Is it too much to ask that the Trump administration simply tells the damn truth?
That's all I ask. Just stop lying. I'm fine with having differences of opinion over policy. For example, claiming that unhooking from fossil fuels and switching to renewable energy would be an unreasonable burden on our economy is not the same thing as saying climate change isn't occurring.
The first is a policy question we could discuss, and perhaps, come to consensus about. The second is a lie. And as long as you're simply lying about the facts, there is no discussion to be had.
Take, for example, the person who would have to be included in the top five most dangerous members of this regime; Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is an anti-science ideologue of the worst sort, and because of him the CDC is now limiting access to COVID-19 vaccinations and canceling funding for this year's flu vaccine -- including the potentially pandemic bird flu.
All part of his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign. Because horrible policies are just fine as long as you give them a snappy name, right?
Of course right.
It doesn't end with anti-vaxx nonsense, either. Just this week, RFK stated that gender-affirming care for individuals with gender dysphoria should be discontinued -- once again, flying in the face of scientific study after scientific study. Ignore the science, he says; instead, listen to the directives from the government.
And what is the government suggesting instead?
Why, "conversion therapy."
Yep, the same thing that was touted to "cure homosexuality," and which (once again) study after study has shown to be (1) ineffective, and (2) psychologically damaging. RFK's letter to healthcare providers states that they should uphold their oaths to "do no harm" by following a strategy that has been conclusively shown to do harm.
Then there's his report on "gold-standard" scientific research that allegedly supports his viewpoints on holistic health and the sins of Big Pharma -- which contains (1) dozens of citations that were identified as mischaracterized by the actual authors themselves, and (2) at least seven citations for studies that appear to be nonexistent. In other words, RFK pulled the middle-school bibliography-boosting stunt of making up plausible-looking sources, taking others and claiming they said things they didn't actually say, and hoping like hell no one notices.
Well, someone noticed. But did he retract the report and apologize?
Ha. Of course he didn't. This administration never apologizes for anything. Confronted by their own blatant lies, they just double down, stamping their feet and saying "it is so true!", and rely on the fact that their supporters have no scientific training and very short memories.
Oh, and also this week, he promised a ban on federally-funded medical researchers from publishing in top-flight journals like Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Journal of the American Medical Association. Why? Because they're "corrupt." Instead, he wants them to publish in a journal he's going to run, after vetting researchers as "good, legitimate scientists" -- meaning, of course, that they agree with him.
Look, it's not (as I've said many times before) that I'm unaware of the problems inherent in the American medical system. My wife is a nurse, so I hear about a lot of it from her, and I've witnessed the misery that friends and family members have gone through trying to navigate their way through predatory insurance companies, inefficient and understaffed medical care providers, and ridiculously overpriced pharmaceuticals. I have one friend who's had a ton of chronic health problems, and has gone through the wringer with misprescribed medications and unmanaged side effects.
But RFK is making a bad situation much, much worse. His outright lies and barrage of unapologetic misinformation are going to kill people, pure and simple. But my guess is that no one is going to pull on the reins, because we can't stop a program called "Make America Healthy Again," right? What, do you want to Make America Unhealthy Again?
Honestly, I put the lion's share of the blame here on the members of Congress who voted to approve his appointment to the Cabinet. It's not like his views were some kind of a secret; we knew about incidents like his lies about the measles vaccine resulting in an epidemic in Samoa that killed eighty people. The man goes way past "unqualified," into the territory of "outright dangerous." He should never have been appointed, much less confirmed.
So this is episode #352,981 of "We Tried To Warn You." And now we're seeing the results of that dreadful lapse of civic responsibility on the part of our elected officials.
All I can say is that insofar as you can, take care of your health. Take precautions, get the vaccines that are available, and educate yourself using actual scientific research and not Ministry of Propaganda doublespeak. Even so, my suspicion is that it's going to be a rough few years.
No comments:
Post a Comment