RFK to HHS
- Thread starter dbmhoosier
- Start date
Are we not counting Gaetz because he didn't make it as far as an official nomination?
Yes, but then again I don’t think even Trump thought Gaetz was a legitimate nominee. I think he did it as a favor to Gaetz, while laughing behind his back. It’s like when my dad drove me to basketball tryouts in junior high.
I think he might be doing the same with RFK Jr. I don't think Trump gives a damn about him, but wants to be able to say he fulfilled his promise to him to nominate him.
We'll see, though. Maybe he gets through. Whatever happens, the govt. is going to be facing a lot of litigation over the next four years.
first person recap
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. walked into his Senate confirmation hearing like a man stepping onto an ice rink wearing banana peels for shoes. He had one job: convince the world that he was not a bug-eyed conspiracy theorist who once hoarded a whale head and left a bear carcass in Central Park. Instead, he walked out as the leading cause of migraines among Democratic senators.
This was supposed to be his moment of redemption, his big I’m-not-actually-insane speech. Instead, it turned into a political demolition derby featuring protesters screaming that he was a liar and a killer, Bernie Sanders interrogating him about baby clothes, Elizabeth Warren asking if he planned to run HHS like a side hustle, and a surreal moment where Kennedy had to confirm that he probably said Lyme disease was a military bioweapon. By the end of the day, Capitol Police had forcibly removed more people from the chamber than a dive bar on St. Patrick’s Day.
Kennedy barely got through his opening statement before a woman exploded from the gallery like a jack-in-the-box filled with rage and science degrees.
“YOU LIE!” she screamed, holding up a sign that read VACCINES SAVE LIVES before being swiftly tackled and dragged out by Capitol Police.
Kennedy blinked rapidly, which is how you know he was hearing the voice of the worm that used to live in his brain whispering, Abort mission, Bobby. Abort mission.
A brief moment of peace settled over the room, and then it happened again.
“YOU'RE KILLING PEOPLE!” another protester howled, launching into a full-body rage spiral before security carried her out, legs kicking, like a screaming suitcase with opinions.
Kennedy took a deep breath and tried to regain his footing, but Senator Ron Wyden had been waiting for this moment like a prosecutor with a personal vendetta.
“Are you lying to us, Mr. Kennedy?” Wyden snapped, staring daggers at him.
Kennedy forced a nervous smile, but it came out looking like he’d just been told he had to fight a horse for a parking spot.
“That claim has been repeatedly debunked,” he said, attempting to sound reasonable despite an entire room full of people who were watching YouTube compilations of him saying the exact opposite.
Wyden wasn’t buying it.
“You signed a petition to restrict access to the COVID vaccine. Did you or did you not?”
Kennedy mumbled something about the petition being “misrepresented” as the air in the room thickened with sweat, bad decisions, and organic supplements.
Wyden was gearing up for a finishing blow when another protester detonated like a landmine.
“YOU’RE A FRAUD!” she shrieked as security dragged her away in a full-body lock.
Even the cops looked exhausted now.
Then came Bernie Sanders, a man who has not been in the mood for nonsense since 1972.
“Are you supportive of these baby onesies?” he demanded.
The room froze.
Kennedy’s brain crashed like a Windows 98 PC.
“Excuse me?”
Sanders lifted a printed-out photo of a baby bodysuit covered in anti-vaccine slogans.
“These are being sold by the Children’s Health Defense, the organization you founded.”
Kennedy looked like he had just accidentally eaten a ghost pepper and was trying to play it cool.
“I—I don’t have oversight over that organization anymore,” he mumbled.
Sanders cracked his knuckles like a man ready to fistfight a CEO and leaned in.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?”
Kennedy started sweating through his suit.
Laughter rippled through the room. A Republican senator actually covered his face.
Kennedy, now looking desperate for a fire alarm to pull, tried to pivot to his real passion: banning corn syrup.
Sanders wasn’t having it.
Then Elizabeth Warren took the mic, radiating pure prosecutorial energy.
“Will you commit to not taking money from pharmaceutical companies while serving as Secretary of Health?” she asked, in the tone of a woman who already knew the answer but was going to enjoy watching him squirm.
Kennedy grinned like a dog that just chewed up your furniture and is hoping you’ll laugh it off.
“I don’t think they’d want to give me money,” he chuckled.
Warren did not chuckle.
“Will you commit to not profiting from lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies while serving as HHS Secretary?”
Kennedy froze. The color drained from his face.
“You’re asking me not to sue drug companies?” he said, voice rising.
