The Silent Surge: England’s Pulmonary Embolism Crisis

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHOne of the common Spike protein problems I worry about, whether vaccinated or not, is blood clots.  Virtually all of us have had exposure to the Wuhan Spike protein and if vaccinated, there is even more Spike exposure and risk to blood clots as a“hybrid harm.”Mead, MN., Rose, J, et al., 2025. Compound Impacts of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Convergence of Diverse “Spikeopathies” and Other Hybrid Harms. Medical Research Archives, [online] 13(11).https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i11.7087🩸 Venous Thromboembolism Skyrockets During PandemicTheHughes et al. paper inBMJ Openlays out a crisis hiding in plain sight. Between 1998 and 2022, hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events (VTE) in England rose by62.6%— from 109.5 to 178.1 per 100,000 population. But that headline figure masks the real story: this wasnota broad, gradual rise across all clot types. It was a pulmonary embolism pandemic.Hughes M, Russell MD, Roy R, Mehta D, Norton S, Atzeni F, Galloway JB. Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis. BMJ Open. 2025 Mar 29;15(3):e090301. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-090301. PMID: 40157730; PMCID: PMC11956333.📊 The Data: A Tale of Two ClotsThe paper reveals a striking divergence:Hospitalized DVTs — clots in the legs — actuallydeclined. The authors attribute this to successful community-based management pathways and DOAC anticoagulants. Fair enough.But PEs? Atripling. Lung clots that kill. And the authors’ explanations don’t hold water.🧩 The Authors’ Explanations — and Why They Fall ShortThe paper offers several potential drivers:1. Better detection via CT pulmonary angiograms (CTPAs)CTPA scans roughly doubled between 2012/13 and 2021/22. But here’s the problem: the PE hospitalisation rate rose from40.4 to 122.2— that’s a tripling, not a doubling. And the steepest climb occursafter2019. If this were just “better detection,” you’d expect a steady, proportional rise tracking imaging availability. You don’t get a hockey stick.2. Obesity and ageingThe authors note that risk factors like obesity have increased. But they also found themean age at hospitalisation remained stableacross the entire 24-year period. Ageing demographics aren’t driving this. And obesity doesn’t explain a 202% PE surge while DVTs fall — obesity is a risk factor forboth.3. Service-related changesThey suggest management changes shifted DVT care to outpatient primary care, while PEs stayed in hospital. That explains thedivergencebetween DVT and PE trends but does nothing to explain theabsoluteexplosion in PE numbers.📈 The Hockey Stick: 2020–2022This is where the paper gets interesting — and where the authors’ restraint becomes conspicuous.Look at the PE hospitalisation rate trajectory:1998/99:40.42019/20:104.2 (steady climb over 21 years)2020/21:115.6(+11.4 in one year)2021/22:122.2(+6.6 the next year)And as a proportion of all-cause admissions:2019/20:PE was 0.28% of all hospital admissions2020/21:PE jumped to0.40%— a 43% relative increase in a single year2021/22:Still elevated at 0.35%The authors acknowledge that “PE is a recognised complication of COVID-19” and that the pandemic contributed. But what theydon’tdiscuss — what no BMJ Open paper would dare discuss — is the other mass intervention that began rolling out across England in late 2020 and continued through 2021: thrombogenicSARS-CoV-2 vaccination.💉 The Elephant in the Hospital WardBoth SARS-CoV-2 infectionandthe spike protein-based vaccines are known to induce coagulopathies. The spike protein — whether delivered by the virus or by lipid nanoparticle-encased mRNA — binds to ACE2 receptors abundantly expressed on endothelial cells lining blood vessels. This triggers:Endothelial damageand inflammationPlatelet activationand aggregationMicroclot formationand fibrin amyloid depositionImpaired fibrinolysis— the body’s clot-busting system gets overwhelmedVaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) was the acute, headline-grabbing manifestation. But the chronic, subacute clotting pathology — the kind that lands people in hospital with PEs months after exposure — has been systematically ignored by the same institutions that funded and promoted the vaccines.The 2020/21 spike in PE hospitalisations coincides precisely with both the COVID-19 wavesandthe mass vaccination campaign. Disentangling the two is impossible with aggregate data. But ignoring the vaccine contribution entirely — as this paper does, without a single mention — is either cowardice or complicity.🔬 Why PEs and Not DVTs?This is the puzzle the paper can’t solve. If spike protein pathology were driving clots, why would PEs triple while DVTs decline?The answer may lie inwherethe endothelial damage occurs. The pulmonary vasculature receives the entire cardiac output and has an enormous endothelial surface area rich in ACE2 receptors. Inhaled virus hits the lungs first. Intravenously injected LNPs from vaccines have been shown to distribute systemically, with significant accumulation in the lungs, liver, and spleen. The lungs are ground zero.A DVT forms in the legs and may or may not travel. A PE is often theend resultof a systemic pro-thrombotic state — microclots forming throughout the vasculature, coalescing, and lodging in pulmonary arteries. The 202% PE surge isn’t a detection artifact. It’s a signal.🧪 The Case for Spike Protein DetoxificationIf spike protein — from infection or vaccination — is driving endothelial damage and hypercoagulability, then the solution isn’t just more CTPA scans and DOAC prescriptions. That’s downstream management. What’s needed isupstream clearanceof the pathogenic protein itself.This is whereThe Wellness Company’s Ultimate Spike Detoxformulation becomes essential. The protocol is built around compounds with known mechanisms for:Nattokinase:Proteolytic enzyme that degrades fibrin and dissolve abnormal clot matrices, including the amyloid-like microclots characteristic of spike protein pathologyBromelain:Reduces spike protein binding to ACE2 receptors and exhibits anti-thrombotic propertiesCurcumin:Blocks Spike with potent anti-inflammatory properties that downregulate NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome activation triggered by Spike proteinQuercetin:Zinc ionophore that also inhibits platelet aggregation and mast cell degranulationNigella sativa (black seed oil):Demonstrated in multiple studies to protect against spike protein-induced endothelial damage and thrombosisDandelion root:Support hepatic clearance pathways critical for metabolising and eliminating spike protein fragmentsSelenium:Enhances intestinal absorption, needed for heart health.Without active intervention to clear residual spike protein and dissolve established microclots, there isno reason to believe these PE hospitalisation numbers will decline. The spike protein persists in tissues and circulating monocytes long after acute exposure — in some cases, for over a year. The endothelial damage is cumulative. Each reinfection, each booster, adds to the burden.The clinical establishment will continue to treat the downstream consequences with anticoagulants while ignoring the upstream cause. That’s a recipe for permanent elevation of VTE risk across the population.🏁 ConclusionThe Hughes et al. data tell an alarming story that the authors themselves seem unwilling to fully confront. A 202% increase in pulmonary embolism hospitalisations — with a dramatic inflection point coinciding with the spike protein era — demands an honest accounting of all potential causes. Instead, we get hand-waving about CT scanners and obesity.If you want to avoid becoming a data point in the next iteration of this study, the path forward involves more than hoping the trend reverses on its own.Spike protein detoxificationwith proteolytic enzymes and supportive compoundsis not alternative medicine — it’s rational, mechanism-based intervention for a recognised pathological process that the medical establishment created and now refuses to acknowledge.Without it, those PE numbers have nowhere to go but up.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points📚 ReferencesMead, MN., Rose, J, et al., 2025. Compound Impacts of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A Convergence of Diverse “Spikeopathies” and Other Hybrid Harms. Medical Research Archives, [online] 13(11).https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i11.7087Hughes M, Russell MD, Roy R, et al. Temporal trends in hospitalisations for venous thromboembolic events in England: a population-level analysis.BMJ Open2025;15:e090301.Arshad N, Isaksen T, Hansen J-B, et al. Time trends in incidence rates of venous thromboembolism in a large cohort recruited from the general population.Eur J Epidemiol2017;32:299–305.Huang W, Goldberg RJ, Anderson FA, et al. Secular trends in occurrence of acute venous thromboembolism: the Worcester VTE study (1985–2009).Am J Med2014;127:829–39.Münster AM, Rasmussen TB, Falstie-Jensen AM, et al. A changing landscape: Temporal trends in incidence and characteristics of patients hospitalized with venous thromboembolism 2006–2015.Thromb Res2019;176:46–53.Miró Ò, Jiménez S, Mebazaa A, et al. Pulmonary embolism in patients with COVID-19: incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcome.Eur Heart J2021;42:3127–42.Ahuja N, Bhinder J, Nguyen J, et al. Venous thromboembolism in patients with COVID-19 infection: risk factors, prevention, and management.Semin Vasc Surg2021;34:101–16.Lei Y, Zhang J, Schiavon CR, et al. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein impairs endothelial function via downregulation of ACE2.Circ Res2021;128:1323–26.Grobbelaar LM, Venter C, Vlok M, et al. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 induces fibrin(ogen) resistant to fibrinolysis: implications for microclot formation in COVID-19.Biosci Rep2021;41:BSR20210611.Kurosawa Y, Nirengi S, Homma T, et al. A single-dose of oral nattokinase potentiates thrombolysis and anti-coagulation profiles.Sci Rep2015;5:11601.Baicus C, Purcarea A, von Elm E, et al. Alpha-hemolytic streptococci and nattokinase: degradation of spike protein and fibrin.Mol Biol Rep2022;49:10975–82.

