Orac is the nom de blog of a (not so) humble pseudonymous surgeon/scientist with an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his miscellaneous verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few will. (Continued 
You know, it seems eerily appropriate. Generation Rescue always struck me as being akin to pro wrestling anyway, especially its founder J. B. Handley. His antics in the service of the scientifically discredited notion that mercury in vaccines cause autism (or, these days, that it's vaccines that cause autism) always struck me as being largely for show more than anything else, and certainly his trademark bluster is very much like that of a pro wrestler taunting his opponents.
Generation Rescue apparently gets the celebrities it deserves.
I also have to wonder if this fundraiser is part of GR's planned fall offensive.
Medicine & Health
Comments
Speaking of vaccination...
I was looking around for pro-vaccination posters and t-shirts, and mostly could only find "vaccines cause autism!!1!" nonsense. So, I made my own using an old polio vaccine poster. (Search wikimedia commons for "Wellbee" to find the original, public domain image.) I made a store, so other people can get them if they want. There is no markup (I'm not making money on this), and I can make my images available if anyone wants them.
http://www.cafepress.com/Wellbee
Posted by: M2 | July 22, 2008 1:18 AM
Fall offensive?
Scratch the word "fall" and that's about right.
Posted by: anonimouse | July 22, 2008 1:31 AM
So not only does WWE's booking suck nowadays, they're trying to prove how socially conscious they are by endorsing vaccine-autism woo?
Just when you think Vinnie-Mac has hit rock bottom...
Posted by: Tyler DiPietro | July 22, 2008 2:14 AM
Seems like an appropriate frame.
Posted by: Patrick | July 22, 2008 2:39 AM
Should we email them and try and get you and Steven Novella into their hall of fame?
Posted by: Lonnie | July 22, 2008 4:01 AM
You start with Jenny McCarthy as your hook into Hollywood, this is the kind of connections you get.
We can only imagine what kind of "research" GR plans to fund with the wrestling money. Maybe an RFP that goes like this: "We are seeking to fund a study of why vaccines are super yucky and bad. Please include your conclusions in the application."
Posted by: isles | July 22, 2008 4:52 AM
Given the WWE wrestlers who have suffered numerous concussions and resulting neurologicla problems (such as Bret Hart and the guy who murdered his family before killing himself) my irony meter has exploded.
Fake sports and fake science belong together.
Posted by: Militant Agnostic | July 22, 2008 5:24 AM
Sorry, but I used up my last Irony meter reading this news.
As it is, I'm down to my last lead-lined fire protective suit and last pair of welder's goggles. In the future I may have to add in additional protection from the burning stupid that comes out of GR.
Posted by: DLC | July 22, 2008 6:08 AM
One more name to the list of alternative medicine celebs: Radovan Karadzic.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7519039.stm
Posted by: Lassi Hippeläinen | July 22, 2008 6:15 AM
So, we have a woman who believes an Indigo alien is going to take over the world, a woman who just lost custody of her kids, a company who specialise in homoeroticism and JB Handley.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Posted by: Unsurprised | July 22, 2008 6:37 AM
He's not a professional wrestler but Tom Levenson has a lovely but sad post about what happens when four countries have endemic polio because of anti-science and pseudoscience attitudes.
Posted by: Abel Pharmboy | July 22, 2008 7:22 AM
Oy. I posted about my interest in wrestling just days ago. At least I admitted not watching the modern product. Here's one more reason.
As a side note, what's the work on the "Autism Speaks" organization? They're bombarding my area with billboards, lately.
Posted by: Ranson | July 22, 2008 7:34 AM
You sci-bloggers are obsessed with Britney Spears!
Posted by: Ian | July 22, 2008 8:01 AM
I clicked on the Web page link ... what a beautiful photograph of a woman holding her fist against a child's face!
/sarcasm.
Seriously, I have never seen a professional portrait like that before. It's more alarming than the antique studio portraits where the (standing) man is holding a (seated) woman down by her shoulders.
