Viva Trump 2024! Tikvah Trumpscum Bari Weiss Attacks Stroke Victim John Fetterman, Promotes Fellow Trumpscum Anti-Science Fraud "Dr." Mehmet Oz
David Shasha
The Media’s Cover-Up of John Fetterman
By: Peter Savodnik
It should now be crystal clear why Democrat John Fetterman refused to take part in more than a single debate with his Republican Senate rival, Mehmet Oz, and why Fetterman insisted on pushing that debate to just two weeks before Election Day—after at least 500,000 Pennsylvania voters had already voted.
Last night’s debate was an unmitigated disaster.
A disaster for Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor—who appeared confused and could barely manage a coherent sentence, let alone a complete paragraph.
And a disaster for Pennsylvania voters, who didn’t get the tough, substantive debate they deserved, one that would have pushed Oz to explain, among other things, why he was distancing himself from Donald Trump (without whom he wouldn’t be the nominee); his position on abortion; China; and how he plans to bring down gas prices.
Oz had some solid talking points, but they were just that—talking points. But Fetterman lacked even those.
You can watch the whole debate here:
A few examples of what went down:
There was Fetterman’s confusing opening statement.
His refusal to share his medical records.
His simplistic and, at moments, cheerleader-sounding celebration of Roe v. Wade.
And, in perhaps the most baffling moment of the night, his inability to explain his position on fracking:
The Pennsylvania Senate race is among the most important in the country. So, the Fetterman campaign—which seriously limited the candidate’s interaction with constituents and put the kibosh on press gaggles—granted some interviews. Almost all of them were conducted remotely, over Google Hang, with closed captioning. None that we can recall focused on the most important thing about John Fetterman: The fact that the candidate, who suffered from a stroke five months ago, does not appear fit to serve.
Until last week.
Last week, NBC reporter Dasha Burns had the temerity to observe the obvious: John Fetterman has trouble with chit chat. Here is what she said: “In small talk before the interview without captioning, it wasn’t clear that he was understanding our conversation.”
She got crucified for it by any number of journalists with blue checks.
From Kara Swisher: “Sorry to say but I talked to @JohnFetterman for over an hour without stop or any aides and this is just nonsense. Maybe this reporter is just bad at small talk.”
From New York Magazine’s Rebecca Traister, who profiled the candidate: His “comprehension is not at all impaired.” The problem, she explained, is “a hearing/auditory challenge.” She added: “He understands everything.”
Molly Jong-Fast came to Fetterman’s defense, tweeting that, in a recent interview, the candidate “understood everything I was saying and he was funny.”
Connie Schultz, a USAToday columnist and the wife of Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, observed: “As he continues to recover, @JohnFetterman used technology to help him answer a reporter’s questions. How we as journalists frame this reveals more about us than it does him.”
The Atlantic’s John Hendrickson suggested that the problem wasn’t Fetterman but, well, us. “Part of our culture’s ongoing stigmatization of disability stems from our profound lack of understanding about the variability—and spectrum—of physical and mental challenges.”
And so on.
The NBC reporter was also attacked by Fetterman’s wife, Gisele. She suggested that Burns should be punished for reporting honestly. “I mean, there are consequences for folks in these positions who are any of these isms,” Gisele Fetterman said. “I mean, she was ableist. That’s what she was in her interview. It was appalling to the entire disability community and I think to journalism.” (The Second Lady of Pennsylvania seemed unconcerned with the First Amendment.)
If anything, Burns, who has covered the race extensively, understated just how bad Fetterman’s condition is.
I was in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago to report on the race, and the Fetterman campaign refused to make the candidate available. Now, it’s obvious why they have limited media engagements to friendly venues like MSNBC, New York Magazine and The New York Times—where reporters are, presumably, reticent to report anything that might be viewed as helping Republicans.
But there was no sympathetic journalist on stage with John Fetterman last night. What we were left with was reality. And reality was painful to watch.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the campaign is blaming the closed captioning system for being “delayed” and “filled with errors.” What’s astonishing is how little so many journalists at some of our most storied news organizations respect normal Americans’ ability to use their eyes and ears.
The spin machine is already whirring away, with journalists claiming that it was the technology that was to blame or that Fetterman was brave to debate Oz or that, as Rebecca Traister put it, Fetterman should be lauded for his “remarkable transparency.” Josh Kraushaar, at Axios, was honest and ballsy enough to report that Democrats on Capitol Hill were left rattled by Fetterman’s performance.
