Vote.org’s Dubious Get-Out-the-Vote Operation

Under IRS regulations, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations can engage in voter registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) operations if they do so on a nonpartisan basis. They are prohibited from engaging in voter registration or GOTV efforts that either directly favor a candidate or party or “have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates.” Despite these guidelines, Vote.org, a left-wing 501(c)(3) group, pushes the boundaries of what it can legally do as a tax-exempt organization.

Meet Vote.org

Vote.org is an organization that claims to register voters and encourage turnout in a nonpartisan fashion. Vote.org states that it is the “largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan voting registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) technology platform in America, with the goal of reaching historically underserved voters of color and underrepresented young voters.” While you may not have heard of this organization, you likely have heard of its partners, which include the NBA Players Association, the NAACP, and USA Today.

Through its website Electionday.org, Vote.org encourages companies to give their employees time off to vote, and it has convinced over 1,000 companies—including Twitter, Adidas, and Shake Shack—to sign a pledge promising to do so.

Vote.org’s main goal is to register voters and ensure they vote. It accomplishes this goal by using software which works in all 50 states to register voters or help them request a mail-in ballot. Through its work, Vote.org has had a massive impact on voter turnout and registration in 2020. Its 2020 Impact Report says the organization made 651 million voter contacts, registered 4.2 million voters, and helped send in 3.4 million ballot requests.

Nonpartisan Facade

While Vote.org says it “does not support or oppose any political candidate or party,” the organization certainly leans left in its beliefs and statements. The organization showcased a picture of failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in its 2020 report, and it specifically targets young and minority voters in its outreach rather than broadly reaching out to the general population. Vote.org advocated for the passage of the John R. Lewis Act, which would have effectively federalized elections in America, and it says on its website that mail-in voting, which has been heavily criticized for its lack of security, should be the standard method of voting. This stance is certainly one that Democratic activists are eager to enact.

Speaking of swing states, Vote.org made sure to note its effect in six key states that decided the 2020 presidential election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It listed the number of voter registrations and voter contacts by Vote.org in the state and listed the margin of victory in each state. Joe Biden won all of them except North Carolina. This raises an important question: Why is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization focusing its efforts on swing states and touting its successes during a crucial election in those states?

One of Vote.org’s tactics to drive voter turnout is serving food to voters on Election Day, specifically targeting areas that allegedly “have a history of voter suppression.” Their 2020 Impact Report says that they served 9,728 meals during the Georgia runoff.

Georgia later prohibited outside organizations from giving food and water to voters in its election integrity bill SB 202. Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling said:


The problem with food and drink is that we got a lot of complaints it was being treated as an end around of that law and campaigning in a polling place. Even if it wasn’t being used that way (and it sometimes was) it was giving off the impression to others at the polls that the food/drink was in return for voting.

He later explicitly mentioned food trucks, which Vote.org uses, as part of the problem.

A Tax-Free Democrat GOTV Operation

While Vote.org claims it is nonpartisan, nearly all its activities seem designed to increase voter registration and turnout among Democratic voters. The organization not only explicitly targets likely Democratic voters in its outreach, but also proudly allies with other prominent left-wing groups. Furthermore, it has been on the front lines of legislative and legal battles at the state and national levels. Vote.org is acting like a partisan voter outreach group subsidized by taxpayers of all political views.

Vote.org highlights the problems of lax IRS enforcement in allowing 501(c)(3) nonprofits to engage in political activities such as voter registration and voter turnout programs. Members of Congress would do well by their constituents to investigate partisan election activities by 501(c)(3) organizations and to reconsider whether to prohibiting them from engaging in voter registration and other political activities.

https://capitalresearch.org/article/vote-orgs-dubious-get-out-the-vote-operation/

SCOTUS declines to restore Oklahoma federal family planning funds in abortion fight

 The Supreme Court has declined to reinstate millions of dollars in federal funding for family planning services that the Biden administration stripped from Oklahoma after officials refused to provide a hotline number for patients to call and receive information on abortion. 

In an order Tuesday, the court denied Oklahoma’s request for an emergency injunction that would have stopped the administration’s efforts to block about $4.5 million in Title X family planning grants from the state while it continues to fight the decision. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted Oklahoma’s request. 

The Biden administration in 2021 required that state-funded providers who want to receive money from the Title X program give patients “neutral, factual information and nondirective counseling” about all their options, including abortion, followed by facts about where the service could be obtained, if asked. 

