These credentialed grifters have held back scientific progress is so many ways over the years. I fought them off over my whole career. Thanks for calling the most destructive ones out here who have worked their way into trumps brain.
Amen to all that you have said - your last paragraph especially hit home for me and the millions of others wondering what comes next.. I had brain surgery 40 years ago at NIH for uncontrollable epileptic seizures. My parents would never have been able to afford sending me to a private facility but my neurologist recommended NIH to my parents and I was accepted into a study that truly changed my life - RFK Jr. and his fellow clown crew are destroying years of serious sound research, scientific studies and the future of a very prestigious and important institution. I still experience absence seizures and have memory loss from scar tissues but I am lucky to be where I am. RFK Jr. makes me cringe with frustration and downright fury with his lack of true understanding and empathy where it matters the most!
And let’s not forget all of those Republican senators who voted to confirm RFK Jr and his cohorts. Four of those senators are physicians. Cowardice trumps knowledge. Sadly, their constituents will vote for these senators again, vote against the health of their own families.
FWIW I see you. I spent decades in a relatively healthy body then advanced age and the family legacy (100% of my siblings have it) of (controlled) diabetes closed in. COVID coming at a most inconvenient time in my life under the administration of an ignorant mad man exposed the fault lines of our public health system. Having moved across the country knowing absolutely no one in 2019 we were clearly on our own. Fortunately I can read research, have a decent nose for BS so we acted conservatively, listened to Fauci and European doctors, (the scarf lady not so much) and we wove our way through the pandemic getting vaccines as soon as they were offered to the public which took death off the table for many of us more medically fragile people. My husband has never gotten COVID and I finally got it last year from God only knows where but it was mostly 5 days (flu like symptoms) in isolation on the couch, aided by anti-viral therapy, COVID leaving me with a diminished sense of smell that has been slow to recover. Fortunately no other long standing issues.
I watch the three ring circus and the sheer hypocrisy of the anti-vaxxer pandering from afar and wonder where this is going knowing that it can't be anywhere good and other than short term profit and fame motives I can't understand what might make someone want to break our medical system intentionally. trump I get. He gets power from the confusion and the addlepated electorate while he gets the very best medical care in the nation. He threw his mask off on the WH balcony like a high drama scene in Evita when there weren't masks to be had here except home sewn cloth masks until the worst of it was behind us. That really galled me. My MAGA family (some that should have known better) ate all the "COVID is a hoax" business up with a spoon. My brother (without health insurance) ended up in intensive care for nearly a month in the Delta wave. My MAGA family has gotten it repeatedly and I wonder what it has done to their brains and bodies.
I like Oprah but seriously she has a lot to answer for.
I just don't know how this all ends. Badly I suspect.
The points here extend beyond the areas covered. For years, there have been credentialed people arguing against climate science.
It can include legitimate scientists, even very distinguished ones, who go on later in life to argue for insane things they really have little knowledge about. Freeman Dyson was one. Frederick Seitz another. There has always been petrochemical money there for others who are willing to put their name behind nonsense.
It would be interesting to understand the psychology of it. It's almost as if they forget what it takes to be an actual expert at something, or else perhaps they overestimate their own abilities, or maybe they are addicted to the attention and the spotlight. I've never understood it.
Of course, Kennedy, Oz, and Dr. Phil are just lunatics. I remember seeing (my mom used to watch Dr. Phil) Dr. Phil have his "mentor" on the show claiming that a child will grasp food in their hand with a force proportional to the nutritional value of the food. They tried to "demonstrate" that on the show one time. That was enough for me to realize Dr. Phil was a total hack.
I once had someone claim the same thing about magnets on a bracelet, that wearing it imparted healing powers and increased muscle strength. I also saw a book in Barnes and Nobels just yesterday about the healing properties of "crystals", which apparently assumes the reader doesn't realize that almost all matter involves an ordered array of atoms. Nonsense is everywhere. Even Linus Pauling went on in later life to propose some (mostly harmless) rather extreme ideas about vitamin C.
