oracknows | June 10, 2008Somehow, with all the blogging about vaccines last week, I totally missed a major update to a story that's been of great interest to me since I first became aware of it. It turns out that Starchild Abraham Cherrix, the teen who two years ago rejected conventional therapy for his lymphoma and sought out the quackery known as Hoxsey therapy, has turned 18:
Abraham Cherrix, the teenager who fought a court battle on the Eastern Shore for the right to choose his own cancer care, turns 18 today, officially freed from reporting his medical condition to the Accomack County court that has required…
oracknows | June 9, 2008After having subjected my readers to all those posts about the antivaccination lunacy that was on display in Washington, D.C. last week, I think it's time for a break from this topic, at least for a while if not longer. In the run-up to the "Green Our Vaccines" rally events on the antivaccinationism front were coming fast and furious, and I felt it was my duty to comment on them. Now, with great relief I can say that the rally is over. How many people actually attended the rally is uncertain. The organizers themselves claim that 8,500 people attended, while more objective estimates from…
oracknows | June 8, 2008Remember how I warned citizens of the U.K. about an impending visit to their fair island by American apologist for antivaccinationist nonsense and his invitation to give a briefing at Parliament?
Apparently, the whole thing was very--shall we say?--underwhelming. The lameness of his excuses, they limp:
I then asked a question (yay!). Kirby had said earlier in the lecture that autism diagnois rates in California haven't reduced following the removal of thimerosal from childhood vaccines in California because of a delay between children being vaccinated in their early years and them being…
oracknows | June 8, 2008The other day, I received something in the mail that was so horrifying, so disturbing, so utterly disconcerting that I had to go into my office and hide for a while to regain my composure. No, it wasn't a death threat from some wacked-out antivacccinationist. Nor was it a scientific paper that was undeniable evidence that homeopathy works, water has memory, and I've been utterly and completely wrong about alternative medicine lo these last few year.
It was much, much worse. It was this:
Noooooooo!
I'm not 50 yet! I still have a few years to go before AARP, screening colonoscopies, and senior…
oracknows | June 7, 2008Don't worry, faithful readers, my blogging about the "Green Our Vaccines" rally last week is reaching its end. If my poor neurons can take it, there are still the speeches of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Jay Gordon to be commented on in one more post (the latter of whom I used to consider somewhat reasonable albeit incorrect but who, if his speech and statements to the press at the "Green Our Vaccines" rally are any indication, has gone completely over to the dark side of antivaccinationism). Then that's probably about all I'll be able to take for a while. It'll be back to writing about…
oracknows | June 6, 2008
I never thought I'd be saying this, but Dan Olmsted has my profuse thanks. When yesterday I posted some signs carried by marchers at the "Green Our Vaccines" rally on Wednesday, I asked you to decide for yourself whether they are "pro-safe vaccine" or anti-vaccine. To me the answer is obvious. Thanks to Olmsted, however, I have a list of many of the slogans that he saw on signs at the rally, as well as a video of many of the signs:
So, once again, I ask you, my readers, the question: "Pro-safe vaccine" or antivaccine? You be the judge!
THE "GREEN OUR VACCINES" COLLECTION:
The Jenny…
oracknows | June 6, 2008I'm tired.
I apologize in advance if I'm not as--shall we say?--energetic as usual this week. I'm sure you'll understand. After all, I just spent the last three days subjecting myself to the most toxic and concentrated woo known to humankind. If you're a regular reader here, you clearly know what I'm talking about, namely Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey's "Green Our Vaccines" rally on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, it wasn't as large as attended. Although its organizers claim that 8,000 showed up, more realistic estimates were maybe around 1,000. Maybe. Even better, the media hardly…
oracknows | June 5, 2008I must admit that I was getting a bit worried. Morning came today, and there was no Skeptics' Circle. I went to work. Every so often throughout the day I checked again.
Still no Skeptics' Circle, at least as of early afternoon.
I got home from work around 8 PM, and to my relief, there it was in all its usual glory, a bright, shiny new edition of the Skeptics' Circle over at Jyunri Kankei. And, boy, after subjecting myself to all the idiocy of the "Green Our Vaccines" rally over the last three days, I sure did need a cool, soothing dose of critical thinking, science, and reason. So head on…
oracknows | June 5, 2008The organizers of the "Green Our Vaccines" rally yesterday went to great trouble to keep repeating a mantra that they "aren't anti-vaccine" but rather "pro-safe vaccine" (or, as Jenny McCarthy likes to put it, "anti-toxin"). I've argued that it's all a cynical ploy to hide their true agenda. What do some of the signs carried by marchers tell us?
You be the judge! (Pictures below the fold.)
Here's one that I predicted would show up:
And here's the one to top them all:
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That's right. To these marchers, vaccines are weapons of mass destruction!
Of course, that's…
oracknows | June 5, 2008
(Note: In the photo above, the guy in the sunglasses behind Jim Carrey is our old friend Dr. Jay Gordon, Santa Monica antivaccinationist-sympathetic pediatrician to the beautiful people. He's the one with his tongue sticking out.)
It's worse than I thought.
