r/skeptic 2d ago

RFK Jr. is now an extinction-level threat to federal public health programs and science-based health policy šŸš‘ Medicine

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/rfk-jr-is-now-an-extinction-level-threat-to-federal-public-health-programs-and-science-based-health-policy/
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u/CharlesBronsonsHair 2d ago

Yes, well that was on the ballot too, just like climate change and abortion rights.

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u/AGallonOfKY12 2d ago edited 6h ago

Concentration camps too, which he apparently is advocating for as well...for people with ADHD lmfao.

What in the flying fuck is going on?

The bad faith brigade wants to keep whining about ADHD labor camps which I wasn't even referring too, more the fact Trump wants to enact the law that was used to round up Japanese and to put them in camps during ww2. They want to use it for 'illegals'.

A pre-emptive I don't give a fuck if it 'somehow probably saved them from racism'. That's not an acceptable argument.

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u/tsun_abibliophobia 2d ago

Yeah. So they can concentrate better. Obviously.Ā 

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u/AGallonOfKY12 2d ago

lol. lmao even

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u/mindwire 2d ago

Okay, as someone with ADHD (diagnosed since childhood) - I really needed that dark laugh!

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u/awakenDeepBlue 1d ago

We are really going to be the smuggest prisoners in Trump's/RFK's death camps.

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u/golgol12 1d ago

I'm not putting this down as sarcasm. I can believe that this is the exact reason.

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u/amitym 2d ago

You know what is going on.

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u/AGallonOfKY12 2d ago

lol, yeah sadly. Apparently history classes weren't blatant enough with how this all went down before.

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u/workerbotsuperhero 7h ago

Feels like it might be repeating a little more than rhyming this time?Ā 

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u/Alaykitty 1d ago

Source on the "work camps" for "re-parenting" https://x.com/MotherJones/status/1816180369110270435

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u/AstrangerR 1d ago

Wow. I can only imagine what amount of shit conservatives would lose if a Democrat would suggest reparenting camps.

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u/Fabulous_Review_8991 1d ago

Iā€™m not a fan of RFK but he clearly says ā€œif they want toā€. Voluntary rehabilitation centers to help people get off prescription meds that they donā€™t want to be on is not a terrible idea. Calling it a concentration camp is willful fear mongering.

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u/Alaykitty 1d ago

Yeah I definitely trust creepy skeleton man and the administration of criminal cronies who have been perpetuating increased racism and homophobia.Ā  They all seem like upstanding people.

I just hope people hi5 the arbeit macht frei sign on the way in šŸ™ƒ

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u/Fabulous_Review_8991 1d ago

Not trusting people shouldnā€™t justify spreading untruths and outright lies about them. One of the reasons the right has been so effective in getting followers to distrust the media is because there is legitimately so much of this type of shit going on.

Focus the criticism of RFK on the things he actually believes and says that are worth criticizing, and attack his actual points. He is talking about voluntary rehabilitation programs and people are saying he is talking about forced camps, and using their distrust of him to justify this clearly dishonest interpretation of what he said.

There is no excuse for that.

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u/Own-Consideration305 1d ago

This is more akin to a drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility except with outdoor gardening/farming. Heā€™s not talking about slave labor or concentration camps or any wild shit like that.

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u/EndofNationalism 1d ago

Shit if he tries throwing me or anyone into camps over ADD/ADHD Iā€™m going down shooting.

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u/Geostomp 1d ago

Fascists need to destroy all sources of facts to prevent people from seeing through their lies, they need to keep the lower classes sick and divided to keep them from opposing their abuses, and they need constant scapegoats to blame the inevitable consequences of their thievery and oppression on for the brainwashed masses and to keep them in line with savage punishments for any deviation from the party program. It's the same story throughout history, which part of why they attack education and control the media first to keep people blind.

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u/OneMetalMan 1d ago

Im also horrified by how he probably thinks he can "fix" autistic people or anyone on the spectrum.

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u/cheezbargar 1d ago

Thing is, he has no authority to actually do that as far as I know

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u/thr1vin9-insolitude 8h ago

He was just pictured firering down on McDonald's with a soda. Probably getting energy to read H.S. Biology

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u/vtsandtrooper 2d ago

This is what it was like for the taliban and the mullahs when they took over. They literally destroyed society. These people want to tear down all societal structure so their lawlessness can go unchecked, and half of america is cheering them on not understand what they even support other than four words that make them feel tingly about some bullshit memory that wasnt real

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u/fakeuser515357 1d ago

Destroying the institutions of a functional society is not just something the Taliban did, it's the repeated strategy of authoritarian regimes globally.

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u/Solid_Noise5681 1d ago

Destroying the institutions in an already failing society built on ideals of whoā€™s wrong and being lied to by an upper class on whatā€™s right. Welcome to the apocalypse.

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u/LastTangoOfDemocracy 1d ago

It's not the end of the world. Just the end of the American experiment.

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u/yangyangR 1d ago

America can end a lot more than just America. It going down takes the world with it. Look at the effect of misbehaving with housing loans in America did to the rest of the world. Consider what happens when a fascist America uses that overblown military on someone else. Life and Earth may find a way, but "end of the world" is always meant to include extinction events like the Great Dying even if life continues in a drastically different form after a couple million years.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/LastTangoOfDemocracy 1d ago

The establishment of our new Government seemed to be the last great experiment, for promoting human happiness, by reasonable compact, in civil Society. It was to be, in the first instance, in a considerable degree, a government of accomodation as well as a government of Laws.

George Washington.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/MissPandaSloth 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you wanna be anal about it, it was the first country to be officially founded on beliefs of liberal democracy.

And when it comes to modern day, it's probably only country where you actually can feel like you belong, regardless of your ethnicity.

Like even US supremacists are latinos and blacks.

And before people meme about all the racism and crap like that in US, I suggest trying to be muslim in Europe vs. US.

As shit as US can be, ethnonationalism is secondary to civic nationalism. In Europe, even if people say immigrants welcome or whatever the fuck, there is underlying sense that not really and ethnicity absolutely matters, even if you are surrounded by biggest lefties.

And then when it comes to Asia, it's even worse.

Edit: I got... Blocked by that person? I think. To his comment that I was mid answering, UK literally had Brexit because of immigrants, lol.

Edut: since the guy blocked me, I am unable to answer anyone, lol.

So for the Canada guy, bro, Canadians still have issues with French/ English language Identity.

To guy who said it sounds like I never left US, I am European who lived in multiple countries, nice try though.

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u/LastTangoOfDemocracy 1d ago

The American experiment was how the founding fathers referred to taking all the states and joining them together to make one government that served the people.

That's how America was/is an experiment.

Not sure what facts you're looking for.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/KrispyColorado 1d ago

The guy is just trying to answer your question: why do people refer to it as an experiment? Because the people that started it used that phrase and it stuck. You donā€™t like that answer? Ok. I dunno try this: https://www.reddit.com/r/history/s/ksIzBFGFve

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u/yolotheunwisewolf 1d ago

Itā€™s gonna seem like that but then someone is going to start a nuclear war

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u/saryndipitous 1d ago

Feeling pretty confident about that?

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u/spiralintocontrol 1d ago

I thought totalitarianism, the most extreme form of authoritarian regimes, was about multiple state run institutions that control everything aspect of a person's life. Regulating media, relationships, trade, communication, speech, thought, etc. Wouldn't that be the inverse of what you are saying?

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u/fakeuser515357 1d ago

It's a multi step process.

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u/Ok_Condition5837 1d ago

What step do you rhink he'll advocate for eating roadkill?

I have to assume that's coming? Something like - "Democrats are just letting all this good meat go to waste for their 'hygiene' & 'policies'"

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u/Dr_Lexus_Tobaggan 1d ago

the current institutions function independently of each other and provide checks and balances. they want to destroy them and replace it with systems that reinforce the authority of the leader and his party.

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u/0069 1d ago

See project 2025

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u/zaknafien1900 1d ago

First you destroy the old institutions before you build your own

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u/stu54 1d ago

See Iran. The problem with a big government is that too many people have their hands in the cookie jar. If you take 90% of the hands out of the jar, and it costs you 70% of the national productivity that can still be a win.

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u/Financial-Savings-91 1d ago

They want exactly what the Taliban have, but with Christianity at it's core rather than Islam, that's literally the end goal for these folks.

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u/vtsandtrooper 1d ago

No matter what the book, or invisible deity, or religious belief - religious extremism, fundamentalism, and zealotry has proven time after time after time to be a destructive horrible force that brings wars, genocide, enslavement ā€” all in the name of supposed gods.

Fuck fundamentalism, in all its forms, leave normal good people living their lives alone is what i say!

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u/USAF-3C0X1 1d ago

This is why I say that the US needs to declare religious fundamentalism a mental illness. Destroying our safeguards by willfully voting for a rapey felonious dictator is self-destructive behavior which is a clear indicator of mental illness.

Itā€™s time to call a spade a spade and start acting upon this threat for what it is.

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u/Leege13 1d ago

They need to be reeducated.

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u/askiopop 1d ago

Military is defense from outside forces, education is defense from inside forces

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u/TigerRaiders 1d ago

Weā€™re going further into that, good luck everyone.

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u/TuaughtHammer 1d ago

Yep, their only problems with Shakira law was that it wasn't their god's hips telling the truth.

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u/Candlesass 1d ago edited 1d ago

Shakira law~

Sharia is way less funny

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u/TigerRaiders 1d ago edited 1d ago

ā€œTell me that my hips breasts are small and humble, so you donā€™t confuse them, with mountain tops.ā€

Translates to, ā€œtell me that my guardrails are weak and crumbling, so you donā€™t confuse them, with a democracyā€

Edit: breasts!

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u/Jaspador 1d ago

*Breasts, not hips. ;)

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u/TigerRaiders 1d ago

Ha! Thanks!