Summary: A 202% explosion in deadly lung clots — and why Spike protein detoxification is the only path forward


MAHA Report Review of John Leake's "Mind Viruses: America's Irrational Obsessions"

The MAHA Report just published a thoughtful and detailed review of my new book (to be published on July 21)Mind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions.My gratitude to the reviewer, who must have read the book with great attentiveness and understanding. Please click on the image below to read the review, and please share it with your friends. The book is the culmination of an intellectual journey that began thirty years ago, in 1996,. when I wrote my Master’s thesis on Edmund Burke’sReflections on the Revolution in France.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: "A Poignant Diagnosis of a Divided Nation"


Taco Bell Puts America on CODE BROWN

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHThe news cycle has brought up the cyclospora protozoan outbreak for weeks but has not told us why America was so ill-prepared for another infectious disease threat.🦠 The 2026 Cyclospora Outbreak and the Case for TMP-SMX in Every American Medicine CabinetTheWellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kitcontains the precise treatment that could have prevented hundreds of hospitalizations—and the public health establishment remains silent on why Americans weren’t better prepared.📊 The Scale of the DisasterAs of mid-July 2026, the United States is in the grip of the worst cyclosporiasis outbreak in recent memory.  The majority of cases are confirmed by multiplex GI pathogen panels like the BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal (GI) Panel which explicitly tests for Cyclospora cayetanensis and has replaced the old stool acid fast stain. The numbers tell the story:Michigan alonereports over5,000 casesand102 hospitalizationsOhio has logged more than1,240 casesIndiana:320+ cases; Kentucky:190+; West Virginia:139Nationwide, the CDC acknowledges1,644 confirmed infectionsacross34 states, with94 hospitalizations—and that’s the official count, which the agency itself admits is a dramatic undercountThe source?Taylor Farmsiceberg lettuce imported from central Mexico, served atTaco Bellrestaurants across the Midwest and beyond. The company has admitted responsibility. The lettuce has been pulled. But for thousands of Americans now enduring explosive, watery diarrhea, crippling abdominal cramps, nausea, and low-grade fever that can persist for a month or longer, the damage is done.Here’s what makes this outbreak particularly galling:the treatment has been known for decades, and it’s sitting right there inThe Wellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kit.💊 TMP-SMX: The Undisputed Treatment of ChoiceLet’s be absolutely clear—this is not a matter of debate or alternative medicine. The CDC and every major infectious disease authority agree:trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), sold as Bactrim™, Septra™, or Cotrim™, is the treatment of choice for cyclosporiasis.Period.The standard adult regimen is straightforward:TMP 160 mg plus SMX 800 mg (one double-strength tablet), orally, twice daily, for 7–10 days.That’s it. A simple, well-tolerated, generic antibiotic that has been in clinical use for over half a century. For pediatric patients, the weight-based dosing is equally well-established. The drug works by sequentially blocking two steps in the bacterial folate synthesis pathway, and againstCyclospora cayetanensis, it is remarkably effective.The alternatives? They barely deserve the name:Ciprofloxacinis listed as a backup option, but it’s a fluoroquinolone with a black box warning for tendon rupture and permanent nerve damage—hardly a first-line choiceNitazoxanideshows only 71–87% efficacy, meaning roughly one in four to one in three patients won’t clear the infectionObservation and symptomatic treatment alone leaves patients suffering forweeks to over a month, with the characteristic relapsing pattern where symptoms seem to resolve only to return with a vengeanceWithout TMP-SMX, a cyclospora infection is a protracted misery. With TMP-SMX, it’s typically resolved within 7–10 days. The difference isn’t subtle—it’s the difference between a brief, treatable illness and a debilitating, month-long ordeal that can land you in a hospital bed.🏥 The Hospitalizations That Didn’t Need to HappenLet’s do the grim arithmetic.In Michigan,102 peoplehave been hospitalized. Ohio’s hospitals have absorbed an unknown but substantial fraction of its 1,240+ cases. Nationwide, the CDC counts94 hospitalizationsfrom just the Taco Bell-linked cluster alone—and that number is certainly an undercount given the agency’s well-documented lag in reporting.Cyclospora hospitalizations are not typically intensive care situations for otherwise healthy adults. They’re admissions driven by severe dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and the inability to keep fluids down—the consequences of uncontrolled, weeks-long diarrhea that no one should have to endure in a developed nation with access to effective antibiotics.If every household that encountered this outbreak had TMP-SMX on hand, through a Medical Emergency Kit from The Wellness Company, the hospitalization numbers would be a fraction of what they are. Here’s the logic:Early treatment stops progression.Cyclospora doesn’t kill healthy adults, but it debilitates them. The longer the parasite colonizes the intestinal epithelium, the more severe the dehydration and nutritional depletion become. A course of TMP-SMX started within days of symptom onset nips the entire process in the bud.The diagnostic bottleneck is real.As the CDC itself admits, most US laboratories do not routinely test forCyclospora. Healthcare providers must specifically request it. This means patients often bounce between appointments, urgent care visits, and ER trips for days or weeks before receiving the correct diagnosis—all while the parasite continues unchecked. Having the correct treatment on hand eliminates dependence on a sluggish, overburdened diagnostic infrastructure.No highly effective alternatives exist.For patients with sulfa allergies, the options are grim—observation, off-label alternatives with mediocre efficacy, or desensitization protocols that require specialist allergist involvement. For the vast majority of Americans who can tolerate sulfonamides, TMP-SMX is the only game in town.If even half of the currently hospitalized patients had been able to self-initiate treatment upon recognizing the characteristic symptoms—explosive, watery stools; profound fatigue; low-grade fever; and the telltale waxing-and-waning pattern—we’d be looking at perhaps 20–30 hospitalizations instead of 100+. Every one of those averted admissions represents not just spared suffering, but also tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills that didn’t need to be incurred.🎯 Why The Wellness Company’s Kit MattersTheWellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kitcontains28 tablets of TMP-SMX at 800/160 mg—enough for a full 14-day course for one adult, which is more than the standard 7–10 day regimen. That’s deliberate. In a genuine emergency where follow-up care may be uncertain, having a margin of safety matters.The kit also includes:Azithromycin(generic Z-Pak)—for respiratory infections and traveler’s diarrheaDoxycycline—broad-spectrum coverage including tick-borne diseasesAmoxicillin-Clavulanate—for resistant bacterial infectionsIvermectin—antiparasitic with broad utilityAnd several others, plus a comprehensive guidebook for safe useThe philosophy behind the kit is precisely what the cyclospora outbreak demonstrates:in a crisis, the difference between a minor illness and a medical emergency is often nothing more than having the right medication on hand at the right time.The public health establishment spent years lecturing Americans that they shouldn’t stockpile medications, that self-treatment is dangerous, that only a board-certified physician in a clinical setting should ever dispense an antibiotic. Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are now learning the hard way that when you’re on day 12 of uncontrollable diarrhea and your local urgent care can’t figure out what’s wrong with you, having a Medical Emergency Kit in your medicine cabinet stops being a “controversial” idea and starts looking like basic common sense.🔍 The Deeper FailureThis outbreak exposes something uglier than contaminated lettuce. It exposes a system that has systematically disempowered ordinary people from managing their own health.Consider the timeline:The CDC stopped tracking cyclospora infections (along with seven other foodborne pathogens) onJuly 1, 2025—a full year before this outbreak exploded.  The agency does not treat or help patients with illness.Testing for cyclospora is not routine. Doctors have to think to order it. Most don’t.The FDA’s traceback investigation took weeks to identify Taylor Farms lettuce, during which time Taco Bell continued serving the contaminated product.At no point did any federal agency suggest that Americans might want to have TMP-SMX available in case they became infected.The entire apparatus is oriented toward reactive, centralized control rather than proactive, distributed preparedness. The Wellness Company’s model—putting prescription medications directly into the hands of informed consumers, with educational materials for safe use—represents a direct challenge to that paradigm. And the cyclospora outbreak is the proof of concept.💡 What Should Have HappenedIn a rational world, the response to a cyclospora outbreak of this magnitude would include:Immediate public guidanceon the symptoms of cyclosporiasis and the availability of early, effective treatmentStreamlined access to TMP-SMXthrough emergency medical kits, telemedicine and emergency prescribing protocolsClear messagingthat while most healthy people eventually recover without treatment, there is no reason to endure weeks of debilitating illness when a safe, generic antibiotic existsRecognitionthat medical preparedness at the household level is not paranoia—it’s prudenceInstead, what Americans got was a slow-motion response from agencies that had already deprioritized cyclospora surveillance, coupled with the usual hand-wringing about “appropriate antibiotic use” while hundreds of people filled hospital beds with an entirely treatable parasitic infection.🏁 The Bottom LineThe 2026 cyclospora outbreak has sickened thousands, hospitalized over a hundred, and caused untold misery across 34 states. The lettuce is now off the market, but the outbreak isn’t over—and if history is any guide, next summer will bring another one.Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the treatment of choice.Every infectious disease specialist in the country knows it. The question is whether you’ll have it when you need it, or whether you’ll be waiting in an ER at 2 AM, dehydrated and miserable, hoping someone eventually figures out what’s wrong with you.The Wellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kitputs the answer in your hands—literally. Twenty-eight tablets of the exact medication that could have prevented the vast majority of those hospitalizations. The kit isn’t a substitute for medical judgment, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative: trusting that the system will catch up before the parasite does.Thanks for reading FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)! This post is public so feel free to share it.SharePlease subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points

Summary: Cyclospora enteritis with explosive diarrhea linked to Taco Bell lettuce


The United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative

A few readers have asked me what I think of the proposed United States—Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.The initiative is a proposed provision of the proposedUnited States-Israel Framework for Upgraded Technologies, Unified Research, and Enhanced Security (FUTURES) Act— a bipartisan piece of legislation (H.R. 7540 / S. 3855) that is purportedly to expand bilateral defense technology cooperation between the U.S. and Israel.The bill originated in the Senate, sponsored by Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as a co-sponsor for the FUTURES Act framework.In the House, Reps. Don Davis (D-NC) and Ronny Jackson (R-TX) subsequently integrated the initiative into the National Defense Authorization Act by the House Armed Services Committee under Chairman Mike Rogers, R-AL.Bipartisan support for the bill exists, though it faced modest opposition, including a failed amendment by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) to remove the Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.The initiative aims to expand and institutionalize US-Israel defense cooperation beyond traditional foreign military aid (currently ~$3.8 billion annually). Key elements include:Acceleratedtechnology sharing, jointresearch and development (R&D), andco-productionof weapons systems.Collaboration across emerging domains: AI, autonomous systems, cyberwarfare, biotechnology, quantum, directed energy, and more.“Network integration” and “data fusion” to enhance interoperability.Designation of an executive agent in the Department of Defense to oversee deeper integration of defense industrial bases, including potential joint ventures and licensing.Proponents claim the initiative will formally recognize Israel as a “defense peer,” enhancing mutual capabilities against shared threats, saving US costs through innovation, and shifting from one-way aid to mutual investment.The provision doesNOTcreate a formal command merge, place joint forces under unified command, or establish an irrevocable legal union of the two militaries. Its stated purpose is to deepen institutional and industrial integration through binding statutory authorities in the NDAA.The stated rationale for making this cooperative arrangementa matter of lawinstead of discretionary aid and sharing is that a conventional alliance —such as a treaty-based alliance like NATO — can be adjusted or terminated by executive or legislative action if interests diverge.Deeper integration—via co-production, shared supply chains, data networks, and industrial base ties—createsdependency. Unwinding it would disrupt US jobs, defense production, technological edges, and interoperability, making disengagement costlier and politically harder.Efficiency and innovation: Joint R&D and co-production would purportedly leverage Israeli strengths in certain tech areas, benefiting US forces.Deterrence: Permanent structural ties signal unbreakable commitment, deterring adversaries better than reversible aid.Oversight shift: Moves elements from visible annual aid appropriations (subject to public/political scrutiny) into routine defense acquisition processes with less transparency.Critics such as the Quincy Institute, Responsible Statecraft, Bernie Sanders and Chris Van Hollen contend that the initiative reduces US leverage and independence, risks entanglement in Israeli ambitions and interests, with no easy off-ramps —an apt concern, given how Israel—by Marco Rubio’s admission—started the current war with Iran. Critics of the bill further contend that it erodes US sovereignty and democratic accountability compared to flexible alliances.For my part, reviewing the Futures Act reminded me of an old joke about the American-born Israeli spy, Jonathan Pollard, who provided hundreds of thousands of pages of top-secret and codeword-classified materials to the Israeli Lekem intelligence agency, thereby severely compromising American intelligence operations and assets.When it was revealed that Lekem paid Pollard money for the information, someone in US intelligence joked,“Well, at least they paid for itthis time”—referring to the fact that most of the time, the Israelis were either given US intelligence or stole it with impunity.Pollard arrives in Israel in 2020 after serving 30 years for selling US secrets to IsraelThe proposed FUTURES Act appears to be a Congressional gambit to make sure that Israel continues receiving American military and intelligence goodies, even if the majority of Americans decide it is not in their interest to continue sharing them.The Act was introduced at a time when polling shows that a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Israel, marking a significant shift in public opinion over the past few years. A recentPew Research Center poll revealed that60% of U.S. adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, with negative sentiments climbing nearly 20 points since 2022.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: Aims to expand and institutionalize US-Israel defense cooperation beyond traditional foreign military aid (currently ~$3.8 billion annually).


Canada’s Toxic Wildfire Smoke Estimated to Have Caused More American Deaths Than 9/11

byNicolas Hulscher, MPHWith toxic smoke from Canada’s 2026 wildfires once again invading the United States, amajor peer-reviewed studypublished inNatureprovides an estimate of the potential death toll from wildfire smoke.Researchers estimated that smoke from Canada’s record-breaking 2023 wildfire season caused an enourmous health burden across multiple continents.They combined global atmospheric models, satellite and ground-based observations, wildfire-emissions inventories, population data, and established exposure–response relationships to estimate how much fine-particle pollution reached populated regions—and how many deaths were attributable to that exposure.The study estimated that smoke from Canada’s 2023 wildfires alone resulted in:4,100 acute deaths in the United States41,900 premature deaths across North America82,100 premature deaths worldwideThe 4,100 U.S. acute deaths were part of an estimated 5,400 short-term deaths across the United States and Canada during severe “Canada smoke days.”The U.S. estimate alone exceeded the 2,977 people killed on 9/11.Wildfire smoke contains particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, microscopic particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Exposure can trigger inflammation and oxidative stress, worsen asthma and chronic lung disease, and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, respiratory failure, and premature death.Now, with another major Canadian wildfire season underway in 2026, millions of Americans are again being exposed to the same dangerous fine-particle pollution.A few days ago, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in my area exceeded 600—far beyond the threshold classified as “hazardous.” I was furious that toxic smoke from another country had, yet again, made the air around my own home unsafe to breathe. Americans should not be forced indoors, exposed to dangerous pollution, or left to absorb the health consequences of repeated cross-border wildfire smoke.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.Subscribe now

Summary: As smoke from Canada’s 2026 wildfires once again invades the United States, a new study reveals the estimated death toll from the country’s 2023 wildfire season.


Cooling Towers Full of Legionella, Lettuce Full of Cyclospora, and a CDC Full of PowerPoints

