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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 1d

I have a strong preference for assertive women in power. Amy Klobuchar, for example, doesn't tolerate nonsense and has high expectations. Good. Europeans are ahead of us in this regard. Examples include Estonian PM Kallas, Finnish PM Marin and president of the European Commission, von der Leyen.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 1d

This double standard has bothered me for decades. Subconsciously the media (especially in America; we're weirdly reactionary in this respect) accepts/condones men in power behaving assertively (to the point of sometimes being impertinent) while it criticizes women in power for the same behavior.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 2d

Awful.
Call me naive, but I never thought America would stoop to the level of conducting federal government razzias. This is especially egregious in light of the ordinary folks often being targeted unjustly.
I just no longer feel I belong here in the U.S. it's not my home anymore. it's depressing.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 3d

Without critical details, it's hard to evaluate the impact of Trump's most favored nation initiative on drug pricing for patients and Medicaid.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Missing Details On Trump’s Drug Price Plan Make It Hard To Evaluate

Trump has called its initiative an “historic” step in drug pricing policy. But the lack of critical details makes it hard to assess the impact on patients and Medicaid.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 4d

There's always been an element of this in America. Plenty of idiots on both sides of the aisle for as long as I can recall. But in modern post-1945 history the US hasn't been as blatantly idiocratic. And we haven't had a president who was this enthralled with our lowest common denominator as humans.

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 4d

Is Trump's most favored nation initiative consequential? Well, not for the vast majority (>90%) of U.S. patients. It could be meaningful for Medicaid payers, but even that remains to be seen. For now, the impact on Medicaid is shrouded in opacity.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Trump’s Drug Price Initiative Has No Impact On Most US Patients’ Costs

Trump touted a deal with Pfizer in which the firm will sell drugs at discounts on a website called TrumpRx. But for most patients their out-of-pocket costs won’t change.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 6d

www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Government Shutdown Imperils Obamacare Subsidies, Affordability

The federal government shutdown imperils the extension of Obamacare subsidies for more than 22 million Americans, which could make their healthcare much less affordable.

www.forbes.com

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 7d

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's stance opposing vaccine mandates stands in stark contrast to longstanding (current and past) U.S. immigration policy.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Ladapo’s Stance On Vaccine Mandates Contradicts U.S. Immigration Law

Florida's Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has likened vaccine mandates to slavery. Nevertheless, vaccine mandates are integral to current and past U.S. immigration policy.

www.forbes.com

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 7d

While many MAHA ideas are problematic, improving diet and exercise is laudable. Our diet in the US is really quite poor. I've lived overseas for decades. Generally, diet is much better outside the US. Perhaps one way to address the problem is adding nutrient warnings.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

U.S. Could Follow Other Countries’ Lead And Add Nutrient Warnings

Perhaps nutrient warnings could also apply to food and non-alcoholic beverages. Evidence from countries that implemented warning policies supports their effectiveness.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 7d

Why canceling a federal government survey on hunger and food insecurity matters.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

What Canceling The U.S. Federal Government’s Hunger Survey Means

The survey data on hunger and food insecurity help shape policy at the local, state and federal government levels, specifically to guide food assistance programs.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 8d

There are many problematic ideas in the MAHA movement. But paying closer attention to diet (and exercise) is a welcome feature. Americans' dietary habits can be poor. Perhaps MAHA could push for adding nutrient warning labels as is done in other nations.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

U.S. Could Follow Other Countries’ Lead And Add Nutrient Warnings

Perhaps nutrient warnings could also apply to food and non-alcoholic beverages. Evidence from countries that implemented warning policies supports their effectiveness.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 8d

Many rural hospitals and nursing homes have been operating in the red or close to it for years. The One Big Beautiful Bill will greatly exacerbate this longstanding problem. In anticipation of cuts in 2026, some hospitals and clinics are already closing their doors.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Medicaid Cuts May Already Be Impacting Hospitals

The One Big Beautiful Bill may lead to 16 million Medicaid/ACA enrollees losing coverage. Hospitals in turn will have reduced revenue and higher uncompensated care costs.

www.forbes.com

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 8d

Leucovorin is being touted by FDA Commissioner Makary as a treatment for individuals with autism who have cerebral folate deficiency. It may have modest promise, but the science is far from being settled.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Leucovorin May Have Promise In Autism, But Science Is Far From Settled

Regarding autism, the mix of genetic and environmental factors thought to cause it can complicate seemingly simple solutions like leucovorin.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 9d

