Susie Wiles, Trump's hat, Blinded by science

We will make it if we keep our heads

Mar 17, 2026

I’m keeping it short this morning, as my energy level isn’t 100 percent. Sunday night, I got whatever crud is always “going around” and spiked a 103 fever. I spent Monday mostly in bed or in my recliner, until my wife forced me to get up and walk around for a while. David’s Iran war piece yesterday is a must-read, but I didn’t get a chance to post the “Funnies” yet. I’ll catch it up next time.

Screen capture from the Trump Store, where you too can buy a USA hat like the commander-in-chief’s.

Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully, she said the doctors caught it early, and the prognosis is good. Catching it early is responsible for raising the survival rate of many cancers, but it also has increased the number of diagnoses, as some people in the past never knew they had cancer until it killed them. I suppose that’s an acceptable trade-off. As the wise Thomas Sowell said, “there are no solutions, there are only trade-offs.” I am sure Wiles will get the best treatment, and they will take care of this quickly. We all know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer (several in my family). And we know that the problem with early diagnosis isn’t dealing with the cancer—there are surgical and medical options for this, and the treatment plans are well-established. The problem is the risk of recurrence.

Many women are diagnosed early, treated, deemed cancer free, but they have to go back for regular scans, because depending on the type of breast cancer, some have a significant risk of recurrence within the first five years.

I’ll add my prognosis for people reading this news: whether you love Trump or hate him with the heat of a thousand suns, find the time to pray, or to think good thoughts about Susie Wiles. I haven’t been on social media this weekend, but I’m sure there’s the usual trash, and some people write awful things about people with real medical problems. Don’t do that, even if it’s a funny meme, don’t do it. Call out people who do.

Next, not really related, is President Trump wearing a white “USA” ball cap while saluting war dead from Iran. Kevin D. Williamson wrote one of the most scathing takedowns of this event, spilling over into some other areas of Trump world, over at The Dispatch. It might be behind a paywall, but it’s definitely worth reading. As for the ball cap, transfers of war dead require military honors which include a dignified transfer, body bearers, presentation of a U.S. flag, a firing party, and a bugler to play Taps. If you’ve ever seen rendering of honors at Arlington National Cemetery, they have this down to razor-sharp precision. If you’ve ever been to a funeral with military honors, you know that participating in an honor guard is a solemn responsibility for those members who volunteer to do it.

I could not imagine wearing a ball cap to any event related to the transfer, display, or interment of war dead. The fact that Trump did so is testament to his ability to ignore any norms or standards expected of the office, or of the government itself. Trump also saluted. Only active duty, retired, and veteran military personnel in uniform or civilian clothes are permitted to salute, during the playing of Taps, or as the flag passes by. The proper action for civilians is placing the right hand over the heart. Let me be very clear here: the President of the United States is a civilian. The military is a large organization, but in America, presidents are civilians, and the military is under civilian control. The president has no uniform, and unless the president is a veteran, the same rules of etiquette apply.

The 193rd Special Operations Wing of the USAF published an article in 2013 titled, “Do you know proper military funeral etiquette?” The third paragraph begins “All civilian mourners should be dressed in a respectful fashion.” Trump wore a ball cap. He wore a ball cap and rendered honors only military personnel should render. I know, a small faux pas. But this man has been in the office for over five years now, we would expect he’s been briefed on etiquette, he just chose to ignore it.

Finally, science reigns, at least in the federal courts. Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, struck down and reversed all decisions on vaccination by the panelists appointed to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The reason is that the decisions were not based on science. From the New York Times:

In his decision, Judge Brian Murphy, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, noted that the vaccine committee has historically made decisions through careful review of scientific evidence, “a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements." But, he added “unfortunately, the government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”

If the commander-in-chief disregards military funeral etiquette, why should the head of HHS not disregard science? Thank God for Massachusetts judges. My favorite Massachusetts case is West Lynn Creamery v. Healy. I used to pass West Lynn Creamery every day when I was a little kid in Lynn. Anyways, this had to do with New Hampshire dairy farms supplying milk to Massachusetts milk dealers. The state required milk dealers to pay a premium which they distributed to Massachusetts dairymen, and two dealers filed suit to overturn this, as a breach of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The state court rejected the claim, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the rejection. The Supreme Court stuffed that back down their throats, ruling it was indeed a violation of the Commerce Clause.

Not only did the judge reverse the advisory committee’s (the ACIP) decisions, he wrote that the members appointed by RFK Jr were not qualified to serve there. Further, Judge Murphy rebuked the head of the CDC, Director Jim O'Neill for issuing a new schedule for childhood vaccines, writing that O’Neill “acted contrary to law.”

Here’s the thing: the vaccine ruling will certainly make it to the Supreme Court. I think this Court’s sitting Justices will side with science. At least I hope.

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?