To prevent anyone from thinking that I focus only on things to be pissed off about, here’s a piece of good news from the journal Science. Some fisheries are beginning to recover from overfishing, due to more stringent regulation from governments and more public interest in fishing practices. I’ve been a big proponent of sustainable fishing for as long as I’ve known the term (thanks, MBARI), so it’s nice to see that there’s some good news out there. Of course, there’s a bit of bad news as well – Europe, for all its vaunted “better than America” rhetoric, is demonstrably worse in managing their fisheries. We’ve had Alaska as an example for decades, with their seemingly neurotic obsession with sustainability, and we’ve been expanding that down the coast now. It looks like Europeans aren’t learning from the mistakes of the past, and they’re gonna kill off the bluefin tuna population if they aren’t careful.
Check out the map with the NPR article – all of the North American fisheries are either healthy or recovering; none are declining. We’ve got something to be proud of there. Regulations can be good.
The other day, I was watching the news when a clip from Fred Thompson’s radio show was played. The person talking to Thompson was Betsy McCaughey, a constitutional scholar and former Lt. Governor for New York, claimed that the health care plan being promoted in the House would mandate that all elderly people get counseling on how to end their lives sooner. This meme has been promulgated far and wide, and a video was next on the news, with the President being asked by an audience member at a town hall meeting whether the rumors were true that his hoped-for health care public option would encourage the elderly to die.
My son, all of nine years old, was able to see how ridiculous this was, and said there’s no way that anyone in the government would try to kill off their own citizens. He didn’t have any sophisticated analysis of this, of course, but even he has enough of a BS detector at his age to wonder why anyone would believe such ridiculous statements.
It’s a sad state of affairs when seemindly sane adult human beings can actually believe that their government wants to kill them (hard to get votes that way) and that the President is a foreigner (Snopes, people!). Evidence be damned, we will continue to believe ludicrous things because they reinforce what we want to believe. And the pundits who encourage this behavior? Yay for the First Amendment, you can say and believe any fool thing you want, but this is just shameful behavior. Fanning flames of anger and fear (always fear – talk to any winger and you’ll hear the words afraid or scared frequently) just to get ratings or get political points…disgusting.
Run any statement any politician or pundit says past a nine year-old; if he says it’s ludicrous, assume it is.
(Note: this is an edited version of the infamous article on chiropractic that got Simon Singh sued. It is being reposted all over the web today by multiple blogs and online magazines. Why edited? English libel laws make Singh at risk if the full article were published even in the USA.)
Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all, but the research suggests chiropractic therapy has mixed results – and can even be lethal, says Simon Singh.
You might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that “99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae”. In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.
In fact, Palmer’s first chiropractic intervention supposedly cured a man who had been profoundly deaf for 17 years. His second treatment was equally strange, because he claimed that he treated a patient with heart trouble by correcting a displaced vertebra.
You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact some still possess quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything, including helping treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying – even though there is not a jot of evidence.
I can confidently label these assertions as utter nonsense because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world’s first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects, he examined the evidence from 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.
But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.
In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.
More worryingly, the hallmark technique of the chiropractor, known as high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust, carries much more significant risks. This involves pushing joints beyond their natural range of motion by applying a short, sharp force. Although this is a safe procedure for most patients, others can suffer dislocations and fractures.
Worse still, manipulation of the neck can damage the vertebral arteries, which supply blood to the brain. So-called vertebral dissection can ultimately cut off the blood supply, which in turn can lead to a stroke and even death. Because there is usually a delay between the vertebral dissection and the blockage of blood to the brain, the link between chiropractic and strokes went unnoticed for many years. Recently, however, it has been possible to identify cases where spinal manipulation has certainly been the cause of vertebral dissection.
Laurie Mathiason was a 20-year-old Canadian waitress who visited a chiropractor 21 times between 1997 and 1998 to relieve her low-back pain. On her penultimate visit she complained of stiffness in her neck. That evening she began dropping plates at the restaurant, so she returned to the chiropractor. As the chiropractor manipulated her neck, Mathiason began to cry, her eyes started to roll, she foamed at the mouth and her body began to convulse. She was rushed to hospital, slipped into a coma and died three days later. At the inquest, the coroner declared: “Laurie died of a ruptured vertebral artery, which occurred in association with a chiropractic manipulation of the neck.”