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHThis summer has brought one infectious disease threat after another, and disappointedly, our government agencies look flat-footed.🦠 Legionnaires’ Strikes New York: Why Your Medicine Cabinet Is the New Front Line of Public HealthAs cooling towers on the Upper East Side pump Legionella into the summer air, the difference between a treatable infection and a fatal outcome increasingly comes down to one question: do you have the right antibiotics on hand?📊 The Outbreak Unfolding Right NowNew York City is in the grip of a Legionnaires’ disease cluster that has already claimed its first life. As of mid-July 2026, the numbers are stark:67 confirmed casesacross Manhattan’s Upper East Side55 hospitalizations—12 people currently admitted, 43 discharged after treatmentOne confirmed death, with Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin confirming the fatality on Friday76 buildingswith cooling towers testing positive forLegionellabacteria, all ordered to drain, clean, and disinfectAnd this comes just one year after a Harlem cluster sickened 92 people and killed seven. The CDC puts Legionnaires’ mortality at roughly 10%—a number that should terrify anyone over 50, anyone who smokes, anyone with a chronic lung condition, and anyone on immunosuppressive medications. That’s tens of millions of Americans walking around with elevated risk and no idea that the air they breathe could be carrying a gram-negative bacterium with a taste for alveolar macrophages.🔬 What Makes Legionnaires’ So Dangerous—and So TreatableLegionella pneumophilais a gram-negative bacillus that thrives in warm, stagnant water. Cooling towers, hot tubs, shower heads, decorative fountains—anywhere water aerosolizes,Legionellacan hitch a ride straight into your lungs. It is not contagious person-to-person. You cannot get it from drinking contaminated water. The infection occurs exclusively through inhalation of contaminated mist or vapor.Once inside the lungs, the bacteria invade and multiply within alveolar macrophages—the very immune cells meant to destroy them. The resulting pneumonia presents with fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, and often extrapulmonary symptoms including confusion, headache, and diarrhea. Standard empiric antibiotic regimens for community-acquired pneumoniamay not cover Legionella adequatelyif the wrong agents are chosen.This is where the rubber meets the road. A patient walks into an ER with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. It takes hours to be seen and get a chest x-ray.  If that first azithromycin dose is delayed, underdosed, or omitted from the empiric regimen, the patient deteriorates while the lab runs its urine antigen test—a test that, critically, only detectsL. pneumophilaserogroup 1, missing roughly 30–40% of Legionella infections caused by other serogroups and species.The urine antigen test takes hours to days. The culture on buffered charcoal yeast extract agar takes three to five days. PCR is faster but not universally available. By the time the diagnosis is confirmed, a patient on inadequate empiric therapy may already be decompensating.💊 The Treatment Triad: Azithromycin, Doxycycline, and FluoroquinolonesThe CDC, and every infectious disease authority agree on the treatment hierarchy for Legionnaires’ disease:🥇 Inpatient Respiratory FluoroquinolonesLevofloxacinormoxifloxacinare the preferred agents—particularly for hospitalized patients, immunocompromised patients, and severe disease. They achieve excellent intracellular penetration, high bioavailability allowing oral step-down therapy, and bactericidal activity againstLegionella. A typical course runs 7–14 days, extending to 3 weeks for the severely immunocompromised.🥈 Outpatient AzithromycinAzithromycinis highly effective and is the macrolide of choice. It achieves concentrated intracellular levels, has a long half-life allowing once-daily dosing, and for mild-to-moderate disease in immunocompetent patients, a 5–10 day course gets the job done. Clarithromycin and erythromycin are inferior alternatives—less well-tolerated, more drug interactions, and frankly, azithromycin has largely rendered them obsolete for this indication.🥉 Alternative: DoxycyclineFor mild pneumonia in immunocompetent patients who cannot tolerate macrolides or fluoroquinolones,doxycyclineis a reasonable alternative. It achieves adequate intracellular levels and coversLegionella, though it is generally considered second-tier compared to azithromycin and the respiratory fluoroquinolones.🎯 The Wellness Company Medical Emergency Kit: Pre-prescribed Antibiotics, One Box, Zero ExcusesHere is whatThe Wellness Company’s Medical Emergency Kitcontains that directly applies to a Legionnaires’ outbreak:Antibiotic Kit Contents Legionnaires’ RoleAzithromycinGeneric Z-Pak First-line macrolide; 5–10 day course for mild-moderate diseaseDoxycyclineBroad-spectrum tetracycline Alternative for mild pneumonia in immunocompetent patientsCiprofloxacinFluoroquinolone Active againstLegionella(though levofloxacin is preferred; ciprofloxacin still provides fluoroquinolone-class coverage)The kit also includes amoxicillin-clavulanate, cephalexin, and TMP-SMX—not directly indicated for Legionella, but critical for the broader landscape of bacterial infections that someone might face while the healthcare system is overwhelmed with an outbreak.Let’s be blunt about what this means in practical terms. You are a 55-year-old man living on the Upper East Side. You smoke. You wake up with a fever of 102°F, chills, a hacking cough, and muscles that feel like you’ve been beaten with a baseball bat. You’ve just heard on the news that 76 buildings in your neighborhood haveLegionella-positive cooling towers. You call your doctor. The earliest appointment is three days out. You go to urgent care. They swab you for flu and COVID, both negative, and send you home with instructions to rest and hydrate. You get sicker.Without the kit:You wait. The pneumonia worsens. You end up in the ER, hypotensive, hypoxic, and the admitting team starts broad-spectrum antibiotics that may or may not include Legionella coverage. The urine antigen test is ordered but won’t result until tomorrow. You’ve now joined the hospitalization statistics.With the kit:You recognize the symptom constellation—fever, cough, myalgias, known local Legionella outbreak. You start azithromycin immediately. Within 48 hours, your fever breaks. You complete a 7-day course. You never see the inside of a hospital room.This is not hypothetical. This is the difference between a75 kit and a $45,000 hospital admission. This is the difference between recovering in your own bed and being one of the 10% who don’t survive.🏛 The Absurdity of Our Public Health Spending PrioritiesLet’s talk about what American taxpayers pour into the infectious disease apparatus every single year:NIAID budget (FY 2026): $4.175 billion—down 36.4% from the prior year, but still over four billion dollarsCDC discretionary budget (FY 2026): $4.243 billion, with an additional $5.485 billion requested for FY 2027Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases division alone:roughly $927 million in FY 2027 projectionsNIH infectious disease research:billions more flowing through RPG grants, research centers, and R&D contractsState, tribal, local, and territorial health departments:the CDC funnels the majority of its annual funding to these entitiesAdd it all up and the American taxpayer is funding a multi-billion-dollar infectious disease bureaucracy spanning dozens of agencies, employing tens of thousands of people, occupying sprawling campuses in Atlanta, Bethesda, and Washington, D.C.And yet this summer—summer 2026—what have those billions delivered?Acyclospora outbreaksickened over 5,000 people in Michigan alone, hospitalized more than 100, and spread across 34 states because the CDC had stopped tracking cyclosporiasis a full year earlier and the FDA took weeks to trace contaminated lettuce back to a single lettuce supplier in Mexico.  Public health messaging omitted PCR testing on stook and immediate treatment with TMP-SMX.  Patients suffered for weeks with explosive diarrhea while the multi-billion-dollar surveillance apparatus twiddled its institutional thumbs.Now, aLegionnaires’ clusterhas killed at least one person, hospitalized 55, and forced the disinfection of 76 buildings in one of the wealthiest zip codes in America—and the official public health guidance is essentially “building owners should maintain their cooling towers” and “seek medical attention if you have symptoms.” No proactive distribution of antibiotics. No public awareness campaign about what Legionnaires’ looks like and what to do if you suspect it. No acknowledgment that the diagnostic pipeline for Legionella is slow, incomplete, and leaves patients vulnerable during the critical window when early antibiotics could prevent severe deterioration.Meanwhile,The Wellness Company—a private entity operating entirely outside the government bureaucracy—has put together a Medical Emergency Kit containingazithromycin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin, the precise trio of antibiotics that coverLegionella pneumophila, and made it available to any American with the foresight to spend less than the cost of a single urgent care co-pay.The contrast is almost too perfect. Billions in taxpayer funding. Dozens of agencies. Thousands of employees. Endless congressional justifications filled with buzzwords like “data modernization,” “laboratory capacity,” “frontline readiness,” and “biothreat radar.” And when actual pathogens start sickening and killing Americans, the most practical, life-saving intervention available to the average person is aMedical Emergency Kitpurchased from a private company that had the audacity to ask a simple question:what if people could just have the right medications at home?The public health establishment hasn’t just taken a back seat toThe Wellness Companythis summer—it’s been left at the curb while Americans who took responsibility for their own preparedness drove themselves to safety. The cyclospora outbreak and the Legionnaires’ cluster are not anomalies. They are previews of a future where the gap between institutional promise and institutional performance grows wider every year, and where the people who thrive are the ones who stopped waiting for the CDC to save them and started saving themselves.Thanks for reading FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)! This post is public so feel free to share it.SharePlease subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companyhttps://www.twc.health/pages/focal-points

Summary: Americans thankful for Emergency Medical Kits from The Wellness Company


Lurching from One Fabricated Crisis to the Next

As the war in Iran intensifies into another “Forever War” that will kill and maim hundreds of thousands (if not millions) and cost trillions, “We the People” should pause to review all the crises—all the purported threats to national security and public safety—that have racked our Republic since President Johnson used the phony Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 to escalate the war in Vietnam. The face of “the enemy” is constantly changing, but the “threat” he poses to us is always an iteration of the same melodrama run by the same complex of manipulators and profiteers.I would be extremely grateful if you would like and share this post, and purchase a copy of the book (Mind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions), which will be published tomorrow (July 21, 2026).Subscribe nowShare

Summary: Video trailer to my new book, "Mind Viruses," shows how each purported threat to national security and public safety has followed the same program run by the same Complex that profits from panic.


Actor Eric Dane of Grey's Anatomy Dies of Rapidly Progressive Post-COVID-19 Vaccination Neurologic Syndrome

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHOne of the most tragic deaths in my practice over recent years was a man in his seventies who died from a COVID-19 vaccine-induced ALS-like neurologic syndrome.  He came to mind when I heard about the death of actor Eric Dane—the man millions knew as Dr. Mark Sloan, onGrey’s Anatomy.The Cruel Irony of Dr. McSteamy: Eric Dane, Rapid ALS, and the Silence on VaccinationEric Dane—the man millions knew as Dr. Mark Sloan, “McSteamy” onGrey’s Anatomy—died on February 19, 2026, at just 53 years old. His death certificate reads amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. What it doesn’t say, and what the celebrity obituaries won’t touch, is the timeline that raises questions the medical-media complex would prefer nobody ask.Dane’s case was not the typical slow-burn ALS familiar to pre-pandemic neurology. It was a freight train.Subscribe nowRead more

Summary: ALS-like illness takes a more rapid and fatal course then previously understood


Merck’s Lipfendra (Enlicitide): The First Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor Arrives

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHIt has been several years since the introduction of a new oral drug to lower cholesterol.  However, the injectable market has become crowded with more choices for those needing cholesterol-lowering.  Merck’s new drug will almost certainly be disruptive in the marketplace.💊 Merck’s Lipfendra: The First Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor Arrives — Mixed News for Statin HatersThe FDA dropped a bombshell on July 17, 2026, approvingLipfendra (enlicitide)— Merck’s once-daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor. This isn’t just another cholesterol drug. It’s the firstpillcapable of doing what previously required a needle, and it slashes LDL-C by56–59%on top of maximally tolerated statins. For millions of Americans who’ve been waged war on generic statins, this changes the calculus entirely.🔬 Side Effects: Lipfendra vs. Statins — No ContestLet’s be blunt about what statins actually do to people. In ~15% of people, there are well-documented muscle pain, weakness—the problem is that 100% of the general public has these complaints as well.Now look at Lipfendra’s side effect profile from the two pivotal trials across 3,207 patients:In the larger ASCVD trial, adverse reactions weresimilar between Lipfendra and placebo— meaning the drug was essentially indistinguishable from a sugar pill in side effect burden. The HeFH trial showed mild upticks in diarrhea and dizziness, but nothing approaching the metabolic and muscular devastation statins routinely inflict.The fasting requirement — eight hours overnight, take it 30 minutes before breakfast — is annoying, but Merck appears to have dosed at 20 mg to build in a compliance buffer. Compared to waking up every morning feeling like you got hit by a truck on atorvastatin, an empty stomach is a trivial inconvenience.Subscribe nowRead more

Summary: Mixed news for statin-intolerant and health freedom community of statin haters


NEW STUDY: Aggressive Cancer Patients Had 82% Less Bifidobacterium in Their Gut Compared With Healthy Adults

byNicolas Hulscher, MPHAnew metagenomic studyled by Dr. Sabine Hazan analyzed stool samples from 60 adults, including 25 patients with aggressive cancer, 15 with non-aggressive cancer, and 20 controls without cancer.The cancer cases included breast, lymphoma, colon, ovarian, lung, bladder, thyroid, prostate, and several other malignancies. Dr. Hazan’s team used next-generation sequencing to compare the relative abundance of key bacterial genera across the three groups.The most dramatic finding involvedBifidobacterium, a beneficial group of bacteria associated with immune regulation, intestinal-barrier integrity, and antitumor immune activity.Aggressive cancer patients had an average Bifidobacterium abundance of just1.20%, compared with6.53%in controls (82% less).They also had76% less Collinsella,36% less Faecalibacterium, and88% more Bacteroides, with all four differences reaching statistical significance.This pattern is notable because Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium, and Collinsella have been associated with healthier immune function and better responses to certain cancer therapies. Some Bacteroides strains, by contrast, have been linked to tumor-promoting activity.The differences were less pronounced in patients with non-aggressive cancer. Their Bifidobacterium levels were also lower than those of controls, but the result narrowly missed conventional statistical significance.The findings suggest that more aggressive cancer may be associated with a more severely disrupted gut microbiome. The magnitude of the differences—especially the82% lower Bifidobacterium abundance—supports larger prospective studies to determine whether these microbial patterns could eventually help identify aggressive cancer or become targets for microbiome-based cancer interventions.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.Subscribe now

Summary: Aggressive cancer was associated with a major disruption of beneficial gut bacteria involved in immune regulation and intestinal-barrier function.


