The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln was one of the most tragic events in American history and world human history. Lincoln's assassination was a conspiracy as conclusively proven by tons of authors and other scholars. This conspiracy involved a cowardly murderer and Confederates who had a jealousy of the progress in American society nearing the end of the American Civil War. On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln wanted to relax. So, he was attending a new comedy called Our American Cousin, at nearby Ford's Theater. This was at Washington, D.C. just days after Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. During the performance, actor and Confederate supporter John Wilkes Booth, approached the President's private box. Booth fired a single shot into the back of President Lincoln's head. Leaping to the sage, Booth was heard to call out "Sic Semper tyrannis! or Thus ever to tyrants in Latin. This is the motto of my state of Virginia. He also said that "the South is avenged." Mortally wounded, President Lincoln died the next morning at 7:22 am. in the Petersen House, opposite of the theater. President Abraham Lincoln was the first American President to be assassinated.
Many in America loved him, and his funeral was very solemn. Booth was a target of a large manhunt. After many days, Booth was shot and killed while hiding in a barn in Virginia. Booth was part of a larger plot to kill not only Lincoln but Vice President and Secretary of State. Conspirators Lewis Powell and David Herold were assigned to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward, and George Atzerodt was tasked with killing Vice President Andrew Johnson. The plotters wanted chaos and panic in the North, so the South can continue with the war. The Secretary of State William Seward was also attacked and seriously injured by one of Booth's accomplices. Booth was especially angry at how Lincoln in one speech wanted some black people (especially black Union soldiers) given the right to vote. Booth was the only person who shot someone in the plot, Four his accomplices were later hanged as co-conspirators. Beyond Lincoln's death, the plot failed: Seward was only wounded, and Johnson's would-be attacker became drunk instead of killing the vice president. After a dramatic initial escape, Booth was killed at the end of a 12-day chase. Powell, Herold, Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt were later hanged for their roles in the conspiracy. It is important to note that the murderer John Wilkes Booth was initiated in the pro-Confederate secret society of the Knights of the Golden Circle in Baltimore, Maryland by late 1860. The Knights of the Golden Circle was a racist secret order that wanted to make slavery in the South and across Latin America plus Haiti. It was founded by George W. L. Bickley. The Knights of Golden Circle wanted to kindap Abraham Lincoln and make Breckingridge President, so the KGC (which is a prelude to the Klan) was a terrorist organization. In late 1863, the KGC reorganized as the Order of American Knights. In 1864, it became the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with the Ohio politician Clement L. Vallandigham, the most prominent of the Copperheads, as its supreme commander. In most areas, only a minority of its membership was radical enough to discourage enlistments, resist the draft, and shield deserters. The KGC held numerous peace meetings. A few agitators, some encouraged by Southern money, talked of a revolt in the Old Northwest intending to end the war. Booth attended Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865, writing in his diary afterwards: "What an excellent chance I had, if I wished, to kill the President on Inauguration day!"
On April 11, Booth attended Lincoln's last speech, in which Lincoln promoted voting rights for emancipated slaves; Booth said, "That means n______ citizenship...That is the last speech he will ever give." So, obviously John Wilkes Booth was an evil racist who was from Maryland. Enraged, Booth urged Powell to shoot Lincoln on the spot. Whether Booth made this request because he was not armed or considered Powell a better shot than himself (Powell, unlike Booth, had served in the Confederate Army and thus had military experience) is unknown. In any event, Powell refused for fear of the crowd, and Booth was either unable or unwilling to personally attempt to kill the president. However, Booth said to David Herold, "By God, I'll put him through." According to Ward Hill Lamon, three days before his death, Lincoln related a dream in which he wandered the White House searching for the source of mournful sounds. Lincoln's usual protections were not in place that night at Ford's. Crook was on a second shift at the White House, and Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln's personal bodyguard, was away in Richmond on assignment from Lincoln. John Frederick Parker was assigned to guard the Presidential Box at Ford's Theater. Major Henry Rathbone tried to capture Booth in the theater, but Booth stabbed him in the forearm. Booth exited the theater through a side door, and on the way stabbing orchestra leader William Withers Jr. As he leapt into the saddle of his getaway horse Booth pushed away Joseph Burroughs, who had been holding the horse, striking Burroughs with the handle of his knife.
