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Authored by Andrew Lowenthal via The Brownstone Institute,

"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

- George Orwell, 1984

For years the media, “fact-checkers,” and “anti-disinformation” initiatives told the public there was nothing wrong with Joe Biden. A few weeks ago, in the space of five minutes, they flipped. Rapid-onset dementia had struck the President and it was time for change.

The people who claim they can sort truth from fiction spent years lying despite the crippling obvious. What is more baffling is why so many people went along with it for so long. Was it fear? Complacency? Cowardice? An incredible level of discipline was enforced – that has thankfully now unraveled.

Rather than debunking “misinformation,” Biden’s protectors often spread it.  

In August 2020 the Aspen Institute coordinated a Hunter Biden laptop pre-bunk exercise that sought to suppress a true story to protect Biden’s wayward son and shield the President from major corruption allegations. A swathe of major media and Big Tech participated in that exercise, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Twitter, Facebook, and many more. Claire Wardle, former director of “anti-disinformation” NGO First Draft (now the Information Futures Lab at Brown University) also participated.

In a letter allegedly organised by Anthony Blinken, 51 former intelligence agents claimed the Hunter Biden laptop was a “Russian information operation” and Facebook, Twitter, and others suppressed the story on their platforms. Almost everyone now admits the laptop was real.

Or take Biden’s claim that “You’re not going to get Covid if you have these vaccinations.”

PolitiFact thought that may have been an “exaggeration” but reassured us that cases of the vaccinated getting Covid are “rare.”

The Party told you to reject the evidence not just of your eyes and ears, but your whole body.

However, perhaps the biggest lie was the years-long campaign to “debunk” suggestions that Biden was growing incapable of commanding the highest office in the land. PolitiFact was very diligent in “fact-checking” “cheap fakes” and other stories that alleged Joe Biden was senile, reassuring us that everything was fine.

The term “cheap fake” was coined by Britt Paris and Hunter Biden laptop denialist Joan Donovan. Donavan has long been a darling of the “anti-disinformation” field. 

In the words of Aspen Hunter Biden laptop pre-bunker Claire Wardle, the Biden cheap fakes are “the weaponization of context. It’s genuine content, but the context changes via minor edits. Anyone can be vulnerable with the right edit.” In fact, as recently as June 21 Wardle was carrying water for Biden. In a New York Times article that sought to debunk “misleading videos that play into and reinforce voters’ longstanding concerns about his [Biden’s] age and abilities,” Wardle explained that “This isn’t a new narrative, it builds on an existing one, which tends to be much more effective.” Yes, adding more true information to other true information tends to make an argument more convincing.

Or take Rebekah Tromble, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs and the director of the Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics at George Washington University. According to Tromble “Biden became a main target of deceptive edits.” “These clips draw on a common trope about President Biden that’s popular among his detractors: He’s old, bumbling, and senile, meaning he’s incompetent and incapable of doing this job.” His gaffes and inability to speak clearly are unrelated to his cognitive ability, and are instead because “Biden grew up stuttering.”

PolitiFact is a project of the Poynter Institute which coordinates the biggest network of fact-checkers in the world, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). IFCN is funded largely by Facebook but also by the “Craig Newmark Foundation, the Koch Foundation, the Knight Foundation, the Omidyar Network, the National Endowment for Democracy, Microsoft, and the Washington Post.” This is not a small fringe “fact-checking” outfit; it is one of the leading organizations in the sector. 

Perhaps the name makes it clear – it is Politi(cised) Fact-checking. 

Newsguard, a “disinformation” ranking service that can punish a news site’s advertising revenue through its rating system, has also been active. Power Line, a conservative online news outlet, alleges they were contacted by Newsguard in 2021 about their claims of Biden’s cognitive decline. In an email, Newsguard asked:

We’ve noticed that the site has repeatedly stated as fact in its article[s] that Joe Biden has dementia, both during the 2020 election cycle and since he became president. Why does the site make this claim without providing credible evidence that he has dementia?