In the wake of the Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said states such as Oklahoma that banned abortion could comply with the Title X rules by simply ensuring that providers offer the telephone number of a third-party hotline to patients who request pregnancy counseling or a referral. 

According to a brief from Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, Oklahoma initially agreed to provide the accommodation but then “promptly revered course,” so HHS terminated the grant. HHS said the same conditions Oklahoma initially agreed to are currently in effect for every other Title X grantee in the country. 

Title X says grants cannot be used “in programs where abortion is a method of family planning,” and a 2004 appropriations rider called the Weldon Amendment bars discrimination against state agencies that decline to provide referrals for abortions.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (R) said HHS’s actions violated the Weldon Amendment because it punished the state for declining to refer for abortions, even though that wasn’t a condition of the funding. 

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in July that HHS was allowed to withhold funding because the state did not meet the conditions for participation in the grant program. In a similar ruling, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied Tennessee relief in a dispute over a $7 million grant. 

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4860598-supreme-court-oklahoma-abortion-family-planning-title-x-hhs/

Jan. 6 defendents eye sentence reduction in wake of Supreme Court obstruction ruling

 The Supreme Court’s June ruling that narrowed the federal obstruction charge used against Jan. 6 defendents resulted in the first reduction of a sentence previously handed down to a Virginia police officer involved in the incident. 

Thomas Robertson, a former Virginia police officer, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison — more than a year less than what the judge initially handed down after a jury in 2022 convicted him of six charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding.  

The resentencing could spell trouble for federal prosecutors seeking to maintain tough sentences for other defendents who have already been found guilty and sentenced before the justices handed down their pivotal decision altering the charge. 

Robertson is the first defendent to be resentenced since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fischer v. United States, where the justices ruled 6-3 that prosecutors wrongly retooled a charge that once criminalized document shredding to encompass the conduct of those who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  

His original sentence of more than seven years was initially vacated and ordered redone in May due to a separate ruling by a federal appeals court that affected the guidelines for his sentencing, but that sentence was further undercut by the Supreme Court’s ruling in June.

The Supreme Court’s decision narrowed Section 1512(c)(2) — a statute that makes it a crime to “corruptly” obstruct, impede or interfere with official inquiries and investigations by Congress — in Jan. 6 prosecutions. More than 350 defendents faced the charge following the Capitol attack. 

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who broke with her fellow liberals to side with the conservative majority, contended in a concurring opinion that the ruling did not mean those Jan. 6 cases were a lost cause. She argued that Congress’s certification of the electoral vote inherently involved certain records, including the electoral votes themselves, meaning that prosecutions “can, and should, proceed” if that bar is met. 

Federal prosecutors formally moved Wednesday to dismiss the charge of obstructing an official proceeding against Robertson, significantly lowering federal sentencing guidelines. However, the government asked for the judge to hand down the same 87-month sentence. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi said that the U.S. Sentencing Commission “failed to anticipate” a crime like the Capitol . She entrysaid the logic follows Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s dissent in Fischer, which quipped about the incident: “Who could blame Congress for that failure of imagination?” 

New rulings aside, the facts of Robertson’s case remain the same, Aloi said. He entered the Capitol with the first wave of defendents and used “specialized training” in law enforcement to impede officers trying to fend off the mob, using a large wooden stick to strike at least two. 

“The same is true today,” she told the judge. “Nothing the courts did in Fischer or Brock changes that.” 

Brock v. United States — the case from which a federal appeals court ruling initially threw a wrench into Robertson’s sentence — established that a three-level enhancement for conduct that results in “substantial interference with the administration of justice” was improperly applied to the electoral certification process, when it is meant to reference any obstruction of criminal investigations. That enhancement was used in Robertson’s initial sentencing. 

Prosecutors contended that the enhancement, and others, could remain if attached to another count against Robertson for violating a different section of the same obstruction statute involved in Fischer.  

In court Wednesday, Aloi contended that Robertson’s destruction of cellphone evidence prevented the government from identifying a third co-conspirator in a timely manner — an individual they said was only identified after the other defendent in Robertson’s case, Jacob Fracker, began cooperating.  

The evidence Robertson destroyed “may actually have proved essential” to prosecuting the third co-conspirator, a neighbor of Robertson’s who remains uncharged, Aloi said.  

