Outside the Beltway

Outside the Beltway

New Year’s Tabs

James Joyner
20

Comments

The combination of unpacking from a temporary move and a slow news period over the holidays has lowered my enthusiasm for posting.

Some interesting stories that don’t merit a lot of commentary:

Jerusalem Demsas: “The Case for Finding Common Ground With RFK” tl;dr: He’s a nut but has some legitimate complaints about the pharmaceutical industry, nutrition policy, and the use of pesticides.

NYT: “For Those Who Don’t Trust Tap, There’s ‘Raw Water’” tl;dr: The case for not finding common ground with RFK.

Ali Breland: “The MAGA Honeymoon Is Over” tl;dr: The MAGA/techbro fight is just getting started.

CNN: “A ‘Ladies’ Night’ lawsuit sent a family-owned restaurant out of business. It’s more common than you’d think.” tl;dr: Of course it is.

Adam Kirsh: “Apocalypse, Constantly.” tl;dr: We’ve worried about the end of the world coming soon for generations.

Stephanie Bai: “The Controversy Over Baby Names.” tl;dr: Some are unhappy with the rise of “foreign” names. Muhammad is now the most popular name for babies in the UK—and that’s only for that one spelling.

The Economist: “To see the cars of the future, look at China’s electric vehicles” tl;dr: They’re more than just dirt cheap; they’re actually moving the industry forward.

,

20 responses to “New Year’s Tabs”

  1. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    Jerusalem Demsas: “The Case for Finding Common Ground With RFK” tl;dr: He’s a nut but has some legitimate complaints about the pharmaceutical industry, nutrition policy, and the use of pesticides.

    Sort of like saying we should find common ground with QAnon believers because there really are pedo rings.

    8
  2. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @Kylopod: Or in the alternative, RFK, Jr. is a nut, there’s nothing wrong with Pharma, the nutrition practices of people, or how we use pesticide (ETA: a pretty standard ad hominem attack technique used by most of us when it suits our needs).
    No one is wrong 100% of the time (though Trump and RFK, Jr. come close). Having common ground on some point doesn’t mean doesn’t mean always agreeing. I find trying to live at peace with everyone, including the nutballs, calming, but you be you.

    3
  3. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Kylopod: Indeed. I get the impulse to make lemonade out of lemons, but legitimizing people like RFK, Jr. is dangerous.

    The gains on, say, junk food, will be radically outweighed by the losses on vaccines and legitimate medicine.

    3
  4. Not the IT Dept. Avatar
    Not the IT Dept.

    @Steven L. Taylor: The gains on, say, junk food, will be radically outweighed… (This is actually very punny!)

    Personally, I’ll always remind people that RFKJr. was photographed on Trump’s plane holding McDonald’s fast food in his hand. If Trump requires him to, he’ll eat a Big Mac on camera without hesitation. What kind of a crank can’t even be true to his own cranki-hood?

    7
  5. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @Steven L. Taylor:

    I find it amusing that Trump forced RFK Jr. to eat junk food.

    2
  6. steve Avatar
    steve

    A couple of things to point out about the first article that many may not know. First, she claims that resistance to vaccines used to be predominantly among white, well off, liberal moms. That is not true. There is published research on this. While there has been a group of crazy liberals there is also a group of conservative, often faith based, people who are opposed to vaccines. That same group is often suspicious of modern medicine in general. Due to this we have never achieved high levels of vaccination for any vaccine without mandates. The CDC (might be NIH, it’s been a while since i looked it up) tracked vaccine rates for polio once they had vaccines. They managed to reach into the 60%-70% range with voluntary vaccinations. It did not become universal until they were made mandatory.

    She believes that if doctors would only sit down for extended periods of time to talk with people in the vaccine resistant group we could change minds. However, she notes that she was largely unsuccessful with this in her efforts and it’s not as if many doctors didnt try that approach. She just isn’t that special. Anyway, sometimes those efforts pay off but much/most of the time people have already decided they prefer what they are being told by their minister, favorite youtube guru or their politicians over what their physician (giving them info based upon actual data) tells them.

    More broadly maybe there is merit to finding some areas of commonality to work with RFK on. Certainly just deliberately trying to piss him off probably wont be rewarding. However, I would note his approach to almost all things medical is not based upon firm science so I would be leery. Finally, when you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas.

    Steve

    4
  7. Barry Avatar
    Barry

    RFK is a know, deliberate career liar about vaccines, for no good reason. Vaccines are a major life-saver.

    When a person starts off lying to you about major things, you don’t seek to find good ideas from them.

    6
  8. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    @just nutha:

    Having common ground on some point doesn’t mean doesn’t mean always agreeing. I find trying to live at peace with everyone, including the nutballs, calming, but you be you.

    The problem is when the supposed common ground is based on slogans without any substance to back them up. When Republicans talk about supporting “family values,” I don’t assume we can come to an agreement on paid family leave, because to them the phrase doesn’t entail that policy. In fact there’s probably nothing we can actually agree on when it comes to family-related issues, as the phrase is nothing more than code for opposing LGBT rights, abortion rights, even birth control and divorce, and promoting a rigid ’50s-style view of family as only entailing working dad and stay-at-home mom with a bunch of biological kids.

    In recent years Republicans have been trying to appropriate vaguely lefty-sounding slogans, but without any more substance to them than their more traditional mantras. When they rail against “woke corporations,” they’re not calling for any actual economic reform to rein in the power of corporate elites, they’re simply trying to push back against the very tiny steps these elites have made in the direction of inclusiveness for minorities and women.

