Respectful Insolence
MMS (a.k.a., bleach) for autism: Just when I thought I was out…
Posted by Orac on June 21, 2012 The clip above says it all with respect to “miracle mineral solution” (a.k.a. MMS). Just when I thought I was out…they pull me back in. And, as Yoda would probably put it, back in I am one more time. (How’s that for mixing movie allusions?) Let’s recap. MMS is bleach. Specifically, it is a 28%…
Choprawoo, automated
Posted by Orac on June 21, 2012 I realize that this has been posted by a lot of people on Facebook and around the blogosphere, but I can’t resist. Given my history of making fun of Deepak Chopra’s inimitable type of woo and even coining the term “Choprawoo” for that combination of the pretentious and stupid that Deepak Chopra regularly lays down.…
Oh, goody. NCCAM has a blog.
Posted by Orac on June 20, 2012 Oh, goody. I don’t know how I’ve missed this, given that it’s been in existence now for over a month now, but I have. Regular readers (and even fairly recent readers, given that I write about this topic relatively frequently) know that I’m not a big fan of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative…
Entelev, CanCell, and Cantron: Not curing cancer since the 1930s
Posted by Orac on June 19, 2012 A couple of months ago, a reader sent me an article that really disturbed me. In fact, I had originally been planning to write about it not long after I received it. However, as I’ve mentioned before, when it comes to blogging, I’m a bit like Dug the Talking Dog from the movie Up in…
Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) and autism at Autism One: Kerri Rivera’s apologists strike back (Part 2)
Posted by Orac on June 18, 2012 
Here we go again. Remember how last week I said I wouldn’t write about the Miracle Mineral Solution (abbreviated MMS) again for a while? I lied. Well, actually, I didn’t. At the time I wrote that, I really did mean to give it a rest for a while, and for a while at least I…
More on “integrating” pseudoscience with science
Posted by Orac on June 15, 2012 Naturopathy is at least 99% woo. That has to be said at the outset. Naturopaths might brag about all the science they take in naturopathy school, claiming that it’s as much as MDs take. Even if that were true, the question is not how many hours of basic science naturopaths take, but rather what’s taught…
Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates
Posted by Orac on June 14, 2012 One of my favorite YouTube channels is Epic Rap Battes of History. Some of my favorite battles include Darth Vader vs. Adolf Hitler (and, of course, the rematch), Mr. T vs. Mr. Rogers (hilarious!), Napoleon vs. Napoleon, Gandalf vs. Dumbledore, and, of course, my favorite of all time, Albert Einstein vs. Stephen Hawking. However, just…
The Antivaccine Ten Commandments
Posted by Orac on June 13, 2012 Although I’m interested in skepticism in general, I have a tendency to gravitate towards one particular form of pseudoscience (alternative medicine) and, in particular, a certain kind of that particular form of pseudoscience, namely antivaccine quackery. However, as much as I keep returning to the antivaccine movement, I keep noticing just how much it shares…
Will the autism “biomed” underground ever renounce using bleach to treat autism?
Posted by Orac on June 13, 2012 I know, I know, I’ve been writing about MMS a lot. Don’t worry. Barring some unforeseen development, this will probably be the last one for a while. However, I just had to comment again because this is just too funny (not to mention that I didn’t have a lot of time last night because, yes,…
Best retort ever?
Posted by Orac on June 12, 2012 I have to hand it to Autismum. Remember the Open Letter to Kerri Rivera she wrote, the one criticizing her for using bleach (Miracle Mineral Solution, often referred to as MMS) to try to “cure” autism? I referred to it yesterday when I pointed out how the pro-MMS apologists were striking back at their critics.…
The health freedom fighters attack
Posted by Orac on June 12, 2012 If there’s one thing shared in common among nearly all advocates of pseudoscience, it is the belief that they know The Truth. More importantly, they know The Truth, and The Powers That Be don’t want you to know The Truth and will do almost anything to makes sure that The Truth stays secret. Think about…
Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) and autism at Autism One: Kerri Rivera’s apologists strike back
Posted by Orac on June 11, 2012 A couple of weeks ago, I was horrified to learn of a new “biomed” treatment that has been apparently gaining popularity in autism circles. Actually, it’s not just autism circles in which this treatment is being promoted. Before the “autism biomed” movement discovered it, this particular variety of “miracle cure” has been touted as a…
A brief Sunday blog status update
Posted by Orac on June 10, 2012 I felt a brief update on the blog status is in order because the National Geographic overlords have actually rolled out some improvements on Friday. First, the Last 24 Hours feed is reportedly working again, although, quite honestly, when I just checked it it appeared not to be working. The funny thing was, it did…
A misguided “chalkboard talk”
Posted by Orac on June 8, 2012 Sometimes I feel like Dug, the talking dog in the movie Up, in that when it comes to blogging I’m often easily distracted. The reason I say this is because there’s been a “viral” (if you can call it that) video floating around the antivaccine quackery blogosphere that antivaccinationists are passing around as though it’s…
The problem with homeopathy, according to naturopaths
Posted by Orac on June 7, 2012 I’ve lost track of how many times over the last 7 years I’ve mentioned that naturopathy is not science-based. The evidence is overwhelming. All you have to do is to took at the wide variety of quackery that fits comfortably into naturopathic practice to realize that most of naturopathy is quackery. Traditional Chinese medicine? Check.…
Quoth Vox Day: Vaccines are killing babies! Retorts Orac: Vox’s arguments are killing neurons!
Posted by Orac on June 6, 2012 Remember Vox Day? Newer converts to the glory that is Orac (or at least to the ego that is Orac) might not know who Vox is because it’s been a while since I’ve discussed his antiscience attitudes. By and large, this is probably a good thing, given that Vox denies evolution, has been antivaccine from…
R.I.P., Billie Bainbridge
Posted by Orac on June 5, 2012 A very sad bit of news has come to my attention, courtesy of a reader. Billie Bainbridge has died of her brainstem cancer. Regular readers might remember this unfortunate young girl, who was diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma of the brainstem last year. The tumor was inoperable, and, unfortunately, Billie’s parents turned, as…
Reiki versus dogs just being dogs
Posted by Orac on June 5, 2012 Let me start right here by repeating yet again my oft-repeated assessment of reiki. Reiki is clearly nothing more than faith healing that substitutes Eastern mysticism for Christianity. Think of it this way. In faith healing, the faith healer claims to channel the healing power of God into the person being healed. In reiki, the…
A homeopathic counterattack
Posted by Orac on June 4, 2012 Homeopaths are funny. Really, that’s the best description of them that I can think of right now. And I don’t mean “funny ha-ha,” either. An example of this popped up over the weekend in an attack on Dr. Joe Schwarcz of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. “Dr. Joe,” as he likes to be…
“Time to throw the switch” open thread
Posted by Orac on June 2, 2012 The day is here. Time to throw the switch. What do I mean? I’ve been mentioning that I wanted to turn on the option that states, “Comment author must have a previously approved comment.” What that means is that any new commenter’s first comment will automatically go to moderation. I’ll approve it (unless it’s spam…
I’d rather have a free bottle in front of me than a prefrontal lobotomy
Posted by Orac on June 1, 2012 I’ve pointed out before that pover the last couple of years I’ve become a bit of a fan of old time radio, having discovered Radio Classics on Sirius XM Radio. I don’t remember how I discovered it, but I rapidly became hooked on shows like Suspense, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, The Whistler, Gunsmoke, Dragnet, The…
A homeopath and Dr. Jay will teach you about vaccines—and, no doubt, autism
Posted by Orac on May 31, 2012 Remember Dr. Jay? Regular readers know about whom I speak. I’m talking about Dr. Jay Gordon, pediatrician to the stars’ children. Dr. Jay has been a fixture on this blog on and off for seven years, first having popped in as a commenter way back on Respectful Insolence, Mark 1, when I first noted him…
Pharma and vaccines turn you into a zombie?
Posted by Orac on May 30, 2012 When I saw the latest screed from that very living embodiment of crank magnetism, Mike Adams, I chuckled. I sent it around to some fellow skeptics, including, for instance, the crew at The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, as well as acquaintances and friends of mine because I couldn’t believe it. Adams, as loony as…
A quackfest at the University of Toronto
Posted by Orac on May 29, 2012 I always thought that the University of Toronto was a great school, but lately I’ve been starting to have my doubts. My doubts began three years ago, when I noticed that Autism One Canada, which is basically the Canadian version of the yearly antivaccine biomedical quackfest held every Memorial Day week in the Chicago area,…
The Refusers attack Orac’s readers
Posted by Orac on May 28, 2012 I was thinking of taking Memorial Day off. There are several reasons. First, it’s a holiday. Second, the blog still isn’t functioning quite up to snuff after the transition to WordPress. In particular, we still have a major spam infestation that is unlikely to improve before Tuesday. It also doesn’t help that I have a…