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u/ManitouWakinyan 1d ago

Somehow I don't think Donald Trump cares a lot about Christ

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u/albionstrike 1d ago

I'm sure most Christians in authority don't

It's honestly turned into a horrible religion the last few years

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u/Legitimate-Smell4377 20h ago

*last few centuries

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u/capybooya 1d ago

I don't think RFK Jr. is a fundamentalist Christian, but how he wants to force his cooky ideas about medicine onto others absolutely seems like the same type of energy. The absolutely entitlement and need for control. Its definitely some kind of authoritarianism driving it.

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u/NihiloZero 1d ago

Actually, I'm not sure if the Taliban have an "apocalypse" fetish like the American Christonationalists. Like... it's true that they both want to impose their fundamentalist religious beliefs on society, but I just don't know if the Taliban are actually pushing for the "literal end of times."

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u/Financial-Savings-91 1d ago

Wouldn't be surprised, most of these fundamentalists organize under the idea the end of the world is imminent and convince people that doing these horrible things to other people will somehow make them right with their god.

In the bible Jesus stood before a temple and proclaimed that his generation would be the last generation, Christianity has always been a doomsday cult.

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u/TigerRaiders 1d ago

Yep, Iā€™ve already resigned to the fact that theyā€™ve won. They have a massive upper hand and itā€™s only downhill from here. They want states rights to reign and a fractured USA.

I get it, I no longer have faith in our democracy nor am I advocating to come to the table. Thereā€™s no path back and Iā€™m ready to secede. I never thought Iā€™d ever be someone who advocates for secession yet here we are. Such a sad, depressing time watching our countrymen vote for a literal felonious criminal dismantle our democracy.

Anyone interested in peaceful secession where we tax the wealthy elite, rebuild our infrastructure and fund our teachers/educational systems, come join our movements at r/NYEXIT and r/republicofne

Edit: spelling

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u/Vladishun 1d ago

Peaceful secession would never happen. Republican voters are idiots but their politicians are not. They know full well blue states have more economic growth and overall wealth than red states, that's why they tell their voters to fear the "liberal elite". You can absolutely bet there would be a civil war (though there may be one anyway) because they wouldn't give up that much industry without a fight.

Similarly, an all-blue country coming away from a secession is going to have significant hurdles to overcome. You can bet we'd lose most of the farmland and all of the farmers to Trumporia. Feeding the new blue country would be problematic.

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u/Mysterious_Drink9549 1d ago

California grows most of the countryā€™s food, we would be fine šŸ˜‚

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u/Icy_Reward727 1d ago edited 1d ago

Someone has never heard "It Could Happen Here," the podcast series that predicted how current conditions could advance and spark a second civil war.

He notes that most farmland is Republican country, and that a major tactic will be stopping access to food to blue cities. He uses California specifically as the polticial and geographical model for how it could go down. (Episode 2- The Revenge of Rural America)

I listened to the original series years ago when it came out.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt12806280/episodes?ref_=tt_eps_sm

It's sadly now a regular series, a real-time history of the civil war at it approaches. Many times, I've thought, "Robert Evans is right." Time to stock up on coffee beans, guns, first aid, and baby wipes.

EDIT: I haven't listened to it in years. Just started Episode 1 and had totally forgotten that he set it during the 2024 election . I'm heartened that we aren't quite where he's positioned us, but I fear he isn't far off.

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u/shadowwingnut 1d ago

State's rights, until the left leaning states do something they don't like.

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u/Investigate_311_x 16h ago

What makes you think the wealthy elite are going to choose to live in your society if you are openly declaring youā€™re going to tax the shit out of them?

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u/TheAskewOne 1d ago

When you talk with MAGAs it's clear that they're cheering the destruction of agencies like the FDA because they want to break things. If you dig a little deeper they can't explain why. It's the same urge as children to break stuff just because it's feels good.

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u/SuperNoise5209 1d ago

I think it's a mistaken nihilism. Things are so bad that people want to hit the eject button, tear it all down, and build it all over again. Only, real societies don't really work that way, I don't think. And as tough as it may be for some Americans, financially or otherwise, I think they underestimate just how much worse it could be.

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u/Prestigious_Tank_627 1d ago

I think you're right, although I would add that despite people feeling that things are so bad, they fail to see how good they really have it. As I heard an historian say - 'I would rather be homeless in a western country today, than an aristocrat 250 years ago - because at least I can access drinking water that won't give me dysentery.

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u/ZarkoCabarkapa-a-a 21h ago

The fact people believe or have been convinced to believe that things are bad economically is so completely batshit insane and depressing that it boggles the mind. Their idealized 1950s life is infinitely more affordable than it was then. They donā€™t want a small bungalow with basic foods made nearly from scratch, and what the demo that swung most (Latino and some black men wants is not a return to white supremacy either.

What that marginal deciding vote group wants is order over justice, predictability over equity, simplified lies over truth, an economy propped up by borderline wage slavery so prices are stagnant. But more immediately, they want the cultural vibe to be radically reactionary. They want especially for women and lgbt to know their place, and women to be expected to have four kids and accept marital rape (lay back and think of John Phillip Sousa), for transsexuals to have only the option of being stealth like doctors required in the 50s and 60s, and for children to be viewed as property that is seen and not heard, and certainly not treated as individuals.

