One of the most influential Republicans in Los Angeles County has responded to pressure from progressive activists, withdrawing her nomination of celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky to a local homeless commission.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger made the announcement Monday evening. She is the only Republican on the powerful, five-member L.A. County Board of Supervisors, where each official represents approximately two million people residing in the nation’s most populous county.
The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-19/nomination-of-dr-drew-for-homeless-commission-pulled-after-outcry">reports</a>, “Barger, who represents the 5th District, said she was dismayed that anyone would question ‘the appointment of a doctor with a passion for addressing these issues when a new voice is clearly needed.” According to the Times, “she said the nomination and outcry it generated had become a distraction from important conversations about care for people experiencing homelessness.”
“We need to face the sad reality of homelessness in Los Angeles: individuals are dying on our streets from preventable causes due to mental illness and substance abuse,” said Barger. “I hope we can move past pettiness and instead focus our time and energy on working to solve the hard problems, rather than looking for excuses to place blame.”
The Times could not reach Pinsky for comment.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, the Board of Supervisors was set to vote on Pinsky’s nomination to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) during Tuesday’s meeting. The ten-member commission is a joint powers authority of the City and County of L.A. and the lead agency that coordinates housing and services for unhoused people in the area.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-drews-nomination-to-los-angeles-homeless-commission-sparks-backlash-from-progressives">Dr. Drew’s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives</a>
According to the Times, more than 100 people had submitted public comments by Monday evening asking the supervisors to reject the appointment. “Fewer than five people wrote in supporting Pinsky’s nomination,” the report said.
Pinsky, 62, more commonly known as Dr. Drew, formerly hosted a local radio show on KABC radio where he often lashed out at California politicians over their handling of the increasing number of homeless people in the region. He also gained popularity on national platforms, such as the “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” reality television show and “Loveline,” a syndicated radio program.
Supervisor Barger selected Pinsky for the position last week, saying he would “bring a fresh perspective with vast medical experience.” But the choice sparked an immediate backlash by local homeless advocates who said Pinsky had a long history of espousing “problematic” views and making unsubstantiated claims. Pinsky’s critics, led by a coalition of progressive groups, launched a #DumpDrDrew Twitter campaign and urged elected officials to deny his nomination.
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Shout out to <a href="https://twitter.com/HousingHumanRt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HousingHumanRt</a> who has also joined our sign on letter! 
The message is loud and clear:
Dr. Drew is WRONG for the LAHSA Commission and finding homelessness solutions. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DumpDrDrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DumpDrDrew</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HildaSolis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HildaSolis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SheilaKuehl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SheilaKuehl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HollyJMitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HollyJMitchell</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SupJaniceHahn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SupJaniceHahn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/kathrynbarger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kathrynbarger</a> <a href="https://t.co/FEBGpKSZjl">https://t.co/FEBGpKSZjl</a>
&mdash; West Valley People’s Alliance (@WVPple) <a href="https://twitter.com/WVPple/status/1384217200337199105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The Los Angeles Daily News <a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2021/04/18/dr-drew-pinskys-nomination-to-la-countys-homeless-commission-sparks-pushback/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Barger said she shared Pinsky’s approach to homelessness, which puts a strong emphasis on mental health treatment and addiction recovery — the flip side, critics say, of those calling for bulking up the housing inventory and adding new layers of affordable dwellings — as a remedy for the crisis of the unhoused. Pinsky has angered advocates for the homeless by urging law enforcement to more assertively enforce drug laws as an incentive to get people with addiction issues into mandated treatment programs and on to recovery.</blockquote>
L.A. County’s homeless population is estimated at approximately 66,000 people. The Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization, <a href="https://abc7.com/la-county-homelessness-socal-homeless-crisis-economic-roundtable-population/9601083/">projects</a> that number will increase to 89,760 by 2023.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-drew-talks-to-woman-doused-with-hot-diarrhea-warns-of-more-random-attacks-as-homeless-deteriorate-on-l-a-streets">Dr. Drew Talks To Woman Doused With ‘Hot Diarrhea,’ Warns Of More Random Attacks As Homeless ‘Deteriorate’ On L.A. Streets</a>

Celebrities Visit Build – March 9, 2020

Republican Withdraws Dr. Drew’s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission After Progressive Pushback

Dr. Drew Pinsky

Homelessness

Los Angeles

Progressive activists in Southern California are pushing back against the appointment of celebrity physician Dr. Drew Pinsky to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).
The Los Angeles Daily News <a href="https://www.dailynews.com/2021/04/18/dr-drew-pinskys-nomination-to-la-countys-homeless-commission-sparks-pushback/">reports</a>, “if the Board of Supervisors approves the nomination at Tuesday’s meeting, Pinsky would sit on a 10-member commission that governs budgets, funding, planning and policy for the lead agency that coordinates housing and services for the unhoused across L.A. County.”
Pinsky, 62, was nominated to the position last week by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the only Republican on the powerful Board of Sups. She represents approximately two million constituents in America’s most populous county. Barger said Pinsky would “bring a fresh perspective with vast medical experience.”
However, the choice sparked immediate outrage by local homeless advocates who <a href="https://twitter.com/WVPple/status/1384154614518358023">say</a> Pinsky has a long history of espousing “problematic” views and making unsubstantiated claims. Commonly known as Dr. Drew, the media personality formerly hosted a local radio show where became partly known for lashing out at California politicians’ handling of the rising homeless population. Some of Pinksy’s critics point to comments he made last April downplaying the COVID-19 threat, which they say should disqualify him from consideration to the homeless commission. Pinsky eventually apologized for those remarks.
“Even on a surface level, why are you [appointing] a celebrity doctor – and I use the term ‘doctor’ loosely – that has recent activity with being a COVID denier?” <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-04-17/dr-drew-nominated-to-public-houseless-service-board">asked</a> Mark Horvath, founder of the nonprofit Invisible People.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Our West Valley Supervisor <a href="https://twitter.com/kathrynbarger?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kathrynbarger</a> has nominated of Dr. Drew Pinsky to the LAHSA. West Valley orgs &amp; those working most on homelessness say Dr. Drew has been a toxic voice of misinformation on homelessness. 
Act TODAY to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DumpDrDrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DumpDrDrew</a>!
👉Toolkit <a href="https://t.co/OIoxgoXCe4">https://t.co/OIoxgoXCe4</a> <a href="https://t.co/psccHF4B8K">pic.twitter.com/psccHF4B8K</a>
&mdash; West Valley People’s Alliance (@WVPple) <a href="https://twitter.com/WVPple/status/1384154614518358023?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Horvath’s group is part of a <a href="https://twitter.com/WVPple/status/1384154614518358023">progressive coalition</a> opposing Pinsky’s nomination that includes a Black Lives Matter-convened alliance called People’s City Council Los Angeles. They have accused Pinsky of “not using data or research to inform his solution proposals” and “blatantly ignoring several documented causes of homelessness.” The activists are urging allies to contact elected officials to demand they reject Pinsky’s appointment.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Pinsky “said he was surprised by the uproar about appointing a physician who wants to donate his time and has worked in the mental health and addiction field for decades.”
The L.A. Daily News reports:
<blockquote>Barger said she shared Pinsky’s approach to homelessness, which puts a strong emphasis on mental health treatment and addiction recovery — the flip side, critics say, of those calling for bulking up the housing inventory and adding new layers of affordable dwellings — as a remedy for the crisis of the unhoused. Pinsky has angered advocates for the homeless by urging law enforcement to more assertively enforce drug laws as an incentive to get people with addiction issues into mandated treatment programs and on to recovery.
Pinsky said Friday that if appointed he’s not in it to mandate his point of view. He added that he does indeed believe that expanding housing is part of the solution for the homeless crisis but that treatment for mental health needs to be better integrated into public policy.
“I come to this with an open heart and an open mind, and hope to learn as much as possible,” he said.</blockquote>
LAHSA, a joint powers authority of the City and County of Los Angeles, canceled its annual homeless count this year because of the pandemic. L.A. County’s overall homeless population is estimated at approximately 66,000 individuals. The Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research organization, <a href="https://abc7.com/la-county-homelessness-socal-homeless-crisis-economic-roundtable-population/9601083/">projects</a> that number will rise to 89,760 by 2023, representing a 36% increase.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-drew-talks-to-woman-doused-with-hot-diarrhea-warns-of-more-random-attacks-as-homeless-deteriorate-on-l-a-streets">Dr. Drew Talks To Woman Doused With ‘Hot Diarrhea,’ Warns Of More Random Attacks As Homeless ‘Deteriorate’ On L.A. Streets</a>

iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Presented By Capital One – Show

Dr. Drew’s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives

<a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/adam-carolla-not-taco-bell-material-special/">Adam Carolla</a> isn’t washing his hands a dozen times a day.
The podcaster knows the dangers from being infected with COVID-19. He’s just not buying into the fear-mongering from the press and government officials. The same press and government, by the way, which alternately tells us it’s safer to go outside but demands we don masks outdoors for fear of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” style blowblack.
The same holds true for Carolla’s long-time partner, ex-“Loveline” co-host Dr. Drew Pinsky. The veteran doctor can’t believe how easily his fellow Americans swallowed the drumbeat of disaster flowing from reporters and politicians alike.
Together, they railed against mainstream media outlets cherry picking the worst of the worst information about the pandemic on their <a href="https://adamanddrdrewshow.com/1274-nobody-thinks-theyre-stupid/">May 24 podcast.</a>
Carolla calls it the “indoctrination into fear,” and it’s manifesting itself in ways that surprise him.
“It seems weird to able to indoctrinate 54-year-olds … you figure once you get to 35 you couldn’t join a cult,” Carolla said. “If you don’t start smoking by 17 you’re not gonna be a smoker… the idea that we have a bunch of 55-year-old new cult members is pretty fascinating to me.”
While some wonder if children are missing out on critical school lessons, Carolla noted what’s more egregious with the current lockdown.
“They are missing the most dangerous, insidious part of kids being locked down, an indoctrination into fear,” he said. “You’re brought into a fear cult, and guess who runs the fear cult? The government.”
“And the press,” Dr. Pinsky added.
“You’re going to be a loyal subject,” Carolla continued. “My daughter is locked into her fear cult &#8230; and she has to turn to the government … they have to tell us when it’s OK.”
Dr. Pinsky noted a potential upside to the disturbing trend.
“When that has happened in the past, we’ve overstated the risk of fill-in-the-blank – pot, HIV – there’s been a marked backlash the other way, and a lack of trust, or a listening to, the fear [of] cult leaders any more,” Dr. Pinsky said.
Carolla, unofficial King of the Metaphor, compared the current situation to the Department of Building and Safety. That body pushes “incremental rules in the name of safety.”
“There’s no pumping the brakes, they never slow down,” he said of their approach. “They never remove a regulation. They add. The fines get higher … they shut you down, and it’s all in the name of safety.”
Carolla spread the blame around, though.
It’s up to fellow Americans to rise up and reclaim our liberty. So far, that’s not happening enough to his liking.
“The insidious part of this whole thing is not the government. The government is doing what they were put here to do, to rule you, make more regulations for you,” he said. “[California Governor] Gavin Newsom is doing what he does &#8230; they didn’t get elected not to rule. They got elected to tell you what to do.”
“The news? F*** the news, they’re just there to scare you and get more clicks. I get it,” he said. “Who are you? Why don’t you know what’s going on and, better yet, why are you joining them in shaming others that are attempting to exercise some liberty?”
What we’re seeing, the pair agree, is an increasing reliance on government.
“It’s a cult,” Carolla said. “We’re gonna extend the lunch and dinner programs through the summer … the government is feeding your kid and the government locking them down, they f***ing own them,” he said. “You guys better start thinking about that and stop f***ing feeding into it.”
A version of this article appears at <a href="http://HollywoodInToto.com">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.

