Of course it comes out that Lapado fudged all the data in his Covid "study". But this being Florida, the state will do nothing about it. And as a reminder, for many recent months Florida had the highest raw and per-capita Covid death rate. Florida surgeon general fudged data for dubious COVID analysis, tipster says The state closed the investigation, leaving more questions than answers. https://arstechnica.com/science/202...n-general-accused-of-manipulating-covid-data/ Florida's health department opened and then closed an investigation into the state's polarizing surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, after a tipster claiming to have insider knowledge alleged that Ladapo "manipulated data" and committed "scientific fraud" in his final edits to what became a contentious, widely panned analysis on COVID-19 vaccine safety in young men. That's all according to a report by Politico, which reviewed state documents on the investigation, including the original complaint from the tipster. Those documents appear to raise more questions than answers regarding the accusations and the health department's investigation. According to the documents, the Florida Department of Health’s inspector general opened an investigation in November of last year but closed it at an undisclosed time because the anonymous complainant didn't respond to follow-up questions. “Batshit study” Further Reading That Florida “analysis” on COVID vaccines is—you guessed it—total garbage The dubious analysis at the center of the controversy was posted online last October by the health department. Oddly, though, it did not list any authors or bear the health department's letterhead or other identifiers. Ladapo used the analysis as the basis for the state's concerning recommendation that males aged 18 to 39 should not receive an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. That recommendation goes against the recommendations of all other major health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As Ars previously reported, the analysis was roundly criticized by outside epidemiologists and other health experts, who described it as "utter rubbish," "extremely misleading," "comically bad," "seriously flawed," and "the absolute most batshit study design and analysis plan I have ever seen." Others noted that the conclusion "smells of p-hacking" and data cherry-picking. In a particularly stinging assessment, Ladapo's former mentor at Harvard University, health economist David Cutler, bluntly told The Washington Post last year, "If I was a reviewer at a journal, I would recommend rejecting it." Cutler echoed other experts in calling the analysis deeply flawed, and he worried it would wrongly discourage people from getting vaccinated against COVID-19. "Anytime you tell people to do something incorrect, you risk causing harm," Cutler said. The anonymous complaint to the Florida health department's inspector general suggests that some staff at the department may have been equally alarmed by the analysis—which could explain why it doesn't bear any of their names. “Lots of people know” While Ladapo touted that the analysis found a link between mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and an increased risk of cardiac-related deaths in young men, “The analysis performed in DOH did not find this,” the tipster alleged in the complaint to the inspector general. Rather, Ladapo "manipulated the final draft of the analysis." Politico reported that nothing appears to be known of the tipster's identity or position, but the complaint suggests that the person might have inside knowledge of the health department. The tipster implored the inspector general to speak with employees at the state Department of Health Communicable Disease Division, who helped write earlier drafts of the analysis. The person also cautioned that emails related to the analysis were kept to a minimum and that most communication involved hand-delivered notes. "You may not find these documents by email, as they get transmitted by hand," the tipster reportedly wrote. "But they have been seen by several individuals." The person stated that "Lots of people know about this." The Florida Department of Health did not immediately respond to Ars' request for comment and information. In an interview with Politico, Ladapo called the allegations "factually false." "I trust the team," he added, "they used our Florida data, they performed the analysis, and we’re an accredited public health organization."
