W. Niederhut

RFK, Jr. has done some admirable work on environmental protection-- one of the things I admire about him. But, for the record, one of RFK. Jr.'s long-time associates is the de-registered British physician, Andrew Wakefield, whose once popular claims about vaccines causing autism have been scientifically debunked. Even RFK, Jr.s own family members have criticized his involvement in the anti-vaccine movement. RFK, Jr. has also been one of the leading promoters anti-vaccine disinformation during the COVID pandemic. The Lancet MMR Autism Fraud Lancet MMR autism fraud - Wikipedia The Lancet MMR autism fraud centered on the publication in February 1998 of a fraudulent research paper titled "Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children" in The Lancet.[1] The paper, authored by now discredited and deregistered Andrew Wakefield, and listing twelve coauthors, falsely claimed non-existent, causative links between the MMR vaccine, colitis, and autism. The fraud was exposed in a lengthy Sunday Times investigation[2][3][4][5] by reporter Brian Deer,[6][7][8] resulting in the paper's retraction in February 2010[9] and Wakefield being struck off the UK medical register three months later. Wakefield reportedly stood to earn up to $43 million per year selling diagnostic kits for a non-existent syndrome he claimed to have discovered.[10] He also held a patent to a rival vaccine at the time, and he had been employed by a lawyer representing parents in lawsuits against vaccine producers. The scientific consensus on vaccines and autism is that there is no causal connection between MMR, or any other vaccine, and autism. *** Vaccines are not associated with autism: An evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies Vaccines are not associated with autism: An evidence-based meta-analysis of case-control and cohort studies - ScienceDirect June 17, 2014

Interesting post, Bill, but I will point out that there are qualitative differences in the definition of "outsider." For example, as an "outsider" in 2016, Trump was also a candidate who had no experience as a legislator or government administrator-- no experience in public governance. Generally, "outsider" has been used to refer to candidates who run from outside of the Beltway-- typically as state governors (e.g., Jimmy Carter in 1976, Ronald Reagan in 1980, Bill Clinton in 1992, George W, Bush in 2000, etc.) Donald Trump was a different kind of "outsider," as is RFK, Jr.-- men who have had no experience as legislators or state governors. In Trump's case, it proved to be a disaster. Professors of business administration gave Trump an "F" as an administrator. He had difficulty appointing and retaining qualified, competent Cabinet officials, and a general inability to effectively delegate administrative tasks. In effect, he was a sales and marketing guy with experience as a reality television host. Has RFK, Jr. had any experience in governance?

Jim, Anyone left of right field seems to be smeared as "Far Left" by some conservatives nowadays. It would be a useful exercise to see where Education Forum members actually rate themselves on the Political Compass. The Political Compass I'm very close to the center on this Compass (just slightly left of center.)

In other words, you RFK, Jr. anti-vax enthusiasts would prefer another creature who has never flown an airplane to pilot the U.S. Boeing 757? How did that work out for the U.S. when Donald Trump was in the cockpit from 2017-21?

Steve, Speaking of Easter, the New York Times reports today that Pope Francis has been a favorite subject for AI-generated deep fake photos. IMO, Federico Fellini would have found these howlingly funny. (I'm thinking of the roller skating Cardinals in Fellini's film, Roma.)

Paul, As a general rule, I have always based my medical opinions and praxis on high-quality, peer-reviewed scientific data. What qualifications does RFK, Jr. have for giving us sound advice about infectious diseases, vaccines, obesity, diabetes, or any medical issue? I have far greater confidence in the New England Journal of Medicine. Great leaders, like JFK, have had the wisdom to consult with, and heed the advice, of knowledgeable experts-- while asking relevant questions where doubt exists. That is one of the many criticisms I have had of Donald Trump since 2017. His appointees were often poorly qualified, (e.g., Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro as an economic advisors, Pompeo at State, etc.) and he rarely listened to sound advice about anything.