Newsguard’s approach is particularly concerning because of its ability to impact the revenue of media outlets, and due to its strong links to the State Department and intelligence agencies – its board includes former CIA Director Michael Hayden.

If all that fails you can always blame the Russians. EUvsDisinfo, a European Union project to “forecast, address, and respond to the Russian Federation’s ongoing disinformation campaigns” claimed reports of Biden being “senile” are “false” and are part of “pro-Kremlin disinformation.”

Mainstream media have also been a critical part of the lying machine, claiming recent videos that show Biden wandering off at a G7 event were “misinformation” or “cheap fakes” and are part of a concerted effort to “hammer the narrative that Biden is too old to be president.” PolitiFact also “fact-checked” the story with the usual line.

The list could go on and on and on but Matt Orfalea’s amazing “sharp as a tack” compilation puts the nail in the coffin. More “out of context” clips and “cheap fakes” according to the “anti-disinformation” “experts” no doubt.

What is the lesson?

On one hand, censorship and suppression only work for so long. Reality will eventually catch up with you. However, it also tells us that a lot of people can pretend the emperor does have clothes, even when he is stark naked and half the court is screaming and pointing at the top of their lungs – also known as “spreading misinformation.”

It seems there is an endless supply of “fact-checking” and “anti-disinformation” sycophants ready to bow and scrape before the mad king.

Ultimately it tells us just how corrupt the “fact-checking” and “anti-disinformation” industries are. Whilst there are an increasing number of people on the outside speaking up, internally cowardice and the silencing of critics have allowed a prolific level of corruption to grow. This is an across-the-board problem in the liberal and progressive spheres where pious bullies have shut down dialogue. This corruption has led progressives and liberals down a disastrous dead end. Barring a miracle, Trump is coming.

If there is any justice a reckoning is also coming for the “fact-checkers” and “anti-disinformation” “experts.”

*  *  *

Republished from the author’s Substack

The participation of major corporations in the molding of cancel culture should not be overlooked.  While many people assumed that companies were "bending the knee" to progressive activists, the opposite was actually true.  Woke movements are a minority within western populations and have no boycott power.  There's never been any reason for businesses to be afraid of them.

In fact, without the support of companies like Blackrock, Vanguard, Google, Facebook, Twitter and many others the cancel mob would have little to no power.  The situation seems to be changing, or the damage seems to be minimized.  One corporate entity reflects this shift more than any other, and that's Disney. 

A lot has happened in the US in the past several years, so much in fact that it might be hard to remember how close the country came to total disaster under the dictates of the progressive hive.  The political left had been accumulating social influence with the aid of international corporations, NGOs and government officials since at least 2016.  However, after the Biden Administration took office and pandemic hysteria went into full swing, the activists sought to flex their cancel culture muscle in a big way.

The result was a dystopian frenzy in which mass censorship was rampant and speaking out in any way against official narratives might get you booted from social media and even fired from your job.  Leftists called it "consequence culture" as a way to justify their behavior, but the consensus was that this was thought-policing on an Orwellian scale.  The assumption by leftists being that they are the virtuous arbiters over what words and beliefs should be punished.  No one voted for them to do this job.

The smell of blood was in the water and, as with all dystopian societies, certain non-compliant people were made into examples to frighten everyone else.  

UFC fighter and actress Gina Carano was one of those people.  Carano says she was harassed by Disney management to add "pronouns" to her social media bio to "prove her support for trans lives".  After the actress made an online joke by listing her "pronouns" on Twitter as 'beeb bop boop', the company brought pressure to bear in an attempt to force Carano into silence. 

Her eventual removal by Disney was heralded by the political left as a great victory and a display of the cancel mob's power.  If they could destroy the career of a Hollywood celebrity then there was a good chance they could destroy the life of almost any average conservative.

Disney then engaged in a slow boil of the theater-going public with DEI propaganda.  Many suspected Disney was removing white, straight and male characters from the majority of their productions on purpose.  As it turned out, that's exactly what they were doing.

