A hilarious and sad letter

It’s serious business, the question of who will be President of the United States, arguably the most powerful human on this planet. But sometimes, one only can laugh at what a desperate candidate will say or do.

And perhaps, today is the day for laughter. Here, belatedly, is a copy of a letter released by Donald Trump’s doctor.

It is a laught riot — and sad:

As you can see, the letter from the learned doctor begins, to whom my concern, a fittingly humorous beginning.

Here are some further comments by the New York Times:

Donald Trump Releases Medical Report Calling His Health ‘Extraordinary’”

The letter, gushing in tone and signed by Dr. Harold N. Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, was four paragraphs long and provided few specific laboratory test results.

The letter made a sweeping declaration in a tone oddly similar to how Mr. Trump talks about himself.

Mr. Trump vowed on Twitter to release a “full medical report” about his physical health and fitness to serve as president, which he said would “show perfection.”

His pledge came after a Politico report pointed out his penchant for fatty foods, his lack of routine workouts and, until now, his refusal to release a medical report.

I don’t know about you, but when my doctor provides me with a report, it is three pages long, and filled with all sorts of measurements and chemical shorthands, and it indicates what’s normal and what differs from normal.

He doesn’t send me a strange little note telling me I’m the greatest of all time — but then, I’m not the Donald Trump.

Though Trump promised “a full medical report,” apparently that promise is as good as the one about producing his tax returns.

The email from Mr. Trump that contained the note said it was from his doctor, Jacob. According to an obituary, Jacob Bornstein died in 2010; the note lists Jacob Bornstein as Mr. Trump’s previous physician.

Seemingly, Mr. Trump was in such a hurry to provide proof of his magnificence, he forgot who his doctor was.

Dr. Harold Bornstein said in his letter that he had taken over his father’s practice and had cared for Mr. Trump since 1980. “Over the past 39 years, I am pleased to report that Mr. Trump had no significant medical problems,” giving a duration that suggested he had been caring for him since 1976.

Apparently, this does not cover the period when a bone spur in Mr. Trump’s heel was so serious as to make him unfit for the military — before the spur suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.

A “recent complete medical examination” of Mr. Trump “showed only positive results,” the letter said.

Real doctors do not use the term “only positive results,” simply because many positive results would indicate disease. Would you really want to test positive for syphilis or cancer?

Could it be that Trump dictated the letter? Naw, he wouldn’t be so devious — and obvious —  would he?

It gave few specifics about that examination but contained a number of flamboyant descriptions. For example, Dr. Bornstein said Mr. Trump’s blood pressure, 110/65, and laboratory test results were “astonishingly excellent.”

Presumably, the normal blood pressure reading was without benefit of any medication to lower a higher blood pressure.

“Astonishingly excellent”? Really? That’s doctor talk? My blood pressure is “within normal parameters.” Trump’s is astonishingly excellent.

Mr. Trump has lost “at least 15 pounds” in the past 12 months. But his exact weight before and after the loss was not stated. Reporters who have covered Mr. Trump’s campaign said their impression was that he had gained weight over recent months.

Hmmm . . . If his health is “astonishing excellent,” why did he lose 15 pounds in the past year? That’s astonishingly excellent?

And why does he look so bloated now?

Mr. Trump takes a low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams, or baby aspirin) daily as well as a statin to lower his high cholesterol, the report said.

His test results were “astonishing excellent” and his exam “showed only positive results,” uh, er, except for his high cholesterol and his excess weight — two of the most common cardiac concerns.

Reporters have asked Mr. Trump about his military draft status. He said he had received medical deferments from the Vietnam War because of a bone spur in his foot. When asked about it over the summer, Mr. Trump said he could not recall which foot was afflicted.

He couldn’t remember which foot was so painful it kept him out of the army?? Was this a memory problem or an honesty problem? You choose.

Mr. Trump said: “I am fortunate to have been blessed with great genes — both of my parents had very long and productive lives.” He did not say his father, Fred developed Alzheimer’s disease beginning in his late 80s.

O.K., so maybe it was a memory problem.

The note from Dr. Bornstein praised Mr. Trump’s “physical strength and stamina.” Those are the specific words that Mr. Trump has used to tar Hillary Clinton.

Yet more evidence that Trump forged the doctor’s note.

And then there is this:

DONALD TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR EVERYTHING, ACCORDING TO HIS OWN DOCTOR
BY KURT EICHENWALD

Trump acolytes have not dropped their lying campaign about Clinton’s health, and their argument that people with epilepsy are unfit for political office. They are demanding she produce all of her medical records.

