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New Florida Surgeon General – Black, Opinionated, and Republican
New Florida Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, is taking a beating from the media as well as the Democrats because of his opinion on COVID-19 and challenging the irrational messaging in the state. There’s no doubt in my mind about the reasons Gov. Ron DeSantis selected him, given the attacks he has personally had to sustain in Florida and nationally. And to date, SG Ladapo has shown himself to be up to the job.
Early controversy erupted when Dr. Ladapo explained his reasons for not wearing a mask when he was invited to visit with FL Senator Tina Polsky, who insisted he wear a mask when visiting her in her office. SG Ladapo pushed back against wearing a mask, since he believed that the mask, which would cover half his face, would interfere with effective communication; he offered, instead, to meet her elsewhere, including more spacious locations or outdoors, to accommodate her. (Senator Polsky recently was diagnosed with cancer, but had not told Ladapo.) She refused to compromise, and SG Ladapo was attacked for his decision. One criticism came from a black Republican minister, Dr. R.B. Holmes, Jr., who is a leading civil rights leader, denouncing Ladapo, DeSantis, and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran. Holmes said:
We are extremely alarmed and saddened that the surgeon general would not meet with the elected state senator from Broward County when she asked respectfully, ‘Will you please, sir, wear a mask,’ the Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes Jr. told a group of reporters at Tallahassee’s Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where he is pastor. ‘For that top doctor to not wear a mask is disrespectful and dishonorable.’
Extremely alarmed? Disrespectful? I’m puzzled by this harsh response by the minister, since Ladapo would be contradicting his own message–that wearing masks adds very little protection for anyone, and they should be voluntary.
SG Ladapo is also not afraid to criticize the conventional wisdom, further supporting Gov. DeSantis. He issued a new rule that lets parents decide if their children should quarantine or stay in school if they are asymptomatic after exposure to COVID-19, instead of students being quarantined for at least four days. In addition, he questions the benefits of wearing masks, has condemned business and school lockdowns, and was one of the signers of the Great Barrington Declaration.
SG Ladapo also stated that getting a vaccine was a personal choice, which contradicted the Rev. Holmes who was on a mission to increase vaccinations among the black population:
‘There is nothing special about them compared to any other preventive measure,’ he said. ‘The great thing about the vaccine…is that it prevents the risk of serious illness. Fantastic. People get to make the choice about what they want to do with that information.’
But he said too much focus has been on vaccines.
‘It’s been treated almost like a religion, and that’s just senseless,’ Ladapo said. ‘We support measures to good health. That’s vaccination, losing weight, exercising more, eating more fruits and vegetables, everything.’
He has also written extensively about COVID-19, and has been present in other forums:
He was featured in a video last year deleted by social media platforms for COVID-19 misinformation. Under the heading America’s Frontline Doctors, Ladapo was among those promoting President Donald Trump’s once-touted hyrdroxychloroquine as a cure for the virus and dismissing science that cast doubt on the compound.
He’s also not afraid to contradict the powers-that-be:
Dr. Ladapo harshly criticized his colleagues in the healthcare system, saying that their failed approach to treating COVID-19 ‘was a direct result of scientists—my colleagues, some of them—taking the science and basically misrepresenting it to fit their agendas, their interests, what they wanted to see people do. …And this idea that people don’t get to make their own decisions on issues of health related to their own personal health is wrong, and it’s not something that we’re going to be about.’
SG Ladapo is like a voice in the wilderness. I’m so pleased that he’s come to Florida.
He and Gov. DeSantis will make a great team.
Published in Politics
I noticed this weekend that the deaths from COVID in Florida have cratered.
Isn’t that fantastic?! Surprise, surprise.
He happens to be Black, but I think the important thing is that he is Brave. He is not intimated by the quacks at NHS or CDC. We have not seen much bravery in the last 2 years and we need to promote it, wherever we find it. Millions of people in the world who died from Wuhan Lab Flu and Covidmania would be alive today, if he had run our CDC the last 2 years.
I fully agree with you, @dong. I just couldn’t help wondering if the minister who criticized him was also angry because he was a black man “betraying” the black population regarding his position on vaccines. Maybe that observation is a step too far.
I am so glad that we escaped from Newsomville and landed in Florida.
Welcome! What part of the state are you in? I promise not to raid your pantry . . .
I’m curious to know whether others have noteworthy Surgeons General in their own states. Anyone?
Northeast. We’re practically Georgia.
It is great to hear a public official with true credibility speaking against the terrible idiocy of the CDC, et al.
I know nothing about Joseph Lapado, but I like him because he is smiling as he speaks at an event.
How often do we see a Democrat official smiling? Has anyone ever seen Elizabeth Warren smiling?
Tucker Carlson interviewed SG Ladapo recently. I was very impressed.
Side note: I’m not aware of any other state that has its own SG. Director of Health Services, or something similar, would seem to be the equivalent in most states.
Thanks for your comment! I looked it up and only 5 states appoint SGs and only four have one now: FL, CA, PA and AR. MI has the position but it’s unfilled at the moment. If anyone is interested, you can learn more here .
Only when she’s evicting a widow.
For those who might care, the good doctor’s last name is spelled LaDapo, not LaPado. The only reason I know is that I suddenly noticed his name in the quotations. I can barely say it the correct way!
There’ll be a test later.
Lefties are lefties first before they are blacks or Jewish or…
I agree. But I think the minister was described as a Republican. But I suppose he could be a Leftie at heart. . .
As in “If you don’t vote for me (Biden), then you ain’t Black.” Marxists are just evil.
I had to look up the person for Texas (Dr. John Hellerstedt). That dude must be in a witness protection program, because I have not heard a thing from him ever. During the biggest health crises in the state’s history we are without leadership. Typical. From all institutions the leadership ranges from absent to maleficent.
Can I get an “Amen?”
Maybe he’s the head of Public Health, but he’s not an SG in Texas. See my comment #12.
AMEN!!!
It’s called leadership of which we need far more.
If the ordinary public health officials (who I have learned to hate so much) don’t have a rebuttal that’s pretty telling. They could say something.
If everybody does what they are told and it does not work, we can then pretend that it would have been ever so much worse but for the mandates. But, if some people opt out and they have the same results and infection rates as the compliant, then the whole con unravels. Florida and Sweden have been the turd in the punchbowl for the statists and they will never forgive that.