Far from shielding Fetterman from scrutiny, in the end too many journalists in the legacy media have simply revealed—once again—why they cannot be trusted. From Russiagate to the lab leak theory to the riots in the summer of 2020 to the effect of school closures during the pandemic, reporters seem increasingly incapable of reporting honestly and comprehensively on the most important issues of the day. Last night, for anyone who was watching the debate with eyes wide open, that much was indisputable.
From Common Sense with Bari Weiss, October 26, 2022
Dr. Oz Shouldn’t Be a Senator—or a Doctor
By: Timothy Caulfield
While holding a medical license, Mehmet Oz, widely known as Dr. Oz, has long pushed misleading, science-free and unproven alternative therapies such as homeopathy, as well as fad diets, detoxes and cleanses. Some of these things have been potentially harmful, including hydroxychloroquine, which he once touted would be beneficial in the treatment or prevention of COVID. This assertion has been thoroughly debunked.
He’s built a tremendous following around his lucrative but evidence-free advice. So, are we surprised that Oz is running as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania? No, we are not. Misinformation-spouting celebrities seem to be a GOP favorite. This move is very on brand for both Oz and the Republican Party.
His candidacy is a reminder that tolerating and/or enabling celebrity pseudoscience (I’m thinking of you, Oprah Winfrey!) can have serious and enduring consequences. Much of Oz’s advice was bunk before the pandemic, it is bunk now, and there is no reason to assume it won’t be bunk after—even if he becomes Senator Oz. Indeed, as Senator Oz, it’s all but guaranteed he would bring pseudoscience to the table when crafting and voting on legislation that affects the health and welfare of Americans.
As viewed by someone who researches the spread of health misinformation, Oz’s candidacy remains deeply grating in that “of course he is” kind of way. But it is also an opportunity to highlight several realities about pseudoscience, celebrity physicians and the current regulatory environment that allows people like him to continue to call themselves doctor.
Before the pandemic I often heard people argue that the wellness woo coming from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Brady and Oz was mostly harmless noise. If people want to waste their money on ridiculous vagina eggs, bogus diets or unproven alternative remedies, why should we care? Buyer beware, a fool and their money, a sucker is born every minute, etc., etc.
But we know, now more than ever, that pop culture can—for better or worse—have a significant impact on health beliefs and behaviors. Indeed, one need only consider the degree to which Jenny McCarthy gave life to the vile claim that autism is linked to vaccination. Celebrity figures like podcast host Joe Rogan and football player Aaron Rodgers have greatly added to the chaotic information regarding COVID-19 by magnifying unsupported claims.
So, yes, celebrities’ health bunk matters a great deal, in part because the size of their megaphone greatly amplifies the spread of the misinformation they believe. A study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford looked at hundreds of bits of COVID misinformation and found that 20 percent of the claims had a prominent individual, such as a politician or entertainer, as a primary source, and that such “top-down” distribution ultimately accounted for 69 percent of social media engagement with the misinformation, as “ordinary people” shared such celebrity content.
Fighting the spread of misinformation requires a multipronged approach, including empowering people with critical thinking and media literacy skills, countering misinformation with credible and shareable content, and demanding evidence-based actions by social media platforms. But it will also require stopping regulated health professionals, particularly physicians, from spreading evidence-free nonsense.
Despite facing mounting criticism for his embrace of harmful pseudoscience and the provision of evidence-free health advice, Oz remains connected to Columbia University’s medical school and is a licensed physician. In 2014, he was called in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection over misleading statements he made on his popular television show, the Dr. Oz Show. During the hearing one senator went so far as to tell “America’s Doctor” (anointed thus by Oprah) that “the scientific community is almost monolithic against you.”
And while Oz has not been officially sanctioned by a regulatory body—the Federal Trade Commission, for example, has gone after fraudsters who have appeared on his show, but the agency hasn’t taken direct action against him—that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be disciplined.
His affiliation with Columbia and the fact he still has a license seems especially baffling at a time when the spread of health misinformation has been recognized as one of this era’s most challenging health policy issues. Given all that he has done to promote science-free medicine, how has Oz’s licence not been revoked?
In 2017, a group of academics wrote an article that explored this very question. Specifically, they asked, in reference to Oz: “Should a physician be allowed to say anything—however inaccurate and potentially harmful—so long as that individual commands market share?”
For me, the answer to that question is easy. No.
Regulators, such as the state medical boards that license physicians, can and should step in. The very reason these regulatory bodies exist is to protect and serve the best interests of the public. Disciplining physicians for spreading harmful misinformation should be a core part of their mandate. This idea was recently endorsed by the Federation of State Medical Boards’ Board of Directors who warned that spreading inaccurate information contradicts a physician’s responsibility to the public and “threatens to further erode public trust in the medical profession and puts all patients at risk.”