On July 28, 2015, the Clinton campaign released a typical medical letter from an internist, whom she has seen since 2001—Lisa Bardack, director of internal medicine, Mount Sinai Health System at CareMount Medical.

The letter is a typical medical history, and begins with the usual summary of a full physical, calling her a “healthy 67-year-old female.” It lists medical issues and the findings of testing. The tests, it says, were negative, meaning they showed no problems.

(Trump submitted what) purports to be a medical letter, but it is one of the most ridiculous documents ever to emerge in any political campaign.

First, the letterhead is in the same font as the letter, which appears to have been created using Microsoft Word.

The signature from the doctor is several inches past the signature line—the result you might get if the document had been signed as a blank and filled in later.

The letterhead includes a Gmail address—something doctors tell me is extremely unusual, since doctors do not want patients contacting them directly by email as a substitute for scheduling an appointment.

And don’t try going to the website listed (haroldbornsteinmd.com). It’s a fake.  Suprised?

Then, there is the doctor who allegedly signed this document. His name is Harold N. Bornstein, and he is a gastroenterologist.

This kind of physician is a specialist who treats the digestive tract. This is not an internist, who is trained specifically in providing full histories and physicals of patients.

It says results were “extraordinarily excellent.” (Not a medical term.)

It says, “His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary.” (Again, not a medical term.)

Then, in the most hilarious, Trump-esque line of all, it says, “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest person ever elected to the presidency.”

In other words, this letter purports to show that a doctor has assessed the health of 43 people he has never examined, including the four who are still alive.

Hmmm . . . He’s not the healthiest person who ever has existed, or ever will exist, on the planet??

There is a genetic component to (Altzheimers, the disease that killed Trump’s father.) Risk increases when a person has a particular type of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene on the 19th chromosome. The type of APOE gene a person has is testable.

Has Dr. Bornstein, the gastroenterologist, tested for it? If not, why not? Is that why Trump has avoided seeing an internist, since they would conduct such a test?

Such a test might reveal that Trump is unfit for office since dementia, unlike epilepsy, could damage a president’s ability to think coherently.

Type “Trump and Alzheimer’s” into Google and lots of articles and online comments pop up pointing out behaviors of Trump’s that are consistent with Alzheimer’s: meandering speech, poor self-control, not properly responding to questions that are asked, erratic behavior.

See? I can generate conspiracy theories, too. Please understand, I’m not saying Trump has Alzheimer’s. I’m just showing how easy it is to take a few facts and line them up to play the “I’m only asking questions” game.

In summary, Trump’s repeated attempts to con the public are hilarious, except . . .
His faking of his heel spur to get out of the military is hilarious, except . . .
His forged “doctor’s letter” is hilarious, except . . .
His coverup of his own health issues while questioning Clinton’s health is hilarious, except . . .

. . . Except there are millions of misguided Americans, who believe whatever Trump tells them.

You know these people. They are the easy marks who send money to Nigerian princes, buy penny stocks on the phone, let the guy at the door tar their driveway, and desperately want to believe someone they know has perpetrated repeated scams.

These are life’s punching bags, the suckers of the world, the dupes, the clowns, the fools, the eager prey of the con artists.

As Trump himself said, “I could shoot someone in the middle of Times Square and it would not cost me any votes.”

That is Trump’s one true statement.

And it is hilarious, but sad, that these naive folk are the ones who will suffer most if Trump ever were to be elected.

=Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
Monetary Sovereignty
===================================================================================
Ten Steps to Prosperity:
1. ELIMINATE FICA (Ten Reasons to Eliminate FICA )
Although the article lists 10 reasons to eliminate FICA, there are two fundamental reasons:
*FICA is the most regressive tax in American history, widening the Gap by punishing the low and middle-income groups, while leaving the rich untouched, and
*The federal government, being Monetarily Sovereign, neither needs nor uses FICA to support Social Security and Medicare.
2. FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICARE — PARTS A, B & D, PLUS LONG TERM CARE — FOR EVERYONE (H.R. 676, Medicare for All )
This article addresses the questions:
*Does the economy benefit when the rich afford better health care than the rest of Americans?
*Aside from improved health care, what are the other economic effects of “Medicare for everyone?”
*How much would it cost taxpayers?
*Who opposes it?”
3. PROVIDE AN ECONOMIC BONUS TO EVERY MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA, AND/OR EVERY STATE, A PER CAPITA ECONOMIC BONUS (The JG (Jobs Guarantee) vs the GI (Guaranteed Income) vs the EB) Or institute a reverse income tax.
This article is the fifth in a series about direct financial assistance to Americans:

Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Employer of Last Resort is a bad idea. Sunday, Jan 1 2012
MMT’s Job Guarantee (JG) — “Another crazy, rightwing, Austrian nutjob?” Thursday, Jan 12 2012
Why Modern Monetary Theory’s Jobs Guarantee is like the EU’s euro: A beloved solution to the wrong problem. Tuesday, May 29 2012
“You can’t fire me. I’m on JG” Saturday, Jun 2 2012

Economic growth should include the “bottom” 99.9%, not just the .1%, the only question being, how best to accomplish that. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) favors giving everyone a job. Monetary Sovereignty (MS) favors giving everyone money. The five articles describe the pros and cons of each approach.
4. FREE EDUCATION (INCLUDING POST-GRAD) FOR EVERYONEFive reasons why we should eliminate school loans
Monetarily non-sovereign State and local governments, despite their limited finances, support grades K-12. That level of education may have been sufficient for a largely agrarian economy, but not for our currently more technical economy that demands greater numbers of highly educated workers.
Because state and local funding is so limited, grades K-12 receive short shrift, especially those schools whose populations come from the lowest economic groups. And college is too costly for most families.
An educated populace benefits a nation, and benefiting the nation is the purpose of the federal government, which has the unlimited ability to pay for K-16 and beyond.
5. SALARY FOR ATTENDING SCHOOL
Even were schooling to be completely free, many young people cannot attend, because they and their families cannot afford to support non-workers. In a foundering boat, everyone needs to bail, and no one can take time off for study.
If a young person’s “job” is to learn and be productive, he/she should be paid to do that job, especially since that job is one of America’s most important.
6. ELIMINATE CORPORATE TAXES
Corporations themselves exist only as legalities. They don’t pay taxes or pay for anything else. They are dollar-tranferring machines. They transfer dollars from customers to employees, suppliers, shareholders and the government (the later having no use for those dollars).
Any tax on corporations reduces the amount going to employees, suppliers and shareholders, which diminishes the economy. Ultimately, all corporate taxes come around and reappear as deductions from your personal income.
7. INCREASE THE STANDARD INCOME TAX DEDUCTION, ANNUALLY. (Refer to this.) Federal taxes punish taxpayers and harm the economy. The federal government has no need for those punishing and harmful tax dollars. There are several ways to reduce taxes, and we should evaluate and choose the most progressive approaches.
Cutting FICA and corporate taxes would be an good early step, as both dramatically affect the 99%. Annual increases in the standard income tax deduction, and a reverse income tax also would provide benefits from the bottom up. Both would narrow the Gap.
8. TAX THE VERY RICH (THE “.1%) MORE, WITH HIGHER PROGRESSIVE TAX RATES ON ALL FORMS OF INCOME. (TROPHIC CASCADE)
There was a time when I argued against increasing anyone’s federal taxes. After all, the federal government has no need for tax dollars, and all taxes reduce Gross Domestic Product, thereby negatively affecting the entire economy, including the 99.9%.
But I have come to realize that narrowing the Gap requires trimming the top. It simply would not be possible to provide the 99.9% with enough benefits to narrow the Gap in any meaningful way. Bill Gates reportedly owns $70 billion. To get to that level, he must have been earning $10 billion a year. Pick any acceptable Gap (1000 to 1?), and the lowest paid American would have to receive $10 million a year. Unreasonable.
9. FEDERAL OWNERSHIP OF ALL BANKS (Click The end of private banking and How should America decide “who-gets-money”?)
Banks have created all the dollars that exist. Even dollars created at the direction of the federal government, actually come into being when banks increase the numbers in checking accounts. This gives the banks enormous financial power, and as we all know, power corrupts — especially when multiplied by a profit motive.
Although the federal government also is powerful and corrupted, it does not suffer from a profit motive, the world’s most corrupting influence.
10. INCREASE FEDERAL SPENDING ON THE MYRIAD INITIATIVES THAT BENEFIT AMERICA’S 99.9% (Federal agencies)Browse the agencies. See how many agencies benefit the lower- and middle-income/wealth/ power groups, by adding dollars to the economy and/or by actions more beneficial to the 99.9% than to the .1%.
Save this reference as your primer to current economics. Sadly, much of the material is not being taught in American schools, which is all the more reason for you to use it.

The Ten Steps will grow the economy, and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and you.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY