Postcards: Don't Go to the Doctor When You're Sick... They'll Throw You Out

If you need proof of how far the medical profession has fallen, allow me to enlighten you with this Tuesday tale. ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]() for more You are a free subscriber to Postcards from the Florida Republic. To upgrade to paid and receive the daily Republic Risk Letter, [subscribe here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Postcards: Don't Go to the Doctor When You're Sick... They'll Throw You Out]( If you need proof of how far the medical profession has fallen, allow me to enlighten you with this Tuesday tale. [Garrett {NAME}](floridarepublic) Jul 3 floridarepublic   [READ IN APP](   Market Update: Remember that the market closes today at 1 pm. So, don’t do anything too drastic. And close out positions by 12:30. This afternoon, the Fed will release its minutes from the meeting three weeks ago. Due to weakening economic data, markets are starting to price in - again, a heightened expectation of a rate cut later this year. Powell said we’re on the right track yesterday, but they still need more evidence. Currently, liquidity remains robust, and insider buying has improved in recent weeks. But we are now entering a blackout period on buybacks and will march toward earnings next week. Yes, the Mega cap crowding is taking this market higher, but we see many weaknesses across many sectors. Just be cautious, take what the market gives you, and set yourself up for higher probability trades that can deliver double-digit gains. We’ll chat more tomorrow. --------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Fellow Expat: As you know, we’ve pushed north to Maryland. Which means that I get to abandon the Florida healthcare market. Good riddance to my Cuban doctor… It took me seven weeks to get an appointment with a new Primary Care Doctor - out in White Marsh, Maryland. That’s about 20 minutes from me, and it was the first appointment I could get. If I rescheduled it… I would have to wait until September. To see a primary care doctor. Now, if you’ve never been to White Marsh - picture this… a town that built its entire economy around a single shopping mall in the 1990s. Now… that shopping mall today is about as popular as COVID is. This mall was on the brink of default in 2020. It should be apartments one day, but they want to turn it into an outlet mall, which makes even less sense. But hey, I’m not in charge. Another booming day at White Marsh Mall So, I drove out there yesterday, as the doctor’s office is a block away. I put on a mask. I entered a healthcare center - a hospital without an emergency care center. I kept my distance from everyone, and I went to the receptionist. The woman asked all the typical “Red Flag” questions. “Have you been out of the country in the last 14 days?” Yes… She didn’t ask where or a follow-up. “Have you been exposed to anyone with COVID in the last 14 days?” Yes… Same thing… She wasn’t paying attention… “Have you failed a COVID test in the last 14 days.?” ”YES!” I yelled louder. I was wearing a mask, eight feet in front of her. She wasn’t looking up… at all. Look at me… I thought. Finally, she did. “When did you fail a COVID test?” she asked. “I have COVID,” I said. “I called you an hour ago, but no one answered.” With that… she jumped back from her computer screen as if a giant black spider had fallen out of the ceiling. She ran into the other room, frantic. “He says he has COVID,” she said, loud enough for everyone else to hear. Now… I’m in a hospital… at a doctor’s office. There were 30 other people walking around - and odds are - one of them has COVID because it’s going around again. I’m not sweating… coughing… running a fever. But they’ve now asked me to stand in a corner while everyone stares at me in a mask. With that… I was rushed into another wing of a building like I was a Presidential candidate under sniper fire. I’m not saying a nearby wing… Down one hallway… down another… until we reached a security door. “Are you ready?” the nurse asked. Ready for what? I thought she would open it, and it would just lead to the highway… or a parallel universe like in The Matrix or The Adjustment Bureau. You were at Hopkins a minute ago; now you’re in Manhattan. This is how you navigate the American healthcare system. It led to a dark hospital wing that looked like it hadn’t been used since it opened. She opened the first door; it was just an ordinary room with a bed and a bunch of monitors. “Stay here,” she said, closing the door. I was alone in there for about 30 minutes. Finally, a nurse came in to run some blood tests, but she was dressed as if I’d brought back Ebola from Italy. She had a pair of gloves with rubber