Most average people have an extremely limited understanding of science and biology. And they desperately crave simple answers.
That said, I seem to recall that Linus Pauling became a vitamin C nutter
Yes, I think he’s most responsible for that misconception.
i’ve said this a number of times - For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong ~ H. L. Mencken.
To be precise:
" Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong."
H.L. Mencken, “The Divine Afflatus” in New York Evening Mail (16 November 1917)
If we follow the Constitution.
The thing is, he can still motivate his base and stir up trouble even after leaving office.
What we are saying in this thread is not getting through AKA it is going to be a long four years:
YouGov: 59 percent approve of Trump’s handling of presidential transition
If this polling is accurate, the median voter may be thinking the problem with Trump 45 was too many normie cabinet members 
You are right about doing an ER rotation at Hopkins. First of all, there are many hospitals associated with each large university and as a medical student or resident you not only rotate through these hospitals but it is pretty easy to get an elective month at an outside hospital. I hate traveling and having to live in a strange place for a month so I only did rotations associated directly with my residency program. That said, I can claim that I completed a rotation in Endocrinology at Walter Reed and two months at the NIH in the National Heart, Lung and Blood institute. This makes me neither a military person or a researcher and I would never think to include them on my CV.
I will admit having a slight prejudice against those that attend for-profit Caribbean medical schools but the truth is that the real problem with them is that they take almost anyone who can pay and most people never graduate. Someone who actually finishes the program, graduates, gets and finishes a US residency and passes all parts of the Boards is in my opinion medically qualified. However, I have a real prejudice against those who sell supplements in their offices. They are either poor physicians who cannot make a living from their practice or more likely simply money hungry and willing to exploit their patients in order to earn more. JMHO.
Why “in your opinion”? My niece is married to a guy who attended some Caribbean med school. As far as I can tell, he is a very competent and well respected pathologist.
Agreed. The people who reelected DJT want a disrupter. The more he and the GOP are seen as disrupting the system and tearing things down the more popular they will be. Any misfortune that befalls MAGA will be dismissed as sabotage by the Democrats. That will lead to calls for MORE disruption from these people, not less.
Re Surgeon General nominee Janette Nesheiwat, it is widely reported, including on her own web site, and in a Trump press release, that she is “double board certified,” the implication being that she is board certified in both Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine. But I can find no evidence that she has ever been board certified in anything other than Family Medicine.
And I’m not even sure that I sure hope she fails confirmation. Compared to RFK Jr, and Dave Weldon, the Centers for Disease Control pick, Nesheiwat is pro-vaccine.
I think some picks like this, who would have failed confirmation in the past, will get through due to there being others who are worse. It will be a case of what Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously called “defining deviancy down.”
The majority of people pay next to zero attention to political news. So at most they are probably just hearing that he nominated a bunch of people, which is what they expect him to do. If his nominees aren’t significantly challenged in the Senate they will view it as a successful transition. They won’t start paying attention until the resulting dysfunctional government starts affecting them personally.
So after a couple of days of work, I present Zakalwe’s list of Trump Cabinet (and select other senior) nominees/appointees. Commentary is mine:
White House Chief Of Staff: Susie Wiles
- Does not require Senate Confirmation
- Trump’s campaign co-chair and long-time Florida political operative. First woman to serve as White House Chief of Staff.
Secretary Of State: Marco Rubio
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Rubio is the Senior Senator from Florida having been in the Senate since 2011. Ran against Trump in 2016 and was more or less continuously insulted by him. On the hawkish side of foreign affairs, but actually a fairly normal pick (especially by Trumpian standards).
Attorney General: Pam Bondi replacing Matt Gaetz
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- First female AG of Florida, served 2 terms. Famously did not join a multi-state lawsuit alleging fraud at Trump University after receiving a large campaign donation. Served on his first impeachment defense team.
Deputy Attorney General: Todd Blanche
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Served on the NY trial defense team in the hush money case. Don’t know much about him.
HHS Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Whack-a-doodle former Democratic Presidential candidate, then Independent. Thinks vaccines have no record of being safe and blames food and drug companies for making America sicker as a marketing tool. Oh, and hates fluoride. This one is out there and may be the next domino to fall (unless Gabbard gets there first – see below).
Office Of Management And Budget Director: Russ Vought
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Served in 45 admin (same role). Hardcore evangelist and one of the authors of Project 2025. Super-fan of the Presidential monarchy. Has and will take steps to implement this vision.
U.N. Ambassador: Elise Stefanik
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- US Rep from NY. Serves in House leadership.
“Border Czar”: Tom Homan
- Does not require Senate Confirmation
- Served during Obama admin, plus Trump 45 admin. Author of the family separation policy and general shithead. Will report to Noem (see below).
Defense Secretary: Pete Hegseth
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- What else can be said? Did actually serve in the military (National Guard), but not in any serious leadership capacity. Hates the idea of women in combat. Has settled sexual assault charges. Possible white supremacist. Probably the 3rd or 4th most risky pick from a Senate confirmation standpoint (behind Gaetz – already killed, Gabbard, and a toss-up between him and Kennedy)
Secretary Of Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Veteran, current USAF Chaplain. Trump sycophant. Probably an extreme Christian (the Air Force is rife with them), but not a totally crazy pick. Might be willing to stand up (to a point) for service members.
