Watch President Donald Trump's first address to the nation on the border crisis beginning at 9 p.m. EST. You'll be able to follow The Daily Signal's Twitter feed with live updates. Our team will be up late to provide analysis and fact-checking from Daily Signal reporters after the speech. Tune in tonight at 9.
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Adjust
by Tom H. Hastings
507 words
"They'll make adjustments. They always do."
So said Donald Trump when a reporter asked him about the millions of people directly affected by his shutdown.
Yes, millions. Nearly 400,000 federal workers are not being paid and an equal number of workers who were fulfilling government contracts are also not being paid. Most of those 800,000 have dependents. So millions of Americans are going without a paycheck. Trump says they'll adjust.
Wait--his shutdown? Yup. "I'm proud to shut down the government...I'm not gonna blame you for it" (Trump, on camera, to Senator Chuck Schumer in December). As with so many things (Mexico will pay for the wall, I'm ordering the troops home from Syria now, I will push for term limits on Congress, I'll make sure taxpayers can fully deduct health care insurance payments on their taxes, as soon as the audit is finished I will release my tax return, and many more buck-naked lies), Trump makes a promise and denies it. The Promisebreaker.
Back in the day, when I was a young single Dad--just me and my two sons--I missed a paycheck once. It was a catastrophe. A crew of us were working construction and the contractor bailed on all of us. Three of us were family men and two were single guys. All of us were panicked and scrambling. Yeah, we all "made adjustments." It was hellish.
Now Trump has created a fake crisis on the border--even though there are fewer migrants with problems coming in than ever. The National Security Council and the State Department both issued reports that list improvements that might be made in border security and neither recommends a wall.
The crisis is the shutdown itself and the millions of Americans thrown to the wolves by Trump--even though the new Congress has already passed a bill that would reopen the government and sent it to the Senate--which Trump says he'll never sign. To compound Trump's crisis, the government workers and contractors will likely soon not be able to keep any semblance of safety net in place because they are themselves furloughed--when will Social Security checks stop? Food stamps for 39 million Americans who depend on them even more acutely now?
I'm sure Trump is fantasizing that if he shuts it all down, the judicial system will not be able to continue to investigate the mounting evidence that his campaign conspired with Putin's Russian operatives to steal the 2016 election. It was just revealed that his campaign manager, convicted felon Paul Manafort, admitted to sharing Trump campaign data with the Russians. We'll see if Trump gets indicted by all this or if his dream of shutting down the third branch of government buys him some time.
Or maybe Pelosi and the new House head of the Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler--and even Ken Starr-- are right that it may be possible, if evidence is strong enough, a sitting president can be indicted. Maybe Trump should get fitted for a big orange jumpsuit.
I'm sure he'll adjust.
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Dr. Tom H. Hastings is PeaceVoice Director and on occasion an expert witness for the defense in court.
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Dispelling 6 Common Myths About Fertility
Studies show many American women are putting off pregnancy until their 30s – and even their 40s. This continuing trend is often driven by women’s career interests and their confidence in remaining fertile, medical professionals say.
But while many women are trying to time their pregnancy, that can be tricky due to the massive amount of conflicting information about fertility.
“Separating fact from fiction can be difficult, because there are many myths on the topics of ovulation, timing of intercourse, and charting fertility,” says Hethir Rodriguez, founder and president of Natural Fertility Info.com (www.natural-fertility-info.com) and a certified herbalist specializing in women’s health. “These myths have been repeated so often that we readily believe them.
“The best time to get pregnant doesn’t always mean it will happen right when you’re ready, but there are basic things to know and intelligent ways to prepare your body for pregnancy.”
Rodriguez debunks some oft-discussed myths about fertility:
You can get pregnant only one or two days a month. There are six days of the menstrual cycle that a woman could possibly get pregnant. “Because a female egg lives 12-24 hours after ovulation and sperm lives up to five days in the female reproductive system, you can have baby-making sex up to three days prior to and the day of ovulation – even the day after,” Rodriguez says.
All fertility apps are inaccurate. “The sheer numbers of different types are daunting, and there are doubters in the medical community,” Rodriguez says. “But a good number of apps get good results. There are numerous apps available to help chart basal body temperature, track their cervical mucus, monitor hormone fluctuations, and pinpoint the day of ovulation.”
Women can ovulate twice in the same cycle. “In about 10 percent of cycles, you may ovulate twice,” Rodriguez says, “but it is going to be within a 24-hour period. Some people think they can ovulate on week two of their menstrual cycle and then again on week three, but that’s not possible.”
Your diet does not have an impact on your fertility. “Diet makes a huge difference and is one of the most powerful tools you have for your fertility,” Rodriguez says. She suggests nutrient-dense foods, as close to their natural state as possible, because “the right diet can help regulate ovulatory function, increasing chances of pregnancy."
If you have a regular menstrual cycle you won’t have any problems getting pregnant. Rodriguez says that even with a normal cycle, there might still be underlying fertility health issues, especially if a woman has been trying unsuccessfully to conceive. “One such issue is Luteal phase defect, in which the period of time from ovulation until menstruation is too short – less than 12 days,” Rodriguez says.
Infertility is a woman’s issue. “This is a myth that is underlying our culture,” Rodriguez says. “There’s a 40 percent chance the fertility health issue resides with the woman and 40 percent it’s due to male-factor infertility. And sperm health is equally as important as egg health because these cells equally provide the DNA that will make up your future child.”
“The dialogue on fertility issues is important,” Rodriguez says. “For a long time it wasn’t discussed so publicly, and it can be a sensitive topic. But with so much information out there, it’s vital they seek the right professionals so they can make informed decisions.”
About Hethir Rodriguez
Hethir Rodriguez is the founder and president of Natural Fertility Info.com (www.natural-fertility-info.com), a website focusing on many aspects of natural fertility, infertility, and reproductive health. She’s the author of the e-Book Fertility Smoothies: Elixirs for Optimal Fertility, and has been a certified herbalist for nearly 20 years, specializing in women’s health and natural fertility. Rodriguez holds a B.S. degree in nutrition sciences, and is also a certified birth doula. Since she founded Natural Fertility Info.com in 2007, Rodriguez’s research, articles and guides have been read by over 40 million people.
