Impacts of the 2024 change in US government on ME/CFS and Long Covid

The McDonalds picture was originally posted by Margo Martin, the Deputy Director of Communications, Donald J. Trump for President on X.

 

It's not LC or ME related but I didn't know where else to post this.

Btw, Vinay Prasad is also on Bluesky now.

A simple Litmus Test for RFK Jr.'s Ideas

The media describes the new HHS chief as a conspiracy theorist. But how many of his ideas are actually used in Europe? More than you’d think.
LINK

 

Stop RFK war room is launched

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/11/18/congress/health-groups-aim-to-stop-rfk-00190215

 

Do you recommend reading this or will it just make my blood boil?

 

He makes some good points on eliminating food additives, dyes/colouring in foods (cereals) produced in the USA vs Euro which we discussed here on the Kitchen forum.

In Conclusion
Just because another nation does things differently does not mean it is correct. What it usually means is the other country’s health rules are worth studying and debating. Right now, the media is covering RFK Jr. poorly and unfairly, giving him no credit for ideas that are well within the bounds of discussion. My simple rule makes sense: If other nations are doing it, we should be willing to look into it. And RFK Jr. should not be called a conspiracy theorist for holding that view.

 

Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid

Oz is the heart surgeon and TV star who won Trumps endorsement for failed Senate bid
LINK

 

We need to go back to the good old days when everyone just ate natural, unprocessed food, there were no vaccines, and everyone died at 40.

 

Or to the days which may not have happened yet, where everyone goes to carnival on their 30th birthday.

Yes, it may be personally inconvenient, briefly, but think of all the people who are not liked, or whose policies are not liked, who stubbornly and willfully oppose everything not in their interests, who simply wouldn't exist any more.

 

The RKF Jr and OZ duo just might achieve this.

 

11/19/24, 'RFK Jr, the Department of Health & Human Services, and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis' by Hillary Johnson

"Kennedy might be a champion for people with ME if for no other reason that he understands like few others in public life that NIH, CDC & FDA often get things terribly wrong"

'How much does Kennedy know about ME? A great deal more than most people.'

'He is a skeptic who judges the federal health agencies as they should be judged'

'For several decades Kennedy has been an independent agent, operating as an investigative gadfly. He’s been attentive to big issues that have received less than adequate attention from the nation’s public health bulwarks, the CDC and NIH'

 

"What connects RFK Jr.’s appointment with ME is the fact that Kennedy’s mandate from Trump dovetails with his own desire to address chronic disease. ME is nothing if not chronic at the moment—but is it the kind of chronic disease Kennedy seeks to target? Trump and Kennedy seem to be talking about diabetes and obesity, which are commonly described as avoidable chronic diseases because they are often fueled by poor diet. They tend to be considered avoidable with behavioral changes. So far, Kennedy has yet to issue any statements that indicate his focus will be on chronic diseases caused by viral infections, such as post-Lyme and the mother of them all, ME, which are not behavioral".

It’s possible to advocate for improving food quality while also supporting the appropriate use of medications like ‘Ozempic.’ Framing these as mutually exclusive choices reflects a misunderstanding of how diseases develop and are managed.

How is he going to frame ME?

 

A lot of people live in what's termed food deserts, where there are few, if any, nearby grocery stores where people could buy healthy food like produce. For some people, a poor diet is caused by a lack of reasonable access to grocery stores, not a desire to eat unhealthy food from nearby quickie marts.

If RFK wanted to help, he could at least advocate programs that would stock buses with produce and other healthy food and go to food deserts at set times to let people buy healthy food at low prices. Some cities have these programs staffed by volunteers. Calling poor diet a lifestyle choice shows a real lack of nuance.

 

Likely to be the next FDA commissionner, Marty Makary, part of the same Great Barrrington network as other nominees (like the likely NIH director):

 

Dr. Paul Offit (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Offit)
states the facts and RFK's persistent false statements about health issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asjnbtKj_i8

 

They can’t be serious this would be hilarious if it weren’t so depressing.

 

Hey, we are the powerful lobby that never managed to get anything done. So powerful. Yet so weak.

I'm not sure which is worse: those who deny it and don't even feign sympathy, or tone like his, and the same as our BPS overlords, where they have fake concerns and play act sympathy but they want the exact same things as the deniers, just go about it in a different way.

 

Virologist Vincent Rancaniello (hosts David Tuller's blog) explains RFK's facts problem, begins at 30 minutes in--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOB1tSOvapQ

 

https://thesicktimes.org/2024/11/26...s-say-crucial-work-will-continue-under-trump/
“Don’t give up hope”: Long COVID advocates and researchers say crucial work will continue under Trump

A high quality and slightly hopeful although still realistic article. I recommend reading it.