No. There’s no need to apologize for speaking the truth.
What’s false is Bhattacharya’s implication that Collins hates him and has no interest in reconciliation. That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the man. “I’m praying for you…” is Christianese for “I hope God brings you around to my viewpoint.” It’s passive aggressive spiritual abuse that everyone related to a fundamentalist recognizes immediately. By way of reminder:
I told him that I’d been praying for him and I still will pray for him. I think that reconciliation is really possible. Even if people disagree with each other fundamentally, even hate each other—and I’d never hated him and never will.”
Yeah. Tots and pears. Speak the lingo and get away with anything.
I didn’t see it that way, but can understand why you read it that way. Collins probably hated what Bhattacharya respresented, but I would be surprised if Collins hated him personally, or that Bhattacharya believed Collins hated him personally.
You should still listen to him. It looks like a good interview @9:10 Weiss asks Bhattacharya to steelman Collins response to the Great Barrington statement.
T_aquaticus
(The Friendly Neighborhood Atheist)
192
That feels like a hug red herring. Bhattacharya is actively dismantling the world’s leading biomedical research institution for what appears to be purely political reasons. I could care less about the Great Barrington statement, what Bhattacharya or Collins thinks about the statement, or any leaked emails that may have hurt Bhattacharya’s fee-fees.
The idiocy of the Great Barrington Declaration was that it relied on natural herd immunity, as if Covid-19 behaved like chicken pox or measles. I also could care less what a member of this administration says to right-wing interviewers asking sympathetic softball questions fed to them in advance.
When you’re one percent of epidemiologists, you’re on the fringe. Steelman all you want, but Bhattacharya’s advice would’ve killed people. Enough people died needlessly because of misinformation and vaccine hesitation as it was. The fact is, extremists have been put in charge of HHS and NIH, and they’re appointing more of their extremist comrades to key positions. It’s a historic disaster.
Edit: And I should add that these extremists perjured themselves in their Senate confirmation hearings.
I am frustrated by this. I worked in the IHS for a month in my training (as an underserved experience). They need public health folks with primary care, not specialized folks–though I don’t know what their training is.
Yeah. That was the equivalent of walking papers. We don’t need you heading up an agency, but you’re welcome to run this clinic in Timbuktu. (I say that as a resident of Indian country familiar with the Indian Health Service.)
Yes. It was an honor to work there with some terrific people, but it’s not what the NIH training is for.
What is the likelihood of enshrining the NIH and other groups in the Constitution, to avoid this swing? Maybe we will need an avian flu or other outbreak that affects us all.
Bari Weiss: “Two more questions about reconciliation. People like Francis Collins, you know, said your ideas were dangerous called you a fringe epidemiologist. Have you spoken with Francis Collins at all since he made those comments?”
Bhattacharya: “I did. I had the honor of meeting him briefly in the summer of 2024 and he apologized privately about the fringe epidemiology comment.”
I don’t care. The Great Barrington statement is unimportant to me personally.
1 Like
T_aquaticus
(The Friendly Neighborhood Atheist)
203
No, it isn’t. It is an apology for describing him as fringe. What Collins is saying is that he should have used a term that is more diplomatic, like “in the extreme minority”. However, this was in a leaked email, not a public one, so it is even questionable if Collins needed to apologize.
So again, we are here discussing Bhattacharya’s feelings while Rome burns around him.
More accurately, while he pours gasoline on the fire.
This crew are going to be responsible for the preventable deaths of literally millions of people. I don’t care at all who said what about whom or how they feel about it any more than I would if it were a mass murderer being interviewed.
7 Likes
T_aquaticus
(The Friendly Neighborhood Atheist)
205
The probability is nearly zero. I don’t think there is any precedent for doing such a thing.
The big question right now is whether the actions of the Executive branch are violating what is already enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitution gives the Legislative branch control over the nation’s purse strings, and for a lot of very good reasons. One of the reasons we fought a war of independence is because King George III controlled the purse strings, and used that control to punish colonies that spoke out against the crown. The whole point of taking control of government money away from the Executive branch was to avoid that very thing, and yet here we are. Grant money was given through legislation, and it is being taken away by the Executive in what many view as a clear violation of Constitution norms and powers.
If after looking at Melbourne’s lockdowns in hindsight, someone were still determined to see the GB statement as meritless, then the comment about pointless discussion from @pevaquark is fitting
T_aquaticus
(The Friendly Neighborhood Atheist)
207
That doesn’t change the fact that Collins was not admitting the BG statement had merit by simply apologizing for his choice of words.
The BG statement also has no relevance to the damage being done to the NIH, other than possibly being a source of resentment on the part of Bhattacharya which he is using as justification for punishing people within the NIH.
So apparently Collins (who doesn’t have anything substantial to apologize for) … apologizes; and Bhattacharya (whose policies have cost or will cost millions more their lives) gets a free pass - as in no apologies from him at all?! If that’s the case then I guess the one side on this issue just keeps showing its true stripes, while the other still believes in accountability both in general and for itself. Small wonder that the “we will never admit to wrongdoing, and will double down on our lies” side of things sees its credibility and integrity being flushed so far down the toilet. They are doing the flushing, while the world looks on. True religion is known by its fruit.
The BG declaration was based on natural herd immunity, which is meritless with SARS-CoV-2. You continue to ignore facts inconvenient to your case, which is a pattern with you, and focus on side issues. The facts are that Bhattacharya is doing irreparable damage to the NIH and CDC, which will cost millions of lives. Any response to that?
More inconvenient facts: US life expectancy lags far behind other developed nations, and that gap will only increase as public health is gutted on every front.