While there has been a COVID-driven uptick in both complaints to medical boards and regulatory actions, we need to do more. Much of the public trusts the medical profession. As such, misinformation by physicians can be particularly problematic. When a physician like Sherry Tenpenny—notorious for promoting the idea that vaccines will make you magnetic—can keep her medical license, one wonders if the system is broken. Is it serving the public or protecting its members?
Finally, it is also worth considering how Oz’s candidacy encapsulates the degree to which wellness woo and COVID misinformation have become as much about ideology as personal health choices. Recent research has consistently found that those with a particular ideological preference (yes, conservative) are more likely to believe and spread COVID misinformation.
Oz has few ties to Pennsylvania, a weakness that could impede his campaign. But even so, in these bunk-filled times, Oz the conservative—and inexplicably still-licensed—medical misinformation machine is an unsurprising GOP candidate. Someone who has spent decades as a profiteer of woo might fare well on the campaign trail. Truth? Bah.
From Scientific American, December 15, 2021
Pa. doctors call Oz’s run for Senate a ‘threat to public health’
By: Nicole Leonard
A group of Philadelphia and state doctors have come out against Dr. Mehmet Oz’s run for U.S. Senate, proclaiming that the heart surgeon and TV personality poses “a major threat to public health” in Pennsylvania.
“Oz simply isn’t trusted by real medical professionals,” Dr. Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said Wednesday on the north steps of Philadelphia City Hall.
Dr. Val Arkoosh, (left) chair of Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, is joined by fellow physicians (from right) Dr. Lisa Perriera and Dr. Marcelle Shapiro outside Philadelphia City Hall, where they launched the Real Doctors Against Oz campaign. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Arkoosh, who ended her own pursuit for the Senate seat earlier this year, is joining physicians on a new tour called “Real Doctors Against Oz.” They plan to drum up support for Democratic nominee John Fetterman, who will face off against Oz, the GOP nominee, in the November election.
The doctors group is targeting Oz’s medical treatment recommendations and health product promotions during his time as host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” his comments on COVID-19 treatments and protocols, as well as his stance on abortion and reproductive rights.
Oz has referred to himself as a “pro-life candidate,” and supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade.
For now, abortion remains legal in Pennsylvania, but a Republican-led state legislature is aiming to restrict the procedure in the state.
Oz’s position has put him at odds with abortion providers like Dr. Lisa Perriera, an OB-GYN, abortion provider, and chief medical director at the Women’s Centers, which offers abortion services in Philadelphia and Delaware County.
“I know what happens when abortion becomes illegal. Everything gets harder for pregnant people,” Perriera said. “If Dr. Oz were elected, he would only make the struggle for my patients harder.”
Brittany Yanick, communications director for Oz’s campaign team, said in an emailed statement that he opposes abortion with exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.
Yanick also pushed back against Arkoosh’s comments calling Oz a “fraud” and a “TV scam artist.”
“Dr. Oz is a world class surgeon, inventor, educator, and author in the field of healthcare,” she said in a statement. “John Fetterman is a radical liberal supporting government takeover of health care.”
Fetterman, currently the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, has been a long-time supporter of a single-payer health care system, and also a vocal supporter of reproductive rights.
The general election is Nov. 8, when Pennsylvanians will vote for the open Senate seat, 17 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the gubernatorial race, and other local positions.
From PBS WHYY online, August 10, 2022
New Reporting Exposes Dr. Oz as 'Malicious Scam Artist,' Says Fetterman
By: Julia Conley
Warning Pennsylvania voters against electing a "phony and a fraud," Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on Monday took aim at Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz's long history of promoting so-called "miracle" cures for people who want to lose weight or prevent disease—saying the celebrity doctor has endangered millions of viewers over the years.
"For two decades Dr. Oz has just been putting on a show for the cameras, saying whatever will benefit himself personally—regardless of who gets hurt, whether he believes it, or whether it’s even true," said Fetterman, a Democrat who is running against Oz to replace Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). "This is Dr. Oz's record. This is who he is."
Fetterman released his latest statement on his opponent after The Washington Post reported on Oz's history as host of "The Dr. Oz Show" from 2009 to 2021.
As the Post reported, the cardiothoracic surgeon used his platform to promote weight loss techniques including the use of synthetic human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy, paired with a diet of just 500 calories per day. He continued to conduct interviews with a weight loss doctor who promoted the hormone even after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that some people had died or experienced blood clots in their lungs or cardiac arrest after injecting themselves with HCG.
"We can't trust a man who has never passed over an opportunity to screw over working people if it meant he made a buck."
