Is the Dem Health Committee Chair qualified to discuss masking?

By Rubashov

Ego is no substitute for a background in medicine.

We know the chairmanship of the Senate Health Committee is a sought-after assignment, what with it being so important to some of the state’s most cash-fat industries and all, but shouldn’t the Democrats at least try to find someone with a background in medicine? What with the pandemic and opioid epidemic and ongoing health care availability crisis and the rapacious nature of Big Pharma – shouldn’t the Chair of the Senate Health Committee be someone whose qualifications stretch further than the ability to cash a check from some Big Pharma lobbyist?

Enter Senator Joe Vitale. He’s the Chairman of the Senate Health Committee and nobody’s ever accused him of being humble.

Earlier this year Vitale dismissed out of hand calls to investigate why Matthew Platkin and Phil Murphy signed-off on Executive Order 103 – which sent COVID patients into nursing and veterans’ homes – resulting in the deaths of up to 10,000 residents. Vitale claimed there was no need to investigate because he already had all the answers.

Vitale made headlines again today, this time for opposing Governor Murphy’s plan to lift his masking mandates on children. NJ.com’s Brent Johnson reported:

The chairman of the state Senate’s health committee told NJ Advance Media on Thursday he sharply disagrees with Gov. Phil Murphy’s decision to lift New Jersey’s statewide coronavirus mask mandate inside schools and child care facilities next month.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, said he’s especially irked Murphy, a fellow Democrat, is removing the requirement in child care centers because children under 5 are not eligible to be vaccinated yet and remain “exposed.”

Last year, Vitale led the effort to repeal the law criminalizing the “act of a person knowing they are infected with venereal disease or HIV, committing sexual penetration without informed consent of other person.” Vitale generally follows fashion, not science, but there is a weird logic in allowing those with COVID to infect nursing homes residents while removing legal impediments to allow those with HIV to infect others. But how does that jive with keeping children masked forever?

As Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Joe Vitale has been anything but a gentleman – or even a human being – when lording over his committee. We vividly remember him in committee arguing with a citizen over Senate Bill 1195 – then legislation, now law – which allows people to alter their birth certificates to whatever gender they wish, without undergoing sexual reassignment surgery. Yes, in New Jersey, people with penises can legally be women and people with vaginas can legally be men. Science anyone?

Senator Vitale was the main sponsor of Senate Bill 1195 and his exchange with this citizen exercising the right to speak before the New Jersey Legislature was anything but respectful. There was something of the sociopath in the Senator's behavior -- one moment he was dripping sensitivity, only to turn vicious the next. There's no remorse – he doesn't appear to care how he treats people who don't agree right down the line with him. Does he lack a conscience? We wonder.

We recall the way in which Vitale utterly dismissed the reputation of a scholar whose words were entered into the record by the citizen. Senator Vitale appeared to have no intellectual curiosity at all. Here is that exchange:

The Senator: "...You are citing some medical director, obviously he's a former medical director, probably for good reason."

The Citizen: "Because he retired."

The Senator: "Um, right, good thing."

Now someone with Vitale’s level of certainty must have some credentials to back up such a coarse dismissal. So, we wondered if the Senator was a doctor or a professor, after all, he is the Chairman of the committee through which passes all health care legislation in New Jersey. We looked up his biography and found out that he managed to make it through the 12th grade. Yep, born in 1954, went from high school to the family business, drifted into the muck of Woodbridge politics, became one of the boys, was selected by the boys as their Senator when Jim McGreevey ran for Governor.

And what about that "medical director" the one the Senator said was "obviously... a former medical director, probably for good reason" and that it was a "good thing" he was no longer working?

Well, that guy was born in 1931 and is a psychiatrist, researcher, and educator. He is University Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the author, co-author, or editor of seven books within his field. He was the son of a high school teacher and a homemaker. He graduated from Harvard College in 1952 and from Harvard Medical School in 1956. He was accepted into the neurology and neuropathology residency program at the Massachusetts General Hospital where he studied for three years under the chief of the Neurology Department.

From Massachusetts General, he went to the Institute of Psychiatry in London (where he studied under Sir Aubrey Lewis and was supervised by James Gibbons and Gerald Russell). Following London, he went to the Division of Neuropsychiatry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He has held various academic and administrative positions, including, Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College (where he founded the Bourne Behavioral Research Laboratory), Clinical Director and Director of Residency Education at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Division and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oregon.

From 1975 until 2001, he was the Henry Phipps Professor of Psychiatry and the director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, he was psychiatrist-in-chief at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is currently University Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His own research has focused on the neuroscientific foundations of motivated behaviors, psychiatric genetics, epidemiology, and neuropsychiatry. During the 1960s, he co-authored papers on hydrocephalus, depression and suicide, and amygdaloid stimulation.

