A concise overview of how RFK is decimating our public health and safety, and what you need to know to protect the health of yourself and your loved ones
Why do I feel like a MAHA website focusing on “Essential Oils and Home Remedies for what Ails You” is coming soon??
There are too many people who are convinced they know more than scientists, physicians, virologists, and epidemiologists spreading their stupidity out there.
At the same time, there are too many people who have never seen what polio can do or who have taken care of someone with post-polio syndrome.
Unless they worked in a hospital during the COVID pandemic (pre-vaccine) or SAW a loved one die from it, they don’t understand how truly life-changing it was for a vaccine to be developed.
To say that was a traumatic experience for healthcare workers is a gross understatement.
To know there’s a measles outbreak with children dying because parents chose not to have their children receive vaccines they themselves received as kids screams of how ignorant these people are.
Quite frankly, they should be treated as murders. They denied their child a basic, proven, simple two series injection that would prevent a potentially fatal disease.
Their “freedom” to refuse vaccines cost a child’s life.
I’ve been a nurse for 30 years and RFK Jr heading the Dept of Health and Human Services disgusts me. He’s another example that Trump only knows, works with or involves himself with people who are like him—despicable, subpar and highly unqualified for their roles.
Great reporting, rooted in science. Thanks to all. In 2020, Michigan had a similar measles outbreak like in Texas. I was working there at the time. We all had to find out if we had the proper protection. Luckily, my 90 year old mother mailed me my public health card from when I was a boy. I had the proper vaccine shots. I also took the blood test anyway to confirm. Public health has no importance to this administration. It is embarrassing.
As a retired emergency doc, I'm appalled & saddened by the damage already done to our public health infrastructure by Trump & RFK Jr. Replacing experts with sycophants is a recipe for disaster - it's only a question of when, not if, another pandemic (e.g., H5N1 bird flu) or other health crisis converts their stupidity into an even greater mass casualty crime of avoidable death & disability.
What strikes me is how people who are pretty progressive about the corporatist nature of fascism completely lose it when it comes to the medical industry which is the biggest lobby in the country. Why would anyone follow the marketing narratives of this industry when any real dive into the data shows how harmful it is. When it comes to deaths the medical industry is acknowledged to be the 3rd biggest cause of deaths in the country annually. This number is only from hospital records and misses many who dies outside that venue. Further, it is amazing there are even these high stats as the industry strives to bury their harms. In fact this number is considered to be only about 1-10% of the actual number. We saw the same thing with Fauci and his covid debacle when Fauci had Harvard do a study on the adverse effects of the covid vaccine drug expected the data to be favorable to his agenda. Instead the study was showing that the drugs were causing massive adverse effects including death and that these numbers were only about 1% of the cases being reported. Fauci pulled the study and buried it.
As for measles? First, the first 2 Texas cases were not death by measles but more from the rotten treatment by hospitals mistreating respiratory conditions. This information comes from the hospital records themselves and reviewed by medical people who treat measles quite safely and effectively. I find the hysteria created by the industry serves only to keep people sucked into a fear based narrative that will keep selling $$$$billions in drugs for a disease that is virtually harmless when treated properly
The public is fed fear to get us into wars: Viet Nam, Iraq, Ukraine, and fear of the invisible (germs) to get us into taking harmful drugs that kill and maim as real science evidences. If progressive then people should be quit focused on the Held Harmless status drug corporations weasled out of the government which means vaccines are a never ending source of fortunes without any fear of being held accountable for the massive damage they cause. Do your research and the NY Times is not the source and nor is your smiley doctor or favorite family member. Remember they are all trained by the pharma industry that control the medical schools and the medical journals. We seek independent journalists for more trustworthy news on Gaza and all other issues. The same requirement must hold for information on health care. Kennedy is not killing Americans but is trying to save them from the rotten effects of the drug industry and the food industry.
