The Jake's on You

In a very feeble attempt at mimicking Paul Offit's upcoming blockbuster, which will out sell the Age of Autism fictional history book, Joke Crosby, the Bouy Wonder of the AoA Collective, has published an article today which is, as usual, just poorly researched and bereft of logic.

I thought that a comment was appropriate, and I left it for Jake to moderate. IOW, I do not expect to see it ever again.

If Jake reads this, let me give him some advice:

1. Spend more time studying
2. Spend some time trying to find some young ladies to keep you company.
3. Take a course in logic.
4. Get a clue.

Jake, one day you will be looking for a real job within your major. If they find your posts, you will be among the chronically underemployed.

The AoA Drones

Although young Joke Crosby is despicable enough, the drones and sicko-phants are worse. Except for one: Craig Willoughby. He has a shred of logic left, and has not as yet been fully assimilated by the AoA Collective. Willigoughby states:

Come on, guys. I despise Dorkski as much as the rest of you, but is it necessary to post information about his place of employment? I know he's a megalomoniacal douche-bag, but calling his place of work to try to get him fired is petty, people. That's bringing yourselves down to his level.

Posted by: Craig Willoughby | June 21, 2010 at 05:40 PM

Craig, that is really nice of you. You waded into a minefield of morons where anyone disagreeing is virulently attacked.

Of course, Craig, it is your behavior, coupled with that of the former journalists who manage the AoA Collective, and the head drone, JB, who have created the atmosphere by which disgusting things like this can happen.

Craig, before you are fully assimilated, use those remaining grey cells to examine your behavior and perhaps you may see the error of your ways.

And, you claim that bloggers, et al call CPS. A tad of proof of that is warranted.

The Boy Wonder at the Collective Reaches a New Low

Joke Crosby, a student of history and medical policy at Brandeis University posted one of the most despicable and scurrilous trashings of a blogger I have ever read. Of course, the Al Quaida of Autism Blog hosts his garbage.

Joke trashed Dr. David Gorski with distortions, lies and manufactured ideas. I had trouble reading it, and, of course, the commenters made Joke looked mild. They posted details of Dr. Gorski's practice, and the people with whom he works. He is a surgeon-scientist specializing in breast cancer.

What Joke is too young (stupid?) to realize is that this diatribe on his part is a de facto admission that he cannot win an argument on the merits.

I am asking all the loyal readers to express their revulsion at this attack. Post comments, as many as you feel necessary, to get your point across at the Al Quaida of Autism blog. Since they censor contrary opinions, please feel free to also post your comments here.

You could also suggest this on any other blogs you may read. The editors of AoA have way too much time on their hands, and Joke is off for the summer, and needs to spend some quality time with a thought.

Remember, do not hold back. Express yourselves early and, most importantly, often.

Why They Really Do Not Care About Y O U!

What has always impressed me is that, in other venues, parents raise concerns about everything but a cure. They seem to be always looking for better education opportunities, for strategies to help them wend their way through the special education minefield, and, for help paying for their child's special needs and the extra-ordinary costs they have because they have a special child.

During the Obama transition, I read several blogs where people were encouraged to raise their issues, and, the autism parents did. They mentioned how health insurance refuses to pay for science based treatments because Autism is considered to be a pre-existing condition. They mentioned how hard it is to get respite care, for themselves and their child. They mentioned so many things, except, finding a "cure" or a cause of Autism. These are the parents who are truly hurting for their kids. Read more...

What continually amazes me is that these parents are uniformly ignored by the likes of JB Handley, Jenny McCarthy, Dan Olmsted, David Kirby, Katie Wright, and the other pied pipers of the AoA/Anti-Vaccination collective. How often is there a blog article about these issues?

What we do know is that Mr. Handley is rich and wrong about just about everything. I've been wondering how much rich plays into this. Handley, the Wrights, Jenny McCarthy--none of them have to think about whether their child will attend a good school, get good therapies and, most of all, whether they will be cared for after their parents are gone. These families are wealthy, and they have taken care of these issues.

To the best of my knowledge, Olmsted and Kirby (who is now pursuing BigFarma) do not have children or family affected by Autism.

Clearly, they are all out of touch with the rank and file of parents, and seem to have zero incentive to advocate for anything really worthwhile for autistic kids or adults.

Does anyone think that they could care less if public schools had better special education classes or if there were programs for autistic (and other disabled) adults to help them live at something above the poverty level? This will not impact their children (unless they lose their fortune in the next collapse) and they seem to be just too narcissistic to care about anyone else.

I wonder what they will do when their child who will still be autistic reaches adulthood. I strongly suspect that they will be quietly placed in an institution or "home" somewhere out of sight.