Robertson’s lawyer, Mark Rollins, objected to the three-level enhancement, but conceded that two other two-level enhancements — one for assuming an organizing role, and another for the destruction of “especially probative” records — would apply. He said the defense would put the “weight of our argument” on eliminating the three-level enhancement.  

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided that all three enhancements would be applied to Robertson’s sentence, though he said he would have imposed the same prison term had he decided to reject the three-level adjustment at issue.  

In court filings, prosecutors also pointed to the judge’s previous remark that his “biggest consideration” was whether Robertson would reoffend. They argued that determination remains unchanged by the Supreme Court’s ruling, too. 

Rollins, Robertson’s lawyer, said the rioter has been a “model inmate” for the last three years and that his good behavior should hold weight in his new sentence when combined with the adjusted guidelines range.  

He told the court that, on Jan. 6, Robertson engaged in “really bad behavior — and I guess that’s an understatement.” But in retrospect, the incident left Robertson a “broken man.” 

“This has taken everything from me,” Robertson told the judge before his new sentence was imposed.  

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4861682-jan-6-rioter-sentence-supreme-court-obstruction/

'US seizes Russian websites used in bid to influence 2024 election'

 The Biden administration on Wednesday condemned Russian efforts to influence the 2024 U.S. election as the Justice Department announced it seized 32 web domains the country has used for its covert campaigns.

The action also targeted two employees of RT, formerly known as Russia Today, a Russian state media outlet with content available in English, charging the duo with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 

Collectively, the two actions are some of the strongest moves taken under the Biden White House to confront accelerating efforts by the Russian government the intelligence community has deemed “the predominant threat to U.S. elections.”

Deemed “Doppelganger,” the Russian effort employed a mix of creating sites with slightly different web addresses that mimic U.S. news outlets, including one appearing to be The Washington Post, and are plastered with pro-Russian narratives. It also created other media brands to funnel Russian content.

“As of noon today, we’ve seized those sites, rendered them inoperable, and made clear to the world what they are: Russian attempts to interfere in our elections and influence our society,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said as Justice Department officials convened an Election Threats Task Force meeting.

“When we learn that adversaries overseas are trying to hide who they are and where their propaganda is coming from as part of campaigns to deliberately sow discord, we’re going to continue to do everything we can to expose their hidden hand and disrupt their efforts,” Wray added.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday that “President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle” directed the influence campaign with the broader goals of drumming up support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “securing Russia’s preferred outcome in the election.”

While neither officials nor the filings unsealed Wednesday named Russia’s preferred candidate, supporting exhibits included make its support for former President Trump clear.

'DEVELOPING'

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4861766-biden-administration-condemns-russian-influence/

Ugly Beige Book Sees Econ Activity "Flat Or Declining", Consumer Spending Slowing In Most Districts

 One week after the latest Q2 GDP revision came in hotter than expected on the back of what was supposedly a surge in consumer spending, which helped push US economic growth to a 3.0% pace in Q2, more than double the 1.4% in Q1, moments ago the Fed published the latest Beige Book reports according to which US economic activity "grew slightly" in three Districts, while the number of Districts that reported flat or declining activity rose from five in the prior period to nine in the current period, refuting any speculation of a recovery in the economy. 

While economic activity was stagnant at best, the labor market was also disappointing, with the Beige Book noting that while employment levels were steady overall, there were isolated reports that firms filled only necessary positions, reduced hours and shifts, or lowered overall employment levels through attrition. Still, reports of layoffs remained rare while wage growth was modest, and increases in nonlabor input costs and selling prices ranged from slight to moderate.

More ominously, "consumer spending ticked down in most Districts, having generally held steady during the prior reporting period" or in other words, deteriorating. Auto sales continued to vary by District, with some noting increases in sales and others reporting slowing sales because of elevated interest rates and high vehicle prices. Manufacturing activity declined in most Districts, and two Districts noted that these declines were part of ongoing contractions in the sector.

While residential construction and real estate activity was reportedly "mixed", most Districts' reports indicated softer home sales. Likewise, reports on commercial construction and real estate activity were "mixed."

Looking ahead, the Fed's district contacts "expected economic activity to remain stable or to improve somewhat in the coming months" - these will be very disappointed - though contacts in three Districts, i.e., the realists, anticipated slight declines.