After clearing everyone out of the room, including Mrs. Lincoln, the doctors cut away Lincoln's clothes but discovered no other wounds. Finding that Lincoln was cold, they applied hot water bottles and mustard plasters while covering him with blankets. Later, more physicians arrived: Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes, Charles Henry Crane, Anderson Ruffin Abbott, and Robert K. Stone (Lincoln's personal physician). Abraham Lincoln's wife kissed him before he passed. According to Lincoln's secretary John Hay, at the moment of Lincoln's death, "a look of unspeakable peace came upon his worn features." The assembly knelt for a prayer, after which Stanton said either, "Now he belongs to the ages" or, "Now he belongs to the angels." On Lincoln's death, Vice President Johnson became the 17th president of the United States. The presidential oath of office was administered to Johnson by Chief Justice Salmon Chase sometime between 10 and 11 am. Confederate Lewis Powell attacked William Seward's son Frederick W. Sewart, and George Atzerodt failed to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson.
Lincoln was mourned in both the North and South, and indeed around the world. Numerous foreign governments issued proclamations and declared periods of mourning on April 15. Lincoln was praised in sermons on Easter Sunday, which fell on the day after his death. On April 18, mourners lined up seven deep for a mile to view Lincoln in his walnut casket in the White House's black-draped East Room. Special trains brought thousands from other cities, some of whom slept on the Capitol's lawn. Hundreds of thousands watched the funeral procession on April 19, and millions more lined the 1,700-mile (2,700 km) route of the train which took Lincoln's remains through New York to Springfield, Illinois, often passing trackside tributes in the form of bands, bonfires, and hymn-singing.
Poet Walt Whitman composed "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", "O Captain! My Captain!", and two other poems, to eulogize Lincoln.
Ulysses S. Grant called Lincoln "incontestably the greatest man I ever knew." Robert E. Lee expressed sadness. Southern-born Elizabeth Blair said that "Those of Southern born sympathies know now they have lost a friend willing and more powerful to protect and serve them than they can now ever hope to find again." African-American orator Frederick Douglass called the assassination an "unspeakable calamity."
British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell called Lincoln's death a "sad calamity." China's chief secretary of state for foreign affairs, Prince Gong, described himself as "inexpressibly shocked and startled." Ecuadorian president Gabriel García Moreno said, "Never should I have thought that the noble country of Washington would be humiliated by such a black and horrible crime; nor should I ever have thought that Mr. Lincoln would come to such a horrible end, after having served his country with such wisdom and glory under such critical circumstances." The government of Liberia issued a proclamation calling Lincoln "not only the ruler of his own people, but a father to millions of a race stricken and oppressed." The government of Haiti condemned the assassination as a "horrid crime." Edwin M. Stanton helped America to find the conspirators quickley. Sergeant Boston Corbett shot Booth in the back of his head. Another conspirator, John Surratt fled to Quebec where Roman Catholic priests hid him. In September, he boarded a ship to Liverpool, England, staying in the Catholic Church of the Holy Cross there. From there, he moved furtively through Europe until joining the Pontifical Zouaves in the Papal States. A friend from his school days recognized him there in early 1866 and alerted the U.S. government. Surratt was arrested by the Papal authorities but managed to escape under suspicious circumstances. He was finally captured by an agent of the United States in Egypt in November 1866. So, the major conspirators in the assassination of President President Abraham Lincoln were John Wilkes Booth, Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlen, Lewis Powell, Edmund Spangler, Mary Surratt, and John Surratt. They were tried by a military tribunal (except John Surratt), ordered by Johnson. Major General David Hunter was the presiding judge.
The seven-week trial included the testimony of 366 witnesses. All of the defendants were found guilty on June 30. Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt were sentenced to death by hanging; Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O'Laughlen were sentenced to life in prison. Edmund Spangler was sentenced to six years. After sentencing Mary Surratt to hang, five members of the tribunal signed a letter recommending clemency, but Johnson did not stop the execution; he later claimed he never saw the letter. Mary Surratt, Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt were hanged in the Old Arsenal Penitentiary on July 7. Mary Surratt was the first woman executed by the United States government. O'Laughlen died in prison in 1867. Mudd, Arnold, and Spangler were pardoned in February 1869 by Johnson. Spangler, who died in 1875, always insisted his sole connection to the plot was that Booth asked him to hold his horse.
John Surratt stood trial in a civil court in Washington in 1867. Four residents of Elmira, New York, claimed they had seen him there between April 13 and 15; fifteen others testified they either saw him or someone who resembled him, in Washington (or traveling to or from Washington) on the day of the assassination. The jury could not reach a verdict, and John Surratt was released.