I agree, Paul. Ben Cole reminds me of the old saying, "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." He tends to attribute most Republican chicanery to "Deep State" ops -- Russiagate, Trump's J6 coup attempt, etc. Of course, we all know about Operation Mockingbird and the M$M's multi-decade cover up of the JFK assassination. (In fact, I started two threads on the subject in the summer of 2021 relating to the inaccurate M$M "reviews" of JFK Revisited.) But attributing the recent media criticisms of RFK's anti-vaccine disinformazia to a Deep State plot to prevent the release of the JFK records is a stretch.

Speaking of COVID vaccine disinformation... Chalk up another success story for Rupert Murdoch's favorite 2024 GOP Presidential nominee, Ron DeSantis. Florida health officials removed key data from COVID vaccine report https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2023/04/07/florida-surgeon-general-covid-19-vaccine-study-heart-problems-men/ April 7, 2023 The Surgeon General’s guidance against the vaccine for young men ignored results showing infection was a greater risk for cardiac-related deaths. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo announced in October that young men should not get the COVID-19 vaccine, guidance that runs counter to medical advice issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His recommendation was based on a state analysis that showed the risk of cardiac-related deaths increased significantly for some age groups after receiving a vaccine. It has been criticized by experts including professors and epidemiologists at the University of Florida where Ladapo is employed as a professor. Now, draft versions of the analysis obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show that this recommendation was made despite the state having contradictory data. It showed that catching COVID-19 could increase the chances of a cardiac-related death much more than getting the vaccine. That data was included in an earlier version of the state’s analysis, but was missing from the final version compiled and posted online by the Florida Department of Health. Ladapo did not reference the contradictory data in a release posted by the state.

Ben, I'm glad that you have finally grasped what I have been telling you for the past several weeks-- i.e., that both political parties, including Trump and Pompeo in 2017, have refused to release the JFK records. As for your latest theory that the Daily Beast has criticized RFK, Jr. (for his prominent role in promoting vaccine disinformation during the deadly COVID pandemic) because they are mainly concerned about the release of the JFK records-- it's quite a stretch. For one thing, RFK, Jr. is never going to be nominated or elected by the Democratic Party. He has even been repudiated by the Kennedy family. RFK, Jr. is mainly being used by Trump's dirty tricksters-- Steve Bannon and Roger Stone-- to undermine the 2024 Democratic nominee for the Presidency. And there's a great deal at stake there for the public. (See my comments above for details.) I'll leave it at that, and take a break from your latest, of many, JFK records threads here. Meanwhile, I'd still like to know why the administrator(s) recently removed our original 2020 thread here about Trump and the JFK records from this board-- which included informative commentaries by James DiEugenio and others--while leaving several of your misleading, anti-Donk threads about the JFK records on this board.

Sure, Ben. It's your same old false equivalence song and dance-- as if there are no substantial policy differences between Donks and 'Phants regarding critically important 21st century issues like climate change, environmental protection, wealth inequality, health care, gun control, voting rights, women's rights, banning books, etc. Are you familiar with the disastrous legacy of the George W. Bush and Trump administrations on issues like tax policy, the EPA, the Kyoto and Paris Accords? Where would rational, informed people rank the JFK records/CIA issue in importance relative to these substantive policy issues for the future? And your interpretation of this Daily Beast article is misguided, at best. They have a valid point about RFK's problematic stance on vaccines and the public health.

John, This reminds me of people who myopically focus on "single issues" in U.S. elections-- abortion, Second Amendment, etc.--while ignoring the broader, critical issues at stake in our elections. Of course, the release of the classified JFK records is an issue for 2024, and beyond, but there is far more at stake with Steve Bannon's RFK dirty trick. If RFK's candidacy succeeds in putting a Republican back in the White House, we can anticipate more of the same old destructive GOP/Koch policies-- sabotaging the EPA and climate change mitigation, undermining health care for the poor, more tax cuts for the rich, no gun control, rolling back voting rights, women's rights, etc.

Now that I think about it, I never asked my father about the subject, and I didn't even know about the Browning Hi-Power and the knife until about a decade after my father's death. As a rule, he rarely talked about the war. Did he take the gun and knife from a dead N-a-z-i, or confiscate them from a POW? I have no idea. I learned most of what I know about his battalion's WWII history after my father died, by reading a book written by his former colonel. I do remember my father complaining bitterly about the German "88s"-- which I later learned was a reference to German anti-tank artillery guns that destroyed a lot of American Sherman tanks in WWII. His battalion lost 17 tanks in the Battle of San Pietro.