Ms Marquette, your comment is very interesting. I myself am a medical doctor (about 48 years), and I totally agree with you about the general failing of the American medical industry. I don't call it health care, because it commonly has little or nothing to do with anyone's health. Its purpose, as you allude to, is to move money from wherever it is to providers, other vendors, and insurance companies.
However (you knew there was a however coming), I think you're reflexly and excessively categorical in dismissing every part of the industry. In other words, you go too far, and you're not entirely correct. One subtle example is your encouragement that the public should "do [its] research." I agree with you that the NYT and one's friends are not appropriate sources of medical research, but the closest you're going to get is your "smiley doctor." You seem to recommend "independent journalists," but independent journalists who are not medically trained are not reliable sources of information, and the prospective patient is not a reliable judge of whatever information is given. There's a reason people go to medical school and specialty training for years, and have to keep up with continuing education. Again, I agree with you that the focus in this country is wrong, but your proposed alternative is worse.
I'll give you an example that I use often enough. I'm a psychiatrist. It is true today and has always been true, at least in this country, that the vast majority of prescriptions, for example, for "psychotropic drugs" (drugs used to treat psychiatric problems) are written by people who are not psychiatrists. They're either doctors whose specialty is not psychiatry, or people, like nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants, who are not doctors. And prescribing of psychotropics by non-psychiatrists has been shown repeatedly to be comparatively inefficient and ineffective. When I have this conversation with, let's say, a nurse practitioner, I ask if, upon evaluating a patient with right lower quadrant abdominal pain, and a fever, and an elevated WBC count, and a positive rectal exam, would take it upon him- or herself to remove the appendix. That's what they do when the patient uses code words like "depressed," "anxious," "bipolar," "ADHD," and decides to treat them for these conditions the treater does not have the training or experience to evaluate. That gets worse, not better, when the patient attempts to rely on journalists.
Kennedy is without any question killing Americans and other people. Kennedy is not a pediatrician, an infectious disease specialist, an immunologist, or even a medical doctor at all. I will say again that I agree with you that the American medical industry has loads of problems, but having decisions made by someone who doesn't know the first thing about the field is not the answer.
You can reason. Soundly. They cannot. It’s a bizarre religiosity of their own views that they cant even comprehend. It’s doubly fascinating how those who want to “eat the rich”, only focus on the billionaires that a very narrow and biased media point them towards…. The billionaires in the Pharma industry are never on their radar. All other billionaires are manipulative. But not the ones selling designer drugs and liability-free vaccinations. It’s sad and pathetic.
What's wild is that the FDA won't release the name of the company responsible for getting a kid sick and hospitalized from their lettuce. This is a wild change from their prior duties. Like how the hell are we supposed to protect ourselves from bad food if you want tell us what to avoid?
He will get a lot of people killed. There is a measles outbreak going on right now. You would not know it if you wait for the corporate media to tell you about it. We are living in a certified nightmare in these bizarre times! We know we cannot count on this administration to do anything right!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I went to medical school for four years, internship for one year, residency for three years, fellowship for two years, and a total of 48 years in the practice of psychiatry. I think I should be the Attorney General or the Secretary of Defense. I can concoct opinions, read up on limited things, and ask around. And my decisions about the law and the military will be every bit as sound as will Bobby's decisions about science and medicine.
I write a blog for my neighborhood. A post a year or so ago was called "The Value and the Burden of a Professional Education." Part of my thesis was that someone like Bobby, for example, should consider how much he knew about the law before he attended law school, and how much he knew about when he finished. If he thinks there was a big difference, and he learned a lot in law school -- stuff someone who didn't attend law school wouldn't know -- then that should lead him to make assumptions about how much someone who didn't study medicine or health care knows about medicine or health care. And you don't learn it from looking things up on google, or just using your (wild and foundationless) imagination. (Part of the burden is that once you realize how much you've come to know about what you studied, then you shouldn't be able to help but admit how little you know about what you didn't choose to study. You should have a great deal of humility about what you weren't taught, and don't know.)
