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🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿
Rep. Ron Estes talks taxes with Americans For Prosperity while crowd protests outside
From The Wichita Eagle:
200 protesters vs. 35 Americans for Prosperity fat cats!
U.S. Rep. Ron Estes made a pitch for continuing President Donald Trump’s tax cuts to a friendly crowd of about 35 supporters Saturday, as more than 200 people gathered outside to protest Estes, Trump, and billionaire Elon Musk over deep cuts to federal spending and workforce.
Estes was the headliner of a meeting at downtown Wichita’s Union Station. It was sponsored by Americans For Prosperity, a Republican-supporting political group affiliated with Koch Industries, which advocates for extending tax cuts passed by Congress in 2017 during Trump’s first administration. ✂️
But as he and others spoke, clearly audible were the demonstrators outside, honking horns, blowing whistles and chanting “This is what democracy looks like” and other slogans protesting the Trump administration.
Three Countries Formerly Known as Allies Reconsidering F-35 Purchases
From the “How to Win Friends and Influence People” file: thanks to the fuckery of Muskrat and the BLOAT, our longtime allies no longer want to buy our war toys. Frankly, it wouldn’t break my heart if defense contractors took it in the shorts.
From Marcy Wheeler’s Emptywheel Substack:
Portugal is getting cold feet about replacing its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets with more modern F-35s because of Donald Trump — in one of the first examples of the U.S. president undermining a potential lucrative arms deal. … The ministry added a series of criteria that will be considered by Lisbon, including: “The geopolitical context” and “The extent of restrictions on the use of aircraft.”
Canada is actively looking at potential alternatives to the U.S.-built F-35 stealth fighter and will hold conversations with rival aircraft makers, Defence Minister Bill Blair said late Friday, just hours after being reappointed to the post as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet. … There has been a groundswell of support among Canadians to kill the $19-billion purchase and find aircraft other than those manufactured and maintained in the United States.
[And Switzerland. ]: «Since Trump took office, Swiss armaments purchases such as the US F-35 jet have increasingly proven to be major mistakes. Trump could block the jets at any time, blackmailing the countries concerned to submit to his dictation in foreign policy », says SP co-president Cédric Wermuth. «In addition, the costs for the F-35 rise to uncontrollable heights, while central questions about its usability and independence remain unanswered. It is therefore clear that the VBS must finally act and stop the procurement of this dysfunctional project. »
Update: Turkey joins in:
Turkey has submitted a request to purchase 40 Typhoon fighter jets from BAE Systems.
This is reported by the publication Defense Security Asia.
The request has been sent to the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, which is to make a decision on the sale of the aircraft and the export of British technology to Turkey.
Schadenfreude alert! The Muskrat is rushing to ruin even faster than the BLOAT, thanks to his insistence on cost-cutting leading to shoddy products.
Tesla Cybertruck deliveries are on hold as trims are flying off the ‘bulletproof’ truck
From Elecktrek:
According to Tesla delivery agents, Cybertruck deliveries are on hold. There’s a containment hold as many owners are reporting trims flying off the supposedly ‘bulletproof’ electric truck.
Many Tesla Cybertruck buyers are taking to forums and social media to report that their deliveries are being pushed. ...Most are being told by Tesla delivery specialists that there’s a “containment hold” on all Cybertruc deliveries.
A containment hold generally occurs when an automaker finds something wrong with newly produced vehicles and wants to hold deliveries to fix the issue so that it can avoid recalling vehicles in customers’ hands. ✂️
Despite the fact that Tesla has claimed that the Cybertruck is “bulletproof” and made out of an “exoskeleton”, the electric vehicle’s build is actually much closer to a traditional unibody system rather than “exoskeleton.” Most of the visible body parts, which would be part of the chassis in a exoskeleton build, are actually trims attached to the body.
In some cases, they are extremely flimsy trims. ✂️
Images of the Cybertruck’s front plate being held by glue has recently been circulating on social media:
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Good news about the media
Yes, they keep fucking up, but individuals are standing up!
Washington Post columnist quits after her opinion piece criticizing owner Jeff Bezos is rejected
From AP:
A columnist who has worked at The Washington Post for four decades resigned on Monday after she said the newspaper’s management decided not to run her commentary critical of owner Jeff Bezos’ new editorial policy. ✂️
Her exit is the latest fallout from the billionaire owner’s directive that the Post narrow the topics covered by its opinion section to personal liberties and the free market. The newspaper’s opinions editor, David Shipley, had already resigned because of the shift.
