Friday’s Forum
Steven L. Taylor
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Friday, February 20, 2026
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28 comments
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About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored
A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
Follow Steven on
Twitter and/or
BlueSky.
Yeah, it really doesn’t feel like Friday when you know you’ll work on Saturday…
So. It seems Trump has issued an executive order promoting the production of glyphosate – a subject of many, many recent lawsuits and the chemical that drove Monsanto into bankruptcy and corporate takeover. This has alienated a definite contingent of MAHA.
One of my favorite YouTube channels made an excellent explainer about glyphosate, which includes the kinds of influence/PR ops these big corporations do.
If an LLM responds to a prompt and there’s no one around to see it, does it still make AI slop?
One week ago, I was in Salt Lake City at the Huntsman Cancer Institute undergoing labwork, a biopsy of my liver, and a CT scan. Late Friday night, I was informed via their MyChart app that the CT scan showed I have pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to my liver, and has inflamed my lymph nodes and part of my stomach wall.
I have yet to speak to a human at Huntsman’s, beyond the receptionist that initally set up all the testing. The biopsy results still aren’t in, so I guess they can’t assign me to a specialist until it’s in. To say I am frustrated would be an understatement.
I’ve had severe problems eating food since about November. I thought it was the diabetes meds. No, it turns out my pancreas is no longer producing the enzymes needed to digest food properly. Since Dr Google is my bestie now, I looked up some of the treatment options that would normally be included in a doctor’s treatment regimen for the cancer. Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy is standard. So I asked my pharmacist if he could get any of those that my local doctor could prescribe.
Turns out, you can get the same damn thing on Amazon. They arrived yesterday, and yesterday was the first time in MONTHS that I haven’t lived in fear of eating. So I got that going for me, despite the silence of any human doctors down at Huntsman’s.
Hoping the biopsy results come in today, so I can get some answers and maybe move forward with treatment options. Start getting second opinions.
@Jax:
That sounds bad, sorry to learn about that.
“cows, alfalfa and Colorado River water“
@Jax: Wishing you useful treatments and good outcomes.
@Jax:
Hoping for the best.
@charontwo: It’s going to get rough. It blows me away every time I fly into Phoenix how much land is cultivating water-thirsty alfalfa. We are currently at the headwaters of the Green River, and expecting cuts in the next few years.
@Jax: Oh dear. Wishing you the best.
@Jax: I am deeply sorry to hear this. I hope you find answers soon, and I am thinking of you and sending you allllll of the healing vibes.
SCOTUS struck down Fatso’s tariffs.
@Jax: I join in extending best wishes for your health. I’m shocked that this news was conveyed without a human interaction. Just getting a liver biopsy requires an informed consent discussion; doesn’t it. Is this the way doctoring works these days?
@Jax:
I’m sorry to hear this, and am hoping for the best for your health. For what it’s worth, my good friend had a very similar pancreatic cancer+metastisizing diagnosis. While no cancer treatment is a ride at Disney World, two years after she started treatment she is living happily and healthfully.
@Daryl:
Hoo boy. Does “just as good” mean also fated to be struck down by SCOTUS? This is going to be interesting. For Chinese curse values of “interesting”.
@Jax:
Damn, that sucks.
@Jax:
Jax, so sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you during your battle.
@Jax: So sorry to hear and fingers constantly crossed for you going forward. I’ve always enjoyed your posts and hope to see them for many more years
@Jax: what everyone else says, sweetie.
@Jax: Wow that’s rough. Now I want to see you just to give you a big hug.
[I thought I posted this comment earlier today, but I guess it got lost? If it ends up a double post, well, it’s worth it.]
@Jax:
Oh, Jax, I’m terribly sorry to hear this.
@Jax: First, sympathy and a cyber hug. May your posts continue to brighten the days of your fellow OTB commenters for a long time. A pulmonologist at the Cleveland Clinic told me MyChart is as much a curse as a blessing because test results are often released to patients, via MyChart, BEFORE they are sent to the requesting physician, which doesn’t allow the doc a chance to explain what the findings mean before the patient’s anxiety level goes through the roof. Her solution was to embargo the release of test results until the ordering physician gave their approval. Hopefully, you will soon get the information you need to have some peace of mind. Chin up!
@Jax:
You have a fight ahead of you. Do everything you can to prepare pragmatically and mentally for the worst outcome. Then hope that medical science, luck and determination allow you to set all that aside with a relieved laugh.
@Jax: I am so sorry to read about your situation. I hope your coming treatments will allow you to continue to live in that beautiful headwaters country and that you can hike or ride or cast a fly along the Upper Green.
@Jax:
I’m so sorry to hear that.
Modern medicine can be very effective, once the medics actually get to work; hopefully it’ll all be OK for you.
My best wishes for you.
@Jax: Well, that sucks. Glad you were able to eat something, though. Hug the cows.
Thanks, all. Kinda weird knowing I most likely have an expiration date. That’s the most frustrating part of it all…..I know I have pancreatic cancer, but I have no details on what kind, how long I have, nothing, until the results of that biopsy come back. I can’t even get a second or third opinion without it. I mean, there’s a very good place in Oregon, too, I can move sooner rather than later if need be. My Mom lives in Mesa, there are pancreatic specialists down there, too. But I can’t do anything without the pathology reports. Very, very frustrating.
2nd day of being able to eat, though. It was such a psychological mind-fuck the last couple months, being soooo hungry, and knowing every bite I took was going to cause severe pain.
@Jax: Congrats on figuring out a way to make eating into a much better experience. Good luck dealing with all the trials coming your way.
@Jax: Ugh.
I hope you get some diagnostic clarity soon, some certainty around next steps. And I really hope you get to eat all the delicious things now.