When Donald Trump met Dr. Oz: A huckster bromance

When I first heard that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President, was scheduled to appear on The Dr. Oz Show, my first thought was, basically, “Of course he is. What took him so long?” After all, it’s a crank pairing made in heaven. Given that, I considered it my skeptical blogging duty at least to watch the show, even if I never actually blogged about it. So I dutifully set my DVR to record it, and, after I got home from work, did my evening bike ride and ate dinner, I settled down in front of the television to see if this appearance would be as bad as I predicted in my mind.

I’m not sure if it was as bad as I had feared, but it certainly was bizarre. Surprisingly (to me), it was also actually mostly boring. Worse, although at the beginning of the first segment Oz cautioned Trump not to attack Hillary Clinton because he wanted the show to be about Trump, Oz also basically gave Trump a segment in which his daughter Ivanka appeared to shamelessly pimp Trump's recently announced childcare initiative. The selling was so blatant that Ivanka Trump's segment might as well have been a Donald Trump campaign infomercial. It was so bad that it left me with the question: Why is it that, while everyone seems to detest Trumps sons almost as much as him, they give Ivanka Trump a pass? In any case, I can’t help but wonder if the segment with Ivanka Trump promoting his latest campaign promise was the price that Trump demanded in return for agreeing to appear on Oz's show. I bet it was. The segment was just that blatant.

Be that as it may, I do agree with Julia Belluz. Trump’s appearance on Dr. Oz’s show was very odd and very surreal. Surprisingly, it was also rather dull. Of course, perhaps I should explain why I think Trump and Oz were basically made for each other. Trump, as you know, was always flamboyant and good at attracting media attention, a skill he honed to its current level of sharpness in reality TV as the star of The Apprentice. It’s as show that I admit to having watched and actually liked, at least the first two or three seasons. After that, I rapidly lost interest, and have never watched its spinoff Celebrity Apprentice. Trump also never met a conspiracy theory he didn’t like. The one that I’ve criticized him the most for is, of course, his belief that vaccines cause autism, a belief he’s been very consistent about at least since 2007.

Enter Dr. Oz.

Dr. Oz is a near-perfect match. Back in the 1990s, Dr. Oz was a rising star in the world of academic surgery, a young cardiothoracic surgeon who published a lot and in good journals. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Oz discovered reiki. Soon, he was becoming famous as the surgeon who let reiki masters into the operating room to ply their woo on the patients as he operated on their hearts. Eventually, he caught Oprah Winfrey’s attention, and it wasn’t long before he was doing segments on her show, becoming “America’s Doctor” (a name that he trademarked). Back then, he hadn’t dived ad deepling into pure woo, mostly giving sensible if somewhat trendy advice on diet and exercise. Then he got his own show, and from there it was all downhill, as I’ve documented many times, to the point of labeling him America’s Quack, which he is. Examples to support my characterization abound, featuring Mike Adams on his show, having antivaccine icon Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on his show to promote his last book, running an unethical and bogus “clinical trial” of the weight loss supplement green coffee bean extract, and promoting homeopathy. That’s not even counting the times he had “Long Island Medium” Teresa Caputo on his show (plus John Edward, too!), and promoted a faith healer. Along the way, he also credulously featured anti-GMO fear mongering and basically every form of bogus weight loss supplements you can think of. He was even hauled before a Senate committee on the marketing of ineffective weight loss supplements and ended up being on the receiving end of a tongue lashing by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

None of this seems to matter. Like Trump, Oz is all about the money. Like Trump, he’s also become very skillful at sliming his enemies, as he did in 2014 when a group of doctors, some of whom were associated with the American Council on Science And Health (ACSH) wrote a letter to Oz’s dean at Columbia University basically demanding that he be fired because of his activities on his TV show. It was an astonishingly clueless and incompetent play, and Oz struck back, effectively turning the tables and labeling his critics as being in the thrall of big pharma.

Yes, Oz is a lot like Trump, and I haven’t even discussed everything I’ve written about him. Before last season, Oz, sensing that the pressure was on, promised to clean up his act and stop promoting pseudoscience. He must have done so, at least to some degree, because I haven’t done a post about him in exactly one year. Or maybe I lost interest. Then came Trump.

The video for Trump’s appearance is not yet up on Dr. Oz’s website. I’ll add links when it is. In the meantime, you can refer to a transcript of the interview. The first segment is pretty dull, with Oz conducting a “review of systems” on Trump (which in Oz’s hands was really a combination of a review of systems, a family history, and a medical history). We learn that Trump has hay fever, that his PSA is good, and that he’s on a statin. We also learn that both his parents lived long lives (into their 90s). Also, apparently Trump considers his gesticulations while speaking to crowds to be a form of exercise.

It was the second segment where the real stunt occurs. As Belluz describes it:

The key moment came when "America’s doctor" asked Trump: "If your health is as strong as it seems ... why not share your medical records?"

The 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate looked at the audience and said, "Well, I have really no problem doing it. I have it right here. Should I do it? I don’t care. Should I do it?"

Trump then pulled two papers out of his breast pocket and handed them to Oz. At this point, we, the audience, are meant to believe that these are real medical documents, and that Oz is shocked the presidential frontrunner is revealing the state of his personal health.

It was a moment every bit as staged as anything on “reality” television and allowed Trump to play to the crowd. Oz, professional TV personality that he now is, played along, acting surprised and looking serious as he examined the two pieces of paper:

Oz calls the two papers "comprehensive" — we’re meant to see this gesture as one of transparency, and to think the TV doctor is the trustworthy filter through which medical information can be relayed to the public. But, of course, The Dr. Oz Show has a history of deviating from reality and medical science.

What follows is even more surreal: Oz conducts a made-for-TV physical of Trump. No actual exams, no hands laid on the patient, no verification of the patient’s data.