This case is not unique. In Canada alone there have been several other women who have died after receiving chiropractic therapy, and Edzard Ernst has identified about 700 cases of serious complications among the medical literature. This should be a major concern for health officials, particularly as under-reporting will mean that the actual number of cases is much higher.
If spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market.
Simon Singh is a science writer in London and the co-author, with Edzard Ernst, of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. This is an edited version of an article published in The Guardian for which Singh is being personally sued for libel by the British Chiropractic Association.
You may recall the decorated sheep that are now placed around San Angelo – the husky was scared of one a while back, and The Boy and I watched the Sheeptacular parade when they were first introduced to the community. Some idiot college students swiped one. They were planning to return it, they said, because who needs a five-foot fiberglass sheep in their living room? Of course, they also let the police knock on their door for an hour before letting them in; did they think the cops might get tired and go away?
Surprisingly to many, this is considered a state felony, because the value of the stolen property was over $1500. I remember some folks in high school swiped the Bob’s Big Boy statue from down the road – would have sucked to get hit with a felony charge.
Remember, don’t rustle sheep – Jonny Law will get ya.
As I’m sure Stewart himself will find apalling, there’s a Time online poll (no scientific accuracy to speak of, self-selected population, blah blah blah) which shows more people think Jon Stewart is a trustworthy news source than Brian Williams or Charlie Gibson or Katie Couric.
For years now, Stewart has been defending himself from mainstream journalists and pundits, who say he’s not upholding the correct dignity or standards of a journalist. His response is always some variation of, “I’m on Comedy Central and you expect me to be the journalistic role model? We are screwed as a country.” Yet, academic studies have found that the Daily Show, although calling themselves a fake news show, has just as much or more substantive news coverage as the networks. How sad is that?
Way back in 2003, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looked at the available data regarding phone usage while driving. Their recommendations would have included a total ban on phones being used by drivers while in motion, whether with or without hands-free devices. I say “would have” because they never released the report. They were afraid of angering Congress. Get that? Public safety took a back seat to political expediency. The only reason we’re hearing about it now is because of Freedom of Information Act requests/lawsuits by two consumer advocacy groups.
Shouldn’t the NHTSA be a consumer advocacy group? Interestingly, cell phone usage has increased greatly since 2002, the year they gathered data. About half of Americans had cell phones then, and nearly 90% do today.
There’s a new report from Fort Carson that details some of the potential reasons that post has been home to a distressing cluster of homicide and suicide in recent years. Not surprising to veterans, it concludes that combat makes some people messed up in the head. And, also not a surprise, some (many?) soldiers and leaders belittle mental health issues, causing soldiers who are messed up to not seek treatment except through alcohol, drugs and the occasional act of gunplay.
Mainstream press is surprised.
According to scuttlebutt, the leading candidate to replace crazy creationist dentist Don McLeroy on the Texas Board of Education is a woman who believes public education is unconstitutional, tyrannical and should be abolished.
This is why it’s so hard to understand conservatives. They insist on being in charge of organizations that they claim should not exist at all, then point to their own poor performance as proof that such organizations don’t work well. Of course they don’t work when they’re run by people who hate them and want them abolished. Duh?
Would it be too much to ask that the state board of education include people who actually understand education and science and the arts? And if they happen to think that the board of education (or public schools) has a right to exist, that would be good too.
Former Senator and former Presidential candidate (i.e., private citizen) admits affair. Pilloried by right-wing pundits as a horribly evil human being. Demoncrat!
President has affair with intern. Harassed and impeached (high crimes? really?) but acquitted. Demoncrat!
Congressman divorces wife, another woman found dead in his office. He resigns, but gets a gig as a television commentator. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Governor of prominent state has multiple affairs, including an accusation of assault. Winked at by the media. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Author of the ludicrously-named “Defense of Marriage Act” and major proponent of Clinton impeachment has affair while married, divorces wife and marries mistress. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Congressman calls Clinton a scumbag for his affair, admits to an out-of-wedlock child from his own affair. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee has an affair, steps down from his chairmanship but won’t quit the Senate. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association has an affair (trips to Argentina paid for by taxpayers), steps down from his chairmanship but won’t resign his governorship. It’s ok, he’s Republican.
Please stop preaching “family values” to us, GOP. KTHXBYE.
From Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, 1787:
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
From the United States Congress, July 2008:
Companies such as AT&T were granted immunity under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act (FISAAA). The law gave companies immunity from lawsuits if the U.S. government provided proof to a court that the surveillance was authorized by the president, was legal or did not occur. It applied to surveillance that happened between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 17, 2007.
