Chicago

Anyone who listens to WBBM or WLS radio stations in Chicago or baseball games of the Chicago Cubs has heard them: seemingly incessant jingles selling a drug for an eye condition most have never heard of.

“Slow it down,” tease the ads with a musical lick culled from the 1975 R & B hit by the music group War, Low Rider. "I-Zer-Vay gets GA going slower,” chant the ads, trying to sell the drug IIzervay, which costs $2,220 per treatment without insurance, for the not well known disease of “GA.” (Moreover, the ads target the shrinking demographic of those who remember 50-year-old music hits.)

WHAT IS “GA”?

Geographic atrophy is a condition which can result from dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)–another eye condition many have not heard of. It has been aggressively publicized by the former Happy Days star Henry Winkler (nee the Fonz) who says he “partnered” with IIzervay manufacturer Astellas Pharma after his father-in-law got the condition.

We start with our great poet Laureate MIMI GERMAN & her usual mystic verse.

From Waldport, Oregon, we hear from ousted & now re-instated MAYOR HEIDI LAMBERT about her incredible saga on the way to remaking this pivotal spot in the American MAGA/saga.

This far-and-wide astonishing attack on democracy by the MAGA Klan is dissected by co-host MIKE HERSH.

Tough questions come from SCOTT KLATT who wants to know why Heide let herself get drafted for Mayor.

From the LAProgressive.com we are updated by SHARON KYLE & DICK PRICE on the national assault on the Judiciary & our democratic elections.

Then the great MYLA RESON narrates the amazingly absurd arrest of Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka & three US Congresspeople for attempting to inspect a prison facility under their jurisdiction.

The attack on Mayor Baraka is mourned by DANIELA, who warns us all to carry our birth certificates.

Computer pioneer LEE FELSENSTEIN elaborates on his suggestion that rally organizers use business cards with QR codes, printed in special colors, with colored ink & union labels, feeding into local-generated websites.

Since the blockade began, humanitarian organizations like UNICEF have warned that children are at an increasing risk of starvation, illness, and death. Over 9,000 children have been admitted for treatment for acute malnutrition since the start of the year, highlighting the urgent need for food and medical assistance. The blockade has been described as a "silent killer," with families resorting to sharing minimal food supplies, such as a single can of beans among several members of one family according to Al Jazeera report.

Personal stories from families in Gaza illustrate the heartbreaking reality of this crisis. For instance, a mother described her five-year-old son, who has become emaciated and is suffering from severe malnutrition, stating that he hasn't eaten meat in months due to the unaffordability of food. Healthcare providers are struggling to care for malnourished children, with reports of infants and young children dying from hunger and malnutrition-related complications, reported cbc.ca.