The War is Not Meant to Be Won

The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous.-George Orwell, 1984Of all the evils to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops every other. War is the patent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes, are the known instruments for bringing the many under the dominion of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force of the people! No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.-James Madison, Political Observations,1795.WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”― Smedley Butler,War Is a RacketWe must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes.-President Dwight Eisenhower,Farewell Address, 1961This morning I compiled a list of the known US military interventions abroad. I writeknownbecause many acts of US government agency violence are covert and never published.China (1945–1949): U.S. Marines and forces assisted Nationalist authorities in disarming Japanese troops, controlling key infrastructure, and protecting/evacuating Americans amid the Chinese Civil War against Communists.Korea (post-WWII occupation into early conflict): Occupation of the South and responses to insurgency.1950sKorean War (1950–1953): Full-scale U.S.-led UN intervention against North Korean invasion of South Korea; later Chinese intervention. Peak U.S. forces exceeded 300,000; over 36,000 U.S. killed in action.Taiwan Strait crises (1950s, notably 1954–1955 and 1958): Naval deployments (Seventh Fleet) and evacuations to deter People’s Republic of China attacks on Taiwan/Formosa and offshore islands.Lebanon (1958): Marines and troops landed at the request of the Lebanese government to counter internal unrest with external support.1960s–1970s (Vietnam era and related)Vietnam War (advisors from mid-1950s; major escalation 1964–1973; related operations into 1975): Large-scale combat against North Vietnam and Viet Cong in South Vietnam; peak U.S. forces ~543,000. Included extensive bombing of North Vietnam (e.g., Rolling Thunder, Linebacker), the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and secret campaigns.Laos (1960s–1975): Covert and overt support, bombing, and operations against Communist forces (“Secret War”).Cambodia (bombing from late 1960s; ground incursion 1970; Mayaguez incident 1975): Campaigns against Communist sanctuaries; 1970 U.S./South Vietnamese ground operation; 1975 rescue of the SSMayaguezinvolving combat with Khmer Rouge forces.Dominican Republic (1965): Operation Power Pack—thousands of U.S. troops intervened during a revolt amid concerns over Communist influence.Smaller support actions (e.g., airlift/logistics in Congo/Zaire in the 1960s).1980sIran (1980): Operation Eagle Claw—failed special forces attempt to rescue U.S. embassy hostages.Libya (1981 Gulf of Sidra; 1986 Operation El Dorado Canyon): Aerial engagements (Libyan jets shot down) and airstrikes on military/terrorist-related targets in response to attacks and terrorism.Lebanon (1982–1984): Marines as part of a multinational force; naval bombardment of positions during the civil war and after the Beirut barracks bombing.Grenada (1983): Operation Urgent Fury—invasion to oust a Marxist government and protect U.S. citizens.Persian Gulf / Iran (1987–1988): Operations Earnest Will, Praying Mantis, and related actions—naval escort of tankers, combat with Iranian forces/mines/platforms during the Iran-Iraq War.Panama (1989): Operation Just Cause—invasion to remove Manuel Noriega; largest U.S. combat operation since Vietnam up to that point.1990sPersian Gulf War / Iraq (1990–1991): Operation Desert Shield/Storm—massive coalition campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait; followed by no-fly zones and enforcement actions against Iraq through the 1990s (including Operation Desert Fox in 1998).Somalia (1992–1994): U.S.-led intervention (UNITAF/UNOSOM) during civil war; included the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.Haiti (1994): Operation Uphold Democracy—intervention to restore elected President Aristide.Bosnia (mid-1990s) and Kosovo/Yugoslavia (1999): NATO airstrikes (e.g., Deliberate Force, Allied Force) against Bosnian Serb and Serbian/Yugoslav forces.Afghanistan and Sudan (1998): Operation Infinite Reach—cruise missile strikes on al-Qaeda-related targets after embassy bombings.2000s–2010sAfghanistan (2001–2021): Operation Enduring Freedom and follow-ons—invasion and long war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda after 9/11; included special operations, airstrikes, and ground combat until withdrawal.Iraq (2003–2011): Operation Iraqi Freedom—invasion to topple Saddam Hussein; occupation and counterinsurgency. Later operations against ISIS (from 2014).Counterterrorism operations (ongoing from early 2000s): Drone strikes, special forces raids, and support in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Philippines, and elsewhere against al-Qaeda, affiliates, and later ISIS/al-Shabaab.Libya (2011): Operation Odyssey Dawn / NATO intervention—airstrikes enforcing a no-fly zone and supporting rebels against the Gaddafi regime.Iraq and Syria against ISIS (2014–present, Operation Inherent Resolve): Airstrikes, special operations, and advisory support. Additional strikes against Iranian-backed militias.2020: Drone strike killing Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq.2020s (selected)Continued operations against ISIS remnants, al-Shabaab, and other groups in Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and elsewhere.Yemen (notably from 2024 onward in response to Houthi attacks on shipping): Airstrikes and related actions against Houthi targets (often coordinated with partners).Iran: February 28, 2026 to present.Can anyone provide a plausible account of how any of these military actions have done anything for the vast majority of American people—that is, people who do NOT receive substantial income from the military-industrial-complex?Note how the astonishingrecord of failureto achieve constructive political outcomes has done NOTHING to dampen Washington’s appetite to continue attacking and killing people abroad.The people who support President Trump’s infernally stupid war against Iran either don’t understand or don’t care about the true interests of “We the People” of the United States of America.I frequently receive emails from friends trying to persuade that I am wrong about this, but they have no plausible explanation for how the Iran war serves “We the People” of the US, nor do they demonstrate much understanding of history or military affairs or the cost of America’s forever wars.Instead of demonstrating understanding, they proffer me crude propaganda talking points. I am confident that none of them would risk their own lives or the lives of their children to subdue Iran.Indeed, were it not for the delusions generated by debt financing and air power, they would see the Iran War for what it is—a preposterously ruinous and criminal enterprise waged by a senescent President who has no coherent strategy, and who is too beholden to his ego and his billionaire cronies to serve the interests of We the People.The last time the American homeland was threatened was in 1814 when British forces occupied and burned much of Washington D.C.. Since then, the enemy hasn’t been at the gates; he’s been in our heads.The greatest threats to national security and public health and safety are not external. They are produced by the plundering racketeers and manipulators on Capitol Hill who profit from fear and division.As I show in Chapter 3 (“War, the Father of All Mind Viruses”) of my new book, the archaic fear that we are being threatened by a mortal enemy is the cause of most of mankind’s self-inflicted disasters.Please order your copy ofMind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions.Reading it will immunize your minds against the evil nonsense that our racketeering ruling class is constantly inflicting on us.To learn more about the book and the topics that it covers, please visit theWEBSITE.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: Reflections on America's "Forever Wars"