The storied newspaper has been in a free fall, financially and editorially, over the past year. Marcus, who worked in the news and opinion departments during her career, is “the bedrock of The Washington Post, embodying the history of the place as well as the talent and accomplishments of its journalists,” said Paul Farhi, a former media reporter there.
Marcus said that the Post’s publisher, Will Lewis, declined to run her column, which she described as “respectfully dissenting” from Bezos’ edict. It was the first time in nearly 20 years of writing columns that she’s had one killed, she said.
The Fucking News
I recently signed up for The Fucking News, a terrific new source of news and analysis. Here’s how author Jonathan Larsen describes what he does:
The Fucking News is the weekday-morning newsletter of journalist Jonathan Larsen (me), aggregating, contextualizing, and commenting rudely on the day’s news.
"I recommend signing up for these guys, if you like getting your morning news with swearing." - Naomi Klein.
Who doesn’t, these days?!?
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Good news from my corner of the world
Oregon gun control Measure 114 declared constitutional in major reversal by appeals court
This is really great news! It’s a shame it took two years to get the MAGA judge’s ruling overturned.
From The Oregonian:
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday found that Oregon’s voter-approved gun control Measure 114 is constitutional in a major reversal of a Harney County judge’s ruling that has kept the measure on hold for more than two years.
Advocates for the measure applauded the decision while the lawyer for two gun owners who challenged the regulations said he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The Appeals Court found that a qualified person can acquire a gun for self-defense under the plain language of Measure 114 and thus the measure meets the Oregon Constitution’s right-to-bear arms provision.
The court evaluated whether the people of Oregon enacted a “reasonable regulation” governing the possession and use of constitutionally protected arms to promote public safety without “unduly frustrating” the right to armed self-defense. ✂️
“We concluded that all of Measure 114 is facially constitutional,” Presiding Judge Darleen Ortega wrote in the 25-page opinion. ✂️
Medford’s Holly Theatre returns to its 1930 glory after a decade of restoration
I love old movie palaces like this. Saving them makes so much sense!
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
The Holly Theatre facade and interior was restored to what it looked like when it opened in 1930.
The [Holly Theatre] originally opened in 1930 to provide entertainment during the height of the Great Depression. The large theater showed movies as well as live performances, and its 1,200 seats could hold around one-tenth of the population of Medford at the time.
General Manager Tiffany Maude said the theater was forced to close in 1986 because of competition.✂️
The theater fell into disrepair and was condemned despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The building was bought in 2011 by the JPR Foundation, which financially supports Jefferson Public Radio. This is the second theater the foundation has restored, the first being the Cascade Theatre in downtown Redding, California, which reopened in 2004.
More than 12 years of restoration and $13 million in fundraising have returned the venue to what it looked like in 1930. “It really should take you back to that time and make you feel like you are in an Italian plaza in Venice on a gondola,” said Maude. ✂️
The Holly will now be focused on live performances. The Piano Guys will be performing on Thursday, Mar. 13, followed by Jim Belushi and The Sacred Hearts on Friday, Mar. 14. Maude said they plan to have lots of future performances, including live music, lectures and films.
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Good news from around the nation
Colorado Continues to Protect, Expand Abortion Access
Thanks, CO Dems!!
From Colorado Times Recorder:
Beginning on January 1, 2026, Colorado employee health insurance plans will cover abortion care and require the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to authorize reimbursements for abortion care under publicly funded insurance, including community members with coverage through Health First Colorado, and the Reproductive Health Care Program, following the passage of Amendment 79 in November.
Legislation to implement the voter-approved protections for abortion care and pregnancy-related services is currently moving through the Colorado Senate, passing the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday with a 5-2 vote. ✂️
In addition to the passage of Amendment 79, this year Colorado legislators are moving to strengthen Colorado’s shield law, which protects abortion patients and providers from prosecution by states where abortion is illegal. In December, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter of New York for providing medication abortion to Texas residents in violation of state law. In February, a Louisiana grand jury indicted Carpenter on similar charges. These cases could challenge the shield laws in place in states where abortion is legal.
Texas broke its solar, wind, and battery records in one spring week
Nothing MAGA can do can stop the onward march of renewable energy.
From Canary Media (bolding mine):
As winter turns to spring, Texas is setting new records with its nation-leading clean energy fleet.
