Joe Rogan doesn't get it: Medical facts aren't up for debate

[Jilly_in_VA]

Dr. Thomas K. Lew

By the time my patient had reached out for treatment, it was too late.

Laying in her hospital bed, cancer that had originated in her breast had spread to her liver, her lungs and even her brain. She had known about her cancer for years, but did not trust medical doctors for treatment. Instead, she relied on “natural” remedies – vitamins and supplements recommended by communities online, that she could have faith in over “big pharma” and the medical complex. They did not work.

I’ve been thinking about this now deceased woman lately, as I’ve been reading about Joe Rogan’s challenge for a scientist to debate a politician over the benefits of vaccines. The popular podcaster has invited Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of virology and preeminent vaccine expert, to argue against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic. Like my misguided patient, many of Rogan’s listeners do not trust medical experts or the best scientific data available, and would rather believe a vaccine skeptic – or at least weigh their testimony equally.

Dr. Hotez is right to call out the misinformation on this widespread podcast, and he is right to not partake in the spectacle that would be this debate. You might think, why wouldn’t he just participate, shut down all the critics, and prove his point – after all, if the scientific data is so strong, wouldn’t it easily persuade listeners over any point RFK Jr. could make?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2023/06/25/rogan-debate-challenge-shows-why-covid-misinformation-thrives/70347479007/

I think most of us here on DU hate Big Pharma too, but we're also not stupid. There are an ungodly lot of stupid people out there.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Joe Rogan is a big fat joke, and I will never listen to him, watch him, etc. and he shouldn't be

allowed to abuse his position since some seem to think his words actually mean something, and it ends up killing them.

[Jim__]

2. " ... podcaster has invited Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of virology and preeminent vaccine ...

... expert, to argue against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.", a well-known jackass.

[3catwoman3]

3. I saw an interview with Dr. Hotez on MSNBC.

(I think it was with Medi Hasan.) He was excellent, and basically said, "That's not what we do in science."

I know there are mixed feelings about Hasan. This was a very good interview, IMO. Here's a link.

[Backseat Driver]

4. So, have we reached the point that DNA should be collected

from every newborn? Scary consequences there! Even science-based "experts" don't fully know all the facts concerning the uniqueness of our bodies' systems all working together for homeostasis. I'm not anti-vaccine, but I do believe that the schedule of delivery should not be so fast that the bodies' immunological system malfunctions. CoVid was so scary in my age group - and it was approved for emergency use and DH was an essential worker--exposed twice--at a gasoline/convenience chain. You bet we both got all the jabs! Further, toxic chemicals and (chemo) might do the same weakening in the unborn and newly born whose immunological system is not yet prepared to fight at maximum strength against disease. Every "body" is different on presentation and bigPharma including researchers can be corrupted and/or greedy enough to throw hypothetical knowledge gained around as fact because their knowledge has been "specialized"/compartmentalized. There are many anecdotes of people with DM2 who no longer take insulin nor meds when they lost weight on a well-planned WFPB diet for instance; some on a term of KETO Leaky; some with intermittent fasting; leaky gut is real; biochemistry can heal and improve health; attitude, sleep hygiene, essential oils, aromatherapy and lifestyle changes are beneficial as well; the mitochondria's energy-making will slow symptoms of aging though cellular respiration and telomere shortening are facts. Even placebos might have its place. I prefer functional integrative medicine that also takes into consideration the body/mind connection and alternative therapies when appropriate. Wish there were more NP/functional types around here.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. I do kind of agree

that too many vaccines are given to babies at one time. I don't understand the purpose. My daughter asked her doctor to space her boys' vaccinations a few weeks apart when they were little and he did.

[Backseat Driver]

8. I did read that mfg's took timerisol (mercury) out of the vaccine ingredients that served

as a preservative. Then again, I also read that some of the mfg's had faulty filtering that allowed nano-particles of metal screening materials in - if ingested, since I eat regularly, I'd imaging that sort of waste material would exit me pronto, hehehe.

[littlemissmartypants]

18. Hi, Backseat Driver. Could you please explain...

"NP/functional types" ? TIA

[multigraincracker]

5. How many head kicks has

Joe received?

[Jilly_in_VA]

7. Not enough, apparently n/t

[calimary]

12. Indeed.

I remember a time when babbling idiots were laughed at. Now they get high-profile mass-exposure radio and TV shows.

[Backseat Driver]

9. Has he always had a speech impediment and/or laryngeal ailment?

Not a crack - just curious about his weird gravely voice.

[Jilly_in_VA]

16. If you're talking about RFK Jr.

He has dysphonia. I don't know why or how he wound up with it, because I don't think he had it when he was younger. My kids' early grade resource teacher had it too. The cause of it is not known.

From the Johns Hopkins website https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/spasmodic-dysphonia

The exact cause of spasmodic dysphonia is not known. A central nervous system disorder is thought to cause most cases. It may happen along with other movement disorders. Researchers think it may be caused by a problem in the basal ganglia of the brain. This is the area that helps coordinate muscle movement. Spasmodic dysphonia may be inherited. It may start after a cold or the flu, injury to the voice box, a long period of voice use, or stress.

[SpamWyzer]

17. I can't post on the Hopkins site,

but I would like to add that "...it may start after a cold or the flu, injury to the voice box, a long period of voice use, or stress..." and /or excessive lying and bullshitting.

[LudwigPastorius]

10. Anybody who takes that meathead Rogan's word over 200+ years of vaccine science may as well...

plan their own funeral.

[peppertree]

11. But his mouth-breathers like hearing it - and that's made him a very wealthy man

Comes in handy - what with all his mistresses.

[NNadir]

13. I certainly don't hate the pharmaceutical industry. I proudly serve in it. The greatest joy...

...of my life is to have participated in projects that saved human lives.

I find the criticism of the industry here to be rather baleful, generally made by people who understand almost nothing about what goes into drug discovery, development and manufacture, and there are a lot of times when I hear critics of the industry here that I really wish I could tell them to go fuck themselves.

If Joe Rogan and the moron RFK get sick, the world will be improved by their reliance on quack garbage.

When I was working to secure the manufacture of the first protease inhibitors for the treatment of AIDS, I understood that almost all of the pharmaceutical scientists and executives with whom I worked were committed to saving lives. We all realized that if we screwed up, people would die.

Today there are people who have lived 30 years after AIDS infections. They are alive because of the work we did in the 1990's.

[Hieronymus Phact]

14. My line is:

There are millions of man-hours of peer-reviewed research and development on vaccines over hundreds of years.

"You're Not Smarter Than All That!"

[Grins]

15. The bigger 'joke' are the buffoons that gave him $100 million contract.

For that? Why not just set fire to your money?

[OldBaldy1701E]

19. Oh, I despise Big Pharma...

But not medicine. It is the (usually non-medical) humans in charge of the medicine that are the problem. Not the medicine itself. (There are many exceptions of course.)