quackery
Respectful Insolence
Tag archives for quackery
Mothering: A bastion of woo targeted at young mothers
Posted by Orac on January 21, 2011 Over the last three weeks, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has been publishing a multipart expose by investigative journalist Brian Deer that enumerated in detail the specifics of how a British gastroenterologist turned hero of the anti-vaccine movement had committed scientific fraud by falsifying key aspects of case reports that he used as the basis…
Dr. Oz defiantly embraces The Dark Side
Posted by Orac on January 19, 2011 Stick a fork in Dr. Oz. He’s done. I know I’ve been highly critical of Dr. Mehmet Oz, Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery at Columbia University and medical director of the Integrative Medicine Program (i.e., Columbia’s quackademic medicine) program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Those are his academic titles. More important, in terms of…
A horrifying breast cancer “testimonial” for “holistic” treatment, finale
Posted by Orac on December 6, 2010 (NOTE: The videos of Robert O. Young’s interview with Kim Tinkham have been removed, as I predicted in this post that they would be. Fortunately, I downloaded copies before he managed to do that. Part 6 appears to be still there–for now.) (NOTE ADDED 12/7/2010: Kim Tinkham has died of what was almost certainly metastatic…
For shame! Oprah Winfrey shills for faith healer John of God
Posted by Orac on November 19, 2010 In terms of promoting woo and quackery, there is one person who stands head and shoulders above all the rest. True, she doesn’t just promote woo and quackery, but she does have a long list of dubious achievements in that realm, including but not limited to unleashing Jenny McCarthy and her anti-vaccine crusade plus Suzanne…
Hollie Quinn defends her testimonial for breast cancer woo
Posted by Orac on October 14, 2010 A couple of weeks ago, as Breast Cancer Awareness Week was approaching, I was highly disturbed to see everybody’s favorite wretched hive of scum and quackery (The Huffington Post, in case you didn’t know) promoting a dubious breast cancer testimonial for quackery. This testimonial, contained in a book entitled You Did What? Saying “No” to…
The testimonial of Hollie Quinn: The Huffington Post promotes breast cancer quackery right before Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Posted by Orac on September 28, 2010 I hate The Huffington Post. I really do. Why, you ask, do I hate HuffPo so? I hate HuffPo so because of its history from the very beginning of its existence of promoting the vilest forms of anti-vaccine quackery and pseudoscience. It’s because, over the last couple of years, not content with being the one-stop-shop…
Too much vaccine/autism monkey business for me to be involved in–but apparently not Laura Hewitson
Posted by Orac on July 16, 2010 Ever since I somehow stumbled into a niche in the blogosphere where I seem to be one of a handful of go-to bloggers for issues having to do with vaccines and the anti-vaccine movement, like Spider-Man I realize that with great power comes great responsibility. Wait a minute. That beginning was too pompous and pretentious…
A misstep in castigating HuffPo’s journey into creationism
Posted by Orac on July 8, 2010 I’ve been a critic of Arianna Huffington’s massive group blog, The Huffington Post, since three weeks after it first blighted the blogosphere. That’s when I first noticed that the “health” section (such as it is) of HuffPo had already become a wretched hive of scum and anti-vaccine quackery, something I began documenting again and again…
A response is needed: Matt Lauer to interview Andrew Wakefield Monday morning
Posted by Orac on May 23, 2010 Andrew Wakefield’s back, and he’s sure trying to come back big. I knew when I last wrote about his utter humiliation and disrepute that he wouldn’t stay away for long. In fact, he stayed away longer than I thought–a whole three months. Unfortunately, though, he appears to be on a full media blitz to try…
A homeopath unplugged from reality
Posted by Orac on May 21, 2010 Yesterday’s post made me sad. It always makes me sad to contemplate a 14 year old boy facing the loss of his father to an aggressive form of leukemia, as Danny Hauser is. The kid just can’t catch a break. First he himself develops Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Because he happens to live in a family that…
Gary Null, the Kent Hovind of alternative medicine?
Posted by Orac on May 9, 2010 Discuss! A most appropriate analogy! But if Gary Null is the Kent Hovind of alternative medicine, then what does that make Mike Adams?