What seems to aggravate people like Handley, et al, the most is that their child being autistic is - for many of them - is the first problem they've ever encountered that couldn't be solved by money. I would wager that they have hired help at home. Someone to help provide for day-to-day services for their children.

That is not to say that all wealthy people are like this. I personally know one family, who was wealthy before George (Washington, not Bush) was president. They give, and they advocate in more ways than one.

In addition, some of them (JB, for instance) seem equate wealth with high intelligence precisely BECAUSE they are so rich. Has he actually said this? No. However, reading between the lines, and observing his actions, have led me to believe this.

Some of them, notably JB, have repeatedly denigrated real scientists - ALL of whom know more about autism, mercury, vaccines, medicine, biology, chemistry, etc. - than he does (or ever will). They calls them "stupid", pharmashill, or worse. When pressed, their arguments always devolves into some form of "I'm filthy rich and they aren't, so I MUST be smarter than they are."

Of course, it never occurs to these rich people that they GOT that way largely by chance - by birth (the ultimate random event) or by making the right bet in business, stocks, etc. Years ago, I heard a comment about some spoiled rich kid. The person mentioned that the kid was lucky because his father was born before him. When his father died, he took over the business, and ran it into bankruptcy in short order.

With this mindset, all they have left is to want a cure to rid themselves of the inconvenience of having a special needs child.

One other point. The vitriol aimed at some of the scientists and physicians is intense. However, if you, as they say, "follow the money" you will see that the level of bile that these people spill out is directly proportional to the money these scientists have made. This explains why JB, et al, have always made Dr. Paul Offit their number one target. To them, Dr. Offit had the unmitigated nerve of making a lot of money, and then still caring about all children, even autistic ones.

When they will finally "get it" perhaps some of the families who are truly under an onerous task of raising a special child will get help. Until then, the cloud is as dark as the ash cloud from the volcano no one can type or pronounce.

AoA Planning Meeting

A tape of a recent clandestine meeting of the AoA Collective has surfaced. No further comment is needed.

Where Are They?

LeftBrainRightBrain picked up on a very serious story, i.e. the United States Department of Justice has instituted an investigation of the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) use of aversives, specifically electrical shock, to control the behavior of special needs children. Major kudos to LB/RB for bringing this to the attention of the blogosphere.

In a comment Mike Stanton raises the question of where the advocacy organizations are on this issue. The letter that prompted the investigation is signed by 30 groups. 30? Why not hundreds? There are many more advocacy groups that 30.

Think about this for a moment. Our troops in Iraq could not use these aversive devices against prisoners at Abu Graib, since it would be torture. We cannot use them at Gitmo, for the same reason.

Where are the bloggers who are speaking out on this issue? Why the silence?

I specfically wonder where AoA is? This is an issue where ALL "sides" in the Autism debate should be able to agree.

Where is David Kirby? Promoting his new book?

Where is Dan Olmsted? Looking for the JRC in Florida?

Do not remain silent.

Why is JB Handley so silent? (Hint: He is defend Jenny on the Time Magazine website).

The SILENCE is DEAFENING!

Speak Up!

Wakefield,Baseball and Monkeys

In a recent post, I tried to help J B Handley find the monkeys he was so worried about finding. Actually, he was trying to promote a monkey study by Andy Wakefield, who had recently been reamed out by the GMC in the UK, and them got another thrashing when the Lancet retracted his "study" that lead to the MMR panic that resulted in thousands of preventable cases of measles and mumps, and several dead children.

Well, Andy and his henchmen had submitted that study to Journal of Neurotoxicology and were awaiting publication, which seemed to be delayed.

Now, as Orac reports, the editors of Neurotoxicology have snatched that paper out of the hopper. Whether it ever goes back in, we will have to wait and see. So...

• GMC smackdown....STRIKE ONE!
• Lancet retraction....STRIKE TWO!
• Neurotoxicology retraction...STRIKE THREE!

YER OUT, ANDY!

As for JB seeing his monkey study....


JB, quick...follow the monkeys....your study is getting away....

He Wants To See Monkeys?

In a recent post on the Al Quaeda of Autism blog, JB Handley said he wanted to see monkeys. He does not have far to look.

When I saw this, it reminded me of this one I took in Sydney Australia a few years ago.

I do believe that most of what is written on the Al Quaeda of Autism blog is written at a pub, but one much seedier than this one.

Experts Used By the 4th Estate Should be Experts! Right? Well, not really...

This article is a departure from my usual cogent analysis of the antics of the Al Quaeda of Autism, their lemmings, et al. Here, I want to address the media and let them see just how sloppy they are.

And they are sloppy.

