RFK Jr.'s Lawyer Opposes the Polio Vaccine!

[@mhdivito]

Just remember, the world before vaccines was one where folks had 10 kids because maybe 2 or 3 would survive to adulthood.

[@CricketsBay]

Yup. People don't believe me when I tell them in 1850 in the U.S., as many as 4 out of 5 children died before their 5th birthday. Water with Giardia. Water infected with cholera. Diseases like Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Smallpox, and Measles. Unpasteurized milk with Listeria, Tuberculosis, E. Coli, and Salmonella. Spoiled or contaminated meat. The list goes on. Vaccine and food-safety regulations made our lives and standards of living today possible. Without them, we'd still be having 10 children and hoping 2 or 3 lived to adulthood.

[@hannahbrennan2131]

My Grandma used to tell us stories about a polio outbreak in her area and how scary it was.

[@brenatevi]

They don't see that as a bad thing. "It would force women back into the house where they belong!"

[@sharimeline3077]

@@warshield924 My grandmother was one of 9 children. Her family was considered an absolute miracle because all of them survived the Spanish flu. Most families were not so lucky. But then in the late 30's my father got polio before the vaccine. Most of the kids on his ward died from it. Some ended up in an iron lung for the rest of their lives. My dad was "lucky" that he only needed a wheelchair for the rest of his. These anti-vaxxers are insane.

[@wheeljork]

I am not going to go full conspiracy theorist, but GOP wants white people to reproduce. They have to survive though, so why did they nominate a dunce to take care of our health?

[@KarenH-q6u]

One of the kickers is that RFK Jr. has said that he AND his kids have been vaccinated. And his family has said that he's a nut job.

[@wheeljork]

I think I am just calling him #wormbrain from now on yep. He does not deserve the Kennedy name or even the K. #RFWormbrainJr? nah too long

[@ZERO_O7X]

​@@wheeljork The worm was probably smarter than he is. #RIP Brainworm 🪱

[@menotyou8369]

@@wheeljork It works just fine for me.

[@bozhijak]

They disowned his crazy ass.

[@TehLislis]

​@@wheeljorkI've been calling him Captain Brain Worms

[@suzannederusha1370]

So America decided to take the ex back, totally forgetting how abusive the ex was.

[@cyrollan]

very well said. i love it!

[@toober1066]

Or maybe because of the abuse. Guess it depends on who is getting abused.

[@CanItAlready]

The people who took him back are the kind that believe a woman should stay with her abusive husband, so...

[@StormsparkPegasus]

Expect to see similar numbers of deaths to 1930's and 1940's Germany in the next couple years.

[@SiriusMined]

Yup. Because putting the worst person for the people of Gaza is apparently sticking it to the team that would be not as bad for Gaza. Somehow.

[@craigorr9713]

I always object when my friends call RFK, Jr. unqualified. He is worse than unqualified, he is anti-qualified.

[@menotyou8369]

He's literally a dangerous lunatic with dozens of dead Samoan children on his resume.

[@lesliewolfe7643]

I'm adopting the word "anti-qualified" if it's ok with you 👍

[@SergeantSniper]

Unqualified is mere ignorance and lack of capacity; RFK Jr. is actively and intentionally hostile. So I like "anti-qualified."

[@Hugh3rd]

And the conservatives beat us liberals about Merit!! Hypocrisy. Jr has no merit.

[@user-DeLorean-Dude2024]

I am geniunely terrified of the implications. I am 16 turning 17 soon, I don't want my life to end because of what some lunatic like RFK Jr. to do something fucked up.

[@NHT2]

I'm 37. I'm sorry we have failed your generation.

[@suzannederusha1370]

I totally understand your fears, and you’re not alone. However to be able to revoke that would take all kinds of legal actions. That would take years to do such a thing. The primary goal of the republicans is to keep people distracted with fear so they don’t pay attention to what’s really happening. There’s many people that will fight back on everything the felon tries to do, count on that.

[@user-DeLorean-Dude2024]

@@NHT2 It's not your fault. I have lost faith in humanity anyway.

[@alenahubbard1391]

Don't try to downplay the risk. A million died because of trumpies bungling of COVID, what do you think will happen with junior as sec of health?​@@suzannederusha1370

[@alenahubbard1391]

​@@suzannederusha1370Don't try to downplay the risk. A million died because of trumpies bungling of COVID, what do you think will happen with junior as sec of health?

[@bethanytheilman2091]

First thing we can do to cut costs is to take all of the free healthcare away from our legislative branch

[@adopequeenatyrantkingaboss8057]

Absolutely! The nerve of the Rethuglicons voting to dismantle the ACA when they themselves have the best healthcare plan available in this country, is beyond the pale. Why anybody would believe and support that party is staggering.

