I Speak of Dreams

Why I Dislike the Term "Allopathy"

From Kimball Attwood at Science Based Medicine (Homeopathy & Evidence-Based Medicine)

“Allopathy” was the term coined by Hahnemann to dramatize the contrast between homeopathy and its competition. According to Hahnemann, “allopathic” medicine sought to give only medicines that suppressed symptoms:

Frequent Science-Based Medicine commenter Jan Willem Nienhuys (I don't remember if he's an MD or not)

A small aside: Weil refers to “allopathic medicine”. The term “allopathic” is pathognomonic for brain rot. Originally it was coined by Samuel Hahnemann to indicate the evils of 18th century medicine, as opposed to his homeopathy. The etymology for “allopathy” was medicine that does always something inappropriate. More specifically: treatment with bloodletting, purgatives, emetics, klysmas, cupping, artificial ulcers, scarification, acupuncture, moxibustion, cauterisation and etching, and “drugs” consisting of crazy herbal mixtures and/or metallic compounds (such as lead or copper oxide), in general, “dangerous, violent medicines”. In short, what we nowadays call naturopathy.

The chiroquacktors use the word allopathy a lot to disparage medicine (as opposed to their fantasy world).

Kelly M. Bray On His Son

I should have posted this on Father's Day; it was one of the things I was thinking about. It moved me tremendously the first time I read it, but  I kept losing where Kelly posted it originally.  I asked his permission to post it here.

My 14 year old son has autism. He is geeky, gawky, dorky, sometimes skips when he walks, and runs funny. He is also intelligent, funny, tells horrible jokes, is kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and loves animals. He is a great joy in my life.

But there was a time a time when I was not so sure about what I felt. He was five years old and struggling at times. I wasn't sure how he was going to do in life, how he was going to make it. I was in a great deal of emotional pain. I was talking to my mentor in a program, and felt like I was being torn apart. My younger brother was severely mentally and physically disabled. It tore my parents lives apart, and all I saw was life going down that exact path. I cried out “Why in hell did God damage my son's brain, why him???” My friend looked at me with great compassion and said “ I don't know”. He then asked me “Do you love Tim?” I told him “With all my heart”. He then said “ If I was able to give you the power of God right now...what would you do, what would you change?”. My mind whirled, but I was suddenly stumped. What could I change about him that would not change the parts of him that were unique and beautiful?

The little boy who would run down the daycare hall screaming "daddy" and jump into my arms.

The little boy who put his arms around me and tell me he loved me as “big as the sky”.

The little boy who would crawl into bed with me ask me to read a story with him and then curl up next me asleep.

I realized I loved him exactly the way he was, exactly who he was, perfect, and I would not change a thing.

That does not mean I won't help him be the best person he can be. But it means I am not going to go around thinking he is broken and cursing the world for creating him. I truly pity the parents who are so busy being angry and resentful that they cannot appreciate the beauty of the child they have. I can and I am forever blessed by it.

Act Now! Public Comments to CMS on What is Community Care for the Disabled

A call to action from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Do you believe that people with disabilities should have the right to make decisions about our own services? To choose with whom and where we live? To be able to invite visitors home and make our own decisions about how to spend our day, decorate our homes and what kinds of services we want and don't want? Today, you have an opportunity to make these rules law! 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency that funds most disability service provision in the United States, has put forward a regulation that would set out requirements for how service providers receiving Home and Community Based Services funding can behave. CMS has proposed a wide variety of crucial protections, such as protecting people with disabilities from eviction from our homes due to refusing a particular service or treatment, requiring that community providers must respect the choice and autonomy of the people they support and many other important protections that will empower people with disabilities in interactions with their service providers.

But these regulations are facing severe opposition from many in the provider industry that believe that people with disabilities are "too disabled" to make these choices for ourselves. We have till this Monday to make our voices heard, before the CMS Public Comment period closes for good! Follow these simple instructions to make sure you're represented:

Please go to the call to action and follow the suggested steps.

