealing with the question of whether investigations into the issue have been substantive enough.  While I agree with that point, I also think there have been some investigations that have more substantive that the show suggests.  Regardless, it's a very entertaining piece.

This is also where I again get to point out that when Oliver mentions (much too off-handedly, I believe, as just a name on a list...) the Army's Project Blue Book, I had an astronomy class at Northwestern taught by J. Allen Hynek -- who had been the civilian head of the project.  The class was not about that, though he did devote two days to the subject.  (Hynek was also the technical adviser on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Spielberg even gives him a cameo close-up on the movie.  It's in the final sequence when all the scientists are gathered in a semi-circle, and previously-abducted humans leave the ship.  One of the scientists -- who looks exactly like an astronomer with with a gray goatee -- weaves his way through the crowd, steps forward, takes out his pipe, and gets a closer look.  That's Dr. Hynek.)

Three things I remember from the two days of UFO classes:  

One is that when he got a sense that the project was going to be closed down, Hynek made copies of material to take home so that he could later continue research on his own.  A second thing is that he said that Project Blue Book was not allowed to be shut down until all cases were classified -- the problem for the government was that there were many still-open cases.  So, what they did was classify those cases as "unidentified" and therefore could close down the project.  And the third thing is that Hynek said he never came across a case that convinced him the UFO sightings were aliens -- but -- he said it is ludicrous to think that we are the only living beings in the universe.  He said a whole lot more on the subject, as well as on astronomy in general, but after all this time, that's all I've got...

And as a bonus -- I actually tracked down Dr. Hynek's scene, in Close Encounters of the Third Kind!!  I'm sure there have been many people who've watched the movie of the years who have wondered, "Gee, that's a weird shot of just one guy pushing his way through, what is the point of that??!"  Well -- now you know the point.
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