[@DawnDavidson]

That is absolutely where we should start. Make them take THEIR kids to the emergency room on a holiday weekend. Make them wait in lines to get refills of necessary medications. Make them have to play medication roulette and meter out their own mental health meds so they don’t go into full withdrawal due to “shortages in precursors”. What a disgusting pack of holier than thou hypocrites.

[@ZERO_O7X]

My uncle Jimmy is permanently disfigured due to not getting the polio vaccine soon enough so hearing this is terrifying. Jonas Salk gave away the vaccine patent for free because it was the right thing to do. He could have sold it, wasting valuable time but greed didn't motivate him...doing the right thing did.

[@DrDnd4nyer]

The right thing to do...sorely lacking in that regard these days.

[@teubert2]

Jonas Salk is without doubt one of the greatest heroes of all time for doing this. To think there are people today that want to risk undoing his work at eradicating this terrible disease is just... unfathomable.

[@rudetuesday]

Senator Mitch McConnell survived childhood polio, as did one of my childhood church members. Today, I read an essay from a 32 year-old person who got polio as a child, because parents chose not to vaccinate her when she was young. This year 283 cases of measles occurred in the United States. Measles can cause immune amnesia. This is how my brother got chicken pox twice in 3 years, thanks to contracting measles in-between. The reset to protective immunity take approximately 3 to 5 years, leaving people very vulnerable to infectious diseases. He got to have some of his childhood vaccines twice. This is madness.

[@simonmoody8400]

'Ignorant' could easily be the tagline for the incoming administration. but honestly, so could 'Corrupt', 'Autocratic' and 'Criminals and their Wannabe Associates'.

[@edg3048]

Please add incompetent to that...just for me.... LOL

[@HelenCamile63]

Ignorant is what I’m most offended by. I expect politicians to be corrupt and greedy but presidents used to be smart.

[@bensmith5262]

Corrupt Racist Amoral Psychopath. CRAP.

[@justjoanish]

Democracy apocalypse.

[@dominomasked]

Intentionally ignorant. They have all the money. They have had the “best” educations. But they came into all of it determined to reject anything that implied they aren’t infallible god-kings, so… yeah. Intentionally imperviously ignorant.

[@msmacmac1000]

Obeying in advance. First step to the fascist takeover

[@TehLislis]

My mom had polio as a child. She passed away at age 46 from heart failure and struggled with post polio syndrome a few years after I was born. I have no memories of her walking unassisted. I watched her go from needing a cane to a wheelchair and needing to have oxygen tubes at all times. I have horrifically vivid memories of her coughing up blood, and trips to the hospital. The year she passed, polio was officially declared eradicated in the US. I was 7. And people want to risk letting this disease back in?? I'm absolutely *terrified* for generation alpha.

[@klisterklister2367]

Tell people about your mum's story with polio. Make people remember.

[@susanscott8653]

I agree. This is vital information you have from your own experience. Preserve it and pass it on.

[@davidhutchinson1610]

Measles, mumps, and rubella have just endorsed project 2025...

[@kennyj43]

Not to mention tetanus, whooping cough, polio and other diseases which were on the verge of being relegated to the history books. But hey, these idiots think they know it all.

[@keltonscott734]

BINGO 🎯‼️💯

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Along with smallpox...

[@andrewthomas8233]

He says RFK is one of the major figures in the Kennedy family he's also the only member of the Kennedy family that the Kennedy family wants nothing to do with anymore and will not talk to him because they say he's a lunatic.

[@mayra3277]

I'm a global health student from Europe, specialising in disaster management. I've never been to the US, but it seems I should get ready for a humanitarian assignment to Florida.

[@Mowerman666]

What's the bet that these people have had the polio vaccine?

[@sndspderbytes]

Of course. Remember when Eric Clapton used his celebrity to ask Americans not to take the COVID vaccine? He wanted the COVID vaccine banned and implored people never to take it. His reason was that he had taken the COVID vaccine and it hurt his hand. After taking the vaccine his hand ached and throbbed and for 5 long hard horrible days he could not play his guitar! It was one of the worst things to ever happen to him! What we had was Eric took the vaccine while telling others not to! It is a disgusting thing to do.

[@bozhijak]

ALL of them!

[@Mowerman666]

@bozhijak No doubt!!

[@mooniejohnson]

Pfft, I’m not taking that bet because it’s 100% of them!

[@annkor26]

This is absolute insanity. The weekend before Thanksgiving, I got my COVID booster, a flu shot and a pneumonia vaccine. You can't shout it loud enough! What the fuck are we doing?!

[@BrigidFitch2112]

Yep. I got my flu, Covid, and DTaP a month ago. I got my secnd shingles about 2 months ago.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Thanks for reminding me that now that I'm over my awful sinus infection and off antibiotics, I need my boosters too!

[@annkor26]

@@thing_under_the_stairs Happy to help!

