US Government censorship, Brianna Ladapo, Emerging from Darkness: A Spiritual Memoir and Guide Back to the Light, From the darkness into the light, Return Medicine to the People, Obesity Epidemic solutions, Ozempic suicide investigation, Podcasts in the crosshairs, Nutcracker victory, Ben & Jerry’s conundrum and MORE!

July 10, 2023 3-5PM ET

Monday on The Robert Scott Bell Show:

U.S. Government Files Urgent Request to Keep Censoring Americans on Social Media The U.S. government has submitted an urgent stay request to halt a recent court order issued that prohibits the government from colluding with social media companies to censor constitutionally protected speech. In the emergency stay request, the government argued that the injunction lacked clarity and that the attorney generals failed to demonstrate any harm resulting from the censorship. This argument had previously been dismissed by Judge Terry Doughty on multiple occasions. “Defendants respectfully request that the Court stay its July 4 preliminary injunction pending Defendant’s appeal of that order,” the government said. “The Government faces irreparable harm with each day the injunction remains in effect, as the injunction’s broad scope and ambiguous terms (including a lack of clarity with respect to what the injunction does not prohibit) may be read to prevent the Government from engaging in a vast range of lawful and responsible conduct—including speaking on matters of public concern and working with social media companies on initiatives to prevent grave harm to the American people and our democratic processes.” “These immediate and ongoing harms to the Government outweigh any risk of injury to Plaintiffs if a stay is granted, and for the same reason, a stay is in the public interest,” the government added. “Moreover, Defendants have shown a substantial case on the merits regarding Plaintiffs’ lack of Article III standing and failure to present evidence substantiating their First Amendment claims. Accordingly, this Court should exercise its discretion to temporarily stay the preliminary injunction during the pendency of Defendants’ Fifth Circuit appeal.” Thus, the government’s request for a suspension clearly indicates that it prioritizes its alleged defense of “democracy” over the constitutionally protected rights of American citizens.

Special Guest Breanna Ladapo

Brianna Ladapo is an intuitive spiritual healer, movement therapist, and teacher. She has a master’s degree in English from Harvard University and has studied traditional naturopathy, plant and herbal medicine, and shamanism. She lives in Florida with her husband and three boys, where she works with nonprofit organizations to heal trafficked and exploited children.

How Do We Return Medicine to the People — And Why Should We? My wife Stella, who is an amazing healer, is facing the contention that bodywork and alternative medicines are elitist. “Only those with disposable income can afford them, and predominantly white privileged women indulge in them.” I’ll respond to this concern as a specific illustration of the point of my recent piece, “Notes on Privilege.” It is certainly true that our current system puts most non-mainstream healthcare options beyond the reach of the underprivileged. However, this is not the fault of the alternative therapies themselves. It is the fault of a system that makes them “alternative” in the first place. Natural, alternative and holistic therapies are intrinsically cheaper and more accessible than high-tech medicine. But are they as effective? For some acute conditions, they are not. But for the chronic conditions that afflict most Americans, they are more effective. That’s why people pay for them out-of-pocket, even when they can barely afford them. “Show me your evidence!” “Prove they are more effective!” I could cite research, but would the skeptic read it? Research is systemically biased toward profitable therapies, but even so, a vast literature is available affording a glimpse into an alternative universe where our most intractable diseases are easily cured. One compelling book comes to mind right now, “Ancient Secrets of a Master Healer: A Western Skeptic, An Eastern Master, And Life’s Greatest Secrets,” by Clint Rogers, about the legendary Vedic lineage-holder Dr. Naram. Even after 30 years in the alternative health universe, I was deeply affected by this book. Some people argue that if alternatives really were so effective, they would be incorporated more fully into our healthcare system. Ironically, this argument affirms crucial assumptions of the edifice of privilege. It assumes that the system of pharma-funded research, regulatory agencies and for-profit medical institutions is sound. It assumes that the authorities are trustworthy guardians of the public interest. It assumes that those practitioners and therapies that are left on the margins are there because they have less merit.

Hour 2

How The U.S. Government Can Solve The Obesity Epidemic Dying younger. Living harder. Going broke. It is difficult to overstate the longitudinal effects of excess weight in America. An estimated 7 in 10 Americans are overweight or obese. The combination, according to the National Institutes of Health, results in an estimated 300,000 preventable deaths per year with extreme obesity lowering life expectancy by 14-years on average. Added weight not only makes everyday life more difficult, but it also produces serious health consequences that include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and cancer. And, in total, obesity costs an estimated $260 billion annually in inpatient and outpatient care. Whether weight gain is caused primarily by genetics, societal influences or individual will, scientists aren’t altogether sure. What’s clear, however, is that most efforts to lose weight ultimately fail. Calorie counting and exercise programs can help short term, but most dieters regain nearly all lost weight within a few months—even with help from America’s $150 billion diet industry. New hope in diabetes drugs Americans from all walks of life are struggling to lose weight and keep it off. Washington Post opinion editor Ruth Marcus was among them. In a fascinating op-ed, she detailed her weight-loss journey. Marcus, like many Americans, long endured rude comments about her weight. She dreaded the daily ritual of getting dressed and hid from the camera in social situations. But two years ago, life began to change. “As I write this, I have lost 40 pounds, an astonishing quarter of my body weight,” her column read. The weight has stayed off, too, thanks to Ozempic, a once-a-week injectable drug originally designed to help patients with diabetes. It works by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin, thus helping control blood sugar.

