from the hiding-in-public dept
We should always all know at this level that RFK Jr. is dangerous at his job as Secretary of HHS. However that simplistic assertion apparently wants one thing of a qualifier. As an alternative, it seems we must always say that RFK Jr. is dangerous on the components of his job that he chooses to do. As a result of, in accordance to a New York Times report, he doesn’t actually pay all that a lot consideration to most of HHS’ work.
The Instances begins the piece by mentioning that because the Ebola disaster in Africa continues to rage on, already infecting a number of People who have been touring overseas, Kennedy has been largely absent from briefings on the outbreak. He talks to the very individuals who may inform him of the goings on there, however he simply doesn’t get many briefings on the subject. And that led the Instances to attempt to discover out what else Kennedy isn’t bothering to concentrate to. The reply, in keeping with insiders at HHS, is just about the whole lot that isn’t considered one of his pet agenda objects.
Mr. Kennedy’s strategy to the disaster displays his broader administration of the Division of Well being and Human Providers, which impacts the well being of 340 million People and supplies well being care to 40 p.c of the inhabitants by Medicare and Medicaid.
Mr. Kennedy has proven little curiosity in managing the main points of labor in his division, in keeping with a number of colleagues. As an alternative, they are saying, he’s single-mindedly centered on his prime priorities, together with meals suggestions and pesticide exposures, and looking for proof to help his long-held beliefs that vaccines are dangerous.
Deeply mistrustful of profession civil officers, the secretary has surrounded himself with an in depth circle of handpicked advisers and stacked companies with political appointees aligned together with his views. Whereas main posts have sat vacant and a wave of veteran well being consultants and scientists have departed, Mr. Kennedy has remained remoted from a lot of the division’s prime employees.
Now, all of this by itself can be some mixture of attention-grabbing, damning, and explanatory of why a lot adverse well being shit is going on in America today. Measles outbreaks, a spate of whooping cough surging, unfilled positions, an ACIP panel that isn’t allowed to function as a result of the courts stated so, and so forth. Having an HHS chief fully out to lunch whereas now we have all of those well being threats round us, all so he can go chase vaccine conspiracies, chem-trails, and snakes shouldn’t be precisely a recipe for good well being outcomes within the nation. That he’s selfishly saving all of his time for his personal private pursuits is probably not stunning, nevertheless it does want correcting.
Kennedy took to ExTwitter to defend himself from the report, which he claimed was very improper, as a result of he solely misses some conferences.
“You fault me for lacking a few month-to-month counselor conferences. Nevertheless, I meet one-on-one with my counselors day-after-day to determine coverage and technique. We schedule the month-to-month conferences to present the divisions an opportunity to maintain one another knowledgeable about HHS-wide insurance policies with which I’m already intimately acquainted.”
RFK Jr. questioned the outlet on whether or not they bothered to test his public calendar, which is crammed with back-to-back conferences that concern his function. He revealed that he’s actively concerned in addressing points and making last choices, as he summarized his schedule, stating that he works till 11:00 pm. Moreover, he touched on how the outlet used quotes from these staff, a few of whom he had fired prior to now, additional calling into query their credibility and fact-checking abilities.
Now, if you wish to perceive simply how fully, pathologically improper and false Kennedy is prepared to be, let’s zero proper the hell in on that entire “did you hassle to test my public calendar” retort. Why? Effectively, as a result of by all accounts, Kennedy’s calendar shouldn’t be in any approach public. A number of teams have filed FOIA requests which have gone unaddressed for years, or else filed lawsuits, as a way to get entry to his calendar. They will’t get it. The Heart for Organic Variety filed suit over this a year ago. Statnews.com has been after it via FOIA requests for over a year, as nicely.
However no such calendar, detailing who Kennedy meets with or how he spends his time, has been launched by the administration. STAT has been asking the Division of Well being and Human Providers for Kennedy’s calendar for greater than a 12 months, by way of Freedom of Data Act requests and emails to the press workplace.
Since final 12 months, STAT reporters have requested the calendars of Kennedy and his principal deputy chief of employees, Stefanie Spear, a number of occasions. That has included a request final February for a calendar from Kennedy’s first two weeks on the job after which a request final June for Spear’s calendars since she began in her function. Spear, whose private workplace is hooked up to Kennedy’s, is thought to attend almost each assembly with the secretary.
The HHS press workplace didn’t reply to questions concerning the public calendar Kennedy described, the variety of staffers presently in FOIA workplaces throughout the company, the response occasions to requests in comparison with earlier administrations, or which retailers have been being restricted by the administration.
It’s one factor to cover your calendar whilst you’re not fulfilling your obligations as a cupboard member. It’s a wholly completely different factor to do all of that and attempt to admonish the press for not checking a public calendar that has by no means been made public.
Both Kennedy thinks his calendar is public when it isn’t, which is a horrible search for him and his understanding of how his personal companies are working, or he does comprehend it’s not public, is mendacity about it, and by some means thinks that no person will hassle to level it out.
So, the open query seems to be whether or not RFK Jr. is a bumbling idiot who isn’t in full command of HHS…or a foul and pretty dumb liar.
So, Secretary Kennedy, when you’re again from an prolonged lunch and nap session, which is it?
Filed Beneath: ebola, health & human services, measles, rfk jr., vaccines
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