Welcome to Skepticism 101! The Skeptical Studies Curriculum Resource Center

Just a note to publicize this resource.  After I finish Paul Offit's Vaccines course, I will start working through these curricula

Skeptic » Skepticism 101 » Welcome to Skepticism 101! The Skeptical Studies Curriculum Resource Center.

WELCOME TO SKEPTICISM 101! 

The Skeptical Studies Curriculum Resource Center  is a comprehensive, free repository of resources for teaching students how to think skeptically. This Center contains an ever-growing selection of books, reading lists, course syllabi, in-class exercises, PowerPoint presentations, student projects, papers, and videos that you may download and use in your own classes.

All Those People Turning Into Sheep

No, not literally turning into sheep, but changing their avatars or images to sheep, like this:

Image source: http://www.worth1000.com/entries/396856/smart-sheep

It all started with Allison Hagood getting an email from a vaccine rejectionist saying that "said, among other things, that she'd like to punch me in my scientific sheep face."

So I found a scientific sheep.  And other people have found other sheep.  So now you know.

(I think it has to do with sheeple.) 

Updated to add several photos that amuse me.

This is a still from the movie Black Sheep

I think Caterina made that at http://zipmeme.com/

This appears to be a scan of a newspaper picture.

Epic Face-palm Video compilation

Yes, it has been that kind of day, or week.

And like this:

And even like this

 

Edited to add:

Canary Party Protesting Autistic College Students Learning Leadership Skills

No, really.  This fringe political party is protesting the Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) summer institute, calling it "morally wrong" and "harmful" for the participants.

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) organized a summer institute for autistic college students.  The institute will  "prepare students to engage in self-advocacy and pro-neurodiversity activism on their college campuses."

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF)  is sponsoring ACI, so the institute (including transportation) is free of charge for the selected students.   Well-done, MEAF, and thank you!  The foundation's mission is:

To help make Changes for the Better for the one-out-of-five Americans of student age who have physical, mental, or learning disabilities.

 If you would like to congratulate Mitsubishi leadership for their visionary support of ACI, here's how: Write a message of support and approval, and send it to:

Katsuya Takamiya, President and CEO, 
Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc.

Americas Corporate Office
5665 Plaza Drive
P.O. Box 6007
Cypress, CA 90630--0007 
Phone: (714) 220-2500
Facsimile:  (714) 229-3854
E-mail: CustomerCare@meus.mea.com

Or use the contact form at this link:http://www.mitsubishielectric-usa.com/contact/contact.php

Mitsubishi Electric public relations: use this contact form https://www.mitsubishielectric.com/ssl/contact/company/prd/form.html

Kevin R. Webb, Director, 
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
1560 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1150
Arlington VA 22209
Telephone: 703-276-8240
Fax 714-220-4855
Or use this contact form http://www.meaf.org/contact-us.php

Here's my message: 

Thank you for Mitsubishi's support of autistic college students, through ASAN's Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) Summer Institute. I gather that MEAF's support has made the ACI Institute free of charge for participants.

It has come to my attention that a fringe anti-autistic, anti-vaccination group is protesting your support of this leadership training program. I hope you can ignore this group.

It is my hope that the next generation of young autistic adults will be leaders both in their community and in the understanding of autism. I thank you for helping these students fulfill their potential to become leaders. 

Here's the link to the action alert:   Mitsubishi Funds Group that Opposes Preventing or Curing Autism

Help An Autistic Get to Autreat 2012

What is Autreat, you ask? 

Autreat is a retreat-style conference run by autistic people, for autistic people and our friends.

Autreat focuses on positive living with autism, NOT on causes, cures, or ways to make us more normal.

I would like to help my friend Kassiane S. (of Radical Neurodivergence fame, also @UVGKassi) get to Autreat 2012.  The travel costs from her home in the Pacific Northwest to the Autreat venue in Johnstown, Pennsylvania ended up being higher than anticipated.  Therefore, Kassiane is asking for ChipIn donations, which you can make right here: http://www.chipin.com/contribute/id/459be4d93bb591b8, or you can go to her blog and use the ChipIn widget.