President Abraham Lincoln's death made him a martyr and united his northern supporters and critics. Lincoln was viewed as a symbol of heroism and of freedom. If Lincoln survived the assassination attempt, America would be a lot different. Lincoln wasn't perfect, but he has grown to be more progressive by 1865 like supporting an Amendment to ban slavery, investments in science, etc.
The end of the American Civil War saw a massive expansion of the federal government and the development of Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time of massive political change when black people were elected into high office for the first time in American history. Reconstruction ended by a far right backlash that prevented progress to go into the next level and the Compromise of 1877. This backlash involved the Klan and other terrorist groups beating, raping, and killing black men, black women, and black children. President Abraham Lincoln talked about Reconstruction issues long before his passing. There were debates by the Union about what to do with the defeated Confederacy. People debated on how to reunite the seceded states to the Union. There were power structures among the executive and legislative branch too. The South was heavily destroyed by the American civil War, businesses were closed, homes were burned, and properties were abandoned. African Americans were finally free from slavery which was a good thing. So, Reconstruction was created in an attempt to give black Americans full citizenship, means to make a living, and have true equality. There were 2 views on how to treat the Confederacy. Some wanted the Confederacy to be immediately pardoned and have lax repercussions. They wanted no Confederate tried for treason. Another group of people (especially the Radical Republicans) wanted many Confederate leaders to be tried for treason and heavily punished before they were reunited to the Union. 3 million African Americans were free. General William Tecumseh Sherman proposed that millions of acres abandoned by planters or confiscated by the federal government should be given to former slaves (in forty acres and a mule). The Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery, but more laws were needed to give black people citizenship. Black people in the North, South, West, and Midwest wanted voting rights, access to education, living wages, and other rights. Many Republicans supported these policies, but they were rejected by most white southerners. President Abraham Lincoln wanted a moderate course. He wanted southern states to have 10 percent of each states' voters to support the Union in a loyalty oath to be reunited with the Union. He wanted the state's Constitution to ban slavery and provide African Americans education, then the state would regain representation in Congress. Lincoln wanted pardons to former Confederates and wanted compensate them for property (which Andrew Johnson supported). He recognized pro-Union governments in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee though these state denied African Americans the right to vote. Lincoln wanted reconciliation.
Radical Republicans wanted a different course, led by Representative Thaddeus Steven and Senator Charles Sumner. He wanted African Americans to have equal rights after the Confederates did violent crimes against black Americans. The Radical Republicans wanted full citizenship for black Americans and grant black people the right to vote. Congress passed the Wade- Davis ill in 1864 (instead of Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan). The law wanted a majority of the state's prewar voters to swear loyalty to the Union before the process of restoration could begin. The bill wanted equality for African Americans. President Lincoln ended the plan by not signing it into law beyond the 10 day deadline of the congressional session. Radical Republican's Freedmen's Bureau was supported by Lincoln. It wanted food, clothing, health care, and education to be given to both black and white residents in the South via the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Lands. The Freeman Bureau reunited families separated by the war and war. It formed fair labor contracts between former slaves and white landowners. The Freedmen Bureau defended black people in court cases. It helped to promote citizens' rights for black people. President Andrew Johnson was a racist who wanted immediate southern reconciliation to the Union. He made pardons to Confederates. Johnson supported states' rights, didn't want black people to vote, and only required Southern states to ratify the 13th Amendment and draft a Constitution that abolished slavery.
The Southern states used black codes to violate the rights of African Americans to prevent them from having lands and be workers with lax wages. Vagrancy laws were made to prevent black people from owning lands. The Union used a military occupation of the South. Many white southerners openly used violence and intimidation to enforce the racist black codes. Congress fought back via activists and Radical Republicans plus moderate Republicans.
