Americans love shows about emergency rooms. But turning the whole country into one is not what the doctor ordered. Here's a scene you're unlikely to see on ER or Grey's Anatomy. A doctor advises patients to avoid the vaccines proven to save millions of lives. Then when the associated disease predictably strikes and spreads, the doctor explains that this trend is no big deal. Stupid show, right? But here's the worst part about the prognosis: You can't turn the channel. Zeynep Tufekci on RFK Jr and Measles in the NYT (Gift Article): The Texas Measles Outbreak Is Even Scarier Than It Looks. "During a deadly outbreak, we’d ordinarily hope for a clear, direct call for parents to vaccinate their children. But this is the man who, during a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people (79 of them children), actively worked to undermine public trust in the one thing that would have helped most. America, brace yourself." (At least until they stop funding braces.)

+ "Kennedy’s 'Make America healthy again' (MAHA) movement is not content with simply ignoring the need for vaccination. It also has a habit of dismissing pediatric death and disability. Kennedy, in particular, has spent years downplaying the harms of vaccine-preventable illnesses. In a 2021 podcast appearance, he described the time when he contracted measles as a kid as 'a great week.' 'The treatment for measles is chicken soup and vitamin A,' he told the host." (No one tell him the chicken soup has bird flu.) The Atlantic (Gift Article): RFK Jr., America’s Leading Advocate for Getting Measles. "Contrary to what the health secretary says, the outbreak of disease in Texas is, in fact, unusual."

+ A Texas pediatrician pulls no punches with her doctor's orders. "I’m a pediatrician in Texas. Things are dire and we need your support – not your condescension. "Instead of using family connections to get your children coveted internships or fund legacy nepo-education, take your Ivy League family money and funnel it to those of us propping up the scaffolding of a flailing republic on your behalf. Don’t just talk about immigration policy at your next art gallery opening, fund local clinics along border towns. Don’t just post abortion outrage; volunteer to drive teenagers 15 hours across state lines, and support the clandestine underground network of women who hold girls’ heads in their laps while they sob and sweat, blood dripping down their knees."

+ Our health and government spending strategies aren't just putting Americans at risk. Urgent care is filled with people around the world we suddenly decided to stop treating. NPR: On Thursday word came: No more USAID funds for a clinic that gets HIV meds to kids.

+ "Starting Wednesday afternoon, a wave of emails went out from the State Department in Washington around the world, landing in inboxes for refugee camps, tuberculosis clinics, polio vaccination projects and thousands of other organizations that received crucial funding from the United States for lifesaving work. 'This award is being terminated for convenience and the interest of the U.S. government.'" NYT (Gift Article): U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World. Musk says DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials say that’s not true.

2

A Thankless Job

During the start of the much-anticipated Zelensky-Trump meeting in DC, Trump uttered this phrase: "I am for both Ukraine and Russia." And "in the course of the meeting, vice-president JD Vance accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of 'litigating in front of the American media,' and said his comments were 'disrespectful.' 'Have you said thank you once?'" Here's a weird thought. Since the Ukrainians have spent the last three years defending democracy against an aggressor that threatens our allies and the world order, maybe, just maybe, JD Vance should be the one saying thank you? Sadly, things got worse from there and the planned press conference has been canceled. Here's the latest from The Guardian and CNN.

+ "Imitation and servility aren’t the same thing. Trump and Musk could attempt to undermine American democracy and create a Russian-style power vertical without kowtowing to Putin or abandoning Ukraine. But they haven’t. And while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, affinity and envy aren’t enough to explain the abruptness and totality of the Trump administration’s adoption of every Russian position." Garry Kasparov in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Putinization of America. (Keep in mind that Kasparov wrote this before today's absolute gift to Putin...)

3

Your Password Has Been Compromised...

... And so has your country. We're often warned to never share our passwords. Well, they've been shared on our behalf. NYT(Gift Article): How Elon Musk Executed His Takeover of the Federal Bureaucracy. "Mr. Musk made clear that he saw the gutting of that bureaucracy as primarily a technology challenge. He told the party of around 20 that when he overhauled Twitter, the social media company that he bought in 2022 and later renamed X, the key was gaining access to the company’s servers. Wouldn’t it be great, Mr. Musk offered, if he could have access to the computers of the federal government? Just give him the passwords, he said jocularly, and he would make the government fit and trim."

+ Meanwhile, Starlink poised to take over $2.4 billion contract to overhaul air traffic control communication.

