We don’t need to do the Science, we ARE the Science.
Evil Homeopathy
Many celebrities enjoy the personal benefit from holding a public position of SSkepticism. They realizes the accrual which can be derived from intellectually chiding people in a public forum via high school levels of social taunt and humor. This method of surreptitious self aggrandizement falls on receptive ears; those whom are easy prey, comprising the immature, intellectually insecure, semi-educated and life inexperienced. The popular watering holes for the ‘superior of intellect’ amongst us regularly tender a mix of innocuous and easy mark SSkeptic propaganda topics. One recent blog I read included a post on a favorite patsy of SSkeptics, Homeopathy.** As I sit here in my studio even now and write this sentence, Phil Plait is on the Science Channel performing a fantastic job of explaining the mechanics of core collapse at the inception of a Super Nova. I will buy the idea that he represents much of science thought on this topic. But this in no way qualifies people like Mr. Plait to advise me on anything else. With regard to Homeopathy, Social Skepticism seeks to blur lines of domain, expand his attack to that which they do not personally like – leveraged off public visibility, and increased reputation in the SSkeptic Cabal. The SSkeptic’s treatment of the topic of Homeopathy is a prime example of Social Skeptic Pork-barreling, Associative Condemnation and Stooge Posing, and is a practice of Deskeption.
Now, the average SSkeptic could secretly give a flip about Homeopathy, and will usually feign an indignant stance at the very mention of the word; envisioning the brainless hordes out there ingesting sugar pills over a burning book stack of Dawkins, Sagan, and ‘On the Origin of Species.’ Indeed, I had never even heard of Homeopathy until a SSkeptic railed at me one day about its evils and the fact that is was pseudoscience. ‘Homeopathy’ to the Social Skeptic, is a course’ de rigueur – a right of passage – to which one must adhere in order to wear that merit badge garnering SSkeptic Cabal respect.
Pork-Barreling
1. Context Blurring or Pork-Barreling. The first problem is imputative and direct, in that many times the word ‘Homeopathy’ is extrapolated explicitly or implicitly by the enforcing knowledge-bearer to include nutraceuticals, over the counter medicines, home remedies, vitamins, minerals, proteins and natural treatments. They avoid providing the critical information that Homeopathy involves a specific methodology of formulation through the flawed concept of ‘material essence,’ which is indeed pseudoscience. They will desire to have the listener infer that it is the constituent and the use of those constituents on the part of the ignorant, which constitutes the err in ways. This is not the case, as Homeopathy is an errant formulation methodology and not the employment of inactive or inappropriate bases. The SSkeptic will not want to stop at condemning only that specific methodology, and you will notice nor will he stop to define the difference between that methodology and accepted pharmacology. The SSkeptic keeps the context blurred for good reason. There exist both people who decry Homeopathy, who’s true intent is to restrict the rights of persons who take supplements to aid in their health, as well as people who do so haplessly. Both result in the same evil. Their vitriol and insistence that only they represent science and only they understand health, is a threat to the rights of serious and experienced persons obtaining the tools which they employ to support their own health. It is also pseudoscience, but the fact that they also practice pseudoscience methods pales in comparison to the greater sin of malicious imposition on control of one’s own personal health.
Homeopathy is not the problem, denial of access to health freedom is, restriction of beneficial information is, denial of the right to thrive is. These are the problems and they show up daily in my Medical Insurance bill, as I am denied, more and more, coverage for medical treatments which SSkeptics have declared voodoo. It was proven long ago. We do not need to do the science. We ARE the science. SSkeptics remember, bristle at an increase information – and information is a form of personal freedom. You are only authorized to know, what they want you to know. And they will smile as they let you know this – and might even wink and nudge at each other in the process. After all, people are dying of course, and this is a top SSkeptic priority.
Associative Condemnation
2. Associative Condemnation. The second problem resides in SSkeptic use of the Homeopathy topic’s tactics and status of discredit as a pathway to target and condemn other topics which they do not like. Guilt through association, if one will surrender to them, the room to pull such logical chicanery. In each case, the SSkeptic reveals their first intent, which has nothing to do with Homeopathy, but all to do with promotion of a personal agenda of power, and targeting of greater and more sought after topics of disdain (the same 16 subjects all SSkeptics target, they do not vary). They call it “magical thinking.”
To the SSkeptic, magical thinking is ANY thought which resides outside of their specific religion.