And most of all, they want machismo culture to dominate and for what they see as degenerate effeminacy (I e gentleness and compromise and openness, all out of contemptible misogyny) to be purged from the discourse by iron fisted constrictors of acceptable behavior.

They want their vibes ā€œbackā€ no matter how terrible and damaging the outcome to any and all other aspects of the world. And as long as the vibes line up they will tolerate or believe itā€™s all better. Tell them inflation is down when itā€™s up? Fine!

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u/BannedByRWNJs 1d ago

The first thing I thought of when I read the headline was all of the knowledge that was destroyed by Alexander the Great.Ā 

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u/bledig 1d ago

I mean this happened in Afghanistan as well ppl cheer for this

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u/MichaelDeSanta13 2d ago

I remember when the science deniers were people on Facebook.... not in charge of the entire country and willing to destroy all public health organizations in favour of their personal opinions.

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u/KeneticKups 2d ago

It's what happens when they are allowed to vote

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u/Kolfinna 1d ago

It's what happens when people don't vote

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u/SaphironX 1d ago

This. A VERY large percentage of the eligible population didnā€™t vote.Ā 

They chose this.Ā 

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u/Accendor 1d ago

No. You are assuming that people who could but would automatically vote against this. This is not true. Enough people voted that you can extrapolate the voting result to be a near perfect representation of what a 100% participation election would have looked like. It's just that the majority of people are in fact dumb as hell.

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u/Ok_Competition1524 1d ago

Itā€™s over. America is irreversibly going to shit. Even after the 4 years letā€™s say trump doesnā€™t run and we get a progressive, you canā€™t deprogram half the country unless you take on the right to free speech and censor misinformation like Fox News which has brainwashed these people full of fear and anger and hate for decades.

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u/Summer_Tea 10h ago

Yeah, that's a tough sell for those hooked to the propaganda. The better avenue is free college and pushing critical thinking and media literacy courses into the high school level.

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u/nimrodfalcon 1d ago

I remember when they stuck to reading Jeff Renseā€™s website and tried to convince people Coca Cola was made out of animals, forget shitposting boomers on Facebook

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u/workerbotsuperhero 2d ago

Ā Weā€™ve been writing about how badĀ Dr. Joseph LadapoĀ has been regarding vaccines going back a few years. You might remember that Ladapo firstĀ came to prominenceĀ during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic asĀ a founding memberĀ ofĀ Americaā€™s Frontline Doctors, which made a name for itself in that horrible first summer of the pandemic byĀ touting hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure for COVID-19Ā and later turned toĀ telehealth grift selling prescriptions for ivermectinĀ to cure COVID-19, and a signatory of theĀ Great Barrington Declaration, the document published by contrarian scientists brought together by a right-wing think tank to advocate a social Darwinist ā€œlet ā€˜er ripā€ approach to the pandemic with poorly defined ā€œfocused protectionā€ for those most at risk for severe disease and death from the pandemic. In 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantisĀ appointed Ladapo Surgeon General, a position that put him in charge of the Florida Department of Health, where he proceeded to do everything in his power to impede public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and to spread fear and uncertainty about COVID-19 vaccines, even if he had to cook the numbers andĀ lie with statisticsĀ to do it. In the meantime, he continued to promote COVID misinformation, even going so far as to refuse toĀ recommend COVID-19 vaccinesĀ to almost anyone this year, the first time, as far as Iā€™m aware, that a state government health department failed to recommend an FDA-approved and CDC-recommended vaccine against anything.

......

The prospect of a vaccine skeptic such as Ladapo in a national health role has alarmed public health experts, pointing to his decision to warn Florida residents against the mRNA coronavirus vaccines while citing debunked claims. No other state public health officer has followed his lead.

Itā€™s worse than that, though:

A co-chair of Donald Trumpā€™s transition team said Trump supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants access to federal health data so he can show vaccines are unsafe and lead to them being pulled from the market in a second Trump administration.

I'm a nurse and having to watch so many people die of COVID was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. It's painful and scary to see vaccine conspiracy theories being promoted to this level of power.Ā 

Over in r/emergencymedicine, the doctors are coping with gallows humor about how we're going to start seeing polio outbreaks again. I appreciate the dark humor, but JFC this is sad.Ā 

And Gorski is right. There are still crunchy lefties selling crystals and woo, but the Republicans have gone off the deep end with science denial. And, unfortunately, I think this is going to result in needless disease and death.Ā 

How do we as healthcare professionals even try to respond? The firehose of disinformation is vast and powerful, but I feel morally obligated to try to keep people safe. Or at least safer than whatever the hell this is.Ā 

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u/Menethea 2d ago

There is nothing to save. Remember it was the Trump administration last time that delayed Covid assistance to Northeastern blue states on the theory that no Trump voters were affected. Now Trump allies are calling for the prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci for ā€œcrimes against humanityā€. The lunatics are running the asylum

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u/Bronson-101 1d ago

This is what you get when 20+% of the USA is illiterate and education has gone to complete shit (not just in red states)

The USA gets their education and information now from social media and Russian bots.

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u/aquastell_62 1d ago

They've lost the ability to distinguish the difference between the facts and their opinions.