The pendulum appears to be swinging back on Disney, however.  With the help of Elon Musk, Carano has pursued an effective civil suit against the company and a recent court decision blocked attempts by Disney lawyers to have the case dismissed.  The lawsuit will be going to trial.

The vast majority of Disney content from films to streaming series have been met with box office failure and audience disinterest.  In 2023 alone, Disney had only one film that made a significant profit (Guardians Of The Galaxy) while spending a billion dollars on multiple box office flops (not counting marketing costs).  Not one Disney+ series was met with audience acclaim.  Streaming subscriber numbers sank.   

Disney has consistently used its immense corporate power to legitimize the woke mob. Are they finally getting hit with the karma they deserve?

After Disney publicly declared war on the state of Florida and conservative efforts to stop gender identity indoctrination in public schools, the company was put on notice.  They have since been exposed in numerous cases participating in far-left propaganda efforts including implanting LGBT messaging in children's content. 

Disney was also exposed by a VP on hidden camera for DEI practices and race discrimination against white male actors and corporate employees.

Disney's secret agenda is not so secret anymore.  They have been thoroughly defeated by the state of Florida and Ron Desantis in civil court and the company has lost their Reedy Creek autonomy.  Disney stock has been hovering near 5-year lows since 2023.  Their brand is essentially destroyed and their content is treated by most consumers as radioactive.  The sheer size of Disney and their holdings means that they have the capital to survive for years without public support, but the company has already started cutting employees in mass layoffs, including 14% of Pixar in May.  Not a good sign.   

Is the karmic hammer finally swinging back to hit Disney in the face after nearly a decade of woke bullying?  It seems that way.  But the bigger question is, does Disney's decline reflect a larger national move away from the woke mob and cancel culture in general?  Are Americans finally fed up with progressive pearl clutching and DEI?  This seems to be the case.  Disney fueled cancel culture for years only to find themselves canceled in return.   

Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, PA who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump may have had an account on social media alternative website Gab.  He apparently used the platform to spread messages in support of President Joe Biden, indicating a progressive political leaning.  Gab CEO Andrew Torba says he has received “an emergency disclosure request from a law enforcement agency” pertaining to a specific account linked to Thomas Crooks.

The account @epicmicrowave  (which the CEO stressed he has been “unable to confirm” was definitely Crooks’) “posted on the site nine (9) times total,” Torba tweeted just 30 minutes after getting the law enforcement request.

??Approximately 30 minutes ago, Gab learned that Thomas Crooks, the deranged Joe Biden supporter who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump, may have had an account on our platform. We are unable to confirm that the account in question actually belonged to him.

The… pic.twitter.com/BcJrZJ4Yhk

— Andrew Torba (@BasedTorba) July 24, 2024

Torba noted in the post that:

"We are disclosing this information at significant personal and business risk. If the past is any guide, defying the D.C. consensus by publishing the first definitive evidence that the shooter was a Biden supporter - something Democrats and their media allies have tried to cover up and deny at every turn - has a high probability of resulting in significant political and media backlash."

“We have saved the account data pending receipt of a search warrant,” he stated.

Comments made by @epicmicrowave defend Biden policies including his Covid lockdown policies and immigration policies, while attacking those critical of illegal immigration. 

The poster wrote:

'Biden executive orders don’t incentivize human trafficking as human traffickers aren’t interested in citizenships, likewise the majority of illegal immigrants are not criminals and in fact some studies (such as the one linked below) show lower rates of crime committed by these individuals.'

In related developments, the FBI did confirm that Crooks had searched for information about both Trump and Biden before the assassination attempt on July 13th. The FBI disclosed that the 20-year-old had looked up dates for Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention (DNC), where Democrats are now expected to nominate Kamala Harris for president.

The FBI noted that Crooks also researched information on the Kennedy Assassination, including “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy.”

