RFKJr: Outside of Trump, The Most Dangerous Politician

"John Oliver discusses RFK Jr.’s potential to sway the presidential election, who his views are impacting on and off the campaign trail, and most importantly: what surprising little treat helps John get through the work week."

Click on this link for an expose of the many dangers of RFKJr. 

America's Frontline Doctors: The Vanguard Of Anti-Vaccine Quackery

"Simone Melissa Gold, M.D., J.D., who founded America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS), is one of the world’s most arrogant promoters of COVID-19 misinformation. Gold graduated from the City College of New York at age 19 and received her medical degree from the Chicago Medical School in 1989. After obtaining a medical license in California, she attended Stanford Law School, graduating in 1993. She was admitted to the New York bar in 1997 and shortly afterward completed a residency in emergency medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University [1]. She became board-certified in emergency medicine, but her Linkedin page states that she chose not to renew her certification “due to the medical cancel culture that is threatening physicians and the doctor patient relationship.” [2]

"AFLDS is said to be a project of the Free Speech Foundation, which was registered in Arizona as a nonprofit corporation in 2020. Documents filed with the Arizona Secretary of State list Gold as the foundation’s board chairman and chief executive officer. Mother Jones magazine has vividly described Gold’s right-wing radicalization and ascent to MAGA stardom [3]."

Click on the link below for more:

A Skeptical Look at Simone Gold and America’s Frontline Doctors

Anti-Vaccine: Founding Study Debunked, But it's Getting Worse

"Special Education teacher Kelly Burke joins us to debunk the classic Andrew Wakefield vaccine study, but there's probably a whole lot that you don't know about it because holy crap this thing was shockingly terrible. It's especially insane that it had such an impact on the anti-vax movement when it was literally a pile of garbage in every way imaginable. Come learn more about truly one of the worst science thingies to ever thing."

(https://overcast.fm/+Oqll31QXY)

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"Americans have less confidence in vaccines to address a variety of illnesses than they did just a year or two ago, and more people accept misinformation about vaccines and Covid-19, according to the latest health survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania."

(https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/vaccine-confidence-falls-as-belief-in-health-misinformation-grows/)

Why Are People Antiscience?

"From vaccination refusal to climate change denial, antiscience views are threatening humanity. When different individuals are provided with the same piece of scientific evidence, why do some accept whereas others dismiss it? Building on various emerging data and models that have explored the psychology of being antiscience, we specify four core bases of key principles driving antiscience attitudes. These principles are grounded in decades of research on attitudes, persuasion, social influence, social identity, and information processing. They apply across diverse domains of antiscience phenomena. Specifically, antiscience attitudes are more likely to emerge when a scientific message comes from sources perceived as lacking credibility; when the recipients embrace the social membership or identity of groups with antiscience attitudes; when the scientific message itself contradicts what recipients consider true, favorable, valuable, or moral; or when there is a mismatch between the delivery of the scientific message and the epistemic style of the recipient. Politics triggers or amplifies many principles across all four bases, making it a particularly potent force in antiscience attitudes. Guided by the key principles, we describe evidence-based counteractive strategies for increasing public acceptance of science."

Click on the link below for a scholarly, in-depth look at the danger and harm of anti-science, as well as its causation and recommended remedies:

Why are people antiscience, and what can we do about it?

Be Aware Of Where "Statistics" Are From

"The manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines say they are 95% effective. Peter Doshi re-examined the evidence and estimates they are only 19-29% effective. This pre-print of an as-yet unpublished re-analysis raises many questions but doesn’t support the claims being made on antivaccine sites.

"A correspondent asked for my opinion about a study that he said has been appearing widely on COVID-19 vaccine disinformation sites with claims that it proves that the vaccines are not safe or that it shows there is ' - - - a 300% greater chance of landing in the hospital from the vaccine than from Covid itself.' I read the study. In the first place, I don’t think it showed any such thing. In the second place, there were several things about the study that made me distrust it: - - - "(STATISTICAL SHENANIGANS?)

Patent Protection And Corporate Drug Morality

"Today we take a look at some of the explanations for why life-saving vaccines against COVID-19 are unavailable in much of the world while being refused by substantial numbers of people where they are widely available."

Click on the link below for a podcast exploring Republican anti-science, anti-vaccination, "Mass Formation Psychosis", and monopoly medicine:

The Epidemic of Patent Protection and Propaganda

A Lesson In Accepting Claims

The anti-vaccine crowd is touting the results of an Israeli study that found that natural immunity post-COVID-19 infection was much more effective against the Delta variant than two doses of vaccine (link). However, they ignore the very important recommendation of getting vaccinated anyway! In addition, this was just ONE study narrowing in on the Delta variant. 

If one were to do their homework on the issue, one would easily find several studies supporting vaccine being superior to natural immunity (link)(link)(link). 

Science-based thinkers do not "cherry-pick" their research.

COVID-19: Vaccines Vs Natural Immunity

There is much misinformation regarding vaccines, natural immunity, herd immunity, antibody tests, et al, especially since the pandemic of COVID-19 intertwined with the Repugnant misinformation campaign. Click on the link below for clarification:

Why the COVID vaccine beats "Natural Immunity"

The US Government And Vaccines

U.S. Supreme Court

Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905)

Jacobson v. Massachusetts

No. 70

Argued December 6, 1904

Decided February 20, 1905

197 U.S. 11

" - - - The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States does not import an absolute right in each person to be at all times, and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint, nor is it an element in such liberty that one person, or a minority of persons residing in any community and enjoying the benefits of its local government, should have the power to dominate the majority when supported in their action by the authority of the State.
"It is within the police power of a State to enact a compulsory vaccination law, and it is for the legislature, and not for the courts, to determine in the first instance whether vaccination is or is not the best mode for the prevention of smallpox and the protection of the public health."

