Only slightly unrelated, but I've been thinking a lot lately about prion disease and whether or not you can still trust the meat you eat. Easily a food safety concern that is ten times worse than getting a little diarrhea from your salad, and the same institutional rot can contribute to it. And it would take 5-10 years to really see the damage done from it.
A guy gets a worm in his brain, somehow becomes secretary of health, loosens all the rules so the rest of us have a higher chance of getting a brain worm. This is comic book villain kind of stuff. Can we start a serious discussion about whether we might be living in a simulation with a troll teenager at the controls?
> Can we start a serious discussion about whether we might be living in a simulation with a troll teenager at the controls?
Why? To skirt the fact that this is reality and needs to be changed? There is no simulation. There is no super-natural teenager interested in making your life a tiny bit worse (I mean: a human teenager would just let N.Korea send nukes, and it's not as if you're living in Sudan either). Your question seems to be either trolling itself or delusional, or the feeblest attempt at humor. Neither is helpful.
Filter for dates around his presidential run: "he's not really anti Vax", "he's the only candidate talking about health"... With Dorsey and other SV actors boosting him.
The Americans have what’s basically a cultural trait at this point of deflecting ownership of their government’s actions with “not my president so not my failure” abdication of responsibility.
I wish we could open trade talks with these people instead. But, alas, that’s not how it works.
Fine, it’s all my fault. Neither me nor my state voted that way, I’ve protested like hell, but nonetheless at your insistence I accept personal responsibility for the policy choices of the federal government.
What do you propose I do?
Or did you just want my permission to be personally angry at me? Not sure you needed it, but you’ve now got it.
Something you might have noticed, every time there’s something positive, to brag or take pride with, someone will rub it in everyone else’s face: “we got to the Moon first”, “we have all the freedoms and the best democracy”, we have the most powerful army or strongest economy”, “we have bigger homes and bigger incomes”. For the good stuff it’s always “we”, part of the greatest. Individual contributions are blurry, meaningless. The laurels belong to everyone.
When it comes to the bad stuff there’s a shift in language. There’s no “we” anywhere to be found. It’s vague but it’s definitely someone else in another state who’s responsible. A crazy politician. A corrupt interest localized elsewhere. Overall result is blurry, meaningless. The blame belongs to someone specific.
The usual first reaction is “but those were different people you were talking to” and you’re right. But what a coincidence that when someone assigns blame there’s always an answer like yours to deflect it, but when they were assigning “awards” nobody ever came up to deflect those. Either most Americans think they should only get the praise and every other voice is drowned, or maybe it’s a balanced split but you only speak now to tell is you feel slighted and victimized but chose to be quiet back then when you were honored as an American.
It’s this coincidence you should be upset with. When the right hand only brags about the good stuff and puts the golden crown on your head, and the left hand only shirks responsibility when it’s pointed out that there’s gunk all over the crown and the backside is wooden.
I think your observation is valid, but - perhaps from very understandable frustration - overwrought, and unfairly characterized as a specifically American foible.
Success always has many fathers, failure is always an orphan, anywhere.
And if I rightly feel shame now, even without personal responsibility, cannot I not be allowed some sober pride in equal measure in other circumstances?
This is why you should sleep on it before replying. What kind of reply is that? “It was so boring I had to read it all and reply with a personal attack”? Do what everybody else does, downvote in response for the burn and move on.
If you thought I was wrong you wouldn’t spend 3 paragraphs talking about me, you’d show me it’s not like that, not like everyone else sees it.
Funny thing is that unlike you who only had some 2bit ad-hominem to offer, GP is probably not wrong. They really aren’t responsible for the current situation and maybe even did their part to fight it. But they were immediately triggered and had to object when they felt unfairly bundled with the “losers”. Did you ever see anyone objecting to being unfairly bundled with the “winners” (i.e. never really contributed to the win)?
That's a lot of handwaving and broad generalizations / hyperbole that does exactly what the GP complained about from the GGP, and failed to answer their question: "What do you propose I do?"
You might benefit from looking up the Goomba Fallacy. As a former anti-anti-RFK guy, I absolutely have to take responsibility, I severely misunderstood the wellness movement and didn't realize that inflicting disease on people was their goal. But I don't know why you think the person you're responding to supported RFK.
He's definitely got the broken clock syndrome. And back in the day he was a strong defender of the environment.
I've got a family member and ex friend (both trained in science) and they drank the koolaid hard. A funny story about them -- both had stayed at my home (different times) and I had taken to heating the water for my coffee in the microwave.