One of these papers was a letter, and one was a report. We learn that Donald Trump is a bit overweight, being 6’3” and weighing 236 lbs.; that his routine lab values are normal; that his cholesterol levels are fine; and other assorted bits of medical history. In response, Oz dutifully asked him softball questions, like asking him, if his health is so good, why not release the records?

Basically, Dr. Oz became Donald Trump’s health spin doctor that day, laying it on pretty thick, even by Dr. Oz’s standards, proclaiming:

Blood sugar, 99. And C-reactive protein also low. Your liver function, your thyroid functional is all normal. You had a colonoscopy performed July 10, 2013, which was normal with no polyps. (Oddly enough, a look at Trump's Twitter feed shows that he was Tweeting all day that day.) Calcium score and your heart, 2013, also was low at 98. Oh my goodness. EKG chest x-ray on April 14 was normal. A normal echocardiogram was done two years ago. And your testosterone’s 441, which is actually -- it's good. It’s good.

You're only on the statin drug you mentioned. If a patient of mine had these records, I’d be really happy. And I’d send them on their way.

Trump returned the love, saying:

I would tell you – You know, my wife is a big fan of your show, and I would absolutely say because I view this as in a way going to see my doctor. Just a little bit public. That's all.

Gag me with a spoon. (Sorry. I felt as though I went through a time warp to 30 years ago.)

Throughout the rest of the interview, Oz basically gave Trump every opportunity to brag about his health, the longevity of his parents and, by extension and implication, how he expects to live a long time too. Trump informed Oz that he feels as good now as he did when he was 30. And, despite Oz’s request that Trump refrain from attacks on Hillary Clinton, Oz said nothing when Trump said, “I think when you're running for president of the United States, or maybe any other country, in all fairness, but when you're running for president, I think you have an obligation to be healthy. I just don't think you can do the work if you're not healthy. I don't think you can represent the country properly if you're not a healthy person.” Elsewhere, in response to a question on health issues, Trump brought up immigration, basically blaming them for the opioid addiction crisis.

That’s not to say that there wasn’t some inadvertent hilarity during the interview. (We are talking about Donald Trump, after all.) For example:

OZ: So what type of temperament is required for the person who becomes president of the United States?

TRUMP: Unbelievable strong and smart temperament, and I think it's my grandest asset. I think temperament is my single greatest asset.

OZ: Why do so many people question your temperament?

TRUMP: They don't question – it’s Madison Avenue. Madison Avenue went to Hillary Clinton and they said -- and when I say Madison Avenue, I’m talking about the advertising people, the people that make up the ads. And they said, let's see, and they put 15 things on a board. ‘Oh, temperament. Let's go after temperament.’ The people that know me -- I win. I know how to win. You can't win unless you have a great temperament. I know people that can't win. I know people that are very talented at sports, and they never win.

Yes, you read that right. Trump has the greatest temperament ever, and it’s all Hillary’s fault that there have been “questions” about his health. Never mind that Trump allies have been sowing conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton’s health for several months now. Just yesterday, I saw the most hilarious one yet over on TruthKings by a guy claiming to be a medical school professor—yeah, right, I bet she’s an adjunct instructor or something—entitled “Hillary Clinton has 1 Year to Live,” says Medical School Professor. The claim? That Clinton has severe subcortical vascular dementia and is likely to die in a year. I showed the article to a neurologist friend of mine, and the response was that it was “brain dead stupid.” Let’s just put it this way. Just like the case with Parkinson’s disease, if Clinton truly had advanced subcortical vascular dementia, she couldn’t hide it.

Basically, Dr. Oz is every bit as much of a carnival barker as Donald Trump is, and in this instance he helped Trump not only brag about his own health but to insinuate that Clinton is not healthy enough to be President while also allowing Ivanka Trump to air what was basically a campaign commercial for Trump’s childcare proposal. The two were clearly made for each other. It was placebo transparancy, making a mockery of transparency norms. No wonder they have such a beautiful bromance brewing.

Oz said that Clinton was also invited to be on his show and that the Clinton campaign is “considering” the offer. Call me skeptical, but somehow I don’t think it would be a good idea on her part to appear. If she does, though, she should demand the same deal Trump got, complete with a full segment in which she can sell whatever proposal she wants to using whomever she wants to bring in to do it. Fair's fair, after all.

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Trump ran two casinos at a loss. How do casinos run at a loss. It is ovious these two events lifted him out of the prospects of bankrupcy, the tax department missed out badly. When Trump runs the country to bankrupcy there is no place to cheat to save the USA. I think the emphasis on his disarsters and his string of dishonesties are not being addressed. God help the world if Americans vote for Trump. He will become the richest man in the world through selling out his country for his own buisiness interest. He learned the deception from his forefathers who lied to the Americans to get business they posed as swiss origens rather than honesty they were German. Trump has grown up with lies manipulation pitting his and his family interests first

By Julia Thompson (not verified) on 15 Sep 2016 #permalink

Saved me the trouble of watching this love fest, just as well since my mop is at the cleaners and I would have barfed on the floor. Oh the torture Orac endures so we don't have to.

By DevoutCatalyst (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Nothing in that transcript on vaccines, immunizations or autism.

I guess Dr. Oz could work up enough spine to ask Trump about his positions on those. Then again, since Senator McCaskill flogged Oz severely in 2014 (as you reported), Oz seems like the cowardly lion.

By Chris Hickie (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Trump is 6'3"!? I thought he was more like 5'5"

And yet, audience members (“average” people) had rather glowing things to say. Trump’s comment that he “feels 30” seems to suffice for medial records to these people. The fact that noone but Oz has seen these two pages or that they were issued by the same doctor who wrote the first goofy testimonial-substituted-for-medical-report doesn’t trouble them. The dumbing down of a significant portion of the population is now complete.

