Friday, January 19, 2018

"Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself"

"Thinking: the talking of the soul with itself." - Plato

....but what if the thinker has no soul?


45 had his physical exam a week ago, and there was a press briefing this week with the results.

Dr. Ronny said that Little Donny is real healthy.

Time magazine quotes the physician's remarks in full.

My interest, of course, is in his cognitive abilities. I have asserted, as have others, that SCROTUS has some form of dementia. The doctor administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA. It's a good screening. It's a screening only, as it takes about 10 minutes, but I use it in my practice quite often to give a quick overview of a patient's cognitive abilities. The doctor reported that 45 scored 30/30 on the test.

My initial thought was one of skepticism, cuz that's what I do. Dr. Jackson stated that he performed the MoCA "at the request of the President*." My question was, did the President* request that assessment tool specifically? And if so, how did he know what to ask for? And I wonder if he prepped beforehand.

I looked at the video of the briefing, and it doesn't appear so, based on the doctor's comments. The doctor himself wasn't familiar with the commonly used cognitive screening tools. Below is the full briefing from Dr. Jackson. I've started the video at 11:28, the spot where he discusses the cognitive screening.




So, my concern is this. This MD clearly wasn't familiar with any of the screening tools that are commonly used. Indeed, most MDs don't use them (though we have an AMAZING Parkinson's specialist here in town who routinely does a cognitive screen on her patients), and I can imagine that a long-time White House physician would not have the need to pull a cognitive screening out. Anybody in the behavioral sciences knows the proper administration of a test is critical to the reliability and validity of the results. Though it is a screening, it is a valid screening only if administered correctly. If this was the first time he ever pulled out this tool, it is doubtful that he administered it well.

Another concern of mine, from a professional standpoint, is that Dr. Jackson said that he chose "the hardest one." They are all screening tools. None of them is "hard." The MoCA is slightly longer than the SLUMS exam or the Mini Mental State Exam, but it takes all of 10 minutes. Dr. Jackson said, "It took significantly longer to complete (than other screening tools)."  Ten minutes is all it should've taken, which is about the time it takes for the most commonly used screens. If it took a significant amount of time at all, then that leads me to believe that it was not administered correctly.

So, let's just assume that the test was completed in a valid and reliable way and the 30/30 score is the correct score. OK. SCROTUS can name at least 11 words that begin with "F" and he can name a camel and a rhino. He passed a cognitive screening. This tool doesn't screen for intelligence, nor does it look at behavioral or psychiatric problems. The 10-minute screening does not measure fitness for office.

If the President has normal cognition, it's even more concerning, as that means his behaviors are due to a mental health issue, which is much more unpredictable in my opinion. It's doubtful that he would consent to any sort of psychiatric battery.

And really, folks, think about it. What would the Presidential Physician, who has an office in the Whitewash Housesay if SCROTUS had scored less than a PERFECT 30/30? (BTW, a "normal" score on this test is 26/30 or above) I believe Dr. Jackson is honorable and ethical, but I also believe he likes his job.

So, with normal cognition, what we have in America is a President* who is a soulless autocrat at best or a dangerous sociopath at worst.

So, again I entreat you, fellow resisters, put on your thinking caps, dig deep into your souls, and resist!


I leave you with this, from the Gotta Laugh to Keep from Crying Files:







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