In just the first week of March, the ERCOT power grid that supplies nearly all of Texas set records for most wind production (28,470 megawatts), most solar production (24,818 megawatts), and greatest battery discharge (4,833 megawatts). Only two years ago, the most that batteries had ever injected into the ERCOT grid at once was 766 megawatts. Now the battery fleet is providing nearly as much instantaneous power as Texas nuclear power plants, which contribute around 5,000 megawatts.
“These records, along with the generator interconnection queue, point towards a cleaner and more dynamic future for ERCOT,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist studying the energy system at The University of Texas at Austin.
The famously developer-friendly Lone Star State has struggled to add new gas power plants lately, even after offering up billions of taxpayer dollars for a dedicated loan program to private gas developers. Solar and battery additions since last March average about 1 gigawatt per month, based on ERCOT’s figures, Texas energy analyst Doug Lewin said. In 2024, Texas produced almost twice as much wind and solar electricity as California.
When weather conditions align, the state’s abundant clean-energy resources come alive — and those conditions aligned last week amid sunny, windy, warm weather. On March 2 at 2:40 p.m. CST, renewables collectively met a record 76% of ERCOT demand.
MacArthur Foundation to increase giving for two years in response to ‘crisis’
This is exactly what all large American foundations need to be doing now. Thanks, MacArthur, for leading the way!
From AP:
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a “crisis” prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants.
“This is a major crisis for our sector and it’s a time when those of us who can do more should do more,” said John Palfrey, president of MacArthur Foundation, in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press.
Palfrey announced the increase in a blog post on the foundation’s website, saying, “The cliff of funding from federal programs has sent budgets underwater in field after field, and people and communities in the United States and abroad will suffer.”
Palfrey said the foundation would increase giving from 5% of its endowment, which is the minimum required by the Internal Revenue Service, to at least 6% for the next two years. The foundation reported it had $8.7 billion in assets in 2023 and it pays out around $400 million annually. Palfrey said he expected to grant out around $150 million more over the next two years.
Costco workers now officially make $31 an hour—and can expect raises for the next two years
Another reason to shop Costco. BTW, are you aware that they ship, quickly and at reasonable rates? We buy a lot of household essentials from them and never go to the physical warehouse.
From Fortune:
Costco’s new employee agreement took effect this week, increasing its minimum wage to $20 per hour and its average wage to more than $31 an hour in the US and Canada.
CEO Ron Vachris told investors the agreement “reflects our continued commitment to provide industry-leading pay and benefits for our employees.” ✂️
- The agreement stipulates an immediate $1 pay increase at the top of scale this month, followed by additional dollar increases in March of both 2026 and 2027.
- First-year employees will also now have access to paid vacation, and 30-year employees can take up to six weeks off.
State Rep. Amen Brown distributes free eggs to constituents in West Philly
This is retail politics at its best. All Dem state reps should be doing this kind of face-to-face work.
From The Philadelphia Tribune:
State Rep. Amen Brown handing out free cartons of eggs outside his office Thursday at 40th and Market streets in West Philadelphia.
Eggs have become the newest hot commodity across the U.S. after a sharp price increase in the last year.
State Rep. Amen Brown acted to get Philadelphians free eggs at his 40th and Market street office Thursday afternoon, distributing over 1,000 cartons of eggs to anyone willing to brace [sic] the wind chill. ✂️
Brown’s office typically conducts grocery distribution nearly every day of the week, but pulled together the event after receiving many complaints from constituents in the West Philadelphia area on the inflated costs of what was once a cheaper grocery essential.
Brown explained the logistical hurdle of securing the eggs from a rural Pennsylvania hatchery that is four hours away… He bought the eggs and got them delivered at 5 a.m. on the day of distribution.
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Good news from around the world
Nations are ditching Musk’s Starlink
x
Nations are ditching Musk's Starlink for other companies, including French satellite company Eutelsat, which plans to send approximately 40,000 communication terminals to Ukraine.
Their stock has rocketed 390% in the 3 days as Tesla, Starlink, SpaceX and X continue their free fall. #teslatakedown
[image or embed]
— Chris Andoe (@chrisandoe.bsky.social) March 10, 2025 at 4:26 PM
EU Member States Show Strong Support for Brussels
A strong EU is essential now.
From Gallup (bolding mine):
The European Union's image remains strong among its member states, with residents across the bloc rating its leadership higher than those of Germany, the United States and even their own countries.