Ever since moving back to the US on a more or less permanent basis in 1995, I've never understood the farce of federal government shutdowns. What's particularly troubling is the real fallout. Here I describe the role of Obamacare subsidies in the current standoff. www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Government Shutdown Imperils Obamacare Subsidies, Affordability

Federal government shutdown imperils the extension of Obamacare subsidies for more than 22 million Americans, which could make their healthcare much less affordable.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 9d

It's hard to overstate what the reaction outside the U.S. (by regulatory agencies and healthcare systems) has been to President Trump's "Don't take Tylenol" message. Here, I lay out the degree to which it's been rebuked.
www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

Outside U.S., “Don’t Take Tylenol” Message Sharply Rebuked

Outside the U.S., regulatory agencies reacted by reiterating that acetaminophen is the only pharmaceutical pain and fever reliever that is safe for use during pregnancy.

www.forbes.com

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 11d

John Searle was a very important figure in philosophy.
Here, Searle and Hilary Putnam (who we lost in 2016) discuss anti-realism. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt-9...

Anti-Realism - Searle & Putnam

YouTube video by Philosophy Overdose

www.youtube.com

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 11d

I believe I saw that sign in August on my way to Oxford from London on rhe Tube bus.

I miss England.

Wish I was there now.

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 11d

Sadly, Aaron, it will never change. Americans are too addicted to guns. I don't think it's just a Republican thing. Americans' addiction is expressed in an unwillingness by the majority to even consider a sane society in which access to guns - any kind of gun - is restricted.

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 16d

It was myopic for Kennedy and Bhattacharya to terminate federal research on mRNA: www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

How mRNA Vaccine Platform Suffers Mainly From Manufactured Distrust

Bhattacharya said mRNA technology “shouldn't be used as a platform for mass vaccination” because the public doesn’t trust it. But distrust is mainly from misinformation.

www.forbes.com

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 17d

Well, his grades did go up ...

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 17d

Add to that a president with no medical degree or relevant qualifications commanding the American public not to take Tylenol.
In all my life, I've never seen a president give medical advice. Well, there was one other time when Trump suggested bleach might be an option to rid the body of coronavirus.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 18d

True.
But I genuinely don't understand how so many people are putting a far-right podcaster on a pedestal, as if he's a modern day MLK. It makes me feel ill.
A CDC police officer gets killed. Nothing happens. 3 police officers in PA gunned down the other day. Crickets. School shootings. Idem ditto.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 18d

It's alienating to me.
I no longer feel at home in America.
The lionizing of Charlie Kirk is out of control. He shouldn't have been killed. But he wasn't a good-willed person. His podcasts and debates were narrowminded. Plus, they were tribal, homophobic, misogynist, jingoist, racist and xenophobic.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 19d

We already have severe shortages of doctors in the U.S. This will exacerbate an existing problem.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 20d

I've thought about this a lot.
Trump appears mentally ill. And this isn't a new thing. He's been this way throughout adulthood. This suggests to me that something terribly wrong happened during his upbringing. While there could be some genetic component, his environment had to have played a big role

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 21d

I wish Cardinal Dolan would stop it. The lionizing of a far-right podcaster is going way too far.
Charlie Kirk's death was horrible. It shouldn't have happened. It was wrong, period. But he was no saint. He was no hero or a St Paul figure. Kirk's words were divisive and at times crude and malicious.

Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 21d

Alas, the changes I'd like to see will never happen. The Founders were smart people. But I don't think they had good judgment when it came to certain aspects of government, including political appointments and fixed terms (with for all intents and purposes almost no way of successful impeachment).

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 21d

Another is the Supreme Court. It's a uniquely American phenomenon that: a. They're political appointees; b. The public knows the appointees' political views! It shouldn't be that way. Justices should be apolitical, independent judges, promoted by their peers based in part on their independent views.

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 21d

Understood. I think the problem goes back to a uniquely US practice of political appointments by the executive branch throughout government, which don't necessarily serve a larger societal mission. Take, for example, the FDA and CDC. Why should these agencies have politically appointed directors?

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Joshua Cohen @joshuapcohen.bsky.social · 21d

The problem now is that we all know who's on the ACIP committee. Frankly, it shouldn't be that way. These kinds of panels should be made up of a bunch of boring expert scientists who have no political baggage, don't want to make a name for themselves, don't seek the spotlight, and aren't contrarian.

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