From U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, June 2009:
Screw you, citizens! Ex post facto is a great idea!
I’m astounded that the judge could find in this way. Immunizing organizations or people for breaking laws that were in effect at the time the crime was committed sets a horrible precedent. The lawsuits were filed in 2006, and the law was passed two years later to make the cases moot. That’s an amazing piece of legislative interference in judicial matters. Silly separation of powers. Silly constitution.
You just have to wonder about the priorities of the Catholic Church.
- Male priest has romantic relationship with a woman. Reaction from the Catholic church:
- Over 800 priests abuse thousands of children for decades, with the aid and collusion of the Irish government. Church reaction: silence.
- Priests sexually abuse thousands of children in the United States. Church reaction: move priests around and threaten anyone who speaks out with expulsion.
Father Cutie’s actions have caused grave scandal within the Catholic Church, harmed the Archdiocese of Miami — especially our priests — and led to division within the ecumenical community and the community at large.
The GIs in the office I’m currently working from all have an abiding love of Fox News, leaving the television stuck on that channel all day long, and (regulations be damned) speak against President Obama quite freely. One of the officers asked if I’d seen some headline on Drudge Report (after having a discussion about my Skeptic magazine). As if that’s not bad enough, they just decided to turn off the television (too much Obama made them ill) and turned on some music. First request, not with any sense of irony or mockery: Got any Nickelback?Â
Fortunately, I don’t need to worry about fitting in, as I’m expecting to move to a different office in a month. Nickelback and Faux News, yay.
Just saw a Citi commercial touting their ability to make wise investment decisions. I beg to differ. They asked the U.S. government for a bailout, if you recall. When any company needs to ask me for money, I question their business acumen.
How many times is a variation on this story going to come out before someone finally realizes the absurdity of “no knock” warrants and the entire facade of the War on (Some) Drugs? Police shoot, kill two dogs during raid. They were looking for someone, nameless, and hydrocodone. Um, isn’t that the drug Rush Limbaugh uses? How is it legal to have a warrant for an address, with no name on it?
Another recent dog killing, in Tampa Bay. This one, the dog’s owner wasn’t being interrogated or searched, she was voluntarily answering a query from a cop when the cop just plugged her pup in the skull and then walked away.
A state Senate hearing on the increasing militarization of our humble protectors, who are allowed to break into people’s homes without warrants in some cases, and don’t need to identify themselves or even have to apologize later for fucking it all up.
A pit bull who looks far too much like Leo, gunned down by cops looking for a DUI suspect by randomly running through people’s yards and shooting their pets.
Previous post on same subject.
News from several fronts on fossils today.
First, there’s a great skeleton of a pre-whale about to give birth, fossilized with the fetus’s head facing out, which means the animal probably gave birth on land, even though the body is blatantly aquatic. Maiacetus must have been clumsy on land, but a great find. This was found in Pakistan, and is published in the Open Science journal PLOS.
Second, the remains of a 42-foot long snake dating from 60 million years ago, which would have weighed around 2500 pounds. This is the largest snake to ever be discovered; the titanoboa could swallow a cow. The snake was found in Colombia, the oldest rain forest on the planet.
Finally, sponges left fossil evidence as far back as 635 million years ago. This is 100 million years prior to the so-called Cambrian Explosion (an explosion that took tens of millions of years), and is the oldest fossil evidence so far. The fossils were found in Oman.
These last two stories are from the Feb 5 issue of Nature, a really expensive journal for professional working scientists. Wish I could afford the subscription some days.
You know how the right-wing pundits have been crying about the stimulus package including too much money for poor people? Compassionate conservative my…
Anyway, those same pundits have been crying about the President’s budget proposal containing a 10% reduction in the defense budget. The proposal is for 527 billion dollars, which is actually the exact same number that former President Bush had projected for 2010. If you look at the numbers, this represents an increase in the military budget from 2009 of over 30 billion dollars. Somehow, the wingers didn’t notice the actual real-life decrease in defense spending from 2006 through 2008, yet they have invented a decrease for 2010 that doesn’t exist in any logical way. Oh, and by the way, we still spend almost as much on our military as the entire rest of the planet combined. I doubt anyone will think we’ve become weak and vulnerable any time soon.
As I may have said before, think for yourself and never believe pundits without research.