It has been nearly two weeks since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA and there is still very little personal information available on Thomas Crooks.  The info that has been released is often contradictory.  Most suspicious of all is the utter lack of social media and web traffic related data.  For a 20-year-old in America, this seems impossible.

Reports of Steam and Instagram accounts in the Crooks' name have proven to be fake.  The Gab announcement, if accurate, would be the first solid indication of a political motive behind the shooting.  It may be years before any facts are released by the FBI and other agencies giving the public a better picture of who Thomas Crooks really was. 

Former President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Friday, just after the Israeli leader met with President Biden and VP Harris.

Trump claimed in the context of the meeting that a major war in the Middle East - and even possibly a "third world war" - will break out if he doesn't win the election. He's long been running as the candidate who will deescalate global hotspots that Washington is too deeply embedded in.

"If we win, it’ll be very simple. It’s all going to work out and very quickly," Trump told reporters just before the meeting's start.

"If we don’t, you’re going to end up with major wars in the Middle East and maybe a third world war. You are closer to a third world war right now than at any time since the second world war. You’ve never been so close, because we have incompetent people running our country," he said.

Likely he had in mind the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Hamas conflict, given he has made similar comments of these flashpoints in the past. However, he's never put it so bluntly as to say world war three could result if he loses.

He also reflected on controversy left in the wake of Netanyahu's meeting with VP Harris. The Israeli leader was reportedly upset with Harris' post-meeting statement, where she said she would "not be silent" at the mounting civilian Palestinian casualties and suffering.

"Harris' statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting," one Israeli official told Axios. According to more, "The Israeli official also said Netanyahu was unhappy with the fact that Harris criticized Israel publicly for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and for killing civilians, especially at the current timing amid the hostage deal negotiations."

Trump said going into the meeting with Netanyahu that Harris' remarks on the Gaza war were "disrespectful". Referencing Harris and the Biden administration, and Democrats broadly, Trump said "They weren’t very nice pertaining to Israel. I actually don’t know how a person who is Jewish could vote for her, but that’s up to them."

Trump also said something a bit unusual pertaining to Iran and the possibility of a future US war on Tehran...

Uh, what? pic.twitter.com/JIz1HIpnpt

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) July 26, 2024

He said in social media statement that Iran must be wiped out if it ever carries out an assassination against a future President Trump.

The comment appeared in follow-up to Netanyahu's fiery Wednesday speech before Congress. The prime minister focused a lot of the talk on Iran, and described that it remains behind "all the terrorism" and "all the killing". He then asserted that the Islamic Republic "brazenly threatened to assassinate President Trump."

Authored by 'A Midwestern Doctor',

Story at-a-glance

• The power of sleep — Proper sleep is essential for our health, and disruptions can lead to severe issues like heart attacks, psychiatric illnesses, car accidents, fatigue, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia

• A widespread epidemic — Poor sleep affects many due to a lack of understanding about its importance and the use of sedative sleeping pills that hinder healthy sleep. For instance, medical training often deprives students of sleep, despite its critical role in learning

• The forgotten miracle drug — In 1964, a remarkably effective sleeping medication hit the market, improving conditions like insomnia and overall health. However, its success threatened other drug markets. By 1990, the FDA and media launched a campaign against it, much like the case with ivermectin, resulting in the drug becoming almost unknown and many sleep disorders remaining untreated

• What you’ll learn — This article delves into the harms of poor sleep, explores common causes, and uncovers effective treatments for sleeping disorders

One of the key themes I’ve tried to illustrate in my writings is that chronic illness has vastly increased over the last 150 years. A major cause of this is the disruption of the natural rhythms essential for our body’s self-regulation and self-repair.

Modern Medicine (Allopathy) often overlooks this concept because it doesn’t recognize the innate health of the body. Allopathic treatments focus on stabilizing or altering the body (e.g., ICU care or surgery) and hoping it heals itself, unlike other medical systems that enhance the body’s natural recovery capacity.