As an old public health nurse it breaks my heart to see children suffering from diseases that can be prevented. Correlation does not imply causation, what part of that does these charlatans not understand. I personally think highly educated charlatans are more believable because many people think their degree gives them the benefit of any doubt. How many children and adults have to die or live with life long health problems for people to see through this craziness.
I fear for the next big health disaster in America. It may be, probably will be, another virus. But it could be a large scale reaction to the decimating of pollution and worker safety programs and laws. But whatever it is, the safety net that has been sewn over so many years has been purposefully cut by clowns like Kennedy, Jr and his ilk who crave fame and influence yet deny responsibility for the disasters they create, all the while reaping rewards for their own gratification.
I'm glad I can separate RFK Jr from the rest of his family, and I'm particularly glad the rest of his family call him out for what he's done. But that doesn't help the millions who will suffer do to his blind ineptitude and hubris. When the Trump-2027 Virus comes (he loves having things named after himself) we'll once again get noise about doing giant nude dance circles at midnight under a full moon to chase the evil spirits that 'Satan' has inflicted on us. After that gets laughed at, no matter how many anti-vaxxers catch their death of cold doing those midnight soirees, the administration will go back to their standby and blame Joe Biden for it.
Let's be blunt. The 'influencer' class in general is much overrated and harmful, even those who seek and may do good. But there are far too many, like all three in your illustration, who don't care about consequences because they attract the kind of people who 'want to believe', no matter how ludicrous the supposition is. Personally, I'd be as likely to say Jerry Springer does as much good as Dr. Phil. Both are charlatans. One has those 'credentials'.
But under Trump, the era of the charlatan has arrived in full force. If you understand how something works, and have experience in it, you will be denied a seat at the table. But if you're selling plastic coal to those needing warmth, and making a fortune at this con job, you'll be embraced by the 'great leader' and be given responsibility over a department who wouldn't hire you in normal times as a janitor. Take the Secretary of Education, for example.
I hope your day goes better, Kristoffer. Take care.
The Oz's and the Phil's rise in "celebrity" always surprised me. What little I watched of them always made be think they were jerks. Oz's mixing up healthy drinks, yuck, and Phil just acting wise. RFK,jr., was a complete surprise. To me he was a fool with a gravely voice and a well known family name. The foolish Senate confirmed him. Makes me want to hang my head and cry. We all deserve better in health and wellness. Dealing with a chronic illness, etc, is difficult. And mental health is in the dark ages still. (and, oh, mentally, you are sharp as a tack.)
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I know that doesn't seem like much, but it is heartfelt. Your words and thoughts always inspire. 😔🙏❤️
Trump’s emptying out of the federal workforce has always been about getting rid of people who actually know what they’re supposed to be doing and care about protecting the public.
Caveat emptor - buyer beware is how we should approach all goods and service providers. In these times, we need to do our own background checks -- especially in the field of health care. Personally, I do not want my service providers to be celebrities or public figures. Fame in itself can be an addictive and professionally distortive drug. We would hope that the government would screen out the "credentialed charlatans" (great term), but when the allure of public corruption rears its ugly face, it seems that public safety takes a back seat or it is thrown under the bus. Thank you for your article. My prayers for you are that you find compassionate and ethical care to help guide you through your medical challenges.
Although I despise Hegseth, Bondi, Noem, Patel, Gabbard, Bessent, etc., I've told friends and family from the beginning of Trump 2.0 that there was no one I destested more in Trump's gang of lickspittles than RFK Jr. Who knows how much human suffering and deaths these people may cause, but in RFK's case, it has the possibility of hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more, as insane as that sounds. And just like Kristoffer, for me it's personal. As someone who's lived with a non-life-threatening autoimmune disease for over half my life (I'm 67), I still get sick a lot, because a virus doesn't give a shit who I vote for. As such, I've told my friends that I'm giving myself a 50/50 chance of being alive in four years, and I don't mean it as a joke. But those are still better odds that millions of other people in this country are facing. And all I can suggest, as frustrating as it may be, is to keep speaking out against these creeps. Keep contacting you reps in Congress, regardless of party. Attend demonstrations if you're so inclined. Make yourself heard, because these people do not have a right to destroy our health.