Note: My grandson is at college and tells me he’s not making a lot of friends as he is having trouble finding anyone to engage in substantive conversation--giggling and sports talk seem to prevail. A video was shown at orientation that showed about 1% of students even knowing how much debt they have or the interest rate on that debt. The University (top rated in my state) wasn’t even embarrassed about this, but rather presented it as somewhat charming. We were shown endless video of the various food courts, but not a single lab or classroom was shown, although the library was pointed to on a tour of said food courts. On a brighter note, grandson is impressed with class content.

By darwinslapdog (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Trump once again confirms my opinion that the man is so vain, he probably thinks the old Carly Simon song is about him.

The fact that noone but Oz has seen these two pages or that they were issued by the same doctor who wrote the first goofy testimonial-substituted-for-medical-report doesn’t trouble them.

For that matter, we only have Oz's and Trump's word for it that those pieces of paper were medical records, let alone genuine Trump medical records. I wouldn't trust either of them to tell the truth.

Finally, I have to comment on Orac's caption to the photo on top:

I got a great real estate deal for ya, doc. Just check out that inspection report and sign on the dotted line.

I suspect the real estate deal in question involves a bridge between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Onnie
Tokyo
September 16, 2016

Trump is 6’3″!? I thought he was more like 5’5″

He's 6'2"....had to get that extra inch too.

By CarlosDanger (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

I wonder if there was any political screening of the audience. I don't see self selection since people on both sides may have an interest.

By Dorit Reiss (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

You expect people to believe that "Dr." Oz is a real physician? If he cannot hit the wardrobe department for some scrubs or a white lab coat, then he's obviously a fake.

How do casinos run at a loss.

Maybe because they are attached to hotels?

How do casinos run at a loss.

Load them up with debt, such that the revenue isn't enough to service said debt. Then, when you declare bankruptcy (at least under US law), you wipe out that debt. It's standard business practice in American real estate development.

Trump takes that to extremes by also routinely stiffing his contractors. There is a reason so few people will do business with Donald Trump anymore.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Was there any discussion of Trump's views re: Muslims?

You'd think these might be of at least passing interest for Oz.

Although as Orac mentioned, it's all about the money for Mehmet.

Perhaps he and the Donald are working on a new dietary supplement scam "MLM opportunity".

Do be so hard on Ivanka! She's got a rare mutation that gave her an extra vertebra in her neck.

By Mark Thorson (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

What's an EKG chest X Ray?

Some new combo advancement in diagnostics that I'm not aware of?

One of these papers was a letter, and one was a report.

The labs from my last routine checkup were a hell of a lot longer than a single page.

The labs from my last routine checkup were a hell of a lot longer than a single page.

Maybe Trump's physician included only "positive" results.

By Science Mom (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

I wonder if there was any political screening of the audience.

Unlikely. The self-selection for this kind of show favors folks who have little interest in politics, or 'reality' as we might understand the word, instead devoting attention to the theatrics of celebrity. Furthermore, as Oz fans, they'll be likely to follow his lead. The applause for something he features is really applause for him.

Except for the boring factor Orac mentioned, Oz and Trump appear to have staged this perfectly: Trump says he won't reveal anything; then when Oz gives him a friendly 'why not?' he's taken by the trustworthiness of America's Doctor and hands over the goods; at which point Oz reads and then exclaims, "Oh my goodness... It's good. It's good."; America's Doctor has ended the speculation and quieted the controversy; all is well in the land of Oz; the audience applauds.

Also, apparently Trump considers his gesticulations while speaking to crowds to be a form of exercise.

They are, as Trump would say, yuuge gesticulations. Not to mention classy. The absolute best gesticulations in the world.

Maybe Trump’s physician included only “positive” results.

Positive for what? Because if Trump (let alone Dr. Oz or the physician who allegedly performed Trump's physical) really thinks he's the picture of perfect health, I'd like some of whatever he's been smoking.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Much ado about not much. He's been under the care of his same doc for decades.

Why is it that, while everyone seems to detest Trumps sons almost as much as him, they give Ivanka Trump a pass?

Given some of the things he's said about her, pity.

By Rich Woods (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Positive for what? Because if Trump (let alone Dr. Oz or the physician who allegedly performed Trump’s physical) really thinks he’s the picture of perfect health, I’d like some of whatever he’s been smoking.

It's a joke. I'm just riffing on the silly letter Trump's physician wrote which proclaimed that Trump's chems were "only positive".

By Science Mom (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Clearly those pages were the scripts telling Oz exactly what to say and do

By TRIALNERROR (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

Given some of the things he’s said about her, pity.

Not just the things he's said, which are bad enough. Specifically, Donald is on record as admitting that if Ivanka weren't his daughter, he'd date her.

But there is more to it than that. I have seen a photo, claimed to have been taken in the 1990s, of Donald in an inappropriately sexual pose with the then-teenaged Ivanka. And I am told (I didn't watch it myself) that she recoiled at the RNC when he tried to pat her on the bottom.

Nevertheless, she is getting off easier than she should. She's not dumb; so far this campaign she has displayed more intelligence than Donald Jr. and Eric (or as some wags call them, Uday and Qusay) combined. She should know better.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

SM@22: So was I. When it comes to medical examinations, "positive test results" has another meaning, one that IME is more common than the one Trump and his physician intended.

By Eric Lund (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

The Oz missed a golden opportunity to ask the Rump for a genetic sample to determine if the Rump is an ALF.

And what is up with mentioning his testosterone level? They even pointed out on NPR that there is rarely ever a reason to actually do that.

Trump trying to show he is not a girly-man?

What a pathetically contrived health revelation politically designed to win votes from Hilary through fitness one-upmanship.

