Pennsylvania State Animal: White-Tailed Deer

State Animals 2 Minutes

Yup, yet another state has the white-tailed deer as its state animal…lol.  Filly alerted me to a rare white-tailed deer I never heard of before—a black deer. I found this article on the blog:nature.org.  The author, Matthew L. Miller, details what a black deer and other animals that experience melanism are in the article.  (I only brought information about the deer, but you can read about other animals at https://blog.nature.org/2020/09/29/black-deer-have-you-seen-this-rare-color-of-a-common-animal/)

White-tailed deer are the most familiar large animal over much of North America. They live on farms, in suburbs, even in cities. In many regions, there are far too many of them, posing threats to conservation and even human health.

But deer are also a source of endless fascination for naturalists, hunters and backyard wildlife watchers, me most definitely included.

Despite also being one of the most studied wild animals in the world, whitetails can still surprise. Take their color variations. White deer – the subject of a blog I wrote previously – have long been the subject of lore and myth. White deer are not common, but they are conspicuous. People observe them regularly, many of them reporting them here.

But did you know there were also black deer? This coloration is even rarer than white. In fact, it is so unusual that this color variant remains little studied.

What is a Black Deer?

Many wild animals have variations in colors. In white-tailed deer, melanism – as the coloration is known – is a recessive genetic trait that can be inherited. It causes an excess of dark pigment, believed to be due to mutations in the melanicortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R). The deer appear a dark chocolate brown or black, and they have a fairly uniform coloration over their entire body.

Melanistic deer have been reported from 29 states, but they are never common. In one region of Texas, Texas Tech University found that melanistic deer make up about 8.5 percent of the population, by far the biggest concentration of these animals known.

Wildlife photographer and deer expert Leonard Lee Rue III, in his excellent reference book The Deer of North America, reported that in the mid-1900s, a concentration of melanistic deer was found in Union County, Pennsylvania. I have spent a fair amount if time in the woods in this area, always hopeful, but I have never seen a melanistic deer there, nor have I heard of others being spotted.

David Schroeder, who generously allowed me to use his photographs for this story, photographed a melanistic deer on his property that was the twin of a “normal” colored fawn. Neighbors alleged that this deer was sired by a melanistic buck, although Schroeder never saw this animal. However, this year another melanistic fawn has appeared on a neighboring property.

SOURCE: BLOG.NATURE.ORG

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Published by pat frederick

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79 thoughts on “Pennsylvania State Animal: White-Tailed Deer”

    1. Morning, Pat! Humid, humid, humid & cloudy – dripping, in fact! Starting out at 72, which doesn’t bode well for our high temp, predicted in the 90’s. Yuck!

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        1. Oh, cool! Mink are very much like ferrets, which can make good pets. My ex bought one once, tho, that hadn’t been “tamed” and he bit me on my leg – didn’t break the skin, thankfully. Needless to say, we didn’t keep him for long…..

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  5. EXCERPT: “A host of top Democrats including former President Barack Obama, are relying on a 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report in an effort to defend themselves against new evidence declassified by Trump intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard. That Senate report is flawed: it includes a since-discredited claim that the Steele Dossier was not used in and did not inform the 2016 U.S. intelligence community assessment.

    Last week, Gabbard sent declassified evidence to the Justice Department on what she dubbed a “treasonous conspiracy” related to top U.S. intelligence officials allegedly politicizing intelligence related to Russia and the 2016 election. Obama was joined by the Democratic ranking members of both the Senate and House intelligence committees and by former Obama DNI James Clapper — who helped lead the formulation of the ICA — in pointing to the bipartisan Senate intel panel’s 2020 report to dispute Gabbard’s claims.

    The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded in heavily-redacted reports in April and August 2020 that British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s bogus anti-Trump dossier was not used in the body of the ICA and that the dossier’s claims were not used to underpin any of the ICA’s findings. That conclusion was debunked by a newly-declassified House Intelligence Committee report and by a recent CIA review, and contradicted by a public House intel report and other declassified records as well.

    The Senate committee’s April 2020 report — which focused on the ICA — also wrongly suggested that Obama CIA Director John Brennan had opposed including the dossier in the ICA, while the newly-declassified House report and the recent CIA review both include testimonial evidence that Brennan had in fact fought to include dossier claims in the assessment over the objections from top CIA analysts. CIA Director John Ratcliffe sent a criminal referral on Brennan to the FBI following the CIA “lessons-learned” review earlier in July.