[@HorseDe-luxe]

I got covid in november and internet seems to say you have to wait 3 months before it's safe to get a covid booster, like basically the week I was planning to to get the covid booster. Luckily doesn't say anything about flu shots, so I can get that soon now that I'm feeling better, but wtf, why does it have to be 3 months, what do I do if the orange lunatic has like 3000 pre written executive orders ready to pass day one and one of them fucks with my ability to get vaccines, at rfk's trembling and severely brain damaged request?

[@keirfarnum6811]

@@thing_under_the_stairs Just a little tip. Oftentimes a sinus infection can be dealt with using guaifenesin (the expectorant) and hydrating properly. It helps move the infected gunk out of the sinuses. And of course it will help even better with antibiotics. Get the Robitussin that contains only the guaifenesin (instead of the formulations with the decongestants, etc.). It works! I have had a number of infections that I got rid of without having to take antibiotics.

[@brynpookc1127]

My mother lived through the polio epidemic and told me terrible stories. One of her close friends was in an iron lung for most of his life. She stayed in touch with him until his death when I was about 20 yo. (I’m 73 now.) Johnny could only slightly move his head. Before he died, the technology progressed so he could move his eyes across a screen and send emails to Mom. It’s a HORRID disease. Mom made sure my brother and I got every version of a polio protection. Some were shots, some on sugar cubes. We had it probably a dozen times at least - conservatively, could easily have been 20! EDIT: FFS, I nearly died from the measles and now kids are dying from it again in the US.

[@alastairlichten8151]

My kid has just finished having all his childhood vaccinations redone after a double stem cell transplant. We had to wait for him to be a year off treatment, and the thought that some antivac person at school, hospital or just out and about could be putting his life at risk was terrifying. After each of his nurse appointments I had this shaking panicking and overwhelming feeling of how much he'd been at risk and waves of relief and amazement at how unbelievably amazing it is that these tiny vials can protect them. The idea of not protecting your child is because of the egotistical 'do your own research' fantasy is maddening.

[@redfoxninja3173]

The only way evil wins is for good to step in line, follow and obey!

[@cptechguy]

I'm in my 40s.... I went to Elementary school with an immigrant kid from Vietnam. He had contracted Polio when he was a baby and had to have crutches to walk. The Polio Vaccine is absolutely essential. If you have actually witnessed a person who lived through it, you would agree.

[@ReaderInSeattle]

When I was a kid there were two Polio survivors living in my neighborhood, they probably contracted it in the 40s or 50s. I remember my mom explaining we'd been vaccinated against the disease, and it was a revelatory moment--oh, that's what those shots the doctors gave us can do!

[@monpayscanada]

My little friend wore braces on both her legs from polio. Her sister died in a “lung”. I’m in my 70’s and the stupidity of Kennedy voters is astounding.

[@austin.luther]

As a medical scientist who has spent so much time and energy explaining to individual patients, businesses, and church congregations how various diseases work and how vaccines work and how important it is to take this all very seriously... Thank you.

[@keirfarnum6811]

It amazes me when people say the covid vaccine “doesn’t protect people like past vaccines did”. I continually have to explain the difference between preventive vaccination for diseases already controlled by past vaccination campaigns which have herd immunity granting protection, and vaccination during an actual epidemic. People have developed unrealistic expectations regarding how vaccines work.

[@davidcline4286]

​@keirfarnum6811 Explain to me how a spike protein generator is a vaccine.

[@captainawk043]

What little I've heard about RFK on mental health medication fucking terrifies me. I need my adhd meds to be on my a game at a desk job, and losing antidepressants could be catastrophic.

[@BrigidFitch2112]

My meds is what allows me to maintain gainful employment.

[@VVVVV00]

That's the point. Nothing they are doing or saying has the best interest of the working class in mind. Their intensions is to weaken the nation while they steal the economy for themselves

[@mooniejohnson]

If my meds, more specifically my anxiety meds, got cut off I would very likely die. There are two drugs you can’t quit cold-turkey… alcohol and benzodiazepines.

[@emmajones8590]

RFK treated his own ADHD by using heroin. He used heroin, cocaine and LSD for about 15 years, until he was forced to go into rehab after he was caught for dealing.

[@elizabethsmith7224]

If I can't take my anxiety meds,I can have a fucking heart attack or at least feel like I am. Couldn't get them for a few days and I could literally feel my heart beating in my chest,it was terrifying.

[@TheBattlechicken]

We already know we're in the dumbest timeline. It's impossible to surprise me because I expect the dumbest possible outcomes from the trump administration.

[@keithwhitehead4897]

Americans heading to Canada "Passport please"...."No no that one, your vaccine passport"

[@DavidVerch]

When you travel internationally there is a yellow card that lists you vaccines. Some countries won’t let you in without certain vaccinations.

[@keithwhitehead4897]

@@DavidVerch Well having traveled internationally quite a bit, I have NEVER had a yellow card.

