Health and Sanity category archive
Sabotage as a Strategy 0
David sees a pattern. (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Aside:
Yes, I was turned off by what little I saw of the commercial, but I think the David’s commentary is still worth a listen.
Our Society Is in Decay 0
Exhibit One: Florida Man.
Afterthought:
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to posit that today’s Republican Party has abandoned the concept of “promoting the general welfare.”
Germy Warfare 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Jay K. Varma, physician and former staffer at the CDC, writes of the increasing number of persons who are rejecting science in favor of voluntary ignorance. He calls the “Germ Deniers.” Here’s how he describes them:
While some extremists outright deny that germs cause illness, most acknowledge their existence but downplay their importance. Some argue that individual factors are the primary problem. A person only gets sick from a microbe because their immune system is weak because of malnutrition or other lifestyle factors. Others argue that other external factors are the “real” causes of most diseases, such as microplastics, food dyes, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, mercury, and electromagnetic radiation.
He goes on to obliterate their arguments and explain the danger they pose to both public health and the public’s health.
In the light of what’s happening to medical research under the Trump maladministration, I find his article a timely and alarming read.
Vaccine Nation 0
It’s a shame that there is no vaccine against our spreading epidemic of stupid.
Vaccine Nation 0
Sam and the crew play a video of RFK Jr., Secretary of HHS, saying that people should not take medical advice from him.
So Sam and the crew wonder, what’s the point of having a Department of Health and Human Services if you can’t take health advice from it?
Afterthought:
The Trump maladministration is succeeding at one thing: Undermining the credibility of the federal government.
Which, methinks, may not by accident.
Brain Drain Eviction
0
Der Spiegel reports (follow the link for the full report):
Also, RFK Jr. has hurt fee-fees because anti-science whack-jobs don’t get no respect.
Not that these two items might in any way be related . . . .
Vaccine Nation on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
In an article at AL.com, Nicole K. Reh, who is on the path to earning a medical degree, writes about how “social” media is endangering persons’ health; she focuses on the recent measles outbreaks and the anti-VAXX lies that have fueled them.
One interesting frightening statistic that she cites particularly caught my eye:
The entire piece is worth a read, and, remember, “social” media isn’t.
Vaccine Nation 0
Ron Fournier is the father of a fully functional son who is on the autism spectrum and a member of the board of the Autism Alliance of Michigan. At the Detroit Free Press, he–er–expresses some skepticism as to RFK Jr.’s intent to conduct “studies” to blame autism on vaccines. Here’s tiny bit of his article; the whole piece is worth a read:
What I’m not OK with: President Donald Trump and his Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spending taxpayers’ money on phony studies with rigged outcomes to support their conspiracy theories ? or with RFK’s plans to reportedly pursue those studies by collecting Americans’ private health data.
Vaccine Nation on the Disinformation Superhighway 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Dr. Thomas R. Verny points out that “(s)ome people spread disinformation meant to erode the public’s confidence in medicine” and offers suggestions to avoid being taken in. Here’s one of them; follow the link for the rest.
On the Spectrum, Vaccine Nation Dept. 0
Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has resurrected the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, and, in so doing, may well jeopardize the public’s health.
At Psychology Today Blogs, Sam Goldstein takes a deep dive into what science has learned about autism over the past half century or so. He makes three main points; follow the link for a detailed exploration of each.
- Most of autism’s rise is due to (increased–ed.) awareness, not an actual increase.
- Genetic causes of autism are firmly established by decades of research.
- Autism now includes many with social learning differences, not just disability.
I commend his article as a worthwhile read to arm yourself against the dis- and misinformation spread by the anti-VAX movement,
Vaccine Nation 0
Emma and the crew discuss how anti-VAX lies endanger public health the public’s health.
The Zombie Fact Apocalypse 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Susan A. Nolan and Michael Kimball note that
- A zombie fact is misinformation that persists in the face of evidence against it. . . .
- False beliefs about vaccine risks (a zombie fact) have fueled an outbreak of measles in the United States.
They go on to offer some simple techniques to keep your brains from being consumed by zombie facts.
Given the number for zombie facts careening down the disinformation superhighway, their article is well worth a look.
Vaccine Nation 0
At Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, James Terence Fisher points out that, under RFK Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services is in danger of quacking up. A snippet:
Kennedy hired Geier to conduct yet another “study” of the long-debunked connection between vaccines and autism: a bizarre yet not surprising choice, given his obsession with the non-existent autism-vaccine connection and his two-decade, personally lucrative campaign “to punish those responsible for one of the worst scandals in American history.”
Vaccine Nation 0
Elon Musk’s DOGE to states currently dealing with measles outbreaks: You’re on your own, pals.
Also, too . . . .