Ina May Gaskin / midwifery

 i thought i'd posted an entry already in this blog about the work of Ina May Gaskin, but apparently not. acclaimed as a leading light of american midwifery, she's written seceral excellent books on this and related topics. i've read a couple of them and very highly recommend them!

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ina+may+gaskin&i=stripbooks&crid=1VYZ61N60IV7N&sprefix=ina+may+gaskin%2Cstripbooks%2C91&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

JFK assassination: the mafia angle

 I like watching educational tv; on weekends, this includes checking out book tv on c-span, in which the authors of new nonfiction books are interviewed. Thus i came across louis ferrante, an ex mafioso whose life was transformed by going to prison, becoming an avid reader and eventually a highly acclaimed author of a memoir and a book series on the history of the american mafia. In part 2 of this series, among other things he delves into the relationship between the kennedys and the mafia and how it soured, eventually leading to JFK's assassination. According to ferrante, this assassination was primarily a mob hit. He may actually believe this, although he also acknowledges that 'rogue' CIA officers and FBI director gay edgar hoover also were involved. My own extensive research into this assassination has led me to believe that the mafia's involvement was secondary to the CIA's involvement, which was at the highest level (of course LBJ was also in on it) with director allen dulles, whose central role on the whitewashed government 'investigation' warren commission afterwards made sure to place all the blame on the 'patsy' 'lone nut' supposed shooter, lee harvey oswald.

link to this fascinating c-span interview. the part pertaining to the kennedys is towards the end of part 1:

https://www.c-span.org/event/qa/author-louis-ferrante-on-the-history-of-the-american-mafia-part-1/430594

this link is just to the audio of this interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbgBV5LChw

For a different angle on the assassination, more focused on how JFK's desire to end the cold war upset the war establishment and CIA, this interview of jeffrey sachs by chris hedges, which i posted in a previous blog entry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqm9Yl1gGEY

And of course there's this excellent series the history channel did on the 25th anniversary of the assassination, also posted elsewhere on this blog, which quite extensively covers many facets:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2agPurqFJk&list=PLy4tRfNwO8cxuDX65cpj_qJ-9m2jzC7pn

maturity and mortality

 now that i'm old, i think about mortality a lot more than i used to. thoughts like i'll likely be dead in 20 years, or i likely only have perhaps 20 more years of relatively robust mental and physical health. this makes me more aware of fleeting time and the necessity of trying to use it well, wisely. by doing or trying to live my best life, focusing on what's most important to me, and also by trying to maximize pleasure and fulfillment (which is quite frustrated by living in a dystopia of puritanical prohibitions and inhibitions).

do u have such thoughts?

like i've written b4, i think practically every aspect of our society/culture is insane/irrational. for example we don't appropriately value the wisdom that comes with age. we don't encourage older adults to share the most valuable lessons they've learned by experience. one such lesson i've learned is that we should prioritize the pursuit of pleasure and fulfillment throughout life, particularly when we're young, healthy, vigorous, in our primes. because with age, everything goes downhill, everything deteriorates. i think the idea that we must wait til our so called golden years to prioritize our own well being and fulfillment is absurd and tragic. i feel like my own youth was sacrificed on the altar of being indoctrinated with puritanical dogmas which instilled much fear, shame, and inhibition (the primary reason i've become very critical of religion in general and puritanism in particular).

in becoming a (mostly closeted) advocate of what i'll call youth liberation, i've come across some interesting scientific articles regarding human brain development and shrinkage as we age. according to one of these articles, by age 70 our brains have shrunk back to the size they were when we were 3 years old! this was an article which presented evidence in favor of youth liberation, of treating post pubescent teenagers like adults (in science, 'puberty' delineates between juveniles and adults, at least for other species. once an animal can reproduce, it's considered an adult). it was published in scientific american. i posted about it in my blog a while back. it's author is quite distinguished and has also written a book making the same argument.

https://dystopiananddoomed.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-myth-of-teen-brain.html

https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Adolescence-Rediscovering-Adult/dp/188495670X