BeingABad
TrumpistVille
It started as a somewhat bland and apparently bureaucratic item late Tuesday that a scientist named Rick Bright, the head of something called the 'Biomedical Advanced Research and Developmental Authority' in the States, had been sacked.
The original piece, by Nicholas Florko in the mass market biotech publication 'STAT News', hedged completely as to the 'why' for the firing. However, the following, buried way, way under the lede was of interest:
...Bright’s career has largely centered around vaccine and drug development. His work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on influenza viruses, antiviral drugs and tests. He has also worked in the biotechnology industry and served as an advisor to the World Health Organization. Before becoming BARDA director, he led the agency’s Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases Division...
And then, there was this, late yesterday from the the New York Times:
The doctor who led the federal agency involved in developing a coronavirus vaccine said on Wednesday that he was removed from his post after he pressed for a rigorous vetting of a coronavirus treatment embraced by President Trump. The doctor said that science, not “politics and cronyism,” must lead the way.
Dr. Rick Bright was abruptly dismissed this week as the director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, and as the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response...
{snip}
...Dr. Bright, who is a career official, pointed specifically to the initial efforts to make chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine widely available before it was scientifically tested for efficacy with the coronavirus.
“Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit,” he said.
“While I am prepared to look at all options and to think ‘outside the box’ for effective treatments, I rightly resisted efforts to provide an unproven drug on demand to the American public,” Dr. Bright said, describing what ultimately happened. “I insisted that these drugs be provided only to hospitalized patients with confirmed Covid-19 while under the supervision of a physician.
“These drugs have potentially serious risks associated with them, including increased mortality observed in some recent studies in patients with Covid-19.
“Sidelining me in the middle of this pandemic and placing politics and cronyism ahead of science puts lives at risk and stunts national efforts to safely and effectively address this urgent public health crisis,” Dr. Bright said...
So.
It would appear that Dr. Bright was fired for doing the right thing and refusing to be a good Trumpist.
This, and not stupid stuff like how governors have been reduced to figuring out how to get Jared Kushner's cell phone number, should be the biggest story in American media for the next 5 or 7 news cycles.
Derek Lowe has this to say:
...Get to the bottom of this. Get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible. This is supposed to be a great nation, not a racket run by a bunch of smirking grifters...
Personally, I find it hard to argue with that.
.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Today Trump stood at the podium and talked about injecting disinfectant or shining powerful lights into the body to kill Covid19.
And Dr. Birx sat there scared to call him out on that batshit inanity for fear of getting her ass fired as well.
How long ‘til the MAGA crowd starts showing up in the ER after following their dear leader’s advice?
Lew--
Unfortunately, Dr. Birx appears to have decided to go way, way down the Good Trumpist Road.
.
Ross
Where do you go after you've reached the end of the Trumpist Road? Birx has to be in real danger of losing her medical reputation after bending to political "realpolitik". Does Fox News really need a new medical expert?
Mike
Mike--
Down the ramp to Hades I reckon.
Or...
Perhaps OAN?
.
Not only Dr. Bright Ross, the Inspector General of the Pentagon, overseeing the pandemic spending. Smirking grifters indeed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-watchdog-glenn-fine.html
A bit off topic but sleazy politicians attacking facts, science and the people that bring them, isn’t exclusively down south.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/andrew-scheer-derek-sloan-theresa-tam_ca_5ea1d919c5b6395826b8bb28
Dr. Birx isn't interested in medicine as much as she is interested in being on stage with Donni. She has achieved her goal in life. She doesn't dress, she costumes. I expect she'd like to replace Dr. F. She may get her chance yet and in my opinion she doesn't care how she gets there or how many Americans have to die.
With all the death in the u.s.a. TRUMP and his gang don't care. 2 million could die and they still won't care. its about their agenda, about their money, about their hanging on to power. The U.S.A. has been groomed for this. With each offensive act by trump the country just sucked it up, Fox news congratulated him, etc.
We saw him refer to Mexicans as rapists and murderers, then he banned Muslims, then he caged children and some died, he stacked the Supreme court, one having sexually assaulted women in college, he had ICE place undocumented workers in concentration camps, he threatened to with hold funding from sanctuary cities, the lists go on. So when we get to this year and there are tens of thousand of dead, who cares? Not trump, not Moscow Mitch or any number of idiot republicans. You see its not them who are dying. African Americans are dying, Latinos are starving, rural areas which have opiod crisis also have the virus. But many don't vote in these areas. Trump doesn't care if 50 million die in the next 3 months, as long as he hangs onto power and manages to steal as much money as possible.
Read an interesting item, the American banks who are handling some of the loans for the small businesses have made $10billion doing so. expect about half of that to go to the republican party at election time. The U.S.A. has become the country of death. Unfortunatley it isn't trump, pence, moscow mitch who are doing the dying.
if it continues at this rate, you can go back and look at the pictures of the dirty 30s in the u.s.a. and you'll have a good idea of what is going to happen. People will be evicted from their homes, houses will be sold on the court house steps, just like they were in 2008/9 and trump and his friends will make a killing. wonder if any one will haul his carcass to the court of the hague for crimes against humanity.
Thanks for both links Keith--
That Mr. Sloan sure is something, eh?
_________
eaf--
A prediction...
The Trumpists will do absolutely everything they can to hold the 'official' death toll under 100K so that they can declare victory based on the modelling numbers they through out awhile ago (with no released model, of course, which is why they later latched on to, an misattributed numbers to the model from a group at the University of Washington).
.
I'm sure he would like to keep it under a 100K, but he does have Rachel Maddox who gives some figures on her show. She explains they get them by going through local papers, all over the country and just counting them up.
The USA isn't set up to hide a large number of body bags. the count will be figured out, just not by republicans, more like small local news papers who report on the dead in their town.
When the dying stops in other counties and it keeps going in the u.s.a. TRUMP may have a problem explaining that one, or perhaps it will come under alternative facts.
eaf--
Wanna bet that he picks fights with editor in every Metropolis in the whole United States who continues to publish said numbers?
.
Post a Comment