    The Senate Intelligence Committee’s fourth volume of its report on Russian meddling and the 2016 election, released in April 2020, was titled “Review of Intelligence Community Assessment.” The report stated that the “Committee found that the information provided by Christopher Steele to FBI was not used in the body of the ICA or to support any of its analytic judgments.” The Senate panel’s fifth volume on Russia, released in August 2020, also asserted that “the dossier material was not used in the ICA and did not contribute to its findings.”

    This repeated conclusion is now known to be false.

    What we know: Obama directed the tainted 2016 report

    The 2016 ICA was written at the direction of President Obama and largely overseen by Brennan, Clapper, and since-fired FBI Director James Comey. It was finished in December 2016, with a publicly declassified version released in early January 2017 and a more extensive classified version declassified and released last week…..”

    https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/dems-combat-gabbard-declass-pointing-senate-report-which-wrongly

    Liked by 1 person

  6. EXCERPT: “The viral spread of a recent podcast episode featuring Nazi apologia and a defense of the Holocaust highlights a disturbing trend in American alternative media of growing antisemitism, Holocaust denial or minimization, and pro-Nazi commentary, advocates say. 

    “How do we take the Jews down?” one host on the self-described “Men’s podcast” Fresh and Fit asked, speaking to fellow panelists in an episode that garnered widespread social media attention in recent days. “We gotta kill the motherf*****s,” another guest chimed in. “My bad ya’ll,” she added. 

    In the episode of the show, which has since been removed from streaming platforms, co-hosts Myron Gaines and Walter Weekes, who go by the monikers “Fit” and “Fresh,” respectively, centered on a conversation about the Nazi regime, the causes of the Holocaust, and “taking down” the Jews. 

    Defending Hitler, blaming Jews for Holocaust: “They started it”

    The hosts and guests justified Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party’s “Final Solution” to murder Jews in the Holocaust. The participants also rebranded common anti-Semitic tropes, such as blaming the Jewish people for the Nazi’s hatred, according to a clip of the episode posted to social media earlier this week. 

    “What do you guys think about Hitler?” Gaines asked the guests. The “Jewish [people] did something to the Germans that made them act a certain way, but nobody wants to talk about it,” one guest answered. “They started it. Like Germans wanted to take them out, all of them out.” 

    She continued, “The Holocaust was the only way he can take out a huge population, like, a huge amount of Jews all in one sitting,” though later admitting that their chosen solution was particularly “gruesome.”

    The Fresh and Fit show is considered part of the “manosphere”—pro-masculinty and anti-feminist websites that promote fringe theories of dating. For example, Myron Gaines, whose birth name is Amrou Fudl, wrote in his 2023 book “Why Women Deserve Less” that the historical relationship between men and women has been based on prostitution; “All men are Johns” and “All women are whores.”

    Not the first controversy for the podcasters

    The episode in question aired on Rumble, a video platform that promotes free speech for content creators, but that episode was removed from the platform for violating its terms of use, a Rumble spokesperson confirmed to Just the News. The platform prohibits “transmitting any message” that “is abusive, inciting violence, harassing, harmful, hateful, anti-semitic, racist or threatening.” The duos’ other current content is still available on Rumble.

    The duo was kicked off of the YouTube monetized “Partner Program” in 2023. The Sun reported that the duo said that they didn’t know why YouTube made its decision, but “they suspect it has something to do with their controversial topics.” Their content created up to 2024 appears to still be distributed on Apple, and on Spotify.

    “Surge of Jew-hatred” not spontaneous, critic says

    Sacha Roytman, Chief Executive Director of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, argues that the “surge of Jew-hatred in alternative media spaces is not spontaneous” and that it can inspire violence if not checked…..” 

    https://justthenews.com/nation/extremism/advocates-raise-alarm-about-growing-nazi-apologism-and-jew-hatred-alternative

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “A federal judge on Friday dismissed the Trump administration’s first sanctuary policy lawsuit against Illinois and Chicago, ruling that trying to force the parties to help crackdown on illegal immigration would violate state autonomy.

    The Trump administration sued Illinois and Chicago in February, alleging they interfered with federal immigration laws with their sanctuary city and state policies, which were “designed to and in fact interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution.” 

    U.S. District Judge Lindsay Jenkins ruled that the Trump administration’s efforts to force the state and city to comply with federal immigration law was an “end-run around the Tenth Amendment,” which protects states from federal overreach.

    “Because the Tenth Amendment protects Defendants’ Sanctuary Policies, those Policies cannot be found to discriminate against or regulate the federal government,” Jenkins wrote in a 64-page order. 

    The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department can revive the case by amending its complaint.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. they may not be able to FORCE them to help round up illegals, but actively giving aid and safety to illegals is against the law and POTUS should be able to take them to court over that!