Over one hundred and sixty years ago, the American Civil War was in existence. It was the bloodiest war in American history causing brother to fight brother, sister to fight sister, and families to split apart forever. It existed because of many factors. Yet, the one factor that caused the war to exist was the issue of slavery in American society. To own humans, to split families, to oppress people, to rape people, and to brand people involuntarily (which were all components of the Maafa and American slavery) were evil and unjust. Black people suffered oppression, and black people fought back in Africa, in the slave ships, in America, and beyond. America was birthed in the two great sins of the enslavement and oppression of African Americans and the genocide of Native America. That is the contradiction of history that we Americans must reckon with if we want America to experience true freedom and justice for all people. Likewise, all Americans aren't monolithic ideologically. It is important to acknowledge the many Americans back then who opposed slavery, fought for the Union, and believed in the federal government promoting human rights for humanity in a progressive fashion. Even President Abraham Lincoln (who was a lifelong opponent of slavery) had to be inspired by Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas, other abolitionists, and Radical Republicans to see that the American Civil War is more than about preserving the Union. This war was part of a moral cause to let the oppressed slaves go free from bondage and injustice. At first, the war was a stalemate with massive Confederate victories done by Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Joseph E. Johnston, and other generals. Yet, Abraham Lincoln used Union leaders like Winfield Scott, George B. McClellan, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and other generals to defeat the Confederate enemy. The Union used a blockage of the Atlantic Ocean, defeated the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg (in Mississippi), and won many battles like Gettysburg to make an Union victory inevitable. More African American soldiers caused the Union side to be victorious too starting in 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation was a sign of new era of America. The war ended months after the evil assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Before Lincoln died, Lincoln invested in industry, inventions, and other manufacturing to cause America to be a massive economic powerhouse. One legacy of the American Civil War was the expansion of the federal government in Reconstruction, the 1960s Civil Rights laws, and beyond. Now in 2025, Trump wants to strip the federal government of massive powers, even firing federal workers unjustly. What is past is prologue, and we have the responsibility to understand the American Civil War to stand up for our human liberties that our ancestors bleed and died for.
This year of 1985 is the 40th year anniversary of the film Back to the Future. This movie deals with action and science fiction but has relevance in our time in many ways. It was a science fiction film that was directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zeckis and Bob Gale. The film starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Fox played Marty McFly who accidentally was sent back to 1955 in a time traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future. Gale and Zemeckis conceived the idea for Back to the Future in 1980. They were desperate for a successful film after numerous collaborative failures, but the project was rejected more than forty times by various studios because it was not considered raunchy enough to compete with the successful comedies of the era. A development deal was secured with Universal Pictures following Zemeckis's success directing Romancing the Stone (1984). Fox was the first choice to portray Marty but was unavailable; Eric Stoltz was cast instead. Shortly after principal photography began in November 1984, Zemeckis determined Stoltz was not right for the part and made the concessions necessary to hire Fox, including re-filming scenes already shot with Stoltz and adding $4 million to the budget. Back to the Future was filmed in and around California and on sets at Universal Studios, and concluded the following April.
After highly successful test screenings, the release date was brought forward to July 3, 1985, giving the film more time in theaters during the busiest period of the theatrical year. The change resulted in a rushed post-production schedule and some incomplete special effects. Back to the Future was a critical and commercial success, earning $381.1 million to become the highest-grossing film of 1985 worldwide. Critics praised the story, humor, and the cast, particularly Fox, Lloyd, Thompson, and Glover. It received multiple award nominations and won an Academy Award, three Saturn Awards, and a Hugo Award. Its theme song, "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, was also a success.
Back to the Future has since grown in esteem and is now considered by critics and audiences to be one of the greatest science fiction films and among the best films ever made. In 2007, the United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film was followed by two sequels, Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990). Spurred by the film's dedicated fan following and effect on popular culture, Universal Studios launched a multimedia franchise, which now includes video games, theme park rides, an animated television series, and a stage musical. Its enduring popularity has prompted numerous books about its production, documentaries, and commercials.
The movie starts in 1985. Marty McFly lived in Hill Valley, California. The teenager Marty McFly lived with his depressed alcoholic mother, Lorraine; his older siblings, who are professional and social failures; and his meek father, George, who is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen. After Marty's band fails a music audition, he confides in his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, that he fears becoming like his parents despite his ambitions.
That night, Marty meets his eccentric scientist friend, Emmett "Doc" Brown, in the Twin Pines mall parking lot. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean, powered by plutonium he swindled from Libyan terrorists. After Doc inputs a destination time of November 5, 1955 (the day he first conceived his time travel invention), the terrorists arrive unexpectedly and gun him down. Marty flees in the DeLorean, inadvertently activating time travel when he reaches 88 miles per hour (142 kilometers per hour).