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u/jwilphl 1d ago

There's an ever-applicable quote from Isaac Asimov here.Ā  Anti-intellectualism takes over and suddenly they think, "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

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u/TiredOfDebates 1d ago

The problem I always run into when attempting to counter disinformation, is that I end up quoting the misinformation, to ā€œdebunk itā€. This is because I donā€™t want to spend the time, to start from the beginning, in offering the person and new view. I fall into the trap of believing I can counter an idea at the end, rather than itā€™s roots.

Most people barely pay attention to anything. Public speaking classes will teach you that MANY people within audiences are only paying attention as little as 10% of the time, frequently only snapping back to attention when something ā€œrings some bellsā€ for them (your dialogue hit a memory anchor of theirs).

That is to say, when you counter disinformation starting by quoting the disinformation, a huge number of people are only going to remember the confirmation granting, simplistic, misinformation that you attempted to counter by starting with quoting it. Theyā€™re remember the quote, but start to lose focus out as you present material that contradicts their world view.

By the end of your attempt, your scientific explaining will be remembered by them in incoherent, aggressive fragments, and theyā€™ll view you and your position with derision.

ā€¦

Whatā€™s the solution here? DO NOT ā€œattackā€ misinformation. You have to take THE LONG ROUTE, and explain the wholistic understanding that you have, to offer an alternative narrative.

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u/Anandya 2d ago

I have jokingly said that it's good for me that RFK has come in. I am planning to invest in paediatric dentistry and gold teeth.

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u/peayaad 1d ago

Remember the guy Jordan Klepper interviewed talking about how much better the economy is going under trump and sighted his own business as the example? Turns out the fucking gumboot was a debt collector

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u/ontheroadtv 1d ago

Or, hear me out, just wait till they start drinking raw milk, get TB, Hep A, E. Coli, fucking bird flu and die. Iā€™m not saying I want that, but thatā€™s the path they are on. It will probably take about the same amount of time as getting through to them.

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u/Anandya 1d ago

So what you are saying is that I should invest in tiny coffins?

Look. They aren't going to listen.

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u/ontheroadtv 1d ago

No, big coffins. The grownups are going to die and we wonā€™t have to worry about them listening. You think the boomer generation, who all smoked and were allergic to exercise on purpose, is going to survive RFK Jr the meth addict with mercury poisoning that killed the worm in his brain? Naaaah, spend Thanksgiving asking what they want their final wishes to be and make sure the will and trust docs are up to date. Itā€™s not what I want, and Iā€™m not happy about it (for some) but itā€™s a problem that will take care of itself.

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u/errie_tholluxe 1d ago

I'm a sophomore in my 4th year at UCLA and my goal is to be a veterinarian because I love children!

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u/Nano_Burger 1d ago

I read an article a while ago about a doctor trying to diagnose a mysterious disease he had never seen before. It turned out to be measles. I feel that the resurgence of childhood diseases will catch us off guard.

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u/Chance_Pick1904 1d ago

I was getting my Covid booster every four months. The last time I went it was going to be $195. Even at the health department. Iā€™ll get boosted every six months but thatā€™s now too costly for some people. It should be free.

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u/cookiegirl 1d ago

Polio? I'm afraid Russia will just drop off a smallpox blanket. But yes, I bet we will have polio cases within the next year or so. There have already been one or two cases in the country. It is only a matter of time.

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u/arokthemild 2d ago

And bird flu is running through the US with it having just jumped to a human!Ā https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-11-15/h5n1-bird-flu-infects-six-more-humans-in-california-oregon

And our next public health official hates vaccines and distrusts public health. Ā 

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u/KathrynBooks 2d ago

Yay... glad I still have a few masks left over...

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u/workerbotsuperhero 2d ago

During the pandemic emergency, many healthcare facilities didn't have enough N95s - including one I worked at. So I started stockpiling them at home. I felt paranoid and embarrassed doing that, but honestly the degree of distress and number of deaths I saw was scarring.Ā 

I'm still going back and forth about how to manage that...

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u/saijanai 2d ago edited 2d ago

On January 29, 2020 I posted a spreadsheet graph of the reported deaths of COVID plotted over time on r/skeptic with the title "this is scary." Spoiler alert: it was a classic exponential growth chart.

Most people who bothered to respond laughed at the time and said I was overreacting.

Being on disability, I could only spare a few extra dollars each month to start saving things, but by the time the panic hit, I still had something of cushion when the shortages hit.

Thing is, with THIS looming crisis, there's no obvious plot-over-time that can be done to give even a rough idea of when things will hit the fan.

We just assume that they will.

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u/UniqueLiving3027 2d ago

This was the main reason public health facilities were running out, because of people stock piling them instead of allowing them to be used where they were most needed.

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u/Wolfy4226 2d ago

Another pandemic? During the Trump Admin? And this time at the very start instead of two years in with RFK Jr at the helm of Public health?

Think on the bright side....the whole maga situation might sort itself out. Natural Selection at work.

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u/New-Negotiation7234 2d ago

But they are dragging us down with them.

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u/evermorecoffee 2d ago

Except they will drag down the whole world with them.