Gallup’s latest data show that in 2024, no EU member state preferred their own or Washington’s leadership over Brussels, and only one preferred Berlin’s leadership. The leadership of the EU enjoyed a median approval rating of 62%, significantly higher than the 53% rating for Germany, 35% for the United States and 46% for their own country.
Strong approval for the EU among its residents may give Brussels confidence in taking a more assertive role in global affairs, coordinating responses to conflicts like Ukraine, and strengthening Europe's defenses in 2025 and beyond. The growing sense of unity in public opinion within the EU may also help reinforce its position on the world stage as a counterbalance to shifting geopolitical dynamics.
Over 100,000 people join protest rally in Belgrade against Serbia’s president and government
Autocracies are in trouble all over the world. Can we join in, please??
From WNYT:
Protesters in Belgrade on Saturday
At least 100,000 people descended on Belgrade on Saturday for a mass rally seen as a culmination of months-long protests against Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government. Large crowds of flag-waving protesters clogged the downtown area of the capital despite occasional rain, with people hardly able to move and many stuck hundreds of meters away from the planned protest venue.
Following apparent sporadic incidents between protesters and the police, university students — who have been leading the peaceful protests for the past four months — abruptly called for an end to the demonstration Saturday, saying they no longer can guarantee safety at the rally. Most of the protesters dispersed, but thousands remained on the streets as tensions surged.
Police said the crowd reached 107,000 people at the peak of the protest. Serbian independent media described the rally as the biggest ever in the country, saying the numbers were much higher. All public transport in Belgrade was canceled as protesters streamed into the city from various directions.
The rally was part of a nationwide anti-corruption movement that erupted after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north in November, killing 15 people.
Almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy have shaken Vucic’s firm grip on power in Serbia like never before in the past 13 years in charge. Many in Serbia blamed the crash on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations, demanding accountability for the victims.
Hungary's opposition rallies as Orban pledges crackdown on media, NGOs
From Reuters:
Tens of thousands rallied in Budapest against Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday, waving the national flag as the leader of the surging opposition Tisza party pledged to make Hungary part of a strong Europe and end Orban's 15-year rule.
Peter Magyar, a former government insider, launched his movement a year ago, and his Tisza party - named after Hungary's second biggest river - leads Orban's Fidesz in most polls, a year before elections in 2026 and as the economy struggles.
Earlier on Saturday, Orban, who has repeatedly clashed with the EU over policies that critics say eroded democracy in Hungary, pledged to crack down on politicians and journalists who receive foreign funding and again ruled out EU membership for Ukraine, stepping up his campaign for the elections.
More than 50,000 of his opponents braved cold, drizzly weather to rally in Budapest … "Those who cheat on their own nation should end up in the dustbin of history," Magyar told the crowd. "Our time has come." He said Tisza would launch a popular survey on 12 key economic and political issues to hear the "voice of the nation".
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My favorite recent quotes, memes, and cartoons
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Good news in medicine
FDA Approves New Treatment for Stroke
From WebMD:
The FDA has approved the first new clot-busting drug in nearly 30 years, offering a faster way to dissolve blood clots in adults who suffer a stroke.
The treatment, tenecteplase (sold as TNKase), delivers a single five-second IV shot, making it a faster, easier option. TNKase was initially approved in 2000 to reduce the risk of death from acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a severe type of heart attack.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and a major cause of disability, affecting over 795,000 people each year. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain, leading to brain damage, disability, or death. Fast treatment is critical to reduce long-term effects and improve recovery.
TNKase is a lab-made version of a natural protein called tPA, which helps break down blood clots. It sticks to fibrin, the protein that holds clots together, and triggers an enzyme to dissolve them. TNKase is designed to target clots better and last longer than natural tPA. Genentech, part of the Roche group, said in a press release that TNKase can be given quickly, unlike Activase (alteplase), which requires an IV injection followed by a 60-minute drip.
The FDA approval was based on a large study conducted by the University of Calgary across 22 stroke centers in Canada and funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research. Findings showed TNKase was as safe and effective as Activase for treating AIS.
Man lives for 100 days with artificial titanium heart in successful new trial
From CNN:
An Australian man lived for 100 days with an artificial titanium heart while he awaited a donor transplant, the longest period to date of someone with the technology. The patient, a man in his 40s who declined to be identified, received the implant during surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney last November.