Also, apparently Trump considers his gesticulations while speaking to crowds to be a form of exercise.

So did Nixon. I hear rumors that Trump does ten "I am not a crook" double-V deltoid salutes a day.

By The Demo-cat (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

You can’t win unless you have a great temperament. I know people that can’t win. I know people that are very talented at sports, and they never win.

Wow! Now, sports figures don't even have to play. They merely need to show temperament. That'll go over well at the Super Bowl!
The World Series is about temperament, not about who can throw how fast or who can hit a ball!
The Olympics are all about temperament too, why, there's an Olympic Gold Medal in Temperament.

It's also interesting that he can tweet while undergoing a colonoscopy...

And of course, illegal aliens are now prescribing narcotics at record levels, causing people to turn to heroin or something.
Does that mean it'd be cheaper for the lawn guy down the street to write me an RX for hydrocodone than for me to pay my primary's copay?*

*Considering how many flaming hoops I and doctor have to jump through just to get an MRI to prove a diagnosis of a herniated disc, that lawn guy would be more cost effective. Pity that isn't how things work here on the planet Earth. Maybe on Bizarro World, but not here.

Still, if gesticulating is an exercise, I've always been in supreme physical form. Being of Sicilian-American heritage, I "talk with my hands" a lot. Beware when I start talking and am butchering a piece of meat for dinner - unless one wishes to get in some unintentional fencing practice. ;)

If he's 6' 3" and 236 pounds, his BMI is 29.5 which is about as close to obese as you can get and still be overweight. To be fair, his normal numbers for cholesterol and blood sugar probably reduce his risk of health problems but.

By Christine Rose (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

With the number of pages he had on his physical report, tests must have been on only a few of of his best stats. Dr Oz only perpetuates Trumps lies. I never really watched Dr. Oz and definitely never the apprentice Okay, maybe 15 minutes of one episode, but not ever again.

Also, apparently Trump considers his gesticulations while speaking to crowds to be a form of exercise.

He no doubt does several trapezius-strengthening Heil Hitlers per day, possibly with a 7 oz Rolex for added weight.

By The Demo-cat (not verified) on 16 Sep 2016 #permalink

#30 Wzrd1

OT
Being of Sicilian-American heritage, I “talk with my hands” a lot. Beware when I start talking and am butchering a piece of meat for dinner – unless one wishes to get in some unintentional fencing practice

Now that you mention it, I don't think I have ever known a professional chef who “talks with their hands”. I had never thought about this before.

By jrkrideau (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

Gil: I thought you were cool with incest, since you incessantly cheer for Trump, and then lie, just like your hero.

Eric Lund: Nevertheless, she is getting off easier than she should. She’s not dumb; so far this campaign she has displayed more intelligence than Donald Jr. and Eric (or as some wags call them, Uday and Qusay) combined. She should know better.

I'd disagree about the dumb; she's more intelligent than her brothers, but so are octopi. I do agree that she should know better. If she had any sense or self-respect, she'd cut molester-daddy loose and never, ever talk to him or let him near the grandkids.

jkrideau: Professional chefs know that's a good way to lose their hands, though a few may be inclined to talk with knives.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

Rachel Maddow asked NBC medical correspondent Dr. Natalie Azar about the testosterone:

MADDOW: And it`s gratuitous or not gratuitous to throw in your testosterone level in a public document like this?
AZAR: It`s interesting. And for him, I will say that`s a good number to have, because it`s cardio-protective. It`s a check mark in his favor. And it`s almost time to move on, you know?
MADDOW: It definitely is.

since you incessantly cheer for Trump

Oh Trump, you're so fine
You're so fine, you blow my mind,
Hey Trump, hey Trump
Ra, ra, ra!

What is your damage, little girl?

A few things I've heard**..

- The Orange One's cholesterol numbers could be low because he takes meds!!!
- saying 6'3" rather than 6'2" ( another quoted height for him) puts him in 'overweight" BMI vs 'obese'
- some controversy about weight 230+ vs 260+
- he got the testosterone number because he WANTED it
- some news dude said there is so much crap about him to report on, they just go form one thing to the next- it's endless ( hint: FOCUS!)

** heh

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

@ PGP:

Right. Se should know better. If she dreamt up the childcare plan - and she has a business degree from an elite school- shouldn't she know it only benefits higher income people?

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

-btw-

I am contemplating whether we are actually watching the final decline of civilisation up close and personal as revealed via the 24hr news cycle.

Perhaps Ragnarok?

Can voters really be so f@cking stupid?
And have no long term memory ( about birtherism)

He has a frigging dyed blonde combover.

Reporters are looking into the shady operations of his businesses, foundation, campaign and NOTHING sticks

He does the reverse of what he says ( e.g. has his clothing line made in China, / hires illegal people)

Do some believe his reign would be FREE entertainment?

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

DW: If she dreamt up the childcare plan – and she has a business degree from an elite school- shouldn’t she know it only benefits higher income people?
I think she's so sheltered she doesn't know that lower and middle-class people exist. Her servants and employees are just moving shadows to her.

Jerkface: MY DAMAGE? I have a functioning brain, unlike yourself, you, lying, drug-addled, incest-supporting sexist, hippy-dippy pig. I've run out of patience with you and your lies, and supporting your parents (for you are certainly a product of incest) is the last straw.
You are a prime example of a generation that is a waste of space. You're a Republican, who for some reason, choses to act like a walking DARE advertisement. For the last time, get off this board and go back to Reddit, or whatever MRA or libertarian hellhole you came from.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

You are a prime example of a generation that is a waste of space.

Oh, my; What generation are you imagining I belong to? You forgot that I think age of consent laws are stupid.