Move over, Deepak, there’s a new woo-meister at HuffPo
Posted by Orac on May 6, 2010 Anyone who’s been reading this blog for any length of time longer than a few weeks knows what I think of Deepak Chopra. Indeed, he’s been a recurring topic here since the very beginning (just type his name into the search box for this blog if you don’t believe me). In fact, Chopra has “distinguished”…
Too deliciously ironic for words: Gary Null hoist with his own petard
Posted by Orac on April 29, 2010 In the wake of FRONTLINE’s The Vaccine War, I was going to have a bit of fun with the reactions of the anti-vaccine fringe. After all, the spokescelebrity of the anti-vaccine movement, Jenny McCarthy, has posted yet another brain dead screed at–where else?–The Huffington Post. So has everybody’s favorite pediatrician to the stars and apologist…
Compared to Robert O. Young, Andrew Weil looks reasonable
Posted by Orac on April 27, 2010 I never would have thought it possible, but it’s happened. I’m sure most of you have heard of Dr. Andrew Weil, that champion of quackademic medicine who has made it his life’s mission to bring the woo into academia in the form of training programs to “integrate” quackery with science-based medicine. From his home base…
Dr. Oz: America’s doctor and the abdication of professional responsibility
Posted by Orac on April 13, 2010 Believe it or not, there was once a time when Dr. Mehmet Oz didn’t bother me that much. At least, for all his flirting with woo, I never quite thought that he had completely gone over to the Dark Side. Although I probably knew deep down that I was fooling myself. Maybe it was because…
Andrew Wakefield dives into even more disrepute
Posted by Orac on April 12, 2010 It has now been nearly two months since Andrew Wakefield was forced to resign from Thoughtful House in the wake of his being found guilty of research misconduct by the British General Medical Council (GMC), the withdrawal of Wakefield’s infamous 1998 Lancet paper, and the withdrawal of Wakefield’s last grab at scientific credibility, his infamous…
The “Health Ranger” Mike Adams takes on Obamacare with hilarious results
Posted by Orac on March 25, 2010 I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m not really a political blogger. True, I do from time to time succumb to the blogger’s temptation of being a pundit on current events or pontificating on politics, but in general I don’t do that very often because political bloggers are a dime a dozen…
Suing DAN! practitioners for malpractice: It’s about time
Posted by Orac on March 5, 2010 Now that’s what I’m talking about! This is what we need to see more of! A father whose child underwent the quackery that is the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) protocol is suing the doctors who administered it for malpractice: The father of a 7-year-old Chicago boy who was diagnosed as a toddler with autism has…
Has Dr. Oz finally crossed the Woobicon?
Posted by Orac on March 2, 2010 I’ve had it with Dr. Oz. Although I haven’t seen his show today (for one thing, I work for a living; for another thing, even if I had today off I wouldn’t waste it watching Dr. Oz’s show), readers have informed me that yesterday, on March 1, 2010, Dr. Oz threw away whatever shred of…
How does homeopathy work?
Posted by Orac on February 23, 2010 How does homeopathy work? Heh. Yes, this is in honor of my post earlier today. I’m also appreciative that homeopaths have apparently diagnosed what’s wrong with Parliament. Apparently it’s emitting an angry purple aura.
Andrew Wakefield: Destined for even more disrepute
Posted by Orac on February 22, 2010 I must admit that I never saw it coming. At least, I never saw it coming this fast and this dramatically. After all, this is a saga that has been going on for twelve solid years now, and it’s an investigation that has been going on at least since 2004. I’m referring, of course, to…
Andreas Moritz and trying to shut down valid scientific criticism: A sine qua non of a quack
Posted by Orac on February 19, 2010 What is it with cranks and trying to shut down criticism? I know, I know. I’ve written about this before, but this week has been a banner week for a phenomenon that I consider a sine qua non of a crank or a quack, namely an intolerance of criticism. Seemingly, whenever a quack or a…
Andrew Wakefield: Pushed out by the board of directors at Thoughtful House?
Posted by Orac on February 18, 2010 Last night, it came to light from a posting on the Thoughtful House Yahoo! discussion group that Andrew Wakefield has apparently resigned from Thoughtful House. I have yet to see confirmation anywhere, although Brian Deer has chimed in that this comes as no surprise to him and that he suspects that Dr. Arthur Krigsman, Anyssa…
But what about the Illuminati and David Icke’s reptilians?
Posted by Orac on February 13, 2010 The utter discrediting and disgrace of Andrew Wakefield, first by the judgment of the General Medical Council against him and then by the retraction of the crown jewel of his respectability his 1998 Lancet paper that sparked the modern anti-vaccine movement and launched a thousand autism quacks. The reaction of the anti-vaccine loons was very…
Report a bad doctor to the authorities, go to jail? The cranks weigh in
Posted by Orac on February 11, 2010 Well, well, well, well. I should have know that sooner or later a certain group would weigh in on the trial of Anne Mitchell, RN, whose malicious prosecution is a result of a doctor who peddles woo using his connection with Boss Hogg Winkler County Sheriff Robert L. Roberts to find out who had complained…