Typically, Allopathy excels with acute conditions, while a health-augmenting approach is better for chronic illnesses, an area where Allopathy often falls short. Here are three reasons why the Allopathic model dominates:

1. Economic incentives — The Allopathic model creates many expensive treatments and diagnostics, making it highly profitable and incentivizing its dominance in the medical market.

2. Cultural psychology — Our culture’s need to control and understand everything leads to methods that dominate nature rather than work harmoniously with it, oppose the philosophy of trusting the body’s natural healing.

3. Research bias — Medical research favors treatments that show immediate, observable changes (like lowering blood pressure) rather than those that promote gradual, long-term recovery, skewing the focus towards pharmaceutical interventions.

The Impact of Natural Rhythms on Health

The health of the body relies heavily on the normal functioning of self-regulating cycles:

• Breathing — Slow, smooth, nasal breathing profoundly impacts health and longevity by regulating many critical physiological functions.

• Sunlight — Regular exposure to sunlight is vital for health, and its absence doubles the risk of mortality and can lead to conditions like depression or cancer.

• Physical activity — Regular exercise is crucial, and a sedentary lifestyle leads to significant health issues. Those who walk daily often experience dramatically improved longevity.

• Mental rest — The mind needs to alternate between rest and activity, but modern life often forces constant thinking and stress.

In short, many of the natural rhythms our bodies rely upon for self-regulation are heavily disrupted in modern society, which in turn results in a variety of consistent derangements to normal physiology that are now seen throughout the population.

The Importance of Sleep

Throughout my career, I’ve met many integrative practitioners who emphasize normalizing their patient’s sleep as a crucial step in treating chronic illness. Sleep is a foundational process for restoring health, yet patients with chronic illnesses often suffer from disrupted sleep cycles, which can be challenging to correct.

Sleep is a tightly regulated cycle, highly responsive to environmental signals and essential for maintaining other critical body rhythms. During sleep, the body cycles through different phases, each with critical functions: deep NREM sleep heals the brain and drains toxins, while REM sleep consolidates memories and processes emotions. A typical sleep cycle goes as follows:

Note: Since REM sleep predominates later at night, not sleeping long enough disproportionately disrupts REM sleep. NREM sleep is responsible for eliminating unnecessary memories, whereas REM sleep processes the day’s experiences and reinforces them into long-term memory.

Matthew Walker is one of the world’s most vocal sleep researchers. In his book Why We Sleep, he argues that sleep serves several vital functions, including:

 

Any individual, no matter what age, will exhibit physical ailments, mental health instability, reduced alertness, and impaired memory if their sleep is chronically disrupted.

 

Even when controlling for factors such as body mass index, gender, race, history of smoking, frequency of exercise, and medications, the lower an older individual’s sleep efficiency score, the higher their mortality risk, the worse their physical health, the more likely they are to suffer from depression, the less energy they report, and the lower their cognitive function, typified by forgetfulness.

The Sleep Crisis

Adequate sleep requires:

1. Sufficient time set aside for sleep.

2. Ability to fall asleep quickly.

3. Cycling through all sleep phases once asleep.

Adults generally need 7 to 9 hours per night, with infants and children needing more. Unfortunately, many people don’t get enough sleep, contributing to widespread health issues.

Key points:

• Gallup poll 57% of Americans want more sleep; only 42% get enough.

• 35.5% of American adults sleep less 7 hours per night; 30% have insomnia symptoms.

• 13.5% of adults feel tired most days; 10 days of 6-hour deficient sleep is equivalent to 24 hours of being awake (no sleep).

• Sleep Apnea affects 9% to 38% of the population.

• 30% to 48% of the elderly have insomnia symptoms, and 12% to 20% have insomnia disorders. Aging reduces sleep efficiency and quality and increases nighttime awakenings.

Sleeping Pills

Despite a $65 billion annual market for sleep aids in the U.S.24 and a $432 billion global “sleep economy" 50 to 70 million Americans suffer from sleep disorders. The pandemic worsened sleep for over half of Americans in 2020, and 76% admitted to buying sleep aids.