John, The U.S. database on COVID morbidity and mortality is very large, which increases the statistical power of the data. A 14-fold increase in COVID death rates for unvaccinated adults, compared to the bivalent vaccinated population, is evidence of significant vaccine efficacy. The data has also shown that the risk of myocarditis in young people is greater with COVID infections than with vaccines-- debunking another popular anti-vaccine talking point on the internet. As for the more general topic of vaccines and virology, have you known any people who were infected with polio-- or had family members who died from polio-- in the pre-Salk era? In the course of my psychiatric career I encountered a number of such people. Many people today, especially young people, seem to know nothing about the horrors of polio in the era before it was eradicated in the U.S. by the Salk and Sabin vaccines.

My father brought home some war "trophies" after his military service in Europe in WWII, (U.S. 753rd Tank Battalion) including a Belgian made Browning Hi-Power, and a knife in a sheath with a N-a-z-i insignia on the handle. The knife was in a shoe box that I found in a closet while moving my mother into assisted living about ten years ago. I was so creeped out by the knife with the N-a-z-i insignia that I threw it in the trash. I didn't want it in my house.

John, If you're truly interested in the scientific data, try studying the mortality rates in the U.S. for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated adults. Here's one paper among many. I've already referenced some similar data for you in our previous discussions. COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Among Unvaccinated and Vaccinated Persons Aged ≥12 Years by Receipt of Bivalent Booster Doses and Time Since Vaccination — 24 U.S. Jurisdictions, October 3, 2021–December 24, 2022 | MMWR (cdc.gov) February 10, 2023 Excerpt "Overall mortality rates among unvaccinated persons were 14.1 times the rates among bivalent vaccine recipients."

RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He’s Tragically Wrong About Vaccines. We love Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but he is part of a misinformation campaign that’s having heartbreaking—and deadly—consequences. By KATHLEEN KENNEDY TOWNSEND, JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II and MAEVE KENNEDY MCKEAN May 08, 2019 Excerpt ...We are proud of the history of our family as advocates of public health and promoters of immunization campaigns to bring life-saving vaccines to the poorest and most remote corners of America and the world, where children are the least likely to receive their full course of vaccinations. On this issue, Bobby is an outlier in the Kennedy family. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy urged the 80 million Americans, including almost 5 million children, who had not been vaccinated for polio to receive the Salk vaccine, which he called “this miraculous drug.” In the same year, he signed an executive order creating the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has spent billions of dollars over the past decades in support of vaccine campaigns in developing countries. President Kennedy signed the Vaccination Assistance Act in 1962 to, in the words of a CDC report, “achieve as quickly as possible the protection of the population, especially of all preschool children ... through intensive immunization activity.” In a message to Congress that year, Kennedy said: “There is no longer any reason why American children should suffer from polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, or tetanus … I am asking the American people to join in a nationwide vaccination program to stamp out these four diseases.”

Paul, Decisions about the efficacy and safety of medical treatments need to be made by competent, educated medical experts-- and based on statistically valid data samples. What medical education and training has RFK, Jr. ever had? Has he studied virology or epidemiology on a post-graduate level? As for the fraudulent claim that vaccines cause autism, it was debunked long ago. That myth originated in the U.K., if I recall correctly. It was based on fraudulent data.

Administrators, This redundant Benjamin Cole thread about the Daily Beast and RFK, Jr.'s 2024 candidacy doesn't belong on the JFKA board. In comparison, you recently removed a three year-old 2020 JFKA board thread about Trump's 2017 decision to block the release of the JFK assassination records, and a thread documenting Fletcher Prouty's history of exposing important details about the JFK assassination and the Vietnam War. What criteria are being used to "exile" threads from the main board? Let's, at least, have some consistent standards about what constitutes legitimate discourse about the JFK assassination.

Ben, This thread belongs on the Political Discussions board. It has far less to do with the JFK assassination than some threads that have been removed to other boards.

