Ted Cruz: Obama’s surgeon general pick isn’t a ‘health professional’ because he’s ‘anti-gun’

[Galraedia]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Sunday accused President Barack Obama’s pick for surgeon general of not being a “health care professional” because the doctor had backed a ban on military-style assault rifles.

During an interview on CNN, host Candy Crowley pointed out that the surgeon general should “voice” of public health during the Ebola crisis, but Republicans in the Senate had blocked the appointment of Dr. Vivek Murthy.

“Of course we should have a surgeon general in place,” Cruz told Crowley. “And we don’t have one because President Obama, instead of nominating a health professional, he nominated someone who is an anti-gun activist.”

“And a doctor,” Crowley pointed out. “That’s a health professional.”

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/ted-cruz-obamas-surgeon-general-pick-isnt-a-health-professional-because-hes-anti-gun/

[Cirque du So-What]

1. She's got a long way to go before earning redemption in my eyes

but talking back to the stupidity that spews from Carnival Cruz is a damn fine start.

[PumpkinAle]

12. With you 100% n/t

[LiberalLovinLug]

35. She hardly was "talking back" sorry.

I watched the video. She is like all the rest of the MSM "news" corps. They are simply facilitators for both Democrats, but mostly Republicans, to get their daily talking points out.

No where does she challenge his answer that Dr. Vivek Murthy is first and foremost an "anti-gun activist" or a "crusader against 2nd amendment rights". His only "crimes" were his support for Clinton's assault weapons ban and a Twitter posting in October 2012 when he wrote, "Guns are a health care issue.", after a particularly brutal mass shootings year (seven all ready by that time in October) that also included the "Dark Knight Rises" theater slaughter.

No, the "third way" neojournalism is to never embarrass a guest with facts or followups, especially Republicans because they are almost ALWAYS lying so you'd end up antagonizing them and they'd never return.

She raised a good issue, and important issue of the fact that the US still does not have a Surgeon General because of Republican stall tactics. This is a crucial appointment in this time of spreading Ebola. But her placid non-response to his outrageous accusations and labeling of Murthy and that being a GOOD reason to not have any Surgeon General is mind-numbingly ignorant, lazy and unprofessional. Her acceptance of his reasons as perfectly ok, further placates the watching audience that his exaggerations and bias is a substantive excuse for the stalling. Personally I am more incensed with these third way MSM talking heads and so-called journalists they groom than blowhards like Cruz who has at least chosen a side.

[Turbineguy]

2. Perhaps if lots of people died from a plague

the NRA would be off the hook on gun violence?

[irisblue]

3. when you dig bullets out of humans, you become anti2nd amendment you fool.

[MisterP]

14. these are the people who said Malala and Giffords were making the world more dangerous for women

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/11/15/nra-news-glamour-honoring-malala-giffords-makes/196918
after all, they only have experience getting shot, whereas the NRA had a nightmare about being victimized by gangs of hip-hoppers in their peaceful farms and suburbs where everyone's decent folk

[Electric Monk]

4. What's the ratio of Americans killed by guns to those killed by ebola this year? About 10,000:1?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5676830

[freshwest]

7. All that's needed is a microscopic scope on those guns and that'll kill that Ebola. Bang!

'Stand Your Ground' has already been invoked:

SC Republican: Execute Anyone Who Might Have Ebola

to circlethesquare:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017219402

[SunSeeker]

19. Ebola killed no Americans in the US this year (Duncan was Liberian). Guns killed about 35,000. nt

Last edited Mon Oct 20, 2014, 01:49 AM - Edit history (1)

[Electric Monk]

20. There has been at least one (link)

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/29/health/ebola-outbreak-american-dies/

(snip)

Sawyer was isolated at a local Nigerian hospital on July 20. He died five days later.

(snip)

"He was so proud when he became a U.S. citizen," Decontee told CNN. "He voted for first time in the last U.S. presidential election. He lived in the U.S. for many years, and wanted that for Liberia -- a better democracy."

Sawyer had been caring for his Ebola-stricken sister in Liberia, Decontee said, though at the time he didn't know she had Ebola.

Sawyer is the first American to die in what health officials are calling the "deadliest Ebola outbreak in history."

[SunSeeker]

22. But I read that as saying Sawyer died in a Nigerian hospital.

The only person to die of Ebola in the US as far as I know is Duncan, a Liberian. Being in the US (Sawyer was in Liberia when he was infected and never returned to the US before dying), sharply reduces your chances of not only catching, but of dying from Ebola. However, in the US, your chance of dying from gunfire are much much higher. As in, 35,000 to 0. But even if you count Duncan and Sawyer, that's still 35,000 to 2.

[Electric Monk]

23. Sawyer was an American citizen, regardless of where he died. nt

[SunSeeker]

29. I got that. The point is what is more likely to kill you in the US.

Sawyer got the Ebola in Liberia, as did Duncan.

I am only trying to amplify your point that Americans--in America--are way more likely to die from gunshots than Ebola.

[Electric Monk]

30. And I get that too, but your post (#19) was technically factually incorrect the way you phrased it.

Last edited Mon Oct 20, 2014, 01:29 AM - Edit history (1)

[SunSeeker]

32. I fixed it.

[pinto]

5. I saw that this morning. What a stretch.

[Thinkingabout]

6. As soon as Ted Cruz says something intelligent like "I quit" as a senator and will not run for

office again, then please run a story on him, he is pitiful, a shameless person occupying a position in Congress which needs to be filled by a good and decent person. He should be as concerned with the violent deaths due to guns.