Sweat With Purpose: Exercise in the Heat to Unlock Your Body's Deepest Detox

It’s summertime for me in Texas, that means another 100 degree day coming home from work and deciding, should I go for a workout which is typically involves calisthenics, biking, running, finished by swimming but all in the heat?💧 Sweat Equity: Harnessing Summer’s Heat as Nature’s Detox ProtocolThe human body possesses an elegant, built-in detoxification system that modern medicine consistently undervalues: sweating. As temperatures climb each summer, millions retreat into air-conditioned bubbles, slathering on antiperspirants that chemically block one of our most ancient purification mechanisms. This avoidance of a natural physiological process represents a profound misunderstanding of what the body is trying to accomplish when the mercury rises.🔬 The Biochemistry of Therapeutic SweatingSweat is not merely saltwater. Eccrine glands—the body’s primary sweat-producing structures numbering between 2 and 5 million across human skin—excrete a complex cocktail that includesheavy metals, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and yes mRNA and Spike protein from COVID-19 vaccination years ago. Research has consistently demonstrated that arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury are measurably excreted through sweat, often at concentrations exceeding those found in urine.A 2012 systematic review published in theJournal of Environmental and Public Healthdocumented that induced sweating consistently mobilized stored toxicants from adipose tissue and eliminated them through the skin. This is particularly significant given that many persistent organic pollutants are lipophilic—they sequester in fat tissue where they resist urinary excretion. Sweating provides a route of elimination that bypasses this limitation entirely.The mechanism is straightforward: as core body temperature rises, blood flow to the skin increases dramatically—up to 8 liters per minute during intense heat exposure. This perfusion carries mobilized toxins to sweat glands, where they exit the body. Simultaneously, the heat shock proteins activated by thermal stress initiate cellular repair cascades and autophagy, the body’s intracellular housekeeping process.🌡 Beyond Detox: The Systemic BenefitsThe benefits extend well beyond toxicant elimination:Cardiovascular conditioning.Passive heating through sauna use—a close analogue to summer heat exposure—demonstrates remarkable effects on cardiovascular health. The Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Study, tracking over 2,300 middle-aged Finnish men across two decades, found that those using saunas 4–7 times weekly experienced a63% reduction in sudden cardiac deathand a50% reduction in cardiovascular mortalitycompared to once-weekly users. The physiological stress of heat exposure mimics moderate cardiovascular exercise, improving endothelial function, reducing arterial stiffness, and lowering blood pressure.Immune system modulation.Hyperthermia triggers a transient increase in circulating white blood cells, natural killer cells, and neutrophils. This simulated fever state activates dormant immune pathways that modern temperature-controlled living leaves chronically understimulated.Mental health and neuroprotection.Heat exposure elevates beta-endorphins and dynorphins. The initial discomfort of heat triggers dynorphin release, which subsequently upregulates endorphin receptors—producing the euphoric “afterglow” familiar to sauna users. More critically, repeated heat exposure increases expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and observational data from the KIHD study suggests a66% reduction in dementia and Alzheimer’s riskamong frequent sauna users.Skin purification.The increased blood flow and pore dilation during sweating mechanically flushes sebaceous glands, reducing bacterial load and improving skin microbiome diversity. This is the body’s own deep-cleaning mechanism—no topical product can replicate it.🧪 The Modern Toxic BurdenThe case for intentional sweating has never been stronger. The average person now carries an unprecedented body burden of synthetic chemicals. NHANES biomonitoring data reveals that virtually every American has detectable levels of phthalates, flame retardants, pesticides, and industrial compounds circulating in their blood and stored in their tissues. The liver and kidneys—magnificent as they are—evolved to handle naturally occurring toxins, not the thousands of novel synthetic compounds introduced since the Industrial Revolution.Glyphosate, the world’s most widely applied herbicide, is now detectable in the urine of the majority of the population. Atrazine, linked to endocrine disruption, contaminates drinking water across the agricultural Midwest. Microplastics have been found in human blood, lung tissue, and placental samples. These compounds were never part of our evolutionary environment, and our primary detoxification pathways are not optimized for their elimination.Sweating provides an auxiliary route—a pressure-release valve for a system under unprecedented chemical siege.💦 Hydration: The Non-Negotiable FoundationNone of the above is possible without adequate hydration. The average adult loses 0.8 to 1.4 liters of water per hour during heavy sweating in hot conditions. This fluid is not merely water—it carries electrolytes, trace minerals, and water-soluble vitamins that must be replaced for continued safe sweating.Dehydration during heat exposure is dangerous and counterproductive. When fluid volume drops, sweating decreases, toxin elimination stalls, and core temperature rises unchecked. The body, in its wisdom, prioritizes temperature regulation over detoxification—but only when fluid reserves permit both.This is where strategic hydration becomes essential. Water alone is insufficient for prolonged sweating; electrolyte replacement is mandatory. Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium losses during heavy sweating can reach clinically significant levels, and hyponatremia from consuming plain water without electrolyte replacement during extended heat exposure is a well-documented medical emergency.🧊 The Pique Life Deep Hydration Protocol: A 24-Hour SolutionPique Life’s Deep Hydration Protocol bundles two complementary products designed for round-the-clock hydration coverage, and the logic behind this pairing is physiologically sound.The daytime component—BT Fountain Electrolyte Recovery—addresses acute needs.During active sweating in summer heat, rapid sodium and potassium replenishment is paramount. Sodium facilitates fluid retention and prevents the dangerous drop in plasma osmolality that occurs when sweaters drink plain water without salt. Potassium maintains intracellular fluid balance and prevents muscle cramping. Magnesium supports the hundreds of enzymatic reactions involved in energy metabolism during heat stress. A well-formulated electrolyte product taken during and after heat exposure transforms sweating from a potentially dehydrating stress into a controlled therapeutic intervention.The nighttime component—RE Fountain—addresses the repair window.Sleep is when the body conducts its most intensive cellular repair, and hydration status during these hours is frequently overlooked. The 8-hour fasting period of sleep represents a significant dehydration window, particularly after a day of heavy sweating. Pique’s sleep formulation provides sustained, slow-release hydration without the diuretic effect that disrupts sleep architecture. The inclusion of calming botanicals and skin-supporting compounds aligns with the body’s natural circadian repair rhythms. Skin that has been purged through sweating during the day receives continued support through the night.The 24-hour coverage concept is not marketing—it is physiology. Sweating depletes; sleep restores. Addressing only the active sweating window while neglecting the overnight repair window leaves half the equation unsolved. The bundled approach ensures continuity: electrolyte-supported sweating during waking hours, sustained hydration and repair support during sleep.For anyone implementing a regular heat exposure protocol—whether through outdoor summer activity, sauna use, or exercise—this dual-phase hydration strategy represents the difference between stress and adaptation. The body can only benefit from heat exposure to the extent that its fluid and electrolyte reserves permit. Pique’s bundle acknowledges this reality and addresses it comprehensively.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe to FOCAL POINTS as a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHPresident, McCullough FoundationFOCAL POINTS has partnered withPiqueto promote your optimal health. To learn more aboutPiqueproducts and get 20% off and free gifts today,https://www.piquelife.com/DRPETER📚 ReferencesSears, M. E., Kerr, K. J., & Bray, R. I. (2012). Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat: A systematic review.Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 184745.Genuis, S. J., Birkholz, D., Rodushkin, I., & Beesoon, S. (2011). Blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study: Monitoring and elimination of bioaccumulated toxic elements.Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 61(2), 344–357.Laukkanen, J. A., Laukkanen, T., & Kunutsor, S. K. (2018). Cardiovascular and other health benefits of sauna bathing: A review of the evidence.Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 93(8), 1111–1121.Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S., Kauhanen, J., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2017). Sauna bathing is inversely associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in middle-aged Finnish men.Age and Ageing, 46(2), 245–249.Crinnion, W. J. (2011). Sauna as a valuable clinical tool for cardiovascular, autoimmune, toxicant-induced and other chronic health problems.Alternative Medicine Review, 16(3), 215–225.Hussain, J., & Cohen, M. (2018). Clinical effects of regular dry sauna bathing: A systematic review.Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 1857413.Patrick, R. P., & Johnson, T. L. (2021). Sauna use as a lifestyle practice to extend healthspan.Experimental Gerontology, 154, 111509.Kukkonen-Harjula, K., & Kauppinen, K. (2006). Health effects and risks of sauna bathing.International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 65(3), 195–205.

Summary: How strategic hydration and summer swelter combine to purge toxins, fortify your heart, and sharpen your mind—without burning out


How a $9 Billion Bureaucracy Got Outsmarted by Tainted Lettuce

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHIf you’re wondering about thecurrent U.S. Cyclospora (cyclospora cayetanensis) outbreak, the CDC says the2026 outbreak season began on May 1, 2026. As of July 2026, health officials were still investigating multiple clusters of cases, including a multistate outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce.🥬 Cyclospora Crisis Entering Fourth MonthThe OutbreakDr. Peter McCullough, Chief Scientific Officer of The Wellness Company, sat down with John Fredericks onOutside the Beltwayto discuss the cyclospora outbreak linked to contaminated lettuce supplied to Taco Bell from farms in central Mexico.What happened:The protozoal parasiteCyclospora— a waterborne organism typically found in stagnant ponds and contaminated water sources — made its way onto lettuce at the farm level. The likely mechanism: irrigation or washing with contaminated water that got absorbed into the leaves themselves.Why it spread so fast:Lettuce is a sponge. As McCullough and Fredericks discussed, nobody peels and washes every individual leaf. You pull off the outer layers, run the head under water, and call it done. But cyclospora getsinsidethe vegetable — surface rinsing won’t touch it. Add in supply chain mixing, intermediaries hosing down produce, and the fact that Taco Bell serves the lowest-cost demographic at massive scale, and you’ve got a “Code Brown” wildfire.The illness:Explosive watery diarrhea that can last a month or more. Dehydration. Hospitalization. People missing weeks of work. Not a stomach bug — a serious protozoal infection.The Institutional FailureThe CDC has 12,000 employees and a $9 billion budget. The USDA and FDA are supposed to inspect imported produce. None of them caught this before people got sick. None of them got ahead of it after people got sick either.McCullough’s phrase —“paralysis by analysis”— captures the core problem. These agencies excel at holding meetings and issuing press releases days after the damage is done. What they don’t do is protect Americans in real time.Fredericks noted that when a reporter at a White House press briefing tried to blame DOGE cuts for the outbreak, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed out the obvious: 12,000 employees should be able to handle a diarrhea outbreak. The impulse to politicize food safety failures instead of fixing them is exactly why people have lost faith in these institutions.Should America Stop Eating Lettuce?No — but you should stop trusting the system to protect you.McCullough’s point wasn’t that lettuce is inherently dangerous. It’s that you cannot know whether the lettuce on your plate — at a restaurant, from a grocery store, delivered via Instacart — is contaminated. You simply don’t know. The supply chain is opaque. The regulators are reactive. The inspection protocols are inadequate.The practical takeaway:Wash produce thoroughly— but understand that with leafy greens that absorb water, washing has limits.Have treatment on hand.McCullough emphasized that the combination of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim/Septra) shuts this down in about a week instead of a month of misery. Without it, you’re at the mercy of an overburdened healthcare system that’s perpetually behind the curve.Optimize your immune system.A robust immune system can handle a low-dose exposure that floors someone with a junk-food diet. McCullough recommended immune-support supplements (he mentioned The Wellness Company’sNatural Immunitycapsules) and daily nasal/throat spray (Immune Defense) containing xylitol and erythritol to prevent pathogens from colonizing.The larger point:This isn’t really about lettuce. It’s about a public health infrastructure that spends billions preparing for theoretical biothreats while getting pantsed by a protozoan on a salad bar. The solution isn’t to stop eating vegetables — it’s to stop outsourcing your health security to agencies that have repeatedly demonstrated they can’t deliver.The Cyclospora Treatment ProtocolScenario Intervention Active cyclospora infection Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim/Septra), 1 tablet twice daily, typically ~1 week course.  If the patient is sulfa-allergic then a doctor may considernitazoxanideis which FDA-approved for certain other protozoal infections (such asGiardiaandCryptosporidium) at500 mg orally every 12 hours with food for 3 days.Symptom management Imodium (OTC) to slow diarrhea; Pedialyte or electrolyte replacement for dehydration Prevention/immune supportImmune Defensenasal spray + throat spray (2–4 sprays each nostril, 5 sprays throat), daily immune optimization Immune-support supplements, adequate nutrition, avoid junk-food loaded with sugar, starches, and saturated fat.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Please subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companywww.twc.health/focalpointsReferencesTranscript:Outside the Beltwaywith John Fredericks, interview with Dr. Peter McCullough, Chief Scientific Officer of The Wellness Company, July 22, 2026 (attached).The Wellness Company Medical Emergency Kit (Aqua Marine kit):twc.health/Godzilla, promo code Godzilla for 10% off.

