(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute medical advice on the part of Newsmax.)
Everybody’s talking about him.
That’s why I'm writing about him. Who would have thought?
Less than two years ago, Robert Kennedy, Jr., was a solid lifelong member of the Democratic Party and, of course, a Kennedy in good standing.
His father, "Bobby," was attorney general of the United States, then later a U.S. senator for New York, then a candidate for president in 1968.
His uncle, John "Jack" Kennedy, was the president of the United States. Both his uncle and father were assassinated in 1963 and 1968, respectively.
In the Fall of 2023, RFK, Jr. announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the presidency of the United States.
But the Democratic Party effectively responded, not with cheers, but with, "No way!"
The party refused to put his name on ballot in many Primary states.
Thus, did RFK, Jr. and the Democratic Party end their lifelong relationship.
RFK, Jr. sought out Republican party candidate and then-former President, Donald Trump.
RFK, Jr. endorsed candidate Trump, campaigned heavily for him, and was rewarded with the Cabinet position of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Unbeknownst to most everyone, RFK, Jr. had spent most of his adult life working on health issues, with particular attention being paid to COVID-19, vaccines, and Autism.
Our national health conversation was about to undergo a fundamental change.
How is health in America doing?
Look out the window!
What do we see?!
- Rampant obesity.
- Other signs of poor food choices.
- A lack of nutrition information
- Inadequate exercising
- And . . . generally, poor health.
What else do we see?
Drugs, drugs and more drugs. From the illegal, to the faddish, to the even unnecessary.
Concurrently, we're forced to confront diabetes and childhood diabetes.
Our infant mortality rate is the lowest among developed nations.
Our longevity is actually falling. And, yes, both infant mortality and longevity are bi-modal distributions.
The numbers for whites and Blacks are hugely different.
They shouldn't be.
RFK, Jr. is the first high level official in this writer's ifetime to get us talking about these issues. And, he has already made it to first base. We're not just talking about health.
We're screaming at and with each other.
We're learning more and our elected officials can no longer ignore these issues. Indeed, while many of the shouting matches just highlight the partisan divide, sometimes we wind up with strange bedfellows.
That's a good thing.
Is JFK, Jr the White Knight riding in to save Washington and cure the nation’s ills? It’s way too soon to tell. But, based on his start at HHS and my personal interest and experiences, I have outlined my goals for RFK, Jr’s tenure:
First, policy decisions should be based on peer-reviewed experiments.
Let's start with various hypotheses and see where the data takes us; left, right or center.
Second, RFK, Jr. has already expressed a desire to incorporate nutrition courses into medical school curricula. This could be huge. It's near and dear to my heart.
I avoided cholesterol medicine by drastically reducing my intake of cheese. (I'm pizza free). Then I lowered my PSA count by obsessively reading labels to reduce my "added sugar" intake.
Food is medicine.
Third, there is a lot of staff turnover at HHS. We need it. It's a department with over 90% Democrats.
They gave us six-foot "social" distancing and masks; neither of which passed scientific muster. They spent years observing obesity, diabetes, infant mortality and a decrease in longevity.
They did nothing. This is why I say, turnover is good.
Fourth, the recent Senatorial hearings, with RFK, Jr. in the hot seat, were a gift, in more ways than one.
Now the whole country knows Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. is not all that offended by Big Pharma's money. Is she the only U.S. senator who isn't?
Does this mean Democrats aren't the only political party receiving money from Big Pharma? This is why sunshine remains the country's greatest disinfectant.
And now, to further his and his department's decisive actions on our healthcare, he very recently declared he will hand down a notice to doctors about the risks of acetaminophen use during pregnancy, with the goal of adding a safety warning label.
Yes, everybody’s talking about RFK, Jr.
That's the best news we've heard about our nation's health in a long time.
Can you name another HHS Secretary?
Neither can I.
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read Sid Dinerstein's Reports — More Here.