In 1975, he co-authored a paper entitled "Mini-Mental State: A Practical Method for Grading the Cognitive State of Patients for the Clinician." This paper details the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), an exam consisting of just eleven questions, that quickly and accurately assesses patients for signs of dementia and other states of cognitive impairment. It is one of the most widely used tests in the mental health field. In 1979, in his capacity as chair of the Department of Psychiatry, he ended gender assignment surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1983, he co-authored The Perspectives of Psychiatry, which presents the Johns Hopkins approach to psychiatry.

The book "seeks to systematically apply the best work of behaviorists, psychotherapists, social scientists and other specialists long viewed as at odds with each other." A second edition was published in 1998. He also treated author Tom Wolfe for depression suffered following coronary bypass surgery. Wolfe dedicated his 1998 novel, A Man in Full to him, "whose brilliance, comradeship and unfailing kindness saved the day." He is a registered Democrat who describes himself as a "political liberal".

And you Senator... you made it through the 12th grade.

Maybe read one of the guy's books before dismissing him out of hand? Or don't. Perhaps this is why health care policy is what it is in New Jersey? Maybe New Jersey is in the shape it is in because of the lack of humility and unwillingness to learn exhibited by politicians who set policies – guys like Joe Vitale. Maybe a Committee Chairman too stupid to learn does result in substandard government and people being made to suffer?

Now here are two comedians – Jimmy Dore and Bill Maher – who can offer opinions as equally qualified as those of Senator Vitale – but who offer them with better punchlines:

“Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues.”

Confucius

“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

George Orwell

Some NJ Democrats want to make speaking bad about Islam a crime.

And not just any old crime, but a crime that is punishable outside the normal justice system. A crime that is not subject to the rule of law – punished without due process – based on no more than an accusation. A crime where merely an accusation by a “believer” or an activist who claims to represent a “believer” is enough to make someone lose their job, their career, their ability to live free.

They tried to do it to liberal comedian Bill Maher. A lifelong Democrat, Maher donated $1 million to Barack Obama’s re-election… but it didn’t protect him from the far-Left when he criticized Islam. They wanted his job, his career, his life…

Entire county party organizations are being taken over by a far-Left group called Action Together New Jersey. In Sussex County, for instance, their members have thoroughly infiltrated the local Democrat committees and pushed the moderates out. On the group’s website, they identify members of Action Together New Jersey who have taken over and occupied leadership positions in the Democrat Party.

These include Katie Rotondi, the new Chairwoman of the Sussex County Democrat Committee. Also listed as members on the group’s website are Democrat State Committee members Michele Van Allen and Ben Silva, Stanhope Councilman Anthony Riccardi, Sparta Board of Education member Kate Matteson, as well as a number of Democrat County Committee members.

Also listed on the website are Action Together New Jersey members who failed as candidates for elected office. These include Jennifer Hamilton, who ran against State Senator Steve Oroho in 2017; former legislative candidate Gina Trish, who now holds an appointment from Governor Murphy’s administration; and several former candidates for town council or school board.

No less than eight Democrats who are running for the New Jersey Legislature this year have been clearly identified as members of the far-Left Action Together New Jersey on the group’s website. They are Stacey Gunderman, Lisa Mandelblatt, Deana Lykins, Lisa Bhimani, Darcy Draeger, Christine Clark, Laura Fortgang, and Steven Farkas.

On February 10, 2018, Action Together New Jersey accepted an award from Linda Sarsour. Accepting the award was Action Together New Jersey’s Executive Director, Uyen “Winn” Khuong; Action Together New Jersey’s Sussex County Co-Chair, Johannah Hinksmon; and Action Together New Jersey’s Director of Operations, Kim Baron.

Linda Sarsour is the controversial Democrat activist who has praised the notoriously anti-Semitic Louis Farrakhan, cop-killer Joanne Chesimard, and the anti-Semitic BDS movement. In 2017, Sarsour famously called for “Jihad” against the elected government of the United States of America…

The award was in recognition of voter registration drives and other political campaigning done by Action Together New Jersey in coordination with a group called CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Presenting the award was CAIR National Chairwoman, Roula Allouch, and CAIR-NJ Founder, Ahmed Al Shehab.

Due to its apparent ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of America’s most important Islamic allies – the United Arab Emirates – has designated CAIR a terrorist organization.

Action Together New Jersey is in the forefront of the drive to push the Democrat Party in New Jersey to the far-Left. They have joined CAIR in opposing the bi-partisan efforts of New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-5) to push back on members of the so-called “Jihad Squad” (far-Left Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib) in their attempt to promote the anti-Semitic BDS movement.