The hugely popular weight-loss drugs including Ozempic may cause suicidal thoughts. Europe is investigating Novo Nordisk A/S’s weight-loss medications are under investigation by the European Union’s drugs regulator after a small number of reports of suicidal risks were referred to the watchdog. The European Medicines Agency is looking at adverse events noted by the Icelandic Medicines Agency, including two cases of suicidal thoughts linked to the drugs Saxenda and Ozempic, the EMA said in a statement Monday. One additional case relating to thoughts of self-injury has been raised in connection with Saxenda. The EMA did not report any cases of suicide, and suicidal behavior is not currently listed as a side effect in the EU product information of these medicines. The EMA said it would consider whether its review should be extended to other drugs in the same class, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro is among them, and other companies including Amgen Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are developing similar products. Novo’s shares fell as much as 2.3% in Copenhagen. Lilly’s were little changed at the New York market open The agency said it’s investigating the possible side effects in relation to patients who have used medicines containing the active ingredients semaglutide or liraglutide for weight loss. Novo’s latest hit weight-loss drug Wegovy also uses semaglutide. “The popularity of these drugs brings added scrutiny to the class,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Shah said in an e-mail. “No red flags on this front were raised across the late-stage trials, and these events are anecdotal.”

US podcast misinformation goes largely unchecked Misinformation about everything from election fraud to Covid-19 vaccines is reaching millions of Americans through a popular but opaque medium: podcasts. Many podcasts — on-demand audio programs which users can listen to on smartphones — bluntly promote false and unproven claims. The Brookings Institution found “War Room” from former Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon has aired the most false statements, amassing more than 135 million downloads while promoting allegations of vote rigging in the 2020 US election. Commentator Joe Rogan, whose podcast is the most popular on Spotify, has also used his platform to push unproven Covid-19 treatments. Analysts say people seek out the shows that reaffirm their own beliefs. But the intimate, conversational format also helps enable the spread of rampant misinformation. “There’s something inherent to the relationship between a host and the audience that lends this level of credibility, this level of trust,” Valerie Wirtschafter, a senior data analyst who led the Brookings research, told AFP. “And the challenge, of course, is that anybody can be a podcaster, anybody can get a microphone and start talking about whatever they want.” Wirtschafter’s team analyzed 36,000 episodes and found 70 percent of the most popular US podcasts had shared at least one claim debunked by fact-checkers. Many cast doubt on the 2020 election or the coronavirus pandemic.

Wisconsin health officials drop fine for ‘Nutcracker’ performance during COVID restrictions Health officials in Wisconsin have dropped a fine against a dance studio that staged a performance of “The Nutcracker” in December 2020 despite COVID-19 restrictions on mass gatherings. Public Health Madison and Dane County canceled the penalty pending against A Leap Above Dance on June 22, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Thursday. The studio is located in Oregon, a Madison suburb. The health department has alleged that 119 people attended the performance even though the department had banned mass gatherings to slow COVID-19’s spread. It’s unclear how much the fine totaled. With each of the 119 counts in the department’s complaint punishable by $200, it could have come to $23,800. But Morgan Finke, a spokesperson for the health department, told the State Journal on Wednesday that the maximum would have been $3,200. Studio owner Natalie Nemeckay said fewer than 100 people were involved in the performance and they were divided into groups of 10 at the most. Photos show performers also wore masks. The studio joined a lawsuit in February 2021 in which two parents alleged the health department’s order limiting mass gatherings inhibited their children’s ability to participate in indoor sports. The department’s gathering restrictions ended a few months later in June 2021.

Native American Tribe Demands Ben & Jerry’s Return Its Land After 4th Of July Message A Native American tribe in Vermont wants its land back from Ben & Jerry’s after the company’s 4th of July message. Instead of celebrating America like the rest of the country, the woke ice cream company decided to spend Independence Day attacking the USA and claiming the country exists on stolen land. Ben & Jerry’s demanded land be returned to Native American people. Well, it might be time for the ice cream company to put its money where its mouth is. Nulhegan Band of The Coosuk Abenaki Nation Chief Don Stevens informed Newsweek he’s very interested in getting the land Ben & Jerry’s headquarters is on because it originally belonged to his tribe. He told the publicaltion the tribe was “always interested in reclaiming the stewardship of our lands.” However, Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t seem interested in playing ball. As of Friday, the company had not reached out to Stevens to broker a deal that would see the land return to the original owners. “If and when we are approached, many conversations and discussions will need to take place to determine the best path forward for all involved,” Stevens explained. Ben & Jerry’s headquarters “sits on a vast swathe of U.S. territory that was under the auspices of the Abenaki people before colonization,” according to the same Newsweek report.

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