“No, I’m not going to agree to that.”
Warren’s eyes gleamed like a hawk spotting a wounded rabbit.
“So you’ll be suing the same companies you’re supposed to regulate?”
Kennedy looked like he wanted to melt into his chair.
Then came Michael Bennet, a man who had been waiting patiently to drop a grenade into Kennedy’s lap.
"Did you say that Lyme disease was a militarily engineered bioweapon?” Bennet asked, deadpan.
Kennedy hesitated.
“I probably said that.”
The audience gasped. Bennet cocked an eyebrow.
“Did you say that pesticides turn children transgender?”
Kennedy turned bone white.
“I don’t recall saying that.”
Bennet’s lip twitched.
“But you do recall saying Lyme disease was a bioweapon?”
Kennedy looked like he had been hit by a tranquilizer dart. Even the Republican senators were staring at their desks, avoiding eye contact.
The hearing finally adjourned, but Kennedy is not in the clear yet. His next grilling is scheduled for tomorrow, and there’s no telling how much worse it can get. His opponents smell blood. His supporters are already crafting conspiracy theories about the deep state.
And if the vote ends in a deadlock, Vice President JD Vance will cast the deciding vote.
Yes, JD Vance—the political equivalent of a wet cardboard box—will determine if a man once partially controlled by a brain parasite will run America’s health system.
The nation waits in suspense. Pass the whiskey.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. walked into his Senate confirmation hearing like a man stepping onto an ice rink wearing banana peels for shoes. He had one job: convince the world that he was not a bug-eyed conspiracy theorist who once hoarded a whale head and left a bear carcass in Central Park. Instead, he walked out as the leading cause of migraines among Democratic senators.
This was supposed to be his moment of redemption, his big I’m-not-actually-insane speech. Instead, it turned into a political demolition derby featuring protesters screaming that he was a liar and a killer, Bernie Sanders interrogating him about baby clothes, Elizabeth Warren asking if he planned to run HHS like a side hustle, and a surreal moment where Kennedy had to confirm that he probably said Lyme disease was a military bioweapon. By the end of the day, Capitol Police had forcibly removed more people from the chamber than a dive bar on St. Patrick’s Day.
Kennedy barely got through his opening statement before a woman exploded from the gallery like a jack-in-the-box filled with rage and science degrees.
“YOU LIE!” she screamed, holding up a sign that read VACCINES SAVE LIVES before being swiftly tackled and dragged out by Capitol Police.
Kennedy blinked rapidly, which is how you know he was hearing the voice of the worm that used to live in his brain whispering, Abort mission, Bobby. Abort mission.
A brief moment of peace settled over the room, and then it happened again.
“YOU'RE KILLING PEOPLE!” another protester howled, launching into a full-body rage spiral before security carried her out, legs kicking, like a screaming suitcase with opinions.
Kennedy took a deep breath and tried to regain his footing, but Senator Ron Wyden had been waiting for this moment like a prosecutor with a personal vendetta.
“Are you lying to us, Mr. Kennedy?” Wyden snapped, staring daggers at him.
Kennedy forced a nervous smile, but it came out looking like he’d just been told he had to fight a horse for a parking spot.
“That claim has been repeatedly debunked,” he said, attempting to sound reasonable despite an entire room full of people who were watching YouTube compilations of him saying the exact opposite.
Wyden wasn’t buying it.
“You signed a petition to restrict access to the COVID vaccine. Did you or did you not?”
Kennedy mumbled something about the petition being “misrepresented” as the air in the room thickened with sweat, bad decisions, and organic supplements.
Wyden was gearing up for a finishing blow when another protester detonated like a landmine.
“YOU’RE A FRAUD!” she shrieked as security dragged her away in a full-body lock.
Even the cops looked exhausted now.
Then came Bernie Sanders, a man who has not been in the mood for nonsense since 1972.
“Are you supportive of these baby onesies?” he demanded.
The room froze.
Kennedy’s brain crashed like a Windows 98 PC.
“Excuse me?”
Sanders lifted a printed-out photo of a baby bodysuit covered in anti-vaccine slogans.
“These are being sold by the Children’s Health Defense, the organization you founded.”
Kennedy looked like he had just accidentally eaten a ghost pepper and was trying to play it cool.
“I—I don’t have oversight over that organization anymore,” he mumbled.
Sanders cracked his knuckles like a man ready to fistfight a CEO and leaned in.
“Are you supportive of these onesies?”
Kennedy started sweating through his suit.
Laughter rippled through the room. A Republican senator actually covered his face.