Arriving in 1955, Marty discovers he has no plutonium, so he cannot return to 1985. While exploring a burgeoning Hill Valley, Marty encounters his teenage father and discovers Biff was bullying George even then. George falls into the path of an oncoming car while spying on the teenage Lorraine changing clothes, and Marty is knocked unconscious while saving him. He wakes to find himself tended to by Lorraine, who becomes infatuated with him. Marty tracks down and convinces a younger Doc that he is from the future, but Doc explains the only source available in 1955 capable of generating the 1.21 gigawatts of power required for time travel is a lightning bolt. Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that documents an upcoming lightning strike at the town's courthouse. As Marty's siblings begin to fade from a photo he carries with him, Doc realizes Marty's actions are altering the future and jeopardizing his existence; Lorraine was supposed to tend to George instead of Marty after the car accident. Early attempts to get his parents acquainted fail, and Lorraine's infatuation with Marty deepens.
Lorraine asks Marty to the school dance, and he plots to feign inappropriate advances on her, allowing George to intervene and rescue her, but the plan goes awry when Biff's gang locks Marty in the trunk of the performing band's car, while Biff forces himself onto Lorraine. George arrives expecting to find Marty but is assaulted by Biff. After Biff hurts Lorraine, an enraged George knocks him unconscious and escorts the grateful Lorraine to the dance. The band frees Marty from their car, but the lead guitarist injures his hand in the process, so Marty takes his place, performing while George and Lorraine share their first kiss. With his future no longer in jeopardy, Marty hurries to the courthouse to meet Doc.
Doc discovers a letter from Marty warning him about his future and rips it, worried about the consequences. To save Doc, Marty recalibrates the DeLorean to return ten minutes before he had left the future. The lightning strikes, sending Marty back to 1985, but the DeLorean breaks down, forcing Marty to run back to the mall. He arrives as Doc is being shot. While Marty grieves at his side, Doc sits up, revealing he had pieced Marty's note back together and wore a bulletproof vest. He takes Marty home and departs to 2015 in the DeLorean. Marty wakes the next morning to discover his father is now a confident and successful science fiction author, his mother is fit and happy, his siblings are successful, and Biff is a servile valet in George's employ. As Marty reunites with Jennifer, Doc suddenly reappears in the DeLorean, insisting they return with him to the future to save their children from terrible fates. This is science fiction film, but it has similarities to our time in 2025. We have issues of social acceptance, bullying, thoughts about time travel, and issues of family just like back then. Also, we have technological advances beyond what was shown in public in 1985 and in 1955.
The Harvard Health Publishing company has mentioned many benefits of exercise (being reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, M.D., Chief Medical Editor, of the Harvard Health Publishing; Editorial Advisory Board). It is no secret that short term benefits of exercise can control appetite, boost mood and improve sleep. Long term exercise usage can reduce the risk of heart disease, reduce risk of stroke, reduce the risk of diabetes, and reduce the illnesses of dementia, depression, etc.
There is a new study being released by January 2025 that American dementia cases are estimated to double by 2060. This jump is especially large for women, black people, and those over 75 years old According to the study, earlier underestimate of the risk of the disease are a product of unreliable documentation in health records, death certificates, and other reasons. This study said that the risk of developing dementia at any time after 55 among Americans is 42 percent, more than double the risk reported by older studies. That is very large. This could rise to 500,000 cases this year and a 1 million new cases a year by 2060. We know that dementia is one of the worst diseases of the human race filled with declines in memory, concentration, and judgment. The reason for this rise in cases is the natural increased aging of the U.S. population. Human beings live longer now than 50 years ago. Also, there are genetic factors like high rates of hypertension (or high blood pressure), diabetes, obesity, unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, and poor mental health. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health to NYU Langone Health. Its authors include authors from John Hopkins University and other U.S. institutions. Information in this new study is also found from the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS). This group since 1987 research vascular health and cognitive function of nearly 16,000 participants as they age. The new study showed a higher risk among black adults and those who carried a variant of EPOE4 gene (between 45 and 60 percent) which codes for a protein that carries cholesterol and other lipids in the bloodstream. This gene is said to be the biggest genetic risk factor in developing late onset Alzheimer's disease. The loss of hearing among older adults is tied to an increased risk of dementia too. That is why Dr. Coresh desiring heating testing and government assistance programs to support healthy hearing among the elderly like making hearing aids more available and affordable. He wants more resources to address racial inequalities in health care. That means tat increased childhood education, nutrition, etc. is needed in black communications. So far, there is no total cure for dementia, but people can do things about it. There are many ways for people to reduce the risk of dementia. People cna be physically active nad exercise, don't smoke, avoid use of alcohol, control your weight, eat a healthy diet, and maintain a healthy blood pressure (including cholesterol and blood sugar levels). People should increase social interaction, read, do brain stimulating exercises, have cognitive activity in general, and live in a cleaner environment.