The problem lies in the nature of most sleeping pills: they are sedatives, not sleep aids. They sedate the brain, impairing its ability to initiate restorative sleep, leaving users tired and at risk for health issues.

Studies have shown that sleeping pill users are significantly more likely to die early and develop cancer. For example, one study found a twofold increase in mortality for sleeping pill users, with another study reporting a 3.6 to 5.4 times higher death rate for users over 2.5 years, and an increased cancer risk of 7% to 99%.

This in turn, led the authors to conclude that in 2010, prescription sleeping pills “may have been associated with 320,000 to 507,000 excess deaths within the USA alone.”

Most prescription sleeping pills, like Ambien, are “sedative hypnotics” similar to benzodiazepines (e.g., Valium), which are addictive and often used long-term despite being intended for short-term use. Over-the-counter options, like Benadryl or Unisom, are antihistamines that also disrupt the sleep cycle. Alcohol, with a similar mechanism to benzodiazepines, is another addictive sedative that inhibits sleep long after being ingested.

Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate

While most sleeping medications are unsafe and ineffective, one drug, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), has shown remarkable results. Developed in 1874, GHB was marketed in Europe as an intravenous anesthetic in 1964. Despite its benefits, it wasn’t practical for surgeries but was useful in intensive care due to its unique properties:

 

Decades of research followed and demonstrated GHB’s extraordinary properties and low toxicity. It metabolizes to succinate and water, has a high LD50, and no deaths have been conclusively attributed to it. GHB is a powerful sleep aid, restoring deep sleep cycles and leaving individuals refreshed — in many cases after just 3 to 4 hours of sleep.

 

As more scientists (and then members of the public) began exploring the drug, according to Ward Dean MD29 (who provided extensive references to support his claims), through decades of research, they found a variety of benefits from GHB including:

Given these remarkable benefits and the decades of research supporting its use, why has no one ever heard of it?

The Ivermectin of Sleep Medicines

The medical industry often uses public relations to create campaigns that generate profits at the expense of public health.

For instance, dermatologists rebranded themselves as skin cancer fighters, spreading hysteria about skin cancer and sunlight dangers. This transformed dermatology into a lucrative field, despite the essential health benefits of sunlight. Similarly, during COVID-19, the FDA downplayed the benefits of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, creating unwarranted fear and blocking their use.

GHB’s story mirrors this pattern. In the early 1990s, as it gained popularity as a supplement (largely due to bodybuilders recognizing the value of it increasing growth hormone in the body), the FDA and CDC publicized adverse reactions to it, despite no fatalities (e.g., hospital doctors misinterpreted the brief deep sleep it created as a coma requiring intubation).

As recounted by Ward Dean MD, this led to an FDA ban, highly deceptive press releases, and a variety of illegal enforcement actions that were eventually overturned in court.

The FDA then helped create a media hysteria over GHB, fueled by comparisons to Rohypnol (“Roofies”) and made up GHB tragedies, which led to its portrayal as a dangerous date-rape drug. This culminated in a 2000 Federal anti-date rape drug law 2000 that made GHB a Schedule I drug, while simultaneously enshrining a pharmaceutical GHB preparation as a Schedule III drug.

Note: To be a Schedule I drug, the substance cannot have an acceptable medical use, which is hence irreconcilable with the FDA-approved preparation of it being a Schedule III drug.

In reality, GHB was rarely involved in sexual assaults and had a distinct easily detectable taste. Misleading media reports and government actions overshadowed the actual data and research. Most remarkably GHB, Rohypnol (Roofies) avoided similar bans due to effective lobbying by its manufacturer, is still a schedule IV drug in America (where it was never brought to market), and remains legal in many countries. Here, Comedian Jimmy Dore covers the GHB saga in more detail:

The Aftermath

Because of this debacle, it became almost impossible to get GHB, and many leading integrative doctors at the time were disgusted with the FDA as they saw how much GHB benefitted their patients and treated a variety of immensely challenging illnesses.