Kennedy, now looking desperate for a fire alarm to pull, tried to pivot to his real passion: banning corn syrup.
Sanders wasn’t having it.
Then Elizabeth Warren took the mic, radiating pure prosecutorial energy.
“Will you commit to not taking money from pharmaceutical companies while serving as Secretary of Health?” she asked, in the tone of a woman who already knew the answer but was going to enjoy watching him squirm.
Kennedy grinned like a dog that just chewed up your furniture and is hoping you’ll laugh it off.
“I don’t think they’d want to give me money,” he chuckled.
Warren did not chuckle.
“Will you commit to not profiting from lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies while serving as HHS Secretary?”
Kennedy froze. The color drained from his face.
“You’re asking me not to sue drug companies?” he said, voice rising.
“No, I’m not going to agree to that.”
Warren’s eyes gleamed like a hawk spotting a wounded rabbit.
“So you’ll be suing the same companies you’re supposed to regulate?”
Kennedy looked like he wanted to melt into his chair.
Then came Michael Bennet, a man who had been waiting patiently to drop a grenade into Kennedy’s lap.
"Did you say that Lyme disease was a militarily engineered bioweapon?” Bennet asked, deadpan.
Kennedy hesitated.
“I probably said that.”
The audience gasped. Bennet cocked an eyebrow.
“Did you say that pesticides turn children transgender?”
Kennedy turned bone white.
“I don’t recall saying that.”
Bennet’s lip twitched.
“But you do recall saying Lyme disease was a bioweapon?”
Kennedy looked like he had been hit by a tranquilizer dart. Even the Republican senators were staring at their desks, avoiding eye contact.
The hearing finally adjourned, but Kennedy is not in the clear yet. His next grilling is scheduled for tomorrow, and there’s no telling how much worse it can get. His opponents smell blood. His supporters are already crafting conspiracy theories about the deep state.
And if the vote ends in a deadlock, Vice President JD Vance will cast the deciding vote.
Yes, JD Vance—the political equivalent of a wet cardboard box—will determine if a man once partially controlled by a brain parasite will run America’s health system.
The nation waits in suspense. Pass the whiskey.
And because of him we have learned more about Red Dye #9. It was probably in my fruit loops growing up. Thankfully I do not eat that stuff anymore. It's raisin bran or plain cheerios for me.
Apparently you learned nothing. Red dye 9 was never in food. Never.
Disperse Red 9 - Wikipedia
RFK Jr. grilled about his views on vaccines and abortion at first confirmation hearing
Kennedy, Trump's nominee to be health and human services secretary, also stumbled under questioning from a GOP senator about Medicaid.
www.nbcnews.com
Meanwhile 100 member propose Medicare cover Ozempic. All of them receive substantial funds from the maker of Ozempic.RFK Jr. grilled about his views on vaccines and abortion at first confirmation hearing
Kennedy, Trump's nominee to be health and human services secretary, also stumbled under questioning from a GOP senator about Medicaid.
"Today, over 100 members of Congress support a bill to fund Ozempic with Medicare at $1,500 a month."
"Most of these members have taken money from the manufacturer of that product, a European company called Novo Nordisk. As everyone knows, on...
althouse.blogspot.com
And this.RFK Jr. grilled about his views on vaccines and abortion at first confirmation hearing
Kennedy, Trump's nominee to be health and human services secretary, also stumbled under questioning from a GOP senator about Medicaid.
Check out tge top 4.
Legalized corruption rules!
Apparently you learned nothing. Red dye 9 was never in food. Never.
Disperse Red 9 - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
Well, him eating a lot of red dye #9 growing up could certainly explain a lot of things....
You're not getting your information from Twitter Twits now, are you? I don't believe any of them without verification. In this case, it doesn't matter. We know more than enough about RFK Jr. to know he shouldn't be confirmed. President Trump has nominated plenty of OK to very good people to be confirmed. RFK Jr. isn't one of them. I don't want a nutty super liberal conspiracy theorist Democrat to be confirmed.
Have all the Republicans forgotten that this jack ass claimed GWB won the 2004 election due to voter fraud in Ohio? He's not right in the head.
The source of the information doesn’t matter. The content does. Do you wanna dispute the numbers? I haven’t verified them. I thought the numbers, if true, are damning.
Kennedy might not be the right person. But we sure as heck need to address his concerns about health care and drug corruption in government. We have bad health and expensive care. Something more than the Obama-type insurance coverage fix is a big problem
Weren't you the one that said you didn't trust CNN, yet now the source of information doesn't matter.
You can't make this up.
They are absolutely the same when people don't verify info instead of taking what is posted/played as gospel.
Where Big Pharma’s campaign cash is flowing in this election
Big Pharma CEOs are hedging all bets by supporting both sides of the aisle in the 2024 election.
Here's some info for you.
Big pharma plays both sides, yet you only chastise one.
The Twit provides no time frame. Is it one year, two years, four years, etc.? The numbers themselves could be entirely made up. I see that all the time on Facebook and people link them as if they're facts. Open Secrets is the credible source:
They don't match. However, in this case it doesn't matter a bit. The man himself is objectionable. He shouldn't be in charge of any cabinet department.
Those figures are from a 35 year time span, and include money from pharma and medical products companies combined. Also, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy received more money than all of those you listed. For the 2024 election cycle, 12 of the top 25 Senate recipients were Republicans. Likewise, 12 of the top 25 House recipients of that money were Republicans.
This stuff is easy to find: https://www.opensecrets.org/industr...=2024&ind=H04&mem=Y&recipdetail=S&sortorder=U
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Not true, from the very first word in the text of the article you linked.
Hint: "Most".
"Most" and "all" are different words with different meanings.
I receive no funding from any pharma, and I am actually in agreement with the contention that Ozempic shouldn't be covered for everybody who wants it, even mildly overweight people who haven't tried cheaper alternatives such as nutrition programs.
But if you set the bar high, at (say) those who have had a BMI over 35 or 40 for 5+ years, have taken non-drug programs without success, and will be supervised in an organized program focused on a COMBO of health eating, exercise, AND a GLP-1 agonist (Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, etc.) the program I suspect would save money to health care system, based on the demonstrated success of such programs for the severely obese.
The data is out there, I suspect. Pretty simple, too. If you're (say) 6'0"and 325 pounds, you'll spend a certain amount of health care dollars X to deal with resultant health issues. If after spending Y on weight loss, if you're then 6'0"and 225 pounds, you'd then spend a certain amount of health care dollars Z to deal with remaining health issues.
If X is greater than Y plus Z, then Y was money well spent.
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Desperate, inaccurate, and easy to debunk.
Bernie used to accept insurance and pharma donations but stopped, years ago (2016, IIRC) . He's more specific about this than any other politician, giving a long list of companies by name from whom he won't accept a penny.
Read here:
berniesanders.com
Bernie used to accept insurance and pharma donations but stopped, years ago (2016, IIRC) . He's more specific about this than any other politician, giving a long list of companies by name from whom he won't accept a penny.
Read here:
No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge | Bernie Sanders Official Website
We are taking on powerful interests who will do and spend whatever it takes to stop us. Change never happens from the top down. Chip in to join the political revolution today.
berniesanders.com
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Given the numbers, it’s pretty obvious that a number of election cycles are involved. Continuing payments over several years is not a justification for the problem.
I gave you the link for the real numbers. However, I don’t care even a little about this in terms of RFK’s confirmation.
Bernie appears to be arguing that he doesn't accept money from companies, only individuals.
If he's correct, but those individuals work in the industry, should that count as accepting money from Big Pharma? I don't think so.
SO he set up 99 shell LLC's .. Potato : vasectomy.Desperate, inaccurate, and easy to debunk.
Bernie used to accept insurance and pharma donations but stopped, years ago (2016, IIRC) . He's more specific about this than any other politician, giving a long list of companies by name from whom he won't accept a penny.
Read here:
No Health Insurance and Pharma Money Pledge | Bernie Sanders Official Website
We are taking on powerful interests who will do and spend whatever it takes to stop us. Change never happens from the top down. Chip in to join the political revolution today.
What about having statistics / actuarial science determine if drug coverage is cost-effective or not, re: GLP1 agonists?
I'd like to know why some feel obligated to support this nomination. Republican Presidents sometimes nominate a Democrat and Democratic Presidents sometimes nominate a Republican, but neither nominate someone from the far left or far right fringes respectively. RFK is not some standard moderate Democrat, he's a Democrat moonbat. He's from the far left. He accused Republicans of cheating to win the 2004 election and have not forgiven that. He's long been a moonbat conspiracy theorist. He's long advocated for abortion on demand from conception to birth. I just don't feel any obligation or desire to support a Democrat moonbat for a cabinet Secretary position - any of position. Republicans don't support Democrat moonbats. What potion needs to be downed to support them? I don't want any of it.
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The fealty to Trump potion.
When the cult leader says to jump, 53 senators tend to jump. Hopefully this time, though, 4 or more have a spine.
