By Carol Lucas
Did you ever have one of those moments when it seems that everything around you is so off kilter, so removed from the norm that you say to yourself, “You simply cannot make up this stuff”?
Please note that I used verbiage acceptable to those with sensitive ears. The rest of you know what I wanted to say … but I digress way — too early in the article.
The latest news blurb that has me somewhere between amusement and disgust deals with RFK Jr. and his new cooking show. You read correctly, a cooking show.
Step aside Gordon Ramsay, Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse; you are so yesterday. And Anthony and Julia, quit rolling your eyes over there.
When you have stopped laughing, let’s take a look at the person who is being paid (handsomely, I assume, and not just with your tax dollars) to be the Health Secretary of our country. To say his resume is questionable is an understatement.
Remember when his cousin, Caroline Kennedy, wrote a scathing letter to Congress before his confirmation hearings? She called her cousin, Bobby, a “predator,” adding that he is addicted to attention and power, and she finally stated that he “is unqualified to shape the nation’s health policy.”
She then alleged that her cousin at one point put mice and baby chicks into food blenders to feed his pets of prey, his pet of choice, which she says is indicative of his own mentality. The following is a direct quote:
“Bobby preys on the desperation of parents and sick children — vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs. Even before he fills this job, his constant denigration of our health care system and the conspiratorial half-truths he has told about vaccines, including in connection with Samoa’s deadly 2019 measles outbreak, have cost lives.”
It is worth noting that other relatives have also rebuked this man and his appointment to such a critical position.
Let’s take a look at some of the antics RFK Jr. has to his credit.
For instance, there is the dead bear cub story. Kennedy said he saw a woman kill the bear with her car when he was driving outside the city, and he stopped to put the carcass in his van with the intention of harvesting its meat.
Mr. Kennedy was “tickled” by the discovery of the bear, but he later dropped it in Central Park along with an old bicycle, staging something he found to be hilarious.
Then there is the story of his stopping (with his children in the car) to retrieve the genitalia of a raccoon. I won’t even try to comment on this.
And let’s not forget where he took his grandchildren to swim. Kennedy shared a photo of himself submerged in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek, which is under a swimming ban, deemed a hazard to human health, due to high bacteria levels.
By now, you surely have asked yourself what kind of person does this, especially with children involved.
And so I come back around to his occupying the position where he can impact your health and mine.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, the Department of Health and Human Services revised the childhood immunization schedule to recommend four fewer vaccines. These vaccines, which include those for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis A, have been moved from standard recommendations to a model of shared decision-making between parents and healthcare providers.
At first glance, this may seem inconsequential. However, I ask you to consider the number that choose not to have their child vaccinated and then read the following.
Measles cases in the United States have reached a 35-year high, with 2,318 confirmed cases reported so far in 2026. This surge represents more cases than the entire year of 2025 and is primarily driven by declining vaccination coverage, as 93% of new cases involved individuals who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.
The policy change also impacted the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, with guidance shifting to a single-dose recommendation rather than a two- or three-dose series. Additionally, the CDC updated recommendations for hepatitis B and COVID-19 shots. Many medical experts and organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have characterized the changes as dangerous and unnecessary.
Then there is Kennedy’s claim that autism is connected to early circumcision. Makes one wonder if there are no autistic females. And his astute observation that infertility is genetically passed on. Should I continue?
This is a man who was a heroin addict for over a decade; he also turned many others to this, including his siblings. Given all that I have presented here, do you really think he is fit for the position?
Back to “The Real Food Show.” Yes, that is the name of the production on which he appears. I wonder just what delicacies he will present and who will be the sous chef to these efforts. Perhaps a fillet of raccoon genitalia with a smooth creamy garlic sauce, or maybe a spicy bear stew with gravy enhanced with residue of Rock Creek will headline the show.
Perhaps I shouldn’t be so disdainful, dear reader. Maybe, just maybe, that’s a better place for Bobby, and for the country, than the position he now holds.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”