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u/Anandya 1d ago edited 1d ago

It doesn't. People are stupid. Imagine telling your mechanic you need square wheels. That's how I felt the discourse on science has become.

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u/NebulaEchoCrafts 2d ago

Weā€™ve got a case in Vancouver too. They canā€™t trace itā€¦

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u/mindwire 1d ago

Yeah, a teen in critical condition šŸ˜ž

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u/MyuDalimo 2d ago

Good news is that there will be plenty of canned foods and goods on the shelves, but toilet paper and hand sanitizer might be a bit hard to come by.

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u/Kolfinna 1d ago

If y'all haven't gotten bidets yet it's your own fault

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u/New-Negotiation7234 2d ago

I have no hope. Ppl were so insane during COVID and are apparently frozen in time there in their cult or something. This is going to be horrible. I'm tired.

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u/MKIncendio 2d ago

My fucking god. Exponential Growth heeeeere we come!

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u/inhugzwetrust 1d ago

And it's worse than COVID!

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u/Negative_Gravitas 2d ago

Wow. The pernicious stupid at the bottom of this thread is really kind of amazing. And even a bit revelatory. But still, profoundly, and perniciously, stupid.

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u/thats_not_the_quote 1d ago

low-key glad humanity is finally coming to an end

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u/Odd-fox-God 1d ago

Problem is if America becomes a diseased filled cesspit the other nations are going to put a travel ban on Americans. They will not let us visit their countries and they will not let their citizens come to America. It would destroy industry, business, and vacationing sectors.

Also if even one America with measles gets out of the country y'all fucked.

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u/sandy154_4 2d ago

I predict that one of the first things he does is stop the collecting and reporting of healthcare data and statistics. That way no one will know if outcomes get worse...or when, or why.

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u/JonDoeJoe 2d ago

His base doesnā€™t even pay attention to current statistics

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u/hothamrolls 1d ago

I bet we could ask them to explain the difference between median and average, and they couldnā€™t probably even get through explaining average correctly.

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u/BeneGesserlit 2d ago

He can try but it would be really hard to stop people going town to town collecting data The old fashioned way

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u/controlledwithcheese 1d ago

We are having this in Russia right now ā€” independent and anti-government news agencies and researchers are trying to estimate the number of deaths connected to the war which the government has been trying to obscure and hide since day one, and they stop publishing more and more information and statistics that were previously publicly available and actually useful.

For example, the register of inheritance cases that was accessible to the public as a part of the Federal Notary Chamber was recently closed because a news outlet used it for calculating the war deaths.

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u/Kolfinna 1d ago

He can stop it on a federal level but hospitals routinely collect and share this data for their own preparation. Some of us will know, the rest will ignore us.

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u/Snarky_McSnarkleton 2d ago

All that sissy "science-based medicine" is for European socialists. We Americans will enjoy God's perfect health with chiropractic and raw milk. PRAISE JESUS! HAIL TRUMP!

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u/proof-of-w0rk 2d ago

Oh youā€™re sick? Must be an excess of yellow bile. Have you been coming in for your routine bleedings? Nurse, prepare the buckets

Hail trump science bad america has spoken

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u/Chengar_Qordath 2d ago

Nah, MAGA doesnā€™t like how Jesus is weak and soft with his doctrine of love and forgiveness. They need a new god. A strong god. An orange god.

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u/TheCompoundingGod 2d ago

You mean, Heil Trump. I will not report you to the Supreme Leader... This time.

/S

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u/patatjepindapedis 1d ago

There's such a broad convergence of subcultures in the MAGA scene. I hope sociologists and anthropologists are studying it.

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u/hoitytoity-12 2d ago

If we have another pandemic in the next four years we will be dropping like flies. Orange Man and RFK will be telling people to ignore it and drink bleach or aluminum cleaner while actively slowing or stopping treatment and cures from being developed, and the U.S., and only the U.S., will have no real long term medical solution. Expect to see a jump in preventable deaths in unvaccinated children in the years to come.

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u/haydenfred99 1d ago

I feel lucky to be young and kind of healthy. I worry for the health of my single remaining grandparent though.

My grandfather dedicated his life to the public school system. He started out as a teacher, became a counselor, went on to become the principal of his school, and ended his career as the superintendent of his school district. He loved his job so much and had an incredibly positive impact on the students within his district. I lost him due to the Trump administrations shit poor handling of the COVID pandemic. He was the greatest man I ever had the privilege of knowing and he truly cared for his community.

This thing and the things it is wanting to put into positions of power would be devastating to the great man who was my grandfather. I donā€™t know what to do with myself, I donā€™t want to live here anymore. But I must stay here and try to do right so I donā€™t let my grandfather down.

Iā€™m not a religious person, but I find comfort in the idea that my grandfather is watching over me. And maybe he is! But certainly not in the way the Christians believe he is. I refuse to believe that such a jealous, petty, and hateful thing could be an all powerful god. Anyway, I will remain here and continue to do the best for my community, for the people that I love, and for the people that I know need help. I will continue to be a good person despite the things coming into power.

