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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Religion

Richard Dawkins’ painfully simplistic take on measles among Orthodox Jews: “Religion poisons everything.”

Richard Dawkins saw the measles outbreaks among the Orthodox Jews of Brooklyn and Rockland County, and Tweeted, “Religion poisons everything.” Unfortunately for him, it’s way more complicated than that.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science

Measles outbreaks among Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and Michigan: Compare and contrast

There’s an ongoing measles outbreak among the Orthodox Jewish community in southeast Michigan. The genesis of the outbreak is more complex than the usual “antivaxers did it” narrative, and this outbreak shows how we’re all interconnected.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

The annals of “I’m not antivaccine,” part 27: Vaccine mandates as “medical rape” (again)

It’s ba-ack. In response to efforts to make personal belief exemptions harder to obtain, an old and particularly vile antivax trope is back: Vaccine mandates as rape, with a new #metoo-inspired twist, namely “vaccine injured” children as victims of sexual assault whose assaulters are trying to silence them.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine News of the Weird Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Out for signatures: A California ballot initiative by Cheriel Jensen that sounds as though it were written by Mike Adams

Last week, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla approved a ballot initiative to collect signatures that would, if passed, reverse school vaccine mandates, ban GMOs, and demonize chemicals. It sounds like something Mike Adams would have written. Fortunately, 365,880 signatures of registered voters are needed, which makes it unlikely that this will pass.

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Religion Science

Cranks of a feather, part 2: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cozies up the Nation of Islam over SB 277

Last Thursday I took note of a rather fascinating confluence of cranks who have come together to oppose SB 277 in California. For those not familiar with SB 277, it is a bill currently under consideration in the California Assembly that would eliminate nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. It was passed by the Senate […]