      Liked by 1 person

          1. Cop or Border Patrol or anything along those lines – for that matter, ANY job – if you don’t like it and don’t want to comply w/the job requirements, then quit.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. those jobs yes…i would agree. especially border patrol–after all, that IS their job.
              but like a regular job? I don’t know that you can force a regular person to help –they can’t interfere or impede ICE, but not sure you can force them to assist. that might be a state right thing…i dunno.
              i would help, but that’s me.

              Liked by 1 person

    1. that car with the airplane? looks so much like the car one guy on the macadam road was working on for about a year. he had it in and out of his 3 car garage–he paints and apparently restores older cars. he just finished it this spring and it’s gone. Either back to the owner or he sold it. He did an amazing job.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Vehicles from that era were so solid and safe!!! Now they’re flimsy and will crumple at the slightest bump!!!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. that’s so you gotta replace them because everything is so flimsy nowadays.
          I was looking for terry tea kitchen towels. I remember years ago buying them for like $2. i looked on line this morning–$17.99 for 2! they have “cotton ones” for cheaper, but they get wet quick and aren’t as absorbent.
          $17.99 for TEA TOWELS!

          Liked by 1 person

  16. Texas midget

    July 26, 2025 9:11 am

    Coincidences are amazing things.

    For instance, Fire Aid concerts raised over $100,000,000 for the California fire victims.

    The money somewhat disappeared.

    Broke California all of a sudden found $101,000,000 to build multi-family housing units in the fire zone.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. BREAKING: Per federal law enforcement sources, the two SoCal medical workers seen in a viral video physically blocking an ICE agent from arresting a Honduran illegal alien who had fled into their surgery center in Ontario, CA have both been charged federally & the male was arrested earlier this morning. The female remains at large and is wanted by federal authorities.

      I’m told JOSE DE JESUS ORTEGA and DANIELLE NADINE DAVILA have both been charged with violations of 18 USC 111 (assaulting, resisting, or impeding federal agents). Both have a criminal arrest warrant signed off on by a federal judge.

      I’m told ORTEGA was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents this morning, while DAVILA is wanted and federal authorities are actively looking for her now.

      The original incident happened earlier this month on July 8th at the Ontario Advanced Surgery Center, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

      According to the federal criminal complaint obtained by @FoxNews
      , the target Honduran illegal alien, a landscaper, was not a patient at the facility, but ran to it in an effort to get away from ICE agents. The feds allege that when an ICE agent partially detained the alien and he fell down near the front door of the surgery center, workers at the facility pulled the alien inside to get him away from ICE. The feds say Ortega and Davila could then be seen in multiple videos physically blocking ICE from reaching the alien by putting their hands on the agent and wedging themselves between him and the Honduran man.

      The Honduran man was ultimately taken into federal custody. According to the affidavit, HSI conducted extensive surveillance on ORTEGA and DAVILA after the incident to confirm their identities.

      Statement from @USAttyEssayli
      , who is prosecuting the case:

      “This story is another example of a false narrative peddled by irresponsible members of the media in furtherance of a political agenda to delegitimize federal agents. The illegal alien arrested inside the medical center was not a patient and was not in any way affiliated with that location. He ran inside for cover and these medical workers attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents. To be very clear, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you work, if you assault our agents or otherwise interfere with our operations, you will be arrested and charged with a federal crime.”

      Liked by 1 person

  18. “American Birth Rates Rates Drop To Levels Of Civilizational Suicide — Not only is the U.S. failing to create enough new Americans through birth — it is also failing to turn immigrants into Americans in any meaningful sense.”

    The Federalist, By: Brianna Lyman, July 25, 2025

    EXCERPT: ““First world nations are dying,” Pat Buchanan warned in his 2002 book The Death of the West. “They face a mortal crisis, not because of something happening in the Third World, but because of what is not happening at home and in the homes of the First World.”

    And what was not — and still is not — happening at home is childbearing. Buchanan was referring to fertility rates, which have been on the decline for decades.

    Data released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows U.S. birth rates are dropping to levels of civilizational suicide, with women having on average 1.6 children. According to the CDC data, birth rates dropped for women aged 15-34 between 2023 and 2024 while rising for women aged 40-44. The general fertility rate (GFR), which is the number of births per 1,000 females ages 15-44, “is down 22% from 2007 to 2024.” While fertility rates are down, the number of births increased by roughly 1 percent between 2023 and 2024, according to the data.

    Women are delaying having children or completely casting it aside — thanks in part to the rise of the obnoxious hyper-independent girl boss mentality that has asserted that marriage and motherhood are shackles, along with the “loss of religiosity” and “availability of birth control” and abortion, as pointed out in these pages by David Harsanyi.