In seeing the first bits of video last night from the "Green Our Vaccines" rally led by celebrity useful idiots Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey. I had been thinking of trying to be "nicer" to them, given that their fans who have shown up here seem to think I have been very, very mean to her and that I lack compassion. I also realize…
oracknows | June 4, 2008...the Stanley Cup series is finally over.
I'm not much of a hockey fan, but with Detroit as my hometown it's hard for me not to acknowledge the victory of my hometown team the Detroit Red Wings. Way to go!
oracknows | June 4, 2008Maybe I need to inaugurate some sort of monthly award for the best comment, as some other ScienceBloggers do. If I had such an award, surely this comment earlier today by Prometheus would be in serious contention for it:
Re: "Green Vaccines"
One of the things that the "Greens" are in favor of is biological diversity and protecting endangered species. This dovetails nicely with the "Green Vaccine" movement, since it is clear to me that they (the "Vaccine Greens") are simply trying to prevent the loss of valuable biological diversity.
Not too long ago, in 1977, one viral species (Variola or "…
oracknows | June 4, 2008I know I've been whining a lot about how blogging about antivaccinationists has taken over here of late. The reason, of course, is the "Green Our Vaccines" rally taking place in Washington, D.C. as this post first appears in your newsfeed. Yesterday, I wrote about how "Green Our Vaccines" is a sham and nothing more than an anti-vaccine rally as well as about how its organizers were causing a bit of a rift in the antivaccinationist movement by trying to adopt a kinder, gentler, crunchier, media- and (seemingly) eco-friendly message. Unfortunately, stuff keeps happening. So I've decided that,…
oracknows | June 4, 2008Something happened yesterday that rarely happens. I got back from ASCO rather late and was so tired that I didn't have time to post one of my characteristic, Respectfully Insolent magnum opuses (magnum opi?). Fortunately, I had just the thing prepared.
I'm not the only one who's expressed skepticism and pointed out that the whole "Green Our Vaccines" slogan" that you'll be seeing and hearing right around now is nothing more than a ploy to hide the true nature of the protest, which is an assault on the very concept of mass vaccination. I therefore thought that it would be useful for me to post…
oracknows | June 3, 2008Tired of hearing me rant about antivaccinationists? Actually, I'm a bit tired of ranting about antivaccinationists myself, but a blogger's got to do what a blogger's got to do when an event like Jenny McCarthy's "Green Our Vaccines" rally pops up. Still, that doesn't mean I can't take a break and indulge myself for a moment. Apparently I missed it last week when it appeared, but a mid-season trailer for Doctor Who has been posted, and it looks really promising for a rip-roaring send-off to this season. I haven't yet managed to watch last Saturday's episode yet because of my sojourn to ASCO,…
oracknows | June 3, 2008In the leadup to Jenny McCarthy's little antivaccination-fest tomorrow, it appears the the medical community has at least roused itself enough to write an open letter to Congress about immunizations. It's not much, but at least it's something. I hope all the signatories are ready for a P.R. blitz to counter Jenny McCarthy.
That's enough about this for now. I don't plan on blogging about it tomorrow unless something really interesting comes up. Maybe I'll do an all-science Wednesday instead after I get back from ASCO this afternoon.
THE "GREEN OUR VACCINES" COLLECTION:
The Jenny McCarthy and…
oracknows | June 3, 2008Sadly, it's almost here.
I'm referring, of course, to the "Green Our Vaccines" rally led by that useful idiot for the antivaccinationist movement Jenny McCarthy and sponsored by Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), Generation Rescue, and a variety of other , which will take place a mere day from now. I'll give the organizers credit for one thing. They have come up with a slogan that's truly brilliant in an Orwellian sort of way, namely "Green our Vaccines," with an accompanying press release:
McCarthy, author of the best-selling book "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism," and…
oracknows | June 2, 2008Even here at the ASCO meeting, I couldn't help but be made aware (thanks to Steve Novella and others) about a brand-spanking new video of a supposed encounter with an alien that--unlike all the other dubious videos of alleged alien encounters--according to its maker will really and truly convince you that, really and truly, Aliens Are Real And Earth Has Been Visited by them. Why, you may ask, would I blog about such things when I'm at a meeting? Well, writing about clinical science is hard, and I haven't had time to analyze the abstracts that I wanted to analyze, and blogging about this is…
oracknows | June 2, 2008Thanks to the ASCO meeting and meeting up with some relatives here in Chicago, I didn't quite finish what I was going to post this morning. There have been at least a couple of abstracts presented that I wouldn't mind blogging about; I just haven't gotten to them yet. I also haven't forgotten about Jenny McCarthy's upcoming antivaccination-fest in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. More will be forthcoming on these and other topics, perhaps even as early as later today.
In the meantime, I wanted to mention that that I walked by the booth for the Colorectal Association of Canada and their infamous…
oracknows | June 1, 2008Someone needs to teach the teacher here that kindergarten is not reality TV:
(CBS) A Port St. Lucie, Fla., mother is outraged and considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.
Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son's classmates say what they didn't like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote, and voted Alex, who is being evaluated for Asperger's syndrome -- an autism spectrum disorder -- out of the class by a 14-2 margin.
The stupid, it doesn't just burn, it…