Life is sweet. Too sweet. Our national battle against sugar is moving like molasses. Here's the problem in a sometimes you feel like a nutshell. "Nearly one in seven American adults now has diabetes, the highest rate on record." And here's the icing on the cake. "About one-third of U.S. adults have high blood sugar levels, a condition called pre-diabetes that often precedes Type 2 diabetes and can progress to full blown disease. Most are unaware they have the condition." We're between rock candy and a hard place. Dextrose? Galactose? Glucose? Sucrose? Overdose! There's no point trying to sugarcoat it. We're commuting through a sugar rush. This is no time for saccharine sentimentality. If your confection lasts more than four hours, call 911. And I'm not pointing fingers. I have a penchant for pasta, I'm bananas for bagels, and I'm a sucker for lollipops. NYT (gift article for ND readers. I know, I know, it's a sweet gesture.) Overweight Adults Should Be Screened for Diabetes at 35, Experts Say. (Health experts are giving you lemons. But please don't make lemonade.)

"For 97 per cent of human history, all people had about the same power and access to goods. How did inequality ratchet up?" Aeon Magazine: How equality slipped away.

You're making your doctor sick. "It's been a long two years, and quite frankly, we are all exhausted, both physically and psychologically." The adrenaline is long gone. The "we're all in this together" spirit has been taken off life support. And, as a society, we're letting health workers down in a big way. Dozens of overworked florida doctors joined together to beg people to get vaccinated.

+ CVS has mandated complete Covid-19 vaccination for its nurses, pharmacists and other employees who face patients. (This wasn't the case until now.)

+ Pfizer has a name for its fully approved vaccine: Comirnaty. Say what? Moderna's will be called Spikevax.

+ Several steps remain before kids under 12 can be vaccinated.

+ A sad NYT mini-doc: Dying in the Name of Vaccine Freedom.

The Taliban is starting to block access to the airport in Kabul and they're telling working women to stay at home. With thousands of evacuations per day, Biden has signaled that he will not extend the August 31st deadline. The CIA director made a secret Kabul visit. Here's the latest from BBC.

+ "It's hard to deny the evidence in front of you ... Biden had it right back then ... I give him credit for that." Retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who strongly supported the "nation-building" war policy in Afghanistan, now says we should have pulled out our troops a decade ago. (As ugly and painful as the evacuation is, we need to keep in mind what the alternatives were. Another troop surge? Another 20 years?)

+ Airbnb to provide temporary housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees.

"In 2016, Grant established what he called the White Collar Support Group, an online meeting inspired by twelve-step programs for drug and alcohol addiction. He described the program as a step toward "ethics rehab" and, on his Web site, explained that it was for people who wanted to 'take responsibility for our actions and the wreckage we caused.' In blunter terms, he told me that it was for 'guys detoxing from power and influence.'" The excellent Evan Osnos in The New Yorker: Life After White-Collar Crime.

"Nonprofits are creating innovative housing solutions to cut cases of diarrhea and other illness, but more than a billion people still live on earth floors that can cause problems." CityLab: One Way to Tackle Extreme Poverty: Replace Dirt Floors.

Great news. Evolution now accepted by majority of Americans. Surprise! There's a big partisan split. As of 2019, 34% of conservative Republicans accepted evolution compared to 83% of liberal Democrats.

"U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed several hours Tuesday by an investigation into two possible cases of the so-called Havana Syndrome in Hanoi." Possible Havana syndrome case delays Harris trip to Vietnam.

"Charlie was a cherished husband, father and grandfather and also as a member of The Rolling Stones one of the greatest drummers of his generation." Charlie Watts, who recently pulled out of the Stone's latest tour, has died at 80. The dapper Watts also designed some of the band's touring stages. Charlie playing, and chatting about drums.

+ Whenever I think of Charlie Watts, I always recall the John Hiatt lyric from his song Slow Turning. "Now I'm in my car, I got the radio on. And I'm yellin' at the kids in the back seat 'cause they're bangin' like Charlie Watts." Keep banging, kids.

A new study reveals eating a hot dog shortens your life by 36 minutes, while a peanut butter and jelly sandwich adds 33 minutes to your life. (I don't buy this study. But if I live to be a thousand, I'll eat those words ... along with another peanut butter sandwich.)

+ The quirks and features of YouTube car reviews with Doug Demuro. (I don't care that much about cars. But I love this guy's videos.)

+ In Europe, McDonald's runs out of milkshakes amid ‘supply chain issues.' (supply chain issues is probably just a cover for the Hamburglar.)

+ This edition was damn good. My book is better. Order Please Scream Inside Your Heart.