+ "A federal judge struck down a memo sent by the Office of Personnel Management directing other federal agencies to conduct mass firings, saying that the memo was 'illegal' and should be 'rescinded' because OPM did not have the power to control hiring and firing in other agencies." Stay tuned to find out if we still listen to what federal judges say about what's illegal.

+ Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: Why Aren’t We in the Streets? "Last Friday night, minutes after President Donald Trump announced the firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a purge of the military’s top lawyers, I received an e-mail from my cousin in Los Angeles. 'Why are we not in the streets?' she wrote. 'The Germans even marched against Musk. The French would have barricaded every government building.' All week long I’ve been thinking of that message, composed in the heat of the moment after an unprecedented event that already seems forgotten amid all the subsequent unprecedented events."

4

Weekend Whats

What to Watch: Since we led today's edition with a comment about shows set in emergency rooms, lets watch one. The Pitt on Max is not groundbreakingly new, but it's really good.

+ What to Read: We've spent the last couple months hearing about the need to cut wasteful government spending. We haven't heard about this example from Noah Shachtman who explains the economics of horse racing the NYT (Gift Article): Dead Athletes. Empty Stands. Why Are We Paying Billions to Keep This Sport Alive? "The obvious solution here is also the simplest: Just stop. Let the sport stand on its own and dwindle to whatever size its fan base supports. Instead, state legislatures keep funneling money to it. 'The biggest fear that our industry has is that the states are going to stop subsidizing, using slot machines to subsidize the sport,' said Jeff Gural, who owns three harness racing tracks. 'Without that, there is no sport.' Shouldn’t that tell you something?"

5

Extra, Extra

Defense Wins Championships: "Five former secretaries of defense are calling on Congress to hold immediate hearings on President Donald Trump's recent firings of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other senior military leaders." In a normal era, this would be the lead story in every outlet. Former defense chiefs call for congressional hearings on Trump's firing of senior military leaders. "We, like many Americans — including many troops — are therefore left to conclude that these leaders are being fired for purely partisan reasons ... we’re not asking members of Congress to do us a favor; we’re asking them to do their jobs." (Somehow I don't expect that order to be followed.)

+ Someone is Being Aided: Foreign aid is not about being nice. China eyes opportunities as US scales back humanitarian aid. "The U.S. is really battling itself ... and it’s really helping China."

+ Top Heavy: "When the math on producing goods and services only pencils out when you’re selling to the rich, it doesn’t just change the availability of designer handbags or hotel suites; it affects how entire industries organize themselves." Amanda Mull in Bloomberg: Rich People Are Firing a Cash Cannon at the US Economy—But at What Cost? I covered this trend earlier in the week. Lux Et Veritas.

+ Se Habla WTF? "Trump has long railed against the use of languages other than English in the US: In 2015, he criticized former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail, and the new administration quickly removed the Spanish-language version of the White House website soon after taking office." Trump to sign executive order designating English as official US language.

+ Cartel-a-Vision: "Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations. The unprecedented show of security cooperation comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington trying to head off the Trump administration's threat of imposing 25% tariffs."

+ Plot Twists: It's so strange how the Oscar winners seem to have less to do with quality and more to do with the race that takes place after the nominations. This year, things seem more wide open than usual. I guess that makes for a better show. Oscar Predictions: What’s It Gonna Be, Academy – Strippers or Priests?

6

Feel Good Friday

"Despite holding the presidency of the student council and being voted most likely to succeed, 16-year-old Shawn Moyer had his prom night invitation declined. Moyer needed a backup, and though he didn’t know it at the time, the young lady with ringlet curls and an ear-to-ear smile he found would end up saving his life 35 years later." Colorado Woman Donates Kidney to Save Pennsylvania Man 35 Years After They Went to Prom Together.

+ "A Pennsylvania hiker had followed his dog off a mountain trail this week when he glanced toward a deep coal pit below and saw a tail move near a pile of rocks." Hiker rescues pup from abandoned coal pit after frigid weeklong search.

+ Japanese forward ‘King Kazu’ turns 58 and prepares for his 40th season in professional soccer. (I have to stretch for twenty minutes just to type this newsletter...)

+ Klay Thompson gifts Warriors title ring to LA surgeon. "Without you, I would not have been the second leading scorer on a championship team."

+ Sensitive prosthetic lets man feel hot and cold in his missing hand.