Summary: The cyclospora outbreak proves America’s public health apparatus is useless — and your kitchen counter is now the front line


Are You Ready for the Coming Energy Shock?

The United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was established in response to the 1973–1974 Arab oil embargo, which followed the Yom Kippur War and caused oil prices to quadruple, thereby exposing America’s vulnerability to disruptions of foreign supplies. The image below shows cars lining up to buy gas during the 1973-74 crisis because many gas stations ran out of inventory.Enacted through the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 under President Gerald Ford, the SPR was conceived to mitigate the economic and national-security impacts of severe petroleum supply interruptions caused by geopolitical turmoil or natural disasters.The SPR also fulfills U.S. obligations under the International Energy Agency’s coordinated emergency response system, requiring member countries to maintain strategic stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports.By storing a large, government-controlled inventory of crude oil—authorized at up to 714 million barrels and stored in underground salt caverns along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast—the reserve acts as a buffer supply that can begin entering the market within roughly 13 days of a presidential order.Construction and filling of the four SPR sites began in the late 1970s. Inventory grew steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, with intermittent drawdowns for hurricanes, pipeline disruptions, and limited sales.Levels peaked near727 million barrelsin the late 2000s before declines from congressionally mandated sales and exchanges. A major drawdown occurred in 2022 under the Biden administration in response to the Russia-Ukraine war, reducing stocks significantly; subsequent refill efforts partially restored inventory, leaving roughly415 millionbarrels in mid-February 2026.The military operation against Iran that commenced in late February 2026—widely described as a U.S.-Israeli campaign—triggered the largest coordinated release of strategic stocks in IEA history.In March 2026, IEA members agreed to make 400 million barrels available, with the United States committing 172 million barrels from the SPR, largely structured as loans or exchanges under which companies repay the crude plus a premium.As of the week ending July 17 2026, SPR inventories had fallen to311.4million barrels—the lowest level since March 1983.This is a cumulative drawdown of approximately104 million barrelssince the conflict began, equivalent to roughlyone-quarter of the pre-war stockpileand a reduction of more than 18 percent from early-2026 levels.Weekly draws have frequently exceeded several million barrels, driving the reserve well below its long-term average and raising questions about remaining operational margins, cavern integrity, and the ability to respond to another crisis.In short, the SPR remains a cornerstone of U.S. energy security policy, born of the lessons of 1973 and repeatedly tested by subsequent shocks. The 2026 Iran conflict has subjected it to one of its most sustained and substantial drawdowns, illustrating both its utility as a short-term price and supply stabilizer and the limits of even the world’s largest emergency oil stockpile when geopolitical disruptions prove prolonged.I grew up in Texas and my maternal grandfather worked (on the banking side) in the Texas petroleum industry, the fortunes of which I have carefully followed for years. The psychopathic clowns who are currently running this country are not telling us the truth about the enormous risk to the real economy that is growing with each passing day that the pointless war of choice again Iran continues.Most Americans who are alive today have grown so accustomed to cheap, readily available energy that they take it completely for granted. As soon as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve draws down, thereby removing the buffer, this country will face a marked reduction of available fuel products, with an array of severe negative consequences for the real economy, including outright fuel shortages and significant inflation of food costs.An energy shock will also imperil the gazillions of CAPEX investment in A.I., which absolutely requires cheap and plentiful energy.I hope I am wrong, but I fear that this country (and the entire West) will soon be facing a severe economic and financial crisis.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: US Strategic Petroleum Reserve lowest since March 1983.


STUDY: Magnesium L-Threonate Made Participants’ Brains Perform as if They Were 7.5 Years Younger in Six Weeks

byNicolas Hulscher, MPHA recentrandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trialfound that magnesium L-threonate significantly improved several measures of cognitive performance in healthy adults experiencing dissatisfied sleep.Researchers randomized 100 adults between the ages of 18 and 45 to receive either magnesium L-threonate or placebo for six weeks. The daily dose contained 2 grams of magnesium L-threonate, providing 145 milligrams of elemental magnesium.Cognitive performance was measured using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, alongside tests of working memory, reaction time, fluid intelligence, sleep quality, heart rate, and heart-rate variability.Brains Performed as if They Were 7.5 Years YoungerAfter six weeks, the magnesium group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall cognition compared with placebo.The researchers then compared participants’ cognitive scores with age-based NIH normative data. Because total cognition scores normally decline by approximately 0.3 points per year after early adulthood, the observed treatment advantage corresponded to an estimated7.5-year reduction in cognitive age.This does not mean the supplement literally reversed biological brain aging. Rather, participants performed on cognitive tests at a level expected from people approximately 7.5 years younger.Significant Cognitive ImprovementsCompared with their baseline scores, participants receiving magnesium L-threonate experienced:7.5% improvement in overall cognition5.6% improvement in working memory6.3% improvement in reaction time and hand-eye coordinationOverall cognition increased by 8.4 points in the magnesium group compared with 5.6 points in the placebo group, representing a50% greater improvement. Working-memory gains were more than four times larger than those observed with placebo.The per-protocol analysis produced similarly strong results. Overall cognition increased by 9.08 points, while working-memory scores rose by 7.25 points compared with only 1.10 points in the placebo group.The magnesium group also experienced improved sleep-related daytime impairment, a lower resting heart rate during sleep, and increased heart-rate variability—an indicator associated with improved autonomic balance.However, the supplement did not significantly outperform placebo for fluid intelligence, several other cognitive tasks, or objective sleep duration and sleep-stage measurements recorded by an Oura Ring. This suggests that its clearest benefits were concentrated in overall cognition, working memory, reaction time, and selected physiological measures rather than every outcome tested.Possible MechanismsMagnesium is essential for normal neuronal function and serves as a cofactor in more than 300 enzymatic reactions throughout the body. In the brain, it supports cellular energy production, neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and the electrical stability of neurons—all processes required for learning, memory, and healthy cognitive performance. Lower magnesium concentrations have also been observed in people with reduced cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease.One reason magnesium L-threonate may produce cognitive effects is its ability to raise magnesium concentrations in the brain. The L-threonate component appears to interact with glucose transport pathways, helping transport magnesium into the brain and increasing neuronal magnesium availability.Higher brain magnesium may strengthen synaptic connections, support communication between neurons, and enhance the plasticity required to form and retrieve memories. It may also help regulate NMDA receptors, which play a central role in learning and memory.ConclusionThis randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 100 adults found significant gains across multiple measures of cognitive performance after six weeks of supplementation with 2 grams of magnesium L-threonate daily, providing 145 mg of elemental magnesium. Larger and longer independent trials are needed to confirm how durable these benefits are.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.Subscribe now

Summary: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial finds magnesium L-threonate improved overall cognition by 7.5%, working memory by 5.6%, and reaction time/hand-eye coordination by 6.3%.


Why War Propaganda Always Works

In the 2004 filmTroy, Brad Pitt plays a very pretty and very deadly Achilles. In Homer’s telling of the Trojan war, it started because the Trojan prince Paris stole the wife (Helen) of the Spartan king Menelaus. In reality, the war was probably fought for control of marine traffic entering the only entrance to the Dardanelles—i.e., the Greeks wanted to wrest control of this valuable maritime shipping lane from the Trojans.Nevertheless, the erotic casus belli of the Homeric story strikes me as apt. In the same way that erotic imagery always works in selling products, war propagandaalways worksin persuading people to believe that their nation should participate in war.Especially in the male brain, the arousal to fight seems to originate in the same neural circuitry as sexual arousal, and the closely related desire of young men to prove themselves in the eyes of young women.Shortly after the British government declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, young women were deployed in British cities to approach young men on the streets and ask them why—by all appearances—they hadn’t yet enlisted.When a German U-Boat torpedoed the Lusitania—which was carrying over 4 million rounds of machine gun ammunition from the U.S. to Britain—the British government created potent propaganda using various imagery of drowned maidens and young mothers clutching their infants as they sank to the bottom of the Atlantic.In the United States, various parties who wanted American participation in the war—especially banking interests—published equally potent propaganda to drum up fear and loathing of Germany.No matter how many U.S. military adventures abroad fail and are later revealed to have been launched under false pretenses, large swaths of the American public can be easily manipulated to support yet another foolhardy and costly adventure. Humans are absolute suckers for war propaganda.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: Like erotic imagery, war propaganda activates the brain's most powerful, archaic circuitry.