Click on the link below for the context:,

On this day, the Supreme Court rules on vaccines and public health

Joe Mercola: The Worst Of The Worst

"Joe Mercola is a physician whose nearly a quarter-century of promoting quackery and antivaccine misinformation has garnered him a net worth north of $100 million. It is therefore not surprising that in the age of the pandemic, he has pivoted to fatten his bottom line promoting misinformation and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccines."

Click on the link below for details:

A Superspreader of Medical Misinformation

Authoritarianism In The Guise Of Freedom

Sarah Huckabee Sanders vows not to impose mask, vaccine mandates if elected governor of Arkansas (link). This sounds like "pro-freedom" but is it?. In an authoritarian government, you not only do what the dictator says to do but also don't do what the dictator says you don't need to do. Critical thinking, empathy, and promotion of the general welfare play no role in decisions made by the followers of a dictator. Ironically, the followers think they are acting out of their want for freedom when the government is actually controlling them. Click on the link below for more:

Giving up on freedom 

CNN's SE Cupp (a Republican) also chimes in on the GOP's reluctance to promote Covid-19 vaccinations and its negative consequences for the party (link).

Organized Medical Disinformation

Understand that the present antivaccination stance held by many ignorant folks is promoted by many medical disinformation activist individuals and organizations. Click on the links below for a closer look:

The Disinformation Dozen

The 'Health Freedom Movement'

If you disagree with the above, you need to falsify the findings of the consensus of the biomedical research organizations mentioned here.

Non-Medical Vaccination Exemptions

The evidence is clear: vaccines are safe and effective. For a variety of reasons, however, many people reject vaccinations for themselves and for their children. Under political pressure from these people, government entities have instituted dangerous policies called "Non-medical Vaccination Exemptions." This link shows that government policies removing nonmedical exemptions can be effective at increasing vaccination coverage. It's over-time for all government entities to abandon this practice of non-medical vaccination exemptions.

Magical Thinking And Vaccines

With the background of the current coronavirus pandemic, the video below seems timely to me. It gives insight into the mindset of the anti-vaccine folks:

What I learned from parents who don't vaccinate their kids

Religious Anti-Vaccine

When I was growing up, it seemed that the majority of those who rejected vaccines were New Age/Alternatives to Medicine proponents. Today, the media seems to be focusing on particular religious communities. The following are links addressing the religious objections to vaccines, and there are patterns.

• What the world's religions teach about immunization: "In multiple cases, ostensibly religious reasons to decline immunization actually reflected concerns about vaccine safety or personal beliefs among a social network of people organized around a faith community, rather than theologically based objections per se." (link)

• "No major religions prohibit vaccinations, and some consider it an obligation because of the potential to save lives. Many religions, however, provide that each individual has the right to decide whether or not to use vaccines according to his or her own moral conscience.[1] Regardless, some parents either fake religious adherence[2] or invent fake religions to provide exemption.[3]" (Link)

• North America was the only high-income region where people who follow a religion were much more likely to say they side with that belief system over science whenever disagreements arise. That finding was driven primarily by the US, where measles has been spreading among religious communities in states that have allowed religious vaccine exemptions: “'There are hugely important lessons to be learned about how to bring religious groups in who may be skeptical or may really question the value of science,' he added. 'But without them, you can see outbreaks [of vaccine-preventable diseases] will continue to happen.'” (Link)

• A look at what is happening, and why, within Catholicism. (Link)

Here are some educational materials against concerns over vaccines that may be helpful. (Link)

Bill Maher Exposed

"Though occasionally funny, Mr. Maher is not half as clever as he imagines himself to be. The dangerous gibberish that he spouts as enlightenment, combined with his complete lack of self-awareness, means the irony of his latest diatribe was entirely lost upon him. Unfortunately, far too many Americans still tune in, letting their worldviews be shaped by a fool posing as a wise man."

Anti-Vaxxer Bill Maher Preaches the Importance of Knowledge

Measles: What's The Harm?

"In the case of measles we have a highly contagious virus that is a leading cause of death and disability in young children. Fortunately, it is also completely preventable with a simple and effective vaccine. As the WHO points out – this is one of the most cost effective and highest benefit-to-risk ratio health interventions that humans have devised. The world-wide vaccine campaign has saved an estimated 17.1 million children deaths from measles in the last 14 years.

"Denial of these facts, and fear-mongering about vaccines, directly results in the death of children."

Measles More Deadly than Previously Thought

The EXPERTS On Vaccines

I continue to be amazed by the ignorance and ideology of many people when it comes to vaccines (other subjects also, of course).  Below are links in support of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines from the EXPERTS, who are in scientific consensus agreement on the subject:

Chickenpox Is Really A Big Deal

"According to the CDC, in 2014, 95% of children from 13 to 17 years old had received at least one dose of the Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. (Kids are supposed to receive two doses.) That's a good thing because, contrary to popular belief, chickenpox can be serious for some people. It killed roughly 100 to 150 and hospitalized more than 10,000 Americans every year in the early 1990s."

The Monster Lives!!!

Why Won’t the Andrew Wakefield Nightmare End?