Thank you for that excellent article. This article is an excellent teaching tool for people not accustomed to reading about scientific information. Short. Linear. To the point. We really must build the public's understanding of public health. And the fact all of the pro Trumpelstein Republicans allowed our public health system to collapse as a political maneuver for their master should be woven in.
Oh, but you are wrong, Jeff. Didn't you hear what the illustrious agriculture secretary said? It is all Biden's fault - and who are we not to believe anything coming out of an orange dumpster ass kisser's mouth?
I thought he alone could fix it--with real food and more beef fat... Must be nice not to have to pay for anything anymore. He has turned the CDC budget into his own slush fund.
"It requires a seamless, aggressive, holistic public health framework in which animal health, human health, and national biosecurity are treated as a single, interconnected shield.
Right now, the shield is cracking."
Nice metaphor, but the shield is NOT cracking: it was thrown away.
Science based, clear, direct, unvarnished truth. And what we are supposed to receive from a Secretary of Health and Human Services and all of our public health agencies, not just the CDC and NIH. They were not perfect. But they sure went a long way toward helping and protecting people.
The gutting of our medical care services and public health infrastructure and services will haunt us for decades to come. What the Trump administration has done is a crime happening in front of us in slow motion now, but the speed will increase as more and more people suffer the loss of access to decent health care and disease prevention services. As a retired health professional, it grieves me more than I can express adequately when I consider the "price"- physical/mental and monetary- that individuals and families will pay.
Even if the Democrats managed to capture the White House and Congress in 2028 (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes), if I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed (maybe even a little wet behind the ears) twenty-something with a fresh bachelor's, master's, or PhD degree in a field relevant to public health, I'd be reluctant to sign on with Uncle Sam. Sure, the sane adults are driving the bus now, but how long will it last? I'd be living with the knowledge that only 1 election separates my job from a lunatic boss saying "ok everyone, count off by fours, and every number 3 is fired!"
It reminds me of Joe Biden's first meeting with European leaders in 2025. He said "America is back" to which the Europeans responded (prophetically) with "yes, but for how long?!"
Time to queue up Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" album in honor of the Texas screwworm and RFK Jr.'s brain worm. The album was described by Yuval Taylor as capturing "the odor of the age, the stench of death and corruption, the weary exhalation of America at its lowest."
Oh, it's WAY worse than just problems at the CDC. Trump and stupid maga Republicans also insisted on moving USDA and other agency labs from their current locations to Kansas City or to remote, rural places with no infrastructure. At least, the labs the idiots didn't close outright. And to no one's surprise, scientists and other workers with families and mortgages and kids in good schools didn't leap at the chance to give up everything to move to work for some Trump-appointed maga apparatchik until they got fired for trying to do their jobs.
This is a good commentary. The bigger question is: how do you get this and similar into rightwing echo chambers? The main reason we are in this mess is that such a large share of the voting public will never hear such truths, and it’s gone on like this for decades.
Public health is definitely a tremendously important topic which I wish The Contrarian would pay more attention to [instead of endless trump bashing editorials which are getting very, very repetitious]. Besides the evisceration of public health staff around the world, the anti vaccination misinformation, and the newest pestilence, let's pay attention to Ebola spreading fast and furious. Let's pay attention to health employees struggling to obtain the basic prevention items such as masks, gloves, etc. The cost of anti-science agenda falls on everyone. Thank you for writing and publishing this.
As the screwworm cannot pass from animal to person it seems to me that the CDC would have only a tangential role in combating the pest. So, while I agree that the Trump administration's wreaking chaos in HHS is tragic, Nesbit seems to be off base in tying the effects on the country of the screwworm on Trump's wrecking of the public health agencies.
Trump and his hacks also destroyed the USDA and their research labs. Hell, he has destroyed pretty much the entire alphabet soup of agencies including the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Inspection Service.
Thank you for that excellent article. This article is an excellent teaching tool for people not accustomed to reading about scientific information. Short. Linear. To the point. We really must build the public's understanding of public health. And the fact all of the pro Trumpelstein Republicans allowed our public health system to collapse as a political maneuver for their master should be woven in.