 

There are incentives!  From Kassiane's blog:

The lovely Amy Sequenzia, a non speaking Autistic poet & self advocate, has graciously offered (I cried, not gunna lie) to send one of her poetry books to donors of $20 or more. She offered 30 of these books. Because she is an awesome human being. And yet another example of why I love my Autistic community.

I'm sending my Sunday night dinner money, since we didn't go out.  Please give as much as you can.

 

Sherry Austin and Henhouse, Appearing Live

I happened to be at the Atherton Library and to my surprise a band set up!  it's Sherry Austin and Henhouse.

The band is fronted by Sherry Austin on rhythm guitar and vocals, Sharon Allen on vocals and guitar, Tracy Parker on bass and vocals, and Santa Cruz legend Patti Maxine on lap steel and dobro. Their music ranges from sweet love songs to gritty, rockin’ songs about cars, trains, and love gone wrong. They sing with authority and passion, and their distinctive blend of folk, country and rock is filled with warmth and conviction.

I'm really enjoying the music. They are going to be at the San Gregorio General Store on Sunday June 17th, and they seem to be doing a tour of the peninsula libraries.  Worth going to see and hear.

edited to add: They are available!  They love to play for houseconcerts and parties 

Was Paul Offit MD "Reprimanded by Congress"?

The short answer is that no, Dr. Offit has never been "reprimanded by Congress" for any reason.

This myth came up again today at LeftBrain/Rightbrain.

[Paul Offit] was reprimanded by Congress for voting on vaccine policies for which he had financial conflicts.

What actually did happen is that Dr. Offit served on the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) from from October 1998 until June 2003.

In August 1999, the Congressional Committee on Government Reform initiated an investigation into Federal vaccine policy; the investigation focused on possible conflicts of interest on the part of Federal policy-makers.  Why would a committee undertake such an investigation, if there wasn't a hint of a problem?  Because the committee was chaired by Rep. Dan Burton, the congressman who to this day believes in the vaccine theory of autism causation and is notably anti-vaccine.

Note the date, 1999.  This was during the "autism is vaccine injury" panic.  Do you think the investigation was unbiased?  I don't either.

The other half of the puzzle is the short-lived rotavirus vaccine Rotashield.  This vaccine  was licensed in August 1998, and withdrawn October 22, 1999, after concerns about an elevated occurance of intussusception among  children who received the vaccine. The CDC estimated that one to two additional cases of intussusception would be caused among each 10,000 infants who received the RotaShield vaccine. The incidence of intussusception was sufficiently rare that field trials of hundreds of thousands of children would have been required to detect this attribute of the vaccine.  In other words, the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System worked.

The report, Conflicts of Interest in Vaccine Policy Making, was released on August 21, 2000.  The report was critical of the CDC's policies and enforcement of policies, and used the conditions of committee members to illustrate the weak policies and lax enforcement.  

Here's what the actual report says about Dr. Offit:

Page 30:

Dr. Offit shares the patent on the Rotavirus vaccine in development by Merck and received a $350,000 grant from Merck for Rotavirus vaccine development. Also, he acts as a consultant to Merck.

Dr. Offit began his tenure on ACIP in October of 1998. Out of four votes pertaining to the ACIP’s rotavirus statement, he voted yes three times, including voting for the inclusion of the rotavirus vaccine in the VFC program.

Dr. Offit abstained from voting on the ACIP’s rescission of the recommendation of the rotavirus vaccine for routine use. He stated at the meeting, “I’m not conflicted with Wyeth, but because I consult with Merck on the development of rotavirus vaccine, I would still prefer to abstain because it creates a perception of conflict.”

Hardly a "reprimand".

If you want to read the actual report yourself,   Download Conflicts_of_Interest_Aug_21_2000