The Swamp

How about brian betraying the spirit of Queensryche’s biggest radio hit?

Despite blocking my dipshit cousin on FB during the 2016 election, for some reason I still haven't blocked his dipshit daughter. She went wild during COVID with anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories and daily calling for Fauci to get brought up on criminal charges. Actually, I didn't have to block her because she'd get banned from FB a day or two after serving her previous ban for spreading false COVID information and I found her "back from FB jail" announcements amusing. The other day she posted something about the spa she works at offering Ozempic treatments, and she is talking about how she started using is a couple months ago and how great it is. So fucking tempting to respond that after 5 years of mocking people for trusting Big Pharma and not willing to put an experimental vaccine in her body, she is using an off-label weight loss product that is severely under tested for long term side effects. [Not knocking anyone for using it, but after railing against Big Pharm for 5 years... fuck off!].

It’s almost like Big Pharma is only an issue when you can’t cash in on the grift.

My wife is on it for "legit" health reasons. I have no real issue with folks that are using it as a means to lose weight, HOWEVAH...

What you said, regarding testing and long-term effects. Like... People are going a little out of their fucking minds getting this stuff without really questioning anything.

That's aside from the obvious hypocrisy of the mouthbreathering anti-vax community.

Nonlinear FC wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 2:50 pm My wife is on it for "legit" health reasons. I have no real issue with folks that are using it as a means to lose weight, HOWEVAH...

What you said, regarding testing and long-term effects. Like... People are going a little out of their fucking minds getting this stuff without really questioning anything.

That's aside from the obvious hypocrisy of the mouthbreathering anti-vax community.

Yeah, I'm not doubting her medical need for it. I do have a friend whose had gastric bypass multiple times and is now taking Ozempic that I question the medical necessity. Actually bragged about bullying her bariatric physician into giving her the bypass surgery despite not meeting any of the requirements. Not sure why you would put yourself through that twice, but her psychic scars of being obese in high school are a dominating her life 30+ years later...

ETA: to clarify, not doubting my cousin's medical need (and obviously not doubting your wife's)

I mean, ivermectin is now otc because… infowars? (I have no idea how it got traction). That’s to say, there’s no rhyme or reason for any of this other than to be anti-‘the accepted body of scientific knowledge’

I thought the general drug had been in use for decade(s?), but as a diabetes treatment and not as a weight loss drug. So not exactly an unknown.

Well, ivermectin is in a lot of things that isn't a horse tranquilizer. I think it's used in a lot of ointments.

(Not responding to rass)

A_B wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:04 pm (Not responding to rass)

Not sure what I did to piss you off

P.D.X. wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 2:57 pm I mean, ivermectin is now otc because… infowars? (I have no idea how it got traction). That’s to say, there’s no rhyme or reason for any of this other than to be anti-‘the accepted body of scientific knowledge’

Ivermectin, or the scientists who created it, won a Nobel Prize for it long before COVID and according to the NIH, it's taken by 250 million people every year and has been used by humans for almost 40 years, so I think we can say it's safe. A lot of reputable studies showed it was effective in minimizing the symptoms of COVID and lots of reputable doctors prescribed it because they didn't know what to do early on and it showed signs of helping, and was known to have minor if any side effects. The media was right to call out people who were buying Ivermectin for horses at farm supply stores, but I never understood the media attacking people as RW conspiracy nuts for taking prescribed Ivermectin and conflating prescribed human Ivermectin with horse dewormer.

The Sybian wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:23 pm ...but I never understood the media attacking people as RW conspiracy nuts for taking prescribed Ivermectin and conflating prescribed human Ivermectin with horse dewormer.

Did that really happen, on a large scale, if at all?

Wait a minute. Merck, who produces Ivermectin and stands to benefit with increased stock price and profit if it were an effective treatment, came out in February 2021 and said it didn’t work against Covid and not to use it as treatment. If it actually did work as Covid treatment, there’s no good business reason to advise against using it.

While I don't feel like actually researching an answer, I feel like there was an overall backlash against the Joe Rogan's of the world that were pushing borderline anti-vaxx theories while simultaneously somewhat backing what had become pretty well established bullshit "cures" or "treatments" for COVID.

The WHEN of all this matters. Pushing out ivermectin in the very early days, as was alluded to, is not the same thing as saying the government is injecting you with chips during the vaccination process after those had been developed.

Pre-vax development, most bets are off... Other than Chief Fucking Moron implying you could drink bleach or whatever the fuck that was.

L-Jam3 wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:45 pm Wait a minute. Merck, who produces Ivermectin and stands to benefit with increased stock price and profit if it were an effective treatment, came out in February 2021 and said it didn’t work against Covid and not to use it as treatment. If it actually did work as Covid treatment, there’s no good business reason to advise against using it.

Yeah, I was talking pre-vaccine, maybe summer of 2020ish. And Merck wasn't making money off it anymore. Drug companies lose their patents after 20 years and anyone can make it generically, so I'm not giving Merck much credit.

Bayer’s patent on aspirin ended in the 1920s. It hasn’t stopped them from producing it.

Nonlinear FC wrote: Tue Apr 29, 2025 3:45 pm While I don't feel like actually researching an answer, I feel like there was an overall backlash against the Joe Rogan's of the world that were pushing borderline anti-vaxx theories while simultaneously somewhat backing what had become pretty well established bullshit "cures" or "treatments" for COVID.

The WHEN of all this matters. Pushing out ivermectin in the very early days, as was alluded to, is not the same thing as saying the government is injecting you with chips during the vaccination process after those had been developed.

Pre-vax development, most bets are off... Other than Chief Fucking Moron implying you could drink bleach or whatever the fuck that was.

Chief Fucking Moron heavily backed Hydroxychloroquine early announcing it was a miracle cure (back in his "COVID will miraculously disappear by Easter" phase), and refused to back away from it long after it was proven ineffective.