HHS is the Department of Health and Human Services, which is in charge of protecting the health of all Americans. Among other things, it includes the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid; oversees the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and works to prevent disease outbreaks and ensure food and drug safety. So the idea of letting Kennedy ā€œcontrolā€ such a department is actually insane, and if youā€™re wondering why, a quick reminder that Kennedy:

IsĀ a huge anti-vaxxer

PennedĀ an articleĀ titled ā€œDeadly Immunity,ā€ published inĀ Rolling StoneĀ and Salon in 2005, in which he alleged that the government had covered up a link between vaccines and autism. (Both outlets later retracted the piece, and the Salon editor who worked on itĀ saidĀ that after it went up, ā€œwe were besieged by scientists and advocates showing how Kennedy had misunderstood, incorrectly cited, and perhaps even falsified dataā€¦. It was the worst mistake of my career. I probably should have been fired.ā€)

WroteĀ a forewordĀ for a book that claimed COVID-19 vaccines caused sudden deaths among healthy young people; the book featured on its cover a 12-year-old whoā€™dĀ neverĀ received the COVID-19 vaccine and had died as a result of a malformed blood vessel in his brain

Has beenĀ accused ofĀ stoking fears about vaccines in the run-up to a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people

OnceĀ implied thatĀ Anne Frank, she of Holocaust fame, had it easy compared to what anti-vaxxers go through

Has more than onceĀ suggestedĀ that chemicals in the environment can make children gay and trans

Declared, ā€œI am not a church boy,ā€ following a sexual assault allegation

AdmittedĀ toĀ staging an elaborate bear-murder sceneĀ in Central Park because he didnā€™t have time to eat said bearā€™s flesh

Sawed a dead whaleā€™s head off, according to one of his daughters, and strapped it to the roof of the familyā€™s car, causing his children to have to wear plastic bags on their heads to avoid the ā€œwhale juiceā€ that was ā€œpour[ing] into the windowsā€

Said in a 2012 divorce deposition thatĀ a wormĀ ā€œgot into my brain and ate a portion of it and then diedā€

    • MyOpinion@lemm.ee
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      16 days ago

      This process started years ago with Rush Limbaugh. He provided alternative news and spent years disconnecting people from ā€œmainstream mediaā€. Now many only listen to right wing news that is disinformation. Not sure how we come back from a party that embraces the destruction of democracy and authoritarian leaders.

      • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        I think Trump has been such an emotional white knight in shining armor for them, that they donā€™t actually believe he could be a risk to democracy, national security, or the global world order that has American military power as the basis of its stability.

        He gives his supporters, humor, a safe space, a big smile, and unflinchingly accepts their moral short comingsā€¦ So they do the same for him in return.

        • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)@badatbeing.social
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          16 days ago

          Except he has more disdain for his supporters than anyone else, even the ā€œradical leftā€ that he puts on a show about disliking. But his cult are the ones he lies to, grifts away all their money on a deluge of just garbage with his ā€œbrandā€ on it, and just thinks they are the dumbest and most useless people. He has made comments about them not having lives and being unstable.

          ā€œI saw him when the cameras were off ā€¦ Trump mocks his supporters. He calls them basement dwellers. On a hospital visit one time when people were dying in the ICU, he was mad that the cameras were not watching him.ā€

          She continued: ā€œHe used to tell me: ā€˜It doesnā€™t matter what you say, Stephanie, say it enough and people will believe you.ā€™ā€

          ā€“ Stephanie Grisham, Donald Trumpā€™s former press secretary

          Source: Trump calls his supporters ā€˜basement dwellersā€™, says former press secretary

          • barsquid@lemmy.world
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            16 days ago

            Thatā€™s correct. It is irrational. But he did give them permission to be bigoted in public, and they really like that.

        • Soup@lemmy.world
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          16 days ago

          Except that regularly calls many of them garbage and they seem to like that kinda thing.

          • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
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            16 days ago

            Heā€™s got plenty of credit with them to burn, and if he burns it right, they like him more.

            Like when people have plastered their vehicles with your name, and they follow you from place to place in convoys flying flags like something out of a mad max movie? You can call them whatever you want and get a way with it a bunch of times without any consequences what so ever.

            • AA5B@lemmy.world
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              16 days ago

              Itā€™s like burning plastic. Itā€™s toxic garbage destroying their lungs but somehow addicting