Patients occasionally ask me for GHB, and I sadly have to explain the criminal penalties associated with Schedule I drugs. Ironically, while GHB was outlawed, the off-patent and easy to manufacture schedule III pharmaceutical preparation of it sodium oxybate38 (Xyrem), remained legal but is prohibitively expensive, costing between $60,000 to $100,000 annually, a figure desperate patients will pay for this live changing medication.

Despite evidence supporting GHB’s efficacy for conditions like alcohol addiction, fibromyalgia, and numerous debilitating sleep disorders,41 efforts to change the FDA’s perception of GHB as merely a date-rape drug have been unsuccessful.

At the same time, underground GHB use has persisted, both recreationally and amongst certain patient groups (e.g., veterans with PTSD) due to its unique effects (e.g., enhanced sensory experiences and sociability alongside its myriad of remarkable therapeutic benefits). Here, Joe Rogan and Jimmy Dore discuss where things currently stand with GHB:

Overall, one of the most extraordinary things about the GHB saga is that its many benefits discovered over the decades of research it received were then subsequently rediscovered by the sleep research community. This again illustrates how often the research we really need (and hence spend billions on each year) already exists but was simply buried due to it being inconvenient for the industry.

More than anything else, I believe the GHB story demonstrates the importance of not being overly biased. For example, while many doctors hold a strong prejudice against any “natural” (e.g., nondrug) therapy, I am the opposite and typically avoid using pharmaceutical drugs because of how frequently I find their harms outweigh their benefits.

Nonetheless, I periodically find extraordinary drugs I take a hard look at and end up using throughout my medical practice. Sadly, as the war against ivermectin showed the world, the primary motivation behind most of medicine is money, and as a result, whenever a highly beneficial drug is discovered that competes with existing drugs, the medical industry moves to bury it, regardless of how much evidence there is in support of it.

Note: The existing research on GHB is discussed in further detail here.

Sleep Hygiene

Let’s now look at other options for improving sleep. One of the most tried and true ones is to change the signals your body receives so it can go to sleep on its own. Here are key approaches:

1. Regulate circadian rhythm — The body’s natural cycle, governed by processes like adenosine buildup and circadian cues, signals when to sleep. Consistency in sleep and waking times is an essential piece of good sleep hygiene. Following environmental cues and natural cycles is ideal but often disrupted by modern lifestyles.

2. Address sleep barriers — Factors like age-related brain damage or fluid obstructions hinder sleep. Remedies such as electrically improving the body’s fluid circulation or reducing EMF exposure can help.

3. Avoid disruptive substances — Caffeine and alcohol, by blocking adenosine receptors or disrupting sleep cycles, impair sleep quality. Their effects linger due to varying metabolic rates, exacerbating sleep issues, especially as metabolism slows with age. One of the most intriguing data points I’ve seen about the effects of caffeine came from this NASA study.

4. Temperature management — Natural temperature drops aid sleep onset, making cooler environments conducive to rest. Techniques like cooling baths or sleeping in cooler rooms promote better sleep quality.

Note: One of the most interesting approaches to overcoming the temperature barrier for sleep was a study that found using a customized suit to externally drop people’s temperature made it much easier for them to sleep (especially in the elderly).

5. Manage light exposure — Blue light from screens disrupts melatonin secretion, crucial for sleep regulation. Using blue light filters, minimizing screen time before bed, and creating darker sleep environments support healthy sleep patterns.

6. Behavioral adjustments — Establishing bedrooms as sleep sanctuaries, maintaining consistent sleep-wake schedules, and practicing relaxation techniques before bed enhance sleep quality. Physical activity during the day and avoiding stimulating activities close to bedtime also aid in achieving restful sleep.

Note: Many people find cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to be extremely helpful for insomnia and there is now significant evidence to support it being a first-line therapy.

