Categories
Clinical trials Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Quote mining about secondhand smoke

Not surprisingly, in response to my article on the health risks of secondhand smoke yesterday, the “skeptics’ came out in force, although I must admit that even I hadn’t expected quite as large an influx as what appeared. Perhaps I’ll prepare a general response in the near future (and, no, I didn’t take the Surgeon […]

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

As if there were any doubt about the cult of personality around Andrew Wakefield

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I just don’t understand it. I just don’t understand how anyone can take the charlatan Andrew Wakefield seriously anymore. If anyone had any doubt that there is a cult of personality around this discredited vaccine fear-monger, whose shoddy science and undisclosed conflicts of interest managed to […]

Categories
Cancer Medicine Politics

Blowing smoke over secondhand smoke

“What do you think about second hand smoke?” he asked me. I sensed ulterior motives behind the question, but I wasn’t sure. I suspected that he was just looking for an argument. “It’s bad,” I joked. “Some have told me that the studies don’t show any health problems from second hand smoke,” he replied. “I’m […]

Categories
Humor News of the Weird Science fiction/fantasy

Oh, you nasty Wookiee!

I’m disappointed to find out that Chewbacca is a bad, bad Wookiee: (CBS) HOLLYWOOD, Calif. A Chewbacca impersonator is accused of sexually assaulting a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in front of the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood in June. The wookie then reportedly evaded arrest, police said. According to an officer with the LAPD, Chewbacca allegedly took […]

Categories
Medicine Politics

Paul Offit responds to denialism.com

As a result of my e-mailing the link to a mailing list I belong to asking members whether they thought it was outside the pale, Dr. Offit became aware of Mark’s blog post about denialism in the Wall Street Journal editorial page that I castigated for its casually lumping Paul Offit’s editorial on the Michael […]