Beltway Insider: Biden Delivers on Insulin, GOP/CPAC, Havana Syndrome, Sirhan Sirhan, Alex Murdaugh, Tom Sizemore

President Biden delivered on his State of the Union pledge to cap the cost of Insulin gaining support from big pharma manufacture Eli Lilly who agreed to slash the drug's out of pocket costs by 70% percent.

The President's job approval rating, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com, for the period ending March 5, 2023 increased by 0.4% to 43.4% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness decreased by 0.3% to 51.7% of those polled who disapprove of his effectiveness. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.


Beltway Insider: Biden/Meets with Ukraine President, Russia-Ukraine War One Year Later, GOP and Ohio, Harvey Weinstein


Biden Delivers on Campaign Pledge to Cap Insulin Costs

President Biden, who has long proposed that everyone in need of Insulin, from children to seniors, should be able to afford the life saving drug without deciding between purchasing food or medicine or rationing the drug due to over inflated costs by big pharma.

Campaigning on this ideal, he again pledged in his annual State of the Union address in February, to make this promise to the American people a reality. This week, the president delivered on his promise.

"Eli Lilly announced they are lowering the cost of insulin by 70% and capping what patients pay out-of-pocket for insulin at $35. This action, driven by the momentum from the Inflation Reduction Act, could benefit millions of Americans with diabetes in all fifty states and U.S. territories," a White House press brief stated.

Eli Lilly to Cut Insulin Prices

One of the three manufacture of Insulin, Eli Lilly as agreed to answer President Biden's call and make insulin more widely available by capping the costs of the drug which an estimated 7 million American currently need daily shots to regulate their glucose levels.

"Eli Lilly said it is slashing the prices of commonly prescribed insulin by 70 percent while capping related out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month, a sweeping move meant to help lower prices after years of growing public outrage about the high cost of diabetes care," The Washington Post reported.

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden in August of 2022, is directly focused on lowering the cost of prescription drug prices as well as other areas which directly affect the American consumer. This action, followed by repeated efforts by the Biden Administration to compel the manufactures of Insulin to cap the price. Eli Lilly answered the call, which in the long run will increase sales as the lower prices will help ease the financial burden of the many who are dependent on the drug.

GOP 2024 – A Clanging Symbol of Division

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference held their annual meeting this week with former President Donald J. Trump providing the keynote address. As the CPAC convention is considered the jumping off point for Republican presidential candidates, this year the stars of the party, Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were both missing from this year's convention citing other commitments, which is interrupted as distancing themselves from the rhetoric of the former president who is facing indictments and is determined to be force that divides the republican party, essentially the democratic best friend, in the upcoming 2024 Presidential Race as he will split the votes in his effort to prove himself as the people's president.

In what looks more like a return to the greatest hits tour, Trump steamrolled the crowd with his bleak view of America under democratic leadership and heralded himself as the nation's one true savior.

The former President, sounding more like an avenger, said to the devoted crowd, "Trump also vowed political revenge against those enemies. "If you put me back in White House, their reign is over," he said. "In 2016, I declared, 'I am your voice.' Today I add: I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution," reported NBCnew.com .

This political strategy will be beneficial to the democrats 2024 presidential campaign. It clearly worked in the 2016 race as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (I) threw his hat into the ring and split the democratic primary vote against former Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton, which ultimately lead to a disgruntled 17million Sanders followers who believed the campaign rhetoric and made ultimate decisions based his continued lambasting of Clinton, which was followed by Trump picking up the mantle and pulverizing the candidate's character with embellishments.


World News: China Shifts to Find Geopolitical Favor


Cluttered Early Field Shows Little Buoyancy

The cluttered early declared GOP candidates for the party's nomination, has little buoyancy among the CPAC attendees as Trump overwhelming wowed and won the crowd of fundamentalists, moderates and right-wing conservatives who backed the former president by a whopping 62%. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second, with 20 percent. The remaining candidates split the remaining 18 percent of the votes.

One notable exception in the thin pool of possible GOP contenders was former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the Trump Administration made a veiled comment regarding his former boss, "We can't become the left, following celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics, those with fragile egos who refuse to acknowledge reality," Pompeo said in an afternoon speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference," The APnews.com reported.

Even as Trump continues to face criminal charges, he has declared if he is indicated he will continue to seek the 2024 republican nomination for president.

Havana Syndrome Pulsating Power Theory Debunked

The unidentifiable malady which became known as the Havana Syndrome, and has affected hundreds of Intelligence Officers, their families and other government workers stationed at international posts, was not caused by a foreign entity or pulsating weaponry the U.S. Intelligence Department said in released report.

"In the report released Wednesday, U.S. intelligence agencies also found "no credible evidence" that any foreign adversary possesses a weapon or intelligence collection device that is causing the injuries," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Known to have affected more than 1500 individuals who have few commonalities or intersections, the Havana syndrome has been the subject of theories, internal investigations and investigative news stories from widely circulated concepts of pulsating power to lesser-known theories of composite resin used in dental procedures, which have caused the unexplainable sickness, illness, fatigue, headaches and other ailments.

Without clear proof the report has indicated the poll of individuals are sick from pre-existing conditions or environmental factors.

Vaccine Totals

As of March 5, 2023, in the United States, 672,076,105 have been administered with a 7-day increase weekly increase of 493,726 doses. More than 90% of the population have received the two-dose vaccine. (Date from the CDC). As of March 5, 2023, 13,228,728,467 vaccines doses have been administered worldwide (Data from WHO).

 

Coronavirus Totals

Mandates have been altered or lifted in most urban areas with limited exceptions, and the population is encouraged to maintain personal protective practices. Masks are optional and tolerated. Vaccines and boosters are still considered the most effective agents against contracting the Coronavirus.

For the week ending March 5, 2023, the total of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide reached 758,390,564 people, with a 7-day increase of 1,126,053 with a total worldwide death toll of 6,859,094 deaths. (Data from The World Health Organization).

COVID U.S. Totals

Infections rates in the United States are also on the rise. For the 7-day period ending March 5, 2023, the total confirmed cases rose to 103,499,382 people with new confirmed cases increasing by 230,974 with a 7-day average of 32,996 cases per day. The coronavirus has claimed 1,117,856 total deaths, adding 2,219 more deaths over the 7-day period. (Data from the CDC).

Pentagon's Diary Gets Personal

Protecting for gain of function knowledge only aides those who initiated the constitutional violations. It does nothing to combat the homegrown terrorism or the narcissistic above the law belief. The best obtainable version of the truth.

Columbia, First Ivy League, to Drop Standardized Admission Tests

New York's Columbia University has joined other premier secondary education institutions and permanently dropped the use of the traditional standardized testing, including both the SAT and ACT, for use in determining a student's eligibility for acceptance.

A statement issued by the Ivy league university stated "Our review is purposeful and nuanced — respecting varied backgrounds, voices and experiences — in order to best determine an applicant's suitability for admission and ability to thrive in our curriculum and our community, and to advance access to our educational opportunities," reported The New York Daily News.

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown resulted in a suspension of the onsite standardized testing requirements. From that time forward, universities have considered the arguments opposed to the use of testing in communities of color and other students of academic excellence that may not have the resources or other advantages that traditionally create what is considered unfair advantage. Removing the standardized testing requirements and reviewing applicants based on their submitted criteria creates a more even playing field for students of marginalized communities.


World News: Thinking Peace, Avoiding War Macron’s Balancing Act


Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole

Sirhan Sirhan, 78, the convicted murderer of the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, who has been incarcerated for more than half a century, has been denied parole for the second time in three years.

Admitting in a 1989 interview that he assassinated Kennedy over a difference in political opinions, in the extremely divisive political landscape currently a part of the American fiber it remains unclear if that stressor has been permanently sedated or is simply dormant due to his strict insulated surroundings.

By 2021, California law required the parole board, "to consider the inmate's advanced age and his relative youth at the time a crime was committed. After 15 prior denials, a panel of commissioners granted him parole that year," reported The New York Times.

At that point California Governor Gavin Newsom intervened and rejected the parole board's decision citing Sirhan Sirhan's failure to show remorse and a belief that the convicted killer is not rehabilitated. Since that decision two years ago, the California Board of Parole Commissioners has undergone changes and the new board members, in this recent parole hearing, agreed with the governor's decision and denied the parole request.

Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Double Homicide

Former South Carolina Prosecutor and lawyer Alex Murdaugh was found guilty this week of double homicide in the murder of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22, in what many called the trial of the century.

"After the verdict was read Judge Newman denied a motion from the defense for a mistrial by saying "The evidence of guilt is overwhelming." He told the jurors "The circumstantial evidence, direct evidence—all of the evidence pointed to one conclusion, and that's the conclusion that you all reached," reported South Carolina's Post and Courier.

Murdaugh, who lived a life of privilege and affluence, was born into a family of prominent local lawyers, and was from the beginning considered a person of interest by local police. His trial began January 25, 2023 and ended March 2, 2023 when he was pronounced guilty of both murder counts and both weapons possession counts. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.

The shocking crime became the subject of numerous limited series dramas and the public appetite for true crime has continued to grow. The hidden actions and behaviors, that many in the legal profession hide, only added to the sensationalism of the story behind façade.


Medical Science: Transgenderism - The New Medical Standard


Tom Sizemore, Talented and Troubled Actor, Has Died

Actor Tom Edward Sizemore, Jr., who became widely known during the Heidi Fleiss Hollywood Madam scandal as well as his outstanding supporting performances opposite the biggest names in Hollywood, died this week after being removed from life support. He was 61.

Sizemore, who was most noted for his strong ability to embody characters, suffered openly from addictions to drugs, alcohol, and sex, and was found unconscious in his home on February 18, 2023. He was rushed to hospital and never regained consciousness. It was then his family was informed that he suffered a brain aneurysm and there was no hope of recovery for the troubled and talented actor and should consider end of life decisions.

Sizemore, with more than 229 credits to his name, in the 1990s established himself as a sought after tough-guy and starred opposite Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in the film Heat, as well as Saving Private Ryan, Natural Born Killers, Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. Despite his public stints in rehab, he was still considered a determined and focused talent. Over then last 30 years, he worked consistently. At the time of his death, he had completed an additional 30 credits of work.

Sizemore died march 3, 2023 at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California. He is survived by his two children. Final arrangements have not been released.

For more information on President Joe Biden www.whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Haute Tease