Pharyngula

Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 17, 2008 3:28 PM

But she believes it, and that's all that's important. At least that's how it is to the sizable anti-intellectual contingent in America.

Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7

Posted by: JackC | October 17, 2008 3:38 PM

How appropriate that our Science Cafe (Cafe Scientifique) locally this month is "Stuff and Nonsense: A Field Guide to Pseudoscience"

But then, I guess it could be that any given month.

JC

Posted by: Jonathan Arnold | October 17, 2008 3:57 PM

Almost as good a web site as

http://www.sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com/

Posted by: Zifnab | October 17, 2008 4:11 PM

:-p My mother has completely bought into this thing and its gotten me somewhat freaked out as well. It's too damn easy for disinformation like this to get kicked around. God bless the internets.

Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 17, 2008 4:20 PM

Better than crashing a poll, how about crashing a drawing for 10 "Expelled" DVDs? Most of us would like to see it for free, and to keep them out of the hands of the gullible.

Go to the Disco Institute and sign up for the free drawing, here:

http://discovery.org/csc/expelled_giveaway.php

Glen D

Posted by: Gin Enguehard | October 17, 2008 4:32 PM

Interesting how blaming vaccines relieves Ms. McCarthy of any genetic responsibility for her son's autism...

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 4:40 PM

Was is it with you people? Why are you so against academic freedoms? I mean, what is wrong with talking about things from a different perspective? She obviously cares very much about the cause and just wants to be able to contribute. It's really sad that anytime someone offers a different perspective on a controversial subject, they get criticized by the dogmatic scientists. This is exactly what is wrong with America today. No moral leadership, no spiritual conviction, only dictators from science spreading FUD about anyone who questions their dogma.

Posted by: Anders | October 17, 2008 4:48 PM

#14 ? Idiot?

Posted by: Dennis N | October 17, 2008 4:50 PM

I thought we had a level-headed regular Alex who comments here?

Posted by: tsg | October 17, 2008 4:50 PM

Was is it with you people? Why are you so against academic freedoms?

"academic freedom" != "freedom to spout bullshit unchallenged"

I mean, what is wrong with talking about things from a different perspective?

Her perspective is demonstrably wrong and dangerous.

She obviously cares very much about the cause and just wants to be able to contribute.

But she's wrong. How much she cares doesn't change that.

It's really sad that anytime someone offers a different perspective on a controversial subject, they get criticized by the dogmatic scientists.

She's demonstrably wrong. That deserves criticism. If it could be shown that vaccinations cause autism, the scientific community would embrace the idea and work to fix it.

This is exactly what is wrong with America today. No moral leadership, no spiritual conviction, only dictators from science spreading FUD about anyone who questions their dogma.

Sheer projection. Thanks for playing. You fail.

Posted by: tsg | October 17, 2008 4:52 PM

#15. Yeah. Sorry. It's Friday, I'm feeling a little punchy. Was kinda hoping for a bigger dog-pile though. Oh well. Too much poe around.

Okay, you got me.

Posted by: Qwerty | October 17, 2008 4:54 PM

Let's hope #14 is joking as avoiding vaccination because you believe it might cause a genetic disease is quite dumb.

Maybe in the near future, some parents will sue Jenny after losing a child to a disease that could have been prevented by a vaccination the child didn't get because the parents believed her message.

Posted by: Michelle | October 17, 2008 4:56 PM

I believe the overall site needs some improvement, but this is a great idea and a great truth.

I just read the story of this James R. Laidler, MD fellow. quite an ordeal he went through... I can only imagine the number of parents that are going through this diet nonsense without realizing that they aren't doing anything...

Posted by: Greg | October 17, 2008 4:58 PM

@ #23
Your poecraft is strong, sir.

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 4:58 PM

"Either that or a retard."

For sure.

Sorry DennisN, you thought right though. Thanx for the compliment.

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 5:03 PM

#28 Greg

Thanx Greg. But truthfully, I feel kinda dirty now, like I've betrayed my fellow pharyngulites. For this I have regret. Perhaps drowning my sorrows is the key. Yeah, I think I'll get over it sometime around 8:00 this evening.

Cheers

Posted by: tsg | October 17, 2008 5:06 PM

Also, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 5:11 PM

"...known as "Microsoft's Marketing Strategy."

Thanks tsg. My understanding is that now the term is now used more ubiquitously and generically.

Posted by: Jello | October 17, 2008 5:12 PM

Alex

My complements, you have your impression of a fluffy brained troll down pat.

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 5:24 PM

"...a fluffy brained troll..."

Priceless. I shall integrate "fluffy-brained" into my vernacular.

"In fact, it didn't originate with Microsoft."

Thanx for the background tsg. I'm going to the Wikipedia link now to learn more. It's something I'm trying to do more - that is, to add a little more depth to the things we refer to as "common knowledge". There's no excuse these days with the intarwebs and all. I even work in the industry. Shame on me.

Posted by: Lance | October 17, 2008 5:38 PM

Can't someone convince Jen Jen that her breast implants caused her to have an autistic baby? I remember when Oprah and the rest of the MSM helped lead the witch hunt against Dow Corning.

The woo at that time was that leaking silicone breast implants caused everything from auto immune diseases like Lupus to cancer. Of course all the science debunked the claims but that didn't stop Oprah from leading the call to sue Dow Corning since women "felt" that their breast implants had caused their illnesses.

Of course Jenny might have a hard time finding enough bimbos with fake boobs and autistic babies to make a phony correlation but hey if she really "felt" like it was her fake boobs that did it that would probably be enough for her and Oprah.

Posted by: Benjamin Geiger | October 17, 2008 5:44 PM

I'm glad to report that all hope is not lost on the vaccination front.

My nephew got a series of vaccinations a few days ago (three shots and the oral polio vaccine). According to my mother, the first words out of the doctor's mouth were "Now, these do NOT cause autism." Mom never bought into that particular pile of crap---though she has 'practiced' astrology and tarot in the past---but it's good to see that they're preemptively refuting the lies.

Posted by: Alex | October 17, 2008 5:57 PM

For sure Kitty. It's disgusting. The trauma they cause because of their self-important delusions should be considered a crime only because it effects medical and emotional state directly. Getting swindled by a shady car salesman is one thing, but there should be legal repercussions along the lines of misrepresentation if you want to proscribe medical and/or scientific action and you are not accredited for either. Period.

Posted by: WayBeyondSoccerMom | October 17, 2008 6:25 PM

Okay, I would feel more comfortable with the site you posted, if it didn't have the "Indigo Child" image on its home page.

Sorry, but an "indigo child" site trying to debunk Jenny McCarthy, is more of a "pot, meet kettle" relationship.

Do you know about the idea of "Indigo Child"? From wikipedia.org,

In the New Age movement, Indigo children are children who are believed to represent a higher state of human evolution. The term itself is a reference to the belief that such children have an indigo colored(really has nothing to do with color) aura. Beliefs concerning the exact nature of Indigo children vary, with some believing that they have paranormal abilities such as the ability to read minds, and others that they are distinguished from non-Indigo children merely by more conventional traits such as increased empathy and creativity.

Ugh.

Posted by: Brownian, OM | October 17, 2008 6:40 PM

WayBeyondSoccerMom, I interpreted the 'Indigo Child?' caption on the image as more of a WTF? than any sort of support for that bullshit.

I understand Jenny McCarthy is somehow herself a supporter of the idea, hence the image.

Posted by: WayBeyondSoccerMom | October 17, 2008 7:51 PM

Thanks, Sastra and Brownian, OM, for your comments. I'm relieved.

I do wish the "Stop Jenny" site was more clear about its disdain for the whole woowoo Indigo Child stuff.

I don't think the home page should be a place for nuance.

Posted by: Michael | October 17, 2008 8:17 PM

Jenny McCarthy is a parasite. She has a great heart and good "lungs"... but she feeds on the ignorance of others when it comes to biology.

P.S. : to P.Z. - is there any way to make the newest replies show first rather than the oldest?

Anyway...

The site is brand new and hasn't had time to grow yet. The kinks will be worked out... Please just don't let spelling, style or grammar get in the way of the message.

Posted by: bluescat48 | October 17, 2008 10:54 PM

The typical "unmarried marriage counselor."

Posted by: The Pale Scot | October 18, 2008 12:48 AM

Allow me second the nomination of Jenny's breasts as the cause of her son's autism.

Posted by: Badger3k | October 18, 2008 3:14 AM

I was just going to mention the indigo child BS of hers, but I can see why one might not want to expose that much lunacy at once, but if people associated her indigo-woo with her anti-vax-woo, maybe it might get a bit more play.

Posted by: StopJenny2 | October 18, 2008 11:54 AM

Thank you! This explains the great emails that have started to come in.
As the author of the content, I do apologize for the spelling and grammar. I normally have great spelling and grammar skills (getting an A in English 210 when attending college). However, between 2 jobs and 3 kids, the site went up rather haphazardly in the spare moments I had over the last week. I was quite alarmed by the attention McCarthy has been getting in the media, and felt something needed to go up as soon as possible.

There are three of us involved with the www.stopjenny.com site, and we're working hard to address the issues as soon as possible. I feel the indigo/crystal nonsense will need to be moved to the "Why Jenny is Wrong" page to point out why it is even on the site. We feel it points to Jenny's overall ignorance. It cannot be an attack though, as our purpose is to educate rather than ridicule. People are entitled to think of their children as "crystals", but not to miseducate others with disinformation. This puts children in harm's way, and Jenny is rather demonstrating total cluelessness about this.
Thank you Mr. Myers (I'm a big fan), and everyone here. The feedback is much appreciated, and will help us out.

