Gupta "Quit" Like Caroline Kennedy "Quit"

[MannyGoldstein]

From CNN: "Sanjay Gupta was under serious consideration for the job of surgeon general," the official said in an e-mail. "He has removed himself from consideration to focus more on his medical career and his family. We know he will continue to serve and educate the public through his work with media and in the medical arena."

There was no offer. He was booted.

I like to think that Obama could not abide by such a blatant liar. Having an opposing opinion is one thing, but continuing to lie in the face of evidence as plain as the nose on your face is something else entirely, not something that decent people do.

[malaise]

1. After Gupta's spin job for CNN's big pharma advertisers

during that interview with Michael Moore, his name should never have been floated.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I learned to love Gupta when I saw him attack Michael Moore's Sicko

with misdirection and deception, shilling for the Big Buck guys.

[Occam Bandage]

3. I somehow doubt he booted Gupta because of that one time he and Moore had a spat. nt

[MannyGoldstein]

6. It's Not The Spat Per Se - It's The Incredible And Obvious Lying

Had Gupta simply disagreed with Moore's opinions, that would have been one thing. But lying is quite another thing.

[Occam Bandage]

8. I somehow doubt he booted Gupta because of that one time

Gupta claimed a guest was only affiliated with Vanderbilt University and the guest was actually affiliated with a Republican think-tank (and the chyron identified the guest as such on air), and I somehow doubt he booted Gupta because of that one time he complained that Moore says Cuba only pays $25 per person per year in health care costs, when in reality the cost is ten times that, but as it turned out, Moore actually did say that Cuba pays $251 per person per year, and some intern had just fucked up a decimal point.

Those were the "incredible and obvious lies." Those were the only two lies that were told during the whole affair. Sure, Moore claimed that Gupta lied about other things, but CNN's counter-rebuttal sourced all Gupta's other statements; their other disagreements were only matters of differing data and different interpretations of vague data.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. Gupta Said That Moore Hid The Fact That Cuba's Health Care...

is ranked lower than the US's, but it was clearly shown in the movie.

And so forth.

Here's a list of 'em: http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10026

Gupta did a disgusting hit piece on Moore, got caught, and refused to do what any decent person would do: admit it and apologize.

[Occam Bandage]

12. And here's CNN's point-by-point factual rebuttal.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/15/moore.gupta/index.html

There were only two lies told by Gupta, and both were ticky-tack errors more attributable to sloppy interns than to malice.

[Fumesucker]

26. Gupta used Moore's line from Sicko about France "drowning in taxes"

And then refused to admit it when Moore called him on it.

If you watch the interview the microexpressions on both their faces are fascinating, Moore *knew* he had Gupta when Gupta used his own line on him and Gupta *knew* he'd been had when Moore called him on it, but Gupta flatly refused to do the honest thing and admit his error.

I laughed my ass off at that.

[Bozita]

4. Interesting day to pick for this announcement, isn't it?

[lonestarnot]

5. Yeah! Now what about that Dr. Dean?

[Kansas Wyatt]

7. Gupta is a pathetic little whore for Big Pharma.

He has no business being anywhere near a government position. We seen enough of that shit with BushCo, Inc.

[Occam Bandage]

9. Why?

Why is Gupta a "pathetic little whore?" Because he has a television show?

Back when Obama appointed Gupta, I asked a few people for specific instances of him "whoring for Big Pharma." The best anyone could give me was that he said that Gardasil, which is an incredibly safe and effective drug, was safe and effective. See, at the same time he said that, his employer was accepting advertisements for unrelated drugs from Merck and running them on Gupta's show, and that apparently is "whoring." I do not think that a doctor should hide the fact that a drug is safe and effective if his employer accepts advertisement money from the drug's manufacturer for unrelated reasons. To say that anything else is "pathetic whoring" is a bit much, wouldn't you say?

[MannyGoldstein]

11. How About He's A Whore For Health Insurance Companies?

Does that suit you better?

[Occam Bandage]

13. No, because that's still just vague abuse instead of anything meaningful.

"He is not a single-payer proponent, and I want to see a single-payer proponent in that role" would be meaningful criticism.

[tabatha]

14. Incredibly safe?

Spain withdraws cervical cancer shot after illnesses

Feb 10, 2009

MADRID (AFP) — Spanish health authorities have withdrawn tens of thousands of doses of a vaccine against cervical cancer after two teenagers who received the shots were hospitalised, regional authorities said on Tuesday.

A batch of nearly 76,000 doses of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) was withdrawn from market, a government statement said, after two girls in the eastern Valencia region fell seriously ill hours after receiving them.

"One of the girls got out of intensive care this weekend and the other is still there. Both are in stable condition," a Valencia health department spokeswoman told AFP.

...

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gIPeSOSkC3zU3Xd4HMRiovY9ri-Q

[Occam Bandage]

16. That isn't a problem with Gardasil,

it was a problem with a particular batch becoming tainted during the manufacturing process. That is a risk that every drug possesses equally. Saying that means Gardasil is unsafe is like saying that means salads are unhealthy because of that one time a waiter sneezed in yours.

The general risk of complications with Gardasil is one tenth what it is with the average vaccine.

[xchrom]

29. EU investigation cleared gardasil in this case -- and

pulled it's recvall and halt on vaccinations -- why didn't you report that?
it's readily available -- even over in the health forum.

[tabatha]

30. I did not know that.

I was quoting from a source that I visit often - and there was no information on reversal.
I don't visit the health forum. Maybe, I should.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occam Bandage]

19. Okay, so he's a whore because he has a TV show,

and because people who run his TV show also run ads for drugs, which kind of makes sense because I think people who are interested in medical advice are also interested in buying drugs. I don't think "having a TV show that shows commercials at regular intervals" makes one a "whore."

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Occam Bandage]

23. Thanks for your input!

[burythehatchet]

24. Anytime and everytime. DLC/New Dems/Occams Bandage rock on baby!

[Occam Bandage]

25. Ordinarily I'd credit you for getting one out of three right,

but you didn't spell my name right, so that's a strikeout. I mean, I'd love to be "Occam's Bandage," but DU doesn't allow apostrophes.

[burythehatchet]

28. sorry, that's bad social form.

[Sebastian Doyle]

15. Good Riddance to another corporatist shill

Let's get it right this time. Paging Dr. Dean!

[Occam Bandage]

17. I think it would be a huge insult to offer that job to Howard Dean.

It's way below his pay grade. It's an honorable job to give a doctor, to be sure, but Howard Dean is not primarily a doctor, he is primarily a politician. And as far as political jobs go, Surgeon General is one of the least desirable. It has virtually no policy power whatsoever; it is entirely about public health awareness and response. If Dean were to have been offered a job, I think it should have been HHS. Putting dean in S.G. would be saying, "hey, you're a good doctor, but shut up about health care."

He can do far more for health care out of the administration than he can as Surgeon General.

[Sebastian Doyle]

20. OK then.

how about Dr. Judith Dean? (or Steinberg, whichever name she uses professionally)

[Occam Bandage]

22. I confess I really don't know much about her.

If she's qualified, which I'm sure she is, then that would be a good pick.

[cynatnite]

27. As I understood it, he didn't want the significant pay cut. n/t