Oh, but you are wrong, Jeff. Didn't you hear what the illustrious agriculture secretary said? It is all Biden's fault - and who are we not to believe anything coming out of an orange dumpster ass kisser's mouth?
I thought he alone could fix it--with real food and more beef fat... Must be nice not to have to pay for anything anymore. He has turned the CDC budget into his own slush fund.
I would like to see a public outcry to force Musk to restore lost funds to the CDC.
Actually, Trump is responsible for inviting his pill-popping wealthy friend to cut, cut.
"It requires a seamless, aggressive, holistic public health framework in which animal health, human health, and national biosecurity are treated as a single, interconnected shield.
Right now, the shield is cracking."
Nice metaphor, but the shield is NOT cracking: it was thrown away.
Science based, clear, direct, unvarnished truth. And what we are supposed to receive from a Secretary of Health and Human Services and all of our public health agencies, not just the CDC and NIH. They were not perfect. But they sure went a long way toward helping and protecting people.
The gutting of our medical care services and public health infrastructure and services will haunt us for decades to come. What the Trump administration has done is a crime happening in front of us in slow motion now, but the speed will increase as more and more people suffer the loss of access to decent health care and disease prevention services. As a retired health professional, it grieves me more than I can express adequately when I consider the "price"- physical/mental and monetary- that individuals and families will pay.
wonder if the cattle farmers know they voted for this ?
Even if the Democrats managed to capture the White House and Congress in 2028 (from my keyboard to The Lord's eyes), if I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed (maybe even a little wet behind the ears) twenty-something with a fresh bachelor's, master's, or PhD degree in a field relevant to public health, I'd be reluctant to sign on with Uncle Sam. Sure, the sane adults are driving the bus now, but how long will it last? I'd be living with the knowledge that only 1 election separates my job from a lunatic boss saying "ok everyone, count off by fours, and every number 3 is fired!"
It reminds me of Joe Biden's first meeting with European leaders in 2025. He said "America is back" to which the Europeans responded (prophetically) with "yes, but for how long?!"
Time to queue up Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" album in honor of the Texas screwworm and RFK Jr.'s brain worm. The album was described by Yuval Taylor as capturing "the odor of the age, the stench of death and corruption, the weary exhalation of America at its lowest."
Oh, it's WAY worse than just problems at the CDC. Trump and stupid maga Republicans also insisted on moving USDA and other agency labs from their current locations to Kansas City or to remote, rural places with no infrastructure. At least, the labs the idiots didn't close outright. And to no one's surprise, scientists and other workers with families and mortgages and kids in good schools didn't leap at the chance to give up everything to move to work for some Trump-appointed maga apparatchik until they got fired for trying to do their jobs.
This is a good commentary. The bigger question is: how do you get this and similar into rightwing echo chambers? The main reason we are in this mess is that such a large share of the voting public will never hear such truths, and it’s gone on like this for decades.
Public health is definitely a tremendously important topic which I wish The Contrarian would pay more attention to [instead of endless trump bashing editorials which are getting very, very repetitious]. Besides the evisceration of public health staff around the world, the anti vaccination misinformation, and the newest pestilence, let's pay attention to Ebola spreading fast and furious. Let's pay attention to health employees struggling to obtain the basic prevention items such as masks, gloves, etc. The cost of anti-science agenda falls on everyone. Thank you for writing and publishing this.
Next thing we know anthrax will be making a comeback. 😡
As the screwworm cannot pass from animal to person it seems to me that the CDC would have only a tangential role in combating the pest. So, while I agree that the Trump administration's wreaking chaos in HHS is tragic, Nesbit seems to be off base in tying the effects on the country of the screwworm on Trump's wrecking of the public health agencies.
Trump and his hacks also destroyed the USDA and their research labs. Hell, he has destroyed pretty much the entire alphabet soup of agencies including the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Inspection Service.
You need to research your first sentence--the New World Screwworm can certainly pass to people.
Up,to 12 known cases, Abbott had declared a state emergency.