These credentialed grifters have held back scientific progress is so many ways over the years. I fought them off over my whole career. Thanks for calling the most destructive ones out here who have worked their way into trumps brain.
Amen to all that you have said - your last paragraph especially hit home for me and the millions of others wondering what comes next.. I had brain surgery 40 years ago at NIH for uncontrollable epileptic seizures. My parents would never have been able to afford sending me to a private facility but my neurologist recommended NIH to my parents and I was accepted into a study that truly changed my life - RFK Jr. and his fellow clown crew are destroying years of serious sound research, scientific studies and the future of a very prestigious and important institution. I still experience absence seizures and have memory loss from scar tissues but I am lucky to be where I am. RFK Jr. makes me cringe with frustration and downright fury with his lack of true understanding and empathy where it matters the most!
And let’s not forget all of those Republican senators who voted to confirm RFK Jr and his cohorts. Four of those senators are physicians. Cowardice trumps knowledge. Sadly, their constituents will vote for these senators again, vote against the health of their own families.
Dear Professor Ealy,
FWIW I see you. I spent decades in a relatively healthy body then advanced age and the family legacy (100% of my siblings have it) of (controlled) diabetes closed in. COVID coming at a most inconvenient time in my life under the administration of an ignorant mad man exposed the fault lines of our public health system. Having moved across the country knowing absolutely no one in 2019 we were clearly on our own. Fortunately I can read research, have a decent nose for BS so we acted conservatively, listened to Fauci and European doctors, (the scarf lady not so much) and we wove our way through the pandemic getting vaccines as soon as they were offered to the public which took death off the table for many of us more medically fragile people. My husband has never gotten COVID and I finally got it last year from God only knows where but it was mostly 5 days (flu like symptoms) in isolation on the couch, aided by anti-viral therapy, COVID leaving me with a diminished sense of smell that has been slow to recover. Fortunately no other long standing issues.
I watch the three ring circus and the sheer hypocrisy of the anti-vaxxer pandering from afar and wonder where this is going knowing that it can't be anywhere good and other than short term profit and fame motives I can't understand what might make someone want to break our medical system intentionally. trump I get. He gets power from the confusion and the addlepated electorate while he gets the very best medical care in the nation. He threw his mask off on the WH balcony like a high drama scene in Evita when there weren't masks to be had here except home sewn cloth masks until the worst of it was behind us. That really galled me. My MAGA family (some that should have known better) ate all the "COVID is a hoax" business up with a spoon. My brother (without health insurance) ended up in intensive care for nearly a month in the Delta wave. My MAGA family has gotten it repeatedly and I wonder what it has done to their brains and bodies.
I like Oprah but seriously she has a lot to answer for.
I just don't know how this all ends. Badly I suspect.
The points here extend beyond the areas covered. For years, there have been credentialed people arguing against climate science.
It can include legitimate scientists, even very distinguished ones, who go on later in life to argue for insane things they really have little knowledge about. Freeman Dyson was one. Frederick Seitz another. There has always been petrochemical money there for others who are willing to put their name behind nonsense.
It would be interesting to understand the psychology of it. It's almost as if they forget what it takes to be an actual expert at something, or else perhaps they overestimate their own abilities, or maybe they are addicted to the attention and the spotlight. I've never understood it.
Of course, Kennedy, Oz, and Dr. Phil are just lunatics. I remember seeing (my mom used to watch Dr. Phil) Dr. Phil have his "mentor" on the show claiming that a child will grasp food in their hand with a force proportional to the nutritional value of the food. They tried to "demonstrate" that on the show one time. That was enough for me to realize Dr. Phil was a total hack.
I once had someone claim the same thing about magnets on a bracelet, that wearing it imparted healing powers and increased muscle strength. I also saw a book in Barnes and Nobels just yesterday about the healing properties of "crystals", which apparently assumes the reader doesn't realize that almost all matter involves an ordered array of atoms. Nonsense is everywhere. Even Linus Pauling went on in later life to propose some (mostly harmless) rather extreme ideas about vitamin C.
