Commentary about a thing from Tom Woods.

'It's fascinating to observe the American media. They're not even trying anymore, and I wonder if they ever did.

The moment somebody from outside the two major choices comes along, there they are in unison to mock, smear, and ridicule, so the country understands that this person is not allowed. Every interview is hostile, if they even acknowledge the candidate in the first place.

At least a third of the country takes its marching orders from these cues. If the powerful don't want me listening to someone, and prefer instead that I mock that person, then mock I shall!

We remember this phenomenon from the Ron Paul days. Dr. Paul was so systematically ignored by the media that Jon Stewart wondered aloud, "When did Ron Paul become the thirteenth floor in a hotel?"
Whereas if the candidate is one of their own, that person generally gets softball questions and a clear seal of approval. Remember when Obama was leaving office: he was getting questions like, "What do you fear the most about the future?"

RFK, Jr., is standing up not only to Big Pharma and its revolving-door relationship with the federal government, but he's also taking aim at the foreign-policy establishment, the Deep State, and the censors.

So everyone in media understands: get him.

When I consider RFK, I feel like the lefties who liked Ron Paul: in their opinion he was terrible on many things, but when he was good he was better than anyone else. So yes, I'm disappointed that RFK doesn't understand the Austrian School of economics, but right now I'm satisfied that there's another major person on the national stage telling everyone what's what.
And he's extremely blunt. Will he endorse the eventual Democratic nominee? "No," he said. A flat no. No evading the question. He says he couldn't imagine supporting a candidate who favors the current Ukraine policy -- another issue on which dissent is not tolerated.

In an interview that much of social media is talking about, someone named Krystal Ball took a few moments to discuss the issue of vaccines with RFK.

Note how she does it. I heard this one study was retracted. These people say you're wrong. No specifics. Just a mouthpiece for forces she doesn't understand, in other words.

Ball: Let me ask you about vaccines. This is an area where you and I have significant differences. And, you know, just to level with you on this, I like a lot of what you say, I think you're a very genuine person. But the across the board, whether you want to call it vaccine skepticism or anti-vax advocacy, which has been a central part of what you've been up to for the past number of years, for me personally it's an issue and it's a real sort of red line.
And I know I'm not alone in that, especially running in a Democratic primary; there are going to be other millions of people like me who have similar concerns. So how do you win them over? What's your message to people who think like I do?

RFK, Jr.: But just tell me where you think I got it wrong.

Ball: Well, I think you get it wrong when you draw a correlation between the rise of things like autism and the introduction of vaccines when there isn't hard scientific evidence tying those things together.

RFK, Jr.: Let me ask you this. How do you know there's not hard scientific evidence?

Ball: Well, because the one major study that purported to show that was retracted and the scientists who conducted it was, you know, had was.

RFK: What you're doing now basically --

Ball: -- fraudulently created --
RFK: No, no, no. Hold on. Hold on.

Ball: I don't want to get in a debate with you about this.... I've listened to hours of interviews with you with an open mind, and I'm not persuaded. Now, maybe I'm wrong. That's possible. I'll hold it out there. People can watch. I thought Megan Kelly did a phenomenal interview with you that went through all these claims piece by piece by piece. I really encourage people to watch that whole exchange because we won't be able to do it justice here in the five minutes we have left. But there are going to be people like me who aren't persuaded and who see this as an issue. And the fact that it's been such a central part of your advocacy means I can't just sort of put it to the side and say, Oh, well, I'll just ignore this piece. That's been really important to you in your life. So you're running in a Democratic primary. You have a lot of people who feel even more strongly than me who think that, you know, Dr. Fauci is a hero and all of these things. How are you going to persuade them? How are you going to reach them? And what is your message to them?
RFK, Jr.: Well, first of all, I'm not leading with my opinions about vaccines. But what I say to people is, show me where I got it wrong. Show me that where I got my science wrong. I've written books about this. I wrote a book about link between thimerosal and autism that has, I think, 450 distilled scientific studies that confirm and validate that hypothesis and 1400 references. And if I got something wrong, show me where it is.

Ball: But I think people have shown you where things are wrong, but you don't want to hear it is because I've seen, you know, numerous fact checks -- Dr. Vinay Prasad, who we really respect on the COVID vaccine, he went through your interview with All In. He did a fact check --

RFK, Jr.: People have fact checked Vinay, and you should read that.
Ball: I will take a look at it. But I don't think that it's fair to say nobody has ever pointed out anything that's been that's been wrong.

RFK, Jr.: ...What you just said about me, that I'm sort of hard-headed and stubborn, I just won't give in, you're wrong about that. If somebody shows me where I'm wrong, I'm going to correct it.

We have the most probably the most robust fact-checking operation now in North America. I have 350 PhD scientists and MD physicians on, you know, CHDs Advisory Board, including until recently Luc Montagnier, who won the Nobel Prize for for discovering the HIV virus. Chris Portier, who was the head of the national toxicity program at NIH, formerly probably the top toxicologist in America. And if I were saying things that were scientifically unsound, those people would not stay with us.
What I would say to you is, show me where I got it wrong. Show me a study that where I got wrong and I will change my position. You know, science is fluid. It's not an embarrassment to me. If there's a new scientific study that I haven't seen that comes out and says I'm wrong, that's what you're supposed to do with science. But what I'm saying to you, nobody has done that....

Then they get to the subject of the Covid shots:

RFK, Jr.: Well, you know, I don't think the vaccine worked. If you think it worked, then try to explain to me why the countries that were unvaccinated did much better...

Ball: We have a lot of data that shows that in terms of reducing severe hospitalization and death, the vaccines were really important and maybe there was a cost-benefit analysis.

RFK, Jr.: I want to see that data. I know that's what the industry says.
Ball: There is lots of data and not just from here, from around the world that shows the vaccine doses and not just our vaccines, but ones that were created all around the world, reduce severe hospitalization and death. So in that way, yes, I do very much believe that they were --

RFK, Jr.: Let me tell you something. What I believe you're doing now is parroting what the public health agencies have been saying, but they do not have a scientific basis for that. And I have another book out that you should look at called Died Suddenly that goes through all the Johns Hopkins data, which is the dashboard data that everybody used and shows exactly what happened.... The Case Western study is probably the largest, most recent [one, and it] shows that at most the vaccine gives you a very, very small amount of protection and that after seven months you go into negative efficacy. So if you got vaccinated, you're more likely to get sick, you're more likely to get severe illness and you're more likely to die than if you are unvaccinated.
Ball: I have not seen that. I have seen study after study that shows the opposite. Listen, I don't want to get bogged down in this because I don't think we're going to see eye to eye here....

I am happy to report that in the comments section of her own show, Ball is getting eviscerated for this performance.

I for one have had enough of barely letting people speak because they have an unapproved opinion. Why, don't you know that all the respectables think X, and you think Y? Well, yes, because the "respectables" have made a mess of the country and the world, and I'm not at all embarrassed to differ from them.'