Authoritarians don't like the free press and do everything they can to suppress it. Ron DeSantis, Notoriously Petty Man-Child, Swears His Anti-Media Crusade Has Nothing to Do With His Own Bad Press The Florida governor insists that proposed legislation to make it easier to sue journalists is all about the “little guy.” https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/ron-desantis-defamation-legislation Florida governor Ron DeSantis gets a lot of good press from media outlets who dangerously frame him as a happy alternative to Trump. At the same time, he gets negative press as well, thanks to—checks notes—his own policies and political positions, which, as a reminder, include: Treating migrants like chattel; Signing a bill into law literally known as “Don’t Say Gay”; Punishing people for speaking out against “Don’t Say Gay”; Signing a “dystopian” bill into law that restricts conversations about race in schools and businesses; Declaring that the College Board’s AP African American studies course was not welcome in Florida because it touched on queer theory and intersectionality; Making it more difficult to vote; Having Floridians arrested as a political stunt; Appointing a surgeon general who promoted hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin and recommended that healthy children not get vaccinated against COVID-19; Bullying the Special Olympics into dropping its vaccine mandate for competition; Signing an “anti-riot” bill into law in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that, among other things, grants civil immunity to people who drive their cars into protesters blocking a road; prevents people accused of rioting from being bailed out of jail until after their first court appearance; and makes it a second-degree felony to destroy a plaque, memorial, painting, flag, or other structures commemorating historical people or events (like, for instance, Confederate statues); Eliminating Medicaid coverage for transgender care; Barring transgender girls from competing in sports; Demonizing and targeting drag shows; Declaring, in official state guidance, that children who identify as trans should not be allowed to wear clothes or use pronouns or names that align with their gender identity DeSantis clearly doesn’t like it when media outlets, writing about the above, describe his stewardship of Florida in less than glowing terms. Of course, one way of avoiding that kind of press would be to not run the state like a fascist. But apparently, DeSantis has other ideas. Per Politico: DeSantis has a less than cordial relationship with many press outlets, and typically refuses to be interviewed by any platform that is not Fox News. In a campaign video released last August, he described his relationship with the press in warlike terms: “The rules of engagement are as follows: Number one—don’t fire unless fired upon, but when they fire, you fire back with overwhelming force. Number two—never ever back down from a fight. Number three—don’t accept their narrative.” But as Politico notes, the DeSantis-backed bill “goes further than simply decrying media bias,” with free-press experts saying the legislation is unconstitutional and could have extremely worrisome consequences. “I have never seen anything remotely like this legislation,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told the outlet. “I can’t say I have seen every bill ever introduced, but I’d be quite surprised if any state legislature had seriously considered such a brazen and blatantly unconstitutional attack on speech and press freedoms. This bill is particularly remarkable since its provisions have the vocal support of a governor and likely presidential candidate.” In its current form, the bill would reportedly let plaintiffs who file suits against media outlets for defamation to collect attorneys fees; includes a provision stipulating that remarks by anonymous sources will be assumed false (?) for the purposes of such suits; lower the bar for a “public figure” to be able to prove defamation; and revoke a section of state law concerning “journalist’s privilege,” which protects journalists from being forced to, among other things, reveal the identity of their sources in court. Earlier this month, DeSantis held a roundtable in which he essentially claimed journalists just make things up. He also insisted that making it easier to sue the press has nothing to do with him—“I got thick skin,” he said—but about standing up for “the little guy.” Fact-check: Not so much (More at above url)
For the short summary... As ARS previously reported, the analysis was roundly criticized by outside epidemiologists and other health experts, who described it as "utter rubbish," "extremely misleading," "comically bad," "seriously flawed," and "the absolute most batshiat study design and analysis plan I have ever seen." Others noted that the conclusion "smells of p-hacking" and data cherry-picking.
Transphobes, homophobes, racists and sexists to pass law banning anyone from calling them out. Guess which fascist state? Christians could sue people who call them homophobic if this GOP bill passes https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/c...omophobic-if-this-gop-bill-passes/ar-AA17ReZa
Well he does have a point. DeSantis effectively murdered over 80,000 people. Death row inmate rages that DeSantis has ‘done a lot worse’ just before Florida executes him for murdering woman in mall parking lot https://lawandcrime.com/crime/death...-him-for-murdering-woman-in-mall-parking-lot/
so the party accusing others of legislating language (pronouns) to create safe spaces over triggers is legislating language to create safe spaces over triggers?
Gov. Ron DeSantis fights ‘woke’ culture as if yearning for the comfort of Jim Crow https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article272593851.html
Little Ron's book is as dull as him... DeSantis’ ‘Dull’ Book Fails to Prove His National Appeal, NYT Review Says https://www.thedailybeast.com/ron-d...o-prove-his-national-appeal-times-review-says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new book struggles to humanize the polarizing leader, New York Times critic Jennifer Szalai opines in a scathing review ahead of the book’s Thursday release. “The Courage to be Free” suffers from a “dull coldness” that “all the culture war Mad Libs can't distract from,” Szalai writes. DeSantis’ book drops Thursday and will kick off a media tour that he’s expected to parlay into an attempt to be the Republican nominee in 2024. According to early reviews, the book stays very much within DeSantis’ wheelhouse—a hatred for newspapers, praise for Donald Trump and continued culture war discourse. But strategists hoping the book will endear him to a national audience will be “sorely disappointed,” Szalai writes. “The bullying sense of superiority is unmistakable, even when he tries to gussy it up in a mantle of freedom,” she added. “DeSantis is not taking any chances: He may have been able to ‘withstand’ the ‘indoctrination’ of being exposed to ideas he didn't like, but he doesn't seem to believe the same could be said for anyone else.” Read it at New York Times
So, who are the toadies Desantis put on the the Disney/Reedy Creek board? Florida Governor Strips Disney of Special District Control Walt Disney World's Reedy Creek jurisdiction will now be overseen by a board hand-picked by Republican lawmaker Ron DeSantis. https://gizmodo.com/disney-company-stripped-of-district-control-by-desantis-1850165767