[@klisterklister2367]

​@@keithwhitehead4897 maybe it's time to start having one

[@alanchristensen5735]

Never obey in advance. At least pretend to resist for minute. Instead of rolling over like a puppy.

[@MichaelRainey]

I'm going to tell this story in every polio video. My friend's mother growing up had polio as a child. One leg didn't grow right and she had a limp then and now can barely walk. All the Republicans now getting their breath through a nasal cannula know that surviving a disease doesn't mean remaining in good health.

[@cyrollan]

this is SO EFFED UP! did you also see that Kari Lake was chosen to be the "Voice of America"? this is an absolute crapshow. we are truly living in the bizarro world.

[@StormsparkPegasus]

We're in the Mirror Universe. Except the Terran Empire is probably downright civil compared to what this place is in for.

[@kasahadragon9499]

I'm not worried about her and VOA, they won't even show their ratings in a google search without having to download a document they are contained in. I'm guessing they're pretty low 😂

[@monicawallace-jn8tl]

It’s not a bizarro world… It’s our WIIFM culture regurgitating religious and non-scientific beliefs, infecting our country with fascism and stupidity!

[@shawnwales696]

Families stood in lines around the block to get the polio vaccine when I was a kid, I remember it well because it was hot outside and there was little shade. Still, it was worth it because our parents friends and neighbors had been devastated by the disease. Vaccination remains the single most effective means for the prevention of infectious disease, also the most cost effective. If RGK JR in approved, that's a serious step backwards.

[@ωις-λ3π]

imagine filing a claim with your insurance company to cover the cost of an iron lung.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

"A broken clock can be right twice a day", doesn't mean you should use a broken clock.

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

It's also wrong 86,398 times a day.

[@TypingHazard]

I used to have a GP that was an old country gentleman, a simple doctor that was working out of his son's cosmetic surgery office for... some reason v0v Anyway, he was always even-tempered and good humored about a great many things. Except anti-vaxxers. He would turn red, ball his fists, retelling the stories of living through what polio did to this country before the vaccine. It was disquieting watching him transform like this as he was always so soft-spoken and calm. I can't imagine he's still alive, we've changed doctors several times over 10 years. I have to imagine this news would have absolutely lit him on fire.

[@simplypositiveme]

What a damn dumpster fire we are all in with these Magas.

[@wesleyharrison9014]

I can feel the heat from Lethbridge Alberta should be minus 37 but it's not

[@matthewk7507]

Yeah... the dumpster fire was back in 2016... this is a tire pile on fire filled with human and pig shit.

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

I mean this as sincerely and as loudly as possible, *WHAT THE F K IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!?*

[@ateamfan42]

A lot.

[@mrb.5610]

Maybe he's got shares in the company that makes Iron Lungs. Because without a polio vaccine, we're gonna need them.

[@edg3048]

So much for the "step up labor force" when they finish deporting everyone they don't like.....

[@sharimeline3077]

No one makes them anymore, I saw a documentary about it a while back. The last living person in an iron lung from polio had no manufacturer of parts to fix his machine when it broke down.

[@wartgin]

​@@sharimeline3077 If I recall correctly, there are more modern equivalents but that person had some other issue that made using the more recent breathing equipment worse or something.

[@ericzorn2692]

Aren't there six licensed polio vaccines on the market? And doesn't ICAN's petition to temporarily halt the use of IPOL on infants and children (until further testing commensurate with the FDA's own standards could be shared) only impact the IPOL vaccine (i.e. one of six available polio vaccines sold on the market)? If so, this leaves five available polio vaccines (not zero). Don't take my word for it though. The petition is available online and is only about 6 pages long. It's also a petition filed by lawyer Aaron Siri on behalf of the group known as ICAN. The petition isn't associated with RFK Jr. Aaron Siri just happens to also represent RFK Jr as a client, but not regarding this matter.

[@255ad]

this is like suggesting we make apples illegal until we've done a double blind study on if they're dangerous. If everyone has been consuming a thing forever and nothing bad seems to be happening why not default assume its fine?

[@qwertyuiop1st]

I am making sure that I am up to date on all of the vaccines I'm eligible for.

[@VVVVV00]

It's literally a requirement for entering the military. I remember dipshits that went back to being civilian at MEPS because they claimed the covid vaccine was going too far.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Same... and I'm Canadian. But too close to the border for comfort.

[@pssurvivor]

high time americans start needing a visa to travel to europe. all those unvaxxed masses, we don't want em here

[@cookie-dough-fox69]

In the early 2000's there was a group called Alive & Well. It started with a mother who had been diagnosed with AIDs who refused medication. She received a lot of support from people you'd not expect, including the Foo Fighters, who let her speak at their performances. There was also Harry Bialy (a molecular biologist), Peter Duesberg (molecular biologist), David Rasnick (biochemist) and Kary Mullis (biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate)... Anyway, the group didn't last long...nor did she...nor did her 3yo daughter.... nor did it's members....

