The Republican Congress is going to try to rewrite the history of RFK Jr.’s confirmation as HHS Secretary. “We didn’t know” “Nobody told us” “He promised he wouldn’t…” This thread will be about the warnings from thousands of scientists and HCW who loudly and publicly opposed his confirmation.
ignorance is not a defense.
I'm inclined to think they will just stick with "RFK is right" rather like the Communists stuck with "Stalin is right" after the Soviet Pact with Hitler. Don't underestimate how ok they are with burning the house down, whether from ideology or self-interest.
The oldest and most prestigious public health organization in the country opposed RFK Jr’s nomination to be HHS Secretary. That should have been the end of it, but cowards like Senator Bill Cassidy preferred to put the public’s health at risk. www.apha.org/getcontentas...
Not from scientists, but his family called RFK Jr a "predator addicted to power", a drug dealer and someone who put baby chickens into a blender. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
Call every single republican elected official where you live and demand they answer for their party's crimes, fix them and or resign. Perhaps call church leaders and demand they call out the hypocrisy.
All Republicans do these days is lie. My favorite is the little trick where you ask them about something and they go, "well I haven't had time to read that yet." It's all of 10 pages. And the time never seems to arrive.
I don’t even know why they’d bother, except for the purely sadistic joy they’d derive from telling more lies about craving the death of middle America.
I think these spineless R's are looking for any reason not to buck Trump because they're worried about their own butts. So the nominee gives evasive, vague answers to the pointed questions and it's just enough to give the spineless R's enough reason to think "maybe he's not so bad" while ignoring /1
*all* the evidence to the contrary. Watch what they have said and done in the past, not what they say during confirmation hearing in order to get confirmed. But they probably know that - they are just looking for excuses to save their own butts. They need to be held accountable. /2
His cousin Caroline warned us in the most explicit terms. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
We told them. We told all of them.
What no one is actually saying. Republicans who think Trump will pull off his coup and be dictator for life... SIMPLY DON'T CARE. Not what you say, not what I say, not what anyone says. This really has become a political war; the only question is, do the Democrats has the stomach for the fight?
I hope so. All I know is that next time we have the Presidency and Congress (I think there will be one) I want an AG with an absolute killer instinct who will hold many of these people accountable. The SC may say Trump is immune to prosecution but his lackeys are not.
But next time will the American democracy still be alive after it allowed a coup perpetrator, convicted felon to run for presidency? And pardon the coup accomplices for good measure among innumerable other misdemeanours .
Sigh - another time I wish Bluesky would actually get around to giving us the "edit" button so many ask for. "Has" above should be "have."
It is a major functionality gap.
No joking. And the way people have been clamoring for it, you would think the folks at Bluesky would have paid attention by now!
You make such an important point. We collectively wasted so much time thinking there's a bottom. There's no so bottom. They don't care. They don't care today & they don't care how history judges them. They WANT to hurt people. They LOVE it
One only needs to listen to the vile crap MAGA(t)s like Stephen Miller and others spew out and acts like they are speaking sacred truth to realize the unbelievable evil that Trump has surrounded himself with.
First thing that needs to happen if we get out of this is for everyone involved in choosing this guy and any other Trump pick be prosecuted as accessories to murder. And IDGAF if the trial is fair. They all need to go to jail in as public a manner as possible.
I’d give even chances as to whether they’ll do that, or else double down and insist that he’s doing exactly what the nation needs for public health.
Their excuses won't save them at Nuremberg 2.0
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The vote to confirm Kennedy would be career ending in a healthy democracy. It is simply inexcusable.
Include me, I called Cassidy’s office and left a message. Can we sue him for malpractice? RFK to practice medicine without license? Prasad for just being a 🤬?
The receipts are there - thank you for taking them up. There is no excuse for partisan political posturing (or "obedience" in this case") in light of the evidence at hand in time and in view of catastrophic failure as a consequence of said vote.
Even RFK Jr's family publicly warned congress not to confirm him. They made it clear that, if confirmed, he would be a significant threat to the country. Even his sister made a passionate plea to the Senate that he should not be confirmed as he had dangerous beliefs.
Sure, who ya gonna believe - thousands of scientists and medical professionals whose careers require following facts, or the brainworm and raw milk guy (who has a vested interest in lying to get the position)? Were these R congress people born yesterday? 🤦
No, they're just corrupt.
Pointing out again that we pay for a million dollar staff for each of these people to provide all this information. And they are all mostly spending their time fundraising.
It it takes letting them do that to get them to kick him out of there, I'm all for it.
Not to mention members of his own family, who knew what a deranged monster he really is.
www.npr.org/2025/01/28/n...
Letter from Caroline Kennedy to Senators on January 28, 2025, during RFK’s confirmation hearings: static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics...
The team at Science Based Medicine ( @sciencebasedmedicine.org.web.brid.gy ) have been warning about him for a decade or more sciencebasedmedicine.org?s=kennedy&ca...
And that's why they all should be tried for treason and go to jail
You are an optimist. Most of them do not care and their voters will continue to vote for them. I’m in OH, maga is as strong as ever here, the Rs in congress are not scared of losing their jobs anytime soon.
Defend Public Health, a coalition of public health scientists and advocates.
Love @sanders.senate.gov 💙. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQY5...
Fifteen thousand doctors from the Committee to Protect Healthcare.
National Nurses United, the largest union of nurses in the U.S.
The American Public Health Association.
Link to this article from Feb 5, 2025. I hate posting it because of my giant head. tucson.com/opinion/colu...
It’s not THAT big
@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social Thanks! Is the publication date the same for the print version? Do you know the page number and column?
I believe it is the same date, yes. I don’t know what page it was on. A city council member from Tucson sent me a thank-you note with this clipping.
Don't sweat the giant head, it's full of giant brains !!!
... But your head looks fine?
If you post an image with an article link, the image shows and the link remains useful in your post. :) "Next time."
When did you write this?
Wrote it in January, published February 5, 2025. tucson.com/opinion/colu...
Our Senator, Rick "Medicare fraud" Scott and Ashley "Zipper professional" Moody voted for this train wreck even after I called multiple times to voice my protest. Republicans are so far up Trump's colon, oxygen supply is cutting off critical thinking. They all must GO!!!!!
Thanks! It was a great read!! In your opinion, if a Covid like virus were to be unleashed today in the US, are we prepared medically to combat it?
lol that’s damned good
Popehat is the best.
“ he has learned his lesson”…Susan Collins POS
Working in a children's cancer ward, RFK Jr's appointment was for me the most damaging and although I despise Trump Kennedy is the one I really loathe.
There’s not a regular man in America who’d get away with those excuses. “Ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the law” said the judge when reprimanding me for patent infringement on Monsanto’s proprietary seed rules. Legislators are obviously an exception.
They broke it, and they must fix it ASAP
We can just replay the confirmation hearings with the Repubs questions and the Dems questions. “This is the question you asked him and here is how he answered, you do know we all saw it as it was happening, right?
In my mind, there was a period of time when the GOP could have walked away from Trumpism and salvaged some integrity. A handful of Republicans did. That was a long time ago. Everyone remaining is complicit.
If they can see that RFK Jr. Is dangerously mentally ill and take action, the leap to the same realization about Trump becomes less of a chasm.
And members of his own family.
Publish the list of all secretary appointments for the public to see. Republicans voted unanimously most of the time. They caused this. They are responsible. They are at fault!!
When I call my Republican Senators about RFK Jr's latest actions, I add that they both voted to confirm him as HHS Secretary despite so many reasons not to, & that - when they run or are being considered for any public office in future - I will remind everyone I know that they voted to confirm him.
Scratching my head. How did we end up with so many dumbasses leaving the masses? No need to answer.
There's a French saying that goes "on ne peut faire boire un âne qui n'a pas soif": You can’t make a donkey drink if it isn’t thirsty" It suits republicans better than "You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” Donkey also conveys stupidity in French. Not just stubbornness.
Better still is my Italian grandma: ‘you can lead a mule to drink, but you can’t make him water’ (she was a veritable yogi berra, that one 😅)
Unfortunately the symbol of the Democratic Party 🐴
Red Donkeys ! Horse are noble. Disclaimer: sorry for donkey lovers. I know actual donkeys are lovely animals.
Blue donkeys, oddly.
ourwhitehouse.org/the-donkey-a...
He is a sick nut job and should not be making healthcare decisions for our country!!!!
I really won't care about who said what when if they actually commit to fixing this problem by putting someone that understands public health and biomedical research back in charge. It's all up to them now.
I am torn between holding Republicans accountable and encouraging them to actually do something about the nuts they recently approved for higher office.
They can certainly TRY...but there are too many of us with PROOF.
As soon as they make those claims, I’m out (again). They will have just proven their complete and utter poor judgment and inabilities to take hard stances.