Both of them were horrified by that and refused to use that water. Neither could give reason why, and artfully deflected when I pressed the matter. I think antivaxers caught a virus that melted their brains.
I think the worldwide disruption of the pandemic melted people's brains, and the recent surge in the anti-vax movement is a symptom. Along the lines of: if all this bad stuff happened and my life was significantly harmed, it must be someone's fault; all those doctors and scientists kept advising everyone on what they thought was happening and what to do, so they're probably the ones who caused the problem.
I say this as a committed fan of RNA vaccines and masking, who believed we could have contained covid with more serious lockdowns very early in the pandemic: In point of fact, it was someone's fault, and the someones whose fault it was - the ones doing gain of function research - were the same people who took control of lockdown policy in the US. That would be enough to melt a lot of people's brains, even if it weren't for the psychological effects of lockdowns, remote schooling, and the consequent arrested development of an entire generation.
>I mean, it is not as if RFK was the darling candidate of HN at one time?
Wasn't my darling candidate. Mostly because I can read research papers and understand that drinking raw milk and avoiding vaccines doesn't make me healthier.
Read https://www.docdroid.net/MfW3sAr/parasite-pill-version-20-pd... and be enlightened. I believe it was originally made by a 4chan user so obviously there are a lot of insane ramblings there but if the theory is true, the implications would be hilarious
There's really nothing we can do about prion diseases, can we? What does the FDA (or any other regulatory or research institution) even have in the way of prion detection?
Most foreigners I know are incredibly skeptical or opposed to the idea of consuming meat while in America, as it has a pretty bad global reputation for not being good quality and/or safe.
I’m sure fans of BBQ will argue this, but I’d say the average person who is travelling just for BBQ is not really a standard foreigner.
I’ve even had co-workers visit from Ireland and Germany who only trust McDonald’s while they visit, or a local pub.
My hot take on the American steak allure is more about the “cowboy” big portion fantasy that’s fairly engrained into pop culture globally. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say American cattle are superior in really any other way, and are not the best cuts globally either.
Switzerland I cannot speak to, but having had meats from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan - a lot of places around the world have great and superior quality meats.
Poultry isn’t even in the conversation here, American poultry is off putting by nearly any person you ask who didn’t grow up with it.
>>On Monday, however, the FDA said that the "false-positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for [the] FDA's ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms." The agency added that its "traceback investigation and outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms locations in central Mexico."
The false positive "doesn't call into question the conclusion of the outbreak investigation," McEntire said. Had the positive test been confirmed, "it could've resulted in a substantially expanded recall."
<<
I like the part where they say “No Taylor Farms branded products are involved in this recall.” As in there are other brands they do not mention which were but do not list them which they could own and distribute under.
The next time you hear people claiming that Canada's dairy tariff's are unjust, unfair, etc.* ... Bear in mind that they only kick in after a quota that's never been reached because Canadians generally perceive U.S. dairy as being of lower quality. This sort of thing probably won't change that.
_______
* Trump does this regularly when justifying his latest tariffs.
"No shit?" jokes aside, it seems like a bad corporate strategy. Rather than owning up and doing what they can to protect their customers, they kept trying to hide, and now Taylor Farms is going to forever be associated in customers minds with explosive diarrhea.
I’m sure they’ll just come up with some other branding, they’ll “go bankrupt” and reorganize, and call it good in the public eye, and everyone will have forgotten about it in a year or two.
From a purely greedy/capitalistic standpoint, this strategy made sense.
If Presdient Camacho can call a sport’s federation and have a penalty canceled and the administration is as rotten and corrupt as its demonstrated every day, it’s worth a shot for that company to try and avoid a recall.
A recall costs money, people they don’t know getting sick costs them nothing.
They tried to hide it before the news got out in the first place; the reason executives in general are so excited about Trump is that they think he's going to let them bribe their way out of anything. I'm a bit surprised to hear no bribe was accepted here, although I suppose an uncontrolled explosive diarrhea outbreak would be hard for regime officials to keep a lid on.
The US Federal Government has been meaningfully degraded by the brazen corruption of the people in power. Already there was a crisis of faith in authority; this is just going to make it much much worse.
I wonder if its time to rethink some of these institutions. It seems like Food Safety is especially important to the welp being of society; it might make sense to have food testing labs in every major population center/distribution hub. Funded by a tax on the food companies or perhaps even locally. Its just unbelievable that the entire US population is so vulnerable… what if a bad actor did something nasty deliberately?
Seems because of Supreme Court ruling practically every federal agency likely needs to be re-chartered to have the same structure as the Federal Reserve.