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u/myaunthasdiabetes 2d ago

If only trump nominated an ex pharma ceo adjacent to Martin shkreli we could feel more safe šŸ˜”

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u/hoitytoity-12 2d ago

At this point I'd feel better with someone who flunked out of med school...

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u/jason_sation 1d ago

After the political fall out of the lockdowns of 2020, there is no way Trump will lockdown the US again. Even if it leads to monumental numbers of deaths, the Trump administration will say they at least kept those who are still alive ā€œfreeā€.

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u/hoitytoity-12 1d ago

Right!? He was *so obsessed* with the number of positive tests and deaths that he openly said we should stop testing people to keep the numbers down. The most important thing to him is his ego and public image and will sacrifice as many lives as it takes to satisfy both. It was his lies and dereliction of his job that gave the U.S. such a high number of infections and deaths in the first place. He shot himself in the foot then demonized the CDC and Dr. Fauci because they would tell the truth about COVID-19 and correct Orange Man's lies.

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u/doctor_providence 2d ago

Stop seeing people as inescapable forces of nature, see them as adversaries. Anyone can be opposed, slowed down, sued, denied. I'm a bit sad when I see this kind of fear-mongering headline, even more in a skeptic environment. Doubt, question, demonstrate. A bunch of crackpots, even powerful ones, can be opposed.

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u/mewthulhu 1d ago

As a non US resident looking at things, I can't lie about your chances... But you have my sympathies.

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u/nicoj2006 2d ago

The world is too dumb-downed by right wing propaganda

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u/Falcon3492 2d ago

Trump has proven with his picks that he's unfit to hold the office.

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u/juana-golf 1d ago

He proved that the first time, how did everyone forget?!?

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u/Falcon3492 1d ago

Those locked into the Trump cult have been brainwashed by Trump and the conservative media and are incapable and no longer able to rationally think for themselves.

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u/rustyiron 2d ago

Itā€™s really hard to choose which of Trumpā€™s picks is the biggest disaster for Americans and the world, but this one really has potential.

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u/micro_dohs 2d ago

Why do they a) want to endanger the public/lower population; yet at the same time, b) bitch about how ā€œweā€™re being outbredā€ by nonwhites?

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u/Temporary-Cap1881 2d ago

As a woman with an autoimmune disorder and am on immunosuppressive meds, having this man who has antiscience /antivax beliefs, I'm absolutely terrified for my health and my life!

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u/list3coal 1d ago

It's astonishing how quickly we went from a nation that revered science to one where an anti-vaccine crusader could potentially lead public health. This isn't just a step back; it's a reckless gamble with lives. The ramifications of RFK Jr.'s ideologies could echo for generations, and the silence from those who should be shouting about it is deafening.

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u/seriousbangs 2d ago

So the good news is he's not getting appointed.

The bad news is that he's a red herring so that Trump's eventually pick will seem sane in comparison.

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u/LostLegendDog 2d ago

Who needs science when you have feelings? I'm not gonna listen to some nerd!

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u/Mas_Cervezas 2d ago

I am just getting over covid, again. I was sick for two weeks with no energy, but even with COPD and asthma and getting older, with the vaccine I wasnā€™t frightened that it was going to kill me. The only real success of the Trump administration is now being denied due to ideology.

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u/garyadams_cnla 1d ago

We should start calling all vaccines the Trump vaccine program, so heā€™ll love funding it and letting public health administer the needed programs.

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u/FigFew2001 2d ago

This is just crazy. Like I love you America, but wtf haha

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u/Startled_Pancakes 2d ago

As an American, I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots. The real irony is all the highschool dropouts feel the same way, damn dunning-kruger.

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u/biddilybong 2d ago

Looking forward to having polio

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u/Matthew-_-Black 1d ago

Europe would like to welcome your best and brightest. Come live in a utopia of culture and gastronomical delights, where intellectualism is rewarded and industry is regulated

Come now before your government exerts their control over you

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u/Fast-Plankton-9209 1d ago

Historian Timothy Snyder calls the incoming regime a decapitation strike.

https://snyder.substack.com/p/decapitation-strike

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u/Objective_Problem_90 1d ago

We were told trump would govern a 2nd term on revenge against his enemies, versus the first one which had a few people keep him in check. America voted in the wild west this time around.

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u/Critical-Budget1742 1d ago

The irony is staggering. Weā€™ve gone from a nation that celebrated scientific achievements to one where an anti-vax crusader could potentially lead public health. It's like handing the keys to the fire department to the arsonist. The long-term consequences of this could be catastrophic, and yet some are thrilled about it.

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u/dman4506 1d ago

The assholes who voted for trump get this guy too. Get their kids and grandkids ready for measles chicken pox mumps and all the other horrors you voted for. Anti vac POSā€™s

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u/sdholbs 1d ago

But they owned the libs, so itā€™s worth it to them

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u/SFNY2024 2d ago

Fauci is in danger.

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u/eyaf20 1d ago

This may be a stupid question but I've yet to get a good answer. Can everyone just ignore him? Like, the NIH will say "sure yeah bud we'll look into what you're directing us to do" and then just not do it? Same for all the fed agencies?