[@DawnDavidson]

Oh gods. I worked for effing Peter Duesberg in the late 80’s/early 90’s. What a POS that guy was/is. He wasn’t even an actual AIDS researcher! Just a molecular biologist with bad opinions, a bee in his bonnet, and a platform. He wrote - and I had to read, format, and edit - “literature reviews” wherein he supposedly analyzed other published research and offered his opinion that AIDS wasn’t caused by HIV. He was railing about Fauci back then, and had the nerve to say AIDS was due to “lifestyle choices,” not HIV. He used to crack racist jokes in German, thinking I couldn’t understand him (I don’t speak German, but I’ve sung enough to know the German word for “Black.”) A previous admin of his apparently tried to unalive herself because of working for him, and his own about-to-be ex-wife keyed his car during their divorce while I worked for him. He’s the worst sort of “scientist” and it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that he had a hand in an AIDS-denial organization like that.

[@emmajones8590]

You do know, don't you, that RFK is also an aids denialist? He tells people that aids isn't caused by the hiv virus, but by the anti viral medicines that these patients need to use to stay healthy and non contagious.

[@ookamiblade6318]

As for food safety, he wants to eliminate fluoride in treated water and end pasteurization so he’s pro disease there too and he already has a child death count on his anti-measles vaccine advocacy.

[@hmnhntr]

I believe I've also heard that he opposes 'fortified' foods with added vitamins.

[@ookamiblade6318]

@ it’s that idiotic natural is best attitude…. That’s what’s behind his anti fluoride campaign despite the studies he is using to back that clearly being about natural ground water fluoride being too high in some places and people should use treated water to get the beneficial dose without accidentally overdosing. And behind the anti pasteurization because it does slightly reduce some of the vitamin levels, they call it ‘kills the natural nutrients’ to insight fear, and handily forget to mention it doesn’t reduce them significantly below daily requirements and milk is not the usual dietary source of those nutrients in the first place, and for good measure it increases the amount of vitamin A. The benefits of both fluoride in treated water and pasteurization in lives saved and medical bills avoided far outweigh the disadvantages which are largely subjective like taste and feeling superior for using ‘natural’ products. If you wish to experience those subjective things there are options, but don’t punish everyone for your personal preferences. Ending pasteurization means that anyone with a weakened immune system will no longer have access to safe to drink milk.

[@stargatecommand714]

FDR be spinning in his grave

[@monicawallace-jn8tl]

So is The Greatest Generation, who sacrificed their youth and lives, only to have their kids and grandchildren vote for what they fought against - fascism!

[@huppdiwupp9764]

After watching this video, I am concerned for Steve's health, when he stays this angry for the next 4 years. 😟 While I totally agree with his opinion, I believe it is necessary that he takes care of himself first and not get a heart attack over this... . Stay healthy, Steve! We still need you to be around for a while... .

[@entropy8634]

They’re making mockery of “informed consent”. Another important word they’ve hijacked and sullied.

[@barbaradavis393]

Another thought:.....Sometime in the 1960s (I think) Dave Garroway, host of the Today Show, told his son that he was going to interview Jonas Salk. The kid asked who Salk was and what was his 'deal'. Dave told him that Salk had developed the first polio vaccine. The kid replied, "What's polio". Maybe vaccines are not all that bad.

[@johnnyjet3.1412]

Mosquitos are moving north with a warming climate.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Heh. I have family in Mexico. I can't wait to see what happens when malaria and dengue become endemic in the southern States...

[@roaldpage]

So not only would this bring back polio, but if polio resurges there is more of a chance it will mutate, and then not only will the unvaccinated be more susceptible, but even people with immunity from receiving the vaccine may become at risk.

[@russellmania5349]

If you got the vaccine then you should be fine.

[@roaldpage]

@russellmania5349 Dude, what part of mutation do you not understand? The more prevalent the virus becomes, the more likely it is to mutate and become vaccine resistant.

[@keirfarnum6811]

@@russellmania5349 You didn’t read what OP said. Viruses MUTATE.

[@hmnhntr]

​@@russellmania5349So you just can't read? Diseases mutate over time. The vaccine cannot protect you from a new form of the disease that didn't exist when the vaccine was created. Keeping cases low prevents or at least slows this mutation. Letting cases spread speeds up this mutation. I hope that makes sense.

[@idi0tSammich]

This is like knowing there's an arsonist coming to burn your house down, but they'll also burn down those weeds you've had in your backyard for years and saying "Yeah, I can compromise with that."

[@ArkhamOrderly]

And then when your house is a pile of ashes the weeds will still be there.

[@r-platt]

RFK is despised by his own family.

[@rlabzsc]

Absolutely NO CUTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

[@themastersofdisguise3814]

Chances are those will be the first things cut. Which sucks. We’re stuck in a pit, and the Republican Party keeps oiling up the walls.

