Back To Sleep

 I read with mild amusement the tweet of one Ronny Jackson from Texas. Little Ronny wrote this: I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove. If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!" I would like to ensure you that the upper case and extra exclamation point are those of the author and not my own. Also, I feel compelled to tell you that Ronny is fifty-five years old and according to his resume he is a doctor. And a member of the United States Congress. From Texas. He was once nominated to become the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs by a previous administration, but Ronny backed out of that one when allegations of misconduct and mismanagement during his service in the White House were reported. So instead he got himself a job that was newly created for him by the twice-impeached former game show host: Assistant to the President and Chief Medical Advisor. 

In 2019, Ronny took his credentials to the thirteenth congressional district in the Lone Star State where he got himself elected to the House of Representatives, even as his former boss found himself out of a job. There are those who say that his close relationship with a former (twice-impeached) "president" helped him find his way to the halls of Congress. It is likely that his association with that former "president" informed his use of capital letters and extra punctuation. Which brings us back to this gas stove thing. 

Last week, there were reports circulating that The US Consumer Product Safety Commission was considering a ban on gas stoves. Considering. They cited concerns about these appliances. They have been found to "emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter at levels the EPA and World Health Organization have said are unsafe and linked to respiratory illness, cardiovascular problems, cancer, and other health conditions." 

One might imagine that a "doctor" who has spent some time around government agencies might consider the health benefits of such a ban before popping off on Twitter. It might also be a little bit of projection or perhaps Post Traumatic Stress Disorder causing him to reference the "maniacs in the White House," or maybe it is simply a matter of Ronny hopping on what he may have mistaken for a bandwagon. If, as it seems likely to turn out, that medical science has more to say about the potential risks involved, then Ronny might get his wish regarding his cold dead hands. Of course this is the man who said of his former patient, he had “incredibly good genes” and, if he had a slightly better diet, could “live to be 200 years old.” 

Or maybe if Ronny had just couched his argument in terms of his favorite recipes: "Electric stoves fail to deliver the crispy edges I like on my toasted cheese sandwiches." For example. And with a slightly better diet, we might all live to be two hundred years old. 

Sigh.