Adam Carolla

Carolla Blasts ‘Indoctrination Into Fear’ From Press, Government

COVID

Dr. Drew Pinsky, a.k.a Dr. Drew, made headlines last week when he criticized the mainstream media for causing panic over the China-originated novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.
In the <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1239765070671826946">viral exchange</a>, the physician noted that the public should be listening to doctors, as opposed to journalists who, he argued, have no idea what they&#8217;re talking about. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was one of the health officials Dr. Drew specifically named as a competent leader on the issue.
During a livestream Sunday, the famed doctor again praised Dr. Fauci, noting that the two worked closely together on AIDS-related action. However, Dr. Drew said, he was troubled by Dr. Fauci neglecting to put the coronavirus stages into perspective, often needlessly triggering panic or sounding alarmist.
&#8220;I have worked with Dr. Fauci since the AIDS epidemic,&#8221; Dr. Drew explained on the livestream. &#8220;I used to bring him down to my residency of lectures. He has been my guiding light on infectious diseases ever since. I tell everybody, listen to what he tells you. He will tell you exactly what you need to do.&#8221;
&#8220;But, I&#8217;m now remembering, in middle of the AIDS epidemic, he started using rhetoric to panic to motivate,&#8221; Dr. Drew continued. &#8220;I forgot about this chapter until I started seeing him doing it today (Sunday).&#8221;
&#8220;It just concerns me, with the local people going over the top, that he, also, needs to be clear with his messages and not induce too much panic.&#8221;
Dr. Drew said Dr. Fauci, during a Monday press conference, &#8220;reiterated it&#8217;s gonna get worse — &#8216;It&#8217;s gonna get worse! It&#8217;s gonna get worse!&#8217; — but he doesn&#8217;t say, &#8216;And we&#8217;re gonna get this thing.&#8217; He just goes, &#8216;Things are gonna get really bad.&#8217; He&#8217;s gotta also say, &#8216;And we&#8217;re on it. We make the changes we&#8217;re telling you to make, we&#8217;re gonna be fine.&#8217; He never puts the disclaimer at the end.&#8221;
During the same livestream, Dr. Drew voiced his frustration with the lack of context surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that we&#8217;ve been through pandemics before and gotten through them just fine.
&#8220;The risk of dying of corona right now is .0000012% for a given individual,&#8221; Dr. Drew claimed, &#8220;and it&#8217;s probably less than that if you&#8217;re under 70.&#8221;
&#8220;The death rate in South Korea, if I&#8217;m remembering right, was .1% for under 60 &#8212; same as the flu,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Now, over 70, it was 8.5%. So, this is a nefarious virus, which is why we&#8217;re taking it so seriously.&#8221;
The doctor also highlighted that the H1N1 flu, our last pandemic in 2009, &#8220;primarily killed 40-60-year-olds. That was the risk group: 40-60. Again, no one knows that; it killed 500,000 people and infected 1 billion, 1 billion, with a &#8216;b&#8217;!&#8221;
As noted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-drew-on-coronavirus-media-hurting-people-need-to-be-held-accountable-for-causing-panic">The Daily Wire</a> last week, Dr. Drew hit the mainstream media for creating business-destroying public panic over COVID-19.
“What I have a problem with is the panic and the fact that businesses are getting destroyed, that people’s lives are being upended, not by the virus, but by the panic,” the physician said. “The panic must stop. And the press, they really somehow need to be held accountable because they are hurting people.”
<a href="https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ynJOpPyZlqxR">Click here</a> to WATCH (relevant comments begin at the 5-minute mark).
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-drew-on-coronavirus-media-hurting-people-need-to-be-held-accountable-for-causing-panic">Dr. Drew On Coronavirus: Media ‘Hurting People,’ ‘Need To Be Held Accountable’ For Causing Panic</a>

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Dr. Drew Pinsky

Republican Withdraws Dr. Drew’s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission After Progressive Pushback

Dr. Drew’s Nomination To Los Angeles Homeless Commission Sparks Backlash From Progressives

Carolla Blasts ‘Indoctrination Into Fear’ From Press, Government

Dr. Drew Praises Dr. Fauci, Notes One Thing He Finds Troubling