I was reading a newsgroup and came across a link to a video of a news story aired on Fox News dealing with the H1N1 virus and, at that time, the soon to be released vaccine. They included the usual and customary "infectious disease expert".

After I viewed the video, and, as usual, I decided to check out the good doctor, Kent Holtorf. He demonstrated a truly impressive skill set that I have rarely seen.

Since he is an MD, I like to check medical credentials. He is licensed to practice medicine by the Medical Board of California:

License: G 74797
License Type: Physician and Surgeon
Licensee may be a U.S. or Canadian medical school graduate whose pathway to licensure was based on the NBME examination.
Name: KENT ALAN HOLTORF, M.D.

(I redacted his address.)

Address of Record County: LOS ANGELES
License Status: License Renewed & Current
Licensee meets requirements for the practice of medicine in California.
Public Record Action(s): No Public Record Actions available
Original Issue Date: July 28, 1992
Expiration Date: June 30, 2010
School Name: ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Year Graduated: 1991

So far, so good. He is licensed and in good standing. No discipline. Next....

Activities In Medicine: PATIENT CARE - 20 TO 29 HOURS
RESEARCH - 20 TO 29 HOURS
TEACHING - 10 TO 19 HOURS
ADMINISTRATION - 20 TO 29 HOURS

Primary Practice Location Zip Code: 90505
Board Certification(s): No board certifications identified

(I expect that any physician who has made the effort to secure board certification would list that with the licensing agency.)

Primary Practice Area(s): FAMILY PRACTICE
Secondary Practice Area(s): ENDOCRINOLOGY
Post Graduate Training Years: 3 YEARS

3 years is an adequate period of post graduate training for someone to qualify for board certification. It seems to be getting stranger by the moment

(I do not answer these questions, either, and this really is not germane:)
Ethnic Background: Declined to Disclose
Foreign Language(s): Declined to Disclose
Gender: Declined to Disclose

Since the video calls him an expert in infectious diseases. Well, that would usually mean he would be board certified in that discipline. Since he did not list board certification in his license (I know it is not required), I decided to check with the American Board of Medical Specialties. You'll have to register, but, it is free and does not generate spam.

I was shocked to find that Dr. Holtorf is not listed by the ABMS as being board certified. Didn't Fox News say he was in infectious disease EXPERT?

Since he listed his main practice area as Family Practice, one the harder disciplines, and endocrinology as his secondary, I thought I would check to see whether he has any published research. His licensing information states that he spends 20 TO 29 HOURS a week engaged in research, and this should generate a peer reviewed study or three .

So, I went to PubMed and, searching on "Holtorf K", which would give me the widest search parameters I found:

The bioidentical hormone debate: are bioidentical hormones (estradiol, estriol, and progesterone) safer or more efficacious than commonly used synthetic versions in hormone replacement therapy?

Holtorf K.

Postgrad Med. 2009 Jan;121(1):73-85. Review.
PMID: 19179815

Hmmm....this is not peer reviewed, and it is a review of other research.

and then this one...

Hormones in wellness and disease prevention: common practices, current state of the evidence, and questions for the future.

Schwartz ET, Holtorf K.

Prim Care. 2008 Dec;35(4):669-705.
PMID: 18928825 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I am glad to see he is sharing his knowledge, but, neither are research articles. So, I then looked at his websites:. The first I looked at, led me to the second.

I looked high and low, every page, and found nothing showing that the good doctor has published any peer reviewed research on infectious diseases, not has he listed any training or other experience in that field.

What I did find was interesting, thought. Using the search tool on the website, I did a search on vaccine and was referred to a page where his appearances on rush Limboob, Sean Insanity (Hannity), Glen Beck, et al, are referenced and linked. They all refer to him as an expert on infectious diseases. Thus, my search for proof that he is a true expert on infectious disease led to nothing. I was disappointed in that.

However, not all was lost. The simple fact is, the good doctor has managed to demonstrate just how easy it is to bamboozle the media. Either they never bothered to check his credentials, or, because he was spouting their party line, it did not matter.

Furthermore, I did some additional Googling of his name and found that the NY Daily News, the newspaper of my youth, the one I delivered, the one which used to have the best sports section in the world, had several articles where he is referred to as a board certified endocrinologist in one article, and a specialist in women's health in another. (There is no board certification in women's health, unless they meant OB-GYN, and he is not board certified in that, either). In another article, concerning the Haitian tragedy that is still unfolding as I write, he comments on how high humidity could increase survival times while buried in the rubble.

Thus, the good doctor has demonstrated just how lousy an idea it is to rely on the media for medical advice and information. Utterly sloppy of these august organs of the 4th Estate.