T Not true, Paul. It took some time and effort, but Democrats have rolled back Reaganomic tax cuts for the rich-- e.g., in 1993. In the process, Clinton dramatically reduced the growth rate of our Reaganomic national debt in the 1990s. (See graph) And the U.S. economy prospered under Bill Clinton. Bush and Cheney DOUBLED the national debt from 2001 to 2009 with their additional tax cuts for the rich, (in 2001 and 2003) en route to crashing the U.S. economy in 2008. Their GDP and jobs record was terrible. Obama succeeded in gradually reducing the deficits, after stabilizing the Great Bush-Cheney Recession. He then presided over seven years of sustained U.S. GDP and private sector job growth, and a 275% increase in the stock markets. Then Donald Trump mushroomed the debt, again, with his idiotic 2017 tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. And Trump presided over the worst GDP and job growth numbers in modern U.S. history. It takes time for Democratic administrations to clean up these recurrent Republican debacles. The Republican Party in the post-Reagan era is still operating on the Reaganomic Starve-the-Beast model-- 1) Cut taxes for the rich, then 2) Cut socially beneficial spending to pay for the tax cuts. That is why Paul Ryan and the GOP House passed two budget bills after 2010 that would have ended Medicare, as we know it, for retirees born after 1959. It's also why the current GOP House is unable to propose a budget. They won't roll back the 2017 Trump/GOP tax cuts for billionaires, and they are afraid to cut Social Security and Medicare.

Terrific. Another irrelevant non sequitur.

Well, this is depressing. First another JFK forum thread gets exiled to the boondocks right after I posted some salient questions, then my attempt to follow up the aborted discussion gets leap-frogged by a series of non-sequiturs by people who don't really understand what is happening in U.S. politics today. To wit, the same old Republican dirty tricksters who helped elect Donald Trump, and orchestrate his J6 coup attempt, are trying to use RFK, Jr. to put the GOP plutocrats back in power. It amazes me that anyone with an IQ above room temperature can still believe that the GOP has any meaningful policy solutions for the critical problems facing the U.S. in the 21st century-- wealth inequality, the demise of the middle class, the Reaganomic national debt, climate change, and the conservative war on voting rights, women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, etc. Perhaps our forum Republicans (and self-professed "non-partisans") can tell us when the modern GOP ceased functioning as the party of Reaganomic tax cuts for the rich and Starving-the-Beast.

Unreal. A Trump-appointed judge in Texas has overruled FDA approval of mifepristone, on the grounds that it is unsafe. Now we have right wing Republican judges usurping the authority and expertise of medical professionals. Texas judge suspends FDA approval of abortion pill; second judge protects access - The Washington Post

Well, I'm not surprised that Michael Griffith is having trouble giving us any examples of "good Republican ideas." There aren't any. This is another case of the misleading false equivalence that we so often hear about from Benjamin Cole-- i.e., that there are no significant differences between Donks and 'Phants, etc. It's bunk. The examples of good Democratic ideas and achievements during the past century are legion-- the New Deal, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, etc.-- almost all of which Republicans bitterly opposed. Meanwhile, what constructive policies have the post-Reagan Republicans ever offered to the American people or humanity? Their policies have started multi-trillion dollar wars, damaged the middle class, widened the gulf between the very rich and the rest of society, and created our gargantuan national debt. They are the party of "supply side" tax cuts for billionaires, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, bank and railroad de-regulation, and deference to Big Oil plutocrats who oppose environmental protection and climate change mitigation. At present the GOP House can't even draft a budget-- their essential task. Why? Because they are suppose to follow Reagan's plutocratic plan of "Starving the Beast" by cutting Social Security, Medicare, etc., but they fear the blow back. And, in the grand scheme of things, Republican dirty tricksters like Roger Stone and Steve Bannon are simply hoping that RFK, Jr.'s candidacy will function as another Republican dirty trick, allowing the GOP to regain control of the White House in 2024.

Unreal. So, Michael Griffith thinks that James DiEugenio is "out of his depth" on JFK's Vietnam policy, eh? That's like arguing that Eric Foner is out of his depth on Reconstruction. Meanwhile, why hasn't this Vietnam thread been removed from the JFK Assassination board, like the bona fide JFK assassination thread about Fletcher Prouty?