Categories
Biology Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Politics Science Skepticism/critical thinking

How much science matters to the average American?

Heard on the radio this morning, a commenter responding to a radio talk show host’s pointing out to him that Mike Huckabee doesn’t accept evolution as valid. This is as close as I can remember what he said, but the gist is correct: We disagree on that. But not believing in evolution is something I […]

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Open-minded to the point of brains falling out: Antivaccinationists appointed to federal autism panel

We’ve had one example this week of people with minds so open that their brains fell out at the Oxford Union, which invited Holocaust denier and British National Party leader Nick Griffin to “discuss free speech.” Now, sadly, I see another, this time it’s the United States government, which has invited die-hard antivaccinationists to be […]

Categories
Cancer Medicine Politics

Medicare to lymphoma patients: Go screw yourselves

Abel Pharmboy at Terra Sigillata has the full story. In brief, Medicare has slashed reimbursement for two radioimmunotherapy drugs Bexxar (131I-tositumomab) and Zevalin (90Y-ibritumomab) to below acquisition cost. This is not some experimental therapy that’s being denied, but rather a therapy with a established clinical efficacy. Naturally, this is likely to lead to most centers […]

Categories
Entertainment/culture Personal Politics

Get off my lawn, you whipper-snappers!

Friday morning while doing some work in my office, I was treated to a discussion by the two hosts of a morning radio talk show. The talk was apparently prompted by a rather odd website, ihateyoungpeople.com, which asks: We want you to create a video of yourself explaining what you hate the most about young […]

Categories
Medicine Politics Science

Animal “rights” terrorism, revisited

I’ve written before about how animal rights cranks have started resorting to terroristic tactics in order to intimidate or frighten researchers into ceasing to do animal research. As you may guess, I have little but contempt for the Animal Liberation Front (is that anything like the People’s Front of Judea or the Judean People’s Front?) […]