On Aug. 10, 2021, Patheos published an article positing that the American Medical Association (AMA) revoked Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's medical license for ophthalmology due to “ethical concerns” and his “blatant disregard for the Hippocratic Oath.”
Senator Rand Paul’s Medical License Revoked
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul just lost his license to practice medicine, The American Medical Association (AMA) revoked the ophthalmologist’s ability due to “ethical concerns” and Paul’s “blatant disregard for the Hippocratic Oath.” The revocation of the license is permanent. Senator Paul will never again be able to treat patients.
Although it's true that questions have been raised in the past about the status of Paul's ophthalmology license, his item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. We note, for example, that the AMA cannot issue or revoke medical licenses; that power resides with state medical boards. Moreover, this article originated with Patheos' satirical blog, “Laughing in Disbelief,” which is authored by Andrew Hall and describes its output as the following:
The story you were reading is satirical.
The Oxford Living Dictionary defines satire as:
“The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.”
Well, there you go. That’s what I try to achieve on Laughing in Disbelief. Under normal circumstances, my humble blog is similar to The Onion. As many of you know, The Onion publishes satirical stories poking fun at everyday problems everyday people face as well as pointing out the hypocrisy of the rich and powerful. Think of Laughing in Disbelief as The Onion on drugs. Like meth. Or bath salts.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.