Please note that I was not surprised with my findings. I expected nothing more that this from Fox News, and those who bought the line. Their "research" seems to consist of determining whether a good story can hit the media, and whether it may be controversial. Having homeopathic like expertise is another criteria.

As for the Daily News, they have NO excuses. Their own internal archives demonstrate that there is a question regarding the doctor's "expertise". They should be ashamed of themselves.

Al-Qaeda of Autism

When I first started this blog, I did so because I had been censored on AoA, and came up with the idea that they exemplify the Age of Ignorance. I have no doubt, confirmed over the months since then, they are the cesspool of ignorance. However, out of every cesspool grows something. The past few months have shown that the growth is truly worthy of being born in a cesspool.

AoA has moved on from the mere censorship that had initially concerned me. Granted, I wrote here and here about some of their more nefarious tactics, most specifically "outing". "Outing" occurs when a person who has chosen a degree of anonymity by using a pseudonym has their real name linked. I have been outed by some of the drones of the AoA collective.

However, outing, and their other old tactics, are merely annoyances in the scheme of things. What has happened recently is that the True Believers of the AoA collective have taken several quantum steps further.

Back around Thanksgiving time 2009, the Collective posted an article which had a photoshopped image of several people sitting around what looked to be a Thanksgiving dinner table, preparing to eat a baby. Who were these people? The post includes a poorly photoshopped picture of prominent science-based medicine proponents feasting on a dead baby. The guests were journalist Alison Singer, the NIH's head honcho Tom Insel, journalist Trine Tsouderos, Science and Science Based Medicine Blogger and Editor Steve Novella, Amy Wallace and the "One They Fear The Most" bogeyman extraordinaire, vaccine developer, saver of the lives of thousand of children, Dr. Paul Offit.

The blogosphere was in an uproar, and the intellectual cowards of the AoA Collective removed the offending post. The photo is available elsewhere. I will not link to it.

Did this event constitute a set-back for the Drones? Not at all. It appears to have energized them into perpetrating even more outrageous attacks on those who have the nerve to disagree.

Fortunately, Trine Tsouderos and her editors at the courageous Chicago Tribune (I would live there if it were warmer in the winter) was not intimidated by the initial attack. Following the heritage of great journalists, the ones I learned about in my college course on the History of Journalism which was part of my minor in Journalism, they forged ahead, and continued to investigate and study the Evil Empire of the anti-vaccinationists masquerading as "pro-safe vaccines" advocates that infest the Autism community.

On January 17, 2010, the Tribune published the third article in Trine Tsouderos three part series. In this article she exposes Dr. Boyd Haley's probable illegal marketing of an industrial chemical agent as a supplement, to be administered to children with Autism.

Just who is Boyd Haley? Simple, he is the darling of the AoA Collective. However, a look at his record does show something interesting about this retired professor of chemistry.

Peter Bowditch of Ratbags asked Haley about "claim that mercury is 50% of thimerosal". Have you taken high school chemistry? If so, find your old text books and check out whether this has any meaning what-so-ever. While it is true that the one atom of Mercury comprises approximately 50% of the molecular weight of thimerosal, does this have any chemical or toxicological significance? Peter's exchange with Haley would lead anyone who has not taken high school chemistry to think so.

Now he is marketing this industrial chelator for human consumption, and IGNORING THE FDA's requests for information. Haley said, "... that the compound had been tested on rats and that a food safety study was conducted on 10 people[and himself, do the math = 11]". When she asked him to "...provide documentation of the studies, he stopped communicating with the Tribune."

Instead, the Drones of the Collective took over and, AoA mercilessly hunted down Tsouderos' family and outed them. Read Orac's excellent article and the one by Ken Reibel at LeftBrain/RightBrain. I am sure there are more, and I invite links in the comments. Please.

There have been many other attacks, too numerous for me to compile here. Others have, and links in the comments would be appreciated.

Now, what does this all mean? Simple, and it truly is. We now know that the Drones of the AoA collective will stoop as low as they can go and stop at nothing to silence those with whom they disagree. Initially, their tactics reminded me of the response by Scientology to the Time Magazine article by Behar. Do your own search, and see how ugly that got.

Orac mentioned in one of his articles (I cannot find it) that this also reminded him of Scientology.

However, we are both wrong. The tactics being used, and the overall strategy are pure terrorist based tactics that are being used to stifle and silence critics.

And, that is why the Age of Autism is now most correctly referred to as the Al-Qaeda of Autism.

I truly hope that the Tribune, and other news sources, pick up on this story and begin a year long counterattack on the terrorism. The power of the press, in Oliver Wendell Holmes' Free Market Place of Ideas, is the most potent weapon in the battle for truth.