Diabetes is a very common illness that harmed millions of people worldwide. What is it? Diabetes or diabetes mellitus is a group of many endocrine diseases that is characterized by sustained high blood pressure. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of the body becoming unresponsive to insulin's effects. Classic symptoms include polydipsia (excessive thirst), polyuria (excessive urination), polyphagia (excessive hunger), weight loss, and blurred vision. If left untreated, the disease can lead to various health complications, including disorders of the cardiovascular system, eye, kidney, and nerves. Diabetes accounts for approximately 4.2 million deaths every year, with an estimated 1.5 million caused by either untreated or poorly treated diabetes. Most forms of diabetes can be manageable with medications and/or lifestyle changes. Glucose (sugar) mainly comes from carbohydrates in your food and drinks. It’s your body’s go-to source of energy. Your blood carries glucose to all your body’s cells to use for energy.
When glucose is in your bloodstream, it needs help — a “key” — to reach its final destination. This key is insulin (a hormone). If your pancreas isn’t making enough insulin or your body isn’t using it properly, glucose builds up in your bloodstream, causing high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). Over time, having consistently high blood glucose can cause health problems, such as heart disease, nerve damage, and eye issues.
The major types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. The most common treatment for type 1 is insulin replacement therapy (insulin injections), while anti-diabetic medications (such as metformin and semaglutide) and lifestyle modifications can be used to manage type 2. Gestational diabetes, a form that arises during pregnancy in some women, normally resolves shortly after delivery. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system attacks the beta cells in the pancreas, preventing the production of insulin. This condition is typically present from birth or develops early in life. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin, meaning the cells do not respond effectively to it, and thus, glucose remains in the bloodstream instead of being absorbed by the cells. Additionally, diabetes can also result from other specific causes, such as genetic conditions (monogenic diabetes syndromes like neonatal diabetes and maturity-onset diabetes of the young), diseases affecting the pancreas (such as pancreatitis), or the use of certain medications and chemicals (such as glucocorticoids, other specific drugs and after organ transplantation).
The number of people diagnosed as living with diabetes has increased sharply in recent decades, from 200 million in 1990 to 830 million by 2022. It affects one in seven of the adult population, with type 2 diabetes accounting for more than 95% of cases. These numbers have already risen beyond earlier projections of 783 million adults by 2045. The prevalence of the disease continues to increase, most dramatically in low- and middle-income nations. Rates are similar in women and men, with diabetes being the seventh leading cause of death globally. The global expenditure on diabetes-related healthcare is an estimated US$760 billion a year. Type 1 presents abruptly following a pre-clinical phase, while type 2 has a more insidious onset; patients may remain asymptomatic for many years. Type 1 Diabetes can happen to people of any age and Type 2 Diabetes mostly occurs among adults. Type 2 Diabetes (which comes mostly from lifestyle factors and genetics) relates to insulin resistance and reduced insulin secretin. A number of lifestyle factors are known to be important to the development of type 2 diabetes, including obesity (defined by a body mass index of greater than 30), lack of physical activity, poor diet such as Western Pattern Diet, stress, and urbanization.
Insulin is the principal hormone that regulates the uptake of glucose from the blood into most cells of the body, especially liver, adipose tissue and muscle, except smooth muscle, in which insulin acts via the IGF-1. Therefore, deficiency of insulin or the insensitivity of its receptors plays a central role in all forms of diabetes mellitus.
The body obtains glucose from three main sources: the intestinal absorption of food; the breakdown of glycogen (glycogenolysis), the storage form of glucose found in the liver; and gluconeogenesis, the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate substrates in the body. Insulin plays a critical role in regulating glucose levels in the body. Insulin can inhibit the breakdown of glycogen or the process of gluconeogenesis, it can stimulate the transport of glucose into fat and muscle cells, and it can stimulate the storage of glucose in the form of glycogen.
Insulin is released into the blood by beta cells (β-cells), found in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, in response to rising levels of blood glucose, typically after eating. Insulin is used by about two-thirds of the body's cells to absorb glucose from the blood for use as fuel, for conversion to other needed molecules, or for storage. Lower glucose levels result in decreased insulin release from the beta cells and in the breakdown of glycogen to glucose. This process is mainly controlled by the hormone glucagon, which acts in the opposite manner to insulin.