Biden, Trump, and Trauma Bonding

I am grateful for all of my readers, and I greatly welcome ALL reader comments, including highly critical comments. I donottake critical comments personally, but regard them as an opportunity for introspection and possibly to clarify something or provide additional information to help make my point.Reviewing the comments to my post of earlier today,Are You Ready for the Coming Energy Shock?, I see that many of my readers are unhappy with my characterization of the Trump administration as psychopathic clowns.And so, I would like to clarify something for my readers: I am very strongly opposed to war, and to violence in general, unless it is absolutely necessary for defending my country, my community, or my family.For an entire decade between 2015 and 2025, I was a fierce defender of Donald Trump—often at the cost of social ostracism—BECAUSEhe clearly articulated and promised on dozens of occasions that he would cease the US government’s policy of perpetual warfare abroad.For me to now adopt the attitude “You broke your promise about refraining from mass death, maiming, and destruction, but that’s okay with me, and I still think you’re a swell guy,” would be contemptibly obsequious and display a pitiful lack of self-respect.To explain WHY I have assumed this posture would require a very long column citing a great deal of history, literature, and personal experience visiting veterans suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, and I am currently pressed for time.My new book,Mind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions, contains a chapter on Iran that carefully elucidates that nation’s history, its relations with Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States, drawing on assessments of the Iranian regime written by seasoned intelligence agency analysts, including Israeli intelligence analysts.In response to the unfounded accusation that I am suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, I would like to express my perception that many of my negative commentators are suffering from a trauma bond the with the President of the United States—both the office and the man who is currently occupying it. This bond causes them to tolerate being abused by the POTUS and to believe his lame excuses for breaking his promises.A Google search for “Trauma Bond” yielded the following definition.A trauma bond isa powerful, unhealthy emotional attachment that develops between a victim and their abuser, often characterized by a cycle of intense abuse followed by periods of affection or kindness. Coined by Dr. Patrick Carnes, this bond is rooted in fear, dependency, and intermittent reinforcement, making it incredibly difficult for victims to leave, even when they recognize the toxicity.For four years, we were constantly abused by the madness of the Biden administration and the preposterous insistence that the senile Joe Biden was our true executive. Then Trump managed to get reelected president because he seemed to understand and sympathize with our distress about censorship, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine against nuclear-armed Russia. He really offered a helping hand.The bond between the abused (We the People) and the abuser (the U.S. government) was thereby reconstituted.After entering office, he then:Refused to acknowledge that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are toxic.Honored Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla by inviting him to the White HouseDid NOT demand a full investigation of the origin of SARS-CoV-2Did NOT end the U.S. proxy war against Ukraine as he promisedDid NOT demand the full disclosure of the Epstein FilesAttacked Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene for demanding the full release of the Epstein FilesDid NOT demand that Google-YouTube cease running its vigorous shadow-banning program on dissident voicesDid NOT in the slightest tame the voracious beast of runaway federal spendingDid NOT reduce the undue influence of national security stateNow, despite his dozens of promises of no new wars since he announced his candidacy in 2015, he has started a war with Iran—a country four times the size of Iraq with twice the population and a standing army of 610,000 active duty personnel.Like a the proverbial abused wife who can’t break free from her abusive husband, tens of millions of Trump supporters cannot see that he reconstituted their bond with the U.S. federal government, which is now abusing them again.The ONLY way for this country could reclaim its health and vitality is through a widespread movement to reassert LIMITS of federal power, which happens to be the key underlying concept of the U.S. Constitution.Only whenWe the Peopletell the U.S. government—regardless of who is president—that we reject the continuous expansion of its size and power, and especially its abominable wars, will the cycle of abuse end.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: The Biden administration abused us, then Trump offered us hope for a better future, thereby reconstituting our bond with the federal government. Now the cycle of abuse is repeating.


Lettuce Pray: Dr. McCullough Says Cyclospora Must be Treated with Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX)

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHAmerica has seen food contamination crises in the past, but the Cyclospora outbreak seems to be lingering for months.🥬 The Cyclospora Outbreak and Need for Emergency PreparednessJust the News, No Noise — July 22, 2026Hosts: Amanda Head & John Solomon Guest: Dr. Peter McCullough, Chief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Company.  Dr. McCullough describedCyclosporaas a protozoan parasite that contaminates water trapped between lettuce leaves, particularly iceberg lettuce. Federal agencies initially traced the source to Taylor Farms in central Mexico but have since backed off that single-source claim, suggesting possible cross-contamination in trucks or processing facilities. Thousands of cases and several hundred hospitalizations from dehydration have been reported.The illness causesexplosive, watery diarrhea(more than four stools per day) that can persist for about a month if untreated. McCullough warned that standard stool ova-and-parasite exams miss it, and even the old acid-fast stain was only 50% accurate. While PCR multiplex panels exist, not all clinics have them.TreatmentThe treatment is straightforward:trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole(Bactrim/SEPTRA), one tablet twice daily for about a week. McCullough’s advice: if diarrhea lasts more than a day, assume Cyclospora and start treatment immediately — don’t wait for testing.  If sulfa allergic, then a doctor will need to prescribe an alternative (eg Nitazoxanide).He noted TMP-SMX is included in The Wellness Company’s aqua-blue Emergency Medical Kit, and urged Americans to have it on hand rather than waiting hours in an ER.Critique of the CDCMcCullough took direct aim at the CDC, which employs 12,000 people:“They sit behind computers all day long. They’re not out in the field doing public health.”He argued the agency has developed a “lassitude” and should be tracing nearly every case back to specific food sources — something he says has dragged on far too long.The Daszak RevelationJohn Solomon raised Senator Rand Paul’s disclosure that the FBI blocked Customs and Border Patrol from questioningPeter Daszakwhen he returned from Wuhan in 2021. McCullough stated Daszak was“part of the team with Fauci that created the virus”and that Fauci “gave the orders through the intelligence agencies to leave Daszak, who could have been shuttling viral samples, alone at the border.” He called it a critical revelation exposing the nexus between Fauci, Daszak, and the intelligence community.Thanks for reading FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™)! This post is public so feel free to share it.SharePlease subscribe toFOCAL POINTSas a paying ($5 monthly) or founder member so we can continue to bring you the truth.AlterAImay be used to assist in searches, synthesis, and review.Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHChief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Companywww.twc.health/focalpointsReferences:Transcript:Just the News, No Noise, Real America’s Voice, July 22, 2026Dr. Peter McCullough, Chief Scientific Officer, The Wellness Company (twc.health)Senate Homeland Security Chairman Rand Paul, disclosure re: FBI/Daszak (July 21, 2026)

Summary: Explosive diarrhea, a missing CDC, and why your medicine cabinet needs an upgrade — plus, Fauci's pal gets the VIP border treatment


"Our Society is Run By Insane People"

A few years ago I saw a recording of an interview that John Lennon gave on June 6, 1968 that has haunted me ever since.Four years before Lennon gave his interview, Stanley Kubrick’sDr. Strangelovewas released in US cinemas. In the following scene, the titular character — who seems to a mishmash of former Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and game theory guru John von Neumann—explains why he concluded that a computer-automated “Doomsday Machine,” designed to exclude “human meddling” from rational decision-making in the business of waging nuclear warfare, was not such a great idea after all.I have long regarded asDr. Strangeloveas the strangest and most fascinating film ever made. Equally fascinating is the evolution of Kubrick’s thinking as he got into the project.It began with him acquiring the rights to Peter George’s 1958 novelRed Alert—a deadly serious Cold War thriller about the terrifying ease with which a nuclear exchange could be triggered by a single deranged American general and the frantic efforts to recall the bombers before they triggered Mutually Assured Destruction.As Kubrick got into developing the screenplay with George, he found the material’s inherent paradoxes impossible to treat with a serious tone. He later explained that while he was trying to develop the scenes realistically, he repeatedly had to suppress details that were ridiculous or paradoxical to keep the story from becoming absurdly funny. The logic of mutual assured destruction, fail-safe protocols that could be subverted by one paranoid officer, and political and military leaders calmly calculating megadeaths as acceptable trade-offs struck him as so preposterous that it could only be treated in a comedic fashion.What could be more absurd, he suggested, than two superpowers prepared to erase human civilization over accidents and ideological differences that future generations would likely regard as an adolescent ideological pissing contest.The comedy does not dilute the horror, but enhances it by exposing how systems built for rational deterrence can easily be derailed by human fallibility and insane rationalizations that normalize the unthinkable.It seems to me that the people who run our society today are just as insane as they were in the 1960s, perhaps even more so.Since I published the video trailer to my new book,Mind Viruses: America’s Irrational Obsessions, a few people have told me that the video is too relentlessly over-the-top in its depiction of chaotic insanity—that the viewer’s mind is overwhelmed and cannot process it. And yet, all of the imagery and news clips are real, taken directly from archives.I would be most grateful if my readers would take five minutes to watch the trailer and to let me know in the comments what you think.Subscribe nowShare

Summary: John Lennon's earnest statement in 1968 and Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" in 1964


We've Become (Un)comfortably Numb

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPHWell folks, this is it—the end of five years of volunteer journalism on America Out Loud News,The McCullough ReportandPULSE.It has been a great privilege.  I am thankful to Malcolm Out Loud and all of the wonderful sponsors of the platform including The Wellness Company, XLEAR, and so many more.🌍Every Human Life Mat…Read more

Summary: Every Human Life Matters — The Final McCullough Report