Taking a closer look at the two key Fed mandates, jobs and inflation, we first turn to labor markets where the Beige Book made the following downbeat observations:

• Hedge Funds Sell Employment levels were generally flat to up slightly in recent weeks, a deterioration from "rising at a slight pace overall" reported in the last Beige Book.
• Five Districts saw slight or modest increases in overall headcounts, but a few Districts reported that firms reduced shifts and hours, left advertised positions unfilled, or reduced headcounts through attrition—though accounts of layoffs remained rare.
• Employers were more selective with their hires and less likely to expand their workforces, citing concerns about demand and an uncertain economic outlook.
• Accordingly, candidates faced increasing difficulties and longer times to secure a job.
• As competition for workers has eased and staff turnover has fallen, firms felt less pressure to increase wages and salaries.
• On balance, wages rose at a modest pace, in line with the slowing trend described in recent reports. Skilled tradespeople and other workers with specialized skills remained in short supply and continued to see stronger wage increases, as did those in unions. Which is bad news for the millions of unskilled illegal immigrants who have gotten a job under the radar in the past 3.5 years.

As for prices, it appears that we are on the edge of disinflation if not outright deflation:

• On balance, prices increased modestly in the most recent reporting period. However, three Districts reported only slight increases in selling prices.
• Nonlabor input cost increases were largely described as modest to moderate and as generally easing, though one District described input cost increases as ticking up.
• A number of Districts observed that both freight and insurance costs continued to increase.
• By contrast, some Districts noted that cost pressures moderated for food, lumber, and concrete.
• Looking ahead, contacts generally expected price and cost pressures to stabilize or ease further in the coming months.

For those curious what individual regional Fed had to say, here is a snapshot:

• Boston: Economic activity increased modestly, but results varied widely. Residential real estate led recent activity, with strong increases in single-family home sales. Consumers' increased budget consciousness showed up in slightly softer retail and restaurant sales, and retailers perceived pressure to lower their prices. Job creation slowed. The outlook was mixed between optimism and increased caution.
• New York: On balance, regional economic activity remained flat. Labor market conditions continued to moderate, with ongoing cooling in labor demand and increased worker availability. Consumer spending was unchanged. Housing markets remained solid, with home prices edging up. Selling price increases remained modest.
• Philadelphia: Business activity declined slightly in the current Beige Book period after rising slightly last period. Employment appeared to decline slightly, while consumer spending fell modestly. Nonmanufacturing activity held steady. Wage growth continued at a modest pace, as did reported rises in input costs and prices. Expectations for future growth remained slightly positive overall—growing more widespread for manufacturers but waning for others.
• Cleveland: District business activity declined slightly in recent weeks, though contacts expected activity to increase slightly in the near term. Demand for manufactured goods softened further, and consumer spending declined moderately. Employment levels were stable to slightly up. On balance, wages and nonlabor costs increased modestly, while selling prices grew slightly.
• Richmond: The regional economy contracted slightly this cycle after increasing slightly last period. Consumers pulled back on spending on goods and services, including travel and vehicles and other big-ticket items. Manufacturing activity also declined slightly while nonfinancial services firms reported flat demand in recent weeks. Employment continued to grow at a mild pace amid modest wage growth. Year-over-year price growth remained somewhat elevated.
• Atlanta: Economic activity in the Sixth District declined slightly. Employment increased modestly and wages grew slowly. Prices grew modestly, and pricing power lessened. Consumer spending declined. Leisure travel slowed, but business travel improved. Housing activity declined. Demand for transportation services weakened. Loan volumes increased. Manufacturing activity fell. Energy activity expanded.
• Chicago: Economic activity increased slightly. Employment and business spending rose slightly; manufacturing activity and consumer spending were flat; nonbusiness contacts saw little change in activity; and construction and real estate activity edged down. Prices were up modestly, wages rose moderately, and financial conditions were little changed. Prospects for 2024 farm income declined some.
• St. Louis: Economic activity has remained unchanged since our previous report. Contacts reported weakening of household finances and overall lower demand. Employment has been stable and wage growth continued to moderate back toward longer-run trends. Prices to consumers have increased modestly, production costs have increased and are expected to be more persistent. The economic outlook has remained slightly pessimistic since our previous report.
• Minneapolis: District economic activity fell slightly. Employment was flat and hiring softened, while wage growth was moderate. Price pressures eased as overall prices increased slightly but at a slower pace. Consumer spending was slightly lower, but tourism held up and vehicle sales increased. Manufacturing and construction activity declined. Agricultural conditions remained weak.
• Kansas City: Economic activity in the Tenth District remained stable. Many contacts indicated they recently reduced hiring activity relative to their plans at the beginning of the year. Contacts reported particular weakness in demand for entry-level work. In housing markets, both brokers and homebuilders indicated activity is poised to rise if borrowing costs decline even slightly.
• Dallas: The Eleventh District economy expanded modestly over the reporting period. Employment was stable, and wage growth remained moderate. Selling price growth continued below average in the service sector but was more typical in manufacturing. Outlooks were somewhat mixed, though most businesses expect demand to stay the same or increase over the next six months.
• San Francisco: Economic activity remained stable, employment levels and prices rose slightly. Wages grew modestly, while retail sales were stable. Activity in consumer services and manufacturing ticked down a bit. Conditions in the agriculture, residential, and commercial real estate markets continued to soften slightly. Activity in the financial services sector remained muted.