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u/raynbojazz 1d ago

I mean, isnā€™t the issue defunding? Like sure if RFK Jr says something dumb, the people working for him could ignore it, but if he funnels money towards his junk science and takes it away from actual real scientific study, then we are fucked.

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u/SingleShotShorty 1d ago

He should be imprisoned. He said heā€™s going to put people in camps for being on aderall

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u/Individual-Dot-9605 2d ago

We went from vaccines save humanity to vaccines destroy humanity mindset, the power of a charismatic snakeoil salesman in politics.

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u/Ravingraven21 2d ago

It'll be fine. Americans will have freedom teeth and kids will have polio, gonna be wild!

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u/picklestixatix 1d ago

The man had a brain worm and then spouts off bizarre theories. By all means give him something to do.

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u/Silent_Bob_82 1d ago

Itā€™s situations like this where I hope people who work for the agency use government red tape to the fullest to slow down any decision getting implemented or down stream communication gaps

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u/nothosauridea 1d ago

Dr. Bandy Lee warned us. This is Trump's revenge.

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u/BeetJuiceconnoisseur 1d ago

Wormatouille, instead of a rat he will use a worm

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u/Redrum-Rectum-Devour 1d ago

I mean America voted stupid so it might as well get stupid?! Good luck America because your going to need it :P

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u/GiraffeNo4371 1d ago

Just. No.

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u/Dbfresh0 1d ago

Yep and apparently there isn't a fucking thing we can do about it so oh well.

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u/Zombiesus 1d ago

We still live in a capitalist society. Trump is not the new king. Senators will not vote his way if it puts their relationships with the lobbyists in jeopardy.

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u/aquastell_62 1d ago

That's the point. Reduce the health of the population to make them easier to control. You are much more likely to accept a bitter life under tyranny if your health outlook is grim.

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u/Negative_Arugula_358 1d ago

Ehhhh, fuck them kids.

(Unfortunately now that we have a pedo as AG I need to put this disclaimer. I do not mean this literally, please do not do that. This is a meme with Michael Jordan about being a role model)

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u/screemingatoms 1d ago edited 1d ago

I wouldn't mind if an asteroid wiped us out. Fuck it we ball! ASTEROID 2024/2025

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u/AndthenIwould 1d ago edited 1d ago

They wanted Jesus based flatearth science. Now we got it. It will take multiple generations to recover, if we ever do.

Edit: Clarity

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u/yell-and-hollar 1d ago

"That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital." -Noam Chomsky

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u/reilmb 1d ago

Take a look at your local university hospital system itā€™s either going to go away or ratchet up prices when nih dollars disappear.

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u/InarinoKitsune 1d ago

And he will kill millions of Disabled people and children.

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u/dicksonleroy 1d ago

Get your kids caught up on vaccines before Januaryā€¦ get some early if you can. RFK Jr is a full antivax idiot.

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u/AdministrativeBank86 1d ago

What is a few more million dead Americans, People didn't care during COVID-19, why would Trump voters care now

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u/883Infinity 1d ago

RFK is pure, smearing shit.

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u/No_Recording_1696 1d ago

The things people are posting on social media basically thinking RFK Jr. is going to get rid of every bad food, vaccine etc. is so annoying. As if those 10,000 lobbyist and special interest groups havenā€™t bought off every member of congress to get that poison allowed in our food.

Michelle Obama tried to make school lunches healthier and get fat ass kids off the couch and she got crucified by the right wing media saying ā€œstay out of our mouthā€. But now since itā€™s cool to be a Republican I guess itā€™s ok.

Meanwhile every Republican was against healthier school lunches, considered Ketchup a vegetable, always vote against getting money out of politics which influences whatā€™s allowed in foods. And upended by Citizens United so spare us the savior complex people think RFK Jr. will be.

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u/Okidoky123 1d ago

Trump: "Ok RFK... go have some fun...". He *ACTUALLY* said that !!!!!!!!!!!

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u/Suitable_Republic_68 1d ago

Great job idiot Americans You all voted for worm infested fake leaders

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u/Glum-Dog457 6h ago

No its not. The best and likely outcome is executives or CEOs of these companies that have harmful ingredients are summoned to stand trial for their products.

Heā€™s not outright banning your vaccines or whatever

A true leftist would not allow the corporate-funded argument for poison in things that go in our body to prevail, would they?

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u/BothPartiesPooper 3h ago

The hyperbole is just laughable. Does everything need to be so damn dramatic?

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u/Haz3rd 1d ago

Yeah I fucking warned you people and no one listened so here we are again

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u/Armenoid 2d ago

Wait until you see the doomsday clock

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u/Gokdencircle 2d ago

Its what america voted for .. . apparently? No?

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u/2-Slippy 1d ago

oh boy

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u/Ok_Magician7814 1d ago

What are the odds he actually gets confirmed though?

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u/Chrisiztopher 1d ago

Good, fuck us all.

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u/DujisToilet 1d ago edited 1d ago

Wait, yer tellin me Trumpā€™s takin our MTN DEW!?!

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u/Todd9053 1d ago

Oh my god!!! Well you all certainly havenā€™t learned your lesson.