Donald Trump's Cabinet picks

[hepcat]

I'm worried about the nutjob amateur doctors who believe they know more about health than actual doctors. I've known more than a few folks who declare that doctors are just hurting us, and that THEY know what's best for themselves and their children. When they feel vindicated after someone listens to them like this, they become even MORE insufferable...and dangerous.

I don't like public shaming, but I almost feel it would be fine to set up a web site and point out a "special idiot of the day" every time someone declares vaccinations are all causing deaths or autism, and then their kid or the kids around their kids get seriously ill. If you won't listen to actual doctors, then maybe you'll listen to the angry mob outside with sick kids at home because of your fucking stupidity. Hey, Jenny McCarthy, I'm looking at you.

[Max Peck]

Vaccines won't disappear,

But will insurance still cover them? If not, they might as well.

I hope that insurance algorithms will decide that prevention is still cheaper than processing and denying claims for resurgent diseases.

That's how I see it - prevention is cheaper. Vaccines work - not covering them is going to take out some insurers unless they figure out how not to cover the illnesses themselves.

The Algorithm: Vaccines are not covered. Denied.
Also The Algorithm: Preventable disease. Claimant was not vaccinated. Denied.

[LordMortis]

The Algorithm: Vaccines are not covered. Denied.
Also The Algorithm: Preventable disease. Claimant was not vaccinated. Denied.

Too soon!!!

[Max Peck]

Sorry, but I've read the script.

[Smoove_B]

But will insurance still cover them? If not, they might as well.

This is indeed where things get weird because what they cover (and how much people pay out of pocket) is also influenced by the CDC's list of recommended vaccines.

So I can imagine a world where insurance will cover most, but at increased cost to the consumer. Not sure what will happen to Medicare (or Medicaid) recipients and their access, but I'd be surprised if there weren't changes.

Trying to prepare for this in a practical way is overwhelming, but at a minimum RFK Jr. taking over and undermining vaccines as part of his official job role is going to have an impact - one that will likely last for a generation or longer.

[LordMortis]

Trying to prepare for this in a practical way is overwhelming, but at a minimum RFK Jr. taking over and undermining vaccines as part of his official job role is going to have an impact - one that will likely last for a generation or longer.

I hold out hope that this will be at least a small wake up call the American people. While shitton of bridges will burnt, I'll hope we'd be on the right path of seeing improvement again in 2 to 3 presidential cycles. Of course if it takes 3 cycles plus a round TFG tenure, I guess that is a generational change. And to think the courts will longer, even if I'm generous with the timeline.

[Max Peck]

Sort of on topic...

https://bsky.app/profile/kenwhite.bsky. ... 7cwm4pds22

Me: Dr. Salk your vaccine will save so many children!

Salk: Well thank God

Me: Of course they will grow up

Salk: Well I hope so

Me: And get old

Salk: I guess?

Me: And eventually vote for lunatics who will try to stop your vaccine

Salk: what now

Me: And leave NATO

Salk: shit

[Kraken]

I take solace in knowing that all of these people will go down in flames before 2025 is over.

[Punisher]

Based upon these new revelations of drunkenness, financial misconduct, etc. , it seems unlikely to me that Hegseth is likely to be confirmed:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-des ... et-history

Looks like he got fired from every position he held before getting the FOX News gig.

Two words: recess appointments. Hell, Trump would be even more popular with the base if he circumvents the Senate in order to install his meme cabinet.

Pertinent CGP Grey video:

The obvious answer is for Palpatine Trump to dissolve the senate!

I also had no idea that there weren't actual requirements to be an SC judge. I assumed that you had to have been a judge of some sort at minimum.
Where do I apply?

[Punisher]

If I'm correct I believe rfks main point is that vaccines cause autism.
Even if they are proven to be a cause of autism does he think that dead or paralyzed children are better then having autistic children?

[Victoria Raverna]

If I'm correct I believe rfks main point is that vaccines cause autism.
Even if they are proven to be a cause of autism does he think that dead or paralyzed children are better then having autistic children?

Depend on how bad it is, right? If it is HFA then it is better than dead or paralyzed but having a LFA autistic child can be hell for both the parents and the child.

[Blackhawk]

Good thing it has been thoroughly studied and disproven.

[Punisher]

Good thing it has been thoroughly studied and disproven.

Sure but that doesn't matter. How do people feel about it?

[$iljanus]

Good thing it has been thoroughly studied and disproven.

Well then, they just have to do more studies until they get it right…


Because that’s the fucking reality we live in

[Smoove_B]

Because that’s the fucking reality we live in

Even better - when antivax folks funded a study back in 2015 that demonstrated no link. Thanks for the help!

