Random Tidbits 2/10/24

There are a number of stories I have seen recently, each of which are fairly consequential. I think it is a good idea to present some of these:

• The American College of Pediatricians reviews 60 studies on gender transitioning and finds there is no long-term benefit to the process of “transitioning” teens;
• A grand jury convened by the state of Florida has issued a report indicating that the response to Covid-19– lockdowns, masking, social distancing and mistaken risk communication– failed to contain the spread of the virus and also led to serious adverse consequences;
• The Congressional Budget Office projects that the national debt will increase by $21.2 trillion over the next decade, and that the ratio of debt to Gross Domestic Product will soar;
• The state of North Carolina is enrolling pharmacists as “Medicaid providers” so that they can prescribe contraception without a doctor’s prescription, thereby paradoxically assuring more out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and illegitimacy;
• The state of North Carolina ranks high among the states in terms of the amount of farmland that is being lost to development;
• A recently published article in a national publication reveals that the UNC system employs lobbyists in the General Assembly that advocate for progressive/socialist approaches and that “cook the data” to achieve the political outcomes the university system wants— to sabotage any conscientious desire Republicans might have to reform the system.