Posted by: RexuAngel | October 18, 2008 12:29 PM

I was pleased to see that site. But (with a self-plug) that may not be surprising

www.rescueangel.org

Posted by: StarChildSkull | October 18, 2008 4:30 PM

The Indigo Children have been incarnating on the Earth for the last 100 years. The early Indigos were pioneers and way-showers. After World War II, a significant number were born, and these are the Indigo adults of today. However, in the 1970s a major wave of Indigos was born, and so we have a whole generation of Indigos who are now in their late twenties and early thirties who are about to take their place as leaders in the world. Indigos continued to born up to about 2000, with increasing abilities and degrees of technological and creative sophistication.

The Crystal Children began to appear on the planet from about 2000, although some date them slightly earlier. These are extremely powerful children, whose main purpose is to take us to the next level in our evolution, and reveal to us our inner power and divinity. They function as a group consciousness rather than as individuals, and they live by the "Law of One" or Unity Consciousness. They are a powerful force for love and peace on the planet.

The next quantum leap involved the creation of molecules. I suggested the creation of Spirit atoms and Earth atoms. Spirit atoms tried to remain “pure” and Earth atoms readily combined to form complex compound molecules including amino acids.

It was the next quantum leap that created cellular life and bions. When we consider cellular life we notice something very new. Some form of organizing intelligence remains while nutrients are absorbed into the cell and waste material is expelled. This organizing intelligence can exist independently of the physical cell itself.

You can see the photons(red,blue, green, dots(sunlight) going through the new clear white nanotubes, next to the hair, but much much, smaller.

I have been saying I can live on photons(sunlight)
, and I don't require "much" food, for quite a while, and that I don't require much sleep,any more.

.. now being fully conscious, I can utilize, the no food thing.

just a few little implications here,..

thats why you have to have all anti UV stuff, glass, chemtrails(global warming, ya okay), to reflect the sun, etc,etc,etc.
its all in my articles..

So I put in a tad, of my theory(fact), that humans can live on,
.. Sunlight(photons,UV)

I told My wife this was the biggest news, since the "aliens"
(monarch mind control)system) took over way back when, and started manipulating our dna, by amino acids, and the correct amounts of
food,(extra ingredients, required) .

he article also explains, what is the cause for a charge, what is magnetic field and electric field, what is light and how the light is propagated through the space etc.
"Light is the modulation of waves on magnetic lines. i.e. Light is oscillating magnetic lines."

Light is a part of intermittent (photon or quantum) group of oscillating magnetic lines (oml) moving in space with the velocity of 3 Ã 1010 cm (186,272 mi) per second. Actually nothing is moving but it is only the lineup of the ether magnetic particles (space matter) and becomes a magnetic line, and this magnetic line oscillating with the frequency of the oscillating electron, which makes the magnetic line.

The 2 biggest reasons, they killed Nikola Tesla, was his knowledge

.. of The ETHER, and the signals from Mars, .. which they apparently don't want anyone to know about...

Please do not allow your very own mind be tainted with paint..this Myth has happen before and here we are..our Planet is going to go around for another 65 years although there will be a price to pay being the Negativity has already been laid out..Its totally up to you if you want to be apart of being in the NOW and living in the POSITIVE One Day At A Time..We all must wake up and stop letting others lead us into destruction of the mind of course this is my Opinion..Please believe in yourself and wipe away the Darkness of other opinions due to a Myth that was once pronounced into stone..The Pyramid that was created by the Aliens, but science wants us to think it was mankind yada yada! NASA blows holes in our Ozone which causes the Sun to overheat our Earth but there is another reason for that, so you see everything that is written is not so..our Children will have a place (not much) to create havoc for what we have left them..So be It!

Posted by: StopJenny3 | October 18, 2008 8:25 PM

Dr. Jay Gordon, as mentioned above as the person who wrote the foreword on Jenny's book, is peddling ADD/ADHD cures in even more books. These folks are just like Trudeau. Peddling false promises under the guise of controversay. All of them are just con artists taking parents for a ride. It's truly sad.

Posted by: MoxieHart | October 18, 2008 9:15 PM

If you like Stop Jenny McCarthy, then you'd probably like StopSylviaBrowne

Posted by: Ruth | October 19, 2008 6:42 AM

I am a scientist with an autistic child and lots of engineers in the family-yes, autism has a genetic component. But could some of you refrain from using 'retard' in that insulting way. Retarded is a valid clinical term, 'you retard' is a cheap shot.

I beleive autistic children should be treated-with respect.

Posted by: The Kenosha Kid | October 19, 2008 5:50 PM

@71 Jenny McCarthy did NOT bleach her crotch for playboy! Evidence available by clicking my name (NSFW). I like to back up my arguments.