Jerkface: You're a boomer, obviously or did you forget your age? Also, that whole Clinton thing was fact-checked, seven ways to Sunday, and guess what? It wasn't her. It was your dumbass friends who started that birther thing, with Trumpie's full and active support. So get your child-diddling fried-egg lying rear out of here already.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

You’re a boomer

Really? I've never worked with artillary. How old are they?

a good number to have, because it`s cardio-protective.

I guess the cardioprotective quality of testosterone explains why the male life span is so much longer.

By herr doktor bimler (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

You forgot that I think age of consent laws are stupid.

Well that's a Gilbert keeper. My apologies to Narad of course.

By Science Mom (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

That was a past 'supposition' of PgP when commenting on my support of Ron Paul.

Well that’s a Gilbert keeper. My apologies to Narad of course.

For allowing him to ooze out of the killfile? I'll get over it.

Well, you can say a lot of things about Donald Trump; but at least he know that vaccines are toxic as sh¡t.

For that, he gets my vote.

By The Demo-cat (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

It's even funnier when you consider that Oz is a Turkish Muslim.

More well known is that Trump is a (former?) Democrat and contributed multiple times to .... Bill and Hillary Clinton. He also said she'd be a good president. Notably, Mrs Clinton has not returned the favor. P'haps DT should ask for his money back.

Sadly, Nun of the Above (an actual candidate one year in San Francisco) is not an the ballot. But you can write him/her in ;-).

By Spectator (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

@Denice #40

I see your Ragnarok and raise u one SMOD

.....it'll be the best, the classiest meteor, the most metaphorical meteor ...

By Spectator (not verified) on 17 Sep 2016 #permalink

But you can write him/her in

Well, in 41 states, only seven of which don't immediately shіtcan them unless the putative candidate has made some effort in advance.

I remember last year, there was a joke. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey of Saturday Night Live "campaigned" under the slogan "[Strong Women] get [things] done". I can't put the actual slogan otherwise it'll get moderated.
Looking at Trump and Clinton, I'm beginning to wish they were serious.

By Julian Frost (not verified) on 18 Sep 2016 #permalink

Also, that whole Clinton thing was fact-checked, seven ways to Sunday, and guess what? It wasn’t her.

Ahh. I see, PgP #44:

Clinton’s short-term 2008 campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, admitted that a campaign staffer circulated what became known as the “Birther” theory that Obama wasn’t born in the USA...

Doyle said it was a “rogue staffer” who sent out an e-mail and “was fired pretty damn quick.”... There was a volunteer coordinator, I believe, in late 2007, I believe, in December, one of our volunteer coordinators in one of the counties in Iowa — I don’t recall whether they were an actual paid staffer, but they did forward an email that promoted the conspiracy.”...

President Obama also bears some responsibility by allowing his literary agent back in 1991 to claim Obama was “born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia” which was printed inside a promotional booklet about the young author and future president that circulated for years.

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/hillary-insider-admits-starting-birther…

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/09/16/hillary-clinton-camp…

James Asher, the former Washington bureau chief for the news agency McClatchy, tweeted that longtime Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal was spreading the conspiracy theory that Obama was born in Kenya while he was a senior Clinton campaign advisor in 2008, long before Trump ever parroted the claim...

But Blumenthal also dabbled spreading much less reliable reports, such as conjecture about Obama's "communist mentor" Frank Marshall Davis. Further, Blumenthal's reputation for dishonesty and underhanded tactics is well-established. It is generally accepted that he lied to the media and publicly smeared Monica Lewinsky and other Bill Clinton accusers when he worked in the White House.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/report-clinton-confidant-sidney-blumentha…

Blumenthal denied that he'd spread the rumor in an email to the Boston Globe. But later in the day, McClatchy itself made it clear that the charge has merit. In fact the chain sent a reporter to Kenya at Blumenthal's urging, to look into what he had to say "and that reporter determined that the allegation was false."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/does-clinton-have-a-blumenthal-birthe…

that whole Clinton thing was fact-checked, seven ways to Sunday

Apparently through Clinton's smooth-blue anti-seizure glasses darkly.

Clinton: "I've been briefed about the bombings in New York and New Jersey and the attack in Minnesota..."

Reporter: "Secretary, do you have any reaction to the fact that Donald Trump immediately took the stage tonight, calling the explosion a 'bomb'?"

https://news.grabien.com/story.php?id=518

She looks and sounds tired/zonked out; I wonder how badly she's been 'floxxed' from the levofloxacin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8TR61QFpoA

@ Spectator:

Hahaha!

On second thought- perhaps the Donald IS the SMOD?

But seriously, folks;
I have been watching liberal/ moderate television politicos wring their hands and (try to) knit their Botoxed brows whilst this general situation continues and listened to the rapturous stylings of his ( Alas!) female campaign leader, lately visiting Orac's fave, Bill Maher...

I can only say:
Oh Jesus/ Lord G-d of Israel!
( which are rather telling expressions of exasperation for an atheist)

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 19 Sep 2016 #permalink

Jerkface: Shut up. Why don't you check this place out : http://www.politifact.com/subjects/obama-birth-certificate/

and then go away forever. You can't even do libertarianism right, though you;ve got the hatred of women down pat; you're supposed to have a pile of guns and sleep on them every night. Also, Breitbart isn't a reputable site. It's allied with infowars, and most of the staffers are paid by the Trump campaign.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 19 Sep 2016 #permalink

Gilbert @42 "You forgot that I think age of consent laws are stupid."

Go. Now.
You are the worst of the worse and lower by far than Trump.
That is a monstrous thing to say. Begone.

By JustaTech (not verified) on 19 Sep 2016 #permalink

My sleep caliber is .303.

Breitbart isn’t a reputable site. It’s allied with infowars, and most of the staffers are paid by the Trump campaign.

