Waterloo

"It's too big", a friend said, when I started opposing homeopathy. Yeah, right:

"Homeopathy has been in retreat around the world, at least in terms of official recognition and reimbursement. Homeopathy hospitals are closing in the UK, the FDA has decided to finally start regulating at least the worst homeopathic offenders, and now a French university, Lille, has decided to suspend its homeopathy degree for the 2018-19 academic year."

"Better late than never", as they say, but, damn, France - is this shit late.

Acting? Who Said Anything About Acting? Fuck Acting

 

Whew Boy. The Dallas Buyer's Club. Slate's talking Matthew McConaughey Oscar bait, while Slant knows - having been here before - that can only mean one thing:

"One could argue that the AMA and Big Pharma, with their endless pockets and insurmountable lobbying power, have fought their battle against natural medicine, chiropractors, and any other voices of marginal dissent so unfairly for so long that the most effective response is necessarily one-sided. But if you're appealing to the reason of the consumer, and if you intend to respect the intelligence of your audience, sacrificing intelligent debate for the sake of impassioned delivery reduces the intellectual substance of your arguments drastically."

Discuss amongst yourselves - Slate even admits the lie:

"In reality, though the FDA did warn AIDS patients about one of Woodroof’s drugs in particular, they seem to have largely taken a 'look the other way' approach with Woodroof and his club."

Like Milk - which really should've mentioned Jim Jones and The People's Temple - for some reason, somebody's trying to feed us a line, here, again. Why do they keep doing that?

I don't know who all is in on it, or probably what's-what, even - no name on it like "Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'" - all I know, for sure, is this much: 

Slant opens with "new-age-y" and that's good enough for me,...

Better-Than-Hot Air Candidate Number One: USAToday!

Of all the papers out there, the usually-totally-uninformative USAToday delivered what has to be, for a layman, a pretty damned informative article on one industry that fueled Mitt Romney's inspiring rise and fortune. It's described a little differently here than at the Republican National Convention, but I mean, bing, bang, pow, man - this paper is really working to rectify any discrepancies, ASAP:

While many in the alternative medicine industry are cashing in, Offit says there are few people looking out for the desperate patients whose hopes — and bank accounts — are being exploited. 

"Quackery is an enormous concern," Briggs says. 

Consumers are often taken in by outrageous claims, partly because they lack the scientific knowledge to spot phonies, and partly because they fall victim to a huckster's charismatic personality, Offit says. 

"Our science literacy is terrible as a nation," Briggs says. "People like magic. I don't know why, but they do." 

Many Americans are unaware that supplements, unlike drugs, don't need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration — or tested for safety — before going on the market, Offit says. One study found that 58% of Americans believe that the FDA must approve herbal supplements before they're sold. 

"When a consumer buys a food supplement or dietary supplement, they may think it's really going to do what it says on the label," Waxman says. "That's not necessarily the case. ... Consumers should know that when they buy a dietary supplement, they are really on their own."

[Light organ. Preacher's cadence:]

Brothers and Sisters, can we please take a moment, to thank Mitt again, for his service to his country, in this matter, and then be honored, with another rousing speech, from his ugly, NewAge MS-riddled wife, about how fucking lucky we are, to have him, working, in this way, on our behalf?

I said "please" you haters.

Once we can cross-reference this type of information with the coming spiritual unmasking, it'll eventually make a dent. I understand it's difficulty, like studying Homer. I can wait.

In the mean time, good job, USAToday:

It's nice to know you don't have to be shit, all the time, either,...

 

Staying Abreast Of Things So You Don't Have To

What do they mean, our placenta pills are a fraud? YOUR placenta pills are a fraud - and we've still got the placenta to prove it:

A popular type of weight-loss products, heavily promoted on the Internet, is fraudulent and illegal, Food and Drug Administration officials say.

HCG weight-loss products that promise dramatic results and claim to be homeopathic are sold as drops, pellets and sprays on the Web, in drugstores and at General Nutrition Centers. They are supposed to be used in combination with a very low-calorie diet of 500 calories a day.

Many of the labels indicate the products contain HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone made by the placenta during pregnancy.

Shhh! Nobody tell Oprah - that bitch is still walking around with dick on her face!

The Campaign's Over, John (You Got My Vote)

"The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA), S. 3002 (text of this bill posted on Senator McCain's website), that McCain has introduced with one cosponsor, would repeal key provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) to 'more effectively regulate dietary supplements that may pose safety risks unknown to consumers.'

Sen. McCain described his bill as a 'no brainer.'"

-- Ann Shibler, who is livid - just livid - that our crazy uncle, who few wanted as president, is doing the right thing to some very, very bad criminal and quack legislation, on JBS.org.

This Stand-Off Is Pretty Clear (Pull The Trigger)

"How do homeopathic products get away with their quackery?

Well, back in 1938, a US Senator named Royal Copeland inserted a provision into the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act that exempted homeopathic preparations from FDA oversight. They don’t have to prove any of their claims.  (Should I mention that Copeland was a homeopath in civil life?)

No requirement to prove effectiveness or even safety. That exemption is long overdue for revocation."

F. Paul Wilson, on the caring oversight the government's taken toward quackery - no mention of the corrosive belief system that goes along with homeopathy - which (like homeopathy's "healing" properties) doesn't exist, though we now have the True/Slant.

"If every last allegation that Church of Scientology (CoS) defector Nancy Many charges in My Billion Year Contract is true, then her book should inspire several FBI raids and a Lifetime mini-series to rival any Charles Manson documentary. But even if just some of her trials really happened — we'll leave that debate to Many and her ex-cronies — her new memoir might still be the most shocking nonfiction work featured at this week's American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Boston."

Chris Faraone, reviewing a new book by another Scientology escapee (yes: we are having an effect) and with another statement the government ought to act - aggressively - so, maybe, common sense can rise again like The Boston Phoenix.