More in the full Beige Book.

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/ugly-beige-book-reveals-economic-activity-flat-or-declining-consumer-spending-slowing

Thank You for Sharing: Movie Review

 Earlier in August, perhaps due to what the DSM-5 calls “Internet Gaming Addiction,” I lost track of time and found myself again running late to the Sovereign House premiere of Thank You for Sharing, a new documentary by Canadian filmmakers Sonia Zawitkowski and Jenna Taylor.

Waiting on the hot, crowded subway platform fanned the flames of my anxiety, alleviated only momentarily by the jarring transition into the frigid subway, which induced claustrophobia and chills of panic. (Or was the AC too high?) I cycled through a neurotic feedback loop of self-analysis: What if I was so late that I couldn’t find a seat, missed the beginning, and disappointed my friends who were waiting for me?

Upon arrival, I was surprised to find an open bar. So, I self-medicated with a White Claw and chose to disappoint my AA sponsor instead.

I don’t like living or thinking this way, but this is how our current “therapy culture” conditions us. And it’s the mindset that Thank You for Sharing sets out to evaluate and deconstruct. The popular logic suggests that if we’re aware of and open about our mental unwellness, we can destigmatize these conditions for others, empowering them to acknowledge their own problems and seek help. But if this is true, why has our collective mental health worsened the more we know? The film offers a history and a theory.

Two hundred years ago, insane people “ran amok.” They raved in the streets, attacked bystanders, and torched buildings. The public had had enough. Although these individuals differed from other criminals because they lacked awareness of their bad behavior, they still needed to be locked away for society's safety in “hospitals for the nervous.”

However, their madness piqued the interest of a rising class of experts. As the physical landscape changed with the Industrial-Era installation of canals and railroads, so too could human nature be engineered, thought these soon-to-be experts. The cause of madness was elusive, but discoverable, they reasoned. And thus, with great scientific zeal, institutions were formed, theories posited, and experts born.

By the time the world wars were being fought, these experts had concluded that the gas from the shells dropped on young men at war was the cause of their insanity upon returning home. They called it “shell shock.” True enough. But just as detrimental to their sanity as any substance was likely their witnessing the monstrosities of industrialized warfare.

Today, there are no fumes from shell shock, no mass drafting of young men to fight world wars overseas to scar them for life. Yet 42% of Zoomers have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and nearly 32% of adolescents between 12 and 17 received prescription medication, treatment, and/or counseling for mental health in 2023. The cause of this unnecessary treatment is both sinister and ubiquitous, the film suggests: social media, egged on by a mental-health industrial complex.

Then there’s the role the pharmaceutical industry plays. In her best-seller Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Are Not Growing Up, author Abigail Shrier posits that mediocre clinicians’ overprescribing of medications is influencing a young generation whose cultural currency is trauma and misery.

For a relatively peaceful and affluent time in our country’s history, this mindset is described by the boomerism “snowflake.” It refers to a young, emotionally sensitive person experiencing a crisis of identity over their lack of uniqueness, and compensating with superficial changes, like pronouns and acronyms.

But are snowflakes really insane? Or are they gaslit by an industry of “experts” and just need to be told to lighten up?

In the 80s and 90s, the film tells us, the DSM continued updates with broader definitions for developmental disorders like autism. What some might consider normal neurodiversity and other psychological peculiarities could now be labeled “autistic.” Autism diagnosis rates, for example, have tripled in the New York-New Jersey metro area: 1% in 2000 to 3% in 2016. Was autism always this prevalent? Or have experts simply become better at “detecting” symptoms?