bands holding them closed, an N-95 mask, and goggles on. She looked like one of the scuba divers asked to turn off the water pumps during the Chernobyl accident. Once she fled, the doctor came in. And what a treat this was. She was dressed in what had to be a costly dress and shoes, covered in a plastic jacket, TWO pairs of plastic gloves, an N95 mask, a plastic visor, and goggles. When she asked - why I was there, I explained… that I had been waiting for this appointment for seven weeks… and was sick. I needed my doctor to make sure that the blood test they’d taken showed I could take whatever drug they wanted me to take to get over COVID. “Well, you really shouldn’t have come today…” the doctor said. But… I’m sick… and you’re a doctor… and I went to Urgent Care… and they were fine with me being here… WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO, EXACTLY? What does a patient do in America when they have this stupid virus? “We’re just trying to limit the exposure of COVID in our offices,” she continued. Now… how many people were sitting in that waiting room with COVID and didn’t realize it? What exactly is the protocol here? Do I go to Urgent Care and then spend several hundred dollars on Plaxlovid and Protein shakes? Is this the system? Because that’s the most American thing I can imagine right now. If I were still in Italy, they’d have given me two pounds of fish and told me to sit by the Mediterranean Sea for sun and a massage. In Switzerland, they’d have just told me to go home and take Zinc and Vitamin D. Oh, and they’d probably give me a doctor’s note to take a month off work because I seemed stressed. (In Switzerland, the insurance company will pay your salary if you need time off or a reduced schedule for mental health instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars for drugs and therapy sessions. Now that’s healthcare.) My doctor then made me leave early without discussing why I had the appointment to begin with: I need a referral for rheumatology, a new blood test, and a talk to urology because I’m over 40… but we can’t do that today… And now I have to drive back in the middle of the week… in three weeks. The doctor at Urgent Care on Sunday wasn’t even wearing a mask. She just smacked me in the back of the head and looked at my eyes. “You’ll be fine in a few days.” This new doctor - at Johns Hopkins Medical Center… acted like I’d traveled back from the Dark Ages and carried a scythe. And then… when I didn’t think it could get any dumber… she topped herself. Remember, she was already wearing TWO sets of plastic gloves, wiped down everything within inches of me with Purell Hand Sanitizer… and had already told me that the doctor’s office is no place for sick people. She asked to check my lungs. And with that… she went to the wall, pulled out another plastic glove, and put the stethoscope in that glove - and used a gloved stethoscope to listen to my heartbeat and lungs… over my shirt. Now, I have long wondered… who are the people who put the nutritional facts on the back of a bottle of water? This is the most unnecessary information in the history of science. And I’m convinced it’s the same people who ordered the Nutritional Facts on the bottle of water are the same people who have created this paralyzation around COVID here in the United States. This place is a medical insane asylum… in the open. I am not sure what the medical associations did to our medical professionals during COVID-19, but I think I’ll go back to using WebMD and being hysterical on my own. If you need me, I’ll be in bed. Don’t think about this too much, or you’ll pass out. Stay positive, Garrett {NAME} Disclaimer Nothing in this email should be considered personalized financial advice. While we may answer your general customer questions, we are not licensed under securities laws to guide your investment situation. Do not consider any communication between you and Florida Republic employees as financial advice. Under company rules, editors and writers cannot recommend their positions. The communication in this letter is for information and educational purposes unless otherwise strictly worded as a recommendation. Model portfolios are tracked to showcase a variety of academic, fundamental, and technical tools, and insight is provided to help readers gain knowledge and experience. Readers should not trade if they cannot handle a loss and should not trade more than they can afford to lose. There are large amounts of risk in the equity markets. Consider consulting with a professional before making decisions with your money.   [Like]( [Comment]( [Restack](   © 2024 Garrett {NAME} 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 [Unsubscribe]() [Get the app]( writing]()