As an old public health nurse it breaks my heart to see children suffering from diseases that can be prevented. Correlation does not imply causation, what part of that does these charlatans not understand. I personally think highly educated charlatans are more believable because many people think their degree gives them the benefit of any doubt. How many children and adults have to die or live with life long health problems for people to see through this craziness.
I fear for the next big health disaster in America. It may be, probably will be, another virus. But it could be a large scale reaction to the decimating of pollution and worker safety programs and laws. But whatever it is, the safety net that has been sewn over so many years has been purposefully cut by clowns like Kennedy, Jr and his ilk who crave fame and influence yet deny responsibility for the disasters they create, all the while reaping rewards for their own gratification.
I'm glad I can separate RFK Jr from the rest of his family, and I'm particularly glad the rest of his family call him out for what he's done. But that doesn't help the millions who will suffer do to his blind ineptitude and hubris. When the Trump-2027 Virus comes (he loves having things named after himself) we'll once again get noise about doing giant nude dance circles at midnight under a full moon to chase the evil spirits that 'Satan' has inflicted on us. After that gets laughed at, no matter how many anti-vaxxers catch their death of cold doing those midnight soirees, the administration will go back to their standby and blame Joe Biden for it.
Let's be blunt. The 'influencer' class in general is much overrated and harmful, even those who seek and may do good. But there are far too many, like all three in your illustration, who don't care about consequences because they attract the kind of people who 'want to believe', no matter how ludicrous the supposition is. Personally, I'd be as likely to say Jerry Springer does as much good as Dr. Phil. Both are charlatans. One has those 'credentials'.
But under Trump, the era of the charlatan has arrived in full force. If you understand how something works, and have experience in it, you will be denied a seat at the table. But if you're selling plastic coal to those needing warmth, and making a fortune at this con job, you'll be embraced by the 'great leader' and be given responsibility over a department who wouldn't hire you in normal times as a janitor. Take the Secretary of Education, for example.
I hope your day goes better, Kristoffer. Take care.
The Oz's and the Phil's rise in "celebrity" always surprised me. What little I watched of them always made be think they were jerks. Oz's mixing up healthy drinks, yuck, and Phil just acting wise. RFK,jr., was a complete surprise. To me he was a fool with a gravely voice and a well known family name. The foolish Senate confirmed him. Makes me want to hang my head and cry. We all deserve better in health and wellness. Dealing with a chronic illness, etc, is difficult. And mental health is in the dark ages still. (and, oh, mentally, you are sharp as a tack.)
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I know that doesn't seem like much, but it is heartfelt. Your words and thoughts always inspire. 😔🙏❤️
Trump’s emptying out of the federal workforce has always been about getting rid of people who actually know what they’re supposed to be doing and care about protecting the public.
Caveat emptor - buyer beware is how we should approach all goods and service providers. In these times, we need to do our own background checks -- especially in the field of health care. Personally, I do not want my service providers to be celebrities or public figures. Fame in itself can be an addictive and professionally distortive drug. We would hope that the government would screen out the "credentialed charlatans" (great term), but when the allure of public corruption rears its ugly face, it seems that public safety takes a back seat or it is thrown under the bus. Thank you for your article. My prayers for you are that you find compassionate and ethical care to help guide you through your medical challenges.
Although I despise Hegseth, Bondi, Noem, Patel, Gabbard, Bessent, etc., I've told friends and family from the beginning of Trump 2.0 that there was no one I destested more in Trump's gang of lickspittles than RFK Jr. Who knows how much human suffering and deaths these people may cause, but in RFK's case, it has the possibility of hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more, as insane as that sounds. And just like Kristoffer, for me it's personal. As someone who's lived with a non-life-threatening autoimmune disease for over half my life (I'm 67), I still get sick a lot, because a virus doesn't give a shit who I vote for. As such, I've told my friends that I'm giving myself a 50/50 chance of being alive in four years, and I don't mean it as a joke. But those are still better odds that millions of other people in this country are facing. And all I can suggest, as frustrating as it may be, is to keep speaking out against these creeps. Keep contacting you reps in Congress, regardless of party. Attend demonstrations if you're so inclined. Make yourself heard, because these people do not have a right to destroy our health.