    The result? The country is dying. As Buchanan warned, a nation that will not reproduce will not survive. A shrinking native population leads to one inevitable outcome: mass immigration.

    As noted by The Heritage Foundation’s Jonathan Abbamonte, “without a substantial increase in fertility, the United States will continue to be increasingly dependent on immigration to slow down population ageing and prevent population contraction.”

    One of the most obvious results of a shrinking population is a shrinking workforce. But a workforce is rather interchangeable. A country can always import labor — the United States can import labor for the foreseeable future if there is a shortage of workers. But what a country cannot import is a culture, a heritage, a set of particular values that will help the republic endure.

    America simply cannot outsource her future to people from other places. And it’s not about “xenophobia” or whatever other “phobia” the left will throw at Americans. A country — any country — that replaces its population with people from somewhere else because its own people will not reproduce becomes something else entirely. If we don’t make more Americans, we won’t have any more left. And without Americans, there will be no America.

    Not only is the U.S. failing to create enough new Americans through birth — it is also failing to turn immigrants into Americans in any meaningful sense — making the prospect of boosting the dying population with foreigners even more problematic. Of course, this hasn’t always been the case. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the U.S. successfully assimilated millions of immigrants — Germans, Italians, Poles, Irish, and so on and so forth — because they shared a foundation of similar cultural and social norms, values, and religion. They often became Americans within a single generation…..”

    https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/25/american-birth-rates-rates-drop-to-levels-of-civilizational-suicide/

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Just The News: “United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow revealed Thursday that he plans to update the U.S. citizenship test to make it more difficult, and also change employment visas for skilled foreign workers.

    Edlow, who previously worked as the deputy director for Policy and chief counsel at USCIS, became the new citizenship chief earlier this month and has promised to “restore integrity in our legal immigration system.” 

    The new chief said he hopes to make citizenship tests more difficult by increasing the amount of questions that applicants are required to answer. Currently, immigrants hoping to become naturalized citizens are required to answer six out of 10 multiple-choice U.S. civic questions correctly in order to pass, but under the first Trump administration they had to answer 12 out of 20 correctly.

    “The test as it’s laid out right now, it’s not very difficult,” Edlow told the New York Times. “It’s very easy to kind of memorize the answers. I don’t think we’re really comporting with the spirit of the law.

    “I think [immigration] absolutely should be a net positive,” he later said. “And if we’re looking at the people that are coming over, that are especially coming over to advance certain economic agendas that we have and otherwise benefit the national interest — that’s absolutely what we need to be taking care of.”

    Edlow also highlighted potential changes to H-1B work visas, by favoring companies that plan to hire foreign workers higher wages, rather than companies that bring in foreign workers to save money by paying them less than Americans.

    “I really do think that the way H-1B needs to be used, and this is one of my favorite phrases, is to, along with a lot of other parts of immigration, supplement, not supplant, U.S. economy and U.S. businesses and U.S. workers,” Edlow said. The new director did not state when he expected the new changes to be announced.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  20. https://notthebee.com/article/horrific-pedophile-sex-ring-that-used-shock-collar-to-torture-kids-uncovered-in-alabama-multiple-people-arrested

    Liked by 1 person

  26. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been told by a congressional ethics panel to repay costs associated with her Met Gala appearance where she wore a white and red ‘Tax the Rich’ dress. The House Ethics Committee released a sprawling 26-page report into AOC’s lavish trip and recommended she pay $3,000. Once she does the probe will be considered finished.

    The congresswoman’s office did not respond to a request for comment. That same dress, along with some some accessories from designer Brother Vellies, should’ve cost the progressive over $3,700 in rental fees, the report found. 

    Her team only paid $990 for the dress, shoes, jewelry, handbag, floral headpiece, according to the committee. It claimed that the fair market rental price of just the dress was just under $3,000, but AOC’s team only paid $300 for it. The tickets to attend the event that year costed $35,000 each. “

    Liked by 1 person

  27. “London to New York City at Mach 1.7 in just 3.5 hours. It will only hold 60 – 80 people based on seating configuration and will start flying in 2030. Tickets are projected to cost upwards of $ 6,00.00 per person, each way.”

    Liked by 1 person

  28. “I’ve been saying this ever since I first got hipped to the ‘illegals issue’ 15 years ago. Back at the Jersey Shore around 2010, we started seeing groups of 20, 30 or more Mexicans gathering in the parking lot of the ACME supermarket in the center of Manasquan, NJ every morning starting around 6:00am. None of them spoke functional English, but for one guy who decided who goes where and with who for whatever job somebody needed ’em for.

    Now you and I both know what that was about. He’s was the ‘Jeffe’ – the boss, who’d get kickbacks of probably as much as one half of what the men were paid. They were paid every day in cash, and they’d have to duke the guy the next morning to be able to work that day. It was a real ‘human traficking racket if ever there was one.

    I’ve said all along, they should bust the guys who hire ’em. Bust ’em for tax evasion, whatever the fuck you can. Just lock ’em the fuck up enough and the demand for the wetback’s will eventually disappear. Makes perfect sense to me…”

    Liked by 1 person

  34. THREAD on Kemp’s move in GA

    Rod D. Martin
    @RodDMartin
    13h • 11 tweets • 4 min read •
    Read on X
    🚨 Georgia Senate Showdown: Trump’s Team vs. Kemp’s Pick

    Trump wants to flip Georgia red and expand the Senate majority. But Brian Kemp just threw a wrench in the plan—and Team Trump is not happy.

    Here’s what’s going on 🧵 Image
    Image
    2/ Georgia’s Senate seat is one of the GOP’s top targets.

    Jon Ossoff barely won in 2020. Trump carried Georgia in 2024. This is a prime pickup—and Trump plans to finish the job.

    But the fight over who gets to take him down has just begun. Image
    3/ Brian Kemp, term-limited and done as governor, was urged to run himself.

    Trump’s team even met with him to jointly agree on a candidate.

    But Kemp said no—and then did something else entirely. Image
    4/ Instead of waiting, Kemp floated Derek Dooley—a former Tennessee football coach and the son of Georgia legend Vince Dooley.

    Trump’s team said they explicitly asked Kemp to hold off. But Kemp went forward anyway. Image
    5/ That decision has “pissed off” Trump’s inner circle.

    A top Trump political adviser said:

    “Kemp went out on his own… instead of leading, he decided to self-anoint a candidate no one has heard of—and the president hasn’t even met.” Image
    6/ The Trump camp isn’t just annoyed that Kemp picked someone. They think he chose the wrong kind of someone.

    As one source put it:

    “The best option was Kemp himself. Instead, we got a trial balloon for 2028.”

    Translation: they see this as a power move, not a team play. Image
    7/ Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Collins is stepping up.

    A Trump loyalist and second-term Congressman, Collins is set to announce his candidacy this week—with the full support of Trump’s base.

    He’s exactly what MAGA wants in this race. Image
    8/ Collins is the author of the Laken Riley Act, the first law signed by Trump in his second term.

    He’s proven, America First, and battle-ready.

    Kemp’s guy? Still not officially in the race—and Republican reaction in Georgia has been “very negative.” Image
    9/ The stakes couldn’t be higher.

    With a MAGA Senate majority, Trump can shut down the Deep State, crush Biden-era mandates, and secure the border—for good.

    Georgia is the lynchpin. Trump wants a real fighter to lead the charge. Image
    10/ Bottom line:

    Trump flipped Georgia.
    He carried the state.
    Now he’s picking the next senator.

    Georgia Republicans: choose wisely. 🇺🇸

    Like

  35. Just The News: “President Donald Trump on Saturday said both Cambodia and Thailand want a ceasefire and have agreed to meet. 

    “I just had a very good call with the Prime Minister of Cambodia, and informed him of my discussions with Thailand, and its Acting Prime Minister,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace.”

    Trump said that both countries also want to return to the trading table with the U.S. “They are also looking to get back to the “Trading Table” with the United States, which we think is inappropriate to do until such time as the fighting STOPS,” Trump’s post continued. “They have agreed to immediately meet and quickly work out a Ceasefire and, ultimately, PEACE! It was an Honor to deal with both Countries. They have a long and storied History and Culture.”

    Earlier this week, there were armed clashes between Cambodia and Thailand over a border dispute that resulted in 12 people being killed. Both sides’ forces accused each other of opening fire first, according to CNN. 

    Trump said he hopes both countries can get along for years to come.”

    Liked by 1 person

  36. “Woke Science and the White House — Doing what is right for science in America”

    Robert W Malone MD, MS, Jul 26, 2025

    EXCERPT: “The Trump administration has canceled federal contracts worth millions from Springer Nature, a German-owned scientific publisher. Approximately. $20 million in government grants for journal subscriptions have been rescinded, with potentially “billions more in grants and contracts to be soon retracted. Springer Nature publishes over 3,000 journals, including Nature and Scientific American. Officials have stated that U.S. taxpayer money should not fund what they consider “unused subscriptions to junk science.” This move is unprecedented in the scientific publishing world and is just one of the opening volleys against what the Trump administration has labelled “woke science.”

    The Trump administration has initiated a campaign against what it termed “woke science,” particularly by removing specific research terminology from government platforms, reorienting funding priorities, and dismissing scientists it considered aligned with “woke” or progressive views.

    Nature Springer is the most important publisher of scientific journals in the world. It was created by the 2015 merger of Springer Science + Business Media, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group’s Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macmillan Education.

    According to Retraction Watch, Springer Nature issued 2,923 retractions in 2024 and has had issues with quality control over the past few years. Despite all these retractions, Springer Nature has significantly downplayed the COVID lab-leak theory and refused to retract blatantly false publications that promote the COVID origins being from a natural source. In fact, one paper in Nature Medicine, titled “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2”, published in May 2020, includes multiple factual misrepresentations and omissions.

    The paper begins with the quote:

    Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus.

    Prominent scientists and experts, including those who testified before Congress, have stated that the paper meets the criteria for retraction due to “unreliable content” and the misrepresentation of the authors’ true scientific views at the time of publication. Nature has received petitions and thousands of retraction requests for this specific paper, but Nature Springer refuses to retract it. One has to wonder if this is because of its ties with China and the CCP.

    Springer Nature has censored content to appease the Chinese government and has acknowledged in 2017 to blocking over 1,000 journal articles in mainland China following government requests. Censored topics include politically sensitive issues to the CCP, like Tibet, Taiwan, the Tiananmen Square protests, elite politics, Uyghur rights, and the Cultural Revolution.

    Is Springer Nature, which has a monopoly within specific scientific fields and is the largest and most prestigious academic publisher in the world, openly biased toward leftist politics and policies? Or is the Trump administration blowing rhetorical smoke?

    We spent some time examining Springer Nature’s actions and publications over the past decade and have concluded that, yes – in fact, the company does not truly represent the scientific endeavor but has become a mouthpiece for liberal policies supporting a globalist agenda. It also has a “peer review” process that critics believe is dominated by woke groupthink.

    To illustrate this point with specific examples, Springer Nature is a signatory of the SDG Publishers Compact, a UN initiative that prioritizes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN when publishing. The UN’s SDG publishers Compact states that “Signatories aspire to develop sustainable practices and act as champions of the SDGs during the Decade of Action (2020-2030), publishing books and journals that will help inform, develop, and inspire action in that direction.” Action items required by the UN for publishers signing the compact include:

    1. Committing to the SDGs: Stating sustainability policies and targets on our website, including adherence to this Compact; incorporating SDGs and their targets as appropriate.

    2. Actively promoting and acquiring content that advocates for themes represented by the SDGs, such as equality, sustainability, justice and safeguarding and strengthening the environment.

    3. Annually reporting on progress towards achieving SDGs, sharing data and contribute to benchmarking activities, helping to share best practices and identify gaps that still need to be addressed.

    4. Nominating a person who will promote SDG progress, acting as a point of contact and coordinating the SDG themes throughout the organization.

    5. Raising awareness and promoting the SDGs among staff to increase awareness of SDG-related policies and goals and encouraging projects that will help achieve the SDGs by 2030.

    6. Raising awareness and promoting the SDGs among suppliers, to advocate for SDGs and to collaborate on areas that need innovative actions and solutions.

    7. Becoming an advocate to customers and stakeholders by promoting and actively communicating about the SDG agenda through marketing, websites, promotions and projects.

    8. Collaborating across cities, countries, and continents with other signatories and organizations to develop, localize and scale projects that will advance progress on the SDGs individually or through their Publishing Association.

    9. Dedicating budget and other resources towards accelerating progress for SDG-dedicated projects and promoting SDG principles.

    10. Taking action on at least one SDG goal, either as an individual publisher or through your national publishing association and sharing progress annually.

    Other signatories to this UN pact in the USA include:….”

    https://www.malone.news/p/woke-science-and-the-white-house

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Phew! Boy, did I ever work up a sweat! I went outside (86 and humid, of course) only to look at my new Lilac bush – I thought I saw a bloom on it but when I got closer, it was just a blade of grass….but along the way, I noticed all the Texas Stickers that were growing in the grass next to the driveway. So, of course, I had to pull them and by the time I was done, I’d done all down one side of the driveway and up the other…..I didn’t get them all in the center, I was just too hot by then, but I got the majority of ’em at least. And man, are my feet/legs ever swollen and sore….but it still feels good to know I pulled a shitload of those bastids! And they have to be pulled out by the root – cutting them off just makes them stronger!

    Liked by 1 person

  38. “A Lead J6 Inquisitor Gets the Ax–Then Whines to the Media: After volunteering to help lead the most politically-charged and abusive prosecution in U.S. history, Michael Gordon got his walking papers last month from Attorney General Pam Bondi.”