[malaise]

8. Fugg that asshole Cruz

[Initech]

9. We're gonna shoot ebola in the face, yee haw!!!

[Turbineguy]

10. Ughhh....yeah.....

I miss-diagnosed this guy but I got off the hook cuz somebody came in and shot him!

[WinkyDink]

11. They depend on never being corrected or challenged.

[MontyPow]

13. And Ted Cruz isn't a Senator because he's moron.

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. Cruck Fuz.

Moran.

[mnhtnbb]

17. Duzy!

Except he's an a$$hole in addition to being a moran.

[TheCowsCameHome]

24. The only two

things he is capable of doing well simultaneously.

[ColesCountyDem]

16. Ted Cruz is a bloviating psychopath. n/t

[JDPriestly]

18. Ted Cruz needs to spend a couple of weeks helping out in the emergency room of a major

hospital in a big city in America. May I suggest Los Angeles County USC hospital. From NPR:

On the front lines at the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, one of the top trauma hospitals on the West Coast, researchers like Dr. Demetrios Demetriades hope to get a better picture of the scope of the problem, so states can better target their prevention programs.

“. . . .

"This is very important because firearm injuries, it's a huge medical problem in the country," Demetriades says.

Not knowing the full range of the problem poses a challenge for Demetriades, who's the hospital's trauma director and a professor of surgery at USC. He's trying to better understand who's getting hurt and who's dying from gun violence, where and when — and even why.

On average, his trauma ward sees one or two new patients a day who are victims of gunshot wounds. On a recent afternoon, doing rounds through the ICU, he was particularly interested in a progress report on a man who was shot in the head the night before.

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/28/352036040/to-counter-gun-violence-researchers-seek-deeper-data

I know someone who went to medical school there. Lots of gunshot wounds. Lots of ugly physical trauma. Ted Cruz needs to spend a couple of weeks watching the wasted lives and horrible injuries come it.

[vlyons]

21. Ted Cruz has cold macaroni noodles for brains

Ted's Brains. Extremely unappetizing

[Ken Burch]

25. Did Cruz respond to Crowley's by saying "What? You would speak in my presence, WOMAN?"

"Art thou a witch?".

[Fred Sanders]

26. Yeah, I saw that...how dare this....woman....speak to me like SHE know better than I, a man....

The fundies are crazy folk and the media is crazier for amusing them and taking them seriously...Candy barely registered a protest to all the projectile vomit spewing from Heil Cruz.

[lpbk2713]

27. You can't make this shit up.

You know you might as well give up and go home when Crowley hits you with a gotcha.

[pansypoo53219]

28. i suppose candy was not pretty enough to be grabbed by fux gnewz.

[Initech]

31. I'd love to see John Oliver smack down the NRA over why we don't have a surgeon general.

[blkmusclmachine]

38. Never

Really

Accountable

[Botany]

33. Please! " ... instead of nominating a health professional ..."

From Wiki

Early Life and education[edit]
Murthy was born to a Kannada speaking family; his parents are originally from Karnataka, India. He was born in Huddersfield, England, but his family relocated to Miami, Florida when he was three years old.[4] Murthy completed his early education in Miami, graduating as valedictorian from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1994.[5] He then attended college at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in three years with a bachelors degree in Biochemical Sciences.[5] Murthy received an MD from Yale School of Medicine and an MBA in Health Care Management from Yale School of Management in 2003, where he was a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow.[6][7] He completed his residency in Internal Medicine in 2006 from Brigham and Women's Hospital.[8]

Career[edit]
Murthy is a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a Hospitalist Attending Physician and Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.[9] He is also a founder and president of Doctors for America, a group of 15,000 physicians and medical students supporting Obama.[10][11] In 2011, Murthy was appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama to serve on the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[9] The group advises the National Prevention Council on developing strategies and partnerships to advance the nation's health.[12]

He is co-founder and chairman of TrialNetworks, a cloud-based Clinical Trial Optimization System for pharmaceutical and biotechnology trials that improves the quality and efficiency of clinical trials to bring new drugs to market faster and more safely.[13][14] He founded the company as Epernicus in 2008 to originally be a collaborative networking web platform for scientists to boost research productivity.[15] Since 1995, he has also worked in H.I.V. prevention and AIDS education, co-founding and serving as president and chairman of a non-profit organization, Visions Worldwide, focused on that mission in the U.S and in India.[10] He has been a prominent supporter of Obama's healthcare law.[16]

[LibDemAlways]

34. As the parent of a college student daughter who lives

a block from where two students were gunned down in Isla Vista in May and who a few days later bought a box of kleenex in the IV market and found a seriously bent bullet in the box, I am especially outraged by Cruz's ignorant comments. WTF is wrong with these people who'd rather see innocents die than get a handle on the gun problem in this country. It's just incomprehensible.

[Bartlet]

36. So I guess

In Ted world the AMA, the APA and the AAP are all not actual medical organizations since they espouse the exact same position on teaching kids about gun safety that Dr. Murthy does. It's sad that someone so astonishingly stupid cane become a senator in Texas.

[blkmusclmachine]

37. Crazy talk.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

39. One comment at Raw Story was perfect

The Republicans are a health hazard.

[yuiyoshida]

40. ...

[JohnnyRingo]

41. Boxers or Briefs?

That preference has just as much bearing in his job description as his view on gun control. I've never heard of a case where the Surgeon General was called upon to regulate hand guns or assault rifles in the normal scope of his duties.

His biggest sin is being nominated by a president who draws GOP votes designed to stymie federal government. They're like children.