From Pine View Farm

Health and Sanity category archive

News You Can Lose 0

There’s an old saying that “no news is good news.”

At Psychology Today Blogs, Arthur Dobrin argues that too much news is bad news. A snippit:

Research regarding media consumption after a public trauma found that the greater the time spent with the news, the greater the negative effects on mental health. In today’s fraught political climate and increasing threats from the climate, it is fair to assume the same relationship between the consumption of news and mental health.

Follow the link for his suggestions as to how to keep up to date without being driven up a wall.

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Crossing the Jordan 0

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Lab Leak Lunacy 0

Rebecca Watson explores the susceptibility of some to the COVID “lab leak” theory, which is supported by zero evidence whatsoever, and what that theory’s persistence portends for the polity. Her analysis motivates one to be less than sanguine about the sagacity of the susceptible. (Warning: Mild language.)

If you prefer, you can read the transcript.

Afterthought:

We are becoming a nation unmoored from factual reality.

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Vaccine Nation 0

Court to Anti-VAXXer: Case dismissed.

The stupid. It burns.

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The Privatization Scam 0

Thom dissects the con behind Medicare (Dis)Advantage and the con that is coming.

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The Privatization Scam 0

Thom talks with Dr. David Himmelstein about the deleterious effects of Medicare (Dis)Advantage.

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Witch Hunters 0

Republican Elephant, covered in growths that look like COVID viruses representing Trumpism, points at an innocent Dr. Fauci and says,

Click to view the original image.

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Vaccine Nation 0

David debunks yet another anti-Vaxxer lie. (Warning: Short promo at the end.)

There’s over two centuries of evidence that vaccines work.

Heck, I’m old enough to remember when vaccines made polio go away. When the polio vaccines became available, my parents had me at Doctor Henderson’s office quick like a bunny, because my parents were not stupid.

There’s no evidence that vaccines don’t work, and even less than no evidence that they are somehow inimical. (Yeah, I know that “less than no” seems to be irrational, but irrational numbers are a thing and we seem to have become an irrational society, so I’m going with it.)

Sadly, though, there is no vaccine against stupid, and we seeing an epidemic of stupid.

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Vaccine Nation 0

A prescription for peril:

The stupid. It burns.

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Vaccine Nation 0

Speaking of merchants of death . . . .

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“Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?” 0

Republicans keep asking that question.

At the Bangor Daily News, Michael Avery Sr. responds:

My answer to that is definitely a big yes. I am no longer subjected to seeing trucks being used as temporary morgues because the death rate from COVID-19 was overwhelming hospitals and morgues.

Follow the link for the rest of his response.

(Broken link fixed.)

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Vaccine Nation 0

Writing at the Tampa Bay Times, pediatrician Shetal Shah find the recent uptick in the number of measles cases in the U. S. to be quite alarming. Here’s a bit of his piece:

Despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines, measles outbreaks have reemerged in various parts of the country, magnified by factors such as misinformation, complacency and pockets of under-vaccinated populations. Though public health and immunology are sciences rigorously taught in medical school, politicians have replaced professors, fueling public vaccine hesitancy for political gain. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found the percentage of Republicans who believe they should decide if their children are vaccinated — even if failing to do so harms other children — more than doubled to 44% in the last five years.

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Vaccine Nation 0

RFK Jr. and COVID virus raising hands in a victory sign.

Via Yellowdoggranny.

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“Better Things for Better Living Through Chemistry” 0

Title:  Better living through chemistry?  Image:  Picture of a man with arrows pointing to his body identifying PFAS, formaldehyde, microplastics, etc.

Click for the original image.

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Maskless Marauders 0

An Alabama Republican lawmaker wants to outlaw the very notion of protecting the public good and promoting the general welfare.

Methinks selfishness is the ultimate Republican family value.

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Lessons Spurned 0

Title:  What did we learn from COVID?  Image:  Man:  It's the anniversary of a great tragedy.  Woman:  I know.  Over a million Americans have died.  Man:  I mean having to wear masks in public.  Remember how they were just overflowing into the streets.  Woman:  The morgues?  Man:  The lines for toilet paper.  Thank goodness for our heroes.  Woman:  The healthcare workers who risked their lives?  Man:  The people who defied ordinance and packed indoor spaces.  And years later people are still suffering.  Woman:  From long COVID?  Man:  The landlords who office buildings are empty because people work from home.  Well, I say never again!  Woman:  Be unprepared for a global pandemic?  Man:  Do anything as a society to contain a disease.

Click for the original image.

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Vaccine Nation 0

Sam talks with Dr. Peter J. Hotez, Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, about his recent book, The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning, and about how being against vaccines became part of right-wing idiotology.

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Vaccine Nation, Quack Quack Quack Dept. 0

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Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0

Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, Mary McNaughton-Cassill recounts two experiences she had recently when health insurance “AI” bots turned down her claims because, well, they thought they were smarter than her doctors.

Here’s a tiny bit:

In the past seven months, I have undergone two different surgeries with two different surgeons, both involving an overnight stay in the hospital. The first, which received pre-approval from my insurance company, was the culmination of several years of battling a painful autoimmune disorder. Two weeks after the procedure, I received a letter indicating that my insurer had determined that the surgery was unnecessary because I hadn’t had cancer. It took my well-known surgeon’s office six months to convince the payer that their artificial intelligence system and their expert, who trained in an unrelated medical field, had made a mistake.

It is a distressing read, but methinks a worthwhile one. Go decide for yourself.

Afterthought:

Automating greed does not make it less greedy.

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Medicare Disadvantage 0

When I qualified for Medicare (yeah, I’m old), I made sure to get traditional Medicare, because even back then [mumble] years ago, I knew that “Medicare Advantage” was little more than a con and a scam designed to let insurance companies suckle at the public teat.

And, speaking of insurance companies . . . .

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