>>> ON THE VERY SAME DAY THAT
SENATOR RAND PAUL OF KENTUCKY
BLOCKED A BIPARTISAN COMMISSION
TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF WHAT
HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6th, HE
SPENT SOME TIME ENGAGING IN THE
AGE-OLD POLITICAL TRADITION OF
GRANDSTANDING ABOUT THE SCOURGE
OF WASTED TAXPAYER DOLLARS,
PARTICULARLY RESEARCH FUNDED BY
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
A FAVORITE TARGET OF REPUBLICANS
FOR FRANKLY AS LONG AS I CAN
REMEMBER.
AND IN THIS CASE THE STUDY OF
THE SEX LIFE OF JAPANESE QUAILS
ON COCAINE.
NOW, WHAT IS THE PRICE TAG, YOU
ASK, FOR STUDYING THE SEX HABITS
OF JAPANESE QUAILS ON COCAINE?
$356 MILLION?
WELL, THAT DOES SOUND LIKE QUITE
A BIT, BUT WAIT A SECOND.
WHAT IS GOING ON ON THE RIGHT
SIDE OF THAT DECIMAL?
DID SENATOR PAULS STAFFERS ADD
AN EXTRANEOUS ZERO THERE TO MAKE
A $356,000 GRANT SEEM LIKE A $356 MILLION GRANT.
$356 MILLION GRANT.
IT SURE LOOKS LIKE IT.
THIS IS A WHOLE BIT WITH RAND
PAUL, PHILLIP, AS YOU DISCOVERED
IN YOUR REPORTING.
TAKE US THROUGH RAND PAUL AND
THE COKED UP JAPANESE QUAILS.
>> SURE.
ITS SORT OF HARD TO LIVE UP TO
THAT HEADLINE, BUT ILL DO MY
BEST.
I MEAN, SO HE MADE THIS
PRESENTATION ON THURSDAY.
THE SORT OF INTERESTING THING
ABOUT IT WAS HE HAD MADE THE
EXACT SAME PRESENTATION TWO DAYS
PRIOR WITH A TOTALLY DIFFERENT
NUMBER.
ON TUESDAY HE USED THE FIGURE
THAT YOU SHOWED.
A COUPLE DAYS EARLIER, HE HAD
DONE ONE THAT WAS ABOUT
$875,000.
IT URNTURNS OUT IF YOU GO BACK I
TIME, HES BEEN DOING THE SAME
PRESENTATION FOR YEARS AND
YEARS.
HE DID
IT TURNS OUT IF YOU ACTUALLY DIG
INTO IT, HES ACTUALLY QUOTING A
DOCUMENT THAT WAS PRODUCED BY
SENATOR TOM COBURN BACK IN 2012
LOOKING AT THIS STUDY OF
JAPANESE QUAIL AND COCAINE USE.
THE STUDY ITSELF ENDED IN 2016,
SO THIS HASNT EVEN BEEN DONE AT
ANY POINT IN THE PAST FIVE
YEARS, BUT NOT ONLY IS HE USING
THIS OUTDATED DATA, HES ALSO
USING THIS NUMBER, THIS 356
WHATEVER DOT 140.
THE 140 ISNT A CENTS.
ITS NOT AS THOUGH HES TRYING
TO INFLATE THE SCALE OF THIS.
ITS ACTUALLY A FOOTNOTE MARKER
FROM THE ORIGINAL REPORT
POINTING TO FOOTNOTE 140 WHICH
EXPLAINS WHERE THAT DOLLAR
FIGURE COMES FROM.
SO NOT ONLY IS IT NOT AN
EXAGGERATION OF MILLIONS, ITS
JUST A TYPO.
>> ITS SO GOOD.
SO THIS IS A 2011 TOM COBURN
REPORT ON SOME STUDY THAT
ACTUALLY WAS FUNDED, RIGHT?
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
HEALTH, WHICH FUNDS A LOT OF
BASIC RESEARCH -- I DONT KNOW.
MAYBE IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO KNOW
WHAT THE COKED UP QUAILS ARE
LIKE WHEN THEYRE HAVING, YOU
KNOW, SEXY TIMES.
MAYBE THATS INTERESTING AND
IMPORTANT.
BUT THIS WAS A 2011 ITEM.
THEY COPY AND PASTED IT WRONG,
ADDING THE 140.
SO IT WASNT WHAT I THOUGHT IT
WAS.
I WAS LIKE, OH, YOU SLY, SLY
STAFFERS, ADDING AN EXTRANEOUS
ZERO TO A DECIMAL TO INFLATE THE
NEWSPAPER.
ITS JUST ACOPY AND PASTE ERROR
THAT HAS BEEN CARRIED OVER FOR
TEN YEARS?
>> APPARENTLY, YES.
I MEAN, THE FACT THIS HAS BEEN
GOING ON SO LONG, WHEN THIS
FIRST WAS INTRODUCED IN 2012,
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ACTUALLY DID
THIS EXTENSIVE REPORT SAYING
HERES ACTUALLY WHY ITS USEFUL
TO LOOK AT QUAIL AND COCAINE
USE.
WE LEARN MORE ABOUT COCAINE.
QUAIL HAVE THIS VERY
PARTICULARLY MATING PATTERN,
WHICH IS NOT EVER SOMETHING I
THOUGHT ID SAY ON MSNBC.
BUT APPARENTLY THIS IS SOMETHING
OF IMPORT.
BUT RAND PAUL HAS BEEN RUNNING
THIS THING SO LONG.
I MEAN TOM COBURN DIED LAST YEAR
BUT HE LIVES ON IN THIS REPORT
THAT RAND PAUL CANT GET ENOUGH
OF, IN PART OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE
THE GRAPHIC OF THE QUAIL WITH
HIS HEAD IN A PILE OF POWDER IS
TOO IRRESISTIBLE.
>> I MAKE TV FOR A LIVING SO I
GET IT.
ITS A VISUAL MEDIA.
TO ME WHATS SO STRIKING, ON THE
SAME DAY THEYRE BLOCKING THE
JANUARY 6th COMMISSION, IT DID
SEEM LIKE IT WAS TELEPORTED FROM
A DIFFERENT ERA.
THIS IS THE KIND OF DECEPTION,
FACT MASSAGING THAT I ASSOCIATE
WITH A KIND OF POLITICS THAT
SEEMS INCREDIBLY ALMOST REMOTE
AND ANTIQUE INCREASINGLY.
>> YEAH.
I MEAN I HAVE A PET THEORY,
WHICH I REALLY CANT SAY IS
VALID, BUT I THINK THAT THE FACT
THAT THIS WAS -- SO IM JUST
GOING TO SAY IT ON TV.
I THINK THE FACT THIS WAS NIH
FUNDING IS IMPORTANT.
KEEP IN MIND THAT RAND PAUL HAS
BEEN IN THIS BATTLE WITH ANTHONY
FAUCI FOR MONTHS NOW OVER THE
CORONAVIRUS.
HE IS A FIXTURE AT THE NIH.