Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York will provide patients using Medicaid with care at no cost, now that the federal government is no longer providing reimbursement for its services.
The Trump administration blocked more than 1.1 million patients from using their Medicaid coverage at these health centers for one year. And recently, a federal appeals court upheld that policy.
More than half of the patients at Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York use Medicaid.
What's in a name? What are the connotations and the hidden meanings of words?
Do you think this Republican change in name is a good thing or bad thing for Americans and the World?
The military systems are very expensive in money and life. Does the creation, use, and nurturing of military systems benefit or harm life on planet Earth?
The military budget in the US is the largest line item with over 50% of federal tax dollars going on the military. This portion of the budget is so large it cannot be effectively audited so we don't even know precisely where are tax dollars are going.
Edwin Starr's great song "War, what is it good for?" came out in 1970 during the Vietnam war. Nothing much has changed since then given the US involving itself in all kinds of wars.
A feeling of overstimulation is one consequence of algorithmic life. Another is a certain jumbledness in our ideas. Why do we care about what we care about? Walking into your basement in the dark, you might stumble into a cobweb; one strain of philosophical thought holds that this is how caring works. We become ensnared by the possibilities that happen to present themselves as we live—we get caught in webs of care. You run into your elderly neighbor in the morning and, that night, wonder how he’s doing. Your middle schooler likes Chappell Roan, and soon you do, too. A single encounter with “The Fountainhead” at thirteen might make you a lifelong libertarian. Algorithmic culture taps into the casual randomness with which we apportion our care; it takes advantage of the fact that what we bump into today might obsess us tomorrow. Its webs, meanwhile, are woven by machines that are owned by corporations.
Why do think what you think? How is it that somethings capture your attention and not others? Are you in control of your mind or are external stimuli manipulating it?
Like your intentional diet prescribes what food you put into your mouth, do you take as much care with your intellectual diet?
Do you control the AI or does the AI control you?
As the bumper sticker says, "Be alert. The world needs more lerts."
Do you understand how thought systems work? The first and most important component of thought systems is the capturing of your attention.
Medical Trials
Siddhartha Mukherjee, in his piece on early-stage cancer detection, presents a convincing argument concerning the perils of screening ("Early Warnings," June 23rd). He also suggests that the bio-medical model, which finds disease, is being privileged over the public-health model, which seeks to prevent illness and can do so effectively given enough resources. Clean air and water, quality food, adequate housing, safe workplaces, education, and vaccination contribute far more to the health of a population than catching disease early. But biomedicine is where the money is, and screening brings in a significant share. Mammography alone is an eleven-billion-dollar industry.
Burden Lundgren, M.P.H., Ph.D., R.N.
It is interesting how people don't vote for candidates who would further their financial interests but rather vote for candidates funded by oligarchs who fear monger blaming "the other" for peoples woes rather their own special interest policies.
How bad will it get before voters decide there is a better way?
The economic hardships as well as the social ill will can only get worse as the Republicans continue to be in control of social policy in the US. Remember the advocates for these xenophobic policies the next time you vote in any election: local, state, national.
When I set out to study cheating, I naturally told everyone I met about my new project and soon found that some people blushed red at the very sound of the word. Then I would blush, it being obvious that the other person had just inadvertently confessed something very intimate.
Fenster, Julie M. . Cheaters Always Win: The Story of America (p. 8). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.
To what extent do you cheat and condone cheating in other people’s behavior? Some claim that cheating has gotten worse in the United States and point to the fact that we elected Donald Trump, one of the most notorious cheaters in the world, as our President.
As President, Donald Trump, becomes a role model for people: adults and children, what are the consequences for our social relationships? When did cheating become normative behavior and not only no longer shocks people, but has come to be expected.
When we find out that successful people cheat, we are no longer surprised but want to know how bad the cheating was and what the damages and repercussions are.
MarkhamsSlowNews reports on social systems so that people can understand their lived experience from a broader perspective. If cheating is a normative behavior in the United States in 2025, what does that mean for the functioning of our society?
This is the first of a series of articles about cheating: its prevalence and consequences for our society.
Many Americans don’t feel safe. They are manipulated constantly by politicians who tell them they should be very afraid and that only the politician if elected can safe them.
This is a cruel game used to manipulate voters. Only when we feel safe can we turn our attention from the described threats and work together to create a better world.
People when they are scared are often not accurate in assessing real threats. What we are told to be scared of distracts our attention from what really matters.
This political game of “Be afraid and only I only I can save you” is very effective in manipulating groups of people and “spooking the herd.” This game is played not only by politicians but also constantly by the media.
“They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats!” got Trump and Vance elected. Americans have been played as chumps.
It’s time for Americans to grow up and stop reacting to the imaginary monsters politicians have told them are under their beds. How does the American voter grow up and develop a more adult understanding of the world? It takes two things: correct information and emotional support.
