They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.

[Jolly]

Man, Big Pharma really doesn't want him in there, do they?

[jon-nyc]

That’s his cousin (once removed).

[jon-nyc]

When you hear ‘my uncle’ a hundred times in a row it makes you realize what a strange word ‘uncle’ is.

His gravelly voice doesn’t help.

[Jolly]

@jon-nyc said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

That’s his cousin (once removed).

Of course. Bought and paid for. Who do you think is orchestrating the push-back?

[jon-nyc]

Despite the fact that he’s a nanny state leftist he really fits in with maga.

A key part of maga is projection. Invent stories about election theft as cover to try to steal an election. Bogus lawfare claims to justify lawfare at scale.

He claims big politicians are harming children for money. Meanwhile his policies would kill thousands and he disclosed a huge financial stake in an antivaxx lawsuit.

[jon-nyc]

@Jolly said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

@jon-nyc said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

That’s his cousin (once removed).

Of course. Bought and paid for. Who do you think is orchestrating the push-back?

Everyone who is both humane and intelligent.

[Doctor Phibes]

Before he was bought out by Trump, most normal conservatives (as opposed to whacky conspiracy theorists) admitted he was crazy. Now, apparently he's something else.

[jon-nyc]

But what about the SAD? Don’t you want that fixed Jon?

Sure. But I’m reminded of what the republicans (rightly) said to GOP primary voters about Ron Paul 20 years ago.

All the stuff that he’s says that you like? Reducing the size of government, paying off the debt, balancing the budget, etc. he can’t do that without big majorities in congress.

All the scary shit he says? Pulling back US troops from everywhere and weakening our defense posture? He can do that day one.

Same with RFK Jr. He’s mostly powerless to change big food and beverage. But he can fuck with vaccines and therapeutics at will.

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

Before he was bought out by Trump, most normal conservatives (as opposed to whacky conspiracy theorists) admitted he was crazy. Now, apparently he's something else.

You could always listen to the confirmation hearings and come to a conclusion based on your own observations, rather than sound bites from podcasts, carefully culled from his entire history, and without context. I'm really not worried about him.

[LuFins Dad]

@Doctor-Phibes said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

Before he was bought out by Trump, most normal conservatives (as opposed to whacky conspiracy theorists) admitted he was crazy. Now, apparently he's something else.

No, many of us still think he’s nuts and possibly dangerous. I will say that his stuff about the food dyes and some of the preservatives deserve a serious conversation. I mean, why the heck are they using dyes in ibuprofen, Benadryl, etc?

[Horace]

@jon-nyc said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

Same with RFK Jr. He’s mostly powerless to change big food and beverage. But he can fuck with vaccines and therapeutics at will.

It would be strange to consider the power of an influential public figure and their messaging to be impotent. But to the point of being authoritarian in controlling what people eat, he has explicitly denied that that is his goal. Something about how, if people want their McDonalds, they should have their McDonalds.

[jon-nyc]

It’s an easy denial because he can’t takeaway their McDonald’s.

[jon-nyc]

I’ve agreed with you in the past that cultural change among red state America vis a vis their atrocious diet would be a good thing. Rogan types are probably better vectors for that than a roided up old drug dealer. Hard to imagine Trump becoming a role model for being svelte and eating well.

[Horace]

@jon-nyc And neither will he take away their vaccines, as much fun as deploying that rhetoric may be. I know your source of truth will be soundbites from podcasts, and I know you'll never listen to his confirmation hearings, so there you will stay.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Horace said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

@Doctor-Phibes said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

Before he was bought out by Trump, most normal conservatives (as opposed to whacky conspiracy theorists) admitted he was crazy. Now, apparently he's something else.

You could always listen to the confirmation hearings and come to a conclusion based on your own observations, rather than sound bites from podcasts, carefully culled from his entire history, and without context. I'm really not worried about him.

I don't think my conclusions are the problem here.

[Jolly]

@LuFins-Dad said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

@Doctor-Phibes said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

Before he was bought out by Trump, most normal conservatives (as opposed to whacky conspiracy theorists) admitted he was crazy. Now, apparently he's something else.

No, many of us still think he’s nuts and possibly dangerous. I will say that his stuff about the food dyes and some of the preservatives deserve a serious conversation. I mean, why the heck are they using dyes in ibuprofen, Benadryl, etc?

I think he's wrong in some of his views. Trump has already assured people he had a long talk with RFK on vaccines before nominating him. He's been told hands off, particularly in regard to the older, standard childhood vaccines.

OTOH, RFK has some views I agree with on sugar content, high fructose corn syrup, dyes in our food and medicine, population obesity and the cost of drugs in the U.S. vs. the rest of the world.

[jon-nyc]

@Horace said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

@jon-nyc And neither will he take away their vaccines, as much fun as deploying that rhetoric may be. I know your source of truth will be soundbites from podcasts, and I know you'll never listen to his confirmation hearings, so there you will stay.

Put your JDS down for a spell and let’s talk about the issue at hand.

I believe he ‘won’t take away our vaccines’. But I suspect he would take initial, and deadly, steps such as mandate a Phase 4 placebo-controlled trial for most of them.

[Horace]

If RFK and his messaging can make a dent in obesity and eating habits in general, the good of that will overwhelm any of these fanciful thought experiments about what a person who said those things on those podcasts might do if he were dictator for life.

[Doctor Phibes]

@LuFins-Dad said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

I will say that his stuff about the food dyes and some of the preservatives deserve a serious conversation.

Yes, he occasionally hits a target. The American diet is something else we should all be thinking about.

However, either he's seriously anti-vaccination, or he's cynically exploited people's fears in order to gain support. Neither alternative is good.

[Jolly]

@Doctor-Phibes said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

@LuFins-Dad said in They haven't spoken over a few hours in years.:

I will say that his stuff about the food dyes and some of the preservatives deserve a serious conversation.

Yes, he occasionally hits a target. The American diet is something else we should all be thinking about.

However, either he's seriously anti-vaccination, or he's cynically exploited people's fears in order to gain support. Neither alternative is good.

No, I think he's seriously anti-vax.