    Julie Kelly, Jul 26, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Some of the details contained in a lawsuit filed this week by three fired Department of Justice employees brought a big smile to this Jan 6 reporter.

    Over the past month, Attorney General Pamela Bondi has fired several DOJ employees as part of a rolling purge, which began in late January, of bad actors still populating the systemically corrupt agency. Three employees—former assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gordon, former D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Patricia Hartman, and former ethics chief Joseph Tirrell—are suing the DOJ, claiming the dismissals violated their civil service and Constitutional rights.

    How Hartman, who for four straight years did little more than crank out a steady stream of press releases bragging about J6 arrests, convictions, and sentences, learned of her firing is particularly gratifying given her nefarious role as a key J6 propagandist:

    “At approximately 3:50 PM EDT on July 7, 2025, Ms. Hartman was in her office working on a press release when her computer suddenly shut down,” the complaint read. “As she was in the midst of calling the Help Desk for support, another DOJ official…came to her door and handed her a one-page document, titled ‘MEMORANDUM FOR PATRICIA A. HARTMAN’ from ‘THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’ with the subject line, ‘Notice of Removal from Federal Service.’”

    Delish. (Hartman this week called her firing “psychological terrorism.” She would know.) Gordon was informed by his supervisor on June 27 that he was getting canned. “Mr. Gordon was directed to turn over his…government devices and access cards, pack up his personal belongings, and leave the building.”

    Rights for Me but Not for Thee

    J6ers undoubtedly will find it amusing and/or infuriating that Gordon argues the firing violates his Fifth Amendment due process rights. As the senior trial counsel to the Capitol Siege Section, Gordon is one of dozens of assistant U.S. Attorneys from around the country—in his case, the middle district of Florida—who relocated to Washington specifically to work on J6 cases. In his own words, Gordon “volunteered” to prosecute fellow Americans to federal prison for entering a government building on a Wednesday afternoon.

    The massive investigation of which Gordon happily volunteered to take a leading role represents the greatest abuse of prosecutorial power against a targeted group of individuals in U.S. history. Prosecutors such as Gordon routinely sought pretrial detention even for nonviolent, first time offenders; successfully opposed motions to move trials out of the most Democratic city in the country; brought unprecedented, and in at least one instance, unlawful charges against J6ers—which resulted in DOJ’s perfect conviction rate for J6ers before D.C. juries.

    The DOJ then demanded excessive prison sentences based on the lie that Jan 6 was a “domestic terror” attack. Gordon, for his part, handled high profile cases such as Richard Barnett, the man photographed with his feet on a desk in Nancy Pelosi’s office, and Eric Munchel, the so-called “Zip Tie Guy.” Gordon also negotiated the sweetheart deal for infamous J6 provocateur Ray Epps. Following intense media scrutiny, the DOJ finally charged Epps in September 2023 with one misdemeanor despite ample evidence Epps should have faced more serious charges given his behavior on both Jan 5 and Jan 6.

    In fact, Gordon admitted in a government sentencing memo that Epps “engaged in felonious conduct during the riot” but was given leniency in part because “Epps has been the target of a false and widespread conspiracy theory that he was an undercover government agent on January 6.”

    Gordon continued to express sympathy for Epps in seeking only a six month sentence. “[Due] to the outrage directed at Epps as a result of that false conspiracy theory, he has been forced to sell his business, move to a different state, and live reclusively.” (Judge James Boasberg agreed Epps had already paid a heavy price and sentenced him only to probation and community service.)

    Others in Gordon’s clutches were not so lucky. After a D.C. jury quickly convicted Richard Barnett for his largely nonviolent albeit obnoxious excursion in the Capitol, Gordon asked the judge to sentence Barnett to 87 months in prison. “Barnett’s felonious conduct on January 6, 2021 was part of a massive riot that almost succeeded in preventing the certification vote from being carried out, frustrating the peaceful transition of Presidential power, and throwing the United States into a Constitutional crisis,” Gordon wrote.

    He sought years in prison for mother-son defendants Lisa Eisenhart and Eric Munchel, both of whom walked through an open door with Capitol police standing by and stayed inside the building for 12 minutes. Both were convicted of an obstruction statute later overturned by the Supreme Court.

    Gordon’s hyperbolic sentencing recommendation—he wanted 57 months in federal prison for Munchel and 46 months for Eisenhart—demonstrated a level of dishonesty and emotional immaturity that justifies his firing as a federal prosecutor.

    The photo of Munchel holding zip ties, which contrary to media reports he did not bring but grabbed off a table in the building, “symbolized the degree to which rioters had captured and occupied Congress,” Gordon wrote. The zip ties, according to Gordon, meant Munchel was “ready to take hostages.” (He was charged with nothing of the sort.)