As you say, the current profoundly corrupt Supreme Court majority will make up whatever justification they need to get the outcome they want, case by case, and don't believe in the concept of precedent, even their own.
The only thing that can be done is "re-chartering" the court – immediate significant expansion/packing followed later by drastic structural reforms.
Depending how far the Supreme Council takes the unitary executive theory, we might need a straight up Constitutional amendment. And while we're at it, those department heads should be directly elected by the People - imagine being able to split your choices for which parties control the FCC vs the ATF.
(Ideally we'd move towards Ranked Pairs voting too, diminishing the two-party stranglehold as well)
Technocrats shouldn't be popularly elected. Someone like RFK Jr. would be more likely to end up in a top position under popular election, not less likely. The American public does not generally respect expertise, but politicians mostly did until quite recently (with a few exceptions like climate change).
Generally the industry DOES lobby for regulation. In a deregulated industry, there's a rush towards the bottom - which means trust in the industry implodes. They don't want that. I don't believe the current administration is actually in line with the industry as a whole.
They already told you clearly, so it sounds like you're trying to browbeat them with a fallacy of equivocation over the scope of "it".
These things are not equivalent:
1. A biological test for a parasite in a sample of equipment/material from the factory. (Claimed as false-positive.)
2. The analysis of the supply-chain for the food that sickened people which led to that facility as a common factor. (Presumably still accurate.)
___________
To use a criminal-investigation metaphor: Suppose a dead woman is found covered in knife wounds, and the circumstantial evidence leads to one Knifey McStabberson, since he (A) previously dated the woman and (B) sent a death-threat once via text-message, and (C) has a collection of hundreds of suitably-sized knives. Investigators notice one that looks bloody, and test it... It's her blood! Wait, oops, no, false-positive, it was something else.
What is your takeaway from the story so far? Is it that Knifey McStabberson himself is "a false-positive" and obviously totally innocent... or is it that it would be a good idea to check more of the knives scattered around his house and in his car?
"That $1 million donation came six days after the FDA announced plans to delay the enforcement of a "food traceability rule" that would affect fresh fruits and vegetables, among other products, until 2028. The rule is unrelated to the inspection of fresh produce — it requires companies to track products at seven different key points in the supply chain to better prevent foodborne illness outbreaks."
This is the most upsetting thing about everything that is happening. Like, sure I have plenty of criticisms about the FDA, but by and large, I thought the body was slowly working in the direction of the public good.
Once you destroy that trust, every single announcement becomes suspect. You no longer have anything you can believe.
This admin has lied repeatedly. Why would any of us believe a statement solely because the admin said it? Do we need to give them the benefit of the doubt despite how many times they lie?
Why? To skirt the fact that this is reality and needs to be changed? There is no simulation. There is no super-natural teenager interested in making your life a tiny bit worse (I mean: a human teenager would just let N.Korea send nukes, and it's not as if you're living in Sudan either). Your question seems to be either trolling itself or delusional, or the feeblest attempt at humor. Neither is helpful.
I mean, it is not as if RFK was the darling candidate of HN at one time?
https://archive.is/kce6f
Sadly, there's enough MAGA here to share their downvotes but your "evidence" is pointing in a different direction.
I wish we could open trade talks with these people instead. But, alas, that’s not how it works.
What do you propose I do?
Or did you just want my permission to be personally angry at me? Not sure you needed it, but you’ve now got it.
When it comes to the bad stuff there’s a shift in language. There’s no “we” anywhere to be found. It’s vague but it’s definitely someone else in another state who’s responsible. A crazy politician. A corrupt interest localized elsewhere. Overall result is blurry, meaningless. The blame belongs to someone specific.
The usual first reaction is “but those were different people you were talking to” and you’re right. But what a coincidence that when someone assigns blame there’s always an answer like yours to deflect it, but when they were assigning “awards” nobody ever came up to deflect those. Either most Americans think they should only get the praise and every other voice is drowned, or maybe it’s a balanced split but you only speak now to tell is you feel slighted and victimized but chose to be quiet back then when you were honored as an American.
It’s this coincidence you should be upset with. When the right hand only brags about the good stuff and puts the golden crown on your head, and the left hand only shirks responsibility when it’s pointed out that there’s gunk all over the crown and the backside is wooden.
Success always has many fathers, failure is always an orphan, anywhere.
And if I rightly feel shame now, even without personal responsibility, cannot I not be allowed some sober pride in equal measure in other circumstances?