Who can Americans trust? What is accurate and true? Who is honest and competent at threat assessment, and threat management preparedness? Who can you believe?
In future articles, MarkhamsSlowNews is dedicated to sharing the truth and referring the reader to accurate sources of information and ideas about how to obtain emotional support based on equity, justice, and compassion.
The social welfare system in capitalistic countries is designed to provide only the smallest of benefits to force people into a cheap labor pool to benefit the oligarchs.
Universal Basic Income programs work in raising the quality of life for citizens and decreasing the incidence and prevalence of other social problems so in the long run not only provide dignity to people but also save the taxpayers money for having to fund other remedial services for problems fueled by poverty.
This chart based on data from the CDC depicts the gun mortality rates per 100,000. The red states have much higher gun mortality rates than blue states. New York has the 4th lowest gun mortality rate in the nation due to its gun safety laws.
Van Ness, Daniel W.; Heetderks Strong, Karen. Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice (p. 4). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
The current criminal justice system has been called “The King’s Justice” because the way it is set up is that the King (the state) makes the laws and the alleged criminal until proven guity has broken them. The State then exacts a punishment from the offender, “do the crime, do the time” mentality eliminates the victim(s) and the community from the system.
Only in recent decades have “victim rights” been recognized, acknowledged, and made a marginal part of the adversarial winner/loser game that unfolds.
Only since the 70s has another model of justice come to the awareness of the public known as Restorative Justice but it is little known and even less put into practice, but when it has there is evidence that it gets much better outcomes.
Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community. It’s a different approach from traditional criminal justice, which primarily focuses on punishing the offender. The core idea is that crime harms individuals and communities, and justice should be about repairing that harm. This process often involves a meeting between the victim, the offender, and community members. The offender takes responsibility for their actions, and together, they decide how to best repair the harm done. The goal is to address the needs of the victim, hold the offender accountable, and reintegrate both parties into the community.
I engaged in a restorative process when a three time drunk driver killed two of my children back in 1994.
This is the first of several articles on Restorative Justice, a better way to repair the harms experienced in our communities, states, nation, and world.
President Eisenhower warns Americans against the military-industrial complex in his exit speech on January 17, 1961. We should have listened to him. He was a Republican.
Video lasts 2:30. Click here.
Now we have the military in our country policing its own citizens.
The Republicans deal in alternative facts and propaganda. Americans deserve the truth. Social policies do matter and some get better outcomes than others. When it comes to getting murdered in an urban setting, a person would have much lower risk in a blue city like San Francisco as compared to a red city like Houston.
Observing such a huge discrepancy, a thoughtful person might ask why such a difference? There is something much more life preserving and life giving about the culture in San Francisco than in Houston. What is different about the two cultures?
But that doesn’t mean the work to end the crisis has stopped. States, cities, and community members across the country are still taking action to reduce shootings — you just might not hear about it from most news outlets.
Enter The Trajectory, a newsletter about the people, policies, and programs grappling with America’s gun violence epidemic. Sign up to receive stories about the people and communities taking action to reduce gun violence, along with the innovative programs and policies that are making a difference. Because America’s gun violence epidemic will never abate if we focus only on the problem — we have to look at potential solutions, too.
Social policies and social programs matter and can make a difference. New York State has the fourth lowest gun mortality rate in the nation because it has some of the nation's best gun safety laws.
The Republicans are heavily supported by gun and weapons manufacturers in the United States who make money by selling guns. If you want to understand what fuels political campaigns find out who is financing them and who the candidate then is beholden to.
When it comes to gun violence you are far safer living in New York than most other states in the Union.
If we are going to solve the gun mortality problem in the United States we must address the source of the problem which is who is profiting from gun sales and who is shaping policy when it comes to gun safety.
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Since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United in 2010 that a corporation is a person and has the same free speech rights, a corporation can donate an unlimited amount of money to political campaigns giving them the power to buy politicians who will promote their corporate interests even at the expense of the people the politician is sworn to represent and serve.
Citizens United has allowed the oligarchs to take over the US government. The costs of federal elections doubled in the last decade from $6.5 billion in 2016 to $14.8 billion in 2024. This explosive rise in campaign spending had come from corporations and not from the constituents in the politicians district. In 2024 only 17.6% of campaign money for house races came from the candidates home states, and 27.5% for senate races. This is a stark contrast to 20 years ago when the vast majority of contributions were from local donors whom the politicians were campaigning to serve. (For more click here.)
If citizens are to protect and further nurture democratic processes they need to know who is buying their politicians allegiance. He who pays the fiddler, calls the tune. So the news behind the news is who is funding social policy development and implementation for what interests? In other words, if a student wants to better understand the workings of democracy in the US, follow the money.
The buying of politicians is such a significant issue for the functioning of our democracy, MarkhamsSlowNews will be reporting on this topic regularly.