Ohh. I see you got that email

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has sent out a fundraising email arguing the website Breitbart News has no “right to exist,” and suggests that if elected, the website will be shut down entirely.

http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/18/hillary-campaign-vows-to-destroy-oppo…

I fail to see how they are 'allied' with Infowars -- Though he did siphon off the Breitbart chairman:

Mr. Trump’s decision to make Stephen K. Bannon, chairman of the Breitbart News website, his campaign’s chief executive was a defiant rejection of efforts by longtime Republican hands to wean him from the bombast and racially charged speech that helped propel him to the nomination

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/us/politics/donald-trump-stephen-bann…

The only alliance between them and Infowars is a common threat to being shut down; Which the dems have been sweaty palm-balming for quite some time.

Once again, JustaTech #62; That was how PgP painted me for embrasing Ron Paul -- I was needling her for it; I wish I could remember where that comment was.

Gilbert @65: Given the other things you've said here you can understand why I'm not going to give you the benefit of the doubt. PGP says outrageous things, but in this thread *you* said it. And there are some subject you really shouldn't joke around about, and child rape is one of them.

And what the f*%& all do consent laws have to do with libertarians?

By JustaTech (not verified) on 20 Sep 2016 #permalink

And what the f*%& all do consent laws have to do with libertarians?

I know, right? Ask PgP.

in fact, I think the laws, as they stand, are rather stupid, much as you think age-of-consent laws are stupid and oppressive- though unlike you, stoners hurt no one but themselves.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/02/22/no-ddt-wont-save-us-from-t…

She just threw that out there with her multi-chroma smear-brush.

I seem to remember a previous reference concerning libertarians, but I can't find it.

In general, making comments on the Internet should be treated like talking with airport security: Always assume your sarcastic comments will be taken at face value.

By Gray Falcon (not verified) on 20 Sep 2016 #permalink

And here is the first 'needling':

That Gilbert is a scoundrel, Politicalguineapig.

It was 1996 when my father, a cop, cited him for driving on a section of interstate they had closed to practice “unconventional ticketing tactics”. Well he blurted out in court that he was going to “pimp out your son to pay for this!”

He did just that; He pimped out my douchebag brother and he pimped me out as well. I learned…stuff…about myself that I had not ever even dreamed of before; The least of which, age of consent laws are stupid. It’s been a love/hate relationship between us ever since.

After Joey manned up and quit peeing on people, they sort of bonded as they’re both weed feinds. Daddy didn’t look at me ‘that way’ anymore, like it was my fault or something that I got pimped. My father accidentally blew off his pecker in the mens courthouse restroom and subsequently O.D.’d on Tylenol as he was adamant against any kinds of mind altering drugs; especially if it would cause one to be in a state of relaxation or relieve pain — He spent his whole career depriving others of such; He was no hypocrite.

Love him and hate him, he gives me stuff, ya know?

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/04/07/all-drugs-are-poisons-and-…

Justatech: And what the f*%& all do consent laws have to do with libertarians?

They don't like them and find them oppressive, like manners, basic hygiene, and not being dickheads.

Jerkass: Another lie. You were pretending to be at least two people on that thread, including smearing yourself, or writing out a personal fantasy, I'm not sure, as you apparently forgot your brain that day. I was just trying to make you leave.
And once again, learn what facts are, and try to get yours from somewhere that doesn't think David Icke is a credible source.

Why would anyone shut down infowars? It does a fantastic job at being a black hole of stupid.

As far as high/ low testosterone goes, testosterone is a brain poison, so wouldn't a low number be better?

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 21 Sep 2016 #permalink

though you;ve got the hatred of women down pat

If you were the last woman on earth, I'd be as queer as a football bat.

Gilbert, homophobic put-downs are not really helping your position here.
In case we haven't covered it recently: The first rule of holes - when you're in a hole, stop digging.

By JustaTech (not verified) on 22 Sep 2016 #permalink

homophobic put-downs are not really helping your position here

How is that a 'put-down'? She's led me to embrasing the idea.

They don’t like them and find them oppressive, like manners, basic hygiene, and not being dickheads.

The fact remains that she said it first and defends it with her reply to you; I elaborated on the long litany of 'put-downs' in #41 by pointing out she forgot the most outrageous one.

I get it, JustaTech; Your story is you were touched where you retroactivly did not want to be touched -- remembering the 8'th boyfriend who tapped your phone and caught you being lascivious with #9 or daddy?

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Jerkface: So far, you are providing ample proof that libertarians are generally awful people. And you're continuing to support pedophilia. Why don't you go join your fellows on reddit already?

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 22 Sep 2016 #permalink

Dear G-d, do yall not remember when Gilbertimmeh was seeking attention because his father had put a hit out on him and something something black helicopters?

Narad: I do, and I regret giving him sort of a pass because I thought he was mentally ill, if also a stupid and deeply unpleasant person. Now I know better, he is a stupid and unpleasant person, and any brain damage he has is his own d*mn fault.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 22 Sep 2016 #permalink

"That Gilbert is a scoundrel, Politicalguineapig."

He made that look like pgp originated that whole spiel. That's incredibly dishonest, nay evil, other forums I'm on would perma ban any idiot pulling something like that...

Jay: That’s incredibly dishonest, nay evil,

Well, that's the default of both libertarians and Trumpeteers. You forgot to mention stupid, as he included the link..to something he wrote himself.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

He made that look like pgp originated that whole spiel.
Once again, she did -- or did you just miss the link #68 or forgot that february 24 comes before April 8?

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/02/22/no-ddt-wont-save-us-from-t…

It's also news to me that, according to PgP, I'm now *continuing* to support pedophilia.
==========================

Yes, I included that link, PgP. But not before including your previous (and initial) slurr.

in fact, I think the laws, as they stand, are rather stupid, much as you think age-of-consent laws are stupid and oppressive- though unlike you, stoners hurt no one but themselves.