While Oz told viewers that there was no proof the hormone worked and advised them to consult a doctor before trying a diet of less than 1,200 calories per day, he concluded that "it's worth trying it."
While peddling questionable medical advice, Fetterman noted, he earned roughly $10 million per year hosting and producing his show.
"Dr. Oz is not just a phony and a fraud, he is a malicious scam artist who knowingly hurt regular people to line his own pockets," said the lieutenant governor, who is beating Oz by an average of about four points in numerous recent polls.
"We can't trust a man who has never passed over an opportunity to screw over working people if it meant he made a buck," he added. "Washington has more than enough grifters who act and vote solely in their own self interest already. Pennsylvania deserves better."
Along with his promotion of HCG, the Post reported, Oz has told his viewers that selenium is the "holy grail of cancer prevention," while numerous medical studies and the National Institutes of Health have warned that high intakes of the mineral can cause "difficulty breathing, tremors, kidney failure, heart attacks, and heart failure." Selenium also is not proven to prevent cancer, according to experts.
Garcinia cambogia, a supplement Oz promised was a "revolutionary fat buster" that can negate the need to exercise and eat healthy food, can also cause liver damage, according to the FDA.
As Common Dreams reported in August, a 2014 study published in The BMJ found that half of the advice Oz dispensed on his show was "baseless or wrong," while researchers at Georgetown University found in 2018 that more than 75% of his guidance "did not align with evidence-based medical guidelines."
The group Real Doctors Against Oz, which has previously spoken out against Oz's promotion of unproven medical advice and his support for forced pregnancy, tweeted Monday that Oz "long ago" abandoned the oath taken by all medical providers "to do no harm."
Oz, said Fetterman, "got famous and rich off of ripping people off."
"Everything he says," he added, "has been a scam to help himself—not the viewers, not the voters."
From Common Dreams, October 3, 2022
'The Dr. Oz Show' advisory board had people with no medical training who promoted fake treatments
By: Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Republican candidate for US Senate representing Pennsylvania and former talk show host Mehmet Oz relied on a medical advisory board to support claims he made on "The Dr. Oz Show."
Among practicing oncologists and certified psychologists, the board included people who had no formal medical training and promoted debunked treatments.
Dr. Ben Abella, an emergency physician in Philadelphia, told Insider the 43-member board projected an "aura of legitimacy" on Oz and his show, which ran for 13 seasons and was canceled last December after Oz decided to run for office.
Abella helped organize an event called "Real Doctors Against Oz" in support of Oz's political opponent, Democratic candidate for US Senate John Fetterman.
Abella said Oz used the show and his advisory board in ways that preyed upon viewers' desire to be healthy and instead supplied them with "misleading" home remedies and treatments. Treatments that at best, he said, were unhelpful and, at worst, dangerous.
Among the board members listed for the show was a self-described "medicine hunter" who promotes the "ritual use of hallucinogens" to achieve wellness and an acupuncturist who sells herbal remedies to fight COVID-19 and an energy therapy called "Infinichi" to treat ailments from upset stomach to fibromyalgia.
"The Medical Advisory Board sounds very authentic and rigorous, but not so many people are going to take the time to peel back the layers of the onion and say, 'Well, where are these people?'" Abella told Insider. "'What are their credentials? What did they do?' And perhaps even peel back further and say, 'What are their financial conflicts with maybe some of these products?'"
Some of the alternative treatments promoted by the advisory board, like acupuncture or petroleum jelly in the nostrils, may not necessarily directly cause harm, Abella told Insider.
Others, he said rely on flimsy or non-peer-reviewed science that may distract or prevent a patient from seeking legitimate medical treatment because they're doing something they believe is effective.
Oz is running for a Senate seat representing Pennsylvania against Democratic candidate John Fetterman. The Oz campaign has faced controversies over whether he actually lives in the state and Asplundh Tree Experts' (his wife's family business, in which Oz is a shareholder) massive fine for hiring undocumented workers despite his anti-immigration stance.
In April, a group of ten physicians at Columbia University, where Oz was a lecturer on campus, wrote a letter to university officials indicating they were "dismayed" that the celebrity physician was on the school's faculty.
CNN reported they accused Oz of "manifesting an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain" and that he demonstrates in his show "either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgments about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both."
Columbia University Medical Center cut ties with the Senate candidate in May.
"Every revelation that emerges about Mehmet Oz shows voters who he really is: a self-serving fraud who got rich as a TV scam artist," David Bergstein, a democratic senatorial campaign committee spokesman, told Insider. "He's shown over and over again he doesn't care about anyone but himself, and that's exactly why Pennsylvanians will reject him in November."
The Oz campaign did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
From Business Insider, August 19, 2022