My only issue with what you said is that if you were the Attorney General or Secretary of Defense, you would likely surround yourself with experts especially as you know that you do not have the qualifications, though you would have the critical thinking that Bobby and Trump don’t have
Do you think Donnie's misfits surround themselves with actual experts, because they know they themselves are unfit? And if they know they're unfit and need to be surrounded by actual experts, why would they have agreed to take the position in the first place?
I'll give you an example of the problem. I'm a psychiatrist, but not a specially trained child psychiatrist. I used to write for a doctors' website called SERMO. I once wrote a post, based on what seemed like widespread reports, about whether or not vaccines, or a concentration of them, do in fact cause autism. There are reports that a higher than usual population of, let's say, five year olds 1) get a collection of vaccines, and 2) suddenly show signs of autism. It seemed as if there was a connection between a certain concentration of vaccines and autism, even though it doesn't seem to make medical sense. Some of the pediatricians and child psychiatrists wrote back to tell me something I hadn't known: that autism isn't always from birth, as I thought it was. There's a pattern that begins at about age five. Kids get vaccinated at five years old so they'll have been vaccinated before they start school. It was a coincidence. Do you think people like Bobby Kennedy know that, or bother to explore it?
No I doubt it. My point was a compliment to you though. You would do what they would not. You would know you don’t know, and you would surround yourself with experts instead of yes men. And your response proves that
I appreciate the clarification, and in theory, I agree with you. But what comes before surrounding oneself with experts is agreeing in the first place to occupy a position for which one has no foundation. That I would not do. These clowns happily will, as if it's some sort of tribute to them. It confirms for them their theory that their position is appropriate, and they deserve to occupy it.
It seems clear that you have never met a single highly trained, dedicated medical researcher, nor do you understand anything about science and the search for evidence-based solutions.
Why do I feel like a MAHA website focusing on “Essential Oils and Home Remedies for what Ails You” is coming soon??
There are too many people who are convinced they know more than scientists, physicians, virologists, and epidemiologists spreading their stupidity out there.
At the same time, there are too many people who have never seen what polio can do or who have taken care of someone with post-polio syndrome.
Unless they worked in a hospital during the COVID pandemic (pre-vaccine) or SAW a loved one die from it, they don’t understand how truly life-changing it was for a vaccine to be developed.
To say that was a traumatic experience for healthcare workers is a gross understatement.
To know there’s a measles outbreak with children dying because parents chose not to have their children receive vaccines they themselves received as kids screams of how ignorant these people are.
Quite frankly, they should be treated as murders. They denied their child a basic, proven, simple two series injection that would prevent a potentially fatal disease.
Their “freedom” to refuse vaccines cost a child’s life.
I’ve been a nurse for 30 years and RFK Jr heading the Dept of Health and Human Services disgusts me. He’s another example that Trump only knows, works with or involves himself with people who are like him—despicable, subpar and highly unqualified for their roles.
Great reporting, rooted in science. Thanks to all. In 2020, Michigan had a similar measles outbreak like in Texas. I was working there at the time. We all had to find out if we had the proper protection. Luckily, my 90 year old mother mailed me my public health card from when I was a boy. I had the proper vaccine shots. I also took the blood test anyway to confirm. Public health has no importance to this administration. It is embarrassing.
As a retired emergency doc, I'm appalled & saddened by the damage already done to our public health infrastructure by Trump & RFK Jr. Replacing experts with sycophants is a recipe for disaster - it's only a question of when, not if, another pandemic (e.g., H5N1 bird flu) or other health crisis converts their stupidity into an even greater mass casualty crime of avoidable death & disability.
Well said, Bern. It is absolutely inexcusable.
