Laurel Fitzhugh

VIII: The Repeating Pattern

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The previous sections documented a consistent pattern: regime-change wars cost trillions, delivered no oil benefits to Americans, and reliably generated contractor revenue and personal and political benefits. This raises a final question: if these wars fail to achieve their stated goals, why do they keep happening?

The answer lies in structural features of how war decisions are made, funded, and reviewed. These features insulate decision-makers from the consequences of failure while preserving the financial incentives that make continued conflict profitable for a narrow group.

This section documents the mechanisms that allow failed wars to continue and unsuccessful strategies to expand.

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When Extraction Reaches the Breaking Point

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Jake, David, and Sarah

Jake works in HVAC. Good trade, steady demand. He shows up, does the work, comes home exhausted. Three months behind on rent. His truck needs a repair he can’t afford, and without the truck, there’s no work. He sold most of his furniture last year. When his buddy forced him to come out for a beer, his buddy paid. Jake hated every second of it.

David has the college degree his parents helped pay for. They believed in the promise that education opens doors, and they wanted this for him. Now he’s 34, working contract jobs with no benefits, moving between gigs that pay $19 an hour after a year of searching. His mom fell last month, broke bones, and the medical bills are piling up. He can’t help. They won’t ask. Everyone knows his situation is worse than theirs; at least they have a house.

Sarah works full-time at a job with actual benefits, which makes her one of the lucky ones. She still chooses every month: bills or food, rent or car insurance. Her relationship ended last year when the money stress became too much to carry. She logs into social media sometimes and sees people her age buying homes, getting married, having kids. She’s happy for them. And something in her chest stays tight and heavy.

Their parents’ lives were built under one economic math; theirs are unfolding under another.

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Research (interim): DMSO Potential as a Menstruum

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Herbal Medicine: What Changes When DMSO Enters the Picture

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) alters herbal preparations by changing extraction breadth, absorption pathways, and systemic exposure. These changes matter more than the identity of the solvent itself.

→ DMSO removes constraints that normally limit how much of a plant’s chemistry reaches the body.

Document Position and Research Direction

*This document represents an initial phase of structured research into DMSO as a menstruum for herbal extraction. It records mechanisms, evidence, and screening logic as they currently stand. It is not a recommendation in any way, and safety issues are not fully developed.

The research trajectory indicates two parallel outcomes:

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Dragon’s Blood and Other Latex Sealants in Herbal Practice

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Dragon’s Blood and latex sealants deliver rapid, reliable wound protection in herbal practice through their unique film-forming action. These exudates ooze thickly, coagulate on contact, and form adherent barriers that seal cuts and staunch bleeding locally. Unlike diffusing resins, they prioritize immediate containment, guided by tactile feedback.

Pernicious Anemia: A History of Observation, Misdiagnosis, and Systemic Blind Spots

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Pernicious Anemia: A History of Observation, Misdiagnosis, and Systemic Blind Spots

Pernicious anemia is often described as a rare autoimmune disease that causes vitamin B12 deficiency and anemia. That description is technically incomplete and historically misleading. The modern failures in diagnosis and treatment of pernicious anemia are not primarily due to lack of evidence or lack of effective therapy. They are the result of a long chain of observational bias, naming inertia, disciplinary silos, and systemic blind spots in medical education—particularly around nutrition and chronic disease.

To understand why pernicious anemia remains underdiagnosed and inadequately treated today, it is necessary to understand how the disease was first observed, how it was defined, and how those early definitions hardened into doctrine even as evidence changed.

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