Jenna Hates has been given the keys to the Sydney Morning Herald Grievance Vehicle again this week.
Today’s subject of her trademark bitterness and hatred is an MP whose views she can’t stand.
Jenna and I have much in common in that regard, she’s just more discriminatory than me as I can’t stand the views of all MPs.
One of Mr. Kelly’s constituents has decided to undertake a personal project of offence archeology and, helpfully, our resident academic, Jenna Hates, has convinced a national newspaper it’s interesting enough to publish. No, really.
Tom Kristensen is a landscaper, artist and just owner-built a house in Hughes. But sometime in 2019, he turned his mind to local politics. Not to stand for election, no way, he’s never been a member of any political party, too sceptical.
But his local member had started to use Facebook to spread messages which the ecology graduate knew were not based on any kind of scientific evidence. Kristensen got busy. He decided to note and analyse every single Facebook post on Craig Kelly’s page, its topic, its style of writing and its image.
…. as any reasonable person would do….. if they were OCD.
Also, “not based on any kind of scientific evidence” just slipped in there without a supporting description of the method used to come to that conclusion. We mention this because the word “any” is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Jenna Hates helpfully reminds us of the peer review process or lack there of:
This isn’t for academic research. It is to save the nation from his dangerous conspiratorial and anti-science influence. His job is to represent his community. What he is actually doing is misleading his constituents, misrepresenting science, endangering lives.
We do love a good blood on their hands accusation.
What conspiracy theories is he peddling?
The worst seems to be the false flag theory about last week’s attack on The Capitol. Yeah, that’s pretty daft, particularly from someone who is an elected official. I’m not sure how it risks the lives of Australians though.
The other two themes Jenna Hates, erm, hates, are his suggestion that two existing approved drugs might be used as pharmaceutical treatment for the Kung Flu ‘rona.
Again, unless he’s able to influence the medical profession into prescribing these, it’s just words.
Of course, we could have predicted Jenna’s preference on how to deal with Kelly, it’s a shame the bookies aren’t taking bets. Spoiler alerts, it doesn’t involve presenting counter evidence and debating him or getting up off her arse and actively campaigning for an alternative candidate:
It is such a shame we don’t have a code of conduct for parliamentarians, or an Australian Federal Integrity Commission, which perhaps could punish behaviour like this and send those responsible to Siberia (looking forward to the debate in parliament this year).
Hands up who thinks she’s only partially joking about Siberia?
Bill’s Opinion
For the record, I have no opinion on Craig Kelly as I avoid reading about Australian politicians as much as I possibly can, mainly due to the obvious fact they are stupid at best but usually with the added bonus quality of venality.
I also don’t know whether the two drugs listed reduce the impact of the virus or not. I’m willing to bet neither do you or Jenna Hates. I’m certain Kelly hasn’t a Scooby Doo.
Why don’t we know? Because they’ve been politicised. If you mention them, you will be labelled a conspiracy theorist and dangerously right wing.
In a world other than the Clownworld we’re currently inhabiting, existing approved pharmaceutical therapies for conditions adjacent to the virus would be taken through objective scientific enquiry and the results published for the medical profession to assess. If they prove effective, we’d all be happy. If not, we’d shrug and move on.
In 2021, however, we talk about shutting down the speech of those who suggest such a thing.
2021 already looks like its theme will be authoritarianism.
Well, if one of the drugs is hydroxychloroquine, then “…existing approved pharmaceutical therapies for conditions adjacent to the virus would be taken through objective scientific enquiry and the results published for the medical profession to assess.”
Has been done. I read the prepub in Medscape and the 170+ comments from medical pros (including doctors of pharmacology) from around the world. It was eventual published in JAMA or some such.
Three guesses why you’ve never heard not it.
As for Ivermectin – ditto – except that I watched the testimony of the doctor before Congress, practically in tears that he and his colleagues (all published researchers and practitioners) were not being allowed to use the results to treat patients and save lives or even! To get Congress to approve funding for an immediate follow-up study to prove the off-label use.
Again, three guesses why you don’t know about this one either.
Yes, I’ve seen similar information. One of those drugs costs cents to buy and had previously been issued en masse to places such as the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. I’d say that’s a big enough case study to know whether it’s “dangerous” or not.
Whether it works against Kung Flu? Who knows, we should probably ask a scientist to run a proper study.
Everything is politicised. We are the poorer as a species because of this.