Michael Phelps, fastest swimmer on record, smoked pot. Well, that proves it then – doing drugs leads to nothing but failure. Some other pot-smokers I know of, just off the top of my head: President Obama, former President Bush, former President Clinton… Yep, a road to ruin there.
The CBO analysis of the stimulus is available online. If you really want to know what the impact of the stimulus may be, read it for yourself. Don’t believe whatever talking heads say. Especially don’t believe what they said last week, before the analysis had been released. Lying bastards. It’s true that the CBO says much of the money won’t be spent in federal fiscal year 2009. If you think about it for a few seconds, you’d realize this is blatantly obvious. FY 2009 started in October, so it’ll be about one-third over before the bill becomes law. Then, it still takes time for things to get moving. The “quick” moves won’t be able to add money to the economy until April, half-way into the fiscal year. A multi-year stimulus which has a lower impact in a 6-month “year” than in the following 12-month year? SHOCKING! A quote from the NY Times seems to be aghast that it may take a few months to a year to get some construction projects moving. Yeah, well…have you seen how long it takes to complete or even plan major construction projects? Boston could tell you.
One thing the CBO won’t tell you, quite explicitly denoted on the front page of their report, is what return on investment we can expect for each provision, or the bill as a whole. No matter what Marie Cocco says, the CBO doesn’t make those predictions. But, most economists agree that tax cuts (while nice and I’ll take any money the government sees fit to give back to me) are not as effective as you might think. Turns out, most of us actually save some of that money when we get it, rather than immediately spend every dime. One typical comment:
“People are going to spend 30, 40 cents on the dollar, so the multiplier is going to be low,†said Adam S. Posen, deputy director of the Peterson Institute of International Economics.
So, according to the vast majority of respected economists, including those with Nobel prizes, the stimulus might work, but it might be too late for anything to make things better in the short term. Even Christina Romer (President Obama’s economic adviser) thinks the stimulus will only slow the growth rate of the unemployment rate in the near term, bringing it back down in two years. But, they all agree that to do nothing is definitely not going to do anything of value.
“We have very few good examples to guide us,†said William G. Gale, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the liberal-leaning research organization. “I don’t know of any convincing evidence that what has been proposed is going to be enough.â€
Christina Romer, whom Mr. Obama has designated to be his chief economist, concluded in research she helped write in 1994 that interest-rate policy is the most powerful force in economic recoveries and that fiscal stimulus generally acts too slowly to be of much help in pulling the economy out of recessions, though associates said she now supports a big stimulus package if policy makers roll it out early enough in the recession.
Adam Posen, the deputy director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said Mr. Obama’s plan could provide just the right boost — if it was carried out properly.
Alan J. Auerbach, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, said the overall scale of the program looked “reasonable†at $800 billion over two years.
“It’s much bigger than anything that’s been tried in my lifetime, but this is scarier than anything we’ve seen in my lifetime,†Professor Auerbach said.
For those who point out that Romer once said that throwing money at a recession doesn’t work – no. You’re wrong, that’s not what she said. She said that monetary policy is better to use than fiscal policy. Unfortunately, the interest rates are at zero now, so there is no more room for monetary policy. Fiscal policy is what we have available, so that’s what we’re stuck with.
For those who think that tax cuts or tax rebates are better than paying for infrastructure buildouts – no. You’re wrong, and almost no economist agrees with you.
Mark M. Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, a forecasting firm, told a forum of House Democrats this week that the “bang for the buck†— the additional economic activity generated by each dollar of fiscal stimulus — was highest for increases in food and unemployment benefits. Each dollar of additional money for food stamps yields $1.73 in additional economic activity, Mr. Zandi estimated, and each extra dollar in unemployment benefits yields about $1.63.
By contrast, Mr. Zandi estimated, most tax cuts produce less than a dollar for each dollar of stimulus, especially if the tax cuts are temporary, because people save at least some of their extra money.
Joel Slemrod, a professor of tax policy at the University of Michigan, said, “The research I’ve done on the 2001 and 2008 tax rebates suggests that the proportion of the rebates that went to spending was rather small, about one-third.â€
I look forward to more random people throwing up logical fallacies. How about, “argument from personal incredulity?” That’s always a good one. After all, if something doesn’t make sense to you, I’m sure that highly trained economists have spent no time at all on it and it’s all just a guess to them too. Over 140 economists, including 5 Nobel Prize winners, support the stimulus package. If you want to convince me of your point of view, bring more expert opinion than that.
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