Hey, my fellow pro-vax warriors, death threats are NEVER acceptable, mmmkay? Knock it off!
Antivax doctor Suzanne Humphries received a death threat. It's not clear if it's from a provaccine advocate or is a joke, but I'm taking this opportunity to unequivocally condemn threats of violence of any kind.
The post Hey, my fellow pro-vax warriors, death threats are NEVER acceptable, mmmkay? Knock it off! appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 24, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Medicine featured Polly Tommey Suzanne Humphries threats vaccines Source Type: blogs
Hey, my fellow pro-vax warriors, death threats are uncool, mmmkay? Knock it off!
Antivax doctor Suzanne Humphries received a death threat. It's not clear if it's from a provaccine advocate or is a joke, but I'm taking this opportunity to unequivocally condemn threats of violence of any kind.
The post Hey, my fellow pro-vax warriors, death threats are uncool, mmmkay? Knock it off! appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 24, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Medicine featured Polly Tommey Suzanne Humphries threats vaccines Source Type: blogs
Henele E ’ ale: A new antivaccine naturopathic quack (but I repeat myself)
Antivaccine quacks like to argue that a healthy immune system will protect you from infectious disease, rendering vaccines unnecessary. It's a ridiculous claim, well-refuted by the history of medicine. A naturopath whom I had somehow never heard of before, Henele E'ale, is now spewing that very same lie.
The post Henele E’ale: A new antivaccine naturopathic quack (but I repeat myself) appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 23, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Autism Naturopathy Quackery featured Henele E'ale Source Type: blogs
The Koch Brothers and Vice President Mike Pence back a final push to pass the cruel sham known as “ right-to-try ”
So-called "right-to-try" laws have passed in 38 states. A cruel sham whose real purpose has nothing to do with helping terminally ill patients and everything to do with the libertarian war on FDA regulation, these laws claim to allow terminally ill patients to bypass the FDA and obtain access to experimental drugs that have passed phase I testing. They do nothing of the sort, which is why right-to-try advocates have "gone federal." A right-to-try bill has passed the Senate, and Vice President Mike Pence and Koch Brothers-backed groups are lobbying hard to pass it in the House. There is still hope to stop it.
The post The K...
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 22, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture Americans for Prosperity cancer featured Freedom Partners Goldwater Institute Koch brothers Mike Pence right to try terminal illness Source Type: blogs
How “ they ” view “ us ” : Colton Berrett edition
Colton Berrett developed transverse myelitis at age 13 and as a result was left permanently disabled, with significant paralsysis. Four years later, he died, apparently by suicide. Polly Tommy and the VAXXED crew have been promoting the message that it was Gardasil that caused Colton's disease and therefore killed him. When I explained why Gardasil almost certainly had nothing to do with Colton's disease and death, I learned once again how "they" view "us."
The post How “they” view “us”: Colton Berrett edition appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 19, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Andrew Wakefield Colton Berrett featured Polly Tommey suicide transverse myelitis vaccines Vaxxed Source Type: blogs
Credulous promotion of “ integrating ” quackery into medicine
Over the last 25 years, medical academia has increasingly embraced "integrative medicine" (i.e., the "integration" of pseudoscience and quackery with medicine). However, it has had help normalizing this new situation. That help comes from the press. Here's yet another example.
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Source: Respectful Insolence - January 18, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Pseudoscience Quackery CAM featured integrative medicine Richmond Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University Source Type: blogs
Did Gardasil kill Colton Berrett? The answer is almost certainly no.
Colton Barrett was a 17 year old boy who developed acute transverse myelitis at age 13, which left him partially paralyzed and dependent on a portable ventilator. Tragically, he died less than two weeks ago. His mother blames Gardasil, which he received two weeks before his first symptoms appeared, for his neurologic illness and death. However, Gardasil almost certainly had nothing to do with Colton's illness.
The post Did Gardasil kill Colton Berrett? The answer is almost certainly no. appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 17, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Andrew Wakefield Colton Berrett Del Bigtree featured Gardasil hpv human papilloma virus Polly Tommey transverse myelitis Vaxxed Source Type: blogs
Integrative medicine as infiltrative pseudoscience: Pushback against quackery
For a quarter of a century, quackery and pseudoscience have been integrated into medicine through the construct of "integrative medicine" and into academic medicine in the form of quackademic medicine. Unfortunately, there has been little pushback. That's why it's good to see a recent article in The Surgeon decrying this phenomenon. We need more of this.