What strikes me is how people who are pretty progressive about the corporatist nature of fascism completely lose it when it comes to the medical industry which is the biggest lobby in the country. Why would anyone follow the marketing narratives of this industry when any real dive into the data shows how harmful it is. When it comes to deaths the medical industry is acknowledged to be the 3rd biggest cause of deaths in the country annually. This number is only from hospital records and misses many who dies outside that venue. Further, it is amazing there are even these high stats as the industry strives to bury their harms. In fact this number is considered to be only about 1-10% of the actual number. We saw the same thing with Fauci and his covid debacle when Fauci had Harvard do a study on the adverse effects of the covid vaccine drug expected the data to be favorable to his agenda. Instead the study was showing that the drugs were causing massive adverse effects including death and that these numbers were only about 1% of the cases being reported. Fauci pulled the study and buried it.
As for measles? First, the first 2 Texas cases were not death by measles but more from the rotten treatment by hospitals mistreating respiratory conditions. This information comes from the hospital records themselves and reviewed by medical people who treat measles quite safely and effectively. I find the hysteria created by the industry serves only to keep people sucked into a fear based narrative that will keep selling $$$$billions in drugs for a disease that is virtually harmless when treated properly
The public is fed fear to get us into wars: Viet Nam, Iraq, Ukraine, and fear of the invisible (germs) to get us into taking harmful drugs that kill and maim as real science evidences. If progressive then people should be quit focused on the Held Harmless status drug corporations weasled out of the government which means vaccines are a never ending source of fortunes without any fear of being held accountable for the massive damage they cause. Do your research and the NY Times is not the source and nor is your smiley doctor or favorite family member. Remember they are all trained by the pharma industry that control the medical schools and the medical journals. We seek independent journalists for more trustworthy news on Gaza and all other issues. The same requirement must hold for information on health care. Kennedy is not killing Americans but is trying to save them from the rotten effects of the drug industry and the food industry.
Ms Marquette, your comment is very interesting. I myself am a medical doctor (about 48 years), and I totally agree with you about the general failing of the American medical industry. I don't call it health care, because it commonly has little or nothing to do with anyone's health. Its purpose, as you allude to, is to move money from wherever it is to providers, other vendors, and insurance companies.
However (you knew there was a however coming), I think you're reflexly and excessively categorical in dismissing every part of the industry. In other words, you go too far, and you're not entirely correct. One subtle example is your encouragement that the public should "do [its] research." I agree with you that the NYT and one's friends are not appropriate sources of medical research, but the closest you're going to get is your "smiley doctor." You seem to recommend "independent journalists," but independent journalists who are not medically trained are not reliable sources of information, and the prospective patient is not a reliable judge of whatever information is given. There's a reason people go to medical school and specialty training for years, and have to keep up with continuing education. Again, I agree with you that the focus in this country is wrong, but your proposed alternative is worse.
I'll give you an example that I use often enough. I'm a psychiatrist. It is true today and has always been true, at least in this country, that the vast majority of prescriptions, for example, for "psychotropic drugs" (drugs used to treat psychiatric problems) are written by people who are not psychiatrists. They're either doctors whose specialty is not psychiatry, or people, like nurse practitioners and physicians' assistants, who are not doctors. And prescribing of psychotropics by non-psychiatrists has been shown repeatedly to be comparatively inefficient and ineffective. When I have this conversation with, let's say, a nurse practitioner, I ask if, upon evaluating a patient with right lower quadrant abdominal pain, and a fever, and an elevated WBC count, and a positive rectal exam, would take it upon him- or herself to remove the appendix. That's what they do when the patient uses code words like "depressed," "anxious," "bipolar," "ADHD," and decides to treat them for these conditions the treater does not have the training or experience to evaluate. That gets worse, not better, when the patient attempts to rely on journalists.
Kennedy is without any question killing Americans and other people. Kennedy is not a pediatrician, an infectious disease specialist, an immunologist, or even a medical doctor at all. I will say again that I agree with you that the American medical industry has loads of problems, but having decisions made by someone who doesn't know the first thing about the field is not the answer.
You can reason. Soundly. They cannot. It’s a bizarre religiosity of their own views that they cant even comprehend. It’s doubly fascinating how those who want to “eat the rich”, only focus on the billionaires that a very narrow and biased media point them towards…. The billionaires in the Pharma industry are never on their radar. All other billionaires are manipulative. But not the ones selling designer drugs and liability-free vaccinations. It’s sad and pathetic.