    He then claimed 59-year-old nurse Eisenhart “decided to throw [her life and career] away on January 6, 2021 in spectacular fashion, attacking her own government to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.”

    Gordon continued to pile on. “[Their] post-January 6…conduct and statements are devoid of any regret, remorse, or apology. Neither Munchel nor Eisenhart has taken any steps to denounce their words and actions on January 6.”

    Go Test that “Talent” in the Real World, Pal

    Gordon now is using his thespian-like abilities to tell his sob story to the media, insisting he prosecuted “righteous cases” for Joe Biden’s DOJ:

    (Vide)

    According to his social media, Gordon is outrageously referring to Munchel as the individual who “sought to take Congresspeople hostage.” Zero evidence supports that claim—but Gordon is so accustomed to exaggerating, and on some occasions lying, about the events of January 6 without any pushback that he confidently does the same in the media.

    Gordon then blamed the president for the pervasive “fear” inside the DOJ about what happens next:

    (Video)

    That isn’t the first and only time Gordon has expressed bias against President Trump. I identified his Twitter account in 2023; Gordon “liked” posts supporting Trump’s impeachment and the 2022 FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago, and mocking Trump for “being born on third base.” Other activity indicated support for abortion and transgenderism. He “liked” a Joe Walsh post that claimed cops are racist and police “need serious reform.”

    But what Gordon lacks in integrity, truthfulness, and objectiveness he makes up for in cockiness and overconfidence. He told NBC News reporter Ryan Reilly, who covered the J6 proceedings and trials, that “people who volunteered for [the J6] detail are some of the best, smartest, most talented lawyers in the country.”

    Now Gordon can test that braggadocio in the private sector since he, like so many of his ex-colleagues, spent his entire career in government. And he can commiserate with them at the unemployment line.”

    Videos: https://www.declassified.live/p/a-lead-j6-inquisitor-gets-the-ax

    Liked by 1 person

  39. “What They Don’t Tell Us About Heart Disease: Unpacking the Great Cholesterol Scam and the Dangers of Statins”

    A Midwestern Doctor, Jul 26, 2025

    Story at a Glance:

    •There is a widespread belief that elevated cholesterol is the “cause” of cardiovascular disease. However, a large body of evidence shows that there is no association between the two and the real data shows lower cholesterol significantly increases one’s risk of death.

    •An alternative model (which the medical industry buried) proposes that the blood clots the body uses to heal arterial damage, once healed, create the characteristic atherosclerotic lesions associated with heart disease.

    •The evidence for the blood clot model is much stronger than the cholesterol hypothesis and provides many critical insights for treating heart disease.

    •The primary approach to treating heart disease is to prescribe cholesterol lowering statin drugs (to the point, over a trillion dollars have now been spent on them).

    •Unfortunately, the benefits of these highly toxic drugs are minuscule (e.g., at best taking them for years extends your life by a few days) and the harms are vast (statins are one of the most common pharmaceuticals that severely injure patients).

    •In this article we will explore the specific injuries caused by statin drugs, the forgotten causes of cardiovascular disease, and our preferred treatments for heart and vascular diseases.

    The more I study science, the more I come to see how often fundamental facts end up being changed so that a profitable industry can be created. In the case of heart disease, I very much believe that is the case and in this publication, I’ve tried to expose the erroneous information that predominates our understanding of this subject (e.g., previously I’ve discussed why our model of how the heart pumps blood in the body is incorrect, the forgotten Russian research that shows the heart intelligently controls how blood moves within the body, and how blood pressure management is filled with erroneous premises that exist to perpetually sell medications).

    Within cardiology, I believe one of the most damaging falsehoods is that cholesterol causes heart disease and that taking statins (or their newer lucrative equivalents), which lower cholesterol, are the key to preventing heart disease. This is because, in addition to those “facts” being incorrect, statins are also some of the most dangerous and widely used pharmaceutical drugs on the market.Cholesterol and Heart Disease

    Frequently, when an industry harms many people, it will create a scapegoat to get out of trouble. Once this happens, a variety of other sectors that also benefit from that scapegoat existing will jump on the bandwagon. Before long, a false belief that harms society becomes an unquestionable dogma that becomes very difficult to overturn because many corrupt parties have a vested interest in maintaining the lie…..”

    https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/what-they-dont-tell-us-about-heart

    Liked by 1 person

    1. dang! it feels like morning!
      I took an alka setzer plus because i kept sneezing…fell asleep on the chair and woke up 20 minutes ago…
      sorry i left you alone all afternoon!!!!
      Good Night Filly!

      Liked by 1 person

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