The BiVACOR titanium heart
In February, he became the first person worldwide to leave hospital with the device, which kept him alive until a heart donor became available earlier this month. According to a statement issued Wednesday by St Vincent’s Hospital, Monash University and BiVACOR, the US-Australian company behind the device, the man, who had severe heart failure, was “recovering well.”
The ability of the device to sustain him for so long is being celebrated as a sign the artificial heart could potentially offer a long-term option for people suffering heart failure. The device is still being trialed and has not yet been approved for general use. ✂️
The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH) has a single moving part, a levitated rotor that’s held in place by magnets. As the name suggests, it’s constructed from titanium and there are no valves or mechanical bearings that may be susceptible to wear. It pumps blood to the body and the lungs, replacing both ventricles of a failing heart. ...
The long-term ambition is to use the device to save more people who languish on waiting lists for suitable donors. According to the US Health Department, about 3,500 people received heart transplants in 2024. Around 4,400 joined the waiting list the same year.
Good news in science
From Scraps to Sips: Everyday Biomass Produces Drinking Water from Thin Air
From Science Daily:
Discarded food scraps, stray branches, seashells and many other natural materials are key ingredients in a new system that can pull drinkable water out of thin air developed by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin.
This new "molecularly functionalized biomass hydrogels" system can convert a wide range of natural products into sorbents, materials that absorb liquids. By combining these sorbents with mild heat, the researchers can harvest gallons of drinkable water out of the atmosphere, even in dry conditions.
"With this breakthrough, we've created a universal molecular engineering strategy that allows diverse natural materials to be transformed into high-efficiency sorbents," said Guihua Yu, a professor of materials science and mechanical engineering and Texas Materials Institute at UT Austin. "This opens up an entirely new way to think about sustainable water collection, marking a big step towards practical water harvesting systems for households and small community scale."
In field tests, the researchers generated 14.19 liters (3.75 gallons) of clean water per kilogram of sorbent daily. Most sorbents can generate between 1 and 5 liters per kilogram per day. ✂️
Unlike existing synthetic sorbents, which use petrochemicals and generally require high energy inputs, the UT Austin team's biomass-based hydrogel is biodegradable, scalable, and requires minimal energy to release water.
Impact that formed the Moon struck a practically newborn Earth
From Science:
For nearly as long as Earth has existed, the Moon has been with it. That’s the conclusion of several studies suggesting the Moon formed some 65 million years after the start of the Solar System—and only tens of millions of years after Earth.
The findings promise to resolve decades of debate about the Moon’s age, says Thorsten Kleine, a cosmochemist at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research who presented new work here at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC). Several strands of research are converging on a new and older age for the Moon, he says: “It’s about 4.5 billion years.”
The start of the Solar System, defined as the time when the first rocks crystallized from the dust and gas swirling around the young Sun, is dated at 4.5673 billion years ago. Earth coalesced from those rocks some 20 million to 30 million years after that. Later still, a Mars-size protoplanet named Theia is believed to have smashed into proto-Earth, launching vaporized debris from both objects into space. The Moon formed from that debris.
Determining exactly when is not an esoteric exercise—it’s critical to understanding the history of Earth, says Mélanie Barboni, a geochemist at Arizona State University (ASU). Theia’s impact stabilized Earth’s wobbly rotations and melted its surface, re-creating the planet’s molten newborn state. “The Moon formation dates our Earth, not the planet that existed before,” Barboni says.
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Good news for the environment
Rooftop solar could supply two-thirds of global power, study finds
From PV Magazine:
Covering the world’s rooftops with solar panels could provide 65% of global electricity, according to the findings of new research from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.
The research paper “Worldwide rooftop photovoltaic electricity generation may mitigate global warming,” available in the journal Nature Climate Change, used geospatial data mining and artificial intelligence models to show that rooftops cover approximately 286,000 km2 of the globe – an area similar to the size of Italy.
It then calculates that if every suitable roof was used, rooftop solar could generate 19,500 TWh of electricity per year, allowing for fossil fuel-based electricity to be replaced almost entirely, when coupled with load shifting and battery-electric storage.
The researchers then used advanced climate models to stimulate the impact of widespread solar deployment, concluding that rooftop solar could contribute to reducing global temperatures by between 0.05 and 0.13 degrees before 2050.