-- Politicalguineapig, Feb 24, 2016

"Jerkass: Another lie." -- Well, a 'twisting' on your part. I'm not sure you know what a 'lie' is as much as you hurl it at me without just cause.

re various comments over the past few days on this thread by PGP regarding Gilbert

I hope that Orac's minions can now understand why I love her so much despite her comments that I do not love

Ancient Walter Family Motto
'Something is better than nothing'

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

Gilbert @#63

Ohh. I see you got that email

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has sent out a fundraising email arguing the website Breitbart News has no “right to exist,” and suggests that if elected, the website will be shut down entirely.

That's a lie. Here's what the E-mail said.

I don't always like what they have to say, but I respect their role and right to exist.

Breitbart is something different. They make Fox News look like a Democratic Party pamphlet. They're a different breed altogether -- not just conservative but radical, bigoted, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy paddlers...

I mean, I post something most unflattering to Trump and PgP slaps an 'incest' label on me.

""Gil: I thought you were cool with incest, since you incessantly cheer for Trump, and then lie, just like your hero.

"" you, lying, drug-addled, incest-supporting sexist, hippy-dippy pig. I’ve run out of patience with you and your lies, and supporting your parents [I assume she means 'boomers'] (for you are certainly a product of incest)

Meh. Incest; It's a family affair. Some people are just immutably acerbic, I guess.

It is implied, SteveJ.

I don’t always like what they have to say, but I respect their role and right to exist.

Breitbart is something different.

since you incessantly cheer for Trump

I challenge you to cite one instance where I have 'cheered for trump' (not counting the sarcastic snipe at #37)

In fact, I think he is a loathsome creature who blames it all on the drugs:

“drugs are a very, very big factor in what you’re watching on television at night”, referring to riots against police abuses in Charlotte, North Carolina, the night before.

He denied having said this to a reporter who asked him about it in Philadelphia. He added, as if in support of his original statement: “Drugs are a big problem all over the country. They’re flowing in like never before. Drugs are a big, big problem.”

“I think stop and frisk, in New York City, it was so incredible, the way it worked. Now, we had a very good mayor. But New York City was incredible the way it worked.”

As already shown, I disagree with the article on this point:

There is no evidence that Clinton or her campaign had anything to do with the false rumors that Barack Obama was not born in the United States

(see #57)

Did you see the dermatologist about your raging leprosy yet?

I do, and I regret giving him sort of a pass because I thought he was mentally ill

I was never afraid of black helicopters, but I do vaguely recall being freaked out this past winter by my webcam, because it was a version of the One Eye that I was being observed by, so I covered it with duct tape. (The FBI has followed suit, I see.)

This wasn't an Illuminati thing, but rather had something to do with squid and octopi being p!ssed at us because we lock them up and observe them. It all led back to the One Eyed Kraken or something; too many tales told to a young lass by drunken Norwegian uncles, maybe.

At least my terrifying, mania-and-sleep-deprivation psychosis was kind of interesting. The "satanic mind-control group from Thailand" was kind of a low point, and one of the things that led to me being involuntarily admitted to St. Joe's. (They were very nice there, though at the time I resented greatly being locked in the seclusion room and injected with Ativan several times because I was throwing fits about, well, being observed.)

@Gilbert (87),

I see you got around to mentioning it on the 14th on the Hillarz thrwad.

But since comment 11 at least offered an excuse for Trump and your one word "lurid" in 26 could be taken as either direct or ironic, please forgive us if we misunderstood.

I dont know if it matters since Citizens United, but under the old rules, a PAC could spend wharever on attack ads and didn't count for the other candidate's spending limit.

So if you mainly post anti-Clinton comments, it's a fair assunption that you support her opponent.

I ratger would have guessed you would support the candidate who runs a medical marijuana business. His mountain climbing skills certainly win him the fitness award.

By squirrelelite (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

@Gilbert (87),

I see you got around to mentioning it on the 14th on the Hillarz thrwad.

But since comment 11 at least offered an excuse for Trump and your one word "lurid" in 26 could be taken as either direct or ironic, please forgive us if we misunderstood.

I dont know if it matters since Citizens United, but under the old rules, a PAC could spend wharever on attack ads and didn't count for the other candidate's spending limit.

So if you mainly post anti-Clinton comments, it's a fair assunption that you support her opponent.

I ratger would have guessed you would support the candidate who runs a medical marijuana business. His mountain climbing skills certainly win him the fitness award..

By squirrelelite (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

Fartface: Well, in 76, you certainly act like you think pedophilia is no big deal and in that comment from 2015, you seemed to think it was a POSITIVE experience that everyone should go through,so, I'm going to continue to think you're a skeezy person who hangs with skeezy people and whoever you vote for is scum or at the least, dumber than a dozen sheds of bricks. By the way, for your information, I'd never write anything like that comment from Timmeh (you), aside from its content, I wrote more coherent sentences as a first grader, while you didn't seem to grasp grammar, commas,or basic verb usage. And you still aren't very coherent and seem to be stuck at twelve, where making fart noises is considered conversation.
Also, I've never, ever, ever used a different nym than the one I do now, whereas you seemed to change names every day for a while. So please, for the love of god, go fart somewhere else, or go get high. At least then you'd be someone else's problem, teenage skeezeball.

JP: Just out of curiosity, why Thailand? Russia or China I could understand, but Thailand seems random.

By Politicalguineapig (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

JP: Just out of curiosity, why Thailand? Russia or China I could understand, but Thailand seems random.

I don't know why Thailand, and it is pretty random; crazy works that way, I guess. I do have a friend who spends a lot of time there and whom I guess I suspected of being in on the whole thing (long story, also my friends are saints) so there's that.

drunken Norwegian uncles

One of these words is redundant.