[hepcat]

I also believe that autism has become the go to diagnosis for everything these days in some circles. Mom notices kid ate some paste in 2nd grade? He’s obviously autistic! I would love to see legitimate psychologists, and not someone from a place with the words “wellness center” on its business card, actually examine a lot of the kids people like RFKjr are claiming have become autistic due to vaccines.

[Blackhawk]

Self-diagnosed autists are definitely a problem. Not only does it artificially inflate the numbers, it has a Boy Who Cried Wolf effect, as real autists are dismissed as fakers. As they say, "It makes us all look bad." With that said, I'm seeing a lot less of it these days. And for the record, both myself and my son were formally diagnosed by professionals, multiple times. Myself by psychiatrists, my son by specialists at Riley Children's Hospital.

Two big factors are behind the 'increase' in autism.

1. When the DSM got updated to DSM-5 in 2013, it rolled some lesser forms of autism into the 'autism' diagnosis that weren't part of it previously. In 2012 a person might be diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. In 2014, that diagnosis had ceased to exist, and you'd just be diagnosed with 'autism.' Given that Asperger's is the most common form of autism, this spiked the numbers.

2. 30 years ago, people like me were just 'weird.' We were shunned, not diagnosed. Teachers would just ignore us. Autism wasn't talked about. The diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome didn't exist yet. Today, teachers, pediatricians, and parents are more aware of the signs, and kids who show those signs are typically referred for formal diagnosis. Sometimes (like in my case), this leads to parents and siblings who were missed suspecting that they might also be autistic and getting help. It's not that there are more people with autism so much as it is that there are fewer people with autism going undiagnosed and untreated.

Those things combined explain much of the rise in autism numbers without requiring that autism itself actually be more common.

[Blackhawk]

Mom notices kid ate some paste in 2nd grade? He’s obviously autistic!

As an aside, moms saying their kid is autistic doesn't go far in schools. If you don't have a diagnosis, you'll be referred for one, and you're not going to get accommodations just on a parent's say-so. If you do receive a diagnosis for your kid, your child is going to be assigned an entire team of specialists who will work with them all the time. They won't just be given extra test time for the hell of it.

[Smoove_B]

Right, the only thing the schools can do is change the gender of your child during the school day. Autism diagnosis? Extra time on an exam? Administer an Advil? None of those things can happen. But changing gender happens all the time.

[Isgrimnur]

[Blackhawk]

I hate streetlights, likely for similar reasons, and anyone who's read my posts knows that 90 pages on it is just the prologue.

[Unagi]

Mom notices kid ate some paste in 2nd grade? He’s obviously autistic!

As an aside, moms saying their kid is autistic doesn't go far in schools. If you don't have a diagnosis, you'll be referred for one, and you're not going to get accommodations just on a parent's say-so. If you do receive a diagnosis for your kid, your child is going to be assigned an entire team of specialists who will work with them all the time. They won't just be given extra test time for the hell of it.

Thank you for posting this.

I'm frustrated when people say there is some epidemic of 'autism diagnosis' on whims of child behavior from parents or teachers. From our experience, it's exactly what you described above. It was taken very seriously and there are a good number of specific criteria that must be observed to result in an actual autism diagnosis... from professional psychiatric evaluations.

[GreenGoo]

The kindergarten teacher came to us and was like "please get him tested". So. Yeah.

[Holman]

Isn't there a consensus that a great many of history's most ground-breaking philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, and even religious figures were probably well along the autistic spectrum? So much of that kind of work depends on an obsessive focus and attention to detail.

Probably a lot of human knowledge stands on the shoulders of autists.

[Max Peck]

Not to worry, Trump and RFKjr are on the case.

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3ldvyknp3mc2d

Trump: "Look, something is going on here. When you look at autism from 25 years and you look at it now, something is going on, and I nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr."

[Unagi]

Isn't there a consensus that a great many of history's most ground-breaking philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, and even religious figures were probably well along the autistic spectrum? So much of that kind of work depends on an obsessive focus and attention to detail.

Probably a lot of human knowledge stands on the shoulders of autists.

I''ve read a couple books where it has been discussed. It takes a very rich family - but they existed, and some of their autistic offspring could be indulged and yes - produce some amazing works. I need to think about one or two of their prime examples.

[Blackhawk]

It's not just the focus and attention to detail, it's the unusual thought process and perspective. Since the standard answers don't make sense to us, we have to come up with new ones.

[Holman]

Isn't there a consensus that a great many of history's most ground-breaking philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, and even religious figures were probably well along the autistic spectrum? So much of that kind of work depends on an obsessive focus and attention to detail.

Probably a lot of human knowledge stands on the shoulders of autists.

I''ve read a couple books where it has been discussed. It takes a very rich family - but they existed, and some of their autistic offspring could be indulged and yes - produce some amazing works. I need to think about one or two of their prime examples.

Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Wolfgang Mozart, Nikola Tesla, and Albert Einstein are often given as examples.

With artists and philosophers, it's harder to guess, but I've seen Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, and Leonardo da Vinci proposed. Immanuel Kant and Ludwig Wittgenstein seem certain.

[Unagi]

Isn't there a consensus that a great many of history's most ground-breaking philosophers, mathematicians, scientists, and even religious figures were probably well along the autistic spectrum? So much of that kind of work depends on an obsessive focus and attention to detail.

Probably a lot of human knowledge stands on the shoulders of autists.

I''ve read a couple books where it has been discussed. It takes a very rich family - but they existed, and some of their autistic offspring could be indulged and yes - produce some amazing works. I need to think about one or two of their prime examples.

Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, Wolfgang Mozart, Nikola Tesla, and Albert Einstein are often given as examples.

With artists and philosophers, it's harder to guess, but I've seen Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, and Leonardo da Vinci proposed. Immanuel Kant and Ludwig Wittgenstein seem certain.

From your list, I think Tesla, Michelangelo and Mozart were some I was thinking of - and then also Henry Cavendish who was an example I think I learned in "Neorotribes" which is an excellent book.

yep - mentioned in this review as well.

Great book.

https://bioeconometrician.github.io/boo ... urotribes/

[Blackhawk]

Ben Franklin, Edison, Tesla, Darwin. More modern? Tim Burton, Dan Akroyd, Dan Harmon, Bill Gates, Andy Warhol, others. Creators with unusual approaches.

Of course, historical figures (and many celebrities) are more of a 'probably' type thing, determined by experts reading their journals, writings, about their lives, others' accounts of their behavior, etc. Akroyd and Harmon are diagnosed.

[ImLawBoy]

Mom notices kid ate some paste in 2nd grade? He’s obviously autistic!

As an aside, moms saying their kid is autistic doesn't go far in schools. If you don't have a diagnosis, you'll be referred for one, and you're not going to get accommodations just on a parent's say-so. If you do receive a diagnosis for your kid, your child is going to be assigned an entire team of specialists who will work with them all the time. They won't just be given extra test time for the hell of it.

Just a point of emphasis on this. I do pro bono work with an organization that tries to get schools to provide accommodations for kids with various diagnoses, including autism. It's hard enough to get schools to provide accommodations that they agreed to in writing for medically diagnosed conditions. Schools are definitely not providing any accommodations for self-diagnoses except in the most outlier scenarios.

[Smoove_B]

Not sure if we're going to have (need?) our own thread on RFK Jr and what's about to happen, but this article (despite a lack of specific sources) has me nervous it's actually happening.

A handful of Senate Democrats are said to be leaving the door open to voting for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to become the next Health and Human Services secretary.

As preparations for confirmation hearings begin to take shape, multiple sources say Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.), in particular, are at least considering voting for Kennedy, noting shared critiques on heavy corporate influence over food and a desire to promote a less chemical-laden country.

The idea that any one could support him as the head of HHS is beyond frustrating. But there have been quite a few articles in mainstream media (I think the one in the Atlantic caused me to black out) where they're trying to make the case as to why RFK Jr. will be an excellent person to lead HHS. Fetterman has apparently fully gone through his heel turn but I'll admit, the possible support from Sanders surprises me.

[LawBeefaroni]

Fetterman has apparently fully gone through his heel turn but I'll admit, the possible support from Sanders surprises me.

t's because they'll compromise overall integrity for their pet issues. RFK says he opposes big pharma so anyone who has a beef against big pharma , or even corporations in general, will raise an interested eyebrow in his direction.

[Alefroth]

RFK Jr is half right about American health care

Is there anywhere outside of baseball where .500 is acceptable?

[Unagi]

RFK Jr is half right about American health care

Is there anywhere outside of baseball where .500 is acceptable?

A coin toss.

[Max Peck]

Mangione was half right about American health care. It's the half wrong that will come back to bite you. Mangione only racked up one death, but I'm fairly confident that RFKjr's wackier ideas are going to bury a lot more bodies than that.

[Isgrimnur]

Mangione only cared abut healthcare when he was the one suffering.

[Max Peck]

Mangione only cared abut healthcare when he was the one suffering.

So what, even assuming that's true and not just an assumption based on a disdain for his methods of addressing the perceived problem? I said he's half-right (i.e. the health insurance racket is fucked up), not that he's a selfless humanitarian.

[hepcat]

Side note: I hate that his last name is Mangione because I can’t read that without a voice in my head saying “Chuck?”.

[Blackhawk]

Side note: I have that his last name is Mangione because I can’t read that without a voice in my head saying “Chuck?”.

That. Except without the typo.