Action Together New Jersey has endorsed the economically ruinous Green New Deal of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The far-Left is on the march, taking over the Democrat Party, pushing out common sense and fiscal responsibility. The Action Together New Jersey crew are not traditional liberal Democrats. In fact, they explicitly reject liberal thought in favor of authoritarian conformism, the end of Free Speech, and making the American Bill of Rights subservient to their mob rule. Action Together New Jersey represents the most radical far-Left elements of the Democrat Party.

Bill Maher takes down Jersey City’s political class

Last week, some self-described “liberal” politicos in Jersey City called for the removal from office of a fellow “liberal” politico because he posted a humorous photograph of a well-tanned, middle-aged, fat white man.  True, the man is wearing high-heels, but does it necessarily follow that he enjoys sex with other men? 

The town of New Hope, in Pennsylvania, holds a yearly “drag race” in which participants of all sexes and sexual orientations race downhill wearing high heels and a vast array of other garments and accessories.  It doesn’t mean that the runners embrace same-sex marriage or are transvestites.  Likewise, the crowd cheering them on come from all walks of life and points of view.  It isn’t serious… it’s fun.

Like this guy…

Okay, different footwear, but is it really all about the shoes?  Do we need to check out the footwear before making a joke?

The Jersey City politicos channeled some serious neo-Victorian outrage, topped with neo-Puritan calls for public shaming and worse.  One of the pair, Mr. Michael Billy (of the LGBT Hudson Pride Center) claimed the fat man in the high heels was “transphobic, homophobic and misogynistic…”  That’s a mouthful.  We wonder if he could say that after he’s had a few?  Of course, he added this appeal for more taxpayers’ money… It is “a stark reminder of the ‘work’ still left for us to achieve.”

Mr. Billy added:  “Jersey City is the most diverse city in the nation with the largest LGBTQ+ population in the state," Billy said. "This post doesn't reflect our welcoming spirit.”

Naah, Jersey City is just an up-tight, stick-up-its-ass, kind of place – filled with a lot of modern day Mrs. Grundys.  It hasn’t  been all that LGBT long enough to be comfortable with it… the way so many, more mature towns, are.  Jersey City isn’t comfortable, so it isn’t cool… too prickly and looking to be offended to kick back and have a good time.  Too damned political to have a sense of humor.

Mr. Billy even let his armband show a bit when he suggested to the Jersey Journal that the politico who posted the picture of the fat man be made to “apologize and participate in cultural competency training.”  “Cultural competency training”??? Does Mr. Billy or his group get taxpayers’ dough to do that bullshit?  In a corrupt town like Jersey City, everybody who is anybody has got their own scam.

Another politico – Mr. Michael Maddalena – said the fat man was “homophobic and transphobic”.  He apparently forgot the “misogynistic”.  He demanded an apology or a resignation.  Ouch. 

Other, cooler places, places that have been “LGBT” since before there was anything called “LGBT” (back when it was just “gay” or “eccentric”), those places where everyone rubs along together and thinks of each other as dear neighbors and friends, those places don’t have all these hysterics.  That’s for the uncool and the uncomfortable… those who have something to prove and need to prove it every day.

The great New Yorker writer Joe Mitchell very lovingly wrote of Greenwich Village – back when it was poor and genuinely eccentric – that it was filled with all types of people, some outwardly quite ordinary, but that in its collective soul, “we are all freaks together.”  Jersey City, which subsidizes its rich at the expense of the state’s poor and middle class, will never get it.

But maybe this will help, courtesy of that genuine liberal, Bill Maher…

What's wrong with America in one video

Liberal talk show host Bill Maher nails it in this video:

And it's not just young college students who behave this way.  Plenty of elected officials totally lose it when they are faced with an uncomfortable opinion or idea. 

Even senior members of the Legislature and the GOP get chafed if you stop blowing smoke up their arses long enough to look them in the eye and level with them.  For these cats -- man to man is not an option.

Heck, some even memorialize their "feelings" in writing.  Can you believe it?

Memo to them:  You are the elected representatives of a democracy.  Or at least, that is what you tell those young men and women from poor and working class backgrounds who you send to invade other nations in the name of "democracy."  So many leave their limbs and well-being behind when they come home, but you justify it all in the name of "democracy."  So for them, to honor their sacrifice, maybe you can manage to sit through a meeting with people you don't see eye to eye with?

As an elected leader, you have a responsibility to be an adult -- to lead by example.  That means you have to suck it up and actually defend the right to be heard, of people and ideas you loath.  Here's another for you, this time from a fictional liberal, President Andrew Shepherd (from “The American President,” 1995):

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.'"

That's it in a nutshell.  Memo to some elected officials:  Grow up.