If the amount of insulin available is insufficient, or if cells respond poorly to the effects of insulin (insulin resistance), or if the insulin itself is defective, then glucose is not absorbed properly by the body cells that require it, and is not stored appropriately in the liver and muscles. The net effect is persistently high levels of blood glucose, poor protein synthesis, and other metabolic derangements, such as metabolic acidosis in cases of complete insulin deficiency.
One of the good news about us living in the 21st century is that we have access to tons of information. One important fact of life is that improving one's health improves one's quality of life. Health is wealth. That reality is not meant to shame people. I still believe in body positivity, as true beauty is diverse and not monolithic. Likewise, we need to learn about health, diseases, exercise, and other essential topics to allow people to achieve their best selves. In recent years, we have been exposed the BMI myth. Now, we know that body fat percentage, blood pressure levels, and other health indicators are more accurate than the BMI falsehood. Also, another myth is that people need to radically undereat to be healthy. Radical undereating eating can harm the immune system, cause hair loss, and make people more fatigued. That is why people should eat essential, comprehensive, and balanced foods (filled with fruits and vegetables too), which will cause legitimate weight loss. Exercise and a regular fitness routine can release endorphins to cause people to be happy, improve mental clarity, boost energy, increase stamina, and tackle tasks in the day, plus improve sleep quality. Regardless of people who are vegans or non-vegans, people need proteins, vitamin B12, and other vitamins and nutrients to live a high quality of life health-wise. All humans need proteins, which come from amino acids. Improving skin health, hydration with water, skin care products, exercise, using SPF 50 at least with sunscreen, and eating organic fruits and vegetables can improve the human skin. As we age, we lose muscle and bone mass, so cardio and strength training help to build muscle and bone structure naturally.
Saturday Night Live being 50 years old is another milestone. SNL is an American late night live sketch comedy variety show that was created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels plus Dick Ebersol. It has been aired on NBC since 1975. The show's premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title NBC's Saturday Night. As early as 1965, NBC network affiliates broadcast reruns of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Saturday or Sunday nights. In 1974, Johnny Carson petitioned to NBC executives for the weekend shows to be pulled and saved so they could be aired during weeknights, allowing him to take time off. In response, NBC president Herbert Schlosser approached the vice president of late-night programming, Dick Ebersol, and asked him to create a show to fill the Saturday nighttime slot. Schlosser and Ebersol then approached Lorne Michaels. Over the next three weeks, Ebersol and Michaels developed the latter's idea for a variety show featuring high-concept comedy sketches, political satire, and music performances that would attract 18- to 34-year-old viewers. NBC decided to base the new show at their studios in 30 Rockefeller Center. Michaels was given Studio 8H, a converted radio studio that was home to NBC's election and Apollo moon landing coverage. It was revamped for the premiere at a cost of $250,000.
The show's comedy sketches, which often parody popular culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that is usually based on current events and ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show.
In 1980, Michaels left the show to explore other opportunities. He was replaced by Jean Doumanian, who was then replaced by Ebersol after a season of bad reviews. Ebersol ran the show until 1985, when Michaels returned. Since then, Michaels has held the job of showrunner. Many SNL cast members have found national stardom while appearing on the show, and achieved success in film and television, both in front of and behind the camera. Others associated with the show, such as writers, have gone on to successful careers creating, writing, and starring in television and film.
Broadcast from Studio 8H at NBC's headquarters in the Comcast Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, SNL has aired 982 episodes since its debut and began its 50th season on September 28, 2024, making it one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. The show format has been developed and recreated in several countries, meeting with different levels of success. Successful sketches have seen life outside the show as feature films, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Wayne's World (1992). The show has been marketed in other ways, including home media releases of "best of" and whole seasons, and books and documentaries about behind-the-scenes activities of running and developing the show.
Throughout five decades on air, Saturday Night Live has received a vast number of awards, including 84 Primetime Emmy Awards, 6 Writers Guild of America Awards, and 3 Peabody Awards. In 2000, it was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. It was ranked tenth in TV Guide's "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" list, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME." As of 2022, the show had received more than 305 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the most received by any television program. The live aspect of the show has resulted in several controversies and acts of censorship, with mistakes and intentional acts of sabotage by performers and guests.
By Timothy