[@BrigidFitch2112]

I tried to warn my mom about this but she's full-on MAGA and adores RFKJ. She's gonna be a victim of FAFO. Unfortunately the rest of us will have to suffer with her.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

​@@BrigidFitch2112 get her a conservatorship...

[@tombrewsaugh1399]

I'm with you 100%. I remembered getting the vaccines I think the oral one was given in a surgery cube if memory serves me correctly. I saw the news reports of kids my age at the time in iron lungs. I think the last person still in an iron lung may have just passed away within the last year or two. I can actually say without hesitation I'm glad my daughters don't plan on making me a grandfather. I wouldn't want to risk bringing up a child in this country now.

[@alexamerling79]

Way to go America. Way to go. We are on our own Steve. Mainstream media will not help us.

[@designsonq1]

8:26 "How do we know it's the cages that keep the tigers from attacking the visitors at the zoo..?"

[@hmnhntr]

Pft. Tigers are made up by the government to justify zoos.

[@ShinGallon]

I have GOT to stop saying "Republicans can't possibly get crazier or stupider" because the universe keeps taking it as a challenge.

[@barbaradavis393]

I am a 78 yr old woman who grew up in Pittsburgh. That means that I was there in the 1950s when Dr. Salk developed the first polio vaccine. I remember the huge hospital rooms of children with polio. I remember that everyone knew someone who suffered from polio. Just imagine living in an iron lung, 24/7. Just because we don't see polio now doesn't mean it is not still a danger. There were some problems in the early trials that were traced to quality control issues. There were no problems with the vaccine itself. I was vaccinated in 1958 with Salk vaccine and again with the Sabin vaccine in 1964. I am still here.

[@literaterose6731]

I’m 63 years old. My mother told me stories about yearly polio epidemics that terrorized their communities when she was a child. I got the live (oral) vaccine, and all the others that were available when I was a child. (My favorite scar is my smallpox vaccine scar!) I also got rubella as a child and was sick for weeks-though not as sick as other kids I knew who got measles, mumps or whooping cough. My kids were born in the 80s, and were all vaccinated; they got the injection polio vaccine. Other than chickenpox (vaccine wasn’t available yet), neither they nor any kids we knew got any of those horrific diseases. I’m appalled at Bernie Sanders. Anyone who still thinks our congressional leaders are not moving inexorably to the right in the most extreme and dangerous ways is simply not paying attention at this point. And yes, that includes our former “heroes.” Wear your masks, folks, and wash your hands. Support each other as best you can. We are in for some grim times… 😣😡

[@sophierobinson2738]

My Geometry teacher in high school was a polio victim. Motorized his wheelchair himself.

[@rodefshalom]

I want to have a debate on the efficacy of foundations in keeping tall buildings up. I once read a book and I have serious concerns about Balrogs. I heard they can cause problems if you dig too greedily, and too deep, so I think we should stop all excavation for construction. Besides I’ve never seen a tall building fall over, so obviously, foundations are unnecessary and are being pushed by a conspiracy from Big Cement.

[@midgetwthahacksaw]

I know that this is parody but, at the same time, I wouldn't put it past them.

[@brynpookc1127]

Oh! NO! You’ve given the smooth brains something else to obsess over 😢

[@MichaelRainey]

Champlain Towers South was a crisis actor.

[@ruthspanos2532]

Here’s the reason why. There’s vast sums of money flowing towards anything that undermines public goods. It’s like an algorithm that disregards any consequences in favor of lowering taxes. Vaccines are often given out for public health. They are only really effective if everyone gets them. They are not a money maker compared to medications that have to be taken regularly. Venture capitalist ghouls are paying to promote these conspiracies so they don’t have to pay for cheaply vaccinating children. They’re looking to profit off of chronic illness.

[@keirfarnum6811]

@@brynpookc1127 We should really start pushing this. Maybe they’ll buy it?

[@TheWanderingFire]

DO NOT OBEY IN ADVANCE - Thanks, Steve!

[@seraphonica]

reminds me of when I was dating someone I was in the process of finding out was anti-vax. they told me there was no such thing as the hepatitis b vaccine. as someone who works in healthcare, I went to the refrigerated cabinet and took a picture of the packaging. which they presumed I found online and told me the person who supplied the picture had falsified it. I guess I should add my subconscious photoshopping skills to my resume?

[@suzannederusha1370]

Polio is making a comeback in other parts of the world because of war/ fighting in those places.

[@jfu5222]

Also because of religious nuts in the most backwards areas in the world.

[@spsmith6919]

Also because Obama inserted CIA goons into vaccination teams.

[@LaylaSpellwind]

Has this guy ever seen Polio?! It's not something you want making a comeback. I hope these people never actually have the power to do this. Because this doesn't just hurt America, this hurts the entire world.

[@gregoryferber3231]

I do not want to work with fascist

[@suemccord2633]

Thank You Steve 🎉I'm totally outraged too.

[@carley4063]

Outstanding Steve! You're awesome.

[@yarnpenguin]

One of the things that's so frustrating about the vaccine "debate" is that we still have people alive today who lived through things like polio and measles outbreaks. We have people alive whose parents and grandparents did. And all those people can and will tell stories. My maternal grandma had siblings she never met because they died before she was born; she was the youngest of 14 kids, and, yes, my great-grandmother had two stillbirths, but she also had two children who died before they were 3 of disease. One of my dad's dearest childhood friends went blind from measles. My mum's best friend in her teenage years luckily wasn't in an iron lung from polio, but this woman never walked without an assistive device for the rest of her life. Similarly, my dad had a colleague he was close to who also required an assistive device for walking, and the man died early from what is believed to be post-polio syndrome (a funny thing about PPS--we've always known that viruses can fuck you up for months, years, maybe life after contracting them). All of the elders in my life can tell stories of childhood friends and classmates never came back to school because they got sick and died. I'm an elder millennial. I only had two classmates not come back to school because of health issues: my best friend who died at 16 from cancer, and the kid who got beat up so badly he had brain damage. Everyone else who never came back to school moved. And it's the same story for even all my Gen-X/Millennial siblings and cousins and friends. But go back to our parents and grandparents and their lives are rife with sick *and dead* children.

[@evansquilt]

Mitch McConnell is a polio survivor, and issued a statement speaking out against this bullshit. I can't stand the man, but he's right on this. RFK Jr. and his minions are insane and they want us all to die.

[@jchandler415]

I agree with you Steve, a million % for sure!!!

[@xthelegend89]

Oh look, all the things I was told “won’t happen” by Trump supporters is happening.

[@UBrickIFix]

This country needs this crap in order for us to get anywhere. Ppl are not educated at all and now they will have no choice but to see what happens when you dont pay attention and listen to ppl who lie to them for views. It sucks and its going to be hell getting back to where we are now, but so be it. Let them see the consequences. Those of us who understand will survive together and help one another.

[@littlsuprstr]

I wonder if this "healthy skepticism" will still be there when it comes to regulating extremely profitable drugs from big pharma companies.

[@sharimeline3077]

RFK is a champion of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine, both manufactured by "Big Pharma" of course.

[@MichaelRainey]

Or the environmental toxins shown to cause harm like lead, smog, plastic, PCB. Or food and water health like sugar, plastic, lead, PCB.

[@CCJJ160Channels]

Some people will have to learn the hard way, but catching polio is gonna be one hell of a way to learn.

[@ultimatespinach]

Steve, I agree with everything you say about JFK Jr. and his anti-vaccine stance. I was born in 1952 and had a few classmates over the years that suffered from these childhood diseases that have (mostly) been eradicated. Perhaps it would have been wise to include a short video from an earlier time showing the devastating effects of these horrendous diseases. People who haven't witnessed this first hand simply don't understand. A wonderfully impassioned video, terrific work!

[@Cmdr1962]

So, the flaming train is roaring straight at us... and... we sit and watch it coming.

[@zeyata-cicero-herron4608]

That's the 'States for you.

[@jimpawa5793]

I remember going with my dad to visit a friend that had polio, I was around 5 years old. That was 67 years ago and I still remember him lay in an iron lung. My pediatrician was a polio survivor also I remember him walking around his clinic.

[@burlingo]

Good to know! Thank you for looking out!!

[@Letitia-l9y]

Once again, beautifully explained. Thank you 💙

[@outcastproject]

Steve, you have to remember, these people don't think anything bad will ever happen to them.

[@HalfPastSleep]

So, there used to be a saying in Australia that if a person was really lazy that they wouldn't work in an iron lung... it's not used anymore because people don't get the reference now, but it might be on it's way back 🙃 this is some seriously scary shit!

[@vlmellody51]

My ex-husband's father had polio as a child. He was paralyzed from the waist down and he had to spend a year in an iron lung.

[@dianne5086]

Should we outlaw all drugs too because virtually every drug ever made has side effects?

[@brynpookc1127]

Well, aspirin was never tested and does have side effects. Better ban that one fast!

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

Polis (our governor here in Colorado who some people think is a progressive democrat [probably because he's gay] but who is in fact very friendly with the enemy [because he's insanely rich]) was basically tripping over himself to talk about how RFK jr was gonna "make america healthy again" and now we need "civil disagreement about the issues". Republicans call Democrats weak, and Democrats smile and nod.

[@KarlStevens]

"I don't want to ban vaccines" - the guy who asked the FDA to ban the polio vaccine.

[@ericzorn2692]

What is "the polio vaccine"? Doesn't the petition call for temporarily halting the use of the IPOL vaccine on children and infants until documentation showing that it's testing meets the FDA's own standards can be shared. According to the lawyer that filed the petition on behalf of ICAN, Aaron Siri, there are 6 available polio vaccines on the market. This petition apparently scrutinizes just one of them. It also appears that RFK Jr isn't associated with ICAN's petition. Aaron Siri happens to be the lawyer for both ICAN and RFK Jr, which is the "connection" that the NYT drew upon. RFK Jr isn't actually a party to this petition, which also doesn't call for the removal of "the polio vaccine".

[@caroljo420]

When my mother was pregnant with me, my brother got polio, and my mother got a very mild case of it, too. I remember when the vaccine came out, my parents were so excited!

[@ballatore34]

I don’t want to be on this planet anymore. Unsubscribe please. I can’t take this insanity. Why are we like this? Why?!

[@klisterklister2367]

Friendly reminder that it's good to update your vaccinations as an adult. Go check if anything needs to be retaken to make sure you're protected.

[@viralnorn9173]

We are all going to suffer because of the stupid among us.

[@spikeoramathon]

"Fun" game you can play at home - think of the worst possible person to hold a cabinet position. Then know that they will be Trump's next pick for this position. Why stop at an anti-vaxxer for Health and a fracker for Energy? Let's have a counterfeiter for the Secretary of Treasury, a draft dodger for Veteran's Affairs, and an unschooler for Education. Moving beyond the cabinet, let's get a flat-earther in charge of NASA and make Kanye the poet laureate. The possibilities are SO much fun... /s.

[@mrblaque]

So they want to get rid of the FDA, but place vaccines in an endless loop of testing while Big Pharma makes billions off the government.

[@MichaelRainey]

He had a load shark for Education last time. College loans specifically of course.

[@spikeoramathon]

@@MichaelRainey of course.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

You know, sometimes I wonder if he’s intentionally doing that just to see if he can push his supporters over the proverbial cliff.

[@mrblaque]

@@trevinbeattie4888 Or he's trying to ferment so much chaos, no one will he able to focus over what is, and what isn't, being done.

[@krysti2]

My Granny had polio as a child. She wore a brace from her right knee to her right ankle, and had a very severe limp...I can't believe these morons are trying to do this.

[@wendelynanderson9517]

I’m really sick of this business of making policy & pronouncing judgements based on individual experience. I used to get motion sickness as a kid in planes, trains & cars therefore all kids should be banned from traveling. Cilantro tastes like soap to me so cilantro should be banned. Certain kids movies like Rudolph the red nose reindeer make me cry so they should be banned from being broadcast on TV. Is this all sounding completely ridiculous? I hope so.

[@cyrussoxlegion]

Denouncing vaccines as he does is a crime against humanity. 😳

[@justinfowler2857]

RFK jr will be the new face of the Herman Cain Awards.

[@alexjewett5633]

I love how real you are Steve. Cause that’s how I feel about this exactly

[@DavA-DM]

This is becoming a religion for these people.

[@debbiebannister32]

Thanks!

[@AnytimeMinutes]

19:02 Luigi knew debate was a waste of time

[@MonkeyJedi99]

At this point, if Orange Donnie picked a flat-Earth, space denier to head NASA I would no longer be surprised.

[@paularawlinson912]

We are living in the upside down.

[@joshbarker4953]

Thank you saying it, with the gravity of deserves. It’s good to know that we’re not the only ones.

[@justjoanish]

Now that was an awesome righteous rant.

[@andreah6379]

Both Gavin Newsome & Michael Cohen--neither claimed they were fans, both said the same thing day after election, " I want to see this new president be successful...". Gavin Newsom...WTF!?

[@lynnefox4892]

Well, of course we do. But success is relative to outcomes. Getting a bunch of stuff passed that harms everyone in the nation is not my concept of success.

[@evansquilt]

@@lynnefox4892 Newsom is a slick empty suit who wants to be president so badly you can smell it on him.

[@trevinbeattie4888]

He’s a governor. For political reasons he can’t risk angering the president too much because at some point California _will_ need federal aid (annual wildfire emergencies, for example) so he has to choose his words carefully.

[@evansquilt]

@@trevinbeattie4888 - which is no excuse for the wine caves, or the smarminess, or the call for a constitutional convention.

[@keirfarnum6811]

“Successful” doesn’t mean on Trump’s terms.

[@Immudzen]

I definitely don't see a reason to come back to the USA. It has gotten so much worse while I have been gone. I just wish there was a way to escape the planet.

[@keirfarnum6811]

Ask the dolphins. Maybe you can hitch a ride with them. Don’t forget your towel though.

[@CDeeez94]

Couldn’t have said it any better, especially in regards to the scientist, and the people who have spent much of their lives, studying concrete, observable scientific evidence unfortunately, having to debate people who read a religious text and “ have some thoughts.”

[@ReaderInSeattle]

Keep up this righteous fury, Steve.