Oh my god, people might even end up going to church, or thinking that their deceased loved ones might be happy. “Bad magic person, bad, bad! This has all been disproved long ago. Long ago by real scientists, and real data. We are here to give you the scientific-method established news (not the citations however).” What is ‘magical thinking?’ To the SSkeptic, magical thinking is ANY thought which resides outside of their specific religion. This is malicious thought enforcement in its purest deceptive form. You will notice the shift in context away from the valid dangers of Homeopathy as a substitute for prescriptive treatments, and quickly into the ills of ignoring “science based medicine” – coined by Steven Novella. To the Cabal this legitimate sounding term actually stands for restriction of personal freedom, enforcing only those practices authorized by the SSkeptic Cabal.
Stooge Posing
3. Stooge Posing. The third problem is that Social Skeptics use the subject of Homeopathy to bolster their record of debunking success, in an attempt to increase their credibility in and around other subjects which they dislike and seek to discredit. At one point in his career Mike Tyson was 33-0. However, at least 15 of those competitors were easy set-ups, less skilled boxers used to bolster his record. This left him susceptible to a 30 second KO at the hands of Buster Douglas. Easy kills are for lion cubs and liars. Homeopathy, useful only in pseudoscience topic bashing, offers merit badge points which increase the Cabal Member’s status and perceived gravitas. Since they do not plan to perform any actual effort at researching these additional topics, nor do they hold any position of research accordingly, they plan to rely upon critical personal peer status to realize their effortlessly attained office. Once a SSkeptic has established a peer review standing, then that SSkeptic has garnered credibility in applying such authority on other and all targeted topics in the future – a goal best accomplished with as little investigative effort as possible.
In the end it is neither about consumer health nor science at all. It is about crafting power, plain and simple. A dishonest ruse. Stooge Posing and Deskeption.
SSkeptics: “Our first job is saving lives”
They are skeptical when it is to their advantage to be a bully in the social order; but flee from their activist positions like beat dogs if the skepticism runs counter to anything supported by the Cabal. This is NOT skepticism.
“At best, belief in provably false things like homeopathy (notice the context shift here dear reader) is a colossal waste of money, and at worst belief in homeopathy can kill you. That’s why skeptics are fighting the practice of homeopathy all over the world, from the UK to Australia.” – Bad Astronomy (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/05/17/british-medical-association-homeopathy-is-witchcraft/).
Yes, and SSkeptics ‘all over the world’ are all about improving the efficacy of our health information and practices. That is why they are there in the trenches supporting cutting edge research and compliance in every lab and in every pharma company (rolling eyes). That is why they are there at Monsanto in St. Louis, questioning the wisdom of genetically modifying corn and wheat without sufficient pre-study. Yes, skeptical champions of our health they are. They were out there fighting for the introduction of the PrevPack, and the eradication of H. Pylori (a1). Yes sir, right there, fighting for science and the human health the entirety of the 35 years after its proven efficacy. Yes, they are there fighting for the inclusion of Levo-triiodithyronine (T3) in the treatment of hypo-thyroid and showing the connection to Diabetes. Yes, they are there in the face of the water company execs who allow per-chlorate concentrations in our water which are damaging our endocrine systems. Yes, they are there at the forefront of science methodology being applied to food allergies, as we hit record levels of wheat allergies in US health history. They are right there in the trenches, addressing the 20:1 increases in alimentary tract cancers. and mapping out the confidence intervals on potential causation. At worst, participation with the practices of SSkeptics can kill you. You and a billion other people. But we will start saving lives with the topic of Homeopathy, no sense assailing bigger, more critical and really challenging subjects. Let’s start with small victories.
All of the maladies listed above were blocked and obfuscated by organized SSkeptic Cabal over the last 40 years. In each case immense damage has been realized through the SSkeptic Cabal’s nefarious activity and constant self focus. It is all about the appearance of being correct, and never about your and my health. The malicious part of this resides in the fact that no, SSkeptics only use the subject of Homeopathy as a prop up and easy patsy, for advancement of their own social status benefit. They then discard the merit badge carton on the ground like an emptied McDonald’s burger bag. Such a Stooge is Homeopathy.
An easy hate. An easy kill. Easy pat answers. Easy way to get notoriety in the Cabal. Homeopathy bashing is easy, like a thoughtless one-liner. But being correct, is not the same as being right. This is Deskeption, plain and simple.
**(Now, notice of course dear reader that my purpose in this blog is NOT to certify or de-bunk various subjects. On the contrary, I make no attempt to prove or dis-prove any particular topic, as my focus here is on those who pretend to represent science, and use that pretense to dictate proper thought and craft personal and club power. I may, however, agree with their positions, as is in the case of Homeopathy. But that does not mean that I agree with the pseudoscience methodology which they employ to ‘arrive’ at their conclusions)