Pre-COVID, I would have deferred to the judgment of the "experts" on the safety and effectiveness of medicines and vaccines, at least compared to what I thought were the rantings of "conspiracy theorists" like RFK, Jr.
I would have been wrong to do so. Too many of the "conspiracy theories" have proven to be true, and our public health establishment has proven to be untrustworthy.
I thought I was pretty cynical back then and didn't just "trust" everything I was told by Big Pharma, the FDA, or any of the "public health" authorities. But I also thought that many of the activists on the other side were "truthers" who were just quacks. So, while I was skeptical, I generally thought the public health people were doing the best they could most of the time.
If COVID showed us anything, it's that unaccountable bureaucracy breeds arrogance, corruption, a willingness to lie, and a growing indifference to the well-being of the people they are supposed to serve. It really doesn't matter what walk of life we are discussing,
Anyone notice how the senators opposing RFK Jr are the same ones who've never stepped in a gym or questioned big pharma?
— Malcolm FleX - Chaotic Neutral Mercenary (@Malcolm_fleX48) January 29, 2025
Funny how those making health policy choices look like they haven't made a healthy choice in ages?
What does that tell you about who we should really trust? https://t.co/3rkVapn6sP pic.twitter.com/nUB1XqFIJT
RFK, Jr. is going to take a sledgehammer to a bureaucracy that sorely needs to be remodeled. As with all remodels, the bones of the structure will survive--in this case, the commitment to the original missions of these agencies--but the arrangement of the rooms, the furniture, the internal structures, and the final product will be profoundly different.
This needs to happen, and while it is true that RFK, Jr. may make mistakes along the way--who doesn't--none of them can be remotely comparable to the damage that is being done by the current structure.
An excellent, and sober piece from @VPrasadMDMPH in @TheFP:
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) November 19, 2024
A Simple Litmus Test for RFK Jr.’s Ideas
The media describes the new HHS chief as a conspiracy theorist. But how many of his ideas are actually used in Europe? More than you’d think.https://t.co/TUUbzeUz3j
I've thought long and hard about my motives for supporting the nomination of Kennedy. Am I just being loyal to Trump and ignoring whatever misgivings I might otherwise have had? After all, if Biden had put RFK, Jr. in the same position, I would have been deeply skeptical (although I know he never would because it would drive Big Medicine nuts). So why not now?
COVID. Not just COVID, but definitely COVID. The current order is not sustainable. Under Fauci at the NIH, HHS created a killer virus that left tens of millions of people dead, lied about it, destroyed trust in our public health system, enriched Big Pharma while harming many millions more, and proved itself to be deeply corrupt.
The biggest knock on RFK, Jr. is his stance on vaccines, which while it is not "anti-Vax," it is pro-skepticism. He wants to strip vaccine manufacturers immunity from liability, and will demand much more stringent safety standards than we have now.
“Are you supportive of the onesies!?!
— Cruadin (@cruadin) January 29, 2025
I'm a Senator, you have to listen to me!!
Answer the question!!!
Why won't you answer the question about onesies, Mr. Kennedy!?!
Ha-ha, I've got you now ... the onesies !!!@!"
* I'm so glad I don't watch these hearings, sheer lunacy https://t.co/5bJLYUV4mO
Whether RFK, Jr. is right on any particular vaccine really isn't the point in my view--after all, we learned in recent years that whatever we have been told, we can't trust the public health authorities on the safety and effectiveness of any medical innovation, and that they are perfectly willing to lie, hide evidence, make questionable decisions, and even harm people for their own purposes.
Remember, Senate Democrats voted to make a mentally unstable man the 4-star admiral in charge of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) January 29, 2025
They lost their ability to pretend Trump’s nominees are unqualified. pic.twitter.com/21Lazd9JZC
In other words, the public health establishment's credibility is not threatened by Kennedy, but by their own corruption. People have been losing faith in vaccines under the current regime, so the question is moot. The credibility is gone, and Kennedy's call for thorough safety studies is the only way to reestablish the credibility of the institutions that are supposed to tell us the truth and protect us.
Is every one of these senate hearings going to be the recreation of this meme? pic.twitter.com/oeO8DrLpPi
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) January 29, 2025
Kennedy's critique of Big Food and Big Pharma are spot on, even if some of his opinions on particular products may not prove to be true. He is not going to ban vaccines, make everybody eat organic, or impose all his opinions on the country. If you recall, it was the prior regime that imposed its horrible, misguided, and truly damaging policies on everybody, and sought to censor any dissent.
Senator Warren received over $1,000,000 in pharmaceutical lobbying dollars during 2019-2020.
— Lauren Lee (@sheislaurenlee) December 13, 2024
Out of the entire Senate, she ranks 2nd for making the most money off of the COVID crisis.
Now she wants you to think RFK Jr. is the enemy. Are we surprised? pic.twitter.com/mIihMYSaHI
If you truly believe that the vociferous opposition to his nomination is based solely on a deep concern for public health, look at the people who are leading the charge against him. They are all deeply in hock to the pharmaceutical companies. This doesn't make them wrong per se, but it makes their criticisms suspect.
This senator is saying RFK Jr. disputes “settled science”.
— Kaizen D. Asiedu (@thatsKAIZEN) January 29, 2025
The term “settled science” is incoherent.
Science is a process, not a conclusion.
Science is an inquiry, not an institution.
Science isn’t dogmatic, it’s curious.
“The Science” should always be up for review. pic.twitter.com/ZsaA1iPp0v
Kennedy is right on the big issues, and picking apart his wide-ranging opinions on various topics misses the bigger point: the current system, which people are using to bash him, is even wrong on the big issues. Criticizing him based on what the Establishment tells us is deeply flawed. He is right on the big things in way that no HHS Secretary has been in living memory, and will dismantle a deeply corrupt system--or at least try to.
Elizabeth Warren has humiliating psychotic breakdown doing everything she can to protect her big corporate pharma donors.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 29, 2025
RFK ends her in 7 second masterclass:
RFK: "You're asking me not to sue pharma companies"
Warren: "NO I AM NOT!"
RFK: "That's exactly what you're doing" pic.twitter.com/I2SCwy4K4R
Every one of the Senators haranguing him today were in lockstep with a regime that gave us COVID and the pandemic responses that killed people, harmed kids, lied to us every step along the way, and approves drugs that do more harm than good and do nothing but enrich pharmaceutical companies.
RFK, Jr. is committed to finding the over 340,000 immigrant children who have gone missing in the HHS system, confirming that many of them have been sex trafficked. pic.twitter.com/A4qltodpJr
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) January 29, 2025
Do I expect RFK, Jr. to be right on everything? Obviously not. But I am less skeptical of his arguments, and more convinced than ever that the current system if fundamentally broken.
Somebody has to fix it. Let's give RFK, Jr. a chance.