    Similarly, their war against “big pharma” is nothing more than an attack on mainstream medicine in favor of cranks and anti-vaxxers. If you think the Trump Admin, with or without RFK, is going to lift a finger to lower drug prices, I’ve got an ivermectin tablet to sell you.

    7
  9. wr Avatar
    wr

    @steve: “She believes that if doctors would only sit down for extended periods of time to talk with people in the vaccine resistant group we could change minds.”

    Has she seen a doctor in the last twenty years? Since most practices have been bought up either by pbms or other types of vulture capitalist groups, doctors are barely allowed to spend five minutes with a patient. But now physicians are going to be granted half an hour to explain basic science?

    6
  10. Jay L Gischer Avatar
    Jay L Gischer

    The name thing is such an eye-roller. I’ve been given the worst time by people named Keith, Neil and Liz. I’ve had some really positive interactions with Jose, Amit, and Radhika. Mind you, lest you think I’m being “reverse racist”, I also have great friends in Tom, and Lia and some vile examples of humanity with foreign names.

    The most racist person I ever met was a Palestinian. Guess who his bigotry was aimed at? Also, two of the best kids in our dojo had a father who was a Palestinian refugee.

    Names, and also religious affiliation, are really, really not what matters. It’s what you do with it that counts.

    5
  11. Jay L Gischer Avatar
    Jay L Gischer

    @Kylopod: There are Republicans, and there are people who vote Republican. The former tend to be pretty set in their ways, maybe not so much the latter.

    1
  12. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    @Jay L Gischer:

    I know an internist named Dr. Joe Joseph.

  13. just nutha Avatar
    just nutha

    @Kylopod: I don’t expect anything of the Trump administration (frankly, I didn’t of the Biden, previous Trump, Obama, or Shrub administrations, either). I only live in the country, which is why I said, “but you be you.” Go in peace and make the best impact you can.

  14. Monala Avatar
    Monala

    @just nutha: some folks have pointed out that organic agriculture uses pesticides, too, just ones made from natural rather than synthetic ingredients. Because some of those natural pesticides are less effective, they often have to use a lot more of them. Meanwhile, GMOs often reduce the need for pesticides, and the anti-pesticide crew opposes them, too.

    2
  15. Monala Avatar
    Monala

    Regarding the “raw water” trend, one comment on Threads pointed out that our ancestors knew thousands of years ago that raw water could make you sick. That’s why they started making beer and wine.

    5
  16. dazedandconfused Avatar
    dazedandconfused

    @steve:

    My hope for RFK is in this new job he will not longer be an amateur doing his own research on the web, he will be hip-deep in professional scientists. People who can effectively argue the facts. If his problem is being misinformed and not lunacy things may shake out no worse than OK. Perhaps even well. He seems to give a damn, which is more than can be said for a lot of politically appointed bureaucrats.

    2
  17. Just nutha ignint cracker Avatar
    Just nutha ignint cracker

    @dazedandconfused: “Seems” may end up doing a lot of heavy lifting in the case of RFK, Jr. Here’s hoping I’m wrong on that and that he really does give a damn.

    2
  18. Kylopod Avatar
    Kylopod

    @Just nutha ignint cracker:

    “Seems” may end up doing a lot of heavy lifting in the case of RFK, Jr. Here’s hoping I’m wrong on that and that he really does give a damn.

    Here’s my read of RFK. I think he has sincerely held beliefs, and they’re fucking nuts. Trump in contrast has few actual beliefs, and that’s why whenever there have been leaked conversations, he still says some pretty deranged things, but he often comes off at least marginally more sane, more in reality, than he usually sounds in public. Look for example at the contrast between his conversation with Bob Woodward about Covid in 2020 vs. his public pronouncements. Apart from maybe his racist and classist worldview (possibly the most genuine thing about him), Trump isn’t delusional for the most part, he’s just a liar and conman. That includes some deliberate and calculated lying, but much of the time his statements fit into Harry Frankfurt’s definition of bullshit: he literally doesn’t care whether he’s speaking the truth or not. Everything he says in public is transactional, intended to further his goal of propping himself up as the invincible god-emperor, and that’s why he rarely sticks consistently to one position; the actual validity of what he’s saying is virtually irrelevant to him.

    Contrast that with RFK. His remarks from 2023 about how the virus was targeted to attack black and Caucasian people and spare the lives of Ashkenazim and Chinese–that was from an off-the-record conversation with reporters. He didn’t expect it to get out. No matter how insane you may think he sounds in public, he’s holding back. His private beliefs are even more bonkers, and we almost certainly haven’t heard the full extent of it.

    Now, I hasten to add that I don’t think any of this means he “gives a damn” about the actual consequences of his proposals on real people’s lives. He’s still incredibly narcissistic, it’s just a different form of narcissism than that of His Orange Ass. In a way he’s less malleable than Trump because he sees himself as a man on a mission, and isn’t likely to be swayed by those who think differently.

    7
  19. Just nutha ignint cracker Avatar
    Just nutha ignint cracker

    @Kylopod: I’m in the “a politician is someone who never got over being [or not being, as the case may be] senior class president” camp, but I’m too cynical these days.

  20. dazedandconfused Avatar
    dazedandconfused

    @Kylopod: I know too many intelligent and otherwise well-functioning people who’ve used managed to use the web to convince themselves of total BS to feel sure RFK is simply effin’ nuts. Time will tell.

    Somebody somewhere once wrote that the computer will be our downfall, as it will arm stupid people with bad information.

    1

Trending