The University of Maryland has created an interactive map that predicts what the climate will be like in different areas on the planet in 60 years.
In Rochester, NY where I live it is predicted that in 60 years the summers will average 12 degrees warmer and 2% drier and the winters will be 12 degrees warmer and 20 % wetter. This will mean less snow in the winter and more rain, and more drought in the summer.
To use the interactive map click here.
As the population of homo sapiens grows and affects the ecologies of regions on the earth, other animal species are crowded out. This encroachment and eradication is another characteristic of what is called the "Anthropocene."
The first component of a social discourse is the body of knowledge which forms the frame of reference from which the technology of the discourse is derived. The primary repository of this body of knowledge is embodied in the jargon and special vocabulary used to communicate this knowledge. It is this body of knowledge which is studied in professional training schools such as “medical school”, “law school”, “business school”, etc.
Within these bodies of knowledge a student and practitioner can specialize and develop an expertise in some sub section of the discourse giving them even more power and authority because of their special knowledge. These folks become the “experts.”
The experts are often credentialed by some accrediting body which sanctions and validates the mastery of this specialized knowledge of the discourse. This specialized knowledge is often made visible by initials after the person’s name and basic credential. Mastering this body of knowledge gives the person authority, social status, and power among society at large but especially among those who also represent the discourse.
The language used in public discourse—whether in media, politics, or everyday conversations—frames issues and defines what is considered "truthful" or "common sense."4 For example, the use of terms like "illegal alien" instead of “undocumented” in a discourse on immigration can frame immigrants as a threat, which in turn influences people's attitudes and support for certain policies.5 This framing of knowledge can legitimize certain viewpoints while marginalizing others, creating a shared understanding that is difficult to challenge.
This specialized use of words to communicate knowledge has a way of colonizing a person’s thinking and beliefs. Some thoughts and beliefs benefit from the social sanctions wielded by the laws of the society which govern the practices of the discourse and people departing from the generally accepted meaning of the words are sued for malpractice, censured, disbarred, excommunicated, and labeled as “quacks” and con artists if not traitors and apostates.
The devious manipulation of nefarious actors cast doubt on the accuracy and validity of the discourse knowledge base. Perpetration of disinformation, propaganda, and “alternative facts” undermine and sabotage the accepted knowledge base of the discourse and change it sometimes rapidly and sometimes insidiously.
From an evolutionary perspective, the knowledge base of discourses are constantly changing and in flux based on the benefits and the accuracy of the predicted outcomes they provide.
The deeper analysis of the knowledge base of discourses occurs in the philosophical discipline of epistemology which is the study of knowledge. Epistemology attempts to investigate and understand how we know what we know and how knowledge is used in our human functioning.
How do we know if what we are told is accurate and valid? Should I believe what I am being told or not? Does the person sharing this knowledge know that they are talking about? Are they to be trusted?
The first component of a discourse is the jargon which is promoted by the "experts" who represent the discourse. They often offer "glossaries" to lay people so they can understand the special language. in 1984, the dystopian novel about Oceania, the jargon of the party is "newspeak". Have you noticed how the 2025, MAGA, group has coined a jargon of their own to promote their desire to oppress, subjugate, and dominate? Are immigrants "undocumented" or "illegals"? Are guilty insurrectionists "felons" or "patriots"? Is all news that doesn't report MAGA's "alternative facts" "fake news"?
Every discourse has its own jargon, a taxonomy of words that describe and define the discourse. This jargon predominates in every discourse whether it be the medical, the legal, the educational, or any other discourse. In order to understand the dynamics of the discourse, the observer must learn the language.
Words are powerful because they shape our thoughts. Without the words we couldn’t think the way we do. Our thinking is skewed based on the words that make up our thoughts. So, if you want to influence and control how people think, use certain words that contribute to thinking that shapes their beliefs and then their behavior.
The same result of controlling people’s thinking by introducing certain words into their vocabulary is to censor and eliminate other words. In our current society in 2025, those who would control us label words they don’t like as “fake news.” They take other steps to censor certain words in what is called “cancel culture” and certain words require “trigger warnings” to warn people about unwanted emotional arousal at the sound of certain words.
While we take pride in the US about our first amendment rights to free speech, speech is anything but free because of the normative sanctions that are placed on unwanted words in any number of ways.
Those who control the acceptable words, control the thoughts, and controlling the thoughts, controls the behavior. So in Oceania in the novel 1984, there are the thought police who surveil people’s use of language and punish them or vanish them if they are found to be perpetrating the use of certain words unacceptable to Big Brother and the Party.
Introducing new words for an observation or experience in psychotherapy is called a “reframe” where a new word is substituted for an old one which isn’t serving the person or the group well. As a therapist I act on the motto “If you can’t name it, you can’t control it. So what do you call it?”