National Security Adviser: Michael Waltz
- Does not require Senate Confirmation
- Congressman from Florida. Worked for Rumsfeld and Gates. Voted for SSM act, so there’s that. Thin resume.
Interior Secretary: Doug Burgum
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Tech millionaire. Ran for Prez until he dropped out and kissed the ring. Fairly normal pick. Sweetheart of Big Oil. Supports drilling on public land.
Secretary Of Energy: Chris Wright
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- No prior government experience, head of a fracking company. He’ll get through and will cause untold climate damage.
Secretary Of Transportation: Sean Duffy
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- No experience in Trans (but neither did Buttigieg). Considered a minimally controversially pick because who cares about Transportation.
Secretary Of Commerce: Howard Lutnick
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Billionaire buddy ‘o Trump. Appears to already be using a position he doesn’t yet hold to promote his own companies. I could weirdly see him struggling with his confirmation, but I’m probably wrong.
Secretary Of Education: Linda Mcmahon
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- WWE co-founder. Lied about credentials, currently facing a sexual abuse lawsuit. Hates (public) education – which make her a great fit for Trump 47. She’ll get through because of her money.
Secretary Of The Treasury: Scott Bessent
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Billionaire (another one). Former Dem. Lots of political infighting over nom. Safe pick, but I question his longevity in the role.
Secretary Of Labor: Lori Chavez-Deremer
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Lame duck US Rep. Pro-Union. Odd pick. Another “will cruise to nom, but how long will she last” pick. This seems like a sop to some faction or another.
White House Counsel: William Mcginley
- Does not require Senate Confirmation
- I know nothing about him.
U.S. Ambassador To NATO: Matthew Whitaker
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Acting AG under Trump 45. No foreign policy or national security experience. This one is a puzzler. Maybe he has video of something.
Secretary Of Homeland Security: Kristi Noem
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Gov of all 37 people living in South Dakota. Has no background in law enforcement or border security. She is probably a sinecure while actual policy will be run out of the WH. She could be controversial, but probably won’t be in the end (too may other choices to pick from).
HUD Secretary: Scott Turner
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Former NFL player. Evangelist and long-time Trumper. Not much else going on other than industry types are puzzled by the pick.
CIA Director: John Ratcliffe
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- DNI during Trump 45. Made controversial decisions about Hillary in 2020. Oddly seen as a potentially positive pick (I don’t see it).
Director Of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Vet, former US Rep from Hawaii, former Dem, and Putin ass-kicker. IMHO, most likely of Trump’s remaining picks to fail nomination. Even beating out Kennedy – which is saying something.
EPA Administrator: Lee Zeldin
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Former NY Rep. Totally anti-EPA, so par for the course. Too far below the fold to fail nomination.
Solicitor General: Dean John Sauer
- Does not requires Senate Confirmation
- Solicitor General for Missouri. Represented Trump in appeal to the USSC. 2020 Election denier.
FDA Commissioner: Marty Makary
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- RFK, Jr. ally. Enough said.
Secretary Of Agriculture: Brooke Rollins
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Not a whole ton of experience, but he did found America First, so there’s that. Apparently a bit of surprise, even internally.
CDC Director: David Weldon
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- First to require Senate confirmation. Physician, but staunch anti-vax, anti-abortion.
FCC Chairman: Brendan Carr
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Member of the FCC since 2017 (renominated by Biden). Free speech (meaning all speech he agrees with) absolutist.
Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services Administrator: Dr. Mehmet Oz
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- TV personality and general medical whacko. Zero administrative experience. Another RFK Jr. acolyte. Wants to privatize Medicare/Medicaid.
Surgeon General: Dr. Janette Nesheiwat
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Physician and miracle cure believer.
U.S. Ambassador To Israel: Mike Huckabee
- Requires Senate Confirmation
- Former Governor of Arkansas. Ran for Prez in 2008 coming in third in the GOP primary. Evangelical and tv commentator.
Well, he has nine kids so I guess he knows something about transporting large numbers of people.
Not sure where to post this, but this seems the best thread.
Do you want to know who is influencing Trump through huge amounts of money? Sorry, apparently there is a gigantic loophole that allows him to take in tons of money without reporting it.
I’ve worked for a state agency that had to respond to tons of public records requests. We couldn’t hide stuff. Now I find House investigations can be hidden. I also find corporations and countries can hide donations/bribes to the president elect. How is it the upper end of the US govt can get away with this stuff? No one everyone in the house and senate appear to be extremely rich.
Re last post, Trump is almost certainly violating the Presidential Transition Act of 1963. While that kind of law does not have criminal penalties, I wonder if he is guilty of conspiring to violate said law. Conspiracy to violate federal law is a crime.
So should Merrick Garland go before the grand jury tomorrow morning? No, over the last year we have gotten an idea of how that will not work.
The Solicitor General is a Senate-confirmed position.
Sort of ally. Makary has a gadfly personality where he is quicker to question the consensus than most other docs, but he is a real expert and not a nutter. I wonder if he sees himself as marching into hell for a heavenly cause.
Philadelphia vaccine expert Paul Offit told the NY Times:
Anyone from Trump’s first administration?
Mea culpa. It was a long list. If that’s the only factual mistake I made, I’ll be impressed with myself. 
Trump Says He Will Nominate Kash Patel to Run F.B.I.
Mr. Patel on freedom of the press: