Forrest

Retired on the lake with my beautiful wife.

[Forrest @parrottf]

“And he who is not sufficiently courageous even to defend his soul—don't let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, don't let him boast that he is an academician or a people's artist, a merited figure, or a general—let him say to himself: I am in the herd, and a coward.”

[Bo French @bofrench]

@realmflynnJR We are way beyond just stopping more from coming. We have to REMOVE the ones here.

[Forrest @parrottf]

I believe this falls squarely in the 'Suicidal Empathy' column, as articulated by Gad Saad in his new book.

https://t.co/0ZyKsHiycN

[Simply Bitcoin @SimplyBitcoin]

Jeff Booth gave one of the best speeches EVER on Bitcoin 🔥

[Afshine Emrani MD FACC @afshineemrani]

I'm a cardiologist. I've held dying hearts in my hands in the cath lab at 3 AM. And I need to tell you something that changes everything about how we prevent heart attacks.

For decades, the entire field was built on one target: lower LDL cholesterol. Statins save lives — that's settled science. But too many of my patients did everything right — took their statins, hit their numbers, lived clean — and still ended up on my table with a ruptured artery.

We were treating the smoke while the fire kept burning.
The fire is inflammation. And the evidence is now overwhelming.

The CANTOS trial proved it first — lowering inflammation independent of cholesterol reduced cardiac events. But the newer data is what keeps me up at night.

AI-enhanced CT angiography can now detect inflamed arteries by measuring changes in the fat surrounding your coronary vessels — the perivascular fat attenuation index. Higher inflammation in the fat around even one artery independently predicts cardiac death. When multiple arteries show inflammation, the risk multiplies dramatically — even in patients whose cholesterol looks perfect.

This isn't theoretical. This is measurable. Right now. On a scan you can get this month.

Low-dose colchicine — a drug that's been around for centuries for gout — is now FDA-approved specifically for reducing cardiovascular events. It works by quieting the inflammatory cascade that destabilizes the plaque sitting in your arteries. A pill that costs pennies is saving lives the statins couldn't reach.

And the next wave is already in Phase 3 trials. Ziltivekimab — an IL-6 inhibitor — targets the central inflammatory pathway driving atherosclerosis. Phase 2 data showed a 90% reduction in hsCRP. The ZEUS cardiovascular outcomes trial is enrolling now, with results expected late 2026 into 2027. If positive, anti-inflammatory therapy will become standard in managing heart disease alongside lipid-lowering. The era of inflammation-targeted cardiology is arriving.
But it goes deeper than drugs. AI is now predicting heart failure and cardiac events 5+ years before symptoms — integrating CT imaging, electronic health records, and genetic data with accuracy that jumps far beyond traditional risk calculators.

And polygenic risk scores — a simple genetic test that flags inherited cardiovascular risk — are now formally recognized as a risk-enhancing factor in the 2026 ACC/AHA guidelines. A single blood draw can reveal risk that's been silently building since birth. Decades before the first chest pain.

Here's what this means for you right now — today:
Ask your doctor for a high-sensitivity CRP test. It's cheap, routine, and measures the systemic inflammation that standard cholesterol panels completely miss. You can have perfect LDL and inflamed arteries that are quietly preparing to rupture.
If your hsCRP is elevated, discuss low-dose colchicine with your physician. It's FDA-approved for exactly this.
Push for a coronary CT angiography with AI plaque and inflammation analysis if you have risk factors. This isn't the stress test your parents got. This is 3D visualization of your actual arteries — with AI quantifying not just how much plaque you have, but what kind it is and whether the surrounding tissue is inflamed.
Consider polygenic risk score testing — especially with a family history of early heart disease. It's now guideline-supported.

And the foundation that never changes: move daily, eat real food, sleep 7-9 hours, manage stress, and know your numbers — ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, fasting insulin.
I left Iran as a child with nothing. I rebuilt everything in a country that gave me the freedom to become a physician. I've spent twenty years watching patients get second chances.

The ones who haunt me aren't the ones who died on my table. They're the ones who survived but never acted on what the science was telling them — years before the event that didn't have to happen.

You can have perfect cholesterol and still have a heart attack. Inflammation plus genetics can drive plaque rupture in arteries that look "fine" on a standard panel.
The myth that normal cholesterol means you're safe has cost more lives than I can count.

We now have the tools to detect the fire — not just the smoke. AI to see it. Genetics to predict it. Drugs to quiet it. And the ancient basics — movement, real food, sleep, purpose — to prevent it from starting.

Prevention is the new cure. And the science to make it real is no longer coming.
It's here.

[Forrest @parrottf]

@grey4626 You have days like this, when you let doubt win out over patience.

[Ivan Pentchoukov @IvanPentchoukov]

On the anniversary of Tiananmen Square Massacre, The Epoch Times is publishing more than 2,000 never-before-seen photos from the infamous day.

[Forrest @parrottf]

🤣🤣🤣👋🏻👋🏻🍻🍻

[Forrest @parrottf]

@JBONAMASSA Callouses 3...2...

[Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio]

On June 4, the world marks 37 years since the Chinese Communist Party ordered its troops to attack thousands of peaceful demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square. Those who sacrificed to uphold their unalienable rights of free expression and peaceful assembly will be vindicated someday.

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

Orwell is something else.

[Secretary Marco Rubio @SecRubio]

For decades, Cuba has been the world capital for radical left-wing terrorism. The regime in Havana has recruited, trained and backed violent Marxist and third-worldist movements across our hemisphere and beyond. Today, we are targeting the network that enables and funds Cuba's subversive and radical operations.

Pursuant to sanctions authorities created by President Trump’s groundbreaking Cuba Executive Order, I am designating the following entities:

1. Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (MINFAR)
2. Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP)
3. Amistur Cuba S.A.
4. Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR)
5. Minera La Victoria S.A.

Anyone providing services to these sanctioned actors is at risk of sanctions themselves. Foreign banks and other companies that provide services to these entities should freeze those activities.

The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate radical Marxist regimes in our hemisphere seeking to threaten U.S. national security and engage in influence operations to export their poisonous and evil “revolution” to our country and around the world.

[Augie Nash @AugieNash]

Man do I miss this legend.

"Foul ball! Oh and it lands right in that lady’s bush… (long pause)… And by Busch, of course, I’m referring to her ice cold beer. That sounds pretty good right about now" - Mike Shannon

[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, we had a team meeting about hitting with two strikes.

Albert Pujols was leading it.

At the time, he was hitting something ridiculous with two strikes.

I want to say it was around .265.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know how.

So somebody asked:

"What's your two-strike approach?"

Albert's answer surprised me.

He said:

"I think fastball inside and hit it back through the middle."

That was it.

No complicated mechanics.

No secret formula.

Just:

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

I remember sitting there thinking:

"Why would you think fastball inside with two strikes?"

So somebody asked him.

And Albert said something I'll never forget.

He said:

"If I can hit a fastball inside back through the middle..."

"I can hit the fastball away."

"I can stay on the changeup."

"I can stay on the slider."

"I can stay on the curveball."

Then he paused.

And said:

"The ball gets deeper."

That's when it clicked for me.

He wasn't trying to pull the inside fastball.

He was using one thought to cover everything.

The more I thought about it...

The more it made sense.

So I started trying it.

And it changed the way I thought about hitting with two strikes.

Instead of worrying about every pitch...

I focused on one.

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

See it DEEP.

If you're struggling with two strikes, here's what I'd do tonight:

Round 1: Short Box

(Set the distance somewhere between front toss and batting practice.)

Have a coach throw only fastballs inside.

Your only thought:

"Fastball inside."

Drive the ball back through the middle.

10 swings.

Round 2: Mix Speeds

Now the coach mixes:

- Fastballs
- Changeups
- Breaking balls
- Sliders

But your thought never changes.

You're still looking:

"Fastball inside."

10 swings.

Round 3: Two-Strike BP

Every pitch starts 0-2.

Compete.

Battle.

Use the same approach.

"Fastball inside."

Back through the middle.

10 swings.

That's it.

30 focused swings.

One thought.

One approach.

One goal.

Drive the baseball back through the middle.

One thing I've learned:

Most hitters get worse with two strikes because they add thoughts.

Albert got better because he removed them.

With two strikes, simplicity is a weapon.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it.

(When you share it, it tells me you want more content like this.)

[Kevin Bass @kevinnbass]

Imagine spending your whole life becoming an academic expert. Then a random guy online tells you that you are wrong about your own field. And he's right. But you can never admit that. Because it would mean admitting that your life was a lie. That is the dilemma of many academics.

[MAZE @mazemoore]

2023. John Bolton: The indictment against Trump for mishandling classified materials should be the end of his political career and the beginning of his jail time.

Bolton just pled guilty to mishandling classified materials.

[Caroline Wren @CarolineWren]

Inject this into my veins

[Andrew Kolvet @AndrewKolvet]

The impact of our failed education system just revealed itself in this congressional hearing, and it shows how incompetent people have become.

Bessent: "Who was the president during World War I?"

Rep. Chu: "I don't know."

This woman is a FEDERAL LEGISLATOR responsible for creating the laws that govern hundreds of millions and she doesn't know something this simple.

Incompetent children, all of them.

[Forrest @parrottf]

@bofrench Because they get away with it.

[Forrest @parrottf]

@DataRepublican @data_republican @GadSaad There’s a good daughter.