Naming a perception and experience is very powerful not only for individual functioning but for group functioning and societal functioning as well. So if you want to understand the power that a discourse has over you first learn the jargon. Learning the jargon unlocks an understanding of the other components of a discourse.
Use your words carefully because the words produce thoughts which produce beliefs which produce behavior.
Sociologists see discourse as embedded in and emerging out of relations of power because those in control of institutions—like media, politics, law, medicine, and education—control its formation. As such, discourse, power, and knowledge are intimately connected, and work together to create hierarchies. Some discourses come to dominate the mainstream (dominant discourses), and are considered truthful, normal, and right, while others are marginalized and stigmatized, and considered wrong, extreme, and even dangerous.
Cole, Nicki Lisa, Ph.D. "Introduction to Discourse in Sociology." ThoughtCo, Apr. 28, 2025, thoughtco.com/discourse-definition-3026070.
We like to think we have free will, but we don’t. We are socialized, conditioned, and influenced by the social situations we participate in. If you speak English, chances are you were raised in an English speaking family and if you speak Mandarin Chinese you were raised in a Mandarin speaking Chinese family. We are more a product of our social environment than we are aware of or, if we are aware of the social environment’s influence on us, we don’t like to admit it.
This is the first in a series of articles for the next four months on the role of social discourses on human behavior in our contemporary society. It is hoped if we are more aware of these social influences we will be better able to manage them and shape the forces that create the society we live in.
Back in the 60s we used to talk about changing the social systems that contributed to oppression, subjugation, injustice, and dysfunction. In order to change these systems there was a recognition that consciousnesses needed to be raised. There were a plethora of consciousness raising groups in many venues offered and participated in with the hope of helping people become more self aware, empathic, compassionate, and activist by becoming part of the solution and no longer a part of the problem.
Many of our social discourses could benefit from improvement so that people who are subject to them can live higher quality lives.
Few if any programs of the U.S. government touch as many people as directly as Social Security. Nearly every working American pays Social Security taxes, and more than 55 million people receive retirement benefits through the program. Millions more also collect disability benefits or cash assistance through it.
Social Security has long been one of the federal government’s most popular programs. In a 2024 Pew Research Center survey, 79% of U.S. adults said Social Security benefits shouldn’t be reduced in any way – a view broadly shared across ages, racial and ethnic groups, partisan affiliations and income brackets.
For more click here
New York State's bail reform, which largely eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, has been a significant change to the state's criminal justice system. Proponents of the reform point to several key benefits:
Reduces Incarceration and Inequity: The primary benefit is that it addresses a two-tiered system of justice where a person's freedom before trial was determined by their ability to pay. By eliminating cash bail for certain offenses, the reform has prevented thousands of people from being detained in jail simply because they are poor. This has led to a significant reduction in the state's pretrial jail population.
Keeps Families and Communities Intact: When individuals are detained pretrial, they can lose their jobs, housing, and connection to their families. This disruption can have long-lasting negative effects. By allowing more people to await trial in their communities, the reform helps them maintain their employment, care for their children, and remain connected to their support systems.
Saves Taxpayer Money: Pretrial detention is expensive for taxpayers. By reducing the number of people in jail, the reform has resulted in substantial cost savings for the state. This money can then be reallocated to other public services, including those that support communities and address the root causes of crime.
Reduces Recidivism: Some research suggests that pretrial detention can actually increase a person's likelihood of reoffending. By allowing people to remain in their communities, cashless bail may contribute to a reduction in recidivism. A study from the Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College found that for people released under the bail reform law, recidivism rates were lower than for a similar group of people before the reforms.
Promotes Racial Justice: The previous cash bail system disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic communities, who were more likely to be assigned cash bail and less likely to be able to afford it. Bail reform aims to reduce these racial disparities by ensuring that a person's race or socioeconomic status does not determine whether they are detained before their trial.
While the reforms have been a subject of intense debate, especially concerning their impact on public safety, these are the key benefits often cited by supporters of the legislation.
From Stat on 08/11/25
On Thursday night, President Trump signed a sweeping new executive order that seeks to transform how the federal government awards billions of dollars in research grants by giving political appointees unprecedented power over the projects agencies fund. Instead of experts and career civil servants setting funding decisions and priorities, the order places that authority with presidential appointees who, in coordination with the White House, are directed to use their “independent judgment” and “advance the President’s policy priorities.”
The executive power grab, which experts expect to be challenged in court, is likely to have massive and immediate impacts on the daily operations of American science. Read more about it from STAT’s science team.
I've been re-reading 1984 by George Orwell and how Winston Smith the main character works in the "Ministry of Truth" altering documents to align with the propaganda of Big Brother. It seems surreal to see this actually happening in the United States in 2025 when science research will have to align with political agenda of MAGA to get and/or keep funding.
There are reports of scientists leaving the US to continue their research in other countries.