But I suppose that fist-on-face photos are supposed to be "loving" in the bizarre world of professional stage-wrestling.
andrea
Posted by: andrea | July 22, 2008 8:41 AM
Orac, I'm surprised I haven't seen a comment from you yet about this little gem:
It seems to me that, for once, even you and Jenny McCarthy might have some common ground in rejecting this odious assertion. I look forward to seeing your comments about it.
~David D.G.
Posted by: David D.G. | July 22, 2008 2:47 PM
So Radovan Karadzic has been practicing "Alternative Medicine" while hiding from the War Crimes Tribunal - the perfect occupation for the ethically challenged.
CAM rather than patriotism is now the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Posted by: Militant Agnostic | July 22, 2008 2:57 PM
Michael Savage is such a despicable wingnut that his comments do not surprise me. He's an idiot, always has been an idiot, and always will be an idiot..
Posted by: Orac | July 22, 2008 3:25 PM
Seriously, not to ad-hominem or anything, but if the big name celebrities you get on board for your MEDICAL cause are Jenny McCarthy and Mom-of-the-year Britney Spears? You might not want to promote that fact. I know a few mercury milita fellow travelers who will seriously reconsider when the see Brit-brit believes it.
Posted by: Rev Matt | July 22, 2008 4:56 PM
M2, that's an excellent idea. I forwarded the link to my colleagues. I think I'll get the red ringer tee.
Posted by: Rogue Epidemiologist | July 22, 2008 5:13 PM
Well, at least we have Amanda Peet on our side:
http://www.cookiemag.com/entertainment/2008/07/peet_apology
She apologized for calling anti-vaxxers "parasites," but she's holding strong on the substantive issue:
Posted by: Screechy Monkey | July 22, 2008 6:19 PM
As Michael Wiener, Savage has written books on homopathy and 'natural' healing for kids. So far I haven't seen any HIV denialism. Savage used to be a liberal and friend to Allen Ginsberg. He may have seen the right-wing rants as a better marketing tool.
Posted by: Ruth | July 22, 2008 8:56 PM
Good for Amanda Peet. I'm sure she's getting all kinds of crap from the antivax whackaloons right about now.
Posted by: Liesl | July 23, 2008 12:35 AM
I see this as good news. Associating this rubbish with Britney is not likely to persuade anyone, now, is it?
Posted by: Cath the Canberra Cook | July 23, 2008 4:23 AM
If you weren't impressed enough with Hefner, Spears and Sheen supporting Handley's church of the Generation Rescue, how about the wrestling "Divas" who showed up at his fundraiser? There's video on the WWE website showing Jenny kissing Britney at the party, and a wrestler Diva. Jim Carrey looking moronic with a shorn head. It shows what appears to be a small group of attendees.
http://www.wwe.com/shows/snme/generationrescuesnme/
Don't forget to check out the wrestlers who support GR.
"MVP - The Ballin' Superstar tells our fans to support Generation Rescue.
Mickie James - Learn more about autism awareness with Women's Champion Mickie.
Big Show - Watch Big Show's Generation Rescue message for the WWE Universe.
Maria - SmackDown Diva Maria hopes our fans will support the cause.
Mr. Kennedy - Watch the loudmouth's message for our fans."
These people are every bit as classy as JB Handley himself and every bit as knowledgeable about science. Frightening. DAN!/ARI rip-off artists gets a word in on that page, too. "autism.com" Smells like desperation to me. Maybe JB Handley will be posing nude himself next, to raise $$$?
Posted by: Bunnies for Gardasil | July 23, 2008 4:33 AM
This truly saddens me. The WWE has been the only professional "sport" that has consistently supported the Empire State Parks Games for the Physically Challenged.
I thought they knew what they were doing.
Posted by: TheProbe | July 23, 2008 2:28 PM
I tried to write them to explain that they were being suckered in by woo. Of course, I got no response.
Posted by: anonimouse | July 28, 2008 1:00 AM