Which is fine, but attempting to grandstand while doing it is just boring to read.
Or maybe you just need more practice at this kind of internet kickdown.
If you thought I was wrong you wouldn’t spend 3 paragraphs talking about me, you’d show me it’s not like that, not like everyone else sees it.
Funny thing is that unlike you who only had some 2bit ad-hominem to offer, GP is probably not wrong. They really aren’t responsible for the current situation and maybe even did their part to fight it. But they were immediately triggered and had to object when they felt unfairly bundled with the “losers”. Did you ever see anyone objecting to being unfairly bundled with the “winners” (i.e. never really contributed to the win)?
I've got a family member and ex friend (both trained in science) and they drank the koolaid hard. A funny story about them -- both had stayed at my home (different times) and I had taken to heating the water for my coffee in the microwave.
Both of them were horrified by that and refused to use that water. Neither could give reason why, and artfully deflected when I pressed the matter. I think antivaxers caught a virus that melted their brains.
Wasn't my darling candidate. Mostly because I can read research papers and understand that drinking raw milk and avoiding vaccines doesn't make me healthier.
Banning offal consumption. Banning blood donations from people who could have been exposed. Detecting the disease in postmortem examinations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_BSE_outbreak
I’m sure fans of BBQ will argue this, but I’d say the average person who is travelling just for BBQ is not really a standard foreigner.
I’ve even had co-workers visit from Ireland and Germany who only trust McDonald’s while they visit, or a local pub.
The beef in Switzerland is mediocre at best.
Some of the ~150,000 metric tonnes of beef recently imported from Australia?
Switzerland I cannot speak to, but having had meats from Australia, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan - a lot of places around the world have great and superior quality meats.
Poultry isn’t even in the conversation here, American poultry is off putting by nearly any person you ask who didn’t grow up with it.
The false positive "doesn't call into question the conclusion of the outbreak investigation," McEntire said. Had the positive test been confirmed, "it could've resulted in a substantially expanded recall." <<
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-farms-cyclospora-outbrea...
I like the part where they say “No Taylor Farms branded products are involved in this recall.” As in there are other brands they do not mention which were but do not list them which they could own and distribute under.
https://www.taylorfarms.com/newsroom/taylor-fresh-foods-stat...
_______
* Trump does this regularly when justifying his latest tariffs.
If Presdient Camacho can call a sport’s federation and have a penalty canceled and the administration is as rotten and corrupt as its demonstrated every day, it’s worth a shot for that company to try and avoid a recall.
A recall costs money, people they don’t know getting sick costs them nothing.
I wonder if its time to rethink some of these institutions. It seems like Food Safety is especially important to the welp being of society; it might make sense to have food testing labs in every major population center/distribution hub. Funded by a tax on the food companies or perhaps even locally. Its just unbelievable that the entire US population is so vulnerable… what if a bad actor did something nasty deliberately?
The only thing that can be done is "re-chartering" the court – immediate significant expansion/packing followed later by drastic structural reforms.
(Ideally we'd move towards Ranked Pairs voting too, diminishing the two-party stranglehold as well)
You don't always get a positive test, but this doesn't necessarily prevent you from concluding the cause of food contamination.
Software getting flagged by anti-malware as a false positive is a great way to get an evil corpo tale of woe to the top of HN with 800 points.
So it’s a false positive?
They already told you clearly, so it sounds like you're trying to browbeat them with a fallacy of equivocation over the scope of "it".
These things are not equivalent:
1. A biological test for a parasite in a sample of equipment/material from the factory. (Claimed as false-positive.)
2. The analysis of the supply-chain for the food that sickened people which led to that facility as a common factor. (Presumably still accurate.)
___________
To use a criminal-investigation metaphor: Suppose a dead woman is found covered in knife wounds, and the circumstantial evidence leads to one Knifey McStabberson, since he (A) previously dated the woman and (B) sent a death-threat once via text-message, and (C) has a collection of hundreds of suitably-sized knives. Investigators notice one that looks bloody, and test it... It's her blood! Wait, oops, no, false-positive, it was something else.
What is your takeaway from the story so far? Is it that Knifey McStabberson himself is "a false-positive" and obviously totally innocent... or is it that it would be a good idea to check more of the knives scattered around his house and in his car?
https://www.snopes.com/news/2026/07/21/taylor-farms-trump-do...
Once you destroy that trust, every single announcement becomes suspect. You no longer have anything you can believe.
This admin has lied repeatedly. Why would any of us believe a statement solely because the admin said it? Do we need to give them the benefit of the doubt despite how many times they lie?