Luigi would disagree!
Luigi was the first of many if they keep at it. Next lockdown; authoritarians will become dogfood.
Excuse me. Please provide your valid credentials and proof.
What's wild is that the FDA won't release the name of the company responsible for getting a kid sick and hospitalized from their lettuce. This is a wild change from their prior duties. Like how the hell are we supposed to protect ourselves from bad food if you want tell us what to avoid?
RFK Jr. fits right in with the group. The guy will say anything for a free dollar. He is a disgrace and a bum!
He will get a lot of people killed. There is a measles outbreak going on right now. You would not know it if you wait for the corporate media to tell you about it. We are living in a certified nightmare in these bizarre times! We know we cannot count on this administration to do anything right!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I went to medical school for four years, internship for one year, residency for three years, fellowship for two years, and a total of 48 years in the practice of psychiatry. I think I should be the Attorney General or the Secretary of Defense. I can concoct opinions, read up on limited things, and ask around. And my decisions about the law and the military will be every bit as sound as will Bobby's decisions about science and medicine.
😂 Well said, sir!
I write a blog for my neighborhood. A post a year or so ago was called "The Value and the Burden of a Professional Education." Part of my thesis was that someone like Bobby, for example, should consider how much he knew about the law before he attended law school, and how much he knew about when he finished. If he thinks there was a big difference, and he learned a lot in law school -- stuff someone who didn't attend law school wouldn't know -- then that should lead him to make assumptions about how much someone who didn't study medicine or health care knows about medicine or health care. And you don't learn it from looking things up on google, or just using your (wild and foundationless) imagination. (Part of the burden is that once you realize how much you've come to know about what you studied, then you shouldn't be able to help but admit how little you know about what you didn't choose to study. You should have a great deal of humility about what you weren't taught, and don't know.)
My only issue with what you said is that if you were the Attorney General or Secretary of Defense, you would likely surround yourself with experts especially as you know that you do not have the qualifications, though you would have the critical thinking that Bobby and Trump don’t have
Do you think Donnie's misfits surround themselves with actual experts, because they know they themselves are unfit? And if they know they're unfit and need to be surrounded by actual experts, why would they have agreed to take the position in the first place?
I'll give you an example of the problem. I'm a psychiatrist, but not a specially trained child psychiatrist. I used to write for a doctors' website called SERMO. I once wrote a post, based on what seemed like widespread reports, about whether or not vaccines, or a concentration of them, do in fact cause autism. There are reports that a higher than usual population of, let's say, five year olds 1) get a collection of vaccines, and 2) suddenly show signs of autism. It seemed as if there was a connection between a certain concentration of vaccines and autism, even though it doesn't seem to make medical sense. Some of the pediatricians and child psychiatrists wrote back to tell me something I hadn't known: that autism isn't always from birth, as I thought it was. There's a pattern that begins at about age five. Kids get vaccinated at five years old so they'll have been vaccinated before they start school. It was a coincidence. Do you think people like Bobby Kennedy know that, or bother to explore it?
No I doubt it. My point was a compliment to you though. You would do what they would not. You would know you don’t know, and you would surround yourself with experts instead of yes men. And your response proves that
I appreciate the clarification, and in theory, I agree with you. But what comes before surrounding oneself with experts is agreeing in the first place to occupy a position for which one has no foundation. That I would not do. These clowns happily will, as if it's some sort of tribute to them. It confirms for them their theory that their position is appropriate, and they deserve to occupy it.
Very well stated, Doctor.
The CDC and WHO are NOT credible sources of information. They have the blood of millions of people worldwide on their hands.
It seems clear that you have never met a single highly trained, dedicated medical researcher, nor do you understand anything about science and the search for evidence-based solutions.
Okay where's your evidence champ? Quit believing rando blogs and .net websites.
What an idiotic thing to say. Must be a Trumptard. Ish.
You’re a fucking moron; of a supreme order.