7. Diet and lifestyle — Maintaining a balanced diet, avoiding late-night eating, and monitoring caffeine intake play roles in promoting restorative sleep. Keeping a sleep journal can help identify triggers contributing to insomnia.

By addressing these facets, we can optimize sleep environments and routines, fostering healthier sleep patterns, without being dependent on the sleeping pill industry, and despite the absence of healthy therapeutic options (GHB) for more serious physiological ailments and sleep dysfunctions.

Conclusion

One of the things I’ve repeatedly heard people say through COVID-19 was “if they did this with ivermectin (or hydroxychloroquine), what else have they done this with?” Here, I provide one such example, and sadly, the GHB story is by no means an isolated example (e.g., others are discussed here).

However, while the GHB story is atrocious, on one level I am grateful for it, as had a safe and effective cure for insomnia existed, we likely would have never been forced to learn what the actual underlying causes of sleep impairment are, and likewise, our society would have never conducted the research which demonstrated just how critically important sleep is.

Sadly, one of the greatest problems in medicine is that it typically takes 17 years for scientific discoveries to change the practice of medicine. In turn, despite the dire need for improved sleep in society, it is unlikely this problem will be addressed by the mainstream for a long time (even in areas like intellectually based professions or education where the cognitive impairment resulting from poor sleep is highly counterproductive to the goals of the institution).

I hope the knowledge provided here has given you an appreciation for the importance of healthy sleep and a few helpful approaches you can incorporate into your life!

Author’s note: This is an abbreviated version of a full-length article that takes a deeper look into the causes and treatments of insomnia. For the entire read with much more specific details and sources, please click here.

A home of a former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was raided by the FBI earlier this week, according to NBC. 

The Manhasset house was owned by Linda Sun, who served as the deputy chief of staff to the governor, the report says. 

The FBI commented earlier this week stating it had carried out “court-authorized law enforcement activity”, but refusing to provide further details. 

NBC reported that per her LinkedIn profile, Sun served as a senior advisor on business development, legislative priorities, and "constituent affair engagement" while deputy chief of staff from 2021-22, overseeing executive operations.

After working for the governor, Sun transitioned to the role of deputy commissioner for strategic business development at the state Department of Labor.

In May 2023, she began working as a campaign manager, creating a budget for advertising.

Earlier this year, the FBI also raided the homes of Winnie Greco, a staffer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, in the Bronx, according to the Associated Press.

Greco, a former fundraiser and current director of Asian affairs for the mayor, was under investigation following allegations she promised an employee a job in exchange for renovating her kitchen, as reported by The City.

Last year, the FBI also raided the homes of Brianna Suggs, a fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova from the mayor’s international affairs office, according to the Associated Press.

A spokesperson for Adams stated that the mayor expects ethical behavior from all employees.

Adams' spokesperson said: “Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines.”

“As we have repeatedly said, we don’t comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway.”

What is going on in New York?

A 22-year-old man was arrested this week after allegedly stealing a Seattle Fire Department truck, according to KOMO. 

On Wednesday morning, the man rode a scooter to the truck, entered it, activated the lights and sirens, and attempted to drive away around 3:30 a.m. on the 9200 block of Second Avenue Southwest.

The suspect couldn't deactivate the parking brake and only managed to drive around the corner before exiting the vehicle, the report said. 

A witness reported seeing a man on a scooter ride up to a fire engine, get on, and drive away with its lights and sirens on, additional reporting said. 

Police then arrived, confirmed with Seattle Fire Department employees that a fire engine had been stolen.

"The firetruck involved was from South Park-based Engine 26, as noted by the SFD incident log," the West Seattle Blog reported.

The man was arrested and booked into King County Jail for motor vehicle theft. According to police, the truck was returned to the Seattle Fire Department.

Hoodline reported that this incident is the suspect's ninth arrest in nine months.

Previous arrests led to short stints in custody, except for his most recent one from June 20 to July 1 for two stolen-vehicle cases, with hearings set for early August.

Despite frequent arrests, he has no past felony convictions.