By herr doktor bimler (not verified) on 23 Sep 2016 #permalink

Gilbert @#86
"Breitbart is something different." starts a new paragraph. It's different because it's openly bigoted, unlike other mainstream conservative media.

I rather would have guessed you would support the candidate who runs a medical marijuana business.

I'm not too fired up about Johnson, squirrelelite. His running mate, Bill Weld, is sort of a 'neocon' who is friends with HRC at that. There is even some talk that he should drop out and endorse Hillary.

thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/297074-bill-weld-should-leave-libertarian-ticket-and

With Johnson supporting mandatory vaccinations, a carbon tax, and TPP, I'm not sure he wouldn't siphon equal votes away from Hillary as he will from Trump.

Maybe I'm naive, but migrants and immigrants (even undocumented) are not a big issue for me -- I more worry about having to have permission to leave a country. Johnson's veiws on migrants and immigrants don't disturbe me.

I'll probably not be voting but Hillary is the 'devil you know' and I definately do not want. I can only hope that, If it is a Trump, his rhetoric on stop-and-frisk and certain fascistic tendancies can be tamed by his finding a respect for the rights of States. And I wonder if he counts cannabis as a component of the 'drugs' he says it's all about. He's seriously backward with his 'drug talk'. Maybe it's good for big Pharma but it's a serious issue with the new kid, kratom and its pain relieving without depressing respiration as well as staving off opiate withdrawal.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/09/06/right-to-try-goes-federal-…

I'm uncomfortable with Infowars' continuous fawning over Trump; So it's with chunks of salt on how I regard this piece:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW5gQo43ay4

My vision of the border with Mexico is that a truck from the United States going into Mexico and a truck coming from Mexico into the United States will pass each other at the border going 60 miles an hour. Yes, we should have open borders.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2012/Gary_Johnson_Immigration.htm

I think I agree wholeheartedly; The boarder agents at permenant checkpoints 100 miles from the boarder are an oppressive travisty.

I wrote more coherent sentences as a first grader, while you didn’t seem to grasp grammar, commas,or basic verb usage.

Really, PgP? While I don't usually countenance 'grammar nazis' who can't see the meaning for the words, I now welcome your cogent critique when I mess up -- Help me to do better.

p.s. ""you certainly act like you think pedophilia is no big deal and in that comment from 2015, you seemed to think it was a POSITIVE experience that everyone should go through,so, I’m going to continue...**

I am at a loss to know what you are talking about. Can you point me towards the comment or give a PgP-filtered synopsis of it? I would be most appreciative.

** I *thought* that a phrase bounded in comments like that was only valid when the sentence is whole with the commented part removed. Did I fail somewhere?

commented == coma, oops.

Gil: I thought you were cool with incest, since you incessantly cheer for Trump, and then lie, just like your hero.

It's kludgy, PgP. You sprinkle commas out as if from a pepper shaker. Allow me to adjust it for you:

Gil: I thought you were cool with incest since you incessantly cheer for Trump and then lie, just like your hero.

^^That reads much more fluently; See how that works?

Well, Narad thinks species of consent laws are stupid.

Way ahead of you, Fucklesworth.

I see the sock puppet is back again.

""Well, Narad thinks species of consent laws are stupid.

Imagine the toung on that think twice as long as the snout -- It would certainly toss Narad's salad out the back door with those claws so he couldn't get away.

{Don't worry, Narad won't see this or if he accidentally does he'll just brag about his 'killfile' some more}

I don't think Thailand is random at all. Different foreign countries have different collections of cultural connotations here in the US, in addition to whatever we may associate with them from personal experience, like someone we know who's from there. A paranoid delusion isn't going to imagine a satanic mind control group running super secret crytptic panoptic surveillance out of an orgainzed/oligarchic/authoritarian country like Russia or China, where the state actually keeps tight watch on its citizens, and/or has cyber-spys. It would have to be someplace more anarchic and mysterious. Thailand has that, and it's exotic, and ancient (satanic cults always have ancient roots, yes?) and a reputation for immoral skeeviness and danger, with sex tourism and what-not.

Only God Forgives is set in Thailand. Check it out, if you think you'd like a movie where David Lynch meets Park Chan-wook, the villain is The Worst Mom In The History of Cinema, and Ryan Gosling is on camera without saying much of anything for most of the film. Extremely weird... JP, I'd actually be curious to know which vision of Thailand is weirder, yours or Nick Refn's.

@Gilbert,

I finally looked at a little of your latest video post and found it a bit ironic.

So whoever is spouting off there doesn't like Gary Johnson because he looked at the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and decided they weren't as bad as he had thoughtb4 years ago.

Sounds like an intelligent, reasoning individual.

Since I don't think even the EU has borders like you describe, it's highly unlikely to happen between the US and either Canada or Mexico.

By squirrelelite (not verified) on 25 Sep 2016 #permalink

In other (non) news...

Dear old Mikey boy goes full tilt wackaloon in his endorsement of the Orange One. ( Natural News)

Elect him or the World Ends

By Denice Walter (not verified) on 26 Sep 2016 #permalink

In other (non) news…

John Stone's difficult-to-follow tale of being censored (again) by PubMed Commons is also of passing note. I suspect that he simply posted the same thing three times in the space of 10 minutes and had them auto-nuked, but he asserts that it was due to some undefined complaint.

The icing on the cake is that he also pretends that mentioning Brugha at AoA could somehow summon his presence.

I've figured out the answer to the age old mystery of where your socks go in the dryer.

They come through a wormhole to here and become sock puppets.

By JustaTech (not verified) on 26 Sep 2016 #permalink

Did 99 resurface as 109 ?

By squirrelelite (not verified) on 26 Sep 2016 #permalink