Fast forward to today, and Gen-Z girls with buzzed green haircuts and septum piercings proudly make TikToks listing their institution-approved acronyms of mental unwellness. The film features a montage of them, babbling therapy buzzwords, perhaps as disclaimers for their lack of maturity or as badges of their suitability for future professional counseling roles. (Never trust a person with a septum piercing for advice about mental wellness, in my opinion.)

But there are consequences to “concept creep.” Serious, mind-altering mental illnesses get overlooked in the frenzy to validate uncomfortable (but normal) feelings and prioritize vague initiatives like “mental wellness.”

The reality of serious mental illness, on the other hand, is stark. Freddie DeBoer, a cultural critic with 57k+ followers on Substack, explains in the film that he does not want awareness for his bipolar disorder. It is embarrassing to seek honor and validation for his destructive and paranoid behavior, which alienated him from his family and friends before he finally turned to anti-psychotics that could shrink his brain and shorten his life. He laments his reduced quality of life but knows that if he doesn’t take his medication, his mind could compel him to kill himself.

For people with real mental illness, destigmatization is not a net good. The more destigmatization, the more people come forward with problems that need to be treated. If they don’t have treatable mental illness, a symptom will be pulled from a pool, and the mental-health industrial complex will have a new recurring customer and potentially a new advocate for the mental-health racket on TikTok.

Two hundred years of experts with good intentions have morphed into awareness campaigns, prescription marketing solutions, bureaucratic experts, and victimology. And yet, the causes of bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia remain unknown.

The film provides numerous examples of the industrial health complex's complete societal infiltration, from advertisements for counseling to celebrity testimony on talk shows to local news segments. However, it becomes redundant and stretches the film’s length to the point of losing momentum and audience interest.

The film interviews a range of subjects, from indie lit author Logo Daedalus to Dr. Edward Shorter, historian of medicine. These individuals offer compelling opinions, but the filmmakers end the film with an esoteric ramble from a Canadian professor, fading out on a lengthy philosophical description of the topic of his next book. That was a curious choice.

A stronger ending would have been the interview with Emmett, the recovering alcoholic in Alcoholics Anonymous. He provided the best, most cogent answer for an alternative to the mental-health wellness craze: “Sometimes we just need to talk to a friend.”

Emotions change. Sometimes, suffering needs to be endured, not explained or coddled or addressed with pharmacology and marketing buzzwords. Despite a few rambling interludes, Thank You for Sharing succeeds by picking up the mantle that luminaries like Shrier have carried in examining the mental-health industrial complex—and depicting the young men and women caught up in its machine.

Jonathan Mittiga is a writer in New York City with a background in public health and social work.

https://www.realclearhealth.com/blog/2024/09/03/thank_you_for_sharing_movie_review_1055786.html

What Is Mitochondrial Dysfunction?

 Last Thursday, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. withdrew (kind of) from the 2024 presidential race.  He didn’t have to, and in the case of 40 out of 50 states, he actually didn’t.  But, he also didn’t have to endorse Donald J. Trump, and yet he did.  As I waited for his press conference, I wondered: What could drive a lion of Democratic party royalty to side with Trump?  The answer turned out to be a trio of existential crises.  As RFK Jr. explained, he and Trump are aligned on three critical issues, and they are of such existential importance that he was willing to set aside their differences to work together.

Beyond being a refreshing break from the mind-numbing drumbeat of Trump’s opposition, RFK Jr.’s remarks were a stark reminder of why two-thirds of Americans believe the country is moving down the wrong track. He first took aim at the military-industrial complex’s perpetual provoking of foreign wars and followed up with the alarming assault on free speech.  These were, however, just the warmup acts for his primary grievance: the moral and legal corruption of the food and pharmaceutical industries, assisted by their captured agencies, e.g., the FDA and USDA.

RFK Jr. cited horrifying statistics and catastrophic trends, highlighting the surge in chronic diseases, cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic syndrome, and Alzheimer’s disease.  He then laid the blame squarely at the feet of Big Sugar, Big Ag, Big Pharma, and the cabal of government sycophants who do the bidding of their corporate sugar daddies (pun intended).  Sprinkled among the sickening stats, he made multiple references to mitochondrial dysfunction, a term many may not fully understand.  If we are going to forcibly reconstruct several industries, along with their regulatory agencies, over this medical crisis, we’d do well to understand what it is we’re battling.  So, what exactly is mitochondrial dysfunction, and why is it being blamed for such a wide range of health issues?

What Are Mitochondria?

As school children learn, mitochondria are the “power plants” of the cell.  This rudimentary description of mitochondria is a good start, but it is incomplete.  When healthy, these powerhouses also regulate many cellular functions, including growth and death.  When they are stressed or dysfunctional, the consequences span cardiovascular disease, autism, schizophrenia, dementia, cancer, and much more.

For example, conditions like atherosclerosis (the build-up of dangerous plaques in the arteries), hypertension, and diabetes, have all been associated with inflammation coupled with mitochondrial dysfunction caused by obesity.  Alzheimer’s Disease is now referred to as Type 3 diabetes, and researchers are turning their focus away from amyloid plaques, to the dysfunction of mitochondria.  Similarly, cancer has long been considered a disease triggered by genetic mutations, but recent research has revealed critical roles played by mutation-triggering free radicals made by dysfunctional mitochondria.  Even the aging process is being decoded and shown to mirror the progression of mitochondrial dysfunction.

How Do Mitochondria Become Dysfunctional?

There are several factors that contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction, some of which are influenced by lifestyle choices, but others that are the direct result of the efforts of the food and pharmaceutical industries.  Both profit from a population overeating bad foods, and taking medicines that only mask, but don’t fix, the symptoms of the chronic illnesses that result.

It is a national embarrassment that the average American diet, designed and marketed by food companies, approved by regulatory agencies, and even promoted as healthy by advocacy groups (funded by the industry), fails us miserably.  According to our own Department of Agriculture, it rates a dismal 11 out of a possible 100 points.  How is this possible, you ask?  Healthy fats are being replaced by processed carbohydrates, sugars, artificial flavorings, and synthesized oils, all of which damage mitochondria. (It has been said, and it is pitifully accurate, that America’s most successful export product has been obesity.)

 

There are, of course, personal lifestyle choices contributing to this health crisis, including lack of physical exercise and chronic stress.  Still, the consequence has been a meteoric rise in medical conditions from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia to autoimmunity and heart disease.  The pharmaceutical industry is filled with extremely bright scientists, many of whom are fully aware of the role of mitochondria in the initiation and perpetuation of these and other chronic diseases.  And yet, the products marketed and promoted, much less researched or developed, are seldom cures, which are deemed unprofitable by investors and pharma executives.  Worse yet, some medications, especially when used long-term, can harm mitochondria. Drugs from antibiotics to pain relievers have been shown to disrupt mitochondrial function. If mitochondrial dysfunction leads to chronic illness, but chronic medication usage harms mitochondria, a vicious cycle has been set.

What Can Be Done About It?

RFK Jr.’s call is for an overhaul of the food and pharmaceutical industries, and the agencies that regulate them.  It appears from his endorsement of Trump that the former president may agree.  One thing is for certain – the rise of mitochondrial dysfunction and related diseases is a doom spiral requiring radical individual and societal action.  The modern food industry heavily relies on processed foods that are cheap to produce, have a long shelf life, and are addictive.  They have been stripped of the nutrients that make them healthy, in favor of making them irresistible to promote overindulgence.  Chronic illness is the consequence.  Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry, and the captured agency that regulates it, rely on the progressive slide into chronic illness to sell more treatments that mask symptoms but do not treat the root causes.  The perverse economic incentives are driving mitochondrial dysfunction.

There is no doubt that we all need to exercise more, and lower our exposure to stress, but to truly battle mitochondrial dysfunction and regain our health, we need to make food and medical decisions differently.  As a nation, we need to demand leadership that will change the status quo, and, as RFK Jr. said, Make America Healthy Again.

JP Errico is a highly accomplished scientist with a diverse range of expertise as an executive, entrepreneur, and inventor. He is an expert on the Autonomic Nervous System, and he is the founder of ElectroCore, where he pioneered a non-invasive Vagus Nerve stimulator. JP has been credited as an inventor on over 250 issued US patents. He went to MIT for undergrad and holds graduate degrees in both law and mechanical/materials engineering from Duke University.

https://www.realclearhealth.com/blog/2024/08/30/the_silent_crisis_understanding_mitochondrial_dysfunction_and_its_impact_on_our_health_1055281.html