Ghosts of the #DFP                    #222

by Hank Silverberg 

The defeated former president has been out of office for over a year, but many of the things he did, or didn't do, continue to haunt us. First and foremost is his love relationship with Vladimir Putin and the weakening of NATO, which is now playing out with deadly consequences in Ukraine. That's been well documented over the last few months, so I won't repeat it now.  

But here are just a few other examples of the mess Trump left for Biden to clean up. 

The shortage of infant formula has become the latest side effect in the supply chain problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic. But there is more to it than that. An article in The Atlantic points out that there was a great deal of stockpiling of the baby formula during the pandemic, making production estimates difficult. Then came an uptick in births combined with a very large decline in the rate of breastfeeding among new mothers. 

All this came along with the bacterial contamination at the Abbott Nutrition's main manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan.  It's one of the largest formula makers in the U.S. and the contamination forced a huge recall of formula and a halt in production in April. The U.S. produced 98% of the formula American babies consumed prior to the problem at Abbot. 

(Shortage of baby formula,
 Courtesy Florida health department) 
 

 Previously, the United States did not allow formula made elsewhere to come into the country because it sometimes didn't meet FDA standards, so there was no alternative source. 

But here's the kicker. Formula made in Canada, which does meet the standards, might have made up for the loss from the Abbot factory. But that couldn't happen as the shortage grew, because the North American Free Trade Deal, re-negotiated by the Trump administration, strictly prohibited the import of baby formula from Canada. 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/baby-formula-shortage-abbott-recall/629828/

This past week the FDA announced it will ease some restrictions to allow imported formula. Chile, Ireland, Mexico and the Netherlands are potential sources. 

Roe v. Wade

The leak of a pending decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that will nullify the 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion, has had a distinctive impact across the country. And it's a reversal that never would have happened if not for the three Trump appointees on the High Court. A new poll from CBS News indicates almost two-thirds of the American public are angry and discouraged by the pending decision and are worried that it may be a "danger to women."

According to the poll, most Americans, particularly younger women, also think the SCOTUS decision is going to lead to more restrictions on birth control and family planning choices (66%).

But the same poll shows one-third of the country describe the pending SCOTUS reversal of Roe v. Wade, as "a protection for the unborn."

Those who say abortion should be generally available has now increased to its highest level ever. Sixty-seven percent say things should be left the way they have been for the last 50 years with abortion being legal nationwide. 

The poll did not ask a question specifically for Baby Boomers, but for those of us who grew up when abortion was illegal prior to the 1973 decision, this issue was settled 50 years ago. Returning to the days of back-alley abortions is unthinkable. 

It is now possible that we will soon have different abortion laws in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, making it extremely confusing for women trying to make an often-emotional medical decision. It will be especially hard for those women at a very young age or those who are victims of rape or incest.  

(Full poll here:  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roe-v-wade-supreme-court-overturn-opinion-poll-2022-05-08/

The issue will certainly have an impact in the mid-term elections coming up in November.  I suspect protests will grow louder and more widespread once the actual SCOTUS decision is released sometime this summer. 

An NBC poll released on Sunday shows abortion is now the biggest issue for 22% of the voters in the coming mid-term election. It tops gun control at 12% and border security at 9%. Unfortunately, climate change has now been shoved aside once again with only 8% believing that is the top issue. 

The biggest irony in this giant leap backwards is that many of the same people who feel the government should again control a woman's body were also among the loudest critics of what they called a violation of their freedom when the government mandated vaccines and masks during the pandemic. The hypocrisy is disgusting, but not surprising.  

Fly Me to The Moon? 

Or at least my name anyway.  NASA has invited people to send in their names so they can be posted on the Artimis 1 rocket, which is scheduled to head to the Moon later this year. You can join the other 1.7 million people who have already done so by using this link:  

https://www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-artemis/

(The Orion spacecraft will be used
 for the Artimis mission) 

This flight of the Orion spacecraft paves the way for a future mission to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. The Moon base will then serve as a launching pad for exploring Mars and beyond.  Here's NASA's description of the uncrewed and complex mission. 

"During the flight, the spacecraft will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon and over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before."  

The exact day of the launch has not been set yet, but NASA says it could be as early as August. So, if you want your name on board you'd better sign up now.  

Woody!

This week I thought some nature might be appropriate. My wife and I spotted this pileated woodpecker on our front lawn here in Virginia this past weekend. He was pecking away at the roots of a tree we had removed two years ago. He looked like he was enjoying himself. 

(Photo credit::Jody Silverberg)

We haven 't seen one of these birds around the neighborhood before, so it was a great diversion for a few minutes. 

For those of you too young to know, "Woody Woodpecker" was an animated character that appeared in short films from the 1940's until the 1970's and originally voiced by the legendary Mel Blanc. Woody made a brief comeback in 2018. Can't show you the cartoon though, that would be copyright infringement. You can Google it. 

Dumbest Quote of the Week!

There were quite a few this week, many of them focusing on the baby formula story. I picked out this one from Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who is known for saying quite a few dumb things.   

“While mothers and fathers stare at empty grocery store shelves in a panic, the Biden Administration is happy to provide baby formula to illegal immigrants coming across our southern border,” 

The stupidity of the comment is mind-blowing. Is Abbott really suggesting that we stop feeding babies simply because their parents chose to cross the border illegally?  His comment was aimed specifically at MAGA politics and unworthy of the Governor of America's second largest state. And of course, his comments and similar comments by politicians on the right, were picked up by Fox News where the pundits and anchors started talking about "pallets and pallets" of baby formula being hoarded by the U.S. Government to feed immigrant babies instead of American babies. 

Here are the facts: 

The United States, by law, is required to feed people held in custody who have illegally crossed the border. (It's also the decent thing to do.) Not supplying them with food would break the law. There are only a few hundred babies in custody and providing them with formula has no significant impact on the shortages. (See above for the real reasons for the shortage.) 

 

 (Your comments and suggestions are welcome) 

(My book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature.)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/Campaign-Hank-Silverberg/dp/1543422608

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796