The post Integrative medicine as infiltrative pseudoscience: Pushback against quackery appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 16, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking CAM Cleveland Clinic complementary and alternative medicine featured infiltrative pseudoscience integrative medicine vaccines Source Type: blogs
Defend Britt Hermes from a naturopathic cancer quack trying to silence her through legal thuggery
One of the favorite tactics of cranks and quacks to silence criticism from bloggers is to threaten to sue for libel. Ex-naturopath turned science advocate Britt Hermes is currently living this reality, as a naturopathic cancer quack is currently suing her for libel in Germany. Given that Britt is a graduate student in evolutionary biology her means are quite modest and as is no doubt the intent, just defending this lawsuit could ruin her and her husband financially. Fortunately, you can help help her, and I urge you to do so.
The post Defend Britt Hermes from a naturopathic cancer quack trying to silence her through legal ...
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 15, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Medicine Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Britt Hermes Britt Marie Hermes Colleen Huber featured legal thuggery libel Source Type: blogs
Whatever happened to Dr. Daniel Neides, a year after he was forced to leave the Cleveland Clinic because of his antivaccine rant?
A year ago, a prominent Cleveland Clinic physician named Dr. Daniel Neides published an antivaccine screed. What's happened to him since then, now that it's been a year?
The post Whatever happened to Dr. Daniel Neides, a year after he was forced to leave the Cleveland Clinic because of his antivaccine rant? appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 12, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Cleveland Clinic Daniel Neides featured Source Type: blogs
More “ auricular ” acupuncture: Our veterans deserve science-based medicine, not quackery
Over the last several years, the Veterans Health Administration has been increasing the amount of quackery being offered in VA hospitals and clinics. This time around, it's auricular acupuncture.
The post More “auricular” acupuncture: Our veterans deserve science-based medicine, not quackery appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 11, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery acupuncture auricular acupuncture battlefield acupuncture featured Veterans Administration Veterans Health Administration Source Type: blogs
Oprah Winfrey for President? Does anyone remember all the pseudoscience and quackery she ’ s promoted?
On Sunday night, like a lot of people, I was watching the Golden Globe Awards. To be honest, I was using the TV show more as background noise than anything else, as I do for most award shows, as I did other things. During the ceremony, Oprah Winfrey accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which is given for for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” Certainly no one can argue that Oprah hasn’t made major contributions to entertainment based on her long-running and enormously popular talk show, her movie roles, her TV network, and the entertainment empire that she […]
The post Oprah ...
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 9, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Medicine Movies Popular culture Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Dr. Phil featured Golden Globe Awards Jenny McCarthy Kim Tinkham Mehmet Oz Oprah Winfrey Phil McGraw The Secret Source Type: blogs
Got diarrhea? The latest trend in fashionable nonsense is “ raw water ”
In pseudoscience, appeals to nature are everywhere. It’s not surprising, then, that there is profit to be made selling “raw” (i.e., untreated) water at very high prices for its nonexistent health benefits, those benefits all claimed to be due to the “naturalness” of the water. I can’t help but note that cholera, Giardia, amoebic dysentery, and a wide variety of waterborne illnesses prevented by modern water treatment techniques are all very, very “natural."
The post Got diarrhea? The latest trend in fashionable nonsense is “raw water” appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 8, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking bacteria cholera diarrhea featured Giardia Live Water Mukhande Singh raw water Source Type: blogs
The antivaccine movement on Facebook: Small world networks, conspiracy theories, moral outrage, and paranoia
Facebook has become a hub from which antivaxers spread misinformation. A recent study looks at what they're saying and how FB pages facilitate the spread of antivaccine misinformation.
The post The antivaccine movement on Facebook: Small world networks, conspiracy theories, moral outrage, and paranoia appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 5, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Computers Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking conspiracy theories Facebook featured paranoia social media Source Type: blogs
The next frontier in “ integrative medicine ” : Getting Medicaid to fund quackery
Naturopaths are not the only relentless quacks seeking to bend government to legitimize their quackery. Acupuncturists are now working to get Medicaid to fund acupuncture services. They are succeeding.
The post The next frontier in “integrative medicine”: Getting Medicaid to fund quackery appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - January 3, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery acupuncture featured Jared West John Kasich Medicaid Ohio Vermont Source Type: blogs