“Beyond carbon savings, reducing fossil fuel dependence also means cleaner air and better energy security,” said University of Sussex climate and policy researcher Professor Felix Creutzig, adding that solar now outperforms nuclear in terms of cost, deployment speed, and environmental risks. “With so much untapped potential in solar it’s hard to see how governments can justify investing in nuclear, or as yet unproven carbon capture projects.”
Future for Nature Award 2025 winners conserve frogs, pangolins, dwarf deer
From Mongabay:
Anthony Waddle, Ruthmery Pillco, and Kumar Paudel
Three young conservationists were recently named winners of the 2025 Future For Nature (FFN) Awards for their initiatives to conserve amphibians, pangolins and Andean wildlife. The winners will each receive 50,000 euros ($54,000), FFN said in a statement. ✂️
[Anthony] Waddle has devised strategies to protect Australia’s threatened frogs from the deadly chytrid fungus, which has wiped out some 90 amphibian species globally and caused declines in hundreds more. Believed to have originated on the Korean Peninsula, the fungus destroys amphibians’ skins, disrupting their ability to take in water and air.
The fungus thrives in cooler temperatures but struggles to survive beyond 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit). So Waddle created simple “frog saunas” to help Australia’s frogs survive annual winter epidemics of chytrid. The saunas are inexpensive structures made of bricks and vegetable greenhouses, where the frogs “bake off the chytrid fungus,” Waddle said. [He] has also helped develop promising vaccinations that could give frogs a long-term chance at fighting the fungus. He said he’ll use his prize money to implement both these strategies across Australia’s east coast.
Ruthmery Pillco, founder of the NGO Peruvian Wildlife Conservation, focuses on restoring the habitats of two threatened Andean species: the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the dwarf deer (Mazama chunyi). ...the prize money will support her research on the ecology of the little-known dwarf deer; its movement patterns, diet and habitat use. “Additionally, the funding will contribute to environmental education and awareness efforts, establishing the dwarf deer as an ambassador for Andean cloud forests and promoting the conservation of both the species and its habitat,” Pillco said. ...
The third winner, Kumar Paudel, is founder of the organization Greenhood Nepal. Paudel has been at the forefront of pangolin protection in Nepal. His team conducts pangolin surveys in the country, works with Indigenous communities to reduce pangolin poaching, and collaborates with governments and international agencies to combat pangolin trafficking. He’s also interviewed more than 100 imprisoned wildlife criminals to understand their motivations.
“I will use the prize money to help secure Nepal’s last remaining pangolin populations and habitats by scaling up Greenhood Nepal’s science-driven conservation programs,” Paudel told Mongabay by email. “This includes support in identifying pangolin conservation priority sites, community-based conservation, law enforcement support to control the poaching and illegal trade, and raising public and policymakers’ awareness of pangolin conservation importance.”
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Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rascal and Margot, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.
Therapy dogs can ease young patients’ anxiety in the emergency room
Rosy would have loved this story — she would have been a great therapy dog.
From Science News:
Time with a therapy dog can reduce kids’ anxiety while in the emergency department, a clinical trial reports.
A clinical trial found that after spending time with a dog, young patients reported a significantly larger decrease in their anxiety than kids who didn’t have dog time. The patients’ parents also perceived significantly reduced anxiety in their kids, researchers report March 14 in JAMA Network Open.
...Many pediatric emergency departments have child life specialists, who explain procedures in developmentally appropriate ways and help young patients cope with stress through play therapy and other methods. The new clinical trial, which took place at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis from early 2023 to mid-2024, investigated whether adding a dog therapy visit would calm young patients even further. Riley Children’s Hospital has a dog therapy program in place. The dogs are vaccinated, have yearly vet checks and are certified as therapy animals.
All 80 participants in the trial, admitted patients 5 to 17 years old, worked with child life specialists. Forty of the patients also spent around 10 minutes with a therapy dog and the dog’s handler. … ✂️
The baseline, self-reported score for all 80 patients was 5.4 on average. Forty-five minutes after time with the child life specialists and, for those receiving it, the dog therapy visit, the research team assessed anxiety again. The kids getting the usual care saw an average drop in their score of 1.5, while the kids who hung out with therapy dogs had an average drop of 2.7 points. The pattern held true when the parents of the kids assessed their kids’ anxiety over time.
Rascal and Margot struck out on finding any bird or cat stories this week, so they’re again turning over their slots to Tula Tu, Portland’s increasingly adorable baby elephant.
